Jacksonville City Council split on millage rate proposal

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After a 9-9 split vote Tuesday night, the Jacksonville City Council will make a final decision on the city’s millage rate later this month.

The mayor’s office and city council have been at odds over whether to lower the millage rate, which is how the city calculates your property taxes.

One mill is $1 in tax for every $1,000 of your home’s value, so if your home is worth $200,000, one mill equals $200 in taxes.

The City Council Finance Committee proposed lowering the millage rate by one-eighth to give money “back to the citizens,” but Mayor Donna Deegan argued the cut won’t really do much for property tax bills and could hurt the ability to fund key city services that citizens have said they want.

During a series of three votes Tuesday night, city councilmembers were split, ending up with a 9-9 tie on the mayor’s proposed millage rate increase.

But the council was required to pass the millage rate by the end of the meeting, so to prevent further delay, Councilman Ron Salem changed his vote but said he would vote differently in two weeks.

The final vote was 10-8.

According to City Council President Kevin Carrico, Councilman Chris Miller was overseas for work travel and wasn’t present to vote at the meeting, but he will be at the Sept. 23 meeting, when a final decision will be made.

At that time, members will take up the Finance Committee’s amendment to reduce the millage rate.

“Families across Jacksonville are stretched thin, and they deserve property tax relief,” Carrico said in a news release. “This council has the chance to put $13 million back into taxpayers’ pockets this year and nearly $70 million over the next five years. On Sept. 23, with the full council present, we can reject higher taxes once and for all and deliver real relief for Jacksonville families.”