City News Blog: City of Lakeland Final Budget Hearing - Commission Votes No Property Tax Increase

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LAKELAND, FL (September 19, 2024) - The Lakeland City Commission participated in the final Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Budget Hearing on Thursday, September 19, 2024.  During the final Budget Hearing, City Commission listened to City Manager Shawn Sherrouse go over the proposed FY25 Budget that included calculations based on a 5.4323 millage rate.

The current millage rate in the City of Lakeland is 5.4323 mills. A millage rate is a figure municipalities use to calculate property taxes. One mill is 0.1 cent or one thousandth of a dollar. A mill rate of 1 means residents pay $1 in taxes for every $1,000 of their property's assessed value.  In Lakeland this equates to a residential property owner paying $5.432 per every $1,000 of home value after deductions like homestead exemption.

The City had a 5.5644 millage rate in 2018.  The City Commission has lowered that slightly over the years to where it is today at 5.4323 mills with a .1000 decrease in FY19 and a .0321 decrease in FY22.  At the first reading of the FY25 Budget that took place September 5, 2024, the City Commission in a 4-2 decision directed staff to assume the current 5.4323 millage rate in preparing the 2025 budget.

The FY25 budget does have additional expenditures put in place by the City Commission.  These items include a $100,000 matching grant for the Police Athletic League to assist with new building plans, a $100,000 matching grant for the proposed Lakeland Senior Center as well as an additional $100,000 earmarked for the Mayor’s Council for the Arts to assist with arts funding, moving that fund to $375,000 per year.  There is also $250,000 in the budget for the Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art at Florida Southern College.  The City Commission initiatives total $825,000.

The City Commission voted 5-2 to accept the FY25 Budget as presented with Commissioners Read and Madden providing the dissenting votes. The FY25 Budget does contain $183,291,370 in General Fund expenses.  Public safety makes up almost half of that total with the Lakeland Fire Department’s budget set at $29,788,521 and the Lakeland Police Department at $60,100,542. Property taxes make of 32% of General Fund revenues with $58,180,965 and Utility Payments in Lieu of Taxes (dividends) make up 26%, providing $46,192,548 in revenues.

Polk County Municipality Millage Comparison as of September 19, 2024

Highland Park                                      9.9759

Lake Hamilton                                     8.4276

Fort Meade                                         8.0000

Dundee                                               7.9000

Eagle Lake                                           7.6516

Haines City                                          7.5895

Davenport                                           7.2500

Lake Wales                                          7.1214

Lake Alfred                                          6.8500

Winter Haven                                      6.5900

Frostproof                                           6.5530

Mulberry                                             6.4400

Bartow                                                6.1080

Polk City                                              5.5000

Lakeland                                              5.4323

Auburndale                                         4.2515

Lakeland, like many communities in Florida, has experienced unprecedented population growth and demand for City services in the past few years.  Since Fiscal Year 2023, the general fund incurred $8,773,916 in additional recurring charges mostly around public safety without raising property taxes. These charges include body-worn cameras, 25 additional police officers, 24 additional firefighters and over $1 million in transportation road maintenance.  Once Fire Station 8 is completed, the budget will also include an additional 12 firefighters to staff the new station. The FY25 Budget does assume five additional police officers with the need for an additional four in FY26. 

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