Commission raises taxes again

By John Labriola - Citrus County citizens will be paying 6.5 percent more in county property taxes this coming year, an unwelcome increase following last year's 18 percent tax hike. 

At the Citrus County Commission's final budget hearing this past week, the Commission voted 4-1 to reject Commissioner Diana Finegan's move to cap increases in the county's deparments at 5 percent, excluding transportation and roads. 

"Government is a deep black hole," Finegan said. "You can fund it and fund it and fund it and it's never enough. But taxpayers have felt the burn, and I know we can do a little better here."

Finegan noted that some departments including the library system are getting a 10 percent increase in their budgets. For the library, that includes $312,000 to purchase approximatley 1,300 books a month, which resulted in a pornographic book being purchased for the teen section several years ago. The book was removed from circulation after Finegan shared excerpts at a commission meeting this July. 

"The library is getting an extra $421,000. Could they not function on an extra $214,000?" Finegan said.

But her colleagues said it was too late to change the budget. 

"The budget's already been prepared, and the second meeting is the one where we're supposed to make any major changes, not the third," said Commissioner Holly Davis, referring to the county's first budget hearing two weeks earlier and its summer budget workshop.

Other commissioners repeated the "too late" line, saying they didn't want to burden staff with the task of revising the budget to give citizens some tax relief with only a week left in the budget process.

Residents were not impressed. 

"From a taxpaying perspective, it's disappointing. I've watched the same process three years in a row now. You cannot allow that to be repeated again next year," said Mark Svestka of Pine Ridge.

A resident noted that several citizens came to the first budget hearing to request a reduction in the library budget's $312,000 book purchasing line item, but they were ignored.

Commissioner Ruthie Schlabach snidely asked how much that would reduce taxes.

"It's probably couch change or less," Davis scoffed, showing her disregard for the waste of taxpayer dollars.

Davis' opponent in this fall's election is conservative Paul Grogan. Donate to him HERE.

The county's millage rate for 2024-25 is 8.9249. It means the owner of a home currently valued at $300,000 who takes the standard $50,000 homestead exemption will pay $2,231.23 in county property taxes under the new budget. Because property values went up, the average homeowner will pay 6.5 percent more in taxes.

The new budget takes effect Oct. 1.