Broward commission cuts property tax rate

The Broward County Commission voted Tuesday to cut the annual property tax rate, a mostly symbolic move that won’t lower anyone’s bills but will keep them from going up as high as they could have, probably by less

than a dollar.

Overall, the new rate cuts anticipated revenues by about $1.02 million, a sliver of a fraction of a $2 billion budget that includes $30 million added to the county’s reserves, the emergency fund that will be drawn from to handle unanticipated expenses that arise throughout the year.

Most homeowners will still see a tax bill increase because property values went up compared to last year. But

Broward has not cut its property tax rate since 2017, and with the county finally paying off a 20-year debt obligation, the time seemed ripe to send a message to taxpayers that they were not being taken for granted, rate-cut supporters said.

“My goal was to reduce the millage rate and start bending the curve downward,” said County Commissioner Michael Udine, who spearheaded the effort. “And we were able to do it while providing record funding for the Broward Sheriff’s Office and for affordable housing.”

As small as the rate cut will prove to be for each taxpayer, the debate leading into the change was substantial. Udine’s first effort to cut the rate, at a commission meeting earlier this month, fell short in a 5-3 vote, with one commissioner missing.

Under state law, the rate has to be approved by at least six members of the commission. Otherwise, it drops to what’s called the “rollback rate,” the amount required to achieve the same revenue after accounting for the increase in property values. Hypothetically, a homeowner’s tax bill would be unchanged from one year to the next if the rollback rate were to be adopted, and an anticipated revenue increase of an estimated $120 million would vanish, forcing major cuts and spending freezes.

Commissioners were compelled to reach an agreement on either cutting the rate or holding it steady, and though initially there were not enough votes for a cut, there were also not enough to keep last year’s rate.

Commissioner Steve Geller said he first opposed cutting the rate because it would reduce the county’s ability to contribute to its reserve “rainy day” fund. He also anticipated a financial downturn that will ultimately force a future commission to raise the tax rate.

But when it became clear there weren’t enough votes to maintain the status quo, Geller agreed to support a cut as long as the reserves would remain healthy, an assurance he received from County Administrator Monica Cepero.

The cut passed with a 7-2 vote against a political backdrop that continues to see Gov. Ron DeSantis pointing to Broward as an example of a county with a “bloated” budget that’s taking advantage of rising property valueshttps://enewspaper.sun-sentinel.com/shortcode/SUN315/edition/664d93ac-f60a-4fab-8b01-126d3be89203?page=0e085cf1-935f-4c43-9a70-081b3b4e8f24&