Doral council proposes keeping tax rate the same as last year’s
As budget talks begin to take center stage, the city of Doral held a special council meeting on Tuesday to discuss property tax rates, proposing a tax rate the same as last year’s.
The proposal
The city council proposed a property tax ceiling at a rate no higher than $1.93 per $1,000 of taxable property value — the same as last year’s rate. This rate would be the second-lowest in the county, coming in slightly higher than Aventura’s.
Impact on taxpayers
If the rate were to remain unchanged, the owner of a median-priced home valued at about $211,000 will pay about $314 dollars, which is roughly $3 more than last year, due to a 6.8 percent increase in property values. This estimate assumes that the property owner qualifies for the standard homestead exemption and that the home’s assessed value only increased by 0.8 percent, the maximum allowed by this year’s “Save Our Homes” cap.
The city likely will not raise the rate any higher as budget talks move forward, but it can possibly be lowered.
Impact on services
Though Mayor Luigi Boria toyed with the idea of lowering the rate, the council agreed that maintaining the current rate was necessary for the city to provide for services as well as fund new initiatives that the city has approved in the past year — including two new parks, a new police station, and improvements to roads. The increase in property tax revenue gives the city added flexibility in meeting with these (and other) city demands.
“The expectation of service from our community has dramatically increased,” Councilman Pete Cabrera said. “Even as a young city, there’s a lot of stuff that has to be redone like roads and buildings, and we’re not there yet.”
What the city manager says
“The finance department has been working diligently to propose a rate that is in accordance with our strategic planning.” — Edward Rojas
Public hearings
▪ When: 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8, for the first hearing; 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23 for second hearing.
▪ Where: Doral City Hall, 8401 NW 53rd Terr.
Check your mailbox
Homeowners will receive a letter called a “TRIM notice” in August with the proposed tax rate and hearing dates. The letter will also include proposed tax rates for the county, school board and other local agencies.
This story was originally published July 30, 2015 at 2:10 PM with the headline "Doral council proposes keeping tax rate the same as last year’s."