During the 2010 campaign, Ashton Hayward announced that he wanted to rollback the millage rate if he was elected. Today, he has issued a press release stating that is what he will be proposing to the Pensacola City Council.
Press Release: In a bold move toward fiscal discipline, Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward announced his proposal to cut property tax rates by 5.5%, or a quarter millage point. The move would allow the City to still operate a balanced budget, and combined with reduced property value assessments, would cut $973,300 from the upcoming budget year.
Hayward said the millage rollback was a response to a sluggish economy and citizens’ desire to have more accountability in city government.
“Governments around the world are teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, because they’ve let spending get out of control. I want to make sure that we continue to be fiscally responsible here at City Hall, and we have to make tough choices like every family and business has to make,†said Hayward. “Rolling back property tax rates will give our taxpayers a bit of a break in this tough economy, and it will force us at City Hall to do more with less, which was my pledge to the voters.â€
Each year, the Mayor submits the tentative millage rate for property taxes in the City of Pensacola and the Downtown Improvement District. Those millage rates are formally approved by the City Council during the budget process. Under Florida law, each taxing authority must submit a tentative ad valorem tax millage rate to the Property Tax Appraiser and Tax collector. These rates must also be publicly advertised, and the public forums for the millage rates will be held in September, prior to the October 1 beginning of the City’s fiscal year.
Hayward called on the City Council to support the rollback. “I hope the Council will join me in showing the taxpayers that we are serious at City Hall about doing more with less. This rollback will help our families and businesses that are struggling, and we should do everything we can to be responsible with the citizens’ tax dollars. After all, this money isn’t the City’s or the City Council’s, it belongs to the taxpayers,” said Hayward.
The City Council is expected to take up the proposed tentative millage rollback at their July 18 Committee of the Whole Meeting.