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Taxpayers to find out if Seminole County property taxes will be lowered

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Seminole County taxpayers are about to find out if their property taxes will be lowered.

They are supposed to see a drop in exchange for passing a 1-cent sales tax.

But WFTV crunched the numbers and found out they might not save much.

The Seminole County school board is going to vote whether to keep the promise and reduce property taxes.

Seminole County Superintendent Walt Griffin recommended the school board to reduce the millage rate by 30 percent, but that needs to be approved in the meeting.

Seminole County Public School CFO Bill Kelly said, "They have had a lot of time to think about this.  Do we know how they are going to vote? We don't know how they are going to vote.  We believe they will support the superintendent because there has been a lot of time."

Even if the school board votes for the recommended 30 percent reduction, it will not help taxpayers that much.

A homeowner with a $155,000 house will only save $30.

But Kelly looks at it in a different way.

"Our plan, if the board approves it, is to reduce property taxes more than we anticipate in collecting in sales taxes," he said.

The plan is to save $8.2 million in property taxes while only taking in $7.8 million from the new penny tax.

But that is only if it's approved this year. Next year, the board will have to vote again.

If approved, the 30 percent reduction will go into effect in November.