VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A debate over how much money to provide the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office became heated Thursday night as county commissioners weighed competing approaches to next year’s property tax rate.
The discussion centered on whether the county should use a rollback rate or keep the current millage rate unchanged.
The rollback rate would bring in roughly the same amount of property tax revenue as the county collected last year.
Because property values have increased, that would generally mean lower tax bills for homeowners.
Sheriff argues that holding the tax rate steady would give his office the additional money needed to handle rising costs, including the responsibility of taking over law enforcement on Volusia County beaches.
During Thursday night’s hearing, the sheriff characterized the rollback proposal as a cut to his office.
The commission chairman disagreed, arguing that the sheriff’s office would not necessarily receive less money than it received the previous year.
The difference comes down to how property values are factored into the county’s budget.
If the county keeps the millage rate unchanged while property values rise, the government collects more property tax revenue.
Under the rollback rate, the county would adjust the rate downward so it collects approximately the same amount of revenue as the previous year.
For the sheriff’s office, the difference between the two approaches could amount to millions of dollars.
The disagreement comes as cities and counties across Central Florida work to finalize their budgets ahead of the new fiscal year.
Volusia County commissioners are expected to continue discussions before adopting a final tax rate and budget.
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