Big growth expected in county’s tax base

It’s just an estimate, but if the numbers hold true by the time government officials are ready to start drawing up their budgets, nearly all of them will be seeing large growth in their tax bases, and thus large tax revenue increases, even if they decide to hold the line on millage rates.

Property Appraiser Rhonda Skipper has released good faith estimates in the respective tax bases for the 2023-23 fiscal year and they nearly without exception have seen growth, many in the double digits.

She said the county’s tax base is expected to grow from $2.657 billion to about $3.044 billion, an increase of about $387 million, or about 14.7 percent.

The county-wide tax base for the Northwest Florida Water Management District will see a rise of about $396 million, or roughly 14.8 percent, from $2.665 billion to $3.051 billion.

The tax base for the school district, which includes fewer exemptions, is set to grow from $3.144 billion to about $3.439 billion, a growth of about $295 million, or about 9.4 percent.

Apalachicola will see an enormous level of growth, a rise of $36.4 million, or about 17.8 percent, from $204.93 million to $241.37 million..

The city of Carrabelle’s tax base will rise by a little more than half that percentage, or 9.9 percent, from $156.43 million to $172.05 million, or a boost of about $15.6 million.

The Eastpoint Water and Sewer District is expected to see hefty growth, with a rise from $96.47 million to $111.6 million, a growth of about $15.13 million, or roughly 15.7 percent.

In Alligator Point, the growth is foreseen to be from $183.07 million to $196.29 million, a boost of about $16.2 million, or about 8.8 percent.

Growth on Dog Island remains flat, as the tax base there is expected to actually drop, from $28.08 million to $26.97 million, a decrease of $1.1 million, or by about 4 percent.