Will No One Think of the Renters and Middle Class?
I attended the BOCC budget meeting on Tuesday, and, just as I had suspected, the budget increased by $49 million for 2025. While the County Commissioners were thrilled that the millage rate decreased by a mere 1%, overall, the total tax that will be collected through property taxes increased almost 9%. This means that even though they will be able to say that the millage rate decreased, this is still a tax increase. How? Because our property values continue to skyrocket.
Property Tax Totals for Monroe County Each Year
As you can see from the chart above provided by the BOCC, we had yet another “record-breaking” year in the value of Monroe County properties, totaling $46 billion, which is up $5 billion from last year. What’s disturbing about this is that the BOCC kept referring to the rapid increase in taxable value as a “benefit” to the residents that own real estate in Monroe County. But that’s only a benefit if you are homesteaded, and as you can see on the chart below, that is only 20% of homes in the Keys, and only 16% in Key West.
“What about people that rent? What about our middle class? How does it benefit them? The answer is, it doesn’t. ”
Breakdown of Property Types in the Keys
Most people who live and work in Monroe County are renters. These locals are the backbone of our community. These are our first responders, our teachers, servers and those working in the tourism industry. And they are being priced out of our community. If you own your primary residence there is a 3% cap as to how much the taxable value of your property can increase. However, if you rent, your landlord’s cap is 10%. That means the property taxes paid by renters goes up over 3 times as fast as landlords pass this increase on. This increase in rent doesn’t even include additional expenses like insurance increases. It’s just another financial burden the BOCC is putting on those of us that are just trying to survive in the Keys.
We cannot keep allowing our residents to pay the bill for our inability to find ways to cut costs.
The County is beginning to talk about cost reduction and they eliminated 12 positions that were either vacant or soon to be vacant. This is a good start to ensuring our County is as efficient as possible, but more can be done. When I am commissioner, I will do a deep dive into the proposed budget to ensure we are exploring all options for cost cutting and waste reduction. I want to be able to confidently tell our renters, taxpayers and homeowners with full transparency that we have done everything possible to cut wasteful spending.
I will continue to keep our residents updated on future budget discussions. I want to ensure you are informed on what is happening with the budget and how it affects ALL of our residents. To speak with me directly, email me at chris@chrisformonroe.com or call me at 305-394-1108. To donate to my campaign, visit https://www.chrisformonroe.com/donate. Please forward this email to anyone interested in joining our campaign.
Thank you for your support.
