ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 St. Lucie County residents pay the highest overall property-tax rate in Florida, and many are asking why. At recent commission meetings, frustrated homeowners said rising bills are outpacing wages. \u201cIt\u2019s hard for working-class people to have their property tax jump up so much,\u201d resident Maureen Kennedy told commissioners. \u201cWhere are we supposed to get this money? Our salary\u2019s not being increased by that.\u201d Another resident, Kurt Ferguson, called the taxes \u201cridiculous\u201d and \u201ctotally ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Florida\u2019s latest tax data shows St. Lucie\u2019s combined millage rate sits near 22 mills \u2014 higher than Palm Beach, Martin, Indian River, and Okeechobee counties, and well above the statewide average. Millage refers to the amount paid per $1,000 of a property\u2019s taxable value, and St. Lucie\u2019s higher rate means a larger bill before factoring in rising values.<\/p>\n
Real-estate agents say the tax burden is starting to shape the housing market. Treasure Coast Realtor Natalia Rhinehart says some buyers immediately look elsewhere. \u201cI have a lot of buyers who start here in St. Lucie County but end up in Indian River,\u201d she said. \u201cWe already have a reputation \u2014 people say, \u2018We heard you\u2019re the most expensive for taxes.\u2019 And it\u2019s true, so they don’t even bother.\u201d<\/p>\n
County leaders point to rapid population growth, aging tax structures, and low property values relative to neighboring counties. \u201cSt. Lucie County is sort of a victim of its popularity \u2014 its natural beauty, its geographical location,\u201d said County Commission Chair Jamie Fowler. \u201cThey came with more disposable income and created this buying frenzy.\u201d She noted that retirees, Northeast transplants, and families from South Florida have driven up demand for housing and services.<\/p>\n
County Administrator George Landry says it\u2019s important to understand how the tax bill breaks down. \u201cSt. Lucie County, the Board of County Commissioners, is only responsible for about 32 percent of the overall millage rate,\u201d he said. The rest comes from city governments, the school district, the fire district, and other taxing authorities. Landry also emphasized that home values play a major role: \u201cWhat\u2019s not taken into consideration is that St. Lucie County is below the state average on property value. Our millage rate might be higher, but the actual taxes collected are lower than our neighboring counties.\u201d<\/p>\n
See also: Disabled Florida woman sues state over new pregnancy parking law<\/a><\/p>\n Because property values are lower than in Palm Beach and Martin, St. Lucie must levy a higher rate to fund services \u2014 from law enforcement to roads, parks, and libraries. Meanwhile, state law allows taxable values on homesteaded properties to rise up to 3% per year. Over five years, that can amount to roughly 15% more in property taxes. When combined with rising insurance premiums and higher mortgage rates, homeowners say it\u2019s creating a financial squeeze.<\/p>\n County officials say they are working to relieve pressure by attracting more commercial investment, which would help share the tax load. Leaders also point to the county\u2019s choice to keep 27 miles of coastline public and undeveloped \u2014 a decision residents strongly supported, but one that limits high-value tourism development and the revenue that comes with it. \u201cWe love being here. It\u2019s not like Fort Lauderdale \u2014 we can actually get to the beaches,\u201d Fowler said. \u201cAnd so that\u2019s a trade-off.\u201d<\/p>\n BOTTOM LINE<\/p>\n St. Lucie County has the highest property-tax rate in Florida, not because it wastes money \u2014 but because lower property values, rapid growth, and limited commercial tax revenue put more of the burden on homeowners. And despite the frustration over taxes, a county survey shows 75% of residents are satisfied with the services they receive.<\/p>\n Find more ways to stay up to date with your latest local news. Sign up for our newsletter<\/a> to get the day’s top headlines delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our YouTube channel <\/a>for the biggest stories and can’t miss video.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 St. Lucie County residents pay the highest overall property-tax rate in Florida,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35602,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[24761,28,4918,24758,24759,171,173,172,7074,14458,24760],"class_list":{"0":"post-37089","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-port-st-lucie","8":"tag-county-services","9":"tag-florida","10":"tag-housing-market","11":"tag-millage-rate","12":"tag-population-growth","13":"tag-port-st-lucie","14":"tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","15":"tag-port-st-lucie-news","16":"tag-property-taxes","17":"tag-st-lucie","18":"tag-tax-burden"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}