Could local governments raise other taxes and fees if property tax revenue drops? Lee County property appraiser explains

LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Cities and counties across Florida have warned that if property tax revenue drops significantly, they may have to find other ways to bring in money.

So what exactly can they raise?

That's the question WINK News took to Lee County Property Appraiser Matt Caldwell.

Caldwell said one option is raising property tax rates on properties that are not homesteaded.

"If you're not homesteaded, you could see your tax rate increase to make up the difference from the new homestead tax breaks," Caldwell said.

That could include commercial properties, rental homes and apartment complexes.

But Caldwell said even homeowners with a homestead exemption could still be affected.

That may sound confusing.

After all, if the proposal is supposed to lower property taxes, how could taxes still go up?

Caldwell used a $300,000 home as an example.

Under the proposed $250,000 homestead exemption, $250,000 of that home's value would be protected.

The remaining $50,000 would still be taxable.

Caldwell said local governments could choose to raise tax rates on that remaining taxable value if they want to make up for lost revenue.

Current predictions, he said, show Lee County would need to raise its tax rate by about 50% to bring in the same amount of money it collects today.

However, Caldwell said those decisions would be made by local governments in the future.

"They have to decide what tax rate they want to adopt come July of next year and the year after, but based on the loss of the taxable value on all the homestead properties. The simplest, shortest destination will probably be to raise the tax rate," Caldwell said.

But raising property tax rates is not Caldwell's biggest concern.

Instead, he said he is more worried about fees and assessments that appear on property tax bills but are not based on a home's value.

"I'm really the most concerned about the other fees on your bill that have nothing to do with the value of your home, those have no restrictions, no limits, and really we run the risk of those exploding all over the state of Florida," Caldwell said.

Those include charges that appear near the bottom of a TRIM notice, such as fire assessments, waste fees and stormwater fees.

Caldwell said local governments can raise those fees and even add more.

And unlike property tax rates, he said there is no limit to how much those fees can increase.

As the debate over property tax relief continues, Caldwell says one of the biggest questions is how local governments would replace lost revenue if property tax collections fall.