Marco Island proposes FY25 budget, tax rate, raises amid record inflation

Marco Island is looking to lower property tax rates for its residents for an eighth year in a row, while giving raises and balancing the budget.

The proposed Fiscal Year 2025 budget presented this week to City Council includes a rolled back property tax rate – millage rate – of 1.2400 for the city. That's down from 1.3137 being paid this year. A rollback means a slightly lower tax rate for most of the property owners while maintaining the same revenue for the city. With increased new construction, Marco Island actually will see more revenue, said Finance Director Guillermo Polanco.

This while inflation remains high. "The annual inflation rate for the United States was 3% for the 12 months ending June, compared to the previous rate increase of 3.3%," according to U.S. Labor Department data published on July 11, 2024.

What does the rate mean?

One mill equates to $1 for every $1,000 worth of a property's assessed, or taxable, value (after adjustments, such as the homestead exemption for primary residents). According to Zillow, the average home price on Marco Island is $898,929, down 0.7% from this time last year. At that price, a homeowner with a $1 million home will pay about $76 less than this year.

The city's total taxable value of real and personal property is $17.1 billion, up 7.54% over this year.

"There has been quite a bit of new construction," Polanco said.New construction added roughly $263 million of market value on Marco, according to Collier County records. Comparatively, new construction added more than $785.5 million in Naples and about $1.27 million in Everglades City.

For Marco Island, that equates to $306,000 in extra revenue versus this year, Polanco said. That helped balance the budget, he said.

Hideaway Beach

Those who live in Hideaway Beach will pay more, as they always have because they are in a special tax district. The proposed FY25 rate is 1.6000, up from this year's rolled-back rate of 1.5509.

Residents of the private beach community pay a special district property tax on top of the Marco Island tax. Total taxable value for the coming year is $873.2 million, up from $833.6 million. The community of about 300 acres includes single-family homes, condos, villas and cottages. About half the acreage is wetlands and conserved lands.

Raises for city employees, police, fire

Marco Island's proposed $32 million budget includes 3% raises for city employees, 5% raises for fire department employees and 15% raises for its police department employees and 20% for sergeants.

The city's fire department raises are included in the union contract, City Manager Mike McNees said.

The city has a proposed contract with its city police union, which has yet to be ratified. McNees said he hopes it will be approved by the union before City Council adopts the budget in September.

"We tried to bring our police who do a great job up to a competitive wage against other communities, not above or beyond," said council member Darrin Palumbo

More: Property values rise, but stabilize in Collier County after 2 years of huge spikes

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Marco Island FY25 budget: lower tax rate, raises amid record inflation