Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/341318
Taxes can increase because assessments are up, or governing bodies can raise the rates, or both actions can happen. If the Sarasota city commissioners vote this summer to hold the tax rate steady, owners could still expect to receive bills 5.35 percent higher than those they received last year (on average). Each property assessment is unique. APPLES TO WATERMELONS The office of Property Appraiser Furst released another table that has some academic use for local government finance departments, but it is not helpful in comparing year-to-year trends. It also shows the July 1, 2014, certified tax roll, but it compares that with the value of all property at the end of the prior tax year. Every year, some property owners believe their tax assessments are too high, and they appeal to the Value Adjustment Board for relief. Even a small amount of relief, in the aggregate, can produce big swings in the per- centage increases. For example, the DID appraisal for last year's roll — released by July 1, 2013 — was Property in the Golden Gate Point district on the Sarasota bayfront realized a 5.31 percent increase in value year-over-year. Photo by Norman Schimmel Sarasota News Leader July 4, 2014 Page 50