Basin Board Sets Millage Rate

BROOKSVILLE - Residents who live in the Southwest Florida Water Management District's Withlacoochee River Basin will pay the same millage rate as last year.

The Withlacoochee River Basin Board adopted a millage rate of 0.23, which is the same as the current fiscal year. The basin board's area covers portions of Pasco, Hernando, Citrus, Sumter, Marion and Levy counties.

For the owner of a $125,000 home with a $50,000 homestead exemption, basin board tax would be $17.31 per year, or about $1.44 per month.

The millage rate, combined with a reduction in taxable property values will result in an estimated 8.5 percent decrease in ad valorem property tax revenue from the 2008 fiscal year, according to a news release from the water management district. The estimates will be updated when the property appraisers release their certified taxable property values in July.

The proposed budget for the 2009 fiscal year is $12.69 million, an increase of $811,747 from the approved 2008 budget, according to the release. The increase is due to an anticipated $2 million in additional revenue from the planned sale of shell from the Lake Panasoffkee spoil site area. The revenue will be put back into the Lake Panasoffkee Restoration Project.

The board's proposed budget includes more than $447,000 for the Water Supply and Resource Development program, which provides matching funds for the development of new water supply projects in the region.