Special Council meeting - could consideration of a property tax rate increase be in the works?

Why can't the village council meeting go forward as scheduled and noticed since the beginning of the year; before the holiday rather than on the first business day after most have been focused on a four day 4th of July Holiday? There is no need to move this July meeting if the council intends to set a property tax millage rate at or below the current rate. Moving the meeting date is need only if this Mayor and council want to consider an increase in the maximum millage rate.

The issue is adopting the Maximum Millage rate which is done in July.  A special council meeting has been called or tonight, Wednesday, June 19th. There is but one item on the agenda (CLICK HERE to view): Changing the July regular village council meeting from the scheduled July 1 date back to July 8.  The reason is that the final tax roll is certified and released by the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser on July 1st (an annual date) and this does not provide meaningful time for review by staff prior to the council adopting the maximum millage rate for this coming budget session.

I see no issue - if the Village Council intends to set the maximum millage rate at the current rate. Tax relief should never be done at time of setting the maximum millage rate. This is is not final property tax rate, the council can lower the actual millage rate at the time the budget is adopted, but you cannot raise the rate above the the adopted maximum; rather, it is a maximum working rate while the budget is being created in August and deliberated on by the council during the two September budget hearings,

I have written previously (CLICK HERE) about Palmetto Bay being only one a few municipalities to see a further, though slight, reduction in its tax base (0.7%)this may be impacting the budget forecasts for the upcoming budget year 2013/14,

People have asked me whether I think this could signal a willingness to consider a property tax increase. We will not know until the maximum millage rate is adopted in July. There will obviously be no tax increase if the current property tax rate is adopted as the maximum millage rate.

But things will get more interesting if the council adopts a maximum millage rate that is higher than the current tax rate.