Voting this month for a plan to cut property taxes may spark a rise in your local property tax rate, eroding savings for homeowners and increasing tax bills for other property owners. ...more

January 10, 2008

In 2002, my husband and I began investing in property in Highlands County. This county has always been a great place to "get away from it all." The fishing is fabulous, the traffic less congested and the beauty breath-taking. We were extremely excited to be able to retire early in 2006 to an area that we both love and enjoy. Our excitement quickly disappeared as we reviewed our 2006 Highlands County property tax bills. Our taxes had increased by 62 percent! If this county had adequate staff in 2005, why would a small 3 percent decrease this year (2007) be such a big deal when increases of 62 percent and higher in the prior year should have more than covered any additional staffing needs for police and fire protection? I am sick of hearing how devastating this tax rollback is for the county. What about the tax increase from 2005 to 2006 that many of us have been burdened with? What happened to those extra funds? A 3 percent rollback is peanuts compared to the previous years' increase. ...more

October 20, 2007

Low-income seniors in Hillsborough County probably will get an additional property tax reduction of about $87 per household starting in 2008. ...more

September 7, 2007

The city council on Tuesday signed off on a $43.9 million budget for the 2007-08 fiscal year that includes a property tax reduction and no service cuts. ...more

September 5, 2007