Mayor Peyton to Outline City Spending Plan

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Mayor John Peyton will outline his spending plan for the city Monday, that will include a property tax increase.

But with a real estate market in turmoil, some homeowners will likely not pay any more in taxes.

One in four homeowners locally is seeing the assessed value of property drop below market value, according to the Duval County Property Appraiser's office.

The assessed value of property is used to determine the amount of taxes the city collects.

The property appraiser's office says 45,000 homeowners will have their assessments lowered because of the current real estate market.

Another 140,000 homes are being appraised with a lower market value, but since the market value did not drop below the assessed value, the assessment went up by a few dollars.

Mayor John Peyton says the declining value of property is putting the city in a bind. This year property values, both residential and commercial, dropped by $3.5 billion compared to last year.

Peyton is proposing a 1.02 mill property tax increase to help shore up the city's finances. The proposed increase will cost the average homeowner about $97 a year.

The Duval County School Board is proposing a quarter mill tax increase, which will cost the average homeowner about $29 a year.

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