It’s going to be out with the old and in with the new when it comes to how funds will be raised to maintain roads in Pasco County.
The new method the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) recently agreed to calls for all property owners in the county’s unincorporated areas to be billed for the costs of road maintenance.
The tax rate, which will be $51.84 per each $100,000 of assessed value, won’t become effective until September when final decisions are made on the county’s budget for fiscal year 2024-2025.
The new rate will be on Truth in Milling (TRIM) notices that will be distributed to the affected property owners later this year. TRIM notices, which are distributed by the Pasco County Property Appraiser’s Office, show the market value of a person’s property and the proposed tax bill.
Raising money this way will help to spread the cost out further, according to county officials, and it will help identify more roads that need maintenance and allow that work to be done more efficiently.
This is a different approach than what the county has taken over the past few decades — the old way to fund road improvements was based upon residents living on those roads being individually assessed for the cost of the work that had been done. In some cases, it has taken up to 10 years for the affected property owners to pay off their assessments.
Under an ordinance the BCC adopted at its July 9 meeting, property owners who still owe money on the old assessments will be relieved of having to continue paying them. This will amount to $13 million that the county will not be repaid for the principal and interest not yet collected on the old assessments.
Published July 24, 2024
