DADE CITY – The Pasco County Board of County Commissioners adopted a tentative budget of $2,262,949,228 for fiscal year 2025 during a Sept. 3 hearing.
Commissioners also adopted a tentative aggregate millage rate of 10.156 mills per $1,000 of assessed property value.
This is an increase of 9.61% over the roll back rate.
A public hearing will be held Sept. 17 in New Port Richey after which both the budget and the millage rate will be officially adopted by the board.
The new fiscal year will begin Oct. 1.
The amount of the budget and millage rate will have to be adjusted downward before they are presented to the commissioners for final adoption.
This is because a proposed Municipal Services Taxing Unit that would have funded capital maintenance on the county’s 37 parks wasn’t approved on Sept. 3. That MSTU would have raised $8,000,000 during 2025 if it had been approved. The proposed millage rate of 0.714 that would have funded that MSTU won’t be included in the county’s final aggregate millage rate for 2025.
The MSTU required a unanimous vote of 5-0 since it was a new tax that would be levied on the county’s property owners. Commissioners Seth Weightman and Jack Mariano both said they favored funding for parks maintenance to be obtained from elsewhere within the county’s budget. Vice Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey said she favored the MSTU because she didn’t want the county’s parks to fall into disrepair like they had during a recession that had occurred in 2008.
Meanwhile, commissioners tentatively approved fully funding the budget for the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, which will receive $174,524,315 during fiscal year 2025. This is a 15.6% increase over the sheriff’s office’s 2024 budget of $150,000,000.
Sheriff Chris Nocco had requested the additional funds in June so that 40 additional deputies could be hired and trained. The amount his department will receive will enable 50 new deputies to be added to his staff. This has been made possible through the sheriff’s office receiving 40% of the new property taxes the county receives annually because of its growth. Also, an additional amount of $4,137.702 is being provided by the county from ad valorem revenue along with other money from tax incremental financing money obtained from its public works department.
The sheriff’s office’s budget will also enable it to obtain an armored Special Weapons and Tactics vehicle along with two armored vans for $725,000; upgrade its forensic unit resources for $650,000; have a pole barn built for $300,000 to provide shelter for vehicles and equipment; and $125,000 for the design of an armory for the department.
Budgets were also tentatively adopted for other constitutional officers, including those of:
- Clerk & Comptroller Nikki Alvarez-Sowles, Esq., who is requesting $9,250,747, which is an increase of 11.6%;
- Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley, who is requesting $6,256,432, which is a decrease of $645,922, or 9.36%, because only one election – the general election on Nov. 5 – will be held during fiscal year 2025;
- Property Appraiser Mike Wells, who is requesting $7,761,214, which is an increase of $501,370, or 6.9%. Part of that increase is needed to pay the salaries of two new employees who have been hired along with salary increases given to employees.
The budget for Tax Collector Mike Fasano’s office remains to be determined because information hasn’t been received yet from the Florida Department of Revenue.
In other business on Sept. 3, commissioners:
- Continued until Oct. 8 making decisions on a couple of requests that had been made by CPA Fletcher. The applicant is seeking to have a change in the county’s comprehensive plan for and rezoning of approximately 100.8 acres of property located adjacent to Pilot Country Airport in the area of U.S. Highway 41 and Leland Avenue. The applicant would like for 160 townhomes, 350 multi-family apartments and 100,000-square-feet of commercial to be developed on the property. These requests were delayed because residents of the airport’s community told commissioners that they hadn’t been consulted regarding the proposed project.
- Approved a State Housing Initiatives Partnership funding agreement between Pasco County and Port Richey Leased Housing Associates, III, LLLP in the amount of $3,000,000 for The Anchors at Gulf Harbors. The Anchors will be a newly constructed 388-unit apartment complex in New Port Richey that will provide critically needed affordable housing that will be income restricted and dedicated for the elderly.
- Approved a required local match of $64,900 for the Ekos at Bayonet Point II project. This will enable the project’s developer to apply for full funding from the Florida Housing Finance Corporation for a multi-apartment community for elderly housing in Pasco County. The project, Phase II of their master-planned community located along the west side of Lakeshore Boulevard in Hudson, consists of 160 units dedicated to seniors at 70% and below of the area median income.
