M E M O R A N D U M
To: Honorable Mayor and Town Council
From: Rafael G. Casals, Town Manager
Date: July 16, 2014
Re: Proposed 2014 Millage Rate Communicated to Property Appraiser
REQUESTTitle
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF CUTLER BAY, FLORIDA, DETERMINING THE PROPOSED MILLAGE RATE, AND THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE FOR THE FIRST AND SECOND PUBLIC BUDGET HEARINGS AS REQUIRED BY LAW; DIRECTING THE TOWN CLERK AND TOWN MANAGER TO FILE THIS RESOLUTION WITH THE PROPERTY APPRAISER OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PURSUANT TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FLORIDA STATUTES AND THE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
On June 30, 2014, the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser certified to the Town the taxable value of property within the Town's boundaries to be used to establish its 2014 millage rate (for fiscal year 2014-15) and ad valorem tax budget. Under the TRIM statutes, the Town has 35 days (i.e. on or before Monday, August 4, 2014 based on the June 30th certification date) to notify the Property Appraiser, on form DR-420 electronically filed on the eTRIM system, of the Town proposed millage rate and the date of its first public budget hearing. In turn, the Property Appraiser will use that information on the TRIM notices it mails out to all taxpayers in late August.
Under the 2014 TRIM notice requirements, the Town's maximum millage rate requiring a 2/3 vote of the Town Council is 2.7202 mills (which represents $2.7202 per $1,000 of assessed property value). Staff recommends reporting a proposed rate to the Property Appraiser equal to this 2/3 vote maximum millage rate, as was done in the prior year.
The Property Appraiser will use the rate set in the accompanying Resolution solely for advertisement purposes and it does NOT lock the Council into adopting the higher millage rate. Rather, it serves as a "ceiling" and allows the Council to adopt a millage rate equal to or less than the rate without adverse consequence.
In previous years, it has been the Council's practice to set the initial millage rate higher to enable flexibility leading to the Town's budget public hearings. For fiscal year 2014-15, Town staff is proposing the hearings to be held of the following dates and locations:
Should the Town Council request to "exceed" the proposed advertised rate of 2.7202 mills, all of costs of notifying property owners of the "re-TRIM" notice (direct mail), will be a direct expense to the Town.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Town Council approve the attached Resolution.