Ocala Standard

The Marion County Board of County Commissioners adopted the final budget for next fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 2023. The total adopted budget is $1,204,226,719. This includes the countywide budget of $854,370,338 and the budgets of non-countywide entities ($349,856,381).

During its Sept. 22 final budget public hearing, the commission adopted a reduced countywide millage rate of 4.29 mills. The 2022-2023 countywide millage rate of 4.42 remains through Sept. 30, 2022. Next year’s millage rate of 4.29 equates to $4.29 for each $1,000 of taxable property value.

The countywide millage rate funds:

1.    The county general fund, which includes the following:

• Board of County Commissioners departments including Animal Services, Fleet Management, Parks & Recreation, Public Library System, Veterans Services, and others. Not included: Solid Waste, Building Safety, Utilities, Visitors and Convention Bureau, Airport and the Office of the County Engineer (transportation/roads).
• Emergency medical transport provided by Marion County Fire Rescue.
• Marion County Sheriff’s Office jail administration and emergency operations.
• Constitutional offices (Clerk of the Court and Comptroller, Supervisor of Elections, Property Appraiser, Tax Collector).
• Courts and criminal justice (court administration technology, Guardian Ad Litem technology, public defender technology, and the drug and teen courts).
• Reserves for natural disasters and emergencies.
• Partner agencies (The Centers, Inc., Marion Senior Services/Transit, Heart of Florida Health Center, Early Learning Coalition, and others).

2.    Fine and forfeiture (overseen by the Sheriff’s Office, with some portions overseen by the Clerk of the Court and State Attorney’s Office).

3.    The Florida Department of Health in Marion County. The Department of Health is a state-county funding partnership; this portion of the millage rate represents the county’s funding.

The 2022-2023 millage rate for the MSTU for Law Enforcement will remain at 3.72 mills. This MSTU is applied to properties in the unincorporated areas of the county that receive sheriff patrol services.

All other non-countywide millage rates will remain at their current levels, including the MSTUs for Hills of Ocala, Marion Oaks, Rainbow Lakes Estates and Silver Springs Shores as well as the MSTU for Fire, Rescue and EMS. The MSTU for Fire, Rescue and EMS remained at a millage rate of 1.11.

The special assessment rates for solid waste and stormwater also remained at the same levels. Countywide budget documents can be viewed on the clerk’s website by visiting marioncountyclerk.org/boardofcountycommissionersbudget. 

Original source can be found here.