Volusia County's FY 2022-23 budget and tax rates get final approval

Posted On: September 20, 2022

While the final budget hearing was rather short, just 19 minutes, it was preceded by hours of open discussion about Volusia County’s spending and taxation plan at no fewer than 17 previous County Council meetings this year.

On Tuesday, the annual process culminated in the County Council’s final adoption of the county’s budget and property tax rates for the 2022-23 fiscal year. The overall operating budget totals $1.06 billion. The largest portion of next year’s budget, the general fund, totals $374.3 million. The general fund helps finance the services that the county provides to all of Volusia. The council also approved next year’s rates for the nine property tax funds controlled by the county. Five of the nine tax rates are going to a full rollback next year, including the general fund. The other four of county government’s tax rates, which include voter-approved Volusia Forever and Volusia ECHO levies, will remain unchanged. The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

Council members, who unanimously approved the spending plan and tax rates, chalked up the quick work on the budget to all of the time spent throughout the year preparing for Tuesday’s final public hearing.

“This is a reflection of, I believe, how we did it this year – starting in January and spending a year doing the heavy lifting and the hard work,” County Chair Jeff Brower said moments after Tuesday night’s vote. “Well done.”

County Manager George Recktenwald agreed.

“Thank you, Mr. Chair and the Council, for working with us through the year, as you mentioned, to be able to put together a budget that I think is very responsible and responsive to our citizen,” said Recktenwald. “We’ll go on out and carry forward and have a great year.”

At 4.8499 mills, the general fund tax rate has now gone down for five years in a row and next year will be the lowest it’s been in nearly 15 years. In addition to the general fund, the other funds that are also going to full rollback next year are the library fund, the Municipal Services District (MSD), the Ponce De Leon Port Authority and the Silver Sands Bethune Beach MSD. While all taxpayers pay into the county’s general fund, library fund and the voter-approved Volusia ECHO and Volusia Forever funds, a property’s location determines whether any of the other tax funds apply.

The new budget contains funds for 55 new positions – 41 of them in public safety and eight in county enterprise funds. Here's a comparison of the county’s current property tax rates and the rates that will take effect on Oct. 1:

                                                             Current rate      Adopted rate (FY 2022-23)       

General Fund                                        5.3812 mills                  4.8499 mills

Library Fund                                         0.5174 mills                  0.4635 mills

Municipal Service District                    2.1083 mills                  1.8795 mills

Ponce De Leon Port Authority              0.0845 mills                  0.0760 mills

Silver Sands Bethune Beach MSD        0.0144 mills                  0.0129 mills

Fire Rescue District                               3.8412 mills                  3.8412 mills

Volusia ECHO                                       0.2000 mills                  0.2000 mills

Volusia Forever                                      0.2000 mills                  0.2000 mills

East Volusia Mosquito Control               0.1781 mills                  0.1781 mills