Pasco County Property Appraiser Explains System
Mike Wells, the Pasco County property appraiser, recently mailed more than 300,000 Notice of Proposed Taxes (TRIM) to local taxpayers.
He writes, in an article in the St. Petersburg Times, that the notices are intended to communicate what proposed property values and taxes will be based on market conditions and the property’s condition on January 1, 2007.
The notice is broken into two distinct sections - the “Proposed Ad Valorem” section and the “Proposed and/or Adopted Non-Ad valorem” section.
- The ad valorem section, which means based on value, indicates what your proposed property taxes will be, by the taxing authority.
- The non-ad valorem section lists amounts collected like taxes but which are based on factors other than values. The newest non-ad valorem assessment is the $47 drainage assessment to all residences.
All assessments and mill rates are set by individual taxing authorities. The Pasco County office is not responsible for property tax rates or special assessments.
This year is not unlike many previous years in that Pasco County has received hundreds of phone calls and e-mails from taxpayers.
The frustration many people experience by increased home values meaning increased property taxes when large reductions were promised, and property insurance rates continuing to rise is very much understood.
The Property Appraiser’s Office can’t lower or raise your taxes.
Authority extends only to the market value, assessed value and taxable value. We do what the Florida real estate market tells us to do. Limiting involvement in the taxation process is an illustration of the separation of powers.
Follow the link to continue reading this St. Petersburg Times editorial on property appraising …
