County settles on smaller increase after public outcry
Pierce County Commissioners voted 41 at a called meeting Monday night to increase the millage rate by one full mill to 10.370.
Second District Commissioner Graham Raley voted no. Raley said after the meeting he had campaigned on a promise of not raising taxes.
“I said I would work to keep taxes low and that’s why I voted no,” he said.
With value and exemptions remaining the same, the owner of a $100,000 home can expect to pay about $40 more in taxes with the millage rate increase.
County Manager Raphel Maddox recommended raising the millage one mill as a compromise position. The county had been considering an increase of 1.84 mills.
“These are not easy decisions. After hearing from the public, we have gone back and cut and then cut some more from the budget,” Maddox said.
Third District Commissioner Randy Dixon said the feedback the county commission received in the public hearings helped guide his decision.
“It’s clear they didn’t want us to raise the millage, but what they told us was if we had to raise it, to only raise it a little,” he said.
First District Commissioner Troy Mattox said the budget had been reviewed with “a magnifying glass” and the county had “cut where it can.”
Commissioners had held a series of three public hearings which were attended by hundreds of citizens in the gallery. More than two dozen taxpayers addressed commissioners, imploring them to not raise the millage and to instead cut expenditures — though there was no consensus on exactly how and what to cut.
Even with approving the millage rate increase, the county commission still does not have a budget for 2026. The board tabled action on the budget at Monday’s meeting.
Maddox recommended the commission approve a proposed, revised $16.557 million spending plan. Even with the cuts and the millage increase, the proposal still relies on using $1.6 million in reserve funds to balance the budget.
County Chairman Neal Bennett emphasized the “blessing” of having the reserve funds to pull from. Dixon pointed out the county needed to keep at least a third of the reserve for unexpected expenditures as required by state law. It was also noted the county couldn’t keep pulling from reserves to balance the budget.
Raley suggested freezing spending at 2025 levels and adopting it as the 2026 budget, holding the line on spending and only adjusting as needed to cover cost increases on items like insurance and personnel costs. The budget does not include any new capital outlay items.
Commissioners also noted Pierce County is still awaiting about $2.4 million in reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for Hurricane Debby and Hurricane Helene relief from last year.
