Library Tax to Move from County to City
This change is not going to have a monetary impact on the taxpayer. The real impact is a brand-new library for Homestead residents.
This year’s property tax, also known as millage rate, will take into account some new budget realities that will mainly reflect the movement of the library tax from the county to the city line item on the resident’s tax bill. But what does that mean, and how is it going to impact taxpayers?
It means that the city’s millage rate will be going up, and even though this may sound scary, this does not represent an overall tax increase. The millage rate must increase to accommodate the move of the library tax millage from the county to the city.
The city’s millage rate will absorb the library tax because the city is now responsible for operating the brand-new Homestead library, the “Cybrarium,” which is scheduled to open later this year. In March 2019, the city council voted to enter into an agreement with Miami-Dade County, in which the city would leave the Miami-Dade County Library District effective October 1, 2020.
“This change is not going to have a monetary impact on the taxpayer. Homestead residents are not going to see their overall taxes increase due to the movement of the library tax line item. Their taxes are just going to be allocated to the City rather than the County. The real impact is that now Homestead residents are going to have this brand-new library that they didn’t have before,” added Zackery Good, City of Homestead Public Information Officer.
“The Cybrarium will bring Homestead an ultra-modern public library that bridges the gap between literacy and cutting-edge technology,” reads the City of Homestead website. The Cybrarium is currently under construction on Mowry Drive next to Homestead Station. The opening date hasn’t been announced yet and may be subject to change due to COVID-19.
A temporary millage cap was set on July 22, 2020, at the council meeting and is not the final millage rate. This cap was established as a temporary maximum to provide flexibility in preparing the Fiscal Year 2021 budget due to uncertain state-shared revenue reductions because of COVID-19.
“We will be setting the final budget this month, and we’ll have two budget hearings in September where the City Council will vote on the final millage rate,” added Mr. Zackery Good.
Haz clic para leer en Español: Impuesto de la Biblioteca pasa del condado a la ciudad
