TaxWatch numbers shed light on Citrus County

Sheriff Jeff Dawsy gets criticized by opponents because they claim he spends too much money for law-enforcement services in Citrus County.

Gerry Mulligan

Guess what? According to an analysis just released by Florida TaxWatch, the criticism is off-base.

TaxWatch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan taxpayer research institute and government-watchdog group based in Tallahassee. In a report just released, TaxWatch stated Citrus County spends far less on public safety per capita than most every other county in Florida. Citrus residents paid $236.75 per person for law enforcement, while the state average is $579.83 per person.

The TaxWatch report analyzed the spending in each of Florida’s 67 counties and then ranked them against each other.

If anyone has a right to complain about the costs of law enforcement, the folks in Collier County do. They pay $978.22 per person each year.

The sheriff also provides law-enforcement services in Inverness and Crystal River and does it at a cost of $236 per person, which is 50 percent lower than the average city pays per person for public safety.

The TaxWatch report actually painted a pretty healthy picture of Citrus County. Compared to other Florida counties, our local government bodies have done a pretty good job of holding costs down.

+ In 2010 the total property tax levied per person in Citrus County was $1,102.97. That is 19 percent less than the state average. The residents of the Florida Keys pay the highest property tax per person — $2,842. If you want a really small government, move to Union County in North Florida, where they only collect $291 per person each year.

+ According to TaxWatch, the total property tax levy in Citrus County dropped 21.66 percent from 2007 to 2010. That is a significant decrease in spending and was better than the state average drop by a county of 17.56 percent. Interestingly, Sumter County ran against the trend and increased tax spending by 19.12 percent during the same time. The growing Villages community was responsible for much of that.

+ For those who complain that Citrus spends too much on economic development activities, once again the criticism is off-base. Citrus spends $20.69 per person on economic development while the state average is $73.77.

+ The one area where Citrus County is right at the state average is with education spending. Citrus levies $576.31 per capita for school spending, and the state average is $594.51.

+ Those Citrus County residents who live in our two municipalities do pay above the state average for property taxes. The combined per-capita spending for Inverness and Crystal River was $393.47, while the state average per citizen was $344.95.

+ Interestingly, that higher tax rate in Citrus County doesn’t impact many people. According to TaxWatch, 92.7 percent of Citrus County residents live outside of Inverness and Crystal River. Only two other Florida counties — Wakulla and Hernando — had a higher percentage of residents living in unincorporated areas.

+ While taxes have gone down in Citrus County over the last three years, our millage rates for schools and county government are still above the state average. The average county millage rate for schools is 8.3; Citrus County is 8.5. The average county government tax rate is 5 mills and Citrus is 5.7.

+ But our total combined millage rate is lower than the state average because we are not as dependent on special taxing districts as most counties. The average combined tax rate in Florida is 19. The average in Citrus is 16.25.

+ Here’s some contrast: Citrus County is one of only nine counties in Florida that does not have a local-option sales tax.

+ At the same time, Citrus is one of the 20 Florida counties (out of 67) that charges the maximum per-gallon sales tax of 12 cents.

The bottom line of the Florida TaxWatch report for Citrus County is that taxes are going down and our county spends less than other counties in Florida. An important caveat for our community is that the Progress Energy site north of Crystal River will pay 24 percent of the total property taxes in Citrus County in 2011. Each of our tax bills would be 24 percent higher without them, and that’s a subsidy that no other Florida county gets.

Gerry Mulligan is the publisher of the Chronicle. His email address is gmulligan@chronicleonline.com.