The Jacksonville City Council voted 5-0 Tuesday to set a ceiling on the proposed 2025–26 ad valorem tax rate at $6.045 per $100 of valuation and set a public hearing and vote on the proposed tax rate and budget for Sept. 9 at 6 p.m.

City staff told the council the city’s net taxable value rose from $1,039,000,000 in 2024 to $1,095,000,000 in 2025, a change of $56,000,000, or roughly 5.339 percent. Staff said holding the current tax rate would yield about $352,000 in additional revenue based on an assumed 98.5 percent collection rate.

Why it matters: the general fund pays for police, fire, emergency medical services, streets, library and museum, parks, animal control, code enforcement and development services. Changes to the tax rate affect the average homeowner’s bill and the city’s ability to fund those services.

At the council workshop earlier in the week, staff presented several rate options and consequences: a flat rate equivalent to the rate used to build the proposed budget; a “no-new-revenue” rate that staff said would reduce the city’s revenue compared with the current year; the voter-approval rate set by state law; and the de minimis rate available to municipalities under 30,000 population. Staff told the council it expects to recommend adoption of a rate near $6.03 per $100 at the Sept. 9 meeting, but that the city may not exceed the $6.045 ceiling set Tuesday.

Staff also highlighted state tax-code impacts the council weighed: an increased amount of property subject to the 10 percent homestead limitation and a newly applied 20 percent cap on non-homestead (commercial) property values. Staff said $20,000,000 more property this year is affected by the 20 percent non-homestead limitation, while homestead-impacted property rose by about $1,000,000.

Staff briefed the council on the tax effect of business personal property exemptions tied to medical and biomedical equipment. According to staff, the exemption removed about $39,700,000 of taxable business personal property from the rolls last year (representing roughly $260,000 in tax capacity) and about $42,900,000 this year (about $273,000 in tax capacity).

Staff estimated the average homestead appraisal rose about 8.79 percent, from $154,802 to $168,405, increasing the average homeowner’s annual bill by about $86.74 under the discussion material.

The council voted by roll call to set the ceiling. Mayor Pro Tem Tim McCray moved the motion, Councilwoman Mindy Gillick seconded it, and the mayor recorded five yeas and zero nays.

Next steps: the council will hold a public hearing on the proposed tax rate and budget on Sept. 9 at 6 p.m.; staff said it plans to present a finalized budget and a recommended tax rate at that meeting for council adoption.