Taylor County staff warn $2.9 million revenue hit after mill closure, storm damage; commissioners weigh cuts and new fees

Shauna (staff member) told the Taylor County Board of County Commissioners on Jan. 28 that the county faces a historic decline in property-tax revenue for the 2025 roll after three major hurricanes and the closure of Foley Cellulose.

"I come bearing not the greatest news. Following the closure of Foley Cellulose paper mill and the devastating impacts of 3 major hurricanes, I'm here to inform you that our county will experience a historic decline in property tax revenue for 2025 roll," Shauna said during a budget workshop presentation.

The message matters because the losses will shrink the pool of ad valorem revenue that funds core county services, potentially forcing either spending cuts, use of reserves, or revenue changes that would affect local taxpayers.

Staff presented line-item estimates and parcel examples to show how the decline would flow through the budget. They estimated coastline assessed value tied to storm damage dropping from about $414 million in 2024 to $362 million in 2025, producing an estimated county-general-fund loss of roughly $378,000 and an MSTU (municipal service taxing unit) loss of about $63,000. Separately, Foley Cellulose’s assessed value and tangible personal property revenue were shown dropping from about $375 million (generating $2,750,975 in 2024 revenue) to an estimated $217,278 in 2025 tangible personal property revenue, a loss the presentation listed as roughly $2,498,000 for the general fund and about…