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Legal briefing on municipal service taxing units presents MSTU as a tool to fund law enforcement and specific services
Summary
An outside attorney briefed the Levy County commission on municipal service taxing units (MSTUs), explaining how they enable counties to levy ad valorem millage in a defined geographic area without a referendum, the municipal consent rules if cities are included, and the practical implications for funding sheriff budgets, with commissioners expressing concern about equity and timing if state property‑tax reforms proceed.
At the Levy County Board meeting an outside attorney presented a detailed legal briefing on municipal service taxing units (MSTUs), their statutory basis, deadlines for creation and how they have been used in other Florida counties to fund specific services such as law enforcement.
The presenter, identified in the record as Melissa of the consulting/legal team supporting the county packet, told commissioners that an MSTU is created by county ordinance and "is not a special district, so you do not need a referendum to approve millage within MSTU." She walked the board through constitutional limitations on taxation, the two separate 10‑mill…
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