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Gainesville council adopts FY2025–26 budget and raises property tax rate
Summary
The Gainesville City Council on Sept. 16 adopted the fiscal year 2025–2026 budget and approved a property tax rate of $0.573779 per $100 of valuation; the typical homeowner with a $180,000 median-valued property would see an estimated $68.54 increase under the proposed budget.
The Gainesville City Council adopted the city's fiscal year 2025–2026 budget and approved a tax rate of $0.573779 per $100 valuation on Sept. 16, a move the city's Taxpayer Impact Statement says would increase the annual bill for the median-valued home from $964.26 to $1,032.80.
Mayor Tommy Moore opened a public hearing on the proposed budget at 6:30 p.m.; no members of the public spoke. Councilmember Mary Jo Dollar moved to close the hearing, and the motion carried 7-0. Council then considered an ordinance establishing appropriations for support, maintenance, buildings and improvements for the fiscal year and to revise the previous fiscal year's budget. After suspending the charter to consider the ordinance, Councilmember Jeff Johnson moved to approve the ordinance; the motion carried 7-0. Council later ratified the corresponding property tax revenue increase reflected in the adopted budget.
The council separately held a public hearing on the proposed ad valorem tax rate; again, no citizens spoke. The Taxpayer Impact Statement included with the ordinance showed a median home value of $180,000 and estimated that under the proposed rate a homeowner would pay $1,032.80 per year in city taxes compared with $964.26 under the current fiscal year rate, an increase of about $68.54. The statement also compared a no-new-revenue scenario, which it listed as $0.515430 per $100 valuation and a $36.49 decrease compared with the current year.
Councilmember Gary Sutton moved to adopt the tax rate of $0.573779 per $100, seconded by Councilmember Dakota Nichols; the motion passed unanimously, 7 Ayes, 0 Nays.
Why it matters: the adopted budget and rate set the city's revenue plan and spending priorities for the coming year and directly affect local property tax bills. The council's action includes both the spending ordinance and a separate ratification of the increased property tax revenue shown in the budget.
The council's next procedural step, as recorded in the meeting minutes, was to complete several related administrative approvals (fee schedules, capital plan and budget model) later in the meeting. The council convened into executive session later in the meeting to discuss real property and returned to open session with no action reported.
