Coral Springs Officials Look Ahead at 2023 Budget, Property Taxes

City of Coral Springs

By Bryan Boggiano

Coral Springs officials are discussing preliminary economic forecasts for the city heading into the 2023 fiscal year.

In a presentation to city staff on Wednesday, Deputy City Manager Catherine Givens discussed the city’s current financial state going into 2023, including what residents can expect to pay in property taxes.

Givens said the projected 2023 general budget revenue would be about $152,557,992. Almost half of this comes from city taxes, while the rest mostly comes from payments such as the half-cent sales tax, electric franchise fee, and local option gas taxes and charges for service and user fees.

For the city, some projects planned for the upcoming fiscal year include renovating the Aquatic Center pool deck, located at 12441 Royal Palm Blvd., at the cost of $1,922,500 using ARPA funds and a 60th-anniversary event for the city costing $60,000.

Givens noted that the current millage rate of 6.0232 mils for property owners will remain the same in 2023 and not increase until 2026. At that point, the millage rate is projected to increase by 0.15 to 6.1732.

City officials originally planned to increase the millage rate in 2025.

Keeping the millage rate at 6.0232 would increase the city’s budget by $5.26 million for 2023. A rolled-back rate of 5.5602 would result in a $5 million cut to the proposed fiscal year 2023 budget.

While the millage rate would stay the same in 2023, residents can expect to pay more in property taxes due to the values of their properties increasing.

For homes with a value of $471,608 and a taxable value of $278,180, the total city taxes and assessment fees, including stormwater, solid waste, and fire, would increase by about $9.49 per month.

That translates to$113.87 per year to a new total of $2,458.99.

On condominiums with an average market value of$154,305 and a taxable value of $106,617, total city taxes and assessments would increase by $7.93 per month, or $95.11 per year, to $1,305.46.

For properties that are homesteaded, the increases would be minor since city taxes can increase no more than 3 percent per year.

About 30 percent of these property taxes go to the city, 28 percent go to Broward County, and 32 percent go to the School Board of Broward County.

The rest of the residents’ property taxes go to the South Florida Water Management District, Children’s Services, the Hospital District, and the Florida Inland Navigation District.

Givens noted that despite the city’s expectations, the information presented is subject to change, pending further financial reports.

“We are still refining budgets,” she said. “There are still things we are waiting for numbers to come in on.”

Givens recommended filling out the city’s community and business surveys and asking local officials questions for residents and business owners who want to get involved in the budget process.

She also recommended that residents attend events such as the Budget Academy. The event will be held on Monday, Aug. 29, on Zoom from 12 p.m. through 1 p.m. and at City Hall from 6 p.m. until 7 p.m.

“We want to bring our residents in and educate them, and if they have issues, then [we want them to] talk to us,” Givens said.

Some residents, including Joe Morera, are thankful for the city’s efforts to focus on resident and business-centered financial decision-making.

“[The city] is really projecting how to spend the dollars in a matter that reflects the needs of the residents while maintaining controllable expenditures,” he said.

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Bryan Boggiano

Bryan has a degree in journalism from the University of Florida and earned his masters in geosciences from Florida International University, where he focused in atmospheric sciences. His interests include weather, entertainment, and municipal government.