GREEN COVE SPRINGS – The city council took its first step in setting its tax base by setting the tentative rate at 5.0 during a special meeting Tuesday night.

While council members Matt Johnson and Vice Mayor Steven Kelley were in favor of keeping the lower rate of 4.5, Mayor Connie Butler, Ed Gaw and Thomas Smith voted to make the starting point at 5.0. That rate can change as the council receives feedback and further information.
Property value rose by 9.97% in the city last year, according to the county’s property appraiser’s office. The administration originally considered the 4.5 rate, but decided on the higher figure to create more leeway in the budget. A half-mill will raise an additional $300,000 for the city coffers.
“Give us a number and we’ll balance the budget,” Kennedy said.

Green Cove Springs is working through an extensive growth period, and with it comes additional demands to upgrade infrastructure projects while maintaining current responsibilities. Kelley said he’s concerned about the growing costs.
“When I came here, the rate was 3.36,” he said. “Now we’re talking about a 150% increase (to 5.0) in seven years. That’s quite a bit. I do think we do a lot with the money, but we need to be more efficient with it.”

City residents also have to pay county taxes. Added to the county’s millage rate, the overall rate for the city is 17.1817, which means a resident currently has to pay a combined $17.18 for every $1,000 of non-homesteaded property value.
Former Mayor Van Royal said the rate should be capped at 4.625. He said a lot of businesses are spending money to attract new residents and visitors, but many of the city’s projects remain unfinished.
“You have to decide whether to set (the rate) at what it should be or what it could be,” he said, “but we need to see some results. If we’re spending money, I expect to see something done.”
Royal suggested the city hire an additional person in the public works department and a grant writer who can search state and federal programs for money.

The council will put the budget, including the millage rate, on its agenda for its Sept. 5 and Sept. 19. Residents are encouraged to attend.

In other business, the council agreed to set a public hearing for Sept. 5 on a proposed resolution for the collection of solid waste and recyclable material at the Magnolia West Subdivision. It also set Sept. 5 for a public hearing on estimating the cost of stormwater management services, and it agreed to spend $62,525 to repair the final section of storm pipe leading along Clay Street to the St. Johns River.