Sep. 29--PALMETTO -- The city commission Monday unanimously approved a $29.5 million budget and property tax rate without comment.

There also were no comments from the audience during the public hearing.

The tax rate of $4.6662 per $1,000 of property value approved Monday was the same rate as the current year.

The owner of a home with an assessed value of $175,000, and a $25,000 homestead exemption, will pay about $700 in property taxes for the city portion of the tax bill.

Because property values in the city have declined over the past several years, the approv- ed tax rate will gener- ate only about $4.1 mil- lion in revenue, about $900,000 less than last year.

The rest of the revenue to balance the operat- ing budget of $10.3 million will come from licenses, service fees, permits, revenue sharing funds and grants.

The second largest portion of the $29.5 million city budget is the Community Redevelopment Agency fund, which has a budget of $3.8 million.

The majority of CRA revenue comes from tax increment funds, or the property taxes paid within the special district over a set amount.

The budget anticipates the CRA will collect $4.2 million in TIF monies.

Most of the other areas of the budget are self-supporting funds, such as water and sewer, and solid waste collection.

The largest expense for the city is in public safety, with more than $3.9 million going to the police department.

About $2.1 million will be spent running the city clerk's office, which provides various services to residents, including record keeping, billing and general operations.

Because property tax revenues are down about 13.4 percent over the current year, the new operating budget is about $1.1 million less than this year.

Earlier this year, the city commission laid off eight employees.

Carl Mario Nudi, Herald reporter, can be reached at 745-7027.

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