Collier sets maximum millage rate, remains unchanged

Collier County commissioners established the maximum millage rate, but it still could be reduced during September’s public budget hearings. 

The Board of County Commissioners on July 14 set the maximum millage rate at 3.0107 mills for the general fund, 0.0246 mills for Pollution Control and 0.2096 mills for Conservation Collier — the same rates as the 2025-26 fiscal year. 

One mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value after adjustments, including a homestead exemption. That means a homeowner would pay $301.07 per $100,000 of a home’s taxable value for the general fund. 

The proposed Water Pollution Control millage rate is budgeted to generate nearly $4.19 million in ad valorem tax revenue. 

The 0.2096-mill Conservation Collier rate would generate about $35.7 million. 

For the Unincorporated Area General Fund, the proposed 0.6844-mill rate is budgeted to generate $73.79 million. 

Including all special taxing districts, the proposed total tax levy would generate $640.9 million. 

The vote came after a presentation by Christopher Johnson, the county’s director of Financial & Management Services, and followed a series of previous hearings, budget discussions and a budget workshop. Since 2023, when commissioners hired budgeting consultant ResourceX, a Tyler Technologies company, the county has followed priority-based budgeting, allocating resources based on the strategic importance and impact of individual programs. 

“The current year rollback tax dollars total $635.2 million and the proposed tax dollars at millage neutral are $640.9 million,” Johnson told commissioners, noting that countywide taxable value has increased for the 14th consecutive year and is expected to increase again for the fiscal year 2027 tax year. 

The prior year’s taxable value was $164.5 billion, he said, while the current year’s gross taxable value is $170.3 billion — a $5.8 billion increase over the prior year, with $3.5 billion attributed to net new taxable value. 

In the county’s unincorporated areas, last year’s taxable value was $104.7 billion, which rose to $107.8 billion this year, a $3.1 billion increase, of which $2.3 billion is net new taxable value. The overall increase countywide was 3.5%. 

Collier is working on a tentative $3.17 billion budget based on a millage-neutral approach, meaning the tax rate will remain the same as this fiscal year, but revenues will increase because of higher property values. Last year’s budget totaled $3.12 billion. 

Next fiscal year’s spending plan features a proposed General Fund budget of $755 million, with $76.6 million allocated for capital initiatives. Commissioners adopted a resolution to constrain spending for fiscal year 2027, capping operating increases at 3% and capital increases at 5%. 

Once the county and other taxing authorities certify the tax roll, the Collier County Property Appraiser’s Office will mail property owners their annual Truth in Millage, or TRIM, notices. That mailing will occur on or before Aug. 17. Residents will receive annual property tax bills by November. 

The county will hold two public hearings on the 2026-27 budget at 5:05 p.m. Sept. 3 and Sept. 17, the final hearing, in the third-floor commission boardroom of the W. Harmon Turner Building, Building F, at the County Government Center Complex, 3301 E. Tamiami Trail, Naples.