Commission Votes to Reduce Millage Rate Following Budget Public Hearings

On Sept. 22, the Marion County Board of County Commissioners adopted the final budget for next fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 2026.The county commission was able to reduce the millage rate after lowering the budget for the upcoming year by reallocating American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) interest funds.

The total adopted budget is $1,659,740,422. This includes the countywide budget of $1,125,752,491 and the budgets of non-countywide entities $533,987,931.

The maximum millage rate approved by the county commission was 4.29 mills set during the July 24, budget public hearing, putting Marion County in the lowest ten counites for millage rates in the state of Florida. However, during the final budget public hearing, the commission lowered the countywide millage rate to 4.02 mills, which equates to $4.02 for each $1,000 of taxable property value.

The countywide millage rate funds:

1. The county general fund, which includes the following:
   • County Commissioners departments including Animal Services, Fleet Management, Parks & Recreation, Public Library System, Veterans Services, and others. Not included: Airport, Building Safety, Solid Waste, Utilities, Visitors and Convention Bureau, and the Office of the County Engineer (transportation/roads).
   • Emergency medical transport provided by Marion County Fire Rescue.
   • Marion County Sheriff's Office jail administration and emergency operations.
   • Constitutional offices (clerk of the court and comptroller, property appraiser, supervisor of elections, tax collector).
   • Courts and criminal justice (technology for court administration, Guardian Ad Litem, and public defender's offices, as well as the drug and teen courts).
   • Reserves for natural disasters and emergencies.
   • Partner agencies (The Centers, Inc., Marion Senior Services/Transit, Heart of Florida Health Center, Early Learning Coalition, and others).
2. Fine and forfeiture (collaboratively overseen by the sheriff's office, the clerk of the court, state attorney's office, and the county commission).
3. The FloridaDepartment of Health in Marion County. The Department of Health is a state-county funding partnership; this portion of the millage rate represents the county's funding.

All other non-countywide millage rates will remain at their current levels, including the Municipal Service Taxing Units (MSTUs) for Hills of Ocala, Marion Oaks, Rainbow Lakes Estates and Silver Springs Shores as well as the MSTUs for fire services and law enforcement. The MSTU for Fire Rescue and EMS remained at a millage rate of 1.11.

The special assessment rates for solid waste and fire rescue increased this year and stormwater remained at the same level. Countywide budget documents can be viewed on the clerk's website. To learn more about the rate assessment increases, please visit: MarionFL.org/TRIM.