Volusia County FY 22-23 budget and tax rate receive final approval.

Written by Kristen Schmutz

Belden Communications News 

On Tuesday, September 20, 2022, the Volusia County Council unanimously approved the County’s operating budget of $1.06 billion for the fiscal year 2022-23 and the nine property tax rates controlled by Volusia County. Council members chalked up the quick work on the budget to the time spent since January preparing for Tuesday’s final public hearing.

“This is a reflection of, I believe, how we did it this year – starting in January and spending a year doing the heavy lifting and the hard work,” County Chair Jeff Brower said moments after Tuesday night’s vote. “Well done.”

According to a release, the overall operating budget totals $1.06 billion, with the biggest portion of next year’s budget going to the general fund, a total of $374.3 million, to help finance services provided to all Volusia County residents. The council also approved next year’s rates for the nine property tax funds controlled by Volusia County, and five of the nine tax rates will rollback next year. The other four county government’s tax rates, which include voter-approved Volusia Forever and Volusia ECHO levies, will remain unchanged. 

The general fund’s tax rate (at 4.89 mills for the 2022-2023 Fiscal Year) has now gone down for five years in a row, and next year will be the lowest it’s been in nearly 15 years. In addition to the general fund, the other funds going to rollback next year are the library fund, the Municipal Services District (MSD), the Ponce De Leon Port Authority, and the Silver Sands Bethune Beach MSD. With the new budget, Volusia County will also be able to fund fifty-five new positions – forty-one in public safety and eight in Country Enterprise funds. 

The new fiscal year begins on October 1.