An 8 percent drop in Marco Island’s 2010 property values will intensify the city council’s search for savings as it draws up the fiscal 2012 budget.
The total taxable amount of property on Marco in 2010 declined by 8.21 percent, from $8.2 billion to $7.5 billion, compared to 2009, said Abe Skinner, Collier County property tax appraiser.
Collier officials blamed the economy for the drop, but also emphasized a silver lining: Property values had plunged 12.2 percent in 2009 from 2008.
Marco Realtors, meanwhile, see a silver lining in the just-released property value figures. They believe sales and prices are on the way back up.
Property taxes are calculated based on the previous year’s property values. Local governments factor in property values to tax rates they charge residents.
City Manager James Riviere said he was disappointed when he saw the preliminary property values report from Skinner’s office.
“I’m not a betting man, but I would have guessed that it (property values) would have been flat,” said Riviere. “It (the decline) just means that we here in the city will scramble again this year to keep taxes level for the citizens.
“I guess we’ll try to do that trick again.”
City Councilman Larry Magel expected property values to fall by 9 or 10 percent.
“The challenge for us — the budget committee and city council — is to react to the decreased property values, but at the same time keeping our city services at a level that supports the requirements of the city,” Magel said. “It’s going to be another difficult year.”
Collier County property values overall declined an average of 5.08 percent last year, with the county’s total taxable value standing at $58.3 billion, down from $61.4 billion in 2009, according to Skinner, who released the figures last week.
Naples property values declined by 2.67 percent to $14.5 billion in 2010.
“I think that things are leveling off, but we aren’t back to pluses yet,” Skinner said.
Skinner said the figures are preliminary, and state law required their release by last Wednesday or earlier.
Skinner said final figures will be released July 1.
— News-Press staff writer Denes Husty III contributed to this story.
