The Leesburg Commission has moved to lower property tax rates for the upcoming fiscal year, tentatively approving a “rolled-back” millage rate that will result in a direct tax decrease for local property owners.
During its July 13 meeting, the commission approved a resolution to set the tentative millage rate for the 2026-27 fiscal year at 3.3783 mills. This is a reduction from the current rate of 3.4752 mills.
A millage rate is the rate used to calculate local property taxes. One “mill” represents $1 of tax for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. For example, under the newly proposed rate, a property owner would pay $3.38 in taxes for every $1,000 of assessed, non-exempt property value.
By adopting the roll-back rate, the city is reducing the tax rate to a level that would generate the same amount of property tax revenue as the previous year, adjusting for new construction. Because the commission chose to drop the rate below the current year’s level rather than keeping it the same, the decision represents an outright tax decrease for residents.
Under Florida’s Truth in Millage (TRIM) guidelines, the city must submit this tentative rate to the Lake County Property Appraiser in July. The tentative rate acts as a cap for the rest of the budget cycle. While commissioners can vote to lower the rate further before final budget adoption in September, they are legally barred from raising it above this level.
According to a memorandum from Budget Director Brandy McDaniel, the proposed rate is expected to generate approximately $13.38 million in property tax revenue. The city’s General Fund will retain roughly $11.1 million of those proceeds, while the remaining $2.27 million will be distributed to local Community Redevelopment Areas (CRAs).