[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6497087,"mediaKeyId","5459544-08a18e899bec2ef2c1dcf674ea27758b","parentId",5459544,"title","Marion County taxable value rises by $38 billion; property appraiser cautions median prices slipped in first half of 2025","audioSeconds",596,"startMs",2394000,"endMs",2990000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5459544-08a18e899bec2ef2c1dcf674ea27758b&start=2394&end=2990","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5459544-08a18e899bec2ef2c1dcf674ea27758b/thumbnail_2394000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6497087/Marion-County/Florida/Marion-County-taxable-value-rises-by-38-billion-property-appraiser-cautions-median-prices-slipped-in-first-half-of-2025","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6497087-9fd08712c4d15117ed3da59313b49897/orig.mp4?Expires=1770416998&Signature=UiTFHpaukalCSFXvfrpVX6iDts1d9qKpS9Tafi0F9lbPAh7gSjCe9VWeGepN1cfvruWLGHae~Nm~YqpfNolI7oRVZmpXpPlOoC1g6nyGlazvraFNWzXepel5o~k9nJKJrkx01qarPXnuk-xcF0fUZRDNQXs-1K9z-X53GhFilmGAdqlOL5Dj2m49xORD00pb8OksVwLH084kSoBvuWIzrIm6e8co8G~xuf8ZS2RlEJ1s9eqkrC88Vvn0yMGmRSI~821cUW1A4MF1NGA85kMWVohCmrPWIJx5YBk-xjhZU3bTxdufiMIoonHY1lJoMf3KD9VE~-voOmNmidDHzrX2rg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Marion County","date","2025-07-23T00:00:00Z","article","Property Appraiser Jimmy Cowan told commissioners the 2025 preliminary assessment roll for Marion County reflected “remarkable growth,” reporting taxable value exceeding $38,000,000,000 and a 12.51% increase over the prior year. Cowan said roughly $1.9 billion of that growth was attributable to new construction.

Cowan said his office submitted the assessment roll to the Florida Department of Revenue on June 18 and had received provisional approval on July 15 after a slight reduction tied to retirement rate assumptions. “The property appraiser's proposed budget for 2025–26 is $6,950,940 reflecting a 5.39% increase,” Cowan said, and he gave the general-fund allocation as $5,181,332.

Laney, assistant property appraiser, presented market detail that the office uses to forecast values: recorded instruments — deeds and transfers — peaked at about 49,000 at the height of the market and have fallen to roughly 41,000–42,000 in recent months. For single‑family site‑built homes on parcels from 0.01 to 1.5 acres, Laney said median selling price decreased about 3.4% for January–June 2025 compared with the same period in 2024. Mobile-home median selling prices were down about 6.5% in the same comparison.

Commissioners asked for recurring updates. Cowan and Laney offered to provide regular reports on recorded instruments, median sale prices and transfers; staff asked that those be routed through Mike McCain for distribution to the full board.

Ending: Cowan told the board his office will continue to leverage technology and succession planning to manage workload as values and new construction rise. Commissioners asked staff to expect quarterly trend reports to inform future budgets.

(Note: numbers and deadlines were presented on the record by the property appraiser.)","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Marion County - Board of County Commissioners Workshop on 2025-07-23 9:00 AM - Budget Workshop - Day 3 - Jul 23, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Property Appraiser Jimmy Cowan reported Marion County's 2025 preliminary assessment roll exceeded $38 billion in taxable value, a 12.51% increase over 2024, with $1.9 billion from new construction.","taxTitle","Marion County, Florida","taxId",4897,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6497093,"Sheriff pares staffing request, presses school board over funding for SROs as taser and body‑camera costs strain budgets",293,5647000,5940000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5459544-08a18e899bec2ef2c1dcf674ea27758b&start=5647&end=5940","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5459544-08a18e899bec2ef2c1dcf674ea27758b/thumbnail_5647000.jpg","/articles/6497093/Marion-County/Florida/Sheriff-pares-staffing-request-presses-school-board-over-funding-for-SROs-as-taser-and-bodycamera-costs-strain-budgets","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6497093-d80b479efdb0cfd8a6578ab31880ae13/orig.mp4?Expires=1770416998&Signature=dOVDx8j4aqr03DPh1nt2dVa7frtfn9cFGCCQ7aqAybHB9LBouT7YicxBdOtblZcAdTYjDyuQd~CVeeqE7s-6DbZh5CS6qUDAUU9VHDviTgGuKlj7dRj4mHpQNuO6dhnLvAJHOtdxFTI85sHorTmdR5jYtU7Iq5GNGTun-Gpz7ts1b4rZwSDvgrOHWDppYSzNNsSRSo5yWzd76NyX11BJNBN8FEHB9qXHjp8BHLmYSsg4kIEr8ldqdmRw6XUppwLL45cTgYiwi6GW1LdexIUJg9PkR6rssBwdNOIvKzx~so9JzkiFpscZQrlx8JOYjtRJQzyhjbAzwkq~USpNs0YgWQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Sheriff Billy Woods told the Board he trimmed his original FY2025–26 staffing and capital requests but warned that the county remains short-staffed relative to a recent staffing study. Woods said he reduced an initial request for 25 new sworn deputies and a few community-service positions to a revised request for 12 sworn deputies and 10 community-service specialists, and removed a number of one‑time capital items, including a $3.0 million vehicle purchase line.

“Currently, the experts made it abundantly clear that we sit 108 deputies short,” Woods said, noting a five‑ and ten‑year projection that showed substantially higher needs as Marion County grows. The sheriff told the board the county’s vehicle-replacement needs for his fleet run roughly $6 million–$8 million a year and that those recurring replacement costs consume most sales-tax capital funding for public-safety purposes.

Commissioners questioned how school resource officers (SROs) are funded. Woods said private schools that contract for SROs pay the full package; for public K‑12 SROs he currently charges about half the full deputy cost to a school or district. Commissioners and the sheriff debated what share the county should pay. Commissioner Curry and others said the county should be involved in future negotiations if the county is expected to continue paying a portion of SRO salaries; several commissioners argued the school district now has dedicated revenue streams and should pay more of the SRO cost. Woods said he opposed the district creating a separate school police department, arguing it would fragment accountability and the local juvenile-justice ecosystem.

Equipment costs were a separate budget pressure. Woods removed a proposed contract for tasers and put body-worn-camera procurement on hold pending further discussion. Commissioners and staff discussed whether long-term leases for items such as body cameras, in-car cameras and tasers could be treated as capital for sales-tax funding if the arrangements exceed multi-year thresholds; county legal staff was asked to research whether leases of significant dollar value qualify under the county’s sales-tax capital definitions. Woods said the overall proposed contract for tasers, body cameras and fleet cameras was approximately $3.2 million per year, with roughly $1.0 million of that tied to taser equipment and leases.

The sheriff also reported operational reductions in the fine-and-forfeiture budget (removing pilot positions and cutting aviation repair and training requests) and confirmed he would turn back an earmarked $1,405,231 from FY2024–25 for the county to hold. Commissioners asked staff to explore whether any nonrecurring general-fund dollars could assist fine-and-forfeiture shortfalls in the coming year.

Ending: The board did not take formal votes on staffing or capital; they asked staff and the county attorney to analyze whether multi-year leases for cameras and related equipment can be treated as capital for sales-tax funding, and requested more detailed multi-year staffing and budget projections so the board can evaluate phased hiring and funding strategies.","Sheriff Billy Woods reduced his original staffing ask and removed several capital items from his FY2025–26 request. Commissioners and the sheriff debated how school resource officers are funded and flagged rising costs for body-worn cameras and taser contracts that could be treated as capital to free up sales-tax funding.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6497099,"Marion County budgets face $1.66 million juvenile-justice spike; commissioners weigh one-time funding to hold millage",304,1174000,1478000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5459544-08a18e899bec2ef2c1dcf674ea27758b&start=1174&end=1478","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5459544-08a18e899bec2ef2c1dcf674ea27758b/thumbnail_1174000.jpg","/articles/6497099/Marion-County/Florida/Marion-County-budgets-face-166-million-juvenile-justice-spike-commissioners-weigh-one-time-funding-to-hold-millage","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6497099-e690868f7435c552bcfe1ad833e9541f/orig.mp4?Expires=1770416998&Signature=OkOZH9RnsN7IwVJVxFukSoYIhWMUKNYaLiEfNw19hXCcmEWjJQuYp5KmbUyGgzPaMsnuql85GG~hJuaymfJ1pdE~EE-M5OvedP-1P25qeHT7Al4AyttnGMYpJKhl-32~7nBaPODhbwoZ-bjaKXrZ2gcNAzcF71lHj3gORrjX3tvjAf3lTE-59jJbpLzfwmt46kE7Vna-MZEBpb7zPoYTFOmUycAkfF9X9C-D0kqOJukH5ccZqPdz3NYLFYPyaI03Qkb58ecNHs4NoGygf5DaqqBm~Sd144pg~J0FMOfh0NJLvGIhVBoWSqzcUxqyaiNf2QGKdOJbLesTf3yt65myiA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Audrey Fowler, Marion County budget director, told the Board of County Commissioners during a continuation of the FY2025–26 budget workshop that the county's DJJ bill rose sharply. “The DJJ was a 61.6% increase. It went from $2,700,000 to $4,300,000. So it was $1,663,000 increase to the DJJ bill,” Fowler said.

The jump matters for the county's millage calculation: Fowler said the reserve for cash carry forward is $6,200,000 (a little over two months of operating expenses) and explained that a remaining 0.04 mills equates to about $1,448,912 in revenue. Commissioners discussed trade-offs between recurring and nonrecurring funds and whether to use one-time money to lower the proposed millage.

State Attorney Bill Gladson described why the DJJ bill may have increased, linking it to changes in juvenile detention practice and a more active placement process. Gladson said local law enforcement, the sheriff and county prosecutors pushed the Department of Juvenile Justice to hold and place more violent juvenile offenders instead of turning them back into the community. “Going back about 3 years, maybe 4, we saw a huge spike in violent juvenile crime,” Gladson said, and he described coordinated meetings with DJJ and a local DJJ representative, Randy Reynolds, to identify prolific offenders and secure placements.

Commissioners asked for more data before making final budget choices. Chair Bryant and Commissioner Zalick pressed staff for numbers and trends; Commissioner Curry asked whether the county could obtain updated counts for the first half of 2025 to see whether the spike persists. County staff agreed to request trend information from the DJJ contact named in the meeting and to prepare options for using available one-time funds in the general fund to mitigate any millage increase.

Budget staff summarized the short-term fiscal options. Fowler said the county currently has approximately $1.472 million in nonrecurring general-fund dollars above the cash-carryforward minimum; using $475,000 of that would reduce the general-fund millage to the board's target of 3.35 while leaving roughly $1.0 million in nonrecurring reserves for contingencies.

The board directed staff to: (a) request DJJ placement and detention trend data for January–June 2025 from the state DJJ representative Randy Reynolds and (b) prepare a written options memo showing the tax impact of covering part of the DJJ increase with one-time general-fund dollars versus adjusting the millage.

The discussion did not include any formal vote; commissioners said they wanted the additional data before committing to millage or program changes.

Ending: Commissioners emphasized that the goal was to understand the drivers of the higher DJJ bill and to present an evidence-backed recommendation to the public and the board at a later meeting. Staff committed to returning with the requested trend data and with options that show the tax impact of one-time funding vs. higher recurring obligations.","County budget staff told commissioners the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) allocation rose 61.6%, adding $1,663,000 to the county's obligations. Commissioners asked staff to seek trend data from state DJJ officials and discussed using nonrecurring funds to avoid raising the millage rate.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Marion County taxable value rises by $38 billion; property appraiser cautions median prices slipped in first half of 2025

Sheriff pares staffing request, presses school board over funding for SROs as taser and body‑camera costs strain budgets

Marion County budgets face $1.66 million juvenile-justice spike; commissioners weigh one-time funding to hold millage