If you haven't

added onto your house or seen an increase increased in your assessment

in Palmetto, then you can expect to pay the same amount of property tax

that you paid last year. Otherwise you may want to start saving your spare

change.

An increase

in the city's total real estate value from just over $53 million in 2002

to $71 million in 2003 requires that the Board of Tax Assessors conduct

a reassessment, said city administrator Bill Shell. Residential and commercial

growth in the past year have combined to bring up the total value.

Shell said

generally what happens in this case is the setting of a new millage rate

which produces the same revenue numbers as the previous year. Often times

the mills are set lower to achieve this balance referred to as a rollback

millage rate. This keeps property taxes the same from year to year.

However with

the new budget that the city has adopted, it has been found necessary

to leave the millage rate at 4.5 mills, the same as last year's. Shell

said homeowners and business owners in Palmetto property taxes will only

increase for those who have made significant improvements and upped the

value of their homes and shops.

Public hearings

will be held at the Palmetto City Hall on October 16 at 11 a.m. and 6

p.m. and on November 3 at 7:30 PM to answer questions and hear comments

concerning the tax rate.