Osceola County’s property taxes made a record jump in 2023
Osceola County saw a record jump in property taxes and overall revenue in 2023, fueled by tourism but also by its taxpaying residents.
County commissioners Monday received an annual financial report where officials said the increase in tax collections is a testament to the county’s economic health and reflects the magnitude of tourism’s impact.
“Overall I think you’re in a good financial position,” said Dan O’Keefe, the shareholder in charge of MSL, the firm that conducted the financial audit.
In 2023 ad valorem taxes, tourist development taxes, local sales taxes, gas taxes, tolls and state shared revenues all experienced an increase, the report said.
Ad valorem taxes, or property taxes, make up the majority of the funding for the county and shot up an historic 16.9% over the prior year.
As property values go up so do property taxes, said Katrina Scarborough, Osceola County property appraiser. What residents pay in property taxes also depends on the tax rate the county sets which has stayed at 6.7 mills — or $6.70 per $1,000 of property value — for 13 years, Scarborough said.
“If the millage rate stays the same and the values go up then the taxes are going to go up,” Scarborough said. “If the millage rate decreases and the values go up, it could decrease the taxes but there are just so many variables so it’s hard to say.”
Osceola County residents already felt the pinch of higher property taxes in 2023, Scarborough said. For 2024 it’s still too early to tell as the property value estimates aren’t due until June.
There has been an upward trend in property values over the last two years in Osceola County. From 2022 to 2023 the aggregate property value across the entire county increased by almost 20% and the year prior it increased over 30%, Scarborough said.
“That doesn’t mean that every single piece of property has increased by that amount,” Scarborough said. “We’re going to look at what properties are selling for but it’s an aggregate.”
As it looked at other economic indicators, the report noted that unemployment in the county last year rose to 3.6%, a figure higher than the state’s average and higher than the previous year.
Financial analysts also found that the record-breaking year for tourism in Osceola County fueled an increase in taxes overall– not just hotel taxes but all taxes paid by visitors.
However, the county is already seeing a dip in tourism this year.
The county’s tourism authority, Experience Kissimmee, told officials in February that the uptick in tourism last year was created by international travelers pent up demand following COVID-19 but said the figures are not sustainable.
Despite the positive signal of the increase in revenue the county is still struggling with continued inflation, difficulties in employee recruitment and retention, and a need to expand county services to meet continued growth trends, the report said.
