Deltona City Commission Approves Raised Property Taxes

The Deltona City Commission has approved a new millage rate, meaning property owners will pay slightly more in taxes for the 2024-25 fiscal year. As with any local tax increase proposal the measure drew public opposition, but passed nonetheless. The new millage rate of 7.000 is technically a decrease from 7.350, the current rate. That being said, the appreciation of property values means that although the rate being paid per taxable value goes down, the actual dollar amount being paid goes up. In order to keep property taxes the same dollar amount, the City Commission would’ve had to adopt a millage rate of 6.773, which would decrease the tax rate enough so that even with rising property values the bill would not go up. The Commission elected to go with a less drastic increase instead, tempering the amount the bill would raise but not keeping it from increasing at all. Ultimately the vote came down to a margin of just one commissioner. Dana McCool, Maritza Avila-Vazquez, Davison Heriot, and Troy Shimkus voted for the increase. They were opposed by Mayor Santiago Avila, Stephen Colwell, and Jody Lee Storozuk. Heriot faces a runoff election this November after advancing out of the August primary election, while Shimkus was already voted in favor of Commissioner-elect Emma Santiago.