The city of Tallahassee has tentatively approved a lower property tax rate, not by choice, but over disagreements on how to handle the fire service fee issue.
At their Sept. 3 meeting, during their first of two public hearings for their 2026 budget, commissioners were slated to approve the original property tax rate of $4.42 for every $1,000 of your property’s assessed value, or about $884 for a $200,000 property, but Commissioner Jeremy Matlow laid out grievances with the ongoing fire service fee disputes with the Leon County Commission that he believes needs to be dealt with first.
The two local governments’ relationship has been strained the last few months over the fee. Commissioners have gone back and forth about whether to raise the rates in the face of a gaping budget hole in the fund set aside for firefighting services…