County posts maximum tax‑levy estimate using PTELL cap; staff building budget with lower assumption

County Administrator Patrice Sutton presented the county’s estimate of the annual aggregate tax levy for fiscal 2026 to the Financial and Administrative Committee on Sept. 4, using the maximum allowable Consumer Price Index adjustment under the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL), also known as PTEL.

The estimate before the committee allocated $188,647,298 as the aggregate levy estimate and assumed the full PTEL allowable CPI of 2.9% for the fiscal year, Sutton said. She explained that, for transparency and to show the maximum statutory extension the county could seek, staff is presenting the full amount now while preparing a balanced budget using a more conservative assumption — half of the allowable CPI (1.45%). Sutton cautioned that allocations to specific tax funds in the estimate could still change as staff finalizes the budget.

Committee members asked whether new growth increases county costs and how that interacts with tax incidence. Members raised the difference between rate and dollars paid by taxpayers; staff said new property growth tends to reduce the tax rate and that an analysis comparing new growth to incremental service costs had not been completed but could be considered. The committee approved placing the levy estimate on file (item 8.27).