JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico criticized Mayor Donna Deegan over her remarks concerning the recent property tax reduction. On Thursday, the city’s finance committee approved a reduction of 1/8th of a mill to the city’s millage rate.

Mayor Deegan called the cut “fiscally irresponsible” because it would take away money for things like road repairs and public health initiatives.

In response, Carrico fired back, describing her comments as “out of touch and elitist.” He stated on Friday, “Providing substantial tax cuts and real financial relief to Jacksonville property owners who have been grappling with increasing living costs isn’t just a performance—it’s necessary.”

Mayor Deegan stood by her previous comments. In a statement also released Friday, she said, “Yesterday, I mentioned my hope for fewer theatrics and more genuine leadership as the budget progresses to the full city council in September. The misleading and divisive remarks by Council President Carrico today underscore this point.”

Amidst the ongoing dispute among city officials regarding potential tax cuts, Duval County Property Appraiser Joyce Morgan shed light on the process of calculating property taxes.

Currently, the city’s overall millage rate is 17.865, which incorporates the rates from four different taxing bodies. According to Morgan, the millage rate represents only a part of the city’s property tax calculation.

“When these entities provide us with their millage rates, we apply these rates to the assessed value of a home to determine its taxable value,” Morgan clarified.

Her office is in charge of assessing market value of all properties in the county and coming up with their taxable value. “All we can do is is use the comparable values of homes and of property in that neighborhood, it’s called mass appraisal. Tat’s what we do at the Dual County Property Appraiser’s Office. By the way, all 67 counties, that’s what we do,” she said.

Morgan said the market value is not something they control, it is based off the housing market and the economy. “The market value is basically what a willing buyer is willing to pay a willing seller, but nobody is obligated to do that, that’s just what the terms that they agreed upon are, and so that’s something we don’t control. That’s controlled simply by the market, simply by those people and simply by what the economy is doing at the present time.”

The total taxable value on properties across the county increased by almost 13% in 2023 and nearly 7% in 2024. This mirrors an increase in market values of both residential and commercial properties in the county.

But local and state leaders are now waging a war against property taxes, with Florida’s Chief Financial Officer claiming Jacksonville’s property tax collections increased by more than 50% since 2020.

Morgan says the increase has to do with an increase in property values.

“It’s just our economy, it’s where our economy stands and so we have to be careful in my office not to predict markets, we follow the markets. It’s whatever they present to us that’s what we have to work with. So we don’t create anything, we don’t manufacture anything,” Morgan said.

As city council continues to look at potential cuts to property taxes, Morgan said her office is not part of those discussions nor involved in setting the millage rates.

“I think we all understand the quagmire that we’re in right now. We all get it because because guess what? A lot of us are homeowners here too, so we’re feeling the exact same pinch as the people that we serve every day. So it’s nothing different for us,” Morgan said.

Morgan added people should expect to receive their TRIM notices, or their notices of proposed property taxes, in the mail on August 16, 2025. People will be able to request a formal review of their TRIM if they believe information is incorrect.