Boom boosts tax revenue.

TAVARES -- A construction boom and blazing real-estate market sent Lake County's taxable property soaring by 31 percent -- shattering the record for the largest jump in a single year and producing a windfall of tax revenue for local government.Preliminary estimates show Lake has a taxable value of $18.6 billion -- double the worth since 2002. That much of an increase "shows people going crazy and standing in line last year to buy properties," Property Appraiser Ed Havill said. "They were afraid prices were going to get higher and higher and wanted to buy as quick as possible."
The figures reflect new construction and increases in business, residential and land values through the end of 2005, with south Lake experiencing the most explosive growth. Groveland showed the biggest boost in value among Lake's 14 cities, 72.7 percent, bringing its taxable value to $401.6 million."Groveland is a great place to live," Mayor James Smith said. "People want to move here."Much of the increase also can be attributed to annexations, which totaled nearly $62 million in value.Not far behind was Mascotte, where taxable values shot up 61.3 percent to 170.1 million. The increase was substantial in other cities, ranging from increases of 20.3 percent in Eustis to 36.9 percent in Minneola.Clermont and Leesburg, which are Nos. 1 and 2 in population in Lake County, also were first and second in taxable value. Clermont's taxable value stands at $2 billion, a 30.8 percent rise from the previous year, with Leesburg at $1.3 billion, a 21.9 percent increase.The values are compiled each year by Havill's office. Local governments use the figures to determine property tax rates for the coming budget year. A larger tax roll means more money for governments unless governments "rolled back" the tax rate to produce the same amount of tax revenue as last year, not counting tax money generated by new construction.The ballooning tax roll means big increases in tax money for local governments. The county would see revenue increase from $82.3 million to almost $108 million, assuming no change in the tax rate.Officials with the two cities that saw the biggest percentage leap, Groveland and Mascotte, say it's too early to say if they will cut the tax rate to raise as much revenue as their cities did last year, saying the growth will add demands on roads, fire-protection and public safety.Mascotte City Manager Marge Strausbaugh said the city's population has doubled in the last six years to about 5,000 people.The additional tax revenue, Strausbaugh added, will help pay for that growth."We'll need it if we want to maintain adequate levels of service," she said.