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Clarification of ad valorem tax bills & TRIM notices <br /> This proposal would require that future TRIM notices and tax bills include a breakdown <br /> of County taxes that shows the portion needed to fund the various Constitutional <br /> Officers' budgets. The change would provide increased transparency to taxpayers. <br /> Constitutional Officers make up about 70% of Indian River County's General Fund <br /> expenses, yet there is no effective communication of this point to taxpayers directly. <br /> The Sheriff's Office (SO) alone represents over 50% of IRC's General Fund. SO <br /> expenses represent a significant portion of expenses in all Florida counties. The <br /> County Commission has the responsibility for all of these taxes even though they have <br /> very little control over Constitutional Officer's budgets in current law. The single most <br /> common question taxpayers have about their property tax bill is, "What am 1 getting <br /> for the taxes I pay?" The single largest expense in IRC—and likely in all 67 <br /> counties—is law enforcement. If the TRIM notices and tax bills itemized Constitutional <br /> Officers, the answer would be communicated simply and effectively to the taxpayers. It <br /> should be the goal of State and local governments to provide transparency and clarity in <br /> TRIM notices and tax bills. The cost to the State for this change would be <br /> negligible. We understand that the State has limited resources in this challenging <br /> economy, so we feel that this is a significant change that could be made with little <br /> expense for the State. <br /> TRIM Notice and Tax Bill Proposal Summary - 2011 Legislative Session.doex <br /> 226 <br />