For the second year in a row, Alachua County had the highest combined property tax rate in the state of Florida, and UF's presence in Gainesville has a lot to do with it.
According to an annual report by the Florida Department of Revenue, for fiscal year 2010-2011 Alachua County topped the 52 counties with a millage rate of 23.73 mills. St. Lucie County was second at 23.1634 mills.
This means Alachua County residents pay $23.73 for every $1,000 of property value.
Millage rate is determined by dividing the amount of money the local government wants to spend by the total number of taxable dollars, said Ed Crapo, the Alachua County property appraiser.
Only 50.71 percent of property in Alachua County is taxable. State- or government-owned entities like UF, Santa Fe College and government buildings don't pay property taxes, Crapo said.
Neither do churches or nonprofit organizations. However, these properties still have a taxable value that must be picked up by homeowners and private property owners.
For students or renters, property tax is reflected in their rent, he said.
The County Commission sets the property tax each year as it is one of the two ways the county government is funded, the other being the county's portion of the state shared sales tax.
The report's numbers include taxes paid to entities like the Alachua County School Board, the library district and municipal and water management.
The School Board and the county government's general fund are the two tax rates that play the largest role in determining the overall millage rate.
The School Board of Alachua County had the highest property tax rate of any county, with a millage rate of 9.107 mills.
This tax rate increased in 2008 with Alachua County voter approval.
When looking at the property tax that goes to the county's general fund, Alachua County drops to 16th with a millage rate of 8.3763 mills.
Last week, the County Commission approved a 2.3 percent increase in property taxes for the 2011-2012 fiscal year, which will bring the tax up to 8.5696 mills.
County Manager Randall Reid said Alachua County is often compared, unfairly, to that city out west in Leon County.
Like Alachua, about 57 percent of the property in Leon County is taxable, as it is home to entities like Florida State University and Tallahassee Community College.
The two counties have similar population sizes - 247,336 residents here and 275,487 in Leon.
However, Reid said, Leon County has had a one-cent sales tax in place for about 30 years, an effort that brings in about $35 million dollars annually to the county.
"It is really tragic to me that we don't enact this," he said.
Alachua County voters have historically voted against the one-cent sales tax, though Reid said it may be on the ballots again in 2012.
Right now, property taxes are the main source of funds for county entities like the sheriff's department and county projects like the construction of parks or road repairs, something the revenues from a supplemental sales tax could benefit, he said.
"People want lower taxes," Reid said. "Well, to do that, they'll have to decide what type of county services they want to get rid of."
