Residents of Pinellas County are having their voices heard Thursday night at the first of two public budget hearings.
Commissioners will talk about two proposed property tax rate increases to help decrease part of $13.9 million budget shortfall.
The first proposal would raise property tax rate by approximately 5% and that revenue would pay a $11.4 million bill for Medicaid costs that state lawmakers passed. That means homeowners would see their bills go up 30 cents for every thousand dollars.
The second proposal would raise the property rate by approximately 8% to help pay for Emergency Medical Services (EMS).
The second and final hearing will be on September 18. Commissioners will use public input from both meetings and then vote to approve the budget.
If approved, the budget would go into effect with the start of the new fiscal year on October 1.