With Inflated Budgets Like This, Counties Stoke Tea Movement

Unemployment is stuck in double digits, foreclosures remain rampant and home values continue to fall in St. Lucie County.

So what do county officials do? Raise the property tax rate, of course.

Commissioners this week boosted the levy from $6.62 per $1,000 assessed value to $7.47 -- a 12.8 percent increase.

Officials justified their action by saying that because of plummeting property values, "most" homeowners would see a decrease in their annual bill.

The county said the hike was needed to prop up its new budget, which weighed in at $579 million. Commissioners can claim it's lighter than last year's, but many hard-pressed households would settle for that tiny 1.4 percent trim at a time when their property values and life savings are taking much heavier hits.

Under the misery-loves-company category, we suspect St. Lucie County is not alone in this abuse of the taxpaying public.