Indian River Hospital District Holds Property Tax Rate at Rolled-Back Level

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Indian River County property owners will avoid a proposed increase in the Hospital District's property-tax levy for the coming fiscal year after trustees ultimately adopted the state's rolled-back tax rate.

The Indian River County Hospital District approved a millage rate of approximately 0.712 mills for the 2026-27 fiscal year, equal to about 71 cents for every $1,000 in taxable property value.

At that rate, a property with $300,000 in taxable value would generate approximately $214 annually for the Hospital District.

The decision comes under new Florida property-tax rules that significantly changed how local governments and independent taxing districts approve rates above the rolled-back level.

Under Florida Statute 200.065, the rolled-back rate is generally the rate designed to generate approximately the same property-tax revenue as the previous year, after accounting for changes in the tax roll. Beginning this year, an independent special district seeking to levy as much as 110 percent of that rate must obtain approval from two-thirds of its governing body.

For the seven-seat Indian River County Hospital District board, that threshold requires five affirmative votes.

The board currently has only six sitting members following the resignation of former chairman Dr. William Cooney earlier this year.

Trustees Dr. Chuck Mackett and Paul Westcott declined to support a rate above the rolled-back level, leaving supporters of a higher levy without enough votes to meet the new statutory threshold. The board subsequently adopted the rolled-back rate.

$26.2 million budget

The Hospital District's new budget is approximately $26.2 million, about $600,000 below the previous year's $26.8 million spending plan.

The district's role is unusual compared with many other local taxing authorities.

Created by the Florida Legislature, the Hospital District historically used property-tax revenue in large part to support healthcare for residents who could not afford treatment at Indian River's public hospital.

That arrangement changed significantly when Cleveland Clinic assumed operation of Indian River Hospital in 2019.

Today, the Hospital District describes its mission more broadly as improving the health of Indian River County residents and directs millions of dollars to community healthcare providers and nonprofit organizations providing mental-health, primary-care, substance-abuse and other health-related services. The district lists stewardship and accountability among its stated organizational values.

The transition has also raised an ongoing public-policy question: how large should the Hospital District's tax-supported role remain now that it no longer operates the county hospital?

That debate has intensified as trustees consider which nonprofit programs qualify for funding and how much property-tax revenue should be collected to support them.

This year, trustees reportedly rejected approximately $2 million in requested funding while developing the final $26.2 million budget.

What the rolled-back rate means

A rolled-back rate does not necessarily mean every homeowner's Hospital District tax bill will be identical to last year's.

Individual bills can still rise or fall depending on a property's assessed value, exemptions, new construction and other factors.

Instead, the rolled-back calculation is intended to determine a tax rate that produces approximately the same overall revenue from the existing tax base as the previous year.

The Florida Legislature changed that calculation's importance this year by making the rolled-back rate the benchmark above which many local taxing authorities need a two-thirds vote.

For Indian River County taxpayers, that new requirement proved consequential during the Hospital District's first budget cycle under the law.

The 2026-27 fiscal year begins October 1.

Sources: Indian River County Hospital District; Florida Statutes §200.065; secondary local reporting used only for details not yet available in indexed district records.

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