Florence homeowners will pay a lower property tax rate for the third year in a row after City Council approved an 7% cut on Sept. 1.

The combined real property tax rate drops from $2.31 per $1,000 of assessed value to $2.14, according to a city announcement published Sept. 8. Since 2023, the rate has fallen from roughly $2.46 to $2.14, a decline of about 13% over three years.

"Florence is in a strong financial position, and we believe our taxpayers should share in that success," Mayor Julie Aubuchon said in the announcement. She said the city has worked for three consecutive years to balance responsible operations with reducing the tax burden on residents and businesses.

The vote was unanimous.

The base real property tax rate stays at $1.87 per $1,000, unchanged from 2025. The reduction comes entirely from the hazardous duty employee retirement assessment, which the city lowered from $0.44 per $1,000 to $0.27. Florence is the only city in Kentucky authorized to levy that special assessment, Aubuchon said at an Aug. 23 council meeting reported by the NKy Tribune.

The city could have set the retirement assessment higher. Instead, the administration recommended the lower figure and council approved it, following the same pattern as the 2024 and 2025 cuts. Both earlier votes were also unanimous, according to city meeting minutes. At the Sept. 23, 2025, meeting, Aubuchon noted it was the first time since 2003–2004 that Florence had achieved back-to-back tax reductions.

In 2024, the combined rate fell from $2.46 to $2.38. In 2025, it dropped to $2.31. Finance Director Jason Lewis told council at the Sept. 23, 2025, meeting that the 2025 cut would save the average Florence taxpayer about $25 in real estate taxes that year. No comparable savings estimate has been released for the 2026 reduction.

The property tax cut is not the only tax relief Florence has enacted. Council voted unanimously in March 2026 to reduce the insurance premium tax rate from 5% to 4%, effective July 1. City Administrator Josh Hunt called it a 20% reduction in that rate at the March meeting, the NKy Tribune reported. That tax is paid by insurance companies on policies written within the city, not billed directly to residents.

The NKy Tribune reported Sept. 6 that the consumer price index rose about 3% over the past 12 months, meaning the 8% rate cut outpaces inflation. The city held a public hearing on the proposed rates on Aug. 18 at the Florence Government Center before the final vote.

Florence mailed property tax bills in October in 2025, according to city meeting minutes. No 2026 mailing date has been announced.