Naples Florida Realtor

What is a Municipal Service Taxing Unit, or MSTU?

If you’re buying a home for sale in Naples, you need to know about Municipal Service Taxing Units, or MSTUs. This guide explains what MSTUs are and whether they’re likely to apply to you.

What is a Municipal Service Taxing Unit, or MSTU?

When you own a home in Naples, you may be subject to a Municipal Service Taxing Unit, or MSTU. Municipal Service Taxing Units are ways community members can create (with approval from the Board of County Commissioners) special taxing districts to make improvements to their neighborhoods and communities. Sometimes MSTUs are set up to provide additional services that the community wants. 

How Do Communities Set Up MSTUs?

MSTUs get funding through mileage rates set by the MSTU’s enabling ordinance. Capital projects, operating projects and required maintenance are administered by designated county project managers.

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What Kinds of Additional Services Can MSTUs Provide?

Any services that communities vote on and approve may be added to the services provided by funding from an MSTU. For example, a community may vote on and approve neighborhood projects such as:

  • Decorative lighting
  • Drainage improvements 
  • Landscape improvements
  • Pedestrian lighting
  • Power line burial
  • Road improvements
  • Sidewalk construction
  • Stormwater management
  • Underground utilities

How to Find Out Whether Your Neighborhood Has an MSTU

If you’re interested in buying a home, you can ask your Naples REALTOR® whether the community it’s in has an MSTU. Not all communities in Naples – or elsewhere – have MSTUs. Only some do, and if a community wants to set one up, it takes formal action.

What Does a Community Do to Set Up an MSTU?

In order to create a Municipal Service Taxing Unit or a Municipal Service Benefit Unit (commonly called an MSBU, which is very similar to an MSTU), the Board of County Commissioners must give its okay. Generally, they can begin the formal process after a request from a board member, a community citizen who speaks before the board or files a citizen petition.

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Are You Buying or Selling a Home in Naples? 

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