PUNTA GORDA — Charlotte County’s 2024-25 budget passed a second and final public hearing Tuesday, with even fewer attendees than the first hearing earlier this month.
One of those attendees, resident Jack Vanderheyden, said during public comment that many people were likely too busy preparing for Tropical Storm Helene, which became a hurricane Wednesday, to attend the hearing.
The budget approved after the hearing Tuesday set a total county property tax rate below the previous year, though Vanderheyden said costs were still rising too high for his neighbors…