LONG BEACH - Residents likely will pay higher property taxes beginning in October because of a $450,000 shortfall in the school district's budget.

School officials discovered the deficit last month and after investigating found out that the city's tax rate didn't bring in enough money last year.

"The city hasn't done anything, but apparently the millage isn't producing what we had requested in real dollars," said Jamie Harvey, finance director for the school district. "There's no money missing. We haven't been shorted because someone didn't pay us the right amount of money."

The city's tax rate this year is 51.7 mills, and Harvey said the school district likely will ask for a 3 mill increase, which would put the rate near the limit of 55 mills.

A mill is the basic unit governments and schools use to set and calculate property tax. A mill equals $1 for every $1,000 of assessed property value.

Harvey said the city is borrowing the $450,000, since the school's fiscal year ends this month.

Harvey said it is difficult to ensure the tax rate that the city sets will bring in the amount of money schools need.

"You're guessing that the assessed (property) value is a certain number of dollars," he said.

"You also guess at what the collection rate is. No matter what, there are going to be people who don't pay their taxes."

The Pass Christian School District also faces a $330,000 deficit at the end of this fiscal year, but officials haven't figured out the cause yet.

Business manager Marsha Garziano said the operations fund is the only one that is short.

"We're still working on it," she said Tuesday. "We haven't figured it out yet."

Pass Christian also will have to borrow the money.

Cities must fund any increase a school district requests, as long as the increase isn't more than 7 percent above the previous year.

The budget year for school districts runs from July 1 through June 30, while the year for cities runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30. Any increase in taxes for the school district isn't assessed until Oct. 1.