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2002: The Year in Review
It'll put a big dent in New Port Richey's budget, but the city went ahead with big development plans.
By JENNIFER GOLDBLATT, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 26, 2002
NEW PORT RICHEY -- For the city of New Port Richey, 2002 was a year of big surprises -- both good and bad.
Community and North Bay hospitals shocked city leaders in February when they announced plans to move to the Trinity area. Since Community is the city's biggest taxpayer, and together the hospitals employ 1,500 people, the move threatens to leave a big hole in the city's budget.
The state's Agency for Healthcare Administration okayed the moves in June. North Bay and Community plan to leave the city in about five years.
In the meantime, New Port Richey leaders went ahead with big plans for business and neighborhood development.
City Council members agreed in May to buy the Hacienda, the 1920s-era hotel now used by Gulf Coast Jewish Services to house the mentally ill. The city staff wants to restore the Hacienda for commercial use so that it can bring sales revenues and traffic to the city's downtown.
City leaders got an overwhelming reception to their neighborhood improvement efforts.
With the help of $1,000 and $5,000 city grants, 134 residents invested $1.4-million fixing up their homes. The city spent $182,000 in grants on those projects.
But the downside of New Port Richey's redevelopment strategy also became clear in 2002.
City leaders realized that they had allotted so much money for redevelopment, that they might not have enough to pay for the city's basic operating expenses.
City Manager Gerald Seeber told council members in a December memo: "The expansion of the city's community redevelopment agency to encompass all areas of the city has placed a limit on the amount of property taxes received from new growth as a source of revenue in the city's general fund.
"Eventually, the city's general fund will run short of the revenues necessary to meet current labor agreement obligations," he wrote.
In response, city staff proposed new fees on fuel oil, public safety and street lighting. The council quickly voted down the fuel oil fee, after learning it would only raise $500 on an annual basis. But it went ahead with efforts to implement fees for street lighting and public safety. A consultant is now studying how much the city needs to raise and how much each resident should be charged.
The alternative to fees, Seeber told council members, "involves an increase in ad-valorem taxes on all taxable property taxes."
-- Jennifer Goldblatt covers the city of New Port Richey. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6229, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6229. Her e-mail address is goldblatt@sptimes.com .