Pasco: Cities crafting sales tax strategy

Cities crafting sales tax strategy

At issue in the debate over a proposed increase is who gets how much of the money.

By CHASE SQUIRES and MOLLY MOORHEAD

A countywide sales tax increase proposal has yet to really take shape, but already some city officials are having second thoughts about the idea.

In St. Leo, rumors of a potential money-grab by Pasco County officials were enough to have town commissioners balking Monday night, while Zephyrhills City Council members, including two up for re-election this year, also refused Monday to back the plan.

"I'm not for new taxes," council member Mike Bussell said after the Zephyrhills meeting.

In St. Leo, the issue was more complicated.

As town commissioners on Monday prepared to approve a resolution of support for one proposal to increase the sales tax from 6 cents on the dollar to 7 cents, they expressed concern over a warning from New Port Richey City Manager Gerald Seeber.

Seeber sent an e-mail warning that Pasco County might try to grab a disproportionate share of the new money, expected to reach more than $30-million a year.

The proposal Seeber offered in the fall suggested 45 percent of the new money go to Pasco schools, 45 percent go to the county government, and the remaining 10 percent go to cities according to population.

St. Leo stood to collect about $48,000 a year under that scenario.

But Seeber's e-mail claimed school Superintendent John Long had warned him the county might try to snatch a lion's share, arguing the cities and schools didn't need the money.

Seeber urged all municipalities to develop a specific list of projects the new money could help fund. County Administrator John Gallagher on Tuesday said that idea has never been floated by county commissioners.

And Long on Tuesday said Seeber must have misunderstood. He said he told Seeber there had been no comment from the county and so no proposal was solid until the county has weighed in.

St. Leo commissioners, concerned at the prospect of losing out to the county, unanimously approved a resolution supporting the tax increase, dubbed "Penny for Pasco," but only if the cities were guaranteed a minimum of 10 percent of the take.

Regardless of governmental support, ultimately the tax increase must be approved by voters to take effect.

Sister Donna DeWitt, a nun at the abbey in town, said she hasn't heard a lot of support for the increase.

"Unless the people see what you're going to do with it, they aren't going to vote for it," she said. "They don't want to pay any more money. When it goes to a vote, I think we're going to be surprised."

In Zephyrhills, it was council member Elizabeth Geiger who was surprised, "since everybody voted for it at the (Municipal Association of Pasco) meeting," she said.

Zephyrhills council member Lance Smith moved to support a referendum, but neither Bussell nor Cathi Compton offered a second, letting the resolution die. Both Compton and Bussell are up for re-election in April, although Bussell is unsure whether he will run again.

Council President Clyde Bracknell, who has expressed support for the tax in the past and also is up for reelection, was absent. Geiger ran the meeting but she declined to step down to second the motion because the vote probably would have tied.

Under the proposal, Zephyrhills would receive about $894,000 per year of the $30-million.

County commissioners have the final decision to place the measure on the 2004 presidential ballot.