In a sign of economic vitality, county property values grew more than $1.6-billion since last year.
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
Published July 1, 2003
NEW PORT RICHEY - Forget the forecasts of economic gloom in other parts of the country. Pasco County is blossoming just fine, judging by its fast-growing tax base.
That figure swelled to $13.8-billion this year, Property Appraiser Mike Wells said Monday. That's an eye-popping 13.2 percent increase over last year's $12.2-billion tax base, marking the third year of double-digit increases.
"These numbers are unheard of, and it doesn't appear that the growth is slowing down," Wells said.
New construction accounts for nearly half of the increase, about $749-million. The rest comes from the rising value of existing homes and businesses, as determined by recent sale prices on neighboring properties.
"Obviously the waterfront properties are growing at a much more rapid rate than the inland properties," Wells said. "In general, everything is going up."
Including tax revenue for local governments.
With the growing tax base, the County Commission and the School District could keep the same millage rate as last year and still see roughly $14-million in additional revenue.
While pleased with the growth, County Commissioner Peter Altman said officials should exercise financial self-control.
"When we get a good year like this, we need to be very careful to use that revenue growth to solve problems, not to just gobble it up and be hungry again," Altman said. "These sort of good days don't last forever."
Altman suggests giving some of the money back to taxpayers in the form of lower millage rates. The rest could go toward the county's list of capital projects, he said.
The fast-growing tax base doesn't surprise Bob Memoli, president of the West Pasco Board of Realtors. It can take about two years for a construction project to clear all of the regulatory hurdles, and demand for new homes, office buildings and shopping centers isn't slowing, Memoli said.
"Right now there's not enough land in the process (of receiving construction approvals) to keep up with the demand," he said.
But officials shouldn't expect this kind of growth every year, Wells said. It will eventually taper off once interest rates creep back up.
"It's my view that all of this (growth) is being fueled by low interest rates," Wells said. "I mean, the lowest interest rates of two generations are out there right now and the buying public knows it."
The cities also posted larger tax bases than last year, with the greatest growth in Zephyrhills (a $49.5-million increase), Port Richey ($19.3-million) and New Port Richey ($14-million).
Dade City posted the smallest gain ($1.9-million), followed by San Antonio ($4.1-million) and St. Leo ($4.6-million).
- Bridget Hall Grumet covers Pasco County government. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is hall@sptimes.com
