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Budget problems deepen in Dade CityBy CHASE SQUIRES, Times Staff Writer © St. Petersburg Times published July 24, 2003
DADE CITY - Now matter how bad the financial picture City Manager Harold Sample presented to the City Commission on Tuesday, in reality, it's a little worse. Sample's original calculations showed Dade City property values - not including new construction and newly annexed land - dropped by $350,000 last year. But actually, Property Appraiser Mike Wells said Wednesday, the value of property citywide dropped $1.5-million. In a booming county, Dade City is the only place where that happened. As city operating costs rise and revenues decline along with property values, city commissioners say they are left with the possibility of having to both raise taxes and cut costs. They blame several factors, including themselves. "Perhaps we have just been postponing the inevitable, and the bill has now come due," Commissioner Hutch Brock mused. With a looming budget shortfall of $1-million to $1.4-million, commissioners on Tuesday set the tentative tax rate at the highest level allowed by law: $10 per $1,000 of assessed taxable value. Commissioners were vague Tuesday about how to solve the problems, but Commissioner Lowell Harris ventured it might be time not only to raise taxes but also to examine the cost of running the Fire Department. And Vice Mayor Bill Dennis said the idea of charging extra fees for some city services might not be dead after all. Earlier this year, residents shouted down a plan to charge new fees for fire protection and street lights. Commissioners said they plan to look for cost-cutting and revenue-raising plans at a public budget workshop set for 5:30 p.m. July 31 at City Hall. On Wednesday, a day after setting the tentative tax rate at $10 per $1,000 of value, Sample said City Hall wasn't overrun with resident complaints. The day, he said, actually was quiet. At a staff meeting, budget talks hardly came up. But, he said, that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of work to be done. Wells said in this growing section of Florida, the phenomenon of property depreciation outstripping increased home sales prices is unusual, but it happened in Dade City. "There's not a lot of reason for people to move to Dade City to drive up the property values," Wells said. The roll back rate is a theoretical tax rate established by a state formula to keep cities from claiming to hold the line on taxes while actually taking in more tax money because of rising property values. But in Dade City this year, the roll back rate of $7.46 per $1,000 of assessed taxable property value is actually higher than this year's tax rate of $7.40. Wells said he can't ever remember any governing body with a roll back rate higher than the real tax rate. That's what happens when property values fall. Wells said his office sets property values in part using actual sale prices. While Hillsborough County commuters are snapping up Wesley Chapel and Land O'Lakes homes and Pinellas commuters are buying Pasco's west side, there isn't the demand for Dade City homes, Wells said. In the unincorporated county, values are up $871-million. In New Port Richey, they're up $9-million. And in Zephyrhills, which also saw an overall increase of nearly $50-million in taxable property value, including new construction, about $33-million of that was due to rising valuations. Zephyrhills City Manager Steve Spina said his city has benefited from being closer to Tampa, but also from establishing the infrastructure and business-friendly environment that lures commercial investment and brings jobs. Commissioners in Dade City on Tuesday mumbled a bit about the downturn in the economy and other factors out of the city's control, but they also took responsibility. Sample, new on city staff, told them the cash crunch didn't just happen, it took time to develop. Mayor Scott Black said for years the commission fought to spend less and resist tax increases. "There's been a lot of soul searching over the past two weeks," Black said. "As stewards, we're going to have to make some tough decisions. "When we make these tough decisions, we're going to have to live with them," he said. "That's been a problem in the past. We've maybe needed to consider some other tough measures and maybe we haven't been able to do it when the time came." - Chase Squires covers news about Dade City. He can be reached at 352 521-5757, ext. 27 or toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6108, then 27. His e-mail address is squires@sptimes.com
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