A group of residents say increasing taxes and divisive politics are pushing them to rally for the dissolution of the city.
By ALEX LEARY
Published January 14, 2004
PORT RICHEY - Fed up with dual property taxes, higher building fees and other costs, as well as famously combative city politics, a Port Richey citizens group is seeking a referendum to dissolve the municipality and become an unincorporated part of Pasco County.
City officials were notified Tuesday that a five-member committee has been formed and a petition will circulate this week among registered voters, with the aim of placing the question on the April 13 ballot.
The committee would need roughly 200 signatures, or 10 percent of all registered voters, to satisfy that first requirement.
If all legal steps are met - city officials were unsure Tuesday exactly how the matter would proceed - voters could see two ballot questions. A separate committee is seeking to reverse a City Council decision to disband the police dispatch center in favor of a contract with New Port Richey.
Jim Priest, head of that committee, said Tuesday afternoon that he would not support the new measure but would reconsider if efforts to maintain police and fire services are unsuccessful. "I have always felt we have a really great little town," he said.
In hitting the streets this week, canvassers will hand out leaflets listing reasons to dissolve the city. In addition to higher property taxes, the leaflet cites rising water fees, aging water and sewer infrastructure, and higher franchise fees for cable television and telephone service. It also addresses a divisive government. "The city is too political and will never change," it reads.
The names on the committee might not be familiar. They are Charles Boyer, Ed Olson, Eugene Reas, Steve Johnston and Robert Goluba. But the committee is backed by other residents including Tom Brown, a former City Council member.
Johnston, a radiologist at Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point, said he's looking at dollars and cents. His Harbor Point home, assessed at more than $1-million, results in a property tax bill of $26,000. Of that, $6,000 goes to Port Richey.
"I'm looking for any way I can knock it down some," he said. As for police and fire services, Johnston does not think they are worth the extra expense, adding that friends who live in the unincorporated part of the county seem to have no problem obtaining adequate, timely protection.
City Manager Vince Lupo said some of the criticism is overstated. The city, for example, has raised its property tax rate only once in the past six years, and that was to finance a new city hall.
"County and school taxes are going up, not the city," Lupo said.
The city's property tax rate is 5.82 mills. The county rate is 8.28 mills. A mill is $1 per $1,000 of assessed property value.
Lupo says the city has much to offer, from an array of parks to localized police and fire service. And the city has seen "significant" commercial and residential growth in recent years, he added.
He also pointed to the lopsided failure of a ballot question to merge the city with New Port Richey in 1997. The merger was discussed various times before that, including 1975, when Port Richey rejected the idea in a referendum.
Port Richey City Council member Phyllis Grae fought the 1997 vote and said she would do the same again. The city fosters development, she said, and tries to reduce government spending.
But the reason in favor of the city goes deeper, Grae said. "When our forefathers founded this city (incorporated in 1925), they envisioned a city that could exist on its own. Are we saying our forefathers are wrong?"
Supporters contend that the city, population 3,021, is too small to support itself and feel the economic reasons are justification enough.
County Administrator John Gallagher said if Port Richey residents vote to dissolve the municipality, it "would have some impact on us, such as maintenance, but it would be minimal."
- Staff writer Bridget Hall Grumet contributed to this report. Alex Leary can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6247, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6247. His e-mail address is leary@sptimes.com
