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At public meeting, mayor is all ears

Pam Iorio addressed residents' questions about property values, taxes and cleaning up the Hillsborough River.

By SAUNDRA AMRHEIN
Published August 19, 2005

Crowded lots in East Tampa and rising taxes in Old Seminole Heights were main concerns of residents who attended Mayor Pam Iorio's town hall meeting this week at Middleton High School.

The crowd of about 100 peppered the mayor for answers on what could be done about issues including cleaning up the Hillsborough River and helping small businesses facing escalating taxes.

Loretta Rogers said she and other residents of East Tampa worry their property values will drop because new and bigger homes are going up on small plots against the lot lines.

City officials at Tuesday night's meeting encouraged residents to call the city and work with designers on redevelopment plans. Others were told to meet with designated city employees during business hours to help solve their problems.

Members of the environmental group Friends of the River asked the mayor why more money wasn't designated in the budget for filters to block garbage from entering the Hillsborough River.

Iorio said the city is trying to do its best with the money it has.

"We have to make money from stormwater stretch," she said. The city has $60-million earmarked for stormwater for five years, she said. But a project on Dale Mabry Highway alone costs $20-million.

"We could use quadruple that amount," she said. "It's difficult for us to fund everything."

Audience members thanked her for her honesty and her focus on neighborhoods.

Some worried about rising property taxes for businesses in Old Seminole Heights. City tax rates have stayed the same for 17 years, Iorio told them. The business owners' tax rates must be climbing due to higher assessed values or higher rates from other taxing bodies, she said.

Others worried that the state's three-year resurfacing project for Nebraska Avenue set for 2006 might exacerbate traffic woes by reducing the lanes from four to two. But Iorio said the project calls for turn lanes and bus pull-off lanes so stopped buses won't block traffic.

"In 2010, if you don't think there's an improvement, let me know at another town hall meeting," she said.

[Last modified August 18, 2005, 11:46:08]