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Legislators won't help to disband Port Richey

The lawmakers say it's a local issue, a home rule issue and not one for them. Those wanting to dissolve Port Richey vow to keep pushing toward their goal.

NEW PORT RICHEY - The latest effort to dissolve the city of Port Richey fizzled. Again.

And the group behind the dissolution vowed to come back at it. Again.

The dissolution effort presented Tuesday to the Pasco County legislative delegation is the seventh attempt in 30 years to either return the city to county rule or merge it with larger New Port Richey.

None of the nine delegation members voiced any support for the Port Richey Citizens for Lower Taxes effort to eradicate the little coastal city of 3,000 residents. State Rep. Richard Glorioso, R-Plant City, told the group to "get elected" if they wanted to change local government.

"We're not going away," said Dr. Robert Goluba, chairman of the political action committee seeking to disband the city. "It's not going to fizzle. We have the votes. We're going to have an election."

Last year, some of the same people tried to put dissolution on a ballot, but the effort failed to get council approval due to procedural and legal flaws.

This time, Goluba's Port Richey Citizens for Lower Taxes bypassed the city. They went straight to state lawmakers seeking support of a local bill that would have brought the issue of the city's continued existence to a vote.

"This is a home rule issue," said state Rep. John Legg, R-Port Richey. "It's really not my role to step in. They are trying to bypass the system. There is a local mechanism to disband the city if they so choose."

Dr. Robert Johnston, a dissolution supporter, said the group will again try to bring the issue to a vote through the City Council. He declined to give an exact number, but said the group has almost 1,000 signatures supporting a shutdown of the city.

The city has 2,037 registered voters. Only 10 percent, 203 registered voters, are required to place the dissolution question on the ballot.

"We've got the signatures," Johnston said. "It's a slam-dunk."

Port Richey City Manager Jerry Calhoun said he's prepared to show city residents that the benefits of county rule promised by Port Richey Citizens for Lower Taxes are not as significant as advertised.

"The residents have been paying taxes to the county for 80 years and getting very little in return," Calhoun said. "If anything, the citizens should be looking at ways to reduce their county taxes because most of that money is spent outside the city."

Times staff writer Garrett Therolf contributed to this report.