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Tarpon values up; taxes may also rise

The City Commission has capped the tax rate at 4.94 mills, same as this year. But because each property appraised higher, individual tax bills will increase.

By ROBIN STEIN
Published July 14, 2006

TARPON SPRINGS - To some, Tarpon Springs is priceless. To the Pinellas County Property Appraiser's Office, it's worth about $1.8-billion.

That figure, the total of the city's property assessments, is more than double the $712-million of taxable citywide property values 10 years ago.

Now, living in a town where real estate is appreciating so rapidly might translate to higher taxes for property owners.

City commissioners voted 4-0 Tuesday night to cap next year's property tax rate at 4.94 mills, the same as the current rate.

As a result, the commission could decide to lower the rate as budget deliberations proceed in coming weeks, but it cannot raise the rate.

"This is what we normally do, because it gives us some latitude for the budget process," said city Finance Director Arie L. Walker.

But even with the rate pinned down, property tax bills will be higher due to the surge in property values. The total value of the tax base has risen by more than $300-million in the last year alone.

Now, the city's average single-family home has a taxable value of $141,000, compared with $119,300 last year, said Amanda Coffey, executive secretary at the Pinellas County Property Appraiser's Office.

But homeowners already living here will not see their property assessments increase so dramatically, said Arie L. Walker, the Tarpon Spring's finance director.

That's because of Florida's Save Our Homes cap. Under the law, taxable values of homesteaded properties can rise only as fast as inflation, or 3 percent, whichever is lower.

With the city's proposed tax rate, a homeowner who has a house assessed at $166,000 and a $25,000 homestead exemption would pay about $697 in city taxes next year. That hypothetical tax bill does not include taxes levied by the County Commission, School Board, Southwest Water Management District or other taxing authorities.

Of the $300-million in value added to the city's tax base over the last year, $36-million was generated from new construction, Walker said .

Annexation accounted for another $5-million. Much of the remainder, Walker said, resulted from home sales, turnover that eliminates the Save Our Homes assessment cap for those properties.

Tarpon Springs' proposed property tax rate is 18.62 percent above the rolled-back rate of 4.1662 mills, the rate the city would have to set to maintain current tax revenues. (A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed, taxable value.) Under Florida law, cities are required to advertise an increase in taxes when their proposed tax rates are higher than the rollback rates.

At the current rate, the city would collect about $8.23-million in property taxes in 2006.

Commissioner Peter Dalacos was not present at Tuesday's meeting, but the other four commissioners tentatively agreed to the proposed rate, pending further scrutiny at upcoming budget hearings.

[Last modified July 13, 2006, 22:35:01]