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Hillsborough trims back millage rate

By KEVIN GRAHAM
Published September 21, 2006

TAMPA — Hillsborough commissioners voted unanimously for the largest millage rate decrease in the county’s history, a roll back of more than half a mill, though many who packed the meeting Thursday night left disappointed they didn’t get twice that.

The millage drops .5816 mill, which saves someone living in a house worth $200,000 about $100 in taxes, if the assessment does not rise. One mill equals $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed property values.

While some commissioners applauded County Administrator Pat Bean and her staff for trimming the $3.8-billion county budget to allow for the savings, it came in part at a cost to a week-old domestic violence agency.

The Family Justice Center had asked commissioners on Wednesday for $500,000 to shore up their budget during the first half of next year, until the program would be illegible to apply for grants. Commissioners asked  Sheriff David Gee if he could help, and on Thursday he obliged.

In a letter, Gee said his agency had saved enough money from a change in worker’s compensation insurance the approved the commissioners on Wednesday to  provide  the money the center sought.  But commissioners voted 4-3 instead to add the half million dollars to the pot to make the millage rate decrease larger.

The result: an additional 71 cents per household saved per year on $100,000 of taxable value, said county budget director Eric Johnson.

Commissioners Tom Scott, Kathy Castor and Mark Sharpe loss in efforts to give the money to the Family Justice Center.

“We’ll get through this,” Nikki Daniels, executive director of the center, told a fellow employee following the vote as she held back tears.

Daniels said her board hadn’t decided what it would do without the money. The agency, a one-stop center for victims of domestic violence, only opened it’s doors on Monday at 9309 N Florida Ave.

“It’s a difficult decision to accept,” Daniels said.

Commissioner Ken Hagan repeated comments he made during Wednesday’s commission meeting, telling Daniels that she simply asked for the money at the wrong time.

It was Hagan who first chimed in with a motion to approve Bean’s initial proposal to roll back the millage rate by .5674.

Commissioners had asked Bean to trim the county budget by as much as $44.5-million, hoping to give property owners a full mill reduction.

“I understand the pain of our citizens,” Hagan said.

Last year, Hagan said, he moved into a smaller home and had to pay an extra $3,100 in property taxes.

“We’ve heard the people,” said Commissioner Brian Blair. “They’re hurting right now, and they want significant budget cuts.”

Blair wanted to cut the budget even more to get to a full mill reduction. But none of the commissioners backed him.
Johnson, the budget director, said that some people in Hillsborough County have seen the assessed value of their property increase by as much as 60 percent. It didn’t matter how much commissioners rolled back the millage, there was nothing they could do for them. They’d still end up paying exponentially more in taxes.

The rate will drop .5816 of a mill, from 12.9 mills last year to 12.3184.  So a house worth $200,000, with a homestead exemption of $25,000 would be taxed $2,156, saving the homeowner about $102 over last year’s tax bill, assuming the assessment remained the same.  

Some of the roughly two dozen people who pleaded with commissioners for a break said that climbing property values was at the root of the problem.

“I’ve seen a lot of progress, but I want you to know that not all progress is forward,” said Charles Slowey , of Valrico. “Small businesses are disappearing, and they are the color of this community.”

Sherry Parsons told commissioners that the county’s portion of taxes on her bill went up 22 percent last year.

“It’s too high,” Parson said. “I moved here for a position. If young professionals can’t stay here, and we are the future of Tampa, who is the future?”

Hillsborough Property Appraiser Rob Turner said more people should attend meetings like the one Thursday night to voice their concerns.

“Values have definitely gone up in the last few years, and the need arises even more for the taxing authority to make the downward adjustments,” Turner said.

Kevin Graham can be reached at (813) 226-3433 or kgraham@sptimes.com.

[Last modified September 21, 2006, 23:26:09]