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Politics

Homeless issues take back seat to budget unease

County commissioners worry about how much revenue they will lose to tax rollbacks.

By WILL VAN SANT
Published April 20, 2007

CLEARWATER - Early last year, leaders from Pinellas County and several of its cities announced that within a decade they would end homelessness in the area.

But attempts to reach that ambitious goal now appear to be in a holding pattern as state lawmakers debate property tax cuts aimed at limiting local government revenue.

On Thursday, the Pinellas County Commission delivered a harsh reality check to homeless advocates who attended a 2007-08 budget workshop to address homelessness: Commissioners said they can't make any commitment until they know how state legislative action will affect the county's revenue next year.

"It's going to be painful," said County Commissioner Susan Latvala, who has been representing the interests of local governments during the current session of the state Legislature. "They want to see blood."

The legislative staff has estimated that plans being debated in Tallahassee would cut anywhere from $11.8-million to $153-million from the county's annual $599.6-million operating budget. The Legislature wraps up its annual session in two weeks.

"We all want to support these homeless efforts very much," said County Commissioner Karen Seel. "But we have to wait and see what's going to happen in Tallahassee."

On Thursday, county commissioners were presented with a range of proposals, most with million-dollar price tags, designed to get people off the streets and into homes.

Activists, community leaders, social service providers and elected leaders urged different approaches, but all agreed that the county should embrace action despite the impending loss of property tax income.

"We know that sacrifices will have to be made," said Barbara Heck, president of St. Petersburg's Council of Neighborhood Associations. "But we're here to tell you, homelessness can't be one of those sacrifices."

Figures presented to the commission by the county staff showed a 232 percent increase in Pinellas' homeless population over the last seven years, from a reported figure of 1,564 people without a roof in 2000 to 5,195 this year.

In recent months, the proliferation of tent cities in St. Petersburg and botched attempts by law enforcement to police them have generated negative nationwide attention.

Among the proposals before the commission was spending nearly $12-million over five years to house 150 homeless at the former headquarters of the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority in Largo.

Another plan called for spending nearly $19-million over five years to help the St. Vincent de Paul Society create roughly 220 beds at a new facility in St. Petersburg.

Despite the uncertainty over action in Tallahassee, County Commissioner Calvin Harris urged that homeless programs continue to get attention and money.

"I think that the investment in human lives and the relieving of suffering is something that we ought to prioritize," Harris said, "even in hard times."

Will Van Sant can be reached at vansant@sptimes.com or 445-4166.

[Last modified April 20, 2007, 07:10:19]