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Politics

Mayors vent about loss of tax control

They share their concerns with lawmakers about how plans will affect local services.

By MIKE DONILA
Published June 7, 2007

Florida's top legislative leaders may have an agreement on priorities for property tax relief, but it was clear Wednesday not all of the bay area state lawmakers share them.

In a two-hour meeting with Pinellas County's mayors, the local delegation agreed that the people hurt most by the recent runup in property values -- business and investment property owners -- need relief more than the homesteaded property owners.

But so far legislative plans have focused mostly on homesteaded homeowners. Detailed plans are expected to be released by the end of this week for a special legislative session beginning Tuesday, but some key leaders wondered if Wednesday's meeting would make a difference.

"It was a pretty good dialogue and in keeping open the lines of communication, but I'm afraid it won't have a tremendous impact," said Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard, president of the Pinellas County Mayors' Council, which called the meeting. "We just hope they give relief where it makes the most sense and has the least impact on all our services."

The meeting, held at the Main Library in downtown Clearwater, comes as state lawmakers look to dramatically curtail the amount of property tax revenues local governments can collect.

In recent days, the Senate president and House speaker agreed to a broad framework for tax relief: a rollback of local tax rates benefiting all property owners and a longer-term plan to ask voters in 2008 to create a super homestead exemption in lieu of the 3 percent cap on taxes known as Save Our Homes for homesteaded homeowners.

But they can't agree on how much to cut taxes. Nor have they spent much time on other ideas aimed strictly at business owners such as changing how business property is assessed from its "highest and best use" to "current use." Under current practice, a mom-and-pop motel can be taxed as if it were a 150-room condominium tower.

Wednesday's meeting, which drew most of Pinellas' 12-member legislative delegation and the majority of its 24 mayors, was cordial, but several mayors complained about state leaders' allegations that they've been overspending.

Further, they said, key departments -- police, fire and recreation -- all will be affected by the cuts. Libraries will close and employees will lose jobs, they said.

"My pet peeve about the Legislature is that they're taking our tax rates into their hands. ... The people who choose to live in our communities come because of the amenities they get and (the Legislature) is taking their choices away from them," said Largo Mayor Pat Gerard.

She told the 11 local senators and representatives that residents "will be screaming at us -- not you" if services are cut.

State lawmakers, however, told the mayors they need to focus on cutting the luxuries and not essential services and challenged them to help come up with some solutions.

"We have ... no monopoly on intelligence so if you have any ideas I welcome them," said Rep. Jim Frishe, R-St. Petersburg. "If the tax system isn't perceived as being fixed it will never get respect from the populace, and if they don't respect it, they'll find a way around it. We're trying to find something everyone can support."

Throughout the meeting, the two sides kicked around a few ideas. Rep. Janet Long, D-Seminole, said lawmakers should revisit a much-discussed proposal to take another look at removing some sales tax exemptions to bring in new revenue

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker offered another proposal: roll back nonhomesteaded property values two years and adopt an 8 percent cap increase, a plan similar to what Nevada did in 2004.

But local legislators made no promises.

Rep. Tom Anderson, R-Dunedin, said he was "disappointed that we do not have a specific proposal," but that he would pass along the mayors' concerns to the legislative leadership.

[Last modified June 7, 2007, 07:32:39]