Raise city fees, Iorio urges

The council should consider hikes to offset tax reform losses, she says.

By JANET ZINK
Published June 28, 2007

TAMPA -- Mayor Pam Iorio is urging the City Council to consider increasing fees for such things as parks and recreation and fire rescue to make up for money lost because of state property tax reform.

That discussion with council members Wednesday came on the eve of today's announcement of a "significant" number of layoffs of city employees, also in response to property tax cuts.

On the revenue front, Iorio said she wanted the council to consider whether the fees should be increased. But she noted that already, the city's construction services division is working on a plan to increase its fees that could add $3-million a year to city coffers.

A draft report calls for increasing fees for plan review and permits by 10 percent for residential projects and 100 percent for commercial projects.

Meanwhile, at a 3 p.m. news conference today, Iorio will announce layoffs she said will cover most of the $20-million the city needs to cut from next year's proposed budget.

"We have been working on this for many months, and it is a painful process," Iorio said.

Property taxes make up about 40 percent of the city's general fund. Most of that fund goes to pay personnel expenses for nearly 3,700 employees, Iorio said.

"We need to shrink the organization," she said.

The positions targeted for layoffs have nothing to do with the performance of the people holding those jobs but what makes most sense for the city, she said.

Layoffs in the police and fire departments will not affect street-level service, she said.

Council member Joseph Caetano asked why, when people are losing jobs, the city continues with big expenses. He specifically asked why the city is considering buying land behind the troubled Trump Tower for the Riverwalk.

Iorio said purchasing park land is a one-time cost, and budget cuts need to be longer-term.

Council members John Dingfelder and Charlie Miranda said the board will do all it can to trim its budget this year. Miranda offered up his entire $3,400 allotment for travel and other spending.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said. "The council can cut $30,000 to $40,000 without blinking an eye."

Iorio also told the council that in the near future, members will need to decide whether they want to eliminate services or increase fees for parks programs, fire rescue and other services.

"It is a philosophical discussion," she said. The city recently floated, then rejected a plan to charge insurance companies fees for fire rescue response to accidents.

The construction services division is already working on a proposal that will be hashed out with the help of a 12-member committee of industry representatives, she said.

The goal is to make the construction services division self-sustaining, said Cyndy Miller, director of Growth Management and Development Services. Right now, department expenses are supplemented with more than $4-million from the city's general revenue fund. Even with the increases, she said, fees in Tampa would still be less than many other cities and counties in the area.

Joseph Narkiewicz, executive vice president of the Tampa Bay Builders Association, said it's too early to draw any conclusions about the suggested fee increases, but throughout the property tax debate he has been concerned that local governments would turn to the building industry to make up for revenue losses.

"This may be the beginning of that," he said.

He wondered whether city and county building services should be consolidated.

"We've talked about that over the years, but it's never gotten any traction. Now might be a good time to look at it," he said. "That might be a better long-term solution."

Tampa land use consultant Steve Michelini said increasing fees is "fine as long it's accompanied by more efficiency. It takes an inordinate amount of time to get through construction site reviews."

Miller said the division at this point has not been targeted for any personnel cuts.

Janet Zink can be reached at jzink@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3401.

[Last modified June 28, 2007, 00:14:23]