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Letter to the editor

Tarpon tosses Penny plan back

City commissioners join the push to get the county to reassess allocation of the tax.

By ELENA LESLEY, Times Staff Writer
Published September 21, 2007

TARPON SPRINGS - City commissioners think the county's new plan for distributing "Penny for Pinellas" dollars shortchanges cities.

On Tuesday night, they took a stand against it.

Commissioners unanimously approved a motion to rescind a resolution they approved just a few weeks earlier agreeing to the new terms.

"Cities are making a statement: 'This is not fair and equitable,'" said Mayor Beverley Billiris. "The county needs to go back and re-evaluate the formula."

Penny for Pinellas, a 1 percent addition to the sales tax throughout the county, is approved in ten-year increments. In March, voters approved another installment, which will run from 2010 to 2020.

The tax is expected to generate an estimated $2-billion, which is shared between county government and Pinellas' 24 cities for public infrastructure projects.

This time around, city officials fear the county is "cutting a whole bunch off the top," Billiris said.

Previously, an initial $80-million was dedicated to jail facilities and criminal courts before funds from the remaining pool were distributed to local governments.

But now the county wants to increase that number to $225-million. Assistant County Administrator Mark Woodard said money is needed for the upcoming jail expansion.

For Tarpon, that will mean about $419,000 less than initially expected.

Tarpon officials also took issue with population data used to calculate what percent of the pot each government gets. Tarpon spokeswoman Judy Staley said the percentages were calculated using 2004 numbers, which are already out of date.

At a recent Council of Mayors meeting, Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard urged cities not to approve the new Penny for Pinellas agreement, saying cities weren't getting a fair share.

He said he and other city officials want to sit down with county representatives first to "have a dialogue. I want to make sure everyone's getting a square deal."

While Tarpon commissioners want to send a message to the county, Woodard said he isn't sure why they didn't voice objections earlier. He said these numbers were made public in spring 2006, and there was no outcry then.

Billiris told the Times last November: "As a city we're disappointed that some of the funds will be cut, but ... we're grateful for what we get."

But Hibbard said there was opposition at the time. In fact, he and others from the city had met with county officials to discuss the Penny for Pinellas changes.

But nothing came of it.

"We want to take another bite at that apple," he said.

[Last modified September 20, 2007, 21:49:01]