Today's Letters: Portability is good protection

Portability worsens the problem Jan. 11, editorial 

Your editorial condemning the Save Our Homes portability portion of the property tax amendment does not consider the reasons for portability that the measure addresses.

Yes, first-time home buyers will pay more taxes compared to someone who has lived in the state for a long time. But they will know that when they buy the house. Yes, longtime homeowners will receive the largest tax breaks, but they have been paying taxes on their property for a long time.

Most of the affected longtime homeowners paid a lower cost for their homes and wish to stay in their homes or move to smaller homes as their families and income decrease.

The people who would benefit from the tax break generally did not know that houses would go up in value so drastically, want to remain living in the same or similar home and are not out to make a profit like businesses or owners of investment property.

Yes, this will give a break to certain homeowners, but are they not the people that helped build and support what we have in Florida and the kind of people we would like to remain here as residents?

Brian Lowman, Navarre

Communities will be hurt

In his Jan. 3 column, Howard Troxler asks, "Better than nothing: Is that good enough?"

The answer is a resounding no. The property tax amendment sounds good, but it was done in too much of a hurry with little thought about the effect it would have on our communities. Your savings won't be that large (around $245) but there will be a huge effect on the money available to schools and police and fire departments.

Just think about what happens in the coming school year when the mandatory limits on classroom size go into effect. Or what if the fire department doesn't have enough staff to stop a major disaster. Or the police department cannot enforce the law. Do not be swayed by that promise of tax relief.

Ruth Boe, Sun City Center

The Florida premium

Nobody will debate the fact that Florida's natural resources are becoming more stretched each year with new residents coming to one of the No. 1 states to live in. Adequate water supply is becoming a serious problem. Slowing the demand on these resources by slowing growth is one of the many benefits of the Save Our Homes amendment.

The idea behind the Save Our Homes amendment was to protect long-term Florida residents, and it is doing a very good job. When my neighbor bought his house last year, he accepted the current taxes and now enjoys the same protection against the wild swings in real estate prices as I do. With our limited resources, there has to be a premium for moving to Florida.

Unfortunately, the major flaw in the Save Our Homes amendment was the fact that it was not portable, thus penalizing long-term Florida residents who choose to relocate. That will be corrected with the passage of Amendment 1 on Jan. 29.

While Amendment 1 does not address all the property tax issues we face, it does raise the homestead amount and addresses the portability issue. There are always opportunities to make further changes. To simply vote no because it does not address every issue would be one step back instead of at least one step forward.

Michael Bradley, Brooksville

Making things worse

The property tax amendment should be voted down for the simple reason that it makes an unfair tax system even worse. Voters who rent pay the unreduced taxes through their rents, which over the years have become thousands of dollars more than those who have the full Save Our Homes protection.

People who have bought their houses recently will every year pay a greater tax than people with the exact same house who bought earlier. New residents moving to the state will always pay much higher property taxes than longtime residents. To make the SOH allowance transferable means that this unfairness will increase greatly.

SOH was designed to help people stay in their homes. Now those residents with it complain that they are being kept in their homes. Anyone who wants to upsize their home should be prepared to pay the same tax as a new resident moving into an identical home. Anyone wishing to downsize will have either a reduced mortgage or money left over from the sale and purchase so that they should be able to pay the full tax. Under the present system, they will still be capped to the SOH increases in the following years.

I realize that a vote to remove the SOH allowance will never pass. The only fair solution is to make every property under all circumstances eligible for the SOH allowance, backdated to when SOH was introduced. Then adjust the tax money required by the counties with the mill rate. This is the amendment that should be presented to the people to vote on.

Bill Armstrong, Largo

Become a blood donor

As we clean up the remnants of the paper and bows from holiday gifts, and realize all of the blessing that the season brings, blood transfusion recipients and their families and friends take this opportunity to thank blood donors through the annual January celebration of National Blood Donor Month.

Blood bank levels often become critically low during January. Hectic holiday travel schedules, the cold and flu season, and inclement weather often preclude individuals from donating at this time of year. However, the need does not decrease.

It is estimated that hospitals in our country use 39,000 units of blood per day. It saves the lives of nearly 5-million Americans who suffer from diseases like cancer, have had organ transplants, or have been involved in an accident. Currently, the blood inventory at Florida Blood Services is below a two-day reserve for blood types O, A and B negative blood.

The general guidelines for donation are that a person be at least 16 years of age, weigh at least 110 pounds, have not donated blood within the last eight weeks, and be in good health. Donors also receive a brief examination at the time of donation to ensure that temperature, blood pressure, and blood count are within the appropriate range. Although only 37 percent of the population meets the blood donation criteria, it is estimated that only 10 percent of those eligible actually donate.

I encourage everyone who can to consider donating their blood. It takes only a few minutes, and we never know when someone we know and love may need this lifesaving procedure.

For more information about becoming a blood donor or to find a donation location, call toll-free 1-800-682-5663 or log on to www.fbsblood.org.

Gus Bilirakis, congressman, District 9, Palm Harbor

Start drilling Jan. 10, letter

Better to bus it

Has the letter writer considered taking the bus? He can go to hartline.org for routes, schedules and the cost for a 31-day pass.

Conserve! It's a better alternative to drilling.

Barbara F. Hildebrand, Tampa

[Last modified January 13, 2008, 21:16:54]