Politics

Pasco sheriff's position on tax relief could be costly

Sheriff Bob White's support for property tax relief appears to be at odds with his department's needs.

By MOLLY MOORHEAD, Times Staff Writer
Published January 27, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT Sheriff Bob White says he plans to vote "yes" on Amendment 1, but passage will force budget cuts.

Last summer, Pasco County Sheriff Bob White lobbied hard but unsuccessfully for nearly $12-million more to run his agency. A few months later, he stood with Gov. Charlie Crist in supporting a proposal that would give tax relief to homeowners but would force spending cuts in local governments.

Now, the weekend before Floridians vote on the massive property tax reform that could cost Pasco County an estimated $16-million in revenue, the Times asked White to discuss what the cuts could mean to his agency.

Through his spokesman, the sheriff declined to talk about it.

"He thinks this is ultimately a decision for the voters," spokesman Doug Tobin said. "The voters are smart. At this point it's probably best to leave it to the electorate."

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The proposal going before voters Tuesday would increase the homestead exemption from $25,000 to the equivalent of $40,000; allow people to carry accrued Save Our Homes benefits when they move; and create a new exemption for tax on business equipment and a 10 percent annual assessment cap for nonhomestead property.

Those savings for taxpayers would add up to a $16-million loss for county government, Pasco budget director Mike Nurrenbrock announced at last week's County Commission meeting.

Commissioner Jack Mariano, who opposes the property tax amendment, wondered aloud about making cuts proportionally. Since the Sheriff's Office budget makes up about 53 percent of the county's total operating budget, that's the share of the cut it should absorb, he suggested.

That would mean an $8-million gouge out of the sheriff's $86-million budget.

Spending decisions over law enforcement have been especially tense the past couple of years. White has compared his agency to a Third World country and "a basketball team with no players on the bench" to illustrate its bare-bones budget.

In 2006, he asked for a $12-million budget increase, saying it was needed to keep up with growth in the county. County commissioners approved $9-million.

Last year, he sought an $11.9-million bump, including money for 109 new positions. After a drawn-out fight, the commission gave him $2.8-million.

Commissioners also set aside money for 10 new deputies -- but only if the tax amendment fails.

Tobin would not comment last week on the measure's possible impact on Sheriff's Office finances because too much remains unknown.

For starters, Tobin said, sheriff's officials have yet to see the county's finalized 2007-08 budget. He said it could contain unforeseen surpluses, which could in turn offset the amendment's impact.

Then he repeated a line often said by White: "It all goes back to priorities. We certainly hope the priorities will be law enforcement."

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Earlier in his tenure as sheriff, White had another saying: "I'm not the tax man. I'm the policeman," He argued it was his job to present the agency's needs and the commission's job to figure out how to fund them.

He supported the Penny for Pasco sales tax, which included funding for sheriff's patrol cars and laptops among other projects, but he did not actively campaign for it.

"I'm not going to beat the drum for it ... because that's not my place," White said in December 2003, three months before the Penny referendum. "My place is being the sheriff."

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Tobin said last week that White has not campaigned for the property tax amendment either.

But at a West Pasco Board of Realtors meeting this month, White told a Times editorial writer he planned to vote for Amendment 1. And in November, White and his undersheriff, Col. Al Nienhuis, joined Charlie Crist at the Tampa kickoff of the governor's effort to sell Floridians on the proposal.

Mariano, a Republican like White, did not criticize the sheriff's support of the tax cut. He said only that he was "surprised" White chose to back it and did not elaborate.

Commissioner Michael Cox, the board's lone Democrat, suggested White's position was politically motivated.

"I have to think that this has more to do with his re-election," Cox said.

White is seeking a third term this year and so far has drawn three challengers.

Cox also pointed to White's friendship with Crist.

"I just don't think the sheriff is really looking at it from ... all angles," Cox said. "He's looking at it a little bit more from a personal friendship point of view."

Molly Moorhead can be reached at moorhead@sptimes.com or (727) 869-6245.

[Last modified January 26, 2008, 20:25:43]