Saint Leo may see revenues double

The town plans a 2.97-mill tax rate - below last year's 3 mills - as the Lake Jovita project adds to the tax base.

By CHASE SQUIRES

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 12, 2000

SAINT LEO -- Property taxes in this tiny town are expected to double in the coming fiscal year -- sort of.

In a town of about 45 homes, the addition of Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club will likely double the town's taxable property value in the coming fiscal year, meaning town commissioners would have to slash the millage rate in half just to hold the line on taxes under the state's method of calculating tax increases, the town's attorney said Monday.

In reality, commissioners said the rate paid by most homeowners will probably stay the same as last year. But on the books, the amount of property tax revenue the town generates will double, from $19,000 to more than $38,000. The rise comes after the Lake Jovita property was subdivided, changing it -- for tax purposes -- from an undeveloped pasture to home sites selling for $100,000 and more.

The extra $19,000 the addition of Lake Jovita will bring is budgeted to cover higher staff, legal, auditing and planning costs.

A first draft of the coming year's budget included another $20,000 in new expenses, including $10,000 to help the San Antonio Volunteer Fire Department buy a new truck, but covering those costs would have required a 1.5-mill tax rate increase, which would have actually tripled the town's tax revenue.

Instead, commissioners said they would try to cut $10,000 from the initial proposed budget and provide money for the new truck out of cash reserves.

Commissioners voted unanimously to submit a tax rate of 2.97 mills for public notice, slightly below the 3 mills assessed last year. Town Attorney Charles Chritton said holding over the old level would generate slightly more than double the revenue from last year, triggering another state law that would require the town to buy a large newspaper advertisement to announce the increase.

"This is going to have to be one of those years that will have to be explained to the people," Chritton said. "The answer is, it's not a lot of money, it's just a big percentage."

As homes are built and come onto the tax rolls in Lake Jovita, the amount of revenue the city generates is expected to climb. More than 100 of the 900 homes slated for Lake Jovita will be inside town limits.

The town reported about $6.4-million in taxable property in the 1999-2000 fiscal year that ends Sept. 30. In the 2000-01 fiscal year the town will collect taxes from $12.9-million in property.

At last year's rate of 3 mills, the owner of a house assessed at $75,000 with a $25,000 homestead exemption would be billed $150.

In other business at Monday's commission meeting, four of the five commissioners appeared ready to endorse some kind of State Road 52 bypass around the town, although the route has not been decided.

Commissioner Richard Christmas objected to the bypass, fearing urban sprawl, and Commissioner Brent Sutton said he wanted to be sure the state considers using Curley and Prospect roads as part of a bypass instead of cutting a new route through the countryside.

A formal vote on sending a letter of endorsement to the county's planning arm is expected at the Aug. 14 meeting.

Also Monday, the board welcomed newly hired Town Clerk Joan Rogers to her first meeting. Rogers replaces former clerk Patty Richter.

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