Building a richer tax base

Citrus' $150-million in new construction in the past year raised its property tax base by 5.8 percent.

By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 14, 2000

HOMOSASSA -- Morcie Lipsey was never really happy with the double-wide mobile home that her husband, Ellis, bought when the couple retired here 15 years ago.

The mobile home had just 1,500 square feet of living space, and Mrs. Lipsey, 74, didn't like the way it shook in heavy winds or rains.

"She's been bugging me for years about getting a conventional home," said Mr. Lipsey, 75. "I finally decided I'd go ahead and build it for her."

The Lipseys' new home has 2,150 square feet of living space, including an extra half-bathroom and a den that the old home didn't have. It was also built to the latest hurricane specifications, a feature that put Mrs. Lipsey's mind at ease.

The only downside to having a new, larger home is the bigger property tax bill that comes with it. Mr. Lipsey expects his tax bill this year to be three times the bill he used to pay on the old mobile home.

"They take advantage of that (new construction)," Mr. Lipsey said. "The house is bigger, the bathroom is bigger -- I've got a shower you wouldn't believe -- but now I've got to pay for it."

The Lipseys' new home is a tiny piece of the $150-million in new construction that the county has seen over the past year. That new construction helped drive the county's taxable property base up 5.8 percent from about $4.9-billion last year to approximately $5.2-billion this year, according to Property Appraiser Ron Schultz.

The bulk of new construction, $122-million, came from new homes like the Lipseys', although Homosassa saw less growth, $1-million, than most other parts of the county. The most growth came in Sugarmill Woods, which had $15.6-million in new homes, and Crystal River, which had $5.8-million.

Crystal River also led the county in the amount of new commercial construction, with $4-million of the $28-million countywide.

The new housing that went up in the central part of the county also boosted the value of existing homes in Black Diamond, Hampton Hills, Citrus Hills and Pine Ridge, Schultz said.

"It becomes a hot spot because people are buying there," he said.

The flurry of construction has already led to labor shortages among builders. The new buildings will also contribute an extra $2.46-million in property taxes to the county.

But the bottom line for residents, Schultz said, is that the numbers show the county's economic core is strong because more people are building homes in Citrus County.

"The good news is, based on last year's activities, you made a wise investment in real estate," Schultz said. "The not-so-good news is that the taxing authorities know it."

Playing politics

Schultz's office determines the property values by looking at the value of new buildings, as well as the sales price for other buildings in the area.

But with Schultz, a Republican, facing Democrat John T. Barnes at the polls in November, some critics have suggested that Schultz is putting an election-year spin on the property value numbers.

"I think (a 5.8 percent increase) is a little high," said Linda Cridland, president of the Realtors Association of Citrus County. "It's an election year, and Schultz is trying to make everything look wonderful."

Cridland says she sees a lot of new construction, but she is skeptical that the existing homes and businesses have really increased $136-million in value over last year as Schultz has said.

"If you can live in a house for five years and sell it for what you paid for it, you've done well," she said.

Schultz said the sales figures for nearby properties support the increase in value for other properties. And his opponent, Barnes, has no quarrel with Schultz's numbers.

"The big boys are wanting to come in because the (Suncoast) Parkway is coming in, and that's going to increase the number of people coming in," Barnes said. "Property owners anticipate that. People see them coming and they increase their prices (for selling property) because they know the big companies are willing to pay it."

Help needed

Louie Lott, a home builder based out of Lecanto, says about half of the new homes he puts up are for residents just moving to the area. The other half are Citrus residents who want a new home for other reasons.

"A lot of them are living in smaller structures like mobile homes, and they want to move up a notch in the market," Lott said.

Some Citrus residents who have always wanted another home may be building one now to avoid paying hefty impact fees that the County Commission could put into place, if commissioners decide to go with the considerable impact fee increases that a consultant has recommended, Cridland added.

And other homeowners along the coast are buying new homes built to the latest hurricane standards for obvious safety and economic reasons, said Dorothy Clanton, owner of Clanton Homes in Homosassa.

The high demand for new construction creates a strain on home builders, however. Clanton said she has a hard time finding enough skilled workers to handle all of the construction requests she gets, and the increased demand for building materials has driven prices up.

"I would say that the cost of construction has increased 10 percent this year over last, between labor and materials," she said.

Lott doesn't expect the demand for construction to wane any time soon.

"I'm going to build as many houses as my wife sells," Lott said. "But we need it to slow down a little already. There ain't enough help to go around."

Extra costs covered

The proposed county budget for 2000-2001 is packed with funding requests for new projects that will use up the extra $2.46-million the county will collect in property taxes.

Animal Control has asked for two more employees -- a full-time clerk and a part-time kennel worker -- that can handle the work at the shelter so that animal control officers can spend more time in the field. The office will also finally get software to track animal control cases.

The county budget office will get another analyst, and the Office of Systems Management will get another computer programmer.

Another $325,000 will go toward building a new fire station in Floral City, and $174,195 will buy a new fire engine.

The county set aside $615,000 to start paying for the debt service on the $10.9-million addition and renovations to the new courthouse set to start next year.

And changes in the state's accounting requirements have forced the Clerk of Courts Office to buy new accounting software with a price tag of $325,000.

The growing county has inevitably faced a growing need for services, County Administrator Gary Kuhl said. The good news about the significant increase in taxable property values is that the county can pay for the extra services this year without raising the millage rate.

The proposed county budget, which commissioners will vote on in September, keeps the millage rate steady at 8.5553 mills.

"It's been my observation that in the past, this board has felt that it is best to keep the millage rate steady and keep the projects lined up with the forecast for the next five-year period," he said. "No one wants to see severe ups and downs in the tax rate."

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