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Commissioners moving ahead with park fees
By SAUNDRA AMRHEIN DADE CITY -- Pasco County will push forward with hearings on an ordinance charging $892 park fees to new home buyers, but won't tie the law to plans on how to plug holes for additional park needs. The County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to approve some recommendations from three advisory committees on its proposed ordinance on park impact fees and to set the first public hearing for early January. But the commission shot down the suggestion by all three committees that the ordinance only take effect when the county decides how to pay for an additional $20-million for parks. Commissioner Steve Simon called the idea "horribly limiting." The impact fees would raise $20-million over 10 years, but that's only half of what the county needs, according to its consultants. One option to help raise the rest is a 1 percentage point increase in the county sales tax, from 6 percent to 7 percent. The commission scheduled a workshop on a potential sales tax increase for Jan. 10 at the West Pasco Government Center. The workshop will come after a 10 a.m. meeting of the Metropolitan Planning Organization. In other business Tuesday, the commission also agreed to move ahead with steering the county's incremental property taxes to New Port Richey for its redevelopment plan. County Attorney Bob Sumner once again voiced concern about the lack of accountability for the program, which designates the whole city as a "blighted" area eligible for tax breaks. But the commission agreed to go ahead with the program and advised County Administrator John Gallagher to meet with city staff about how it plans to spend the money. The commission also rescinded its vote to reappoint Bob Leggiere to the Construction Code Enforcement Board just moments after it agreed to grant him another term. Commissioner Peter Altman had made the suggestion to reappoint Leggiere, a former Port Richey mayor and a subject of a grand jury investigation earlier this year. But Altman then asked the board to reconsider after a break when questions were posed to him about Leggiere's commitment to the Florida Sunshine Laws. Altman plans to talk to Leggiere before deciding whether to seek his reappointment again. Leggiere was accused of interfering with three building officials during his tenure on Port Richey's City Council but was not charged, though he admitted on tape to police Chief William Downs that he routinely spoke to other council members about city business while he served. "I have never broken the Sunshine Law," Leggiere said Tuesday. He has served for about eight years on the construction board. About the tape, he said, "I talk to the City Council people. You run into people in the store. What are you supposed to do, ignore them?" On another matter Tuesday, staff members announced at the meeting that assistant County Attorney Debra Zampetti has been hired as zoning administrator to replace Fred Lowndes, who retired at the end of November after 16 years. Growth questions abounded Tuesday, especially as the commission discussed how to pay for parks for new residents. Commissioner Ann Hildebrand, tired of delays, was among the majority of commissioners who wanted the workshop to air ideas or put closure on the possibility for a 1 percentage point increase in the county's sales tax. But Commissioners Steve Simon and Pat Mulieri, both up for re-election next year, said the timing was bad for a sales-tax increase because of the economy. Mulieri said there wasn't enough time to prepare before putting it on the ballot next year. Simon said the health of the national economy, particularly tourism and unemployment, is too weak to inflict another cost. "You don't slap a tax on people who are sinking," Simon said. Hildebrand answered that the commission has been dragging its feet. "We've been talking about it about a year," Hildebrand said of the sales tax. "We have all these needs glaring us in the face that need to be funded in some form."
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From today's Pasco Times |
