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County To Weigh Stimulus Plan

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By MIKE SALINERO, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 17, 2008

TAMPA - With Hillsborough County residents hurting from a collapsing real estate market and stalled development, the county commission is considering a limited economic stimulus package, including halving impact fees.

Commissioner Jim Norman made the proposal Wednesday, saying local government cannot stand by while residents suffer.

"There are people dying out there," Norman said.

Norman said he will ask the county's Economic Development Department to put together a package to spur the building industry. He suggested the county could cut impact and permit fees in half for six months. County officials could also work with banks to provide loan pools with lower interest rates for developers, Norman said.

"Right now, banks are hurting," Norman said. "Nobody's borrowing money because nobody's building things."

The package only would be activated if a Jan. 29 statewide referendum to reduce property taxes fails.
Home construction across the country, particularly in Florida, is stalled because of low consumer demand, overstocked inventories and a credit crunch related to the collapse of the subprime mortgage market. Banks, hurt by losses on high-risk mortgages and record number foreclosures, are being cautious about lending.

No vote was taken Wednesday, but Norman's fellow commissioners were generally sympathetic.

Commissioner Brian Blair said the county also should consider speeding up its own construction and road projects to pump more money into the economy.

"If the county doesn't do something right now to spur the economy, we're definitely doing the citizens a disfavor," Blair said.

Norman did not have specific figures on how much money the county would lose from reducing fees but said his plan would not curtail any county services or projects. Reductions in revenue from the fee cuts could be replaced with money from county reserves, he said.

Joseph Narkiewicz, vice president of the Tampa Bay Builders Association, said his members would welcome any help the county could give them.

"Anything that will help stimulate sales and new construction, those would be good steps to take," Narkiewicz said. "We would hope they would have an impact."

Governments can help a foundering economy by reducing the cost of doing business, but cutting impact fees might not be the proper course, said Stan Geberer, an economist with Fishkind & Associates, an Orlando-based economic consulting firm.

"On one hand, the idea is to lower the rate to the homebuilder," Geberer said, "but that may stop the project from being built because we won't have the money to build roads."

Geberer said a better strategy would be for the county to borrow a large amount of money through a bond issue, then spend it on public works projects such as an airport expansion, a major road extension or a new performing arts center.

The stimulus package should be ready for commission consideration in February.

Researcher Melanie Coon contributed to this report. Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at (813) 259-8303 or msalinero@

tampatrib.com.

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