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New Port Richey Budget Includes Tax Cut

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 2, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY -- The cost of everything else is going up, but property taxes here won't.

Tuesday night, the city council was presented with a recommended $40.3 million budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year that includes no layoffs or cuts in municipal services and a possible reduction of the city's property tax rate from $6.78 to $6.70 per $1,000 of valuation.

The proposed budget represents an 8.2 percent decrease from the current budget.

"We were presented with a number of challenges with this budget," City Manager Tom O'Neill told council members. "But I'm pleased to report that the budget it balanced."

The city's 2008-09 general fund balance will be more than $17.2 million, O'Neill said, while the community redevelopment fund, which collects a portion of city and county taxes for redevelopment projects, is predicted to increase to more than $6.1 million.

Still, there will be much less revenue flowing into city coffers this year.

New Port Richey taxable value is expected to drop by more than 10 1/2 percent in the coming fiscal year, mainly because of Amendment 1, the tax-relief measure voters approved in January. That translates into a loss of more than $523,000 in tax money.

City officials, who have a hiring freeze in place, do not expect layoffs or major service cuts but are not planning to hire any new employees in the coming fiscal year.

Amendment 1 is expected to reduce property taxes across the state by as much as $9.3 billion in the next five years by shrinking the property tax base of local governments.

The story is the same for Pasco's other municipalities. In Port Richey and Zephyrhills, taxable values are expected to drop from between 10 to 11 1/2 percent this year.

Dade City is expected to be hit with an 11 percent drop in its tax roll, as its taxable value takes a plunge from about $339 million in 2007 to $300 million.

Most of Pasco's cities have had to compensate for the loss of operating revenue by cutting municipal services, reducing programs and tapping reserve funds.

Others have been able to weather the cuts with money from new construction and other sources of revenue, such as impact fees and other levies that cities charge residents.

Overall, New Port Richey's $43.5 million budget this fiscal year included hefty increases in fees for services, such as fire inspections and late charges for overdue library books.

On July 22, the city council will vote to set the tax rate for the 2008-09 fiscal year. The city must certify its proposed tax levy by July 30. The fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.

Public hearings on the 2008-09 budget will be held Sept. 3 and Sept. 22 at city hall.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com.

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