TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Port Richey to Vote on Utility Tax Repeal

ADVERTISEMENT

By CHRISTIAN M. WADE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 21, 2008

PORT RICHEY -- The city council is poised to repeal a tax on utility services Tuesday night.

As proposed by Vice Mayor Mark Hashim, the move would eliminate the 10 percent tax tacked onto utility bills.

A preliminary reading of the ordinance was approved 3-2 at a previous council meeting, with Mayor Richard Rober and Councilman Steve O'Neill dissenting. Council members must approve a second reading for it to become law.

The tax, which has been charged since the early-1960s, generates an estimated $264,000 a year for the city's general fund. City officials have not said how they will make up the difference.

Supporters say repealing the tax will offer residents some relief amid tough fiscal times. Opponents argue the city can't afford to forfeit more revenue with statewide property tax reforms forcing officials to operate on a shoestring budget.

Franchise fees and utility taxes, which are tacked onto monthly cable, electric, water and phone bills, long have been a source of discontent for city residents.

Ranging from 5 to 10 percent, the fees are charged by municipal governments to utility companies for using their rights of way and eventually passed along to consumers.

For Port Richey, that adds up to more than $650,000 a year in revenue. The money pays for police, fire and other services.

But the added layer of taxation made this small city a target of a political action committee that tried for several years to dissolve the 83-year-old city government for

Members of the now-defunct group, Port Richey Citizens for Lower Taxes, argued that city residents pay more in franchise fees and taxes than people in unincorporated Pasco County.

Hashim, one of the group's founding members, made it part of his campaign platform last year, vowing to reduce franchise taxes if elected to council.

Figures compiled by the city indicate that it charges more in franchise fees than Pasco County and other municipalities in the Tampa Bay area. Besides the utility tax, the city charges a 6 percent electric fee and a 5 percent gas tax.

By comparison, businesses, property owners and residents living just over the city's border in unincorporated Pasco pay no utility, gas, cable or electricity taxes but enjoy many of the same services as city residents.

The council will meet at 7 p.m. in city hall, following a 6:30 p.m. presentation of the 2008-09 fiscal year budget and an update on the status of the city's dredging project.

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

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT