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Tampa Council Votes To Maintain Current Property Tax Rate

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 11, 2008

TAMPA - The cost of everything else is going up, but city property taxes won't.

The Tampa City Council voted Wednesday night to keep the current property tax rate of $5.73 per $1,000 of taxable value for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

Under that rate, the owner of a house valued at $200,000, with the standard $50,000 homestead exemption, would pay about $860 in city taxes. City property owners also pay school, water management district and a host of other property taxes.

Council members balked at a proposal from a citizens budget committee to lower the tax rate by 5 percent, which would have reduced the rate to $5.44 per $1,000 of valuation. That would have dropped the tax bill by about $43 for a $200,000 house with a homestead exemption.

The vote to keep the current tax rate was 6-1, with Councilwoman Mary Mulhern voting against it. Mulhern said she wanted to reduce the tax rate by the recommended 5 percent.

Council Chairman Tom Scott said the city could not afford to lose the estimated $8 million from the tax cut because the state Legislature might force municipalities to tighten their belts again next year.

"We don't know what the Legislature is going to do in the upcoming year," he said.

City finance officials had recommended maintaining the current tax rate.

The council also gave preliminary approval to Mayor Pam Iorio's $836 million budget for next fiscal year. The spending package is a $74.7 million increase over the current fiscal year, most of which comes from an increase in construction loans.

A second public hearing is scheduled for 5 p.m. Sept. 24 in City Hall.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (813) 259-7679 or cwade@tampatrib.com.

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