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Hillsborough Studies Commissioner's Tax Rebate Idea

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By MIKE SALINERO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 15, 2008

TAMPA - The idea is tantalizing: Take money saved on Hillsborough County road projects and give it to homeowners as a tax rebate.

County Commissioner Jim Norman pitched the idea at a meeting last week.

The county is paying millions less to build roads these days because the slow economy has forced contractors to lower their prices as they compete for county work. Those savings should be passed along to taxpayers struggling to cope with the rising cost of living, Norman said.

"I know of no other time in my adulthood that people need some money sent back to them," Norman said.

Norman's proposal is appealing but problematic.

For one thing, the amount of the savings on road projects is estimated at about $4.9 million. If that money was rebated to the 250,000 homesteaded property owners in the county, it would amount to about $18 a person.

"There are several million dollars there, but it's not the number he was hoping for," County Administrator Pat Bean said.

Another problem: the idea may not be legal.

County road projects are funded primarily by gas taxes and the Community Investment Tax. Norman said he toyed with the idea of using the road project savings to reduce gas taxes for all of next year. But the deadline for doing that was July 1.

The CIT is a sales tax passed by voters in 1996 expressly to build schools, roads and other construction projects. Last year, commissioners voted to put $500 million in CIT money into roads and bridges.

Bean said it's unlikely the CIT money can be used for a tax rebate.

County Attorney Renee Lee said she has asked a private law firm, Nabors Giblin, to assist the county in determining what taxes can be refunded, and "how best to approach the process if it can be done."

Commission Chairman Ken Hagan, who led a county transportation task force, opposes Norman's proposal. Hagan said any money saved on low bids should be plowed back into road projects approved by the task force.

About $397 million remains to be funded on 12 road projects approved by the task force and now under way, according to the county Public Works Department. All the projects are in the planning or design stage. Once a planning study is done, Hagan said, design and construction usually takes two years.

"The study has a limited lifespan," he said. "If we do not follow through on these roads, the tens of millions of dollars we've already invested in these studies become moot and we have to go back and do it again."

Norman, who voted against the $500 million commitment to roads, said the county is managing all the road projects it can handle right now. Commissioner Mark Sharpe supports Norman's idea.

"There's only so much we can spend and work through the system and I think we've reached that point with the $500 million," Sharpe said.

Norman said he was inspired to seek additional tax relief by reports that many homeowners were disappointed in the meager tax savings they got through Amendment 1. Passed by voters in January, Amendment 1 nearly doubled the homestead exemption and provided other property tax relief.

County Commissioner Al Higginbotham, who supports Norman's proposal, said he was one of the property owners underwhelmed by the reduction in his property taxes.

"My taxes dropped like a feather," Higginbotham quipped, alluding to Gov. Charlie Crist's promise that taxes would "drop like a rock."

Hagan said he is well aware of the need to reduce property taxes. In 2005 he and his family moved into a house 1,000 square feet smaller than his previous home. His property taxes went up $3,000.

"My point is we have made a commitment to a number of roads in Hillsborough County," Hagan said. "All I'm saying is we need to live up to that commitment."

Bean said she will brief commissioners Thursday night on their options.

Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at (813) 259-8303 or msalinero@tampatrib.com.

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