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Tampa City Council Approves Iorio's 2009 Budget

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 25, 2008

TAMPA - City council members approved Mayor Pam Iorio's $836 million budget Wednesday, keeping the property tax rate the same for the next fiscal year.

The vote was 6-1. Councilwoman Mary Mulhern voted against the tax rate and budget, saying the spending package was too big and taxes should be lowered.

Finance director Bonnie Wise said the budget, a $74.7 million increase from the previous fiscal year, included dozens of much-needed capital improvements projects in the city. The new fiscal year will begin Wednesday.

"This budget touches all areas of the city," Wise said.

The city's tax rate, $5.73 per $1,000 of taxable value, will remain the same. Under that rate, the owner of a house valued at $200,000, with the $50,000 homestead exemption, would pay about $860 in city taxes. Tampa homeowners also pay school and other taxes.

The new spending package is packed with more than $170 million in capital improvement projects, including $19.1 million for the new Tampa Museum of Art and $5 million to widen parts of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.

The budget also includes millions of dollars in water, wastewater and stormwater projects, and redevelopment efforts such as a redesign of Plant Park at the University of Tampa.

Councilwoman Gwen Miller, who has missed budget votes in previous years because of overseas trips as part of Tampa's sister-city program, returned this week from a sister-city trip to Spain and was present for the vote on the spending package.

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

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