Thursday, June 24, 2010

“Property tax relief? County yes, city no ~~ City plans to spend 4.3% more” plus 3 more

“Property tax relief? County yes, city no ~~ City plans to spend 4.3% more” plus 3 more

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Property tax relief? County yes, city no ~~ City plans to spend 4.3% more

Posted: 24 Jun 2010 07:16 AM PDT

Property tax relief? County yes, city no ~~ City plans to spend 4.3% more

By Angela Daughtry, News-Leader

Fernandina Beach Commissioners have been asked to raise the property tax rate to make up for declining property values in the city. That would allow the city to increase wages for some employees, boost employee pension contributions and keep most programs and services intact.

City Manager Michael Czymbor's draft budget calls for a 4.3 percent increase in general fund spending, to $17.1 million. Projected revenues would rise by 2.9 percent, mostly due to increased money from licenses and permits, sales, use and fuel taxes and user fees.

City commissioners held a brief budget workshop Monday to begin thinking about a daunting task: where to trim expenses in the city budget for 2010-11.

Czymbor suggested commissioners begin thinking about which services and programs are most important to the community; the hard part, he said, will be keeping necessary services within a sustainable budget.

Czymbor informed commissioners that the city faces an estimated 11 percent decline in property values this year. That is on top of a 6.42 percent decrease in property values last year. The city increased the property tax rate last year to make up the difference.

Czymbor said his proposed budget assumes commissioners will adopt a "rollback" of the millage rate so the city can collect the same revenue from property taxes it collected last year. "The rollback rate is going to be a main topic of conversation," he said.

The "rollback" is that property tax rate which allows the city to collect the same amount of revenue even though property values have changed. The rollback is now more properly described as a "roll up" rate because it increases the property tax rate to keep revenues the same when property values decline.

Nassau County Property Appraiser Tammy Stiles informed the city this month that the estimated taxable value of property within the city is $1.65 billion, continuing a decline in the past two years owing to the poor economy.

City Finance Director Patti Clifford showed commissioners Monday a draft of the upcoming budget that estimated $14 million in revenues and $17 million in expenditures. She anticipated an additional $2 million in transfers from enterprise and utility funds plus more than $5 million unspent this year and carried forward to the next.

The draft budget includes an increase in pension costs for city employees of $171,680, Czymbor said. Increases in workers' compensation and wage hikes for police, firefighters and exempt employees are also anticipated.

A chart provided by the city projects a decrease of nine full-time city employees, but Commissioner Arlene Filkoff noted six of those employees moved over to Westrec when the management company took over the city marina. Per Westrec's contract, the city continues to pay those salaries.

The city may pay higher utility rates next year as it foresees a 10 to 12 percent increase in Florida Public Utility rates beginning in January.

Czymbor also noted that no funding was set aside for non-profit groups, except for a building fund for the Council on Aging and an appropriation of $60,000 to the county for a new roof on the Fernandina Beach branch library.

The draft budget does not call for significant program cuts.

"You must ask the question, are these services and programs the city funds necessary, critical and vital?" Czymbor told commissioners. "You will have to make a commitment as to whether you want those services (and decide) what services will not be maintained and funded."

"If yes, are we willing to raise the necessary resources (taxes and fees) to continue to support the services and programs?" he asked in a PowerPoint presentation.

"If no, what services and programs are you no longer willing to fund? What criteria will be utilized to determine what services and programs will not be maintained and funded?"

Filkoff said commissioners should also consider whether some services could be done differently so they don't cost as much. She said she would like to start off budget discussions "from a planning perspective" before starting to make cuts.

"We have to start with something broader," Filkoff said. "We should talk about what we want to be rather than what we want to cut."

Another budget workshop has tentatively been scheduled for Tuesday at 5 p.m. at City Hall, 204 Ash St. Public hearings for the budget will be scheduled in September before it takes effect Oct. 1.

adaughtry@fbnewsleader.com

Story created Jun 21, 2010 - 13:20:36 PDT.



Property tax cap, women's health bills advance

Posted: 24 Jun 2010 12:57 PM PDT

TRENTON — A Senate budget committee has advanced a bill capping local property tax increases at 2.9 percent.

The legislation would replace a 4 percent cap.

Gov. Chris Christie had proposed a 2.5 percent cap that would be written into the Constitution.

Budget committees in both houses of the Legislature also advanced a bill allocating $7.5 million for family planning centers.

Sen. Loretta Weinberg, a Democrat sponsoring the bill, amended it to clarify that none of the money would be used for abortions.

Christie's $29.4 billion budget proposed eliminating funding for women's health centers.

Meanwhile, Senate Republicans hit a snag over other budget-related legislation. One senator, Michael Doherty, opposes four bills that raise taxes or fees.

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Property tax not the right approach, says FF's Andrews

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 04:28 PM PDT

The Irish Times - Thursday, June 24, 2010

STEPHEN COLLINS Political Correspondent

DUBLIN FIANNA Fáil TD Chris Andrews has expressed strong opposition to a property tax but economist Colm McCarthy called for its introduction.

Mr Andrews said a property tax was not the right way to raise revenue and he welcomed the Taoiseach's comment that no decision had been made on the issue.

"Given the current difficulties experienced by people in relation to mortgages I would be strongly opposed to the implementation of any such tax. Property values have fallen by an average of 50 per cent and people are struggling to pay for their homes. I believe that a tax on the family home is not the right approach to take," he said.

Mr Andrews said that the introduction of residential property tax by the Fine Gael-Labour coalition in the 1980s was "grossly unfair" as it penalised people who lived in certain addresses, irrespective of their own personal circumstances.

"The value of property was taken into consideration, while other assets such as cars, second homes, etc were not, hence some very wealthy people paid little or no tax on their property," he said.

Mr Andrews agreed that the financing of local government was in urgent need of reform but he said that reform of local government procurement processes and service delivery should be implemented as a first step.

Colm McCarthy took the opposite view and said a property tax should be introduced to replace stamp duty.

"I think we're going to have to move away from stamp duty. This was the main burden of the commission for taxation report last year, that we'd be much better off with a regular annual tax on residential property rather than a huge and unstable once-off bill," he said.

He said that if rates had not been abolished in the 1970s they might be around €1,000 a year by now for a typical household.

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Property Tax Hike May Be Left Up To Memphis Voters

Posted: 24 Jun 2010 08:21 AM PDT

MEMPHIS, TN- A property tax hike could be put in the hands of Memphis voters.

City Councilman Harold Collins wants a referendum put on the ballot in November, that would allow voters to decide if they want to pay additional property taxes to support education.

Collins said, "The only way to pay for it is through a property tax. We can't do anything except raise property taxes."

If voters approved a referendum, Collins says taxes would go up. If it failed, Memphis would continue fighting an ongoing lawsuit over funding with Memphis City Schools.

According to Collins, if it failed, city leaders could to go Nashville and ask lawmakers to change laws. Those changes could result in Memphians not having to fund Memphis City Schools.

"It would gage the temperature of the public. The downside is that it is meaningless," said Councilman, Jim Strickland. He went on to say there are pro's and con's to putting the issue before the voters. "A referendum by the people, can't overrule a judges order of the court."

The City of Memphis and Memphis City Schools have been engaged in a long running court battle over funding. The City of Memphis believes it does not have to give $78 million a year to Memphis City Schools, saying Shelby County is responsible for funding education.

The lawsuit may finally be decided by the Tennessee Supreme Court. That decision could be made by the end of the year.

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