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Commission nicks property tax rate
By JAMES THORNER
© St. Petersburg Times, NEW PORT RICHEY -- It's worth only a couple of pennies to the average homeowner, but Pasco County commissioners agreed Thursday to a paper-thin cut in the property tax rate. At a meeting Thursday morning at the West Pasco Government Center, commissioners made what they expect to be the last large revisions to the 2001-2002 spending plan. Cuts included shaving $138,856 from the originally proposed allotment to the supervisor of elections and $729,000 from the fund Sheriff Bob White uses to pay employee overtime. "We've done a yeoman's job," Commissioner Ann Hildebrand told her colleagues. ". . . To be almost stable from what we were last year is outstanding." Commissioners tentatively okayed a tax rate of 9.131 mills, or $9.13 per $1,000 of assessed property. That's a cut of only one-tenth of a cent from this year's rate of 9.132 mills. If you have a house worth 100,000 and take advantage of the $25,000 homeowner's exemption, you'd find an extra 7 cents in your pocket. Pasco officials had a chance to drop the millage rate even more but opted instead to keep another $900,000 in reserves in case the economy takes a turn for the worse. Commission Chairman Steve Simon agreed it was wise to "pack a couple of acorns in the tree trunk." Next year's spending plan, which surpasses half a billion dollars for the first time, contains an across-the-board 5 percent pay raise for county employees. Although he couldn't muster political support to cut the raises, Commissioner Pete Altman urged county employees to appreciate their good fortune and increase their productivity. County employees enjoy pay increases higher than those given their spouses, neighbors and friends, Altman said, basing his conclusion on interest rates and the pace of inflation. Despite the slight rate cut, most homeowners will pay more in taxes next year, based on property assessments that grew a cumulative $1-billion this year. The final hearing on the budget, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 25 in New Port Richey, comes a few days before the fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
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