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New Port Richey plan for tax breaks challenged
By JAMES THORNER
© St. Petersburg Times, NEW PORT RICHEY -- Pasco County officials cast doubts on whether they would support steering millions in future county tax dollars toward redeveloping New Port Richey. County attorney Robert Sumner even raised the possibility of suing the city to prevent its designation as a blighted zone in need of an estimated $27-million in tax breaks over the next 30 years. That's money Pasco otherwise would get to spend to benefit the whole county. "I can't find anything substantive that would warrant that kind of expenditure," Sumner told county commissioners Thursday during a special budget meeting at the West Pasco Government Center. In June, New Port Richey's City Council expanded its redevelopment program, created in 1989 to renovate downtown, to cover the entire city. Using something called "tax increment financing," Pasco and New Port Richey would collect taxes in the city based on property assessments from 2001. As property values rise, the county and city would redirect taxes over and above 2001 levels toward neighborhood improvements such as sidewalks, street lamps and landscaping. Sumner's get-tough approach didn't appear to win allies among commissioners. Commission Chairman Steve Simon wondered how much ill will a lawsuit would produce. His colleague Pete Altman agreed. As the former mayor of New Port Richey, Altman vouched for the soundness of such tax financing of blighted neighborhoods. "I hate the idea we're going to attack a valid redevelopment theory," Altman said. Nevertheless, commissioners doubted the city needed 30 years to fix 19 neighborhoods named in an earlier city redevelopment plan. If the city wants a 30-year tax break, the county needs to see a 30-year plan, Altman said. Commissioners also wondered why wealthier neighborhoods along the Pithlachascotee River were labeled a slum along with the rest of the city. On instructions from commissioners, county staffers promised to arrange a meeting with the New Port Richey City Council. City Manager Gerald Seeber sounded agreeable. "If that's what they need, sure, we'd be glad to deal with that," Seeber said. "It doesn't make sense to sue each other." Although he acknowledged that 30 years of tax breaks is unrealistically long, Seeber vowed to defend the city's rights: "I'm not going to roll over and play dead."
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From today's Pasco Times |
