bonus already spent
jasonWith the recent hoopla surrounding both insurance rates and property tax revolts much has been made of the effect of property tax cuts. The savings to homeowners is often shown to be rather minimal yet the effect on services and programs funded by the money is significant.
But I don’t want to talk about that.
I want to talk about the growth of ill-conceived budget plans and feel good initiatives without concern for long term sustainability. I read the Trib story today about how the slight tax rate cut will impact blighted areas of the city. I read how Mayor Pam was unhappy that her budget was getting clipped. My question, not just to Iorio but to all local leaders is this.
What did you expect?
Your budget is based upon revenues collected primarily from property taxes. Over the past several years local real estate has been a rocket ship that you have tied to your yearly budget. In 1999 the City of Tampa’s budget was $513 million. In 2006 it was $674 million. This year? $728 million (pdf). What in the world made you think this meteoric rise was normal?
Although countless real estate professionals and economists have said that the rising property values could not be sustained and that the crushing burden of home ownership would become unsustainable to many, all of you acted as if the money would continue to flow in to the government coffers unabated. You funded long term initiatives based on the rather foolish assumption that the money tree would continue to bloom, and are now upset that somebody has come to prune it. You were happy to approve large projects that made you look and feel pretty good about yourselves while not worrying if the money to continue these projects would be available in future years.
What exactly were you were counting on to maintain this level of taxation?
Have you done anything to attract more high paying jobs to the local economy?
Have you promoted real large scale low-income housing programs that provide long term sustainable tax income?
No, in large part, you have not. You looked at the bank balance and simply assumed that scratch would always be there. And now you dare feel offended that some people aren’t interested in paying ten times as much for twice the service. You complain about your hands being tied, and all the people that will suffer for the “lost” funding.
I don’t get mad when my Christmas bonus isn’t as much as I would like it to be, I am happy for the extra money I did nothing to earn. The funding should never have been assumed to be permanent in the first place. You forgot the real source of your budget which is the effort and toil of your citizens - homeowners and renters alike. You forgot that the real economic role of leadership is to responsibly allocate public funds with an eye not just to the final destination of the money but to its source as well.
Tags: city, county, economy, tampa, taxes
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