Thursday, May 23, 2013
Deputy Mayor Bill Phillips can hardly believe it.
What do you say when you learn you’ll likely have less tax revenue to work with in your upcoming city budget than you had this year? If you’re New Port Richey Deputy Mayor Bill Phillips, you question how officials measure taxable value in the city. New Port Richey’s property value took a 4.2 percent plunge below last year’s, and that translates to a loss of about $163,260 in tax revenue available for the upcoming budget year, which starts Oct. 1. Phillips said at Tuesday’s city council meeting he would like to understand how tax officials calculated the city’s taxable value. “I’m not happy with four-and-a-half,” he said, referring to the value decline. “I would like to see where the values are. How they extrapolated those out.” He wants to…
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Pasco County Commissioners want to explore the idea.
Pasco County Commissioners want to look into a proposal to allow backyard chicken coops in residential areas. Commissioner Kathryn Starkey brought the issue up to the commission Tuesday morning, and commissioners directed staff to return to them later with more information, according to the Tampa Bay Times. An online petition expressing desire for an amendment to code that would allow chicken coops in residential areas has been circulating since last year. It was started by Holiday resident Michelle Howard and has received 645 signatures so far. Should Pasco allow backyard chicken coops? Share your ideas in the comments.
Locals want to make their feelings known. What are yours?
Pasco County’s “gun show loophole” is still open, and there are still people unhappy about that. A small group of folks bearing signs with messages like “Close the Gun Show Loophole” and “Country Commissioners—We want Background Checks” showed up outside the County Commission chambers in New Port Richey Tuesday, May 21. Florida law requires licensed gun dealers to conduct background checks, but counties are allowed to craft gun show regulations. Currently folks can purchase firearm at a gun show in Pasco without a background check. Commissioners were going to have a public hearing at which residents could weigh in on a proposal to tighten the regulation of gun show sales. But they chose in March not to do so after hearing the counsel of a…
The idea would have given the Pasco County Sheriff's Office responsibility for the service now provided by the state.
Gov. Rick Scott on Monday vetoed a bill that would have financed a closer look at a proposal for the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office to take over felony probation services in Pasco from the state Department of Corrections. The bill would have allocated $120,000 toward evaluating Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco’s takeover idea. In his budget announcement, he gave the following reason for the veto: “The following is vetoed because felony probation supervision is the statutory responsibility of the Department of Corrections. Consideration of alternative methods and structures should take place at a statewide level, as there are more than 115,000 felony offenders under supervision statewide." Nocco announced in February his proposal to take over …
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
A series of town hall meetings kicks off Wednesday, May 22.
Pasco County School Board members want to hear from New Port Richey residents as the clock ticks down for them to set a budget for the 2013-14 school year. To get input from parents, students and others in the community, the board is playing host to a series of town hall meetings. The meetings are designed to give residents a chance to ask questions and share their suggestions. The district is once again facing a multimillion dollar budget shortfall as it heads into next year. Estimates put that shortfall at about $23 million. The number has caused the district to implement a hiring freeze and it’s also discussed a number of cuts, including eliminating media specialist positions. The first town hall meeting is set for Wednesday, May 22 at …
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Ed Isolani is looking for folks to make music that could help raise money.
Could musicians help raise money toward rejuvenating the Hacienda Hotel? That's a question Ed Isolani wants to answer. He's planning a musical event at Mezzaluna Pizzeria in downtown New Port Richey where people can donate money toward efforts to restore the city-owned Hacienda. And, he’s looking for performers who want to play for free. He is planning an event for June 20, and is considering continuing it on the third Thursday of subsequent months. During the event, planners will collect donations to help move the now-vacant Hacienda’s revitalization forward. Isolani said that the money could go toward an engineering study for the building. The Hacienda opened for business as a hotel in 1927 and was once used as an assisted living …
The Pasco County Property Appraisers Office is reporting a $50 million gain in its tax roll, but the story isn’t so happy in the New Port Richey area.
While Pasco County saw its property tax base grow by about $50 million over last year, the city of New Port Richey has watched its values plunge an estimated 4.2 percent. That’s according to the Tampa Bay Times, which says overall the county logged about a ¼ of a percent in overall tax value growth this year. The county’s property values as a whole come in around $19.3 billion. "There's nothing to get excited about anywhere," Property Appraiser Mike Wells told the Times. "But at least Wesley Chapel and Land O' Lakes are on the plus side." The Tampa Tribune says the growth in tax roll numbers is a first for Pasco in five years. Even so, those numbers fall far short of the 2 percent growth that had been hoped for. New Port Richey’s loss in …
Friday, May 17, 2013
As news about possible abuses of power on the federal level continues to break, we’d like to get your take about what’s been going on Tampa Bay.
Tampa Bay residents who keep up with the headlines coming out of Washington, D.C., have likely found themselves scratching their heads more than a few times this past week. Allegations of wrongdoing seem to be coming at the speed of light as the Obama Administration fends off bad press about inappropriate targeting of Tea Party organizations by the Internal Revenue Service and possible wrongdoing in the handling of a national security leak. The IRS’ targeting of Tea Party groups centers around hassles these groups report experiencing while trying to apply for tax-exempt status prior to the 2012 election. The controversy even hit home as Bay area groups are now reporting that they were targeted, according to The Tampa Tribune. The kerfuffle…
Thursday, May 16, 2013
“We would be beating the life out of our residents,” says one council member.
Recalling city leaders’ decision last year to raise New Port Richey’s millage rate and city fees, the city council on Tuesday shot down an idea to create a new fee to pay for fire protection services. An attorney with the firm providing New Port Richey with legal services presented the council Tuesday, May 14 with the idea of creating the special assessment that could be levied against property parcels in the city to collect funds. City Council members weren’t fans of the idea. Faced with a dire five-year deficit projection, the City Council last year decided to raise the city millage rate from 8.38 to 9.57 mills. It also raised the city’s storm water and streetlight utility fees Councilwoman Judy DeBella Thomas said that if the city …
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The city of Sarasota just enacted a law aimed at getting motorists to turn down the volume. Now, other local governments are following suit. Should they?
Most of us have been in the car when a great tune comes on the radio. The urge to turn up that volume just a little bit is often too strong to resist. But, how loud is too loud? When is cranking it up going too far? When should authorities be able to step in and say enough is enough? Those are questions some local governments in the Tampa Bay area are now wrestling with. Since the Florida Legislature shot down a measure that would have regulated just how loud car stereos can be, some local authorities have decided to take matters into their own hands. The City of Sarasota just put its new ordinance into effect that makes it against the law for car stereos and portable electronic devices to emit sounds at a level that are considered “…
TBL35
3:53 pm on Friday, May 24, 2013
How do you propose to "force" people to work? You're also mistaken if you think city workers get raises left & right. What a joke. more ›