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I attended the informational meeting of the “We are Perdido”
effort the other night at Liberty Church in District 1. I thought the event went well, the speakers
did a good job, and the venue was comfortable.
The audio-visual system was very good.
A large crowd was on hand as well, to get the information.
Full Disclosure: I am
agnostic on this effort at incorporation; I am neutral. This is a decision (whether to incorporate
Perdido) of the citizens and residents and business owners of that study area
and their decision only. This
is exactly what I told Channel 3 when they interviewed me on this very
topic, and it is also what I told InWeekly reporter Tommy St. Meyer when he also
recently interviewed me on this topic. Yes, it is in my district---but whether
the effort to incorporate is successful or not—that won’t change. It will still be a part of the county and in
District 1.
But I am going to study and examine every aspect of this
initiative to learn all that I can about it so that I can speak to constituents
with a more informed opinion when I am asked about this effort. (I am already getting questions about this incorporation)
So, I came to the meeting. I stayed for about 1 ½ hours and listened to
the presentation. I was particularly impressed
with Lynn Tipton, the guest speaker from the Florida League of Cities. She brought a power point presentation with
lots of useful data to relay to the assembled crowed of about 250 or so.
At the end of the presentation, a brief question and answer
session was held.
So, the next day I reached out to Ms. Tipton and had the opportunity
to speak with her Wednesday evening about some additional questions I had.
I asked about additional revenue sources the new city, if
incorporated, would be able to raise.
According to her, the city can receive a share county’s
Local Option gas taxes if they take over the county’s roads within the city’s
footprint. At the meeting, one of the
organizers stated in answer to a question about Perdido Key Drive that they
would not be seeking to take over the roads and the responsibility for the
maintenance and repair of the road. So,
this seems to foreclose Perdido’s ability to tap into those funds. Tipton did mention that it is not uncommon
for some cities in Florida to have county roads within their municipalities.
Other takeaways included the following:
--Parks, Boat Launches, and public beach accesses within
this Perdido footprint would remain a part of the county—unless the new city
negotiated to take them over and purchase them.
--Potential 10 Mill levy—while completely lawful to do for
the new city (Pensacola levies over 4 mills on top of the county’s assessment)--
if the elected councilmen/women of Perdido voted to do this---as a practical
matter according to Tipton this is highly unlikely as no Florida municipality
has levied this high a number on the citizens served because there is an
unacknowledged “cap” where if a certain percentage is levied all the
councilpersons get voted out. People
don’t like ad valorem tax rate increases.
--How Much will 1 Mill equate to when applied to We Are Perdido’s
self-identified taxable value of
$3.5 Billion? It appears, stripping out
the school board tax and only applying the county’s, the Sheriff’s, and the
library districts combined rate of 7.6605 mills---that each “Mill” of value
will be approximately $3.5 Million. (Or an easier calculation to make to
determine the value of just one mill is to take the total taxable value and
either divide by 1000 or multiply by .001.
1 mill = $3.5 Million)
--How would the new city tap into the county’s ½ cent sales tax and 8th cent gas tax revenues? The new city would have to qualify to tap into these funds through the Department of Revenue by raising an amount of revenue the equivalent of at least levying 3 Mills to the taxable value of the property within its footprint. Meaning in order for the fledgling city to tap into the ½ cent DOR revenue and 8th cent in gas tax---important revenue sources to the city because these revenue sources are bondable---the new city would need to show DOR new revenue generation of $10.5 Million (3 Mill equivalent) via ad
valorem rate assessment, new utility bill taxes, and/or business taxation (or via some combination of these three new revenue sources) in order to qualify for this revenue. According to Ms. Tipton, they (DOR) don’t just start sending this revenue once you incorporate—"you have to have skin in the game and the Florida DOR determines the precise amount a new city needs to raise before such a city can tap into the ½ sales tax and 8th cent gas tax.”--New city is not entitled to the county’s existing
franchise fee revenue—however they can work to negotiate their own fees
--According to Tipton, the legislature routinely grants
waivers to 165.061
Fl Stat. requirements on population density if requested to do so-- meaning
this area’s estimated current density of under the 1.5 persons per square acre
number (currently looks like 1.16 per acre in study area) could be waived as a
requirement if the legislature requests this.
I really appreciated Ms. Tipton’s time and patience in
helping me to better understand/unpack some of the questions I had post this
first public meeting.
As I said above, I remain neutral as this is an effort that
will ultimately fall on the citizens to either support or not support. However, a number of citizens have already
asked my opinion and also this question has come up multiple times: What exact problem is this new initiative
looking to solve—because it can’t be roads if they won’t take the county’s
roads, it can’t be parks and boat launches if they don’t have the revenue to
purchase these, it can’t be zoning and planning if they’ll be using the county’s
comp plan for at least the first two years and the county’s planning and zoning
(code enforcement) staff, it can’t be law enforcement if they are not going to
have their own police force, it can’t be fire if they are going to use the
county’s fire service---so what problem will this new government light solve?
Seems like a fair question. Especially when the new taxes (ad valorem,
business, and utilities) that the new city will levy (In addition to the current
levy from county and school board which will not go away) will add up to millions
of dollars. I guess I’d like to know a
specific answer to that question, too.
9 comments:
Baby steps. Eventually, we the residents of Perdido will decide what WE want to prioritize. When we elect local representatives, we influence local policy. Perdido is crumbling. County Govt is inefficient and has struggled to keep up with growth over the last decade. Those of us who live here, know the failures intimately, and we need to be willing to start this process now and even willing to pony up a bit more tax money in order to protect our own best interests. When we improve our community, we make this an even more desirable place to live. Within a short period of time, I’m certain the improvements we can make will positively impact property values, offsetting any tax increases.
I’m in.
People choose higher taxation because the current county government isn’t delivering. One of the poorest counties in FL and no end to that in sight. Major budget issues continue to go unaddressed. If it wasn’t for the tons of Federal and state money from the BP spill , covid etc we would be in even worse shape but the current board continues to look through rose colored glasses and acts like everything is ok. Glad to see the citizens of Perdido want more. Shame the rest of the community doesn’t realize that things could be a whole lot better. Tons of apathy as most voters realize their vote doesn’t matter and it’s impossible to change things as it stands currently. BOCC only out for their best interests
Maybe they can't do A, B, and C today but that doesn't mean those things won't happen down the road. I doubt any one promoting incorporation will say this is all because of the recent redistricting but that has a lot to do with this. It should have never happened. Perdido has no real representation now. The shouldn't be competing with Beulah for a commissioner's full attention and don't need somebody living in a completely different area deciding what's best for them.
The citizens of Escambia County are tired of the clown show, lack of representation, disrespect and total disregard for the propel you represent. Hope the Perdido efforts are a success - Perdido Bay area deserves to shine as the gateway to NAS and the beaches.
I am soooooooo glad the real West Side doesn't have to worry about Perdido any more. Best of luck to them, truly, in whatever they choose. They really ought to talk to people who will be honest about the impact of things like hurricanes on this "government lite" on a barrier island business. But then hey, the same people shilling for this are the same people who brought Perdido Doug Underhill as a commissioner, and the same people falling for the same old misrepresentations are the same people who chugging koolaid out of their Douggite cups.
The sad thing is, if the BCC would just fix their horrible land development code and enforce it, stop allowing clear cutting, and give tax incentives that make low impact development profitable, 75% of the justifiable complaints against county governance would poof in an instant.
Of course that will never happen here, because the same people who howl about overdevelopment and drainage problems throw roses at the feet of the republican lawmakers in Tallahassee who are even worse culprits in developer pay days. We'll see where they've laced the SLIP statute (161.551) on coastal development with loopholes for the boys. It will be interesting to see how the County intends to comply...the City has already passed its ordinances.
Yes...what problem with this new government light solve? Pensacola is incorporated...how are they doing???
Pensacola is doing fantastic with an actual leader elected by its citizens focused on the issues
5:07 that's a ridiculous assertion, that is your opinion only. (Yours, the PNJ, and perhaps 11-12 on one Facebook site) 8:25 and 5:50 (Same IP Address) yes I understand you have a beef with the BCC and me in particular--thus your passive aggressive shot. But check this out: I just got to this part of the district about a year ago once this reverted back into D1 after redistricting. I know that previously the commissioner there didn't do well, couldn't get things done, on the bottom of 4-1's all the time. I get that. But I am moving several big items out there so stay tuned. Back to this incorporation- It actually helps the county if this incorporation happens, that is why I am neutral on it. Whether they go forward or not, I will still be the Commissioner for that area, the county still gets its tax revenue and that won't change. The new city will just put more taxes on the top. Yes, Pensacola is doing fantastic, bravo to them. But their taxes are very, very high--and for that they provide a lot of services to their citizens (Police, Fire, parks, etc.) and they levy about 4.5 Mills. on top of the county's 6.615 and the others (Sheriff, Library, School Board, Children's trust) So hopefully "We are Perdido" will provide a lot of value and additional services for their tax increases that will be piled on top of all the existing ones that will remain in place. But it is up to them, not you. You don't even live in Perdido, LOL.
"I will still be the Commissioner for that area". I would imagine this won't happen for at least two years so that's not necessarily a true statement. It will still be represented by the D1 commissioner would be a true statement.
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