Reports by FrontPageFlorida.com on various Florida politics' topics, posted in 2007.                                  

Gov. Crist Backs Mack For Re-Election  

Tampa Bay Forum/ Opinion 

Dingfelder’s New Concern

TAMPA -- Now apparently behind in a hotly contested Tampa City Council race, Democrat John Dingfelder has a new found concern.

Property taxes? Not really. He consistently voted to raise them throughout his term on Tampa City Council, despite pleas for relief from residents, some of whom had to tap savings or take out loans to pay the city tab.

His big concern? When Republicans only invite Republican candidates to their meetings.

“I swore to uphold the charter, and the charter says this is a nonpartisan seat," Dingfelder told The Tampa Tribune.

Dingfelder, a lawyer who is running against Republican Julie Brown for the District 4 seat covering south Tampa, apparently does not fully understand the charter he professes to uphold.

The charter says nothing about candidates for city office attending meetings of political parties. It does say :

“City of Tampa municipal elections shall be called, held, conducted, and regulated without regard to political parties. A candidate for municipal office shall not:

(1) Campaign as a member of any political party;

(2) Publicly represent or advertise as a member of any political party;

(3) Solicit or accept political party funds or endorsements.”

But where was Dingfelder’s concern about so-called partisanship in city politics when city council candidate Mary Mulhern, a Democrat, spoke to the Democratic Women's Club? Not a word from Dingfelder about Democratic Councilwoman Gwen Miller’s scheduled appearance before the Democratic Women's Club on March 5.

Or for that matter, where was Dingfelder when Mayor Pam Iorio, a fellow Democrat, openly supported and campaigned for Democrat Jim Davis, calling him (incorrectly) “the next governor of Florida” or when Tampa’s “nonpartisan” mayor failed to greet President Bush when he came to Tampa?

And during an earlier election cycle Dingfelder at a local Democratic executive committee meeting asked members to support Democrat Gwen Miller when she was running against Curtis Stokes, now the president of the Hillsborough NAACP, because Stokes is a Republican.

“As a private club,” said Janice Torgersen, president of the Tampa Republican Club, “ we can invite whomever we want. Unless there's been some constitutional change I've not seen, Republicans still have the right to assemble, speak and listen to, and vote for, whomever they choose, even in a non-partisan race.”

Dingfelder says he’s concerned about partisanship, but misreads the city charter. His statements show he perhaps is less acquainted with a more important document: the United States Constitution.

- Greg Truax, FrontPageFlorida.com

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Former senator says it's "still a little early"

Thompson Remains Undecided On Presidential Bid

TAMPA – Fred Thompson, the character actor and former U.S. Senator, said at the Hillsborough County Bar Foundation dinner that he had “not made a decision” on whether to run for president but would do so in “the not too distant future.”

In prepared remarks, Thompson gave an overview of his life in public service, politics, elective office and acting, laced with famous names, events, anecdotes and self-deprecating humor. He currently plays a district attorney on the long-running television show Law & Order.


But while answering written questions from audience members after his 40-minute talk, Thompson candidly gave his views on global terror, the war in Iraq and a possible presidential bid. The questions were selected and asked by Keith Cate, the event’s master of ceremonies and a news anchor for WFLA News Channel 8.

“I have not made a decision on that (running for president) yet,” Thompson, a lawyer, said in response to the first question read by Cate. It’s “still a little early,” Thompson said, adding that he would “make a decision on it in (the) not too distant future.”


Running for president is “not something I have been planning since the eighth grade,” Thompson told about 500 lawyers and guests, mostly from business, attending the foundation's annual fundraiser for non-profit agencies in the community.

Discussion of Thompson's political future comes at a time when the former two-term Senator from Tennessee trailes only New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona among Republicans in an average of national presidential polls.

In all, Thompson answered 10 questions from the audience, including one that asked him to comment on the “foreign policy blunders” of President Bush.

“The American people need to come together,” Thompson said. The country is “faced with people that want to kill us” and the role the United States plays in the world means terrorism “will be with us after we leave Iraq.” “We have a war that does not depend on decisive battles, but decisive leadership,” Thompson said.

On a lighter note, Thompson, who has appeared in 18 motion pictures including The Hunt for Red October, Cape Fear and In the Line of Fire, drew laughs as he told about an autograph seeker mistaking him for Dr. Phil, the psychologist with a television show. He also joked about walking with Tom Cruse: “women would go wild -- and he thought it was about him.”

- Greg Truax, FrontPageFlorida.com

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Bob Martinez Center Named; Former Governor Honored


TALLAHASSEE – Former Gov. Bob Martinez, who championed key environmental protection legislation like the Preservation 2000 land acquisition program, was honored Monday as the Department of Environmental Regulation office and laboratory on Blair Stone Road here was renamed the Bob Martinez Center.

“Florida’s natural beauty has been and always will be important to me,” Martinez told guests that included his wife, Mary Jane, Gov. Charlie Crist and DEP Secretary Michael W. Sole. “Florida citizens in all walks of life,” Crist said in prepared remarks, “continue to benefit from the governor’s wide-ranging accomplishments, from environmental protection, to drug control and public education.”

In 1990, Martinez established Preservation 2000, the predecessor to the current Florida Forever land acquisition program. While governor, Martinez, who also served as Tampa’s mayor and as the nation’s drug czar under former President George H. W. Bush, promoted and signed the Surface Water Improvement and Management Act, which helped to restore lakes, rivers and estuaries.

Other important environmental measures promoted by Martinez included restoration of Everglades National Park and the Kissimmee River, and legislation that implemented a comprehensive solid waste management program.

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Lt. Gov. Kottkamp: "Demand Real Tax Relief”
 
TAMPA – Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp meets with reporters after a roundtable discussion at a suburban Tampa home. He told residents worried about rising property tax bills that property tax “relief is on the way. Everyone agrees in Tallahassee that taxes must come down . . . people need relief now.”

All property tax reform ideas are “on the table,” he explained, but any solution must be “broad based, meaningful” and “take effect as soon as possible.”

Kottkamp, who said cuts in property taxes would create a “sonic boom" for Florida’s economy, said Gov. Charlie Crist has a plan to roll back property taxes to the 2003 level. The governor’s proposal also includes placing a cap on spending by local governments, increasing the homestead exemption and making the Save Our Homes cap portable statewide. It also provides property-tax exemptions for businesses. “We need to do what we can to help small business flourish,” Kottkamp said.

In response to a question, Kottkamp advised residents to “demand real tax relief” and to contact their local legislators. “Don’t ever underestimate the importance of emails and your phone calls,” he said. “We are all ears.”

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Hillsborough GOP Voices “Strong Support” For Property Tax Cuts

Local Republicans express support for Gov. Crist and Republican legislators.

TAMPA -- Local Republicans have passed a formal resolution that voices “strong support” for efforts by Gov. Charlie Crist and legislative leaders to reduce property taxes during next month’s special legislative session.

Passed Tuesday evening at the Hillsborough County Republican Party’s monthly meeting, the resolution calls for “immediate and significant reductions in property taxes” and action to “limit future property tax increases.” Hillsborough is the largest county party in the state.

“The vote reflects our strong support and thanks for the hard work by Gov. Crist, Lt. Gov. Kottkamp and our Republican legislators to bring significant property tax relief to all Floridians,” local party Chairman David Storck said. “The special legislative session on property taxes starts in a few weeks, and this resolution makes clear that Republicans in Hillsborough County, like our Republican elected officials in Tallahassee, want property taxes to drop significantly and immediately.”

Storck said “we will do all possible to support our Republican governor and our Republican legislators as they go about the important work of cutting property taxes for all Floridians.”

The resolution, which passed by a vote of 156 to 1, outlines general “principles” which should be “considered” when legislation is crafted during the special legislative session that starts on June 12.



The resolution asked that state elected officials consider “immediately” rolling back to at least to 2003 levels municipal and county property tax revenues with a cap so that local government revenues "could grow no more than the sum of inflation and population growth each year."

Other items included in the local party’s resolution are recommendations to:

“ Strengthen our homestead exemption and· Save-Our-Homes, while making Save-Our-Homes portable statewide, applying it to multiple moves and retaining the annual cap at 3 percent. Also promote the American Dream by including a considerable exemption for first-time home buyers.

"Furthermore, the Save-Our-Homes cap should be· extended to other properties and it should require property appraisers to end the current practice of the 'highest and best use' standard and replace it with 'current use' or 'income generated' standard.”

Storck said the resolution will be sent to local and state Republican elected officials.

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Budget 'Turkeys' Hit $267 Million, Report Says

Tampa – In a report released yesterday, Florida TaxWatch listed almost $267 million of “turkeys” in the state’s recently passed budget in what has been described by legislators as a tight budget year.

TaxWatch said in a Tallahassee press conference that it had identified 507 budget turkeys, the third largest number for the non-partisan research institute during the past 24 years.

A budget turkey, as defined by TaxWatch, “ is an appropriation, usually a legislative member project, that violates the integrity and transparency of the budgeting process. These are items that didn’t get the review necessary to ensure competition, prioritization, and accountability of the taxpayers’ hard-earned money.

“The turkeys reveal the culture that political might makes right,” said Dominic M. Calabro, president & CEO of the government watch dog group. “The most influential members get what they want, whether it’s meritorious or been properly reviewed. This is not the way to ensure high public stewardship and taxpayer accountability,” said Calabro.

Calabro points out that the practice this year is “particularly disappointing” to taxpayers, following the Legislature’s decision to pass a $546 million increase in property taxes by way of local school districts. The large flock of budget turkeys also comes at a time when state revenue is coming up millions of dollars short of estimates, creating potential for future shortfalls.

Budget turkeys found by Florida TaxWatch researchers in the 429-page state budget:

- $1.5 million that includes increased costs for printing the Drivers License Handbook,

- $2 million for the Wakulla Expo, a civic center in rural Wakulla County,

- $900,000 for a Gospel Complex for Education in Fort Lauderdale,

- $1.3 million for the Las Olas Streetscape beautification project in Fort Lauderdale,

- $300,000 for the Professional Golf Association, a private national organization based in Palm Beach Gardens,

- $500,000 for the Indian River County Shooting Range, and

- $840,000 for Exponica International 2007, a Latin American festival and exposition in Miami.

TaxWatch said turkeys are projects that include examples of:

“• Projects that did not go through review and selection processes that are established in state law or rule. Examples include transportation, school construction and local parks. Projects that go through the process but are funded ahead of higher priority projects (as determined by the process) can also be turkeys.

• Appropriations that were inserted in the budget during conference committee deliberations, meaning they did not appear in either the Senate or House final budget.

• Subsidies to private organizations, councils or committees that can and should obtain funding from private sources.

• Local government projects benefiting local area residents but lacking significant local funding support and/or overall benefit to the state as a whole.

• Appropriations that circumvent competition and mandate that a specific vendor or project receive funding.

• Projects or programs added late in the process that bypass legitimate review and proper evaluation because they were not in an agency budget request or the governor's recommended budget or were not heard in legislative committees.

• Other turkeys may include: appropriations from inappropriate trust funds, duplicative appropriations and appropriations contingent on legislation that did not pass

To allow for legislative initiative, any items that were funded in both the House and Senate budgets that serve a legitimate state function were not designated as budget turkeys, except under special circumstances, such as bypassing an established competitive selection process for local projects.”

The “Budget Turkey” label doesn’t condemn the budget item’s worthiness. “There are some projects of tremendous public benefit, which makes you wonder why they get funded as an after-thought, in what is supposed to be a thoughtful, deliberative process,” said Calabro. “The governor has to weigh these concerns and question whether this is the best use of Florida taxpayers’ dollars, given our state’s vast and pressing needs and limited resources.”

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Property Tax Crisis

A Tax Cut For The People

TAMPA – Gov. Charlie Crist listens as Marie de Lourdes Bello-Garcia tells reporters about receiving a property tax bill that more than doubled to $2,800. Bello-Garcia and her family participated in a ceremonial signing of legislation by Crist that provides for the largest tax-cut in Florida history.

After receiving the large bill, Bello-Garcia said she was “shocked.” She visited the property appraiser’s office and asked, “Is this right?”

“We live on our income with two little kids,” she said in an interview, and the “difference was huge” between the old and new property tax bills.

“If a family with two young boys can tighten their belts to live within their means,” the governor said , “certainly our cities and counties can also.”

In Hillsborough County, property tax revenue increased by 93 percent from 2001 to 2007, almost three times as fast as population growth and inflation combined. See Property Tax Crisis slide show. Property tax revenue for the city of Tampa over the same period rose by 89 percent.

Bello-Garcia said she and her husband, Jose, are “really happy” because the savings from the legislation signed by Crist on Thursday will “help a lot.”

The legislation signed by the governor in Tallahassee rolls back all property taxes to at least last year’s levels, and maybe further, pending voter approval of a constitutional amendment on January 29. The two bills, House Bill 1B and House Bill 5B, were passed during the special session of the Florida Legislative held from June 12 to 14.

“I admire the Florida Legislature for their tremendous effort to last week bring Florida’s property owners the largest tax cut in Florida history. The hard work of Senate President Ken Pruitt and House Speaker Marco Rubio – and the rest of the Legislature – will make property taxes drop like a rock,” Gov. Crist said. “In signing these laws today, we put people’s money back where it belongs – in their wallets and pocketbooks.”

After signing the legislation in Tallahassee, the governor traveled to West Palm Beach, Miami and Tampa for ceremonial signings in citizen’s homes. Lt. Governor Kottkamp highlighted the tax savings of a homeowner in Orlando.

“Today I am signing the people’s tax cut, and the power to cut taxes even further is now in the hands of the people,” Crist said. “On January 29, you will have the power to cut your property taxes in a historic way. Floridians will once again live the American dream of home ownership and have the freedom to follow their dreams of moving to a different home better suited to their needs.”

Here’s background on the legislation and upcoming vote on a constitutional amendment, according to a statement issued by the governor’s office:

“House Bill 1B will provide relief on 2007 property taxes for all property owners, including homeowners and those who own second homes, rental homes or commercial properties. Tax rates are reduced to last year’s level, and further cuts are based on each local government’s past property tax increases. For example, property owners in communities where the property taxes increased at higher rates will receive bigger tax cuts. Additionally, the legislation will limit future growth of property taxes to the change in personal income.

Depending on the county, property owners should receive tax cuts of five to ten percent. The average taxpayer will see savings of almost $200 this year, and all property owners are expected to save approximately $15 billion over the next five years. The tax cut does not reduce school taxes.

House Bill 5B provides for a special election to be held on January 29, 2008, giving voters the opportunity to vote on further reductions to property taxes beginning in 2008. If the constitutional amendment is approved, first-time home buyers – as well as current homeowners who want to move – will see a substantial decrease in their property taxes.

One reduction would replace the current standard $25,000 homestead exemption and the Save Our Homes tax-cap with an exemption equal to 75 percent of the first $200,000 of the home’s value, and 15 percent of the home value’s next $300,000. At a minimum, the super homestead exemption will double the current $25,000 homestead exemption, fulfilling a campaign promise. Homeowners will have a one-time choice of continuing with their current homestead exemption and 3-percent cap of Save Our Homes or the new exemption.

Other exemptions provided by the constitutional amendment include the following:

• A minimum $100,000 homestead exemption for low-income seniors.
• Taxing of affordable housing based on the landlord’s income from the property.
• Taxing of working waterfronts based on the income from the property.
• The first $25,000 of tangible personal property will be exempt.

The four-year savings from these tax exemptions is expected to be between $10 and $15 billion.”

-- FrontPage Florida.com reports





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