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Often one sees in the promotional advertising that the Maritime Park proposal will only be paid by those living within the Community Redevelopment District otherwise known as the C.R.A. Also it is claimed there will be no tax increase and the only ones required to pay for the approx. $40 million dollar bond issue will primarily be those businesses who are geographically located inside the C.R.A. Are these claims true? NO - not a single one! Maritime Park promoters are banking that most voters have no idea what a C.R.A. district really is... much less, how it is funded. Therefore, let's examine a C.R.A, its purpose and how it is funded: C.R.A.'s are geographical land areas that are set aside primarily to eliminate urban blight. Naturally, such efforts require financing. How is the financing obtained? At the time a C.R.A. is established, a property assessment is made of all the properties within the district. This is the base line from which all future calculations are made. Obviously, as time passes, the value of those properties increase. However, property owners within the district pay no higher property tax. A Tax Increment Financing Fund (T.I.F.) is established and a board is appointed to administer spending for the C.R.A. district. But where does this T.I.F. get any money? As property values increase in the C.R.A., the difference between what the original assessment was and the present day value, that money must be contributed to the T.I.F. by other area ad valorem property tax owners! Presently, the county ad valorem taxpayers contribute approx. 70% and city property owners contribute approx. 30%. Suppose now that the C.R.A. board of directors decides to BORROW money, which they may do via a bond issue. If you have been paying attention you can quickly see that COUNTY, not city, ad valorem taxpayers will be responsible for 70% of the amount borrowed (plus interest) for the Maritime Park! Therefore, are the financing claims of the Maritime Park Promoters true? It depends on how you interpet their very deceptive wording, such as: - "Maritime Park funds will only come from those inside the C.R.A." If you view all T.I.F. money is owned by property owners inside the C.R.A. (no matter where the source) then their statement is true. However, if you look further to the source of the funds you will find such statements are patently false. - "there will be no tax increase necessary to fund the Maritime Park". Property owners inside the tax increment financing district are fixed at the primary rate. Property owners outside the tax increment district are subject to change. Again, it is a clever word game they are playing. Ad valorem millage rates are unlikely to change because of recent skyrocketing property assessment increases. However, if there is no millage rate increase, they proudly claim no property tax increase. NOTE: Interestingly, the State of Florida requires local government to advertise a property tax increase when the millage rate stays fixed and property assessments increase. Certainly, few find themselves without a property tax increase and Escambia County just received a $31 million dollar windfall due to the increase in assessments. It's simply a play on words, hoping the public will fall for the rhetoric that lacks credibility. ALSO NOTE: The City of Pensacola has on their payroll one David Cardwell, an attorney whose specialties are:
Although county property owners will be responsible for a majority of the financing, they were given absolutely no say in the matter. Did the Community Maritime Park Promoters find a way to tap into Escambia County's ad valorem tax base without allowing county taxpayers to have a vote? Are they still smirking? You betcha! |
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