Street Light Charge One Step Closer To Reality

Only a handful of residents turned out for the Safety Harbor City Commission meeting Monday night, where the proposed street light fee came one step closer to being passed.

That in itself is a problem.

According to some commissioners, Ordinance No. 2012-20 has been discussed, debated and dissected for the past six months or longer, but nobody seemed to care much about it until now, when it's almost too late. 

"Three or more votes is what it takes to get something approved ... and to raise taxes we needed to have four votes, and those things didn't occur," said Commissioner Nina Bandoni, who is against the charge.

"At this point in time ... we're in a position that we have to go along with the fee," she added. "It would be great if you guys came out next year ... and make your voices clear because at that point, nobody was here. And I think the outcome would have been different had there been some people here."

Commissioner Nancy Besore thanked Bandoni for making her point, and she added that she has "fought this tooth and nail from the outset."

The debate is taking place because the commission, based on feedback from residents, decided not to raise the ad valorem tax rate for next year. 

That decision, combined with a dwindling fund that had been set up for street light costs back in the early '90s, forced the commission to look at alternate means to pay the utility maintenance fees of the lights, most of which are leased by the city from Progress Energy.

A private assessment company, Government Services Group, was employed to come up with the amount for the charge, based on the number of residences that would be affected and the amount of money needed to cover the costs.

Following GSG's recommendation last month, the city agreed to adopt the $50.97 annual charge per ERU, or equivalent residential unit, which breaks down to $5.66 per residence per month over a nine-month period.

According to the city, the fee would cover almost 90 percent of the residents of Safety Harbor. Some areas would be exempt from the charge, while commercial entities would be assessed fees based on the square footage of the property.

"We looked at the best or fairest way to impose — if you want to call it a tax, if you want to call it a fee — that was the fairest method which we could come up with at the time," Mayor Andy Steingold said.

Residents were allowed to speak on the issue even though it was not part of a public hearing.

"I believe the street light fee as proposed is a very regressive tax," Stephen Collins said. "I believe we're treating the symptom and avoiding the cure."

"I agree with Stephen. This is Safety Harbor. You find the money ... but don't tax everyone," Dale Tindall added.

Despite the push back from commissioners and residents, the ordinance was passed by a vote of 3-2, with Besore and Bandoni voicing the two nay votes.

Following the meeting, Commissioner Besore wanted the public to know that the matter is not final yet.

"Because we didn't do a tax increase, we don't have the money. But we could use some of our savings this year, and then revisit the issue again next year."

The next step is a public hearing on Dec. 17.