On July 16, the South Florida Water Management District governing board courageously voted 6-2 to keep its tax rate for 2016 steady, after three years of large, some would say, excessive, cuts. Now, at the urging of Florida Department of Environmental Protection interim Secretary Jon Steverson, board chairman Daniel O’Keefe has called the board back for a special workshop on the budget this Friday.
The workshop will be July 31 at 9 am, at the district’s headquarters, B-1 Building, 3301 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach.
Everglades restoration activists view the previously unscheduled meeting as a heavy-handed attempt by Tallahassee politicians to undermine the local board’s vote. A spokesman for the governor indicated he backs a tax cut.
Steverson is a North Floridian who has already riled outdoors lovers by suggesting logging, hunting and cattle grazing should be allowed in state parks. Although he has suggested in the past that he believes Everglades restoration has been too costly, a DEP spokesperson wrote that the agency “remains steadfast in its commitment to protecting the Everglades.”
Steverson’s confirmation at the Florida Cabinet meeting scheduled for Aug. 5 is expected to sail through, now that Attorney General Pam Bondi has dropped opposition.
There’s a disconnect here. In January, Scott made promises to dedicate $5 billion to Everglades fixes. It included a dedicated source of funding over the next 20 years, with $150 million proposed for 2016. Instead, the final budget included $106 million.
At the time, Scott’s statement underscoring his commitment to Everglades funding said, “We will keep working to make sure we preserve our natural treasures so Florida can continue to be a top destination for families, visitors and businesses.”
So why now does his spokesman answer questions about new proposed budget cuts with this one-sentence statement: “Gov. Scott is disappointed they missed an opportunity to cut taxes.”
The local board had good reasons to say no to a fourth year of tax cuts.
As the Post’s Jeff Ostrowski wrote, the cuts would be little more than symbolic, but they could do real harm. For a mere $2.91 of tax savings per $100,0000 property — or as one observer noted, less than a Publix sub — the district would lose $21 million from its $750 million budget, and be put in a weaker position to respond to a hurricane, drought or other emergency going forward.
Diesel engine inside a pump station in the Stormwater Treatment Area 3-4. The 1,400-horsepower diesel pump stands 15 feet tall and spins at 720 rpm. It’s one of three diesel pumps at pump station G-370, which draws water from the North New River Canal along U.S. 27 and moves it into Stormwater Treatment Area 3-4 in southwestern Palm Beach County. It moves water from Palm Beach County sugar farms into the treatment marsh, where cattails, underwater plants and algae cleanse it before it enters the Everglades. / Taylor Jones.
Diesel engine inside a pump station in the Stormwater Treatment Area 3-4. The 1,400-horsepower diesel pump stands 15 feet tall and spins at 720 rpm. It’s one of three diesel pumps at pump station G-370, which draws water from the North New River Canal along U.S. 27 and moves it into Stormwater Treatment Area 3-4 in southwestern Palm Beach County. It moves water from Palm Beach County sugar farms into the treatment marsh, where cattails, underwater plants and algae cleanse it before it enters the Everglades. / Taylor Jones.
Since 2011, the amount of annual tax revenue taken in by the SFWMD has fallen from $400 million to $266 million. It has been forced to shed 1 in 5 one in five of its employees, about 400 people, and cut ties with over 100 contractors. Recently, the district lost two key Everglades restoration staff to the Nature Conservancy. Meanwhile, it must maintain canals and replace pumps, locks and other equipment that are, in many cases, over 50 years old.
At the district’s July 16 meeting, the board was presented with yet another tax-cutting budget, one blessed from Tallahassee, that would have required cutting the property tax rate to the “roll back rate” even as the state contributed $44 million less than Scott had promised.
The district has serious responsibilities that other Florida water management districts simply don’t face. Everglades restoration is the big one. They also include flood control, water supply protection, estuary protection, pollution control, permitting, and storm readiness and response.
South Florida is booming with new construction. Coastal South Florida is grappling with saltwater intrusion and localized flooding as sea levels rise. Meanwhile a federal lawsuit has forced dramatic steps to remove phosphorous pollution from the headwaters of Everglades National Park. Without those steps, exotic invaders like cattails and melaleuca trees proliferate, choking out the native flora and fauna.
The state DEP and the governor’s staff must accept that a local board has made a responsible and well-informed decision, one that is responsive to local needs.
The board’s vote should be respected and left as is.
http://opinionzone.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2015/07/26/a-tax-cut-worth-a-publix-sub-no-thanks/