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Hernando Today

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 3, 2008

Tax Maze Class

Still in Session

As I sipped my morning coffee with CNBC stock futures playing on the TV in the background, I eagerly read Michael Bates' article on real estate taxes, hoping to gain new clarity. Well, I get it, but it's not really clear.

I don't think Alvin or Nick read it before it hit the paper. I understand that the real market value is $200,000 and I assume the prior year's tax assessment value was $150,000. Am I to understand even though real estate values may have gone down, the assessed value still goes up the next year by the CPI or 3 percent whichever is less? I didn't get clarity on this point by your article.

Also, in the last column on page 2, the sentence that begins, "take away $154,500 for the assessed value and $50,000 in homestead exemptions and you have a grand taxable value of $104,500" just doesn't seem to compute. What you meant to say I guess is that with a 3-percent increase in the assessed value, or $4,500, added to the prior year's assessed value of $150,000 you have a new assessed value of $154,500, and then when the $50,000 in exemptions are deducted, you end up with a "grand" taxable value of $104,500.

I like that number!

Why should anyone complain that the value of their home for "tax computation purposes" is so much lower? They wouldn't sell it for that, and, in fact, would be very lucky today to get even the $200,000 "so called" market value, which is falling faster than the appraisers can compute it, especially since they are by law a year behind.

Truly this is an important subject, and confusing one, so keep the class in session for awhile. The "tax maze" continues.

Bob Barnett

Brooksville

Bayport - Nice ... But

Bayport - nice to have it back, but then, perhaps "ouch!"

The story sounds good, photos printed nicely, but what does it really cost? Cost, that is, per each "boat put in water" to each of the residents of Hernando County - those who own or do not own boats.

Many boat owners have their own slips, especially those at Hernando Beach. Their cost per launch is nil or paid by themselves for their boats, but they contribute to the costs of operating Bayport for others.

Others, boat owners seem to prefer to leave their vessels parked on their front lawns for months on end - prestigious, but it costs them little.

Then those owners who truck, or trailer, occasionally to the pond called the Gulf. It gets even less frequent as the price of fuel goes through the unclouded sky above Bayport.

I started to wonder if we, the population of Hernando County, did the right thing in spending some "big" bucks to redo Bayport.

Will the new walkways for those without boats, their few new 'non-trailer parking spots' be worth the, what I feel, may be excessive costs for the 60-plus boat trailer slots, as well as the cost, being carried by all residents of the county every time someone does get his boat into the water.

I wonder, does anyone have some real stats on the dollar costs per launching; perhaps, with tight government budgets, we should have planted a rose garden?

Yes, roses smell better than exhaust fumes from the boats.

Your omments are welcome, and I've always enjoyed air, water and boats.

P. A. Mencher

Spring Hill

What Have They Done So Far?

We have three U.S. senators who promise to help with the unemployed, help control the inflation and oil prices, reduce involvement in Iraq; but as U.S. senators, what have they done now to introduce legislation or to lobby their party to act now?

As members of the Senate, they have done zero; and I'm sure that's what they will do in the future.

Where is FDR or Harry Truman when we need them?

Arthur R. Croci

Spring Hill

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