Dodge Ball

The lengths to which county commissioners seem intent on avoiding the bullet they must bite were never more evident than last week.

The board held a special meeting last Thursday to examine alternate sources of income than property taxes.

One aside, if the meeting was so special, why only three commissioners, barely a quorum, as has been the case on at least three occasions in the last five or six weeks.

Things like additional taxes or economic development special? Maybe not so much.

The idea, though, was coming from a good thought; to relieve the property tax burden and attempt to mitigate a system that Commissioner Warren Yeagar was fundamentally unfair in that 100 percent of the population draws benefit from the property taxes of a percentage well south of 100.

What commissioners did, however, is put themselves in a stance of potentially moving forward with - by ordinance, not a vote of the populace - a franchise fee tax, a sales tax allowable to small counties and an additional five cents of gas tax and still come way short of facing the a shortfall due to spending commissioners refuse to address.

In part, commissioners were left primarily with three options above because they have dallied most of this calendar year considering an assortment of taxes.

Several potential options evaporated while commissioners did their best head-in-the-sand routine and avoided ever-pressing budget issues.

Those delays in fact, and a July 1 deadline on the gas tax for one, cost taxpayers four times the typical price tag for advertising, since they needed to advertise in the area daily newspaper in a hurry rather than the local weekly newspaper.

(Note: Both newspapers are owned by the same company, so though the "shop local" could be applied the cost was borne entirely by taxpayers).

More than that, the gas tax will require an agreement with the cities regarding how the money is divided, and given the current level of animosity between the county and the city of Port St. Joe, even if city commissioners considered the tax appropriate, and they should not, an agreement before July 1 seems a reach.

And a franchise tax will require an agreement with utilities which also seems like a reach, given the long negotiation between the city of Port St. Joe and MediaCom.

 Finally, when is it a bad thing that the county is among a minority to have exercised their rights under law to pass a small county sales tax? How is this not a good thing?

Not to mention that sales taxes and gas taxes are among the most regressive taxes available to government, inordinately, when considering percentage of household income, soaking the lower incomes brackets.

But combined, even if all the hoops are jumped through and the ordinances adopted - and both Mr. Yeagar and Commissioner Billy Traylor were initially outspoken against the gas tax, though they later agreed to at least move the process forward - these taxes seem like more pocket change.

The revenue stream they will provide, combined, dries up well short of even the commission's budget committee's numbers.

They will certainly come well short of providing substantive property tax relief.

That will only come with commissioners determined to quickly reduce spending, to rein in years of spendthrift ways.

Hanging their hat on the underlying argument that the cost of state mandates spiked annually by double-digit percentage points, over 20 and 30 percent in some years, as did county spending is a losing proposition for commissioners as property owners are painfully aware.

As will publicly proclaiming as Mr. Traylor did last week a willingness to risk defaulting on bonds, bonds that compounded and extended the county's long-term debt during good times, in another example of avoiding difficult choices that have to be made to amend for profligate spending.

As the budget committee report so painfully highlights, without a commitment to significantly reduce spending, those who have chosen to put down roots, who live here, have a homestead exemption will see their property taxes go up this year even as their property values fall.

Commissioners will effectively continue down their own path on the backs of the working folks, those on fixed incomes, seniors, struggling homeowners and others already wobbling under the weight that path has piled on them.

That is the simple black and white reality. Commissioners have to acknowledge that reality as a first step to altering it.

Lacking that, all the talk about trying to alleviate the burden on property owners is just that, talk.