Open Thread: Your Issues?

{This thread is closed. Use the new "Open Thread" posted on December 1 for your discussion topics.}

Bored with some of the topics—start a discussion thread on your topic.

How about a couple of items for your comments?

1. A Circuit Judge just threw out a lawsuit that challenged the legality of a write-in candidate to close a political party’s primary. He stated: “the language [of the Florida law] is clear; it leaves no ambiguity about what it means.” Though not a case directly involving the local write-in candidacy of Nancy Stacy, it seems to confirm the legality of what she did—which some had questioned.

2. One in ten U.S. high schools is a “dropout factory”, defined as no more than 60% of the students who start as freshmen make it to their senior year. Florida and South Carolina have the highest percentages. Almost half of the high schools in Florida classify as dropout factories.

That’s a start. You add some more discussion items.

Voter Redistricting (School Board): Needed or Not?

School board chairman, Ron Crawford, received some disagreement today from the Star-Banner editorial board for proposing to correct the voter-constituency coverage of the five school board districts. Crawford proposed voter redistricting after discovering he had 32,670 registered voters in District 5, which is 22,000 fewer voters than in board member Steve Hering's District 2.

It has been 10 years since the school board last redefined voting district boundaries. Rapid growth, especially in the southern portion of the county, caused Hering's district to grow far faster than the others since 1997.

The proposal would be to redefine voter districts to have the school district populations covered be more equal. Though voting is countywide, school board candidates must live within the district they represent. The redistricting would be completed without removing a school board member from his or her current district. Also, the redistricting process would not affect school attendance zones.

The school board has set a public hearing on the proposal.

What do you think? Does Crawford’s proposal have merit or is it just a waste of time?

Property Tax Reform: Is The End In Sight?

There may be significant progress toward agreement on Property Tax Reform. Today, the House issued a version that seems to have very good support (yes, even among the Democrats!).

The House proposal will be voted on this Monday; then over to the Senate to reconcile differences with its plan. The two keys changes recommended in the House version are:

--Guaranteed Save Our Homes Benefit – For non-school taxes, instead of doubling the homestead exemption, this approach would guarantee a minimum Save Our Homes exemption of at least 40% of the county’s median home value. This approach will target relief precisely toward those homesteaded property owners who bought homes in the last few years and new homestead property owners who need it most.

--Protection of a 5% Save Our Homes-like cap on non-homestead and commercial property - Capping assessment increases on all non-homestead and commercial properties at 5% will help restore fairness, equity and predictability to our property tax system by providing real protections against any outrageous tax increases in the future. It would provide much the same taxpayer protections for renters, affordable housing, second-home owners and small business owners that primary homeowners currently enjoy.

Here is a link to a summary of all the elements of the House plan:

http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/files/refined_property_tax_plan.pdf

What do you think? Would you vote for this proposal if it is offered as a Constitutional Amendment on January 29, 2008? Why or why not?

UPDATE: The House has just approved (10/29--7:00PM) the Senate version of Tax Reform. See a further explanation in the thread below.

EWERS CLOBBERS CLARK!

Final Results:

Randy Ewers 63%

David Clark 37%

(Turnout of 12.3%)

Looks like City of Ocala voters are confirming their agreement that things are going well in the Mayor’s office!

Tell us how you feel about the Election results.

Property Tax Reform: Here We Go Again!

For the umpteenth time, there is another Property Tax Reduction proposal being floated! The new version replaces the “Super Homestead Exemption” Constitutional Amendment that was legally axed from being placed on the January 29 ballot due to faulty wording.

The plan Gov. Charlie Crist is now proposing would save $6.3 billion over five years - $3.0 billion short of the cuts promised by the original plan developed by the Legislature. Crist’s proposal would:

(1) Double the $25,000 homestead exemption and, for the first time, index it to inflation.

(2) Allow people to keep their Save Our Homes benefit when they move.

(3) Provide discounts for first-time home buyers.

(4) Reduce taxes on business equipment.

Unlike the plan it would replace on the Jan. 29 ballot, Crist's proposal would not affect school budgets and preserves Save Our Homes, which caps annual property tax increases at 3 percent, for all primary homeowners.

The new homestead exemption would take an estimated $3.9-billion from local government over five years - but the average taxpayer would get only $214 in savings per year.

Under Crist's "portability" proposal, a person could take all of their Save Our Homes benefit when moving to a more expensive home. When buying a less expensive house, the homeowners would pay taxes on the same percentage of market value as they did on their old home.

First-time home buyers - whether already living in Florida or moving here from another state - would get an additional exemption equal to 25 percent of the just value of the home. The estimated annual savings would average about $700.

Businesses would get a $25,000 exemption on tangible personal property - far less relief than they want.

What do you think about the proposal?

Are You Ready For A Convention Center?

The on and off discussion about whether Ocala should have a convention center is on again. The Marion County Tourism Development Council is recommending to the County Commission the expenditure of $60,000-$70,000 for a consultant to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of a local convention center.

A previous study done in the late 1990s concluded that a convention center might not be workable because of lack of a major airline service to bring tourists here and whether there would be a reliable/continuous revenue source to fund its operation.

So, tell us what you think: Do we need a convention center?