Submitted by
Ed Boner, Candidate Group 4
What are your ideas for increasing city revenues to avoid raising taxes?
“This is a bit of a trick question. Most of the revenue stream results from property value. The decline in revenue is mostly due to a decline in property value and decline in tax. If you don’t change the cost of services, number of employees or money spent to provide these, the millage must go up to compensate.
My opponent was correct in saying at a recent meeting, we need to look further. I do believe in giving credit where credit is due. The issue though, is not micromanaging small things. Our waste is on a grand scale. We should start from the top. Going forward, we need to change to a hybrid pension plan with different eligibility requirements for future hires. The transition will have little or no effect on existing staff, but would change the lack of sustainability we are seeing. We also need to look at each department for optimal organization. An outside eye, if needed, might bring an efficiency none of us see.
In 2014, I believe we will see a reversal of tax revenue as a natural byproduct of recovery in the real estate market. WWW.Zillow.com and a number of other trade publications appear to show 2013 as the bottom of the market nationally. I believe 2012 is the bottom here in Fernandina and the decline in revenue should reverse in the coming year. We should look for a reset of the CRA, by the way, next year, not this year.
The best way to avoid raising tax is to look for efficiency. Consider logical service boundaries for public safety with compensation. Consider improved organizational efficiency in all departments and reform pensions going forward. I would avoid looking at fees for beach parking, downtown parking or sale of beach access. Pay parking as a revenue generation strategy is the wrong approach. This would have an indirect negative effect on the local economy and, in my opinion, is an added inefficient and unneeded layer of control.”
Editor’s Note: This is the fourth question in a series of five posed to candidates for the Fernandina Beach City Commission. The answers come to our readers unedited and in the candidates own words. We rotate the order of candidates from week to week. Ed Boner and incumbent Tim Poynter will seek Group 4, John Campbell Elwell and Pat K Gass will seek Group 5.
October 3, 2012 6:12 a.m.