Is It A Tax Increase Or Not?

Thursday, 28 July 2011 05:59 Last Updated on Thursday, 28 July 2011 07:00 Written by Matt Nye

Newsflash: if you increase the property tax millage rate, you are in fact raising taxes.

Sounds obvious, right? Not according to Florida Statue, several of our sitting County Commissioners and the editorial board of the Florida Today.

Florida’s Truth in Millage Law defines a tax increase as any tax rate that generates more revenue than the prior year as a tax increase. This definition is deeply flawed for a couple of reasons, and if applied to other tax mechanisms would leave taxpayers open to crushing tax increases across the board to maintain the size of government regardless of what is happening in the economy.

Several of our Commissioners and the Editorial Board of the Florida Today gleefully point to the Truth in Millage statute as proof the County and School Board have not raised taxes. Matt Reid just wrote about it here.

In addition to referencing the state statute, Commissioners Fisher and Nelson have repeatedly pointed out that because *not everyone’s* tax bill will increase as a result of the millage increase, rolling back the millage rate to maintain last year’s revenue isn’t actually a tax increase.

Here’s the twisted logic put forth by Commissioners Fisher at the July 21st budget workshop meeting:

Melbourne City Council to Vote on Red Light Cameras Tuesday

Monday, 13 June 2011 05:59 Last Updated on Monday, 13 June 2011 06:16 Written by Matt Nye

The Melbourne City Council will consider an ordinance to install red light cameras in the City of Melbourne Tuesday night at the regularly scheduled City Council meeting at 6:30pm in the Council Chamber at 900 E Strawbridge Ave, Melbourne.

Per his comments in the Florida Today this morning, District 1 Councilman Mike Nowlin has clearly adopted the safety/enforcement argument. The Florida Today cites information from a 2005 Federal Highway Administration study that shows a decrease in right angle crashes but an increase in rear end crashes. No mention of any of the other studies located here.

Please contact your Council representative and explain you are against the cameras not because you want people to get away with breaking the law, but because:

• The owner of the vehicle is ticketed, NOT the driver committing the infraction.
• Red light cameras deny basic constitutional and due process protections such as the presumption of innocence, the right to a trial, the right to be confronted by your accuser, and proper notification.
• The vast majority of studies show red light cameras cause more accidents, injuries, and fatalities. They increase traffic congestion and change driving behavior for the worse.
• Red light cameras raise revenue by punishing technical foul violations such as right turn on red violations and split second entries into the red light which rarely cause accidents.

This isn't about safety folks - it's about money! We don't need more revenue - we need less spending!!!

Studies show that increasing amber time by one second can reduce violations by 60 percent or more in many cases - if the Council's goal is to increase public safety, this is what they should be looking at.

Alas, as I said, this isn't about safety, its about revenue. Please forward this story to everyone you know in Melbourne and ask them attend the meeting and to wear a red shirt. For more details on the agenda, please click here.

Washington DC may be out of reach until 2012, but our local municipalities and county government aren't. Please invest a couple of hours of your time tomorrow night and make your voice heard. A handful of concerned citizens can stop red light cameras from becoming a reality in the City of Melbourne, and if we can't stop them this time we can vote out those Council members that vote for the cameras at the next election.