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Cooper City plan would cut tax bills

(Miami Herald - 7/22/06) The typical Cooper City homeowner might see something rare on their next property tax bill: lower taxes.

According to a proposed budget released by City Manager Chris Farrell Friday, the owner of a home valued at $250,000 and claiming the $25,000 homestead exemption will pay $1,302 in taxes to the city, a slight decrease from last year.

Last year, that same homeowner paid about $1,332. These figures assume an increase of 3 percent in taxable home value, the state limit on owner-occupied residential property.

Owners of rental housing, vacation homes and commercial property would probably see larger tax bills despite the lower tax rates, because there is no limit on how much such property can appreciate.

If the City Commission approves the reduction at its meeting next Tuesday, the city's overall tax rate will shrink to $5.60 per $1,000 of assessed value, down from $5.92.

Those figures include taxes for day-to-day expenses and debt approved by voters.

City taxes are only part of a homeowner's total property tax bill. The Broward County Commission and School Board, as well as other local agencies, also levy property taxes.

In the coming budget year, which begins Oct. 1 and runs until Sept. 30, 2007, ''We expect that property values are going to continue to go up, but maybe not as much,'' said Horacio Montes de Oca, the city's finance director.

The proposed $67 million budget includes $100,000 -- half coming from a matching-fund grant -- for increased school security at Pioneer Middle and Cooper City High. Because the city has begun outsourcing some of its building inspection work, Farrell has proposed trimming two part-time positions from the building department and eliminating a full-time position through attrition.

Monterra, a 1,900-home mixed-use project under construction on the former Waldrep Dairy site, is not expected to contribute or consume much money next year, because developers do not expect to complete more than 25 homes during the coming budget year.

The city will spend $12.6 million on police and fire-rescue service, provided by the Broward Sheriff's Office, up about 5 percent from last year.

No major changes are planned for the coming year, but BSO will add two crime scene investigative aides, civilian positions that were approved by the City Commission earlier this year.

The city will also spend $1.3 million on improving sidewalks citywide; Montes de Oca said the city will take out a loan to pay for the repairs.

City commissioners will decide on the proposed new tax rate at a meeting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Cooper City Hall, 9090 SW 50th Pl., and will hold a public hearing on the overall budget Sept. 13.