At its June 5 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Alafia River Basin Board adopted a proposed fiscal year 2009 (FY2009) millage rate of 0.2163 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year. The Alafia River Basin Board area covers the southern portion of Hillsborough County and the southwestern portion of Polk County.
This millage rate combined with a reduction in taxable property values as estimated by the county property appraisers will result in an estimated 17 percent decrease in ad valorem property tax revenue from FY2008. These estimates will be updated when the property appraisers release their certified taxable property values in July.
The proposed budget for FY2009 is $8,835,547, which is an increase of $1,241,056 from the adopted FY2008 budget. The main reason for this increase is due balances available from prior years. FY2009 will run from Oct. 1, 2008, through Sept. 30, 2009.
For the owner of a $125,000 home with a $50,000 homestead exemption, the FY2009 Basin Board tax would be $16.22, or about $1.35 per month.
The Alafia River Basin Board’s proposed FY2009 budget includes $472,260 for projects in the District’s Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) program. The SWIM program was established by the Florida Legislature in 1987 and requires the state’s five water management districts to maintain a priority list of water bodies of regional or statewide significance. The districts develop plans and programs to improve these water bodies.
One of the SWIM projects is the Rock Ponds Restoration project, which involves the design, permitting and restoration of a 2,542-acre parcel of land in southwestern Hillsborough County.
The land, which was purchased by the District and Hillsborough County in 2003, includes wetlands and uplands.
The wetlands consist of a series of mining pits, estuarine open water, mangrove forest, and salt barren communities. In addition to the impacts from mining, the wetlands have also been impacted by mosquito ditching and other dredge and fill activities.
The majority of the uplands consist of fallow farm fields, although some of the area is currently being leased to a sod farm. Other than some fringe hammocks, none of the upland habitats remain intact and invasive plants are scattered throughout the area.
Restoring these communities will help offset habitat losses suffered throughout Tampa Bay and provide habitat for thousands of coastal species.
This multi-year project is being funded over several years. District funding for SWIM projects is divided among the Basin Board and the SWIM program. The Alafia River Basin Board has tentatively budgeted $211,862 for FY2009. The District has also tentatively budgeted $111,862 to be funded by the State Water Management Lands Trust Fund and $100,000 in funds from the Ecosystem Trust Fund.
The Basin Board’s tentative budget also includes $4.32 million for the Water Supply and Resource Development program, which provides matching funds for the development of additional new sustainable water supplies.
One of the projects being funded through this program is the Tampa Bay Water system configuration II project, which consists of various project components that build on Tampa Bay Water’s existing Enhanced Surface Water System. When complete, this project will provide an additional 25 million gallons (mgd) of potable water per day to the member governments of Tampa Bay Water.
The project will withdraw and treat water from the Hillsborough River and Tampa Bypass Canal during periods of higher flows. This project requires a number of Tampa Bay Water’s regional system components to be expanded, including the surface water treatment plant and the Tampa Bypass Canal Pump Station. These improvements will enable the higher surface water flows from the Hillsborough River and Tampa Bypass Canal to be captured, which will increase the use of the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir. In addition, four system interconnect components that are used to transport water throughout the region are also being upgraded.
This project is being funded by the District’s General Fund, as well as the Alafia River, Hillsborough River, Northwest Hillsborough, Coastal Rivers, Pinellas-Anclote River and Withlacoochee River Basin Boards. The Alafia River Basin Board has tentatively budgeted $1,667,948 for this project in FY2009.
The District has eight regional Basin Boards that provide guidance for local programs that are specific to the watershed basins they protect. The District’s ninth basin, the Green Swamp, is administered by the Governing Board. Basin Boards work with local governments and other entities on water resource projects that have an impact in local communities. Basin Boards often provide partial funding for these projects in partnership with a local government or local cooperator.
Basin Board members are unpaid citizen volunteers appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. They serve three-year staggered terms. Each of the Basin Boards includes a minimum of one person from each county within the basin, and there must be at least three members on each Board. Each Basin Board has at least one of the 13 members of the District’s Governing Board that serves as the Board’s chair ex officio.
The District’s Governing Board will adopt proposed millage rates for the District’s General Fund and the eight Basin Boards at its monthly meeting in July at the District’s Brooksville headquarters. These millage rates will be used by county property appraisers when mailing out Truth in Millage (TRIM) notices to residents. The Basin Boards will meet again in August to adopt their final millage rates and budgets.
Two statutorily required public TRIM hearings on the District’s total budget will be held in September. The first will be Sept. 16 at 5:01 p.m. at the District’s Tampa Service Office.
The Governor’s office will review and approve the budgets of all five water management districts before the second and final public hearing.
The District’s second and final TRIM hearing will be Sept. 30 at 5:01 p.m. at the District’s Brooksville headquarters. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Governing Board will formally adopt the final millage rates and budgets. The public is welcome to attend any Governing Board or Basin Board meetings to provide comment on the proposed budgets.