Belleair Beach Ratifies Action Already Taken on Retaining Current Millageby Leo CoughlinBELLEAIR BEACH - The City Council last Thursday ratified its action of August 3 and voted to retain the current 1.98 millage rate in the first of two public hearings on the 2010 budget. A second budget hearing is scheduled September 21 but it is no more than an exercise to fulfill the law as the millage and budget itself appear to be nailed down. Maria Kemp, the city's finance officer who received a Distinguished Budget Presentation award at last week's meeting, had offered the council three options for millage rates based on her budget calculations. The first was to retain the 1.98 rate (which, because of lowered property values, means that most property owners will pay less in taxes), increase that rate by 10 percent to 2.178 or go with the rolled back rate which would be 2.3692. Kemp, who called the budget preparation a "team effort" in accepting the award, recommended option one mainly because it had already been approved the council. Even with the 1.98 rate, the city estimates it will have a $7,756 surplus. The 2.178 rate would have resulted in a surplus of $84,000. With this austere budget, the city managed to give a 2 percent merit raise to employees. This was possible, and perhaps a partial offset, because the city cut what it pays for dependent health insurance from 50 percent to 25 percent. Following the public hearing on the millage rate and budget, in which there was no discussion and no public input, the council went right into its regular meeting and the key item there was a resolution on offshore oil drilling in the Gulf. Councilmembers heard a presentation from Nick Fritsch, chairman of the Beach Committee of the neighboring Sand Key Civic Association. Fritsch reviewed the arguments familiar with everyone why drilling for oil in the Gulf east of where it now being done would be ecologically dangerous and of no real value in solving the country's need for oil. After a brief discussion which boiled down to members not liking the language of the resolution the resolution was tabled and the council will write its own resolution on the subject. In principle all backed the idea of no drilling. Also discussed were plans to pursue dealing with properties that had been abandoned or foreclosed in the city. Paul Marino, the city attorney, explained that basically the city would assess costs through liens against whomever held title to the property. Costs would include engaging contractors to come in and cut grass that is overgrown on many sites and the administrative costs.
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