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New Effort Underway to Incorporate Palm Harbor
"We want to be able to control where our tax money goes," said longtime Palm Harbor resident Norm Atherton, who is spearheading a movement to incorporate Palm Harbor.
It's a topic that's been at the center of heated debate in Palm Harbor for years; should Palm Harbor incorporate and become a city?
It appears as though the controversy is about to heat up again. A new effort to incorporate Palm Harbor is underway.
Longtime Palm Harbor resident, Norm Atherton is spearheading a movement to make Palm Harbor a city. He's recruiting volunteers to join the "Palm Harbor Coalition". The group will be spreading the word about the effort to incorporate Palm Harbor.
"We want to be able to control where our tax money goes," Atherton told Palm Harbor Patch.
Palm Harbor's a Cash Cow for the County
It turns out, there is a lot of tax money involved when it comes to Palm Harbor and its 88,401 residents.
According to 2010 U.S. Census records, the East Lake community in Palm Harbor has a population of 30,962. The median value of owner-occupied homes is $312,700. 80 percent of East Lake residents owned their homes from 2007 through 2011.
As for the rest of Palm Harbor, 2010 U.S. Census records show there are 57,439 residents. This includes the communities of Ozona and Crystal Beach. The median value of owner-occupied homes is $200,600. 78.2 percent of Palm Harbor residents owned their homes from 2007 through 2011.
With its high home ownership rate, high property values and large population, Palm Harbor contributes a large chunk of property tax dollars to Pinellas County tax coffers.
Pinellas County Commissioners allocate this tax money for projects and services throughout the county. If Palm Harbor incorporated and became a city, Atherton thinks residents would see more of their tax money spent in Palm Harbor.
Right now, the only property tax money designated specifically to benefit Palm Harbor residents comes from special fire district taxes and a tax which pays for services and facilities maintained by the Palm Harbor Community Services Agency (PHCSA). PHCSA oversees Palm Harbor's public parks, the library, Palm Harbor's parks and recreation facilities, and The Centre, which serves as a community center for Palm Harbor.
Money's Not the Only Issue
Some people are against incorporation because they say becoming a city would bring an additional layer of government to the area. Because Palm Harbor is unincorporated, there's not a mayor or city commission that runs Palm Harbor. Pinellas County Commissioners are the ultimate decision makers for Palm Harbor.
Ozona residents fought an incorporation effort back in 2009. "We want to preserve our originality and uniqueness, not be swallowed up into a town of Palm Harbor," Ozona Village Improvement Society President Dennis Green told the Suncoast News. "We are happy with the service and representation received from the county," he added.
Atherton is seeking volunteers for the Palm Harbor Coalition through Jan. 18. Applicants must be residents of Palm Harbor and must be able to attend several meetings a month for up to a year. More information can be found at the Palm Harbor Coalition website.
We'd like to know what you think, should Palm Harbor incorporate? Vote in our poll below. You're also welcome to explain why you are for or against incorporation.
Thanks. We'll email you the next time we update this story.
John Tyrkala
4:55 pm on Monday, January 7, 2013
If Palm Harbor incorporates, it then will establish a city goverment. I do not want more goverment. Go check out other incorporated cities in Pinellas. Residents are told what size trash cans to use and city selected trash service etc. Lots of city rules. What makes Palm Harbor great is its community charm. Incorporating and establishing a city goverment and the city taxes will only ruin this great community.
JimmyDean
10:00 pm on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Mr Green needs to stop speeking for ozona residents. Ovis does not represent the views of most of the residents of OZONA Have you seen the new OVIS sign that is supposed to be a designation for OZONA??? Yeah...and ask Mr Green about the lack of street lights for safety issues, and then ask him what gives him the right to speak on behalf of the residents of OZONA?
Paul Allen
7:54 am on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
We do not need more government. In the long run more government will mean more money down the drain. That money wasted will come from the residences pockets. Larger government always costs more. The promoters of incorporation never mention how much this will cost us. Palm Harbor is a great community the way it is.
Auntie Em
11:02 am on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
I agree with John and Paul....we had this discussion as far back as 1988 when we were establishing the recreation dept. for the library and soccer fields. We are, in fact, already incorporated. We are officially incorporated "Unincorporated" to stop Dunedin and Tarpon Springs from biting off chunks of our tax base to increase theirs. We have perfectly good police protection with the Sheriff's Dept., a fine Fire Dept. that we somehow managed to build thru the years and I could go on.
Then on the other hand, we have people who aren't satisfied with what is so great about this community...hence, we end up with Florida Ave. in Downtown "Historic" Palm Harbor sporting a road that never looked that way and 14 stop signs in a 3 block area. I'm just amazed at the brilliance it took to create that!
Norm, I hope you give this a lot of thought before you try to ram it down our throats and try to remember what brought you to Palm Harbor in the first place.
Swiffer Wet Jet
1:13 pm on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Well Auntie Em..... I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore........ but I'm with you on the 14 stop signs. That took some brilliance!
Goin' Commando
11:52 am on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Yeah, let's disincorporate the entire State of Florida, and go back to living in tribes.
Next, let's get rid of the red lights and stop signs; they just take away our liberty.
Next, let's get rid of schools; if parents want their kids to read and write, let them teach their own kids, at home, where they belong.
Speaking of at home, wimmin should stay in their homes, and that will have the added benefits of opening up jobs to real men; wimmin, obey your husbands!
Who needs all this gov'mint crap!
Paul Allen
4:24 pm on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
This was an intelligent reply!
April
4:12 pm on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
The only major issue I have with being run by Pinellas is the fluoride in the water......but that is not the issue here....I say stay unicorporated to keep gov't presence at a low level(as low as possible).
Oh, on the stop signs....wastes more gas and causes a bigger carbon footprint....geez, never thought of that one!!
Happy
9:23 pm on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
People are commenting without understanding what KIND of incorporation ideas have been presented. A true conservative wants the closest government to him/her. The incorporation plan is to REPLACE the county government through a design after Sandy Springs, Georgia (look it up, see it showcased), making the county a pass-through entity for funding. The county has been serving Kool-Aid to the residents...the residents should be asking "hey, WHY do we pay more in taxes than what we get back in services" AND "hey, why do some of Palm Harbor taxes go to St. Pete and Clearwater?". Maybe we should go to Mr. Atherton's meetings and see what it is all about BEFORE we judge it based on the "disasters" we have already seen.....maybe lessons were learned and PH's plan is better!
rick barasso
10:26 pm on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Last time these jokers began this effort, the residents of Ozona and Crystal Beach began to organize a boycott of those Palm Harbor businesses that were in support of the unwanted take over of their communities, from the likes of the twice bankrupted Peter Nehr and his band of thieves...I'm sure the same can be done again. I hope someone will make the local business people aware of the cost involved in taking over towns against their will...
Eric Kendall
1:51 pm on Thursday, January 10, 2013
Sounds like I'm in the minority here but I would rather my property taxes go to "the town of Palm Harbor" then Pinellas County.
$4life?
8:34 am on Saturday, January 12, 2013
St Pete, Clearwater and Dunedin all pay twice ! And try to build or change a structure there you go through 2 sets of flaming hoops. SAY NO TO MORE GOVERNMENT.
rick barasso
6:48 pm on Thursday, January 10, 2013
Palm Harbor is free to do anything they want. Perhaps they want to renew their reputation as the headquarters for the KKK. Just leave those communities alone, that would prefer to be remain unto themselves.
Jo
8:21 am on Saturday, January 12, 2013
Why fix something that is not broke, in a sense...what's wrong with Palm Harbor the way it is?
rick barasso
12:50 pm on Saturday, January 12, 2013
Their silence is deafening, isn't it?
Serenity James
11:16 pm on Saturday, March 2, 2013
Palm Harbor does not need this, but greedy "town leaders" would probably love it. We're a very affluent community in comparison to many others throughout Pinellas and Florida in general. It's quite illogical and morally reprehensible to suggest that we essentially "keep all our resources to ourselves and forget about the people and families in other less affluent communities". Sure our taxes help other communities out, but why do people fail to see the obvious logic in that. We have finite resources and a lot of people, so guess what? We have to share. More so when you already have more, less so when you have less. That's life!
rick barasso
8:06 am on Sunday, March 3, 2013
If you want to know about the type of people behind the movement, one only need to read the resent PATCH story about Peter Nehr and his girlfriend..