Miami Herald, The (FL)
December 15, 2005
Author: ERIKA BOLSTAD, ebolstad@herald.com

Despite a new state law signed Wednesday, time has run out for Broward County taxpayers who want to take advantage of the biggest discount on their tax bills this year.

Broward County commissioners won’t extend the deadline for discounts to people who pay their 2005 property taxes early. That means today is the final day Broward taxpayers can receive a 4 percent discount for early payment. The law, which passed last week in a special legislative session and was signed by Gov. Jeb Bush on Wednesday, gives hurricane-impacted counties the authority to extend their tax-discount periods.

The idea was to give people added time to get their cash flow in order after the hurricanes, since many homeowners are balancing high insurance deductibles and other storm and repair costs. But for Broward, the proposal fell apart Tuesday when the County Commission needed eight votes to pass an emergency ordinance. Since one commissioner was out of the country, just eight commissioners were left. And Commissioner John Rodstrom, who was one of several commissioners who left the meeting early and was available only on the telephone, said he planned to recuse himself. So his colleagues never took up the issue because there weren’t the votes to pass it.

Despite legal advice from the county attorney that suggested otherwise, Rodstrom said he didn’t think he should vote on it because he felt he would personally benefit from the discount. That’s because he always pays his tax bill in January, Rodstrom said.
“I would be the beneficiary of about $250,” he said. “If that’s not a special benefit, I don’t know what it is. I might as well write myself a check.” Rodstrom’s comments left one of the sponsors of the law sputtering Wednesday. “Commissioner Rodstrom is the Scrooge of the 2005 Christmas season,” said state Rep. Adam Hasner, R-Delray Beach. “He could have voted to afford the relief to Broward County residents without taking the benefit himself. I’m truly disappointed.” Normally, people would receive the maximum 4 percent discount only if they paid their taxes by the end of November. But this year, because of Hurricane Wilma, Broward and Miami-Dade counties sent out tax bills late, and they extended the 4 percent deadline into December.

Broward taxpayers who pay their bill by Dec. 31 still see a 3 percent savings. January payments are eligible for a 2 percent discount; February payments see a 1 percent discount. So far, about 60 percent of Broward taxpayers have received the 4 percent discount for paying early. But Miami-Dade taxpayers will get to take full advantage of the extension. Monday, Miami-Dade commissioners approved extending the 4 percent discount through Jan. 31. The 3 percent discount will take effect in February; people who pay in March will see a 2 percent discount. Taxes in all Florida counties are due by April 1.
Broward Commissioner Sue Gunzburger, who asked last week that colleagues vote on the idea, said she was worried about condominium owners who must come up with extra money for special assessments to repair storm damage. “I wanted to do something to help the people who are hurting,” she said. It did have some drawbacks, Mayor Ben Graber said. Local governments in Broward would have lost an estimated $14 million in tax revenue because of the additional discounts. He said he thought the proposal mostly benefited those who pay their taxes outright, not people who have their payments put into escrow by their mortgage company, which then pays the tax bill for them.

“The people who would benefit the most are usually people of substantial means, or people who don’t have mortgages,” Graber said. And for people like Raul Chacon, a retiree from Miramar who owns his home outright, it just meant he could have held on to the money a little longer before he paid his taxes. After all, he still has to pay them, said Chacon, 64. “Money-wise, it’s not that much,” he said. “It’s not the savings, it’s the advantage of being able to hold on to the money for another month.”