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Fay Biles, president of MITA |
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In 1975, a group of Marco Island Civic Association members decided there needed to be more attention given to the constant increase of taxes, costs, and political decisions by county government. This group formed the Marco Island Taxpayers Association (MITA), incorporated and drew up their bylaws.
Since that time, a monthly newsletter has been sent to every member. The mission of MITA is to research, investigate, analyze and report to members regarding important issues that impact tax dollars, fees, assessment programs, budgets, and proposed tax (millage) rates.
One of the group's major purposes is to offer a forum for taxpayers' voices so that common concerns are forcefully heard and followed with actions.
Just about everything city council does affects residents personally and financially and should be researched for impact.
Playing the watchdog role
MITA played a vital role prior to cityhood in 1997. Some people said Marco Island needed to become a city because the county failed to pay attention to the needs of the island. I refute that because when I attended every county commission meeting, I heard others come and ask for projects. Rarely did anyone come from Marco.
Since the city incorporated, the residential community has become larger, wealthier, more knowledgable and wiser to how the city manager and city council operate, and they do not approve. They want input on how their tax dollars are being spent. MITA will represent those taxpayers in every way possible.
The MITA board and its members were behind incorporation efforts the first five times it came up for a vote. In the sixth vote, the community of residential property owners voted against cityhood, but when the absentee ballots were counted, incorporation became a reality by 180 votes.
MITA stated in the next newsletter "The people have voted, and all of us must accept that fact and try to make the city of Marco Island successful."
From the beginning MITA has been an independent organization that will support programs or projects if member surveys support them. MITA has been a watchdog of the city's spending cap and will work against any further changes to the cap.
Make no mistake, the inclusion of a three-percent spending cap based on the federal cost of living adjustment for "operating expenditures over the prior year's operating expenditures" made the difference the sixth time.
In 2002, the city asked for changes to the charter through a referendum that stated, "The cap shall not apply to emergencies, capital expenditures as provided in section 6.01, expenditures relating to projects for programs funded by grants, gifts, or impact fees: expenditures including debt service payments relating to utility or other enterprise funds which are intended to be self-supporting for governmental accounting purposes."
In 2004, city council changed without a referendum wording from "prior year's operating expenditures" to "budget to budget basis." Another change was made to allow capital expenditures not spent in a year to be carried over to the next fiscal year. Each year, those "carried overs" amount to fairly large sums.
Complaints were made but went unheeded. Was it done on purpose?
Supporting septic tanks
MITA's position against STRP started with former councilor John Arceri's state-ment that septic systems were polluting our waterways. MITA studied testing data from the beginning, and never has there been pollution. Marco is part of the Ten Thousand Islands, whose water is rated A-, the best rating on the whole West Coast.
Bad storms and hurricanes can cause sewer system failures. We never have found out how much the many honey trucks cost to pump and dump when sewer failure occurred on Marco. Sewer systems fail when the power goes out; septic system don't.
After Hurricane Rita made landfall in Louisiana and Texas in 2005, a Texas judge ruled that only property owners with septic tanks were allowed to return to their homes.
Sewage threatened health. Fact: More than 55,800,000 gallons of sewage spilled into Florida communities, neighborhoods, and waterways last year. Scientifically and environmentally, septic systems, if checked and maintained carefully, are better than sewer systems in places where hurricanes and bad storms are common.
Property tax fairness
MITA was surprised and concerned when the facts were received from data related to who pays the property taxes on Marco Island. Property residential owners pay 95 percent while only 4.5 percent are paid by the commercial sector. MITA has investigated and has spread sheets of all the taxes paid by whom. It is interesting what the huge T-shirt stores pay in taxes and where the profits go.
Further research will be ongoing.
The most important piece of information to taxpayers is the true amount the city pays to the Collier County Sheriff's Office by Florida constitutional law. That amount comes right out of the ad valorm taxes paid up front to Collier County. In 2007, the amount is $16.8 million. In 2000, if the city had a police force that year, the cost was $4.7 million.
For more information about MITA, call Biles at 394-3089. She can be reached by e-mail at faybiles@aol.com.
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