Panama City Beach Mayor’s State of the City Address

First, we will address the biggest whopper told by not only the mayor but by the vast majority of those in elected office in the county. “PCB does not have an ad valorem tax.” 
 

While it may say that on your tax bill. Nothing could be further from the truth.  
 

In PCB, your “non-ad valorem” tax for fire assessment is seventy-five cents per thousand of building value, and your storm water assessment is forty-nine cents per thousand. 
 

Meaning, your special assessment taxes are based on the value added by your home i.e,. the top line on the county appraiser’s site. 
 

Then there is what was missing from the speech.
 

The ninety-seven percent impact fee cut for commercial developers. All but ensuring your special assessment taxes go on forever. 
 

No mention of a homestead exemption from those “non-ad valorem” taxes. That could be paid for with the money the city will receive this year from the bed tax to fund the lifeguard program. Thanks to Senator Trumbull.  
 

Or the much-vaunted C.A.R.E.S. program. One of the initiatives that was going to fix all things Spring Break. 
 

And the reason it was missing demonstrates first-hand how government functions at every level. Pass an ordinance that has no clear path to implementation and claim you did something.  
 

Find that hard to believe, then go back and listen to the discussion about how to try and implement the program six months after it was passed during the February 26th council meeting. 
 

The mayor did, however, mention how impact fees would be used for some of the water system improvements. The only problem is he failed to mention the council didn’t bother to raise them to their legal limit before they raised your water and sewer rates. 
 

The crown jewel, sadly, came after the address when he was speaking to the media. 

“The only way we’re going to scale traffic or handle businesses and traffic here is if tourists come here, leave their cars somewhere and get where they need to go without hopping back in their car,” Tettemer said.
 

Meaning he now wants to revive the failed idea of a trolley system and an autonomous one to boot. The kind that Jacksonville is pulling the plug on because it has turned into the next hundred-million-dollar-plus boondoggle. 
 

Here are a couple of thoughts: First, complete the Front Beach Road project before you start another one. Or even better, let’s apply some common sense.  
 

We don’t need a separate trolley system. The traffic we need relief from is in season (three months) from 3 pm to 9 pm, when most people are heading out to eat. 
 

Instead of taxing us to death to buy a fleet of vehicles that will sit idle or run empty ninety percent of the time. Let’s use the assets we already have. 
 

Use either the Bayway fleet that is being shuttered or, better yet, the school buses that are idle during the summer. With the latter, we already have the drivers.
 

Have them run at thirty-minute intervals from three to nine, and if anyone bothers to ride them. We can talk about the next hundred-million-dollar boondoggle. 

Of course, after you repeal the egregious impact fee cuts for commercial developers and give locals a homestead exemption from the “non-ad valorem” tax.