Hillsborough County Housing Market: The Freeze is On

Hillsborough County has enacted a hiring freeze and moratorium on new building construction in anticipation of budget cuts later this year.

County Administrator Pat Bean announced the freezes in a memo to county employees last week. She also told employees to expect layoffs, but did not specify any departments where the cuts may be made.

Residents will notice the cutbacks, Bean warned. It’s a result of slow Florida mortgage activity in the region.

“The loss in funds means citizens may experience limited access to some services and most programs will likely be scaled back substantially,” Bean wrote.

The Tampa housing market instituted a hiring freeze in April. Hillsborough government is one of the county’s largest employers, with a work force of about 6,000people. There were 471 unfilled positions as of this week, Deputy County Administrator Wally Hill said.

For months, the county has adopted a wait-and-see approach to potential budget cuts as state lawmakers consider changes to the property tax laws. County officials now expect at least some property tax cuts to be made during a legislative special session next month.

How long the hiring and new building freezes hold will depend on how much the county’s property tax revenue is cut. Officials estimate the cuts at between $46 million and $217 million. The county this year collected about $800 million in annual property tax revenue.

The hiring freeze only impacts agencies that report directly to Bean; constitutional offices such as the sheriff, tax collector and property appraiser are not affected.

The freeze on new construction could delay or cancel several planned libraries, fire stations and parks. That moratorium won’t affect water or solid waste building projects, since those agencies operate on user fees rather than property tax revenue, Hill said.

The county’s Parks Department has several facilities under construction, including an $8.5 million complex near Fishhawk Ranch in eastern Hillsborough County that will be completed.

Other complexes that haven’t broken ground yet may have to be delayed, parks Director Mark Thornton said. It depends on future Florida mortgage loan activity and other factors.

“We’ve got the money to build them,” he said. “It’s whether we’ve got the money to maintain them.”

Library Director Joe Stines laid out $2.5 million of possible cuts last week, but warned that as much as $8 million may have to be trimmed from the department’s budget depending on how much lawmakers cut.

Stines said cutting hours at libraries may be necessary, but he pledged not to reduce the weekend schedule.

County Commissioner Al Higginbotham said Bean’s moves to freeze hiring and building new projects is prudent. He said commissioners simply don’t know how much money to expect next year.

“How can we honestly discuss any new projects?” he asked.

SOURCE: The Tampa Tribune