A proposed expansion of Pensacola’s Community Redevelopment Area that would divert $34.6 million of property taxes over 20 years that would otherwise go to Escambia County is on hold for now.
The City Council, which also doubles as the CRA board, was set to discuss the proposal at its June 15 meeting as the first step in a lengthy process to expand the CRA boundaries.
That discussion didn’t happen after Councilman Delarian Wiggins, who is chairman of the CRA board, sent notice that he wanted the item pulled from the meeting agenda.
Wiggins was not at the June 15 meeting, but as chairman is the default sponsor of any proposal coming from the CRA administration.
Wiggins told the News Journal in a text message that he pulled the item to meet with Mayor D.C. Reeves first to discuss it, but did not elaborate on the specific issues he wanted to discuss with the mayor.
The CRA is a special tax district that local governments in Florida can create to improve and redevelop blighted areas. The city has three CRA districts. Each CRA receives funding by diverting tax revenues from both city and county property taxes, based on the increase in property values since the CRA district was founded.
The CRA has been one of the city’s primary financing tools to pay for most of its major projects in the downtown area.
Pensacola hasn’t expanded its CRA since 2007, but the city has been looking into a possible expansion for years. The idea became more real when the city undertook a rewrite of its CRA plans and had a legally required evaluation that found areas eyed for expansion were eligible because they met the definitions of having “slum” and “blighted” conditions.
The proposal would expand the boundaries of two of the three CRA districts, the Westside CRA and the Eastside CRA and would put nearly half of the city limits under the CRA.
A city estimate projects the expanded boundaries would generate a combined $57.2 million in additional revenue for the two CRAs by 2045. Without the expansion, the two CRAs are projected to generate $99.9 million by 2045, so the expansion would bring that total to $157.1 million.
Much of that additional revenue—$34.6 million—would otherwise go to the Escambia County government without the expansion of the two city CRAs.
If the city does move forward with the expansion, Escambia County could delay and challenge the plan. It would force the city to hold a joint meeting with the County Commission to discuss the redevelopment plan for the area or propose its own alternative plan.
Reeves said he hadn’t spoken with Wiggins yet about the issue, but he also knows there are a lot of unknowns in the wake of the Florida Legislature putting a property tax cut referendum on the ballot in November.
“This has been a long time coming for our CRA staff to get this in front (of the Council),” Reeves said. “It’s just kind of timed out in this kind of awkward time of well, we don’t know what the impacts or consequences of any of this is going to be now that there’s a much bigger conversation happening statewide.”
Reeves said it was prudent to hit the pause button, but he also didn’t see it as having to wait until after the November referendum.
“Let us learn a little bit more about that, but, but (the property tax referendum is) going to put us back on our heels, I think, on any conversation that we’re having.”
Jim Little is the City Government Accountability Reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. If you have a news tip, please send it to jwlittle@pnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola’s CRA expansion plan paused as property tax referendum looms
Reporting by Jim Little, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
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By Jim Little, Pensacola News Journal | USA TODAY Network
