Five pennies equals 12 million dollars

According to a report prepared by Davenport and Company and released to the Board of Supervisors, the proposed new school is going to cost the taxpayer’s of Charlotte County “ just 5 pennies.” Now that “five pennies” means five cents on the tax levy which is an increase of over 10 percent.
Now I’m not upset over a tax increase to pay for a school. I’m not upset over the possibility of building a reasonable new school. I am upset that the tax increase is being downplayed and that it is being downplayed by the company who was hired to evaluate the possibilities. As my Grandmother would say, “Do your job but don’t meddle in things that don’t concern you.”
I don’t know about you but I don’t think anyone should downplay the cost of the school. Calling the increase “five pennies” is a lot like offering to trade a child a big nickel for a little dime. Someone must think the citizens of Charlotte County are really dumb. In fact, since the report was presented to the Board of Supervisors they must think the supervisors are really dumb.
Let’s put those “five pennies” in perspective. The current Charlotte County tax rate is .48 per hundred dollars of the assessed value of real estate. I suppose we could call that 48 pennies per hundred. In any case, the “five pennies” increase means a 10.4 percent increase in real estate tax.
Suppose your real estate is assessed by the county at $100,000. Your current tax bill is $480.00 per year. With the “five penny” increase your tax will be $530.00. Those “five pennies” add up to a fifty dollar increase.
Don’t forget that Charlotte County also is being forced to build a new courthouse at about the same cost of a new school. That will mean another “five pennies” on your tax bill. Although the judges are forcing the county, they haven’t offered to pay a single penny. It will be up to the taxpayers to fund the process.
When it all shakes down, Charlotte citizens are looking at a 20 to 25 percent tax increase.