Rays, property taxes, Ybor safety hot topics during ‘State of Our Cities’ panel with 3 city mayors

TAMPA, Fla. - When three of Hillsborough County’s top city leaders share a stage to answer questions, the community doesn't shy away.

During a wide-ranging, hour-long discussion on Friday, the mayors of Tampa, Plant City and Temple Terrace took the microphone to answer questions from the audience during the State of Our Cities mayoral panel hosted by the Tiger Bay Club at the Chester H. Ferguson Law Center in Tampa. 

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Here are three topics they discussed: 

Property taxes

This week, the Florida House passed a proposal to let voters decide on eliminating most homestead property taxes. Meanwhile, the state senate hasn’t yet advanced a similar measure. 

But, Governor Ron DeSantis has pushed for these cuts for over a year, saying they would reduce the tax burden on homeowners. Democrats argue the move would underfund local services. 

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Here’s what the three mayors had to say on Friday: 

What they're saying:

"If you vote to do away with property taxes, there goes funding for police," Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said. 

"I don't know how we would handle it in Plant City, but I think most jurisdictions around Florida would try to make it up somehow, and how are they going to do that? They're just going to raise the ad valorem so everybody else is going to have to absorb it," Plant City Mayor Nate Kilton said. 

"I'm all for funding the most equitable and fair way to fund local services. If there's a better way, I think I'm certainly open to that. I mean, I'm a taxpayer also," Temple Terrace Mayor Andy Ross said. "However, as my colleagues have pointed out, unless there's an alternative funding source, there's going to be a resulting cut in services."

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Tampa Bay Rays stadium plans

The proposed stadium project is expected to cost around $2.3 billion. Current indications suggest the Rays will pay about half.  

What they're saying:

When asked about how the remaining balance would be paid, here’s what Castor said on Friday: 

"That's being worked out. We are negotiating that. Basically saying, ‘Here's what we can offer.’ And by ‘we,’ that's the TSA (Tampa Sports Authority), Hillsborough County, and the city of Tampa: Here's what can be offered, and then the Rays are going to have to develop their plan at that point. I don't think that the appetite to move from Tampa is there. I think that's just sort of lurking in the background, trying to put pressure. But you have to factor in all of the things — the land that they're getting — and it has to be an equitable endeavor. And, I can say that this particular group with the Rays – [owners] Patrick, Ken, and Bill — have been above board, very transparent. So it's something that everybody's rolled their sleeves up and trying to get it done. Whether you're for it or you're against it, you cannot be the city or the region that loses a professional team, sporting team. And they're going to expand the MLB by two teams. Those teams will each cost $2 billion. That's before there's a stadium or anything else. So losing it, trying to get it back is not going to happen."

Ybor safety

City of Tampa transportation officials presented new safety measures for Ybor City to city council members at their Thursday meeting. 

The backstory:

These changes came about after a deadly incident on 7th Avenue in November. A driver crashed into the sidewalk outside Bradley’s on 7th, killing four people and injuring more than a dozen others.

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Changes in the works include lower speed limits, more patrols, added bollards, and the addition of parking spots and bus bays to narrow a section of 7th Avenue. 

Meanwhile, some community members have advocated for making 7th Avenue a pedestrian-only zone to improve safety. However, city officials said business owners expressed concern that limiting vehicle access could negatively impact commerce in the historic district.

What they're saying:

On Friday, Castor had this to say: 

"In my other role as a Tampa police officer, I worked down in Ybor City on midnight as a supervisor. And so, I went through those iterations where we close it down, open it up, close it down. And you can argue either side of that. There are pluses and minuses to both. But, what happens when the streets are closed down is that individuals come down to that location in mass that have no intention of going to, patronizing any of the businesses. And, that's where the trouble starts, is in those larger groups that are just hanging out in the streets," Castor added.