Property tax increase update

Odd, none of this made the Florida Today newspaper....but here is what TV station WFTV reported on the tax increase vote Wednesday night:

"Brevard County commissioners and angry taxpayers battled until early Wednesday morning over a controversial property tax hike, and the commissioners won. The property tax rate will take a big jump for homeowners.

Commissioners and hundreds of taxpayers met in Viera for eight hours, with the meeting lasting until 1 a.m. Angry taxpayers yelled at commissioners and tried to convince them not to approve the controversial tax hike.

Initially, commissioners wanted a 16.9 percent hike, but instead voted on a 14.9 percent hike, and that sent residents reeling. WFTV asked Commissioner Robin Fisher why he and fellow commissioners, Chuck Nelson and Mary Bolin, voted for the tax hike.

"I am not for laying off deputies; I am not for closing parks," Fisher said. "Well, it’s a sensitive issue, but you realize that when you have him roll back his department, deputies there, it’s not intimidation it’s the facts." But, residents like Rev. Earl Medlin said cuts don't have to mean cutting employees. "Every time we call for cuts, the first thing they want to do is threaten us with cutting employees," he said.

Commissioner Trudie Infantini, who voted against the increase, said she agrees. "If we would just cut the spending we wouldn't have a tax increase. It’s completely unnecessary," Infantini said.

Three-quarters of homeowners will see a decrease in their taxes because home values have dropped, but that's not the case for the other 25 percent. Some residents said they're so upset that they'd like to vote the commissioners who approved the hike out of office.

"We need to take and throw out three commissioners as soon as we can, and believe me, elections have consequences," said one resident.

P.S. The salary for County Commissioners is $58,308 a year. I'd like to see their job description.