The LAKER
ee r F
LAND O’ LAKES EDITION
LAKERLUTZNEWS.COM
Auto Accident? Slip and Fall? FREE CONSULTATION
Pasco property tax rates holding steady By Kathy Steele
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
Property tax rates won’t go up in fiscal year 2017, though a more robust trend in property values could bring a slight boost in property taxes for some homeowners. At a final hearing on Sept. 27, Pasco County commissioners approved a $1.3 billion operating budget that includes increases for the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, and 16 new business initiatives that give residents more services. The fiscal year begins Oct. 1. The final budget is about $80 million less than what was proposed in July, partly due
No Fees Or Costs Unless You Win HOLLIDAY KARATINOS LAW FIRM, P.L. HelpingInjuredPeople.com
OCTOBER 5, 2016
to accounting adjustments in how unspent funds for capital projects are counted. Tax rates remain the same as last year.A homeowner will be assessed about $7.61 for each $1,000 in property value for the Mike Fasano county’s general fund, and about $1.81 per $1,000 for the fire district. However, as the economy has improved, property values in the past year have increased.Tax bills also could tick up slightly.
On average, county officials anticipate an additional $6.89 on a tax bill for a home valued at about $106,000. “Hopefully, most citizens are going to see some reductions in their taxes,” said Pasco County Commissioner Ted Schrader. A request weeks earlier from Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano resulted in a one-time allocation of $100,000 to the elderly nutrition program. The money will be held in a reserve account while county staff members provide details on how the money will be spent. Fasano told county commissioners he wantSee TAX, page 13A
Call Attorney
JIM HOLLIDAY 813-868-1887 “I Will Aggressively Fight To Protect Your Legal Rights” 18920 N. Dale Mabry Hwy Ste 101 Lutz, FL (Corner of Sunlake & Dale Mabry)
Walk-Ins Welcome
COURTESY OF WOMEN-N-CHARGE
Taking charge for women
Women-n-Charge, an organization that assists professional women in managing their businesses, hosted a tea to raise funds for its grant program. The tea took place at The Grove Golf & Country Club in Land O’ Lakes, where the group performed ‘The Case of the Great Jewel Robberies.’ The grant money will be awarded in the Spring of 2017. Cast members, from left, were Barbara Brekke, Go Beyond Your Dream; Yvette Behmer, The Law Offices of Lucas Magazine; Mary Adele Cluck, Marry Me Mary; Penny Pike, Waterline Construction; Anne Childers, Childers & Associates; Jill Canfield, J Ellen Studios; Elayne Bassinger, The Law Offices of Lucas Magazine; and, April Saland, A.L. Saland Insurance Solutions.
Your Local Real Estate & Property Management Experts
DennisRealty.com
Bike repair station opens at Suncoast Trailhead
DennisPM.com
The Laker/Lutz News Staff Report
Service the Way it Oughta Be!
KEVIN WEISS/STAFF PHOTO
LK/LZ
Pasco County Superintendent Kurt Browning address the new Anti-Terroristic Threat Law during a Sept. 30 press conference. The law, which took effect Oct. 1, makes false reports about using firearms in a violent manner a second-degree felony.
FREE
SERVICE CALL W/ REPAIR* A/C, Plumbing or Electrical LK/LZ
*M-f 7aM-7pM. if work not perforMed, service fee appLies.
$39.95 A/C OR PLUMBING CHECK-UP Must present coupon. LiMited tiMe offer. #CFC1428982
#CAC1816647
#EC0001103
Air Conditioning • Plumbing • Electrical
CORNERSTONEPROS.COM
813-949-4445
B INSIDE, PAGE 1B
School shooting threats now a felony By Kevin Weiss
kweiss@lakerlutznews.com
The consequences just got tougher for Florida students who threaten to shoot up a school. The Anti-Terroristic Threat and Public Servant Protection Law. The law, which went into effect Oct. 1, makes false reports about using firearms in a violent manner a second-degree felony. Bomb threats have carried a second-degree felony, but only charges of “disrupting a school function”—a second-degree misdemeanor — could have been brought against someone making a gun threat. The law also makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to threaten with death or serious harm a law enforcement officer, state attorney or assistant state attorney, firefighter, judge, elected official or any of their family members. In the Pasco County School District, there already have been three incidents of students making gun threats through the first six weeks of the 2016-2017 school year. Pasco County Superintendent Kurt Browning described such threats — regardless of the degree of seriousness — as being “incredibly disruptive” to the community. “When someone makes what they con-
sider a joke to shoot up the school, people panic,” Browning said during a Sept. 30 press conference. “I’ve pleaded with students, and I’ve asked their parents to plead with them, to think before posting an idle threat on social media, or to make any kind of verbal threat to carry out a shooting at any of our schools.” He added:“When kids and their parents see these things, the fears spread quickly.” Such threats, Browning said, often cause Pasco schools to become “half-empty” the following day. “Students and parents are not going to take any chances when they hear rumors or see the posts on social media,” the superintendent said. “It means that students who do show up are not going to learn much that day. It means that some teachers may decide not to teach the lesson that they had planned, because half the class will miss it,” Browning said. Ava Cahoon, a junior at Land O’ Lakes High, said fellow classmates oftentimes become “very scared” when they hear such threats. “We have to go into lockdown, and we don’t learn at all,” Cahoon said.“We have to See SHOOTING, page 13A
A bike repair station is now available at the Suncoast Trailhead, off State Road 54 in Odessa. Officials had a ribbon cutting to celebrate the new amenity, which is expected to be welcomed by cyclists who use the trail. The bike repair station is located at the northwest corner of State Road 54 and the Suncoast Parkway, at 16175 State Road 54 in Odessa. The Pasco law firm of Russell G. Marlowe donated the bike repair station, which will allow trail users to make repairs at the trail. “I would like to thank Mr. Marlowe and his organization for their kind donation,” Kelley Boree, director of Pasco Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Department, said during the ceremony, according to a news release from Paso County. The station features tools that are secureSee BIKE, page 13A
COURTESY OF PASCO COUNTY
Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey makes remarks during a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new bike repair station on the Suncoast Trail.