Community Received Crime & City Budget Updates At Second Public Safety Meeting 

(l.-r.) State Rep. Fentrice Driskell, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, City Councilman Luis Viera, TPD Deputy Chief Brett Owen & TPD Maj. Les Richardson were in attendance at the Town Hall meeting in Tampa Palms on July 30. 

Thankfully, the short, but scary violent crime wave that rocked New Tampa in June has calmed down. 

That fact was evidenced by the much-lower attendance at the second New Tampa Public Safety Town Hall meeting held at Compton Park in Tampa Palms on July 30, nearly five weeks after District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera and the Tampa Police Department (TPD) co-hosted the first New Tampa Public Safety Town Hall meeting at the New Tampa Recreation Center on June 24. 

As we reported in our July 23 issue, the first Town Hall was attended by about 200 people, many of whom expressed fear after three separate shooting incidents in four days that left four people dead and one seriously injured in zip code 33647. 

At the July 30 meeting, new TPD Deputy Chief Brett Owen and recently promoted TPD Dist. 2 Major Leslie “Les” Richardson provided an update on one of the three cases, while acknowledging that one case, which was being handled by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) because it took place on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. (a county road), was still not resolved. An arrest had already been made in the third case, as we also reported last issue. 

Just to review: The case that is still open was the first one, on June 17, when 24-year-old Wesley Chapel resident Kyle Prisco was shot and killed in broad daylight on BBD at Regents Park Dr., in front of the Chase Bank. Sadly, just as at the June 24 meeting, no one from HCSO attended the July 30 meeting to answer questions about that case. 

“Unfortunately, the Sheriff’s Office has not yet made an arrest in that case,” Dep. Chief Owen said, “but they are diligently working on it and hopefully in the near future, we’ll be able to give you some positive information on that case.” 

The case where TPD made an arrest was the one we reported last issue, when the body of 35-year-old Andre Dyke was found riddled with bullets on the morning of June 21, near the Metro Self Storage adjacent to the New Tampa Nature Park. The man arrested was 29-year-old Andre Aris, who TPD said dumped Dyke’s body, and was charged with first-degree murder. 

Dep. Chief Owen said that the third case, which happened a little later on June 21, was “solved.” Although he didn’t identify any of the people involved, Dep. Chief Owen said that after a man’s body was found on the ground near the entrance to the Portofino Apartments on New Tampa Blvd. in West Meadows, a suspect got into the back seat of the victim’s vehicle and pointed a gun at the driver. “They met up for a narcotics transaction and the two exchanged gunfire and ultimately the two suspects both succumbed to their injuries.” One suspect was pronounced dead at a crash site on Bearss Ave. near I-275, and the other later died after being transported to a hospital. 

Raquel Thompson (in tank top) asks for a crime update. 

One of the attendees at the July 30 Town Hall, Raquel Thompson, expressed her concern that even though she had scanned the QR code to receive TPD media releases in June, nothing had been reported about the “solved” case, “and I think people in this community have been so on edge about the recent crimes that I would think the police would want to let us know the case was resolved. But, why wasn’t that communicated to us?” Owen agreed and said he would look into why nothing was posted about it, but at our press time, no updated information had been released by TPD about the case. 

Owen did mention that, “we’ve had a lot of good work going on here in the neighborhood recently. Just in the last month, on June 26, we had five young men go into the parking lot at the Mezzo at Tampa Palms apartments. They were trying car door handles, but there was a citizen sitting in his car who blew his horn and scared them off, but not very far. They were at Building 3 when the citizen blew his horn, but they ran to Building 8, where our officers made contact with them responding to that call for service. It just goes to show that if you see something that looks out of place, call us and let us know and we can respond to it quickly and actually make something happen.” 

The new Deputy Chief also mentioned that on July 19, some suspects who came up from south Florida that were involved in a motorcycle theft ring, “stole two motorcycles up here in New Tampa and they were ultimately linked to a case that the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office had and another that Osceola County was working. Osceola had some good information that led to these suspects being arrested and the return of one of the motorcycles stolen from New Tampa.” 

He also mentioned that overall, “Our self-initiated activity is up over 55% year-to-date. Just in the last month alone, it’s up 66%, so that makes almost 7,000 calls year-to-date that were self-initiated, which means officers doing something in the community that weren’t called in by citizens. And, just this last month, we’re talking 1,000 self-initiated calls, so we are visible in the community and we’re working diligently to keep you all safe.” 

Next, Maj. Richardson said he just got promoted when Owen became Deputy Chief and he said, “I’m actually looking forward to working here in District 2. I’ve spent the majority of my career in East Tampa (TPD) District 3, which includes downtown and Ybor, and I’ve only been here about two weeks now. But, after looking at the numbers in District 2, I’m excited to be working here and I look forward to working with each and every one of you.” 

In response to a question from resident Al Fernandez about speeding on BBD, Owen said that, “Our traffic unit is doing an initiative on Bruce B. Downs in New Tampa this month because this is one of our problem areas.” 

Another local resident asked if the west side of Tampa Palms Blvd. could be repaved, now that the repaving on the east side of Tampa Palms Blvd. has been completed. Mayor Castor said she would have to look into it, and that passing the continuation of the half-cent Community Investment Tax would help, while Viera also mentioned that there is $550 million sitting in Tallahassee from the overturned Transportation Sales Tax referendum, “some of which will come back to the city, and zip code 33647 voted overwhelmingly for that tax.” Viera also noted that the city’s road repaving budget is only about $5 million a year, and “just to keep our roads the way they are now is about $16 million. That’s what that penny sales tax was for. But, Tampa Palms Blvd. and New Tampa Blvd. repaving are first in my mind for repaving, so we’ll get there eventually.” 

Mayor Castor added, “It’s important to get these repaving projects done as quickly as possible so you don’t have to tear the entire road up, which will cost three times as much as repaving.” 

About The Budget 

After Viera introduced everyone sitting in front of the 50 or so people (photo above) in attendance at the July 30 meeting, Mayor Castor provided an update on the City of Tampa’s Fiscal Year 2025 (which begins Oct. 1) budget. 

“We recently presented our 2025 budget to City Council, which is about $1.8 billion,” Mayor Castor said. “We very conservatively estimate what we are going to receive in property tax revenue, and that is the majority of our operating budget. But, where we’re at is sort of a status quo budget. We are maintaining our high level of service, we’re taking care of the issues that need to be taken care of, but there aren’t going to be any major projects (funded) that weren’t already on the boards. We’re in great shape financially; we have one of the best credit ratings for a city in the U.S. We have so many ‘As’ and ‘A+s’ on that credit rating that I wish I had those grades in high school.” She added that public hearings on the Mayor’s proposed 2025 budget will be held in September. 

She also mentioned that, based on a Community Values Survey the city conducts every year, “to ensure that we’re doing what you want, I’m very pleased to say that we have over a 90% approval rating on the citizens’ trust in city government.” 

At the end of the meeting, Mayor Castor lauded Councilman Viera for his efforts on New Tampa’s behalf. “This guy really fights for you,” she said. “Your needs in New Tampa are very well represented.”

New Tampa Projects In The City Of Tampa’s Fiscal ‘24 Budget 

The City of Tampa’s Fiscal 2024 budget includes $75,000 in funding for the New Tampa Players’ Penguin Project, whose production of “Beauty & the Beast” was the first performance at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center. (Photo credit: Angie Schneider)

The City of Tampa’s Fiscal 2024 budget passed unanimously on October 3 and, according to District 7 City Council member Luis Viera (whose district includes all of New Tampa), a number of New Tampa projects were included in the budget allocations. 

1. K-Bar Ranch City Park — “I was able to put the plans for the city park in K-Bar Ranch in the Community Investment Tax (CIT) for future consideration,” Viera says. “This puts us in the dugout so to speak, and ready to bat when the time comes. That’s a big change and major movement forward for us there. This is the K-Bar Ranch Park I have been talking about with my constituents for a really long time. My idea was to move it into potential projects with plans ready to go in concrete.” 

2. Penguin Project Funding — “I was able to get $75,000 for the New Tampa Players (NTP) theatre troupe, for their Penguin Project, for an adult version arts program for people with intellectual disabilities,” Viera says. “Presently, when persons with intellectual disabilities in the Penguin Project (an effort by NTP to give persons with ID a first-class theatre opportunity — like ‘Aladdin,’ ‘Beauty & the Beast (photo), etc. — “age out” (at age 18), they are done with the program. This funding will allow NTP to create another program for adults. It’s wonderful. This project is spearheaded by NTP president Nora Paine, who is an amazing disability advocate who also is a Heritage Isles resident.” 

3. Street Repaving — “We were able to get about $7 million in new funding for repaving,” Viera says. “This will create opportunities for streets like New Tampa Blvd. in West Meadows, which desperately needs to be resurfaced, and 30th St. (Bruce B. Downs Blvd. south of Fowler Ave.). Nothing is set in stone yet regarding which planned repaving projects will get what, but it moves us faster forward for New Tampa Blvd. for consideration. I believe the Tampa Palms Blvd. repaving is just about done.” 

4. Fire Station & Public Safety Funding — “I also was able to secure $1.5 million in design funding for Tampa Fire Rescue (TFR) Station No. 25, which will be on Fowler Ave,” Viera says. “This will allow for better response times for the areas around Fowler Ave., but it also will allow Station No. 20 on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. (serving the Tampa Palms area) to better serve areas north of Fowler, especially zip code 33647. The design of the new station will take about a year, and then, we will get construction funding. I have a motion coming in a month or so to look at government bonds for our new fire stations. So, while this budget item is not directly funding for New Tampa, it will allow areas in North Tampa south of Tampa Palms to be taken care of by this new forthcoming station, so that Station No. 20 can better focus on the areas to the north of Tampa Palms. So, it is a piece of the puzzle.” 

He adds, however, “As for direct fire station funding for New Tampa, we got money for a new rescue vehicle for TFR Station No. 22 on Cross Creek Blvd. (a little west of Morris Bridge Rd.) to help with response times for the K-Bar Ranch area. This is big news for that area.” 

And finally, Viera says, “The budget also allocated $50,000 to fund the city’s Public Safety Master Plan I have been pushing for three years. This means that we will have a citywide assessment of emergency response times and needs for both fire and police — which, of course, acutely affects New Tampa when it comes to fire safety.” 

New Tampa Scores In City Of Tampa’s Fiscal 2022 Budget

District 7 Tampa City Council member and New Tampa resident Luis Viera was happy that so much of the City of Tampa’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget benefits our area.

The City of Tampa’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget includes money for things like fire stations and better roads, but the process, for a change, didn’t involve having to put out any proverbial fires nor did it even encounter any bumps in the road.

Instead, it was smooth sailing, as the Tampa City Council unanimously approved Mayor Jane Castor’s $1.8-billion budget on Sept. 28.

There was nothing but praise and back slapping as the budget passed its final challenge, and few Council members were happier than District 7’s Luis Viera, whose district includes the city portions of New Tampa.

Not only did Viera help secure millions for fire rescue overhauls in the North Tampa area of his district, but there were also millions more included for a number of New Tampa projects, like a future Tampa Fire Rescue (TFR) Station (No. 24) in K-Bar Ranch and $1.6 million for the completion of the New Tampa Inclusive Playground, as well as almost $3-million for the repaving of Tampa Palms Blvd. (see story on pg. 4).

“I want to highlight that this is a really historic public safety budget,” Viera said. “I’ve talked to a lot of people, and they tell me they have never seen a budget like this.”

While maintaining high standards of public safety is arguably the most important task of City Council members, issues related to fire rescue reached a boiling point late last year, when a report released by the International Association of Fire Fighters showed major issues with the city’s fire rescue network.

While Fire Station No. 13, located near Busch Gardens and the busiest station in Tampa, also is located in Viera’s district and was of the greatest concern, the four Tampa Fire Rescue (TFR) stations currently located in New Tampa are all among the six with the slowest response times in the City.

New Tampa’s four TFR stations include: No. 20 (located on Bruce D. Downs Blvd. in Tampa Palms), Nos. 21 and 22 (both located along Cross Creek Blvd.), and No. 23, which opened in 2019 on Trout Creek Ln., just south of County Line Rd.

The budget includes about $5 million to fix the issues in North and New Tampa. Roughly $3.5 million will go towards building and staffing Station No. 25, a few miles west of the beleaguered Station 13.

The rest will go towards Station No. 21 upgrades ($160,000), a heavy duty rescue vehicle for 21 ($810,000) and $650,000 towards the design and planning of a new station, No. 24, in the K-Bar Ranch area.

“I know the people of District 7 are very, very thankful to the Mayor and the Council for their collaborative leadership,” Viera said at the Sept. 28 Council meeting. “That means millions of dollars for North Tampa. And a brand new fire station, that is a major thing….as well as millions for New Tampa which has 4 of 6 longest response times in the City of Tampa.” 

The new budget went into effect at the start of Fiscal Year 2022 on Oct. 1.

Who Should You Call To Untangle The New Tax Laws? Murtha & Murtha, CPAs!

Patrick Murtha (left) and his father Tom Murtha offer a plethora of accounting services for individuals and businesses from their office in the Seven Oaks Professional Park. (Photo: Gavin Olsen)

Tax season is upon us (“Tax Day” is Monday, April 15), and with the new tax laws that have created more questions than ever before, it might be time to call in some experienced experts.

The father-and-son team of Tom Murtha, CPA, and Patrick Murtha of Murtha & Murtha, LLC, is ready to answer that call.

Partners and owners of their own firm in the Seven Oaks Professional Park off S.R. 56 (across from Sam’s Club), the Murthas have more than 50 years of combined experience in tax law, and they recently added three more employees, following a merger with another office in Zephyrhills, which is now called Henson & Murtha, CPAs.

“It was a good opportunity to grow the business and take our brand and implement that in Zephyrhills,” Patrick says.

With the addition of longtime CPA John Henson and three other employees in the Zephyrhills office, anyone signing up with the Murthas now has access to more than 100 years of combined experience in everything from accounting to tax preparations to mergers and acquisitions.

“Where we definitely shine with is handling complex issues you don’t see every day,” Patrick says. “Between all of us, we’ve seen everything.”

The Curious Case Of The Shrinking Tax Return

The current tax season promises to be an interesting one for Murtha & Murtha and other accounting firms, as clients are feeling the effects, good and bad, of last year’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Things like the doubling of the child tax credit, higher standard deductions and new limits on itemized tax breaks could create some thorny issues for those doing their taxes on their own and those using computer software.
So far, Patrick says that some people are finding out that their usual tax refund has been replaced by a new tax bill.

While there are still a lot of tax breaks in the new bill, “W-2 employees are finding their withholdings weren’t enough,” Patrick says, “so, when they’re used to getting a tax refund, we have clients who are getting a much smaller tax refund, and some that actually owe.”

How did that happen? Well, when the new tax law went into effect, Patrick says the IRS overestimated the tax savings that your average taxpayer was going to have. In other words, the IRS was less aggressive on the withholding than it should have been.

“So, what happened is people got bigger paychecks during the year, but that was in the form of withholding less tax for their tax bill for the end of the year,” Patrick says.

The Murthas say they are not completely surprised by this development. They say they started noticing while doing tax returns in 2018, just after the bill passed, that many of their clients said they were receiving bigger paychecks. As anyone on social media can attest, there were many posts from people praising the new tax law because it meant an extra $100 every week or two on their paychecks.

One of Patrick’s clients, a married couple, say they have never owed taxes before and usually get a refund of around $3,000. This year, they owe $2,500.

On the other hand, says Tom, Murtha & Murtha has another client, a business owner making more than half a million dollars annually, who they saved $30,000-40,000 in taxes.

“He made out like a fat rabbit,” Tom says, “and he was able to put the savings into retirement planning.”

While everyone is paying a little less tax, Patrick says the sweet spot this year seems to be those making between $150,000 and $400,000, due to the child credit being doubled and available to those who make up to $400,000, a generous qualified business income (QBI) deduction of 20 percent for business owners and “softer” tax brackets.

If using a firm like Murtha & Murtha sounds daunting and exorbitantly-priced, the Murthas promise that it’s not.

“Pricewise, were competitive with companies like H&R Block, we really are,” Patrick says. “I have clients who come in and I quote them a price and they say, ‘Wow, I paid $100 more at H&R Block and they messed up my return.’ We are able to provide a high level of service without pricing people out.”

That service, provided by Patrick, Tom and the firm’s senior accountant Kyle Flischel, CPA, is what they call the “Murtha & Murtha Difference.” They don’t have someone meet with you, pass off your return to someone different in a back office, and then deliver your results to you without explaining everything and rushing you out the door.

At Murtha & Murtha, the person you talk to is the person who does your tax return. Whether you’re a filer from a lower income tax bracket, a business bringing in $100,000 a year or someone with an $80-million stock portfolio, you get personalized treatment.

“We want our clients to view us as advisers,” says Patrick, “not just the guys who do their tax returns.”

Murtha & Murtha will go over your return, explain how the final result was achieved and offer advice on how to proceed in the future. If you’re unhappy with your refund or lack thereof, they can offer suggestions to avoid a repeat.

“We want to make them aware of what the new landscape is and how to deal with it,” Patrick says. “Retail companies train employees how to use the software, they don’t train them on tax law. We’re not just a tax return mill, we want long-term relationships with our clients.”

More Than Just Tax Returns

Murtha & Murtha can and does handle much more than just tax returns.
Tom, who earned his B.S. degree in Management from Long Island University in Brooklyn, NY, in 1976, and his M.B.A. (Master of Business Administration) degree in Accounting from St. John’s University in Queens, NY, in 1981, has been doing mergers, acquisitions and business valuations since the 1990s.

Along with various accounting services, business valuations are another perk of being a Murtha & Murtha client. A good and accurate estimate of the worth of someone’s business is as important to a business owner as the appraisal of one’s home. Tom specializes in this field, “and not just the back of an envelope type of thing.”

In the long run, he adds, everyone wants (or has) to sell his or her business one day.

Murtha & Murtha also offers a “CFO Retainer Package,”which is designed to help businesses and those who are self-employed whose company may need a Chief Financial Officer but don’t have the budget to hire a full-time manager or accountant for that job.

For a fraction of the cost of a full-time CFO, the Murthas operate in an advisory position and can handle everything from accounting and book bookkeeping, setting up payroll and ensuring that all the income and expenses are classified correctly.

They also will put together a budget, which Patrick says hardly any other companies do but is needed, as it provides a “compass” to let you know if your business is headed in the right direction.

And of course, they will take care of all the tax preparation and planning.

If you follow Murtha & Murtha on Facebook, you also can find advice in the form of short videos that will help answer a number of common tax questions, from simple ones to those that are more complex.

“We offer the complete package,” Tom says. “When you are with us, you really do get a lot.”

Murtha & Murtha, LLC, is located at 2236 Ashley Oaks Cir., Suite 101, in Wesley Chapel. For more info, visit TampaTaxFirm.com or to schedule a free consultation, call (813) 991-1120. Henson & Murtha, CPAs is located at 5315 8th Ave. in Zephyrhills. For more information, call (813) 782-0580.

New Tampa Rec Center, Fire Station Survive Budget Battle

A large contingent of New Tampa residents showed up in red shirts at both budget workshops to speak to the council about the importance of the New Tampa Recreation Center.

Despite a Tampa City Council meeting that started on a Thursday evening and ended on a Friday morning — and, at one point, had nearly every Council member throwing up their arms and/or staring off into space in frustration over a property tax stalemate, the final vote at 12:06 a.m. on Sept. 29 preserved the Fiscal 2018 City Budget what most of the people in New Tampa who attended the public hearing were hoping it would:

1) Money for the expansion of the New Tampa Recreation Center (NTRC) in Tampa Palms,

2) Funding for a new fire station on County Line Rd. near Grand Hampton and

3 Money to plan and design an autism Sensory Park in New Tampa.

“Last night was pretty good,’’ said District 7 (which includes all of New Tampa within the city limits) City Councilman Luis Viera.

The seven City Council members voted 4-3 to raise the city’s millage rate from $5.73 to $6.21 per $1,000 of assessed, taxable property value, the first time in 29 years that city property taxes have been raised.

Mayor Bob Buckhorn requested in his $972.4 million budget for Fiscal Year 2018 (which begins Oct. 1) an increase to $6.63 percent. The increase settled on by the Council means an increase of roughly $100 per year for a home in New Tampa, where the median price is about $260,000.

Buckhorn’s original request to raise the millage by 0.9 percent (and produce $15 million in revenue) was voted down to 0.6 percent at the first budget hearing (by a 4-3 vote) on Sept. 18. But, when the vote came up again at the second meeting on Sept. 28, the Council members voted against the 0.6 by a 4-3 vote, with Council Chair Yolie Capin (at-large District 3) changing her vote.

That set off hours of negotiations between the council members to find an acceptable millage increase. The arguments included angry volleys lobbed at Buckhorn about future deficits of more than $50 million that many of the council members said they were unaware of until recently. Almost every number between 0.3 and 0.6 was debated and defeated— including a motion by Dist. 1 (also at-large) Mike Suarez not to raise the millage rate at all, which would have resulted in massive budget cuts — until an increase of 0.475 passed with votes from Viera, Dist. 5’s Frank Reddick, Dist. 2 (at-large) Charlie Miranda and Dist, 4’s Harry Cohen.

“When Mike Suarez proposed scrapping everything and it lost by only one vote (4-3), I thought I better compromise fast,’’ Viera said, leading to the 0.475 percent increase that pulled Cohen, who had been denied three times after putting through a motion to make the increase .45 percent, to their side.

Because the millage rate increase is less than Buckhorn wanted, and therefore will bring in less revenue than expected, parks and recreation will still endure almost a $600,000 cut in operational costs. But, unlike past budgets that had money included for the NTRC only to see it pulled at the last minute, Viera said this budget was a winner locally, especially with potential lean times ahead due to a $50-million deficit the city is expected to be dealing with.

“We got 100 percent of what we wanted,’’ Viera said. “The cut to parks and rec is a small compromise we had to make. There’s no way we could get the rec center passed next year,; it probably would be a 5-6-year wait. This was the magic year.”

The now-$970 million budget includes $1.9 million for expanding the NTRC, which is one of only two facilities in the city that is home to the city’s highly touted dance, acrobatics and sports readiness program and has a waiting list of roughly 3,000, according to Tampa Palms resident Tracy Falkowitz.

Falkowitz also has said that the current building itself will not be expanded. Instead, a second building will be built on the property to accommodate more children.

An additional $1.4 million of 2018 Community Investment Taxes are budgeted to complete the construction of Fire Station No. 23, which will be located in the Grand Hampton/Grand Colony area off County Line Rd.

The station will house 39 firefighters, an engine company, a truck company and a rescue unit. No. 23 also will be home to a new District Fire Chief, who will coordinate responses between all four of New Tampa’s fire stations.

And, $90,000 is in the budget for study and design of a “sensory-friendly” park on the land behind BJs Wholesale Club, which will be developed in conjunction with the University of South Florida.

Falkowitz, the attorney who spearheaded the push to protect the money earmarked for New Tampa in the budget, sat through the entirety of both budget hearings. She said she wasn’t surprised the debate lasted into the early hours, based on her many discussions with multiple council members.

She said she was only worried twice that the panel might decide on a low enough millage rate that budget cuts would be required. In fact, she said that Miranda approached her during one break and told her “I don’t think you’ve got it”. And, when the .45 rate – which would have required cuts that could endanger the NTRC — came up for a vote.

“This never could have happened without all the community support,’’ Falkowitz said. “Without the New Tampa Council, the neighborhood associations, the rec center moms and dads and kids. That sea of red in front of the council and those that spoke up at those meetings was tremendous. Before this year, New Tampa was never heard and New Tampa was never really addressed. This time, we came together as a community and they heard us.”