We would like to thank the Property Appraiser and her staff for hosting our June Board of Director’s Meeting last Thursday. We received an excellent presentation from the Appraiser on their scope of work, budget for 2009 and the latest status of appraisal/sale price of real property. As stated in a previous column, the appraised value is now down an average of about 7%. Unfortunately, the staff’s consensus is to expect a continuing drop for 2009, and no turnaround is yet apparent.

We were also able to review the results of an interesting evaluation performed by her staff in tracking the sale price of Martin County property over the last 10 years. They separated all properties sold into “fair”,“average” and “good” quality categories based on numerous observed factors. Then the price per square foot of each property was plotted quarter-by-quarter on a linear graph. The results offered a striking presentation of what has happened to home prices, and therefore property taxes, during the period.

The fair and average home sale price per square foot increased in a very stable and predictable manner from 1997, the earliest date reliable records were available, through the second half of 2003. Interestingly the fair quality homes increased at the rate of about 7% per year while the average quality homes increased less, around 5 – 6%. The good quality homes were much less predictable. While they averaged about 9% per year during that same 6-year period their sale price per square foot went up and down quite dramatically throughout the whole period. Some years there was as much as a 10% increase/decrease in a 6-month period.

In late 2003 home prices for all three home qualities began to increase quite dramatically, graphically forming a classic “bubble”. Fair and average quality homes went up by well over 50 dollars per square foot in the two-year period from 2003 – 2005. Good quality homes went up by almost 100 dollars per square foot during the same period, gaining over $50 per square foot in three quarters during 2005. The prices leveled off in 2006 and, as happens with most bubbles, it finally burst with dramatic decreases starting in the second quarter of 2007.

The bottom line of the exercise is where-are-we-now. For all three home qualities the answer is virtually identical. Per square foot home prices in Martin County have retreated to where they were at the end of 2004. These dramatic results should provide guidance for our elected officials as they look at their budgets for 2009. Your ad Valorem tax revenues should approximate that collected in 2005 – your spending should also.

Your Taxpayers’ Association would also like to express our appreciation to the School Superintendent, School Board, County Administrator and County Commission for approving the Interlocal Agreement on televising Martin County School Board’s meetings and other activities. We believe this community service is an excellent way to enhance all resident’s understanding and appreciation of our excellent school system.

Our highly rated schools are a major contributor to the desirability of living in Martin County. Having the School Board’s deliberations and other activities professionally archived and available to the public on MC channel 20 and the County website will certainly serve to highlight that fact. Well done to all involved in crafting and approving this agreement!

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We were very interested to see last week’s announcement of the imminent retirement of the County’s Director of Emergency Services. Recently we have been working with that Director, the County Administration and City of Stuart on ways to evolve a more efficient, cost effective and sustainable emergency services capability for Martin County. As our members and readers know, we have vigorously disagreed with the County Commission’s approval of the last two 3-year contracts with the International Association of Firefighters Union. These contracts granted large compounded raises that were, at least initially, needed at the entry and lower levels. Because the increases were granted as across-the-board percentages they provided unreasonably large raises for the highest paid Lieutenants and Chiefs, and the management concessions incorporated also assured excessive overtime for the highest paid individuals. Neither were justified and they have resulted in a steep rise in the cost of providing emergency services. We are, however, truly appreciative of the capable, professional, award winning organization that has evolved during Steve Wolfberg’s 28 years of service, especially his years directing development of these capabilities. We wish him well in his new career helping other communities develop their emergency services potential.

The rapid departure of the Director evoked an interesting “cost saving” suggestion from the IAFF that centered on devolution of control by not filling the Director position. Opening of this position at the top and the Union’s apparent willingness to embrace a major change in management may help foster something our Association has been advocating for several years, melding of the Stuart Fire/EMS and the Martin County Fire/EMS into one countywide organization. We believe that finding a way to combine these organizations is critical because they offer what many residents consider the most valuable service provided by our local governments. Unfortunately, given the twin realities of excessive costs and projected budget shortfalls, current/desired levels of service cannot be maintained without significant changes in both departments. We believe the only way that a satisfactory countywide response time by adequately trained and equipped Fire and EMS professionals can be sustained is by the efficiencies that could result from a combined/restructured system. We will continue to pursue that outcome with whatever County management organization evolves.