Post by account_disabled on Feb 20, 2024 4:38:08 GMT -5
Climate change is affecting communities across the country, but Florida often seems to be the epicenter of this issue. In September 2022, Hurricane Ian devastated southwest Florida, claiming the lives of at least 156 people and causing an estimated $113 billion in damage. Communities can take steps such as improving infrastructure, such as drainage systems and road elevation, to adapt to the effects of climate change. However, it is necessary for governments and world leaders to recognize that climate change is a fiscal disaster and take measures to address its adaptation and mitigate the associated fiscal risks, as highlighted by the recent study Can the Florida coast survive its dependence development? (2023). Florida government without climate action Published by the Journal of the American Planning Association responsible for providing practice-relevant research, analysis and academic reviews that inform the future, the study presents the first assessment of the municipal fiscal impact of sea level rise in Florida. The study is complemented by a statewide survey of coastal planners and managers in order to better understand how sea level rise affects municipal tax revenues and whether coastal planners and managers are taking these fiscal impacts into account in policies and planning strategies in Florida.
Their study reveals that more than half of Florida's 410 municipalities will be affected by a sea level rise of Nearly 30% of all local revenue currently generated by these 211 municipalities comes from buildings in areas that could be chronically flooded, potentially by the end of the century. However, planners and managers remain largely unaware of how much climate change will affect local fiscal health. Some communities with the highest risks are the least prepared. Property taxes and climate change: A dilemma In this context, property taxes are of vital importance for municipal governments. Nationally, they provide 30% of local income. They are one of the few sources of funding that local governments control, and climate change directly threatens them These Chile Mobile Number List effects of climate change, such as warming ocean waters fueling hurricanes and rising sea levels causing coastal flooding, have a direct impact on property tax revenues. Already, a growing number of insurance companies have decided to stop covering some regions and types of weather events, increase premiums and deductibles, and cancel existing policies as payouts from natural disasters increase. Climate change also makes it more expensive to provide municipal services such as water, sewer and road maintenance. For example, intense heat deforms roads, rising groundwater destroys their infrastructure, and heavy rains stress stormwater drainage systems.
The research carried out by specialists also highlights the complexity of decision-making related to the fact that climate change is a fiscal disaster for governments. On the one hand, if cities do not take measures to adapt to climate change, the increase in damage caused by climate disasters and rising sea levels can generate a negative fiscal cycle. This results in a decrease in local tax revenues and an increase in public service costs. However, if cities choose to limit development in vulnerable areas, they face decreased revenue from property taxes and other items. On the other hand, if they build coastal protection infrastructure and fortified housing to withstand extreme weather events, they can attract more residents to high-risk areas. In the case of Florida, the study demonstrates that these theoretical dynamics are already occurring in practice, Florida local revenues at risk The analysis shows that sea level rise could flood properties that have a combined assessed value of $619 billion and currently generate $2.36 billion in property taxes annually. Five million Floridians live in cities where at least 10% of local income comes from properties at risk of chronic and permanent flooding. For 64 municipalities, 50% of their income comes from these risk areas. The actual fiscal effects would likely be worse after accounting for other lost revenues, rising expenses and the impacts of multiple climate hazards, such as higher temperatures and more intense hurricanes. These impacts are not evenly distributed. The municipalities with the greatest fiscal risks are geographically and demographically smaller, denser, wealthier, and have a majority white population. Lower risk municipalities tend to be more populated, more diverse, lower income, and with larger land areas. For example, the 6,800 residents of the city of Treasure Island in southwest Florida are 95% white and have a median household income of $75,000. The city occupies 3 square miles of land on a barrier island.
Their study reveals that more than half of Florida's 410 municipalities will be affected by a sea level rise of Nearly 30% of all local revenue currently generated by these 211 municipalities comes from buildings in areas that could be chronically flooded, potentially by the end of the century. However, planners and managers remain largely unaware of how much climate change will affect local fiscal health. Some communities with the highest risks are the least prepared. Property taxes and climate change: A dilemma In this context, property taxes are of vital importance for municipal governments. Nationally, they provide 30% of local income. They are one of the few sources of funding that local governments control, and climate change directly threatens them These Chile Mobile Number List effects of climate change, such as warming ocean waters fueling hurricanes and rising sea levels causing coastal flooding, have a direct impact on property tax revenues. Already, a growing number of insurance companies have decided to stop covering some regions and types of weather events, increase premiums and deductibles, and cancel existing policies as payouts from natural disasters increase. Climate change also makes it more expensive to provide municipal services such as water, sewer and road maintenance. For example, intense heat deforms roads, rising groundwater destroys their infrastructure, and heavy rains stress stormwater drainage systems.
The research carried out by specialists also highlights the complexity of decision-making related to the fact that climate change is a fiscal disaster for governments. On the one hand, if cities do not take measures to adapt to climate change, the increase in damage caused by climate disasters and rising sea levels can generate a negative fiscal cycle. This results in a decrease in local tax revenues and an increase in public service costs. However, if cities choose to limit development in vulnerable areas, they face decreased revenue from property taxes and other items. On the other hand, if they build coastal protection infrastructure and fortified housing to withstand extreme weather events, they can attract more residents to high-risk areas. In the case of Florida, the study demonstrates that these theoretical dynamics are already occurring in practice, Florida local revenues at risk The analysis shows that sea level rise could flood properties that have a combined assessed value of $619 billion and currently generate $2.36 billion in property taxes annually. Five million Floridians live in cities where at least 10% of local income comes from properties at risk of chronic and permanent flooding. For 64 municipalities, 50% of their income comes from these risk areas. The actual fiscal effects would likely be worse after accounting for other lost revenues, rising expenses and the impacts of multiple climate hazards, such as higher temperatures and more intense hurricanes. These impacts are not evenly distributed. The municipalities with the greatest fiscal risks are geographically and demographically smaller, denser, wealthier, and have a majority white population. Lower risk municipalities tend to be more populated, more diverse, lower income, and with larger land areas. For example, the 6,800 residents of the city of Treasure Island in southwest Florida are 95% white and have a median household income of $75,000. The city occupies 3 square miles of land on a barrier island.