Portability won't help Kottkamp

Few were more eager to pass Save Our Homes "portability" this week than Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, who worked his old stomping grounds on the House floor Monday in a last-minute effort to secure passage. Kottkamp said Rep. Ray Sansom called down to the governor's office at one point to say the House was about 10 votes short of the 72 needed -- a warning that got Kottkamp on the floor and Crist on the phone.

Kottkamp, his wife and son moved into a new home in North Fort Myers during the 2006 campaign. Lacking portability, he lost the accrued savings from his old house in Cape Coral. The new house has a taxable value of $1.4-million, with a property tax bill of nearly $22,000.   

"I'm probably in the worse situation of just about anybody," Kottkamp said. "I have no accumulated Save Our Homes, so I don't really benefit from this, but I know the state does."

For Crist, a most un-conventional speech

Gov. Charlie Crist gave a speech at the end of Sunday's prayer breakfast at the Presidency IV convention that was anything but the bash-the-Democrats fodder that Republican activists like to hear.

Crist was not listed as a speaker on the breakfast program, and he was the last one to speak. Unlike his predecessor, Jeb Bush, Crist is not comfortable talking about faith in public -- it's one of the few topics he generally avoids.nd how

"You know, I don't talk about religion that much. It's sort of personal," Crist said. "But it's very meaningful to me."  He mentioned Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp's serious heart illness a few years ago that could have been fatal and "we almost lost him" but "God had a mission in mind for him."

Then Crist elicited audible groans from the crowd of more than 2,000 Republican activists when he spoke in glowing terms about his friend, Democratic U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler of Palm Beach County, who accompanied Crist to Israel last May. (The groans came right after Crist said it was important to be "respectful, tolerant and courteous" of others).

"He's a good man," Crist said of Wexler. "Not perfect, but a good man. He's a little vocal sometimes, I know." Crist told the story of putting a note in the Western Wall asking God to protect Florida from hurricanes, and said: "So far, so good," rapping his right fist on the wooden lectern.

"I pray every day, and lately I feel like the prayers have been answered. If we can just get one more on property taxes this week, L.G.," he said, referring to Kottkamp, "it will turn out fine, I'm sure."

Mingling 'round a living room

It was coffee cake and coffee talk with Florida’s lieutenant governor, who sat in a Tampa living room and dished on property taxes with local residents Monday night.

Todd and Jennifer Marks hosted Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp and 30 of their friends and colleagues at their home in Westchase, a planned community in Northwest Hillsborough County.

Kottkamp dug a knife into a chocolate cake emblazoned with the word "TAXES."

"We thought it would be appropriate that, with tonight’s discussion, he take the first cut," said Todd Marks, who owns a law firm and title company in Westchase.

Kottkamp outlined Gov. Charlie Crist’s plan, which calls for $33.5-billion in cuts over five years.

Realtors, title company workers and home builders peppered Kottkamp with questions:

What are you doing to help senior citizens?

Will cutting property taxes make impact fees shoot up?

Given the dismal real estate market, should home values be reassessed?

Without swift action, will Floridians pack up and get out of Dodge?

Kottkamp said he’ll take the input back to Tallahassee, where a special legislative session on property taxes begins June 12.

"I think it’s great to have the Lt. Gov. come to our neighborhood in such an informal setting and really hear what we think of the proposals," said Jeffry Ewing, president of the Tampa Bay Builders Association.

Kottkamp and Crist are working their way through Florida, holding town hall meetings and talking to citizens in small groups. Crist was in Miami Monday.

"We have an aggressive schedule to get around the state and hear from as many taxpayers as possible," said Kottkamp, who planned to head to Plant City Tuesday for a similar chat fest.

— Stephanie Hayes