Falling tax revenue might hurt Everglades deal

Governor Charlie Crist’s
plan to purchase U.S. Sugar Corp. land for Everglades restoration at a price of
$1.34 billion may fall through as a result of South Florida’s declining property
values. Property values in the 16 counties that make up the South Florida Water
Management District, which is responsible for purchasing the Everglades land,
are expected to drop at least 14 percent this year due to the housing crisis, leading property tax revenue to drop
also. And without enough tax revenue, district officials said they might not be
able to afford the annual $100 million debt payments on the U.S. Sugar land
deal.