property values to drop another 14.5%?

By Tim Middleton
MSN Money
The housing collapse led the stock market and the economy into the cellar. And this crucial sector is headed deeper still, along with the value of your home. How low? One measure suggests a further 14.5% drop.... The value of homes in Miami Springs dropped 28.3% in the past year alone, according to Zillow.com, a real estate website. The combination would result in a 42.8% drop in home values if we are in the average range. What do you think that will mean to property taxes? Tax revenues to the City? Can we really afford a Rolls Royce in the driveway when we cant afford food, utilities, gas or insurance? Residents have resorted to garage sales to keep the lights on and put food on the table! How can we afford $200,000 a year for the next twenty years in new bills? WE CANT, is the simple answer. Why wont city officials live within their budgets, like everybody else does? Have they absolutely NO COMMON SENSE ? Why are we NOT, as a city, tightening our belts, consolidating, making what cuts are necessary to survive this mess? The City Manager says last meeting he is STARTING to see some signs that we MAY be in a recession! MAY have some financial problems down the road! WHAT ??? Earth to city officials - we are IN a recession and have officially been in it for the past 14 MONTHS! When are you going to start acting like it? To do otherwise is just idiocy. Dr Mel Johnson