The Miami Herald reports from Florida. "From Plantation to Pinecrest, from Coral Springs to Coral Gables, the last few years have been boom times at city halls across South Florida. Thanks to the skyrocketing real estate market, city managers and commissioners have raked in hundreds of millions of dollars in new property-tax revenues."

"Now, with the real estate market in the doldrums, officials are really going to have problems. 'Are we worried about whether we're going to have to raise taxes?' Pembroke Pines Commissioner Angelo Castillo said. 'You betcha.'"

"A rising real estate market basically allows officials to take in tons of money without having to increase the tax rate. 'That's the cheapest way to grow a government,' said Robert Lang, director of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech in Alexandria, Va., which studies metropolitan growth and development. 'It's like found money.'"

"The trouble is, some cities made financial commitments during boom times that they may be hard-pressed to keep when times get tough."

"'You can't ignore the fact that the real estate market is tanking,' Hollywood Commissioner Peter Bober said. 'And this is going to have implications for businesses, residents and municipalities. The way to react to that is to try to be more efficient.'"

"Without the homestead exemption, Pembroke Pines resident Douglas Gourley, who was a temporary Florida resident until he changed jobs this year, watched his tax bill rise 60 percent."

"This year, Gourley's tax bill was close to $12,500. A couple of years ago, it was less than $7,800. And that's on top of the $6,000 a year he pays for homeowners insurance." "So the prospect of rising tax rates is troubling for him. 'When you get these kinds of increases, it really throws your financial planning into a tizzy,' he said. 'All these rising costs are putting burdens on people.'"

The News Press. "The slowdown in Southwest Florida's housing market could have a positive impact on area road projects. Contractors who had more housing jobs than they could handle a year ago are now faced with residential developer layoffs."

"At the same time, governments continue to struggle to build enough roads to catch up with that growth."

"The Corkscrew project also brought in four new bidders. Don DeBerry, senior project manager with Lee Department of Transportation, said Corkscrew was the first job to have bids to come in after several major homebuilders shut down production. 'They’re thinking it’s going to be two years before it comes back,' DeBerry said."

"Darin McMurray, regional VP for Lennar Family of Builders, said the housing slowdown has put people out of work. McMurray agreed now is the best time to get road projects under way."

"'This is really an opportunity to take advantage of a slow time,' he said. 'There’s not a problem with material. It’s sitting in the warehouses. There’s not a problem with workers. They’re standing in the street.'"