TAMPA - Hillsborough County must find additional revenue sources or raise taxes to keep pace with growth over the next 22 years.

That's the conclusion of a study of the county's growth trends by consultants Tischler & Associates. The report will be presented today at a special meeting of the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission.

"As we grow, and we are continuing to grow at a high, rapid rate, something's got to give,'' said Robert Hunter, executive director of the planning commission.

The study concluded the county will face annual net budget deficits of $43.6 million over the next two decades unless alternative sources of income are found. This is despite projections that revenues from a larger tax base, jobs, and gas and sales taxes will produce slightly more than $3 billion in revenues by 2025. Expenses for the same period will be $4.5 billion, the study determined.

The school board also faces a crunch.

Although growth over 22 years will generate $2.3 billion in operating revenue, expenses will total $3.1 billion.

The study comes as Hillsborough commissioners are reviewing the county's future transportation needs and how to fund them.

Wednesday, the county commission will hold another in a series of transportation workshops that are exploring long-range needs. Impact fees, ad valorem taxes, and gas and sales taxes are among the options on the table to pay for future projects.

Eric Johnson, the county's budget director, said he had not seen the planning commission's report and declined to comment on its findings.

"I'll be interested in seeing the study and its results,'' he said, adding he is skeptical of fiscal reports that project revenues and expenses for more than five years.

It becomes too speculative beyond that, Johnson said.

Among the conclusions reached by the study:

• Hillsborough should consider additional impact fees to pay for public buildings, law enforcement, libraries and recreation.
  
• Existing impact fees that pay for transportation, fire protection and parks should be increased. The fees typically are one-time payments that developers pass on to home buyers for their share of new infrastructure and services.
  
• The environment, affordable housing, jobs and traffic must be considered when deciding what's best for the county's quality of life.
  
• The school board's revenues are inadequate to meet the demands of increasing student enrollment and a state mandate to reduce class size.
  
• Impact fees that pay for land and school construction should be increased.

Today's special commmission meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. on the 18th floor of the Fred B. Karl County Center, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd.

Reporter Kathy Steele can be reached at (813) 259-7920.