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Look For Easy, Quick Wins In City-County Cost-Savings Effort

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 9, 2008

Hillsborough Commissioner Rose Ferlita sounded precisely the right tone this week when commissioners discussed partnering with the city of Tampa on ways to save money.

Go slow and build trust before hurtling ahead with ambitious plans, she advised.

Pick some low-hanging fruit that makes sense. Find some easy wins that show the two governments can work together for the benefit of taxpayers.

Ferlita's approach was something a surprise, since the previous week she and Commissioner Al Higginbotham had proposed combining the city's and county's parks and recreation programs, a far-too-ambitious undertaking given the distrust between the two governments.

But since voters recently approved the Amendment One property tax cut, they wanted to move fast.

The idea drew a sharp rebuke from Mayor Pam Iorio, who reminded commissioners of how the county had taken over the library system and caused a political ruckus by banning displays on gay pride events.

Iorio stressed that parks reflect the neighborhoods they serve and that creating a massive bureaucracy would not help citizens.

Though the mayor did not mention it, the commission's hostile attitude toward the city is surely a factor.

Even now, the county is promoting legislation that would diminish the city's representation on the Tampa Sports Authority and the City-County Planning Commission. The commission has also refused to allow Tampans - who also are county residents and taxpayers - to serve on a panel studying transit needs. Several commissioners are consistently disdainful of Tampa projects, such as the art museum and the Riverwalk.

Ferlita, a former Tampa councilwoman, understands Iorio's reservations, and adjusted her position to find a better way forward.

Her fellow commissioners, to their credit, followed her counsel, directing Commission Chairman Ken Hagan and Administrator Pat Bean to pursue talks with Iorio, as well as the mayors of Temple Terrace and Plant City. Talk of merging parks and recreation operations is off the table for now.

Iorio is right when she says the "government closest to the citizens it serves is the best." But there must be areas where local governments can collaborate or even consolidate to cut costs while maintaining services. The governments should aggressively explore ways to save money by working together.

To begin to restore trust, it would help if the commission dropped its legislative ambush of the city.

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