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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 21, 2008

County Needs Visionaries

Regarding "County Eyes Service Cuts, Shies Away From Tax Increases" (Metro, Feb. 14):

Your story compelled me to review the transcripts of the BOCC budget workshop to see exactly who had proposed cutting essential services like fire and safety. My guess was that it had to be one of the five poster children for poor leadership in this county and indeed it was the ringleader himself, Jim Norman.

Could it get worse than his suggestion of lifting the already meager impact fees to help spur the economy - and does he even know how many empty houses there are now? Never mind his incessant whining about needing money for roads or parks that these fees should help provide.

Thank goodness for Rose Ferlita, who has vision, leadership and ethics at a time when this county so desperately needs all of those things. Her suggestion of making nice with the city to save money on things like Parks and Recreation is clearly an intelligent alternative to cutting fire and safety services. Thank you, Rose!

KIMBERLY ARCHER

Lithia

Shame On Them

Where has all the money gone? With the real estate boom of 2004 and 2005, I see taxes went way up with each property sale. All homes lost the Save Our Homes protection when sold and the state government took the new owners and gave them the "welcome to Florida" introduction by commonly doubling taxes on pre-existing homes. Take into consideration that the sale did not make the cost of government go up. The "found" money certainly was not budgeted because nobody could have predicted this influx of revenue. I assume most of our current politicians have to be related to the Houdini family because it is the most amazing trick I have ever seen. Shame on them for not properly handling this tax overage. Had they put this money into reserves, layoff considerations would not be necessary.

VINCENT ARCURI

Odessa

Still At Your Service

It amazes me the ideas proposed at the eleventh hour. Potential solutions that were addressed months ago and negated by the powers that be are now fresh and probable. I love politics!

Layoffs should have been the worst-case scenario from the get-go. Government cannot operate like IBM; we are a service-oriented organization, not profit oriented. Maybe we're a rare breed but some of us actually enjoy a community service position that we get paid to perform. And, contrary to the particular notion that many of us are not educated, don't make assumptions; we just prefer serving the public and being content in our employment.

As a Parks and Recreation security officer, I throw myself on this sword on behalf of the other 99, and more. To the lady whose child was lost and found safely in the park, to the college student whose stolen car I found, to the elderly lady who I prevented from driving into a fallen tree on her block while standing in the pouring rain, you're welcome! I will continue to serve until they show me the door.

As they say, be careful what you wish for.

BRIAN CHRISTIAN

Sun City Center

Effects Of Amendment

Regarding "City May Raise Garbage Rates" (front page, Feb. 14):

It didn't take long for several Florida entities to start chipping away at the supposed "financial benefit" to be received from the Amendment One legislation. With pending increases in stamp rates, electricity, cable and now trash, it is only a matter of time before we are back to square one. The sad part is that just two weeks before, the mayor said she did not want to raise rates to make up the difference.

The truly sad part is this is just American politics at its finest - and many wonder why voter turnout is so low these days.

JAMES JONES

Tampa

Charge By Usage

I did not vote for Amendment One because I felt the city, county or state would get me one way or another. And, the impact starts. Please do not increase city garbage rates again. As a single-person household, I don't generate enough trash to justify the present cost for trash removal and now the city wants to increase again?

Why not spread the tax burden by usage? This would reflect that each individual, homeowner, business and apartment building pays a share and not just a single person in a house or a renter of a house.

LINDA REBAR

Tampa

Already Promised

I was glad to see the headline "Generous City Benefits Continue Amid Cutbacks" (front page, Feb. 12). There's probably nothing the city can do about those benefits because they already have been promised in writing.

But I hope the Trib will stay on this course and remind the city that they can stop offering such generous benefits for the future and they can stop such budget-draining projects as the Art Museum, The Performing Arts Center, the Riverwalk, etc. - all projects that we still owe $950 million on. All of us could have done better with the money than the previous city council.

ROY E. ROOD

Tampa

Workers Not To Blame

Regarding "Generous City Benefits Continue Amid Cutbacks" (front page, Feb. 12):

I disagree. I'm a municipal employee and union member. I'm retired, but when I worked normal people may have been on holiday. We negotiated sick days, vacations and holidays in contract negotiations. We would give up benefits for these things. During negotiations, the cities always wanted more concessions from us.

When a contract is settled, there is to be no whining about the results. If you want to change things, then return to the bargaining table. Just because the city will be short next year, don't hint that the municipal workers, who negotiated in good faith, are to blame for the city's shortfall.

KEVIN SCHOELLER

Spring Hill

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