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Lawmakers Ready To Listen To County, City Wish Lists

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By TONY MARRERO, Hernando Today

Published: January 16, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - The state lawmakers who represent Hernando County are coming to town Friday to hear the concerns and wish lists of their constituents.

The meeting is set for 1 to 4 p.m. in the commission chambers of the County Government Center, 20 N. Main St.

Those wishing to reserve in advance their three-minutes of speaking time can call the office of state Rep. Rob Schenck, R-Spring Hill, at (352) 688-5005, by Thursday afternoon. Speakers can also sign up the day of the meeting.

Representatives for Hernando County and the city of Brooksville governments say they are ready. Both have funding requests for projects.

But city and county officials also say they are keeping expectations realistic as they lobby Schenck and the county's other three delegates, state Rep. Ron Schultz, R-Homosassa; state Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey; and state Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland.

"Don't be too overly optimistic," Brooksville Community Development Director Bill Geiger told the city council last week.

Geiger cited a recent memo from state Sen. Lisa Carlton and state Rep. Ray Sansom advising their fellow lawmakers to "maintain realistic funding expectations given the current revenue situation."

Sansom, R-Destin, is chairman of the House Policy and Budget Council; Carlton, R-Osprey, is chairwoman of the Senate's Fiscal Policy and Calendar Committee.

The memo cited the state's $2.4 billion revenue shortfall for the end of the current budget year, which ends June 30, and for the next fiscal year.

"Given this reality, we advise that you not expect to receive any General Revenue funding, either recurring or nonrecurring, for community budget issue requests this session," the memo stated.

The memo was written before last week's news of an estimated additional $600 million shortfall in tax revenue, due mainly to the state's housing slump.

State officials now estimate that they will have to cut the 2008-09 budget by some $2 billion.

Interim Hernando County Administrator Larry Jennings said the county would be pleased with a low-interest loan through the state's revolving trust fund to pay for $3.5 million in planned wastewater upgrades to facilities throughout the county.

The upgrades also would move the county closer to its goal of distributing reclaimed water.

County Commissioner Dave Russell, himself a former legislator, said the county would be most likely to receive outright funding for such projects because they fall under state programs that are already funded.

Money for water projects, for example, is set aside under Senate Bill 444, Russell said. Hernando has a powerful ally in Dockery, a senior member of the Legislature and an expert in water issues after much work on SB 444. The bill, passed in 2005, combines water pollution, water supply and water concurrency policy in a single law.

The county also will reaffirm the need for various road improvement projects included in the Florida Department of Transportation's proposed list of projects to fund over the next five years, Russell said.

The list, which requires approval by the Legislature, includes millions of dollars for the widening of Hernando-Pasco County Line Road and State Road 50.

And Hernando officials also will raise concerns about the effects of mental health patients who wind up in the county's crowded county jail system.

There are hopes that the state can help pay for treatment programs and facilities for such patients who commit a crime but who do not receive proper treatment in jail, Russell said.

"The fact is we can better accommodate these people for less money and less process and free up jail facilities for the people who need to be there," Russell said.

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