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Crist OKs Millions For County Projects

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE and JULIA FERRANTE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 12, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - Gov. Charlie Crist's 2007-08 fiscal year budget was lean, and that foreshadowed tough financial times for local governments that depend on state money.

Not here in Pasco County, it would seem.

Included in the $66.2 billion state budget, signed into law by Crist on Wednesday, is more than $28 million in state funding for countywide projects and pilot programs.

That doesn't include more than $20 million in earmarked state and lottery funds for Pasco-Hernando Community College programs, which the governor also approved.

The appropriations run the gamut: $10 million to help Pasco schools pay for countywide road improvements, $5 million in matching economic development funds to attract high-paying jobs, $2 million to build a new hurricane shelter.

Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, praised the governor for approving the projects and said the funding will help create more jobs and boost Pasco's economy.

"I think he looked at these projects and realized how important they are," he said.

Several of the requests emerged from the Legislature last year but died on Crist's desk.

Florida TaxWatch, a Tallahassee-based fiscal watchdog, labeled several of the county's earmarks in this year's budget "turkeys" and urged the governor to review or veto them.

Crist's approved budget includes $10 million for a pilot program aimed at easing the standoff between the Pasco County School Board and the county commission over who pays for road improvements and other infrastructure needs when a new school opens.

The school district and commissioners have argued for years over who should pay when the construction of new schools requires road and other improvements nearby.

State law doesn't make it clear who should pay.

Pasco commission chairman Ted Schrader credited Fasano and Pasco's legislative delegation for aggressive lobbying on the county's behalf. Last year, a similar $7.5 million allocation was labeled as a budget "turkey" and slashed from Crist's budget.

The grant, which is intended to attract high-paying jobs to Pasco, requires a 50 percent match from the county. Commissioners last year set aside $2 million for incentives after H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center passed on a deal with Pasco to expand here after Tampa offered bigger incentives.

Schrader plans to ask his colleagues to increase the economic incentives allocation to $2.5 million in the upcoming year, despite a tight budget.

"I'm confident the board's going to do that," Schrader said. "Pasco County certainly has the available land, and we're working real hard to get our education system in place. In Wesley Chapel, we have $200 million of road projects planned. If local government can work with state government, we can expedite some of these projects."

Other Pasco projects are:

•Operation PAR (Parental Awareness and Responsibility), $678,209

•Noncustodial Parent Employment Program, Pasco's portion of $750,000

•Affordable Housing Pilot Program, a portion of $10 million to help preserve older affordable housing projects for seniors

•Duck Slough Flooding Project, $250,000

•The Harbor Behavioral Health Care Institute children's Baker Act services, $200,000

State Rep. John Legg, R-Port Richey, said the state funding will go a long way. "These projects are key in our community, imperative for the well-being of our citizens and essential to the growth and infrastructure of Pasco," he said.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com. Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220.

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