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State Budget Hatches Fewer Turkeys In Pasco

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 31, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - Pasco's lawmakers lassoed more than $28 million this year in state funding for countywide capital improvements.
Florida TaxWatch says more than $5.4 million of that is questionable spending.

But unlike previous budgets, when the Tallahassee-based watchdog group's list included most, if not all, of Pasco's big-ticket projects, the county fared much better this year.

Of the nine major hometown projects earmarked in the state's $66.2 billion, 2008-09 fiscal year budget, only three were tabbed as "turkeys" by TaxWatch.

Those include $5 million to attract industries with high-paying jobs; $100,000 for the Connections Job Development Program; and the county's share of $375,000 for a regional light rail study.

TaxWatch recommends either vetoes or closer review by Gov. Charlie Crist.

State Rep. John Legg, R-Port Richey, who is chairman of the county's legislative delegation, said he has mixed feelings about the items listed as questionable budget projects.

"I think we're flying under the radar some on the big-ticket items," he said. "But I find it ironic that the list included items specifically designed to spur our sluggish economy."

The $5 million in economic seed money would have required the county to match the funds. Last year, lawmakers asked for $7.5 million in development funds, but the request was listed as a "turkey" and vetoed by Crist.

The perennial request stemmed from the county's loss two years ago of a research center project with drug maker Merck and the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute.

State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, was surprised, but pleased, that the $2 million request for a regional hurricane shelter didn't make the list this time around.

Last year, the county requested $750,000, but the governor vetoed it.

"That's interesting," Fasano said Friday. "I think they've come to the realization that we need this money to make the project happen. The federal government isn't going to help us."

Other Pasco funding requests not identified as budget turkeys include:

•Pasco County School District/FDOT Concurrency Pilot Program - $10 million

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

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

•Affordable Housing Pilot Program to help preserve older affordable housing projects to ensure that seniors will have a home to live in - portion of $10 million

•Duck Slough Flooding Project - $250,000

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

Surviving TaxWatch's annual turkey list doesn't mean the money is in the bank.

The appropriations must survive Crist's veto pen in a budget season when many requests have died before even making it to the House and Senate floors.

The governor was presented with the state budget Friday. He has 15 days to sign it.

TaxWatch does not question the merit of projects but challenges them on procedural grounds. Some were not requested by the governor or a state agency, and others were not vetted in committees as required by the Legislature's rules and procedures.

Statewide, the watchdog group identified 133 projects worth $110.5 million as questionable budget items, according to Dominic M. Calabro, TaxWatch's president and chief executive officer.

"Although this year's flock of budget turkeys is much smaller than last year's, it will still shock people that there are more than $100 million worth of turkeys in one of Florida's most austere budgets since the Great Depression," he said in a news release.

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

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