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Alexander Believes Decisions On Budget Cuts Need To Be Reviewed

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 12, 2008

In national politics, the Kennedys and the Bushes are America's first families. In Florida politics, Ben Hill Griffin and his grandchildren take that title.

Griffin, a conservative Democrat, was a member of the Florida Senate four years, and the House eight years. Katherine Harris, a former congresswoman; Baxter Troutman, a state representative; and Sen. J.D. Alexander are all his grandchildren.

Alexander is also president and CEO of Atlanticblue, a real estate management company which owns the 65,000-acre Bluehead Ranch and controlling interest in ALICO, a land management company in Central and Southwest Florida which owns approximately 137,000 acres of land located in Collier, Glades, Hendry, Lee and Polk counties.

Q : The Florida Legislature shifted a chunk of the tax burden to local cities and counties. Was this a good or bad move? Please explain your answer.

The Legislature asked local governments to reduce property taxes and make difficult decisions to reduce local spending, and while some of the reductions in spending are necessary, at times the Legislature does not fully understand the costs some public policy initiatives have on our local governments. With the budget cuts that have been made and projected shortfalls, now is the time to review those decisions and reduce the costs to the taxpayers where possible, while also still taking into account the viability of small and rural counties and the need for all to reduce expenses.

Q: Do you believe Florida's environmental laws are adequate, inadequate, or too stringent?

I have always been a strong advocate for the preservation and protection of Florida's environment and natural resources. Florida's natural resources should be protected and preserved for our children, their children and generations to come to be able to enjoy Florida's scenic beauty and outdoor activities, such as boating and fishing. I believe that the environmental laws currently in place are adequate to protect our environment; however, we must remain observant and aware of threats to our land and resources. If a situation arises where weaknesses in environmental laws will negatively impact the state of Florida and its citizens, those laws need to be strengthened.

Q: Is Florida's property tax system fair? If not, how would you change it? If so, make a case for why it's a fair system.

There are inequities in the property tax system that fall on some sectors of the population, such as small businesses and renters, for example. The Legislature took the first step to cap small business property tax increases at 10 percent annually. I had hoped to further limit these increases and will work to address this further.

I would look into changing the current system by looking at the presumption of correctness issue. I believe we need to give taxpayers a fair opportunity to challenge the appraisal of their property. I also support looking at the recapture rule so that in a time when property values are going down, people's assessments are not going up.

Q: Do you support Gov. Crist's deal with U.S. Sugar? Was it handled properly?

There are still too many questions that the governor and the South Florida Water Management District need to answer fully before proceeding with this deal. This deal has the potential to derail other environmental projects we currently have planned and, more importantly, there may be substantial job losses. Before I can support such a deal, these and other questions must be addressed. I have asked that the governor's proposed acquisition be debated in an open forum so that these and other pressing questions can be addressed.

Q: What can you do in the Legislature to keep home insurance rates low in the coming years?

Equitable rates in Citizens and returning competition to the private insurance market in Florida is an issue I intend to tackle head on.

Competition in the insurance market is the key to attaining low prices. We must work to bring insurers back into the state so they can offer policies at competitive rates. Our area has very few Citizens policies and no coastal homes, yet our homeowners and even our motorists are forced by Citizens to subsidize million-dollar coastal mansions because of their exposure to floods and hurricanes.

Equitable rates, a distribution of liability based on risk, and reducing our dependence on a state-run insurer are all vital to reducing rates and making sure our residents do not subsidize those in coastal communities and are not subject to the $1,000 in premium taxes from unsound insurance policies.

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