Hundreds of parents told Hillsborough County commissioners they would be willing to pay a fee or increased fees if the county would protect after-school and summer recreation programs from budget cuts. ...more

July 30, 2008

Thank you to Hernando County for paying attention. The e-mails were overwhelming the past week regarding the county's closing Animal Services on Saturdays and the suspension of the Spay/Neuter Rebate Program. ...more

July 27, 2008

Let's add millions of dollars to our annual Hillsborough County budget, more layers of bureaucracy and more publicly paid politicians getting their "bite of the apple" on important public policy issues! ...more

July 23, 2008

If only the federal government could pull off this trick. The proposed fiscal 2009 budget Pasco County Administrator John Gallagher unveiled last week is 19 percent below the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. That would put the county budget for next year below the $1 billion threshold, at roughly $980 million. ...more

July 23, 2008

These are distasteful times for anyone who shares the responsibility for reconciling the bottom line. With the well-established exception of folks who ship their wares through the Strait of Hormuz, budgets are in the, well, tank. The proverbial wolf, brandishing a gas can and a bill for corn-diverting ethanol subsidies, bangs at every door. ...more

July 18, 2008

County Government Offers No Sympathy, Common Sense Re: Hernando County budget. ...more

July 17, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY -- County leaders are enduring the monetary equivalent of a root-canal operation as they contemplate shrinking the budget by 19 percent to reflect the downturn in the economy. ...more

July 15, 2008

A program that puts sculptures and paintings in public settings is once again being targeted by Hillsborough County budget cutters. ...more

July 11, 2008

Fresh Faces Needed I wish the people at the county would make a recording on tape. About this time every year, they start crying about the budget and using scare tactics. The best one is when it comes to education and schools. If Hernando County School Superintendent Wayne Alexander was so worried about the budget, how come he got a hefty raise? He said he did a good job. That's what he was paid for in the first place. They all cry about the budget, but no one wants to give up their fat paycheck to help the situation. ...more

July 9, 2008

SEBRING –– Some Highlands County roads may sit a while longer before they're repaved, and other proposed projects may be pushed back due to an anticipated shortfall in sales tax revenues. The local one-cent sales tax that shoppers pay is used to build and maintain many of the roads, bridges and some other buildings throughout the county. For this fiscal year, County Budget Manager Tim Mechling said he expects only $7.8 million of the $9.1 million in sales tax revenue to come his way. The 15-percent anticipated drop in revenues mean that the county's infrastructure fund will have to do with less. . Though Mechling declined to mention specific projects that could be on the chopping block because the the county commissioners have not decided yet, Mechling said the county may delay several planned road resurfacing and some new construction. "It's something we're still working out," he said. ...more

July 6, 2008