The Highlands County commissioners brought Michael Wright here 78 days ago as their new chief executive officer with one main mission: to make the hard decisions on a tough-times budget caused by the recession. ...more

August 17, 2008

On Thursday evening, the Highlands County commissioners will hold the first of two required evening public hearings on the proposed county budget for fiscal year 2008-09, which starts Oct. 1. ...more

August 13, 2008

So far this summer, only three scuba divers have paid the $25 per day, weekend/holiday user fee to use the county's 40-foot wide, shell road that serves as the only public access to Lake Denton. ...more

August 7, 2008

A slow economy, a free-spending Congress and an extravagant White House will give the nation its largest budget deficit ever next year - $482 billion. ...more

July 30, 2008

In fiscal year 2008-09, Highlands County will spend nearly $170 million, according to a budget summary presented Tuesday at the county commissioner's meeting. ...more

July 17, 2008

The county government TV series "Profiles on Pasco" will focus on the budget process and proposed spending in the coming fiscal year. The cable show will air multiple times throughout the summer ...more

July 14, 2008

If you have been looking for good economic news locally, you'll like the new Highlands County government budget for fiscal year 2008-09, which begins Oct. 1. ...more

July 11, 2008

BUILDING SUPPLIES JUMP 50 PERCENT ...more

June 22, 2008

During the past seven years, Pasco County officials have collected more than $1 million from developers trading houses and asphalt for trees. ...more

June 22, 2008

SEBRING — The formal legal process for the appeals of two county employees for exchanging inappropriate and often sexually explicit instant-messages will begin in six days, on Monday. Jim McCollum, the attorney for ex-county employees Jared Lee and Treasa Handley, will take sworn statements, recorded verbatim by a legal stenographer, from four people, starting at 9 a.m. in a conference room at the Highlands County Government Center. Handley and Lee were dismissed more than five months ago for sending thousands of personal instant messages to each other, and others, on their county computers during working hours. Many of the messages were sexually explicit, and all of them are public record, accessible to anyone, with a request to either the county's public information officer or the Highlands County Clerk of Courts office. ...more

June 16, 2008