Thursday, September 8, 2011
The Republican, who has been designated as House Speaker for 2012-14, says Pasco is poised for progress.
In a meeting with State Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, earlier this summer, the representative reviewed the previous session, outlined his priorities for next session and discussed his upcoming position as Speaker of the Florida House. In the last legislative session, Weatherford pointed out the two leading legislative concerns: the budget and educational accountability. In regard to ongoing fiscal concerns for the state, Weatherford said it is “better to deal with budget issues now instead of five years later.” Furthermore, he pointed out that dealing with budget issues now is part of planning for long-term growth. Notable past legislative policies were across-the-board budget cuts and the educational accountability bill, or …
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
With no millage increase, the major county funds will see a $3 million decline in revenue.
County commissioners will start their summer ritual of crafting a budget today amid a continuing decline in revenue and less money than the previous year. With no tax increase, two of the county's major funds will have $3.3 million less in property taxes than the 2010-11 budget that ends Sept. 30. Property tax values, a major source for county tax revenue, have fallen more than $11 billion in the last four years, an amount wiping out gains in new construction values amassed over the past 19 years. One of the cuts in the proposed budget calls for shuttering pools at the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex and the Veteran’s Recreation Center. The county administration is proposing no millage increase for the fiscal year running from Oct. 1 …
Monday, February 14, 2011
A sneak peek at what we’re covering the week of Feb. 14.
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! It’s a brand new week and we’ve got lots of stories we’re looking into. Here’s a look at just a few of the things we’re covering. We welcome you to take part in the process by sharing questions you’d like us to ask on such stories as:
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Bob White says he’ll reduce his budget increase request.
Pasco County Sheriff Bob White extended an olive branch of sorts to County Commissioners Feb. 7 in hopes of ending a battle over the agency’s budget. “Next week we are scheduled to appear in Tallahassee to have a hearing regarding the Pasco Sheriff’s Office budget,” White wrote in a letter dated Feb. 7 to Commissioner Ann Hildebrand, the commission’s chairwoman. “Before that happened I wanted to take one final opportunity for us to have some sort of meeting of the minds on this issue.” White and commissioners are scheduled to have a hearing before a state advisory panel Feb. 14 to discuss the dispute. That panel would make a recommendation to the Florida Cabinet when it meets March 9. White had asked for nearly $4 million more in his …
Bill Jenkins
1:59 pm on Friday, September 9, 2011
I don't understand what you are trying to accomplish by continuing remarks of this nature. My best guess is your "educational remarks" are a childish attempt at insulting my character and intelligence. I don't need your catty remarks on how to register, etc. In fact, when I first voted in 1964 as a young Marine just prior to being deployed to Viet Nam, my vote was accomplished by an absentee … more ›