 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
2002 cash crunch hobbled Dade City
© St. Petersburg Times DADE CITY -- If nothing else, 2002 was interesting in the Dade City area. As the nation stumbled through an economic funk, Dade City suffered its own cash crunch. The demand for money was up and the coffers were empty. Public safety employees sought pay raises, the city slashed its Christmas light budget, and the City Commission began hunting for ways to raise money. But not all the news was about the budget. The city also bickered with Pasco County for much of the year, bought a new building that might someday house City Hall, celebrated awards, festivals and election-season visits, and the region mourned the loss of notable residents. In the financial arena, Dade City commissioners learned early on they would be asked to find more money for employees. The police and fire chiefs told the board in June that public safety workers were underpaid compared to other cities. Without higher salaries, the departments would continue to lose employees to other agencies, the chiefs said. Need didn't translate into pay. Commissioners grappled with the city budget over the summer, and in September they said they were hopeful something would be worked out, but by the end of the year, police and fire salaries still had not seen a major boost. At least they didn't get cut. City commissioners cut subsidies to the Florida Pioneer Museum and Village, eliminated equipment purchases and even dumped the annual Christmas decorations. Meanwhile, the city went looking for new ways to raise money. It boosted business license fees, sewer and water rates, and hired a firm to study adding new fees it could charge property owners for stormwater runoff, street lights and fire protection. Commissioners also had to hire an Orlando attorney to help fend off a lawsuit from Pasco County. While commissioners saw expanding city boundaries as a way to increase the tax base, Pasco objected to a pair of annexations near Happy Hill road and sued to block it, only to have a judge reject the suit as the year came to a close. The city's government didn't only look for cuts, however. In the midst of tough times, commissioners used $283,000 from an emergency fund in January to buy the Tampa Electric Co. office next to City Hall after TECO closed the facility. If City Hall can't be renovated, commissioners might look to move city offices into the old TECO building, but in the meantime -- and without money for renovations -- the city was left pondering what to do with the building. Commissioners also funded the city's first skateboard park downtown. The park was ready by the fall and hosted its first competition in November. Dade City lost some notable residents during the year, as retired mayor Charles McIntosh, 84, died Aug. 26; businessman and philanthropist Alfred Kiefer Sr., 83, died April 17; and civil rights pioneer Naomi Jones, 82, died Oct. 23. In nearby San Antonio, city father Joe Herrmann, 90, died Sept. 11 after a lifetime of service in the city. And after hundreds of volunteers searched for more than 20 hours around his Lake Pasadena home, 2-year-old Bobby Nystrom was found in the lake Jan. 25. He had drowned after wandering from his home a day earlier. There were good times, too, in Dade City and the surrounding areas. Thousands flocked to the annual Kumquat Festival, Little Everglades Steeplechase, Pioneer Days, Monster Mash, and San Antonio's Rattlesnake Festival. And the state this year recognized Dade City as a romantic hideaway, promoting the area as a quaint place for couples to spend a weekend. And the area got a new local hero when Rey-Lee Reach For The Stars -- Star for short -- won best of breed in the wirehaired fox terrier division at the ultraprestigious Westminster Kennel Club dog show in New York. Politicians also found Dade City a good place to visit. The city hosted gubernatorial hopefuls Janet Reno and Bill McBride, as well as Gov. Jeb Bush, along the campaign trail. Economic prospects also looked up during the year. Juice giant Pasco Beverage announced it would sell 37 acres of industrial land for development along the city's northern boundary, and the company opened annexation talks, indicating it may come inside city limits. 2003 promises some answers and more questions. Although construction is due to finally get under way in January on a senior center at the site of the crumbling Crescent Theatre, the city still is left grappling with its tight budget and no easy solution. Then there is the possibility of a "Penny for Pasco" sales tax increase, the effect of losing a fire protection contract for the surrounding unincorporated county property, and the dream of overhauling downtown's landscaping.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From today's Pasco Times |
