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In June our Pinellas County commissioners spent $500,000 on a contract with Lucier Chemical Co. to add fluoride to our water in the name of tooth decay, without the voters' consent. It's only a few cents more we will have to pay, they said. Well, it seems the children in Pinellas County have a cavity epidemic. How can we argue with that?
Then in August, our commissioners decided to assess a $5-per-day boat ramp fee, once again without the voters' consent. Well, it seems the boaters should not have a free privilege anymore. Most people who don't own a boat won't bother to argue with that one, either.
Most recently, a Sept. 1 Times article, Officials demand welfare to work contracts, states the U.S. Department of Labor's fraud division has subpoenaed our commissioners to hand over documents pertaining to their $15-million contract with Lockheed Martin IMS. Since 1999 the county never bothered to do an audit of the contract. Why? The records show that the county attorney "repeatedly warned that the audit would be expensive and, if fraud was discovered, commissioners could be held responsible." What was that? Responsible?
We have county commissioners who have made it obvious they feel no responsibility to the people who employed them - us, the taxpayers/voters. Yes, it's only a few cents here, $5 there, but when and where will it end? Remember the saying, "of the people, for the people, by the people"? It appears the ones who should know, don't, or have forgotten.
November is fast approaching. Are you going to allow our local government to continue to irresponsibly run away with our money? Or do you think it's about time we, the taxpayers/voters, fire the excuses and hire more responsible employees?
Re: Simple design sets Belleair bridges apart, story, Sept. 26.
The topic of Florida bridge construction, design, type and location has considerable local interest. This article describes a proposal for replacement of the Belleair Causeway Bridge.
Since HDR of Tampa is designing this one, as well as having done the initial design of the new Clearwater Memorial Causeway Bridge, it would appear that skepticism should and would be in order.
The company senior engineer advised that the Belleair bridge, unlike the Clearwater bridge, is a relatively straight shot with a simplified design. This being the case, why in both designs do they have curved sections at the approach ends? It would appear in both cases that straight-through construction could be the order. What's with this idea for curves, especially for short spans?
Re: Home smashed; owner blames police, story, Oct. 5.
I am just curious about how the property owner will be compensated for the damages to his home.
Also, I wonder why the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office helicopter was not used to track the car instead of using the ground vehicles and endangering the lives of both the pursuing officers and anyone who got in the way of the pursuit.
The attitude of the Belleair Beach police chief seems like the attitude of some parents whose children have misbehaved: "My kids didn't do anything wrong."