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Citrus budget debate will make for a day at the races

By GREG HAMILTON
Published June 9, 2005

"Welcome, race fans, to the annual run for the rubles, the dash for the cash, the megabuck roundup."

"Yes, indeed, Skip, it's that time of year again, when the heads of local government gather for the big budget bonanza."

"Time to slice up the big green pie, Floyd. There's a mountain of money on the table, and the race is on to see which office will scoop up the most."

"The favorites this year should come as no surprise to fans of the Citrus County budget battles. Once again, the Sheriff's Office has the pole position, coming in with a very impressive 14 percent budget hike request.

"You could almost hear the county commissioners gasping for air when that baby hit the table, Floyd. They always expect that office to set the bar high, but this year Sheriff Jeff Dawsy has outdone himself."

"Should make for some rockin' good times when the sheriff and the commissioners duke it out. There's a rumor that the sheriff may call in some of his new buddies on the cable TV news shows to support him when he makes his pitch. You think Citrus County is ready for Geraldo Rivera?"

"No one is ever ready for him, Floyd. Like a tsunami or a plague of locusts, he's just an unfortunate force of nature that the world must endure."

"There has also been a lot of chatter about newcomer Melanie Hensley from the Property Appraiser's Office. She's out to prove she's a worthy successor to Ron Schultz in money matters, and she's matched the sheriff with a 14 percent budget increase."

"That's a humdinger, all right. And just like the sheriff, she's looking for a number of new employees. As we all know, those warm bodies don't come cheap."

"She does have a big edge in the wampum wars, Skip. The county is going to rake in a ton of additional bucks this year and next because property values are out of control, and who knows more about those numbers than the property appraiser?"

"Mo' money, mo' money, mo' money. It's an avalanche of Benjamins and Grants and Jacksons."

"What do you make of Susan Gill's strategy, actually asking for less money for the Supervisor of Elections Office?"

"Guess she didn't get the memo about the moolah, Floyd. It's a stumper."

"You gotta wonder how the commissioners are going to play the angles this year, Skip. They do have a lot more dollars to dole out. But they also just voted to double the gas tax. You think they are gonna play hardball with the budgets, or let the good times flow?"

"Conventional wisdom says the board will hold the line, Floyd, if for no other reason than in a show of sympathy to the voters who are paying more in property taxes and are facing higher gas prices. But that's logic and fairness speaking, and we all know how little weight that carries."

"This is an all-Republican board, though, Skip. Shouldn't that mean fiscal frugality and responsibility?"

"What, like their GOP cousins in D.C., with their out-of-control spending, bottomless deficits and obscene tax cuts to their rich buddies? No, Floyd, don't expect anyone to seriously push for a tax rollback or some way to ease the pain on the taxpayers. Besides, this really isn't a party issue. You saw what happened during last fall's County Commission election?"

"You mean the part about the two incumbents running on platforms of holding the line on property taxes?"

"That's right. And you saw how much that seemed to matter to the voters. Both of 'em, a Republican and a Democrat, lost. If no one cares about cutting taxes during an election year, they're not going to be too wound up this time around."

"It's goofy, all right. Sounds like a free-for-all in the making, Skip."

"Absolutely. It's going to be very exciting to watch this year's tug of war over the proverbial pot of gold. The constitutional officers and county department heads are all jockeying for position now and we'll soon start to see who the real winners are."

"As always, there will be no mystery about who the losers are going to be."

"Right you are, Floyd. Right you are."

[Last modified June 9, 2005, 01:18:10]