Re: Cutting county taxes will hurt quality of life, Aug. 22 Times:
My good friend Jay Rowden apparently thinks I am cheap when it comes to spending county money. He's right!
I believe those of us in county government have a special responsibility to cut spending where possible to prove to the people we can be trusted with their hard-earned tax dollars.
Almost everything has gone up in price over the last year, with the cost of property insurance literally driving Floridians out of their homes. We in local government have a unique opportunity to give the majority of our constituents a rare gift - a lower tax bill this year than they actually paid last year, even accounting for the increase in valuations.
The people not only deserve it, they are demanding it. A portion of the tens of millions of new dollars flooding into county coffers must be returned to the taxpayers. And I believe our County Commission will rise to the challenge, do the right thing and pass a record tax break next month. Democrat or Republican, we all need a break from runaway spending.
Now, all this being said, both Jay Rowden and I agree that the future capital needs of Hernando County (in particular our network of roads) will someday require an increase in the sales tax. But only the people can approve such a thing.
Why would anyone vote to give us any more money until we prove to them that we can be frugal - or cheap, if you will - with the tax dollars we're already taking?
Concerned citizens of both parties can work together to deal with the long-term issues facing our county, but cheap shots at conservative approaches to governance are not appreciated.
Jeff Stabins
Hernando County commissioner
District 1
Cutting taxes not a good idea when county's infrastructure is on the line
Re: County tax cut met with discord, Aug. 16 Times:
As our county grows at a rapid speed, the infrastructure has not kept up. Having recently retired and now living on a fixed income, my husband and I would love to see our taxes lowered. And if lowering taxes seemed like the intelligent thing to do, we would be all for it.
But when driving around our county, one can see the need for road improvements. Add to this a citizens committee that told the county it couldn't afford to cut taxes this year.
I'm sure everyone would love to have a tax cut, but not at the expense of the county's infrastructure. Cutting taxes sounds good; however, being more vigilant when it comes to development within the county would better serve our commissioners and the public.
