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Politics
County commissioners okay move to two-year budgeting
By ASJYLYN LODER
Published January 24, 2007
Hernando County commissioners agreed (again) to move to two-year budgeting. They've agreed on it before (twice, actually), but they made it official Tuesday morning with a 4-1 vote. New Commissioner Rose Rocco dissented, saying there were too many variables to make two-year budgeting workable. The biennial budgeting process will start this year; citizens will have an opportunity to comment on the budget both years. New water rules Attention residents in ZIP code 34608: Please see the latest restrictions on watering your lawns. Recent notices to Hernando County Utility customers in the ZIP code might have some folks confused about when they can water their lawns, said Alys Brockway, the utility's water conservation coordinator. The utility sent out magnets detailing the twice-a-week watering rules shortly before the Southwest Florida Water Management District instituted once-a-week restrictions. The new restrictions began Jan. 16, a result of low water levels because of an unusually dry year, Brockway told the County Commission on Tuesday. Violators can be fined. Watering days depend on house number. Please see http://www.hernandocounty.us/utils/includes/water_restrictions.asp for details, or call Hernando County Utilities at (352) 754-4037 or Swiftmud at (352) 796-7211 ext. 4498. Grant means hires Hernando County Fire Rescue received a nearly $1.3-million grant to add firefighters to its crews, said Chief Mike Nickerson. The grant will add 12 firefighters, four per shift, making four out of eight two-man engine companies three-man engines. That will bring the department closer to meeting the "two in, two out" safety standard, which calls for four firefighters at any scene: two outside a fire and two inside. The five-year Federal Emergency Management Agency grant also means the fire department will probably not need to take out a controversial $2-million "loan" from the county's general fund. Given the department's financial predicament, it was unclear how it would have repaid the loan, which the County Commission agreed to allow last year. Nickerson said he might still have to borrow $100,000 to keep the department running, but the grant was an enormous relief.
[Last modified January 24, 2007, 08:13:57]
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