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Today's Letters: Penny to pay for needed projects

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published March 9, 2007

I write in support of the Penny for Pinellas that we will have the opportunity to vote on Tuesday. I have read all of the published letters that are opposed to continuing the Penny and I am at a loss to understand their position.

The writers would have us believe that capital projects will continue without the income that the Penny would provide over the next 10 years. A yes vote on the Penny would fund necessary county capital projects such as a new jail and the new 118th Avenue expressway, in addition to numerous city projects. The Penny would bring in close to $1.9-billion for these projects - money that is shared with every city in the county.

And most important of all, 40 percent of the $1.9-billion is paid for by nonresidents - that's $760-million that Pinellas County residents will not have to pay out, but from which we will receive the benefits.

We should not let problems with our property taxes cloud our judgment on the Penny. Voting no on the Penny tax will not create lower property taxes. As a matter of fact, it could have the opposite effect because these capital projects must happen to keep our community safe and progressive while maintaining quality of life with parks, libraries, nature trails, etc.

I encourage all my fellow citizens to vote yes.

Edward Ameen, Clearwater

Penny funds our beautiful parks

As the time for the vote draws near, I would encourage Pinellas County citizens to remember that while property taxes are extremely high, our quality of life should also be considered.

I am still amazed, after living in Pinellas County for 27 years, at the spectacular parks and recreation facilities available in Pinellas County. Improvements to these things that enrich our quality of life and myriad others have been paid for by the Penny for Pinellas. It would be extremely shortsighted to vote no on this very important issue.

Remember, this is not a new tax. We would merely be voting to extend the tax we are already paying.

Shelley Foster, Clearwater

We all benefit from Penny tax

Hey, everyone, let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

The Penny for Pinellas has been a great revenue source for county and city capital improvement projects. It creates a benefit we all share.

Just because we need to address some serious inadequacies in the property tax area does not mean we should get rid of something that is working and is valuable to all citizens of Pinellas County.

Please vote yes to continue this useful tax that residents and visitors alike contribute to and benefit from.

Susan Rollins Gehring, Dunedin

Penny should be unnecessary

It seems to me that the additional revenue from the huge real estate tax increases due to the increase in market values in 2005 and the reassessments that followed those sales would make the Penny for Pinellas unnecessary. Just take the money out of the bigger pot. If anything, shouldn't we be looking to roll back taxes - California Proposition 13-style, if necessary?

Gene Senger, Palm Harbor

Re: This week, on Tarpon Springs TV: mostly nothing Feb. 27 story

GATV article left out the hard work

In response to staff writer Robin Stein's article on the lack of programming on our Government Access Television station, I would like to make several points that she failed to bring out.

The city's mission with respect to GATV has always been to secure the best possible operating system requiring the least possible amount of staff time within a very limited budget. We have reviewed the comments and input from our mayor, all of our commissioners and staff, and the public, and looked at many alternatives.

When Ms. Stein spoke with me some weeks ago about our GATV programming, we were still in the midst of investigating the best possible solution. Since that time, several steps in this process have been completed and staff has found an option that we are confident in pursuing and comfortable announcing to the public.

This option arose from material the city manager brought to us from a National League of Cities Conference that she attended in December. It will allow us to provide our viewers with programming 24/7 at no cost to the city and to utilize our remaining budget for some sorely needed equipment upgrades.

Staff has already started production meetings and we expect a mid- to late-April rollout date.

It has been our objective to be diligent in our efforts to use our limited resources in the most responsible and effective manner. The additional duties of operating the GATV system and keeping it up-to-date must be accomplished by our current staff in addition to their other regular duties and within our current budget.

We are pleased that we have been able to provide some limited programming over the last few weeks, which Ms. Stein neglected to mention, and we have had mostly positive feedback on this effort.

I would like to thank our residents for being patient with us during this effort. I would also like to thank Brandon Graham of the city of Largo for the technical assistance and advice that he has given us. City staff members have worked very hard on this effort and we hope that our viewers will find the ultimate product informative.

Judy Staley, Research & Information officer, city of Tarpon Springs

Your voice counts

You may submit a letter to the editor for possible publication through our Web site at www.tampabay.com/letters, or by faxing it to (727) 445-4119, or by mailing it to Letters, 710 Court St., Clearwater, FL 33756. You must include your name, address and phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity, taste and length.

[Last modified March 8, 2007, 22:04:11]