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What would you choose to give up to get tax relief?

By Times editorial
Published April 8, 2007

The residents serving on Clearwater's Budget Task Force completed their work last week and presented their recommendations for budget cuts to the City Council.

Chairman Nathan Hightower, a local attorney, told the council the work of reviewing the city's $122-million general fund budget and finding things to cut had been surprisingly difficult.

"I think we all went into it thinking there must be a lot of fat in there," he said. Instead, he said, they were soon into muscle.

But the 11 residents on the task force persevered. Among their recommendations:

- Don't build a planned senior center that older residents of Clearwater have been asking for since a privately operated center on Court Street closed.

- Close the freestanding Clearwater Beach branch library.

- Consider creating a volunteer firefighter program to increase fire department staffing.

- Limit new facilities and programs that would require hiring someone to staff or maintain.

However, the centerpiece of the task force's recommendations, and likely the part that will create the most controversy, was a list of cutbacks that would hit city employees hard.

The task force suggests the city consider buying out employees who are close to retirement age, requiring employees to pay more for health insurance, and replacing the employees' defined benefit retirement plan read: pension with a defined contribution plan (read: 401(k) ). The task force also proposed the elimination of some jobs.

Members of one of the city's unions, Communications Workers of America Local 3179, responded to the proposals by holding a demonstration on the steps of City Hall - likely only the first by a city union. They want people to know that such cuts would affect their ability to support their families and also could affect the level of service Clearwater residents have come to expect.

It's ironic, really. Local governments like Clearwater are scrambling to come up with budget cuts because residents want tax relief and the state Legislature is talking about instituting spending caps and tax rate rollbacks for city and county governments. Because personnel costs are usually the biggest chunk of local government budgets, officials have little option but to cut jobs, pay raises and benefits.

But that means that local government workers - who also live in these communities - are put out of work or their family budgets take a hit at a time when they, along with everyone else, are enduring increases in property taxes and insurance.

The really tough decisions for city and county leaders are still months away. They must decide on a tax millage rate in midsummer, and final budget approvals are in September. Between now and then, they must figure out what to cut, if anything, and how much.

I'm wondering, what would you be willing to give up so your local government could lower your tax rate?

There are scads of possibilities.

Would you be content to have fewer police officers or deputies or firefighters on duty where you live? How about fewer garbage pickups, or less spraying for mosquitoes, or maybe animal services should be closed. Maybe instead of getting our tree limbs and grass clippings and discarded furniture picked up at the curb, we should all drive our own stuff to the landfill. Perhaps routine replacement of aging sewer or water lines is unnecessary.

Or maybe you believe your local government should keep intact all those things that relate to public health, safety and welfare and should just eliminate the extras.

Okay, which extras? Recycling - that could go. We could close a few parks to save on maintenance and electricity costs. How about mowing of medians and rights of way? Landscaping of streets, parks and public buildings - there's a frill if ever there was one, right?

Libraries and rec centers could be closed several days or nights a week. We could fire the code enforcement officers and just let everyone do what they want with their property.

Concerts, fireworks, youth sports, swimming pools, festivals, fitness classes, shuffleboard, story times, street lights, Web sites, housing assistance, museums, fishing piers, gardens, street sweeping, parades - heck, they could all go. Think of all the money that could be saved, all the government jobs that could be eliminated.

Like I said, I'm just wondering. In your community, what would you choose to give up?

You can write your suggestions in a letter to the editor by going to www.tampabay.com/letters or by mailing a letter to St. Petersburg Times, 710 Court St., Clearwater, FL 33756. Please include your name, address and phone number. I'll print a selection of responses.

It's important for our elected officials to know what you think they should eliminate from the services they provide with your tax dollars.

Diane Steinle can be reached at steinle@sptimes.com.

[Last modified April 7, 2007, 22:43:17]