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Politics
Tax proposals devastating, Hillsborough official says
By BILL VARIAN
Published June 2, 2007
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Planning for tax cuts
- See a draft of the county's plans for budget reductions to absorb the tax reform being discussed by the Legislature. Download .pdf
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TAMPA - Hillsborough County officials warned Friday that property tax reforms being considered by the Legislature could have a devastating effect on basic services. Even the most modest proposal would force the county to postpone building 10 fire stations and the expansion or construction of seven library branches, County Administrator Pat Bean said during a news conference. More aggressive cuts would delay as many as two dozen park projects and dramatically slash staffing at existing ones. The initial proposal out of the state House would force the county to eliminate as many as 858 jobs, though Bean said some of those jobs are part time. The more limited plan out of the Senate would require the county to shave a few dozen jobs. Hillsborough County has roughly 5, 400 employees who report to the county administrator. It is now under a hiring freeze, with 471 full- and part-time jobs left unfilled. "Isn't it ironic that today is the first day of June? It is the first day of hurricane season, " Bean said. "And believe it or not, there is a storm coming." Bean was not referring to tropical storm Barry in the Gulf of Mexico, but to the property tax proposals from the state that are agitating local governments statewide. Her comments also came - coincidentally - as legislative leaders announced yet another possible approach to property tax reform ahead of a planned special session starting June 12. That means her staff analysis is based on competing proposals that may now be dead in the water. Regardless of what happens, county Management and Budget Director Eric Johnson said the exercise has helped the county prepare for best- and worst-case scenarios. The only certainty, he said, is that some form of forced diet is coming. "These end up as benchmarks, " Johnson said. County commissioners, who requested the analysis of potential cuts two weeks ago, will hear a presentation Wednesday. But after getting their first look at Bean's report Friday, their immediate reaction was cool. "I see this as the beginning part of the discussion, " said Hillsborough Commissioner Mark Sharpe, who said he still wants to see more scrutiny of how the county can cut inefficiency and duplication. Hillsborough government expects to collect about $800-million this year from property taxes, which pay for what many consider the most basic government services, such as police and fire protection, parks programs and other day-to-day costs of county government. Bill Varian can be reached at 813 226-3387 or varian@sptimes.com.
[Last modified June 2, 2007, 01:51:36]
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by Steve
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06/13/07 09:08 PM
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We need a TABOR based on population growth and CPI...they always change it to population and Personal Income Growth (as they did here) because that is not a real cap. Read the studies by the James Madison Institute. Fire them all...county and state.
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by tracy
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06/06/07 09:55 AM
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give me a break! when you have a policeman sitting at the local park for hours with nothing to do and then you have this poor family losing their home due to high taxes.let's cut the fat spending.
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by Jim Dunedin
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06/06/07 08:47 AM
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As to building more fire stations, give me a break. If 2 fire trucks and 2 ems vehicles did not rush to every minor fender bender and do nothing but tie up traffic, there would be insufficient justification for the current size of their departments.
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by Jim
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06/06/07 08:45 AM
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I think we need to replace the current tax and spend county administrators with professionals who know how to manage a business. They need to quit comparing their operations with other county governments. Next to an 800 lb man, I'm very thin
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by John
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06/03/07 07:29 PM
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CPI inflation is near 2.4% why has Hillsborough county been doling out cash the last 5 years like it is growing ou trees? Because it's not their cash but the taxpayers? Freeze salaries for 5 years to make up for the last 5 years. Eliminate pensions
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by jackie
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06/02/07 02:37 PM
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without immediate, tax saving relief, my family will be devestated trying to save our home. I have been on a forced $ diet for over 2yrs. Your turn, immediately.
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by Dan
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06/02/07 01:07 PM
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They've been doling out 5-10% raises for years - where in the private sector are people seeing raises like that? And get free healthcare? And Pensions? Operate like private industry - partial healthcare, 401Ks, and 3to5% raises - and save MILLIONS!
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by paul
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06/02/07 11:32 AM
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i hope the county puts a moratorium on any more residential and commercial development in th ecounty. the growth is out of control and the infrastructure can not handle th e growth. stop this practice now.
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