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Letter to the editor

Tell the city where to spend your tax dollars

The annual "Speak Up" survey is the way.

By ANNE LINDBERG
Published June 27, 2007

PINELLAS PARK - For the past few months, residents have been saying they want to pay fewer taxes; now they will have a chance to tell officials how they want those dollars spent.

Pinellas Park's annual citizens survey will kick off July 1. The survey, begun in 1976, is the first step in the city's budgeting process. The answers to this year's survey will be used to help set priorities for the 2008-09 tax year. The survey also helps spot potential problems before they become major concerns.

In past years, for example, residents targeted drainage as a major concern, and now the city is working with the county and the state to solve flooding along Park Boulevard. The three governments have pledged millions to fix the problem.

Although the survey was begun in 1976, it did not become an annual affair until around 2000. Then, three years ago, it went high tech as officials offered an online version. But residents who'd prefer to have their say the old-fashioned way with paper and pencil can still do so.

The survey, "Speak Up, Pinellas Park!, " will be online at the city's main Web site, www.pinellas-park.com.

Click on the "community survey" button on the home page to access the questionnaire.

Residents can use the computers at the Pinellas Park Public Library as well as a special computer kiosk at Park Station, 5851 Park Blvd., to access the online version. Paper versions are available by calling the Pinellas Park Community Planning Division, 541-0704. The survey is available through Aug. 31.

[Last modified June 26, 2007, 20:10:34]