Today's Letters: Bureaucracy is taking us down

Recently, we the taxpayers of Hernando County have found ourselves in a very undesirable situation. Our elected officials have decided to spend us into the poor house.

Despite the fact that they were ordered by the state to curtail spending and lower taxes, they have decided not to do so. Despite the fact that hundreds of protesters showed up at the budget hearings to demonstrate their feelings regarding the tax-and-spend policies of our commissioners, no real positive action was taken.

Some money was shifted from one targeted account to another and a little smoke-and- mirrors action took place, but nothing definitive has occurred. The real source of the problems was not touched, and that is the bloated, overpaid bureaucracy, which was not cut, but was expanded. And they get what they want.

It is quite evident how we got into this situation. Recent elections have provided us with a series of extremely weak and unknowledgeable individuals who cannot control the people whom they refer to as staff. These bureaucrats actually run the county. Their attitude is one of "I'm here for life and you politicians are just passing through. So, shape up or you'll be gone sooner than you'd like."

This is why we have gone through so many county administrators. They can't control them, either. So, in frustration, they depart.

Engineering provides us with fiascos, such as the travesty at the intersection of Spring Hill Drive and Mariner Boulevard. The Human Resources department determines who gets the plum jobs, with no oversight. Code Enforcement defies them by stating they won't enforce certain ordinances and some department heads take on and challenge the supposed authorities in the county by overstepping their boundaries. It is a classic example of the tail wagging the dog. And it is insubordinate in some cases.

Until we elect some people with a measure of backbone and a willingness to assume control, nothing will change. The county will deteriorate and home values will continue to plummet, and we all will continue to suffer the consequences.

The voters must educate themselves and find out what is going on and think when they vote. They must not simply vote along party lines, but vote for the person who appears to know what is going on and is capable.

And if they prove to be ineffective, throw the rascals out.

William Kingeter, Spring Hill

Sports program is integral to school

As a taxpayer in Hernando County, I find School Board member Sandra Nicholson's suggestion to terminate the sports programs at Nature Coast Technical High School absolutely appalling. We have spent more than $5-million on the football stadium, millions on the baseball facilities, lighting, etc. To suggest we just throw this money away by taking down the stadium and putting in an irrigation field to teach sprinkler systems and irrigation in this time of drought just seems to be an irresponsible thought.

As an elected official, Mrs. Nicholson is expected to speak for the people and suggesting this idea is not in our best interest or the interest of the area businesses. These facilities are state of the art. They also are used as the home field for Powell Middle School and Challenger K-8 sports programs.

The sports programs at Nature Coast are part of our community and the area business boosters for The Nature Coast Sharks are many; just look through the football program handed out at the beginning of the season.

Sports in schools gives students a sense of pride, family and responsibility. The students run the concessions, which enhance money skills and people management skills. I have attended sporting events at each high school in the county and the pride of each student body is heartwarming. The week prior to homecoming is a very spirited time. The kids have to work together to create a memory that will be in their minds forever. Without the sports, homecoming would not be.

I feel the students who choose to attend Nature Coast should not be penalized without a spirited sports program. Again, this suggestion is just absurd.

D. Fritz, Spring Hill

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[Last modified November 6, 2007, 21:30:51]