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Tax cuts to bring Pinellas County layoffs
Affected employees will be able to work until October.
By Will Van Sant, Times Staff Writer
Published March 8, 2008
It's clear some Pinellas County employees will lose their jobs this October due to property tax cuts. Interim County Administrator Fred Marquis, halfway through a county government review, said Friday roughly 190 positions may be eliminated. About half those positions are vacant, he said. That doesn't mean 95 people are out of a job, Marquis stressed. It's likely some will be shifted into vacant spots. And he's unsure what the numbers will look like in departments he's yet to review. Marquis oversees about 2,700 county employees. "It's way, way premature," to put a figure on the number of county employees who will have to seek paychecks elsewhere, Marquis said. The review is part of a broader effort to trim about $55-million from next year's budget. That's the amount of tax revenue expected to vanish due to Amendment 1, which Florida voters approved in January. The amount of property tax dollars in this year's budget is about $550-million. Marquis said he may also recommend getting rid of900 fleet vehicles because they simply don't get used enough to justify the expense. Marquis expects to make final recommendations to the County Commission by late April. The budget will then be discussed in workshops with public hearings in September, when the commission will approve a spending plan. The fiscal year begins Oct. 1. Most employees who lose their jobs will have the option of working until that date. Will Van Sant can be reached at vansant@sptimes.com or 727 445-4166.
[Last modified March 8, 2008, 00:43:05]
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by Lola
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03/10/08 09:40 AM
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Why does a dept. of 22 employees need 6 sr. supervisors and a director little top heavy would you say.
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by tom
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03/10/08 09:38 AM
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Uhh, Rick, you mean to tell me half the workforce of the Tampa Bay area works for the government? Where'd you get your facts?
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by Kris
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03/10/08 07:25 AM
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The people who voted for Amend. 1 are going to be surprised when they have to start paying for things that they previously took for granted. Also take a look from the employees point of view - this stressful situation has been going on for too long.
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by JD
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03/08/08 09:40 PM
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I still think Eagle lake park needs to be built. Not!!
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by jackie
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03/08/08 07:46 PM
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Hey, Jim Smith and all the double dippers should return the money. $300 million, a lot of money to me. Do they feel bad for the loss of jobs. Smith doesn't care for anyone but his own pockets.
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by jackie
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03/08/08 07:43 PM
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Need to trim and cut back excess from past yrs. Businesses cut back, employess in private sector have paycuts and pension freezes. Time for Gov. to stop spending. I am not working 2 jobs to keep my house in order to support county employees.
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by Chip
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03/08/08 04:40 PM
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Great. Everybody saves a measly 20 bucks a month and the county has to trim $55 million from their budget. Plus, some people will lose jobs. It sounds like Fred Marquis is an intelligent guy we need to keep. The property tax cut was not worth it.
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by Tim
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03/08/08 03:02 PM
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I have found many voted on amendment 1 with out knowing all the facts!!!!!
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by Bland
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03/08/08 09:19 AM
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Let me see, 95 out of 2700 employees, 3.5% reduction in the staff. Not that significant.
900 vehicles "not being used enough" to justify maintenance and insurance. Maybe we bought too much stuff?
Seems to me this is all a good start.
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by Mel
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03/08/08 09:18 AM
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Get rid of 900 underused vehicles, you could have done that regardless, why do we have to force good management.
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by Todd
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03/08/08 08:54 AM
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So much for crying wolf! Instead of threats of laying off police and fire fighters, all they need to do is take a close look at how thier spending got out of control and figure out how to reel it back in.
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by doug
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03/08/08 08:52 AM
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how do you accumulate 9000 vehicles that you dont use? sounds like a "use it or lose it" spending mentality
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by Todd
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03/08/08 08:51 AM
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Well lookie here! Tightening the purse strings is resulting in eliminating some apparently not so important jobs & getting rid of 900 vehicles that rarely get used! Why did'nt they identify that 900 vehicles weren't being used very much before now!?!
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by Liz
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03/08/08 08:41 AM
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Let's start at the top where most of the monies is going rather than lay off hard working men and women who are trying to support their families. All facets of government including the School Districk are top heavy with supervisors.
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by Pete
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03/08/08 07:51 AM
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Get rid of all those double dippers. You want to retire then let them go. No more collecting extra money cause you retire and then come back to work. That should save millions
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by Carol
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03/08/08 07:11 AM
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Good job, Crist... You idiot. I am a home owner and I'm not seeing a big advantage. Why don't you cut some insurance costs, oh that's right - their lobby is too strong and supports you. Crist is ruining Florida for his political gain....
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by Rick
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03/08/08 07:06 AM
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With over half the population working for the local, state and federal government, we need to reduce this now..It's a sad day when less people work for private enterprise than the GOVERNMENT. Make these Governmant jobs less attractive, no PENSIONS..
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by PH Mom
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03/08/08 06:56 AM
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Fred, Please cut the TRAVEL BUDGET and put Jr. Lifeguard Camp back in. It's important for youth to be trained in lifesaving in a state with so much water.
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