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A Times Editorial
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 2, 2001
Re: Projects victim of penny shortfall, by Lisa Greene, Jan. 30.
The article exposes the unabashed arrogance of our Pinellas County government officials. Apparently they surpassed their own projected spending amounts of county sales tax revenue by $162-million. County officials admit that for years they approved the spending of our money without adding up the total cost of the projects. This exceeds incompetence and could be considered criminal in any line of work other than government.
The rest of the article is filled with their lame attempts to explain away their bungling failure. For example, interim County Administrator Gay Lancaster offered this preposterous rationalization: "It's like going through the cafeteria line. Sometimes your eyes are bigger than your stomach." As if that explanation can vindicate a $162-million mistake with someone else's money.
The guilty parties must be held accountable. As a concerned taxpayer and Libertarian, I say fire the lot of them. The inept salaried bureaucrats involved should be summarily dismissed. But unfortunately for the real victims, the public must wait until the next election to exact its justice upon the true perpetrators.
I read the Times' front page and discovered that some Penny for Pinellas projects may have to be put off because there may not be enough money to go around. This was caused, we are told, because some projects have cost more than planned and because some projects were added
That's just plain poor planning! If the original projects are delayed or dropped, then we have been taken for a ride and we should rename the project "Pennies for Poor Planning."
If that isn't bad enough, I turn to another section of the same paper and discover that the county commissioners are getting ready to "start" the search for a new county administrator. Ordinarily that wouldn't turn any heads, but our former county administrator retired in August! Why does it take so long to "start" the search for a replacement? Poor planning.
The problem has been labeled by the Times as a penny "shortfall" or deficit. Wrong! Since the planned penny revenues were realized, this is clearly a case of overspending
Should the taxpayer be concerned over the county's ability to fix this problem? Draw your own conclusions from the following statements made by either commissioners or administrators as reported in the Times coverage:
"The information's always been given to us, but when you start adding things up, it becomes a much more significant issue."
"There were no cutoffs. Nobody said, "When we get to the end of the money these won't be funded.' "
"It was a shockeroo."
"Everybody all along said, "We'll worry about the last projects when we get to the end of the Penny.' "
As for the commissioner who expressed concern about the board's credibility and good faith with the people who supported the Penny for Pinellas tax, her concern is well founded. At the risk of sounding harsh, how would any enterprise be judged that managed to finish the first year of a 10-year plan $162-million over budget, while coming off the best 10-year economic run in the history of this nation?
Pinellas County has taken the Penny for Pinellas to a moral low to match the Florida Lottery sham. Our officials have "for years . . . approved spending Penny for Pinellas revenues without adding up the total cost.
Really? The officials who pushed this through didn't realize that pennies add up? Or didn't care? Irresponsible teens charge things without thinking of the total cost, but Pinellas County officials? Can they be required to take credit counseling?
"Sometimes your eyes are bigger than your stomach"? Really? With taxpayer money, too!
I think I'll tell that to the people at my bank and see what they say about bounced checks. Seems I heard there is a penalty involved at the bank when your eyes get bigger than your stomach -- a penalty so severe it has been criticized.
Paying $115-million for the county jail instead of the $80-million estimated? That's a 43.7 percent miss. Is it possible that politicians "flavored" the estimates to get voter approval? Of course not! But how about the medical examiner's office: $1.5-million was estimated, but now the cost is $10-million? That's 566 percent off. Do we pay people to do this or use a crystal ball labeled "sucker bait"?
Guess how I'll vote next time. I'll vote for someone who keeps a record of the balance in my tax bank and watches what the money is spent for relative to promises made -- if there any politicians like that. At least I can vote to Throw the Hypocritical Rascals Out. Why that hasn't worked so far is beyond me.
If you voted for the Penny for Pinellas, you've been had. What will you do about it? If you sit on your hands, they'll keep doing it to you, and you'll get what you deserve.
Sand castle was an unwise use of taxe
Re: Super Bowl structure rises from sand, Jan. 20.
It appears that the cost of the sand sculpture at Sand Key is $623,000. This is more than the cost the state is willing to pay to educate 100 students for one year. Perhaps the Pinellas County Convention and Visitors Bureau is printing the money to do this so it will not come out of our taxes, but I doubt it. Or perhaps it will bring many more visitors to Pinellas County to spend money -- not according to the article.
This is about as close to a wise use of tax dollars as Saddam Hussein is to Mother Teresa. It is not criminal, as it violates no law, but it certainly is disgusting.
What am I missing? I read in Monday's business section that the weekend sand monument at Sand Key cost the county $623,000. Someone was quoted as saying it was worth the publicity. I didn't see anything on the pre-game telecast about any of the sand sculptures. What publicity
Pinellas County cannot come up with funds to match the state to help pay for poor children's health insurance. What is a Guinness record worth?
I took the trolley Saturday to see the light show, but there was so much traffic, it came to a crawl. We missed the extravaganza. The trolley was not full, but people here try to squeeze thousands of cars onto an island with limited parking. There is really something wrong in Pinellas County, and I don't think the school system is to blame. It must be the humidity that causes brain rot.
As far as I am concerned, there will be a reckoning for the next county election.
Murry C. Seidenberg, Redington Shores
Re: Yes, I'm a sore loser and proud of it, by Bill Maxwell, Jan. 24.
What a travesty. Maxwell offered up inexcusable "flag-waving" and almost insulting excuses and alibis as justification for being a "sore loser"!
Neither I nor those objecting to Maxwell's demagoguery are all "part of a right-wing conspiracy." We are weary of his whining and distortions.
I might add that much as I have respected the St. Petersburg Times in my 23 years living here, I've been disappointed in your postelection vitriol and seeming bias and irresponsibility in the editorial pages and supposedly objective reporting. Shame on you.
As for Maxwell, unless you hope that his constant belligerence and deliberately controversial, confrontational columns over the years will stimulate circulation (and there may, in fact, be a boomerang effect), I would encourage termination of his services. Talk about divisive!
Shame on the Times editors for perpetuating this double standard
Bravo to Bill Maxwell and the St. Petersburg Times! Republicans are indeed the sorest losers of all time. I can predict they will continue to be angry, even if George W. steals a second term. I agree with all of Maxwell's comments, especially about the Confederates in our midst. Well done
Please do not bow to any pressure groups and lose Bill Maxwell. He is a voice of reason and sanity in the midst of all this chaos. By the way, I am a white Southerner, born and raised in Missouri!
Starr should be hailed as a her
Why isn't someone writing about the "vindication" of Judge Kenneth Starr? Starr paid a great price to reveal the truth about Bill Clinton.
Judge Starr is a national hero!
Kudos to the letter writer (The missing connection, Jan. 30) for finding an adjective that describes most of our politicians and many other public figures
The only problem is that I find it difficult to work this ponderous adjective into everyday conversation.
They should be brief and must include the writer's name, address and phone number. Please include a handwritten signature when possible
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