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2 projects come up short in budget plans
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET © St. Petersburg Times, published March 22, 2001 The proposed state budgets from Florida's House of Representatives and Senate are divided on funding for the Homosassa sewer project and provide no money for the Chassahowitzka wastewater project, sparking a scramble among Citrus County's legislators to secure more dollars for those projects before the budget becomes final. The county requested $2.5-million for the Homosassa project this year, but the proposed budget from the House general government appropriations committee provides just $1-million, while the Senate version contains no funding at all. The Chassahowitzka project, which carried a request for $3.12-million this year, came up with zero dollars in both proposed budgets. "At this stage of the game, at this stage of the mind-set in Tallahassee, it's going to be very difficult to maintain the Homosassa (proposed funding), and it's going to be even more difficult to resurrect the Chassahowitzka (funding request)," County Commissioner Gary Bartell said Wednesday. The next stop for the proposed House and Senate budgets is conference committee, where legislators from both chambers negotiate over items that are funded differently and arrive at a common budget. The entire Legislature then votes on the budget and passes it on for the governor's approval or veto. Bartell said it is crucial for the conference committee to keep the $1-million for Homosassa in the budget, and he hopes the committee adds some dollars for Chassahowitzka, too. The conference committee members have not been named yet, but an aide said state Rep. Nancy Argenziano, R-Crystal River, already has requested a seat at the table. The committee could meet as early as next week. "I talked to Sen. (Anna) Cowin's office and Sen. (Richard) Mitchell's office, and they're also on board with us," said Bartell, who spent much of Wednesday calling and writing to officials in Tallahassee. "They're going to fight for us. They're doing everything they can to get us the funding." Bartell will spend part of next week in Tallahassee lobbying for the funding, just as he did last year when the House appropriations committee provided no funding for the Homosassa project. The budget that came out of conference committee, and was ultimately approved, gave $750,000 to the project. The Chassahowitzka project received $1-million from the Legislature last year to start designing the sewer system. A University of South Florida study conducted last year confirmed that seeping sewage from nearby septic tanks has polluted the river. The county already has built pumping facilities and transmission mains for the Homosassa wastewater system, and has connected some businesses to the system. This year the county asked for funding for Phase III to connect homes on the north and south sides of the Homosassa River to those transmission mains. Phase III of the Homosassa project carries a $5.75-million price tag, only $2.5-million of which the county hoped to get from the Legislature. The county also will apply for grants from the Southwest Florida Water Management District, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the state Department of Community Affairs. Bartell said state funding for water quality projects is shrinking, with only $32-million to go around this year. "They have reduced the amount of dollars available statewide, and that reduces tremendously your chances of receiving funding to start with," Bartell said. "Now it's merely a potshot as to who's going to get what," he said. "It's back to whoever politically has the clout is going to receive the funds for these projects."
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