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Watchdog group hunts budget 'turkeys'
By JENNIFER FARRELL
© St. Petersburg Times, Florida TaxWatch announced its annual catalog of state budget turkeys Thursday, singling out three Hernando County projects totaling $1.18-million. The taxpayer watchdog group identified 528 projects worth $288.3-million for the 2000-2001 budget year. Traditionally, projects that make the list earn vetoes from Gov. Jeb Bush. Leading the roster of Hernando turkeys was $1-million for transportation improvements in downtown Brooksville, an initiative backed by state Rep. David Russell, R-Brooksville. "I just about dropped my false teeth when I saw that one," Russell said Thursday, pledging to keep up his push for the money. The project, he said, would pay for upgrades to parking and traffic flow downtown, but could also help the city add more parking and a shuttle bus or build a planned frontage road between W Jefferson Street and the State Road 50 truck bypass. "Obviously, they just don't understand the premise behind TOP (the state's Transportation Outreach Program). . . . It's one of the most flexible programs we have." Keith Baker, TaxWatch senior vice president and CEO, dismissed Russell's claim that the organization had targeted the majority of projects associated with TOP, the $116-million state program for transportation improvements. "We don't look at the merit of a project," he added. "We're more concerned about whether the project received a full hearing in the legislative process." In fact, Baker said, all three of Hernando's turkeys had gotten limited review and were only reviewed by one hall of the Legislature. The transportation project was heard only in the House, as was $100,000 slated to remove sand buildup in the bed of the Weeki Wachee River. Meanwhile, $80,000 for Brooksville Elementary School's Safe & Secure School program, a system limiting who has access to the grounds and helping control traffic when the children are dismissed from school, was only reviewed in the Senate, Baker said. Russell said all three projects represented money well spent. "I would hope that the governor not veto these projects," he said, adding later: "I'm going to continue to fight tooth and nail for those projects." -- Jennifer Farrell covers Spring Hill and can be reached at 848-1432. Send e-mail to farrell@sptimes.com. Information from Times files was used in this report.
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From today's Hernando Times |
