Thank you commissioners...

Last night, the Hernando County Commissioners voted 4-1 for a 1/2 mil reduction in Ad Valorem taxes. The remarkable thing about this vote was that 4 votes consisted of two republicans and two democrats. The lone nay vote was by the political appointee, Thomas Hogan, who demonstrated it was a pure partisan maneuver to garner support from fringe element of the republican party. Commissioner Stabins was the driving force in pressing for the 1/2 mil tax reduction, with Commissioner Robinson at his side. Commissioners Rowden and Kingsley should also be commended for following Mr. Stabins lead on tax reform in this county. All four of these commissioners critically evaluated the needs of taxpayers while setting aside partisan politics. It is really a shame that Commissioners Stabins, Robinson, Rowden and Kinglsey took a verbal beating on local talk radio today. Mr. Stabins stated this is only the first step in tax reform for our county and promised to continue next year with more cost saving methods for taxpayers. Looking at it from the perspective that the glass is half full, these four commissioners were right on target by voting for the 1/2 mil reduction to give the citizens much needed tax relief this year. Thank you, Commissioners Stabins, Robinson, Rowden and Kingsley...

Gentlewoman from Florida

Below is a short excerpt from our Congresswoman, Ginny Brown-Waite, from the floor of Congress that I thought you might find interesting:


Approximately 2:08 - 2:09 pm, Monday, September 25, 2006

The Speaker Pro Tempore: "For what purpose does the Gentlewoman from Florida rise?"

Ms. Brown-Waite: "To address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks."

The Speaker Pro Tempore: "Without objection."

Ms. Brown-Waite: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The old saying, united we stand, divided we fall, is so true. Just as common language can unite a people, the lack of a unified language can be divisive. However, the Senate's immigration bill failed the American people by giving them a watered down feel-good statement that does nothing. New immigrants already have to learn English to become citizens, it's only common sense that we come together under one unified language by making English the official language of the United States. Listen up, America, enough is enough. United we stand and English we speak. Thank you Mr. Speaker, and I yield back the balance of my time."

The Speaker Pro Tempore: "The Gentlelady yields back."

Fuels our local economy...

Mike McHugh, director of the business development should be complemented on his economic development plan for Hernando County. His four key principals for continued economic growth are high wage business retention and recruitment, an educational resources, work force housing and business planning for the city and county. During his presentation to the board of county commissioners yesterday, he stressed the need for a highly educated workforce and the availability of business-ready buildings for new business. One goal that should have been emphasized just a little stronger in his presentation was the retention of existing businesses in Hernando County. It seems that his report focused more on bringing in higher paying firms but not looking at the local business community within Hernando County. Mr. McHugh should be actively contacting existing businesses within the county to retain this engine that fuels our local economy. His study should focus on why good businesses are leaving Hernando County. One example of business departure is that of Florida Metal Roofing Products that goes under the name of Bradco. Bradco, a local business that started in Brooksville in 2003, is moving their headquarters to Palm Beach. It seems that the Palm Beach Business Development Board has reached out to recruit Bradco to their county. This example of business departure is to highlight the need for our local business development director's office to stay in touch with the needs of existing Hernando County businesses. Hopefully, Mr. McHugh will include more emphasis on the retention of local business in his economic development plan as he formulates the goals, policies and timetables for the board of county commissioners.

Fire master plan consultant

On September 18th, 2006, Emergency Services Consulting, Inc. was chosen by the Hernando County Audit Services Planning and Priorities Committee as the consultant for the countywide fire master plan study. This company's home base is Wilsonville, Oregon, with their eastern regional office located in Chesterland, Ohio. Apparently the Audit Services Planning and Priorities Committee was looking for a short term fix of the flat rate/ MSBU versus the Ad Valorem MSTU rate system in our county and Emergency Services Consulting, Inc. indicated they could assist in achieving these goals. The first step for this firm is to begin gathering information at the individual fire departments. Hopefully, this firm will include the public on their fact finding missions, as they write a countywide fire master plan, at the direction of Karen Nicolai.

Shivers down your spine...

The headline in this morning's Hernando Times reads, "Public works site polluted aquifer water". This headline should make cold shivers run down your spine. Everyone will think twice before turning on their tap for a drink because of the carcinogen benzene level that is at 430 times the limit considered safe for drinking water in the aquifer. It will be interesting to see how this crisis unfolds in the public eye over the next several weeks. This is an equal opportunity contaminant that has the potential to affect everyone in central to northern Florida, not just those residents in Mitchell Heights of south Brooksville. We certainly do not need further political pandering by Commissioner Rowden and Kingsley, in reference to the Mitchell Heights residents. The political rangling needs to stop immediately at the local level, and strict attention needs to be paid to the environmental experts, and legal authorities, to clean up this mess. The pollution caused by this old DPW site has escalated from a local residential problem, to a state, and national crisis which could harm our environment for years. The very sad part about this entire clean-up is the risk manager for Hernando County did not have insurance coverage for environmental pollution. Swift and precise measures need to be taken immediately to assure everyone that we can rely on the very drinking water that is necessary for our existence here on Mother Earth.

Thanks to Roy...

This evening my husband and I attended a dinner dance hosted by the Wellington Republican Club. The club's president, Roy Martin, organized a very nice affair with approximately 100 people in attendance. Roy opened the evening by introducing the elected officials and candidates which were Commissioner Stabins, Commissioner Robinson, Sheriff Nugent, and former Commissioner Schenck. The president of the Timber Pines Republican Club, Jerry Lebo was also in attendance along with Hernando County Planning & Zoning members, Anthony Palmieri and Anna Liisa Covell (me). After happy hour a very tasty meal was served followed by music for dancing after dinner. We thoroughly enjoyed the food, the company and the music! Thanks to Roy, and the board of directors for the Wellington Republican Club, for all your hard work putting this event together.

Inflammatory statements...

This morning WWJB radio’s general manager, Steve Manual ran an editorial concerning the DCA denial for Hickory Hill’s application to change Hernando County Comprehensive Plan while citing some very inflammatory statements in reference to the Hernando County Planning Department. Mr. Manual criticized the county planning staff for not transmitting documents in a timely fashion, not being transparent to the public and basically being biased in their submittal to DCA. Descriptive terms like mistake, misdeed, or incompetence were used to sum up the editorial by stating that “we need to know.”

Did anyone ever stop to consider that WWJB’s general manager did not have all the facts on this subject. It appears that Mr. Manual relied heavily on hearsay information from two sources, the Hernando Today, and a political activist, to formulate his one-sided argument. Mr. Manual appears to be guilty of the same accusations that he thrust at the county planning staff for not doing his homework on the issue. A simple phone call to the Hernando County Planning Department’s new director, Mr. Ron Pianta would have cleared up the entire matter.

One major issue in the Hickory Hill denial by DCA contained two major sticking points which revolved around transportation issues. First, the Hernando County Planning Department did not submit a current Long Range Transportation Plan Comprehensive amendment. Why, you ask? The amendment approval was postponed by the Hernando County Planning & Zoning Commission in August at the public’s request. This postponement was to compile information for the eastern Hernando County long range transportation issues. It was determined by the P & Z that a postponement was necessary to have complete, and accurate, transportation information from Hickory Hill representatives, the Sun Rise PDD representatives, as well as the rural residents in the area. The Planning and Zoning Commission was more concerned with having accurate information instead of submitting incomplete data to the Board of County Commissioners. A workshop is being planned this fall to consider all input for the long range transportation plan by the county planning department. Secondly,DCA required a detailed transportation network analysis by the developer. A fair share agreement was required for transportation infrastructure, based on cost and data analysis and model runs / data analysis were not complete. The cost and data analysis was required to show the proportionate fair share costs for everyone involved in the development area which includes Sunrise PDD, rural residents, and the Hickory Hill project.

In conclusion, WWJB radio would be far better serve the public needs with accurate, fact-based, responsible information and not just assume our local government is always at fault.

Everyone was wondering...

Commissioner Stabins should be commended for keeping his composure while discussing the use of the old hospital as storage space at yesterday's BCC meeting. Several citizens came to the podium to voice their concerns on the issue of the old hospital that is costing taxpayers $70K a month in expenses and security costs. The department heads were quite informative and receptive to the idea of using this building as storage. Each of them discussed the pros and cons while explaining what was necessary to make the change of use for the building. The one person that seemed to be dragging her feet was Flo Boles, the risk management officer. Her presentation appeared to be very defensive while explaining what the insurance company could not do, instead of looking for positives solutions for Commissioner Stabins proposal. Grant Tolbert clearly explained state building regulations, and then detailed the steps necessary to make Mr. Stabins plan work. Pat Fagan gave a brief presentation on his search for storage space for the supervisor of election's voting equipment currently housed at the old DPW site. Mr. Fagan outlined the problems he was having due to the guidelines set up by Annie Williams. Apparently, Ms. Williams has decided she wants to be close to the courthouse to make it convenient for her, even though lease rates go for approximately $15.00 a square foot in downtown Brooksville. Ms. Williams indicated to Mr. Fagan that she wants additional working space for her employees plus necessary storage space. It now appears Ms. Williams has stayed at the old DPW site by her own choice, contrary to the newspaper account that she was forced to remain there, even though she had a lease offer for a 3,500 foot facility at the airport industrial complex priced at $8.00 a square foot. It would be nice to know if the parks department has been reimbursed by the supervisor of elections office for their exhaustive search for rental property for Ms. Williams. After the meeting, everyone was wondering just why the county's insurance company would cover the condemned building at the DPW site used by Annie Williams for storage but would not cover the hospital building. Thank you, Commissioner Stabins, for listening to the citizens on the hospital issue...

$25,000.00 Impact Fees

This afternoon at a 2007 Hernando County Summit Growth Management Committee meeting, I heard some preliminary figures for updating the impact fees next year to approximately $25,000.00 for residential homes. The county is using the rational that costs are escalating for infrastructure so this number is not unreasonable when discussing impact fee increases. Our committee is made up of contractors, developers, lay persons, the agriculture interest, SWIFTMUD, the city of Brooksville, the county planning department, and Chamber of Commerce members and everyone had a different point of view. To me, this will ultimately eliminate any chance for the first-time home buyer, by pricing them out of the market. Are we going to import labor to perform service industry jobs like plumbers, hamburger flippers, etc. in Hernando County? Yes, costs have risen dramatically but the suggestion to raise impacts fees by approximately 250% in very hard to fathom.

Veterans Appreciation Parade

Please mark your calendar for the 6th Annual Veterans Appreciation Parade scheduled for November 11th / 10 a.m. in downtown Brooksville. This year's parade will host the Hernando High School Band, the Nature Coast High Band and the Military Vehicle Preservationist Club (from the Hernando Sportsman Club) along with many other individuals and clubs. If you would like to participate in this parade to honor our veterans, please contact me (Anna Liisa Covell). There is no fee to participate but an rsvp would be appreciated so the Brooksville Police Department can plan on the appropriate safety measures for everyone. More details will become available in the coming weeks, please stay tuned!

Spiked, pink high heels...

About eight years ago, Hernando County had a commissioner who took it upon herself to inspect people's homes, the roof of the fairgrounds building, etc. in her spiked, pink high heels. Her name was Patricia Novy. She was a very nice woman but was nicknamed "the maverick" for her antics in the community. The one antic she was most famous for was filing complaints against Grant Tolbert at the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. These complaints cost Hernando County considerable sums of money and all complaints were dismissed by the DBPR. Ms. Novy was on a mission to undermine the Hernando County Building Department's director, Grant Tolbert. This little step back in time is to illustrate the connection with Commissioner Kingsley rallying the upset homeowners and the former Commissioner Novy. It seems Mr. Kingsley arranged a meeting at the Senior Citizens Club of Hernando County on Wednesday night to listen to problems residents were having with local contractors but he forgot one thing. He forgot to invite Mr. Tolbert to his party. Grant Tolbert was the one person that could have answered the questions of the homeowners, with directness and clarity, was not invited to the meeting, and the question is why? Somehow, this is like going to your auto mechanics shop and having his secretary diagnosis your vehicle. Mr. Kingsley stated the meeting was meant to gather information, see what he needed to do, and who he needed to talk with, and then said it really worked out well. Who did it really work out well for? Mr. Kingsley? Yes, there are some shoddy contractors in Hernando County but they are very few in actual numbers, thanks, in part, to Mr. Grant Tolbert, and the professionals that work in the Development Department.

Sea of red ink...

This morning's headline in the Hernando Times reads, "Forecasts paint possibility of red ink". In this article George Zoettlin stated, "There is some scary things, that's what happens when you lower the millage going through uncertain times." Yes, it is a scary time for everyone, especially the taxpayers that are also facing higher interest rates, a rising inflation rate, and skyrocketing insurance costs. The answer to the predicted gloom of a forecasted, sea of red ink would be to reduce Hernando County government spending at the current rate of 8.16%. The current rate of spending by the county seems just a little excessive when you take into consideration the cost of living is currently set at 4.1% for senior citizens on Social Security. Anyone that is interested in voicing their opinion should attend the Hernando County Budget hearings which will begin promptly at 5:01 p.m. this afternoon in the county commission chambers located at 20 N. Main Street in downtown Brooksville.

Steady progress

Steady progress is being made by Treelawn Builders in the clean up of the old DPW sit on Martin Luther King Blvd. Buildings are being torn down, and the site in being cleaned up, at a remarkably swift pace. It does not appear that the clean-up of this site will take very long to complete because of the efficient manner in which this builder has under taken the task. Thank goodness for the neighbors that this mess is finally getting cleaned up.

Very remarkable

Yesterday afternoon while driving down SR50, I noticed something very remarkable on Charles Sasser's property by Mobley Road. The construction workers had hung a very large America flag from the second story building steel of the new condominium under construction on the site. This is the first time I have seen the flag there so I can only imagine that it was placed there to commemorate the victims of 9-11.

Fire master plan consultant interviews

This morning I attended a meeting of the Audit Services Planning and Priorities Committee in the county commission chamber. In layman's terms, this was a meeting for the Hernando County Fire Rescue Services Consulting Project which was chaired by Karen Nicolai, Clerk of Court. This meeting was to hear presentations, and conduct interviews, to choose a consultant for the countywide fire master plan study. The four firms scheduled for presentations this morning were Emergency Services Consultants, Inc., Mizzelle, Hodges, and Associates, Carroll Buracker and Associates and the Management Advisory Group. Due to time constraints, I was only able to stay long enough to hear one presentation. I was surprised that this meeting was not televised on Channel 19 due to the wide interest shown in the community on fire services. Some of the members of this Audit Services Planning and priorities Committee were Karen Nicolai, Gary Kuhl, Larry Jennings and George Zoettlin. It is probably a good thing that this meeting was not televised or the camera may have gotten a shot of Mr. Zoettlin napping this morning at the dais. Brooksville's Fire Chief Tim Mossgrove and Assistant Fire Chief Davies of Spring Hill were also on hand to ask questions, along with Assistant Fire Chief Larry Nichols and Jill Allen of Hernando County Fire Rescue. I was dismayed to see that no one had attended from any of the volunteer fire departments in the county. The firm that will be picked for this study will be chosen at their next meeting on September 18th / 7:30 a.m. at the Country Kitchen Restaurant.

Your own recollection

September 11th was designated Patriot Day by Congress and the President of the United States in 2001 after terrorists attacked our country in 2001. I still remember that morning starting out like any other day. It was a rainy Tuesday and no one seemed to be in a very good mood that morning. I had the radio on in my office tuned to the local AM station when I heard the announcer say a plane had just crashed in the World Trade Center. In disbelief, I switched on this little black & white TV in my shop to catch glimpse of what I presumed would be a tragic plane accident. This horrific sight became even more unbearable to watch as the second plane crashed into the other Trade Tower. Next came the view of the Pentagon being hit by a plane. I could not take my eyes off this little television even though the picture was a very poor quality. Fear griped my heart like at no other time in my life just knowing that our Nation was under attack. The sight of people leaping out of the Trade Towers was chilling enough and was only surpassed by watching the Trade Towers pancake upon themselves as they collapsed from this terrorist attack. These images will be ingrained in my memory for the rest of my life. I hope each of you has your own recollection of September 11, 2001 and you never forget that day either...

Meaning spending reform needed

After watching the emergency budget workshop last Thursday, I began to wonder just who is running Hernando County government. The committee of 25, the county staff, Linda Hayward's petitions, the county commissioners, just who??? I commend Commissioner's Stabins, Hogan and Robinson for representing the people with a millage rate reduction but even their approach was short-sighted when you look at the long term needs of our rapidly expanding county. Trust in government is the essential element that Commissioner Stabins is trying to restore, by pushing for a large millage rate reduction in Ad Valorem taxes. The naysayers bring up the mere $36.00 this tax relief could bring to the homeowner in Hernando County. We were told this $36.00 would not even buy a tank of gas for an automobile. For someone watching their pennies, $36.00 could buy several pairs of inexpensive shoes for their children at Wal Mart. Speaking of Wal Mart, Commissioner Rowden threw out a large dollar figure that Wal Mart would save if an Ad Valorem rate reduction takes place this year like this was somehow evil. This type of analogy is a classic example of the demonization of corporate America played out by liberal democrats everyday across this nation. The problem with this type of analogy is corporations do not pay taxes, people do, and many small business entities across the county are being crippled by extremely high assessments on their businesses because there is no 3% cap on commercial property. Besides, I could never understand why corporations are criticized when they produce jobs, and wealth in America. Getting back to the point of being short-sighted when looking at the long term needs of Hernando County, none of the county commissioners ever mentioned cutting spending as a viable approach to budget control. Oh, a few sacrificial lambs were offered to cut spending several weeks ago by the county staff, but were pale in comparison to what is needed to be fiscally prudent with our tax dollars. Has anyone ever wondered why the county spending equals collected tax revenue? Its called projective budgeting, or locking up all monies collected by taxpayers. Sheriff Nugent stated at this workshop that if the county commissioners did not approve his budget he could go over their heads to the governor. One major job function of the county commission is to oversee the budget by being good stewards of our tax dollars. It is their responsibility to question the budgets of the sheriff, the clerk of court, the tax collector, the supervisor of elections, and the property appraiser but this was largely ignored during the budget review process. Yes, any constitutional officer can go directly to the governor if they think their budget is being jeopardized by the county commissioners but do you really think that would happen? The backlash for any constitutional officer having to justify their budget to the governor, let alone the citizens of Hernando County, would be political suicide. Its about time the county commissioners stand up to the challenge presented to them and question all budget entities, even the constitutional officers. Budget director, George Zoettlin, indicated at this workshop that a good credit rating is necessary for additional bonding, as in the bonding of the costs related to the old hospital renovation. It appeared that Commissioner Kingsley voted against tax relief based on these bond statements by Mr. Zoettlin. New bonding issues seemed to fly right under the radar scope of some of the county commissioners who were focused on tax relief for the citizens. Hernando County is already bonded up to the hilt with many projects like the new animal services building, the emergency operations building, two new libraries, and the purchase of Florida Water Services, not to mention the outstanding mortgages on several fire stations in Hernando County. What happened to save first, then buy approach for government services instead of putting our county further into debt? The implementation of zero-based budgeting should be a first start in correcting the age-old practices of the tax and spend mind-think of our elected officials. Meaningful spending reform and tax relief is essential to restoring our faith in the system before any discussion can take place on the future needs of county government.

Primary election turnout

If my arithmetic is correct, the percentage of people to vote in yesterday's Primary Election hovered at 12%. This turn out was a reduction of over 11% of the total voters since the last gubernatorial primary election in 2002 for Hernando County. This turnout is about one third the amount Annie Williams wished for last week. This gloomy reflection on our primary only underscores the need for changes in electoral process in this county, and across the state of Florida. Somehow I really thought it was the supervisor of elections office to educate the public on upcoming elections but public service announcements by the SOE's office during the past few election cycles has been minimal to attract voters. Just remember that the 12% of the registered voters who voted yesterday in Hernando County chose the candidates that will be on the General Election ballot. Busy lives, lack of information, voter apathy, whatever you call it, it is a grim reflection on our basic fundamental rights and responsibilities as citizens. Please get involved, informed, and energize to vote in the General Election on November 7th.

Updated Information as of 7 a.m. / 09-07-06: The turn out for the Primary Election was actually 21% according to this morning's newspaper. This "21% turnout" was still a very poor representation of our registered voters in Hernando County. This updated figure of 21% is still 3% lower than the 2002 election. The incorrect percentages used in my post (above) were a direct reflection of the information pulled from Annie Williams website at 9:15 p.m. /09-06-06. The citizens of Hernando County will be far better served by having correct information on the Supervisor of Elections website than incorrect, incomplete election results.

Looking for a truck...

Are you looking for a new truck, a school bus, a front-end loader, dump truck or maybe a boat w/trailer? Then you are in luck. Hernando County, Swiftmud and the Hernando County School Board are auctioning off their surplus equipment on Saturday, September 16 at 9 a.m. This sale is located at 1037 Varsity Drive in Brooksville (across from Cloverleaf Mobile Home Park). The equipment should be in reasonably good condition since it has been maintained by our tax dollars. Heck, most of it is probably like new! So, if you want a deal on some equipment for your home, or business, attend this local government auction.

Blues Brothers Tribute

Come on down to the Bandshell Bash for a free outdoor concert on September 9th from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Bandshell Bash will take place at Hernando Park in downtown Brooksville (Ft. Dade & Main St.) The headline entertainment will be "Blues Brothers Tribute Band" along with the Brooksville Cruise-In Car & Motorcycle show. For information call, 754-4788.

A special thanks...

A special thanks goes out to all the candidates that ran in this year's election. It takes a special person to withstand the rigors of campaigning while offering one's self for public service. Just remember, what ever the outcome is when the votes are tallied, all of these candidates are winners in the poll of public opinion!

Times wins hands down over Today

Comparing this morning's editorial columns of the Hernando Times, and the Hernando Today for quality and ethics was an easy task. Jeff Webb won hands down for his tongue-in-cheek, lighthearted editorial. In his editorial, he noted the conviction of all candidates that had offered themselves for public service in this year's primary election. Mr. Webb's column used a light-hearted approach to wind down the hard fought campaigns by all candidates before Tuesday's primary elections. Robert Nolte's column was written with the last minute intent to sway voters, with a innuendos, or inflammatory comments, about candidates his newspaper has opposed throughout this primary election cycle. Robert Nolte used a few catchy words, or phases, in his editorial to dispel doubt on these candidates so voters ignore them at the polls on Tuesday. One phrase used for Rose Rocco, candidate for county commission, district 2 was "closely tied to the county polls that she could be a victim of the anti-incumbent mood". This phrase does not apply to Ms. Rocco since she has never held elective office. Unfortunately, this 11th hour editorial cannot be disputed by this candidate before election day on Tuesday. Mr. Nolte also characterized Mr. Wiggins as the most ineffective school board member in recent memory. Again the candidate cannot dispute these claims before Tuesday. Too bad Mr. Nolte's short term memory is foggy because his own paper endorsed Robert Wiggins in 2002 election. Each election year, both of our local newspapers interview candidates, and then endorse the person they determine to be best suited for the particular office. It sets a bad precedent for any newspaper to use the power of the press to cloud someone's character in a political campaign. Jeff Webb, and all the editors of the Times, have earned our respect from their fair and accurate reporting during this primary campaigning season.