Where' all the money...

The Hernando County Commissioners have really taken a beating lately on the issue of lowering taxes. To be completely fair to the commissioners, the Ad Valorem has not risen dramatically in the past 15 years for those of us that fall under the protection of Save Our Homes. Yes, we have newcomers to the county that were unaware of the property tax structure in Florida and are now feeling the pinch of taxes because of higher property values. We have individuals that jumped into the housing bubble over the last several years that lost their protection under Save Our Homes and are extremely upset because they cannot afford the taxes on their higher assessed properties. Thank goodness the Florida Legislature got the last minute message from those of us that insisted on retaining Save Our Homes in their special session.

Getting back to the local level on tax relief, is it necessary to keep the pressure on the county commissioners during upcoming public hearings on the budget? You bet it is, after reviewing the last seven years of General Fund budgets for the county. The General Fund budget increased a whopping 74% since 2001, with a 27% increase in the population base. How do they justify this increase of expenditures without the citizens asking questions. One question that begs to be asked is what have you gained, personally, from any this new influx of county money in your neighborhood? If the answer was, nothing new, it was the same as my answer.

For those of us that remained in our homes under the protection of "Save Our Homes", the major increases on our personal property tax bill has come in the way of increased fees, not increased millage rates. What we have endured for the last seven years is increased fees for fire service, increased fees for emergency medical services, and increased fees at every turn in the road. The county commissioners have been relentless in approving fee increases even when those on fixed incomes cry out for relief.

The 74% increase in General Funds, along with fee increases, over the past seven years, is not justified with a 27% increase in population in this county over the past seven years. All we want to know is, Where has all this money gone...