Bigger picture...

"Homeowner bailout serves the greater good" or so read the Hernando Times editorial column yesterday. Is flood prone property a problem for all of us? Yes, but FEMA money should not be used to buy up swamp land. Period.

It should be noted that those of us who do not agree with these buyouts of swamp land by FEMA, through our local Emergency Management, have considered the "bigger picture." The government should not be buying swamp land, swamp land that we, as county residents, will have to maintain into its perpetuity. FEMA should be requiring homeowners to bring their flooded residences up to current national flood standards with the first claim, even if it means elevating (the structure) to prevent further flooding of the structure. If the homeowner refuses to comply with federal flood standards then their flood insurance should become null and void. Period.

Local repairs

Over the last several weeks, CSX Railroad has been replacing railroad ties through out downtown Brooksville. The traffic has been re-routed in the downtown district to accommodate CSX Railroad's maintenance project. Hernando County Department of Public Works and the city of Brooksville's DPW are replacing the asphalt and road base at the rail crossings. CSX Railroad takes the position that the roads were built over their tracks so it is the responsibility of Hernando County government and the city of Brooksville to make the road repairs. The taxpayers are ultimately held responsible for these costs for the numerous man-hours and materials used at the road crossings, such as those repairs at Main Street, Martin Luther King Blvd and Jefferson Street, repairs that should be the responsibility of CSX Railroad.

Not only are the taxpayers being held responsible for these local repairs at rail crossings but now the Florida Senate is preparing to give approximately $650 million to CSX Railroad, a for-profit company, in a year with state and local budget shortfalls. After reading Senator Paula Dockery's newsletter, it is apparent that no legislative committee has reviewed the details of this appropriation, nor has there been any legislative oversight in this deal between Florida Department of Transportation and CSX. This deal is getting its political muscle from Orlando legislators, according to Senator Dockery who is fighting this appropriation. This $650 million appropriation to CSX is an addition to yearly operating and maintenance dollars for the railroad from the state coffers.

Senator Paula Dockery has sponsored SB 2512. This bill will ensure legislative oversight for transportation projects of FDOT over $75 million. Senator Dockery needs to be commended for her effort of oversight of this CSX Railroad project along, and the overall oversight of our tax dollars being spent in FDOT. Local government needs to stand behind Senator Dockery and request that some of this FDOT revenue to replenish their budgets for the cost of the repairs at the CSX rail crossings.

Hosed

"Flooding washes away debt" was the title of the article that ran Sunday in the Hernando Times. The title should have read "Taxpayers get hosed in deal with Emergency Management". Hernando County Emergency Management director, Tom Leto purchased a property in foreclosure, located at 5291 Tropical Point in Hernando Beach, from John Parrott for approximately $214,000 more than the market value. Mr. Leto's stated his reason for buying this, and other repetitive-loss properties by saying, "We must do our part to mitigate the risk". Mr. Leto went on to say in this article that Hernando County citizens receive a bonus for buying up this swamp land with bonus points awarded by FEMA for our flood rating.

Where did FEMA get this money to buy private property and take it off the tax rolls? Our wallets, of course. Has anyone checked the substantial rate increases in their flood insurance premiums this year? My flood insurance has gone up 185% over last year's rate, without even filing a claim.

Mr. Leto stated the deal was fair amount for John Parrott, according to the rules of the grant, but said "we didn't want him to leave with money in his pocket." Maybe Mr. Leto should leave real estate transactions to the professionals because he didn't leave any money in our wallets either...

Spring

Please embrace this wonderful weather we are having and enjoy your day. Here is traditional Japanese Haiku verse I have written to welcome the first day of spring:

Small delicate buds
Burst of color explosion
Life peeks through the snow

Welcome

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the new county administrator, David Hamilton to Hernando County. Hopefully, his tenure as our administrator will be long and prosperous for not only him but the citizens of Hernando County.

Welcome, Mr. Hamilton, and good luck in the coming weeks and months as you begin to tackle the necessary budget reductions that face Hernando County government.

Few more notches

After last year's record tax reductions by Hernando County Commissioners, they are still faced with additional, necessary reductions of over $9 million in their budget this year. Even though the "ax the tax' crowd has advocated slashing government services to the bone it will take careful budgetary reductions to meet this goal. The citizens and businesses of Hernando County have pulled in the belt a few more notches and it is good to see that several of our commissioners are being just as fiscally prudent with our local tax dollars.

Several weeks ago Commissioner David Russell discussed the numerous paid holidays for county employees as a method of reduction. He related his experience as a local business owner with the commission discussion, stating private business could not afford 12 paid holidays a year, nor could they afford pay increases with the down turn in the economy.

Yesterday, Commissioner Stabins said the plan to strengthen the Withlacoochee Regional Water Supply Authority made him sick to his stomach. David Russell jumped on board to say they want streamlined government services and do not want to grow the bureaucracy.

It is great to see these commissioners saw the redundancy in government services for this plan. Sometimes less is more when it comes to the fiduciary responsibility of our county government leaders. Kudos to David Russell and Jeff Stabins for standing up for the conservative principals of smaller government.

Shabby accounting...

Give away the fairgrounds? Not so fast, other commissioners say, or so goes the headline in this morning's Hernando Times. It seems that Commissioner Russell had urged his fellow commissioners to give the buildings and land at the fairgrounds site to the Hernando County Fair Association to remedy lease problems, disputes and squabbles of the past. Giving away taxpayers land has become a simple solution for Commissioner Russell. Common sense should dictate that before any discussion take place for the disposal of county properties, a complete commercial appraisal should be completed to determine the fair market value of this 35+ acres of prime real estate at the fairgrounds.

Does anyone recall the 10 acres of prime real estate in downtown Brooksville that was sold to a developer by the Hernando County government last year? It was the old hospital site on Ponce de Leon which sold for $1.2 million. This transaction occurred after Commissioner Russell urged his fellow commissioners that this was the best cure for the problems at the old hospital site. This site was sold without a commercial appraisal so no one will ever know if this was a "good deal" for county taxpayers.

Possibly the county commissioners should use their time more productively by reviewing another long term lease on county property. The combined county lease for Brooksville Regional Hospital, Spring Hill Regional Hospital and Pinebrook Medical Center has a "not to exceed" clause of approximately $980,000 year which includes a maximum of $500k for any increases in property taxes over a 40 year period. It is a little difficult to understand why this lease wouldn't be considered "shabby accounting" from the taxpayer's perspective when Oak Hill Hospital paid in an excess of $1.1 million in Ad Valorem taxes for their single site in 2007. Maybe the county commissioners should give this property back to Brooksville Regional's parent company HMA so this corporation will pay its fair share of Ad Valorem to the county coffers...

Doo Wop fun

Tommy Mara & Legends of Doo Wop will appear at the Palace Grand on April 27, 2008 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. for an event to raise money for the Hernando County Fine Arts Council. All proceeds from this fundraiser will be earmarked for their monthly Bandshell Bash concerts in downtown Brooksville which are always free to the public. The Hernando County Fine Arts is selling advanced tickets for this event, plus advertising space, to raise funds. Tickets can be purchased in advanced by contacting the fundraising committee (below). Businesses are encouraged to support the arts in our community by advertising at this event. Political candidate advertising will also be welcomed for this fundraiser. For more details, please contact:

Hernando County Fine Arts Council
Mary Jane Russell, Executive Director
352-754-4788

Committee Members:
Gloria Olson – 352-592-1013
Susan Rupe – 352-585-3741

Meet & greet...

John Druzbick, candidate for Hernando County Commission, district 3, will be hosting a fun, meet and greet at Weeki Wachee Springs on Saturday, April 5th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. John's event will provide free admission, free food and free entertainment. What more could you ask for? The price is right for an evening to get to know John Druzbick and to hear about his proposed goals for our county. Please RSVP to 597-1443 or contact John through his website which is located at http://www.druzbick08.com/

Fresh, new face

Late yesterday afternoon, I received a visit at my office from Billy Healis. Mr. Healis is a fresh, new face in the district 5, county commission race, competing as a republican. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by Mr. Healis. He seemed to take the campaign challenge facing him into stride as he answered several of my pertinent questions.

Mr. Healis grew up in Hernando County and currently works as the Community Involvement Coordinator & Training Manager for Wal Mart Distribution on Kettering Road. When I asked why he chose to run for county commission, he said he wanted the best for Hernando County citizens, mentioning the future for his children and others in our community. Mr. Healis said that he was married with two small children.

Mr. Healis stated that his schedule is very flexible at Wal Mart Distribution which would leave plenty of time to run his campaign. He also indicated that if he is successful in his bid for county commission, he will continue his employment at Wal Mart Distribution. This should not be a problem since the county commission position is considered to be part time, even though many past, and present, commissioners have used it for their full time employment.

I'm looking forward to seeing Mr. Healis in the coming months as he develops his campaign messages. It would be a refreshing change to see a republican voted into the district 5, county commission seat after many years of dominance by democrats. Historically speaking, a republican has not been elected in district 5 since 1988. Maybe this year we will see Billy Healis as the republican nominee of choice to give the democrats a run for their money!

Encore...

The Hernando County Republican Executive Committee held their 38th Annual Lincoln Day Dinner at the Palace Grand last night. A good size crowd was in attendance for this event even though it was not a record turn out when comparing it to those held in past years. Bob Haa, radio commentator for WWJB, was the Master of Ceremony for the event, with the keynote speaker being Congressman Adam Putman from Polk County.

Jim Greer, chairman for the RPOF, was on hand to give a pep talk to the attendees on standing behind our republican nominee for president, John McCain. Yes, this is the same Jim Greer, that wrote conservative movement off as dead several weeks ago by using the term "stale air" for those that criticized our governor for his endorsement of the McCain campaign before our primary election.

Congressman Putman gave a dynamic speech focusing on the gridlock in Congress that has been created by Nancy Peloisi, the Speaker of the House. Rep. Putman discussed the economy along with the need for responsible health care. Congressman Putman's motivational speech brought the crowd to their feet at the conclusion with a standing ovation. Almost like a rock star, he came back for an encore with some additional words of encouragement as the crowd jumped to their feet again in loud applause.

Dinner was finally served after the completion of the invited speakers around 8:15 p.m. The food was excellent but lukewarm at best because it had sat in warming trays throughout the speeches. The low temperature and late hour of the dinner service was due to the agenda schedule of the HCREC, not the staff of Palace Grand.

Many candidates were attendance for this big night, with each being introduced by the master of ceremonies at the beginning of the event. Sheriff Nugent, and his lovely wife Wendy, were in attendance, as well Commissioner Jeff Stabins and Alvin Mazourek, Hernando County Property Appraiser. Some new names in the candidate line-up included Mr. Healis for county commission, district 5 and his opponent Michael J. Robinson. County commission candidate, John Druzbick was making the rounds last night with information on a free event he will be having in early April at Weeki Wachee.

State Committeewoman Gail Samples was presented a beautiful plaque for her dedication and hard work on the absentee committee. This award was made even more special by the surprise attendance of all three of Gail's sons for the presentation.

The final item on the agenda was the Free Enterprise Award which was given to Snow and Bell Insurance. Gene Bell was on hand with many of his family members to accept this award. Many people were already drifting out of the hall when this award was presented since it was the last item on the agenda. Maybe next year the order of the agenda will be revised by the HCREC board of directors after more thought is given to the sequence of events at last night's dinner.

It was nice to see some old friends in attendance last night and savor the memories we have all hold as republicans in Hernando County.

Yes or no...

The November General Election Ballot will include a referendum question titled the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment. Voting yes on this amendment, per the exact ballot language, would protect marriage as the legal union of only one man and one woman, as husband and wife, and provide that no other legal union is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized. In plain language, this amendment provides for the marriage of only one man to marry one woman while prohibiting legal unions. In short, this Florida Marriage Protection Amendment would strictly prohibit the legal unions between consenting individuals if they are not classified as one man and one woman, thus eliminating any homosexual unions.

The Florida Family Action Committee's founder, John Stemberger acted as the chairperson of the political action committee Florida4marriage.org to push this amendment onto the 2008 General Election Ballot. In the three year process, the total donations to this PAC totaled $440,107. The largest contributor to this initiative was the Republican Party of Florida, with their donations in the amount of $300,000. The Florida Baptist Convention donated $30,000, with the Florida Catholic Conference giving $45,500 to push this issue. It should be noted that Dr. James Dobson's group, the Focus on Family from Colorado Springs contributed $13,500 to this cause while the Florida Family Action Committee gave $14,308. There was about $62,000 in smaller contributions to this PAC.

The large donors for the Florida Marriage Protection amendment should give everyone a clear picture of the overtone of this amendment, with the numerous religious organizations on board, with the Republican Party of Florida who is the largest contributor.

Before voting on this ballot initiative, please ask yourself the following questions. If you are married, or have a significant other of the opposite sex, have you ever felt threatened by someone in a homosexual relationship? If so, there is a term for your fear. It is called homophobia which is the fear of, or contempt for, lesbians and gay men. This prejudice is considered bigotry in today's standards when describing someone who is intolerant of any opinions differing from his own. In other words, its bigotry.

Does our Florida Constitution really need this amendment or is it just another far, right wing proposal to control our lives? To protect all the citizens of this state, civil unions should be considered into the equation, in addition to the protection of marriage clause being proposed on this upcoming amendment.

Political stunt...

After reading the lead story in this morning's Hernando Times, "Democrats sense an opening" by John Frank, this phrase immediately came to mind. "I told you so". This entire episode has been an media-driven story to fuel the democrats liberal agenda. Does any remember the editorial last month condemning Congresswoman Ginny Brown Waite for her press release? I do. In fact, in a previous post of mine, I wrote: "This is selective nitpicking of our republican congresswoman. If a democrat had made a similar statement in a press release it would have flown under the radar without even a whisper from the media".

Mr. Frank's story referencing last week's political demonstration was accurately described in his second paragraph and would have been believable if it had not been for the last sentence (in that paragraph). Words like fiery crowd, megaphone, political signs were all accurate but where were the myriad of American flags? The headline photographs last week had the protesters proudly parading with Puerto Rican banners, flags and political signs, not a myriad of American flags that were few and far between with these protesters.

Another point that should be emphasized in Mr. Frank's article was that Jay Rowden was standing on the steps of the courthouse. Mr. Rowden was apparently in attendance at this rally with Orange County Democrat Executive Chairman, Bill Robinson his democrat counter-part from across the state. In my post last week "Partisan stunt costs Hernando County," I called for the reimbursement of taxpayer money for this political stunt. I stand behind my call for reimbursement of this political rally to Hernando County taxpayers.

It needs to be noted that Jay Rowden is the husband of Hernando County Commissioner Diane Rowden. Commissioner Rowden is directly responsible for the financial oversight of taxpayer money along with her fellow commissioners. It will be interesting to see if she stands up at tomorrow's commission meeting to insist that Democrat Executive Committee's from Hernando and Orange Counties be held responsible for the costs incurred to the taxpayers for last week's political rally.