Dinner to honor employees

Last night, my husband and I attended a dinner to honor employees of the city of Brooksville at the American Legion, Post 99 on Ft Dade. It was a nice event to honor hardworking individuals that work at their city jobs, within various departments. Bubba Perkins, the commander of the American Legion Post put on a roast beef feast and a unique dessert prior to the evening's presentations.

Ed Baker of the American Legion was the master of ceremonies for the presentation of the awards. All city departments were recognized and the department directors gave out the awards. Sgt. Maeder was the proud recipient of the award from the Brooksville Police Department. Pat Jobe had tears in her eyes as Bill Geiger presented her award from the Planning Department. Robert Brown was given the honor by his department director of Public Works, Emory Pierce and Audrey Williamson was the proud winner from the Parks Department.

At the end of the presentations, Ed Baker discussed the veterans parade and asked my husband, Tony, to escort me to the stage. I was humbled by the beautiful plague from the American Legion Post that recognized my dedication to veterans in our community. My husband and the American Legion had kept this secret from me so I was really stunned by the award. After shedding a few tears, I gave Ed a big hug and kiss and thanked everyone for their kind words...

Honor our veterans...

The Hernando County Fine Arts Council, in conjunction with several of their sub-committees, will proudly present an action packed day in downtown Brooksville to honor our veterans on Saturday, November 10, 2007. All the fun begins at 10 a.m. and will last late into the evening. Here is the line-up:

• Veterans Appreciation Parade at 10:00 a.m. (line-up starts in city hall parking lot about 9 a.m.)
• World War II Museum with ribbon cutting at 11:15 a.m. (from Florida Museum of Tallahassee)
• Hernando Youth Symphony Orchestra at noon (in courtyard between the old & new courthouse)
• Bandshell Bash at 4 p.m. with the Cab Callaway Band, Hernando Hi-lites, and Big Z Band/classic car show.

For those of you that want to view the parade, here is the route:

Leave city hall parking lot & go south on Main Street; turn left (east) on Liberty St.; go to Magnolia, turn left (north); proceed on Magnolia through the courthouse parking lot & across Jefferson, continue to Ft. Dade; turn left (west) & return to city hall parking lot.

"See you all tomorrow"

Cartoon

Did anyone you see the cartoon on the editorial pages of the Hernando Today this morning? It was a really cute reminder of the Veterans Appreciation Parade that will take place tomorrow in downtown Brooksville. My thanks go out to the artist!

Ironically...

Does anyone remember the short tenure of former Hernando County administrator, Bonnie Dyga. Ms. Dyga was fired from her position by a majority of three county commissioners during the tumultuous public hearing on fire rates at the Hernando County Fairgrounds. Ms. Dyga was publicly humiliated when Commissioner Kingsley made a motion to fire her immediately from her position. Former Commissioners, Bobbi Mills and Pat Novy voted with Mr. Kinglsey for this immediate termination of Ms. Dyga.

Why is this important almost 9 years after the fact? It is important to note that Ms. Dyga was stopped short of implementing a re-structuring plan of our county government even though she had been hired to think outside the box for her new visioning in Hernando County. Ironically, Ms. Dyga's proposed re-organization of our county government's structure is almost identical to that of out-going county administrator, Gary Kuhl.

The key difference in the Dyga plan versus the Kuhl plan is how the timing of the re-organization would take place within the government structure. The crucial difference was Bonnie Dyga attempted to implement her program immediately but was opposed by the department directors and ultimately fired by the county commissioners after she handed in her resignation. Gary Kuhl's plan proposes a phase-in system to use retirements of these department directors as a way of streamlining our county government.

If only the public had a crystal ball to find out if the current county commissioners will have the intestinal fortitude to take on the task of county government re-organization this time. Does anyone remember the advertising slogan "We will sell no wine before its time?" Well commissioners, it's time...

Florida in WWII

I received this press release from the office of Sue Rupe, Hernando County Tourist Development. The official ribbon cutting for this traveling museum will take place on Saturday, November 10th, right after the Veterans Appreciation Parade, in the atrium of the Hernando County government center.

Susan Rupe, Director of Tourism, and the Hernando County Tourist Development Council, is pleased to sponsor “FLORIDA IN WORLD WAR II”. The traveling exhibit, made available by the Museum of Florida History, presents an overview of this important time in Florida history. Topic areas include the home front, military training in Florida, the German U-boat threat, and Floridians in military service.

There are 19 million war veterans living in the United States today, and every day we lose 1,600 of them. Motivated by the need to collect the stories and experiences of war veterans while they are still among us, the United States Congress created the Veterans History Project. The Veterans History Project covers World War I, World War II, and the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf wars. It includes participants of all those wars, both civilian and military. The Project documents the contributions of civilian volunteers, support staff, war industry workers, and military personnel from all branches of the Armed Forces and Merchant Marines. As a Partner in the Project, the Museum of Florida History makes this history available to residents and visitors in the State of Florida.

New officers...

Several committees and commissions in Hernando County will have a changing of the guard at their next meeting.

The Hernando County Fine Arts Council will be swearing in their newly elected officers at their December 6, 2007 meeting. The new chairman of the Fine Arts Council is Tony Covell, with Myndee Washington serving as vice chair, Lois Hall as secretary and Sherri Tarrio as treasurer. Jack Welch has taken on the position of public relations director for the arts council.

The Hernando County Housing Authority Commissioners elected new officers at their October 24, 2007. Local Realtor, Beth Garman was elected commission chair, with Anna Liisa Covell serving as vice chair, and Paul Sullivan taking on the position of 2nd vice chairman.

Good luck to everyone in the coming year!

Standing ovation!

After all the accolades for the fun, food and performers at 1st annual Jazz Fest At Weeki Wachees Springs, a special thanks needs to go out to the hardworking volunteers that made this event a tremendous success. A special thanks goes out to Robyn Anderson, mayor of Weeki Wachee. Her generosity and cooperation made this a outstanding event for the entire community.

The Hernando County Fine Arts Council and the Jazz Society worked in junction with each other for over a year to plan this music and food fest that proved to be an amazing success for Hernando County. Eddie Lawrence, the president of the Jazz Society was in charge of arranging all the wonderful musical acts. The committee from the Hernando County Fine Arts Council that organized this event were Patti Cotter, Lois Hal, Linda Anderson, Tony Covell, Mikel Hannigan, Lee Parent, Mary Jane Russell, Sherri Tarrio, Valerie Till, Myndee Washington, Jack Welch and Walter Kujawa.

All of these "behind the curtain" volunteers deserve a standing ovation for their continuing commitment to bring arts and entertainment to our community!

A force to be reckoned with...

I was delighted to read in this morning's paper that Shirley Anderson had informally announced her candidacy for Hernando Supervisor of Election. Even though I have been privy to Shirley's plans for several months, I promised to remain mum until she felt the time was right to file her pre-qualification papers.

I liked Shirley Anderson from the very first time I met her way back in 2000 and I admire her determination to follow through on any assignment she has taken on in the past. Over the last seven years, Shirley has become a seasoned professional in the realm of politics here in Hernando County and is a force to be reckoned with as a candidate for Hernando County Supervisor of Elections. Shirley Anderson's determination and drive would even wear out the Energizer Bunny in a campaign!

Shirley Anderson will officially kick off her campaign on the Hernando County Courthouse Steps (Historical Courthouse entrance) on Tuesday, November 6, 2007 at 10:00 a.m. My only disappointment is that I will be unable to attend this momentous occasion because of a previous commitment, so I will just say, "You go girl".

Creative financing...

On Wednesday, the Hernando Today ran an ad on the front page of their paper which was titled "Civic activist eyes county's housing crisis". This ad was to promote an affordable housing initiative developed by Blaise Ingoglia, CEO of Hartland Homes to place people in his homes, without imposing income restrictions. The ad states that people with credit scores as low as 550 are eligible for his program and is designed to cut new homeowners' monthly mortgage payments up to 40 percent. According to this ad, Hartland Homes will build new homes at or below builder's cost, with the balance of the contract being recorded as a second mortgage This second mortgage will not require any payment for 10 years, or until the home is sold, whichever comes first.

This ad had plenty of information on Mr. Ingoglia's initiative but did not list some pertinent information in his sales pitch for the local consumer. Besides being the CEO of Hartland Homes, Mr. Ingoglia is also a corporate officer of a title company and a mortgage company. Arriviste Title Group, Inc. is listed in the Florida Division of Corporations, with Mr. Blaise Ingoglia holding the title of director. He is also listed as a corporate officer of American One Home Loans.

A website for Mr. Ingoglia's program was listed at the end of the ad which included models and general locations around the county where this affordable housing could be located for the consumer. Those needing more detailed information about the land holdings of Hartland Homes can look on the Hernando County Property Appraiser's website.

Commissioner Rocco was quoted in this ad as saying, "In the past, creative financing plans sometimes didn't work out to the best advantage of the potential homeowner which were very wise words indeed, in light of the news from HUD officials today stating they are looking at more than one million foreclosures on home loans across the country. Ms. Rocco has real concerns about how these mortgages would be structured by Mr. Ingoglia and she questioned the protection for the consumer and if there was any back loading that would not be fully understood by the buyer. These concerns of Commissioner Rocco ring true with the news today that Florida ranked among the top states in the nation in terms of foreclosure in the third quarter, after jumping more than 50 percent from the previous quarter.

***All SHIP funding for down payment assistance, referenced in this ad, has already been allocated for this fiscal year.

Farewell reception

This afternoon, I attended the farewell reception for out-going county administrator, Gary Kuhl. This event was held on the 4th floor of the county government center just outside the commissioners offices. The majority of the county department directors were an attendance, as was Commissioners Stabins, Rowden and Rocco. The absence of Commissioners Kingsley and Russell was quite obvious and so was the lack of any presence by the local media although they may have dropped in after I left the reception. Many individuals dropped by to enjoy a piece of cake and visit with Mr. Kuhl. Best wishes go out to Mr. Kuhl as he departs to assume the position of Utility Department Director for Sumter County.

2007 tax bills

The Hernando County Property Appraiser's office is mailing out the 2007 property tax bills today. If you just cannot wait for your mailman to take a peek, you can find them Online at the property appraiser's website located at http://www.co.hernando.fl.us/pa/propertysearch.asp

Eye of Newt

Please have a safe and Happy Halloween. Enjoy~

The Witches Caldron

"Eye of newt, and toe of frog,

Wool of bat, and tongue of dog"

"Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,

Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing"

"For a charm of powerful trouble,

Like a hell-broth boil and babble"

"Double, double, toil and trouble,

Fire burn, and caldron bubble"

William Shakespeare

People have won

Governor Crist proudly announced the 'people have won' while celebrating the completion of the special session of the Florida Legislature. The Florida Legislature passed a clear, concise ballot question for property tax reduction that will be on the January Presidential Preference Primary.

This referendum will increase the homestead exemptions for all levies except school district levies, provides portability of Save Our Homes benefits, provides a $25,000 exemption for tangible personal property, and provides a 10% cap on non-homestead property. The Florida Legislature's ballot language could be called "an equal opportunity referendum for tax relief" for the citizens of this state. It is great to see that there were no provisions for special interest groups in this ballot language.

The Florida Legislature needs to be commended for their dedication and commitment to the citizens of this state. Hopefully, this referendum will pass with more than a 60% majority in January to provide equal tax relief statewide for Florida's property owners. The successful passing of this referendum would give a tremendous boost to Florida's economy by returning more of the people's money.

Thank you, Rep. Schenck and Senator(s) Fasano, Dockery, and Dean for a job well done!

Property Tax Reform

Property Tax Reform – SJR 2D and SB 4D

Allows portability of accumulated Save Our Homes (SOH) benefits for homeowners who move from one homestead to another.

Homeowners may transfer their SOH benefit to a new homestead anywhere in Florida within 2 years of leaving their former homesteads.

Those who sold their homes in 2007 can transfer their SOH benefit to a new homestead if they establish the new homestead by January 1, 2009.

If “upsizing” to a home of equal or greater just value, the homestead owner can transfer 100% of the SOH benefit to the new homestead, up to a $500,000 transferred benefit.

If “downsizing” to a home with a lower just value, the homestead owner can transfer a SOH benefit that protects the same percentage of value as it did the former homestead, up to a $500,000 benefit.

The transferred SOH benefit will apply to school taxes on the new homestead. Previous versions of SJR 2D exempted school tax levies from the transferred benefit.


Creates an additional homestead exemption worth $25,000, applied to value above $50,000.

This exemption does not apply to school tax levies.


Provides an assessment growth limitation of 10% for all non-homestead properties.

This assessment limitation does not apply to school tax levies.

The assessment limitation will expire in 10 years. At that time, voters will decide whether to reauthorize it.

Residential properties of nine units or less will surrender accumulated protections at change of ownership or control, as defined by general law.

For all other properties (i.e., residential properties of ten or more units and business properties), the Legislature must define by general law how the property will surrender protections when there is a “qualifying improvement” to the property. The Legislature may define by general law how the property will surrender accumulated protections at a change of ownership or control.


Creates a new Tangible Personal Property Exemption of $25,000.

This exemption applies to all tax levies.


Requires an annual appropriation to fiscally constrained counties to offset revenue reductions that result from the constitutional amendment (contained in SB 4D).


Tax reduction over the next four years:

$8.746 billion total

$6.887 billion for non-school levies

$1.859 billion for school levies


Updated as of October 29, 2007–FINAL PASSAGE

Aviation Branch Post Office dedication

This morning, I received this notice from Shirley Anderson, district director for Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite:

Please Join
Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite

U.S. Post Office Dedication
In Honor of

SGT. LEA MILLS
July 1, 1984 – April 28, 2006
U.S. Marine Corps
Killed in Action
Al Anbar Province, Iraq

Friday, November 9, 2007
10:00 A.M.

Aviation Branch Post Office
16150 Aviation Loop Drive
Brooksville, Florida 34604

Flag-folding ceremony

In case you have not heard, the National Cemetery Association has made a decision to ban flag-folding recitations by VA employees and volunteers at all 125 national cemeteries all because of one complaint about a ceremony at Riverside National Cemetery in California that included a reference to God.

Lloyd Reese, civil rights attorney and director of the California Defense of Veterans Memorials Project, stated that his group are outraged by this ban. Mr. Reese is also a member of the 16 member detail that has performed more that 1,400 services for those that have given the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Mr. Reese was quoted as saying, "We will defy this ban, pure and simple," he states. "If the families ask us to recite the flag-folding ceremony, we will abide by the wishes of the family -- not [by the wishes of] some bureaucrat sitting in an air-conditioned office in Washington, DC, or some lawyer wearing a diaper back there whose main mission in life is to protect his own behind instead of standing up for the American people and saying enough is enough."

Last week, the veterans issue was to remove the photographs of currently serving military personnel from a post office wall and this decision was quickly reversed by the Postmaster General. Hopefully, the National Cemetery Association will immediately reverse this decision as well...

Inner peace...

One word can be used to describe the final column by Robert Nolte in this morning's edition of the Hernando Today and the word is abrasive. Hopefully, Mr. Nolte will find some inner peace and enjoyment in his retirement in Billings, Montana.

Campaign fodder

Commissioner Jeff Stabins was right when he said the request from Commissioner Kingsley to discuss Garth Coller's $3,600 a year gas allowance was a non-story and non-issue. If Mr. Coller had a county vehicle assigned to him it would cost a lot more than $300 month when you factor in the cost of the vehicle, insurance, and the cost of fuel, with related upkeep to maintain the car.

If Commissioner Kingsley felt so strongly about this gas allowance then he should have voted Nay in 2001 when the commissioners voted to include it into Mr. Coller's contract. Mr. Kingsley is now using the excuse that he went along with the majority in 2001 to avoid causing disunity and to make sure the county had an attorney on board. The only logical reason for Mr. Kingsley bringing up this fuel allowance now is because Janey Baldwin has publicly criticized Mr. Coller's employment contract, stating it is "one long perk". Hopefully Mr. Kingsley is not going to use Mr. Coller is a game of gotcha just to eliminate any campaign fodder being stirred up by his former opponent, Ms. Baldwin.

Fantasy

After reading the editorial column in the Hernando Today this morning titled, "Windfall should have gone to taxpayers" I scratched my head wondering if the author even read his piece before the paper went to press. If the author of article had understood basic accounting principals then they would have been able to comprehend the fact that these funds, at an estimated rate, were already included in the final budget reductions by the county commissioners. Instead of congratulating Juanita Sikes, Karen Nicolai and Alvin Mazourek for the prudent use of taxpayer funds to run their offices, this article babbled on stating the county commissioners could have axed more fat from the budget.

A quote from fiction author, David Ebbings really sums up the climate this newspaper has attempted to create in our county over the last several months, and it reads: "If the general opinion is pessimistic, fantasy is going to hold its own".

SBA

Tomorrow, Congresswoman Ginny Brown Waite will present an amendment to H.R. 3867, the Small Business Contracting Program Improvements Act. This amendment will work to ensure that only qualified applicants will be eligible to receive Small Business Administration loans. The amendment is designed to have ICE work with the SBA so only those individuals who are lawfully in the United States will receive loan and grants.

Congresswoman Brown-Waite stated, “America is the land of opportunity and small business owners make up the backbone of our economy,” said Rep. Brown-Waite. “However, Congress cannot continue to encourage and foster small businesses in our nation if we do not first take care of American citizens and those who are here legally. My simple amendment will ensure that Small Business loans and grants are going to those who followed the immigration rules we have in place.”

Dedication to veterans

Please make sure you mark November 10th & 11th on your calendar for some major events taking place in downtown Brooksville to thank our local veterans.

On Saturday, November 10th, the Veterans Appreciation Parade will kick off the weekend with a 10 a.m. start time for the parade which will be followed by a concert on the court house steps by the Hernando County Youth Sympathy Orchestra. A traveling 100' WWII exhibit from the Florida Museum of Tallahassee will be on display in the atrium of the county building from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The Bandshell Bash will present Cab Calloway as their feature act at 4 p.m. Cab Calloway is the grandson of the late, great Calloway of the 1940's Swing Era music. A classic car show will also take place next to the band shell along and several food vendors for the crowd.

On Sunday, November 11th the Joint Veterans Commission will be conducting a ceremony to veterans at 11 a.m. at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell. In the afternoon, the non-profit group, Love Your Neighbor, Inc. is hosting a turkey dinner for homeless veterans at the American Legion, Post 99 on Ft. Dade Avenue in Brooksville.

Here's a preview of the line-up of the Veterans Appreciation Parade, to date.

· Hernando High School Band
· JROTC units from Springstead, Hernando & Central High Schools
· American Legion, Post 99
· Operation Pride
· Hernando Sportsman Club / Military Vehicles
· Hernando County Sheriff's Honor Guard
· Joint Veterans Commission / Florida National Cemetery / Bushnell
· Knights of Columbus
· Cub Scout Pack 443
· Young Marines / Marine Corp League 708
· Representative for Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite
· Rep. Robert Schenck
· Commissioner Stabins
· Commissioner Rocco
· Judge Stephen Rushing & wife Mia
· Weekee Wachee Mermaids
· Home Schoolers
· "Saluting Military & Veterans Float" /Bay Pines Veteran volunteers
· Horse Riders
· Members of DAV Tampa-
· Ye Mystic Air Krewe / Tampa
· Jenenne Norman-Vacha (city manager) & veteran husband
· Hernando County Fire Rescue
· Women’s Army Corp / Chapter 97
· Moose Lodge

**Hernando County Fine Arts Council is the proud sponsor of the Veterans Appreciation Parade, the Hernando County Youth Sympathy Orchestra event and the Bandshell Bash.

Aesop's Fable

This morning, the local newspaper reported that Jon "Jaz" Zydenbos, a republican from Weekee Wachee had thrown his hat into the ring to run against Jeff Stabins for the district 1 , county commission seat for the 2008. Is anyone wondering who Mr. Zydenbos is and why he has this quest to be our next county commissioner for district 1? Some may recall his recent letter to the editor of the Hernando Today which was published on September 27, 2007 which may give some insight on his aspiration for public office. In this letter, Mr. Zybenbos blames the county government for down turn in our economy, citing their inability to lower Ad Valorem during the building boom over the past few years.

Here are several quotes directly from Mr. Zybenbos' September 27th letter: Between 2003 through 2005, home prices virtually doubled and so did our new home owner's taxes. County commissioners just looked the other way and allowed county departments to pick the new homeowners' pockets clean every way possible. The commissioners cannot accept responsibility that they killed our economy. They ignore that Realtors, builders and their end customers have been crushed due to overspending and high taxes. Every business in this county is suffering because the housing industry has died. Depressed home sales is a statewide phenomenon and somewhat of a national problem. But it does go back to the function of all politicians to spend tax money as soon as possible during windfalls, such as our value spike from the past few years.

Did Hernando County government spend way to much during the building boom? The answer is yes they did but local government is not the entire culprit relating to the down turn in our economy. Personal responsibility should have been a large portion of Mr. Zydendos' equation when he described the slow down in home sales and building trades.

Mr. Zydenbos' letter completely ignored the fact that Ad Valorem rose dramatically on homes sales, due in part, to the hyper-inflated prices imposed by realtors, mortgage brokers and house flippers. No one questioned the motives of these realtors, home builders and mortgage brokers during their peak sales period of 2002 to 2005 in our supply and demand based economy. Has the unemployment rate gone up in the housing industry? The answer is yes it has but this is a natural trend in business flow from the housing market finally reaching its peak. All business should be prepared for changes in the economy, in the good times and the bad times. Yes, the government plays a part in the economy but not to the extent that Mr. Zydendos would have everyone believe in Hernando County. His opinion is such that the government destroyed the entire economy alleviating himself from any personal responsibility in that equation. Aesop's Fable, the "Grasshopper and the Ant" would best describe some of the realtors, builders and mortgage brokers in our community during the building boom. Maybe they should have saved for that rainy day when they were at the top of their bubble.

One last point in Mr. Zydenbos mentioned in his letter was the high rate of foreclosures. Is this an unfortunate situation for any homeowner? Yes, it is but this too falls under the category of personal responsibility to manage your finances. Were some first time homeowners duped by unscrupulous realtors, builders and mortgage brokers? The answer is yes but the entire blame still cannot be laid at the door of these businesses. In 2002, the Florida Legislature mandated that the "Truth in Lending" statement every home buyer signs at closing include the projected Ad Valorem taxes on their new property. The government listened to the people to include this legislation to protect home buyers from the sticker shock of a high Ad Valorem rate after their purchase. The local government also passed the largest reduction in Ad Valorem taxes in Hernando County. Now it is time for these realtors, builders and mortgage brokers to step up to the plate by accepting some personal responsibility for the situation they are in today.

The real truth about SCHIP

This morning, I received this important email from Ginny Brown-Waite's Washington office. This information was provided by Charlie Keller, Communications Director for our Congresswoman.

Please see the attached Letter to the Editor of the Palm Beach Post about the SCHIP re authorization legislation currently being debated in Congress. This letter, signed by Florida Representatives Ginny Brown-Waite, Tom Feeney and Jeff Miller, is in direct response to the inaccurate editorial that appeared in today’s Palm Beach Post.

For background, please see the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office report detailing the costs to American taxpayers for allowing illegal immigrants access to SCHIP benefits intended for low-income children. If you look at page 2 of the CBO report, line 211 is the $3.7 billion for illegal immigrants that come from federal funds. In order for states to implement the SCHIP programs, however, they are required to put up front state matching money to receive the federal funds. So if you do the math, you come up with a required $2.8 billion state amount that goes to illegal immigrants. That totals $6.5 billion for illegal immigrants, funds that come at the expense of low-income American children. The Social Security Administration has also sent a letter to Ways and Means Ranking Member Jim McCrery explaining that Social Security numbers are not adequate to verify the citizenship status of SCHIP applicants.

Vocational needs

Yesterday, the Hernando County School Board took a bold step at their workshop to discuss vocational needs that appear to be inadequate in our county. After listening to the presentation by the superintendent, Wayne Alexander and several businessman from the community, the School Board agreed to reconvene at a later date to choose a task force board of local community members and local business to plan future vocational programs for Hernando County.

My husband, Tony attended this workshop and was impressed by the change of heart of this school board has concerning the need for additional vocational programs in our county. He spoke highly of school superintendent, Wayne Alexander's presentation to increase the vocational programs into our local school system.

Nature Coast High School principal, Tizzy Schoelles stated that trades like heating and air conditioning and electrical were not considered high-skilled, high-wage jobs from the state's priority list. While I don't dispute the information she obtained from the state, I do question the state's data. The state of Florida needs to take a serious look at updating their data about current trends in building and trade services to understand that our industry cannot employ under educated individuals and survive as a viable business. For example, contractors in the electrical trade are faced daily in their business climate with the needs of improved technology to be competitive which requires a high degree of math and computer skills in today's market. The pay scale for construction and trade serves has risen dramatically in the last 10 years, with many of us making in the six figures which sure isn't chump change.

The Hernando County School Board and Mr. Wayne Alexander need to be commended for their forward thinking approach to correct the oversight of the previous school administration that completely overlooked the need for vocational programs in our community.

Clear perspective

While I fully respect the informational finding of the Florida Elections Commission relating to the term "issue", I do believe my initial complaint has given the public a clear perspective of the key players in this organization. It has been apparent that this has been political from the beginning, and it will be interesting to see if the chairwoman of the HCREC continues with the movement to oust Commissioner Jeff Stabins, an incumbent republican, and candidate for re-election.

Saddened to read...

I was saddened to read about the passing of Grace Tadlock in yesterday's St. Petersburg Times. Grace touched many people and she will be missed in Hernando County. My prayers are with her family at this most difficult time.

A hoot!

Did everyone see the editorial cartoon in this morning's Hernando Today? I'm glad to see the staff of the paper has finally lightened up a little from their usual gloom and doom reporting with a little levity. Even though the cartoonist incorrectly spelled my name, it was still a hoot!

Family friendly fun...

Put on your dancing shoes and come on out for this Saturday's Bandshell Bash in downtown Brooksville. The fun starts at 4 p.m at the Bandshell on Ft. Dade by the post office. 'In 2 Rhythm' and 'The Soulman' will perform as warm-up acts for the headliner group called 'Mighty Tight Whities'. Bring your lawn chairs and come early to get a good seat on the lawn to hear these spectacular acts the Bandshell Bash committee has booked for your entertainment. This Bandshell Bash event is always family friendly and free to the public.

Primary concerns...

In spite of the predictions of unruly behavior, the Brooksville Housing Authority's meeting this week was very productive and positive from a community stand point. The Auditor and Financial Representative praised Mr. Ronnie McLean for his efforts to turn the Brooksville Housing Authority around after the last two years of turmoil under the previous director. The Auditor expressed appreciation to Mr. McLean for his efforts to clear up previous discrepancies left by the past administration. The audit period discussed at the meeting was from December 2005 to December 2006. A frank discussion with the auditor took place on the Mr. McLean's efforts to locate some missing documents and checks from January 2007 to May 2007.

Some rancor was still present from one board member, with Mr. Douglas' motion to set a termination hearing for Mr. McLean but this motion failed after a vote by the board. The Brooksville Housing Board then decided to set up a personnel board for any future employment disputes on advice from their lawyer. Jeanette Soto, who nominated as the chair of this committee, will be responsible for the orderly review of all employment disputes of the Brooksville Housing Board in the future.

After years of neglect, it looks like the new project manager, Jay Rowden has taken the bull by the horns to help the residents of this overlooked housing authority. Mr. Rowden gave a presentation at last night's meeting on his recent work throughout the housing board properties over the last month. The project manager who showed the Brooksville Housing Authority a bucket full of clay/calcium/lime build-up he had taken from one water heater that had been neglected many years as an example of the problems these residents face on a daily basis. A PowerPoint presentation was then given on the foundation which is cracking on some of the housing units and suggestions for remedial actions were given to the board.

The final order of business for the Brooksville Housing Authority was to officially change the monthly meeting day to the second Tuesday of the month since their original date conflicted with holiday schedules on Monday. It is really a good to see that the majority of these new members of the Brooksville Housing Authority are focused on their primary concern of providing affordable, safe housing to the resident of Brooksville.

106.011

The 2007 Florida Statutes
ELECTORS AND ELECTIONS
CAMPAIGN FINANCING

106.011 Definitions.--As used in this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1)(a) "Political committee" means:
1. A combination of two or more individuals, or a person other than an individual, that, in an aggregate amount in excess of $500 during a single calendar year:
a. Accepts contributions for the purpose of making contributions to any candidate, political committee, committee of continuous existence, or political party;
b. Accepts contributions for the purpose of expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate or the passage or defeat of an issue;
c. Makes expenditures that expressly advocate the election or defeat of a candidate or the passage or defeat of an issue; or
d. Makes contributions to a common fund, other than a joint checking account between spouses, from which contributions are made to any candidate, political committee, committee of continuous existence, or political party;

Veterans Parade

The Hernando County Fine Arts Council proudly presents


2007 Veterans Appreciation Parade

Saturday
November 10, 2007
at 10 a.m.

Bring your flags, your children & your neighbors
to show support for our men & women of our military, past & present.

Participation in this patriotic event will proudly salute our local
Veterans for their valiant service to our Nation!

Everyone is encouraged to walk with our veterans to express thanks for their
heroic deeds. Please take a few minutes out of your day to express your
patriotism during this very crucial time in our country's history.

Parade line-up starts at 8:30 a.m. in the parking lot behind
Brooksville City Hall, located at 201 Howell Avenue in downtown Brooksville.
(plenty of parking available in adjacent lot on Orange Avenue)

"God Bless America"

Please contact Anna Liisa Covell / Parade Coordinator

(although registration is not required to participate, your RSVP would be appreciated)

The groups that have confirmed participation so far for this year's parade are the Hernando High School Band, the JROTC units from Central, Springstead and Hernando High, Operation Pride with Pete & Commission Rose Rocco, Cub Scout Pack 443, American Legion/Post 99, Hernando Sportsman Club's restored military vehicles, and Commissioner Jeff Stabins, Judge Stephen Rushing and his wife Mia.

Blazin' Butts-n-Brisket

The 2nd Annual BBQ Competition, called Blazin' Butts-n-Brisket, will take place on Saturday, October 20, 2007. This event will take place in Tom Varn Park from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Local backyard teams will be competing for Ribbons and Bragging Rights! Professional cook teams from throughout the southeast will be there competing and you will be able to try some of their award winning BBQ. Come on out and see the monster trucks on display and enjoy the live entertainment. Admissions is free to the public.

H.I.T. Squad

If a picture resembles a 1,000 words then the cover photo in this morning's Hernando Times says it all about the last several months of contention over the 2008 Hernando County budget. This photo screams Hernando County Republican Executive Committee, with Ms. Ana Trinque sitting in the center, with Linda Hayward giving the rallying cry from the podium to hold up signs showing the salaries of some county workers at the final county budget hearing Thursday night. One would have to look really close to see that Ms. Trinque was not actually holding the sign depicting the salary of county employee, Garry Allen.

After listening to the budget hearings in my office on Channel 19 yesterday, it was apparent after several minutes most of the outcry for tax cuts, over and above those being suggested, were an orchestrated effort by the group from Government Gone Wild and Lower Hernando Taxes, with the assistance of the chairwoman of the Republican Executive Committee. The audience was well schooled in their dialog which had been promoted by Linda Hayward, Blaise Ingoglia, and Ana Trinque concerning employee salaries and their misguided interpretation of the county budget. Talking points to use several key words and catchy phrases were used throughout this budget hearing by Hayward, Ingoglia, Trinque, and others. The most notable phrases in the budget hearing were "smoke and mirrors" and "shell game".

Some key words could also be used to describe this trio of Hayway, Ingoglia and Trinque. One that comes to mind is H.I.T. squad instead of their chosen names of Government Gone Wild, Lower Hernando Taxes and the HCREC. Another word to describe the comments made at the podium Thursday night by Ms. Trinque, HCREC chairwoman would be "shrill". Her "in your face" presentation was an embarrassment to the majority of republicans in this community that do not agree with her nasty approach to our county government. Maybe it is time that someone put their name on the ballot to run against Ms. Ana Trinque for the chair position of the Hernando County Republican Executive Committee in 2008.

Ms Hayward seemed more impressed by her notoriety at Thursday's meeting than making any real difference in our community. Would someone please tell Ms. Hayward to deposit those petitions into a circular receptacle since they aren't worth the paper and effort she used to collect them. Frankly, the public is growing weary of Ms. Hayward using these worn out petitions as a prop for her dog and pony show. Maybe her cause would be believable if she spent more time researching viable data than promoting herself as the poster child for tax reform.

Obviously, the leader of Government Gone Wild, Blaise Ingoglia has not done his homework again. Mr. Ingoglia chose to cherry pick figures out the 2008 budget to wrap his seminars around but he forgot one thing. His omission of valuable information to properly portray the county budget was the underlying premise of his entire seminar. Somehow obvious omission of facts only equates to telling a lie in many individuals' opinion. The proof is in the pudding, so to speak, with the obvious lack of knowledge Mr. Ingoglia actually possesses about our county government, in general. Maybe this is the reason why he didn't field any questions at the end of his seminars. Mr. Ingoglia's quote in this morning's paper only proves how ill-informed the leader of the Government Gone Wild series is when he stated, "If you never ever cut taxes before and you cut a dollar, you have the greatest tax cut in history". Too bad he didn't look at the trend of the county commissions, past and present, to lower Ad Valorem values based over a ten years period before he uttered this ridiculous opinion.

The Hernando County Commissioners reduced our Ad Valorem rate by a record 1.4675 mill on Thursday night, and I dare say, much to the satisfaction of the majority of Hernando County residents. The commissioners even included the approval of the additional Homestead Exemption of low income seniors in our community. Hopefully, we can look forward to more reform of the county and state budgets in the upcoming years.

Additional Homestead Exemption...

Three cheers to the Hernando County Board of Commissioners! Their passage of the additional Homestead Exemption for the Elderly means that the most frail among us will now have the ability to stay in their homes. This additional exemption may be a deciding factor for many seniors that are on very low income to save their homes. Several years ago I watched my neighbors struggle by selling their belongings on their lawn to pay their property tax bill. My neighbors were very proud individuals that would not ask anyone for financial help but this additional Homestead Exemption certainly would have made their life easier in the end. It is too late for my neighbors because they are now both deceased but many more elderly citizens in our county desperately need this additional Homestead Exemption. Thanks go out to the commissioners for their vote last night to extend a helping hand to our low income, elderly neighbors...

Thank Rob Schenck

Yesterday, the Hernando County board of Commissioners listened to Commissioner Kingsley lobby for an additional quarter mill in tax reduction. The newspaper this morning stated that his fellow commissioners embraced the idea. In fact, Commissioner Stabins stated that this would be the "single, biggest tax cut in Hernando County history.

In this morning's Hernando Today, George Zoettlein said this additional quarter mill reduction proposed by Mr. Kingsley was do-able because of the deep cut in reserves and government streamlining. Somehow the other quote by Mr. Zoettlein missed getting into the newspaper this morning. Mr. Zoettlein stated at the county commission meeting yesterday that this additional quarter mill would need to be taken out of the budget anyway in January if the new legislation passed so they should just do it sooner, rather than later. The legislation he was speaking of is the tentative referendum on the January Presidential Preference ballot that would limit local government spending to a maximum amount.

It was a real slick move by Commissioner Kingsley to get his name on this further quarter mill tax reduction. The real truth is though this additional cut would have been necessary without the election year grandstanding by Commissioner Kinglsey. We can thank Representative Rob Schenck for this year's reduction in Ad Valorem taxes along with Senators' Dean and Fasano.

Arc

Mark Berry, Executive Director of Hernando County's ARC, was selected to receive the National Conference of Executive's Executive Award at their annual convention of the National Conference of Executives of The Arc on October 10, 2007 in Dallas, Texas. The National Conference of Executives of The Arc (NCE) is a peer membership organization of over 300 professional leaders of local, state and national organizations serving individuals with cognitive or other developmental issues.

Mr. Berry was chosen to receive this award because of his fulfillment of mission and his core values associated with The Arc. "Way to go, Mark!" You are an inspiration to all of us in Hernando County.

Inaccurate statement

The article titled, 'Sheriff lashes out over budget', in the Hernando Times yesterday, included an inaccurate statement by Commissioner Kingsley. When comparing the salary increase for Hernando County Sheriff Deputies and support staff, Mr. Kingsley emphatically stated that no one at the county is getting a 5.5 percent raise. Apparently Commissioner Kingsley has forgotten that Hernando County Fire Rescue will be receiving a 6.6 % increase this year...

Hit the nail on the head

I almost fell over laughing on Friday morning when I read that the Hernando County Commissioners had requested that Gary Kuhl ask his department directors to forgo their raises this year. Even though I advocated freezing their salaries last week, I didn't mean as an option, or personal choice, left up to each director. My suggestion was to the county commissioners to use their authority to pass this on as a directive to the county administrator.

I guess I wasn't the only one that had that opinion of this lack of leadership by our county commissioners last Thursday after reading Jeff Webb's column in yesterday's paper. Mr. Webb really hit the nail on the head with the comment, "Doggone it, you responsibility-shifting posers, your job is to pass the budget, not pass the buck."

Decrease in General Fund Budget

Last week, I emailed George Zoettlein, Hernando County Budget Director concerning the total budget figures for 2008, with the percent of increase or decrease for the General Fund. This morning, I received his reply and decided to pass it on:

The total budget for 2008 prior to the 1st public hearing was $341,557,015
The total General Fund budget for 2008 prior to the 1st public hearing was $121,475,691
The percent decrease in the General Fund budget was 4.91%
At the first public hearing the Board instructed the budget to be cut by 0.25 mills, which we are working on right now, that amounts to about $2.5 million.

George W. Zoettlein
Director of O.M.B.
Hernando County, Fl.
(352) 754-4004

Without knowing the figures

Several important numbers were not included for the proposed Hernando County budget Thursday night which should have been a critical factor. These numbers include the total budget in dollars for 2008 ; the total general fund dollars for 2008; and what the percent of increase or decrease this 2008 budget is over the previous year. I am really surprised that none of the county commissioners requested this information at their budget hearing on Thursday. The one commissioner that should have been scrutinizing these figures is David Russell. Mr. Russell ran his campaign on the premise of implementing a zero based budget for Hernando County. How can a zero based budget be analyzed without previous figures to compare them with in this year's budget? For that matter, how could any of the commissioners justify approving any budget numbers without knowing these figures?

The percent of increase or decrease for the Hernando County budget would have given the county commissioners a good rule of thumb to determine whether enough, or too much, was trimmed from this year's budget before they indiscriminately voted to reduce the Ad Valorem an additional amount of 1.2175 mills. The question is, was this reduction enough , or was there really more wiggle room in this budget? A budget history comparing the total general fund dollars with the total budget dollars for the past five years would have given the county Commissioners the tools required to make educated decisions but none of them asked for these details in the the budget hearing and the question is why? The public will just have to wait until the required public announcements are published in a local newspaper to indicate the total budget in dollars, with the percent of increase, or decrease, to understand if the county commissioners made the right decisions on Thursday night...

Passing of Mary Aiken

I was saddened to hear about the passing of Mary Aiken, a former Hernando County Commissioner. Mary was a special lady that cared deeply for the people living in Hernando County. I kept in touch with her after she left office, with an occasionally phone call. In fact, the last time I spoke with her was when the Hernando Today had allowed the disparaging remarks by Mr. Herbert about me in May. She phoned me because she was concerned about my general welfare. We had a long chat that day and I am just saddened to say it was our last conversation.

Mary was a breath of fresh air as a county commissioner. She was known for speaking her mind even if it got her in to trouble in the media. The one thing the media always missed about Mary though was her big heart! She loved this community and only wanted to do what was right for everyone.

9-11

Today is September 11th...

Please say a pray for the brave men and women protecting our freedoms around the world!

Really the position...

At the last regularly scheduled meeting of the Hernando Board of County Commissioners, Gary Kuhl read a brief letter by Commissioner Kinglsey. Mr. Kinglsey was absent from this meeting and had requested in his letter that any decision on employee raises be tabled until their land use meeting on September 12, 2007.

Commissioner Kingsley stated in this morning's paper that he was not present for last month's meeting when the item of employee raises was tabled by the other commissioners for tomorrow's meeting. He said that if he had, he would not have agreed to this date. If this was really the position of Commissioner Kinglsey then why wasn't this information in the letter he had Gary Kuhl read at the August meeting in his absence?

Very harsh...

A letter by Mr. Sonny Vergara was published in this morning's Hernando Today. Although it was very harsh, it largely reflects the opinion of many of us in this community. The editor of the Hernando Today has consistently allowed outrageous comments about members of the public on their opinion page over the last several years. This newspaper has used innuendos and false statements many times to give the reader the illusion their particular subject is somehow questionable in character. Mr. Vergara is totally correct in stating that this editor uses letters from the public to bolster a jaded opinion of an individual, in the hopes of further damage to someone's credibility. Thank you, Mr. Sonny Vergara for standing up to this editor by strongly expressing your opinion because this type of character assasination should not be tolerated in a civil community.

Call to the public...

This morning, Commissioner Jeff Stabins put out a call to the public for suggestions on how to further cut Hernando County budget. I took this opportunity to forward an email to all the county commissioners with my suggestions. I have attended every county budget hearing for the past 15 years but I will not be attending this year. Even though everyone needs the opportunity to address their concerns with government but I believe the artificial atmosphere that has been created by the Government Gone Wild series and Lower Hernando Taxes will drown out individuals not associated with these organizations. I have included my email to the county commissioners below:

September 7, 2007


Board of Hernando County Commission
Jeff Stabins / Chairman:

After reading your letter to the editor that was published in the Hernando Times this morning, I felt obliged to forward my suggestions for budget reductions. Please note that even though my Ad Valorem was reduced by approximately $53.00, my out of pocket expenses increased $16.00 on my TRIM notice due to the 25% increase for HCFR your board approved in July.

My suggestions for further Ad Valorem reduction include:

(1). Freezing salary increases for all department directors, at their current rate, to further analysis the past consequences of the Mercer Study. Further Mercer Study analysis of pay scales of government employees needs to take place, by weighing equally the wages and benefits of local private business.

(2.) Reduce the overall "reserve accounts" to realistically reflect the actual needs of Hernando County government.

I will not be attending the annual Budget Hearing on September 13th but would ask that you carefully consider my suggestions for further Ad Valorem reductions.

Respectfully,
Anna Liisa Covell

Cap fees

Yesterday, I emailed Rep. Robert Schenck and Senator Fasano about my concerns regarding the increased local fees by county government to compensate for lower Ad Valorem rates, mandated by the Florida Legislature. In the metro section of the St. Petersburg Times last Sunday, Senator Daniel Webster stated that people have the choice to pay a fee, or not, when talking about property tax reduction at their special session of the Florida Legislature in June.

I asked Rep. Schenck and Senator Fasano to please remind Senator Webster that we have fire & solid waste fees on the non-Ad Valorem portion of our property taxes, so we do not have a choice in the matter. If we don't pay these fees, our property could be sold on the auction block by the county for non-payment. I also informed them that when taking into consideration the 25% "fee" increase by Hernando County Fire Rescue in July, my tax bill went up approximately $16.00.

This morning, I received a return email from Rep. Schenck . Mr. Schenck was in complete agreement that local governments would use fee increases to compensate for the loss of tax money. He stated that fees should be capped along with Ad Valorem rates.

Shop & compare

For those of you having trouble finding competitive rates for your homeowners insurance, Governor Crist has just started a website that list companies across the state of Florida. This site is to assist the consumer in rate comparisons between companies to find the most affordable policy. The link to this site is:

http://www.shopandcomparerates.com/

New name

A new name has popped up on the political scene for the 2008 election. Dr. James King has thrown his hat into the ring to run against incumbent Ginny Brown-Waite for Congress in the 5th district. Mr. King is a registered Republican and hails from Land O' Lakes in Pasco County. His platform includes a statement that includes veterans issues and illegal immigration. If you want to check out his website, here is the link:

http://needanewcongress.com/

Everyone jumping on board...

This morning, the Hernando Today gave their opinion on the announced resignation by Gary Kuhl, Hernando County administrator. The local radio talk show also buzzed last week with their opinions of this impending departure of Mr. Kuhl. The Hernando Times even put their 2 cents on the subject. I have reserved my opinion because I believe Mr. Gary Kuhl's reason to leave Hernando County is personal, and only his closest friends and family with ever know for sure why he has made this choice. I personally think Mr. Kuhl has done a very good job under very difficult circumstances with the current climate in Hernando County.

This morning, the editorial in the Hernando Today outlined their opinion about Mr. Kuhl's departure. This editorial relieved anyone from blame for the county administrator's decision. They went out of their way to twist an already convoluted editorial into a fairytale that relieved the Government Gone Wild series, the local talk radio, and their newspaper for the continued negative climate in this community and placed all the blame on Commissioner Diane Rowden and Commissioner Stabins. This editorial eluded to "confidants" that spoke with Gary Adams, our former administrator, to say he would never trust the commissioners again. I would like to ask the editorial staff just who were these confidants of Gary Adams? Another innuendo in this editorial related to "their" understanding that Gary Kuhl was so hurt by the SHFR vote that he was prepared to turn in a letter of resignation. Where is the letter, Mr. Editor? The national media outlets have several names for this type of spin journalism, by using terms like tabloid journalism and drive-by media.

Vince Vanni was quoted this morning in Hernando Times as saying, "We cannot change the atmosphere in our community, it is what it is". Although Mr. Vanni is certainly entitled to his opinion of this county, I do not share his belief that we cannot change the atmosphere of Hernando County. Mr. Vanni's outlook only gives rise to the doom and gloom atmosphere that has permeated our county over the last several years. I came to Hernando County 17 years ago because it is a great county, filled with wonderful people. My opinion has not changed about our community.

If someone wants to point the finger of blame on what is wrong with our county government, then look no further than the nearest mirror. Every citizen in Hernando County is at fault for the many vacancies left administration office over the last ten years, from the naysayers, to those people fat and happy, lying in the middle of the road. We have heard a roar from the naysayers over the last few months with groups like the Government Gone Wild organization and Lower Hernando Taxes. While these groups bring many valid points to the table they do not speak for everyone in our county. The deafening roar has really come from the silent majority. The silent majority needs to stand up now and be counted among the naysayers. This silent majority needs to say enough is enough with the negativity and its high time we put our best foot forward as county.

To have a great community it takes everyone jumping on board to promote a healthy atmosphere that we all can be proud of in Hernando County. We all need to step up to the plate and say what can I do to help improve our county!

Does not pass the smell test

Well, it sure looks like everyone has hopped back into the saddle again with the 'good old boys' club to ride through downtown Brooksville. I didn't think I would ever agree with anything Brooksville City Councilman Joe Bernardini had to say but hiring Jake Varn as the city attorney does appear to be a case of the fox guarding the hen house. Apparently Mr. Varn included a letter with his job application to directly address any conflicts of interests that might arise with him as the city's attorney. In this letter, Mr. Varn indicated that if any conflict of interest were to occur that another member of his law firm in Tallahassee would represent the city.

Let's see if we have this correct about any conflict of interest that may arise by hiring Mr. Varn. If Mr. Varn needs to recuse himself from the position of city attorney for any conflict of interest, the question is, who will be watching over the public's interest? How will having a colleague from Tallahassee sit in as acting city attorney during a conflict be any different that having Mr. Varn, himself, sitting at the dais, or for that matter in a courtroom setting? Mr. Varn will be paid as a city attorney and also be paid as an attorney for this Tallahassee law firm. If you want to read in depth about the responsibility of public officials, public attorneys, and those directly related to them, I suggest checking out the website of the Florida Department of Ethics which is located at:

http://www.ethics.state.fl.us/publications/guide_2007.pdf

The quote by Joe Murphy, the chairman of the conservation committee for Hernando Audubon, in this morning's edition of the Hernando Times really sums it up. Mr. Murphy said, in part, "Hiring Mr. Varn does not pass the smell test". It will be interesting to see what comes out of this marriage between this newly hired city lawyer who is also tied to the Tallahassee law firm.

John Druzbick

John Druzbick, recently announced his intentions to run for the office of county commissioner, district 3. John is a registered Republican, a well-respected business owner in our community, and an all-around good guy. He was a very respected member of our school board for 12 years, with a proven track record of success. John's campaign website has a wealth of information about his personal career in our community. His website even contains a very good video clip of his campaign announcement on the courthouse steps. If you want to take a look, here is the link: http://invisiblepatriots.com:80/Druzbick.html

Campaign platform

This morning, I received our tickets to the Reagan Day Gala 2007 event which is being presented by the Republican Party of Pinellas County. This fund raising dinner will take place on Friday, September 7th at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort in St. Petersburg. The reason for the excitment is that Mayor Rudy Giuliani is the keynote speaker for this gala event. After we attend this dinner, I will fill everyone in on the details of Rudy Giuliani's Presidential campaign platform.

Fire union boss makes comments

Last night, I received a very lengthy comment to my post "6.6% increase for HCFR". This comment was from Jason Brazinski, president of the firefighters union for HCFR . Mr. Brazinski currently works out of Station 24 in Brooksville. In the interest of fairness, I have included Mr. Brazinski's unedited comments below, with my comments at the conclusion of this post.

Mrs Covell, to paint a clear picture it is important to include all of the pertinent details. Starting pay is often a poor indicator of the overall picture. Management loves to make starting pay high to get you in the door. After that, the honeymoon is over. (1) To compare department salaries, it is important that you compare departments of similar service level, and salaries throughout the pay scale. Citrus County Fire is a new fire service that does not provide EMS transport or Advanced Life Support. (2) Their inception was brought about by declining volunteer service and increased call load in Citrus County. Polk County Fire is a well established organization that provides fire protection only. However, since you chose to include them you may find it interesting that they themselves just completed a compensation and benefits survey to help decide whether or not to merge Fire and EMS. (3) In that survey, their firefighters were found to be 22% underpaid according to their market average, with our starting pay slightly ahead of theirs. In addition, their Captain ranks were found to be 19% underpaid. Their Captains make more than HCFR Captains, and are not required to be Paramedics or Fire Inspectors. (4) In regards to Pasco County Fire Rescue, they just received a ruling from the Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC):On August 7, 2007 the State of Florida Public Employee Relations Commission's (PERC) special magistrate filed his recommendations on the impasse issues between the Pasco County Professional Fire Fighters, IAFF Local 4420 and Pasco County. In his Recommendations Mr. Charles Hall stated that his wage "analysis shows Pasco County considerably (emphasis added)below the Local Labor Market and not able to compete for the most qualified job seekers" and that to help correct the problem the firefighters and paramedics should receive a 20% pay increase over a three year period. (5) He also recommends improved medical leave incentives and an improved workers' compensation package for firefighters seriously injured in the line of duty. (6)

Perhaps the most ludicrous comparison is to Tampa Fire. You are correct that their starting Firefighter/EMT salary is $1500.00 more than ours. What you fail to spell out is that in 5 years their same FF makes $42856, compared to our $34275. More importantly, they make that pay while working 300+ less hours per year than a HCFR employee. (7) These same scenarios are duplicated and in some cases worsened when comparing HCFR to Spring Hill Fire and Hillsborough Fire. If we?re going to talk about job market, it?s hard to ignore the OTHER fire rescue in our county. (8) I can only assume that if a Fire Captain at HCFR irks you making $45000 a year (minus close to $400 per month family medical insurance), then certainly that same Spring Hill Captain making $52000 a year with full family medical coverage must drive you crazy. (9)

Our raises were negotiated and approved back in October 2005 with many of the above factors being taken into consideration. These raises were approved with no negative feedback from either the elected officials or our citizens. The reality is well accepted by my membership that we will never make the money that some of our surrounding departments make (including Spring Hill). However, we do not want to be so far behind that we go back to the days of being a training ground for other departments. Our raises were a very small part of the increase in fire rates this year. Increased staffing was a much larger part. It is important to note that the departments you compare us with staff their fire engines with 3 personnel. Four of our eight still only staff two personnel. (10)

Thank you for your consideration.

Jason Brazinski

Please take notice that I have taken the liberty of numbering the points in Mr. Brazinski's comments so you can follow along with my reply:

(1.) Although you do not agree, I believe the starting salary is a good indicator of working conditions in most employment climates. Anyone who thinks the honeymoon is over once starting a job is certainly free to seek other employment.

(2.) The Mercer Study massages figures to compare services of other counties to warrant wage increases, thus, giving the image that government feeding on government, to grow the bureaucracy,and this will somehow protect our community at large? The Mercer Study does not take into consideration the salaries and benefits of the private sector when recommending salary increases in their government reports. In fact, the Mercer Study does not even take into consideration the cost of living for citizens living in our county that support local government with tax money.

(3.) Please allow me to remind you that we pay separately for our EMS service with a MSTU that has a guaranteed 3% annual margin of increase, in addition to our new fire rates of $194.87 with an guaranteed annual rate of increase of 5.5%.

(4.) It was widely reported several years ago that your Chief had let all of his certifications lapse upon making the top position. This may or may not be true for Chief Nickerson but the fact remains that he currently makes $92,000 a year without having a degree. BTW, with this 6.6% increase, Chief Nickerson will be making a whooping $98,072 a year.

(5.) This is a "right to work state" and no one can be forced to join labor unions. In fact, in my opinion, your union uses its power as a way to muscle the taxpayers for increases in wages and benefits. Your union cannot strike to push your agenda so I find it hard to believe anyone would negotiate this type of contract for HCFR.

(6.) Are you referring to be seriously injured while in the line of duty while exercising at Gold's Gym? Yes, the taxpayer would have to pick up the tab for any firefighter who is injured while exercising on duty at Gold's Gym while on duty. This fact was confirmed with Chief Nickerson last month.

(7.) Please refer to my comment (1.) that states that anyone is free to seek employment elsewhere.

(8.) This only strengthens my points made at the fire rate increase hearing for having the county commissioners wait until the results are complete from the $100,000 consultant hired to review county fire services.

(9.) Anyone paying 400.00 a month for family medical coverage in today's market is enjoying a bargain. Try living in the private sector where the rates are sometimes double, even triple what you are paying, if coverage is available at all. Mine currently averages $878.00 a month so I do not have any sympathy for your plight.

(10.) This one was the easiest to answer. You stated that some HCFR fire stations only have 2 firefighters, while the ones I compared them with have 3 at each station. The taxpayers being charged for equal service across the county with HCFR while the service factors are not the same for each station. Surrounding counties are paying less in salaries for 3 firemen at each of the fire house while we are have 2 at some fire stations which it all relates back to administration policy of HCFR.