Say no to Penny for Projects
Let’s not be fooled into funding vague “projects” in this election. Hernando County has done some very nutty “projects” recently and irresponsible spending of our tax dollars went with that.
How about that one year-long Hernando Beach retooling of the water pipes & road repair on every street off of Eagle Nest Drive? Bet that cost a pretty penny! Even so, the new roads were put in without the drainage curbing that other Hernando Beach streets have and are still subject to muddy yards. The real kicker is that the water pipes were put so close to the surface that they heat up to 104 degrees! To prevent citizen scalding, the county has to open up the water pipes daily to release all of that hot water. A more horrific & avoidable waste of fresh water I have never seen in this county yet! The dust was so bad that, for the whole year, the mail carrier wore a face mask when she delivered that area to avoid lung damage.
Will one “project” be to have sidewalks on BOTH sides of U.S. 19 all the way from Pasco to Citrus, and then another on State Road 50 all the way from Bayport to Sumpter County? Gee, what other out-of-the-way of the general population highways can we do that to? U.S. 41 maybe? Yikes!
This screams some “extra” cash on hand that we gotta use, however randomly. Why have we not put sidewalks in where the taxpaying population actually resides? Nearly every day, I cringe as I see young schoolchildren walking in a group along busy Deltona (Boulevard) on their way to and from school. Not any better is seeing a mother pushing a stroller along on Pinehurst with another small child or two in tow. God forbid, a tragedy that will entail a lawsuit dumped on taxpayers. A sad double whammy for the victims.
Many populated major streets are left sans sidewalks which is basic public safety. In my hood (North Waterfall and Dunkirk) all pedestrians must beware. The elderly do not dare step forth. Meanwhile, I see the existing and virtually unused sidewalks along U.S. 19 starting to need maintenance with grass bursting through the seams and edges, which we must assume will be done by county employees and not for free.
A cruel drawback of a penny more is that those who are the least able to afford this tax will be burdened with it, especially on large-ticket items that they need. Meanwhile, those who can more easily afford it might be the very ones getting fat with the “projects”. Perhaps revisiting the intangible tax that Gov. Jeb Bush took away for his rich pals might be a better and more fair way to go? But we’re not voting on that Nov. 4.
I want to be clear that I am not an anti-tax person. I think pooling our resources is a wonderful thing. I just am opposed to vagueness in exactly what we would spend the next 10 years being charged seven percent on every purchase (besides food) for. So let’s just go back to six percent sales tax. As a matter of fact, smart business should welcome a lower tax. People from nearby counties that do charge more sales tax will find it worth the trip to shop Hernando, especially for large-ticket items.
One should be wary of a mailing to all residents that pushes this penny tax claiming: “Citizen watchdog committees will report to taxpayers on whether the money is spent as promised.”
A) Just how will we get this report? Taxpayer funded mailings? B) Sad that we elect representatives who are paid to be our watchdogs who need watching. C) I was on one of these citizen committees for transportation for four years. I can tell you that while I represented my district, two of the five districts were without a rep, but we had two random “at large” members who got an equal vote with me. One was a prominent real estate broker and the other an architect who since has gone into county politics. Along with a senior citizen ex-county commissioner, they easily out-voted my honest citizen concerns in favor of “projects” that benefited them directly or helped their pals. The three worked that good ol’ boy system.
I can’t speak to all the watchdog groups in Hernando County, but most people just do not want to volunteer or they don’t have the time to do so. The inconvenient time of day for working people makes it just another thing that those who have “special interests” find worth their while — and they sure don’t mind using to their benefit.
As a matter of fact, it was transportation that included sidewalks, as well as bike lanes, roads, rail, airport and the bus. I worked for continuity in sidewalks and bike lanes in existing populated areas. I supported more reasonable hours for buses to run, so that people could take them to work and then also be able to get home from work on them. Out-voted as I often was, l regret that I could not continue — 4 p.m. meeting times conflicted with my job — because sometimes I think that I made them feel rather guilty or maybe afraid they would get exposed. So we did draw a few lines that did not get crossed.
Finally, another reason to say ‘no’ is the way it’s teamed up with a tax for schools that will expire. We could have let that continue. At least it would be clear that it was going to something specific. When they do this piggyback sort of maneuver in (Washington) D.C. it’s called piling on the pork. This is where a good bill has to attach various pet projects in order to get sponsors, thereby losing it’s purity.
I hope that you exercise your freedom and brainpower by voting ‘no’ on this Penny for Projects. Whatever the reason that you say no, in this case, feel good about that vote. ‘No’ is the true winner here.
Jennifer Sullivan, of Spring Hill, is Hernando County Green Party Coordinator and host of the Tampa TV show “On the Table With the Green Party.”
