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Editorial: Editorial: Freedom to Blow the Whistle
June 23rd, 2011

Editorial: Guest Editorial: Never Forget
May 5th, 2011

Editorial: Editorial: "The Most Unforgiving Technology in Human History"
April 23rd, 2011

Editorial: Editorial: Rumors
March 20th, 2011

Editorial: Editorial: Henry Ford, American Genius
January 21st, 2011

Editorial: Editorial: Remember the Needy in Our Community
December 26th, 2010

Editorial: Guest Editorial: Prunes
November 16th, 2010

Editorial: Editorial: How Many Signs Can One Building Support?
November 15th, 2010

Editorial: Accidents Happen? The Dance Begins
September 16th, 2010

Editorial: Editorial: Oil Spills vs. Hurricanes
September 2nd, 2010

Editorial: Editorial: Fishing Village Atmosphere?
August 22nd, 2010

Editorial: A New Standard of Arrogance
July 29th, 2010

Editorial: Alzheimer`s Sentence
July 24th, 2010

Editorial: Editorial: When the Elephants Stampede, the Pygmies Get Trampled
June 10th, 2010

Editorial: Oil Spills and Independence
May 26th, 2010

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Fiscal Incompetence?

Fiscal Incompetence?

Editorial

Let's review some recent history of the Levy County Commission at work. At great expense the Levy County Jail was expanded to house 173 more prisoners. The logic was to house out-of-county prisoners and make money on the extra prisoners. The budget passed September 25 by the Commissioners prevents the Sheriff from hiring enough officers to allow providing board and room to 100 prisoners that Sumter County would send us for safe keeping. That results in an annual net loss of revenue of $1,541,449 to Levy County according to the Sheriff Department.

The failure in financial logic represented by the jail situation is mirrored by Commissioner Danny Stevens when he told tax payers at the September 25 Budget Hearing that the public believes there has been a tax increase, when the Commission has actually lowered taxes. Look at your tax bill and try to find a lower figure than last year!

A tax payer attending the Budget Hearing could not have looked at the budget that the Commission adopted September 25 because neither the public nor the press was given a copy of the budget. After the Commission acted we now find that certain departments have extraordinary increases. Examples of the most extreme budget increases are as follows:

Legal Department ......... 95% increase from two years ago to $430,994
Building & Zoning Dept... 96% increase from two years ago to $430,994
County Administration ...110% increase from two years ago to $365,000

Has the work of these departments doubled in just two years?

Meanwhile, income from use of the enlarged jail to the tune of $1,541,449 will be lost because the Sheriff Department was not given enough money to hire four officers to supervise the extra income producing out-of-county prisoners.
Please read the letters to the editor in this edition. It is obvious Cedar Key News is not the only entity concerned about the state of property taxes in Levy County.

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