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Editorial: Guest Editorial: A Native`s Case for Florida Hometown Democracy October 3rd, 2009
Editorial: Budget of Sugarcreek Goes Modern October 1st, 2009
Editorial: Is Nothing Sacred? September 17th, 2009
Editorial: Great Expectations September 2nd, 2009
Editorial: Helping the Levy County Budget August 6th, 2009
Editorial: WUFT-FM to Delete Music for Cedar Key July 28th, 2009
Editorial: Governor Crist Balks on Appointment July 9th, 2009
Editorial: Affordable Housing in Cedar Key July 6th, 2009
Editorial: The Greening of Cedar Key June 25th, 2009
Editorial: Unanimous Consent to Suspend the Rules June 12th, 2009
Editorial: Cutting the Cost of Garbage Collection May 27th, 2009
Editorial: America Must Support Chinese Democracy Seekers March 23rd, 2009
Editorial: Membership Appeal February 20th, 2009
Editorial: Cutting Health Care Costs January 10th, 2009
Editorial: 2008 and Some Fearless Predictions December 30th, 2008
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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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