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Editorial: Myths, Misinformation and Propaganda
December 16th, 2008

Editorial: Editorial: Will Park Closure Just Make Things Worse?
November 29th, 2008

Editorial: Editorial: October and November Surprises
October 30th, 2008

Editorial: Is the Sky Falling?
September 24th, 2008

Editorial: Editorial: Who Reads Cedar Key News?
September 19th, 2008

Editorial: The First Hurdle for Every Child
September 3rd, 2008

Editorial: A View of China from Cedar Key
August 18th, 2008

Editorial: Who Killed the Real Estate Market?
August 8th, 2008

Editorial: Editorial: It`s Clamerica!
July 1st, 2008

Editorial: Can the City Commission Limit Noise?
June 6th, 2008

Editorial: Unintended Results Rock the Boat
May 29th, 2008

Editorial: Creeping Gas Prices
May 13th, 2008

Editorial: Cedar Key Election Soon
April 30th, 2008

Editorial: Questions fo the Candidates
April 2nd, 2008

Editorial: Coming Elections: National County and City
March 19th, 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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