Pressing Problems

We have a lot to feel good about but our County has Pressing Problems that our District 2 and some other Commissioners either cannot see or are ignoring.  They seem to occupy themselves with pet projects and minor situations while the big ones continue to grow out of control.  In fact, most of the bad news of 2007 was known of and could have been avoided or lessened had the Board of County Commissioners planned and set their spending priorities properly.

After reviewing just a few of the following examples, we can all agree that 2008 is the voters’ year to develop a new leadership team and vision that will restore your Trust in our Board of County Commissioners.

Poor Leadership Hobbles the County
The County Commission seems almost paralyzed by the challenge of managing the fourth-largest county in the fourth-largest state. Members do not bring the right skill sets to the table and resist looking for solutions that would stretch beyond the next election or the county line.  They are caught up in their own pet projects and small potatoes like sports, toll booths, nickel-and-diming the infrastructure – instead of the strategies that move our county forward.  They lose sight of the big picture.  And a transportation plan that District 2 Commissioner conceived will worsen sprawl in the very suburbs already crawling with traffic, and add stress to the environment in a county struggling to generate new water supplies.   Is anyone in charge?
St Petersburg Times, EDITORIAL    Published August 21, 2007               read the article

Steep Drop Predicted for Home Prices
"This is the most severe housing recession since the post-World War II period,"   Several reasons: overbuilding by home builders, investors leaving the area, and a fair amount of sub-prime mortgage loans causing an increase in foreclosures.   The height of the housing boom was in 2004-05 and speculative activity was rampant causing prices to surge much higher than other regions.
Reuters                  Posted: 2007-12-06                                                      read the article

Audit Troubled Water Agency

After almost 10 years since Tampa Bay Water was formed, the three major alternative water projects (Desal plant, reservoir, treatment facility) are not performing as promised.  We've been allowing growth for years based on the timing of these facilities being fully on line.  Now we have the growth, but we don’t have the water. We will be forced to increase groundwater pumping again and that will kill our wetlands and lakes.
The Tampa Tribune,           Published: September 10, 2007                      read the article

Moffitt deal exposed weak leadership
The County commissioners’ debate on whether to go after the bioscience industry was less about fiscal policy than leadership - who has it and who doesn't.  District 2 Commissioner criticized Tampa Mayor’s contribution even though it was nearly two-thirds more than a package he celebrated only weeks ago as "exciting" and "prominent."  But the Moffitt debate was a troubling glimpse of his poor capacity to think in visionary terms and being rattled by the demands of managing a diverse, growing community.
St. Petersburg Times          Published Feb 26, 2007                                  read the article

Is Florida Over?
"It's just not the place I originally moved to. You've got overcrowded roads. The utilities are higher now. Taxes are unreasonable. Everything in Florida is more expensive." The state became a place for rampant speculation that more than doubled prices in a four-year period.  Florida housing prices force people to look elsewhere.  Florida is also dealing with new competition. The South's less-expensive, relatively warm states have been reaching out to seniors and fiddling with their tax laws to attract them.
The Wall Street Journal                      Published September 29, 2007       read the article

Let development depend on the availability of water
We have a serious water shortage because of growth and natural conditions.  Current demand is reduced by restricting homeowners and commercial users.  Future demand caused by new developments can also be reduced without sacrificing our economic well being.  We don't need to stop all development, but instead use the same approach as we do with current users. That is, approve the usual number of building permits when there is plenty of water, but restrict permits when water supplies fall off.  It spreads both good times and bad times equally among all members of our community and satisfies the concurrency test. It takes Tampa Bay Water out of its crisis mode by allowing it to catch up and stay even with future demand. It also demonstrates to future residents and businesses that we can make hard but reasoned decisions that ensure our continued quality of life.
St. Petersburg Times,         Published Feb 11, 2001                                  read the article

Citizens Deserve A Voice
Developers pushed the County Commissioners to put two more developers on our City – County Planning Commission, so they can gain a clear majority.  Comprehensive Plan amendments that they approve will line developers' pockets while putting taxpayers on the hook for expensive infrastructure, and sticking us with more traffic-jamming sprawl.  Citizens will lose confidence in the process and in our elected officials who rigged the system. 
Tampa Tribune,   Published: September 19, 2007                                     read the article

A vote against public safety
The four member majority talk endlessly about fiscal responsibility, public safety and first responders.  But the first chance they get they weaken the programs that help our families and children become stable and in the process reduce the demand and costs of our courts and government.
St. Petersburg Times          Published Oct 4, 2006                                    read the article