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Hernando Today

Shake, shake, shake! Shake Your Booty!

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By RON RAE

Guest columnist

Published: May 7, 2008

There'll be a whole lotta shakin' goin' on during the annual Hernando County budget hearings that begin in June. After the shakedown, booty on the money tree will be slim-pickings.
On that cold day in January, when Florida voters gave Amendment 1 the right of passage, these coming days of penny-pinching were already foreseen. The affects of reduced property tax revenues are just now about to take interested residents through the economic abyss of fire and brimstone.
Things are so bad… How bad are they? This is "The Year Of The Fussbudget." Subsequent years will have a Roman numeral.
Freshman County Administrator Dave Hamilton will be holding town hall meetings to give residents the opportunity to be a part of the budget process. The final decisions aren't theirs to make, but they'll be able to air out their wants and make suggestions on what will become the have-nots. It's like nitpicking and removing lint off a wool sweater. Residents can pick away at parasitic expenditures and the fluff of government spending.
Hamilton has prior administrator experience in Crow Wing, Minn. His comrade here is Budget Director George Zoettlein. I envision them having spent hours in running over some preliminary numbers, making preparations for the public meetings, coming up with a game plan and standing up, giving each other a high-five while shouting, "Let's do it!"
This is an unlikely scenario, but that level of adrenalin might be needed to get through the budget hearings. In the coming months, these two men will be the most important of all public servants.
THE Bus will once again be a major object of contention. To discontinue the operation of the county's sole source of public transportation would put undue hardships on the elderly, the infirm and other unfortunate citizens. Most likely, doctor appointments would be missed, postponed or canceled altogether, and shopping for food and other life necessities would become a major concern. Jobs may be lost. Contact with friends and loved ones would be less frequent. Denying those in need of low cost public transportation would put restrictions on their mobility. They would feel left behind, outcasts to the community.
Low rider ship on THE Bus has, in part, been attributed to limited routes and schedules. Since THE Bus has proven to be poorly planned and much too costly, alternatives should be in order. Perhaps the use of vans would be a means to reduce the overall cost of operation and afford additional routes. Called "Da VAN," they would be less expensive with less pollution. Funding might be a challenge, but the idea may warrant consideration. A solution is imperative; you cannot leave people stranded.
In this election year, it should be rather intriguing with Commissioners Chris Kingsley, Diane Rowden and Jeff Stabins up for re-election. Each of them has been a participant of the obsessive-compulsive disorder of spending taxpayer dollars over the past few years. Commissioners Rose Rocco and xxx Russell are serving terms that began January 2007, so they're in the enviable position that by Election Day 2010 the economy will be on the mend and their challenges may be less taxing, so to speak.
There's an aforethought that the hearings will have a good degree of dramatics. An array of candidates will play the role of spoilers to the incumbents. Watchful eyes will be upon them. Hopefully, they will follow protocol, adhering to the allotted three minutes of prime time speaking. Dribble talk isn't needed. Criticizing, pointing fingers and making token suggestions that others have already given won't make the grade. Without offering solutions, their words will give pause to their political aspirations.
Of course, reducing or eliminating services, thus employees, will be the topic at the workshops where most anything can be considered for an eventual heave-ho. It will be a tedious process, perhaps better presented with current line-by-line expenditures with residents given the option of using the line-item veto process. A show of hands would prove less obstructive than people yelling Yeas and Nays, or even profanities.
As the town hall meetings begin, you can help resolve the challenges of budget-wrenched Hernando County. Be positive, be there. As you enter the door, hold those five digits in the air, ready to give Dave and George a hearty, "Let's do it!"

Ron Rae, who worked in the telecommunication field for 25 years, is a resident of Spring Hill. He can be contacted via e-mail at hernandoron@yahoo.com.

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