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Hernando Today

If The County Can Make Things Worse, They Will

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 12, 2008

Almost every day, we hear about more budget cuts and price increases. The county is freaking out because the river of money has become a trickling stream. They are like kids who can't save their Christmas or birthday money. Then when they need it, it's not there and they cry.

This county has done a fine job of spending and spending - never thinking of the future. And like so many of this county's residents, who have lost their job, or been forced to travel farther for less pay and higher gas bills, reality has arrived!

And how does this county handle reality? By making things worse, by raising fees and cutting the budget where it will hurt working people the most.

Case in point: They want to raise fees for the beach and boat ramps. Why? Because they think it's a good idea to turn an inexpensive day out into a more expensive one.

They have cut library hours. Why? So people can't pick up a good book after work, which might be a good distraction from their stressful lives.

And how about cutting Saturday hours at Animal Services? They are never there when we need them now. Why not make the problem worse?

It is the lack of foresight of this county's leaders' mentality and their perseverance in poor judgment that has not only, in part, caused many of our problems, but continues to aggravate them.

We don't need to widen roads that fewer people are traveling. It will be years before this county recovers economically - if ever.

We don't need a bloated county government. The only people in this county making enough money to survive are employed by the county. What does that tell you? It tells me that reality has not hit the right places yet. But is needs to - desperately.

The bubble Hernando County dreamed of has burst. Is anyone confident that those who helped cause it are capable of fixing it? I, for one, am not.

The only way to set us back on the right path is to start from scratch. New faces, new goals and new ideas.

Still the greatest obstacle is attitude. And it is also the most difficult to change, because it can't just be at the government level. It must pervade the mind of every resident; the desire to make life better and the determination to make our new attitude our new reality. We have to accomplish this without greed or special favors but with thoughts designed for the common good.

This is actually a very old but forgotten concept. It's called doing the right thing.

We need new leaders who are willing to do just that.

Maryann Tobin

Brooksville

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