Rocco presses for immigration workshop

County Commissioner Rose Rocco on Tuesday pressed home her intentions of beefing up policies that ensure county-hired contractors employ only legal workers.

At Rocco's insistence, board members agreed to broach the issue of worker e-verification at a workshop scheduled for late February or early March.

Rocco said she hopes to get all stakeholders at the meeting, including Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville, other state legislators, a representative from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and county staff members.

Rocco said there are too many people unemployed in the county and they should not have to compete with undocumented laborers.

At the workshop, Rocco said she will ask that the county's current purchasing guidelines require contractors to use the federal E-Verify program, a free Internet-based system that allows employers to determine the eligibility of employees to work in the United States.

Also at Tuesday's county commission meeting:

Board members voted 5-0 to amend the county's future land use map from rural to mining to allow Mills Land Management Corporation to expand limestone mining on a 158-acre parcel on the north side of State Road 50, just east of the CSX main line railroad in eastern Hernando County.

Mills Land Management leases the property to E.R. Jahna Industries Inc., which has been conducting mining operations since 1979 and currently mines the adjacent parcels to the west.

The proposal now goes to DCA for further review.

Budget Director George Zoettlein reported to the board on the 2010-11 general fund budget.

Zoettlein said the county is facing a general fund budget deficit for fiscal year 2010-11 of $10.7 million. The county is considering applying one-time revenues, including tapping its reserve fund, to bring that shortfall down to $4.46 million.

Commissioner Jeff Stabins reiterated his stance that all department heads, including the constitutional officers, must work cooperatively to bring in a balanced budget.

Commissioners voted unanimously on a request from Utilities Director Joe Stapf to transfer $400,000 from his department's budget reserves to cover estimated expenses in the utility relocation and upgrades to the water and wastewater system along Sunshine Grove Road.

The money will help pay for a 16-inch water main and a 10-inch force main along Sunshine Grove Road from State Road 50 north to Ken Austin Parkway, which is being widened.

The project cost has now increased to $4.8 million.