Boxed In - Boxed Out

In these times of reduced property taxes and the resultant limited funds available for services to Hernando County residents, we come to realize, and accept, that severe cuts in the budget are over due and in a matter of weeks hearings will eventually bring the matter to a vote by the County Commissioners.

In preparation, Administrator Dave Hamilton painstakingly took steps to not only inform concerned residents of the history of county expenditures but also gave them opportunities to identify what services they would be willing to sacrifice toward a balanced budget. Through no fault of his own, it looks like he may need to guide us through remedial meetings to identify where an additional twenty-five percent of cuts can be made.

He knows what to do and how to get things done so the challenge wouldn't daunt him one bit, but is it really necessary?

As the Commissioners dwell on the opportunity to cash in on the $20-million appropriated by the Florida Legislature from the State Housing Trust Fund, there will be a lot of give and take to consider. Give first time homebuyers incentives to purchase a home. Take away the intended purpose of covering the economic impact on county infrastructure of their purchase. And what do you get? Another shortfall of money and deeper in debt.

Road improvements, schools, parks, libraries and/or emergency services are on the line, again. Take your pick. I’m sure Mr. Hamilton and his staff would be glad to deliver a few more tally sheets to the Board. Regardless, deeper cuts would be necessary.

In my late fifties, I have private insurance and, for now, in pretty good health. Maybe I’d be willing to sacrifice the whole pot of lost funds allocated for emergency services. User fees to those in need?

Maybe you don’t read, so all libraries could be sold as-is to Borders and people can pay for knowledge at their own expense. Isn’t that the direction budget cuts are supposed to take us? It’s called macroeconomics.

Better yet, I don’t have kids so terminate at least half the working teachers, hold one big class in a gymnasium and save beaucoup bucks! Another plus side? School Superintendent Wayne Alexander would have less to oversee, so a reduction in pay would be in order.

And you can bet those living on lime rock roads would gag on the dust and gasp their way to the podium to ask that road improvement moneys be left alone - another attempt to get the County to keep its promise to upgrade their roads.

Commissioner Dave Russell wants to “think outside the box” but the county is already boxed in with thousands of empty houses. Administrator Hamilton gave the number at 3,689 (at last count) when he expressed the negative effect it would have on the County. County Planning Director Ron Pianta has the same concern. Diane Rowden continues to be leery of speculative development. This past year she was a frequent dissenter of rezoning requests for new subdivisions. She was one step ahead of the times but out of step to others’ interests.

Something would have to give. Out of about $9,200 in impact fees, over $2,200 would be sacrificed to the benefit of developers, real estate agents, title companies and mortgage lenders – and their employees, plus the buyers themselves. Last year, only eight homebuyers would have qualified, and those were for existing home sales.

The Commission has set aside a public hearing for July 15. There’ll be a group of builders and a long line of other influences behind them. They prompted the Commission to hold the hearing and will by far outnumber residents who will eventually be the ones to pay for the shortfalls. Builders have the time – they want the money.

There’ll be another time and another housing boom that warrants construction to once again begin, but for right now it’s a losing proposition to existing homeowners, especially those who have homes they can’t get rid of. Until better economic times, Hernando County is all boxed out.