Arrangement Might Leave County Holding the Bag
- Naked Conch - Posted by Matt Gardi - March 15, 2012
Lost in all the hopeful rhetoric surrounding this year's anticipated sewer funding that has left so many local officials patting each other on the back is the discussion of what happens...next year.
To my understanding, those numerous officials who brought their entourages up to Tallahassee recently to do what I frequently refer to as the Tallahassee Two Step, are celebrating the fact the State is willing to pony up the first year's funding of a $50 million dollar bond issue. As Ryan McCarthy of the Keynoter recently reported, the Legislature has included $4.8 Million to fund the first year of the bond issue in this year's budget.
So, while all our local officials are elated, and feel vindicated that the expense of sending so many folks up to Tallahassee for the final crunch of the budget process was not just a glorified trip to hold hands and sing Kumbayah, I am left wondering where will we stand next year at this time.
Don't get me wrong, I am all for exploring every alternative to fund the completion of the sewer projects, but I have always maintained that perhaps we should not be so idealistic, and we, along with the State need to extend the mandated time frame for completion again. That timeline needs to be stretched at least until funding is available on a pay as you go basis from the State, not by incurring more debt.
While the State is ponying up $4.8 million this year, I want to know what happens when our entourage of elated local deal makers come back empty handed next year. What happens after they travel to Tallahassee, and spend days using the latest app on their iPad to locate restaurants to dine with other important deal makers in a frenzy of self aggrandizement and then the State says no to additional sewer bond funding??
Guess who is on the hook for the rest of the $50 Million dollar bond issue? Yeah, you guessed it, you and me. Ever wonder how those things happen that result in some government official saying, "We couldn't have seen this coming, we need to look forward, deals we made in the past are water under the bridge."
Ultimately, locally we may be stuck with an ongoing need to fund this $50 million dollar bond issue to the tune of $5 Million per year. That's when you'll hear about all the dire cuts that will need to be made to essential County services unless we implement some new creative tax, like expanding the gas tax, or a toll booth on US 1, on increasing the sales tax, and on and on and on.
- Naked Conch - Posted by Matt Gardi - March 15, 2012
Lost in all the hopeful rhetoric surrounding this year's anticipated sewer funding that has left so many local officials patting each other on the back is the discussion of what happens...next year.
To my understanding, those numerous officials who brought their entourages up to Tallahassee recently to do what I frequently refer to as the Tallahassee Two Step, are celebrating the fact the State is willing to pony up the first year's funding of a $50 million dollar bond issue. As Ryan McCarthy of the Keynoter recently reported, the Legislature has included $4.8 Million to fund the first year of the bond issue in this year's budget.
So, while all our local officials are elated, and feel vindicated that the expense of sending so many folks up to Tallahassee for the final crunch of the budget process was not just a glorified trip to hold hands and sing Kumbayah, I am left wondering where will we stand next year at this time.
Don't get me wrong, I am all for exploring every alternative to fund the completion of the sewer projects, but I have always maintained that perhaps we should not be so idealistic, and we, along with the State need to extend the mandated time frame for completion again. That timeline needs to be stretched at least until funding is available on a pay as you go basis from the State, not by incurring more debt.
While the State is ponying up $4.8 million this year, I want to know what happens when our entourage of elated local deal makers come back empty handed next year. What happens after they travel to Tallahassee, and spend days using the latest app on their iPad to locate restaurants to dine with other important deal makers in a frenzy of self aggrandizement and then the State says no to additional sewer bond funding??
Guess who is on the hook for the rest of the $50 Million dollar bond issue? Yeah, you guessed it, you and me. Ever wonder how those things happen that result in some government official saying, "We couldn't have seen this coming, we need to look forward, deals we made in the past are water under the bridge."
Ultimately, locally we may be stuck with an ongoing need to fund this $50 million dollar bond issue to the tune of $5 Million per year. That's when you'll hear about all the dire cuts that will need to be made to essential County services unless we implement some new creative tax, like expanding the gas tax, or a toll booth on US 1, on increasing the sales tax, and on and on and on.
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