Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran recently addressed the complaints from local elected officials about the potential impact of the state constitutional amendment that would increase the homestead exemption by an additional $25,000.
Some local officials are concerned that the amendment, if adopted, would result in a cut to services or a local tax increase.
Leon County Commissioner Bryan Desloge told the Tallahassee Democrat the amendment would hurt services. “This isn’t trim the fat, you are amputating at this point,” said Desloge. “This makes it awfully hard to deliver services.”
And fellow County Commissioner Mary Ann Lindley, in an opinion piece, said the “consequences will include deep and lasting cuts for sidewalks, parks, road maintenance, capital improvement, investments in programs ranging from tourism to public health, affordable housing, jail improvements and other cuts that will hurt our constitutional officers, too.”
While on the Morning Show with Preston Scott, Speaker Corcoran and Scott discussed the homestead exemption issue.
Scott said to Corcoran, “You know that local elected officials are absolutely apoplectic about that. What would you say to city and county commissioners across the state who are sitting there saying okay well then I guess we will have to find another way to get the money?”
Speaker Corcoran replied, “There isn’t one listener… or one voter in Leon county who does not believe for one second there isn’t waste in government. For those who say that, here’s what you should do – put your big boy pants on and go in there and cut the waste in your government and allow those people to have that tax cut.”
Corcoran talked about how under his leadership the House shined a light on waste with regards to spending on economic incentives. And then the Speaker said:
“I guarantee if you put me in charge of any local government’s budget and in 30 days I will find you enough waste where they don’t have to take any kind of cuts on services and sure as heck not have to raise taxes,” said Corcoran.
The homestead exemption amendment is slated to be on the ballot in 2018.
Speaker Corcoran tells local officials to “put your big boy pants on” added by Staff on
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” who put them in positions of making such decisions on behalf of us tax payers ??” Why, their friends and relatives of course.
Tallahassee/city/county/ blueprint 2000 infatuation with do gooder projects such as more sidewalks, bike trails (10% use the ones we have now), parks ( Cascades, a 50 million dollar absolute waste of tax payer money) , making 2 lane roads out of 4 lane (Gaines—a real traffic choker for more “”T””shirt retailers and Tatoo parlors), gateway improvements such as landscaped medians, cross walks for those that cannot understand that you cross the street at controlled intersections—none of these do-gooder projects improve transportation or solve traffic problems , only please the few that push for such useless and expensive projects as justifications for their jobs as government employees. Where in the world do these people come from and more importantly, who put them in positions of making such decisions on behalf of us tax payers ??
There are new sidewalks all over town no one uses. Sidewalks to no where I call them.
But we can give in the range of 25% pay increases to City employees over 11 years? What is wrong with this picture?
Local government is loaded with fat and overpaid employees.
$3M dollar turtle tunnel, A large part of $40M dollars wasted on a park called Cascades,(with its $500,000 per year maintenance price tag) $50M dollars and counting on Gaines St,…not to mention $250,000 on the ‘sculpture’ at Gaines and Woodward, $7M dollar ‘bridge’ over Monroe St. $30M dollar FAMU Way extension…
These are the ones I know about. Yeah, I’d say our local governments can cut.
AMEN!!!
Gov. Corcoran, and Lt. Gov. Putnam – I like the sound of that MUCH better than Gov. Hurm (Graham) and Lt. Gov. Gillum.
Dont forget $43,000,000 to Honeywell for water meters…while Honeywell was a client of our previous mayor John Marks!
But we also dodged a huge expense my defeating the Performing Arts Center.
Get ready to be squeezed for another $1.7 million:
http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2017/05/11/tallahassee-considers-raise-3k-city-workers/101521150/
I occasionally hear of rank and file getting 1% (COLA) raises; only time I ever hear of 3%+ is public employees.
With our progressive commisars, there’s never enough money. Get ahead? Turn it over. Lag behind? Turn it over.