Walton County budget

[idlewind]

If you have not noticed not one candidate has posted on Sowal this campaign cycle.

Wonder why ?

They would prefer not to commit to anything.;-)

 

[idlewind]

Bob Hudson did say something. A very animated discussion ensued in which the commissioners kept trying to change the subject or got really defensive like they were being attacked, typical misdirection, when Bob pointed out that they were funding positions they had already decided they did not need this year, they immediately acted like they were being accused of 'cooking the books'. My understanding is that Pridgen read his motion from a prepared text he had with him from the begining of the meeting, indicating that the public hearing was a sham, imho. Minds were made up, the majority have something in mind and it is going to cost 3.7 million dollars. Maybe someone has a developer friend that wants to build a public park in their private development, not like that has not been done before.

We all owe Mr. Hudson a debt of gratitude. Now what can we do to stop this? Is a recall possible? Can we still write "john doe" in against Pridgen and force a special election? Or are we just Sc****d?

 

[idlewind]

I doubt it. She has argued against out of control government spending the last three times that budgets have came up. I would have expected nothing less this time. Since she has actually operated a business and is so heavily involved in trying to move forward with economic development I really think she gets it.

You could have said the same things about Pridgen before this week. I have come to the conclusion they are all the problem and all must go. But I am angry and reserve the right to change my mind.;-)

 

[wrobert]

So the question we have to ask ourselves, what services are we willing to pay for? Sara did not vote for the current millage as it was proposed, is she also opposed to a millage increase to have the same $$'s as last year or is her goal to reduce the $$'s collected and if so where are her suggestion for cuts? Wrobert, I would prefer to hear from her and not you on this, unless you are representing her in some fashion. Thanks

Did you need her phone number?

 

[wrobert]

You could have said the same things about Pridgen before this week. I have come to the conclusion they are all the problem and all must go. But I am angry and reserve the right to change my mind.;-)

True, only LJones and SBrannon have made it abundantly clear from past actions that raise revenues and growing government is not a concern of theirs.

 

[wrobert]

If you have not noticed not one candidate has posted on Sowal this campaign cycle.

Wonder why ?

They are sane?

 

[wrobert]

So the question we have to ask ourselves, what services are we willing to pay for? Sara did not vote for the current millage as it was proposed, is she also opposed to a millage increase to have the same $$'s as last year or is her goal to reduce the $$'s collected and if so where are her suggestion for cuts? Wrobert, I would prefer to hear from her and not you on this, unless you are representing her in some fashion. Thanks

This vote had nothing to do with services. They voted to OVERFUND the budget by selecting this rate. The budget itself was actually less than last year so a vote to fund the budget would have still resulted in a millage rate increase. But there were two issues here, one, the budget, which is obviously still contains positions that they have already agreed are not needed, and two, the tax rate, which they set high enough to fund the budget and have over 2.5 million dollars left.

Oh, and FF2, I also have her email address if you need it.

 

[Bob Wells]

Alright, this was the reason I sought her veiw and not yours, so let me clarify what I think I already asked.
"Sara did not vote for the current millage as it was proposed, is she also opposed to a millage increase to have the same $$'s as last year or is her goal to reduce the $$'s collected and if so where are her suggestions for cuts?"

This is why I asked Sara for her to reply, because this allows everyone the opportunity to hear from her.

As for your view, although I appreciate it, it was not what I asked for and I can assure you I understood what was being done, thanks to Bob Hudsons' post. I was looking for an answer to my question and you did not provide that, thanks anyway for your input.

I too have her email address but her office is just down the road from me, so maybe I should just pop in and ask her, although I would not quote her here as then I would be speaking for her and that would not be fair and there are times that what is said is not what is heard.

 

[Alicia Leonard]

Was there a 3-2 vote last year on this issue? Just trying to remember who voted for what for the final budget.

 

[gmarc]

so does this mean our property tax bill will be 20% higher than last yr when the bills come out in sept-oct?amazing as people reeling from real estate crash and gull spill disaster to rentals will have higher tax bills waiting.This will cause even more strategic foreclosures as many who are already udnerwater 30-40% on there values will see no reason to hold even though they have the financial means