In case the commissioners have not noticed business is DOWN. What do they need 75% more staff to administer? If the officers can cut, why can't the commissioners at least remain the same.
Walton County budget
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In case the commissioners have not noticed business is DOWN. What do they need 75% more staff to administer? If the officers can cut, why can't the commissioners at least remain the same.
Ms. Jones needed to remember what happened to the senior President Bush when he broke a no new tax promise. Mr. Pridgen shows the taxpayers the danger in allowing politicians to be reelected without an opponent and the further danger of allowing any of them to stay very long. They forget who they work for.
The 14% increase maybe could have been justified but 22% in a down economy? Never.
I bet it would have been 5-0 if Ms. Commander had not had an opponent in the coming election. I wonder how hard she actually argued against it?
We need to vote um all out, Federal, State and Local and start over. The new ones could not do worse than what we have. All the bureaucrats need to go too. They enable and encourage the politicians to do what they do.
Those constitutional officers who reduced their budgets were:
Martha Ingle - Clerk of Courts - $ 403,553
Bobby Beasley - Supervisor of Elections - $ 1,901
Patrick Pilcher - Property Appraiser - $92,482
Mike Adkinson - Walton County Sheriffs Office - $678,569
Those who increased their budgets as presented by the OMB director were:
Rhonda Skipper - Tax Collector + $5,485.00
Total Budget Reductions from last years budget - $2,509,373
Total Budget Reductions from Constitutional Officers $ 1,117,020
Cuts from BCC Controlled $ 1,392,353
Selected BCC Departments Increase/Decrease
Administration +284,619 (+3 people)
Parks & Recreation -$99,570
Planning -$432,082
Animal Control +283,201
Fire&EMS( North Walton) -$277,471
Those voting for the 22% increase:
Larry Jones
Kenneth Pridgen
Scott Brannon
Cecilia Jones
Those Voting Against the 22%
Sara Comander
Martha Ingle - Clerk of Courts - $ 403,553
Bobby Beasley - Supervisor of Elections - $ 1,901
Patrick Pilcher - Property Appraiser - $92,482
Mike Adkinson - Walton County Sheriffs Office - $678,569
Those who increased their budgets as presented by the OMB director were:
Rhonda Skipper - Tax Collector + $5,485.00
Total Budget Reductions from last years budget - $2,509,373
Total Budget Reductions from Constitutional Officers $ 1,117,020
Cuts from BCC Controlled $ 1,392,353
Selected BCC Departments Increase/Decrease
Administration +284,619 (+3 people)
Parks & Recreation -$99,570
Planning -$432,082
Animal Control +283,201
Fire&EMS( North Walton) -$277,471
Those voting for the 22% increase:
Larry Jones
Kenneth Pridgen
Scott Brannon
Cecilia Jones
Those Voting Against the 22%
Sara Comander
Why does planning need $400,000+ more? What are they planning for, a huge bonfire to burn all the vacant properties? How to properly shutter all the closed businesses? And I ask again, what are we administering that requires 3 more people making $90,000+? Didn't anyone say anything to try and dissuade the 4 from voting for this?
The planning change is a negative number - I think it reflects the lack of development at this time.
Sorry, I misread the post because I am seeing red.
Looks like we are cutting fire and ambulances too so what ARE we getting? A bunch of bureaucrats sitting in offices?
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.
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.
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
If you have not noticed not one candidate has posted on Sowal this campaign cycle.
Wonder why ?
Wonder why ?