2008 Goals & Predictions

It is the first day of 2008 and while many are enjoying the day off, we decided it was important to hit the blog-waves typing. While some of the things that were accomplished this year in Osceola County could be debated as both good and bad, the WayneWho staff believes we should work hard to move forward and set ambitious goals for the new year.

Goal #1 - Get serious about the commuter train system. Local politicians love to talk about how the commuter train is going to help the areas traffic problems, but why not actually start making decisions that will make this a reality. Start by putting a plan in place that will ensure better east/west connectivity to the central north/south line. Make sure the the stations that are to be built are more than open air vandalism hot spots and resemble some type of real rail station. In other words, get on the ball and get serious. You have committed our money to the project, so make it work.

Goal #2 - Create an economy that works. Relying on the residential construction industry or tourism to be the backbone of Osceola's economy was short sighted at best. The national housing slump and unprecedented foreclosure rates should be some indicator that allowing growth soley for a governmental revenue stream is a wreckless trend. Every effort by every governmental body needs to be made to address how Osceola County is going to add decent to high paying jobs to our portfolio. This does not mean that the local Governments need to go into a hiring frenzy just to say we have had job growth. This means that instead of passing the buck onto other communities for job creation, we find ways to do it here. To our Kissimmee City Commissioners: Building fountains is not economic development and will not attract any jobs to our community.

Goal #3 - Control Growth. Continually over-supplying the housing inventory has all but crippled our community. The warnings on this situation had fallen on deaf ears in the government for the past several years, but now the issues created by uncontrolled growth are evident. While many have said for years that you cannot stop growth, we would say the current market has done that for us. This downturn is the perfect opportunity to stop and redefine how our community will grow so it benefits the residents and not just developers.

Goal #4 - Make public safety a priority. While having a stretched public safety personnel roster is sometimes unavoidable, it should not be th norm. Rising crime rates and more calls for our emergency services are not a blip on the radar. Uncontrolled growth and a slowing economy have added to the stress on our public safety network and should not be ignored. Passing the buck between commissioners, department heads, and unions are not solving the problems. Taxes are not meant to pay for drama, they are paid for results.

Goal #5 - Make Access Osceola win the ratings war. While the WayneWho staff believes that changing the local access channel number is a risky proposition that may cost in the short term ratings war being fought with other news outlets, over the long term it may work out. Bigger is better, and having a bigger (higher) channel number should help to draw in the egocentric viewers. We hope all of the new shows like "Commission Break," "Homeless Guy," and "Late Afternoon with Commissioner Irizarry" make the transfer.

WayneWho 2008 Predictions:

Prediction #1: Lawsuits abound. Taxpayers will see their money wasted by governments who believe the court system is in place to act like a consultant. There will be at least one case this year where one of the local governments (School Board probably) will let the courts decide on your dime.

Prediction #2: Shiny Objects. Local Governments and Quasi-Governmental agencies will win awards that mean absolutely nothing to the residents. There will be lots of handshakes and back slaps as your tax dollars fund competitions and pageants.

Prediction #3: A Fee-for-all. With the looming vote on property tax cuts, someone will float the idea of a Maintenance Fee or some other type of all inclusive fee that allows governments to stop relying on property taxes.

Prediction #4: April Showers. The homeless bathing facility that is being built by the City of Kissimmee will become a hot national model. Outdoor bathing facilities will become the hot new item for municipalities to build. We also predict that the push for outdoor bathing will spur on a return to outdoor plumbing in other areas.

Prediction #5: The MetroPlan Orlando Traffic "Pain Index" Monitoring System will remain at a High Level (high risk of tax increases) for most of the year. Some local chatter has been intercepted that indicates pro-tax factions are working on plans to push the index into the red or Severe Level (just give up, because we are going to raise your taxes), but the MetroPlan social club will resist the temptation this election year.