Osceola Vs. the Feds, Again

The bailouts are in full swing. Whether you believe in taxpayer money being used for bailing out companies, industries, financial institutions, or local governments, or not, the fact is that the bailouts are happening. This should lead to the idea that, as citizens, we should all demand accountability from those receiving our money. Leave it to the Osceola County Commission to, once again, screw up something that is decidedly simply when it comes to tax money, the Neighborhood Stabilization Program authorized under Title III of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

Based on the description of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program on HUD's (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) website, the program "will provide emergency assistance to state and local governments to acquire and redevelop foreclosed properties that might otherwise become sources of abandonment and blight within their communities. The Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) provides grants to every state and certain local communities to purchase foreclosed or abandoned homes and to rehabilitate, resell, or redevelop these homes in order to stabilize neighborhoods and stem the decline of house values of neighboring homes." Pretty simple, right?

Osceola County's response: we are going to take 4 million of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program and build a clinic with it.

(The WayneWho staff knows that no elected officials or media cheerleaders read this blog, but in case you are, we recommend you re-read the two paragraphs above that describes again what the intention of the U.S. taxpayers is with their money.)

In a news story done by WFTV it has been reported that the County may split the money intended for starting to rebuild our neighborhoods by buying foreclosed properties and fixing them up, and instead build a two-story clinic on land where a small portable clinic already exists. A clinic that, as far as the WayneWho staff can tell, is not in foreclosure. The plan would include (wait for it) increasing the residential inventory of apartments by building 30 apartments in an area plagued with foreclosures. So not only does Osceola County Government plan to snub its nose at the American taxpayers, they plan to make the foreclosure problem worse. The WayneWho staff just wants to know what the Commissioners are allowed to smoke once they get elected?

First the idea of losing another battle to the Federal Government and losing more tax money, and possibly $14 million in NSP money because Osceola county thinks it is the Burger King county of our country and can 'have it their way' is appalling. Osceola County commissioners have tried to rewrite voting rules, and lost, so we guess that expecting they can tell the Federal Government and the taxpayers of the entire U.S. that they are not going to take the money being offered and spend it on what it is intended for, should not surprise any of us. Osceola County Commission Chairman John Quinones' response when questioned on if spending the money somewhere else when Osceola County's foreclosure numbers are so high was "We have tried to enhance and stabilize neighborhoods." If Osceola county had its own stock market, it would have crashed right then and there. Commissioner Quinones' response does not even make sense in the scope of deceit Osceola County Government is attempting to portray. At least he could have been more honest in his statement and said something to the effect of "We believe to stabilize our local neighborhoods we must get people working again and by using some of the NSP to build a building we don't need, we can put some local contractors to work because our 'Buy Local' policy will force us to do so. Basically we are using found money to help keep some of our contributors... uh, I mean, contractors in business." At least then we could nod our heads in collective disgust and say, "Hay, you have to give the guy points for being honest." Instead of course, we get drivel that makes no sense.

The second idea that we believe that we should address is that the NSP money that Osceola County might receive is not because we won some Powerball Taxpayer Lotto. It is not an award for having been studious in our community planning efforts. We are eligible for receiving this money because local governments practiced bad planning and allowed developers to control the growth in our community. One in 69 homes in Osceola County is in foreclosure which is the worst record in Central Florida, and it is because of bad, and very possibly corrupt, planning. For the past commissions, and their henchmen, who helped guide us into this mess, this is your legacy.

While many will point the finger at the individual home owners for this mess and scream personal responsibility, we say simply, you are right. If actions like the intended misuse of NSP money, and the actions of a development minded government have taught us anything it is that, as residents, we are on our own and we need to be responsible for ourselves. Government and the quasi-governmental groups protecting them do not have our backs. They do not want what is best for the residents they represent. They are more than willing to leave a man down in the field to build the next project their buddies dream up. The problem is that the boundaries of personal responsibility get very blurry in the absence of honest information from the experts that surround us.

We hope that the commission will reconsider making the mistake of spending the NSP money improperly. We hope that they will focus on stabilizing the foreclosure nightmare in our county. This is your chance to chart a new legacy that means more than having your names etched on a plaque of a building. It is our chance to get our local contractors working again by creating sustainable plans. Band-Aide measures and lax regulation have proven to be the wrong direction, so maybe it is time we try something else.