We were glad to see the new direction of the Osceola News-Gazette Editorial from Saturday's edition and wish we had a person to point at to say good job. We will at least give credit to the faceless "Editor" for making the needed corrections to the Lakefront article they had done the week before, and explained the path the public was able to choose for the project. The WayneWho staff is glad to see that they have chosen not to rewrite history, but embrace the true course that was taken. We hope that the public will remember that they can control the fate of their community if they choose to get involved and hold government accountable.It is in this spirit of compromise that the WayneWho staff offers the rest of this article. We have been very critical of the tax and fee increases proposed by local governments, quasi-governmental groups, and non-profits wanting to suck more from governmental sources. While the first reaction of the WayneWho staff is almost always a resounding 'NO' when governments come asking for more money, we would have to agree that these are not normal times. We believe that our local news media, governments, and agencies should also be willing to comprise in their visions of grand convention centers, cradle to grave social programs, and government's intruding roll into our local private markets, and learn when enough is enough. Its is time that local governments admit their part in the worsening local situation to help restore a sense of trust and stability to our local economy. The WayneWho staff has noticed the beginning of this trend of owning up to the mistakes of the past. In this past weekend's Gazette article, the county finally admits they do not have the money to finish Neptune Road, even though the money to complete the road has already been collected. We feel that admitting to these problems is a critical first step and we should not lay the blame on the new commissioners who inherited them. Our fear is that this new found attempt at honesty and transparency will be short lived.
In the end Government is about compromise so our staff decided to hold an emergency meeting this weekend to discuss what ideas could be brought forward by government officials to help our local community. We asked ourselves where we would be willing to compromise and worked from there. We did the numbers on all of the proposed tax and fee increases to find out which ones might have any hope of pulling our community out of the economic quagmire it now finds itself in. While we feel our plan does increase some risk factors for some residents and businesses who are teetering on the brink of collapse, we believe that it is the only compromise that will have a positive effect for government and residents.
We believe the county should raise the gas tax the proposed five cents for the next three years only. We believe that since government programs and tax increases never go away once they are approved, this tax increase should be set to sunset automatically. Our plan, like ideas brought up on another blog this morning, would select very specific transportation projects that would benefit the existing community directly. No money should be spent to finance road projects that only help developers build more homes. Projects like overpasses on John Young Parkway and Osceola Parkway that would help to speed people, goods, and services from destination to destination should get the highest priority. Improving our transportation infrastructure to promote economic development is the key. Our numbers show that while forcing the sunset of the gas tax in three years will not generate the necessary funding for the entire amount of unfunded road projects that should have already been taken care of, we believe this will force government to more wisely choose which projects should get done. If the average resident of Osceola county is having to make tough decisions on where to spend money they have actually worked for, government should do the same for money it has not worked for. The residents should not be punished for government's inability to manage its money. Part of our compromise is that this tax increase should be the only tax increase for the next three years. No raising of impact fees, no increasing millage rates, no increases of government staff, and the suspension of all automatic fee increases for the next three years. Read our lips - No NEW Taxes! If the residents of this community are going to agree to invest even more money into projects they have already paid for, then they need some sort of sign of stability in what their monthly expenses are going to be. This goes for all local governments. No more increases. Increases in revenue need to be based on performance and not on the fact that local governments can shake down citizens anytime they want to. It is time local governments restore trust in the system, because right now, the citizens do not trust government with their money.
Our compromise would also include a heightened level of transparency. A chart of accounts for every project that gas tax money is going towards needs to be posted in full online. We believe that this should be done for all government spending, but for now the people should be able to track their new investment to see how wisely it is being used. And when the WayneWho staff says in full, we mean line by line with no hidden expenditures wrapped under bogus titles. If a dollar is spent on a few pencils, then it should be written on the online account that way. The public has a right to know.
We hope that our readers take these ideas and do with them what they will. Maybe our ideas can at least start a discussion of how to move forward instead of the discussion that has gone on so far. Taxing everything in sight is not the answer, but cutting off all government revenue (even if it would make us happy) is not the answer either. This plan is our compromise.
9 comments:
Why is the best idea I have heard so far is from a blog? I like it!
A gas tax increase would shut my business down. I can not afford to take another hit after Kissimmee has dug into my pocket so much. They just need to not build the roads until people start making money again.
I could by your argument if we could be guaranteed that they were not going to sneek other taxes in. You are right in saying that there is no trust in government, because if there was, this would not be an issue.
I could be for this if I knew there would be no more tax or fee increases. I like the idea of sunsetting the tax because in three years the area should be building again.
This is stupid. I live on the border of Osceola and Orange. I will just go over the border where gas is cheaper. Government is too bloated and does not need any more money! I will repeat. Government is too bloated and does not need any more money! Our budget has doubled in a few short years because of the housing bubble, not because of the need for additional services.
I have my own compromise. All you have to do is have full transparency in government. Along with the budget there needs to be public disclosure of every single check Osceola County has written. The budget categorizes. Many items are hidden in categories such as operating expense, advertising, consulting fees, etc. The public needs to know who the money is being paid to, not how the money is being spent. This is the crux of the problem. It sounds good when you say the money is being spent on XYZ. It might not sound so good when you know who XYZ really is. When you have full disclosure you will eliminate cronyism and the good old boy structure and have all kinds of money left over.
I am tired of government wasting my tax dollars. I am tired of the national government devaluing our currency and rewarding irresponsibility on the backs of the responsible.
I think you are completely wrong on supporting a gas tax. But I would like to make another suggestion. If your intent in the opening picture was to send a message from the taxpayer to government, the wrong finger is extended.
There is absolutely no reason I can see why the gas tax should be raised. Cut staff, cut off the lights, cut your salary Mr. Commisioners but NO NEW TAXES of any kind. Most of us work in Orange county anyway we will just buy our gas there instead and Osceola will lose all of their tax money. We the pleople have suffered enough at your hands.
I like the finger comment, but if you change fingers it sends a message to the people from the government.
That is the message government has been sending to the people for a long time.
I do not like the idea of raising the gas tax, but I do see your point and the method to your madness Wayne. Basically you are saying that they are going to raise taxes and fees no matter what because not only have the governments screwed up in spending, but the economic downturn has pushed government services to the brink anyway. So your thought is raise revenue on the one thing that might stand a chance of helping instead of lots of things that will allow government to continue spending like drunken sailors. I guess from a responsibility point your arguement makes sense.
I also like the idea of getting rid of the tax increase automatically. This would force government to do the right thing with the money and not let them stockpile it for things the people in this community do not want.
The problem I see with you plan is that we have to trust that our elected officials are strong enough to do the right thing. I know it is a new commission, but even you have pointed out their weaknesses already. I do not believe they can be trusted to not only do the right thing, but remove the tax after three years.
Good plan Wayne even if I don't agree.
Thanks for opening the door for another tax increase Wayne. I had at least four people tell me that I had to read this article becuase the anti-tax blog is now FOR a tax. We do not need a new tax Wayne. We need government to cut back in every detail. That is the best 'plan.' We need your support on this so don't roll over on us now.
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