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Letters to the EditorsDon't ask county taxpayers for an extra penny© St. Petersburg Times published March 26, 2003 Re: Get on the impact fee wagon, March 17 letter Editor: It is with great interest that we are all following the push for the extra penny in taxes. We have school leaders telling us now that our schools and education will be astoundingly better. Our neighbors in Pinellas voted an extra penny some years ago, and for most communities through that county there has been little improvement, only more overcrowding. Pasco County has a comprehensive plan that states new development should pay for itself. Why hasn't this been enforced? It would be much easier to raise the impact fees per new home and have those fees spread out over a 15- or 30-year mortgage. This is the way to go, this is the way more sophisticated governments pay for their infrastructure. The idea of voting ourselves new taxes is ridiculous. We should be voting to eliminate the people in office who will not do what is right and that is to follow the comprehensive plan. If that was done, this question would never come up.
First, how would tax dollars be spent? Editor: All reasonable people understand that the collection of taxes is necessary to have a working government and a functional society. Without taxes nothing could be accomplished. But, what the Pasco Republican Executive Committee is keenly aware of is the flagrant abuses of our policymakers to levy taxes against the citizens with little justification and no detailed analysis of how the money is being spent. The Pasco GOP feels it is important for elected officials to respect and appeal to the intelligence of the citizens and provide them with a comprehensive breakdown of how all funds generated from a proposed tax would be used. It is a way to combat the misuse of public funds. Recently the Pasco GOP has come under attack for its stand against the Penny for Pasco sales tax. But, proponents of this tax fail to mention where the money will be allocated. They offer a lofty breakdown of the tax, saying that 10 percent will go to the cities, with the county and schools getting 45 percent each. But this does not tell us how the money will be spent. Will most of this money be eaten up in administrative cost? Will the School Board use this money to give themselves raises? No one knows. Proponents also state that the sales tax may reduce property taxes in the future. But the GOP believes that there should be a provision in the penny tax proposal guaranteeing a reduction in the property tax as long as the sales tax is in effect. The Pasco GOP desires the citizens to proceed with caution when considering this tax. We want to know how many roads this tax proposes to pave, how many classrooms this tax will create, and how many fire-rescue houses this tax will build. Proponents hide behind a veil of obscurity and attempt to sway public opinion with emotional arguments that claim it will better our community, but refuse to offer any substance to the tax proposal. -- EDITOR'S NOTE: State law requires the local option sales tax to be used for capital expenses. It cannot be used for administration or for elected officials' salaries.
Elected officials should do their jobs Editor: If you read the letters to the editor for any length of time, there is a common theme. Our taxpaying citizens are frustrated, tired of being ignored and feel powerless. City and county officials are either not listening to the needs of the citizens or are just plain absorbed in self-interest. People don't want a penny tax or more development. They want the roads fixed, the trash picked up, U.S. 19 traffic to flow, no more Wal-Mart stores, a tougher noise ordinance, and an end to property tax hikes and taxes and fees. People are venting their frustration and anger because they don't know what else to do. Elected officials, do your job. Do what's in the best interest of the people that you serve. The people deserve better.
Intersection is dangerous for drivers Editor: I have experienced frustration and aggravation at the corner of Little and Fivay roads. I tried to make a left onto Little Road. First of all, there are no traffic lights there. It's a physical impossibility to make a left turn at this crossing. How many accidents have happened on the corner and nothing has been done to remedy the situation?
Girls State limited by funds, not bias Re: Girls State selection process needs changing, March 18 letter Editor: A Gulf High School student stated the Hudson American Legion Auxiliary is biased and sends girls from only Hudson High School to Girls State. The writer should get her facts straight. The Hudson American Legion Auxiliary Post 335 sponsors River Ridge High School and Hudson High School. River Ridge has not responded to the Girls State program and, thus, only Hudson High School students have attended in recent years. However, there also are American Legion Auxiliary Posts in New Port Richey and Holiday. Per their membership, each post can send as many girls as it can afford. Therefore, Post 335 does not sponsor those who attend Gulf High School. It is absurd that anyone would denounce the Girls State selection policy. It is an excellent program and is run accordingly. There were three girls, including me, who were interviewed from my school last year. I was selected as an alternate because I did not have as many credentials as the other girls had. However, the women of the Hudson American Legion Auxiliary Post 335 told me that they would try very hard to make sure that I could attend, and, sure enough, they kept their word. These women are trying as hard as they can to send as many girls to Girls State as they can because it is a wonderful learning experience. It is not their fault that they do not have the funds to sponsor girls from other schools that are outside of their boundaries. Don't rezone property for Wal-Mart Editor: I am unequivocally opposed to the commercial rezoning of the Dimmitt (Wal-Mart) property on U.S. 19 in Holiday. The Pasco County Planning Commission is scheduled to consider the request April 8. Wal-Mart plans to construct another Supercenter on the land. I've had a chance to review Wal-Mart's conceptual site plan, and it isn't pretty. The plan calls for total access to and from its parking lot via Gulf Trace Boulevard. If you're one of the 400-plus residents in Gulf Trace, Edgewood and Key Vista, or if you've tried to get in and out of the McDonald's on the corner, you know it's a nightmare because of the lack of traffic signals. They tell me that the county, together with the Florida Department of Transportation, calls the shots on the placement of these signals. I understand from my neighbors that folks here were told they could not have a signal at the Gulf Trace -- U.S. 19 intersection because there is a minimum requirement of 1,800 feet between lights. Will the county ask for a variance to please Wal-Mart after quoting chapter and verse to the voters in the area, or will they simply accept the inevitable traffic injuries and deaths that will surely happen without adequate traffic safety? I haven't even touched on this development endangering the adjacent wetlands, or the rise in crime and the drop in real estate values when Wal-Mart comes to a large residential area. If you feel the way I do, come to the Planning Commission meeting and be heard.
Wal-Mart not a good idea for Holiday Editor: A Wal-Mart in Holiday is an insane idea! Why does Holiday need a Wal-Mart when there is a super Wal-Mart just over State Road 54? There is already enough congestion on U.S. 19 in the Holiday area. Why should we entertain the idea of adding to it? The residents in Holiday are not whining, but are being realists. Wal-Mart has destroyed the economy of many towns by driving out the small business owner. Wal-Mart may provide some jobs, but what do the small-business owners do? I guess you want them to go out of business and work for minimum wage at a discount store. I truly like to have choices and options when I shop, and not get forced to shop at one place because all of my options have been run out of business. Young families and retirees living in Holiday can get in their cars and drive the very short distance to the Wal-Mart on State Road 54. We certainly don't need a Wal-Mart within walking distance of our residences. Furthermore, how can one compare the building of new homes in Key Vista with the encroachment of a retail discount store literally in our back yards. There has been enough development over the last two decades. The preservation of certain habitats for our wildlife should be a concern to us all. We need to consider carefully the ramifications of what a Wal-Mart would do both economically and ecologically to Holiday.
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