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Highlands Today

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David C. Zahn

Published: October 18, 2007

I find the news that our Highlands County government is going into business very disturbing. Isn't the role of the county government to promote an economic base for our community and to encourage investment by the private sector?

Isn't the board's duty to provide incentives and a regulatory climate which creates jobs and economic growth? Since when has it been the goal for the county government to go into business and compete with its tax payers by taking jobs away from the economic base created by we, the taxpayers?

From what I understand, the county commission voted to spend $3.5 million in taxpayers' money to compete with the private sector or reduce the jobs available for local established contractors. This just doesn't make sense to me.

The proposed asphalt plant will be built for supplying asphalt, but will not provide the labor for paving. So this means that the county will be taking jobs from established businesses that provide the product and service. This government-owned business will be directly competing with established companies whose owners and/or employees have lived and paid taxes in this county, in other words supported you, for more than 15 years. Have you thought of what will happen if these entities refuse to provide the service for your product? Or maybe re-locate to an adjacent county?

I can't be the only one that is disturbed by the actions of our county commissioners. Really, the decisions that they have being making lately are very questionable. Are they truly considering the best interest of the people of Highlands County, or is county government now going to compete with business, plus continue spending our tax dollars?

On the Highlands County Board of Commissioner's Web site, their mission is simply stated as "Setting county policy and spending taxpayer dollars wisely." Is there a conflict of interest here? WouId you want your "competitor" to have their hands in your pockets?

My last thought is, does someone in the county commissioners' family need a job? Maybe he/she will be the manager or foreman of this new plant. As a Highlands County citizen and taxpayer, this decision is disturbing and makes no sense to me.

David C. Zahn
Lake Placid

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