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Just Say No

John Dyce

Published: November 25, 2008

Kudos to Commissioner Carlson for asking "Where's the money coming from?" and then voting "no" to voluntarily reducing county revenue.
The other commissioners should have followed the rookie's lead. Instead, the majority approved measures (senior citizen tax break and combat troop stipend) which had been turned down or tabled back when the county had the money to spend. What's the logic; now that we can't afford it, we'll do it?
I'm not addressing the merits of either proposal, but neither should the commission have. The county should simply not entertain requests for exemptions or expenditures from special interest groups until its revenue stream is stable; tax reductions have consequences.
The times call for our leaders to be hardhearted and tightfisted.
Hopefully, the economy will turn around, and they can return to making it a bit better for the needy or the especially deserving.
In the meantime, our commissioners should act like accountants, not godfathers.
John Dyce
Lorida