What Kind Of Stimulus Would Help Highlands County?

Highlands County Commissioner Guy Maxcy wants his fellow commissioners to consider an economic stimulus package for the local business community. We like that idea, and are game for anything that eases the desperate situation a growing number of businesses are in. We fear, though, that there is little that can be done on this level. Let's hope that isn't the case.

Maxcy suggested that some measures to be considered including suspending building fees and impact fees. We understand what he's talking about because it's clear that construction and home sales have a lot to do with our local economy. But there's much more than that.

Our federal government is attempting to stimulate the nation's economy by giving taxpayers a nice check to blow on whatever we want. The idea is to get money flowing throughout the economy. The price tag on the federal package is billions of dollars, and it's money our country doesn't have. The county can't deficit spend.

Will suspending building permits and impact fees actually stimulate the county economy, or just a few people's wallets? That's the real question here. If the county wants to stimulate the economy on the short term, slash taxes - at least temporarily - and let everyone be part of the solution by buying goods and services. Perhaps a Highlands County rebate would make sure the money stays locally.

It's doubtful any of this is feasible, so let's be realistic. If cutting impact fees and building permits gets some people working and pumping more money back into the local economy, great. Give it a try. But people need to realize that impact fees are only there to meet state mandates that require new growth to pay for the infrastructure it affects. So at best it's only a temporary thing.

There's no doubt many local businesses are hurting right now. Some have cut jobs, and some are barely clinging to life. We want our businesses to survive this difficult time and hang in there until it turns around. We believe this will happen, and hopefully soon.