Plummeting property values and falling state funding have blown a $30 million hole in Pasco County's budget for next year, county officials said last week. ...more

February 22, 2009

State spending would grow and property taxes drop under a new budget proposal from Gov. Charlie Crist that relies heavily on a handout from the federal government. ...more

February 21, 2009

Friday the 13th brought some bad luck to Richard Ortiz. That's when Pasco's code compliance manager submitted his resignation after leading the department for nearly four years. That's when Pasco's code compliance manager submitted his resignation after leading the department for nearly four years. ...more

February 21, 2009

A county clerk in Colorado has a simple response to staff cuts caused by budget shortfalls: Just don't answer the phones. ...more

February 17, 2009

Slow-Train Boondoggle The taxpayers of Florida owe a debt of gratitude to the Tampa Tribune for your continuous opposition to the CSX boondoggle. At a time when state government can't pay the bills, the leadership in Tallahassee is willing to give millions to a special interest while ignoring the needs of our citizens. We face budget cuts from health to education, but CSX lives on. ...more

February 15, 2009

Pasco County Animals Services has long accepted the help of volunteers to assist staff in the mission to care for creatures and protect public health. Until recently, however, the agency kept its efforts pretty low key. ...more

February 11, 2009

The state still faces a deficit of up to $700 million this fiscal year - and $5 billion next year - despite last month's budget-cutting session, the Senate's top budget chief said Monday. ...more

February 10, 2009

The state still faces a deficit of up to $700 million this fiscal year - and $5 billion next year _ despite last month's budget-cutting session, the Senate's top budget chief said today. On top of that, said JD Alexander, head of the Senate's Ways and Means committee, property taxes are expected to yield $1 billion less than the state needs just to maintain the status quo for K-12 public school funding. ...more

February 9, 2009

Florida won't get enough federal stimulus money to avoid more budget cuts, the state Senate's budget leader said Monday. ...more

February 9, 2009

Students in grades four, eight and 10 will face the first round of assessment testing for the 2008-09 school year this week, with the writing portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test being given Tuesday. ...more

February 9, 2009