With dwindling revenue and the effects of property tax changes still unknown, Pasco County officials are looking at cutting an estimated $22 million from their budget in coming months, officials said this week. ...more

May 24, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - The Pasco County School District needs to trim spending by about $16 million to cover an anticipated shortfall in the 2008-09 budget, Superintendent Heather Fiorentino said this afternoon. ...more

May 7, 2008

The Miami Herald's analysis probably said it best: The big winners in the new state budget are prison builders; the big losers are public schools. ...more

May 6, 2008

SEBRING — Three weeks ago, when Amendment One was passed, the great unknown was portability. That provision in the constitutional amendment allows homeowners to take the 3 percent their Save Our Home caps property taxes and move it to a new home. ...more

February 20, 2008

SEBRING — Ever since a citizens advisory committee on impact fees was proposed, one rumor has swirled around it – that some members would recommend suspending impact fees as a financial incentive to kick start the sluggish building industry. That rumor never was verified, but it doesn't matter now. Suspending impact fees, and suspending building permit fees, too, will be discussed openly at the top level of county government as a means to lift up the local economy. County Commissioner Guy Maxcy guaranteed that will happen Tuesday when he brought the idea up at the county commission meeting. ...more

February 19, 2008

Florida public schools are supposed to begin adhering to strict caps on individual class sizes in August when the state's class-size amendment takes full effect. ...more

February 19, 2008

Leave it to Florida Department of Community Affairs Secretary Tom Pelham to come up with a way to reform growth planning without the impossible demands of Hometown Democracy. ...more

February 16, 2008

Property Appraiser Mike Wells predicted Tuesday that Pasco County's taxable property value will decrease by 8 percent - or $2.5 billion - in the coming year, after several years of record growth. ...more

February 13, 2008

SEBRING – The persistence of one man looks like it will pay off in an additional tax break for Highlands County's 1,500 low-income, senior-citizen homeowners. Frank Parker got the proverbial cold shoulder from the Highlands County Commission in November when he asked commissioners to raise the "Save Our Seniors" homesteaded tax exemption from $5,000 to $50,000 for seniors meeting federal household low-income thresholds. ...more

February 13, 2008

DADE CITY - Property Appraiser Mike Wells predicted Tuesday that Pasco County's taxable property value will decrease by 8 percent – or $2.5 billion – in the coming year, after several years of record growth.. ...more

February 12, 2008