By B.C. Manion
Pasco County’s legislation delegation heard about wide-ranging concerns from constituents at a delegation workshop on Friday at Mitchell High School.
Many of the speakers acknowledged the tough position that lawmakers are in, as they tackle a state budget with a $3.5 billion shortfall.
Just the same, they pleaded with lawmakers to avoid stripping their current funding and to make changes that will ease daily operations in various programs.
Pasco County Administrator John Gallagher said the county is trying to reinvent itself as a magnet for businesses and it needs state lawmakers’ help to make that happen.
Pasco wants to establish an urban service area in the areas of the US 19 corridor and the SR 54 corridor, Gallagher said. State planners rejected the idea, saying the development wasn’t dense enough, Gallagher said. But he thinks that decision puts the county at a disadvantage.
Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, agreed with Gallagher that getting legislation passed on urban service area issue is very important in the coming session.
Cliff McDuffie, mayor of Zephyrhills, said he appreciates the tough economy facing state and local governments. “We’re like everyone else,” he said. “We’ll probably be looking at some layoffs this coming year.”
He said he hopes the city will be able to make the cuts with retirements, but he didn’t sound certain that would happen.
There’s also a need for funding to pay for an emergency shelter on the east side of the county, McDuffie said. Thousands of residents live in mobile homes and need someplace to go if a hurricane threatens.
Pasco School Board Chairwoman Joanne Hurley reminded lawmakers that funding is the school district’s primary issue.
The district is starting with a $47 million shortfall, and like state lawmakers, the school board will need to make painful decisions.
She reminded lawmakers that the district receives $540 per pupil less than it did in 2007-2008.
Besides reiterating the district’s dire financial straits, she requested: “When you are revisiting the issue of class size, please give us as much flexibility as you can.”
State Attorney Bernie McCabe also outlined the cuts his division has made. Five years ago, he had 485 authorized positions, he said. Now, he has a staff of 420.
McCabe said that he, too, has constituents that he serves and he wants to ensure they get quality service.
“We’re getting down to the quick,” McCabe said.
George Romagnoli, the county’s community development director, asked state lawmakers to restore funding for the State Housing Initiative Partnership. It allows the county to use a myriad of ways to help people stay in their homes, he said.
Those funds are key “because they don’t have federal strings attached,” said State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey.
Rev. Dan Campbell, president of the Homeless Coalition of Pasco County, Inc., said Pasco’s homeless population continues to grow and more must be done to address that.
Other issues brought to state lawmakers attention, include requests to:
– Force pill mills out of business
– Provide justice for fathers who are prevented from seeing their children because of false allegations of abuse
– Address impacts from changes in funding for healthcare that will affect the quality and type of care available to senior citizens
– Enact a patient protection act that would regulate registered nurse to patient ratios, and would protect registered nurses who report unsafe actions taken by care providers
– Allow children attending private schools who want to play on public school athletic teams to have the opportunity to do so
