Letter: Our Republican County Commissioners have a choice

Letter: Our Republican County Commissioners have a choice

Andrea Anthony
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

They can play politics as usual by pitting one group in the community against another (those with children against those without), by holding our children hostage to library and park cuts, by pretending that they “only want to hear from voters” and allow us, the voters, to raise taxes on ourselves (which we have never done) and by only offering one option to higher taxes, that being draconian cuts to popular programs….OR they can model responsible government by doing what we elected them to do.

That is, avoiding tax increases (they all campaigned on this as “conservatives”), avoiding cuts to popular programs by funding those departmental budget deficits with user fees (which would cost those users FAR less than paying 17% more in sales tax), by cutting the still existing fat out of the budget (like $400,000 for a feasibility study on beach renourishment), by delaying building new buildings (like $12,000,000 for a brand new Public Works building) and renovating the old one instead and a score of other alternatives which are only being discussed by Commissioner Bill McClure, and by (if the measure goes on a ballot) making sure that the measure is on a ballot with the highest turnout possible (next March or November 2016) so they can truly hear from all of us, like they say they want to, instead of sneaking it past most voters this November in a costly special election.

Seriously? This is where we find ourselves with all “small government, lower taxes” Republicans?

Responsible government would allow popular programs to be funded by user fees. For example, the library budget shortfall could be funded by a $6/yr user fee instead of that same person paying several hundred more per year in sales taxes.

The County Commissioners could allow people to keep the programs they really want and use, by allowing them to pay for them. User fees are far more friendly to the poor and underprivileged because they are optional and less costly to those folks than a sales tax increase, which is regressive (meaning it hits the lower income people harder). With those programs off the chopping block, the Commissioners could focus on the needs that benefit all the residents, not just a few.

There are two Commissioners who, it appears, will vote “yes” for certain. The swing votes are Smith and Johns. If you want to save yourself money and send a message to our County Commissioners to live within its means and not raise our taxes as they campaigned, then email or call these two Commissioners.

James K. Johns
Commissioner, District 1
P: (904) 209-0301
C: (904) 615-7437
E: bcc1jjohns@sjcfl.us
Commissioner Johns’ web page

Jeb Smith, Vice-Chair
Commissioner, District 2
P: (904) 209-0302
C: (904) 325-4182
E:  bcc2jsmith@sjcfl.us
Commissioner Smith’s web page.

We have other options. Cheaper ones. Let’s opt for those. We don’t need to vote raising taxes or not for them to know what we want. That’s why they all said they were against raising taxes. They already know what we want.

Bravo. Responsible government is a beautiful thing.