The Gravy Days are Over?

Is that what this has been? The gravy days? What kind of statement is that to make?

In case you haven't read the article from our BoCC Chairman here is the link.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/081608/nec_318834454.shtml

I've got some real issues with some of the statements in there.

The gravy days are over; It comes down to dollars and cents; That means a very tight budget. Well no kidding. There should never be any 'gravy days', it should always come down to dollars and cents and we should always have a tight budget.

Just because there is more of it one year than the next doesn't mean you should spend it all.

And I just love this one. with 24 full-time positions being eliminated primarily through attrition, retirements and reassignment to vacant positions.

If I'm going to 'reassign' someone to a vacant position how did I manage to eliminate anything? That person still has to be paid. That's called shuffling the deck not eliminating.

Here's another one that made me sit up and say "What?'

Six of 15 positions in the Engineering Division will be cut, in response to a slowdown in building construction and development in Clay County.

That biggest part of that 'slowdown' took place over a year ago. Why weren't we letting those people go one at a time sooner? We could have saved some money this year instead of waiting till next year. If you only need 12 you shouldn't have 15. If you only need 9 you shouldn't have 11.

And one more!

Three of the five major funds that make up the bulk of the county's annual operating budget have combined projected reductions totaling $18.6 million.

You know what?  If we can get the 'biggest tax cut Clay County has ever seen' one year and cut out $18M the next year we were obviously spending a lot of money on stuff we didn't need. Why wasn't that $18M spent on some infrastructure instead of wherever it went to?

I always love it when I hear some politician tell me we found some efficiencies so we were able to cut the budget for next year. What that really means is there was a lot of deadwood and pork in the previous budget that shouldn't have been there to begin with.

Revenue cutbacks have led to cutbacks in the amount of planned road resurfacing,

I wonder how many roads could have been resurfaced with that $18M that got spent someplace it didn't need to be. Maybe they should have forgone that big tax cut and used the money to fix some other roads.

Of course then two of the candidates running for office this year wouldn't have been able to lay claim to that accomplishment. Funny how the others that were involved in making that happen haven't said anything about that. Oh right, they aren't running so they don't need any talking points this year.

Oh yes, and mustn't forget the ever popular Republican hue and cry for smaller government:

Funding for two newly created commission seats are in the budget, but with little cost increase because commissioners' salaries have been reduced. 

And if we can just get the CTLAC petitions out of the court room and get them passed the salaries could very well be cut even further. And if the one to do away with the +2 passes we could actually save some money instead of having a 'little cost increase' whatever that means. It would have been nice to have seen that number.

Mike Heemer