Letters to the Editor: Maitland gambles tax money

Maitland money misuse

For the past 10 years, the city has been playing with the citizens’ money, very badly, and now they say, “Oh my gosh, we don’t have enough money to run the city.” Of course, the Council can raise the taxes without any public input. However, let’s start off as adults and do the following.

Go back over the last 10 years and bring out all the dirty laundries that have put us in this position. We know of one from audio recordings of a meeting that one of the council members said of the downtown develop area, “We are taking a big gamble.” That big gamble was with your money, and it failed miserably. We have been paying half a million dollars per year for that mistake. So bring out all the laundry, not with political rhetoric, but real words and description. Then list all the actions that have taken place to prevent it from happening again.

The Council has proven over the years they don’t know how to handle our money. So instead of a whopping 25 percent increase, why don’t you go for a 6 percent increase? Then have an independent group review how money management is proceeding. Then we can get back to financial stability incrementally. Of course, the Council can dispense with all the laundry and just put it up for a vote by the citizens.

— Bill Kahn

No such thing as free lunch

Sometimes I quip that there is no such thing as a free lunch, in that you rarely get something for nothing; and someone has to underwrite the cost.

So here comes Winter Park clamoring for more “pork” sausages – Mom, please! A city whose motto should be, “In grants we thrive.” And at a time when the federal Highway Trust Fund finds itself underfunded. (Whoa, how’d that happen?) Which makes an alternative motto – “In federal Funds we Trust” – sadly a day late and dollar short.

Each SunRail passenger’s fare is directly subsidized by government – mostly through taxpayer funded state and federal programs. I’ll wager that no official in Winter Park knows – or worse, cares – what the taxpayer cost is to deliver a live body to Winter Park. Or what the cost/benefit ratio is for any incremental profit – not just revenue – for each additional patron. So why does the city operate in such a knowledge vacuum – much unlike a corporation answerable to stock holders? Because they see it all as a free ride.

So to spin the Winter Park Chamber’s new slogan – a non-profit recently announcing its support for a new local sales tax - this desire should be dubbed “The Free Ride Bummer.”

Now just imagine if Winter Park had to underwrite any or all of new night and weekend SunRail service. It doesn’t take much imagination. You just have to look at how penny pinching and fiscally conservative the city is in its current quest for a new library – using only city (and donated) funds. Wanna bet additional service would remain a daydream if it must be self-funded?

But the worst part for me is the coming true of just what we all expected – and a violation of one of my life’s tenets: never go back to the well a second time.

All the local pols knew that all they had to do was get a foot in the commuter rail door. So now we see appeals for expensive quiet zones and added service – which always waited on a railroad sidetrack. Just wait until the seven-year state subsidy of SunRail operating costs expires – and get out your wallets.

I can’t wait for the day that the city applies for an arts grant to erect a bronze statue of its patron saint – Rep. John Mica (R-Florida) – in Central Park next to the new train station, maybe posed with his foot on money bags. In the interim it can name the station in his honor; what do a few signs cost?

— William Shallcross