Author: Warren Redlich

The West Boca Community Council is in the news today in the Sun-Sentinel, including a Q&A with long time member Milton Brenner.

State House candidate James Ryan O’Hara answers our spending question:
Q: According to the Florida state budget, the State of Florida spends approximately $70 Billion a year (http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Florida_state_budget).
Do you think the state government should spend more, less, or is this about the right amount?
If more, where would you spend more and where would you get the money from?
If less, what spending would you cut?
A: The state of Florida needs to streamline government and cut spending. In order to right Florida’s financial ship we must find more efficient uses for taxpayer funds. There are many areas of the budget where spending can be reduced. Here are a few examples:
1. Health Care: Florida faced a budget shortfall $2 billion dollars this last session. Medicaid spending amounted for almost a third of the budget, roughly $20 billion dollars in 2011, by 2014 that spending is projected to be $24 billion. For the past few years Florida has tested a managed care pilot program which has resulted in savings. Expanding more privatized options for medicaid spending will result in more savings and more efficiency.
2. Unemployment: A rough economy has resulted in more stress on our states already strained unemployment system. Recently, the system has been renamed Re-employment services. However, changing the name doesn’t make it more efficient. By working with local businesses to promote internships subsidized by the Re-employment fund in order to promote long term hiring will lessen the time unemployed workers are on the roles thus reducing costs to the taxpayer.
3. Housing: Although not exactly a budget cut, legislation to address foreclosures in our state can result in a healthy housing market which is vital to Florida’s overall economic success. Last session a bill to speed up the foreclosure process for abandoned homes failed in the senate. Currently Florida’s courts are back logged with foreclosure cases and has one of the longest repossession time periods. A bill that can speed this long wait on foreclosures, while protecting homeowners property rights, can get these houses back on the market and reduce the burden faced by the state and local governments.

The second candidate to answer Question 1 Melanie Peterson, a Republican running for State Senate. Here’s the question again, and Melanie’s answer:
Q: According to the Florida state budget, the State of Florida spends approximately $70 Billion a year.
Do you think the state government should spend more, less, or is this about the right amount?
If more, where would you spend more and where would you get the money from?
If less, what spending would you cut?
A: Just as most of us must hold our spending in order to balance our budgets along with identifying cost savings and wasteful spending in order to pay for our necessities, so must our government.
We must balance the budget without raising taxes. As a fiscal conservative, I support cutting wasteful and frivolous spending. We must constantly identify waste and new efficiencies to cut spending in every corner of government.

A week ago we asked Question 1 of some of our local candidates for County Commission and the state legislature. The first candidate to answer the question is Paul Tocker, a Republican running for the Palm Beach County Commission. Here’s the question again, and Paul’s answer:
Q: According to the county budget summary (pdf), Palm Beach County spends approximately $3.3 Billion a year (not including internal and interdepartmental charges, and interfund transfers).
Do you think the county should spend more, less, or is this about the right amount?
If more, where would you spend more and where would you get the money from?
If less, what spending would you cut?
A: I believe the County should spend less. I would want to use the new audit section within the Office of the inspector general with the County auditors depatment and volunteer resourses to
1- Find and trim waste.
2- Do cost benefit anaysis
3- Determine duplicated services
4- Consolidate services with our 38 County Municipalities wherever possible.
5- Liquidate some County owned properties
6- Access unrestricted reserves without jeopardizing our bond rating.
7- Set spending priorities
I would try to implement the Taxpayer Action Board recommendation to take the majority of cuts from the PB Sheriffs office, not the County Departments.
County-wide ad valorem taxes pay for the county departmnts and the Constitutional Officers, including the Sheriff. In the past 8 years, PBSO has grown to a significantly larger part of the budget.
Most of the growth in the PBSO budget has been in the personal services costs (salaries and benefits ), and PBSO deputies are now compensated more than 30% above the national average for similar positions.
Its important to maintain and improve our high Quality of life for our residents and visitors that include paramedics – fire rescue public health, safety and security roads and infrastructure, parks and recreation, Palm Tran & Tri-Rail, veterans and other community group concerns, and helping the truly poor, homeless, elderly and infirm.