 Healing Process Just Beginning By BLAISE INGOGLIA Guest columnist Published: Apr 25, 2008 It's been eight months since our government waste seminars exploded onto the scene in Hernando County. Government told the residents of this county that the seminars were not factual and riddled with misstatements. The incumbent commissioners could not resist trying to persuade the public that we were lying to them.
For the citizens who actually attended the seminars, the information coming out about the county comes as no surprise. The economic impact of runaway spending and lack of accountability was foretold. Has anyone noticed what has been happening lately? County employees forced to resign, investigations, arrest warrants, unearned raises, nepotism and unemployment hovering at 7 percent.
Do I feel a sense of satisfaction? No. I would have preferred it didn't have to come to this, but I believe in the goodness of people. I believe that at the end of the day most people will do the right thing. I also believe that the new county administrator is on the right track. He seems to be doing a good job and should be commended for his efforts so far. I think we may have turned a corner in Hernando County with the long overdue return of accountability.
Do not be surprised if you hear of more stories outlining waste, inefficiency and more investigations in the coming weeks. It is a byproduct of a lack of leadership. If more stories surface, don't get discouraged. Don't get frustrated. It is the start of the healing process. Now more than ever we will have to be patient while this process runs its course. Change takes time.
We must unite as a community. We must bridge the divide between us and government. Yes, our county government is responsible for outlandish runaway spending. Yes, our commissioners turned their backs on the residents in a time of great need. Yes, our county government, as well as across the state, fleeced our pockets in the form of property taxes so much that the state had to step in.
Homestead exemptions have doubled, portability has been enacted, an upcoming vote on a tax swap this November and declining property values have taken away a lot of the ammunition that government used to erode our quality of life — our tax dollars. County governments have been forced to “right size” and feel the same pinch that private citizens have felt the past two years. Our local government has grown way too big, way too fast and it is now time to pay the piper.
Let's not dwell on the past, but look to the future — a future where the quality of life returns to what it used to be in Hernando County. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and that light must not be doused with additional skepticism and negativity. This county will get back to where it used to be. It will get back to the place where we all loved to live, work and play.
Good times will eventually return.
One thing that I will not waver from is holding the incumbent commissioners accountable for their role in this mess. They must be removed from office to complete the effort for change and to continue on this path of restoring our faith in our local government.
The future of our beloved county is at stake. The future of our quality of life is at stake. I would hate to see us come all this way just to keep the same commissioners. We cannot afford for this to happen again. Vote them out. Did you really think I was going to give them a free pass?
We can forgive, but we must not forget!
Blaize Ingoglia, a Hernando County builder, is founder of “Government Gone Wild,” a Hernando County tax watchdog group. |
