Where does your money go Pinellas?

Buckhorn backs transportation sales tax plan

tampabay.com TAMPA – Mayor Bob Buckhorn is the latest Democratic leader to throw his support behind a proposal to raise sales tax by one penny on the dollar  to pay for road, bus and transit projects.I

CAUGHT: Senator Sends Email Asking for Hurricane Relief, Donation Link Goes Directly to Democrat Political Fundraiser

diamondandsilk.com Tsk tsk...

NoTaxForTracks

On top of a Billion for new stadium, have to Spend BILLIONS more trying to get people to a stadium with NO parking... Billions spent to entertain and enrich the already wealthy. Massive 30 year transit tax hike effort is tied to billion dollar stadium.
"Taking them out to the ballpark, the team acknowledges, will require an expanded Ybor streetcar, beefed up water taxis, a longer Riverwalk, a rail line from the east, and drop-off places for Uber and Lyft."
http://www.fox13news.com/news/local-news/rays-stadium-announcement-brings-logistical-challenges-for-fans

Dysfunction or Deception: Road Diets & 60 Foot Buses on Gulf Blvd

eyeontampabay.com Keeping an Eye on Tampa Bay and the going's on around the area, providing needed insight and analysis beyond what the media typically provides.

Minneapolis Schools Face $33M Deficit After City Paid $500M for NFL Stadium

... And the Rays are asking for how much?

gritpost.com Hundreds of Minneapolis teachers and staff members will lose their jobs next year due to a $33 million deficit, despite hundreds of millions of local tax dollars funding a billionaire's NFL stadium.

NoTaxForTracks

Live in Pinellas? Know PSTA intends to take out general purpose traffic lanes for a dedicated bus lane? Know that PSTA is going to put 60 foot gigantic buses on the narrow, congested Gulf Blvd from 75th Ave to the Don Cesar on St Pete Beach? Did you know PSTA is removing 231 parking spaces in St Pete? We bet most folks do not know because PSTA did not properly inform the public or those most impacted.

Pinellas needs millions of dollars to fund school safety

Where are they going to come up with the money? We can think of more than a few ways to pay.

tbnweekly.com CLEARWATER – Pinellas County officials are scrambling to find a way to fulfill a state mandate to put a school resource officer in every public school. Everyone agrees it’s a

Forward Pinellas OKs grant recommendations

tbnweekly.com CLEARWATER – Forward Pinellas Board members approved staff’s recommendations for grant awards for two separate programs March 14.

Pinellas CareerSource fires embattled CEO and offers him $117,000 to go away qiuetly

wfla.com The CareerSource Pinellas Board voted to fire embattled CEO Ed Peachey and send him packing with a $117,000 settlement package amid multiple state and federal investigations involving inflated job placement claims.

Pinellas Commission votes Jabil can push ahead on headquarters overhaul

Corporate welfare? Or economic stimulus?

How many pennies is that again?

tbo.com ST. PETERSBURG � The Pinellas County Commission approved a resolution on Tuesday allowing Jabil, Inc. to move forward with its $67.3 million plan to overhaul its Gateway area headquarters.In a 4-1 vo

Tarpon Springs commission votes to buy troubled Sunbay Motel

Proposed at 125% of the fair market value.

tampabay.com TARPON SPRINGS � A contentious debate over the fate of a troubled motel is poised to end after commissioners voted Tuesday to buy the property.After about two hours of resident feedback and discussio

Pinellas commission may remove CareerSource Pinellas board chair

“The state is investigating whether the agency inflated the job placement numbers it has reported.”

tampabay.com Pinellas County Commissioner Pat Gerard said next week she plans to ask her fellow commissioners to remove the chair of the board overseeing the county�s job center.PREVIOUS COVERAGE: CareerSource bo

Pinellas, Hillsborough job agencies targeted by as many as 3 investigations over allegations of false jobs claims

“Concerns now reach all the way to Washington D.C., where St. Petersburg Congressman Charlie Crist is calling for a federal investigation of how job agencies in Hillsborough and Pinellas spend millions of federal tax dollars and whether inflated success numbers have inflated the paycheck for the CEO of both agencies, Ed Peachey.”

wfla.com House Speaker Richard Corcoran and Congressman Charlie Crist added their voices to a growing chorus of calls for an investigation of two tax-funded job agencies in Pinellas and Hillsborough countie…

Pumping sewage underground is illegal. St. Pete wants it legal.

This idea cost us $4,000,000 just for them to come up with.

tampabay.com ST. PETERSBURG � The city wants the state to change its environmental rules to make legal an illegal maneuver it has relied on a lot lately: flushing wastewater down into the aquifer.The idea was pro

Pinellas County opens cold-weather homeless shelters

It’s going to be cold this week. Please be sure that you know where to go if you need to keep warm.

tbo.com Pinellas County will open its

Outback Bowl director’s pay approaches $1 million

It’s not just Tampa’s money that subsidizes this event.

tampabay.com TAMPA � Look around the Tampa Bay area, and it is hard to find an economic development executive, public official or nonprofit leader paid more than Outback Bowl president Jim McVay.In 2015, McVay�s

Neighbors urge officials to install a stoplight at a Palm Harbor intersection

Belcher Road and Innisbrook Drive - Does this intersection need a signal?

abcactionnews.com

"There was the fundamental principle of an elected body being able to determine the way the county will grow,’’ said Commissioner Ken Welch. "If we can’t make those decisions, why even come before us?

Translation:
The elected body has decided that they will be the ones to pick the winners and losers.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/Romano-Fighting-the-man-to-the-tune-of-16-million-_163420906

Bill makes leaving car unlocked misdemeanor

Blame the victim...

fox13news.com They fly through the streets, blowing red lights and stop signs - juveniles putting their lives, as well as yours, at risk all for a joy ride in a stolen car. 

Keene Road improvements in Pinellas County are a step toward autonomous vehicles - Tampa Bay Business Journal

Seems that tax payer funded infrastructure is required to make autonomous vehicles a reality... Beyond the vehicle itself.

bizjournals.com Pinellas County Commissioners are expected to approve a contract for new technology along the corridor.

With Penny for Pinellas approval, wishlists get more real

Here is some of the "vital infrastructure" that your pennies may be used to fund:

•$165 million for community centers, libraries and recreation centers

•$165 million to support economic development and housing

•$91 million on emergency evacuation shelters, communication towers and first-responder vehicles

•$60 million on jail and court facilities

•$45 million to replace two recreation centers and upgrade others; improvements to the Mahaffey Theater and St. Petersburg Coliseum

•$17 million on fire and police vehicles; improvements to the Police Department’s K-9 compound

• $6 million to improve fire stations and other facilities

•$18 million on a new City Hall and public works complex

•$15 million on beach marina upgrades

•$14 million on athletic fields and facilities

•$11 million on police, fire and public safety vehicles

•Rebuild three to four fire stations

•Stormwater infrastructure and police and fire vehicles

tampabay.com With an estimated $2 billion coming in the next decade or so, county and city officials can now start planning to build bridges, fire stations and sewer upgrades.But it’s still too early to start cut

Turmoil surrounds Pinellas construction board manager Anne Maddox

“Fischer and Maddox didn't monitor money that contractors paid the agency or investigators who wasted hundreds of hours shopping and working out.”

tbo.com LARGO –– The executive director resigned amid controversy. Two investigators were forced out after they were accused of wasting hundreds of hours of county time. And an inspector general

Pinellas leaders ponder possible Rays move to Tampa

"Pinellas Commissioner Charlie Justice was the one who asked for an update on the Rays at Tuesday’s Pinellas Commission workshop. He later seemed at peace with a possible move that would free up $6-$8 million a year in bed taxes for other purposes if they aren’t used to build a new Rays stadium somewhere in Pinellas."

IOW - Letting the Rays go to Tampa is a windfall for Pinellas County.

wfla.com Even before news broke that Hillsborough County had worked out a land deal to build a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays, Pinellas County Commission Chair Janet long was already talking about that …

Penny for Pinellas tax promotion has some mystery costs that You Paid For

They can't tell you how many of your pennies they spent.....asking for more of your pennies.

"Pinellas insists the cumulative cost of those Penny for Pinellas signs is impossible to calculate, because it is embedded in the public works budget or the cost of those individual projects."

wfla.com Pinellas County voters are getting a lot of help deciding November 7 whether to extend the optional one cent sales tax—commonly known as the Penny for Pinellas—for another decade.

"Pennies for Pinellas" Faces Up-Hill Battle

“Since its creation, it has been used for other pet projects of the Pinellas Planning Department, such as parks and recreation and other projects, including emergency and law enforcement vehicles. Interestingly, most other counties do not have a “Pennies” tax, yet seem to find ways to pay for such vehicles.”

huffingtonpost.com There is a question of whether it addresses the true problems of the county. Click for AUDIO version. The November 7th referendum to renew...

You Paid For It: Why wasn’t Penny for Pinellas money used to fix drainage problems?

That’s what we want to know.

wfla.com After Tuesday’s grilling by the Pinellas delegation of state lawmakers, city and county leaders still have a lot of explaining to do about why they dumped an estimated 251 million gallons of efflue…

www.ctsfl.us

Tarpon Springs...

This is $1,000,000 your money!

Demand a referendum!

ctsfl.us

Rep. Chris Latvala acknowledges Pinellas hurt by funding formula in HB 7069

Here is what we know so far...

1) Chris Latvala votes affirmatively for and, even sponsors bills he doesn’t completely understand

2) Pinellas County School Board is under the assumption that they have money that doesn’t belong to YOU the taxpayer

tbo.com At a public event held Thursday night at Largo High, Rep. Chris Latvala (R - Clearwater) found himself defending a controversial education bill he helped champion that is now being sued by at least 1

Tarpon Springs' plan to buy nuisance motel is rejected

The people have spoken.

tampabay.com TARPON SPRINGS — The City Commission recently voted by a narrow margin to reject a nearly $1 million deal to secure the Sunbay Motel, which they have labeled as a "nuisance property."

What say you?

3 reasons to vote Against the renewal of Penny for Pinellas

1. Ballot Language is Too Vague
This referendum is a Blank Check for $2 Billion tax dollars from us that allows the County Commissioners to spend as they wish with practically no accountability. For instance, what is the meaning of the category “other” near the bottom?

2. Bait and Switch Tax
This tax was sold to us 30 years ago as a temporary tax to build infrastructure needed in the county. So why after 30 years is Pinellas leading the state of Florida in Sewage Spills in 2016?
Countywide 33 sewage spills totaling millions of gallons were reported to FDEP during the week of Hurricane Irma.

3. County Government is poor steward of Penny for Pinellas Tax.
Just today the Tampa Bay Times is reporting how the County lost $1.7 million Penny for Pinellas Dollars in an Indian Rocks Beach land deal.

Let's demand a redo of referendum next year to limit spending with specific language to repair sewers, upgrade power grid and only projects related to prepare our county for Hurricanes.

Critical:
Share if you agree. Ballots arriving now! Vote Against!

County land deal loses $1.7 million in Penny for Pinellas dollars

"County officials now admit that they didn't check with the city before planning the now failed project.

The county commission called the $1.7 million loss a "lesson learned"

That's 170,000,000 of your pennies spent on this lesson.

tbo.com CLEARWATER — The Pinellas County Commission is trying to convince voters to renew the 1-cent Penny for Pinellas sales tax for another decade.So this news comes at an inconvenient time: The comm

Pinellas County Commission approves next budget: $2.2 billion

ICYMI - Pinellas County Commission approves next budget: $2.2 billion

tampabay.com CLEARWATER –– It's easy to pass a $2.2 billion budget when rising property values bring in extra cash.

FDOT unveils plans for new 8-lane Howard Frankland Bridge

Let's get this straight...

The goal is to ease congestion in an 8 lane crossing.

Therefore, the plan is to replace 4 lanes... with 4 lanes.

And then, just for good measure, add a toll to 2 lanes in each direction. Just to encourage 8 lanes to squeeze into 4 lanes. Simply to make the commuter feel the squeeze.

Oh yeah!

Before we forget!

Lets spend more money to build the lanes heavier and more expensive for an unfunded future rail system.

fox13news.com Traveling between Tampa and St. Petersburg could soon be a lot easier. On Monday, the Florida Department of Transportation unveiled plans for a new, eight-lane Howard Frankland Bridge that includes room for future light rail. The $750 million project is scheduled to start in 2020.

Tell us your thoughts.

“PENNIES FOR PINELLAS” FACES UP-HILL BATTLE

"the language used on the ballot is such that if it passes, the Planning Department is free to spend it anyway they want, not by what is critically needed....According to Barb Haselden, candidate for County Commissioner in District 6 (northern St. Pete, from Gulf to Bay), “This would be giving the county commission a blank check for $2 Billion Dollars!”"

timbryce.com BRYCE ON POLITICS – There is a question of whether it addresses the true problems of the county. Click for AUDIO VERSION. To use this segment in a Radio broadcast or Podcast, send TIM a reque…

Add Capacity Not Tear Down Major Evacuation Route

Let's think about how we are going to escape the next hurricane. It's not if... but when.

eyeontampabay.com Keeping and eye on Tampa Bay and the the going's on around the area, providing needed insight and analysis beyond what the media typically provides.

How to fix failing schools? Miami-Dade seeks $2.3 million in teacher bonuses to do it

How do you turn a failing school around? Throw more money at it of course!

miamiherald.com