I wanted to address some things I have been hearing regarding the BOCC and taxes. With the conversation about the sales tax ramping up (will be on the agenda for a full discussion on October 7th), it is important for us to discuss how taxes are used. This will not
On Tuesday, we saw the presentation by the Citrus County Chamber of Commerce to the BOCC about the sales tax town halls and survey they conducted. The idea for this was to gauge citizen's interest in potentially voting for a one percent sales tax increase for Citrus County.
Sorry for being MIA for the past week or so. It has officially entered busy season with my real job of running a photography business. I have been in the office only one day in the past week due to the schedule of pictures for schools, sports, dance and so
It is Wednesday, which means the County Commission agenda dropped yesterday, so we know what will be on the table for discussion at the next meeting. It is a relatively quiet meeting likely due to the budget hearing at 5pm which may get a few people there to let the
I cannot get over the consulting contract for the Comprehensive Plan update. The Commissioners talk about the desire to save money, but then turn around and spend $560k on a consultant to do the Comp Plan. I get it. We need to review it before 2027 and submit to the
BOCC
As expected, yesterday's BOCC meeting was a fun one. The Fire Services workshop took close to 3 hours to finish. There was A LOT of public input. Ultimately, they implemented the $125 MSBU for Fire Services (up from $79 previously). A theme I kept hearing from Commissioners is
It is Tuesday. That means county commission day and today will be a fun one, as they have been recently. I expect to see a room full of people for the 1pm public workshop on the Fire Services fee. Social media has been on fire (pun intended) recently over this
At the BOCC meeting tomorrow, we will hear an agenda item to sign a contract with Inspire Placemaking Collective to update our comprehensive plan. This will come at an estimated cost of $560,285 over a 16 month period. This company will be updating the comprehensive plan and bringing it
Going through the agenda for next Tuesday's BOCC meeting, I noticed the Commissioner Finegan is bringing back the monument signs for Citrus County. These were approved on August 15, 2023 as part of the Beautify Citrus campaign. So what are they? Below is the conceptual design provided in
BOCC
I wait anxiously on Tuesdays for the next BOCC meeting agenda to drop. I am always interested on what will be discussed. Sometimes it is "boring" government stuff... bids, contracts and things of that nature. Sometimes (more often recently) we get some interesting things. Tuesday will not disappoint.
Last week's county commission meeting was interesting. The meeting got off to a rocky start with some procedural issues regarding leasing space for the Inverness Government Center and then it was one big topic after another. Some how, they finished he meeting in time for the 5pm Pine
BOCC
A few weeks ago, I heard something that was surprising and I didn't realize myself. Our county administrator, Steve Howard, gets automatic raises without going through the review process by commissioners. Hmmm. A bit of background. Mr Howard was hired officially in October 2022. He was one of