While I jokingly gave Sheriff Wayne Ivey a rap name this week, Busta TaxCap, the actions by this republican sheriff and four of five republican county commissioners have me thinking.The five of them agreed that breaking the voter mandated tax cap for Municipal Service Taxing Units was necessary to fill critical needs in the BCSO. What I am thinking is: just where are all of the republicans in this group of elected officials?
Maybe I have it all wrong, but I believed that republicans are supposed to be in favor fiscal accountability and transparency in government.The sheriff’s budget is anything but transparent.The county budget, while better detailed, is a quagmire that is often ignored anyway.Given its history, it’s a sad day in Brevard when the Office of Tourism is the place to look for leadership when it comes to transparency and accountability.Thank goodness Peter Cranis came to town.Maybe he can teach these folks a thing or two once he’s done with the TDC.
The voters were emphatic that the tax cap is not to be broken.Oh, they gave officials an out clause for emergencies and it takes a super-majority of commissioners to make it happen.Well, in what appears to be a case of incompetence, we have broken the cap while budgets have gone unexamined beforehand.I guarantee that you can find cases of duplicated services and unnecessary spending that should have been eliminated before considering such a move.Yet, we didn’t get that.
So, the question stands.Where have all the republicans gone?
I’m just glad Busta TaxCap and the Commission only perform the song and dance once a year!
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