It was great to see the county commissioners held the line on the significant budget increase requested by the sheriff and to a lessor degree other segments of government. I don’t mean to imply that some of these requests were not needed (but) I think all governments should seriously consider the impact their decisions have on the citizens they govern. Sure county and city employees could use a raise, maybe even deserve one, agency heads always need more workers but look at who is providing the necessary funding. The median income in the county is in the low $20,000’s, a good percentage of the population is retired. How many of them have had any raise in social security or retirement pay over the last several years? Citizens are being assaulted from many directions with increased demands on their income. Local increases in sales tax, various fees such as fire fees by the county and city, Medicare costs have drastically increased,as well as all health insurance costs. The improved economy and increase in property values resulted in significant income growth for governments. The rest of us are trying to get by with what we have, maybe our local governments will too.
-William H. Jordan, Brooksville