Special to Central Florida Politics by the Seminole Chronicle

Viewpoint

By Doug Guetzloe

The recent announcement by the Florida Department of Transportation that it is pulling the plug on over $300 million in anticipated road projects slated for Seminole, Orange and Osceola counties should be a major concern for taxpayers.

This announcement is an outrage and affront to the taxpayers of Central Florida.

The recent approval by Governor Rick Scott for the proposed SunRail system has resulted in moving much-needed road funds from long-awaited repairs and expansions to the incredibly worthless rail project.

The local projects that are now on hold include much needed double lane expansion of a off Highway 17/92 in Seminole County and repairs to State Road 50 in Orange County, US Highway 192 in Osceola County and many other long-scheduled repairs and improvements.

Taxpayers have stated their opposition to the embattled SunRail project and commuter rail in general for over fifteen years. Ax the Tax has led six successful anti-tax battles where taxpayers have voted down rail proposals going back to the first attempt to pass a tax for rail in 1986. That vote, a tri-county vote including Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties, named the “Metropolitan Transportation Authority” was voted down by a vote of 81 to 19 percent.

The most recent attempt to pass a tax for rail was the ill-fated Crotty “Mobility 2020″ Transportation plan in Orange County and voters voted it down 55-45 percent in 2003.

In 2010, Ax the Tax was the catalyst behind the vote against rail that occurred in Hillsborough County, leading the opposition to a landslide 58 percent vote against rail.

In another controversial move for taxpayers, FDOT and the beleaguered Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority just announced that they had reached a tentative deal to split the cost of the highly controversial $1.8 billion Wekiva Parkway project in Seminole County.

The Expressway Authority, which includes Seminole County roadways, has been a target of a recent grand jury report that found Crotty and the expressway board and some staff members involved in a “culture of corruption” that provided a seemingly never-ending source of campaign money for Crotty and his political endeavors.

Even though FDOT has not come up with a plan or the resources to fund their commitment of $500 million for the controversial toll-road extension, amazingly the expressway is moving ahead with an additional toll increase ostensibly to fund the remaining $1.3 billion deficit in the funding for the 25-mile extension through the scenic Wekiva park area.

Citizens should be outraged at the arbitrary moves by un-elected boards like the expressway authority and unresponsive bureaucracies like the FDOT.

Hard-earned tax dollars should go toward proven transportation alternatives – not rail – and for much-needed repairs to our road systems. The effort by new-urbanists to bury the car and hop on board rail is planned obsolescence and a worthless expenditure of our tax dollars.

(Orlando, FL) – Jim Duffy, Republican candidate for Orange County Tax Collector, believes that the incumbent tax collector, Earl Wood, is ineffective and must be replaced.

Duffy, 39, says that Wood has become complacent and virtually non-existent as Tax Collector, an office he has held for 47 years.  Duffy offers the numerous media accounts and anecdotal comments that taxpayers have made regarding Woods’ lack of performance.

“Earl K. Wood has made many admissions in multiple interviews with the Orlando Sentinel that he cannot fulfill his obligation to Orange County taxpayers.”

“Earl Wood admits that he only goes to the office a few days a week.  You cannot effectively run a department with a multi-million dollar budget and ten locations without showing up for work,” stated Duffy.

Duffy also says that Wood is taking advantage of Orange County residents by drawing a salary of more than $150,000 annually while collecting a $90,000 annual pension from the county for the same job.

Duffy also blasted the practice of squeezing contributions from employees in the agency.  During the 2008 election period Wood collected contributions from several Tag Agency Managers and other employees.  Since Orange County’s Tag Agencies are under the control of the Tax Collector this represents a clear conflict of interest and may violate state elections and ethics laws, especially if those contributions were collected in government buildings.

“Since Wood held no fundraisers and did not solicit contributions in traditional ways like direct mail, one would have to conclude that the contributions were collected during work hours in taxpayer funded buildings,” Duffy commented.

Duffy says that “elected officials should never accept contributions from people employed by the agency they are elected to lead, contending that it could give the appearance of undue influence, and vows never to accept such contributions as Tax Collector.

Duffy says Orange County voters and the media need to pay closer attention to constitutional officers like Tax Collector, citing that Wood, and other similar elected officials are continually re-elected simply because they happen to be in office and fly under radar for the local media.

“The Tax Collector’s race does not involve social issues, policy setting, or legislative action.  It doesn’t include the issues that normally get voters riled up.  Yet, we entrust the Tax Collector with a large amount of financial responsibility.  Voters need to make an informed decision about who they elect to hold the position.”  Duffy concluded.

Duffy is the Republican candidate for Orange County Tax Collector and previously won countywide office as a member of the county’s soil and water conservation board.