Commissioner to Gov. Crist: ‘Don’t do us any harm’

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Gov. Charlie Crist Thursday told county commissioners, CEOs, business leaders and members of the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce there are signs the state’s troubled economy may be on the mend.

For their part, the men and women assembled at the county Chamber of Commerce headquarters asked the governor not to do anything that might slow the signs of progress he is seeing.

“Please don’t let anything happen in the Legislature to hurt us,” Commission Chairman Peter O’Bryan told Gov. Crist. “Don’t do us any harm, please.” O’Bryan, backed up by fellow commissioners Bob Solari, Gary Wheeler and Joe Flescher, asked the governor to do what he could to prevent legislation that would take away the county government’s ability to set its own policies and rules, including Hometown Democracy. The Legislature is currently in session, working on a host of bills that could have an effect on everything from the county taxes to the size of classroomsThe governor ended his day at Pointe West before a full house of Republican faithful at the Lincoln Day Dinner, where he touched upon his day visiting the Treasure Coast and his plans for the future.

Gov. Crist told the commissioners and the nearly two dozen others in attendance at the Chamber of Commerce event the question of Hometown Democracy would be going to the voters on the November ballot. Hometown Democracy is an effort to give residents veto power over changes to their community’s master plan.

The governor told them that educating the public about the impact it would have on their community should be key.

For about an hour, Gov. Crist fielded questions from attendees, ranging from the future of education funding, efforts to make Florida a business-friendly state, and what the state is doing to generate and retain jobs.

“It’s all about jobs, jobs, jobs,” Gov. Crist said, starting the roundtable discussion. He added that he believes there are signs that the state’s economy may be making a turnaround.

That state’s treasury has collected $2 billion more than it had anticipated, he said, explaining that much of that money comes from state sales tax.

“People are out there buying things,” he said, adding that the state is now anticipating $2.4 billion in revenue.

Home sales, too, are up – 31 percent, according to the governor, who credited low property values for the sharp uptick in sales.

Gov. Crist said he has proposed increasing funding for education and mentioned the Race to the Top grant program that could divvy between $700 million and $1 billion among participating school districts.

Dr. Harry La Cava, the Indian River County School District’s superintendent, expressed concern to Gov. Crist regarding the nearing of the end of the federal stimulus money and what the impact would be on future budgets.

“I have used every dollar of that” money to keep teachers, Superintendent La Cava told the governor.

“How do we maintain what we have?” he asked.

Gov. Crist told the school leader that the stimulus funding was merely a bridge to help get through the economic downturn. He added that the economic indicators show a changing tide and things could get better.

As for creating and retaining jobs, Gov. Crist mentioned the Accelerate Florida program that is supposed to help various levels of government to expedite projects that create jobs — such as road construction projects through the Florida Department of Transportation.

Long-term, the state is considering high-speed rail from Tampa to Orlando and later south to Miami, which the governor said would create “tens of thousands of jobs.”

Indian River County’s current unemployment rate of 14.4 percent is higher than the state average. Gov. Crist could not offer any near-term solutions for the county specifically, though he said statewide initiatives should help.

Those initiatives include his recommendation to the state Legislature to cut corporate income tax by $100 million, which he said would help businesses large and small hire and/or retain employees and possibly expand.

He has also recommended the state Legislature approve the Back to School Sales Tax Holiday, which would encourage people to shop, putting money in business owners’ pockets and helping them to either stay open or hire more employees.

“We just keep plugging away,” Gov. Crist said of trying to improve the economy.

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