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Florida's Spending Plan Draws Fire From Polk Officials

The Ledger – February 7, 2011

LAKELAND | Gov. Rick Scott’s proposed budget brought cries of outrage from local School District officials and murmurs of concern from city employees.

The budget proposes to cut $5 billion to shore up a shortfall and would require state employees to pay into their pension funds, would reduce corporate taxes and would cut property taxes from school budgets.

“That’s absolutely insane,” said Polk County School Board member Frank O’Reilly. “Even before his proposed cuts, we are looking at trying to cover a $20 million-to-$25 million shortfall in the district.

An initial run of school funding statistics shows that Scott’s proposed tax reduction would cut per-student funding across the state by about 10 percent. That means Polk County per-student funding would go from $6,780.69 to $6,067.05, a reduction of 10.52 percent.

“We’ve already had a tax cut,” O’Reilly said. “Everyone has seen their property values go down drastically. Taxes are assessed according to value, so there is our tax cut.

“But it is easy to go after people who have no way of fighting back. What about going after Internet sales from out-of-state companies who don’t have to collect or pay sales taxes?” he asked.

Representatives of Lakeland police and firefighters have their own concerns.

Like all employees of the city, police and firefighters are not in the Florida Retirement System, but Nick Marolda, president of the West Central Florida Police Benevolent Association, wonders whether the governor’s actions might trickle down to the municipalities that have their own pensions.

All Polk County cities provide pensions for their police and firefighters. Sheriff’s Office employees, however, are in the Florida retirement system, Marolda said.

Lakeland police officers and firefighters, who have no Social Security, pay 13.9 percent of their salaries into their pensions and the city adds another 18 percent, Marolda said.

Lakeland also pays 3 percent into the special risk insurance, the same amount paid under the Florida Retirement System.

“I don’t think people out there know we pay into our pensions,” Marolda said.

Marolda’s chapter also represents police officers in Port Richey, New Port Richey and at Tampa International Airport and while there is no collective bargaining unit at the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, some Polk deputies are members of the PBA, he said.

“These are our risk-takers and I hope the governor knows there is a reason. We’ve been going to a lot of funerals lately. It is a dangerous job,” Marolda said, referring to the deaths of five law enforcement officers in Florida in January.

Scott has said that the drastic cuts in per-student funding can be made up if the Legislature requires members of the Florida State Retirement System to pay 5 percent of their salaries into their pensions, freeing up state money for education.

But that isn’t a solution that will affect only one group and could, in fact, have a worse effect on the economy, said Marianne Capoziello, president of the Polk County Teachers Association.

“You can’t continue to squeeze the schools without hurting other parts of the economy, ” Capoziello said.

“We have done a study of teachers’ paying 5 percent of their wages to the state pension. Many are single parents and not the most well-paid. If it happens, it would take $1.9 million of discretionary spending out of the Polk County economy. The big picture is that with this, everybody, not just teachers, suffers.”

Most legislators were cautious in their appraisal of the budget and of its chances of being passed mostly intact.

“Over the next few weeks, the Florida House will closely examine the governor’s budget recommendations,” said Rep. Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland. “Because we are in the initial phases of reviewing his budget, it is too soon to say what budget proposals may or may not be implemented until the appropriations process is under way.”

Scott’s budget does not include any mention of a proposed merger between the Florida Department of Citrus in Bartow and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services under Bartow native Adam Putnam, the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture, said Ken Keck, Citrus Department executive director.

But Keck declined to say whether that meant Scott had dropped the idea or would propose it later, he said.

[ Reporter Kevin Bouffard contributed to this story. Ledger Political Editor Bill Rufty can be reached at bill.rufty@theledger.com or 802-7523. ]

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