CharlotteDems.com Editor’s Note: The following letter to the Charlotte Sun was written by Charlotte County DEC Member David Moe and published in the Sun’s Tuesday, April 9th Edition.
Editor:
A recent Charlotte County Board of Commissioners meeting included an agenda item on impact fees. A small fee increase spread over the next two years was passed.
It all looks fine until you balance this modest increase with the significant amount of dipping into reserves that is ongoing and has been ongoing for some time. These conservatives are against any tax increases and are willing to jeopardize the financial stability of the county rather than increase taxes. Live within your means went one comment.
The state of Florida minimizes taxes and is compared to Mississippi for the worst-run departments in the United States. So, the collective board is saying with their unanimous vote on this fee is that they do not care about the quality of life, as long as it is cheap to live.
To illustrate, the counties of Lee and Sarasota have funds collected and spent on sensitive lands that make more public lands, better water quality and a better quality of life. Not so here in Charlotte County. But compared to many areas of the country we have cheap land, low taxes and low wages. Good luck with that formula when every square foot of land is built out and the developers have moved on to greener pastures to pave over.
David Moe
Punta Gorda
