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JANUARY 24, 2013

Hillsborough commissioners approve new garbage pickup contracts

 Hillsborough County Commissioners unanimously approved contracts for residential garbage pickup Thursday with little discussion.

The new contracts call for the start of automated garbage pickup for both household waste and recycling while costs for customers are expected to fall. The exact amount of savings is not yet known as costs of aspects of garbage disposal are slated to rise. But county officials have estimated the cost for each household for garbage pickup could fall $20 to $30 annually.

Under the automated system, households will be issued separate standardized cans with lids for waste and recyclable materials. Trucks outfitted with mechanical arms would lift and empty the cans. Cost of the new containers will be built into customers' annual garbage bills.. ... Read more

JANUARY 24, 2013

Packed agenda for Hillsborough County Commission today

The line to get into the Hillsborough County Commission's regular meeting was rather long today. That's because three topics have generated considerable public interest.

First, commissioners will hear from representatives of the the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team for a long-awaited presentation on their stadium hopes for the future. Then it's on to a decision on awarding new contracts for residential garbage hauling.

The issue that seems to be stoking the crowd is a proposal by Commissioner Mark Sharpe to create a domestic partnership registry in Hillsborough County. The proposal has galvanized social conservatives, who see it as legitimizing what they characterize as a gay and lesbian agenda. The topic is expected to dominate public comment once commissioners wrap up their proclamations.

JANUARY 23, 2013

Transportation agency chief gets real evaluation

The head of the Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission got a real evaluation Wednesday, as in one written by his bosses. And it wasn't quite as glowing as the one he wrote for himself late last year. Members of the PTC, which regulates taxis, ambulances and other cars for hire, gave Executive Director Cesar Padilla an average score of 3.7 on a scale of one to five, with five being the best. The Tampa Bay Times reported earlier this month that Padilla has been writing his own annual evaluation for years and simply submitting it to the PTC chairman for approval. Not surprisingly, his own evaluation scored his performance last year at 4.6. New Chairman Victor Crist, a county commissioner, called a halt to the practice in December, having the seven member PTC rate Padilla. Noteably, after all that, three of the seven PTC members did not fill out an evaluation, though Plant City Mayor Mike Sparkman noted he is a new appointee to the board and didn't feel qualified to prepare an assessment. ... Read more

JANUARY 22, 2013

Al Higginbotham to seek at-large Hillsborough Commission seat

Hillsborough County commissioner Al Higginbotham, who currently represents the eastern part of the county, has set up a campaign office to run for the at-large seat on that board that will be vacated by Mark Sharpe in 2014.

Higginbotham joins Tampa City Council member Mary Mulhern in declaring their candicacy for the District 7 seat, the race for which is expected to draw a crowd. Other past or current office holders said to be eyeing the race include Tom Scott, the former Tampa City Council member and Hillsborough commissioner, and School Board member April Griffin, both Democrats; and Republican Rose Ferlita, the former Tampa City Council member and county commissioner. 

JANUARY 19, 2013

Mark Sharpe responds to reaction he's getting to domestic partnership registry proposal in Hillsborough

Commissioner Mark Sharpe is getting a great deal of reaction to his proposal to create a domestic partnership registry in Hillsborough County, something other governments in the region have managed to pull off without much controversy. As is customary these days, he took to Facebook to more fully explain his rationale. In the comments field, one person, Ken Welch, chairman of the Pinellas County Commission, which has already approved such a registry, noted the timing (Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend). Hillsborough commissioners will take up the proposal Thursday. Here's what Sharpe said on Facebook Saturday: ... Read more

JANUARY 18, 2013

Mark Sharpe proposing domestic partner registry for all of Hillsborough County

Hillsborough County commissioner Mark Sharpe will propose creating a domestic partnership registry when his board meets Thursday, following the course of the city of Tampa, which became the first government in the area to pass such a measure last April.

But, of course, the county is not the same as the city, so it is uncertain how the proposal will be received by other commissioners.

Sharpe added an item to next week's Commission agenda asking the county administrator and attorney to work together in crafting the registry. It would allow gay and straight couples who are not married to enjoy a limited number of the same rights as married couples. For instance, the city registry recognizes the right of those who participate to make medical decisions for a partner who is incapacitated, make funeral arrangements or participate in the education of a child of a domestic partner. ... Read more

JANUARY 18, 2013

Terry Kemple wants to run for something, anything

Christian conservative activist Terry Kemple, who has twice run unsuccessfully for the Hillsborough County School Board, is seeking guidance on whether he should try again. Kemple is a founder of the Community Issues Council perhaps and is perhaps best known for his fights against strip clubs and a campaign to keep a Muslim advocacy group from providing guest speakers in classrooms. He ran for the school board in 2010 and 2012.

Recently he sent out a mass email to friends and supporters asking their thoughts on whether he should take another stab at running for office in 2014. And, if so, should he run again for the school board or one of two seats that will be opening on the Hillsborough County Commission?

"If 500 people encourage me to run then I'm going to do it!" he wrote. He asks those responding to check one of four choices: Stick with his advocacy, run for the school board or county commission, or "run for any office to which you feel led."

Kemple said he's received about 350 responses so far, about 90 percent of them encouraging him to run for the office he chooses. ... Read more

JANUARY 16, 2013

Most Pinellas cities defer property tax break for low-income seniors

DUNEDIN -- Residents who voted for lower property taxes for poor senior citizens won't see their wish fulfilled in Dunedin for at least a year.

Amendment 11 to the Florida Constitution, which gave cities and counties the option of lowering taxes for certain seniors, passed with 61 percent of the vote statewide in November. Local governments now can offer an additional homestead exemption to qualified low-income seniors age 65 and older who have, for at least 25 years, owned their permanent residence that is now worth less than $250,000.

In order to take effect in 2013, local governments had to approve the exemption by last Friday. But in a 4-1 vote, Dunedin city commissioners rejected it for now, saying they want to gather more information during summer budget talks on how the tax break would impact city revenues.

"I think prudence is a touch of wisdom here," said Commissioner Ron Barnette.

"There's a good amount of data we don't have now," he said. "And I'd be begging too many questions that I'm unfortunately not in a position to answer now if we were to move ahead rapidly on this. ... I'd like to take our time and address this in a more succinct way this summer when we address other issues involving taxpayer money."

Pinellas County Property Appraiser Pam Dubov said Tuesday that North Redington Beach was the only one of Pinellas' 24 cities to approve the exemption for 2013.

In Dunedin, about 36 percent of voters supported the constitutional amendment in November, according to Pinellas supervisor of elections data. That same percentage was calculated when looking at Pinellas County as a whole. ... Read more

JANUARY 14, 2013

Rob Turner's farewell note to Hillsborough Property Appraiser's office staff

Rob Turner offers no apology in a farewell note to employees of the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser's office, though his admission last year of sending porn to his former human resources director put all their jobs in jeopardy. So far, his successor, Bob Henriquez, appears content not to make any wholesale personnel moves in the near term. Here's the farewell email:

From: Turner, Rob 
Sent: Monday, January 07, 2013 3:17 PM
To: PropertyAppr
Subject: My thanks to all

 

To the most outstanding local government team,

 

As you all should know, today is my last day to serve with you as your Hillsborough County Property Appraiser. ... Read more

JANUARY 14, 2013

Federal appeals court upholds dismissal of Latino group’s lawsuit over election of RNC delegates

The Republican Party might have its problems with Hispanic voters, but a federal voting rights lawsuit filed before the Republican National Convention is no longer one of them.

In January 2012, the nonprofit Hillsborough Hispanic Coalition and Ralph A. Emmanuelli of Pinellas County sued Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus in U.S. District Court in Tampa.

The suit contended that the GOP's primary schedule unconstitutionally diluted the electoral clout of Hispanic Republican voters. First, the suit noted that Hispanic voters constituted about 9 percent of eligible voters nationwide, but only 1.7 percent of eligible state voters in Iowa, 1.1 percent in South Carolina and 1.5 percent in New Hampshire.

The suit also contended that the GOP hurt Hispanic voters by stripping Florida of 50 percent of its convention delegates for holding its primary early. ... Read more

About the blog

Bay Buzz is your source for Tampa Bay politics news and discussion. Tampa Bay Times writers offer the latest in Tampa Bay politics and government news from Pinellas County, Hillsborough County, Pasco County and Hernando County. Keep in mind: This is a public forum sponsored and maintained by the Tampa Bay Times. When you post comments here, what you say becomes public and could appear in the newspaper.

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