Final Definition on Largo Budget Still a Way OffBy Leo CoughlinLARGO - Under normal circumstances, the City Commission's final review of the FY2011 city budget August 19 would have sort of wrapped things up, but in this year of scary numbers and budget crunch more discussion most likely is ahead. The final denouement of the budget is looming with hearings set September 13 and 22 before the spending plan becomes locked in. Most years, the final public hearings, required by law, are pro forma and routine, but this year one veteran observer crossed his fingers and said, "I hope the mayor and commissioners are reading the data closely." The numbers always can be tricky and there are some factors that need attention, especially in an economic climate that bids to get worse instead of better for a while. One element that might have been a slip, an inattention to detail, was dealing with some expenditures that commissioners have raised questions on. When the commission met August 19, Mayor Pat Gerard failed to get a consensus on individual items of concern and this triggered a misunderstanding last week that had to be cleared up. Questions were raised on such things for example as the Cultural Center which gets a huge subsidy - almost half a million dollars a year. Another concern was that of the $250,000 that is supporting the golf course. Commission members raised questions about these expenditures August 19, but they left Amy Davis, the budget director, with no clear-cut definition on how they stood. The usual procedure in these things is to get a consensus. None was taken. The golf course is of particular consternation. It lately has been a perennial loser, distinguished mostly for obviously cheap holes in one made there (very often, a couple a week for what usually is a fairly rare treat). There is a big payroll and many citizens were bowled over to learn that the director of the course has a compensation package of something like $74,000 a year. "For doing what?" one startled citizen yelped. The Cultural Center (as well as the golf course) has been a target of Commissioner Curtis Holmes who laments that he does not want almost a half million dollars of taxpayers' money subsidizing entertainment for the relatively few. For years, the Cultural Center, not equipped in terms of seating capacity to put on performances that bring an adequate return, has been a drag on the city's budget and economy. A half a million dollars a year, year after year, mounts up and as one Washington figure said years ago "Pretty soon you're talking about real money."
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