Little elbow room at Hernando County commission meeting

Friday, September 14, 2007

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The Public packed the Hernando County Commission budget meeting Thursday night.

HERNANDO COUNTY Bay News 9) -- The average Hernando County Commission meeting usually doesn't attract much of a crowd.

So it was a bit unusual when, by 5:30 p.m. Thursday, the Hernando County government center was packed.

Commission meetings typically draw just a couple dozen residents, but Brooksville fire officials estimate between 350 to 400 people showed up.

No seats could be found in the commission chambers and extra chairs set up in the lobby were filled immediately, so people lined up to sit in a near-by courtroom.

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There were so many people, the police were called in.

So what was on the agenda that attracted all the attention? County commissioners were having a budget session.

"This is definitely something that effects our daily lives so that's why we show," Hernando County resident Angela Selway said.

Selway and just about every other person who showed up wanted government officials to manage their tax money better and they wanted deeper tax cuts.

"It shows them we're going to stick together and if we came together in a large crowd hopefully we can get something done about this," Selway said.

At one point the meeting had to be put on hold so people standing around the lobby could be sent upstairs to another seating room then the public got their chance to address commissioners.

The eight hour budget session finally ended after midnight.

County commissioners voted to cut the property tax rate some more. They also voted to boost county employee pay.

County resident Steven St. Laurent says he won't be happy until major changes are made.

"And all these people in here we want to change every one of them and put all new people in office," St. Laurent said.

This story was done in conjunction with Bay News 9's partner newspaper The Hernando edition of the St. Petersburg Times.