I am proud of Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg for standing up and not budging to liberal spenders on the Seminole County Commission.
By Ed Young
Earlier this week, budgets and professionalism came to a head with county leaders disagreeing with one elected leader on how he should spend his office’s excess funds.
I wanted to reflect a little bit before I commented on the situation between the Seminole County Board of Commissioners and our Tax Collector Joel Greenberg.
I have watched and rewatched the recording of the budget meeting between the Commissioners and our Tax Collector and I have to say that I 100% support Mr. Greenberg and his position.
When he ran for office last year, Mr. Greenberg made clear his position to get the his office up to speed, update technology, and establish a more professional setting and that is what he is doing.
I think it is slipshod of our County Commissioners to be expectant or dependent on excess funds from any department in the county to be able to make their budget.
As a public school teacher, an elected official, and treasurer of an elected body that does not receive any funding and is forced to conduct itself within its means, I know what it feels like to have budget constraints and to have to live within your means.
We all do it our day-to-day lives, and those of us who run businesses, do it as well and so should Seminole County.
For the county to construct a budget that is expectant and dependent on excess funds from other departments outside their supervision is fiscally irresponsible.
This type of planning is the same as the individual who plans to be able to pay his bills with a tax refund that he may or may not get from the federal government.
I personally think it is also incredibly unprofessional if not arrogant of a County Commissioner to state that if the county is not going to get these funds then they’re going to raise taxes on citizens so they can have the budget they want budget.
This is not how they should conduct themselves. If you can’t do do everything you want in your own personal budget then you cut back. You don’t go out to eat as much. You watch a movie on Netflix instead of going to the movies. Instead of taking an expensive vacation, you do a staycation.
This is common sense budgeting that we all do in our daily lives and I am pretty sure that our commissioners do and their personal lives now it’s time to do it in their offices. If they don’t have the money to it they don’t spend as much it’s this simple.
When the county can plan to give away millions of taxpayer dollars to a developer, but are unable to fulfill the budget request of a few thousand dollars so an elected body can do their job to the fullest, one starts to call into question the professionalism and capability of some of our county leaders and how they vote.
I am proud of Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg for standing up and not budging. This is his office, his budget, and he is doing what he was elected to do. Thank you Mr. Greenberg!
Ed Young has spent the better part of two decades as a teacher in Central Florida specializing in working with special needs and high risk students. He is a longtime Seminole County resident, financial conservative, and advocate for conserving Florida’s natural resources. He is currently serving his second term as an elected member of the Seminole County Soil & Water Conservation District where he represents Group 4 and is currently serving his third term as their treasurer. He has conducted surveys of state parks for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and presented to various community groups and organization of the benefits of solar energy.
