By Tom Flanigan
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-955408.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – A roomful of the Tallahassee area's public and private leaders held a nervous meeting at the Leon County Courthouse Tuesday. Tom Flanigan reports the topic was how to head off a devastating loss of state jobs at the hands of Governor Scott and the Florida Legislature.
It wasn't called an "emergency meeting", but its tone had much of the same urgency.
Those on hand in the Leon County Commission Chambers included city and county representatives, Florida State University President Dr. Eric Barron, Chamber of Commerce President Sue Dick and Economic Development Council head Beth Kirkland, plus several members of the region's legislative delegation. Leon Commission Chair John Dailey had called the gathering.
"There's a potential of 55,000 individuals in the three-county area that could be affected by the governor's proposal of FRS (Florida Retirement System) and the changes with the five-percent. There are citizens in this community that are going to be affected if there are 6,800 positions in the state that are closed up statewide; there will be some in our community."
All this a response to Governor Rick Scott's bare bones state budget. If fully implemented by the legislature, it would cut nearly seven-thousand state jobs. It would require many of Florida's public employees to contribute five percent of their salaries to the state retirement system. That alone, officials estimate, would suck more than two million dollars a month out of the local economy. The governor also wants to cap the state's employee health care contribution at five thousand dollars a year. District Six State Senator, Democrat Bill Montford, says none of this should have come as a surprise to anyone.
"He's been upfront and he's done exactly what he said he was going to do during the campaign. And he was elected. Likewise we know from the legislative leadership. They've been open and sincere about their desires. So what I believe you've got to do is find those people and see if we can get them to be our allies and saying let's look if we can take a long, hard look at that, those people who have supported that in leadership positions."
A crucial part of that process, Montford says, is to educate lawmakers and voters that cuts to state government don't only impact Tallahassee.
"This is a statewide issue and this is one that we have to take very, very seriously. Because the decisions we'll be making this legislative session will have an impact for years to come."
Over in the House, Tallahassee State Representative Michelle Rehwinkel-Vasilinda, also a Democrat, was likewise urging a merged opposition.
"We need a coalition of the mighty. A coalition of the folks who are ready to talk about this and raise their voices and no longer enable the kind of things that we've been allowing to just cut and cut and cut and the downward spiral of, not only our economy, but the quality of life that we'll be able to have in Florida and in our district."
Under the governor's proposal, local governments would be forced to cut jobs as well because of reduced property taxes. The fight over the place of public employees in Florida's future could even work to Tallahassee's benefit, at least in the near term. Various groups, both for and against Governor Scott's plans, have already announced they'll be visiting the Capitol during the upcoming legislative session. Local hotels, motels and restaurants are gleefully anticipating all the extra business.