Hillsborough County Blows Through All Its Skyrocketing Growth Revenues, Increases County Bureaucracy by 61%

Guest post by Dr. Jim Davison 

Hillsborough County citizens are well acquainted with this time of year as being the start of hurricane season in Florida. It starts every year on June the 1st. We are given estimates of how many and how intense the storms will be. We are urged to get our homes ready and to prepare in case one of these natural disasters hits the area. All good advice.

Beginning about one month before hurricane season there is another season that starts every year. One that can be costly and deadly to taxpayers and it is man-made. 

It is the “Budget Season” for local municipalities and the County. 

The "Budget Season" is a closely choreographed period-of-time. Like clockwork, the Hillsborough County Administrator Bonnie Wise kicked off the Fiscal Year 2024 season at a BOCC workshop on May 10, 2023. No public comment was allowed.

Property Tax Revenues Increase 15.3% But Hillsborough County Refuses to Prioritize Funding Roads....Again

Hillsborough County's budget is an abomination and taxpayers in Hillsborough County should be revolting. 

For the last 15 years, Hillsborough County has refused to properly prioritize road funding, a primary responsibility of local government. Roads are Hillsborough County's largest asset but the County continues to neglect to appropriately maintaining and improving them. 

That must change with the FY24 budget. Taxpayers must demand property tax revenues be used to fund roads and transportation.