Opinion

Looking ahead

TBO.com
Published: December 12, 2012

Last week, the Pasco commissioners mapped out the vision they have for the county's future. This was the first time in four years the commission has undertaken such an exercise. In 2008, with the state's voters having approved a measure that would limit government tax revenue, and the real estate boom that had sparked the drive to cap taxes going bust, the commission members at the time wisely opted to batten down the hatches. They called for cuts in spending and an increase in the county's financial reserves.

The final days of 2012 are upon us, and while the tough economic conditions that prompted the austerity moves are still upon us, things, for the moment, aren't getting worse. According to County Administrator John Gallagher, who has said he will retire this spring, the reserve fund the county has been building is 85 percent filled.

So some of the commissioners indulged in a bit of big thinking. Commissioner Henry Wilson wants Pasco to be home to half of the state's top-10 business enterprises. Given how long the county has been trying to pursue business development as a means of broadening its tax base, we'd settle for one.

The vision of the commission's newest member, Kathryn Starkey, includes a civic center, which might be of use, given the shortage of places in the county to hold large-scale gatherings. Her desire for a Pasco light-rail system, however, might require Pasco to have all 10 of Florida's best businesses — and then some.