- April 20, 2024
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Use taxpayer dollars to help taxpayers
Dear Editor:
Our county is increasing our taxes again. They say they did a lot of cutting to keep it under a 1-mill increase. The increase is 0.975 mills: You can't get much closer to 1 mill than that.
In May 2011, the county gave $40,000 of our taxes to the Mobile Benefits Program. It was supposed to be a one-time funding to help poor people take advantage of federal assistance programs. They said it could bring $10 million into our county? By the end of 2011 they were already raising our tax millage rate. They said there were 3,309 households that could benefit. Now, they are back, wanting another $40,000 of our taxes. They say the Mobile Benefits Program helped 900 families, but, according to last week’s article, there are still 3,300 households that need help.
More low-income (adjusted income) apartments are being built. They said that would bring millions of dollars into our county because these people would spend their food stamps in our stores and use their Medicaid locally. Another low-income complex will be built in the Town Center.
Where are the millions of dollars? Our unemployment rate has risen to 10.2%. That is what happens when we encourage unemployed people, on welfare, food stamps, and Medicaid to move here. We had enough local people already living here that needed jobs. Ironically, our county says this latest tax increase was necessary because “the county must now pay $455,000 more in Medicaid matching dollars.” What a surprise!
When are the people the taxpayers elect going to help the taxpayers?
Charlene Eccles
Palm Coast
Missing ingredient to the schools’ technology plan
Dear Editor:
I was truly excited to hear our school district moving forward with tech in our schools. But the recent announcement of what that looks like — an iPads and Macbooks plan — is pretty concerning. From my experience, there is a huge disconnect and will undoubtedly lead to rethinking the whole thing in a short period of time.
The problem is that the plan seems device-centered and an “old school” (no pun intended) method of tech implementation. One that has the recipe to quickly create a pile of challenges and stall real effective progress today because there are far better options today.
Buying expensive Apple products and pre-installing software (i.e. Office) would be a good plan if this were still 2005 when that was primarily the only option you had. Today, it’s about the organization laying a tech foundation that begins with a cloud platform first. There is a list of reasons, and one of the main ones is flexibility. Rather than relying on a physically connected hard drive, applications are driven through the Internet (offline work can be done, too). Since the Internet browser is the primary delivery and interaction system, choices of equipment increase, cost goes way down, and downtime from a broken machine is virtually eliminated.
A cloud platform not only has device and cost benefits, it better prepares students through learning appropriate online communications. Services like Google Apps for Education (free to schools and provides thousands of school-administered accounts) or Office 365 not only provide the basics of word processing, spreadsheets and presentation applications; students also get school-provided email addresses and cloud storage areas that the schools have control over administering without the costly server equipment (it’s all run off Microsoft or Google servers).
Rather than students bringing their own email addresses, which can lead to security issues, they are provided an account just like they will in the future and they learn to store and deliver their work easily and efficiently from their online storage.
These services also have options to provide online social networks that can enhance and better engage students, and the schools would have greater control over it. To truly prepare students for their future, we need to have them using tech as a part of their daily routines the way they truly will in their futures. That means organization-provided communication accounts with email, storage, knowing how to exchange information effectively this way, etc.
The bottom line to me is I see a brick wall coming very, very quickly with this roll-out. It’s going to be a costly waste that in less than 12 months will inevitably have to be rethought. We have two good, local cloud consulting firms, and they should be spoken with first prior to moving forward. I just see this as the proverbial putting of the cart before the horse.
Brad M. West
Palm Coast
Upon finding an alligator in your swale ...
Dear Editor:
My name is Alee Gator — not Crunch Devil! Help me, mister! I’m lost, and all I want to do is go home, but I can’t find it. All this rain has me confused, and I ended up in your swale.
Why are you taking pictures of me? Haven’t you seen an alligator before? My family has lived in Florida for centuries, and my ancestors go back to prehistoric times. We love the climate just like you do, and that’s why we stay.
Don’t fear me. Please understand me, and whatever you do, don’t feed me Hostess Cup Cakes or any food for that matter, or I will become your new best friend and stay right here, in your swale!
Seriously, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has a toll-free Nuisance Alligator Hotline (866-FWC-GATOR) and lots of useful information for residents who are concerned about an alligator. Generally, an alligator may be deemed a nuisance if it is at least 4 feet in length and the caller believes it poses a threat to people, pets or property.
The Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP) is administered by the FWC's Division of Hunting and Game Management. SNAP is one of five components of Florida’s comprehensive Alligator Management Program. To learn more about the program, visit: http://www.myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/managed/alligator/nuisance/.
Additionally, a very informative state brochure, “A Guide to Living with Alligators,” is available online at: http://www.myfwc.com/media/152524/Alligator_Brochure.pdf.
Alee Gator
(Friend of city of Palm Coast Senior Planner Denise Bevan and Urban Forester Carol Bennett.)
