Vision means little without action

Happy frigid Monday! Let’s get the important stuff out of the way.

No, I do not have a snow photo. Sunday morning was balmy and 70s in Inverness, and that’s the way I’m always going to remember it.

Enough about the weather. We’re talking today about strategy and vision. Try to look interested.

The County Commission has a strategy workshop on Friday. They used to call these “goal setting” sessions eons ago; the name changed, but the concept hasn’t.

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The county has a strategic plan. The general idea is to have a vision with a roadmap of how to get there. It should contain easily identifiable targets with specific measurements for success.

Now. I would say we have a county staff that is Team One in strategic planning. I mean…if nothing else, take a look at this section of the county’s website. There are numerous projects in the hopper and the progress of each is tracked in an easy-to-understand format.

Whether that’s strategic planning or simply efficient government is in the eye of the beholder. I lean more toward efficiency and less on strategy.

Why? Because we still are not making the big decisions.

And that’s what I’m hoping to see come Friday.

I’m going to offer up some ideas this week on roads, growth, and taxes. We’ll kick it off Tuesday with Betz Farm. Selling (gifting) Betz Farm to a developer makes the entire strategic plan moot.

So, what am I looking for on Friday? Action.

Again…take a look at that county website dashboard. There is PLENTY in the hopper in various stages of progress. I give County Administrator Steve Howard and his staff credit. They are really on top of this stuff.

And we’ve spent a lot of money on consultants. Now, a real reporter would tell you how much money we’ve spent. I’ve thought about it, but haven’t yet asked for the info. It’s more than a few bucks, that I know. We have consultants for long-range growth forecasts, long-range financial forecasts, “pavement management” (road resurfacing gurus), and now a comprehensive plan update.

That’s a significant amount of data, information, and advice coming at the County Commission. Some of these consultants organize community feedback sessions. It’s opinions galore right now.

OK, but when are we going to see some movement from that? Four strategies I’d like to see:

— No sale on Betz Farm. How is that a strategy? The mission statement says Citrus is a “welcoming, economically vibrant community where people and nature live in harmony.”

A County Commission that hands Betz Farm to a developer makes a mockery of that vision.

— Need a road resurfacing plan. Enough talk. We know it’s a lot of work, and we know it’s expensive. I’ll offer up some ideas, but man, this meeting shouldn’t adjourn Friday without a detailed next step for transportation.

— Same with taxes/fees. That’s another subject that’s been talked to death, yet every year the debate is on minuscule raises or cuts in the millage. Folks, that’s not getting the job done. Citrus County needs a balance of taxes and fees to pay for our needs. Not only is there no balance now, but worse yet, there’s no plan for one. 

— The gap between affordable and unaffordable housing is growing daily. The County Commission keeps approving high-dollar developments. Nothing wrong with top-scale, but we’re pricing our own Citrus Countians out of these new homes. The County Commission can’t do ANYTHING to encourage the development of affordable homes or apartments? I have a hard time buying that.

The same County Commission that will fight and argue over pennies in taxes, supposedly to help the county’s poor, will then turn around and approve developments with half-million-dollar homes. Do politicians not see the irony?

— Speaking of those struggling, the Cold Weather Shelter is open tonight and any night when the temps drop below 40 degrees. Check out the shelter’s Facebook page for daily needs.

— Today’s photo comes from the original World Headquarters, where critters such as this stately fella had their run of the place. Not a lot of strategy in the photo selection. I just thought it was cool.

That's it for this warm, sunny Florida day. Have a one, friends.

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