Columbia County 5 Begins New Era: Budgeting by Suggestion, tonight's suggestion a cool $619,998
Posted August 1, 2013 07:45 am
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The legendary Columbia County 5 begins a new era at tonight's County Commission meeting – Budgeting by Suggestion. The County 5 already famous for their bucket theory of economics and back room dealing has found another way to be unaccountable to its taxpaying citizens, when, for the first time tonight at approximately 5:30 pm, the County 5 will be voting on items totaling $619,988 in the new category of Budgeting by Suggestion. The items can be found on the "rubber stamp" consent agenda.
Links:
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Consent Agenda
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Consent Agenda Packet (available for 30 days)
The Columbia County Commission has for decades disregarded sound accounting principles and meaningful line item budges and planning in favor of putting taxpayer dollars in different buckets (the bucket theory) and just taking it out when they needed it, which is why in Columbia County, most items on the consent agendas have been unbudgeted.
Tonight, looking at items over $10,000, the County 5 has on tap $619,988 worth of expenditures in the budgeted by suggestion category.
The County 5's total unbudgeted items over $10,000 are $1,107,228.
In Columbia County, where the County's financial consultant, budget consultant, and external auditor are all the same person, the legend lives on.
The Columbia County 5 from left to right: Commissioners Ronald Williams; Rusty DePratter; Bucky Nash; Stephen Bailey; Scarlet Frisina