Daily Loaf

Ah, it’s Fall again. Dead leaves are falling. The heat is no where close to subsiding. Snowbirds are jamming roads again. And city governments are deciding which amenities to slash and whose jobs to cut.

Right now, the most-buzzed about fights are happening in the beach communities. Treasure Island is withdrawing its funding from the Gulf Beaches Library System. Families will now have to pay $100 to borrow books from Pinellas County libraries. Clearwater has also passed a budget that slashed library funding (among other things).

But Stephen Sarnoff and the Communications Workers of America Local 3179 are not letting Clearwater’s budget cuts go without a fight. Today, they’ll rally at Clearwater City Hall. The full release is after the jump:

Communications Workers of America Local 3179 will hold a rally today at Clearwater City Hall 112 S Osceola Avenue starting at 5:15 p.m.  We are demanding that our city government bailout our libraries and parks by not cutting the millage to 4.7254.  But instead set the rate as proposed by Bill Horne, the City Manager at 4.955..

We demand that the 2.2 million dollar additional budget cut be restored so that our citizens will not have these city services further eroded than they already are.  Our Mayor and Councilmember’s have been good stewards of our taxpayer’s investment in our City.  Our Mayor and Councilmember’s have listened to the 67% of those who voted yes on Amendment 1 back in January.  At a millage rate of 4.955 the City of Clearwater would be at a lower tax rate than what Amendment 1 would call for.  The new lower millage rate would result in savings of less than twenty dollars a year for a homesteaded property owner whose home has a market value of $200,000 dollars or less.

We call on all our citizens and visitors of Clearwater who enjoy the services that we provide, especially those that use our libraries, parks and recreational facilities to join at our rally tonight.

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