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Breaking News: TI is larger than St. Pete Beach??? From: George A. Makrauer [georgem@comad.com] Subject: Treasure Island is SMALLER, not "larger", than St. Pete Beach Dear Mayor Atkinson:Your comments in last night's Commission Meeting about budget and spending controls prompt this email. You said "Mayor Ward" of St. Pete Beach said something along the line that he "wished his budget could be as low as Treasure Island's, even though his city is smaller than TI". Immediately then, at 5:04pm, I called St. Pete Beach City Hall and was surprised to get a live person answering. (Try that at TI City Hall!) It was the St. Pete Beach City Clerk. I asked her for the land area and population of St. Pete Beach. She looked it up and said their land area is 2.11 sq. miles and their population is 9,929 residents. Mayor Friszolowski was being politically kind with his comment to you. As you must realize, "land area" does not create the principal demand on municipal government for services or costs. "Number of household units" is the principal demand factor. Second is the "city's population". Treasure Island's population of approximately 7,500 is 25% smaller in people and households (assuming similar household demographics in both cities) than St. Pete Beach, so it's completely consistent and no surprise that the LARGER City of St. Pete Beach has a HIGHER budget than TI. Ward's no dummy. He knows that. Question: how does TI calculate its 3.8 sq. miles of land? Does that calculation include the entire Causeway to Park Street (since we're told TI owns it entirely in fee simple), and does it include the area of Elnor Island? In any case, land area per se is meaningless when managing a city budget. Households and population matter. On another matter, it was remarkable to hear the City Manager say he has made no preparations or planning for dealing with the financial consequences that are hitting the State of Florida and all its cities as a result of September 11's attack and war. Well run organizations in government and the private sector are all planning for the potential negative fallout that is highly likely to come. Projections of a $1.5-billion shortfall in our State's budget alone ought to be enough to prompt all Florida cities to take a serious look at what they're doing and what they might have to do... to cut costs, not raise taxes or fees. Very truly yours, George
Makrauer |