These politicians and the Sherriff is a politician too, use scare tactics. DAY8293A – has made some very good points and factual claims. Until the city tightens up its own belts and stops its wastefulness, we need to fight this. How much of our tax dollars have they wasted? Millions, that court house is a joke, did I feel better going into a new building to get copies of records I needed for FL drivers license? NO, if anything I was more aggravated at the wastefulness of using the AC to cool this big open marble floor area, who are they trying to impress? The doors are labeled poorly and people in kiosks just sitting there, wasting money. This city has managed to increase my property taxes 73.09% in the past four (4) years. And that is facts I can show in black and white paper work.

Being I can not find my first posting I am re-posting...My two cents worth, First a thank you and second I hope you read, I wish to show you just how this so called 20 to 30 dollar increases on my property runs. 2008 taxes was 851.00 -- 2009 taxes – 717.00 2010 taxes -– 935.00 -- 2011 taxes -- 1,473.00 I do not know what school of math Rutherford or other Councilperson went to, however my school of math is showing more than 20 to 30 dollars a house raised. And now they are talking about leaving it as it is or raising it again! They are implementing and DOING/USEING the quick fix. Tax the land owners for they will pay because they do not want to loose their land. Why not implement (I know it takes a little longer) a penny .01 cent sales tax? In doing this, they not only receive the money, revenue they say they need, they spread the burden over all. Why should I be saddled with the guilt trip they’re trying to lay on, of the police being laid off. “With out this tax increase the safety of all is in jeopardy.” Please, what about my HOME! It’s in jeopardy! The responsibility of safety funding should be the responsibility of ALL not just a few (land owners) simply because you know you can tax us and we have to pay, or loose our land in which case you will own it.

Hay! That's the solution! Take the tax money that we are paying Not to have toll booths and give it to the police and fire departments. It is set in stone that we are getting toll booths again and Tommy H. has stated it is not fair for us to have to do both. There you have it! You don't have to raise taxes and we just put the money where it needs to go. Problem solved!

This tragedy began when president Johnson started robbing Social Security to pay for his "great society" welfare program. It keeps growing and growing, and now more and more have their hands out instead of looking for jobs. And Obama won't let us drill for our own oil on government land. N. Dakota is booming with 3% unemployment thanks to drilling on private lands. Keep voting democrat, and we will no longer exist as the USA, but the USSA of obama land. Health care is not guaranteed in the constitution, free housing, food, car, phone etc etc is not guaranteed in the constitution. That is all democrat programs that is killing the country... The country did great before all the democrat "freebee" programs started in the sixties. All these democrat free programs are killing us...

I don't know who has paid less taxes. Mine keep going up despite "drops in property value". We should not be paying "rent" (taxes) for our property. Celebrities get millions of dollars due to advertising on TV !! Not taxes! Rutherford gave up advertising on police cars.. Why??? He is an idiot! He could make thousands? millions? who knows... I am tired of being threatened with loss of police protection due to the city wasting our tax dollars. Look at the money wasted on the Court house. Remember the big project planned down by the docks? Almost 35 million down the drain there,,, and no attempt was ever made to recover that money "given" to the company... Who got their pocket lined on that deal???? Increasing my "rent" (taxes) is not the answer. Start an across the city cut in payrolls... Stop digging in my pocket.. clean up your waste...

People, people, this tragedy began with George H Bush and Ronald Regan when they began the deregulation process that put the nation in debt. Mitt Romney is telling you he is going to cut firefighters, police, teachers, doctors and anything that the people need. If you vote republican be ready to experience more cuts. And you dumb people saying that they unions are bad, go and try to fight a Mitt Romney or his company Bain capital with out a union to back you up and see how far you get by yourself. See how they use their money to crush you. When Obama was running for office the Republicans said, "They think that their vote counts; it's the Electoral college who elects the president. You all let Rick Scott get in office, and because he has interest in these small health care offices like Solantic, he's voting down health care in Florida because he wants you to go to his wife's health care companies. The republicans holler we don't want government in health care but guess what everybody ends up on public healthcare unless you are a billionaire and can pay for it yourself. The problem with the sheriff's budget is another prime example of the republican directive which is to destroy the public sector and privatize everything so they can raise business taxes and continue to steal unabated like Abramoff said on 2020 the other night. It is easy to buy and sell politicians if you have enough money. All the good people working everyday just want a chance to be happy. They can spend 50,000 a game to have the jets fly over the Jaguar games, but there's no money in the budget to pay for police. What a load of hogwash. The republican 'no bid' contracts drained the coffers of the city and they are still milking us for all we are worth. Anybody with any sense would pay an extra tax to have the police remain as they are and not have tolls. They are going to ram those toll booths down our throats and we will still pay the tax not to have them. Where is the justice?

No one needs more taxes. If the county commissioner's and all other essential workers took a pay cut and get rid of all of the unneeded or unfilled positions and get rid of the pension program as it is today. We might be able to get ahead. Years ago a union had a flat rate for dues not a percentage of the pay like it is today. They furnished medical insurance along with eye glasses if needed. The retirement fund came from your dues and the investments that they had 50 years ago. The problem today is everybody wants to make the big dollars. Look at the entertainment people. Millions of dollars for a few weeks of work. This is one reason we do not have money today. Tell that stupid Cuban to go back to Cuba where he will have nothing, and let us work out the problems with out the union. Maybe if this was done we might be able to keep our police and fire personal, and give them a better wage. Please go not get like Scranton, PA. Please do not put ads on or in our police cars, it looks terrible on the outside of the buses and if we see the ads on the outside of the buses we make sure we do not shop there.

As a senior citizen in Jacksonville and I pay taxes like everyone else, I believe its a great disservice to this city to lose our police officers as we are being told today. I would much rather pay a little more in propertytax and a penny more in sales tax instead of seeing these police and community officers as well as civilian employees at the sherrifs department lose their jobs! What good will this accomplish, Mr Mayor? What about all the money spent on the new courthouse and the ridiculous moves made recently(re:furnishings for the courthouse) and all the money paid to the retiring JEA official who is also drawing a large pension from the city? WE NEED THESE POLICE PERSONNEL TO KEEP THIS CITY AND CITIZENS SAFE !!C .DANIELS

Sheriff Rutherford is not really asking for a hike in property taxes. He is asking people to pay the same amount as last year. Wouldn't you rather have police officers available when you need them? Wouldn't you rather live in a city that is safer? No brainer here!!!!! Criminals are deviants, so now we will have more of them.....just great!!!

Shriff Rutherford needs to contact sheriff joe arpaio in arizona for instructions on how to run a police force and jail. We have to quit letting these criminals out of jail to start their criminal ways again. If he doesn't have enough jail space, put them in tents out at the pea farm. That's right, no air or heat. Law enforcement officials need to make jail so bad, that one would never want to go back!