Maybe It Is In The Hillsborough County Public Water

I know this isn't about the Hillsborough County Public Schools, but it is about Hillsborough County and how the citizens are "dealt with".

Hillsborough County auditor seeks public input with little public notice

From Bay Buzz, we find this note:

March 26, 2009

Hillsborough County auditor seeks public input with little public notice
TAMPA -- Hillsborough County Internal Performance Auditor Jim Barnes is seeking the public's thoughts on the role of citizens in the preparation of his government's annual spending plan. But he's not exactly doing it in a way that seems likely to draw much participation.

Barnes' senior auditor Ken Gentile sent out an e-mail to a handful of community activists just after 2 p.m. Thursday announcing the meeting that will take place Friday at 3 p.m., barely 24 hours later.

The e-mail subject line just says: "Budget Process Meeting." The body says only, "Meeting Discussion: Budget Process, and role and involvement of Citizen input"

Some odd things about this: The meeting will be held in a conference room within the SkyPoint residential condo, 777 N Ashley Drive, in downtown Tampa. It also overlaps with a meeting of the county's Economic Stimulus Task Force, which is also being followed closely by several community activists.

Attempts to reach Barnes and Gentile late Thursday were not successful. But the invitation was not viewed favorably by at least one recipient, United Citizens' Action Network chair Terry Flott.

"It's very vague and very last-minute, which I find very interesting," Flott said. "I find it disingenuous at best."

Bill Varian, Times Staff Writer

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More and more, the public is being kept out of the public works.