I went to the Wednesday Town Hall meeting on July 21 mostly due to an info flyer I received from Councilman Fadgen about the proposed millage increase. Like almost every other resident of Plantation, I do not keep up with the business of our city. So, I was not certain what I was going to say to the council about the projected tax rate increase. I do know that the property values exploded in the past ten years and the city government might have grown in pace with the growth of tax revenue. Still, I had no real proof or any information to support this theory. That all changed when Mayor Armstrong began her pitch for higher taxes.

According to data provided by the mayor herself, tax revenue to Plantation rose from 17 million in 2000-2001 to 34 million in 2006-2007. A 100 percent increase in tax revenue in 6 years and now we have a budget crisis? Acting like a petulant teenager, she reasoned that at least she didn’t overspend as much other cities. But the real insult came when she had the nerve to ask for even more money since deflating property values have put a crimp in her mayoral spending spree. I sat in my seat holding back laughter at her foolish explanation while wondering whether she really believes what she is saying. Then again, here is a person that actually named a taxpayer-funded park after herself. Why should I be surprised?

The crux of the matter is much more serious though. Her position is that it is now impossible for her to run Plantation for less than 30 million dollars a year. It appears Mayor Armstrong has forgotten that every tax dollar collected by the city comes from a family. How many families did it take Mayor Armstrong to build that monument to yourself at Liberty Tree Park? More importantly Mayor, do you even care?