Florida’s Budget By the Minute
July 1st, 2016 by Mike VasilindaToday is the first day of a new state budget, and Florida will spend just over 82 billion dollars this year. That’s up by three billion over last year and as Mike Vasilinda tells us, comes to four thousand and four dollars for every man woman and child living here.
82 billion is a lot of money and the cash goes fast. In the minute and three-quarters Shannon Sullivan waited at a tallahassee stop light, the state spent nearly 300 thousand dollars.
“I don’t know…that’s a lot of money” he told us.
Ten thousand of it went to protect children.
And In the two minutes and 15 seconds Denise Sage was in this bank, Florida spent just over 46 thousand dollars fixing and building roads.
“It’s better spent on maybe on some bike lanes and mass transit, but it’s not bad” said Sage.
Florida spent 26 thousand dollars in the ten seconds it took postal worker Jason Comfort to drop off mail at this office.
“Shocking” he told us.
“Almost a year’s salary isn’t it?”
“Yes Sir”
75 hundred went to schools.
Florida spent 117 thousand dollars the time it took Edward Johnson to use this ATM.
“That’s why we pay taxes through government to help people who need help.”
Q:”so, you’re glad to do that?”
“I’m glad to do my part, yes sir.”
And the state will is going to send just over six million a day keeping people in prison, but many think that number could be lower.
The organization Smart Justice’s Barney Bishop believes the prison population could be cut by a third if minimum mandatory sentences were eased and inmates got drug counseling behind bars.
“And that will save hundreds of millions of dollars going forward” says Bishop.
And there is good news for property owners. Lawmakers used 420 million dollars to offset higher property taxes for schools.
The state payroll will remain on of the most frugal in the nation. 113 thousand jobs are authorized in the budget, but the state has consistently ranked 50th in per capita cost for running government.
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