ASK THE GOVERNOR
For release Monday, April 23, 1962

It's time to "Ask the Governor" when Governor Farris
Bryant answers questions based on letters and comments from Florida
citizens.

QUESTION: Governor, when you recently addressed the
State Association of County Commissioners you called for new thinking
on the mechanics of local government. What did you have in mind?

GOVERNOR: Well in particular. county government was
designed to handle those rural areas outside of municipal government.
But the areas outside or municipal government are in most instances
no longer rural, yet the government designed to handle them has not
changed basically. I would like to see our county officials turn
their minds to any of a number of expedients that could be developed
for the upgrading of their powers, or the modification of their
powers, so as to make them adaptable to the more metropolitan day in
which we live. or course, I also talked to them about utilizing the
road funds that they have accredited them on a broader scale than at
present. For instance, there is on deposit with the State Treasurer
through the Road Department $23 millions of dollars of unused
secondary county funds. Now counties never these funds belong to
a number of counties, maybe as many as thirty -- but they never call
on these funds at the same time, so that there is always a backlog
of say $20 million there. I was suggesting to them that they ought
to get together and form an investment council among themselves or
use some other media so that they could always keep on deposit
enough money to meet any demands that they have -- five or ten million
dollars -- but utilize the rest of that money to build in the counties
that are the most pressed for roads today, the roads that they need
with these funds.

QUESTION: Local government, county and municipal, is
talking a great deal about the need for finances to operate, not
only in roads but other areas, do you think that this is a valid
cry for help at this time?

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GOVERNOR: Yes, I do. I am always hesitant to approach
this problem because it is so easy for local officials to say why
doesn't the state give us more money to solve our problems. That
way we can spend this money and solve the problems and the state will
have to raise it. Well this is a very convenient arrangement and
therefore is one to he looked at with considerable skepticism. But
it is true that the areas of taxation available to cities are some-
what limited and I have, therefore, suggested that the tax resources
or the state might be utilized to assist the local governments in
meeting their problems.

QUESTION: Does this then mean that your commitment to
look with disfavor on new taxes does not apply to those which would
be for local purposes?

GOVERNOR: It does. I have a number or times said that
I would consider the utilization of the tax machinery or the state
for local purposes. My position has been that we ought to be able
to operate the state government within the existing revenue sources -
and this we are doing. But I also recognize that school government,
and municipal governments, and county governments, that they face
ever changing problems and I would not want to close my mind any
more than I would want to commit relative to new taxes for local
government.

QUESTION: When you say you would not be ready to commit,
does that mean that you have not formed an opinion on the call for
a cigarette tax increase for local purposes as some local organi-
zations have.....

GOVERNOR: That is correct. I think we have got to
evaluate this as we come a little bit closer to the session, as to
first or all, their needs: second, the other needs of the state;
and third, the other opportunities that we have that local govern~
ments have for meeting these needs. They have not yet exhausted
all the opportunities for deriving from their local powers the funds
that they need.

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Thank you, air. If you have a question of general interest

that you would like Governor Bryant to answer on this program, Jot

it down on a post card and send it to "Ask the Governor,", the

Governor's Office, Tallahassee, or in care of this station, which

has made available this time in the public interest. Be with us

next week when again we "Ask the Governor."