Latest news with #JoshuaWostal
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hillsborough commission votes against asking for state DOGE audit
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The newly formed Florida State Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) task force is set to use technology and AI to help look for government waste. It will audit colleges and universities, state agencies, along with local governments. VIDEO: Winter Haven police say child 'mimicked' mother when told to get on ground On Wednesday, Hillsborough Commissioner Joshua Wostal tried to get the county to ask the Florida DOGE to audit the county sooner than later. 'Every organization has waste to identify,' Wostal said. The Republican commissioner called for the county administrator, along with the county's internal auditor, to work with the task force to find waste. 'We had multiple decades of never truly having one forensic audit throughout our processes of budgetary solutions,' Wostal said. 'That has resulted in many transitions to technology platforms that has resulted in us quite literally finding bank accounts that we lost of forgot about just in the past two years.' Wostal has also proposed that he be the point-of-contact, out of all commissioners, for the audit. 'If they have specific issues or concerns that might not need a board vote or more of a directional issue, they can utilize my office as the sole point of contact,' Wostal said. Republican commission board Chairman Ken Hagan does not agree. 'Personally, I think any contact with officials should be by staff. They are the experts,' Hagan said. 'There's one point about directing the county administrator. I don't think we need to direct her to do anything.' The two Democratic commissioners, Gwen Myers and Harry Cohen, were joined by two Republicans opposing Wostel's item. That means the motion failed in a 4 to 3 vote. During a stop in Tampa hours after the commission meeting, Gov. Ron DeSantis responded to that vote and said local government audits will start soon, and he also wants more authority from lawmakers. 'We're asking the legislature to provide us the ability to send DOGE teams down to county and city governments,' DeSantis said. The governor didn't give a specific date regarding when audits will start. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pinellas wants to expand the Cross Bay Ferry. The barrier? Hillsborough County
Pinellas County officials have big plans for the Cross Bay Ferry. The service, which in October began motoring passengers year-round between Tampa Convention Center and the Port of St. Petersburg, is currently operated by a private, Boston-based company. It's subsidized by Tampa, St. Petersburg and their respective counties. Pinellas County's transit authority wants to buy its own boat, operate the service locally and expand its hours and frequency. In time, officials hope the ferry can expand from seasonal recreation to a bona fide transit option for commuters. But there's a major potential obstacle in the way of these grand ambitions: Hillsborough County. Since 2022, Hillsborough has been sitting on a nearly $5 million federal grant to buy a new boat. The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority doesn't plan to use that money. The grant will expire and return to the federal government within two years, said Scott Drainville, CEO of Hillsborough's transit authority. Pinellas wants to see the grant transferred across the bay. The transaction would cost Hillsborough nothing and would keep dollars in the region. But some Hillsborough County leaders are against the transfer. At a meeting earlier this month, Republican Commissioner Joshua Wostal offered a successful motion to delay a decision. He accused Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority CEO Brad Miller of trying to bypass the will of his own board, which has not held a formal vote on whether it wants to purchase a boat and operate the Cross Bay Ferry. 'That's very disrespectful to the taxpayers of Pinellas County,' Wostal said in an interview. 'That you have a behind-the-scenes bureaucrat trying to transition them into another financial liability.' Commissioner John King, a citizen appointee to Hillsborough's transit authority board, said he thought Pinellas was trying to 'circumvent the federal appropriations process.' He argued the dollars should return to the federal government, and then Pinellas can compete for the funds like other localities. If Hillsborough doesn't send Pinellas the money, it would be yet another blow to regional cooperation — and it would limit a transit option in an area struggling with clogged roads and traffic fatalities. 'If we send this money back to the federal government, we'll probably never get it back,' said Tampa City Council Member Luis Viera, chairperson of the Hillsborough transit authority's board and who supports the transfer. Miller, the Pinellas transit CEO, said a local transfer was possible. U.S. Department of Transportation staff instructed him to get local approval for the transfer first, before requesting final approval from the federal government, he said. The Department of Transportation did not respond to questions about the grant. Hillsborough County officials will discuss the $5 million grant at a March 5 meeting. It's unclear when Hillsborough's transit authority board, composed of county and city of Tampa leaders, will make a final decision on the transfer. It's also not guaranteed that Pinellas officials would agree to expand the ferry service even if the grant were transferred. Kathleen Peters, another Pinellas County commissioner who sits on its transit board, wrote in a text that she'd only support 'true transit.' But Hillsborough officials may take the decision out of their neighbors' hands if they vote down the transfer. 'Regional collaboration and regional unity is something that is talked about in meetings with each other but is rarely ever practiced,' said Pinellas County Commissioner Chris Latvala, who supports the transfer. The history of regionwide transit in Tampa Bay is fraught. The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority shut down in 2023. Gov. Ron DeSantis for years vetoed state funds to the organization, and local counties eventually began holding back contributions. Now local transportation leaders are, at the urging of the state Legislature, studying the possibility of merging Hillsborough's, Pinellas' and Pasco's transportation planning organizations. But some elected officials, especially those on the Tampa City Council, have been reluctant to cede more power in transportation planning to the sprawling counties that surround them. Regional transportation planning requires a delicate dance, said Darden Rice, chief planning and community affairs officer at Pinellas' transit authority. All sides have to see a benefit to cooperation. 'It takes some brokering. It's relationship building. It takes time to keep people engaged on the same goals,' she said. At a time when cost-cutting has become central to the Republican governing ethos, the ferry project is seen by some as wasteful. Shelling out $5 million for a service that had 72,000 riders last season is not cost effective, Wostal said, compared to spending on city bus routes that shuttle more than a million riders each year. He's also skeptical about the parent company of the ferry: Hornblower Group, which filed for bankruptcy last year. Local governments asked Pinellas' transit authority to take the lead in negotiating a new, cheaper contract for the ferry later this year, said Rice, project manager for the Cross Bay Ferry. Many of Wostal's complaints could be resolved if Pinellas has a local boat, she said. 'If PSTA has a passenger ferry boat, I think it helps increase competition for some of our local operators to get a leg up,' Rice said. Local operators won't have to supply a boat — just the labor and cash to oversee maintenance and operations, she said. The private contractor would assume liability if the boat is damaged and needs repairs. Finding a local operator will likely reduce how much local governments have to chip in to operate the ferry, Rice said. If Pinellas' transit authority owns the boat, staff estimates that the authority will get about $1 million in annual federal disbursements to make more improvements to the service, including moving the St. Petersburg stop to a temporary dock downtown, increasing frequency and reducing the round-trip fare from $24. Currently, the ferry takes off from each port every three hours on Fridays and Saturdays. It operates less frequently other days and doesn't operate at all most Mondays and Tuesdays. Whether Tampa Bay sees a more dependable, locally operated ferry depends on whether Pinellas' transit officials can convince Hillsborough of their argument: that 'this is a win-win for everybody,' Rice said.
Axios
05-02-2025
- Health
- Axios
Hillsborough opts against removing fluoride from drinking water
Hillsborough commissioners shot down a motion to remove fluoride from the county's drinking water. Why it matters: Conservatives have fashioned fluoride into an issue of medical freedom, leading communities across Florida and the nation to halt the practice of adding the mineral to drinking water. This is the most controversial issue the board has waded into since expanding its GOP majority. Wednesday's failed vote suggests Republican dominance won't guarantee success for conservative causes. Catch up quick: Firebrand Commissioner Joshua Wostal announced on Sept. 26 via X that he would introduce a motion to remove fluoride from Hillsborough's drinking water. His post came after a federal court in California ruled against the Environmental Protection Agency and ordered that it further regulate fluoride in drinking water. Inside the room: Public attendees at Wednesday's meeting largely spoke in support of Wostal's motion. A pediatric dentist cautioned against it, noting that she's treated uninsured children in both fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities — and found cavities to be far more severe and widespread in the latter. Commissioner Harry Cohen (D) called the motion "irresponsible" and urged the board to host a workshop with medical professionals. Wostal countered that keeping the mineral in the water was irresponsible. With Commissioner Gwen Myers (D) absent, the motion failed 3-3 as GOP commissioners Ken Hagan and Chris Boles sided with Cohen.
Axios
31-01-2025
- Health
- Axios
Scoop: Hillsborough could ban fluoride from drinking water next week
Hillsborough's Board of County Commissioners will decide on Wednesday whether to remove fluoride from its drinking water, Axios has learned. Why it matters: If approved, Hillsborough would be the most populous county in Florida to end the practice — and the latest in a growing number of municipalities across the state that have done so. Catch up quick: Commissioner Joshua Wostal (R) announced on Sept. 26 via X that he would introduce a motion to remove fluoride from Hillsborough's drinking water. "No excuses," he said. Wostal's post came after a federal court in California ruled against the Environmental Protection Agency and ordered that it further regulate fluoride in drinking water. He stopped short at an Oct. 2 meeting and asked county staff to assess the cost of water fluoridation and review the federal judge's order and the National Institutes of Health study it cited. Driving the news: On Friday, Wostal filed a motion to amend the agenda for next week's meeting to include a motion to remove fluoride from Hillsborough's drinking water, per records Axios obtained from the county. County staff estimate that removing fluoride from the water system would save $200,000 each year. What they're saying: Wostal posted a screenshot of the California ruling on X after Axios reached out Friday. "Have we reached such a point in society that we can't have an honest conversation about rulings like this, to the point that we risk the IQ of our children?" he wrote. "This is all I'll be answering to questions about this item," Wostal added. "I love you all." Between the lines: Fluoride is a mineral that repairs and prevents damage to teeth that bacteria cause in the mouth, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is evidence that high fluoride exposure is linked with lower IQs in children, though in higher concentrations than found in drinking water, a National Toxicology Program report found. Yes, but: Studies have continuously shown that widespread community water fluoridation is not associated with lower IQ scores in children, and rather prevents cavities and saves families money, per the CDC. The federal judge said his decision didn't conclude "with certainty that fluoridated water is" harmful to public health, but rather that there is enough evidence of risk to require action from the EPA.
