Every year both the Hillsborough and Pinellas county legislative delegations (and presumably every Florida county) host a meeting prior to the legislative session where lawmakers and the public can review previously submitted pieces of legislation that affect the two counties.
On Monday, dozens of people — most of them representatives of local social service agencies— had three minutes to remind lawmakers that they should remember the public when making policy decisions, especially when it comes to allocating funds.
That's not to say such leaders were as crass as to actually ask for more money when given their moment. In some cases, however, they did advocate not losing funds in 2013.
When Judith Warren from the Eckerd Community Alternatives took the stand, she complained about the woeful funding that child welfare gets from the state.
Her comments fired up Sen. Jack Latvala, the chairman of the local delegation, who said Pinellas is the lowest funded county in Florida when it comes to child welfare.
This article appears in Jan 24-30, 2013.