More than 50 citizens attended the first of two public hearings on Santa Rosa County’s $100 million budget for fiscal year 2014 held last Tuesday. About one-third of the attendees, mostly Tea Party supporters, spoke out against a proposed property tax increase. However, three of the five commissioners voted for further consideration of the measure, which is aimed to fund raises for county employees, who have not received a bump in pay since a 2009 merit increase.
