Pinellas County Commission To Discuss Pandemic, Masks, Vaccinations of School Children

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. - Aug. 6, 2021 - PRLog -- The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners has invited Dr. Ulyee Choe, Director of the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County to address the Pinellas County Commission on Tuesday, August 10th at their regularly scheduled meeting at the Florida Botanical Gardens Magnolia Room at the Pinellas County Cooperative Extension, 12520 Ulmerton Road, Largo, Florida.  Choe, who oversees the Florida Department of Health, was allocated an estimated $58,000,000 in CARES pandemic funding by the Pinellas County Commission's unelected County Administrator Barry Burton.  No itemized accounting of the CARES funding received by the Pinellas County division of the Florida Department of Health has ever been made publicly available.  Choe has now been asked to re-engage the commission with updates on the renewed efforts to vaccinate Pinellas County residents, including youth.

Statistics on vaccinations in Pinellas County indicate that over 85% of seniors in Pinellas (ages 65 and older) have been fully vaccinated, and roughly 65% of all eligible Pinellas residents (ages 12 and older) have been vaccinated, significantly besting the national averages.  Meanwhile, certain members of the Pinellas County Commission continue to advocate for increased government activism to promote both mask wearing and vaccinations for children and adults in Pinellas County.  There's been discussion of making vaccines available at Pinellas County Schools.

Community groups including Pinellas Watch, a community watchdog group established specifically to spotlight overreach by the Pinellas County Board of Commissioners have expressed concern regarding the progressive policies and proposals by the Pinellas County Board of Commissioners.

In 2020, the Pinellas County Board of Commissioners raised property taxes, and the entire amount of the increase in revenue went directly into the surplus savings accounts of the Pinellas County Commission as not a single dollar was needed for operating funds.  Current proposals include raising the gas tax to the maximum allowable tax under Florida law, adding a .01 cent sales tax, and continuing with the Penny for Pinellas .01 cent tax whose funds have been diverted from roads and bridges towards sustainable housing and other building and infrastructure projects, draining the Penny for Pinellas fund of needed cash to cover the intended purpose of Roads and Bridges.

The commission meeting starts at 9:30AM Tuesday August 10, 2021 but concerned citizens will gather at the Florida Botanical Gardens around 8:30AM to meet outside of the meeting, discuss some options to regain control of our representative democracy, and let the commission know that Pinellas county will not tolerate their continued overreach.  Never again will our businesses be declared non-essential.  Never again will our children be forced into masks or vaccines, and never again will our parks or beaches be force closed.