PolitiFact Florida | Tracking politicians' promises
Scott-O-Meter
Tracking the promises of Gov. Rick Scott
Carlos-O-Meter
Tracking the promises of Carlos A. Gimenez
Buck-O-Meter
Tracking the promises of Bob Buckhorn
Promises we’ve rated recently
Eliminate Florida's corporate income tax over 7 years
The Promise:
"Eliminate Florida's corporate income tax over seven years. Fully phasing out the corporate income tax over time will have a large positive benefit for Florida's economy while having a minimal impact on state revenues. Total state tax revenues will benefit from the dynamic economic growth created by the corporate income-tax phaseout."
Update May 14th, 2013:
Scott fails to get Legislature on board with exempting more businesses from corporate income tax
Use inmate labor to grow prison food
The Promise:
Use "inmate labor to grow prison food."
Appoint a Chief Technology Officer with specific responsibilities
The Promise:
"As mayor, Bob Buckhorn will appoint a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for the city of Tampa. The CTO will serve as a member of the mayor’s senior staff and will be the point person for all of the city’s tech-related activities, including: e-Services -- Tampa’s response to our customer and constituents' needs; e-Business -- The use of technology to modernize how government works; e-Management -- Coordinating organizational changes inside city government."
Create a housing program modeled after the Challenge Fund
The Promise:
"The first year ... The question of affordable housing for first-time homebuyers and the rehabilitation of existing homes is a priority for a Buckhorn Administration. Together with our lending partners, our housing initiative will build a program modeled after the successful Challenge Fund. ... This program will ... include down payment assistance, reduction in origination fees, reduced interest rates, streamlined loan applications and assistance in preparing and packaging the loans."
Strengthen the Nuisance Abatement Board
The Promise:
"Bob Buckhorn will instruct city attorneys to make referrals to the (Nuisance Abatement) Board on chronic nuisance complaints and will give the board additional enforcement authority to effectively enforce against violators."
Update March 29th, 2013:
New programs for troubled neighborhoods, but not quite what was promised
Launch a public service campaign for bicycle safety
The Promise:
"The Buckhorn administration will launch a public service campaign to educate and alert motorists to bicycle safety rules."
Establish a "One-Stop Licensing Program" available in person and online
The Promise:
"As mayor, Bob Buckhorn will establish a 'One-Stop Licensing Program,' available in person and on-line. The One-Stop Licensing Program will streamline the licensing process, providing business owners with a complete list of all licenses and permits required by the city and providing assistance in obtaining the licenses and permits applicable to their business. In addition, the One-Stop Licensing Program will streamline the multiple layers of business regulation by acting as a resource for city businesses to identify and interact with the appropriate county and state regulators."
Establish accountability standards for infrastructure upkeep and repair
The Promise:
"As mayor, Bob Buckhorn will establish Accountability Standards for each of the city’s departments and their functions, from filling potholes to clearing storm water ditches. The city will know what the city’s pressing problems are and how long it should take to fix them. The mayor and city employees will stand accountable to city residents if the timetables established for resolving these issues are not complied with. As a first step in this process, Bob Buckhorn will complete a full city-wide Infrastructure Assessment to identify our neighborhoods’ needs and begin to address them."
Incorporate New Urbanism concepts in land development codes
The Promise:
"The first year ... Bob will modernize land development codes to incorporate New Urbanism concepts and form based zoning in order to encourage the development of our urban neighborhoods."
Create a series of initiatives to improve parks and public spaces
The Promise:
"To facilitate the development of safe, enjoyable public parks, Bob Buckhorn will create a series of parks initiatives. These will include: The development of a Parks Advisory Board made up of residents and businesses in neighborhoods surrounding city parks to advocate for and help support those venues; A commitment to identify corridors for the development of a city-wide greenway/trail from MacDill Air Force Base to New Tampa using existing rail lines and new development partnerships; Developing parks partnerships with existing parks advocacy groups such as Parks Forever and the Mayor’s Beautification Committee; Encouraging the effective use of the city’s undeveloped open lots for the development of community open spaces such as playgrounds, pocket parks and community gardens."
Update March 28th, 2013:
Lots of parks projects, though not necessarily the initiatives that were promised
Reform Medicaid with a federal waiver
The Promise:
"Reforming health care for Medicaid recipients (through a waiver) and state employees to consumer directed care will lower the cost of health care, increase choice of health plans, and save taxpayers $1.8 billion."
Create over 700,000 jobs
The Promise:
"The 7-step economic program — over a 7-year period — will have a positive economic impact and create over 700,000 jobs for the state of Florida."
Establish a landlord training program
The Promise:
"Bob Buckhorn will establish a Landlord Training Program, which will train the city’s landlords on code requirements, code enforcement procedures, and techniques for maintaining their properties in a manner that will help prevent code violations in our rental communities."
Establish Neighborhood University
The Promise:
"Buckhorn wants to further empower existing neighborhood leaders and support the development of new leaders through the establishment of a Neighborhood University. The Neighborhood University will provide a formal leadership-training program for neighborhood leaders modeled on the Tampa Chamber’s successful Leadership Tampa program. In addition, the Neighborhood University will house and build upon the existing City’s Neighborhood Empowerment program offering enhanced technical support services for the City’s neighborhoods."
Require drug screening for welfare recipients
The Promise:
"Require drug screening for (welfare) recipients."
Update February 26th, 2013:
State loses another round in fight for drug-testing welfare recipients
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