When a chair cannot keep order without fanning the flames, a shoulder tap ends in a sheriff's call, and the State Attorney closes the case — the room is not the problem. The chair is.

The June 11 Citrus County Commission meeting put several major issues in one frame: industrial growth at Holder Industrial Park, the cement plant and neighborhood noise complaints, the county’s jail and detention costs, the Right Rudder legal issues and risks, and the larger question of how Citrus County is budgeting for the future.

Commissioners will vote Thursday on sending two county tourism officials to a five-day international trade fair in Spain. The question locals are asking: is this where our tourist dollars should go?

Ingoglia is comparing that to a 2019 baseline — before the storms, before the building boom, before the growth — and applying a simple inflation multiplier, and calling the difference "waste."

Nobody sent the required notice. Nobody told the board the full story. And when the evidence finally showed up at the meeting, the chair shut it down. Taxpayers almost paid for all of it.

Yes, the buyer missed a deadline. But here's what nobody told the board: the county was the reason the deadline was missed. That changes everything — legally and morally.

What really happened at the May 12 Citrus County BOCC meeting — and who nearly paid the price

When a board spends meeting after meeting rehashing false accusations and misinformation that stem from misread documents and incomplete reporting, the actual work of governing doesn't happen.

The future of this county is still ours to write — but only if we put down the noise and pick up the real work while there’s still time.