ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA-- For some Fort DeSoto Park in Pinellas County is paradise.
In part, because it's free.
But now, as they've done unsuccessfully several times before, Pinellas County is proposing a $5 fee to enter Fort DeSoto and Fred Howard Park.
"If I did have to pay a fee, I might look for another beach," said Jenny Campebell from Kentucky.
No matter where you live, for some it seems like new government fees pop up almost daily.
Pinellas County budget director John Woodruff says counties need to offset declining property values, and most people simply don't want to hear the phrase "raising taxes."
"There's definitely been a lot more pressure to create and add to the existing fees," Woodruff said of recent years.
According to www.usgovernmentrevenue.com, Floridians pay $23 billion per year in fees, nearly twice as much as 10 years ago.
The site projects that number will jump to $31 billion in five years.
Woodruff points out the other options is a major decline in quality of services.
"When you have a fee, the folks who are using that service are actually paying for it, and there's a much more direct nexus between what you are paying for and what you are getting," he explained.
But you can bank on a battle upcoming over paying to get into the two Pinellas parks, before the budget is finalized in September.