October 12th, 2009
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1. There is almost no expense involved in fling for a Declaratory Order on the Angler's Club lease. It is a simple legal matter. Since the City's lawyer has put the zoning issue on hold, he has time we would think to file the Orlando's lawyer's advice with the proper court. Probably does not want to and not one Commissioner will tell him to do so. That is taking care of taxpayers buisness?
“Best Blogs of the Week”
(Edited for grammar and punctuation)
A POTPOURRI OF CITIZEN COMMENTS IS
AGAIN PROVIDED THIS WEEK IN ORDER
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MOOD OF OUR READERS
9/30/2009, 5:58 am
NIMBY
RODI wants a Garbage Burning Power Plant. So he sends People to Fly to Canada to SEE ONE in operation. OOPS! 1. Not a Garbage Burner 2. Burns TELEPHONE POLES! 3. Plant was NOT working as they had to adjust the scales. Hey RODI. I have this Bridge to sell you and it's in Brooklyn. And it is working
Date:
10/11/2009, 8:44 pm
plan ahead
Below are the CRA members and the dates their terms end. People of NSB, go to City Hall and fill out applications for consideration. The City Council will choose to reinstate or replace. Give them the option to make it right and get rid of these self-serving people.
Chas and Doggie both have prop. on N. Causeway; DeBorde office on Flagler; Kosmas office near Canal; Lybrand office on Canal. Is it any wonder they spend like they do???? No wonder they are being audited.
* Charles L. Belote - term expires June 11, 2010
* Linda P. DeBorde, Chair - term expires June 11, 2010
* Steve Dennis, Vice Chair - term expires June 11, 2013
* Douglas D. Hodson - term expires June 11, 2012
* James M. Kosmas - term expires June 11, 2011
* Cynthia M. Lybrand - term expires June 11, 2011
* Thomas C. Williams - term expires June 11, 2011
10/11/2009, 3:48 pm
Can't SeeIt
Ms. Deborde said the purchases the county is questioning are justifiable.
The Christmas tree is part of a larger Canal Street holiday promotion that they are hoping will bring people to the downtown area.
SOmeone should tell Mrs Deborgiee that Canal Street locks up shop at 5PM. There ain't no business after dark, HELLO!
10/11/2009, 9:23 am
Our City Attorny make more than
US Supreme Court
Last year, Gummey made $216,117.70. What you need to know is he made just a little less than the Chief Justice sitting on the United States Supreme Court and more than all the associate judges on the Supreme Court.
READ: Federal judges, including the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, will get a 2.8 percent cost-of-living-adjustment for 2009 under the recently enacted Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009.
The pay adjustment, approved on March 11 and retroactive to Jan. 1, 2009, raises the salary of Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. from $217,400 to $223,500. The salaries of the associate justices on the high court will rise from $208,100 to $213,900. Judges on federal Circuit Courts of Appeals will see their salaries move from $179,500 to $184,500 while federal trial court judges' salaries will rise from $169,300 to $174,000.
The pay increase comes months after a similar COLA increase measure for federal judges failed in Congress. Although the measure, which was attached to a bill authorizing federal aid to U.S. auto companies, passed the House last year, it failed to clear the Senate in December.
In January, Chief Justice Roberts, in his annual Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, urged Congress to give federal judges the same cost-of-living salary boost that lawmakers themselves were to receive in 2009. "That is all we ask for one of the three branches of government - the one charged 'to guard the Constitution and the rights of individuals,'" Roberts wrote at the time.
In December James Duff, director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, called on Congress to repeal a federal law, known as Section 140, that prevents federal judges from receiving automatic annual COLAs as lawmakers do. "Federal judges should not be the only federal employees denied a COLA," said Duff in a statement. "This is starkly unfair."
NOTES
1.THE ANGLER'S CLUB LEASE
On July 10th the City was given its lawyer's opinion that the Angler's Club had no lease. The only thing that has happened since is a determination not to put the property upfor open bidding, but to only negotiate with the club as to price for the lease. It is said thet Sally Mackay promised in writing she would not touch their lease. We have asked her to deny that she gave such a promise. She will not. We smell a sell out.
2. A BLOG lays out how an acturarial would approach Cindy Richenberg's bloated pension:
10/7/2009, 8:59 pm
Randy's Big Scam!
What Randy did is he turned his wife who earned $38,000 a year employee into a $95,000 year employee in the last few years she worked for the city as a firefighter. That is what jacked her pension from 30K to 63K. At current annuity rates that little flim-flam cost the taxpayers $1,270,475.05 (present value of purchasing an annuity contract to buy a 63K contract for a female mid 40’s retiree). The pension she should have gotten would have been 30K and at current annuity rates cost $604,988.12 (present value). The way to look at Randy is the four years he has served on the city commission subtract the difference between the two pensions and you get $665,486.93 more that his wife should have gotten, and then divide that by four years on the city commission and Randy is making $166,371.73 a year as a city commissioner. Not a bad paycheck for a guy who we cannot determined even graduated from high school. Frank Roberts is not going to rat him out because Roberts is sitting at home drawing a full retirement check because he is disable. No witnesses against you, so it is the perfect scam.
DEAR PAM
As we have stated in the past, we realize that the City Manager is limited in the resources available to her for pursuing cost reduction projects, so we have decided to help her out and provide draft letters for her review. As we have said, this will free her up for important things, like dealing with all the serious problems of the police and fire department pensions.
Dear Sally
I HAVE QUITE A BIT OF EXPERIENCE WITH CRA’S. DO YOU WANT ME TO RECOMMEND A NEW SLATE OF DIRECTORS BEFORE THE COUNTY TERMINATES THE WHOLE BUNCH?
Pam
Two weeks ago we published an editorial where we stated succinctly why the City should SPEND immediately as stimulus money the $15,000,000 in City reserves ($7 million more than needed reserves) and the Community Redevelopment Agency bank account ($8 million). We elaborate on that theme.
· The city has $10m in reserves and only needs $3m.
· The city reasoning for keeping $7m additional is that it needs it for an emergency.
· The city does not recognize we are currently in a financial emergency.
· A situation much worse than a hurricane or any other disaster that the city has ever faced.
· Returning $7m to the taxpayers in form of lower taxes this year would have the effect of pumping $56m into the local suffering economy.
· Ordering the CRA to spend its $8m on infrastructure (and not buying any property like Sides) would put another $64m into the local economy.
· If Mackay and Richenberg had followed these two leadership steps they could have pumped 110 million into the local economy.
· The reason they will not give the taxpayers back their money is that they want to keep and give it to their friends like Junior Sides.
· If the city just collected market rate rent on the Angler's club's docks it could reduce taxes by another $331,200.00 a year. Of course the Angler’s club wants something under a hundred thousand dollars based on totally bogus use of the price the slips would bring on the open market.
THAT INADEQUATE GARBAGE BURNING PLANT MOVES ALONG?
The Utilities Commission, along with your current City Commissioner’s, continue to quietly move toward installing an inadequately sized, expensive to operate, and rather dirty garbage burning facility on property near Sugar Mill and Venetian Bay. They spent your money for a trip to Montreal to observe one of these plants in operation, but we are told the plant they viewed was not in operation, and burned telephone poles not garbage. Regardless, this continues as a discussion hidden from view. We asked and received the following proposal from the President of Florida Rural Cities and Communities, a not-for-profit organization formed to provide affordable water and power to Florida communities. Its President sent us the following letter of the history of their proposal and an analysis as to why their proposal for a 100 megawatt gas turbine plant is adequately sized, cheaper to operate, and provides both for lower eclectic rates, potable water, and waste disposal.
It will cost about $350,000,000, they estimate, all of which will be provided through financing by FRCAC. A recent discovery of natural gas cements the need to build this facility. The Shadow thinks that the Utilities Commission and the City Commission are intent on not even looking at this proposal. By the way, did you notice that Florida Power & Light plans to convert two of its South Florida plants to natural gas and the pipeline goes through Volusia County? Regardless, this continues as a discussion hidden from view. By the way, did you notice that Florida Power & Light plans to convert two of its South Florida plants to natural gas and the pipeline goes through Volusia County? You, read the letter and decide. Read below: The Shadow thinks that the Utilities Commission and the City Commission is intent on not even looking at this proposal. You, read the letter and decide. Read below:
On Jan 5th 2005 our corporation “Florida Rural Cities and Communities” (FRCAC) responded to Request For Information from the U.C in reference to power for the City of New Smyrna Beach (NSB), FRCAC proposed a system to provide power and fresh water, not only for NSB but also for the cities of Edgewater, Oak Hill and the City of Port Orange. The interconnection piping is already in place between these cities to facilitate the project and demands for both water and power. NSB was in a position to assist its Sister Cities and make a profit on its investment. The Power generated would supply the total load for NSB and excess power would be sold to the Grid or neighboring cities. FRCAC also proposed a Plasma system as part of the project to eliminate hazardous waste.
Now comes the interesting part, the existing NSB electrical supply (provided by others) rate schedule for both Residential and Commercial includes a Demand Rate. The more energy you use, the Higher the Demand Rate. I researched this very carefully. The FRCAC proposed cost for power to NSB would be a Single rate per kilowatt hour consumed with a similar rate structure for water based on thousand gallons per day consumed. Rates would only increase per a mutually approved inflation index.
The FRCAC proposal to NSB is summarized as follows:
The NSB project was proposed to be located well inland on the site provided by NSB. The cogeneration project would serve to provide power, potable water and waste disposal for NSB at a negotiated contract price. The cogeneration facility will be developed and installed to meet NSB needs. NSB has the option to participate in funding and ownership of the project.
The project is expected to be installed as a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) concept with Funding available should NSB choose not to participate in a partial ownership option.
NSB would have the first option to buy the facility under the BOOT structure.
The project is proposed to be owned and operated by FRCAC. FRCAC is a not-for-profit organization formed to provide affordable water and power to Florida communities. The Plasma Arc technology project will be incorporated into the power/desalinization project and will be provided power from the project. The Plasma Arc project is expected to consist of multiple pods for stability. The power/desalinization project will be provided hydrogen (H2) from the Plasma Arc project to use as fuel in the cogeneration project heat recovery steam generators (HRSG’s).
The project is expected to consist of a Gas Turbine combined power and desalinization cogeneration facility which will include four (4) new/un-used gas turbines and four (4) new/un-used Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSG), with dual fired duct burners (natural gas & hydrogen), and four (4) flash evaporation desalinization tranes. Multiple units are proposed to enhance stability and flexibility of operation. Exact sizing of the gas turbines, HRSG’s and flash evaporation desalinization tranes would be determined as detailed engineering progresses. Note: Flash evaporation desalinization units do not generate hazardous wastes.
CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CANDIDATES
1. SALLY MACKAY
The Shadow had several conversations with SALLY MACKAY. She is adamant that she needs to have another two years to accomplish what she has set out to accomplish, that she is only one vote out of five and has been stymied by her fellow Commissioners, and that one of them is working over time to defeat her. She also blames John Hagood for refusing to carry out the reforms and restructuring of the City's personnel, and also for not reigning in poorly performing employees. She now believes she is in a position to accomplish all the reforms she has “championed”. She resents being labeled by the Shadow as part of the problem.
The issue of her unsubstantiated education, originally an implied undergraduate degree from Oxford and a Masters in Education Degree from a school in Bath that does not exist. They are explained away as mistakes, and that she in fact obtained a 'certificate' from a three year college south of Exeter, in Sussex, England, and a teaching 'certificate' in Bath from a school whose name she cannot fully recall. If we understand her correctly, she equates these 'certificates' as the equivalent of degrees issued by colleges or universities in the United States. The Masters degree in education she claimed on her application for the Planning & Zoning Board, in her own handwriting. What do you think?
However her claim of being ineffectual in convincing others of her need to cut spending and address the problem of City employees pay, pensions, and benefits also rings untrue. She has voted for the Municipal Golf Course subsidies and the obscene subsidies for the Marine Discover Center—two money pits. She supports keeping the Old High School off the tax rolls and believes that one day a major science center will emerge through the efforts of Richenberg. She stated that she is pro growth but all of her efforts have been supportive of the anti growth crowd. She denies that she is supported by the Peninsula Avenue political machine, but that is where her money has been generated and that is where her telephone call bank seems to operate.
Then there are the needless and expensive purchases of property. When they had the polluted Dunn Property purchase before them for approval, she chided her fellow Commissioners for “quibbling” over a cash price for a property where a $380,000 contingent contract could not be financed. She knew that the City would have to find money to clean it up. But then we think that all of them voted to pay.
So the questions generated after the meetings with the Shadow have not changed. She stretches the truth her veracity is questionable, does she lead, has not cut spending, has not protected the taxpayer, and has not spoken out about issues she has told the Shadow that she would like to fix. Her silence up to now has been deafening. It is for you to decide whether her performance has protected your interest as a taxpayer.
2. ADAM BARRINGER
At a breakfast meeting before the primary, the Shadow was not impressed with his understanding of the issues confronting the City. His basic refrain was that the City had failed to have a pro-growth plan, that the current and continued tax load is driving the City into bankruptcy, and that while he did not know all of the issues he would quickly learn and would be able to get off to a fast start. His design is to return to a true City Management Government. He wants to restrict the elected Commissioners to making policy and not micro managing the City.
He has an undergraduate degree from UCF. Regardless of the doctorate degree, his undergraduate Degree is from excellent institutions and is beyond reproach. His business credentials include being in the management of Outback restaurant chain, frequently considered as one of the best run of the chain restaurant in the country. He currently is involved in his father's construction business and in a wine club business Beachside.
He was forthright about his membership in the Angler's Club and sees nothing wrong with a white male membership requirement. He thought their support for him was not motivated to obtain a more favorable lease than the current $25 annual rip off but was the desire to have a growth oriented City and not wallow in buying unneeded polluted property, subsiding losing City run enterprises, and not cutting expenses to reduce taxes.
In a telephone interview this week, Mr. Barringer was more than willing to take a number of positions. He of course recognizes that he must recuse himself from the issue of the Angler's Club lease, but supports renting all city property at market rates. He states that reform of the current pay, pension, and benefits of city employees must be changed, and that the police department should be changed at least as its seems the organization is wrong. He agrees that the City needs to reorient itself to promote development.
He has not held elected office in the City, but then neither did Sally. He was not on Planning & Zoning, but that might be a plus because he never supported no-growth. He is a clean slate, with a few blemishes in the marble. A businessman with no experience in running a City, against an opponent who has demonstrated few if any skills in running the city. Your decision!
3. JUDY REIKER
The Shadow had a three hour meeting one month or so ago with her husband and a reasonably long telephone call with her a week or two ago. She is a bright and articulate business woman with an undergraduate and Masters Degree from two highly regarded Universities. She runs a branch of a title company and has been on City Boards and a member of the Chamber of Commerce.
She basically had taken no public opinion on most issues. So the Shadow initiated another call this week and she was willing to specifically state that while she wants market rates for the Angler's Club if leased, she believed it would be better if the property was sold. It was not specified by her as to whether it should be sold at a public auction or only to the Angler's Club. She does support growth and better use of the CRA funds for so called stimulus activities. She will review the employee pay, pensions, and benefits package but had not reached a conclusion as to how best to cut these budget items.
We are left with answers to some questions as to her views, but some of the other important issues are still in limbo. It would be better if she had more answers, but the answers she has given clearly sets her apart from the incumbent.
4. RANDY RICHENBERG
The incumbent has not contacted the Shadow and the Shadow has seen no reason to contact him. His record, his wife's pension as the poster child of what is wrong with the fire department pension system, his continued tax and spend policies, his support of the money hole called the Marine Discovery Center, and on and on and on of every rip off of the taxpayer is more than ample indication of his basic unaccountability to the taxpayer.
TWO MORE COMMISSION MEETINGS BEFORE THE ELECTION
For two years the most burning issues have either not made it to the front as an agenda item, or, if on the agenda, the issue was put off without resolution. The incumbents say they have made progress, but a significant and growing number of taxpayers think not. We think that the following issues, among others, should be put on the agenda over the next two sessions and that both the incumbents and wannabees should take a definitive position so that the taxpayers have a basis on which to choose.
1. Should the restrictive zoning on Beachside property be repealed?
2. Should the current fire department pay, pension and benefits package be modified to require, as starters, the same contribution to the retirement plan as the police Department, no mandatory overtime, and no acceptance of any employee into the drop program?
3. Should the police department be reorganized
4..The angler's Club lease
DUNN LUMBER
The City has bought a polluted piece of property that we do not know what we want to do with, that we overpaid by several hundred thousand to buy, and that is unsalable. The former owner should have paid City to take it off their hands. We think that every nickel paid to clean it up should have b been paid to the City, not the City just to pay for taking it off their hands.
The Shadow has been super critical of the decision of the Commission to purchase the Dunn Lumber polluted property for significantly more than it was worth. Even if the property were not polluted with arsenic and creosote derivatives, as a simple real estate deal the CRA paid about $50,000 to $100,000 more for the property than it is worth since the owners could not sell it on a contingency contract for $380,000. The Mayor chided the other Commissioners for “quibbling” over the price and the worthies spent a lot more for the property than it was worth. Forget that almost everybody in the real estate trade “quibble” over the price. In fact forget “quibble”. They negotiate and fight over price. Sally and her husband, if you did not know, are in the real estate business.
Now the Community Redevelopment Agency used your money to buy this over priced polluted property. They had negotiated with the Brown Field fund to get a $400,000 allocated from Federal and State funds to clean it up. The original pitch was that it would cost only $200,000 but now it seems that it is $400,000. We think that $600,000 will be closer to the mark.
Now the City bought the property without knowing what to do with . We know this because the City published a Request for Bids, and lamented that no one showed up. The CRA spokesperson stated that this was not surprising since the property was still polluted and that it would be easier for businesses to bid for the property. DUH! Well they have no evidence yet on whether the pollution is under West Canal Street and US Route 1, both of which would have to be cleaned up.
Another issue in the future use of this third of an acre now owned by the City is that there is we are told a 20 foot railroad right of way where no building is permitted. Then there is the question of whether the Feds or State will build a turn lane for US 1on the Northwest Corner. That would reduce the Dunn Lumber property to a narrow alley down the middle, useful for maybe a Photo Shoppe drop off and pick up.
There is no question that those who polluted the property are responsible for the clean up. The City it seems believed that since they bought it from someone the City has now saddled itself with the obligation and the expense. It has every right and obligation to go back against the polluters to get our money back. But then, until the Shadow questioned the over $600,000 original appraisal on the property and started to examine the underlying documents, we think they intended to buy it for that absurdly high price. That is one of the reasons we do not trust them to do what is right for the taxpayer. The City and the Chamber of Commerce crowd at the CRA think we are stupid as well as suckers.
