November 23rd, 2009
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1. THE WEATHER
LAST WEEK WAS TO DIE FOR! Like Camelot, it did not even rain at night. Blue skies, high 70s or low 80s, and a gorgeous launch of the shuttle. Almost enough to make you forget about all of your troubles.
“Best Blogs of the Week”
(Edited for grammar and punctuation)
A POTPOURRI OF CITIZEN COMMENTS IS
AGAIN PROVIDED THIS WEEK IN ORDER
FOR YOU TO GET IN TUNE WITH THE
MOOD OF OUR READERS
11/20/2009, 4:00 pm
Budget Cuts? Probably not.
I'm wondering if the north causeway is a victim of "budget cuts?" The grass in the median is all but dead. Is this because of "budget cuts" or is it a message to the tax payers that "if you want to cut taxes, we'll have to cut services." They're still paying all those employess who would be maintaining our public property. Last year they did something with the newly refurbished tennis courts on the beachside. They refused to make the lights operable because of "budget cuts" (quoted from the Parks and Rec Dept). When you cut services and not employees its not a "budget cut" as the public understands it. Its a cover to 1. punish the complainers, and 2. be able to point to spending cutbacks.
11/20/2009, 11:04 am
Right On 602
Right on. Just as the residents bought adjacent to the commercial zoning of Flagler so did the businesses place themselves adjacent to residential zoning.
Your comment about live music at a bar and noise complaints is simple and ingenious. You have encapsulated the matter that there is no buffer between two land uses that have different intentions and values.
Well done. In science that buffer is called an ecotone. There is none between Flagler and the residential streets.
By the way I really enjoyed Sweet Pea's. Never complained.
11/20/2009, 10:32 am
To the anti 588 crowd
For the record, I think the proposed Flager hotel should be smaller.
For changing the zoning or "density", I have no issue. Flagler is a business area and the density shouldn't be an issue. Have you ever been to an old town with two and three story buildings with adjoining walls? It's common place and has been forever. As for the density in NSB, I would agree most people wouldn't want their neighborhood density to increase, business district or area is a another story. If you live on Flagler or in the near area, what did you think when you bought or moved there? It's a business area and the owners of the properties need to pay those high taxes and they'll develop, rezone, modify and just about anything else to keep up. Don't ever buy property next to; an airport, railroad tracks, city right of way, an industrial area, a business district
11/20/2009, 8:52 am
OK CAnal, Why Can't We B Friends?
If you and the other Canal merchants will give back all the tax $$ you grifted thru CRA and CoC then I think the taxpaying folks of NSB would be willing to shop in your stores, provided you have things we would like to buy.
Seriously, how long did the Canal and Flagler merchants think they could use our tax $$ to promote their businesses and that we would all just smile and say OK.
11/20/2009, 6:14 am
smyrnaborn
From what I have read about the Flagler Hotel MESS it is apparent that Sally left a "DUMP" on the desk of the new Mayor. I feel that Adam will not have a problem cleaning it up with the help of the Commissioners we have NOW!
11/19/2009, 9:21 pm
Mr. Ed
Channel 9 news reports that Port Orange, Holly Hill, and Ormond Beach are ready to Consolidate their Fire Departments with the County.
NOTES
1. PLASTIC CHRISTMAS TREES
AN ALTERNATIVE
K-Mart has advertized a 7 ½ foot high plastic Christmas tree (with lots of lights) for $99 this past week. We were thinking of buying seven of them for about $800 including taxes and grouping them on the roof of the currently useless Dunn Lumber property or on the sidewalk across from Big Joe’s Subs (corner of US 1 and Canal) rumored to have the best sandwiches in town. We could make a bigger splash with seven of them than the $9,000 loser the Community Redevelopment Agency bought. Savings: $8,200.
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 Mayor,
I have found it very hard to embrace the notion of transparency for government records. I promise to try harder. I might even tell City employees that they can talk to the Shadow and Nsbnews.net without fear of punishment. Do you think that would help my image?
Pam
CITY AS AN UNFAIR COMPETITOR
WITH LOCAL BUSINESSES
The City just went into the restaurant business. LINK we thought that the lease was for the coffee shop and restaurant (see LINK to earlier article), but now there is a new Italian restaurant on the premises of the heavily subsidized municipal golf course. As an aside, we still do not even have the preliminary 2009 numbers despite the fact that they are in a computer and last year if we recall we received the information in the first week of October. Red ink is the answer. So far we have also failed to obtain the public notice to bid for the Italian restaurant, but apparently it is now there as a replacement for the coffee shop. We do have a copy of the Italian Restaurant lease. LINK above. The lease is for six months free, four and one half years at $500 monthly, with a three year renewal based on cost of living. We asked for the bid proposal before the election since we thought that any contract for more than $25,000 would require an opportunity for others to contract for the facility. This lease was entered into on September 1, 2009, and it basically provides for the City Manager to control the restaurant’s personnel as well as its menu and prices. See numbers IX and X since the City Manager must approve the prices and can fire the manager.
We do know that this new restaurant is competitive with at least three other similar businesses in the City---Touch of Italy, Dolce Vita, and the new restaurant where Flip-Flops used to be. Although these three also have pizza and spaghetti, these restaurants are not primarily pizza parlors. They pay taxes and we suspect big rent to a landlord somewhere. Should the City be in competition with them? We think not. But worse, the City is in competition on totally unfair grounds since this lease of $500 is a fraction of what one would expect even given the rather poor location. But it is not just a sit down restaurant. It also runs a carry-out business anywhere in the City. It is, therefore, also in direct competition with all of the pizza restaurants on US I. We have nothing against the current owners, but just do not think the City should be in the restaurant business for golfers.
Hey, but what the City has done might not be as bad as Port Orange buying its fire department a machine (Zimtec) to sanitize houses and cars in direct competition with a slew of private businesses that provide the same service. We told you that the fire departments are out of work, but for the City’s should not put these businesses that pay taxes at a competitive disadvantage. Providing service, that augments the fire department’s slush funds, is outrageous.
If they have personnel to provide such service, the Shadow thinks they have personnel they do not need.
THE SAME CONTRACT: SAME OLD, SAME OLD:
TWO YEARS AND NO CHANGE
FROM THE SHADOW ARCHIVES: July 23, 2007
CITY OF NEW SMYRNA BEACH FIREFIGHTER BENEFITS
Health/Dental Insurance
City pays 100% for employee and 0% for dependent coverage.
Health
Employee has choice of Florida Health Care (HMO) or Aetna (QPOS).
Dental
Pacific Mutual – 2 cleanings and 1 x-ray/year.
80% Preventative – 50% Major.Life Insurance
City pays 1 x your annual salary (max. $100,000).
Supplemental Life Insurance per State of Florida. (In line of duty only).Short Term Disability
If employee is injured off the job, employee has 2 week waiting period and then is paid for up to 13 weeks of disability. Maternity leave is treated as any other illness, but is generally paid for 4 weeks after the 2 week waiting period unless the doctor states otherwise. (2/3 City, 1/3 Employee PL time).
Retirement
Defined Benefit Plan through The City of New Smyrna Beach Fire Pension Board. Normal retirement is age 55 and completion of 10 years of service or 25 years service at any age. Earn 3% credit per service year. Employee pays 1% of salary. Employee contributions are considered qualified (tax exempt).
Personal Leave
Employee will accrue 202 hours of personal leave in the first year up to 5 years. Accruals will increase with years of service. Employee can use one week of personal leave after 6 months.
Longevity
Employee will receive 24 hours of pay after 5 years of service. Longevity will increase as years of service increase.
Holidays
11 paid holidays (1 includes employees Birthday)
The retirement age is age 55 and 10 years of service, or 25 years and any age. This means that any firefighter hired at age 18 and can choose to retire at age 43 with a 75% pension.
The increase pay to Cindy Richenberg of $7,200 per year as the public relation officer adds significantly to her five year average since this is in her high five year average and her current 23 years of service provides a huge pension benefit. In 2006, she replaced 2001, which was a $36,000 year salary with a $91,000 year. One adds all five years and divides by five. Shucking a bad year for the world's greatest year is pretty good. This means that she increased her annuity by about $7,000 ($55,000 increase in high five divided by 5 = $11,000 increase). At the end of 2007 she will also get rid of a $46,000 for another $91,000 year and add almost another $50,000 to her high five and another $6,000 a year for the rest of her life. From an actuarial point of view, that extra 1% on how this is calculated is $25,000 a year times 35 or 40 years. $900,000 and $1,000,000 than if figured at the 2%. So far, that little extra duty for Cindy Richenberg has cost you about $2500 in an extra annuity payment for the rest of her life.
Another hooker in the equation for the above contract is that the fire fighters only contribute 1% to their pension fund. If they contributed 8% as do police officers, the amount of their contribution would offset some of these pension costs.
Just to keep everything in perspective, a week or two ago a United Airlines stewardess was highlighted in a feature article as saying she would be required to work after qualifying a pension in her sixties, because the pension would not be enough to support her. Really that’s too bad. She should have been a new Smyrna beach firefighter!
NEW SMYNA BEACH MAY RECEIVE COUNTY ANNUAL AWARD FOR BAD TREATMENT OF EMPLOYEES
Every year the County evaluates which City treated its employees most unfairly. This year New Smyrna Beach may have won hands down for ‘firing’ an employee at 4 PM after giving the employee, according to his account, half an hour to decide whether to resign or be suspended ‘for cause’. If suspended it would be without pay and no pension until the City lost his decision to appeal ---probably more than six months of no pay check until it was resolved. A lawyer from the City’s Orlando based labor law firm was present which the employee believed added an intimidation component to the event. According to the employee, the City Manager had stated to the employee that before the confrontation with the lawyer and Personnel Director, that the City would provide a lawyer if he wanted to contest the charges but that an outside party had threatened to go to the Daytona Beach News Journal if the employee was not fired. An implicit threat of smear is the concept that comes to mind. The employee states that he requested his file at the meeting and it was not provided. The Personnel Director states unequivocally that there was no intent to intimidate the employee and that there was no request from him for a copy of his file, and that the employee was not threatened in any way that he would be suspended if he did not resign. The employee says otherwise.
Normal procedure of course would be to tell the employee about the allegations, give him or her two or three days to find a lawyer and review the charges, and then meet with the employee and a representative if he hired one. Nope, not here. Little wonder that we may receive the least coveted annual County award: “Unfair Treatment of Employees for 2009.”
BOARD OPENING
A requirement of the Community Redevelopment Board Membership is that the members live in or has a business in the zone. Doug Hodson resigned from the Observer and lives on Faulkner north of the zone. We figure that there is now an open seat for the Commission to fill. This is an opportunity to break up the ‘good ole boy system’. Mr. Hodson has been an integral part of moving of money between the CRA, the Chamber, and the Advertising Authority to a small group of their friends.
