March 9th, 2009
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1. We believe that Debbie Simmons probably runs the UC since Rodi they say shows up late most mornings. We thought of putting a tail on him and noting each morning when he left his house and how early he went home. Just kidding!
2. Since they are bailing Clay Henderson and his law firm out, we thought that we should also ask for the 1099s of the favored contractors. The one we would like most is that of the attorney (still shown as their interim lawyer) who we suspect is no longer working for peanuts now that he found out that good all Clay usually bills out at $500 an hour. Of course he gave a special rate to the Utilities Commission.
“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
3/8/2009, 11:17 am
Frank
We all know what is coming next:
We'll hear the City Commission claim THEY CAN'T CUT THIS, AND CAN'T CUT THAT.....And above all; they CAN'T CUT PUBLIC SAFETY! Never mind the fact that both the FD and PD are top heavy in management, and have extremely expensive PENSIONS and other beennies......like LONGEVITY PAY, EDUCATIONAL INCENTIVE PAY, OT, and extremely generous Sick Leave and Personnal Leave Policies...
And lets face it, Sally and Randy aren't going to be taking away anything from their Union Buddies just before an election...... So that just means higher taxes on the rest of us, to keep all of this pork rolling into the Unions...
THANKS SALLY,
THANKS RANDY,
But what you're selling: I'M NOT BUYING!
3/8/2009, 9:31 am
judge judy
Watch the news: other municipalities are cutting staff, services (including fire), going line by line. People this isn't personal - it's just good business - the likes of which seems to allude our leaders. Poor judgment abounds, including Flip Flops decision to expand. Boy, what are they thinking? Watching the Dow tomorrow will not be for the faint of heart. People, heed the signs, we are in for a tough road ahead, it's a shame the decisions of the City will be a reaction rather than action. Somebody down on Sams or N. Causeway better know magic. They're gonna need it.
3/8/2009, 8:19 am
The way to reduct the budget
The city without regard to cost needs to put on a big list every service the city provides. Then it needs to sort the list from most important to least important. The amount of each budget item and the cumulative effect on the budget needs to listed on the same line. Cutting the budget becomes easey. You find what you can afford and cut everything below. If your job is to do one of those items--sorry.
3/7/2009, 2:56 pm
judge judy
my utility bill came this afternoon: $397 and change.
3/6/2009, 8:56 pm
Gotta have this, Gotta have that...
Add the debt the City and the UC has accumulated over the years.....
Then, ADD -IN the Unfunded Liabilities of the City's Firefighters and Police Officers Pension plans.......AND WE ARE ALREADY BANKRUPT!
And yet, Randy and Sally want a new Commission Meeting Room, with "state of the art communications".......
SO I GUESS THEY JUST PLAN TO RAISE OUR TAXES TO PAY FOR IT......
Along with some MORE MONEY, for Firefighters Pensions, and MORE MONEY, for Police Officers Pension, and MORE MONEY for the GOLF COURSE, and MORE MONEY for Randy's FISH FARM......AND THEN OF COURSE, THEY'LL ALSO NEED SOME MORE MONEY FOR RAISES FOR CITY EMPLOYEES TOO!
WELCOME TO THE CITY OF NEW SMYRNA BEACH; A City, Of City Employees, By City Employees,
AND FOR CITY EMPLOYEES....
( The Taxpayers can just EAT CAKE!)
3/6/2009, 8:43 pm
Gotta have this, Gotta have that...
HOW ABOUT SOME FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY FROM OUR CITY COMMISSION!
NEVER MIND ABOUT WHAT OBAMA IS DOING...
NEVER MIND ABOUT WHAT CHARLIE CRIST IS DOING...
RESPONSIBILITY STARTS AT HOME!
And it Starts with OUR CITY COMMISSION.....
GET IT DONE!
NO MORE EXCUSES!
LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS!
NOTES
1. PAYING FOR INFORMATION
The Bill of Rights, Inc, paid the Utilities Commission $36.35 because they claim that they can not produce an E-Mail from their computer in a form that would let them hide Social Security numbers on the computer. They also charged for someone to delete SS numbers which we doubt took anyone over a half an hour and they deleted some addresses which in fact they have no authority to delete. Like Rodi’s. We simply do not believe that any computer bought in the last 15 years did not come with a softwear program that would permit easy printing of spread sheets containing the information we requested and have the capability to hide specified columns. By the way they printed it from a computer file.
Now, here is the E-mail we received:
“per your additional public records request this morning, I've attached the U.C.'s organizational chart for 2007-2008 which includes a listing of UC employees' names and indicating what department they work in. As this listing is in electronic format, with very minimal staff time involved in locating the record, and no redaction process needed, this public record is being provided at no cost.
The previous public records request for 2008 W-2's for UC employees, and per your confirmation this morning to move forward on the request, has now been completed. This public record is in paper format, as explained previously, and upon payment in the amount of $36.35, the records will be provided. I will have the records placed in the cashier area at 200 Canal Street, along with a prepared invoice, first thing tomorrow morning.
This hereby concludes all of your outstanding public records requests as we understand them and as stated and shown above.
Thank you,
Debbie Simmons
UCNSB Executive Administrator
386-424-3001”
The object is to make the Shadow pay for any information, which they know becomes burdensome in the aggregate if it is a fishing expedition rather than specific information like the W-2s. They also produced it alphabetically by first name. Cute. Since the Shadow is already suing the City, we decided to just pay for the W-2s and not sue to get them free in electronic form.
The Shadow may choose to respond differently in the future. By the way, the W-2s are alphabetical, as we said by first name, and absent the organization chart you could not tell who they are and where they work. We asked and they supplied an organization chart. We are grateful that they figured out how to print it out and that and that is was free. Some open government! They could have done it all with a flick of a computer key.
2. A SECRETARY MORPHS INTO AN “EXEUTIVE ADMIISTATOR
Thought you should know, as we said above, Debbie Simmons, a secretary a few years ago, is now an Executive Administrator making $78,000. That is probably almost $35,000 more than what we think she was getting paid five years ago. With benefits that new title, and possibly but unlikely additional duties written in the job description, this represents a very large increase in pay for in all likelihood no real additional responsibility. We believe she is doing the same job she did 10 years ago. She is the secretary to the CEO and she answers the telephone as part of her duties. This is not a salary earned in a market economy. The gross unfairness is that secretaries making half her salary are paying her bill and if she were not working for the UC she would be making no more than they can earn in the open market.
“That is about what you pay each month on your car.”
THE UTILITIES COMMISIONERS HATE THE
RATEPAYERS - REMOVE THEM
We think it borders on the absurd for the New Smyrna Beach Utilities Commission Chairman (Walter Allen, III) to say that he has not seen the proposal made by the Florida Rural City and Communities agency (FRCAC) to build a fully funded ($300,000,000) co-generation plant, that would have desalinization and waste disposal capacity, as well as lower the electric rates by half. Worse, it seems that whoever has seen this proposal did not think it important enough to even notify the current chairman or put it before the UC for consideration. If this is really the UC position, who in the hell do they think they work for? We thought the staff was in a position of trust for the ratepayers and tax payers. Obviously they think otherwise and, as our British cousins might say it, it is a ‘bloody’ disgrace. Again, if this is really how the UC is managed, the whole Board of Directors should be removed for cause. At the least Governor Crist should suggest to the appropriate State body that they be investigated. Or maybe he does not want a private stimulus package of $300,000,000 (now estimated to cost about $350,000,000) spent in Volusia County.
SHARING THE DOCUMENTS
If the Shadow wanted the documents requested from the City and the Utilities Commission solely for its own amusement it would be freely given and not cost a dime. It is that ‘sharing’ of the documents with the ratepayers and taxpayers that offends them. Please understand that when they stiff the Shadow they stiff you the taxpayer. We print what we obtain so that you have the information in the same form we see it. You know “trust but verify”. The Shadow believes that by now you can trust us, but since some of what we print seems out of the ordinary, we print the underlying documents.
The W-2s from both the City and the Utilities Commission what they did not want you to see. We think they did not want you to see that Rodi might not live in the City which is probably why they n;lacked out his address.
Our analysis is based upon the documents we print for you to see. If we do not get it, neither do you. It is not the Shadow that they fear, it is you knowing what they are doing and how they are spending your money. The facts are what they are, but not wanting you to know what the police earned, for example, is what they hid and did not want you to know when the police union demanded that they be given a pay raise in a depression. The Utilities Commission also does not want you to know the increased salaries of their employees and that they added a slew of employees and paid them all exorbitant salaries.
WHY THE UTILITIES COMMISSION WILL NOT REDUCE YOUR UTILITIY
BY 50% AND SAVE YOU MONEY IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES
The CEO of the Utilities Commission, Rodi, has a base pay of $178,000. His secretary, now called an Executive Administrator, is paid $78,000 with a new title, and possibly a few additional duties in the written job description.
Since the Utilities Commission thought it was cute to put the W-2s in a difficult to read format, the Shadow has spent the time to reorder them so that you can easily see what the pay scale is and the individuals who are raking it in and did not want you to know their most hidden secrets. We have tabulated them by last name and salary, and also by salary in descending order from the munificent $178,000 base pay of Rodi to the lowest full time employee. We will print them next week. Remember, we think the pension and benefits package the UC pays is probably substantial but since we do not know the cost we will not speculate. The pension and benefits package for New Smyrna Beach employees is 45% but, as we already stated, we do not know what it is for the UC employees.
We also received an organization chart with the names and position descriptions, they are included for your perusal LINK They unceremoniously fired Jenny Turano, and it might interest you to know that she that she was unable to join the retiree health plan or keep her life insurance. The Commission instructed Mr. Rodi to make sure that she received her twenty five year retirement benefit and all other benefits available to retirees. He did not do this. However, they could not prevent her from collecting early retirement from the State retirement system, but she is still struggling with very expensive individual health insurance and of course she lost her life insurance. So much for Rodi following the commission’s orders. He took care of himself with his sweetheart contract and golden parachute but threw her under the bus. But we digress!
Again, when they threw Jenny Turano under the bus, and Mr. Rodi refused to pay her retirement pay, we believe they had about 145 emp;oyees. The Utilities Commission now employes another 40, but remember they no longer have telecommunications and never installed fiber optic. The extra employees are just that--extra employees.
BURRIED $350,000,000 MILLION DOLLAR
CONSTUCTION PROPOSAL
Seldom has a series of happenings surfaced at the same time to point to a total failure of the leadership of the New Smyrna Beach Utilities Commission to address issues that appear on their face as a great benefit to the public. Just as bad is the failure of the City of New Smyrna Beach to control the poor management and refusal to even discuss a proposal that appears on its face to be in the public interest. They granted a big increase in salary and bonuses to a failed CEO who has maintained almost the highest utility rates in Florida for five years (salary alone now $178,000 per annum). They also voted to pay a $250,000+ contract to a partner in a law firm that is obviously in financial distress and it is nothing but a bail out using your money (Holland & Knight just laid off 70 lawyers and 173 support personnel). The current program to replace almost new electric meters, one only three months old that we know of, looks < like a bail out for a contractor they like. Probably one of many.
The last straw is the absolute violation of the public trust for all of these appointed or elected officials to address what on its face is now a $350,000,000 dollar offer by the Florida Rural Cities and Communities (FRCAC) to build a state of the art co-generation plant which has both a desalination and waste disposal facility on property already owned by New Smyrna Beach at I-95 and SR 44. (see article below for the comments of the Chairman). It is fully funded. When operating it is asserted it will cut your electric rate in half. There is a total lack of construction and development in Volusia County. Constructing a $350,000,000 power plant will create a lot of jobs for a multitude of out of work carpenters, electricians , steel workers, etc. to just name a few trades that would have work. It might even create jobs that might keep some our kids here.
The multiplier effect of spending this magnitude of real dollars is a true economic stimulus. But better, it is not dependent on the government or the taxpayer it seems writing the check. It is not a bailout, but real investment money being spent on bricks and mortar, much of it bought locally, and all having a multiplier affect as the money trickles out into the rest of society.
Last, as stated in the letter from FRCAC Chairman Barnett, it would lower the electric rates in the City by half. Can you imagine anyone who cares about the ratepayer and taxpayer ignoring such a proposal. Unfortunately the Shadow can because the history of Jenny Diesen and her lackey CEO ( or does he still fancy himself a Bell South devotee and is she his lackey?) has been to ignore the needs of the customers as they proceed with the general looting plan. The next thing you know, they will blame it on the prior management.
They have had the proposal before them for at least four years. They can not deny it. They have known about it for the last month because the Shadow has published the letter by Richard Barnett. They ignore it and unless forced to address it, will continue to ignore it. We do not expect the Chamber of Commerce to demand action, but possibly the Volusia County Homebuilders might have something to say. How about the Florida members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Or Florida Senator Lynn or House of Representative Hukill. The greatest surprise would be even a little bit of curiosity by a newspaper to the north of us.
FAILURE OF THE City OF NEW SMYRNA BEACH
TO USE ITS POWER OF OVERSIGHT OVER THE
NEW SMYRNA BEACH UTILITIES COMMISSION
The City of New Smyrna beach has been totally derelict in its responsibility to use its oversight powers to challenge and correct the total mismanagement evident at the Utilities Commission. While the Commissioners were railing against the contracts of the City Manager and Attorney because of generous termination clauses, they said nothing when the Utilities Commission gave a large salary increase and added a big bonus package to the UC’s CEO. Like Hagood and Gummey, this package is payable if the Board ever even criticizes him. Not only a double standard, but an unearned increase in pay for someone who has taken electric rates to one of the highest in Florida. Given his performance, the Shadow seriously doubts he could get another job in the industry. The City Commissioner’s never made a peep.
Then there is the contract for Clay Henderson. Instead of reducing their rates to consumers, they give a juicy contract, we think as a bailout because his firm seems to be in financial distress, to a lobbyist to get more water supplies they do not need and from a source that it is unlikely to get. It is nothing but a billing that he apparently needed and damn the rate payers. Again, not a peep.
Does the City know where and how the bond issue was spent. Bet not. We also bet that the City has never seen the UC W-2s until they were printed last Wednesday in the Shadow.
Does the City review the increases in pay for employees at the Utilities Commission? Since they do not submit them, we suspect not. The Shadow is willing to bet that the first time the City has seen the W-2s for the Utilities Commission for years is what we published. Not that the City would care since they just gave Police Sgt. Griffith earning $82,888.09 in salary last year a 2% pay raise during a depression.
Now we are faced with a determination by the Utilities Commission to not even consider publically a privately funded $350,000,000 million dollar offer that it is asserted would lower by half the electric rates in town. Not even “consider” is the magic word. It Is hard to believe that both the Utilities Commissioners and the City Commissioners are so dumb as to not recognize that the effect of spending $350,000,000 million dollars in Volusia County might just benefit the City, County and State. Hey, that is a million dollars a day for a whole year. They might not think it is a good idea but we bet the unemployed construction workers might think otherwise.
This is one of the “goals” of the City:
“To enhance and improve the flow of communication and coordination of activities to Commission, staff, citizen boards/committees, other agencies and residents.”
Please stop laughing.
