NOTES
1. We were beginning to become paranoid about someone reading our mind concerning future articles and making it appear that the only information coming our way was from the bulletin board (people's blog). Of course, some of the big wigs in City government know better, and tried to intimidate their subordinates by questioning them as to whether they were sources for our articles. We believe we have figured out what is going on. We call for public information about some issue we have not visited before, and lo and behold, there is a posting. Last week we asked for revenue collected at the Sports Complex and the next day there were two blogs on what was going on out there. We can only muse.
2. There are a number of shifts established for fire and medical response service with the most popular being 24/48. Basically this is twice a week, but since there are 13 weeks in a quarter, there are two extra shifts every three months that adds the extra hours to the full package. While most fire departments nationwide appear to be using 24/48, others use six, 12, and 24/72. Each has its benefits, as does cross-training where the fire house is staffed with a driver and a para medic and the several patrol vehicles go to the location and meet the fire engine there. What makes sense in any location is how this mix will give the maximum service for the least cost. Everything is a gamble in that attempting to get the right mix could turn on whether not filling a position at the least used fire station could backfire in that suddenly that is the one receiving a structural fire call the night when that station only has two personnel on duty. That would be a one in sixty bet.
1. One of the signs on the Interstate Highways is “Work Zone, Let Them Live.” It should be “Work Zone, Do Not Kill Yourself.” According to a radio newscast, 1000 lives were lost last year in work zone related accidents. It seems that 80% of those killed were in the cars traversing the work zone. Interesting statistic!
2. Storm water retention is a subject that needs exploring. The proposal is a 20% tax increase put on every piece of property in the City. It is of course unfair to the property owners who paid more to live in subdivisions that have proper storm water control systems, and it is a real tax increase. We will also explore why it seems that much of the million now collected annually goes for debt service at an interest rate that is probably about 4%. Nope, they are at it again. Sneak in another tax increase and say it is for something else. This seems to be just a way to pay off the bond issue. It is what Orwell called doublespeak. By the way, the best double speak of the year goes to the Federal government official who said that the humanitarian aid given directly to Palestinians last year exceeded the amount of money withheld from the government over there that we were punishing because they were terrorists. Go figure! We punish you by giving you more money. We do storm water control by collecting more money to service the debt.
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April 16th, 2007
HELP
The City Manager would be pleased to acquire some volunteer help from our many experienced retirees who would not mind devoting some time and effort to augmenting the City staff, by providing the benefit of their knowledge and experience. Any number of areas are available for your contributions, accounting, project analysis and management, engineering experience to develop and review proposals, expertise in the preparation of grants and proposals, analysis of pay and benefits, you name it. If you are retired, have a skill or knowledge that you think could help your community, and want to devote a few hours or more a week to City service, submit a letter explaining what you can do for your Community. Back in the day, they called people who did such volunteer work “Dollar a Year Men!” Today, PC requires that they be referred to as “Dollar a Year Men and Women,” or “Dollar a Year People!”
“Best Blog of the Week”
(Edited for grammar and punctuation)
Thursday, 4/12/07, 5:19 PM
It is an amazement that the first option for politicians and government managers is to reduce or cut services. It is never their first choice to cut the excessive salaries paid to the management and supervisors in this city. It seems fair because these same managers have done studies and their pay needs to be increased because, let’s say, Port Orange, Daytona, or Deland equal level of manager makes more money. These government managers live like leaches off each other’s wish lists and the tax payers must take it like a man. First thing the sheriff wants is to cut crossing guards, not his staff people. The department heads are responsible for all expenses, including their own salaries. Frank fatted the calf, now Hagood needs to thin it out. Get rid of the fat, not the service. If Khalid, Liz, John Y, Beryl and the rest don't want a pay cut, put the add in for replacements. Graduation is near and the college seniors have not been jaded yet with the trappings of arrogance. These graduates may have some new ideas. P&R new ideas is to spend every last dime of the taxpayers’ money on their pets and pet projects. It is also time to find someone that will get NSB the biggest bang for the tax buck. Not give the farm away. Get real or get out. Revolution is just starting.
THE POSTER TWINS
We agree. The pay problem with the Yancey Twins is well known and the issue is growing stale. Enough about the Yanceys until just before the election, assuming they remain as Frank Roberts’ poster twins together with extant problems with our local government. The machinations about good old Frank's pay demonstrates why it is so hard to fix and the effort necessary to bring our local government back to a sane level of functionality with just an occasional glimpse of simple incompetence. We have highlighted the Yancey Twins because an examination of how each received their position and pay at the highest level of our local government demonstrates a level of manipulation for private interests where the public interest has been trashed, and the inability of local elected officials to correct these transgressions.
Elizabeth Yancey is the Director of Parks and Recreation. In 2005, comparability sturdy was sought on City employee pay, and despite the fact that she was being paid about $10,000 more than the top salary of the comparable position in Edgewater, which also has 22,000 or so residents and, a variety of programs for its youngsters. The original report on comparability pay was “reviewed” by Frank Roberts and he determined that she was underpaid by about $8,000. In 2006, she received a 6 ½ % pay raise that rounded her salary up to about $85,000. Consider that the Volusia County Parks and Recreation Director earns less than $100,000.
The greens keeper, her husband, John Yancey, was hired without submitting an application, posting of the position, or providing any information about his qualifications for a salary $35,000 more than the employee he replaced. Who hired him? Frank Roberts. The new City Manager tried to bring his salary down from the stratosphere and apparently was rebuffed by three of the Commissioners. Interesting that John Hagood negotiated a settlement that satisfied the three Commissioners at a level higher than provided by City policy for that position. How did John know this was the right number for the victorious threesome? John Yancey is now paid about $10,000 more than the top of the City published pay range for the position. It seems a case of whom you know and not a case of what is policy.
However, we could be in for a surprise. The City might find a way to fix both before the next election. We will wait and see. If it does, no more Yancey Twins posters. If it does not, we will redouble our efforts.
DEAR JOHN
We know of the limited resources available to John Hagood, the City Manager, and to his inability to get all of the important letters written that he would like to send. So we decided to help him and provide him drafts that will simplify his tasks and free him up for important.
April 16, 2007
Ben Johnson Sheriff, Volusia County, FL
Sheriff’s Office
Deland, FL
Dear Sheriff Johnson:
I am writing you on behalf of the New Smyrna Beach City Commission. As you know, tax and other direct and indirect revenues will be reduced in the next few years due to various factors, and we must look to methods of reducing our cost of government. It has come to our attention that you and other county officers have begun providing public safety services for incorporated as well as unincorporated areas of the county. Specifically, 911 emergency and police services. Our analysis of the current police services provided by you to Deltona suggests that it would be in our best interest for you to consider doing the same for New Smyrna Beach. In that regard, we request that you submit an offer to police this community of 21,000+ residents, as well as provide 911 emergency services. Please contact our personnel officer, Ms Carol Hargy, for any specific information that you may require or me.
Thank you for your consideration,
John Haygood, City Manager
New Smyrna Beach, Florida
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Attached as a link is a letter by the publisher of the Shadow published in the March 11, 2004 issue of the Daytona Beach News Journal (See Link). The thrust of this letter was to complain about the effort of the Volusia County government to force city governments with better fire department services to serve areas of the unincorporated county where the County government refused to provide service at the same level. Silver Sands and Bethune Beach represented a gross aberration of misuse of County taxing authority because in the first several years of the 2000 decade the County had arbitrarily raised the fire taxing district by 27% per year and refused to augment or upgrade the one fire station or the police presence. Nor would they return the Arial truck that they removed to the mainland that was used as a brush truck and subsequently destroyed in a brush fire. Protests though the Beachside Advisory Board was useless and the County Manager arranged to have that Board abolished. Silver Sands had and has no meaningful voice in County government, and they are nothing but a revenue cash cow for the County. The complaint was not about cross subsidies, but that the cash cow should be fed and cared for better before the rest of the money was spent elsewhere. That is the genesis and the thrust of the letter to the editor. It is something most schoolchildren learn early: that taxation without representation is abhorrent to the body politic.
The context of the letter, so gleefully posted by the fire department personnel, therefore, was to highlight the lack of any real representation in County government by beachside residents. In fact, in the recent effort for annexation, in a letter to the Observer, the past president of the Silver Sands Association stated that not having representation was better than being involved with an inept City government with its out of sight pay scales for City employees.
Now, there is no question that references were made to existing fire services to bolster the case for an augmented fire service on Beachside before providing additional service with beachside money to property owners on Ranchette Road in the boonies. The suggestion was made that the Silver Sand's station staffing level be raised to staffing levels of three or four fireman, so that if there were a burning building with no life at issue, there would be enough firemen on the scene to enter a burning structure. This was taken from the fireman manual that called it a standard and at the time, it was not understood to be a “benchmark” that the fire department used to bootstrap its argument to obtain additional resources. Nevertheless, it has little bearing on the current problems that need to be addressed, that are excess pay, grade creep, abuse of overtime, and unaffordable pensions. Instead of the ad hominem attack on the publisher, how about addressing the fact that New Smyrna Beach can not afford the excess pay and unneeded management at the fire department.
The Publisher, Judge Nahum Litt, (retired).
BUS TRIP TO TALLAHASSEE: WEAR YELLOW AND GO
TUESDAY APRIL 17
VOLUSIA COUNTY TAX REFORM IS SPONSORING BUSES TO TALLAHASSEE TO PROVIDE SPINAL IMPLANTS FOR SOME OF OUR LEGISLATORS WHO SEEM TO THINK THIS IS NOT A TAXPAYER REVOLT AGAINST THE TAX AND SPEND MENTALITY ENDEMIC WITH THE COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS IN FLORIDA.
CONTACT VOLUSIA COUNTY TAX REFORM: www.volusiataxreform.com
CITY MANAGERS
The three cities of Port Orange, New Smyrna Beach and Edgewater all function with a City Manager form of government---elected officials rely upon professional chief executive to manage the government, who takes direction from the elected officials, makes reports and provides recommendations to them. He or she in turn executes and follows the directions of the elected officials who have employed them. Here we have an interesting line up.
* Kenneth Parker Port Orange, many years in his current position;* John Hagood, New Smyrna Beach appointed in 2006, but was Assistant City Manager for many years;* Jon Williams Edgewater appointed last year.Now the interesting observation is that Ken Parker is one of the architects of the current tax and spend problem that has culminated in the rising taxpayer revolt. His contracts with the Port Orange fire and police departments were the template for those with New Smyrna Beach, and the latest Port Orange contract with its fire department union was negotiated and signed in October 2006. It is this contract that NSB is now being asked to accept, but the Shadow doubts that it is being considered seriously. Edgewater has essentially adopted some of the same benefits without having a union contract.
Several weeks ago, Ken Parker wrote a 15 page letter to his Council that detailed a number of cost cutting measures, ranging from reducing pensions to eliminating a special day for Boy Scouts. No mea culpa. Probably another professional also named Parker got them into this mess. Well at New Smyrna Beach, we have a City Manager who did not make the crazy decisions that have put us in this mess, and he seems to have an albatross around his neck consisting of a City commission that will not give him majority support to clean up the City government. He obviously tried with John Yancey the overpaid greens keeper and was stymied by the Commission, and forced to further compromise. The new guy on the block down in Edgewater has indicated he is going to take on the big issues and that the fire department pensions and pay scales are on the block. The response of his crew is that they need a union, but that is not the issue. His “so what” response was to the point because pension benefits for government employees have always been based on low salary levels, and when salary levels were raised and the pension benefits not scaled down we have the current situations where the service can not be afforded.
We think at this point that all three cities understand the problem and all three will try to
fix it.
REJOINDERS
We have given some thought as to what is different about New Smyrna Beach government and most other cities. Generally, it has been our collective experience with government and politicians, that if some aberration or impropriety is alleged, the persons or department affected issues a denial or says that they have no knowledge of such a transgression, but they will investigate the matter and issue a report upon completion of the investigation. That does not happen in NSB. Look at the Municipal Golf Course subsidy. The Golf Course Advisory Board pledged to repay the $2.5 million borrowed by the City to refurbish the course. However, current circumstances indicate an inability to do so, and there is no public plan to overcome that deficiency, and there is no investigation into why this was allowed to happen. At the same time Advisory Board members and supporters showed up at a Commission meeting to demand that the greens keeper's exorbitant salary not be reduced. To our knowledge, they have not submitted any rejoinder to the allegation that they misled the City Commission in promoting that loan as a no cost deal to the City. The last we heard, Commissioner Hathaway asked for an amortization table. He has not received it (except from us), and we have heard nothing since. The revenue for the first three months of this year has not been published.
More pointed is the failure of the fire department to issue any information as to how the unrealistic criterion for response time was used for medical calls on Beachside from the Columbus Avenue station. We think there is no reasonable answer, but are totally at a loss as to why in the face of facts that strongly suggest that the City has and will spend millions of dollars for a facility that will add nothing to public health or safety the fire department has not produced a position paper defending their study. Possibly, they did, but we have yet to hear that one was produced, or that it will be distributed to the taxpayers for their review. That just isn’t done in NSB!
In fact, we can understand that not every little nit picking issue can be treated as momentous and in need of public disclaimers and written explanations. There is no expectation that there will be a newspaper disclaimer of what happened to two bags of fertilizer or a couple of pieces of tin at the golf course. But then, if this is a pattern, we would expect that someone would look into it and that whatever might come to light would be fixed. That is the hope, but we do not have a lot of faith that it happen because we do not have a lot of faith in the Golf Advisory Board doing much to protect the taxpayers' best interest. Therefore, here we are hoping that the City Manager will look at the goings on out there. He should look at the organization, pay scales, and whether all of the costs for the golf course maintenance provided by other City departments are properly billed as golf course expenses. We were told, for example, that many City resources went into getting the course ready to open, and that only one or two days were back billed from both Public Works and Parks and Recreation. We think that a mini audit is in order and a report to the citizens should be made.
The biggest problem we see is the dearth of discussion at Commission meetings regarding allegations of things that may need fixing or reports from Department heads explaining their investigation into or resolution of problems or issues. It should not fall on others, such as the Shadow, to publish amortization tables for the golf course debt, but we did because the City did not have those numbers. If they gave them to Commissioner Hathaway, perhaps he would forward them to the Shadow.
ELIMINATE HOSPITALS DISTRICTS TAXING AUTHORITY!
MR BYERS’ LETTER OF MARCH 20TH. THE SHADOW CONCURS
AND ASKS YOU TO WRITE YOUR VOLUSIA COUNTY REPRESENTATIVES!
Date: March 20, 2007
Representative Frank Attkisson
303 House Office Building
402 S. Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399
E-Mail : Frank.Attkisson@myfloridahouse.gov
Dear Mr. Attkisson:
I just finished reading, with mixed emotions, an article entitled “House Council Takes Next Step Towards Property Tax Relief” and House Bill 7001. I agree with you, Florida families are seeing their dream of homeownership slip away as property taxes have skyrocketed. It is also clear that property taxes have smothered our states economy and are having a negative impact on Florida’s economic growth. House Bill 7001 which roll back local millage rates to 2000-2001, plus adjustments for growth and inflation, is a bold, long over due action. Further, I support replacing all property taxes and a 2% increase in the State sales tax.
The problem, however, with House Bill 7001 is the “Amendment” that was added to the House Tax Relief Plan to exempt hospital districts. We live in Volusia County, Halifax Hospital Medical Center Tax District, which was established by House Bill #1457. I am attaching, for your review, a study that was conducted on the “District” that clearly show that excluding hospital districts from the House Bill #7001 is inappropriate. Specifically, Volusia County House Bill #1457 & #0273:
* Deprives over 400,000 Volusia County residents of their civil liberty.
* For tax year, 2007 imposes in excess of $70.5 million in Ad Valorem property taxes on Volusia County Tax District residents. (Halifax Hospital Medical $52.7 Million; Bert Fish Hospital Medical Center $17.8 Million)
* For 2007 the Halifax Hospital Medical Center Ad Valorem Property Tax ($52.7 million) is greater than the cities of Daytona Beach, New Smyrna Beach and Deland Ad Valorem Property Tax Revenue COMBINED!!!
* For 2007, Bert Fish Medical Center Ad Valorem tax revenue of $17.8 million is $6.9 million greater than The City of New Smyrna Beach property tax revenue of $10.9 million.
* Halifax Hospital Medical Center Ad Valorem Tax Revenue has increased from $23,623 million in 2003 to $52,700 in 2007: a 223% increase in 5 years.
* Bert Fish and Halifax Hospital Medical are governed by a political patronage Governor appointed board of Commissioners. Once appointed these board’s are accountable to NO ONE!!
* In tax year 2006, approximately 10% of the “District” property tax revenue was used to support Halifax /Bert Fish Medical Centers.
* Today, Halifax & Bert Fish Hospital Medical Centers charter is levy and collect annually sufficient tax upon all taxable properties in the District, to make debt service payments on the bonds and debt service on notes, for expenses of operations, maintenance, construction, improvements and repairs of the hospital or clinics, and for the payment of any indebtedness or other necessary expenses in carrying out the business of the district. This practice is inconsistent with the Districts original charter.
* According to Florida Hospital Association, there are 227 acute care hospitals in the state of Florida. Of these 227 acute care hospitals, 95 are Not For Profit Corporations, 100 are Investor owned, and 32 are government/public owned. Approximately 86% of acute care hospitals in the state of Florida operate successfully without public Ad Valorem tax revenue. If 86% of all Florida Hospitals can operate without tax revenue what makes 32 Government/Public owner hospitals so special? WHY DO GOVERNMENT/PUBLIC ENTITIES NEED TO OWN HOSPITALS MEDICAL CENTERS?
* Mr. Mike Gentry, CEO of Florida Hospital Ormond Memorial, in attached e-mails, says, “Halifax can be managed with either no tax dollars or significantly less tax support.” “The real proof is that Halifax was profitable in 2006 even after subtracting all of the tax funding.”
* The Halifax Medical Center Board is also the Halifax Taxing District Board. The mission of the Halifax Medical Center Board is to govern the hospital. The purpose of a Halifax Taxing District Board is to ensure that the tax payer funds are used in the most efficient manner. The dual role of the board presents a natural conflict of interest. The Halifax model has an inherent conflict in its design and is inappropriate when public funds are involved.
The above data along with E-mails from Mr. Mike Gentry has been forwarded to Ms. Evelyn Lynn and the Volusia County Delegation. We have requested they introduce legislation this year to make all Hospital Board of Commissioners an elected position. The data provided above is for Volusia County. If we extrapolate this data for all 32 Government/Public Hospital districts for the state of Florida, we are talking about in excess of $750 million Ad Valorem Tax revenue dollars that affect in excess of 1 million tax payers.
Mr. Attkisson, reducing 2007 property tax rates to 2000-2001 roll back rates, adjuster for inflation and growth, will be a difficult task for local governments. Local programs will have to be reduced or eliminated. House bill #7001, which exempts hospital taxing districts from going to 2000-2001 roll back adjusted for inflation and growth is inappropriate.
We realize that Hospital District public funding is a sensitive political issue. However, if 86% of all Florida acute care hospitals can operate successfully without Ad Valorem tax revenue, why do our elected officials believe Floridians should continue to support 32 Government/Public mismanaged Hospitals that require, in excess of $750,000 annually in public tax revenues to survive? It is time that our elected officials step up to this issue, address the conditions that make them unprofitable, sell them or close them.
Sincerely;
John E. Byers
SCHOOL CROSSING GUARDS POLICE IN SCHOOLS
There was a time in the distant past when sixth grade boys were given the honor of wearing bright colored belts with a bandoleer across the shoulder so that they could act as street crossing guards. They were called the Schoolboy Patrol. This elite group, in most small elementary schools was about six kids, would be let out of class about five minutes before the rest of the kids to don their belts and badges showing that they were trustees of public safety, and guide the other kids across the dangerous roads near their school. They were important and, except for the belts passed on for many years to the next class of sixth grade boys, free. As an aside, it never crossed their minds that none of the young ladies was invited to be crossing guards.
There was also a time in the distance past when school principals and teachers maintained discipline in schools. The beginning and end of any altercation or dispute between students was the principal's office and woe to the child if the parents were called and informed of the miscreant’s behavior. What happened at school paled compared to what was likely to be meted out at home. Moreover, think of the playground where the teacher in charge at lunch or recess would grab a kid's arm with a practiced pincer movement and remove him from the fray that started with an argument over marbles or other foolishness. All the boys had penknives because one of the best recess games was mumbley-peg.
In high school, the bad kids were kicked out and did not come back until they behaved, went to jail, or enlisted in the military. No dope was around, but having cigarettes was a punishable offense if someone was caught with them in school.
Things have surely changed. Schools are no longer small and mostly local, with relatively stable communities.
However, the worst change has been that teachers have lost the right to discipline the children in the school, and the police have been posted in the schools to enforce societal rules. Teachers can no longer separate children who are fighting, and, if they do, are threatened with law suits by the student's parents. It used to be that school personnel would be supported by parents, not so today. So not only do we have little to no control by school personnel, we have an intrusion into school administration by an over zealous and apparently over staffed State prosecutor's office. An anecdote is illustrative. The girl, who is being verbally attacked, including vulgar and slanderous e-mails to everyone in the class, pushes a girl bully in middle school in the locker room. The school principal suspends the girl who hit back for five school days because pushing and hitting is bad. The mother of the bully asked the States attorney's office to file charges of battery, and, would you believe it, they did despite a letter from the principal saying he had taken care of the problem and suggesting they butt out. The Judge throughout the case (dismissed as you might expect) offered a few caustic remarks, but the point is that this is the type of activity that undermines school discipline and spends money neither the County or nor the State can afford for misused judicial resources.
These times are in the past, we are told, because of liability. We do not want any! We also do not want any responsibility or involvement. We have become the most self-centered culture ever seen in the United States.
So where are we today? Deputy Sheriffs are in all of our middle and high schools. First we undermine the school official, then we recognize the problem and instead of returning the authority where it belongs, we provide Deputy Sheriffs with arrest authority at a huge additional cost to both the law enforcement and judicial system---you know, all of those would be prosecutors, whose plate is constantly being filled with cases that would probably not even be there, if the police were not there. The problem may be associated with drugs, but it would seem the real concern is why do we need a Deputy in every school? Lets fix the real problem for a change! There are over 20 detectives between Edgewater, Port Orange, and New Smyrna Beach. Put them to work catching the bad guys.
Today we are in a situation where we have no choice but to continue the use of crossing guards, who are inexpensive, and law enforcement presence in the schools, which is terribly expensive and giving the wrong message. We can not change precipitously, and must go back and correct the circumstances for why we are at this point. The suggestion that if there is budget cuts this is where the Sheriff will make staffing reductions is clearly unacceptable. We can think of lot of places where the Sheriff could cut back, such as mothballing part of the new police facility in DeLand. The best solution would be to give the authority for school discipline back to school personnel, insulate them from petty law suits for maintaining discipline, get the States Attorney's office out of school discipline unless school personnel refer the matter to them, and have the police and public safety personnel shut down the drug trade. Then, the Sheriff's office can cut back on the patrolmen in the schools, but not now. As far as crossing guards are concerned, they are not only cheap but they probably are there because they like the kids and it is a good thing for most of them to have something meaningful to do during the day.
May we be so bold as to suggest that all non-essential travel be cancelled for the brass at the Sheriff's department for the coming year, buy smaller patrol cars for replacements of the current full size vehicles, and maybe ask the police union to agree to a less expensive pension plan. They can afford crossing guards and the pay for the patrolman in the schools.
