NOTES
1. We have given a lot of thought to why Commissioner Randy Richenberg would make an issue of filling the unneeded position of Assistant City Manager at a time when the current City Manager has been able to pare several hundred thousand dollars from a bloated City personnel register. If you look at the numbers, the City had added a slew of high paid management employees over the last few years that are obviously unneeded because the City seems to run as well without them as with them. In the case of the City Manager John Hagood, he did all of the nitty gritty work as Assistant City Manager, and being named to the position was really recognizing that he was already in the job. The former City Manager limited his work to making sure everybody got the right SUV, paying fancy salaries at the municipal golf course, and getting himself an unwarranted bonus when he retired.
So why does this guy, Commissioner Ritchenberg, suddenly come up with a demand to fill a position that is clearly not needed and that will spend money unnecessarily. Curtailing fire and police department salaries and pensions might be the answer. We could be crass and just state that it was a warning to the City Manager that if we have a replacement in place we Commissioners can remove you if you fool around with the family income and nest egg. Of course, we would not think of such a thing if the $154, 000 fire Lieutenant, his wife, resigned. Then there would only be that lingering smell of a conflict of interest.
2. We marvel at the audacity of the City Commissioners to dust off a little known piece of legislation designed to adjust election dates so as to give themselves another full year of additional time in office. They have done this twice before in the last ten years, but that adds up to a real slap at the voters—three extra years in office for elected officials out of the last ten. The more we thought about it, the more it became evident that some witch must have tipped them off that this was a good idea. There are witches here you know, or at least in Edgewater where Commissioner Plaskett says she saw them flying over a house on Riverside Drive last year.
1. It goes with the turf. Attack the messenger and the problems will then go away. It is simply a gas that the fire department's 'Swift Boat' sponsor who constantly distorts what is said and writes that he is not connected, just like the key supporters of the Swift Boat liars were not connected to the White House fund raisers, will not address the questions but continues to try and confuse and conceal. We have the answer. Tell us once again that the City is powerless to fix the problem caused by too many supervisory positions at the fire department. No, the answer may be that the City lacks the will to fix the problem. By the way, there is nothing inconsistent about stating that the 1500 or so voters Beachside have no meaningful voice in County government and that the City of New Smyrna Beach with more than 15,000 voters does.
2. At first we thought the elected officials were insensitive to the swirling criticism, but now they are going to extend their terms another year which shows that they are paying attention to the political landscape and some of them do not want to chance that they might have to show some leadership qualities if they hope to get reelected. They might even have to take a position on how they are going to save money. What a novel thought. Rather than lead, just change the election date.
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April 23rd, 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)
A POTPOURRI OF CITIZEN COMMENTS
Commissioners Budget; Look at it again
Monday, 4/16/07, 10:56 AM
It’s not their SALARY that is EXPENSIVE-it’s their BENEFITS! $10,940 a year each just for Health Insurance, Life Insurance and retirement! Do these people have other jobs that supply them with Health Insurance and a retirement? Then add in the other expenses, $7,000 for "Conferences and Seminars,” $2,500 for "Area Dinners,” and $1,000 for "Travel.” THE VALUE OF THEIR BENEFITS NEARLY EQUAL 100 PERCENT OF THEIR SALARY! Do yours?
I agree with the last post!
Tuesday, 4/0/07, 6:10 PM
Salary levels, and therefore pension costs, have skyrocketed in recent years. And that has people really upset. The City Council has turned property taxes into a mechanism to transfer your wealth-to someone else. (Moreover, in this City, it is usually someone who is related) This must stop! We pay taxes in exchange for City Services. However, during the last few years our City Services haven't grown-just our taxes have! Moreover, the vast majority of those funds went to pay for huge salary and benefit increases for city employees. Now we are being told that a reduction in City Services will have to be made due to tax reform. However, what about a reduction in those areas where the increased taxes went to begin with-salaries and benefits? Nobody ever mentions that!
Tom Katt
Wednesday, 4/'/07, 5:00 AM
To C. Thomas: Canal calore has been dredged. It was done and the home owners assessed. The captains quarters canal or out flow of canal street is less than 200 ft long.. The canal is city property with the captains’ dock sitting in it. I see where they took out the "old rotting floating dock this past week.” The dock @ the captains can berth eight boats of 16/18 foot range. HOWEVER, TO SPEND 400,000. To dredge it is obscene. When they ( captains) qtrs built the new sea wall they let fall and did not clean up the leakage from the old wall.. NOW THEY WANT ME & YOU TO PAY FOR IT...REMEMBER THE C is all over 55 and they deserve it...they think Tom...
Wednesday, 4/'/07, 8:32 AM
Right now, the City is busy trying to convince everyone who will listen, that cuts in City Services will have to be made due to property tax reform. Of course, they completely ignoring the fact that the City has spent nearly the entire property tax windfall they have been receiving in recent years, to increase salaries and benefits for city employees. If you listen to them, they will have to cut recreation, and lay off Police Officers, and stop cutting the lawn at city hall etc. etc-all due to property tax reform. However, one thing they will not even contemplate is to cut back on those items where they spent the money to begin with-on City employees! After all, that’s how we got firemen who make $91,000 a year plus benefits!
Kev Larr
Saturday, 4/21/07, 11:44 AM
The changes in the election should be on a referendum. This is like having the fox guard the hen house.
TELL THE MAYOR
Town meetings on the New England style are where the elected officials and voting residents meet to discuss, argue over, and resolve issues that have arisen since the last town meeting, but mostly the town budget. This generally takes place once a year.
That is not what happens in New Smyrna Beach. The Mayor funded by the City, calls town meetings and he listens to and answers questions for the small number of constituents who attend. On April 14, 2007, about 25 voters attended. Why so few? Our speculation is because nothing happens that amounts to a hill of beans. Some people complain, others ask for answers to specific questions, and a few are there to say how much they like this affable man who has been around New Smyrna Beach politics for 25 years or more. However, they get no answers and, when all is said and done; they do not know one more thing about the City or his policies than when they walked into the room. Essentially all of the answers end with the phrase or thought that “I'll look into it.” Why go? Why waste a good part of a Saturday morning if you know nothing more about the views of a key elected official, the direction he wants to lead the City, and we use the word loosely, why we should follow?
The Shadow has asked all of our elected officials to state their position on important staffing and financial decisions that now face this City. We do not think that it is asking too much of them to comment on whether they plant o cut expenses, including economizing on the subsidies for non essential expenditures (CRA, golf course, sports complex, Marine Discovery Center, fire department public relation spokesman, DARE officer, etc.etc.etc.), before they tell the City Manager to come up with inventive new taxing methods to bring in the same money, but not from the property tax. It appears that the elected officials at Ormond Beach and Port Orange did not have to instruct their City managers to propose “fire tax districts” since they came up with that idea on their own. Different name, same high tax end result. Debt service for what has already occurred will have to be met (golf course renovation and building the sports complex), but certainly each Commissioner should speak to whether they will incur more debt by building a new police and fire station now that it has been made clear that taxpayers want to economize and not continue to spend on unnecessary projects which minimally affect their lives and well being.
Nada! Not one word from the Mayor in any discussion on these pressing issues. After the meeting, no one knew anything more about his views or where he thought the City should be heading, than they knew before the meeting. It would be better if everyone had stayed home and read a book on the Town Meeting form of governance.
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.
MEMO
To: Sandy
From: John
Re: Dear John letters
How many of those Dear John letters remain to be dealt with? I’m pooped!
When is the Judge going back to D.C. for a visit? Soon I hope!
SPENDING REFORM
The major issue confronting County and Municipal governments is not tax reform, although one of the ways to stop a child from spending is to take away his allowance. In this case, the imaginative elected officials are figuring out how to live with a curtailment of that pesky thing called the property tax and confiscate your money under a different name. In Ormond and Daytona Beach, for example, the City managers have proposed setting up fire tax districts that would collect the same amount money from each property owner, and actually take in more money than they lose through property tax reductions. Now this would be fairer in some ways because there would be no homestead exemptions or Save our Home limitations on the money collected from each property owner. Then, money in hand, there would be no reason to look at mismanagement or salary and pension levels of the fire departments and the elected official will say they are living within the budgeted mandates of the State's property tax reform.
This is a fraud. There is a need for spending reform! Creating another tax to take in the same money, from the same people, and to continue the business as usual spendthrift ways should not be permitted. First, to mix a metaphor, this will not right the tax ship because the tax burden will still be on property, and the taxpayers will find it too expensive to maintain their houses in Florida. It does not matter if Harry Homeowner is taxed $10,000 or $5000 through property tax and another $5,000 through a fire tax district. When the books are totaled at the end of the year, the City takes $10,000 from the taxpayer, and that is $10,000 that does not put bread on the table or shoes on the baby.
The City of Edgewater held a meeting the other day for its employees and the basic message was, we can do it by attrition and none of the City employees need to worry about a job. However, Edgewater, like many Cities has superfluous cost centers, and they should tell their constituents why they should be retained. For example, a “museum” on U.S. Route 1. It is a house requiring heat, air conditioning, and costs associated with maintaining the building. It would be interesting to find out how many Edgewater residents even know it exists and how many have visited it in the last year, excluding school children on class trips. By the way, that is where at least one highly paid employee whose job seems duplicatory of work performed primarily by police and fire departments personnel. Just closing and shuttering that office could save Edgewater more than $100,000 if the personnel in it were furloughed or otherwise removed from the City payroll. We think that City Manger Williams has better insight than the Shadow to think of other cost savings measures.
Here in New Smyrna Beach there are already three vacant positions and not filling them would save about $300,000 a year. If the Community Redevelopment Board stopped functioning and went on vacation for the next two years, that would reduce the need to fill the position vacated by Shannon Lewis, and possibly several of the CRA board’s employees could be moved to Public Works for the short term, say working on storm water problems. They could tell the County not to provide matching funds until they came up with non frivolous projects such as, placing the electric transmission lines underground along the North Causeway. Remember the hurricane and tornadoes that snapped the palm trees and telephone poles a few years ago? They apparently do not. Bert Fish could lower its taxes by $400,000 and not give that money to the CRA, and we would hope that the County would not tax everybody another $400,000 in matching funds for what appears to be money for a new parking lot slush fund, hiding under a banner that says that the corner of Live Oak and Lytle avenue (SR 44) is blighted. The downside of course is that the old parking lot would have to be used for another couple of years while somebody figured out how to reduce the cost of City government elsewhere. Another idea that was proposed at the Mayor's Town Hall meeting Saturday morning was to combine the Parks Department with the Public Works Department for another savings of about $200,000 through the elimination of superfluous management positions at the Parks department. Now there is a thought to mix another metaphor that just may have wings. There are only 31 employees in parks and Recreation, and the Sports Complex will continue to spend its large subsidy with little supervision from City Hall.
There is no painless way to cut property taxes. These jurisdictions must understand that the public wants City spending reduced to levels that comport with the incomes of most Volusia County residents. No one wants below par service, but there are many aberrations in how the money is spent, and there are too many subsidies for services that do not enhance the overall well being of all citizens. The golf course is a prime example. Many people think of the increased golf course subsidy as a frill or benefit for people who can afford to pay more for those services. Leave the subsidy for those that can not afford to pay the full freight. Subsidizing huge expenses for the wealthiest slice of our society, for what is generally thought of, as a sport for the more affluent, is not going to sit well in the near future. The dues structure could be means tested, for example, which is essentially what student rates already do.
Last, yes the problem was mostly Frank Roberts’ who brought questionable project after project before elected officials who did not know how to say “no.” We are living with that legacy, and need to cut spending. What better way to start than not filling vacant positions that were and are not needed in City government, and saving tons of perfectly good greenbacks.
VOLUSIA TAX REFORM INFORMATION FOR THE MASSES
The following figures are for sales of homes in Volusia County since 2004:
11,352 homes in 2004
13,032 homes in 2005
9,638 homes in 2006
1,167 homes sold to date in 2007
*From 2000-2006, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), cost of goods, increased 18.5%
*From 2000-2006 the County General Fund and 15 of Volusia 16 Cities increased their property tax spending from 51% -128%
*That is from 3.8 to 9.5 times the CPI Increase
Increases in Property Tax Spending/Revenues 2000-2006
Volusia General Fund 69.3% 3.7 times CPI
Daytona Beach 90.8% 4.9 times CPI
Daytona Beach Shores 130.3% 7.0 times CPI
Debary 141.9% 7.7 times CPI
Deland 101.3% 5.5 times CPI
Deltona 91.9% 5.0 times CPI
Holly Hill 58.4% 3.2 times CPI
New Smyrna Beach 103.5% 5.6 times CPI
Pierson 11.8% 0.6% of CPI
Volusia County has 16 cities, in one year 2005-2006, when the CPI was 2.5%
Four cities increased property taxes form 30-39%
Five cities increased property taxes from 20 – 29%
Four cities increased property taxes from 10-19%
Four cities & Co. Gen. Fund increased less than 10%
HAVE YOU HEARD THIS?
*We’re going to have to have massive layoffs
*If we have to roll back our spending we will have to cut critical services like Police, Fire and Ambulance
*We didn’t spend too much money, we have continued to provide the services our citizens demanded
*You tell me which programs you want cut and I will cut the budget
HOW ABOUT THESE QUESTIONS?
*Exactly how much, in dollars, was spending increased over the past 3 years?
*If you allowed 10% per year increase in budgets from 2004-2006, how much more, in actual dollars was spent? And on What?
*What additional services are being given to the public now that were not being offered 3 years ago?
*How many new Police or Fire personnel were added over the past 3 years?
*How much of this increase went into “reserve accounts”?
*How much was used to fund road paving or other improvement projects, and was it used to complete those ahead of a normal year plan. Expansion of a normal “replacement cycle” level wouldn’t be a normal expenditure actually requiring a cut?
*How much money came in from newly constructed properties? (that money is not being cut?)
One of the reasons people do not trust government is because government does not tell them, in simple terms, what it is doing to them. Often it is just the opposite, when they are told; it is in confusing language or terminology. Volusia Tax Reform supports Volusia County Property Appraiser, Morgan Gilreath’s, Truth In Government Spending, (TRIGS).
There are some simple ways the actions of government can be more communicative and accurate in communicating what government is doing to its taxpayers regarding the property tax. This is why Volusia Tax Reform has now formed Citizens’ Budget Advisory Committees to oversee and monitor that our taxing authorities are prioritizing their budgets and are held accountable in their spending. We have been taking the names of the citizens that are willing to serve on these committees and if anyone else would like to volunteer, please contact us. These Advisory Committees will be appointed in the very near future.
SUBSIDIES
There are many services provided by municipalities required by society to avoid anarchy and to provide necessities for residents. Clean water, proper disposal of sewage and trash, and police and fire protection to name a few. There are also a large number of amenities provided by many municipalities that are not expected to pay for themselves but are beneficial to the entire community and are subsidized to the benefit of all. Some examples are: shuffle board, skateboard areas, tennis courts, parks, pavilions, clean beaches, boat launching ramps, sports facilities, and, occasionally, municipal golf courses, to name a few. A few curmudgeons and anarchists complain about any service paid for with public money that is not connected to health and welfare, but most taxpayers believe that providing other amenities and recreational service enhances the community in general and is an appropriate expenditure of funds.
The discussion is usually not with the anarchists who do not want any amenities or recreational service subsidized, but with those that think that the subsidies should be tailored to what the City can afford, and to what those being subsidized should pay as their fair share. For example, it is assumed that most of those that play shuffle board are either elderly and not well off or tourists who spend money here and should be given a few benefits to keep them happy when they visit. Shuffle board courts are a winner on both counts even if the assumptions are fallacious, and besides, shuffle board courts are not that expensive to build or maintain. Placed like the ones on Flagler or at Sams and Julia Streets they are also picturesque and attract more warm bodies to the shopping areas of the city.
The sports complex is more complicated. It is over built for our small town and the costs for maintenance and servicing the bond is high. If included in the annually budget, the cost of paying off the building makes that facility a terribly expensive subsidy. READ MORE..
PROPERTY TAX REDUCTIONS
The County property appraiser, Morgan Gilreath, an elected official, is required this year to deal with decreased property values caused by the downturn in the real estate market and reduce the appraised value of property. He has a problem, because, while he can argue that the decline in value, that was apparent in May and June of 2005, was not reflected in prices until as late as September since reported closings on sold property normally takes 60 to 90 days, the current sales in April of 2007 are reflecting sell offs that in some cases are almost 30% less than the appraised values he calculated for January 1, 2006. Using the same logic he used to project the 2006 tax, unless there is a huge upturn in the next two months in sales prices, the beachside condominium numbers will reflect decreases of 20% to 30%. The auction last month of more than 20 condominiums at Ocean Walk in New Smyrna Beach (Silver Sands) alone represents this continued malaise in the market. The Ocean Walk developer cleared inventory, but the price average, with the buyers' payment to the auctioneer, was about $250,000. That is significantly below before construction price contracts. Some of the higher units were originally sold for about $400,000. Condominiums on the Beach are simply not recovering to the prices obtained in the frenzied marketplace of the first half of 2005, and many of the most expensive ones are being appraised at least 15% or 20% below the before construction prices. Assuming the buyers honor their contracts the loan values will probably be reduced and so will the appraised values.
Similarly, 'periwinkles' within a block or two of the beach that were appraised at more than $300,000 can now can be bought for little more than $200,000. Many of these were ‘knock down' houses where the land was worth more than the house. When developers were bullish, they would put a much more expensive new house on the lot. With the speculation abated, these reductions might represent a $2,200 loss in property tax per house. Moreover, do not forget each of these sales generated a slew of indirect taxes to the State and County in fees and transfer taxes.
No guesstimate is now available on the decrease in appraised values of the more expensive homes along Riverside, Peninsula Ave, or Atlantic Ave. or Saxon Drive. Those decisions, like the ones for the condominiums on Beachside will have preliminary numbers attached to them in late May. A gross evaluation would suggest that they could only find a market at a reduced value approaching 20% less than the January 1, 2006 figures.
The big surprise will be that the School Board and Bert Fish will raise their millage rate to keep the same volume of dollars they assessed in 2006. That will hit homesteaders as well as investors, second home owners, and business. There has been little attention as to what limitations will be placed, if any, on the School Board to live on what it would get if it did not raise the rate and lived on the lesser amount from reduced appraisals.
Taxes should go down. Do not spend the money. The Shadow believes the City and County will try not to cut spending and just look for other ways to levy taxes. If they do, like the fire tax district put on the table by Ormond Beach and Port Orange to offset any property tax decrease mandated by the State legislature, you will pay the same or more tax than you paid before. How does that short poem by Gertrude Stein go: “A rose is a rose is a rose?” A tax is a tax is a tax. Or something like that.
COST COMPARISON
FIRE ENGINE $400,000
Lt, EMT, Paramed $154,000
Driver, EMT $59,280
Fire fighter $40,320
TOTAL SALARY $253,600
The cost for operating the fire engine/rescue vehicle exceeds the cost for the fire/rescue unit by around $150,000. It would seem that reducing fire personnel and using several ambulances would make a lot more sense and be much more efficient and cost effective. Nevertheless, this would reduce the need for a number of fire engine/rescue personnel. Try not to not fire anyone. Retire a few over 20 year Lieutenants, or abolish all of the lieutenant positions, and let the County run the fire/rescue unit out of the City fire stations.
* Fire/rescue vehicles are hybrid trucks that are equipped with 200 gallon tanks and hoses so that they can be used for small fires, including small structural fires. If transport vehicles similar to those used by EVAC in Volusia County were employed, the cost would be less because they sell for around $75,000.
FYI, The City of Altamonte Springs is in the process of replacing all possible gas guzzlers with hybrids, and there already have many in service. The Police Chief drives an unmarked Honda Hybrid that gets over 40 miles to the gallon.
Trunk of Honda Hybrid: Once again, now, why do our patrol sergeants need an SUV?
CITY COMMISSIONERS VOTE TO EXTEND THEIR TERMS OF OFFICE. CANNOT BE ELECTED THIS NOVEMBER, PUT IT OFF FOR A YEAR. WHY DID WE THINK THAT ELECTED OFFICIALS REPRESENTED THE PEOPLE WHO ELECTED THEM? STUPID US. WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR, WHEN THEY DUST OFF THE SAME ORDINANCE AND GIVE THEMSELVES ANOTHER YEAR.
BOW TO THE RULING CLASS. BOW TO THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. BOW, BOW YE LOWER MIDDLE CLASSES. TUESDAY NIGHT IS THE SECOND READING. THEY ALREADY VOTED FOR THIS LAST NOVEMBER.
Advertisement
“Invitations to the Coronation Ceremony of the New Smyrna Beach City Commissioners, which will be held on Memorial Day at the meeting hall of the American Legion, will be distributed at City Hall on Friday. Honorary pall bearers for the United States Constitution will consist of veterans who fought in major battles to defend our right to free elections. We will conduct a mock funeral for our rights for a free society where the electorate decides the term of office of those elected and the death of the free press which as of this date has not even given notice of the agenda ordinance and the death of our cherished rights. A special award will be given to the Chamber of Commerce for supporting this essentially fascist proposal”
We do not expect the City Commissars to approve this advertisement in any of the local newspapers. They should! They are trashing the United States Constitution. Four of them voted last November to pass this mockery of the democratic procedure (Commissioner Plaskett was absent) and now it would seem, they will pass it on Tuesday night (Ordinance 124-6). The argument now advanced is that it will increase the number of voters, but they were perfectly happy to have a small voter turnout when they and their friends could control the beauty contest vote and the voters did not know about their inept taxing and spending or the pay and pensions of the fireman and police; not to mention the extra bonus to Frank Roberts which was Monopoly dollars to them. This object, assuming it were desirable, could easily be accomplished by making the changes in the future and not having it apply to the three who come up for election this fall. The only reason they are going to pass it is to protect their current sinecure. They do not want to face the voters and they do not care what they do to democratic processes to get their way.
Nor are the sleazy tactics used to put this on the agenda acceptable. They held off publishing the agenda until the last possible minute. None of them has explained why it should apply to them, and the Mayor did not even see fit to discuss this issue at his Saturday meeting a week and a half ago. They held off publishing the agenda, apparently, so that they could “have an understanding” of how they would vote. It probably skirted on the edges of improper “polling.” They also put off publishing the agenda to reduce the likelihood that a large number of voters would show up at the Commission meeting. We are anticipating that the two Commissioners, who would have to run next, Hathaway and Plaskett, will vote against it, and the two who would not be up for election again for another three years will vote for it with the Mayor. Poor Mayor, he will have to take his chances, but at least not this year where he is probably toast.
Other Cities in Volusia County have extended the terms of their Commissioners when they made the election dates coincide with the election date of the national election. But none, to our knowledge, have done so when under fire for spending tax money for pensions and pay increases for City employees, for ramping up the debt with capital expenditures that are not funded, and proposing new tax increases like the 20% hike proposed for storm water run off, questionable expenditures for redevelopment, and other hard to explain actions like paying the former City manager another $100,000 plus bonus when they fired him. Keep in mind, we know of none who have extended the terms by a year long or better three times in the last 10 years.
At the time of the first vote, they said they would talk about it with the voters before they brought it up again. Apparently sneaking it on the agenda at the last minute is what they think constitutes talking to the voters about it.
$200,000* FIRE/RESCUE VEHICLE
$50,000 
Paramed, EMT
Paramed, EMT 50,000 Driver, EMT
Driver, EMT $100.000 TOTAL SALARY
TOTAL SALARY
