NOTES
1. The Shadow believes that there is a large disparity between what hospitals charge insured and uninsured patients for diagnostic and surgical procedures in this area. If you are uninsured and need medical attention, the hospitals in the region charge what appear to be widely different charges for the same procedure. These charges can not be rationalized merely by saying the quality of care is at issue and what you pay for, since there seems to be no correlation between the care, and competence factor and the charges. We plan to publish an article next week that specifically identifies these factors.
2. The deadline for proposing agenda items for regular City of New Smyrna Beach commission meetings is the Thursday preceding the Tuesday meeting, and publication of the final agenda is officially set for Friday. Of course, since most of the items are known well in advance, there is no reason a preliminary agenda could not be published earlier. However, it is unfair when the agenda item with backup information is not published until Monday before the Tuesday meeting. We have received many comments about the apparently sleazy manner in which the I-95 agenda item was handled. Tune in next week for a more complete discussion of this process.
1. Consolidation saves tons of money. Altamonte Springs saved so much, about $7,000,000 over a few years, that Seminole County contracted with a consulting company to develop a plan to consolidate all fire department services in the Seminole County. This approach was tentatively approved by all municipalities in the County planning group at a meeting a month or two ago and we are told a preliminary plan will be ready this month. We would appreciate the fire department personnel who deny reality of these facts to contact the K-9 dog at the police department for a refresher course in getting the facts straight and telling the truth.
2. We never lose faith in the ability of our local government to deny residents the opportunity to have a voice in discussing the important issues of the day. They tried to sneak through with no notice of the so-called “workshop” to discuss beach reconstruction and now they have passed a proposal to oppose an interchange at I-95 that is not under consideration by the State for several years. No notice on the agenda until the last minute. Then they published a stripped down agenda item that does not tell you who originated this proposal or why. The whole operation suggests that discussions were held bordering on violations of the Sunshine law, but this is not new in this town. Ask the K-9 dog. We have asked the K-9 dog to investigate how this meaningless resolution, obviously chosen as a diversion from the real issues confronting the City, such as the failure to address the bloated City budget, was placed on the agenda and who did it. The K-9 dog barked that he would get to the bottom of it.
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June 18th, 2007
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.
Memorandum
To: Brenda Hendrickson, Fleet Supervisor
From John Hagood, City Manager
June 18,2007
I am distressed that you have not complied with my request for information. That data is important to development of the 2008 budget. Should you not be in a position to comply please advise, and I will take that under consideration during our up coming City reorganization. All departments are being analyzed regarding their efficiency and value to City operations, if you have recommendations, please provide them to me without fear of retribution.
FYI, it has recently come to my attention that the new Prius claims and delivers 60 mpg in town, and 50 mpg on the highway fuel consumption. Perhaps now you can appreciate my interest in the information requested. I want to compare the cost of retiring our SUVs and providing for the few personnel that need them sub compacts or gas/electric vehicles.
John
REGISTER TO VOTE; MAKE IT COUNT, VOTE FOR CHANGE!
THE LEGISLATURE IS HAVING DIFFICULTY MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT HOW MUCH TO COLLECT AND SPEND OF YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY. THEY DO NOT WANT TO ALIENATE ANY OF THEIR CONSTITUENTS. THEY NEED TO BE LOVED, NO MATTER HOW INEFFECTIVE THEY ARE. YOU CAN INFLUENCE THEIR DECISIONS BY VOTING FOR REFERENDA AND ELECTED OFFICIALS THAT TAKE YOUR INTEREST TO HEART. HOWEVER, YOU CANNOT VOTE IF YOU ARE NOT REGISTERED. REGISTER TODAY. SIGN UP FOR AN ABSENTEE BALLOT IF YOU WILL BE OUT OF TOWN DURING THE NEXT ELECTION CYCLE THAT STARTS IN SEPTEMBER. TAKE NOTE OF THE RECENT VOTE BY THE CITY COMMISSION ON AN I-95 EXIT AT PIONEER TRAIL. TRUE CONCERN OR AN ELECTION PLOY? YOUR CITY COMMISSION HAS VOTED FOR A NUMBER OF UNFAVORABLE TAXPAYER ISSUES. THE GOLF COURSE DEBACLE, YANCEY, THE PAVILION, PAY AND PENSIONS, AND MORE. THEY MADE THE MESS, LET THEM CLEAN IT UP BETWEEN NOW AND ELECTION TIME! CALL ANN MCFALL, THE SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS IN NSB AT 423-3311, OR GO TO HER WEB SITE http://volusia.org/elections/reginfo.htm#voter TALK TO YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO REGISTER TO VOTE. WHETHER THE CURRENT ELECTED OFFICIALS PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR CONCERNS IS DEPENDENT UPON THEIR READING OF WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO DO AND WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO FIX. THEY LISTEN AND THEY WILL RESPOND.
“Best Blog 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
EB
Friday, 6/15/07, 3:57 PM
It almost never fails to amaze me what our city fathers portray in voice. Gov. Crist was elected on a promise to help the beleaguered tax payers. He is now trying to fulfill the promise. Instead of embracing the idea that tax payers have been beat up, our council cries and whines critical services shall be cut. Why can't they look at the over staffed structure that has been built by the NSB department heads and former city manager. Grade creeps, non sustainable pension plans and an administration staff that could not be supported by any private business. The council had a chance to save the city money by posting the Golf Course maintenance supervisors position and chose instead to reduce his salary by $16,000 more than top allowance of any past holder of the same position. Over ten years this is at least a $160,000 by any calculator. They choose to build a fire station instead of renovating an existing beach side station and the firemen are living in a trailer anyway. Station 17 in D.C. has just reopened and is perfect for the area, we could do the same. The proposed design of the new police station has been put on hold due to over run costs. This was never supposed to be Westminster Hall in the first place. Reduce motorcycle patrol instead of administrative staff that is preparing for accreditation that needs to be supported by a credible structure in the first place. When are these leaders going to take the lead and have an auditor come in and verify work content to worker title, supervision as really required and finally look at responsibilities of all city employees. How can Park and Rec, Building and Maintenance and Public Works send 10 city employees to build a new dog stable for more than an entire week (400 hours)? These departments seem to have an abundance of workers. Why wasn't this dog facility in the Police Budget? Oh wait, the budget is just a suggestion. How else can the city build, repair or order items not identified in the budget. If you ran your business like NSB, you might not be smarter than a third grader. Lets contract an expert and find out where the money really is going. Are you council game or are you just whipped?
City Commission and City Attorney Caught in a Public Relations Stunt--the big boom you hear is it backfiring on them
Friday, 6/15/07, 2:09 PM
People inside city hall tell me that Pioneer Trail exit was a public relations stunt. That is the reason that no on was the person identified as requesting the resolution and there was no supporting documentation. The agenda was held back from the public so no one could check it out before the meeting. The city commission wanted to change the lead in the newspaper from its budget wows to an environmental issue. Not having an issue the city just made one up. We all were duped. MPO knows this and will ignore the resolution. Nothing is being fast tracked. We are in a building bust. Lies, lies and more lies
Police and Fire Pension Programs got the lion’s share of the tax increases!
Thursday, 6/14/07, 7:03 PM
According to the city's own financial report, the property taxes collected by the city between 2001 and 2005 (last reporting) increased 40.3%. The rate of inflation between 2001 and 2005 went up ten percent. That means the city budget has been growing 4 times the rate of inflation. The total taxes levied in 2001 was $6,722,077. If you add inflation that means all the city had to raise in 2005 was $7,468,974.44. Then in 2005, the city raised property taxes to $11,266,504. That is a $3,797,529.56 over charge. So where did the money go? $431,483.00 is going to increased pension benefits for police and fire. So 11% of all the tax increases went to the police and fire pensions and no one else. But here is the worst part. The police and fire pension funds assume a certain churn rate. That is people quitting before they vest in the retirement program. No one is going to quit. You can take the savings from the churn rate and throw that out the window. It is a huge unfunded pension cost that no one is talking about.
COUNTY TAKEOVER
The Volusia County Sheriff's office has stated that it would enter into a two year contract to provide 911 call service (emergency dispatch fire and police call service) to New Smyrna Beach for an annual fee of $390,000. Last year we paid the 911 RCC that we operate with Port Orange and Edgewater $980,000. For that we had “local control” at an increased cost of almost one half a million dollars ($500,000) for this bloated and mismanaged operation. Both Mayor Vandergrift and Frank Roberts were on its board of directors. John Hagood is now. What will the Mayor do next?
1. Keep the RCC if it “promises” not to over charge us in the future;
2. Go with the County and give up “local” lack of control; or
3. Put the issue on the City agenda with no notice to the public, put shills in the meeting to defend the overcharges as necessary to protect the environment, and obtain a unanimous vote of the Commissioners to continue the local mismanagement with great waste of your money.
We think that they will vote to do Number 3. It is not their money!
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
FACT: Mayor James Vandergrift, then Commissioner William Rogers, then City Manager Frank Roberts, a couple of Utilities Commissioners, including Jeanne Diesen, and according to one of the sales agency employees selling expensive condominiums, another Commissioner and other notables all bought expensive condominium units at the Island Town Center (ITC) at pre-construction prices. All of these personages must be thought of as investors. Unless shown otherwise, each intended to “flip” the contract once construction began and the full price of each unit could be realized from other purchasers—estimated to be a $50,000 to $100,000 gain for each of them if the market had not collapsed. Not a bad deal for insiders.
FACT: Access to the proposed marina that ITC filed for as part of its application and has now been realized by issuance of a permit, was and is only through the Calore Canal (North Canal), which runs east from the property, around the old high school property, and past a number of houses built in Venetia. A sand bar blocked the entrance of the canal where it entered the Intracoastal Waterway, the City pressured the Ponce Deleon Inlet Port Authority to pony up about $200,000 out of its current $7 million dollar slush fund, and the City allocated about another $200,000 to dredge out the sandbar.
FACT: The City, recognizing that it was dredging a tidal flat that in all likelihood would immediately reform (it has now resulted to half its former size and will probably be a three foot sandbar again by next summer, stated it would never pay for another dredge. It assessed the Venetia home owners on the Calore Canal as a special tax district and forced the owners living on the Calore Canal to pay for the full costs put up by the City.
FACT: Commissioners owning an interest in the ITC voted not to include the tax the ITC in this district as a beneficial party. Island Town Center specified the Calore Canal as its only ingress and egress to the deep water leading to Ponce Inlet. The City Commissioners, and specifically the ones with a financial interest, found that it would not be benefited.
FACT: A complaint against Mayor Vandergrift was filed with the Florida States Ethics Commission, which declined to investigate. The City paid for the lawyer who made multiple contacts with the staff of the Commission, contrary to its rules, and “obtained” the denial to investigate. That was taxpayer money.
FACT: A lawsuit was filed by several of the property owners who were designated in the tax district (including the publisher of the Shadow as a City Taxpayer and a taxpayer to the Ponce Deleon Inlet slush fund) seeking a Court determination of whether the ITC was an additional beneficiary and should be included in the tax district. (The Judge ruled that the publisher did not have standing, and the case proceeded without him).
FACT: The City has opposed the Court making this determination and has, true to form, has used its counsel, to oppose any resolution of this issue and dogged the petitioners who filed suit at every step of the way to delay any decision on the issue. Standard operating procedure from your elected officials: spend as much taxpayer money as necessary to avoid any accountability.
FACT: Florida Statutes prohibit a City from filing a retaliatory law suit against a citizen suing for relief, what is called a SLAM suit. Mr. Gummey and the other lawyers defending citizen complaints have devised a way around this prohibition by demanding legal fees if they win, and by pressuring petitioners to drop the suit or face crippling legal expense if they persist in requesting Court determination of their rights. Since all law suits are a cap shoot, this is not a threat that any one can take lightly. The stratagem is to argue that the case was “frivolous” and force the petitioner to hire an expert witness (another lawyer at $250 an hour and a lawyer, to present the case at $250 an hour) to defend against Mr. Gummey who is paid by he City.
There is another case of absolute abuse by, and with the legal system, to defeat reasonable review of City decisions. The City refused to seek a Court review of its Ordinance 19-05 that led to the decimation of the Utilities Commission, where it was clear that City Charter provisions were in question. It frustrated the resident of Calore Canal who had a legitimate demand that the Courts determine whether the Mayor and City Commissioners had a conflict of interest when they voted not to assess the Island Town Center as a beneficiary of the dredging in the tax district, and, even if the Court chose to avoid that issue, whether the Island Town Center was in fact a beneficiary. Does anyone think these are frivolous issues? No, but your elected officials have sanctioned their hired gun to argue before the Court that they are frivolous. Worse, the Judges in this County do not find that these specious claims are frivolous and fraudulent on their face, and throw them out as probable circumvention of the statutes against SLAM suits. The result is denial of a taxpayer’s ability to seek judicial review.
INFORMATION FROM VOLUSIA TAX REFORM
VTR realizes we did not get the significant tax reduction for this year that we all were hoping for; remember Volusia tax reform's goal has been and continues to be 'TRUE, MEANINGFUL AND COMPREHENSIVE TAX REFORM"... and what has just happened, is the first step of many that will have to be done:
We always knew Tallahassee was the only one that could fix the inequity in our tax system.....as we know the two issues that caused the inequity problems are: save our homes and the overspending of our taxing authorities; this new plan and the constitutional amendment address these issues; the new plan caps the revenues taxing districts can collect from real estate taxes, however, it does not address the overall spending of the taxing authorities, which VTR has always been in favor of; additionally, we have been advised that it will cap the school revenues that they can get from real estate taxes beginning in the year 2009. These are all legislative actions that do not need voter approval and Tallahassee can control. The snow birds, business owners, landlords, etc., will not receive very much significant relief this year unless we pressure our local elected officials to lower the millage rate, which I think we will be successful if we pressure them! that is the key... also, assessed values will drop next year... perhaps not that much this year ( I have been receiving emails that some assessments have dropped significantly and others have increased significantly)... so the two combined, it will reduce the taxes; how far who knows....we will wait and see; as for businesses we need to pressure Tallahassee next year to change from "highest and best use" to "current use" which will help significantly; as for landlords, there is something about basing the assessed value on rental income; we do not have the details of that yet to see if that is significant.... again, it is left up to the citizens to pressure our local officials to reduce further...... that is why it is imperative to be active in the budget advisory committees to hold our local elected officials accountable.!!!!
The new constitutional amendment will eventually get rid of the current save our homes and the assessment cap; the new super exemption will make home ownership more affordable for the lower and middle class as the first $500,000.00 will receive a $195,000.00 exemption; i.e., pay taxes on $305,000.00; so with the capping of the taxing authorities and eventual fading away of save our homes, the shifting of the tax burden will be on a more level playing field and more evenly distribute the tax burden. So in essence, Tallahassee has come up with a plan to add more equity in the tax burden.
Now, it depends upon your personal situation... if you plan on staying in your home for the rest of your life, as I plan on doing, then I am going to retain the current save our homes; however, most people are not like this... they move every 5 to 10 years.... so in that event, you may want the super exemption. If you move into a more expensive home, obviously you would pay more tax; for the first $200,000.00 you get an exemption of 75%; i.e.., $100,000.00 home, if there is one anymore, and pay taxes on $25,000.00; if your house is assessed at $200,000.00 you pay taxes on $50,000.00; then any homestead from $200,000.00 to $500,000.00 will receive an ADDITIONAL 15% EXEMPTION. i.e., house assessed at $350,000.00 you pay taxes on $`177,500.00; a house assessed at $500,000.00 you will pay tax on $305,000.00...over $500,000.00 you will receive a total exemption of $195,000.00. If you downsize, then of course, the super exemption will reduce your real estate taxes. This could open up the residential real estate market and enable residents to start moving again. VTR has been advised there will be a mechanism in place on the new amendment that will increase the percentage of the exemption up to $500,000.00 to help offset the potential increase in assessed values. however for those who own homes above $500,000.00 will receive a total of $195,000.00 exemption... we have to wait until the ballot language comes available for review to know for certain... VTR is not necessarily endorsing this ballot amendment however, we are stating more research needs to be done; we are just trying to explain this more clearly...
Please read this excerpt from Florida tax watch, which is an excellent research organization:
The plan is certainly far from perfect, but it is an improvement over the current system. It should have better targeted relief to those who have been hurt the most during the run-up in taxes, but it does embody several of the principles and results promoted by Florida Tax Watch recommendations.
The cap of future property tax growth has been long overdue. The new exemption will address many of the inequities that exist among homestead properties. First time homeowners will get relief. The plan provides a measure of portability. People will no longer have to face being taxed at full value when they move.
And perhaps the most importation result, from a tax reform perspective, is that this marks the beginning of the end for Save Our Homes and its tax shifting to business, renters and non-homestead residences, new homebuyers and people who move. Because homeowners get the new exemption when they move, Save Our Homes will eventually go away. Florida Tax Watch has continually said that the elimination of SOH was critical to true long-term reform, but that it should be done without increasing taxes on homeowners and making sure they are protected from rapid tax growth. This plan accomplishes that.
Volusia tax reform will host a town hall meeting with Morgan Gilreath in the next few weeks to discuss the exact impacts this will have on Volusia county residents and businesses, snow birds, etc.
I hope this answers some of the many questions that you have
Margie Patchett Executive Director
VOLUSIA TAX REFORM
1540 Cornerstone Blvd
Suite 200
Daytona Beach, FL 32117
Phone (386) 212-3968
UNION CONTRACT NEGOTIATION
The current discussion of pay and pensions for police and fire department personnel has exploded as a high priority subject. A year or so ago, the State of Florida required that the accounting procedures for determining the liability for paying out future monies include an accurate accounting for the obligation for pensions for government employees. These were hidden because audits only look at the expenditures for the preceding year, and until a separate analysis was mandated, there was no requirement for municipalities to make such projections, and many did not. New Smyrna Beach did not, now they must.
And it is important to understand how these negotiations have been handled in the past, to understand what has happened, and what can be done to minimize the obligation that has become too rich for revenue strapped Cities to afford. It would appear that the Port Orange fire department union contract was the first in the cycle. That contract was negotiated in 2006, and signed in October 2006. The other fire department union locals then used it as the template as the minimum that should be offered to them. The Port Orange contract was negotiated, we are told, by the Human Resources Director, the City Manger and a representative from the City Attorney's office. That is the contract the Shadow believes is being used by the Union to negotiate with New Smyrna Beach. No serious public discussion or disclosure was provided in Port Orange as to what the full costs of this contract would be until Governor Crist determined that the money fountain might not be as full this year, and that Port Orange might not have managed its money well. On top of that, it has become apparent that all local government spending, which includes employee pay and pensions, have grown exponentially over the lat few years and have far exceeded cost of living calculations.
The calculation of pensions is predicated upon Port Orange City ordinances that set out the terms. In the past, these have been handled as ordinary course of business modifications and seldom have there been it appears a public discussion as to whether they were wise or affordable... They must discuss this with affected parties, but since employees can not strike if they do not succeed in their point of view, corrective action can be taken even if the employees do not agree.
The same can be said for New Smyrna Beach. Over generous agreements with the fire and police departments, grandiose building plans for unneeded fire and police buildings, grade creep that has created bloated numbers of administrative personnel, and perquisites and status symbols such as SUVs, for selected administrators. In addition, here we go again, but this is not a comedy line from Jackie Gleason. This is the real world where politicians must address how they are responsibly going to spend taxpayers’ money, and we should know what they have in mind. No, we do not believe the public should be involved in the negotiations. No, we do not mean the public should be invited to the strategy meetings where they provide guidance to their lawyer and the City Manager. However, we should know what they think of the need for 12 lieutenants (or is it 12 drummers drumming) at the fire department, four commanders at the police departments, and no limits on pension payout based on actuarial projections that are no longer valid. Not one of them has publically stated their position, and what options are on the table. We believe we know the position of the fire lady's man, and the lady commissioner who we think holds an honorary membership card as a fireman. However, we have seen no position statements from any of the other commissioners. Since we think the Meals on Wheels program is more important than four police commanders are, it would be nice if they told us their priorities.
PIONEER TRAIL AND I-95
Where are the people in Venetian Bay, Turnbull Bay, and Sugar Mill going shopping? The city commission’s says they are not going shopping in Port Orange and Daytona Beach. To keep its citizens shopping in New Smyrna Beach, the city commission is trying to get a new I-95 interchange at Pioneer Road taken off the list of roadway projects to be completed in the next few years. The interchange would shorten then round trip distance between Turnbull Bay golf course community and I-95 by 14 miles. It also takes that traffic by Sugar Mill and the people who live on North Glencoe Road. Some simple math provided by one of our bloggers revealed that if the city commission is successful, it will cost the Turnbull Bay Homeowners alone $323,960.00 in additional driving expenses. This does not include benefits of the new interchange to the people living west of I-95 who would like to use the shortcut, or the wear and tear on the 14 miles of unnecessary driving. This is small town politics at its worst. The fowl smell in the city commission chambers Tuesday Night was not coming from the tidal flat in front of Captain's Quarters; it was the smell of this resolution lying on the dais awaiting city commission action.
FACT: A new interchange on I-95 where Pioneer Trail intersects the Interstate is Number 5 on the Volusia County Priority list of major road projects, and would be funded from the additional five cent per gallon tax on gasoline purchased in the City. It is projected to cost approximately $20,000,000 in FY 2007 money and can be found on Page 2 of the Priority list (LINK)
FACT: The City Commission of New Smyrna Beach placed a resolution on its Agenda June 12, 2007, to oppose building this interchange.
FACT: Neither the State Highway Department, nor the County Highway Department are desirous of discussing this project as a currently viable project, and both disclaim any knowledge as to whether it will or will not go forward. The position of the State appears to be that it will not contribute, and that if the project goes forward, it would be privately funded—here meaning money other than State funds. Perfectly true and perfectly misleading. The money is from the five cent a gallon tax on each gallon of gas sold i Volusia County.
FACT: This is a Federal Road and neither the County nor any of the surrounding municipalities will make the decision to go forward. These decisions are usually predicated on financial consideration of benefits versus costs, how close are the interchanges (SR 44 to Dunlawton exit is seven miles and the Pioneer Trail entrance look as if it bisects the road... SEE Map quest, New Smyrna Beach).
FACT: It would save Turnbull Bay drivers alone possibly a million dollars a year in transportation costs if an analysis put on the Bulletin Board (Peoples Blog Tuesday, 6.28 PM (edited)) is valid.
“ Here is the math for not opposing the overpass:
Assume 1,000 cars in Turnbull Bay.Assume one trip per week north to shop in Port Orange and Daytona.That is 14,000 miles times 52 weeks, or 728,000 miles of extra driving.The government allows 0.445¢ per mile for use of vehicle.That means the exit would save Turnbull Bay homeowners $323,960.00. In addition, we would save the wear and tear on 14 miles of road.Throw in Sugar Mill and Venetian Bay people who would use it and the savings to the taxpayers soars to over a million dollars a year, not counting the wear and tear on the road and the man hours used to travel the extra distance. “FACT: The beneficiaries of this proposed road connection are the residents on the West and North side of the City, particularly the residents of Turnbull Bay that would have access on a road due East of the connection, those in Sugar Mill, those on Glencoe South of Pioneer Trail, with the anticipated reduction in traffic in front of their homes, and the business communities in Port Orange and Daytona Beach.
FACT: The beneficiaries of not building this connection are the business community in New Smyrna Beach, since it would facilitate north bound traffic for the residents in the Western and Northern sections of the City who want to shop in Port Orange or Daytona. We could speculate as to the motivating factor for opposing a road project five years or more from now that will benefit a large number of residents, many of whom might not as if the idea of their local government opposing a project that they believe would make their life easier and save them money. It is also likely that if the no growth people have their way, none of the developments proposed for the SR44 interchange at I-95 will be built in our life time, and there will be no reason for those in Turnbull Bay or Sugar Mill to turn south instead of North when they hit the Interstate.
This project may be a bad idea. But gosh, the timing of the proposed resolution for the City Commission to oppose the project looks a lot like an election year ruse to convince the business community in New Smyrna Beach to cough up campaign money that is probably just a reprise for the money coughed up to oppose the Super Wal-Mart. Target, Wal Mart and maybe a mall with a named department store would have given those Turnbull Bay residents a reason to come and shop in the City.
We will discuss the audacity of claiming this is an environmental issue next week. It is nothing more than a political diversion perpetrated up by someone in authority, or who thinks they are in authority, to direct your attention away from how your elected officials are addressing the issue of spending cuts.
