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July 13th, 2009

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1. We figure the cut off point for those who think they are entitled to leech off the City for free handouts is 1985. Many of the newbies are second home owners and those newbies do not vote. The ones that vote favor the freebees. For themselves.

2. NEW SMYRNA BEACH DEFINITIONS

Florida Redneck Lottery Prize-------------------------

Any Local Government Job

Powerball Redneck Lottery Prize---------------------

Fire Department Lieutenant Job

Meetings Facilitator--------------------------------------

K9 Dog Trainer Diversion Gig

Utilities Commission Yearly Scratch-off------------

Director’s Secretary--$80,000 +

wanted him to pay should go to church more often.

“Best Blogs of the Week”

(Edited for grammar and punctuation)

A POTPOURRI OF CITIZEN COMMENTS IS

AGAIN PROVIDED THIS WEEK IN ORDER

FOR YOU TO GET IN TUNE WITH THE

MOOD OF OUR READERS

7/9/2009, 4:45 am

good morning bloggers 699,700

Over lunch yesterday two attorneys laughed out loud on that one... The percentage of our insurance premiums goes toward an extra bonus pension check. Seems our highest paid public safety people drafted an ordinance bestowing the extra money to themselves. These same characters doubled and tripled their own pay in the last couple years. The kicker.....self serving servants are all hanging on past retirement, drawing $80,000-$100,000+ salaries and benefits while banking pensions in DROP. It's time to take the lingering retirees off regular payroll and drop plan and make them retire. Designing new buildings, personal offices and benefits for themselves is ridiculous.

7/8/2009, 10:13 pm

Mr. Ed

I see in the City's new Proposed Budget, they only want to spend just $811,665 for Firefighters Pensions.....that's down from the $1,194,424 we spent in 2008, and down from the $1,093, 483 the city has budgeted for 2009. Of course, in 2008 we had 51 firefighters and in 2010 we'll have 49......So that's ONLY $16,564 per firefighter! JUST FOR THEIR PENSIONS!

.............But it is better than then the $21,440 per firefighter we were paying in 2008! NOW, HOW MUCH MONEY DID YOUR EMPLOYER PUT IN YOUR 401k ACCOUNT THIS YEAR? ANYWHERE CLOSE TO 16 GRAND? I DOUBT IT!

7/9/2009, 7:44 am

Jake

30 thousand dollars for two new boat engines for sea charm II. Seems it has been Parked/Docked for the past six weeks and no one noticed, and it was missed or needed. Thanks to our INCOMPETENT city management.

7/9/2009, 11:24 am

TomKatt

Saving the old high school was like winning the lottery, then buying all your cousins a 4 wheel drive pick up and a new double wide. All 26 of them and cadiliac pickup truck for your self. Then it hits your your BROKE. your have gone to J G Wentworth and cashed in all the coming years proceeds and there ain't nothing left. But you still have to take care of it, utilities, taxes, mowing the yard. You won the battle and lost the war..Now what ?????? \

7/10/2009, 10:56 am

Fire everyone on election day!

The Utilities Commission Director's secretary makes nearly $80,000 a year (W2 earnings). If she had to go out and find a job she would get $30,000 a year like every other secretary/administrative assistant gets in New Smyrna Beach. She and her buddies are the reason our electric rates are so high. The reason the UC that is owned by the city is giving her an extra $50,000 a year is it isn't their money. With the loss of the old Coronado Paint and Boston Whaler jobs, southeast Volusia County is in a depression. There are plenty of highly qualified people looking for work. The city has to do tough love. I just do not understand why the government employees feel they should be treated better than the people who pay their salaries? It is a matter of fairness. What need to be said to the city employees is the citizen can no longer afford you and your rich and famous life styles. Clearly, no one with a job that only requires a high school education should not earn more than a first year school teacher. The fire fighters work two 24 hour shifts a week. They sleep 1/3 of the time we pay them and spend the vast majority of their time watching cable TV for the rest of their working days. Firefighters in a work week are out on calls about 3 hours. If you want to say it correctly, they have a 3 hour work week.

NOTES

1.THE GARBAGE PLANT “IT IS A-COMING”

The City Manager and the Commissioners all know about the new garbage burning, undersized, ill planned generating facility that the looters at the Utilities Commission are planning for Venetian Bay and Sugar Mill. You do not.

2. MORE MONEY DOWN THE TUBE

The taxpayers are paying John Hagood, the former City Manager, about $10,000 a month to stay home and then are to give him an almost $300,000 check on about October 1, 2009. They fired him without cause. They have recently selected a new City Manager who has good credentials. Then they fired her. The biggest problem we see is who would want to work for a Commissioner who sees space aliens and witches, a Commissioner who did not graduate high school, and a Mayor who can not find a college degree, much less one from Oxford University. The answer is not evident yet.

DEAR KHALID

As we have stated in the past, we realize that the City Manager is limited in the resources available to him for pursuing cost reduction projects, so we have decided to help him out and provide draft letters for his review. As we have said this will free him up for important things, like dealing with all the serious problems of the police and fire department pensions.

TO: MAYOR MACKAY

From: From: Khalid Reishdat

Look, I authorized the phony poll. I asked you to give me cover and so far I have seen nothing. If I do not hear from you I am going to blame the Personnel Director.

Khalid

WHY THEY DO NOT CARE

This a reprint (edited) from a year ago: Shadow August 18, 2008

WHY THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR PROPERTY TAXES---THEY HARDLY PAY THEM

We published the taxes paid by our elected officials before, but as we go into this budget season we will show them again. We believe they do not reduce property taxes, because for the most part, they live in houses that were placed under homestead and the cap many years ago. They simply do not have the high tax bills paid by most taxpayers. Even with the current increases under SOH they will pay almost nothing. Here they are from highest to lowest. In 2009 Commissioner Jack Grasty will probably pay NO property tax other than what might be a component of the school tax and the SOH penalty if they raise their milage rate.

Read it and weep.

Commissioners Year Taxable value Approximate Tax (.20 mills)

Grasty

2007

$25,000

$550

Hathaway

“

$67,947

$1,300 Mackay

“

$134,000

$2,700

Plaskett

“

$160, 000

$2,900

Richenberg

“

$156,000

$3,100

A look at 2008 and a comparison

Commissioner

Assessed Value Just value Taxable Value Tax

C. Grasty *

2007-$55,985

$134,000

$25,985

$550

2008-$54,000 +

-0-

C. Hathaway

2007-$155,512

$67,947

$1,300

2008-$152,000

$42,000

$840

C. Mackay

2007-$130,149

$361,438 $105,000

$2,110

2008-$130,149

$109,000

$2,200

C. Plaskett

2007-$160,000

$300,700 $185,000

$2,900

2008-$160,000

? $130,000

$2,600

C. Richenberg

2007- $181,000

$787,392

$56,000

$3,100

2008- $181,000

$131,000 $2,620

The Mayor and her husband own other property in the City, and Richenberg owns property in Edgewater. But if one only looks at the principal residences, the tables above graphically depicts how little they have at stake compared to the average homeowner.

(READ MORE)

THEY ARE RAISING YOUR TAXES AND THEY ASKED YOU TRICK QUESTIONS TO CON YOU INTO AGREEING. THEY ARE FRAUDS. THEY ARE ATTEMPTING TO COVER UP WHAT THEY ARE DOING BY USING THE FANCY WORD “ROLL BACK” TO COVER THE BIG CON OF A 20% TO 30% TAX INCREASE. IN SEPTEMBER THEY WILL DECIDE TO TAKE ONLY A FIFTEEN PERCENT INCREASE AND SAY THEY LISTENED TO THE TAX PAYERS. GRASTY, PLASKET, AND RICHENBERG VOTED FOR THIS MONSTROUS TAX INCREASE.

LOOK AT THE FACTS. AN EXAMPLE MAKES IT CLEAR.

A. YOU PAID $1,900 DOLLARS PROPERTY TAX LAST YEAR ON A

HOUSE ASSESSED AT $100,000 AFTER APPLICCATION OF

SAVE OUR HOME.

B. YOUR HOUSE IS NOW WORTH ONLY $80,000 AFTER SAVE OUR

HOME (a 21% drop in value) , BUT IF THE TAX REMAINS THE

SAME AS LAST YEAR, YOU HAD A 20% TAX INCREASE

C. THE CON IS TELLING YOU THAT THERE IS NO INCREASE

BECAUSE YOU ARE PAYING THE SAME AS LAST YEAR WHEN

WHAT THEY ARE TAXING IS WORTH 20% LESS. THINK OF

THE BAKER TELLING YOU HE IS GOING TO CHARGE YOU THE

SAME PRICE AS LAST YEAR FOR A BAKER’S DOZEN (13

DOUGHNUTS ) BUT ONLY PUTS ELEVEN DOUGHNUTS IN

THE PACKAGE.

THEY ARE GOING TO PASS THIS IN SEPTEMBER AFTER THEY TELL YOU THEY HAVE CUT EMPLOMENT TO THE BONE. LIES, LIES AND MORE LIES. LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE! THEY HAVE THREE COMMANDERS ON THE POLICE FORCE THEY DO NOT NEED, TWELVE LIEUTENANTS AT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT THAT DO NOT ENHANCE PUBLIC SAFETY, AND AT LEAST 10 EMPLOYEES AT THE GOLF COURSE THAT THE OTHER GOLF COURSES DO NOT HAVE ON THE PAYROLL. LOOK AT THEPAY, PENSIONS, AND BENEFITS OF CITY EMPLOYEES. THEY WILL MAKE SOME MINOIR CHANGES, SHAVE A FEW POINT OFF THE TAX HIKE AND TELL YOU THEY LISTEN TO THE TAXPAYERS.

RICHENBERG SAID THAT THE WORSE VOTE HE MADE LAST YEAR WAS TO NOT RAISE TAXES. THE SHADOW SUGGESTS THAT YOU ONLY TALK TO THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS. THEY AT LEAST DO NOT HAVE THEIR WIFE’S $63,000 PENSION TO PROTECT (BASED ON A $90,000 SALARY PLUS PENSION AND BENEFITS WORTH AT LEAST ANOTHER $60,00O). THIS IS FOR A BLUE COLLAR WORKER WITH LIMITED TECHNICAL TRAINING.

ROLL BACK THIS YEAR MEANS A 20% TAX INCREASE. IT PROTECTS RICHEBERG'S PENSION—RANDY’S AS WE SEE IT.

Vallejo, California: The three judge Appellate Bankruptcy Court panel issued an order on June 26, 2009, affirming the ruling that the IAFF contract in Vallejo could be set aside. They then referred it to the 9th Federal Circuit to obtain fast review. . The Teamster Union has already settled, basically rolling back pay, pension and benefits to what looks like 2001numbers. LINK The IAFF refuses to settle.

SOUTHEAST VOLUSIA ADVERTISING AUTHORITY

The South East Volusia County Advertising Agency receives all of the bed tax money collected here--roughly $400,000. The County thinks that it is not well spent and either plans to combine the three advertising agencies, Central and Daytona being the other two, or take all the money and spend it for enhancing the Convention Center in Daytona. The theory is that if more tourists are lured to the Convention Center that the fallout would enhance tourism in New Smyrna Beach. A so-called trickle down theory of benefits.

The Shadow does not think that all of the money spent here is well spent, but the benefits even if some of the money is poorly spent is better for our the community than spending the money in Daytona. Making what we do better is a heck of a lot better for us than throwing away money in Daytona.

FIRED!

NEW CITY MANAGER FIRED BEFORE

SHE DREW HER FIRST PAY CHECK

“Only in America” should now read: “Only in New Smyrna Beach”

We are not making this up. The agenda for the Commission meeting scheduled for July 9, 2009, listed approving the new City Manger’s contract. That was scheduled for the afternoon Commission meeting session at the close of the July 9, workshop meeting. At the budget workshop on July 8, 2009, however, the worthies announced that they would put off any decision on her contract until August. They needed to find out more about her they said—vetting. Now at their last meeting they hired her subject only to putting the contract together which they admitted had been done. Now they stated to the assembled crowd that they were reconsidering the decision. FIRED is what they did. It is obvious that the Unions , Teamsters (police) and (IAFF)Fire Department, did not trust a manger noted for her bluntness and who had managed a $3.6 billion dollar budget.

Promises by Flop-Flip Jack to make sure the fire man got raises and the obvious conflict of interest by Richenberg surfing on his wife’ pension are not good enough insurance policies for these rather greedy employees. Plasket was communing with her space alien. So after they hired her, they fired her.

Then, on Thursday evening, they gave her a six month temporary job at $10,000 a month and $2,000 monthly in expenses—you know to cover her $600 beachside one bedroom rental and eight round trips to Treasure Island. It is not their money. Is there a female equivalent of the male eunuch? She can be terminated on 30 days notice.

Barnum and Bailey Circus has been in town for a long time, but this act has got to be the best yet for public ridicule.

THE PUSH-POLL JOKE

As stated above, we have asked the “Minister of Delay” ( the City Clerk) for the list of telephone numbers and all recordings of any conversations of those contacted by the PUSH-POLL conducted to prove the taxpayers wanted to pay more taxes. That was three weeks ago. We wish to examine the entire process and all of the material. The pollster at the University of Central Florida stated that 5000 telephone numbers were given to him. The City says it had nothing to do with who amassed the telephone numbers. A lie, they hired a different Company to provide the numbers. If the City provided the telephone numbers we are sure that the so-called random selection included every City, Utilities Commission and Angler’s Club member.

We are being stone-walled. Among other little problems that we see, is we want to know who made up the questions, arranged the answers to the questions so that the preferred answers would be selected, and whether there was any cherry picking. You know, “cherry picking”, where you call 700 numbers for a poll and then discard 200 whose answers you do not like. The 500 left as your “sample” agree that all the taxpayers want higher taxes and no budget cuts. The City Clerk will not even answer if the fire and police departments participate in fashioning the poll questions, but when you read the questions it is obvious that they probably wrote all of them. Read the Contract and the Questions LINK

It also certainly would be nice to know who told the Daytona Beach Journal that the $5 million + needless fire station on 3rd Avenue only cost $1.4 million. We have yet to see, for another example, the copy of the contract for the “facilitator” ($7,000 we are told) but this, too, was an expenditure of City funds and the material must be made available.

FLASH

ANGLER’S YACHT CLUB LEASE INVALID

It seems that about a week ago the City of New Smyrna Beach was favored with an opinion from the law firm that had been hired to give a legal opinion about the Angler’s Yacht Club lease. It took the Mayor almost a week to release it to the public. The legal opinion states that the lease was never properly effected and that it is invalid. LINK. No surprise to the Shadow. The current club owns nothing, except some payment for the depreciated value of the improvements on the property.

The issue now shifts to what to now do with the property. The options are all political. Simple and plain, political. The current members, all white males, who have and continue to discriminate will want to keep the property. The will want to pay as little as possible, and if you listen to their flack, Commissioner Flop-Flip Jack Grasty, he will do everything he can to give away the City property to these most unworthy of our community. We suggest that the City conduct the equivalent of a public auction with the 43 slips and property going to the highest bidder. At a fair market price we think the property in even a crummy market should bring in a few million dollars. We are sure most of the real estate offices in town would be happy to have the contract to sell this property.