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August 13th, 2007
ECONOMIC BREAKING NEWS
The City of Winter Park has a chart from the FEMA website on the front page of its website that shows the rate structure for several utilities serving central Florida. Please note that the most expensive rate is New Smyrna Beach, brought to you by Jeanne Diesen and her mismanagement crew, a majority of Diesen, Para, and Spangler, the latter being the husband of Sally Mackay who is running for Mayor. Four years ago, before the City Commissioned passed of Ordinance 19-05, and Mr. Rodi was hired, UCNSB had one of the lowest rate structures in the state. Guess who has been in your wallet. Bet you will not see this on the NSB or UC website! See link to PDF
BREAKING NEWS
1. SALLY MACKAY’S WEBSITE IS UP. NICE COLORS, LOTS OF PABULUM, NO SPECIFICS, AND GENERALITIES PREVAIL.
2. KEVIN PARA NOT SEEKING RE-APPOINTMENT TO UC, HALLELUIAH. MAYBE JEANNE DIESEN WILL BE NEXT AND THE UC CAN GET BACK TO THE BUSINESS ON MANAGING THE UTILITY FOR THE BEST INTEREST OF RATEPAYERS. AS A DEPARTING NOTE, WRITE AND THANK THEM FOR YOUR HIGH UTILITY BILL. AND, OH YES, DON’T FORGET TO THANK BILL ROGERS. SEE PDF
3. BILL HALL PICKS UP PAPERS TO RUN FOR PLASKETT’S SEAT.
4. IT WOULD SEEM LT. RICHENBERG (THE FIRE DEPARTMENT PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER-PIO) STAGED AN EVENT FOR CHANNEL 9 NEWS TO INACCURATELY REPORT ON OLD FIRE STATION NEWS, BUT WE COULD BE WRONG!
NOTES
1. The City should not burden the owners of property along Riverside Drive with spending thousands of dollars to oppose the City's claim that it owns the waterfront in front of their homes, in view of deeds citing their ownership. If valid, this should have been settled early in the 20th century. The City has collected taxes from these owners forever and now the City Attorney has stated a verbal opinion that he will not reduce to writing, that the City owns the land that their deeds say is their property. It is business as usual for the City Attorney. He has his half a million dollar salary and staff and the ability to spend a million more to beat down people who challenge his opinions. His record of accomplishment is not winning cases on the legal issues but outspending anyone who challenges the City when it follows his advice. He has now proposed an ordinance that would let some of those claiming ownership rights the right to put docks on their own property if they follow onerous and expensive legal contortions where he is the final arbitrator at the ministerial level of the merits of their claim to their own land. He works for the City Commission, and they work for the taxpayers. Instead of passing an ordinance cementing the City's claim, they should direct him to ask the Courts for a declaratory order deciding the legal issue he gratuitously raised and pay of the legal fees for both sides. Better yet, tell him it is unfair and workout a suitable settlement. By the way, we figure there are as many voters from Pappas to the Edgewater line along Riverside Drive as there are fireman and policeman who live in the City.
2. One of the marvels in the world must be observing politicians, at any level of government, shy away from making decisions because of their fear that someone out there might not like them, and that someone might vote against them. It is axiomatic that buying votes works, but what to do, what to do when the voters you courted and paid for take your largess and then vote for your opponent. Over the past five years the City Commissioners, for example, have pampered fire and police personnel as well as the crowd out at the golf course. Now is the time of reckoning because the money has run thin and the Mayor and Commissioner Hathaway, with the apparent concurrence at least of the other three Commissioners, have drawn a hard line about pay increases for fire department personnel, and possibly, even that they will reduce pension plans to manageable levels. Therefore, they have deserted the Mayor; it seems, for a more pliable candidate of their own. The moral would seem to be that you can buy some votes some of the time, but if the voter is willing to be bought, he might have a hard time with the concept of loyalty.
3. We welcome the Union contribution to the discussion about volunteer fireman but do not intend to let the Union change the subject from Cindy Richenberg’s salary of $91,000 with benefits of $64,000, by the anecdotal diminution of the role volunteer fireman could play in our system, because there is no way to verify their claims. How did President Regan frame it: trust, but verify. The Shadow does not think of the fire department union as untrustworthy like the USSR commissars, but there is a lot at stake when public safety is involved and memory has a way of messing up facts. The second observation is that there are a large number of large, small, and very effective volunteer fire departments, and there is an excellent track record showing they work. We think it is interesting that the first union posting was that they were no volunteers available, but when that was countered with the facts showing how many persons were probably available, the Union turned to an effort to show the ineffectiveness of those that volunteered, suggesting that they were only fair weather volunteers and no real help. Consider this issue joined, but remember the real issues are pay, pensions, grade creep, and management.
1. Well we are ever so pleased to find out, from their own mouths, that the Bill Rogers' crowd thinks the Shadow is garbage. Condemnation by the losers of the world is as good as kind words from the people who wear the white hats. In the mind of the Shadow, you can not have a bigger loser than the machine beholden Commissioner Bill Rogers that arranged for the obscene escalation of rates from the Utilities Commission, who arranged to fire a City attorney earning about $100,000 a year (for giving accurate legal advice) and replacing him with one costing $200,000 and who can not get the job done without an assistant attorney costing more than $75,000, and who arranged a sweetheart deal for Larry Sweett that cost the City $35,000 a year for salary and benefits as an “adviser” to the full time employee hired to run the City Marina. We need more name calling from Bill Rogers, the ex-campaign manager for Sally Mackay, to make our day.
2. What does a buying expensive digital camera have in common with school crossing guards? Nothing, except if the Sheriff's office had not bought two of them, "2 Nikon D-80 Digital Cameras for $2598, it would have been able to keep a few more of the guards at a few more schools this year.
3. We never know when we read the local papers what to think. Eye witnesses to the budget meeting specifically heard that the Mayor instructed the City Manager to bring back a budget with a 10% cut in spending. You would never know that the 10% cuts are really only 5% and the other 5% is actually a shortfall in revenue and will not be made up by increase in taxes, but that the Finance Director may be looking at making up any revenue shortfall with a $1.5 million transfer from reserves. How about finding another $1.5 in spending cuts---we will help---and leave the reserves alone.
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: Fire Chief Hawver
August 13, 2007
FROM: John Hagood, City Manager
RE: Volunteer fire fighters
A question has arisen as to whether we could obtain participation of enough volunteer fireman and EMT trained personnel to ensure around the clock coverage of the beachside fire station. If enough people showed an interest, it may be possible to reduce significantly the number of paid personnel at the station. There is no doubt that a significant base of possible volunteers exists, but whether they would want to participate is the question. We would of course properly equip and train all volunteers to the highest standards.
I am anxious to investigate this possibility, and need your assistance. Please identify the parameters for an advertising campaign that would test the waters as to the availability and willingness of qualified individuals to participate. Perhaps you could assign this duty to Lt. Richenberg, your PIO, and submit your recommendations by the end of next week. I believe we could attract at least 10 or 15 interested volunteers, from which we could organize quite an effective cadre to assist one trained driver for the fire truck in those rare instances (averaging about one every two months) where there is indeed a structural fire. I was also considering the possibility of having a fire rescue vehicle staffed with EMT and fire fighter trained volunteers placed up on Peninsula near Cortez for serving the North end of beachside with a better medical/rescue response.
I would consider proposing to the City Commissioners a one time modest recruitment payment payable after one year of volunteer service as a way to kick-start the campaign. How about week in the Bahamas, off season, as a one time reward?
I look forward to your recommendations,
John
KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL
The primary issue in cutting spending is employee wages, in particular those at the fire department where it costs the City $154,000 in pay and benefits for a “lieutenant” who is a member of the union, and allegedly supervises two people. The construction of an unneeded fire station that will saddle the City with a $350,000 or more annual payment for 30 years is an in your face and in your pocket affront to every taxpayer. It is the money stupid, to paraphrase s statement from the past, and it is your money. That is the “ball” and it must be addressed.
“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
* The Columbus Street weenies are in a trailer now. Refurbish the old and postpone the new. Sell the Putt Putt, if you can. Where do these people get the notion that it's full speed ahead and damn the.... well, you know. Director fancy Yancy could ride her bike to work and save the city money.
* You seem to think that taxpayers have an option whether to pay their property taxes or not. They do not. But they do have every right in the world to demand that their tax dollars are spent wisely. And looking at the Fire Department's W-2's over the past several years, its apparent to everyone that our tax dollars are not being spent wisely. And that is a view that is shared by many residents of the City. In fact, I haven't come across anyone who isn't absolutely stark raving mad about the salaries being paid in the Fire Department! And one other thing; It’s about time you and your fellow firefighters learned this: The Firefighters Union does not own the City, the TAXPAYERS DO! And so you need to recognize that firefighters serve at the taxpayers pleasure-not the other way around. And here's a warning: If you the Union keeps this up, we simply won't have a City fire department!
* Some NSB firefighters were on channel 9 @ 6 pm complaining about mold in one fire station and the lack of progress on the new fire stations. But the report didn't mention the inflated salaries of these "poor" Firefighters...Frankly, I'm at the point where I'd like to tell them this: IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE WORKING CONDITIONS: QUIT! ( do us a favor) We'll replace you with a new hire at 1/3 your present salary!
* What a Crew***Sally Mackay, Barbra Herrin, Janice Baum, Grace Bark...Just think of them in the week of a full moon...and a city commission meeting.
* Shadow Home page notes, item 2, show the salary of our Park Director. In private industry, a person in this range would be at least tier 2 managers responsible for a large work force and a large budget. Once given the reduction status of what they would cut, the operations would have been scrutinized top to bottom to insure the best interest of the business was served. If her answer to the tier 3 manager was that it is impossible to reduce expenses, a search for her replacement would start. The health of your business is in direct coalition to the business decisions you make. Last year a blogger pointed out that Parks spent $70,000 on a new garbage vehicle, while a contractor handled the rest of the city trash. Looking at the recent posting of W2's shows two Park employees, titled as Utility Workers at around $27,000 each manned the vehicle. The directors decision not to have the contractor pick up the Park trash cost this city $134,000 for the truck and crew, not to mention the maintenance of the vehicle, petrol and cleaning. Looking back, I am not sure any manager would stick the company with this un-necessary expense. So by letting the contractor pick up the trash we could have saved $134,000. Not buying the truck and having the two employees do other Park work, eliminating two of the people Parks hired last year. Oh yes the two employees are no longer Utility workers, they have grade creped to Maintenance Specialists. No change in duties, just an extra 6% total after the probation. Saving the $134,000 would have saved the tax payers the Directors salary. If the intent of rumor is true and the Director would have jumped ship without her SUV perk, perhaps a new Director would be more careful with our tax money and not require a free ride to work. Or now she may elect to layoff her actual working staff and keep the abundance of administration. Remember who voted to buy the Garbage vehicle
* Sally MacKay in her own words on tax cuts for the homeowners: "The good news is the reductions were made in city revenues [by the Florida legislature] were less than we feared -- 1 1/2% rather than 15%. She is a tax and spender. She is clearly opposed to the governor's plan bringing spending back 2001 levels plus inflation and growth.
* Read MacKay’s FAQ she is opposed to the governor's tax reform. She is a Diesen-Richenberg clone. She is for looting and high union wages.
* Diesen's accomplishments at the UC. She killed the fiber-optics program that would have brought cheap reliable cable tv and internet service (who we could buy from whomever we wanted) and she gave us 12 cents kWh electric rates. Jeannie's MULTIMILLION DOLLAR WINNERS: BELLSOUTH (NOW THE NEW ATT) BRIGHTHOUSE AND FLORIDA POWER AND LIGHT. Jeannie’s MULTIMILLION DOLLAR LOSERS CITIZENS OF NSB. I think Jeanie’s bill winners should do something nice for her. Maybe giver her mansion in some other part of the state or sell her a mansion as some huge discount price. Jeanie Diesen deserves some bank for her help to the big winners. Come on, it’s only fair she get something. Come on now don’t be so cheap. We know she did it not expecting to get anything.
* Just maybe Ken Taylor is our upcoming Glenn Ritchey for Mayor of NSB. We sure need a strong person to stand up for us all. He has been behind a lot of good ideas and thoughts for NSB. He sure seems like the right person to sign up for us now, and help get the City back on track real soon. We surely need an outspoken person like Ken to help lead this City back to being honest, correct, and especially for its citizens and taxpayers.
FIRE SERVICE
We think the fire department personnel who have taken umbrage with the Shadow are misdirecting their anger. The Shadow has never denigrated in any manner the service that they perform or their dedication to the job. We have questioned the method of paying piecemeal for services they render, which is simply illogical and not defensible. Look, the primary service is now medical/rescue and the City must totally revamp the pay system to reflect that we are buying a complete service where all functions of the position are in the job description. The usual way of doing this is to identify those elements as required certifications for the position, and that they must be obtained within a limited probationary period. For a fire fighter this would include the three main elements of that job: fire fighting skills, driving the truck, and handling the water supply. For medical/rescue, the element is EMT. The pay scale should reflect that the employee is smart enough and capable enough to achieve these certifications within the probationary period, and, if they do not, their employment will be terminated. Simply stated, if you want the job, we will provide the training and when you are certified, you get to keep the job. It is totally unacceptable to have the Rube Goldberg system dictate pay scales that are an affront to common sense. A $91,000 salary, $63,000 in benefits, and a pension paid at an exorbitant rate to a retiree under age 50 is intolerable for a fire 'lieutenant” whose duties are to “supervise” two other employees. Please note, the newly minted and well spoken union spokesman posting on the blog refuses to address the real pay and pension issues, and will not talk about the needless fire house. We did not expect otherwise, but it is a bad tactic and since the union refuses to address the issue, the default conclusion that it is indefensible. The salary level should be lowered to an acceptable level and the fire house project scratched.
There is also no excuse for extra pay for work that should cleanly be encompassed by the position descriptions in the management component. There is no reason why the Chief, Deputy Chief, or Battalion Chiefs should not be spokesman for the department. They are paid more for their management and communications skills, and the City should not have to pay extra for someone else to do the job. It looks like, and most people would say it is, an expensive perk or a favor, and is just one more dip into the treasury that looks bad.
The position of lieutenant, and there are twelve of them, is a joke. They are paid more allegedly because it is a management position, which it is not, since they retain their union status and remain in the bargaining unit. Management is management, although we doubt that rational person would devise or sanction a system where “supervision” over two other employees would warrant a hefty increase in salary. The City should pay a fair wage, but these gimmicks for overpaying personnel insults our intelligence.
Finally, the pension plan and its administration is a travesty. Not contributing a fair share to the plan is grossly unfair. Generous pension plans are fashioned for lower paid jobs and as the pay or salary goes up the pension plan is scaled back. What has happened here is that as salaries mushroomed over the past six years the pension plan was increased by 50% instead of being reduced. No reductions for early retirement were built in to reflect that retirees would live longer, and additionally, a bonus was thrown in to save employees from bad investments. If these factors are not adjusted, the best course for the City may be to jettison the local service and buy it from the County. It may seem Draconian, but it beats bankruptcy for the City if there is a true taxpayer revolt, instead of the current statements of high dissatisfaction.
NEW FIRE STATION-- DESPERATION
The fire department is obviously trying to build support for constructing a new fire station on Third Avenue by proffering the ridiculous notion that the Columbus Avenue Station is a pit where they are forced to live under sub-standard conditions surrounded by mold. Balderdash! The station has been totally repaired and certified to have no mold. The moping display of how awful they are treated in the video squib they promoted on Channel 9 TV (august 10, 2007 at 6 and 11 PM) is a travesty. There they are moping around, complaining that their Taj Mahal has not been built, and bad mouthing Columbus Avenue. There are no advantages to the City or its taxpayers in building a new station rather than refurbishing the Columbus Avenue Station. The map used to justify construction of the new station actually shows that the new station is at a disadvantage for serving South Peninsula Avenue and Minorca. The response time South to 27th Avenue is actually only a few seconds sooner and besides, Silver Sands station is the first responder.
On July 9th, the Shadow published the following article:
“That City trash collector, who was fired after the City said no one would lose their job when they contracted for trash collection, was rummaging through the firefighter union’s dumpster and came across their play book for how to manipulate the taxpayer and gain support for constructing new fire stations. On page three of this book was an entry for Altamonte Springs that told how they tried to manipulate their city fathers into constructing them a new building. Here is how it worked. They claimed their station was rat infested and not habitable. The firefighters’ union demanded and obtained alternative living accommodations, at a cost to Altamonte Springs of about $40,000.dollars, while they proved otherwise. This action appeared to be an attempt to delay consolidation with Seminole County and force a new station to be built. Before attacking us for this statement of fact, contact Altamonte Springs officials or the Seminole County fire department.”
Does this sound familiar?
For less than $250,000, the City can build them living quarters on the current premises of the Columbus Avenue Station, and for $1,000,000 we could build them the Taj Mahal, just not where they decided they wanted to put it. Why spend five million for a needless change and saddle the City with more than $350,000 in annual carrying charges for the next 30 years. Would the Mayor please just say no to the fire department?
The video clip inferred that the station has not been repaired, this is untrue., except for a small additional repair to the flat roof to stop a drip. The roof repair has been made but needs tweaking, and there is no mold. The mold by the way was in an area of cracked tile in the bathroom.
We are publishing a link to the map once again. Just look at the numbers on the response time and see for yourself that no case has been made for a different location for the beach side fire station. LINK
A REAL ELECTION
For the first time in many years, the upcoming election has the potential to elicit an honest discussion of issues. This election will not be a beauty contest, with manipulations of the small electorate who cared in the past to hide the true nature of its agenda. Nor will those factions be permitted to hide and have the candidate run on platitudes and false flags, proposing publically to some that they are for one process when they take significant money and support for those who oppose their public statements. A no growth candidate who takes large chunks of money from land developers and those promoting high rise beach condominiums is not someone you wish to trust with your purse or reputation. Public disclosure of their position will be mandatory, and the issues will be drawn as lines in the sand. What are these issues that each candidate will have to discuss?
Spending:
We have already seen this issue joined, not necessarily by our elected officials here in Southeast Volusia, but by Governor Crist whose demand that the State legislature force spending cuts was torpedoed by the State Senate that refused to follow his lead. Nonetheless, the issue has been joined on the local level and is being played out here. You would never know this from the local press, but the recent three day workshop on the proposed budget in New Smyrna Beach was a much more spirited and public display of democracy at work than has been seen here in many an election year.
First, comparatively it was well attended with not just self-interested City employees attending, but knowledgeable members of the public. Both the Mayor and Sally Mackay, the only other candidate for that office were there, as well as several representatives of groups that have influential constituencies within the City. The Mayor and Commissioner Hathaway immediately staked out a position for essentially a 10% reduction in spending, and used their time for pressing the City Manager to return a revised budget with a 10% reduction by September 12, 2007, the first public hearing on the budget. It will be interesting to see if both the needless fire station construction project and the hugely overdrawn police station proposal are terminated. The other three Commissioners agreed that the 10% spending cuts were the marching orders and we will see where this takes us. Sally Mackay has not taken a position. Everyone there was given an opportunity to state their position but she did not. If she opposes cuts and supports pay raises to her purported Union friends at the police and fire departments, the issue will be joined as solid differences between her and the Mayor. The taxpayers will have a clear choice on this issue, and that is the way it is supposed to be.
Governor Crist's objective was not just a one time cut in spending. His proposal was to roll back spending to 2001 levels adjusted only for cost of living and growth. Here, in Southeast Volusia, New Smyrna Beach and Port Orange are saddled with fire and police department contracts that are not only too generous, but when projected out for future years, will require disastrous cuts in personnel to pay the remaining few, or drastic reductions in the way pensions are computed and paid. Again, the Mayor and Commissioner Hathaway have apparently pressed for no pay increases, with the not so solid support it appears of the other three Commissioners. The City Manager is taking a harder line at least as to the joke of the fire department union demand for a 7% increase in pay. We do not know what position was authorized for the other issues, but we expect it amounted to no increase in benefits.
Last, the business as usual approach was the proposed budget. The 10% cut in spending is the political answer of at least two incumbents and has at least been acquiesced to by the other three. That is not the way the Governor Crist issue must be addressed. It is not a one year deal. Each candidate must either adopt or reject his philosophy. The Mayor's current position we think is to have a revised proposed budget submitted by the City Manager that shows a $2.7 million cut in spending and not using the reserves to offset revenue losses. Unfortunately, it appears that there is only a 5% reduction in real spending and a use of reserves.
Now do not be misled. There is no 10% spending cut in the budget they directed the City Manager to bring back. The plan, a sort of shell game, is that the additional revenue to make up for the failure to cut deep enough on the spending side will be made up from the reserves—this year about $1.5 million. So instead of cutting the extra $1.5 million they are spending your tax money previously collected that you thought was in the proverbial “lock box.”
Growth:
This is not the big issue in this election because collapse of the real estate market has determined that there will be limited growth in the near term regardless of the position taken by the candidates. Nevertheless, in the long term, this will be an issue and it will be interesting to hear both the candidates and their supporters’ position.
The Beach is an integral part of the fabric of New Smyrna Beach. Perhaps development could have or should have been planned better. However, what we have is what we have. While it could be modified, one can not pick nine story buildings and move them West of A-I-A. Telling them they can not repair storm damage because someone on Peninsula Avenue or Venetian Bay does not want them to spend their own money for repairs is more than unfair. The Beach is a basic Charm of this City, and the tourists it attracts represent an economic life line for the little commerce we have. There must be an open debate on what is best for the City. For the time being at least, the beach needs protection. If some form of re-nourishment is required to keep it viable, then this is a necessary cost for protecting a beautiful and valuable asset. The Shadow has never heard of the proposed preservation district attracting either tourists or their dollars, but the beach does.
The new issue raised by the no-growth proponents seems to be, should construction of new condominiums higher than four stories be allowed, as in the past, and should existing condominiums legally constructed in the past, but damaged in the future, be required to be reduced in size if rebuilt? Restricting additional new condominiums does not seem to be the best answer at this time. Worse is the effort to require current condominiums if damaged to be reduced in size if rebuilt. That will certainly ensure further depression of the local real estate market for condominiums. There should be an open discussion of where each candidate stands on this issue. The Shadow doubts that very many voters were aware that Richenberg opposed any placement of sand on the beach where it had eroded.
The debate of whether we should expand to the West is over. We did. From here on it is fill in the blanks and protect the wet lands. Hopefully we will create an industrial park or two and expand the tax base. We need to be more than a one horse tourist attraction, with or without charm, and we certainly do not want to be reduced to a bed room community for Orlando and Port Orange, which we are becoming. We must stop erecting barriers to businesses that wish to locate here. Housing projects here in the City that add tax base are clearly desirable since filling in space and increasing population density lowers costs for maintenance and enhances tax revenue.
There is a suggestion abroad that putting a 20 story landmark tower on the Outback Plaza lot for mixed housing and commercial development would bring charm to the City It may not be your cup of tea, but it should be discussed. It would certainly revive the building trades.
City Business:
The City runs several enterprises as a businesses and it does not break even or make a profit it would appear on any of them. The actual businesses that the City runs are the Municipal Golf Course, the City Marina, and the Airport. Each has been subsidized in the past or just about breaks eve---like the 43 slips newly refurbished Marina. The Sports Complex and Marine Discovery Center are not designed to make a profit, but are expected to collect as much revenue as possible to defray salaries and other expenses. The Shadow has felt for a long time that at least the golf course and marina should be put up for private management and not subsidized with tax payer money. It may have been appropriate to have a municipal golf course when there were no others here, but now there are five and any rationale for subsidizing that sport for the more affluent residents at taxpayer expense is long gone.
NON-CONFORMING LOT HYPOCRITES
One can buy a lot or a house that does not conform to the current codes. It saves serious money. It permits one to live in a better neighborhood than they could usually afford. It is likely that the neighbors who might resent a large house on a tiny lot just might get over it, and be somewhat friendly. However, if you chose to do so, you know that you are violating the spirit of the zoning provisions if not the letter, and that your choice is contrary to what was intended for the best interest of the community. This is even more evident to some one who is on the City's Planning and Zoning Board, like Sally Mackay who lives on a 50 foot lot in an area where the minimum lot size is 75 feet. One assumes she is very knowledgeable about zoning concepts, after all her husband is a developer, and they both know the need to adhere to a code that has been put in place to protect property values and the ambiance of neighborhoods.
Moreover, it is truly obnoxious when people who have made the choice to buy and live in a house that does not conform to the city zoning for their neighborhood try to palm themselves off the to public as people who fervently believe in observing the best zoning and land development practices. We call these people hypocrites. That is the proper name for the three so called “short lot” politicians (Mackay, Diesen and Richenberg) who have run around our town for years castigating others for bad planning practices and when you look at their personal lives you find they engage in bad planning practices.
One can not believe that they have any principles, or that they will do what they say in the future. Their deeds do not match their words. When confronted with the decision as to what was in the best interest of the community, they opted for their own best interest. They should at least have the decency not to criticize others for building on the beach when it was legal, or using a code determination of density for beach front condominiums that has been in place for many years. It is not amusing that the three main spokespersons for the crowd that attacks current beachside condominiums are all living on “short-lots.”
SCHOOL CROSSING GUARDS
The Shadow requested the Sheriff's office to provide its justification for the decision to reduce the number of school crossing guards and we are reproducing their answer verbatim.
“In response to your inquiry, here’s some background information to help explain the rationale behind the current proposal to reduce the number of School Crossing Guards funded through the Sheriff’s Office’s budget.
As I know, you and your readers are well aware, the Florida Legislature recently mandated a reduction in property tax collections for all City and County governments throughout the state. While we all understand and appreciate the need to reform Florida’s tax structure, the reality is that property taxes are the primary source of revenue that City and County governments rely on to pay for needed services. As such, the reduction in property tax revenue has made all City and County governments take a very close look at the services they provide and the manner in which they’re provided and financed. It also has forced all governments affected by the revenue reduction to establish priorities for the continuation of services, and this has caused some difficult, and in some cases, painful decisions to be made in order to balance budgets and comply with the legislative mandate. In simple terms, this means learning to do more with less wherever possible, and in some cases, scaling back services in direct proportion to the revenue reduction mandated by the Legislature.
Like all other governmental entities, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office has undertaken this challenging process of reviewing services and establishing priorities necessary to maintain critical functions while balancing the budget under these new fiscal realities. Unlike say, a parks department for example, law enforcement agencies have very few “programs.” Approximately 80 percent of our budget goes to employee salaries and other employee-related costs, such as insurance and retirement. Accordingly, the only way to achieve meaningful reductions in our budget is to cut positions. Given that fact, the Sheriff’s Office established several critical priorities that helped guide the decision-making process. First off, the proposed position cuts are spread out throughout the entire agency, with virtually no area avoiding the impact. However, the proposed cuts are being dispersed throughout the agency with the goal of minimizing the impact on our core services, which are road patrol and investigations. Additionally, the Sheriff’s Office has certain statutory responsibilities, including court security and the service of court papers. The simple, yet painful fact is that the need to preserve our core mission to patrol communities, investigate criminal offenses, and fulfill our court and civil responsibilities left us with few available options to achieve the mandated cuts.
In addition, the current budget realities also forced us to take a hard look not just at our core services, but also at our core service area, which traditionally has been unincorporated Volusia. Yet many of the schools where Crossing Guards have been provided by the Sheriff’s Office are actually inside cities. While child safety is of the utmost importance to the Sheriff’s Office, we reluctantly concluded that the available revenues wouldn’t be sufficient to fund the same level of services outside of our core areas of responsibility and jurisdiction. Unfortunately, all of the above caused us to come to the painful, yet inescapable conclusion that in order to balance the budget and achieve the mandated cuts while preserving mission-critical services and our traditional service area meant that we could no longer afford to fund the School Crossing Guard program at the same level as in years past. And that was the basis for our decision to reduce the budget for this particular program.
Thank you for the opportunity to explain to you and your readers the thought-process that went into this very difficult decision. As you can see, the decision was not made lightly and was not made without a great deal of analysis, introspection and, yes, even angst. But these are challenging times that require tough choices. Should the proposed Constitutional amendment pass in January, we will all be going through this exercise yet again.
Regards,
Gary Davidson
Public Information Officer
Volusia County Sheriff’s Office
Comment:
The Shadow would like to point out that the School Board is responsible for protecting your children to and from school within certain limits. Walkers appear to be within their purview, and should be protected by them. It would seem that the School Board budget should fund the School Crossing Guard program, especially since the legislature did not see fit to require them to cut their bloated budgets, or restrain their growth. Having said that, maybe now is the time to reinstate the School Boy/Girl Patrol of yesteryear. Remembering that it would require students to take and exhibit responsibility for themselves and others. Minimal cost, great educational tool. Now you can scream about liability! Additionally, some who do not agree with the Sheriff's position are pointing out that there were less pressing expenditures that could have been cut first.
NEWSPAPER
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W-2S REVISITED
The W-2's published last week are presented this week as an EXCEL file so that you can manipulate the data as you wish. Additionally, we provide a number of analyses regarding pay and benefits.
