September 28th, 2009
NSBShadow.com....
Published Weekly, Direct from the Web.
Look to Us for the Latest Intrigues and
Tell Your Friends About Us!
Visitor on this Site This Week.
(Nearly 2500 hits last week. Thank you, enjoy your visit and come back to see more.)
You are:
1. POLLUTION CLEAN UP
As we understand it the original owners of the Dunn Lumber property are still responsible for the cost of clean up. We are curious as to whether the CRA intends to send the original owners the bill or just put the cost on the taxpayer. We bet they plan to stick it to the taxpayer.
“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
9/25/2009, 11:03 am
Ho Hum
For Adan & Judy, Yes, Over Sally and Randy, Yes - no question
Comm seats go from NO interest to SPECIAL interest . Its still a crappy choice
9/25/2009, 10:04 am
NSB
Gee. I wish people on this blog would make up their minds. Angler's bad but support Adam and Judy who were recruited by them and have financed their campaigns. What a bunch of idiots you are.
9/27/2009, 10:39 am
SHOCKING NEWS
Last year, our Police Officers contributed $220,693 of their salaries towards their pensions.
Last year, our Firefighters contributed $24,104 of their salaries towards their pensions.
Last year the Taxpayers contributed $434,072 towards the Police Officers pension plan.
Last year, the Taxpayers contributed $859,221 towards the Firefighters pension plan.
SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH THIS?
FYI: We've got 50 firefighters, and 65 Police Officers.
So the Taxpayers contribution averages $17,184 per Firefighter...and $6,678 per Police Officer.
AND HERE'S A GOOD ONE;
The employee contribution in the Fire Department averaged $482.08 last year....
.......and the employee contribution in the Police Department averaged $3,395!
All these figures come from the City's latest Comprehensive Financial Audit page 67.
NOTES
1. THE NEW AUDITOR
The City has hired a new auditor. Now it is time for the Utilities Commission to do the same. The purpose of an auditor is to “rat out” management to corporate or municipal directors, and there is certainly an awful lot at the Utilities Commission to rat out since they on the surface appear to be totally mismanaged. They went from one of the lowest to one of the highest cost utilities ion Central Florida, got rid of fiber optics which was not only feasible but is now being put in place by both AT&T and Brighthouse, not to mention Verizon which places big ads about its progress. Then there is the Clay Henderson $250,000 gift, the garbage plant, etc. Oh, and do not forget that the current auditor collected another $500,000 to do a revised auditor that was designed to support the proposition that the current managers are not a bunch of bunglers and blame losses on the prior management. No cigar, but the auditor took the money anyway.
2. DUNN LUMBER FIASCO: THE SECOND ACT
The first act.
The first act was buying a polluted site for $ 417, 000 for cash when the owner was unable to sell it on a contingent contract for we are told $380,000. You got it right, no bank would lend a dime to a new purchaser for this polluted piece of property. But the Community Redevelopment Agency used your money to buy this polluted property at an inflated price. Remember that the Mayor cut off discussion on the price by saying the City should not “quibble” over the price. Her word, not the Shadow’s.
Now for the Second Act.
The City crows that it is easier for them to clean up the property, possibly up to $400,000 for a 9,500 square foot lot next to a railroad track, using a State “cleanup grant”. That is your money too. How about the fact that when the City asked for private parties to come forward to develop the property there were no takers. That is right. No one showed up. Now it seems they also want Federal money. Your money too. After they have cleaned it up, the spokeswoman at the CRA says there might be more interest. You betchum, Red Rider!
3. UTILITIES COMMISSION RENEGS
ON FIBER OPTICS
At the last City Commission meeting it was reported that Bright House wanted a new contract to provide a fiber optic system, and that it would cost the city dearly for it. However the City was inquiring whether other service providers were interested. Isn’t that interesting! The Utilities Commission CEO promised publicly about one year ago that the UC would provide a fiber optic network for the City’s use. Subsequently, he sold all the fiber optic assets owned by the UC, decommissioned all of the wireless links owned by them and has retained only the dialup internet service which he reports is losing money. It is obvious by his actions that he never intended to deliver this service, and that the UC commissioners never intended for him to provide that service to the City. Isn’t it interesting that Ms Diesen works for a firm that works for Bell South and that brought us Mr. Rodi. Remember the Bell South is one of the bidders for the City’s service. Remember that Mr. Rodi was a consultant for Bell South the year before he was foisted on us. Why has the UC abandoned fiber optics and reneged on its promise. Maybe Bell South doesn’t want them in that business. Who knows, the Shadow thinks it knows!
DEAR PAM
As we have stated in the past, we realize that the City Manager is limited in the resources available to her for pursuing cost reduction projects, so we have decided to help her out and provide draft letters for her review. As we have said, this will free her up for important things, like dealing with all the serious problems of the police and fire department pensions.
Dear Sally
I have prepared and intend to send to the Angler’s Club a bill for $25,000 a month starting November 1, 2009. When we enter into a lease, assuming they are willing to do so on our terms, we can adjust the monthly charge. They might just choose to vacate the premises, but I doubt that they will do so.
Pam
THERE IS NO ANGLER’S CLUB LEASE
The nonsense about the cost of a lawsuit has reached the gag-a-maggot stage. There is a simple fact that the City under Mr. Gummey has been willing to spend the mythical million dollars a law suit might cost on almost any law suit against the City. He operates on the assumption that he has enough resources to wear down any complainant. But here he does not want to litigate.
But putting this aside, the fact here is that the legal option would be a Motion for A Declaratory Judgment. That is a straight forward filing saying that the matter at bar is solely a legal issue to be decided by the Court on the basis of claimed legal issues presented to the Court. Here the work has been performed by the consultant-lawyer and the presentation would be his conclusion that the applicable State statutes in 1944 limited the City’s ability to lease property.
What the City has done is take other prospective purchasers or lessees out of the picture, stating in essence that the Angler’s Club has a preference for this property. It does not if it has no lease, and only the taxpayer is hurt. Nor does it have an equitable claim based upon its “good deeds” since all it is doing is giving away a token of the hundreds of thousands of dollars it grifts each year. It is even more obnoxious to hear the candidates give legal opinions as to matters which they have no knowledge. Would you ask them to do heart surgery?
A DIFFERENT VIEW ON THE ELECTION BY AN ESTEEMED READER
9/25/2009, 10:30 am
For Adam & Judy
The Anglers have taken the city for a free ride, no doubt about it. Lease or no lease, things have to change and now is the time. Seeing as the subject is finally open and widely known, we can only hope our days of paying their rent are over. Short of Marilee and Wilson, you couldn't vote on this subject alone.
You have to pick your poison.
Our current incumbents have done nothing, but waste our money pursuing this issue, so a change from our present can't be any worse and we have bigger issues at hand.
Adam is an Angler and he doesn't hide it. I doubt their agenda is to try and take the property for free or continue as they are currently or even make another 50 or 100 year lease. I think they are setting themselves up for a more equal footing and I think Adam is there to keep them from losing the docks. With Sally and Randy, they run the risk of renting a building and loosing the docks. I'm not saying they will get the docks for the same deal they currently enjoy, just not losing them in total. Ultimately, they have to pay!
As for Judy, she can't hurt them by having another vote, but they sure as hell don't want Randy, so the Angler money going to him or Dalton was a no brainer. She was brought to the party by them, they just are serving her punch.
I support Judy and I see more at stake than the Anglers deal. Same goes for Adam.
I think we need to dump the NO GROWTH, OVER SPENDING & ANTI-BUSINESS CROWD in favor of a more educated, pro-business and hopefully fiscally responsible crowd. By way of the vote last night and the new city managers opinion, we are headed to smaller and less costly government regardless of who gets elected.
THOSE TOUBLESON W-2S
AND THE REFUSAL OF THE INCUMBENTS TO FIX THE PROBLEM
WHERE YOUR TAX MONEY GOES
THE SALARY SHOWN ON THE W-2S FOR CITY EMPLOYEES IS ONLY A PORTION OF THE COST TO THE CITY FOR EACH OF THE EMPLOYEES ( THESE ARE THE 2008 SCHEDULE---INCREASE BY 2% FOR 2009)
1. FIREMAN HAVE A PENSION AND BENEFITS PACKAGE THAT COSTS ABOUT 70% MORE THAN THE SALARY PAID. EXAMPLE:
NSFD BATALLION CHIEF MICHAEL COATS
SALARY…………………………….….$100,911
PENSION AND BENEFITS………….$ 70,638
$171,5 49
2. POLICEMAN HAVE A PENSION AND BENEFITS PACKAGE THAT COSTS ABOUT 60% MORE THAN THE SALARY PAID.EXAMPLE:
NSPD SERGEANT EUGENE GRIFFITH
SALARY…………………………………$86,077
PENSION AND BENEFITS………….. $58,646
$137,723
3. OTHER CITY EMPLOYEES HAVE A PENSION AND BENEFITS PACKAGE THAT COSTS 45% MORE THAN THE SALARY PAID.EXAMPLES:
A. CITY ATTORNEY FRANK GUMMEY
SALARY……………………………....$205,000
PENSION AND BENEFITS………...$ 92,000
$297,000
DIRECTOR OF PARK AND RECREATION ELIZABETH YANCEY
SALARY………………………… ……$107,759
PENSION AND BENEFITS………….$ 45,342
$146,101
