Category Archives: Government Spending and Taxation

Stuart & Housing

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What is the most pressing issue that the City of Stuart faces? It is not where or if we need a new City Hall, the fate of Historic Downtown or whether the hospital can build a 150 foot building. Our most important problem to solve is the lack of housing within our borders. Quite simply, there is not enough supply for everyone who wants to live here. Stuart does not have enough rental units, houses and condos. Further, to use a real estate term, much of what we have is physically, functionally and, to a less extent, externally obsolete.

Politically and socially we have allowed the City to stand still while Martin County, despite its reputation for limited growth, has grown exponentially around our borders. In 1940, the City had nearly 50% of the total Martin County population 2,912 people to 6,295. In 1960 we comprised 28% of the total with 4,791 people to 16,932. By the turn of the century Stuart comprised 11% of Martin County’s residents with 14,723 to 126,777. Today, we are still roughly 11% of Martin County’s population.

Martin County has grown at a much faster pace than Stuart in the past 70 years. In the next decade, the population of the County will probably continue to grow faster than the City’s. We are still a hub for commerce and residential living but not to the extent we were in the 1960s.   With the increasing suburbanization of Martin County, Stuart became not the only center of Martin but one of several competing centers county wide. One example would be the development of Palm City, which is part of unincorporated Martin County, from the farmland and ranches 40 years ago to a mostly suburban area today with a population of nearly 25,000 people as compared to the City of Stuart’s roughly 16,500.

Many people claim that the City should remain static or in a time warp. Unfortunately, if we do suspend time, we will not be able to have that very uniqueness that we want to maintain. Stuart cannot be a city unless we act and behave as one. This requires providing urban services under our jurisdiction so that we can maintain our businesses, residents and professional offices far into this century.

By not providing new housing, we force people to live outside our boundaries. A recent Florida Department of Economic Opportunity study showed that more than 21,000 people commute to work in Stuart every day. If we could capture just 25% of these commuters and their families, then our population and our tax base would increase by 50%.

By growing our tax base, we would shrink individual taxes. Would there be additional employees? Of course a few more would be added, though not many more since we are compact in size. Our infrastructure such as roads and water are already in place. As a city, we do not have the sprawl that has accompanied growth in the rest of Martin County. We are ideally situated to take advantage of life in mid-21st century America. The aging of our population and desire of our younger people to reside within cities gives us an ability that other parts of the County do not possess.

Stuart has an opportunity to maintain our wonderful charm and truly become a modern gem. We need to have the vision to do the things necessary so that we are not left behind. Stuart needs to reclaim its birthright of being the center of life on the Treasure Coast. To do that, we need more than a one block downtown. We need to actually have several areas of residential and economic viability. Many parts of our City are under-utilized. I will explore more of Stuart’s options in my next blog.

Stuart’s 2018 Budget Should be Studied Carefully

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In my last post, I wrote how the state budget and mandates were affecting local municipal budgets. In this post, I want to discuss Stuart’s upcoming budget for fiscal year 2018. When I look at the trends, I am not pleased with the direction we are heading. I think the City is not looking toward the future but is rather planning no further than the present.

When I look at the total expenditures for 2018, the overall budget is increasing by $172,760. This is a modest increase. However, when delving into individual line items, a different picture emerges. Personnel costs are increasing by $780,064 while operating expenses are decreasing by $169,546 and capital outlays are $483,327 less than 2017. This frightens me because once employees are given raises; it is very difficult to cut pay. Instead, to close future budgets, you lay off employees. Though we do have reserves for the purchase of capital items, once exhausted those funds will have to be replenished.

On the income side, the City has reduced the millage rate a negligible amount from 4.552 to 4.5. This results in a savings of $5 for the median homeowner. The total amount to Stuart’s overall revenue is $110,000. It should be noted that because of increased value of properties, Ad valorem is still projected to increase by $268,000 in 2018. With this projected increase, the City is still collecting $1,000,000 less than it collected in 2009 in the amount of $9,255,000.

As I wrote in an earlier post, next year there will be a new additional $25,000 homestead exemption on the ballot. According to the Property Appraiser’s projections, if passed, this exemption will further decrease Ad valorem tax by an additional $157,000. Further, at some point there will be another recession which will lower property values resulting in less real estate taxes being collected. Because the legislature has enacted complicated rules having to do with how much taxes and millage can rise at any one time, we may once again be forced to impose severe layoffs and reductions in maintenance to our roads and parks because of the City’s inability to levy increases.

I would have preferred that Stuart not cut the millage and instead place the $110,000 into a “rainy day” fund. The median savings per household of $5.00 is in today’s currency the cost of a cup or two of coffee. Further, because of the loss of the $187,000 in rent from the vacating 7-11, any increase in taxes due to property value increases is negated by these two offsets. Unfortunately, I was the only commissioner that thought it imprudent to lower the millage rate this year.

It is my belief that governments should not plan budgets based on political or short sighted goals. Rather, our goal should be to keep both services and taxes on an even keel. Smart and responsible fiscal policies need to cause the least disruption and uncertainty to our taxpayers, residents and businesses. The more we can do that, the better we are serving those stakeholders.

Government Budgets And Taxes Are Interrelated

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I intended to write about Stuart’s budget for the coming fiscal year. When delving into the numbers, I realized just how tied our budget is to the state’s budget, and, more importantly, to their encroachment on how we determine ours. Much of the governmental services we provide are predicated not only on what funds they allocate but what they permit us to do. The more controls that are placed on municipal government by Tallahassee, the less that municipalities can respond to the needs and wants of local citizens.

For the past 40 years, we have constantly heard that taxes are bad. Taxes in and of themselves are not bad. It is the way that government uses the tax money that is either bad or good.  The old accounting maxim, “value received and value parted with” should be what determines if a service is good or bad. There is no such thing as services being provided free of charge. Somewhere and somehow, everything must be paid by the taxpayer.

As taxpayers, we pay our taxes to a variety of governmental entities. About 35% of Stuart’s revenue comes from real estate taxes. The rest of our revenue is everything from grants to our proportionate share of the communication services tax and sales tax to rents collected from city-owned leased property.

The State of Florida keeps roughly 93% of the total sales taxes collected throughout the entire state. This amount comprises a little over 60% of Florida’s total revenue.  When there is a sales tax holiday, that really is a tax cut that the state mostly finances.

Tallahassee has another way to give “tax cuts” without using any state revenue. Every time the legislature and governor pass and sign a law that restricts local government’s revenue stream, they have in effect taken credit for a “tax cut” but not allocated any funds to pay for existing services. Local governments must still provide police, fire/rescue, roads and parks. We just have one less fiscal source to help pay for them. For example, by lessening the percentage of the communication services tax charged on phone bills, municipalities must find the money elsewhere to provide services.

Another bill that the legislature was so very proud of passing last session was a constitutional amendment for an additional $25,000 homestead exemption. If passed by 60% of the voters in 2018 (which seems likely), the legislators will be credited with a “tax cut” without any state funds being used. The result for Stuart will be about $160,000 less in revenue. Do we cut services or raise other fees and taxes because of Tallahassee’s largesse?

At the same time in the past several years, Tallahassee has cut back on the funds that it sends to us for roads, sewer expansion and other grants. They expect municipalities and counties to continue providing these services but limit the sharing of tax dollars, restrict the ways we can raise money and pass additional mandates. This cannot continue without municipalities cutting basic services.

What everyone needs to understand is that nothing is free. Isn’t it better for Tallahassee to stay out of our local affairs as much as possible, and let local government determine how revenue is raised to provide the services that their citizens want? The Legislature needs to stop interfering and begin listening. A legislative committee chairman from Panama City has no idea what a resident from Ocean Breeze needs or wants. Tallahassee should take less from our pockets and stop telling us what and how to provide for ourselves.

Martin County’s Infrastructure Sales Tax

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The county has introduced an infrastructure sales tax ballot initiative for the August election. If passed, the measure would add an additional penny per dollar to the current 6% sales tax rate. At present, 61 of Florida’s 67 counties levy an additional sales tax. This makes the local option more the norm than not. The same products (such as food and medicine) would be exempt from the additional sales tax. I had hoped that the parameters on what the county could spend the proceeds would be limited to water and road projects alone.  But, even without those limitations, I am still in support of the measure since Martin County needs to address our road and water project backlog immediately.

The County may seem like it is in a rush to have a vote without adequate time to educate the voters as to the merits of the proposal. Unfortunately, they are up against a legislature in Tallahassee that wants to strip the ability of counties to levy such a tax even after a vote of local citizens. Last session, bills were introduced to do just that. Martin County anticipates that the legislature will introduce such a bill in the upcoming year and perhaps pass it. This is what requires Martin County to have the measure on the ballot as soon as possible. Such are the unintended consequences when the state meddles in matters of local control.

As to the need for Stuart to have the sales tax enacted, it goes without question that without these funds, there will hardly be any capital improvement projects going forward. The City has a population of roughly 16,500. On the average work day, 21,000 people commute into Stuart to go to work and that does not count the many more that come to shop and dine. While we need to have adequate emergency services, roads and other amenities to accommodate this influx, these visitors pay no direct taxes.

No one enjoys a tax increase. However, we do want government to provide services and amenities. They cannot do so without adequate funding. That is why the passage of this additional penny per dollar spent is so important. As a county resident, I hope that Martin County will use the funds as intended. As a Stuart commissioner, I will only vote that the funds are used for projects in the best interest of our residents.

Tax Cuts Are Easy…Governing Is Hard

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As I write this, the Florida Legislature is poised to pass a bill allowing a constitutional amendment of another $25,000 tax exemption for homestead properties. If approved by 60% of the voters, counties and cities will see a shortfall of $750,000,000 in the first year going to over $800,000,000 in a few years. Where do we make this up in our budgets? This unfunded mandate will result in businesses and vacation homes taking on more and more of the real estate tax burden. This makes Florida less competitive and friendly toward business and 2nd home buyers.

This is bad idea for several reasons. It is an unfunded mandate on localities by the state. They are giving a tax cut by the worst possible means because it does not result in equal treatment for all citizens and businesses. Tallahassee is not taking any money from their coffers. If they want to give the citizens a tax break, why not take it out of the state’s amount of sales tax collected and rebate the $750,000,000 directly to homeowners….a check sent from the State of Florida directly to you.

That won’t happen because the pols in Tallahassee would then have less money to give to their crony capitalist friends in big business, labor and agriculture. It is easy to bully local government because they can. The legislature and governor are arguing over billions of dollars. I am just trying to find a few thousand to pay a police officer. For, make no mistake, it is local governments that pay for police and fire, street lights and sanitation with taxes. What would you rather have…your money pay for a faraway bureaucrat or a local E.M.T?  This is your choice in a nutshell.

If we have less revenue, a decision will have to be made on where to spend those diminished resources. Certain services will have to be provided (e.g., Water and Police), but others like Parks and Recreation will be curtailed. And, as time goes on, through attrition a fire fighter won’t be replaced. All the while, the pols in Tallahassee will tell you that they gave you a tax cut.

When you increase the homestead exemption, fewer homeowners contribute any money to the services they demand. We currently have 65% of the residents in Stuart paying no tax except the Fire Fee. Not only is this fiscally unsustainable, it is also civicly wrong. People have no skin in the game. They can demand services, and weak bureaucrats and elected officials will continue to provide them…until they can’t any longer.

For a healthy democracy, everyone needs to participate by voting but also by paying. There is no free ride. It is easy to vote yourself a tax cut. What this means is more than a tax cut. It is also a cut in the quality of life for yourself and your neighbor…your children and your parents. As Floridians, we have been eager to think that services don’t have to be paid for in order to be received. That someone else will pick up the tab. We can have everything and pay nothing for it.

You know why Tallahassee pols need to give you tax cuts? It is because they provide very little else. Even when we vote to have clean water and rivers, they use the money to feather their friends’ nests. They have an $83 billion budget, and they are keeping it all. Their tax cuts come at the expense of local government. Our city needs to keep the lights on and the streets safe. That costs money. Next time you need a cop, call Florida Department of Law Enforcement and see if there is a response.

Taxes and Budgets

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The first recorded levying of real estate taxes was around 6000 BC in the city-state of Lagash located in modern day Iraq . Both real and personal taxes were levied and collected in ancient Greece and Egypt. Alexander the Great codified tax collection across his empire as did the Romans. Perhaps the most famous tax collector of ancient times was St. Matthew.

King John in England was forced to sign the Magna Carta in part by his confiscatory tax policy. The first time property taxes were collected in Colonial America was at Plymouth beginning in 1620…the year they landed. Instructions for the collection of taxes had been given to Governor Yeardley by the Virginia Company for the Jamestown settlement in 1618 but none were collected until much later. Taxes during the later colonial period were voted on by the colonies’ own legislatures as well as being imposed by far away London. Those London-imposed taxes resulted in our fight for independence.

Though a national property tax was debated at the constitutional convention, it did not gain traction because of the large land-owning southern gentry. Property taxes became the province of the states while tariffs financed the federal government until the 20th century with the passage of the 16th Amendment in 1913 instituting the income tax.  Every state does not have an income tax but every state has a real estate tax. Florida ranks 27th in the nation with its real estate tax assessments according to “Wallet Hub”.

Stuart’s projected revenue for fiscal year 2017 is $22,900,000 of which $8,060,000 come from real estate taxes. The real estate tax amount projected is 35% of total revenue and is evenly divided between residential and commercial properties. Of the 17.5% that is collected from homeowners, the vast majority is being collected from those whose properties are valued at more than $500,000. The taxable valuation for the real property in the city is currently $1.75 billion which is substantially below the market high in 2007 when the taxable value was $2.35 billion and the amount collected was $10,160,000 in real estate taxes. Ten years later, the amount of revenue that Stuart receives from real estate taxes is still much less than we did at the peak.

Florida is one of 46 states that offer a “homestead exemption” of some sort. Our exemption has been in the Florida Constitution since 1935. If you go to the Martin County Appraiser’s website, you will see that there are 15 other possible tax exemptions not to mention “save our homes” and the 3% cap on homesteaded properties. The legislature has provided many goodies to the voters but with no consequences to the state budget.

Another name for real estate taxes are “ad valorem” taxes which is Latin for according to value. Property taxes were never meant to be implemented like an income tax. You paid tax not according to how long you lived in the home or whether you were disabled or a widow. Only the value of the property was taken into account when applying the rate.

For political reasons, the state has decided that local government should have its hands tied with the only tax that can be levied without legislative approval. To curry favor, legislators have proposed constitutional amendments that have been approved by the voters year after year. We all want to pay less in tax. However, fewer and fewer people are actually contributing to the income needed to provide for local services such as police and parks.

Unlike the federal government, Stuart cannot spend more than it collects in revenue. It cannot have a deficit. Being fiscally conservative does not always mean cutting taxes. Equally important is the ability to deliver services in a fiscally competent way. As we know, the legislature promises tax cuts in the tens of millions. What those tax cuts often translate to is a few dollars returned to the average citizen. It also means less money for the environment and schools or the elimination of programs for seniors.

I believe we have a good quality of life in Stuart. Police and Fire/Rescue are important and need to be maintained. The quality of our parks and the programs provided are equally important. The same goes for our septic to sewer conversions. Each department needs to run efficiently and not waste tax payer money. All taxes should be kept to a minimum; being a prudent commissioner demands that I do just that.

Comments Made At Constitution Revision Commission

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These are comments I made today before the Constitution Revision Commission in Boca Raton  to strengthen “Home Rule”.

Mr. Chairman and Commissioners:

My name is Tom Campenni and I am the Mayor of Stuart Florida. I am also the Vice President of the League of Treasure Coast Cities and a board member of the Florida League of Cities. I currently am the Chair of the Treasure Coast Council of Local Governments.

I come to you today as a local elected official to speak on the importance of local government and an erosion of local control through the use of pre-emption by the legislature.

Our current constitution enshrines the doctrine of “home rule”.

By the legislature’s use of pre-emption that right is increasingly being taken away from counties and cities.

The reason that home rule is so important is because government should reflect the will of the people. Who is better to know that will than a neighbor and friend?

The one size fits all mentality that is currently being espoused by the state legislature is counterproductive to how good government should function.

The purpose of local government is to allow the citizens to live in communities that express their will. Municipalities provide those levels of services that their citizens want, desire and are willing to pay to have.

We, elected officials, pass ordinances that reflect the values of the people that reside there.

There are many things that the state needs to be involved in to protect Florida citizens.

For example, local Government should not be able to license attorneys and doctors. Those standards should be state wide.

But where the physical offices of those lawyers and doctors are should be decided by local zoning.

Where is the state’s interest in regulating short term rentals? Why should the legislature dictate to my city whether that use should be allowed or not.

If the citizens of Stuart or any municipality want them believe me they will let their commission know.

What has happened in the past decade is the legislature has developed the mindset that they know best. This is far from the truth.

There are 160 legislators in Tallahassee. There are thousands of local elected officials throughout the state.

The vast majority are either unpaid or receive very little compensation. We do it because we want to serve and make our communities better.

I urge this commission to strengthen home rule and restore the rights of local government to what the 1968 constitution intended.

 

Now Is The Time

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It appears that Senator Negron’s bill regarding locating a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee will have a hard time moving forward in the legislature. Many are fighting the reservoir on the availability of funds, some because there are other projects on the table that should be completed first, and still others because they oppose of the removal of the 60,000 acres from agricultural production.

All these reasons and explanations sound rational. But the most cogent explanation for moving forward with Senator Negron’s bill is the explanation I heard directly from him. The people and counties and cities along the Saint Lucie River and the Indian River Lagoon are seeing their way of life eroding every time releases occur. How long must we wait? Isn’t our health important not to mention our economy and quality of life.

The people of the Treasure Coast can’t wait 10 or 20 years. There is no good reason that we should wait. Economically, what we contribute to the state is as important, if not more so, than the sugar industry’s contribution. Like so many things in Florida and the United States, our area is being sacrificed, not because of valid economic and ecological reasons, but because of the hold the sugar industry has on our state and nation. It’s another sign of the collusion between big business and politicians to put the people’s interest last.

The business model for the sugar industry is, as so many others, only possible because of government subsidies. Those subsidies are made possible by political contributions made by the owners of those industries to the very politicians that vote for those subsidies. Our tax money is being used to pervert our interests. We have become a nation of subsidies and cronyism rather than the nation of entrepreneurship and capitalism .

We, the people, fight the battle for our environment while a few use our own tax dollars to thwart that effort. The river and lagoon will continue to be ignored. Every month and year that passes means that we are that much closer to another summer of green algae. The Treasure Coast is being sacrificed as are the state and national taxpayers. How about taking the corporate subsidies from those few well-connected and giving them to the citizens? We can fund the reservoir and all the other projects if we stop corporate welfare.

The Erosion of the People’s Rights

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Imagine if the government passed a law that stated the phone company can put a pole anywhere that Stuart has a “right of way”. AT&T would not have to ask permission or pay more than $15.00 a year to place its antenna on that pole. Verizon, Sprint and Comcast could erect similar structures at a stop sign or park or in the grass strip in front of your house. You would be outraged. You couldn’t believe it can happen in the U.S….in Florida. Stuart and Martin County would be powerless to stop it.

The same day that the poles go up in Memorial Park and in front of your house, your neighbor next door decided to make his home into a hotel. The neighbor on the other side of you decides that she wants to convert her living room into a convenience store and nightclub. Your neighbors on either side do not have to register anywhere or obtain the city’s permission. Stuart could not do anything to prevent it. When those new businesses open, they wouldn’t have to pay anything additional for the increased services that the city would have to provide because of increased traffic and police presence.

This is not fantasy. We are not being invaded by a foreign government. But it does smack of a totalitarian state doesn’t it? There are currently bills in the legislature that would make the above a reality. The Speaker of the House and a hand full of his followers have decided that local government is an enemy of business. It is their belief that we are unfriendly to business by requiring a utility to obtain a permit and the permission of that municipality before erecting a structure in a place that is owned by the citizens of the city.

Speaker Corcoran and some other legislators think that anyone should be able to turn his/her home into a hotel for “short term rentals” without any local oversight. These same legislators believe that local government should not have any authority to make sure businesses operate in the best interests of their communities. Their belief is that the legislature is all-knowing and that you should not be able to decide how your community should look.

This undemocratic and perverse logic will result in people fleeing the state rather than moving here. People want to have control over their local communities. They want to be able to live in towns and cities that reflect their values not those of a group of legislators from Tampa or Lee County. This is not a partisan issue but a philosophical one. We must fight this incursion on our sovereignty.

The right of “Home Rule” is just as important as “Freedom of Speech” or our 2nd Amendment Right.  It is vital to making sure that the people have the communities that they want. Every time we are denied that ability, our liberty is eroded just a little bit more. If a locality is not infringing on a constitutional right, then the state or federal government should not intrude on how we govern ourselves.

There is an economic cost to such mindless, one-size-fits-all laws. Some in the legislature may see it as helping business. However, when local government has its sources of revenue impacted by Tallahassee, the locality must find other sources of income to continue to provide services, usually on the back of the residents. As the quality of life is negatively impacted, then businesses suffer. And, if that comes to pass, we won’t need all those antennas in “rights of way” providing internet because there will be fewer people and businesses choosing to be here as a result of the legislature’s misguided policies.

The Erosion of Home Rule

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It is unfortunate that so many of our legislators in Tallahassee want to take away your right to self-government. They are attempting to do this in the guise of “business friendly” or “less regulation” or “democratic action”.  Apparently we have entered an era of “new speak”. Legislators are deliberately saying one thing while their actions point in an opposite direction. This is a scary time when local government is under assault with the ultimate goal of eliminating citizen involvement.

The two legislative members that represent Stuart, Senator Negron and Representative Harrell, understand the need for strong local government. They truly believe that the state should only be involved in statewide issues. They don’t think that a specific problem in Lee County needs to be addressed by a state law in Tallahassee.  Negron and Harrell think that the citizens of a county or city should have government that reflects their wants and desires. They don’t believe, as do so many legislators, that they know better than the individual citizen.

Currently in the hallowed halls of the capital there are bills that will strip away through pre-emption your rights to self-determination. Why is it that Tallahassee wants to seize control of zoning under the guise of less regulation? Why is it that the Florida Legislature, especially the House, wants to do away with CRAs, how cities can levy taxes, what services we can provide and individual municipalities’ right to have elections as per our charters?

The majority of legislators do not have any local government experience. They never served on city or county commissions. They never dealt with people wanting speed bumps in their neighborhoods. They never spoke with a citizen who can’t get a pothole filled or their garbage not being picked up. They never heard the public at a commission meeting addressing their concerns. They never scrambled to find a few dollars for a recreation program.

They don’t know how a CRA operates yet they can vote to kill the entire program. Members vote on bills from Sober Homes to Short Term Rentals without reaching out to local officials to see how the legislation affects the citizens in their districts. There is a bill presently going through the House that would require that local government could have no unencumbered reserves. The bill’s sponsor has never been elected to anything but his present seat. He never was responsible to clean the streets of debris after a hurricane. Where does he believe that money comes from if not a reserve?

For some in the legislature it is not ignorance of the issues but it is more insidious. There is a pervasive belief especially by House leadership that they know best. Ordinary citizens cannot decide what is in their best interest. That they, the all-knowing legislators, will make sure that you, the citizen, are protected from making bad decisions.

When all power is concentrated in the hands of a few powerful legislators, who will then speak on your behalf? If Walmart decided to open a store in a residential neighborhood, the local government may not have the authority to prevent that from occurring. What about adult entertainment in Downtown, an asphalt plant  on Federal Highway or a 25 story building on Palm City Road; without the ability of local zoning all of those examples could become a reality.

The county and the city can disagree on issues but I never think that a county commissioner doesn’t have the best interests of Martin County at the foremost in any decision. I may disagree with my fellow commissioners on a matter but I do not question their motifs. Local elected officials are the ones who know their constituents and their problems best. Will that legislator from the Panhandle care about our local issues?

Tallahassee’s usurpation of the people’s right to self-government is not a fantasy. It is actually happening and accelerating. Earlier this week I received an e-mail from a resident asking that I do something about train horns. As a local official there is nothing I can do. It is not in my purview. What will happen when I am asked to do something about that strip club that opened downtown? Will I have to say that I can do nothing about that either?