Category Archives: Government Spending and Taxation

Does The School District Need the Millage Increase?

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The Martin County School District is asking for two tax increases in 2018. One will be a ½ cent sales tax increase to fund capital projects which will be on the November ballot.The second is a 1/2 mill for the ad valorem tax rate. Today I am only writing about the increase in the millage rate which is for ongoing operational expense. I met with Chair Christia Li Roberts and Superintendent Laurie Gaylord to discuss this proposed tax increase beside attending several school board meetings, community presentations, studied the proposed ballot language and the financial information supplied by the District.

To comprehend the reasons why the School District is requesting the increase, the voter must fully understand how schools are funded in Florida. In 1973 The Florida Legislature instituted the Florida Educational Finance Program (FERP). FERP was successful in having spending per student equalized across the state. To accomplish equalization, Florida mandates what the minimum school district tax rate (5.052 Mills) is going to be across the state’s 67 school districts. That rate is applied to the total taxable value and divided by the number of K-12 state wide students.

Using that mandated formula, Martin County collects more in ad valorem school taxes than can be allocated to the number of students the District has. The excess amount of allowable ad valorem tax collected ($45 million) is sent to Tallahassee to be distributed to other districts. Martin County real estate values are relatively high in comparison to other counties in the state. We are known under FERP as a “donor county.” The excess amount if allowed to remain in Martin County is 4 times more than what the requested hike would generate.

Florida further requires that the district provide certain programs and educational mandates that add expense without the state adding the necessary funding. Class size, transportation, minimum instructional minutes, testing requirements, which students will be retained at Third Grade, curriculum and supplies needed, security expense and even the amount of recess minutes per day along with many others are dictated by the Legislature.

Unlike other Florida school districts, Martin County provides many non-required educational components and student enhancements. Each elementary school has specialized music, art, and science teachers. The elementary schools have classroom reading materials in addition to those mandated by the state. There are middle and high school band & chorus programs plus multiple athletic teams in every high school.  High schools have extensive career technical training such as the culinary program at Martin County High School. The Environmental Studies Center is part of the student experience. According to the District, this is where cuts would be made if additional funding is not obtained.

The Martin County School District estimates that the ½ mill tax increase will generate $11.2 million per year. The bulk of the tax increase (77.43%) will be for increasing teacher compensation. Teacher increases are based on seniority in this instance. Teachers with 1-5 years of experience will receive $1000. Those with 6-9 years of experience $5000 and those with 10 plus years will receive $8000. According to the School District, teachers are transferring to either Palm Beach or St Lucie School Districts not in the early years when compensation in the three districts are compatible, but as their career’s progress when Martin County is lower than the other two districts.

An additional 9.4% of the tax increase will go to the District’s other employees. 6.5% is allocated for additional School Resource Officers. More than 93% of the tax increase are for employee costs including SROs.

The Martin County School District’s requested ad valorem tax increase is for 4 years from July 1, 2018 until June 30, 2022. The District has provided the following example to show how the tax increase would affect a homeowner. If your home’s taxable value is $250,000 then the additional cost would be $125 per year.

While the ½ mill increase is for only four years, I anticipate that the District will request that the voters approve an extension of the increase in the future. To have voters approve an extension it is important that they see that the money is being spent for the intended purposes. Therefore, the School District in the ballot language is committing to spend the added tax revenue in the specific way that is outlined in their material.

I believe in the validity of the data provided by the Martin County School District. The voters must decide whether the District should continue to provide the same quality and quantity of programs to Martin County students. The District’s personnel costs have and will continue to increase due to market forces in surrounding counties. The School District can meet this increase by either cutting non-required student programming or by the ½ mill tax increase.

FREINDS & NEIGHBORS JUNE 23RD

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COUNTY GOLF COURSE

During Commissioner comments, Commissioner Smith made a motion to sunset the Golf Course Advisory Committee (GCAC). The motion passed 3-2 with Commissioners Heard and Jenkins dissenting.

In some respects, the GCAC had never lived up to its potential since the BOCC ignored their advice and comments. There were several vacancies since Commissioners had not bothered to appoint members. The Commission disregarded the GCAC recommendations anyway. So, dissolution was probably a good thing.

The Commission not only ignored their own committee but also two reports done by CBRE and the National Golf Foundation. The Commission has also spent money on designing and re-designing the course, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. I don’t understand why government hires consultants, pays them huge fees, and then ignores the results if the results do not match their own desires. On a different matter a few weeks ago, one Commissioner stated that he would listen to the experts. I guess that doesn’t apply to golf courses.

The Martin County Taxpayers Association has issued a report regarding this issue. I hope the Commission will read and digest that report. Isn’t it time to do what the majority of the residents and those that play golf want?

Like so many things, government should provide an inexpensive way for residents to enjoy the game. They should not be competing with the private sector. Politicians should stop trying to build monuments with their names attached. Government employees should stop trying to aggrandize and expand their departments at the taxpayers’ expense.

 

School Board Annexations

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On Thursday evening, the Stuart Local Planning Agency will consider the School Board’s request to annex two high schools and one elementary school into the City.

The schools are Martin County High School, Jensen Beach High School and Felix Williams Elementary School. What is the reason, after all these years, that the School Board is making this request? It is to give the School Board more options in providing school security.

School security issues and who provides security will be a contentious problem for the next several years. Mandates by the “Lords of Tallahassee” better known as the Florida Legislature, will necessitate millions of dollars more in expense for the Martin County School Board. Will Stuart or the Sheriff provide security? The City can only do so if the schools are within its jurisdiction.

What are the advantages and disadvantages to Stuart of the proposed annexations? As to the two high schools, I see only disadvantages. First, it would be a grave mistake to agree to provide the necessary SROs for both schools. It would take time to find and train the additional officers. It is also a long-term commitment by the City to those officers that are hired. If the School Board decides in two years to contract with the Sheriff or form its own force, what happens to those additional officers?

In addition to the possible providing of SROs, Stuart PD would need to respond to any law enforcement calls such as a disturbance during a Friday night football game. Stuart’s Fire/Rescue would now need to answer any calls. Even if Martin County Fire/Rescue responds through an interlocal agreement, the County must be reimbursed by the City for doing so. The School Board pays no property tax. These additional burdens will be paid by Stuart’s taxpayers.

Further, all three schools pay City water and sewer charges. They will continue to do so but at a reduced rate if they become part of Stuart. This will result in Stuart being paid 25% less in those enterprise funds. All City users will have to make up the difference.

While I am not in favor, I can see the argument for annexing Felix Williams. The prime benefit would be it would allow Stuart to annex other property surrounding the school if those property owners wished, adding tax revenue for the City. The high schools do not provide this option because of location.

I can even understand the argument that by Stuart PD now having jurisdiction at Felix Williams, relationships between officers and students can be developed. Those would be very expensive relationships.

The City of Stuart is a relatively small place geographically. It has 10% of the overall Martin County population. For too long a disproportionate share of the Martin County tax burden has fallen on Stuart’s taxpayers. A Department of Economic Opportunity study has shown that 21,000 people come into the City daily. Stuart is not reimbursed for the additional public safety or public works needed. Since sales tax, gas tax and other taxes are based on population, it does not matter where those taxes are generated within the County.

A few City Commissioners believe that Stuart should bear an unrealistic share of these governmental costs. Their belief is based on outdated facts that Stuart is in the same position that it was 60 years ago in relationship to the County. Stuart then had more than 40% of Martin County’s population. There was no Palm City. There was no shopping anywhere but downtown. Stuart could sway Martin County elections. Not anymore.

If Stuart is to survive, the City needs to shepherd its resources. One Stuart Commissioner has said that it is not always about dollars. Well it might not be about any one Commissioner’s dollars, but it is about all the taxpayers’ dollars. If this passes the LPA, the Commission needs to look at the big picture. These annexations will bring no additional revenue, only additional expense. I believe it is an easy choice if you care about the Stuart taxpayer.

Citizens Deserve the Transparency

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For the last few years, the City of Stuart had been live streaming their meetings and then had the video available on their website for later viewing. All that stopped a few months ago when the City received a letter from someone purporting to be from South Florida stating that he was hearing impaired. In response, the City quickly removed all videos and no longer streams meetings live.

Many of Stuart’s citizens, and even people apparently outside the City, would watch the meetings via the live stream or videos. I think it was an important service and provided transparency for Stuart’s public meetings. When the City started streaming and having the recordings on their website, it allowed government to be closer to the people.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II, which pertains to local and state government, reasonable accommodations must be made. The then City Manager made the decision to remove the videos and discontinue live streaming. It was, in my opinion under the circumstances, the right move. But where does the City go from here?

David Dyess, the new Interim Manager, is fairly technologically proficient. If anyone can find a solution to this dilemma, it is Dyess. It will require spending some resources. The question will become how much a municipality spends to be able to communicate with its citizens. In my cursory research it didn’t seem that a solution would be beyond the City’s budget.

I understand the purpose and intent of the ADA, and most Americans support its implementation. But does it make sense to penalize every Stuart citizen, resident and interested party because of one letter and the intended fear of a lawsuit? I don’t know the answer to that question, but I suspect it is a justifiable fear.

I do know that currently the City Commission has a problem with the perception of transparency. Citizens not being able to see how this local government operates doesn’t help that perception. Perhaps some may even like it that way.

Martin County’s Government Restaurants

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Americans love to say they believe in the capitalistic system.

We believe that government should stay out of the markets. We should leave to the private sector to operate businesses, instead of bureaucrats. If the public sector is involved, it usually results in the product being more expensive. This has been proven repeatedly. Government needs to step in when the private sector won’t do so.

But in Martin County we must like government involvement. Two prime examples are the concession stands at the beaches and Sailfish Splash Park. I will admit the concession stands are small potatoes compared to the water amusement park but nonetheless it is emblematic of government intruding on the private sector.

This entire blog post was precipitated by something I read in Gil Smart’s piece on TCPalm this morning. Apparently, the Martin County Parks and Recreation Department wants to take back the stand at Stuart Beach. They intend to gut rehab the building and then have it be operated by Parks & Rec. I don’t believe that anyone would dispute the fact that the building needs to be refurbished.

I don’t have a problem with the County spending money on facilities. We should improve County property. I do have a problem with the County then bringing the businesses “in house” so that public employees can operate the restaurants. This is just what they did after rehabbing the Sand Dune Café at Jensen Beach. So far this year, according to Smart, that County operation has made $18,000.

I have a little familiarity with the restaurant trade having grown up in the business, worked in many and even owned a few through the years. I have to say that making $18,000 so far this year is nothing to brag about. Let’s remember the Sand Dune Café does not pay rent or must make a profit. I haven’t even factored in the cost of the renovations.

Presently the Stuart Beach concession known as the Chef Shack pays a percentage of sales equating to about $1000 a month. I am not a fan of leases that calculate rent as strictly a percentage of sales. I’ve seen those figures manipulated too many times.

So, these two assets, paid for by the taxpayers and residents of Martin County, are not exactly contributing money to the public coffers. Assuming, not unreasonably, that beachgoers might want to grab something to eat or drink while at the beach and that the stand should not be an eyesore, why does that mean the public sector should operate these concession stands? Why shouldn’t both have someone that knows the business and, just as importantly, have a financial stake in their success operate them? Why hasn’t there been an RFP soliciting private companies to bid on operating these businesses?

Martin County’s Parks & Rec Department should stop trying to build empires and concentrate on their core mission…parks and recreation. The sooner they do just that, the better off we, the taxpayers, will be. I can go on about Sailfish Splash Park, but I will save that socialistic endeavor for another day.

Elected or Appointed?

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On this year’s ballot, voters will have a choice regarding whether Martin County should continue to elect its school superintendent or have the superintendent appointed by the School Board.

Only Florida and Alabama continue to have elected superintendents; Mississippi just ended the practice. In Florida, it is up to the voters in each school district to determine whether to elect their superintendents. Out of 67 districts in the state, 41 continue to have superintendents chosen through elections. The larger districts, including Miami/Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and St Lucie, all have appointed superintendents. The Martin County School District ranks higher than those other four do.

The most compelling reason to have the superintendent appointed is that the school board members can search throughout the country to find the most qualified candidates. This would result in someone who has all the right credentials being selected. Right now, you must be 21, live in the district and not be a felon to be qualified to run for superintendent. By having an appointed superintendent, the politics are removed from the position. Since the superintendent reports to the board, if enough friction develops between them, the board can remove the superintendent.

It is quite true that elections are messy. They are to some extent popularity contests. Unqualified people are elected to positions of authority all the time. Voters make mistakes. But those mistakes are usually corrected at the next election. Besides, is some friction between a board and superintendent necessarily a bad thing?

As citizens and voters, we are slowly giving up our rights for expediency’s sake. Our local governments are run by supposed experts instead of having the people choosing strong mayors and county executives. Billions of tax dollars are in the hands of unelected people. This is not democracy. We are a little less free because of it. I don’t even believe that we are necessarily in more capable hands.

By voters giving up a little more in the name of “better government,” we become a little more removed from our government. Any bureaucracy, whether a private business or a public entity, works best when the shareholders, taxpayers and citizens are as close to the levers of power as possible. To enjoy the fruits and benefits of a democratic society, it is imperative that citizens are an integral part of the process.

And we shouldn’t decide the question based on a like or dislike of any one elected superintendent or school board member. That would be like saying we don’t want to elect the president anymore because the current one is not our choice or very good at the job. As a nation and a people, we don’t believe in setting up a dictatorship so that our nation runs efficiently.

It is hard to decide whether an appointed or elected superintendent is best. There are good points to both sides of this argument. After I have examined the pros and cons, I am going to be voting in favor of electing the superintendent. I believe that the people will get it right more times than not. If we entrust our nation to elect someone president with the only qualifications being an age requirement, being born in the United States and a resident for the past 14 years; then I think we will survive electing a bad superintendent once in a while.

Quotations To Live By

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There is a quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson that is especially apropos today. “The government you elect is the government you deserve.” This statement is true on the federal, state and local level.

I was in my twenties when President Nixon was in office and the Watergate scandal occurred. He was re-elected in 1972 by winning all but one state and had 520 electoral votes to Senator McGovern’s 17 electoral votes. Less than two years later, Nixon was forced to resign the presidency.

Joseph de Maistre, an 18th century French diplomat, wrote, “Every country has the government it deserves.”

As I look at Tallahassee, I see a legislature that is power hungry. The leadership is so interested in micromanaging and aggregating power in their own hands, that they ignore the will of the electorate. Yet the electorate continues to send back the same people who are ignoring their will. Can we not see the connection between blind loyalty to our political tribe and the legislators ignoring our desires?

Locally, we have elected bodies that preach fiscal responsibility and then spend tax dollars on projects that most taxpayers do not want. A failed water park instead of a municipal pool is what Martin County taxpayers are stuck pouring money into. Now they want to include a shiny new money-losing clubhouse instead of just a place for people to play golf. Yet the County doesn’t have the money to fix a road or build a fire house.

The City of Stuart in the last year passed a budget that depleted reserves by $2 million dollars, included a 55% raise for each commissioner, and spent $600,000 in early separation pay which was unbudgeted. The City Commission also approved a ballooning tree planting project downtown while not spending the money in neighborhoods in the CRA that need sewers and sidewalks. No need to mention the failed City Manager payoff or lawsuit coming down the pike.

Government on all levels is broken. We can blame elected officials, but who elected them. It is the voters that cast ballots to put them in office that must assume the ultimate responsibility. If we continue to elect people just because of political party or because they are nice, like our slightly fractured aunt, then the ineptitude continues. Walt Kelly had his comic strip character Pogo once utter, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

Government doesn’t work because we as citizens have not done what we should. Complaining and watching cable news is not the answer. Get involved and make sure you elect the people who will do the work and understand what they are doing. Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.”

Where Are Stuart’s Citizens

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When things die, they can do so slowly and imperceptibly at first. Not only living things perish, so too do cities. Usually it is because their original purpose for being ceases, then they refuse to adapt and adopt new ones. Sometimes it is bad government that leads to the downfall, sometimes it is the hubris of the citizens that refuse to believe that civic death can occur, sometimes it is both.

Barely 6 months ago, a new City Manager came to Stuart. Since that time, most senior staff people have left. Two more departed this week – the Development Director and City Clerk. Could all these employees have been so incompetent that their new boss needed for them to go? Well, he didn’t fire them they just didn’t want to work for him any longer.

Chaos is a sign of incompetence. Stuart’s City Hall is in chaos. While all this turmoil continues to occur, where is the City Manager? Well, this past week he floated in and out of the place. I believe he didn’t even bother to show up for two of the days. Now I understand that he is on vacation until May 5th.

Where is the City Commission during this meltdown? They are nowhere to be seen. They too float in and out of the building. Most of them barely understand the agenda and what is before them. If they did, they couldn’t possibly approve a lease on Monday that will in effect lock up the City Hall peninsula for the next twenty years? Could they approve a lease that gives the tenant $2 million dollars if change were to occur?

The City Commission has done nothing. Not one of them deserve to be re-elected as the people’s voice. A strong manager/weak commission form of government is the worst form imaginable. The only possible way this type of government works is if the Commission does what they are supposed to do. This Commission has not.

In the past 6 months, Stuart has lost a significant amount of talent. Sometimes a new broom needs to sweep out the past. In this case, that did not need to happen. The City is now bereft of managerial depth that may be destructive to our present and future. Taxes will be affected going forward. You can’t spend the amount of money that this manager has on employee buyouts and not continue to draw down reserves or raise taxes.

Where are the supposed civic associations? Politically, the Chamber of Commerce wrote off Stuart a long time ago. Our population is so small that we cannot sway an election. Stuart is impotent in the county or statewide. Main Street’s and the Downtown Business Association’s members are beholden to the Manager and Commission so that their individual projects move forward. They aren’t making waves because of their need to maintain good relations with City Hall. Our press has been missing in action for years now. Is there any wonder that fewer and fewer people bother to subscribe?

Most citizens don’t want to be involved. They just want things to stay as they are. Well my fellow citizens, things don’t just stay as they are. Each and every action has consequences. If you don’t hold Commissioners responsible, you end up with irresponsible Commissioners. If you have a head of government that is so uninformed and uninvolved, then you have a mass exodus of competent employees. Things don’t stay the same. They can’t, no matter how much we would like them to be the same. But things can be managed to achieve the best possible outcomes.

The citizens of Stuart need to stand up and sweep the current Commission out of office. It doesn’t matter whether they are nice, it doesn’t matter if they are your friends. Commissioners are not there to be your best friend but to be your economic protector and stalwart. They are not there to rattle on from the dais with inane speeches. In two or five or ten years from now, when taxes are high and economic development is completely gone, it will be too late.

 

 

Why Not Charters For All?

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Florida, as with so much of the rest of the U.S., doesn’t know what it wants its educational system to be. Should it be one that stresses “the 3 Rs” or concentrates on STEM subjects. Some would want it to provide a classical education with the study of Cicero by reading the original text in Latin and Plato in Greek. Each of the above has merit.

What many parents, school boards and teachers believe is that there is far too much testing and not enough emphasis on a well-rounded education. The phrase “teaching to the test” is in almost every conversation that we have regarding our schools. Even with the continuous testing, the U.S. still ranked 31 out of 35 for OECD (The Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation) nations. These numbers are abysmal. Nationally, Florida ranks 29th. So, when we hear that Martin County is number 2 or 3 in the state, that doesn’t give me much cause for joy.

It appears that, as a nation and state, we can’t agree on how and in what subjects our children should be educated. We ask our school systems to come up with a curriculum that will please everyone from the “flat earthers” to those that want quantum physics. Like everything else in America today, we all have our “alternate facts” when discussing public education. In fact, we can’t even decide on the definition of a public school.

Years ago, there were two types of schools — public and private. Most private schools were religion based. There was no such thing as “home schooling.” Parents chose to pay extra to send their children to private school if they thought it was a better education. Today we expect some of our private schools to be publicly supported and we give them the name of Charter Schools.

It may be time that the state declares all schools to be Charter Schools. Let parents decide where to send their children to school, not just based on geography. By use of vouchers, this can become a reality. This approach has been tried in New Orleans with success. There are still academic standards for students to meet. And the state must be ruthless in closing those schools that constantly fail. The state becomes a regulator instead of a provider of education.

This may seem radical, but I know one thing for certain, the present model is not working. It is a failure that is giving our children, at best, a mediocre education. By continuing on the same educational path, we will become less and less competitive in the world. My grandfather, who was an immigrant to America and had at best a rudimentary formal education, could read and speak three languages. My father, who never went to college, could quote St. Augustine, Socrates and recite poetic verse, all of which he learned in school. Can our children do the same?

The Press & Local Government

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Martin County has a problem. While there are large financial and procedural problems both within the City and County governments, what I am concerned about is much more fundamental. It is simply a lack of press coverage on what those governments are actually doing. Without unbiased reporting, citizens have no idea what their governments are doing in their names.

How can citizens possibly be able to keep tabs on their elected officials if they have no idea what is going on? Sure, we have public meetings, but public meetings do no good if the public has no knowledge of what goes on in those meetings. While at least the City of Stuart’s meetings are held in the evening, Martin County Commission meetings are strictly held in the daytime, precluding most people with a job from attending.

The City’s meetings are streamed and can also be watched later online while the County’s meetings can be seen on MC-20. This is not as helpful as it may seem. What I have discovered is that the best way to keep something secret is to give people too much information without context. Until recent years, that context was provided by the local press.  Our current local press corps has failed us miserably in this respect.

While we have very talented opinion writers in the local newspaper, they are not reporters. They give us their opinions with a certain slant. It is valuable and good reading, but it is not a substitute for the good old-fashioned reporting of “who, what, when, where and why” when writing a news story to inform the public. TV journalism is not relevant in Martin County unless it is to report the sensational. Radio has no news component in local reporting at all.

I can’t blame TC Palm/Treasure Coast Newspapers or any television station for no longer being journalistic in the traditional sense. Perhaps it is too much to ask for any one news source to inform the public. The public has turned away from these conventional sources and want their news from social media. But social media has its limitations for a number of reasons, including the lack of verification of the facts.

I have painted a grim picture. But all the “Sunshine” in the world doesn’t help if no one is watching what government is doing. We have become an electorate of opinions absent the facts. It is a place where our prejudices and suppositions cloud our informed decision-making.  So, we re-elect incumbents without knowing their actual records and votes.

This is ultimately not good for local self-government nor for our democracy. As Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter to Charles Yancey in 1816:

“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. The functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty and property of their constituents. There is no safe deposit for these but with the people themselves; nor can they be safe with them without information. Where the press is free, and every man able to read, all is safe.”