Political Tricks

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Florida has an overabundance of politicians, regardless of party affiliation, that are irredeemable.

Term limits are adopted and what happens? Representatives run for the Senate and Senators run for the House, making 8 years become a lifetime. Campaign contribution limits are established and then go by the wayside because of unregulated PACS. There is no end to pols telling us they are in our corner while ignoring our will. Just look at how clean our waters are.

But the most egregious trick that pols use to stay in office is the write-in loophole.

In 1998, Floridians went to the polls and passed a constitutional amendment guaranteeing all voters could participate in a primary if the winner would face no opposition in the general election. In 2000, the professional politicians, who cannot stand not to be collecting your tax dollars in salaries and perks, instituted a brilliant idea to thwart this amendment’s intent. A state agency under the guise of making it easier to run for office then revolutionized the concept of the write-in candidate.

Write-in candidates do not pay filing fees or collect signatures to get on the ballot. They usually do not send out mailers, participate in voter forums, knock on voters’ doors or do anything else a candidate would do. They are simply on the ballot to make sure that half the electorate have no say in who represents them.

Sometimes these fake candidates are the spouses or other relatives of someone running for the position. The write-in candidate will campaign dutifully with his wife while at the same time purporting to be a political opponent. This makes a mockery of our democracy. It is a sham similar to Putin’s state-allowed opposition.

This issue is not about party politics but about dirty politics. It happens with the same frequency in Democratic as in Republican races. It is a tool to keep self-serving pols in office by disenfranchising a majority of voters within the district. It contributes one more reason for citizens to be cynical about the electoral system.

Recently Sherry Plymale, a Republican, and Dave Aronberg, a Democrat, were both interested in ending the write-in. Sherry was a Constitutional Revision Commissioner and Dave a concerned citizen and elected official. They worked to introduced an amendment that would have ended the practice. It was narrowly defeated by the members on the last day of the Commission.

There shouldn’t need to be a constitutional amendment to make sure that Florida voters are not disenfranchised. That should be the job of the Florida Legislature. Oh! I forgot for a moment. The members of the legislature are politicians first and public servants second.

HARMONY RANCH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT  

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The Commission decided to take no action regarding Harmony Ranch’s application to form an independent Community Development District.

No matter what the BOCC had decided in the matter, the formation of such a district would still have to go before the Florida Land Water Adjudicatory Commission as per Florida Stature 190.

So, what is a Community Development District? It is an independent taxing district. The Harmony district is being set up so that infrastructure can be built and paid for using bonds or loans. Only the property owners within the district are responsible for the debt, fees, or tax. It is a mechanism to provide services within the boundaries of the special district.

This action would allow Harmony to build the infrastructure needed to develop the ranch. But only to the extent that it can currently which are 20-acre ranchettes. The site is still subject to Martin County’s development rules. There doesn’t appear to be a way for the BOCC to stop the district from being formed and once formed from being developed as it is currently allowed.

The question that Martin County should ask if it is wise to be developed as 20-acre ranchettes or two-acres or one-acre home sites. Any development of the 2600-acre parcel in this 1950’s manner is sprawl.   Wouldn’t it be better to develop 600 acres with the density of a town? Harmony would then have walk-able neighborhoods, offices, retail, and entertainment located where people live? The other 2000 acres could be deeded to a land trust to be left undeveloped as a natural conservation area.

Harmony would then have the same residents as they would with one-acre zoning. What is more the residents would have everyday amenities within a manageable distance from their homes. The old concepts of residential development not tethered to holistic communities is an anachronism.

The BOCC should work with the residents, landowners, and developers of Martin County to encourage smart and steady growth. If we do not begin to address this locally, the state will begin to do it for us. This may be only the beginning of Special Districts.

 

INDIANTOWN BUDGET

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Indiantown’s first budget is in. The initial millage rate will be 1.25%. The ad valorem taxes that will be collected are $2,519,993. The Village will begin to manage their storm water and discontinue contributing to that MSTU. The Village will contract with the County for waste collection, parks, and perhaps roads. The total income for the Village including fees, permits and other taxes will be $3,783,582.00.

The proposed expenses for the Village will be $1,401,992 with the balance of collections ($2,381,590) going into reserves. In a normal budget the reserves are not larger than the operating amount. But, in a new municipality without any other funds, this could be a good idea. You will never be able to take over Fire or Parks without having the money needed for equipment etc.

Before deciding whether you want to incorporate, you better be sure that the additional expense is worth it. I would venture to say that, without offering all municipal services thereby eliminating as many MSTUs as possible, having local self-government is expensive. This Council needs to move forward and become a complete government within the next decade. This requires a plan to do so. Otherwise paying a Council to make a few policy choices and a manager with one or two employees is not in the best interest of the residents.

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FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS JULY 20TH.

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VILLAGE OF INDIANTOWN:

BUDGET

Indiantown’s first budget is in. The initial millage rate will be 1.25%. The ad valorem taxes that will be collected are $2,519,993. The Village will begin to manage their storm water and discontinue contributing to that MSTU. The Village will contract with the County for waste collection, parks, and perhaps roads. The total income for the Village including fees, permits and other taxes will be $3,783,582.00.

The proposed expenses for the Village will be $1,401,992 with the balance of collections ($2,381,590) going into reserves. In a normal budget the reserves are not larger than the operating amount. But, in a new municipality without any other funds, this could be a good idea. You will never be able to take over Fire or Parks without having the money needed for equipment etc.

Before deciding whether you want to incorporate, you better be sure that the additional expense is worth it. I would venture to say that, without offering all municipal services thereby eliminating as many MSTUs as possible, having local self-government is expensive. This Council needs to move forward and become a complete government within the next decade. This requires a plan to do so. Otherwise paying a Council to make a few policy choices and a manager with one or two employees is not in the best interest of the residents.

 

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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.

The Meaning of a Local State of Emergency

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What can a city or, for that matter, a county commissioner actually accomplish regarding our rivers and environment? In my experience, an elected official at that level has very little influence. They can’t order the Lake Okeechobee flows to stop or a reservoir to be built.

What they do have is the “bully pulpit.” They can lobby at a state and federal level for funding and programs. They can write letters and articles in support of clean water policies.

If your local elected officials are only involved when they are up for election or when a crisis is occurring, then what they are committed to is being elected to office, not our environment. As voters we should be looking at the organizations they belonged to before the political bug bit. What were their environmental statements and donations? Did they write letters to the editor? Once in office, did they continue as a contributing member to the environmental cause or were they only seen for the photo-op and headline.

Declaring a “State of Emergency” for a city the size of Stuart is a grand gesture with no practical effect. It is a way for the Stuart City Commission to seem environmentally friendly but rather useless and void of any true meaning. If that is the extent of the Commission’s commitment, there is not much to these Commissioners.

When there are no looming environmental catastrophes, is the City proceeding with sewer to septic conversions? They need to be seeking grants and appropriations from Tallahassee for the money so that homeowners can affordably hook up. They should be advocating, and mandating homeowners hook up within several years. This would be a meaningful program.

As we prepare to cast our votes in August we need to look beyond the candidates’ statements during campaigns. Have they put their money where their mouths are? Have they worked for water causes when no one was looking? Who are their campaign contributors? Are unfamiliar PACs sending out mailers on their behalf?

These are the questions that need answers. Don’t be fooled by their garbled campaign rhetoric. It is easy to say I am for clean rivers. It is much harder to have done something to accomplish the task.

 

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.

Our Entire Environment

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Spring brought us more rain than usual and now the algae blooms are visible from my back yard on the St. Lucie River.

It seems that the even years (2014, 2016 and now 2018) are our time for outrage. The outrage that gives us the moral courage to stand up for our ecological environment. But, like the waters of the St. Lucie River flowing into the estuary to dissipate in the ocean, our courage to tackle the green algae will too.

This is one more battle that residents and citizens must engage in to protect our environment. In this case, I am not just speaking of environmental issues alone but rather our overall environment. The environment means our rivers and streams as well as our farms and yards and includes addressing chemicals and effluent wastes that contribute to our environmental problems.

Our political leaders manipulate the system to goad us into idiotic disagreements instead of informed debate. False issues are introduced to dissuade the American people from concentrating on what is important. Reality no longer intrudes into our political discourse.

All of this contributes to our deteriorating environment. The green algae that flows past my house is the direct result of the inability of our political institutions to correct the known causes of pollution. This is symbolic of our nation’s dysfunctional society on the federal, state and local levels. We would rather have a nonsensical screaming match on NFL players and the national anthem than true dialogue on problems such as the pollution that invades the St. Lucie River.

How do we right the ship of state? When will we address our political, social and ecological environmental issues with the seriousness they deserve? The United States is now the place of the “reality television show” instead of reality. The “real politic” of Kissinger, Brzezinski and Powell has been cancelled in favor of the “Gong Show.”

In the meantime, the St. Lucie flows green. Our national budget flows red. And the psyche of our United States is the color of confusion and disaray.

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.