Fiscal Rangers

New Fiscal Rangers Initiative - Productivity Management for School Districts

Announcing the Dashboard Management Initiative I have spent the last several months on the Audit Committee of the Lake County (FL) School District, and we now have a very competent, new Internal Audit Director. And, this blog contains many articles I have found describing huge frauds that have occurred at other School Districts. Now that the new Audit Director is onboard, I am starting a new focus for this blog related to the Lake County School District... improving the very weak management and financial reporting systems. My examination of publicly available reports indicates a sad lack of any management reports for the public, or for the School Board, that indicate performance benchmarks by activity group by month, and their attainment. It is my opinion that taxpayers for this $700-million plus organization would expect professional management systems be used on par with a $25-million business. Government agencies, including School Districts, are monopolies, and they tend to skip development and use of productivity management reporting systems. They only measure budget compliance, and whether the budget has been spent or not. That needs to improve. So, attached is a Powerpoint slideshow I gave to the School Board tonight that explains an overview of... Read more →

New Chemistry Element, Governmentium, Discovered

FYI - this is an important scientific discovery that affects government impact on the public... If you don't understand this scientific treatise, then you know another reason why science education should be emphasized in schools! vj ============================================ Amazing science A new addition to Chemistry's Periodic Table Research has led to the discovery of the heaviest element yet known to science. The new element, Governmentium (Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second to take from four days to four years to complete. Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2- 6 years; It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each... Read more →

Lauren Ritchie on the upcoming Jan. 29 Property Tax Vote

Below is Orlando Sentinel columnist Lauren Ritchie's take on the upcoming Jan. 29 vote on Florida Amendment 1 on property tax changes which has four sections that confuse everyone. Recently, I attended a meeting of the League of Women Voter's in Lake County, which had a panel of elected officials and a lobbyist. Everyone agrees the ballot issue is confusing and fragmented, and then they separate into two camps: 1) Don't pass it because it will "cost" the local governments funds, and they will get the money through another alternative. (Have you seen the video on Channel 22 from the League of Cities - the guy says "government will always get there money" so the only result would be a tax shift.). Notice no press or official ever says "the taxpayer will save..." - instead they always say a vote will "cost" some agency. 2) If you are a residential owner, you will save a few hundred dollars, but there is a risk that a Federal lawsuit could be filed about increased differences between local home owners, and those from another state - which is a equal rights Federal issue. The best, fiery speaker was Ed Havill, who basically countered... Read more →

Mismanagement Technique 405 - Ignoring Action Deadlines

This article below is about mismanagement. It seems the Director of Hillsborough County (FL) affordable housing programs in the Tampa area ignored deadline notices from HUD to correct some program "deficiencies" so they cut him off and the Tampa area lost $2-million in Federal funds for affordable housing. This points out a key best practice management technique, which is to have tracking or "tickler" systems to ensure important deadlines don't pass without required action. When I audited corporations or government programs, I could assess how disciplined a program office, or the Chief Counsel's office (attorneys must track expiration dates of important contracts) was by checking to see if they had a disciplined approach to tracking and meeting all deadlines. In one case, a $200-million corporation left environmental paperwork deadlines up to plant managers and one missed some deadlines in Florida and they lost renewal of environmental permits for a rock quarry used to extract sand and gravel used as a component in ready mix. Once you lose an older permit, you have to follow newer guidelines, and it took two years to get the new permits, requiring investment in newer equipment, etc. It also blocked the sale of the quarry... Read more →