Fiscal Rangers

North Lake County Hospital District Millage Rate Revision Moves Forward

I have already documented in the separate "page" section about the North Lake County Hospital District (NLCHD) and how Lake county is the ONLY ONE in Florida to have a mandatory, fixed property tax millage rate (currently 1 mill). There are only nine other counties that also have a hospital taxing district, but they have a variable rate that can be set by the elected District Board. So, new NLCHD Board member Marilyn Bainter asked local State legislators to modify the existing law to specify the rate was "up to" 1 mill, so the Board could select a rate less than the 1 mill rate used for years. Well, kudos to state Representative Charles Van Zant, who initiated the proposed revision to the law, and below is the draft. We will post updates here as we get them. I have no estimate of how long it will take to obtain support and get the law passed. vj A bill to be entitled An act relating to the North Lake County Hospital District, Lake County; amending chapter 2002-348, Laws of Florida; providing for range of millage rate; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of... Read more →

YouTube Example of Political Angst at Poor Government Spending Practices

This is a video of an Illinois Congressman, Don Manzullo (R), grilling a Treasury Manager about why they let 80% government owned AIG just pay a $3-million bonus to an AIG exec. It is a good example of what we would like to see occasionally out of elected officials when local government agency spending requests are poorly justified (i.e lack of professionally developed economic and performance data) or managed. Elected officials need to understand that staff will constantly present self supporting spending programs and elected officials must learn to question and challenge such requests when needed. For instance, I recently looked at the "justification" for 17% hikes in health insurance costs for Lake County School District, and it was composed of two proposals from the insurance firm without ANY discussion comparing the proposed hikes or existing coverages to other district, local companies, etc. That is ludicrous and should not be acceptable practice. vj Read more →

County and School District Partially Freeze Hiring...

Well, Lake County School District Board members and the County Commissioners both enabled a hiring freeze this week. Good thing. I was collecting the series of articles about the thousands of layoffs this week and was going to send it to them. But, it seems there are a bunch of exclusions. My problem with the exclusions is that they are done without providing any supporting analytical data to support decisions. For instance, teachers or firefighting vacancies will be filled. In a corporation, there would be a financial analysis of the need for any replacement staff. If the County and School Board followed corporate methods, you would expect to see data analysis to show the need still existed for the vacant positions. In the case of the School Board, why not move some administrators back into teaching positions, rather than get new hires? In the case of firefighters, how about a trend analysis showing number of calls to justify the need to refill a specific position that maybe isn't justified in a particular area, and an examination of using a firefighter vs a "parafighter" for some tasks? Do the "service call" counts by the firefighters include non-emergency runs to get cats... Read more →

The New FiscalRangers.com 2009 8-Point Plan & Goals for Lake County

This document below is reproduced from the separate PAGE on this blog (listed in the page section in the right column). That page will become a living document, and any updates or revisions will be posted there, not here. vj ================================================================ FiscalRangers.com 8-Point Plan and Goals for 2009 for Lake County, Florida Local Government Agencies In the last 2 1/2 years, I have focused primarily on the Lake County School District fiscal issues. But for 2009, I intend to follow new priorities. There are significant new, or planned improvements in the School District since Anna Cowin left and new Superintendent Moxley took over responsibility. Since she was appointed by the Board, there is much more collaboration and focus on business issues than under Cowin. Note: Any reader who has relevant facts that might modify my details below should post a comment or send me an email so I can revise the facts as warranted. vj 1. Lake County School District Issues - After two and a half years of attending Lake County School Board meetings and reading financial reports, budgets, etc. I have come to these general conclusions about School District Management in General: Fiscal Skills of School District "Educator... Read more →

Louisiana School Board District Scammed out of $8.6-million

Here is one of our continuing collection of articles on how many ways School Districts fail to prevent fraud and corruption. This one is in Louisiana and the School Board Lost $8.6-million. Favorite quotes: "The five were named in an indictment charging them with defrauding the school system of $8.6 million for air-conditioning contracts over a four-year period. Federal investigators say the school district was charged for more expensive air-conditioning equipment than was installed, for equipment and installation in nonexistent rooms, for amounts in excess of the contract price and for replacing units that were functioning properly." "Wilson and Lee are accused of overcharging and fraudulently billing the school system, while Johnston, Rhodes and Rowes are charged with falsely certifying the right equipment was installed and approving invoices for payment that included false information." My new mantra is: Professional "Educators" should be embarrassed over their profession's inability or unwillingness to implement well known financial and accounting controls to prevent these types of frauds and scams. vj from the Shreveport, LA Times January 6, 2009 Defendants plead not guilty to defrauding School Board of $8.6M By Loresha Wilson [email protected] Five people who were indicted last month in connection with the Bossier... Read more →

Volusia County Tax Reform Newsletter & Video Website Discusses School Funding "Crisis"

The Volusia Tax Reform committee sent out the email memo below AND also included our earlier FiscalRangers.com news release on the North Lake County Hospital District, so we are getting exposure outside of Lake County. Their committee also tapes issues and puts them on YouTube. I REALLY recommend you go to http://kenneytv.com/ and watch the 90 minute Volusia "school crisis" video as well as some of the prior programs. Apparently the 60,000 student Volusia School District is having "town halls" and planning to cut sports, music & other programs AND making emotional appeals to find new revenue ways to make up a $13-million shortfall, when critics point out student attendance has dropped 7% (unlike Lake County, which has a slight growth), thus the Administration should cut 7% of the employees to match the drop in student attendance and related revenue. They also report tricks being used by the School Teacher's Union to gather names by creating a group sounding like it is a parents group, but it is run by the teacher's union. As the Video producer says, "Everything is a crisis with the school district, and I didn't see anywhere that they said they will "cut administrators" to match... Read more →

Volusia County Taxpayers Start Local Government Tax Cap Reform Movement

For your info - regarding Volusia County citizens Tax Reform movement. After sitting in the recent Lake County Hospital District meeting where the Board refused to consider tax transparency advocate requests, I can see why this movement might come to Lake County. I was amazed at the smirks, and head shaking by the Board members and supporting consultants when asked to initiate an effort to allow flexible tax rates for the District, and they refused to consider a website or other means to provide full transparency on the spending. In my two years of attending Lake County School District Meetings, the Board there was very sensitive to voter comments, and spent time to educate them. But it was clear the Hospital District Board wasn't open to public concerns about excess taxes, and it will be interesting how the Board and the Hospitals react next. vj From: Margie [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2009 10:54 AM To: Undisclosed-Recipient:; Subject: Volusia Tax Reform - Call To Action I hope you will join us, and thousands of other Floridians, in a grassroots campaign to place a cap on local government spending that is breakable only by voter approval. The cap would tie local... Read more →

Lake Hospital District Board thumbs noses at public requests for more transparency on $12-million in tax funds

I sent out this "news release" last night after the 2 hour meeting of the North Lake County (FL) Hospital District. You can follow prior and future info on this district on the separate page I created on this blog just for the Hospital District issues. vj The Jan. 20, 2009 North Lake County Hospital District Meeting From: Vance Jochim, author of the FiscalRangers.com blog on Lake County government fiscal management issues. About 30 public members plus the Board of the North Lake County Hospital District met Tuesday night at the offices of the Lake County Water Authority for a contentious meeting and one of only three meetings held annually. The Board refused to schedule another meeting for public input on the justification for the District’s 1 mill property tax, and would not consider creating a website to provide transparency over District collections of $12-million. New Board member Marilyn Bainter, who was recently elected to the Board by over 43,000 votes, was ignored regarding several resolutions or her self nomination for an office. Instead, the Board elected long time members to the board, and refused to consider several proposals from Bainter and other public visitors. About half the attending public... Read more →

Former PLO Member & Terrorist Tells Local Radio Talk Show about Islam

From the weekly Lake County Roundtable Radio Show on WFLA 790am led by Fred Johnson and Ralph Smith. Fred led the discussion because Ralph was off hunting. Guest speaker - former PLO member - Mr. Walid Shoebat ( see www.shoebat.com ) , former muslim & terrorist Muslim mosques are embassies for the Muslim government, not religious sites. Their sole aim is to convert their locations to Muslim government styles, including the Sharia law. Westerners think the Mosques have religious purposes, but they really exist to push political change towards the muslim philosophy. A "treaty" in the Muslim manner is really a cease fire that is defined in Islam philosophy to let the smaller party rest and build strength. Thus it is NOT to be considered a peace treaty. The muslims want Obama to enact such a "treaty" so they can build strength to take out Israel. The Islamic groups have enacted UN laws to eliminate criticism of Islam law. Thus critics anywhere will face lawsuits and trials. Islam growth focuses on enacting political change first, then financial power, then use war. So, they say they are peacefull while they implement the first two changes, then move to war. Crack is... Read more →

Blue Dog Democrat Coalition Espouses Fiscal Conservatism

Gasp - are there really elected Democrat House of Representative members in the US Congress who also believe in fiscal conservatism? They are called the Blue Dog Democrats, and even have a webpage HERE, and also a Wikipedia entry HERE. If the Republicans don't assert themselves on fiscal conservatism, the Blue Dogs could convert some fiscal conservatives. So, if the Dems are going to run the country, maybe the Blue Dogs can prevent total fiscal collapse. We will be watching. They can't blame much on the Republicans for the next four years. There are only two Florida Democrats in the coalition: Tim Mahoney & Alan Boyd. vj Read more →

North Lake County Hospital District Issues - Where does that $12-million GO???

Update Jan. 15, 2009 - This subject was transferred to a separate page on this blog, which will contain future updates. You can read the "page" HERE. This topic was covered on the local WLBE 790am Radio Show Featuring Ralph Smith & Fred Johnson Fred was running the show. Ralph was on a hunting trip. North Lake County Hospital Property Tax District - Where does the $12-million Go? Note: We intend to revise this document with any verifiable facts from any party and move it later to a separate page on this blog so it is a living document. If any reader has new facts to provide an objective overview, I will verify and add them. vj Marilyn Bainter called to the radio show about the North Lake County Hospital Taxation District (NLCHD). District is a 1 mill property tax on North Lake County property to provide funds to the two local hospitals, Leesburg & Florida Hospital/Waterman. Thus, an owner of a $400,000 valued house would pay $1 (i.e. 1 mill) per $1000 valuation, or $400. Someone with a business property valued at $2-million would pay a tax of $2000 to be paid to the hospitals. Here is the most... Read more →

Government Spending & the Elephant in the Room

This cartoon is about Federal spending, but the local government spending Elephants are the pension plans. A city in California recently declared bankruptcy because the local County officials allowed a non-conservative 50% hike in pension payouts for safety officers a few years back, and now there isn't any money left for other county projects. Then, there are the elected officials in Virginia (I think), who after requiring voluntary 401k's of all new teachers in the School system for SEVENTEEN years, decided to give all the teachers who refused to contribute to the 401k a retroactive defined pension benefit, which will clearly cause significant stress for the District budget and taxpayers in future years. vj Read more →

Local Governments Need to Know Objective Economic Data before Spending Decisions

Today, let's talk about economic data and reports and their importance even to elected government officials in Lake County. The Orlando Sentinel's "CFB" Business section is issuing their economic forecast info in tomorrow's edition. But, it probably is based on the UCF report we talk about further down. When I go to Lake School District meetings or read reports, it is extremely rare to see any economic data provided to the Board as part of the data used in evaluating budget or spending decisions. Use of such data is COMMON in the corporate world. For example, a division wants to justify the building of a new plant, and they may show rising house sales as a reason, when an economist's research indicates there is no underlying population increase, thus the increased sales is due to speculation which will result in a collapse in housing prices in the future. True story - no, not central Florida, but Juneau, Alaska which suffered a major housing recession after the collapse of speculation in the 1970's. The company economist correctly forecast the downturn and the company avoided building a plant where sales would have collapsed. (Perhaps Romac should hire an economist here in Lake... Read more →

Madoff Credits Federal Government for Ponzi Scheme Idea

Every time you think of this, think of the SEC who let Madoff happen, and the elected officials who ignored laws of economics and let Social Security work the same way... Read more →

Corrupt Chicago Proves Again They Should NOT be Allowed to Have Taxpayer Funds

This is too good. This is not only a report of fraud, but just dumb government spending of taxpayer funds. We focus not only on government agency fraud but mis-management, and it is clear that the Chicago School District is getting too much income It seems the Chicago School District's Inspector General received 1,012 complaints about waste, fraud and mismanagement regarding the Chicago School District. In one of them, a Chicago School District manager went out and paid $70,000 for 30 espresso machines for work-school programs in high schools, and five months after the purchase, 22 of them were still unpacked and in the boxes. Additionally, the managers involved bypassed purchasing controls to avoid required approvals, and thus also overpaid $12,000 for the machines. The article below also lists some other Chicago School District fiscal blunders, and they get the FiscalRangers.com Fiscal Fiasco award for the week! You can visit the Chicago School District Inspector General's webpage HERE and download their 2008 annual report which contains more details on all the fiascos. vj Favorite quotes about Chicago and the School District mis-management The inspector general's office had 1,012 complaints alleging misconduct, waste, fraud and financial mismanagement in the district. Of... Read more →

We Review the Florida State Auditor General "Operational" Audit Report on Lake County School District

The Florida State AG conducts an "Operational"audit report of Florida local government agencies about every 3 years. They just issued a new audit report on the Lake County School District, Report number 2009-067, which was briefly described in the Orlando Sentinel today. You can find the audit report HERE - just look up "Lake" County and download the report. You should know there are several types of audits. Financial audits are usually conducted by CPA's to verify the correct presentation of financial reports. LCSD's annual CAFR ( Comprehensive Annual Financial Report) is audited by external auditors each year. There are also compliance or regulatory audits. For instance, the LCSD District Auditor supervises the audit of school accounts which is now conducted by internal staff (it was conducted by the outside auditors, RSM, in the past). Operational audits, defined by the Institute of Internal Auditors, focus on evaluating efficiency, economy and effectiveness. That is my background, and it is not unusual to find cost savings of $1-million in some audits. Last year the School Board's District Auditor investigated the TAP program and found overspending of $500,000+. Another operational audit found salary overpayments over $500,000. However, the AG calls their audits "Operational",... Read more →