Fiscal Rangers

Lake County Leadership Challenge: Upgrading the local Nursing Home Quality

US News & World Report came out with a major article ranking the quality of 5,000 nursing homes around the country. The article in the Feb., 2010 issue described the top 173 homes in the nation, and only two were in Florida, located in Miami. Local County officials might read this and say "that is too bad..." and go back to arguing about Niagara water or the Comp Plan. And that is why there is no leadership in this County. If there were true leaders, they would read the article, and then... hold a summit of the local nursing home managers to investigate what could be done to bring Lake County Nursing homes up to the top of the list. They could also have the County health department chair an action committee to improve local rankings in all medical services. Imagine, here is an industry that could attract more people (customers) to Lake County and provide jobs, if only they had good ratings. But, they don't. So, maybe the next generation of County leaders will take charge on issues like this in this industry and others to make Lake County an attractive place for new residents, and create jobs. Think... Read more →

An Analysis of Lake County "Workload Measurements" for Lake County Departments

It is budget season again at Lake County, and it is time for me to probe into the merits of the existing budget "process". This analysis will focus on "workload measurements" for the Departments in Lake County, and how they should affect budget decisions by the Board. My philosophy is that local government should practice the same type of management techniques as business. One of those practices is the responsibility to ensure that government tracks and measures work and project performance like business. This is important because Government is a monopoly and is mostly not... subject to competition to keep costs in line. Essentially, Government figures out how much tax and other revenues (grants, loan proceeds) they will get, then they allocate it among various departments to spend. Corporations usually have at least TWO sets of books. One is the financial statements in required formats if they issue stock, which are subject to financial audits by external CPA firms. The OTHER set of records are a revised version of the same data, but presented in a cost accounting format where ratios are run (such as cost per service) comparing the resources (dollars, manhours, etc) to the amount of units produced.... Read more →

Lake County Appoints Dottie Keedy as new Head of Consolidated Dept.

If you had signed up as a fan for our Facebook "FiscalRangers" page, you would already know this. As we mentioned in an earlier post, the Lake County Board of Supervisors will be asked at tomorrow's Board meeting to approve a consolidation of two departments into one. The merger of the former Economic Growth & Redevelopment Dept. (EGR) and the Community Services Dept. will result in a new Department called the Economic Development & Community Services Dept (EDCS?). According to Interim County Manager, Sandy Minkoff, Dottie Keedy, the current EGR Director, Dottie Keedy, will be appointed the Manager of the combined Department. Her position will be filled by... a new hire, and the County will advertise both internally and externally for the position. Critics of the County Economic Development progress will probably cheer at this move, because Keedy was known as an administrator and planner, and not the aggressive marketing and sales professional needed to drive Economic Development activities in the County. The fiscal effect will be to create a NEW position, funded by the General Fund, which will be for the replacement EGR Director. According to the Agenda Request document for tomorrow's meeting, the County will use salary savings... Read more →

Lake County (FL) Board of Commissioners to Hold Third Gobbledegook Budget Workshop

This is the third in a series of Lake County (FL) Budget workshops, but unless they recently changed, the Board will NOT accept public input, unlike the School District Board which allows public input on any workshop agenda item. You can find the schedule of meetings here: http://www.lakecountyfl.gov/departments/fiscal_and_administrative_services/budget/fiscal_year_2011.aspxYou can also visit the meetings and agenda page and watch the meeting online, or view them later from THIS page. I call this a Gobbledegook session because... the County is still using ancient Fund accounting based worksheets to "explain" by fund (aka the funding source) where revenues come from, and then list expenses taken only from that fund. The problem is that no one understands this 50 year old format because the revenues and related expenses are not shown in logical groupings by projects or responsibility areas like business does. The County DOES have a separate set of "Operating Budgets" in the printed budget, and this is what the Board should be looking at, so they can examine total actual and budgeted costs and revenues by operating unit (like Public Works) AS well as examining the quality of the Department "Workload Measurements" AND how well the Department Director did in controlling the... Read more →

California's Orange County Government Software Error Results in $228-million Error

This staff error in California is why no one has respect for local government agencies, elected officials or staff. Apparently, the Orange County, California government staff changed actuarial software in 2003, and they did not implement an audit to verify the new results from the software. The software was used to calculate the amount of funds the County should invest to pay for future pension costs of current employees. As a result of a programming error, the software UNDER-calculated the funds needed to fund their pensions since that date. The resulting error means they have to find another $228-million NOW to offset the errors over the past few years. The problem was reported to the County Board on April 12, which coincidentally is two days before the 1912 anniversery of the sinking of the Titanic. (due to my research). Favorite quote: "That’s on top of the county’s existing unfunded pension liability of about $3.1 billion." He said OCERS needs to be more meticulous about auditing its books. “What OCERS should be doing about every five years is auditing their actuary to make sure the actuary is coming up with the right numbers,” Moorlach said. My own experience at Nissan Motor... Read more →

Why Florida & Lake County School Districts & Teachers May Lose LOTS of funding to Rail Systems

Matthew Falconer is running for Orange County Mayor, and his fiscal mind meshes with us here at FiscalRangers.com. Falconer sends out periodic emails on stupid fiscal practices there, and the one below is important. He basically says that the State's plans for Sunrail spending and a number of other rail lines may drastically reduce education funding. It seems the Rail vendors have better lobbyists and State legislators are switching funds to rail that will reduce the pot of funds left for education. The teacher's unions should be going after this issue - they went after SB6 on merit pay, but this may affect them more than any other issue. I would even suggest they closely watch local spending plans for a commuter rail from Orlando to Tavares/Eustis. My experience from California is that rail systems are boondoggles that soak up HORRENDOUS amounts of funds and never payoff. They are corporate welfare for all the firms that subsist on building rail systems and equipment. I don't spend much time on State issues, but Falconer does, so I suggest you get on his mailing list. vj From Matthew Falconer - candidate for Orange County Major: The biggest threat to education and public... Read more →

Today's Lake County School District Workshop Provided Great Details on the Budget Situation

I watched a great presentation at the School Board workshop today on factors affecting future School District budget decisions. Much financial pressure was removed due to Charlie Crist vetoing the Senate Bill 6, which was mostly known for mandating teacher merit pay, but also would have resulted in added District costs of about $13-million. Additionally, the staff and Board member Rosanne Brandeburg developed a new budget status report that clearly laid out all the revenues and expenses and various factors affecting budget planning, such as changing State regulations or revenue source problems. Finally, Harry Fix and the Facilities team provided a new, comprehensive study to rank and track the physical condition (i.e. how old the School Air conditioner is...) and technology environment in every School Building in Lake County. They now have the data to develop a better analysis of where to spend capital budgets and create them. Kudos to the staff and Board for constantly moving into a "data driven" decision making mode, instead of making emotional decisions. vj Read more →

Marilyn Bainter & Friends Run Booth to Fight Hospital Tax

At the recent North Lake County (FL) Tea party tax day protest in Eustis's Ferran Park on the 15th, Marilyn Bainter and fellow activists setup a booth to provide information on fighting the "illegal" Hospital Tax collected by the Board of the North Lake County Hospital District. The 1 mill property tax (on your house or property tax bill) totals about $11-million and is given to two hospitals. Earlier this year, Bainter (see picture at left) filed a lawsuit against the Board and the Hospitals, claiming the law was unconstitutional. (Look in the right column and click the category for "North lake County Hospital Tax" to see many articles. Catherine Earheart prepares a sign to wear... Below is Ralph Smith getting an explanation of the anti-Hospital tax placard worn by Catherine Earhart. Read more →

New FiscalRangers Facebook Page Created & Political Power Group Discusses SeaPlane Strategy

We now have a new Facebook page for FiscalRangers. Go HERE to visit it and SIGN UP as a FAN. Or, you can search on FiscalRangers on Facebook to find it. The FiscalRangers Facebook page will cover Vance Jochim's campaign for Lake County Commissioner (Dist4 - R), and posts related to Lake County Fiscal Ranger issues. One reason to be a fan is that when I attend an event and take pictures, I upload them there. Right now there are pictures of the Tavares SeaPlane Festival held on April 10th, including a few politicos, AND there are a bunch of pictures of the North Lake County Tea Party Tax Day protest event in Eustis on April 15, 2010. You gotta see some of the signs. Above is a picture of a political power group in Lake County. Larry Metz, Lake County School Board Member and candidate for Florida Rep., Dist. 25; Vance Jochim - author of this blog and candidate for Lake County Commissioner Dist 4 (R); and Patricia Sullivan, candidate for Florida's 8th Congressional District discuss expanding the SeaPlace "space" in lake County at the Tavares SeaPlane Festival. vj Charlie Crist was at the April 10 Tavares SeaPlane Festival,... Read more →

New Health Care Plan Signals Demise of Hospital Taxing Districts Like in North Lake County

Discounting all the other reasons to modify or discontinue the North Lake County Hospital District, the new ObamaCare Health Plan may be the final straw for the Tax District, which taxes all property for 1 mill to pay for "continued Hospital Care". As readers of this blog know, we and local activists have pointed out that the law that established the tax district contained no specific requirements, or accountability for how $11-million or more in tax funds were spent by the two local hospitals that received the funds. Below is an article describing the reasons for the elimination of the need for such Districts. vj 850M in play from health districts By Leon Fooksman and Tim Collie 4/9/2010 © Health News Florida The passage of a new federal health law expected to cover most of the uninsured raises an intriguing question: What will happen to the $850 million raised every year by local taxing districts around Florida to support care of the uninsured? At the very least, some health care experts say, taxpayers should expect a sizeable chunk of that money back beginning in 2014, when the federal government will provide avenues to coverage to the vast majority of Florida’s... Read more →

Earthquake Barrow Decides NOT to Run again for Lake County School District Board Member

Barrow was in the Daily Commercial recently, describing the nearby earthquake in Mexico because she was on vacation in San Diego. After being on the Lake County School Board for four years, she issued a notice that she does not intend to run for office again. Here is her message, sent out... today, Friday, Apr. 9 at about 12:30 pm. Her email is [email protected] . You can visit the County Elections department to see a list of ALL current candidates for Lake County elected positions HERE. vj Agenda for 4/12/10 Lake County Schools This message is from Cindy Barrow, Lake County School Board Member, District 3. This is not an official communication from the Lake County School Board. This message contains my thoughts and opinions and is not reflective of other board members thoughts or opinions. I am responsible for the contents of this message. Dear Citizens: As you know, I am committed to supporting and continuously improving public education for our children. I have enjoyed my position and the ability to affect change. However, today I am announcing my decision not to seek re-election. I am committed to putting my full and best effort into the remainder of my... Read more →

Amazing Advancement in Lake School District Procurement Procedures

Like everyone that reads this blog, every Friday I get excited reading all the agenda supporting documents for the upcoming Monday Lake County School District Board meeting. I know you, just like I, sit down with your coffee and enthusiastically read all the supporting documents, which are NOW available in the new "Board Docs" software system HERE. While digging through the supporting documents for procurements, I found an agenda item related to a requested approval of a purchasing contract for lubrication "motor oils and fluids" for fleet maintenance, etc. Even though the procurement dept. received 10 bids, they also had a process to receive comments on the bid process, and after reading them, requested the Board to REJECT the current bids so they could rewrite the bid request based upon comments to be more flexible and possible reduce costs even more. That is amazing... - listening to comments from vendors to improve the procurement and enable more competition, rather than restrict it. In contrast, over at the separate Lake County Board operations: - They purchased a $32-million radio system about 2+ years ago without even obtaining a competing bid to ensure price competition. - Just this last week the County... Read more →

Lake County Comp Plan Kicked Back by Florida's DCA

Awhile back, the Lake County Commissioners voted 5 to 0 to send a 350+ page Comprehensive Plan to the State of Florida's Dept. of Community Affairs for review before being approved. This was the plan pushed by Commissioners Elaine Renick and Linda Stewart, who are both up for re-election (and I am one of four people running to replace Stewart). Both of these Commissioners are listed as Republicans, but the plan was a great way to significantly increase local government regulations. As Commissioner Jennifer Hill stated during one of the meetings "How did we get to this... I remember when the plan was just to provide guidelines, not legal requirements" (that quote may not be exact, but the flavor is). I had not covered the Comp Plan much because it seemed to be a done deal after bitter infighting at the Commission over the supposed stacking of the Committee that wrote the plan. However, my earlier research showed that about a YEAR ago, the County Staff hired a consultant (when will anyone at the Staff learn to do their own studies??) to calculate the cost of implementing the plan. The result was an estimate that NINE more people would have... Read more →

Lake County Commissioners Argue Over Spending Cash Reserves While City of Los Angeles to Layoff 1,000 Employees Even While Draining $90-million in Reserves

This morning's meeting of the Lake County (Florida) Commissioners resulted in the Commissioners arguing over whether to draw down their General Fund cash reserves to the "bare bones" limit of $10-million, or whether they should set a limit of $15-million or $25-million as the baseline for reserves JUST for the General Fund, not including other funds. Most of this came out due to grilling by Commissioner Jimmy Conner by asking questions of the visiting partner from the CPA firm that just finished the annual financial audit of the County Financial Statements (know as the CAFR). They decided to table a decision for a future workshop. Then, this evening, it was announced that the City of Los Angeles may go broke by June 30 because they failed to cut costs quick enough, and now the City Controller is asking to take money out of their reserves just to... pay salaries. She said their General Fund, used for salaries, will be "empty" as of May 5 if they don't start using reserves. That indicates poor budgeting, because paying salaries from reserves indicates they didn't cut their budget enough earlier to prevent needing the reserves. Normally reserves are to pay for catastrophes, and... Read more →

FiscalRangers.com Consumer Alert: My Shaky Experience with Verizon's Droid Phone

I recently upgraded my old Motorola flip phone to Verizon Wireless's new Droid Smartphone which uses Google's Android operating system (OS). It is a competitor to Apple's iPhone. I had earlier used several Palm Pilots which were known as personal digital assistants (PDA's) since they did not have phones built in. I fully believe that the Android system will grow in importance and eclipse Apple's phone since Google is spending a lot of money on it, and others like Palm Pre or even Blackberry's will lose customer interest. So, I went to the Verizon "store" in the Lake Square Mall (Leesburg, FL) and bought one. Verizon still aggravates me by... having small signs that play up the "after rebate" price as the price, but instead of $199, you really pay $299 plus tax, sign up for a more expensive phone and data plan for 24 months (figure over $100 per month, and even more if you add texting). Thus, the little $199 purchase really incurs a total purchase of over $2700 over 24 months, and even more if you buy apps or programs that run on the Droid. Then you have to fill out forms and send in the rebate... Read more →

Illegal Immigrants: Many Florida Employers Use E-Verify to Detect them & Our Recommendations

One way to reduce illegal immigration is to remove the situations that entice them to Florida, such as employment. Thus, if employers do more work to identify illegal immigrants during the employment application process, fewer will be able to find work. So, the next things to do in Lake County to reduce attractions for illegal immigrants are: - Determine if contractors and employers in Lake County are using E-verify, and - Verify that local city, County, & School District government hiring and service contracts require that primary contractors as well as sub-contractors use E-verify to prevent hiring illegals, and - Ensure that employers and government agencies establish oversight functions to ENSURE that the E-verify requirements are met. This would include strong contract administration procedures, human resources procedures and internal audits. For instance, right now, the County Board has NO PLANS to have the new Judicial Center audited by internal auditors, so this will not be done. Hopefully, using E-verify and other actions will reduce inbound migration of illegal immigrants who take jobs from your kids, friend and relatives. We will help improve the hiring prospects for local CITIZENS by following up and examining government contracts for the necessary E-verify requirements,... Read more →