Fiscal Rangers

Florida Convenes Government Efficiency Task Force & Some Appointments are Made

Tavares, FL - July 30, 2011 - In 2007, the Florida legislature established a Government Efficiency Task Force that meets only once every four years. It seems it meets the first year AFTER a Governor election is held. The 15 member panel is made up of five appointments from the Governor, five from the Speaker of the House, and five from the President of the Florida Senate. There are also many other committee appointments listed at the links at the end of this article. So. this week, FL Governor Rick Scott appointed five members to the Committee as indicated in his press release HERE. n I looked at the brief backgrounds of the five appointees, and three are from government or professions that have nothing to do with improving efficiency. However, Orlando fiscal conservative Matt Falconer says on his Facebook page that he was appointed by the Speaker of the House, which is a good thing. He wrote a book on reducing government costs. HERE is an older background article on the Task Force. And, here is a 2006 FL Senate research report on the formation of the Committee, and it has some good info on what other states have... Read more →

Reduced Foreclosure Data for Florida and Lake County IS Misleading

Tavares, FL - July 29, 2011 - The press has been reporting reduced foreclosures for Florida and Lake County. For instance, the article below from the local "Right Side of the Lake" blog talked about an improving economy, and cited the following: According to RealyTrac, one out of every 167 homes in Lake County is in some form of foreclosure procedure, which is still too high, but foreclosure activity is down 59 percent in the four county Orlando metro area from the previous six months. You can read the entire article here: http://lakecountygov.info/2011/07/21/lake-county%E2%80%99s-economy-may-be-turning/ The problem with using statistics or economic data, is that you have to understand how it is calculated. For instance, some US economic data showing improvements have been reported to be modified and manipulated by the White House to distort what is really going on. But in this case of Foreclosure statistics for Florida and the US, you need to know that due to former Attorney General Bill McCollum's investigations earlier last year, they found that foreclosure processing firms were LYING about conditions they approved in writing as support for foreclosures. As a consequence, the main processors were accused of falsifiying records for banks and owners of... Read more →

UN's Agenda 21 is Taking over Florida Public Lands in Lake County & Other Actions

Updated July 28 to add section at bottom on Agenda 21 foreign aid projects on DEVEX website. Tavares, FL - July 25, 2011 - The UN has an initiative called Agenda 21 which is really aimed at reducing property rights and increasing socialism around the world. Agenda 21 has affected Florida as well as Lake County. Keep on reading... But first, if you don't know much about Agenda 21, WATCH this 9-minute "Agenda 21 Video for Dummies" explaining it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzEEgtOFFlM&feature=youtu.be This article link below clearly explains one part, which is the encouragement of "wildlife" corridors which then prohibit access by humans. The article says now that 28% of Florida land is now taken up by such programs, and all of it funded with taxpayer money because no one challenged the concept. Recently, last year, two environmentalists on the Lake County Board (now no longer on the Board) pushed through modifications to the Lake County "comp plan" which laid out land usage plans, so that property rights were taken aways from owners by tactics such as limiting the size of roads in their area, which then controls traffic, which then reduces the value of land that could have been used for... Read more →

Facebook Page for North Lake County Hospital District Revamped and Updated

It has a new shortcut name: https://www.facebook.com/FixNorthLakeCountyHospitalDistrict Please go to it on Facebook and LIKE it to get news on the North Lake County Hospital District. Or search on the official name “FixLakeTaxes”. There is a separate Facebook page NorthLakeCountyHospitalDistrict which was setup by the Hospital supporters, so that is NOT ours and it has little info. I have rewritten the info section, and posted some news. I will post news related to the Hospital District here first, then either on the FiscalRangers.com blog and/or the separate website www.NorthLakeCountyHospitalDistrict.com . If you have District related news, you can post it, but I will remove non-relevant postings that are not supportive of our tax reform mission as stated in the “Info” section. I will also create “notes” with added info as I get it. Richard Riker and myself are administrators for the page. vj Read more →

Webpage for Required Annual Reports of North Lake County Hospital District

We have often mentioned that the Board of the North Lake County Hospital District has refused to create a website or make it easy to get required reports. So, we created a website www.NorthLakeCountyHospitalDistrict.com to post the documents that the BOARD should have posted. Here is a a new link we found, which is on the Florida State Auditor General's website, and they not only show all their audit reports online, but they post links to required reports that are filed with the AG's office, and these are the annual NLCHD reports: http://www.myflorida.com/audgen/pages/specialdistricts_efile%20pages/north%20lake%20county%20hospital%20district.htm Read more →

An Open Letter to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi on Failure to Fight Foreclosure Fraud & Corruption

Update: Jul. 30, 2011 - Pam Bondi issued a statement on this issue HERE, but I found it to still be vague and not definitive on why two experienced foreclosure fraud investigators were fired earlier. Original Article: Tavares, FL - Jul 24, 2011 - As Attorney General for the State of Florida, I am disappointed in your apparent lack of interest in fighting Foreclosure fraud or corruption in Florida as evidenced by two issues: - The article below from Scott Maxwell describing the unjustified firing of two top foreclosure fraud investigators without any solid explanation. - The referenced Florida Grand Jury report issued by your office just before New Year's 2010 in an apparent attempt to avoid questions on the report, and your lack of action in "marketing" the recommendations to the Florida legislators. Below is a link to Scott Maxwell’s recent disturbing column in the Orlando Sentinel’s office about how Pam Bondi fired the two investigators who reported all the recent foreclosure fraud in Florida. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-scott-maxwell-ousted-investigators20110720,0,660118.column And, here is another op ed piece at "firedoglake.com on the same issue. Additionally, we corresponded before about the Grand Jury report on Corruption being issued by Pam Bondi’s office just before New... Read more →

Desperate Obama Finally Considers Action to Outshine Lake County Officials and Reduce Foreclosure Problems

Tavares, FL - July 23, 2003 - We have hammered local officials about the lack of programs to fix the foreclosure problem in Lake County. So, the local Republicans haven't acted, and now the Big Liberal, himself, might initiate an action that could reduce blight caused by foreclosed and empty homes. Local officials could have at least passed ordnances forcing owners of foreclosed homes to pay homeowner association fees so other owners weren't stuck with the common ground costs. But, no action has been initiated to my knowledge. They also could have taken the initiative using Economic Development, CDBG or Tourism taxes to create a Realtor driven co-op marketing plan to snowbirds to buy local foreclosures in a streamlined process - but they haven't. The County has staff organized Green FAIRS and conferences and literature, so why can't they used that "community building" and "program management" expertise to develop foreclosure fixing problems? The Federal Government "owns" many foreclosed homes, so now they are considering RENTING them. What a concept. Local banks and investors who own homes should also consider doing that. Here is the Wall St. Journal article, unfortunately they force you to "subscribe" to read the whole article, so... Read more →

Lake County School District's Local SEIU Union is part of Questionable National Union

Tavares, FL - July 20, 2011 - The Lake County School District has two unions, the LEA or Lake Educators' Association, and the SEIU, which is part of the large national government employee union that is known for aggressive tactics and pro-communist demonstrations in some states. Florida is a "Right to Work" state, thus workers cannot be forced to join unions and pay dues. Here in Lake County I heard at one meeting that perhaps 55% of School District workers are union members, but I haven't seen any official counts. The local SEIU Union is fairly reasonable, and not known for the questionable tactics used in other states. But, being part of the SEIU "family", they DO get information from the National that is questionable. Read this article about how the SEIU National Union has a "Contract Campaign Manual" that "encourages union members to use coercion and scare tactics to intimidate managers and corporate authority figures in the private sector." This is one reason why elected officials and administrative staff, AND voters need to be aware of intimidation tactics distributed by the SEIU parent union. It is really important to realize that many SEIU chapters and the National Union believe... Read more →

Channel 9 TV Quotes FiscalRangers in Report on Impact Fee Waivers by Lake County Governments

Tavares, FL - July 20, 2009 - Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. Here is a Channel 9 report by Bernt Petersen on the issue of the value of waiving impact fees by local Lake County Governments. They got me questioning the value of the waivers, and they have quotes from local officials and staff supporting the waivers. http://www.wftv.com/news/28601741/detail.html What this all comes down to is whether you believe developers of new homes and business buildings should contribute impact fees EARLY towards the roads, schools and other infrastructure growth needs caused by that construction. Or should there be no impact fees attached to new construction, and ALL existing taxpayers keep getting taxed via sales taxes, property taxes and fuel taxes to pay for additional infrastructure needed by residents of the newly constructed buildings. Keep in mind that "new Infrastructure" is not the same as maintenance costs on existing roads, etc. which SHOULD be paid by property taxes, fuel taxes and sales taxes. Developers don't want to pay for any of those upfront costs, they want you to pay for it. Read it and post a comment. The video clip would not work on my computer, but the text is there... Read more →

Fiscal Rangers blog author to Host Lake County Roundtable Radio Show Wednesday

Tavares, FL - July 11, 2011 - Vance Jochim, author of this FiscalRangers.com blog will be the host for Ralph Smith's Lake County Roundtable weekly radio program this Wednesday at WLBE AM 790 at 11am to noon. WLBE is on Radio Road in Leesburg near the Lake Shopping Center. Ralph is on a road trip to the rockies, and I will be hosting the program, and naturally, focus on local Lake County government issues. Topics to be decided, and I will post them here sometime tomorrow, Tuesday. vj Read more →

Yippee!! Lake County School Board Unveils New, Better Budget Format

Tavares, FL - July 11, 2012 - Until now, the only way to look at the details for the budget of the Lake County, FL School District was to pay over $100 to get a printed copy. Otherwise, you could only look at a gobbledegook 20 page summary, or visit the Florida State Education Dept. and look at their 40 page summary version. But, today, the School Board had the first in a series of budget review workshops and CFO Carol MacLeod unveiled a new version, all online (see link below) or go to the main LCSD website at http://lake.k12.fl.us and click departments, then Finance, then 2011-2012 Budget to see a page listing all the sections with links to each section. Not all sections are available yet, and only some were covered today as an introduction for the Board. I will add my summary of the presentation HERE later this week or by the weekend. NOTE: Tomorrow, July 2, the School Board will have a "retreat" to talk about other issues I described in another recent posting on this blog. Or, get the agenda from the Calendar or Board Docs section of the School District website HERE. Important: This workshop... Read more →

YOU MUST ATTEND the 2nd Court Hearing on the Constitutionality of the North Lake County Hospital District

Tavares, FL - Jul. 10, 2010 - Almost 18 months ago, local taxpayer reformer Marilyn Bainter filed a lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of the formation of the North Lake County Hospital District. Currently, the District collects about $10-million in property taxes and splits it between the two big local hospitals, Waterman and Leesburg, without any rules on how the funds are to be spent, and no real accountability on where it actually is spent. The next hearing is quickly coming up on Monday, July 18th at 1:30 pm in the Lake County Courthouse in Judge Singletary's courtroom. Come and hear the arguments - if the District is found to have violated the Florida Constitution, I am assuming it will be shut down until a public vote takes place (if at all). The hearing is in the Judicial Center. This is the building under construction. For your convenience, you can park in the parking garage and take the shuttle over to the courthouse. In a nutshell, the Constitution says that special tax districts that collect taxes must be approved by taxpayers in a public vote. However, the current tax district was formed by a merger of two separate districts, and... Read more →

Lake County Government Update - Upcoming Workshop & ACTION REQUESTS

Tavares, FL - July 7, 2011 - UPDATED Jul 9 to add more School District meeting info This is an update on: 1. The recent meeting of the Lake County, Florida Board of Commissioners 2. Next week's Lake County Board workshop on Tuesday, July 12. BE SURE to READ my ACTION requests and go to the meeting. 3. A brief update on the Lake County School Board issues and all THREE meetings for them next week. READ the next meeting section below on the July 12 workshop, PLAN to go to it, AND act on our ACTION REQUESTS described below. Important issues will be discussed at the workshop. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Recent Lake County Board Meeting - last Tuesday, July 5th - Find the agenda HERE with attachments, if any, under "tabs" Tab 23: Firefighter's Union Agreement - The Board snuck through an approval listed in the agenda tab 23 as "Recommend approval ... of the attached Collective Bargaining Agreement" for a new one year fire fighter's union wage and benefit agreement without any prior public meetings. The Board had several SECRET "executive sessions" to discuss the contract, but no public meetings. They posted the 55+ page contract, but NO INDICATION... Read more →

Are Ethics of Elected Officials and Government Improving in Lake County?

Tavares, FL - July 7, 2011 - Ethics may slowly be improving in Lake County... So there was this high level official in the State of New York who forced internal staff to issue a $100,000 grant to a firm that had hired his wife as a consultant. But, he got caught, and was fired after the IG started their investigation. And, we have read about Orlando officials on a Board steering large service contracts to their own firms. Gee, it reminds me of a local Lake County official who I was told funneled campaign funds to a firm that employed his wife. But, knowing Florida, maybe it is legal here? Or, the rumors I hear about another elected official who got a house or land for much less than the owner paid for it? Perhaps for ruling on important issues? Of course, that could only be a rumor from political opponents... Or, the elected official who works full time for another government agency, but still takes time off for election campaigning and elected duties. Taking time off from your own business is one thing, but doing it while an apparent full time government employee is another thing. We don't... Read more →

Here is one reason why Florida Doesn't Create Many Jobs vs Texas

The local government taxes went up over the last several years and didn't decline like private companies did. Thus government expenditures are a higher percentage of total spending (Gross Domestic Product or GDP) in Florida than they were 10 years ago, siphoning off funds that should be going to private business development. The first number is the state and local government % of GDP The second number is the state and local government share of the GDP and adding the public debt to the percentage. Florida is now 28th out of all states... it was much higher on the list 10 years ago, but taxes went up faster than GDP and have not been reduced to maintain the earlier ratios of government share of GDP. States that consume less than 16% of the GDP. 1. Delaware 14.5% 27% 2. Virginia 15% 28.7% 3. Connecticut 15.5% 31% 4. Texas 15.6% 33.5% 5. South Dakota 15.9% 29.8% And, then there is Florida, number 28, consuming more than 36% of State GDP. Notice it is running 5% higher than Texas, indicating a significant higher state and local government share of GDP plus public debt. Almost 5% doesn't sound like much, but it drops... Read more →

Will Florida Teacher's Lawsuit to HALT 3% Pension Contributions Cost Lake Governments $6 to 9-million?$

Tavares, FL - June 28, 2011 - A recent Teacher's union lawsuit might increase local Lake County and School District budget shortfalls by an estimated $6-9 million dollars. The Florida Teacher's Union just sued Florida State to halt the planned 3% pension contribution by all employees, which is required by a new law initiated by Florida Governor Rick Scott. Previously, that expense was paid by the employer, such as local County governments and School Districts. As a consequence, they planned to save the estimated $6-9-million because employees would be paying the contribution, and have already factored the savings into budget plans. Now those savings might vaporize. HERE is the latest news on the lawsuit - court date set for October. I estimate that the lawsuit, if successful, could increase budget shortfalls for the Lake County school district by $3-4 million and Lake County government (including Constitutional officers) by an estimated $3-5-million (they have fewer employees). I use estimates because I don't have the actual dollar effects, but the lawsuit causes a number of "dominos" to fall in local (as well as State) government budget plans and could significantly raise current budget shortfall predictions. The School District made it extremely hard... Read more →