Today, Nov. 20, 2019, at 4 pm, the Tavares City Council will meet and elect a new Mayor and Vice-Mayor, and also introduce new Council member Lou Buigas. So I am submitting a number of policy and staff procedure recommendations that should be discussed and implemented. Here they are:
1. Reduce Debt of city and taxpayer liability by deferring public works building until CASH is saved to pay for it. Review architecture to reduce expensive design elements. Use cement walls, not fancy brick designs.
2. Annual Budget creation and approval methods should be revised to :
1. Research and prepare revenue forecast FIRST.
2. Develop a five-year plan to pay down debt and incorporate those monthly payments FIRST in the spending budget.
3. Use the revenue forecast to CAP budgeted spending instead of building a wish list first, then spending with debt to approve it.
4. Establish a pay as you go policy and not accumulate any more debt unless for emergencies. LIVE within tax revenue limits.
5. Have a workshop to train City Council to ask solid questions for spending decisions to keep spending low.
6. Reconsider the apparent policy of providing Roman Circuses parties at taxpayer expense. Charge admission to break even.
7. Always include 3 prior year actual results in all budget proposals for a budget item, including support used for decisions at the final two hearings to approve millages and annual budgets.
8. Include performance measurement metrics for each department for the prior 3 years and future year budget proposals. Use these metrics as the basis for any management bonuses, including meeting project deadlines.
3. Transparency over spending and decisions needs to be increased:
1. Implement staff created real-time streaming and archived videos of every City Council and P&Z meetings that are posted online on a City YouTube account within 1 day.
1. Also, make videos of important policy committee meetings like the Comp Plan or Downtown plans.
2. Do not defer videos due to ADA cost requirements. Implement it anyway as the cost of good, transparency government.
2. First Readings: Allow public input at First Readings to ensure the public gives notice to Council on concerns at first reading so they have time to revise wording, etc. No other city I have visited prohibits public input at First Readings.
3. Provide the FULL, ADA compliant meeting agenda packets online, not just provide a limited agenda online. For example, the City has posted 35-page agendas online without stating a 200+ page packet is provided to the Council and can be requested from the City Clerk.
4. Meeting times need to be changed to after 6 pm to allow working taxpayers to attend meetings.
4. Drop Support for the Democrat's anti-history Initiative - Drop City Council support for the Democrat Party initiated anti-history and anti-veteran initiative led by Troy Singer to prevent acceptance of the Confederate Statue by the Lake County Historical Society. STOP City Council involvement in convincing other cities to join the Democrat initiative. STOP City Council's involvement in trying to communicate the Democrat crisis demand to the Florida Governor.
5. Censor City Councilor Troy Singer for his four supporters wearing his yellow campaign T-shirt crashing his opponent's election watch party and berating attendees. (We have a video of it including one threatening me).
6. Ensure that the Mayor's Youth Council attends meetings like originally defined and does not skip assignments or meetings. Otherwise, why have it? Or don't sign off on credit for the program.
7. City Council Districts Should be based on Geographic Districts: Currently, Council positions are elected at large, meaning all City voters can vote for all Council seats. To improve the representation of outlying sections of Tavares, the Council needs to change ordinances or the Charter to require voting by a geographic district. This will provide a fair distribution of Council interests among all taxpayers and not just downtown interests.
From Vance Jochim
FiscalRangers.com
Nov. 20, 2019
Vance Jochim
[email protected]
YouTube Channel "FiscalRangersFlorida"
