A Short Sighted Approach to our National Crisis This column presents a conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope you will read the column regularly and it occasionally influences your opinions and actions.
We are now far enough along in the government’s “stimulus plan” to see how it works and what results are being achieved. During the past fourteen months over $787 billion tax payer dollars were frantically shoveled into the economic sink hole which was about to consume our entire national economic framework and thrust us into the chaos of a deep depression. I fear this remedy would compare to an AIDS victim taking an aspirin and expecting to be cured. It might relieve the symptoms for a few hours, but the actual disease would still be consuming the patient.
The first problem which had to be addressed in this effort was to find a way to desperately “thrust” $787
billion dollars into the economy as quickly as possible, following the age old proven political strategy.... “If you have a problem, solve it by throwing money at it”. They quickly realized there was only one entity in our nation which had the capability of spending that much money in a very short time period …and that was GOVERNMENT. So they decided to flow the stimulus billions through the State Governments, who would take what they needed and then flow the remaining money through their State Agencies, who would take what they needed and then flow the money down to county and city governments, who would take what they needed and then flow the remaining money to their various agencies….and by then the entire bounty should be spent.
In reality, difficulty has been experienced even in this wasteful approach, since the entire government process at all levels has become so encumbered with regulations, processes, approvals, reviews, multiple bureaucratic jurisdictions, extra steps created by extra codes, rules, policies, laws, and regulations…that nothing can be done quickly anymore….not even spending free money.
The very processes they created as a means of harassing and over-regulating businesses and individuals has come back to haunt them in this effort. Thus, trying as hard as they can, being as wasteful as possible, the entire bureaucracy involved has only been able to spend about 40% of the stimulus funding during the first fourteen months of trying. Meanwhile, in the private sector, small businesses and family economic units continue to deteriorate and struggle in the midst of a severe recession.
For a struggling small business the sensation of watching all of this loose money flow through all government levels on porkish projects that are not really justified while they are unable to borrow the money they need to sustain their business….is similar to the feeling of a man dying of thirst standing on the bank of a flooding river and not being allowed to drink. Unfair! Foolish! Suicidal!...these are some of the words which come to mind.
Virtually every state was experiencing severe revenue shortfalls as a result of the recession and the diminished revenues from taxes, permits, and fees. They were faced with the prospect of doing the unthinkable…laying off bureaucrats! Then the answer to their prayers came in the form of the stimulus funding. Suddenly the system was again funded to the gills, and the crisis was averted.. at least for one budget year.
So those millions of jobs which were “saved” or created by the stimulus funding were primarily government jobs, or jobs in the thousands of architectural, engineering, or governmental contractors organizations which “nurse” from the government teats. These are responsible for every government project being over designed, over engineered, over coded, over priced, and grossly overdone in order to make every job as expensive as possible. This creates more fees for the designers and more sales for the suppliers and more work for the union tradesmen who do the project. Everyone benefits except the poor tax payer who is paying for all of this unnecessary cost.
The stimulus money has thus primarily gone to “stimulate and preserve” the bureaucracies at all levels of government and has done little to help in the private sector. It has completely ignored small businesses which are the real key to permanent jobs creation.
What will the bureaucracy do to create funding for the next budget year? Will another foolish stimulus program be initiated….or will next year finally be the year that the persistent “veil of bureaucratic protection” is lifted, and they too begin to feel the same pains of layoff and unemployment too many in the private sector have experienced this year. Time will tell!
Rudiments: Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning –
● At the Marianna Zoning and Planning meeting on Monday, a variance request from Florida Land and Title was denied by the board. Their beautiful new sign atop their newly renovated building on Madison Street has a sign which is some six feet too long…..It Has To Come Down! Meanwhile across the street a building with a tattered and torn awning is well within allowable codes, and can remain as an ugly blight on our city center. Someone please explain bureaucratic logic to me!
● At the Legislative Delegation meeting on Monday night, a large group of desperate citizens pleaded for help in dealing with their enormous electric bills. Although our legislators have little power over the root causes of the problem, their input can help in Tallahassee, especially with the Governor. I think they got the message from those desperate citizens who spoke to them at the meeting.
● (Keeping my resolution to say something nice each week)- At the County Commission meeting Chairman Branch and the Commissioners agreed to draft a letter about the utility problem for transmission to the Governor, they encouraged every City Commission in the County to also send letters, and they ordered a review of the possibility of the County reducing its 6% franchise fee to at least give a little relief to those FPU customers who live outside the Marianna city limits. All good ideas, coupled with a demonstration of caring for the plight of these people. I think the Commissioners “Got it Right”!
Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Hatcher Publications.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Corruption in Tallahassee...And Your Electric Bil
How the system “Really” works This column presents a conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope you will read the column regularly and it occasionally influences your opinions and actions. Now, on to the subject of the week:
“How a corrupt oversight process for Florida’s utilities through the P.S.C. has caused us to be faced with unreasonable costs for our electricity.”
A revealing column was written last Sunday by a columnist for the St. Pete Times, Howard Troxler. In his column he revealed some of the corrupt processes which are related to the operation and control of the PSC. As you read excerpts from his writing, remember that the utilities are huge contributors to virtually every legislator in Tallahassee.
His column was titled:
“Legislature goes after PSC members who sided with consumers over electric companies”
Troxler pointed out that the Public Service Commission recently made a historic ruling by denying a huge rate increase for Florida’s two biggest electric companies. (These did not include Gulf Power, which supplies much of the power to Jackson County.)
The columnist then pointed out the fact that the Florida Legislature has reacted to that action by the PSC by exerting legislative pressures to get the PSC back into line, approving requests for increases instead of representing the consumers. They began by threatening the job of Public Counsel, J.R. Kelly, who is the staff lawyer on the PSC who is supposed to represent the customers in opposition to the lawyers from the utilities when hearings are conducted as part of their decision making processes.
Troxler then notes that this action which was designed to exert pressure on the PSC by the legislature caused a public outcry which then gained the support of the Governor. The move by the Legislature to remove Kelly for doing a good job of representing the customers is still pending. We should watch to see the outcome of this tactic.
The article also pointed out that the Legislature is also putting pressure on the two new appointees to the PSC, since they voted to deny the increased rates. These two new appointees are Ben Stevens and David Klement, and they still have to be confirmed by the Florida Senate. Thus, the threat to deny the conformation unless they show they will vote the way the legislators want them to vote in the future.
The column identified a Senate leader, Mike Haridopolos, for publically making disparaging remarks about these two new appointees.
“All I know is what I read in the newspaper,” Haridopolos said, “that one guy was a columnist and another guy was a bar owner.”
The “columnist” is David Klement, the editorial page editor of the Bradenton Herald for 30 years and then becoming the Director of the Institute for Public Policy and Leadership at the University of South Florida’s Sarasota campus.
The “bar owner” is Ben Stevens, who has invested in a bar in Pensacola. However, he is the former President of the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants and former Finance Director of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Both would appear to be solid citizens of our fair state.
The article then pointed out other “pressure tactics” being used by the legislature as a means of exerting pressure on the PSC members.
The Senate also is “concerned” that members of the PSC do not have the proper “qualifications.” So there’s a proposal to change the law to require a college degree — which the PSC chairman, Nancy Argenziano, lacks. Her term expires next year, along with that a fourth commissioner, Nathan Skop. Troxler pointed out that the utilities who had their increases denied, Florida Power & Light and Progress Energy Florida, will file new requests for rate increases — hoping for a more friendly PSC to grant their wishes after being worked over by the Florida legislators.
Troxler stated “The current President of the Senate is Jeff Atwater, a Republican from North Palm Beach. He is running to become Florida’s chief financial officer. Atwater’s people were not happy when I said he was ultimately responsible for the attack on the public counsel. But as President of the Senate, he is.”
Will he also be known as the Senate President whose chamber fired the Public Service Commission — for siding with consumers?”
One of the primary problems is that the PSC is currently under the control of the Legislature, part of the legislative branch. This includes the Office of Public Counsel. This situation thus allows the Legislature to put this kind of political pressure on the Commission. Remember the fact that the utilities are huge donators to the campaigns of most of these elected officials. They are thus obligated to the utilities.
Troxler feels the Public Counsel should be moved to the control of the State Attorney General. The PSC itself should be constitutionally independent. I personally feel the PSC members should again be elected on a district basis, and their real supervisors should be the voting public.
I agree with Troxler when he stated that for now, the public should hold the entire Legislature accountable, in this election year, for whatever happens.
Troxler ended his revealing column with the statement “Not a single legislator will be able to say, ‘It wasn’t me who did this.’ They all are responsible, every one.”
It is interesting to note that in 2008 Florida Power and Light donated $1,327,383 to the Political Parties in the State and $72,000 to legislators, Teco Energy donated $943,000 to parties, and $121,500 to candidates as do all of the utilities. They either donate directly or through their state associations and Political action committees. Through this flow on money they exert influence on our elected officials. All of our local legislators take donations from their respective parties, so part of that money is money donated by the utilities.
This article did not deal with the series of rate increases which were previously granted to our local Florida Public Utilities, but you can rest assured the same tactics were in play. Too many Florida legislators have received too much money from the utilities. These legislators then pull the strings of power to be sure the PSC votes to favor the utilities when the time comes. It is a dirty, corrupt system…..and we are all suffering from the results. (P.S. My FPU electric bill was $1142.00 this month, what was yours?)
This is representative of the many blogs which followed the article in the St. Pete Times-
Chuckwillswidow wrote:
“I am beginning to wonder if government of, by and for the people really exists anymore. It certainly does not appear to exist in the Florida legislature. These actions by the Florida Legislature to squelch good government and support big business tells us much about the greed, lack of character and dishonesty of those who deceptively claim to represent the best interests of the people.”
Rudiments: Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning
• Perhaps all struggling businesses in the area should begin to add a new charge on their bills to customers. After we have added the sales taxes, the bed tax (if you are an inn), then we should sub-total those amounts and then multiply by an additional 10% and label it “Electrical surcharge and municipal franchise add-on”
• As you drive around the county and the state, take note of all of the empty, closed, and abandoned junior store-filling station businesses. All of those lost jobs, all of that lost investment, and all of that worthless real estate, is a testimonial to the unfettered power of our state Department of Environmental Protection.
• New Years Resolution (Always include something nice) – I worked in a factory in the Dominican Republic all of last week, doing some management consulting/engineering work. I saw hundreds of people working very hard to earn $56.00 per week….and being very happy to be employed. Even though our standard of living may be starting to decline at this time….it still has a long way to fall before we reach the bottom.
Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Hatcher Publications.
“How a corrupt oversight process for Florida’s utilities through the P.S.C. has caused us to be faced with unreasonable costs for our electricity.”
A revealing column was written last Sunday by a columnist for the St. Pete Times, Howard Troxler. In his column he revealed some of the corrupt processes which are related to the operation and control of the PSC. As you read excerpts from his writing, remember that the utilities are huge contributors to virtually every legislator in Tallahassee.
His column was titled:
“Legislature goes after PSC members who sided with consumers over electric companies”
Troxler pointed out that the Public Service Commission recently made a historic ruling by denying a huge rate increase for Florida’s two biggest electric companies. (These did not include Gulf Power, which supplies much of the power to Jackson County.)
The columnist then pointed out the fact that the Florida Legislature has reacted to that action by the PSC by exerting legislative pressures to get the PSC back into line, approving requests for increases instead of representing the consumers. They began by threatening the job of Public Counsel, J.R. Kelly, who is the staff lawyer on the PSC who is supposed to represent the customers in opposition to the lawyers from the utilities when hearings are conducted as part of their decision making processes.
Troxler then notes that this action which was designed to exert pressure on the PSC by the legislature caused a public outcry which then gained the support of the Governor. The move by the Legislature to remove Kelly for doing a good job of representing the customers is still pending. We should watch to see the outcome of this tactic.
The article also pointed out that the Legislature is also putting pressure on the two new appointees to the PSC, since they voted to deny the increased rates. These two new appointees are Ben Stevens and David Klement, and they still have to be confirmed by the Florida Senate. Thus, the threat to deny the conformation unless they show they will vote the way the legislators want them to vote in the future.
The column identified a Senate leader, Mike Haridopolos, for publically making disparaging remarks about these two new appointees.
“All I know is what I read in the newspaper,” Haridopolos said, “that one guy was a columnist and another guy was a bar owner.”
The “columnist” is David Klement, the editorial page editor of the Bradenton Herald for 30 years and then becoming the Director of the Institute for Public Policy and Leadership at the University of South Florida’s Sarasota campus.
The “bar owner” is Ben Stevens, who has invested in a bar in Pensacola. However, he is the former President of the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants and former Finance Director of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Both would appear to be solid citizens of our fair state.
The article then pointed out other “pressure tactics” being used by the legislature as a means of exerting pressure on the PSC members.
The Senate also is “concerned” that members of the PSC do not have the proper “qualifications.” So there’s a proposal to change the law to require a college degree — which the PSC chairman, Nancy Argenziano, lacks. Her term expires next year, along with that a fourth commissioner, Nathan Skop. Troxler pointed out that the utilities who had their increases denied, Florida Power & Light and Progress Energy Florida, will file new requests for rate increases — hoping for a more friendly PSC to grant their wishes after being worked over by the Florida legislators.
Troxler stated “The current President of the Senate is Jeff Atwater, a Republican from North Palm Beach. He is running to become Florida’s chief financial officer. Atwater’s people were not happy when I said he was ultimately responsible for the attack on the public counsel. But as President of the Senate, he is.”
Will he also be known as the Senate President whose chamber fired the Public Service Commission — for siding with consumers?”
One of the primary problems is that the PSC is currently under the control of the Legislature, part of the legislative branch. This includes the Office of Public Counsel. This situation thus allows the Legislature to put this kind of political pressure on the Commission. Remember the fact that the utilities are huge donators to the campaigns of most of these elected officials. They are thus obligated to the utilities.
Troxler feels the Public Counsel should be moved to the control of the State Attorney General. The PSC itself should be constitutionally independent. I personally feel the PSC members should again be elected on a district basis, and their real supervisors should be the voting public.
I agree with Troxler when he stated that for now, the public should hold the entire Legislature accountable, in this election year, for whatever happens.
Troxler ended his revealing column with the statement “Not a single legislator will be able to say, ‘It wasn’t me who did this.’ They all are responsible, every one.”
It is interesting to note that in 2008 Florida Power and Light donated $1,327,383 to the Political Parties in the State and $72,000 to legislators, Teco Energy donated $943,000 to parties, and $121,500 to candidates as do all of the utilities. They either donate directly or through their state associations and Political action committees. Through this flow on money they exert influence on our elected officials. All of our local legislators take donations from their respective parties, so part of that money is money donated by the utilities.
This article did not deal with the series of rate increases which were previously granted to our local Florida Public Utilities, but you can rest assured the same tactics were in play. Too many Florida legislators have received too much money from the utilities. These legislators then pull the strings of power to be sure the PSC votes to favor the utilities when the time comes. It is a dirty, corrupt system…..and we are all suffering from the results. (P.S. My FPU electric bill was $1142.00 this month, what was yours?)
This is representative of the many blogs which followed the article in the St. Pete Times-
Chuckwillswidow wrote:
“I am beginning to wonder if government of, by and for the people really exists anymore. It certainly does not appear to exist in the Florida legislature. These actions by the Florida Legislature to squelch good government and support big business tells us much about the greed, lack of character and dishonesty of those who deceptively claim to represent the best interests of the people.”
Rudiments: Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning
• Perhaps all struggling businesses in the area should begin to add a new charge on their bills to customers. After we have added the sales taxes, the bed tax (if you are an inn), then we should sub-total those amounts and then multiply by an additional 10% and label it “Electrical surcharge and municipal franchise add-on”
• As you drive around the county and the state, take note of all of the empty, closed, and abandoned junior store-filling station businesses. All of those lost jobs, all of that lost investment, and all of that worthless real estate, is a testimonial to the unfettered power of our state Department of Environmental Protection.
• New Years Resolution (Always include something nice) – I worked in a factory in the Dominican Republic all of last week, doing some management consulting/engineering work. I saw hundreds of people working very hard to earn $56.00 per week….and being very happy to be employed. Even though our standard of living may be starting to decline at this time….it still has a long way to fall before we reach the bottom.
Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Hatcher Publications.
Reversing the Flow Would Solve Many Problems
Reversing the flow of public revenues would be a great idea!
This column presents a conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope you will read the column regularly and it occasionally influences your opinions and actions.
Just Who Got Stimulated? – I don’t think it was the private sector. The Federal Government used the State Governments as the disbursing agents for the billions and billions of Recovery Act funds we call the Stimulus Funds. As a result, the states siphoned off a major portion of these funds to alleviate budget short falls which were created by the revenue declines associated with the recession.
As a result, most of the states were able to “save” the jobs of most of the state bureaucrats, using the stimulus monies to avoid laying off the “crats” which fill those thousands of State offices in every capitol city….Tallahassee included. Meanwhile, the private sector was forced to endure massive layoffs of personnel and reductions in expenditures at the same moment in history. Only a small percentage of these “jobs creating” funds actually reached the private sector. Certainly none of it went to help small businesses remain in business, or to stimulate local economies.
Thus, when the federal government brags about the jobs it “saved” through the stimulus plan…most of those jobs were “crat” jobs. However, in this next round of budgeting, unless they can get a second massive “stimulus program” funded, the states will be forced to finally endure the same pain and suffering that is being experienced within the private sector this year.
Since much of our local economy here in Jackson County is based on local, state, and federal employment, we have not yet experienced the real pain and suffering which most of the nation has endured. In some areas of the US, unemployment exceeds 20%, businesses have been forced to close, and the streets are empty. If we do have to actually cut the employment of the sacred “crat” next year, we may experience some of that nightmare here.
Let us all pray that is not the case.
Reversing the Flow…A Good Idea!- The relative relationships between the newly created Federal government and the State governments envisioned by the founders of our nation was the exact reversal of what we have evolved into. They desired a central government with a minimum of influence, function, and funding. As they penned the Constitution they did all they could to assure State’s Rights would be retained and nurtured. They would be saddened and appalled at what we have today.
Through the power of the federal income taxing authority over individuals and businesses, the federal government has been able to “suck” a major portion of all public revenues up to the federal level. This money is the source of the federal government’s power.
In order to regain the rightful position of State governments in the U.S. social, political, and economic structure of our nation, States must regain control of funding.. This could best be accomplished through forcing reduction of the Federal taxing authority and increasing the State level taxing authority. This could be accomplished one functional area at a time.
I would suggest beginning with the national educational systems. I feel that we would be much better off if our Federal government was out of the educational process. The U.S. Department of Education should be eliminated. The funding for education should be collected by the state governments, and then appropriated to the counties within the state for the operation of the schools….no federal funding….no federal guidelines, requirements, policies or rules.
This same process of elimination could then be expanded to include social programs, industrial controls, environmental controls, and many, many other areas where the federal government overrides state and local control. The role of the federal government in our society should be limited to only those areas where it is absolutely necessary that a central authority be in control. This would include inter-state transportation systems, international trade, national military, diplomatic corps, the coining of money, international banking, Wall Street, veterans affairs, federal prisons, and other international and interstate requirements.
The central Federal government has become too powerful, too domineering, too huge to manage, and too incompetent to properly perform. They have become the monster which was most feared by our founding fathers as they penned the Constitution. We must act to reverse this situation if our nation is to ever achieve any level of reform.
As Conservatives we should move enhancement of “States Rights” to the forefront of our goals and objectives.
Rudiments: Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning –
● As you read this I am in the Dominican Republic, performing some engineering-management consulting there for an American Company. This is what I did in my previous life, B.N. … (before newspaper). When I return to good ole Marianna next Saturday I hope to hear that our Commissioners were wise enough to put the prospect of a new $10 million tax dollar funded Admin Building aside until our economy stabilizes.
● (Say something Nice…My New Years Resolution) I was especially touched by the events of the Marianna City Commission last week. Over 100 desperate residents pleaded to their elected representatives to do something to help them cope with electric bills which were consuming almost all of their incomes. Some are in danger of losing their subsidized housing because of their electricity being cut off. Some say their electric bill is more than their social security check…making it impossible for them to pay the bill and survive. They were truly desperate….and pleading for a solution. The desperate tone in their voices still haunts me. For the sake of all of us…I hope there is a remedy.
Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Hatcher Publications.
This column presents a conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope you will read the column regularly and it occasionally influences your opinions and actions.
Just Who Got Stimulated? – I don’t think it was the private sector. The Federal Government used the State Governments as the disbursing agents for the billions and billions of Recovery Act funds we call the Stimulus Funds. As a result, the states siphoned off a major portion of these funds to alleviate budget short falls which were created by the revenue declines associated with the recession.
As a result, most of the states were able to “save” the jobs of most of the state bureaucrats, using the stimulus monies to avoid laying off the “crats” which fill those thousands of State offices in every capitol city….Tallahassee included. Meanwhile, the private sector was forced to endure massive layoffs of personnel and reductions in expenditures at the same moment in history. Only a small percentage of these “jobs creating” funds actually reached the private sector. Certainly none of it went to help small businesses remain in business, or to stimulate local economies.
Thus, when the federal government brags about the jobs it “saved” through the stimulus plan…most of those jobs were “crat” jobs. However, in this next round of budgeting, unless they can get a second massive “stimulus program” funded, the states will be forced to finally endure the same pain and suffering that is being experienced within the private sector this year.
Since much of our local economy here in Jackson County is based on local, state, and federal employment, we have not yet experienced the real pain and suffering which most of the nation has endured. In some areas of the US, unemployment exceeds 20%, businesses have been forced to close, and the streets are empty. If we do have to actually cut the employment of the sacred “crat” next year, we may experience some of that nightmare here.
Let us all pray that is not the case.
Reversing the Flow…A Good Idea!- The relative relationships between the newly created Federal government and the State governments envisioned by the founders of our nation was the exact reversal of what we have evolved into. They desired a central government with a minimum of influence, function, and funding. As they penned the Constitution they did all they could to assure State’s Rights would be retained and nurtured. They would be saddened and appalled at what we have today.
Through the power of the federal income taxing authority over individuals and businesses, the federal government has been able to “suck” a major portion of all public revenues up to the federal level. This money is the source of the federal government’s power.
In order to regain the rightful position of State governments in the U.S. social, political, and economic structure of our nation, States must regain control of funding.. This could best be accomplished through forcing reduction of the Federal taxing authority and increasing the State level taxing authority. This could be accomplished one functional area at a time.
I would suggest beginning with the national educational systems. I feel that we would be much better off if our Federal government was out of the educational process. The U.S. Department of Education should be eliminated. The funding for education should be collected by the state governments, and then appropriated to the counties within the state for the operation of the schools….no federal funding….no federal guidelines, requirements, policies or rules.
This same process of elimination could then be expanded to include social programs, industrial controls, environmental controls, and many, many other areas where the federal government overrides state and local control. The role of the federal government in our society should be limited to only those areas where it is absolutely necessary that a central authority be in control. This would include inter-state transportation systems, international trade, national military, diplomatic corps, the coining of money, international banking, Wall Street, veterans affairs, federal prisons, and other international and interstate requirements.
The central Federal government has become too powerful, too domineering, too huge to manage, and too incompetent to properly perform. They have become the monster which was most feared by our founding fathers as they penned the Constitution. We must act to reverse this situation if our nation is to ever achieve any level of reform.
As Conservatives we should move enhancement of “States Rights” to the forefront of our goals and objectives.
Rudiments: Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning –
● As you read this I am in the Dominican Republic, performing some engineering-management consulting there for an American Company. This is what I did in my previous life, B.N. … (before newspaper). When I return to good ole Marianna next Saturday I hope to hear that our Commissioners were wise enough to put the prospect of a new $10 million tax dollar funded Admin Building aside until our economy stabilizes.
● (Say something Nice…My New Years Resolution) I was especially touched by the events of the Marianna City Commission last week. Over 100 desperate residents pleaded to their elected representatives to do something to help them cope with electric bills which were consuming almost all of their incomes. Some are in danger of losing their subsidized housing because of their electricity being cut off. Some say their electric bill is more than their social security check…making it impossible for them to pay the bill and survive. They were truly desperate….and pleading for a solution. The desperate tone in their voices still haunts me. For the sake of all of us…I hope there is a remedy.
Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Hatcher Publications.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Showdown Time on County Admin Building
This column presents a conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope you will read the column regularly and it occasionally influences your opinions and actions. Now, on to the subject of the week:
Vote will probably be taken at February 9 meeting.
“Should the Jackson County Commissioners agree to spend over $10 million in public money at this time for the construction of a new administration building near the court house for county operational departments? Yes or No?
That question will most probably be decided at the next meeting of our county commission, which is scheduled for Tuesday, February 9, at 9:00 AM in the Commission meeting room on Madison Street in Marianna. If they decide to build themselves this new, three story, 59,000 sq. ft. building on the site of the old county jail, they will be committing themselves (and all citizens of Jackson County) to a new debt which will apparently total somewhere between $10,000,000 and $15,000,000.
A low interest USDA loan of $8,000,000 is currently available for the project, and the sources for the balance of the needed funds is uncertain. Some Commissioners feel the new debt can be serviced through the savings of $100,000 per year currently being paid to local property owners for space used to house some of the county functions, combined with approximately $350,000 per year the county receives from Waste Management in tipping fees for the landfill operations. Others argue that to spend this money on the building would be inappropriate since that money could be used for other county needs which could potentially relieve the need for future increases in county taxes and fees to be imposed on county residents. Ted Lakey, County Administrator, states that now would be a good time to initiate this project, since interest rates are low, the loan is available, and construction costs have fallen since the initial cost estimate for the building which was over $15,000,000.
Support for the construction of this new building is coming from downtown merchants who feel their business traffic would be enhanced if more people had to come to the court house-admin building area. They are represented by Main Street Marianna and the Executive Committee of the Jackson County Chamber. Most county employees also favor the project.
Opposition is coming from the general taxpaying public of the county which has no vested interest in the building being built downtown….or anywhere else. Some argue that the plans for the facility do not provide adequate parking, and the construction would only worsen the already terrible parking problems in the Court House area. Some feel the lack of downtown parking would hurt downtown business activity and their situation would be worsened by the new facility. Some feel that by promoting a more expensive option, the downtown retailers are pushing for their own interest at the expense of the rest of the citizens of the county.
The Commissioners requested that Ajax Building Corp., with the assistance of Paul Donofro Associates, prepare a revised cost estimate for the project, along with a comparative analysis of the cost of purchasing and renovating the old Wal Mart building in the Crossroads Shopping Center. That report was presented at a workshop meeting on January 26. It presented four options, with the new building cost at $9,000,000 (not including site preparation and parking), while the purchase and remodeling of the existing building was estimated at $8,400,000.
I feel this is a flawed approach to making a fair evaluation. First, the two firms who prepared the analysis have a vested interest in the project. Their profits would be significantly increased if the new facility is built instead of renovating the existing building…..so why are we surprised when they show such a high cost for the renovation? The analysis should have been prepared by a qualified, uninvolved third party. Also, to my knowledge the Commissioners have done little investigation of the costs and level of satisfaction from other counties in Florida and adjoining states who have faced the same issue, ….and chose the less expensive renovation option. They should gather cost per square foot data from these other projects, as well as the general level of satisfaction from the employees using the renovated facilities in other counties.
The outcome of the vote which is about to be taken is uncertain at this point. Commissioner Spires has openly expressed his desire to spend the money and start the project. The other four Commissioners are in a “wait and evaluate” mode, and have not yet made an open commitment one way or the other. If you have an opinion on this issue, you should NOW contact your Commissioner and tell him how you feel. Also, it might be worth your time to attend the next meeting.
If you set back and watch television instead of getting involved at this time…..you will have no right to complain about higher taxes or fees from the County in the coming years.
Personally, I am against doing either project in this uncertain economy. The location of the building is secondary to the issue of whether or not it is wise for the county to enter into such a large debt when there is no guarantee of continued revenues for other operations. State assistance for county needs will certainly be reduced for several years to come, and local revenue flows are also uncertain. Until we know the U.S. economy is well on the way to recovery, I feel our Commissioners should not create a new debt for the citizens of Jackson County to bear.
If the Commissioners will decide to do nothing at this time…….they will be “Getting it
Right”!
Rudiments, Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning:
- Keeping my New Years Resolution…Say something nice! - My congratulations to this years winners of the Chamber awards. The winners were, Lanet James as Citizen of the Year, Chuck Hatcher for the Excellence in Leadership Award, and David Melvin Engineering for the Wayne Mixson Economic Leadership Award. Congratulations to all!
- Burrrr - Hundreds of local residents are shocked and outraged over their unreasonably high December electric bills from Florida Public Utilities. Many families are really struggling to survive while paying for electricity. Most of these people have already turned their thermostats down to the low 60’s and are wearing coats around their homes. This situation is becoming critical, as displayed by the protest which occurred at the City Commission meeting in Marianna on Tuesday evening. (P.S. Most of these bills did not include the latest 13% increase granted by the Public Service Commission in November. I hate to think of what charges the January bills will contain.)
Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Hatcher Publications.
Vote will probably be taken at February 9 meeting.
“Should the Jackson County Commissioners agree to spend over $10 million in public money at this time for the construction of a new administration building near the court house for county operational departments? Yes or No?
That question will most probably be decided at the next meeting of our county commission, which is scheduled for Tuesday, February 9, at 9:00 AM in the Commission meeting room on Madison Street in Marianna. If they decide to build themselves this new, three story, 59,000 sq. ft. building on the site of the old county jail, they will be committing themselves (and all citizens of Jackson County) to a new debt which will apparently total somewhere between $10,000,000 and $15,000,000.
A low interest USDA loan of $8,000,000 is currently available for the project, and the sources for the balance of the needed funds is uncertain. Some Commissioners feel the new debt can be serviced through the savings of $100,000 per year currently being paid to local property owners for space used to house some of the county functions, combined with approximately $350,000 per year the county receives from Waste Management in tipping fees for the landfill operations. Others argue that to spend this money on the building would be inappropriate since that money could be used for other county needs which could potentially relieve the need for future increases in county taxes and fees to be imposed on county residents. Ted Lakey, County Administrator, states that now would be a good time to initiate this project, since interest rates are low, the loan is available, and construction costs have fallen since the initial cost estimate for the building which was over $15,000,000.
Support for the construction of this new building is coming from downtown merchants who feel their business traffic would be enhanced if more people had to come to the court house-admin building area. They are represented by Main Street Marianna and the Executive Committee of the Jackson County Chamber. Most county employees also favor the project.
Opposition is coming from the general taxpaying public of the county which has no vested interest in the building being built downtown….or anywhere else. Some argue that the plans for the facility do not provide adequate parking, and the construction would only worsen the already terrible parking problems in the Court House area. Some feel the lack of downtown parking would hurt downtown business activity and their situation would be worsened by the new facility. Some feel that by promoting a more expensive option, the downtown retailers are pushing for their own interest at the expense of the rest of the citizens of the county.
The Commissioners requested that Ajax Building Corp., with the assistance of Paul Donofro Associates, prepare a revised cost estimate for the project, along with a comparative analysis of the cost of purchasing and renovating the old Wal Mart building in the Crossroads Shopping Center. That report was presented at a workshop meeting on January 26. It presented four options, with the new building cost at $9,000,000 (not including site preparation and parking), while the purchase and remodeling of the existing building was estimated at $8,400,000.
I feel this is a flawed approach to making a fair evaluation. First, the two firms who prepared the analysis have a vested interest in the project. Their profits would be significantly increased if the new facility is built instead of renovating the existing building…..so why are we surprised when they show such a high cost for the renovation? The analysis should have been prepared by a qualified, uninvolved third party. Also, to my knowledge the Commissioners have done little investigation of the costs and level of satisfaction from other counties in Florida and adjoining states who have faced the same issue, ….and chose the less expensive renovation option. They should gather cost per square foot data from these other projects, as well as the general level of satisfaction from the employees using the renovated facilities in other counties.
The outcome of the vote which is about to be taken is uncertain at this point. Commissioner Spires has openly expressed his desire to spend the money and start the project. The other four Commissioners are in a “wait and evaluate” mode, and have not yet made an open commitment one way or the other. If you have an opinion on this issue, you should NOW contact your Commissioner and tell him how you feel. Also, it might be worth your time to attend the next meeting.
If you set back and watch television instead of getting involved at this time…..you will have no right to complain about higher taxes or fees from the County in the coming years.
Personally, I am against doing either project in this uncertain economy. The location of the building is secondary to the issue of whether or not it is wise for the county to enter into such a large debt when there is no guarantee of continued revenues for other operations. State assistance for county needs will certainly be reduced for several years to come, and local revenue flows are also uncertain. Until we know the U.S. economy is well on the way to recovery, I feel our Commissioners should not create a new debt for the citizens of Jackson County to bear.
If the Commissioners will decide to do nothing at this time…….they will be “Getting it
Right”!
Rudiments, Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning:
- Keeping my New Years Resolution…Say something nice! - My congratulations to this years winners of the Chamber awards. The winners were, Lanet James as Citizen of the Year, Chuck Hatcher for the Excellence in Leadership Award, and David Melvin Engineering for the Wayne Mixson Economic Leadership Award. Congratulations to all!
- Burrrr - Hundreds of local residents are shocked and outraged over their unreasonably high December electric bills from Florida Public Utilities. Many families are really struggling to survive while paying for electricity. Most of these people have already turned their thermostats down to the low 60’s and are wearing coats around their homes. This situation is becoming critical, as displayed by the protest which occurred at the City Commission meeting in Marianna on Tuesday evening. (P.S. Most of these bills did not include the latest 13% increase granted by the Public Service Commission in November. I hate to think of what charges the January bills will contain.)
Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Hatcher Publications.
If You Think We Have Problems...Go To Haiti
This column presents a conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope you will read the column regularly and it occasionally influences your opinions and actions. Now, on to the subjects of the week:
A profound example of what corrupt governments can do to a nation’s citizens.
Revisiting Budgeting Issues
Based on several comments I have received, I apparently did not express myself clearly last week as I described what I perceive as problems with the procedures used by governments as they use the budget process to control money allocations and spending.
I feel that the concept of “zero based budgeting” in which every department must be sure to spend all of the monies allocated to it each year creates enormous amounts of waste across our nation each year as every federal, state, county, and municipal department and agency struggles to spend their funding. As the end of the budget year approaches they traditionally engage in a spending frenzy to bring their year end balance to zero. This spending is often on unnecessary replacement of items, long before their useful life has come. There is no motivation to manage the departmental expenditures below the budgeted amount through increasing productivity by working harder or smarter. In fact they are openly encouraged to “never” turn any budgeted funds back to the budgeting authority.
If a department head does return money at the end of the year, that department is then assuredly subsequently punished by the budgeting authority by a severe cut in the next year’s budget. This creates a “negative incentive to save” which costs taxpayers billions each year. Industry does not apply budgets in this foolish manner.
A commonly used approach in the world of industry where productivity and profits are key factors for success, is the concept of “GAIN SHARING”. In this approach, if a department is able to perform its assigned functions successfully, under a properly conceived budget, and is able to demonstrate that through adept management techniques, motivation of staff, and hard work performed by the department team they were able to SAVE the company money instead of merely spending it…they are then rewarded by allowing them to SHARE in the gain which was realized.
For example, assume a department is normally staffed with 20 people, but five positions are unfilled. If the remaining 15 people in the department perform the work which would have normally been performed by 20, they have increased their productivity and have generated a savings. If those 5 unfilled positions would have cost the company $30,000 each, or $150,000 total, then that amount was saved through the efforts of the 15 who did the work. A sharing plan would be designed to thus reward these employees. For instance, under a 50-50 plan, the company would take back $75,000, and the other $75,000 would be split among those 15 workers as a reward for their work. This creates meaningful motivation and recognition.
The budget would not be cut the subsequent year, as long as the workload remained the same. A gradual decline in the savings split over a three or four year period is not uncommon. This is much better than throwing the money away on unnecessary expenditures, and it creates healthy elements of improved morale, teamwork, and productivity enhancement.
Another element of waste in money management within the bureaucracies is the attaching of too many “strings” or restrictions on grants made to lower levels of government. These restrictions often force waste to occur, since the higher authority does not know all of the local conditions and opportunities for options which would create savings.
This is often the case when a grant is given for a new building, and disallows consideration of renovation and use of other vacant, less expensive buildings which would serve the need of the agency which is involved. A local example in my opinion was the grant funding for the million dollar JCARC building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Marianna. If they had instead been allowed to buy the old High School from the school board and renovate those facilities, the gymnasium, cafeteria, acreage, auditorium, and many rooms would have made a great facility for the JCARC mission. Because of the restrictions attached to the grant, consideration of this less expensive and more beneficial option could not even be considered. Bad money administration procedures from the granting agency thus created waste of taxpayer dollars.
To Build or Not To Build…
That tis the Question:
Our county “Crats” are still pushing as hard as they can to get a new castle built for them to play in. The issue of constructing a new County Administration Building was the primary topic during the Commission workshop session on Tuesday. A comparative analysis of new construction vs. renovation of the old Wal Mart facility was presented by representatives from Ajax Building Corp. and Donofro Associates. Surprisingly their study somehow demonstrated that there was little to gain by not building a shiny, new facility….ha! If you do not want public monies to be spent on this building you had better get involved privately and publically with these Commissioners. Otherwise, they stand a good chance of going ahead with the project…..even if the sky is falling in our world. I personally feel the prudent course of action is to do nothing in this uncertain time.
New Years Resolution- Always Say Something Nice!
My heart goes out to the long suffering people of Haiti. They were already living in terrible, agonizing poverty which was created by a long line of corrupt, inept political leaders and Dictators. They are a perfect example of what horrors bad leadership can create for the citizens of a nation.
No public infrastructure was ever built to create a comfortable condition for the people of Haiti. No water systems were built, thus 60% of the population does not have access to drinkable water. Women carry huge jugs of water on their heads for miles every day to provide water for their family. The lack of bathing and hygiene fosters horrible sickness and diseases.
I worked in Haiti as a consulting engineer for many years. I found the people to be hard working, warm, generous and gracious. There is no place to get into a line and get a free government check down there. “Entitlements” is a missing word in their dictionary. Yet their attitude is positive and cooperative. Crime is not a problem. It tears at your heart to see toddlers with their hair turned orange and their bellies swollen by malnutrition and starvation. They did nothing to deserve their condition.
My Haitian partners there were Rosemary and Thomas Price. Rosemary’s father had been a Doctor. Apparently when she was fifteen he made some public remarks relating to medical actions taken by ‘Papa Doc’ the long time Dictator of Haiti in the 50’s and 60’s. One night there was a knock at their door and the feared “Tontonmacouts, the cruel secret police of the Dictator came into their house, took her father, and she never saw or heard from him again.
I am gladdened to see our nation and the wonderful folks of Jackson County respond to the current crisis there. The work underway by our local civic clubs, churches, students, and individuals is heart warming. It is my hope that this international attention will lead to a rebuilding of that nation into something much better than they have ever realized. They deserve it.
● Attaboy! Commissioner Chuck Lockey gets a big “Attaboy” for his action at the last Commission meeting. The Planning Department Director, Mrs. Schairer, presented a list of proposed hefty fee increases for permits issued by her department. Mr. Lockey quickly squashed the effort by stating that in today’s economy with the financial stress on our county population, he could not support any fee increases at this time. In my opinion, he definitely “
Got It Right!”
Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Hatcher Publications.
A profound example of what corrupt governments can do to a nation’s citizens.
Revisiting Budgeting Issues
Based on several comments I have received, I apparently did not express myself clearly last week as I described what I perceive as problems with the procedures used by governments as they use the budget process to control money allocations and spending.
I feel that the concept of “zero based budgeting” in which every department must be sure to spend all of the monies allocated to it each year creates enormous amounts of waste across our nation each year as every federal, state, county, and municipal department and agency struggles to spend their funding. As the end of the budget year approaches they traditionally engage in a spending frenzy to bring their year end balance to zero. This spending is often on unnecessary replacement of items, long before their useful life has come. There is no motivation to manage the departmental expenditures below the budgeted amount through increasing productivity by working harder or smarter. In fact they are openly encouraged to “never” turn any budgeted funds back to the budgeting authority.
If a department head does return money at the end of the year, that department is then assuredly subsequently punished by the budgeting authority by a severe cut in the next year’s budget. This creates a “negative incentive to save” which costs taxpayers billions each year. Industry does not apply budgets in this foolish manner.
A commonly used approach in the world of industry where productivity and profits are key factors for success, is the concept of “GAIN SHARING”. In this approach, if a department is able to perform its assigned functions successfully, under a properly conceived budget, and is able to demonstrate that through adept management techniques, motivation of staff, and hard work performed by the department team they were able to SAVE the company money instead of merely spending it…they are then rewarded by allowing them to SHARE in the gain which was realized.
For example, assume a department is normally staffed with 20 people, but five positions are unfilled. If the remaining 15 people in the department perform the work which would have normally been performed by 20, they have increased their productivity and have generated a savings. If those 5 unfilled positions would have cost the company $30,000 each, or $150,000 total, then that amount was saved through the efforts of the 15 who did the work. A sharing plan would be designed to thus reward these employees. For instance, under a 50-50 plan, the company would take back $75,000, and the other $75,000 would be split among those 15 workers as a reward for their work. This creates meaningful motivation and recognition.
The budget would not be cut the subsequent year, as long as the workload remained the same. A gradual decline in the savings split over a three or four year period is not uncommon. This is much better than throwing the money away on unnecessary expenditures, and it creates healthy elements of improved morale, teamwork, and productivity enhancement.
Another element of waste in money management within the bureaucracies is the attaching of too many “strings” or restrictions on grants made to lower levels of government. These restrictions often force waste to occur, since the higher authority does not know all of the local conditions and opportunities for options which would create savings.
This is often the case when a grant is given for a new building, and disallows consideration of renovation and use of other vacant, less expensive buildings which would serve the need of the agency which is involved. A local example in my opinion was the grant funding for the million dollar JCARC building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Marianna. If they had instead been allowed to buy the old High School from the school board and renovate those facilities, the gymnasium, cafeteria, acreage, auditorium, and many rooms would have made a great facility for the JCARC mission. Because of the restrictions attached to the grant, consideration of this less expensive and more beneficial option could not even be considered. Bad money administration procedures from the granting agency thus created waste of taxpayer dollars.
To Build or Not To Build…
That tis the Question:
Our county “Crats” are still pushing as hard as they can to get a new castle built for them to play in. The issue of constructing a new County Administration Building was the primary topic during the Commission workshop session on Tuesday. A comparative analysis of new construction vs. renovation of the old Wal Mart facility was presented by representatives from Ajax Building Corp. and Donofro Associates. Surprisingly their study somehow demonstrated that there was little to gain by not building a shiny, new facility….ha! If you do not want public monies to be spent on this building you had better get involved privately and publically with these Commissioners. Otherwise, they stand a good chance of going ahead with the project…..even if the sky is falling in our world. I personally feel the prudent course of action is to do nothing in this uncertain time.
New Years Resolution- Always Say Something Nice!
My heart goes out to the long suffering people of Haiti. They were already living in terrible, agonizing poverty which was created by a long line of corrupt, inept political leaders and Dictators. They are a perfect example of what horrors bad leadership can create for the citizens of a nation.
No public infrastructure was ever built to create a comfortable condition for the people of Haiti. No water systems were built, thus 60% of the population does not have access to drinkable water. Women carry huge jugs of water on their heads for miles every day to provide water for their family. The lack of bathing and hygiene fosters horrible sickness and diseases.
I worked in Haiti as a consulting engineer for many years. I found the people to be hard working, warm, generous and gracious. There is no place to get into a line and get a free government check down there. “Entitlements” is a missing word in their dictionary. Yet their attitude is positive and cooperative. Crime is not a problem. It tears at your heart to see toddlers with their hair turned orange and their bellies swollen by malnutrition and starvation. They did nothing to deserve their condition.
My Haitian partners there were Rosemary and Thomas Price. Rosemary’s father had been a Doctor. Apparently when she was fifteen he made some public remarks relating to medical actions taken by ‘Papa Doc’ the long time Dictator of Haiti in the 50’s and 60’s. One night there was a knock at their door and the feared “Tontonmacouts, the cruel secret police of the Dictator came into their house, took her father, and she never saw or heard from him again.
I am gladdened to see our nation and the wonderful folks of Jackson County respond to the current crisis there. The work underway by our local civic clubs, churches, students, and individuals is heart warming. It is my hope that this international attention will lead to a rebuilding of that nation into something much better than they have ever realized. They deserve it.
● Attaboy! Commissioner Chuck Lockey gets a big “Attaboy” for his action at the last Commission meeting. The Planning Department Director, Mrs. Schairer, presented a list of proposed hefty fee increases for permits issued by her department. Mr. Lockey quickly squashed the effort by stating that in today’s economy with the financial stress on our county population, he could not support any fee increases at this time. In my opinion, he definitely “
Got It Right!”
Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Hatcher Publications.
The Fallacy of Government Funding System
This column presents a conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope you will read the column regularly and it occasionally influences your opinions and actions.
“Governmental Money Management” is an oxymoron.
Government – Federal, State, County, and Municipal- In my opinion, the systems used by all levels of government to manage, budget, and spend our hard earned tax payer dollars are administered with flawed and ill conceived policies and procedures. As a result, nation wide, billions of public dollars are needlessly wasted. Locally, millions are wasted each year.
First, the entire contract management process is a “smoke and mirrors” sham of the public. Why go through a carefully administered bidding process for a defined project, when in the final outcome our politicians and “crats” plan to be sure all available funding for the project will be spent anyway?
It is considered foolish and a form of mismanagement within the bureaucracy to not spend all available money……regardless of how frivolous, “porkish”, or foolish the usage is. An unwritten, unstated rule within their system is “Thou shall NEVER, NEVER return any funds back to the granting agency.” All politicians and bureaucrats seem to endorse and adhere to this precept…even our esteemed county officials and municipal officials. In fact, when they engage in these actions, they even feel they are doing a good job for the “folks” here at home.
The total cost of this concept for our public treasuries on a nation-wide basis is huge. If this one foolish, selfish, unpatriotic ideology could be corrected it would solve many existing budget shortfall problems for a multitude of state and local entities.
I can cite numerous recent examples….right here in good ole Jackson County.
● The City of Marianna adding extra pumps to the wastewater treatment plant when they realized the project was coming in at over $100,000 under budget.
● The Dept of Transportation adding several inches to the width of the first stage of the Sidewalk to Nowhere from Kelson to Citizens Lodge Park in Marianna after the bidding came in at several thousand dollars under the allocated amount for the project.
● The City of Marianna deciding to four lane the entrance road into the industrial park because they finished the road work for the Ice Springs plant with $300,000 left in the grant funding for the road.
● The City of Marianna spending $300,000 on a standby generator for the airport operation. This money was available in a FAA grant, so we grabbed it even though we really have little need for it. (In my opinion as a pilot with 12,000 hours.)
● The County taking stimulus money to build sidewalks in places where they are not needed, while other roads near schools remain without sidewalks…..just because the money was available in the first instance.
This type of thinking of “bringing home the bacon for the folks back home” is costing our nation billions every year as politicians and bureaucrats throughout the country spend on unnecessary projects…..just because the money has been made available. I contend it is unpatriotic to waste public money in this manner. It is NOT free money….it comes from millions of struggling taxpayers.
Zero Based Budgeting Causes Waste- Another foolish and wasteful procedure used by government agencies is the concept of “zero based budgeting”. Under this philosophy, once the governing body has approved a budget for a department, it is the responsibility of the head of that department to be sure and spend all of the funds which were approved….even if they do not need them.
Because of this flawed reasoning, it is not uncommon to see government departments suddenly replacing all computers, desks, and chairs in their offices as the budget year end approaches, even if they do not need replacing,…as the department head expertly spends all of his budgeted monies. This creates millions of dollars in unnecessary government expenditures every year.
The budgeting process is an annual “smoke and mirrors” exercise designed to make the public think the governing body is “reigning in” the departments under their jurisdiction. The scenario goes like this: The department heads submit their budget requests, which are always at least 15% higher than what they actually need. Then the governing body reviews their budget and expertly cuts the budget back some 10% before approving it. Then the department head begins the task of spending it all.
A better process would be a commonly used approach in industry. A realistic budget would be presented and approved. If the department manager is able to complete the mission of the department during the year significantly UNDER budget, then upper management allows the department head to reward his staff with bonus payments which equal HALF of the amount saved, and the other half is RETURNED to the central fund. The department head is assured that the departmental budget will not be cut, and will be approved for at least what it was the previous year.
In government, for some foolish reason, the governing board seems to feel it is BAD MANAGEMENT to ever not spend all budgeted monies, and if a hapless department head ever commits this sin, then you can be assured that the department budget will be significantly CUT the next year to prevent them from ever committing the sin of saving money again.
This needs to be stopped!
Keeping My Resolution….Say Something Nice-
I commend all of our area police officers who are working to prevent crimes. This includes those hard working police officials who are working to stop drugs from taking over our county, and those who solve robberies and murders and nab the bad guys. I do not commend those who spend their entire day chasing some motorist who is going a few miles over the speed limit….primarily to increase revenues for the starving government agencies. Their time should be spent on something more significant if their real mission is to stop crime and protect the population. If they are merely traffic cops they do not deserve the same level of respect granted to real crime stoppers.
Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Hatcher Publications.
“Governmental Money Management” is an oxymoron.
Government – Federal, State, County, and Municipal- In my opinion, the systems used by all levels of government to manage, budget, and spend our hard earned tax payer dollars are administered with flawed and ill conceived policies and procedures. As a result, nation wide, billions of public dollars are needlessly wasted. Locally, millions are wasted each year.
First, the entire contract management process is a “smoke and mirrors” sham of the public. Why go through a carefully administered bidding process for a defined project, when in the final outcome our politicians and “crats” plan to be sure all available funding for the project will be spent anyway?
It is considered foolish and a form of mismanagement within the bureaucracy to not spend all available money……regardless of how frivolous, “porkish”, or foolish the usage is. An unwritten, unstated rule within their system is “Thou shall NEVER, NEVER return any funds back to the granting agency.” All politicians and bureaucrats seem to endorse and adhere to this precept…even our esteemed county officials and municipal officials. In fact, when they engage in these actions, they even feel they are doing a good job for the “folks” here at home.
The total cost of this concept for our public treasuries on a nation-wide basis is huge. If this one foolish, selfish, unpatriotic ideology could be corrected it would solve many existing budget shortfall problems for a multitude of state and local entities.
I can cite numerous recent examples….right here in good ole Jackson County.
● The City of Marianna adding extra pumps to the wastewater treatment plant when they realized the project was coming in at over $100,000 under budget.
● The Dept of Transportation adding several inches to the width of the first stage of the Sidewalk to Nowhere from Kelson to Citizens Lodge Park in Marianna after the bidding came in at several thousand dollars under the allocated amount for the project.
● The City of Marianna deciding to four lane the entrance road into the industrial park because they finished the road work for the Ice Springs plant with $300,000 left in the grant funding for the road.
● The City of Marianna spending $300,000 on a standby generator for the airport operation. This money was available in a FAA grant, so we grabbed it even though we really have little need for it. (In my opinion as a pilot with 12,000 hours.)
● The County taking stimulus money to build sidewalks in places where they are not needed, while other roads near schools remain without sidewalks…..just because the money was available in the first instance.
This type of thinking of “bringing home the bacon for the folks back home” is costing our nation billions every year as politicians and bureaucrats throughout the country spend on unnecessary projects…..just because the money has been made available. I contend it is unpatriotic to waste public money in this manner. It is NOT free money….it comes from millions of struggling taxpayers.
Zero Based Budgeting Causes Waste- Another foolish and wasteful procedure used by government agencies is the concept of “zero based budgeting”. Under this philosophy, once the governing body has approved a budget for a department, it is the responsibility of the head of that department to be sure and spend all of the funds which were approved….even if they do not need them.
Because of this flawed reasoning, it is not uncommon to see government departments suddenly replacing all computers, desks, and chairs in their offices as the budget year end approaches, even if they do not need replacing,…as the department head expertly spends all of his budgeted monies. This creates millions of dollars in unnecessary government expenditures every year.
The budgeting process is an annual “smoke and mirrors” exercise designed to make the public think the governing body is “reigning in” the departments under their jurisdiction. The scenario goes like this: The department heads submit their budget requests, which are always at least 15% higher than what they actually need. Then the governing body reviews their budget and expertly cuts the budget back some 10% before approving it. Then the department head begins the task of spending it all.
A better process would be a commonly used approach in industry. A realistic budget would be presented and approved. If the department manager is able to complete the mission of the department during the year significantly UNDER budget, then upper management allows the department head to reward his staff with bonus payments which equal HALF of the amount saved, and the other half is RETURNED to the central fund. The department head is assured that the departmental budget will not be cut, and will be approved for at least what it was the previous year.
In government, for some foolish reason, the governing board seems to feel it is BAD MANAGEMENT to ever not spend all budgeted monies, and if a hapless department head ever commits this sin, then you can be assured that the department budget will be significantly CUT the next year to prevent them from ever committing the sin of saving money again.
This needs to be stopped!
Keeping My Resolution….Say Something Nice-
I commend all of our area police officers who are working to prevent crimes. This includes those hard working police officials who are working to stop drugs from taking over our county, and those who solve robberies and murders and nab the bad guys. I do not commend those who spend their entire day chasing some motorist who is going a few miles over the speed limit….primarily to increase revenues for the starving government agencies. Their time should be spent on something more significant if their real mission is to stop crime and protect the population. If they are merely traffic cops they do not deserve the same level of respect granted to real crime stoppers.
Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Hatcher Publications.
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