This article will give you an idea of what happened during last night's emergency meeting.
Polk City Votes to Make Defaulted Loan Payments to Keep Water System
Although the council refused to let the public speak in this meeting, many outraged citizens spoke out anyway. Attempting to make this payment to the county does not address one of the major issues the County Commissioners had with how Polk City is running the Mt. Olive Utility system. Mainly, the way the Polk City Utilities is treating the Polk County residents compared to how the rest of the county residents are treated in regards to their utility services. Per the Polk County Commissioners, part of the original Mt. Olive Utility deal in 2008 was that Polk City would agree to treat the Polk County residents fairly and equally to how the other Polk County residents are treated on other utility systems. In the live feed around time mark 2:07, Commissioners acknowledged that this is not happening. If the city officials are scraping the bottom of the barrel and cleaning out funds from the General Fund, City Impact Fees, and Water Funds to come up with this payment, how is the city possibly in any financial situation to lower water and sewer rates to bring relief to these customers any time in the near future? Where is the money going to come from for paying the $1,700 per week Utility Consultant from FGUA or even the day to day operations of the water system if that money is now being used to pay the county? How can the city officials say that the budget is balanced and the city is in better shape now than it was last year at this time? If this money was available in the budget all along and not needed for operations, why was this debt not paid on time to begin with? City Officials refused to answer these questions.
Here is the link again to our post with the info on the link to the Polk County Live Feed.
Live Video Feed from Sept 15th Polk County Commission Meeting
In the Sept 15th County meeting, Commissioners voted 5-0 to contact the Governors office and have him declare Polk City in a state of Financial Emergency if Polk City did not make this payment on Monday, the 20th. This declaration would put a stop to any further spending without the approval of the Governor's oversight committee. It would also put the loan renegotiations with SunTrust in jeopardy. The financial future of the city hinges on these deals.
As far as added legal fees regarding the take back of the Mt. Olive Utility System. If you watch the Polk County live feed from the Sept. 15th meeting, around the 2:33 mark of the video where the County Attorney requests permission to seek outside council on the take back of the system, Commissioner Reed asks the Attorney how much does he expect this to cost. The Attorney responded by saying that it all depends on how much the city decides to fight them. If Polk City Officials will just wake up and realize that maintaining operations of the Mt. Olive Utilities and keeping this city running by trying to fight for a lost cause and do what is right for the people, the city can stop throwing good money after bad and make this a much smoother and cheaper process for everyone involved.
The Ledger article singled out Council Member Don Kimsey as elected unopposed to council in April. When in fact, the only Council Member presently seated who was elected by the voters is Council Member Adorno. Even the Mayor, Vice Mayor / Acting City Manager, and Council Member Blethen never campaigned for office and also were appointed unopposed by the previous administration. The, "I don't knows," the, "We'll look into its," and the, "Give us more time to work it outs," will only get you so far. What happens if the city tax payers decide to wait until April to pay their tax bills? The city residents have serious concerns about the financial decisions currently being made by city officials by borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. In a household budget, if you start using the grocery money to pay your water and electric bills, there is a very good chance someone will be going hungry.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Polk City Emergency Council Meeting
Please try to attend this very important emergency meeting regarding the Mt. Olive Utility System tonight, Friday, September 17, 2010
at 7:00 PM
Polk City Council Emergency Meeting
at 7:00 PM
Polk City Council Emergency Meeting
CITY OF POLK CITY
City Council Emergency Meeting
Polk City Government Center
123 Broadway Blvd
TODAY September 17, 2010 7:00 pm
AGENDA
MAYOR LaCASCIA HAS CALLED AN EMERGENCY MEETING TO DISCUSS THE
MT. OLIVE SEWER SYSTEM - payment to the County
MT. OLIVE SEWER SYSTEM - payment to the County
Let's Put it in Perspective
"On December 2, 1996, the city manager of Miami, Florida, informed the governor of the city's fiscal crisis and requested the governor to conclude, pursuant to [section]218.503 of the Florida statutes, that a state of financial emergency existed within the city. On December 3, 1996, pursuant to the city's request, the governor acknowledged that the City of Miami was in a state of financial emergency."
How bad was was Miami's financial state when the city manager decided to make this move?
"the City of Miami has a population of 358,000"
"Miami's millage rate is 9.5995, very close to the 10 mill state constitutional cap."
"In order to balance annual budgets, the city officials resorted over time to a number of unsound financial practices."
$200 Million dollars in debt divided by 358,000 residents. How much debt is that per resident? That works out to $558.66 in debt per resident.
How does that compare to Polk City's current financial state?
"The town has grown from its low population level of 203 in 1960 to
reach the nearly 2,000 people today living within the city Limits." In the Polk County Commission meeting on September 15, 2010, the population was quoted to be 1,675.
Polk City's millage rate is 8.6547%, and recently was nearly approved at a proposed increase to 9.6547% very close to the 10 mill state constitutional cap.
In order to balance the 2010-2011 budget, $1,905,000 of the total $3,484,000 in estimated revenues will be coming from "Charges for Services". A bulk of those charges are from water and sewer fees. In City Water fees run approximately 200% higher than surrounding Polk County Utility customer rates. In City Sewer fees run between approximately 200% to nearly 400% higher than surrounding Polk County Utility customer rates. Out of City rates for these services get an additional 25% tacked on top of these fees.
As of September 20th, 2010, Polk City will be in default in excess of $358,000 in interest payments due to Polk County. Polk City is also delinquent by approximately $569,000 of impact fees collected from builders and used to pay other city operating expenses instead of sending this money to the county's portion of these fees.
The estimated current city debt is approximately $10.4 million.
In comparison, let's look at $10.4 Million dollars in debt divided by 1,675 residents. How much debt is that per resident? That works out to $6,208.96 in debt per resident. That is over 11 times worse than Miami's debt per resident.
In conclusion, the City of Miami had a viable plan for controlling its own destiny, but when the city commission failed to increase revenues by raising the garbage collection fee, the city faced an uncertain future. Polk City will be loosing approximately 1,165 water customers, and 887 sewer customers with the county taking back the Mount Olive sewer system effective September 20, 2011. This will result in a major decrease in the city's constant revenue flow. Plans are in the works to add additional city debt by purchasing the property of the Cardinal Hill Utility plant. Appraisals are being done as we speak. Currently, the city continues to add to the debt through lawsuits and has plans of expanding the sewer utilities to additional customers. Polk City officials still think they can work their way out of it???? What are they thinking??
Quotes and Miami statistics are taken from the article:
Local government financial emergency: the case of Miami, Florida.
By Thai, Khi V.
Publication: Government Finance Review
Date: Sunday, June 1 1997
Quotes and Polk City statistics are taken from Polk City Council meetings minutes, Polk County Commission Meeting Live Feeds and Polk City's Official Website.
How bad was was Miami's financial state when the city manager decided to make this move?
"the City of Miami has a population of 358,000"
"Miami's millage rate is 9.5995, very close to the 10 mill state constitutional cap."
"In order to balance annual budgets, the city officials resorted over time to a number of unsound financial practices."
"It gradually used up $17 million in its fund reserves, leaving no money for car, building, and other infrastructure maintenance. It used restricted funds for unrelated activities. For example, $32.5 million of a $42.5 million stormwater drainage fund, which had been built up by a voter-approved homeowner tax, was used to pay for garbage pickup and other budgetary shortfalls. A $75 million pension bond was issued in December 1995 and $25 million in bond proceeds was transferred to the previous year's budget."
"The unfunded liabilities and depleted reserve accounts were estimated to be in excess of $200 million."
$200 Million dollars in debt divided by 358,000 residents. How much debt is that per resident? That works out to $558.66 in debt per resident.
How does that compare to Polk City's current financial state?
"The town has grown from its low population level of 203 in 1960 to
reach the nearly 2,000 people today living within the city Limits." In the Polk County Commission meeting on September 15, 2010, the population was quoted to be 1,675.
Polk City's millage rate is 8.6547%, and recently was nearly approved at a proposed increase to 9.6547% very close to the 10 mill state constitutional cap.
In order to balance the 2010-2011 budget, $1,905,000 of the total $3,484,000 in estimated revenues will be coming from "Charges for Services". A bulk of those charges are from water and sewer fees. In City Water fees run approximately 200% higher than surrounding Polk County Utility customer rates. In City Sewer fees run between approximately 200% to nearly 400% higher than surrounding Polk County Utility customer rates. Out of City rates for these services get an additional 25% tacked on top of these fees.
As of September 20th, 2010, Polk City will be in default in excess of $358,000 in interest payments due to Polk County. Polk City is also delinquent by approximately $569,000 of impact fees collected from builders and used to pay other city operating expenses instead of sending this money to the county's portion of these fees.
The estimated current city debt is approximately $10.4 million.
In comparison, let's look at $10.4 Million dollars in debt divided by 1,675 residents. How much debt is that per resident? That works out to $6,208.96 in debt per resident. That is over 11 times worse than Miami's debt per resident.
In conclusion, the City of Miami had a viable plan for controlling its own destiny, but when the city commission failed to increase revenues by raising the garbage collection fee, the city faced an uncertain future. Polk City will be loosing approximately 1,165 water customers, and 887 sewer customers with the county taking back the Mount Olive sewer system effective September 20, 2011. This will result in a major decrease in the city's constant revenue flow. Plans are in the works to add additional city debt by purchasing the property of the Cardinal Hill Utility plant. Appraisals are being done as we speak. Currently, the city continues to add to the debt through lawsuits and has plans of expanding the sewer utilities to additional customers. Polk City officials still think they can work their way out of it???? What are they thinking??
Quotes and Miami statistics are taken from the article:
Local government financial emergency: the case of Miami, Florida.
By Thai, Khi V.
Publication: Government Finance Review
Date: Sunday, June 1 1997
Quotes and Polk City statistics are taken from Polk City Council meetings minutes, Polk County Commission Meeting Live Feeds and Polk City's Official Website.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Live Video Feed from Sept 15th Polk County Commission Meeting
Below is a link to the live video feed recorded during the September 15, 2010, Polk County Commission Meeting. Item # 15 is the section where they discussed the Mt. Olive Utility System issue. You can fast forward through the meeting to this agenda item by clicking and dragging the progress bar just below the video picture.
After clicking on this link you may have to download and then run the free download software from Microsoft in order to view the video. There will be a small box in the upper left hand corner of the picture box that you click on to start this process, if it does not start the video automatically.
Here is the link to the video: BoCC Live Feed from 9-15-10 Meeting
After clicking on this link you may have to download and then run the free download software from Microsoft in order to view the video. There will be a small box in the upper left hand corner of the picture box that you click on to start this process, if it does not start the video automatically.
Here is the link to the video: BoCC Live Feed from 9-15-10 Meeting
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Local Government Financial Emergency
Here is a VERY interesting article about the FORMER City of Miami, Florida.
On December 2, 1996, the City Manager of Miami, Florida, informed the Governor of the City's fiscal crisis and requested the Governor to conclude, pursuant to section 218.503 of the Florida Statutes, that a state of financial emergency existed within the city. Get the rest of this story in this article: Local government financial emergency: the case of Miami, Florida.
If you look at the end of the above linked article, you will see that Jacksonville, Florida, faced a similar financial crisis situation in 1977 and it was merged into Duval County.
On December 2, 1996, the City Manager of Miami, Florida, informed the Governor of the City's fiscal crisis and requested the Governor to conclude, pursuant to section 218.503 of the Florida Statutes, that a state of financial emergency existed within the city. Get the rest of this story in this article: Local government financial emergency: the case of Miami, Florida.
If you look at the end of the above linked article, you will see that Jacksonville, Florida, faced a similar financial crisis situation in 1977 and it was merged into Duval County.
Info from City Meeting on Sept 14th
Here's the ledger article on the City Council meeting from yesterday evening, Sept. 14th
Polk City Opts Not to Refinance Debt
Polk City Opts Not to Refinance Debt
County Is Taking Back The Mt. Olive Sewer System
In today's scheduled Polk County Commissioners meeting, the county commissioners heard presentations from both sides of the issue. After a difficult, lenghty discussion the Commissioners voted to take back the Mount Olive sewer system.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Duplicate Billing for City Water/Sewer Customers
There are a large number of Polk City utility customers who have received a duplicate utility bill last week. Please do not pay both bills! Due to a costly error, Polk City sent out numerous duplicate bills to their customers, at the expense of the city taxpayers resulting in wasted postage, envelopes, paper and time. These wasted funds could have been put to better use toward paying off the City’s expenses and mounting debt.
We have spoken with city officials regarding this error, and they have confirmed that only one bill needs to be paid.
History in the Making! Initial Petition Numbers Are In
Initial counts for the petition signing are in with more coming in on a daily basis.
To date, we have received roughly 700 signatures for the petition drive to get a special election to dissolve Polk City!! Just under 400 of them had stated that they are registered voters in city limits. I have personally been able to verify approximately 225 so far. The remaining will have to be verified by the Supervisor of Elections Office. They will also double check the ones we have verified for accuracy.
The response to our petition drive has FAR exceeded our expectations. We have been told by individuals who have lived here for several decades that this blew away any previous records for turn out for any previous petitions as well as prior in-city elections. We are proud of the area residents for voicing their opinions on this topic and congratulate you on the success of this petition. We couldn't have done it without you!
We are still accepting signatures, but we would like you to get them in to us ASAP. It takes time for the Supervisor of Elections office to verify the registered voters and the sooner we can get these turned in, the sooner we can get them back to present to the City Officials. We are trying to get them all in by the end of the week (9/17/10) so we can get them back from the Elections office before the regular city meeting scheduled for 2nd Tuesday of October, the 12th.
Thanks again for your support,
Lisa B. Shifflett
To date, we have received roughly 700 signatures for the petition drive to get a special election to dissolve Polk City!! Just under 400 of them had stated that they are registered voters in city limits. I have personally been able to verify approximately 225 so far. The remaining will have to be verified by the Supervisor of Elections Office. They will also double check the ones we have verified for accuracy.
The response to our petition drive has FAR exceeded our expectations. We have been told by individuals who have lived here for several decades that this blew away any previous records for turn out for any previous petitions as well as prior in-city elections. We are proud of the area residents for voicing their opinions on this topic and congratulate you on the success of this petition. We couldn't have done it without you!
We are still accepting signatures, but we would like you to get them in to us ASAP. It takes time for the Supervisor of Elections office to verify the registered voters and the sooner we can get these turned in, the sooner we can get them back to present to the City Officials. We are trying to get them all in by the end of the week (9/17/10) so we can get them back from the Elections office before the regular city meeting scheduled for 2nd Tuesday of October, the 12th.
Thanks again for your support,
Lisa B. Shifflett
Agenda & Details for Bartow Meeting 9/15 at 9:00 AM
Here's the link to the PDF file for the agenda for the Polk County Meeting tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM
Wednesday, September 15, 2010 - Regular BoCC meeting Agenda
This agenda is quite long, 15 pages, so it may take a minute to download. If it is still blank after a few minutes, try hitting the refresh button on your browser to reload the PDF page. The Mt. Olive Utility System issue starts on page 3 of 15.
Here is the address and phone number for the meeting location tomorrow, 9/15/10, morning at 9:00 AM,
330 West Church Street | Bartow, FL 33830
By the sounds of it, it might be very busy, so plan to get there early.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010 - Regular BoCC meeting Agenda
This agenda is quite long, 15 pages, so it may take a minute to download. If it is still blank after a few minutes, try hitting the refresh button on your browser to reload the PDF page. The Mt. Olive Utility System issue starts on page 3 of 15.
Here is the address and phone number for the meeting location tomorrow, 9/15/10, morning at 9:00 AM,
330 West Church Street | Bartow, FL 33830
Questions for Polk County
As a follow up to a phone conversation I had with Michael Herr, the Polk County Manager, this morning just before 9:00 AM, I emailed him a list of questions we have complied regarding what happens if Polk City dissolves. Michael did his best to answer many of my early questions, which some are also posted here, during our phone conversation, but some require a little more looking into. Some are questions we had ourselves, but many of these were great questions we received from the public. Thank you for helping us get some answers to your concerns.
Below is a copy of the email I sent. I know it may take a while for Mr. Herr to research some of these questions with his legal staff, but hopefully we can provide you these answers in a timely manner. If you, the public, can think of anything we missed, please post it as a comment here or email us at HelpPolkCityResidents@earthlink.net and we can send additional questions to him.
Below is a copy of the email I sent. I know it may take a while for Mr. Herr to research some of these questions with his legal staff, but hopefully we can provide you these answers in a timely manner. If you, the public, can think of anything we missed, please post it as a comment here or email us at HelpPolkCityResidents@earthlink.net and we can send additional questions to him.
Lisa B. Shifflett September 14, 2010
Polk City, FL 33868
RE: Questions Regarding Dissolution of Polk City’s Charter
Dear, Mr. Michael Herr,
As a member of the Concerned Citizens of Polk City, our group has been trying to find out the facts regarding the real possibility of Polk City’s municipality dissolving. Some of these questions we have been able to find answers on, but others are a bit more complicated. We have gathered the following questions so far to try to get answers for ourselves and the public. I know you have answered some of these questions for me over the phone in a previous conversation, but I would like to have them formally answered for all so see. We plan to post these questions and answers from you and your legal advisors on our blog, www.ConcernedCitizensOfPolkCity.blogspot.com to hopefully bring some clarity to the issues that affect so many in our area. In the short time we have begun to research this, we have gained a very large following on our blog. Starting on the last week of August we have over 2,000 hits to date and average 100-200 hits per day. We also forward this information to a large email list we have started for those individuals who prefer to get this information in their email. Our petition drive this past weekend to get a referendum on an upcoming ballot regarding the dissolution of Polk City’s charter appears to have been very successful, looking at preliminary numbers. We will be submitting these signatures to the Elections office shortly for verification.
Our goal is to keep our friends, neighbors, and fellow Polk City residents informed and educate them on the facts we have been able to find on this issue. We do not feel that the City Officials have investigated this option fully, so we are trying to do this work for them.
Please feel free to contact me at the information I provided you on my email, if you need further clarification on any of the following questions. If you feel there is additional information we also need to let the public be aware of that we have not brought up already, please feel free to add it to this list. We thank you in advance for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Lisa B. Shifflett
Concerned Citizens Of Polk City
If The City of Polk City Dissolves under state statute 165.051….
· Who will handle the basic governmental functions such as general government, public works, permits, culture/recreation, transportation, public safety, etc.?
· If Polk County does end up taking Polk City back into unincorporated Polk County, will Polk County taxes be increasing to help cover the extra expenses in addition to the special assessment that we understand will be levied on the current Polk City property owners for the remaining Polk City debt once assets are liquidated? If so, approximately how much and when might these county taxes change?
· Are there additional fees the County can charge the property owners of Polk City for the process of dissolving the city and the transitioning process? If there are, are these fees going to be included in the special assessment tax?
· We understand that a separate taxing district within Polk County will be formed to have the current Polk City property owners receive a special tax assessment to pay off the remaining city debt after the city is liquidated. Will this be one flat assessment amount for each property owner or will the amount of the assessments be varying based on the assessed value of the property?
· When liquidating Polk City assets, how is each asset value determined and who determines this value to make sure Polk City property owners get a fair price for these assets during the liquidation process? Which entities will be involved in this negotiation process?
· Particular assets originally purchased by the city, from the county, have remaining balances on those loans and in some cases are even delinquent. Since these assets are being returned to the county, what happens to the remaining debt on those assets?
· Will Polk County be bound to any existing Polk City contracts with sub-contractors in regards to outsourcing, etc. if the City dissolves? Does the contract become null and void since one of the contract parties no longer exists, or will the obligations of the contract just be transferred to the County?
· Who will take over the function of the Polk City Police Department?
· Will there be any change in Fire Protection Services?
· Will the Polk City Post Office, and zip code 33868, remain due to its location so far away from other post offices?
· In regards to the Polk City Library, a resident stated that according to the librarian here it is a county co-op. Each library is based and mostly funded by the city they are in. We get a minimum amount of co-op funding $25,000, but costs run around $100,000 annually. The current agreement is with the city. How will our library be funded and it’s services be affected?
· If the city goes away, due to the library’s location so far away from other libraries in the area, will the residents of Polk City have any say as to if the library stays or goes. If the distance away from other libraries does not play into the decision process, and plans would be to close this location, can needed funding be calculated into the special assessment tax to keep the library open?
· We understand the garbage/recycling services for both Polk County and Polk City are both handled by the same company, Florida Refuse. How will those services/costs change for the current city residents?
· Will current Polk City residents/property owners get charged additional fees to bring current road conditions up to county standards?
· Obviously, there will be a transition period with the water and sewer systems if the county takes over control of them. Will current sewer and water customers of Polk City Utilities transition over to current Polk County Utility rates immediately or will there be a delay until some of the transition details are worked out?
· With the Auburndale spray field being located just down Berkley Road, is it a more cost effective possibility Polk City Utility sewer customers can link into the existing Auburndale sewer facilities? This way the overhead expenses of running the Mt. Olive sewer treatment plant, as well as the Cardinal Hill treatment plant, can be eliminated.
· Polk City is currently leasing the property that the Cardinal Hill sewer treatment plant is sitting on. From our understanding, no payments have been made on this lease to date. Rather, a special deal regarding future environmental impact fees was made with the land owner in regards to future development on this land. How will payment on this deal be handled?
· Will current Polk City Utility customers get charged additional fees incurred due to the transition process of the sewer and water systems? If so, will this expense be included as part of the special assessment tax on the property owners or will this expense be passed on to the account holders on their water/sewer bills?
· If the current Polk City debt is being absorbed in the liquidation process, will the county continue the current push the city has pursued to force property owners on properly functioning septic systems to move to sewer in the immediate future?
· Currently, some of the Polk City Utility water meters are older and cannot be read using a scanner. These meters in the past have either been read manually, incorrectly, or the usages have been estimated due to lack of man power to check them all manually. Some of these meters have already been upgraded to the newer meters than can be electronically scanned. Will customers be charged a fee if these old meters need replacement?
· Will current Polk City residents/property owners get charged additional fees to bring current water / sewer conditions up to county standards?
· The Fountain Park subdivision located at Mt. Olive Road and State Road 33, currently has their street lighting paid for by the city as part of a deal with the developer. Most of this partially developed subdivision is nothing but streets without houses, but the street lights are on throughout the subdivision. How will that contract between the city and the developer be affected?
· Who is responsible for paying the street lighting in the city? Does it vary based on who owns the roads? If they are county/state/or city streets?
Very Interesting Reading in Today's Ledger
There are two very interesting articles in the Ledger today about Polk City's Utility Dept. and the Mt. Olive sewer & spray field controversy between Polk County and Polk City. We need to take this opportunity to attend the September 15th County Commissioners Meeting tomorrow to voice our support for the County taking back this horrendous money pit. Our show in numbers will speak volumes.
Please contact each of the commissioners and tell them to take back the Mt. Olive Sewer System from Polk City!! We cannot afford it.
Email District 1
Commissioner - Bob English (Chairman): bobenglish@polk-county.net Phone 534-6450
Email District 2
Commissioner - Randy Wilkinson: randywilkinson@polk-county.net Phone 534-6434
Email District 3
Commissioner - Ed Smith: Ed.Smith@polk-county.net Phone 534-6050
Email District 4
Commissioner - Jean Reed: jeanreed@polk-county.net Phone 534-6422
Email District 5
Commissioner - Sam Johnson: samjohnson@polk-county.net Phone 534-6049
Here are the links to the 2 Ledger articles that are in today's issue.
Polk City Hires a $1,700/week Interim Public Works Director
County Could Take Back Polk City Utility
Thanks again for your continued support and reading our blog.
Susan Borsje'
Please contact each of the commissioners and tell them to take back the Mt. Olive Sewer System from Polk City!! We cannot afford it.
Email District 1
Commissioner - Bob English (Chairman): bobenglish@polk-county.net Phone 534-6450
Email District 2
Commissioner - Randy Wilkinson: randywilkinson@polk-county.net Phone 534-6434
Email District 3
Commissioner - Ed Smith: Ed.Smith@polk-county.net Phone 534-6050
Email District 4
Commissioner - Jean Reed: jeanreed@polk-county.net Phone 534-6422
Email District 5
Commissioner - Sam Johnson: samjohnson@polk-county.net Phone 534-6049
Here are the links to the 2 Ledger articles that are in today's issue.
Polk City Hires a $1,700/week Interim Public Works Director
County Could Take Back Polk City Utility
Thanks again for your continued support and reading our blog.
Susan Borsje'
Please Try to Attend the Bartow Meeting Tomorrow 9/15
The very important meeting regarding the future of the Mt. Olive Spray Field and Sewer System may be decided tomorrow evening at the County meeting in Bartow. If you have not already contacted your County Commissioners regarding this issue, please send them an email. We have provided all of their contact information in previous mailings, door hangers, and as handouts during our petition drive. If you need this information again:
If you are having problems viewing this form, here are direct links to the Polk County Commissioners:
 |
| To print a form: Open up the post so you see the document. Left click on the document to open the viewer. Right click on document to get a pop-up menu. Select "Print Picture" from pop-up menu. Choose your printer and number of copies Click on the "Print" button in your printer window. |
Email District 1 Commissioner - Bob English (Chairman): bobenglish@polk-county.net
Email District 3 Commissioner - Ed Smith: Ed.Smith@polk-county.net
Email District 4 Commissioner - Jean Reed: jeanreed@polk-county.net
Email District 5 Commissioner - Sam Johnson: samjohnson@polk-county.net
New Ledger Articles About Polk City
In case you didn't see them in our news reel on the right hand side of the blog, here are the links:
Polk City Hires $1,700-a-Week Interim Public Works Director
County Could Take Back Polk City Utility
Government in The Sunshine: Jerry Hill Opens Doors
Polk City Hires $1,700-a-Week Interim Public Works Director
County Could Take Back Polk City Utility
Government in The Sunshine: Jerry Hill Opens Doors
Monday, September 13, 2010
Ledger Articles You Might Have Missed About Polk City
In case you have missed these recent Ledger articles about Polk City, here are the links:
Polk County Approves Tentative Spending Plan
Kermit Weeks Deannexation Request Denied by Polk City Council
Polk City Public Works Director Loses Job in Budget Cuts
Agreement With County May Be Near On Polk City Debt
Thank you again for your interest in our blog.
Polk County Approves Tentative Spending Plan
Kermit Weeks Deannexation Request Denied by Polk City Council
Polk City Public Works Director Loses Job in Budget Cuts
Agreement With County May Be Near On Polk City Debt
Thank you again for your interest in our blog.
A HUGE THANK YOU!!!
A huge THANK YOU!!! to the large number of concerned citizens of Polk City and surrounding areas affected by these outrageously high taxes, debt and/or utility bills, who showed up on September 11 & 12th at Freedom Park and voiced your support. We have heard many unbelievable testimonials from you regarding these sky high water and sewer bills, and answered many questions and concerns that you brought to us. We presented educational material that gave comparison utility rates for Polk City Rates vs. Polk county rates and the impressive savings involved.
We have educated you on the process of dissolution of a city charter and had printed material available explaining Article VIII, section 2 of the State Constitution which provides that a municipality may be abolished and its charter amended pursuant to general or special law. When a municipality is abolished, the Constitution requires the Legislature to provide for the protection of the municipality's creditors.
Section 165.051 in the Florida Statues, provides that a municipal charter may be revoked to dissolve a municipality in the following ways:
The Legislature may pass a special act repealing the enabling act of the municipality and any subsequent mandatory acts. This method is subject to all requirements of law or rule applicable to the consideration and enactment of any special act.
The governing body of the city seeking dissolution may pass an ordinance dissolving the municipality, subject to approval of the qualified voters in the affected area.
* The governing body of the municipality, or the governing body or bodies in which the municipality is located, if the municipal governing body does not act within 30 days, must set the date of the referendum
* The referendum must be held at the next regularly scheduled election or may be held at a SPECIAL ELECTION prior to the next scheduled election, if the special election is approved by a majority of the governing board members of each governmental unit affected. The date of the referendum cannot be sooner than 30 days after the passage of the ordinance.
* The date of the referendum must be published in a newspaper of GENERAL CIRCULATION in the municipality at least once a week for two weeks prior to the referendum.
What a great way to meet our fellow citizens. They are a fine group with one common goal: to do what's in the best interest for our city and it's citizens.
Susan Borsje'
We have educated you on the process of dissolution of a city charter and had printed material available explaining Article VIII, section 2 of the State Constitution which provides that a municipality may be abolished and its charter amended pursuant to general or special law. When a municipality is abolished, the Constitution requires the Legislature to provide for the protection of the municipality's creditors.
Section 165.051 in the Florida Statues, provides that a municipal charter may be revoked to dissolve a municipality in the following ways:
The Legislature may pass a special act repealing the enabling act of the municipality and any subsequent mandatory acts. This method is subject to all requirements of law or rule applicable to the consideration and enactment of any special act.
The governing body of the city seeking dissolution may pass an ordinance dissolving the municipality, subject to approval of the qualified voters in the affected area.
* The governing body of the municipality, or the governing body or bodies in which the municipality is located, if the municipal governing body does not act within 30 days, must set the date of the referendum
* The referendum must be held at the next regularly scheduled election or may be held at a SPECIAL ELECTION prior to the next scheduled election, if the special election is approved by a majority of the governing board members of each governmental unit affected. The date of the referendum cannot be sooner than 30 days after the passage of the ordinance.
* The date of the referendum must be published in a newspaper of GENERAL CIRCULATION in the municipality at least once a week for two weeks prior to the referendum.
What a great way to meet our fellow citizens. They are a fine group with one common goal: to do what's in the best interest for our city and it's citizens.
Susan Borsje'
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Still Undecided?
If you are still undecided about this issue and would like more information, please feel free to stop in and talk to us tomorrow at Freedom Park, Berkley Rd & SR 33. In order to make an informed decision, it is wise to know both sides of the issue. We'll be there from 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM or later. We had such a great time meeting so many of our fellow citizens today, and hearing their personal stories. It was really a very productive day. Thank you so much for your support.....it was overwhelming!!!
Looking forward to tomorrow.
Looking forward to tomorrow.
Day One of Petition Signing was BIG Success!
We want to thank everyone who came out today to show their support and get additional information on the city issues. I want to send out another BIG thanks to all the volunteers we had helping out. We couldn't have handled the volume without your help. It was great to meet everyone. I hope we answered many of your questions and hope to get the rest of them answered in the near future. We received lots of signatures and got a very large number of local citizens registered to vote in the process. All day long there was a steady stream of people and we even ended up staying past 4 PM because the people kept coming. Many times throughout the day, even with 2 clip boards each at 3 different signing stations, we had lines forming! Amazing!Thank you for speaking up and seeking out information instead of sitting home and letting the decisions be made for you! We will be out at the park tomorrow, Sunday, Sept. 12th, from 8AM - 4PM, as well, in case you were not able to make it today.
I also want to put out a special thanks to Paula Roddenberry for her beautiful prayer at noon at our moment of silence in remembrance of the 9/11 tragedy.
Kitty, from Swamp Grass, your baked goodies are wonderful! They were a great treat when we were able to take a breather. We really appreciate you stopping by and dropping them off for our crew and the volunteers to enjoy. I'm sure you have hooked some new customers! :o)
We don't want to forget to mention the special visit from Mayor Joe LaCascia and his lovely wife. Thank you for stopping by to see what we are doing and speaking with the people who came out. It was great to see you.We also want to send out a special THANK YOU to the people who generously gave unsolicited donations to help cover the costs of what we are doing. We really appreciate your support. By the looks of it, a special election will be in the future and every little bit helps! :o)
Looking forward to another great day tomorrow! See you at the park.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Polk County Tax Rate Remains Unchanged
Here's a link to today's Ledger Article regarding the Polk County tax rate remaining unchanged for the upcoming fiscal year. Polk County Budget
Clarification Needed Regarding City Budget Savings
In the brochure that City Officials handed out at the last Tentative Budget Hearing Meeting on Sept. 8, 2010, it states that "by the appointment of an acting city manager who is working full time for Polk City without compensation," a $50,000.00 savings to the City was created.
One of our readers questioned if this $50,000.00 savings is reflected in the proposed 2010-2011 budget. If the current individual who is now taking on these responsibilities without compensation steps down, another individual will then need to fill these shoes. It will be next to impossible to find someone else to perform these services for free. In that case, will there then be a shortfall in the proposed budget?
One of our readers questioned if this $50,000.00 savings is reflected in the proposed 2010-2011 budget. If the current individual who is now taking on these responsibilities without compensation steps down, another individual will then need to fill these shoes. It will be next to impossible to find someone else to perform these services for free. In that case, will there then be a shortfall in the proposed budget?
Addressing Traffic Safety Concerns at Freedom Park This Weekend
Some citizens have expressed their concerns with the possible heavy traffic on Berkley Road at Freedom Park on Saturday & Sunday, Sept. 11 & 12, with the Petition Signing. No Polk City Police or Polk County Sheriff is scheduled, so we took it upon ourselves to make a call to the Polk County Sheriff Department and made them aware of possible increase in traffic in that area at that time. They have responded by scheduling a patrol for the general area, so when he is not getting a call, he can drive by to make sure things are going smoothly. If additional assistance is needed, he will be in close proximity to step in. They also told us to call them if things really get out of hand and the crowd is much larger than anticipated, so they can have a heads up and keep on top of things. They are very willing to help out.
So please take care, and hold your children by the hand when crossing Berkley Rd. to the park, in case of overflow traffic parking across the street from the park.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
So please take care, and hold your children by the hand when crossing Berkley Rd. to the park, in case of overflow traffic parking across the street from the park.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Polk County Reducing Rates & Services
If you watched yesterday's evening news, you will have heard that Polk County residents will now have trash pickup only once per week, instead of twice per week. There will also be an annual reduction in the amount of $25.00 per year, reducing the annual fee from $154.00 to $130.00 per year. In comparison, Polk City residents are paying $240.00 per year, for the same service, supplied by the same refuge company. Which one would you rather pay??
Creating Awareness
The purpose of this blog is to create awareness as to what has been happening in the City of Polk City over the past 5 – 6 years, not to create anger and hatred amongst us. It is to show how frustrated many of Polk City residents are with the direction our city is choosing. The people have every right to voice their opinions, and we’re providing the tools to do it and be heard.
The last administration has created a “mountain of debt” for its citizens. The citizens showed their frustration by replaced a majority of the city officials. This new administration has to be applauded for their hard work in trying to make the future look brighter for Polk City. They have been working very hard and in some cases have been uncompensated for their long hours of dedication.
With that said, we are operating a city with the bare necessities. Our infrastructure is so bad that we couldn’t even sell the water/sewer system to FGUA. After an extensive study, FGUA notified the city that it would be necessary for them to increase the utility rates by 90% to pay for necessary improvements and be able to make it a profitable venture. After the city increased our rates by 62% within the past year, the city is now considering leasing it to them to operate. FGUA is not a non-profit organization. What will stop them from increasing rates once they will operate our water/sewer system?
Our roads are falling apart, and there are no funds in the budget for the extensive repairs that need to be done. Some prominent potholes are being filled, as we speak, with crushed millings. Heavy truck traffic and a few good rainstorms will wash it right out.
The city’s approach to fixing it’s financial shortfall is very similar, just temporary fixes so they can present a balanced budget for the next fiscal year, as required by law. Amortizing the city debt over 35 years will only add to more interest being paid on these loans. Let’s compare it to purchasing a car.
Amount of the car loan is $20,000 borrowed @ 8% rate.
Monthly Payment # Of Payments Principal + % Paid Total % Paid
$626.73 36 (3 years) $22,562.18 $2,562.18
$350.66 72 (6 years) $25,247.87 $5,247.86
Now apply the same analogy to an $8 million dollar debt @ 3.25% rate.
Monthly Payment # Of Payments Principal + % Paid Total % Paid
$78,175.22 120 (10 years) $ 9,381,026.78 $1,381,026.78
$31,914.98 420 (35 years) $13,404,291.23 $5,404,291.23
Sounds a lot more manageable per month, but look at the total picture. The total of both the principal and interest of the loan increases to $13,404,291.23, of which $5,404,291.23 is interest. As you can see, spreading out the city debt over a longer period of time will lower monthly payments, and might help balance an annual budget, but it will only end up costing the city and its citizens much more in the long run. Is this the path the people of Polk City want to take?
The last administration has created a “mountain of debt” for its citizens. The citizens showed their frustration by replaced a majority of the city officials. This new administration has to be applauded for their hard work in trying to make the future look brighter for Polk City. They have been working very hard and in some cases have been uncompensated for their long hours of dedication.
With that said, we are operating a city with the bare necessities. Our infrastructure is so bad that we couldn’t even sell the water/sewer system to FGUA. After an extensive study, FGUA notified the city that it would be necessary for them to increase the utility rates by 90% to pay for necessary improvements and be able to make it a profitable venture. After the city increased our rates by 62% within the past year, the city is now considering leasing it to them to operate. FGUA is not a non-profit organization. What will stop them from increasing rates once they will operate our water/sewer system?
Our roads are falling apart, and there are no funds in the budget for the extensive repairs that need to be done. Some prominent potholes are being filled, as we speak, with crushed millings. Heavy truck traffic and a few good rainstorms will wash it right out.
The city’s approach to fixing it’s financial shortfall is very similar, just temporary fixes so they can present a balanced budget for the next fiscal year, as required by law. Amortizing the city debt over 35 years will only add to more interest being paid on these loans. Let’s compare it to purchasing a car.
Amount of the car loan is $20,000 borrowed @ 8% rate.
Monthly Payment # Of Payments Principal + % Paid Total % Paid
$626.73 36 (3 years) $22,562.18 $2,562.18
$350.66 72 (6 years) $25,247.87 $5,247.86
Now apply the same analogy to an $8 million dollar debt @ 3.25% rate.
Monthly Payment # Of Payments Principal + % Paid Total % Paid
$78,175.22 120 (10 years) $ 9,381,026.78 $1,381,026.78
$31,914.98 420 (35 years) $13,404,291.23 $5,404,291.23
Sounds a lot more manageable per month, but look at the total picture. The total of both the principal and interest of the loan increases to $13,404,291.23, of which $5,404,291.23 is interest. As you can see, spreading out the city debt over a longer period of time will lower monthly payments, and might help balance an annual budget, but it will only end up costing the city and its citizens much more in the long run. Is this the path the people of Polk City want to take?
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Bay News 9 Article
In case you have not seen the article that Brighthouse Bay News 9 did on our city, here's a link to the article Bay News 9 article on Polk City Debt which was posted in their website. They will also be airing a segment on their TV station Channel 9.
ROLL BACK IN MILLAGE RATE?
In case you missed the Tentative Budget Hearing on September 8, 2010 at the Polk City Government Center, the adjustment in the city's millage rate was referred to as a "Roll Back in the city's millage rate". That kind of sounds like a Walmart "Roll Back" price.......increase more first then decrease a little to arrive at a "roll back" price. In the meantime, the price is higher than the original price before the price change, but it sounds like you're paying less. The country and western dance, "The Two Step," also comes to mind......take two steps forward and one step back. No matter how you look at it, it's still going forward.
City council members handed out literature at the meeting last night stating in bold letters "Proposal to City Council on Sept. 8, 2010 to decrease the millage rate by 1 mil. This will take the millage rate from 9.6547 to 8.6547. That seems to be a little misleading. The 9.6547 is the proposed millage rate that was not yet adopted. As per the article in the Ledger this morning, Polk City Council Approves Tentative Spending Plan, at last night's meeting the Council members adopted a property tax rate of $8.6547 per $1,000 of taxable value, an increase of 12 percent over the current rate of $7.80.
A second public hearing has been set for Sept. 21.
The increase in utility rates has not been changed, and was not under discussion.
The outsourcing of utilities is still on the table, since city officials believe it will result in a reduction in service fees for utility users, even though we might relinquish control of the pricing structure for the utility customers. The city is still aggressively focusing on increasing the water and sewer customer base in order to reduce utility costs to all customers.
City council members handed out literature at the meeting last night stating in bold letters "Proposal to City Council on Sept. 8, 2010 to decrease the millage rate by 1 mil. This will take the millage rate from 9.6547 to 8.6547. That seems to be a little misleading. The 9.6547 is the proposed millage rate that was not yet adopted. As per the article in the Ledger this morning, Polk City Council Approves Tentative Spending Plan, at last night's meeting the Council members adopted a property tax rate of $8.6547 per $1,000 of taxable value, an increase of 12 percent over the current rate of $7.80.
A second public hearing has been set for Sept. 21.
The increase in utility rates has not been changed, and was not under discussion.
The outsourcing of utilities is still on the table, since city officials believe it will result in a reduction in service fees for utility users, even though we might relinquish control of the pricing structure for the utility customers. The city is still aggressively focusing on increasing the water and sewer customer base in order to reduce utility costs to all customers.
Does signing this Petition Abolish the City of Polk City?
Does signing this Petition Abolish the City of Polk City? NO
Signing this petition will not mean that the City of Polk City will be abolished. It will set the stage for a Special Election, at which time you will have the opportunity to cast your vote to dissolve or not to dissolve the city. Because this special election date will be in the future, this will allow the official branches of government affected directly by this decision to get more details to the general public.
Signing this petition will not mean that the City of Polk City will be abolished. It will set the stage for a Special Election, at which time you will have the opportunity to cast your vote to dissolve or not to dissolve the city. Because this special election date will be in the future, this will allow the official branches of government affected directly by this decision to get more details to the general public.
Facts and Contributions
The main reason our drive to abolish Polk City has been so successful is that there are many worried citizens who have contacted us with their concerns about the future of our debt-ridden city. It is not a push from disgruntled, former city employees. Rather, this is a push from everyday Polk City residents and property owners who have been pushed to the breaking point both financially and with their patience with the city to bring much deserved services and repairs for their hard earned tax dollars. Discontent has been brewing for the last 4 - 5 years, but the recent 62% water/sewer increases, and now a 12% millage rate increase has brought it to a head. All that was needed was for a group of citizens to offer some leadership and guidance.
We are not just a small group of motivated citizens.......we have a big support group behind us. They consist of ordinary people who are "bleeding" and ready to go on life support. They are with their backs against the wall, working 2 jobs, if they have a job, trying to pay the bills. They love living in Polk City and want to keep it peaceful and serene. They don't want to move just because they can't afford their monthly water bill and sewer bill. One landlord has a group of new apartments, but 6 of them are empty because tenants can't pay the high water and sewer bills. One tenant cried when she was packing her family's belongings to move back in with her parents. Another tenant catches all her waste water in a pan instead of letting it run down the drain and uses that water to flush the toilet. What kind of lifestyle is that in America! This is not some third world country!
We have been amazed with the support that has been pouring in. Ordinary people stop in and bring us their hard-earned money in forms of $20.00, $30.00, $50.00 donations, books and rolls of stamps, reams of paper for printing the brochures we have been distributing around town.
We have been in contact with the State and County officials to get clarifications on exactly what we can expect should the dissolution of Polk City become a reality. Statements made here are based on facts from State Statutes as well as information gathered from phone calls to officials in Florida State and Polk County offices, as well as contacts we have made with people with legal backgrounds.
Since some situations the people of Polk City face are unique compared to other cities that have dissolved in the past, it is very difficult to get hard answers about how things will happen to hypothetical situations. Obviously, in the case of the sewer and water systems, the county officials will only make educated guesses, but would not spend resources to investigate in detail to get a hard and fast plan in place unless the need becomes more real and less hypothetical.
This petition will not make the city dissolve on it's own. It is a required step to get to the next step of allowing the Citizens of Polk City to have a special election and voice their feelings about whether or not they would like to see Polk City continue down the same path, or if they feel the city has not shown that it's benefits do not continue to outweigh it's costs. We want to let the PEOPLE have their say.
We are not just a small group of motivated citizens.......we have a big support group behind us. They consist of ordinary people who are "bleeding" and ready to go on life support. They are with their backs against the wall, working 2 jobs, if they have a job, trying to pay the bills. They love living in Polk City and want to keep it peaceful and serene. They don't want to move just because they can't afford their monthly water bill and sewer bill. One landlord has a group of new apartments, but 6 of them are empty because tenants can't pay the high water and sewer bills. One tenant cried when she was packing her family's belongings to move back in with her parents. Another tenant catches all her waste water in a pan instead of letting it run down the drain and uses that water to flush the toilet. What kind of lifestyle is that in America! This is not some third world country!
We have been amazed with the support that has been pouring in. Ordinary people stop in and bring us their hard-earned money in forms of $20.00, $30.00, $50.00 donations, books and rolls of stamps, reams of paper for printing the brochures we have been distributing around town.
We have been in contact with the State and County officials to get clarifications on exactly what we can expect should the dissolution of Polk City become a reality. Statements made here are based on facts from State Statutes as well as information gathered from phone calls to officials in Florida State and Polk County offices, as well as contacts we have made with people with legal backgrounds.
Since some situations the people of Polk City face are unique compared to other cities that have dissolved in the past, it is very difficult to get hard answers about how things will happen to hypothetical situations. Obviously, in the case of the sewer and water systems, the county officials will only make educated guesses, but would not spend resources to investigate in detail to get a hard and fast plan in place unless the need becomes more real and less hypothetical.
This petition will not make the city dissolve on it's own. It is a required step to get to the next step of allowing the Citizens of Polk City to have a special election and voice their feelings about whether or not they would like to see Polk City continue down the same path, or if they feel the city has not shown that it's benefits do not continue to outweigh it's costs. We want to let the PEOPLE have their say.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Concerns of Polk City Landlords and Tenants
We feel the need to address concerns of some Polk City landlords and tenants. Some tenants are saying that their landlords have threatened to increase their rents if the City of Polk City were to be dissolved, since they feel there property taxes will rise.
In the event that the city is dissolved, especially the landlords stand to gain financially. First of all, if the high city water and sewer rates are replaced with much lower county rates the tenants won’t feel the need to move elsewhere to avoid the skyrocketing utility bills here in Polk City. At present there is a growing number of empty homes and apartments within the Polk City utility service area. This lowers property values, since many landlords don’t have the income for proper maintenance of these properties.
Also, landlords do not receive homestead exemptions on these rental properties and are paying higher property taxes. If the city is dissolved, the city tax portion of their tax bill will be eliminated and replaced with an assessment tax to pay off the city debt. In the event the city is dissolved, the county will take back any property that carries debt owed to the county and that debt is eliminated, reducing the current city debt. Any properties that the city presently owns will be sold off, and reduce this debt further. Any remaining debt will be renegotiated and paid back over an agreed upon number of years. For example: if the remaining debt balance would be $8 million, divided among the approximately 1200 parcel owners, comes to $6,666.66 per parcel. If that debt is amortized at a 3.25% rate over 10 years, it comes to $791.54 per year per parcel. If it is spread over 12 years, it will come to $679.78, and over 15 years it will be $568.59 per year per parcel. That amount will replace the current city tax. At the end of the 10 or 15 years, that assessment will be eliminated. With lower water and sewer rates and lower taxes, both landlords and tenants will benefit, and Polk City will be a more desirable and affordable place to live. Possibly even attracting new business and developers to the area due to our convenient access to the interstate. Did you know that Brandon, in Hillsborough County is an unincorporated area? It is a thriving community and a magnet for retailers, which creates jobs and raises the standard of living.
In the event that the city is dissolved, especially the landlords stand to gain financially. First of all, if the high city water and sewer rates are replaced with much lower county rates the tenants won’t feel the need to move elsewhere to avoid the skyrocketing utility bills here in Polk City. At present there is a growing number of empty homes and apartments within the Polk City utility service area. This lowers property values, since many landlords don’t have the income for proper maintenance of these properties.
Also, landlords do not receive homestead exemptions on these rental properties and are paying higher property taxes. If the city is dissolved, the city tax portion of their tax bill will be eliminated and replaced with an assessment tax to pay off the city debt. In the event the city is dissolved, the county will take back any property that carries debt owed to the county and that debt is eliminated, reducing the current city debt. Any properties that the city presently owns will be sold off, and reduce this debt further. Any remaining debt will be renegotiated and paid back over an agreed upon number of years. For example: if the remaining debt balance would be $8 million, divided among the approximately 1200 parcel owners, comes to $6,666.66 per parcel. If that debt is amortized at a 3.25% rate over 10 years, it comes to $791.54 per year per parcel. If it is spread over 12 years, it will come to $679.78, and over 15 years it will be $568.59 per year per parcel. That amount will replace the current city tax. At the end of the 10 or 15 years, that assessment will be eliminated. With lower water and sewer rates and lower taxes, both landlords and tenants will benefit, and Polk City will be a more desirable and affordable place to live. Possibly even attracting new business and developers to the area due to our convenient access to the interstate. Did you know that Brandon, in Hillsborough County is an unincorporated area? It is a thriving community and a magnet for retailers, which creates jobs and raises the standard of living.
Brighthouse Cable Network Bay News 9 Interview
Earlier today we were interviewed by the Brighthouse Cable network Bay News 9 reporter, Rick Elmhorst in Freedom Park. Prior to our interview he also interviewed Mayor Joe LaCascia and Vice-Mayor - Acting City Manager Trudy Block. They heard about our story in the Lakeland Ledger on Sunday.
They were very interested in hearing both sides of the issues. Please take time to see the interview which should be airing either late Thursday, Sept. 9th or Friday, Sept. 10th.
They were very interested in hearing both sides of the issues. Please take time to see the interview which should be airing either late Thursday, Sept. 9th or Friday, Sept. 10th.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Seeking relief for our residents
Do you want to get a feel of how the average Polk City residents live? Spend a few days walking through the neighborhoods across from the Chevron Station in the numbered streets area of town, and in the Sunset & Sunrise Ave. sections of the city and talk with some of the residents who live there. We did just that when we were distributing the door hangers you have most likely seen around town this week.
To the average Polk City residents $l00.00 is a lot of money. Every month they have to decide what they need to do without to be able to pay their water and/or sewer bills. They cannot afford NOT to pay the water bill due to the added $5.00 late fee, the $50.00 disconnect fee and the $50.00 reconnect fee that will be added to their bill. They must decide whether or not to run the A/C this month in the 98 degree heat, or disconnect the internet service, or how to cut back on groceries or medications. The residents who receive welfare or disability checks sometimes get their checks a few days after the 25th of the month when their water bill is due. If they don't have the funds for the water bill, or can't borrow the money from friends or neighbors, their water gets turned off. There is no grace period. Is that ethical?
Your heart just breaks when you talk to one person with 3 small toddlers who attempted to pay her water bill, but was $17.00 short. The city turned her water off. If she didn't have the additional $17.00, how will she come up with the $115.00 in additional fees and penalties to get her water turned on again? Another young adult told us that half his earnings go to pay the utility bills for his family since the 50% increase went into affect July 9th. There are citizens who are doing their laundry elsewhere and use disposable cups and plates to keep their water/sewer bills down.
To reduce his last $300.00 water bill, one Polk City resident takes his motor home to a local campground to fill up his water tank, then parks it behind his house. Him and his wife take their showers in the motor home, do their dishes there, and use that water to water their plants.
Then there are approximately 500 owners of undeveloped properties within Polk City limits who are being hit with an annual Water Availability Charge (WAC) of $136.80 and/or Sewer Availability Charge (SAC) of $277.56 per property because they have immediate access to one or both utilities. In comparison, Lakeland Electric only charges their customers if they have a meter on their properties.
Let's not forget the 25% higher water and sewer fees that are tacked on to the already skyrocketing prices of the "Out-of-City-Limits" of Polk City utility customers. One single resident told us his monthly water/sewer bill for one person is $100.00, half for water and half for sewer usage. To add insult to injury, these "Out-of-City-Limits" utility customers have no say in approaching our city commissioners to seek relief. They are not Polk City Registered Voters. Is that unconstitutional?
We just received an e-mail from another Polk City resident who writes: "My water bill is now the highest bill in my house....electric is only $35 - $65 throughout the year, phone bill is $25.00, and my water bill is over $60.00 every month. I try to use very little, like 30 gallons per day since I live alone, but for a family that is impossible. I have already lost a job because the company went under and I took a huge cut in pay to get a new job. Now this water bill is taking what little I have left."
We need relief from these extremely high water and sewer bills for our Polk City residents as well as our "Out-of-City-Limits" residents.
To the average Polk City residents $l00.00 is a lot of money. Every month they have to decide what they need to do without to be able to pay their water and/or sewer bills. They cannot afford NOT to pay the water bill due to the added $5.00 late fee, the $50.00 disconnect fee and the $50.00 reconnect fee that will be added to their bill. They must decide whether or not to run the A/C this month in the 98 degree heat, or disconnect the internet service, or how to cut back on groceries or medications. The residents who receive welfare or disability checks sometimes get their checks a few days after the 25th of the month when their water bill is due. If they don't have the funds for the water bill, or can't borrow the money from friends or neighbors, their water gets turned off. There is no grace period. Is that ethical?
Your heart just breaks when you talk to one person with 3 small toddlers who attempted to pay her water bill, but was $17.00 short. The city turned her water off. If she didn't have the additional $17.00, how will she come up with the $115.00 in additional fees and penalties to get her water turned on again? Another young adult told us that half his earnings go to pay the utility bills for his family since the 50% increase went into affect July 9th. There are citizens who are doing their laundry elsewhere and use disposable cups and plates to keep their water/sewer bills down.
To reduce his last $300.00 water bill, one Polk City resident takes his motor home to a local campground to fill up his water tank, then parks it behind his house. Him and his wife take their showers in the motor home, do their dishes there, and use that water to water their plants.
Then there are approximately 500 owners of undeveloped properties within Polk City limits who are being hit with an annual Water Availability Charge (WAC) of $136.80 and/or Sewer Availability Charge (SAC) of $277.56 per property because they have immediate access to one or both utilities. In comparison, Lakeland Electric only charges their customers if they have a meter on their properties.
Let's not forget the 25% higher water and sewer fees that are tacked on to the already skyrocketing prices of the "Out-of-City-Limits" of Polk City utility customers. One single resident told us his monthly water/sewer bill for one person is $100.00, half for water and half for sewer usage. To add insult to injury, these "Out-of-City-Limits" utility customers have no say in approaching our city commissioners to seek relief. They are not Polk City Registered Voters. Is that unconstitutional?
We just received an e-mail from another Polk City resident who writes: "My water bill is now the highest bill in my house....electric is only $35 - $65 throughout the year, phone bill is $25.00, and my water bill is over $60.00 every month. I try to use very little, like 30 gallons per day since I live alone, but for a family that is impossible. I have already lost a job because the company went under and I took a huge cut in pay to get a new job. Now this water bill is taking what little I have left."
We need relief from these extremely high water and sewer bills for our Polk City residents as well as our "Out-of-City-Limits" residents.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Incomplete information in Lakeland Ledger Article
Kevin Bouffarde from the Lakeland Ledger printed incomplete information in his latest article, which has caused a lot of confusion and numerous phone calls.
His article states,"They will have petitions for signing from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday in Freedom Park at State Road 33 and Berkley Road."
Unfortunately, Mr. Bouffarde neglected to mention the dates, since we will be there next weekend September 11th and 12th, not this weekend.
Here is a link to the article: Residents Talk Termination
Sorry for any confusion and inconvenience this has caused. We have contacted Mr. Bouffarde to let him know of his omission.
His article states,"They will have petitions for signing from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday in Freedom Park at State Road 33 and Berkley Road."
Unfortunately, Mr. Bouffarde neglected to mention the dates, since we will be there next weekend September 11th and 12th, not this weekend.
Here is a link to the article: Residents Talk Termination
Sorry for any confusion and inconvenience this has caused. We have contacted Mr. Bouffarde to let him know of his omission.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Our Intention is NOT to Attack Any Current City Official Personally
It was brought to our attention that some current City Officials felt personally attacked by statements and articles posted here on our blog. We are not trying to make this a personal issue AT ALL. If it came across that way, we apologize. We are simply trying to digest the information we have been gathering and factually relay it to the public. We want to get the people thinking and talking about what is going on in town, but do not want any of the current City Officials to feel personally targeted. We know that not long ago before taking their offices, they were average citizens just like us. They voluntarily stepped up to try and fix the problems of our city. We applaud their dedication and hard work. Many members of our group would never dream of taking on a task of that magnitude.
All our group is trying to say by abolishing the city is that, despite all the hard work and dedication the new City Officials are doing, we are not sure it is a long term battle worth fighting. When asked what benefits Polk City can provide to it's property owners and residents, compared to what would happen if we defaulted back into Unincorporated Polk County, we are still waiting for strong arguments in favor of keeping the city. When crunching best guess numbers, the numbers appear to ask the same question.
We have posted a clarification on one blog post in particular that we would like everyone to see that will hopefully clear up any misunderstandings of our intentions. Update to Hot Button Sewer Issue Article
All our group is trying to say by abolishing the city is that, despite all the hard work and dedication the new City Officials are doing, we are not sure it is a long term battle worth fighting. When asked what benefits Polk City can provide to it's property owners and residents, compared to what would happen if we defaulted back into Unincorporated Polk County, we are still waiting for strong arguments in favor of keeping the city. When crunching best guess numbers, the numbers appear to ask the same question.
We have posted a clarification on one blog post in particular that we would like everyone to see that will hopefully clear up any misunderstandings of our intentions. Update to Hot Button Sewer Issue Article
Growing Readership of our Blog
We are tickled pink with the growing readership of this blog. By no means are we professional bloggers, but we are doing our best. I know if you look at the number of public followers we have on the blog, it doesn't look like much, but if a reader decides to follow anonymously, there is no change in the number of followers showing on the front page of our blog.
Just to give you an idea of our readership to date, just yesterday, Friday August 3rd, we had 156 page loads. Already this morning, as of 10 AM, we have another 45 page views. Last month, August, we had a staggering 617 page views and we only started this blog on August 27th!!
Obviously, our word is spreading. We would like to thank everyone for checking in on our blog to see what information we are posting. Hopefully, we have answered many of your questions about what is going on in the city and possible real world solutions to our problems here. From what many of our members have experienced as we talk to people around town, there is a lot of interest in what we are doing. Understandably, this whole idea has a lot of people asking a lot of questions. We are doing our best to address these questions for everyone to see, so hopefully it will bring some clarity for everyone.
I know for years the question of dissolving the city had come up in discussions around town. The lack of information left those discussions unresolved and many feeling like the power was out of our hands. It has gotten so bad here that members of our group are just fed up and are working to answer those questions by researching the information and informing the public of our findings. Hopefully, our work will not be in vane and we can be an instrumental part of bringing the power back to the people!!
Thanks again for your support!
Concerned Citizens of Polk City
Just to give you an idea of our readership to date, just yesterday, Friday August 3rd, we had 156 page loads. Already this morning, as of 10 AM, we have another 45 page views. Last month, August, we had a staggering 617 page views and we only started this blog on August 27th!!
Obviously, our word is spreading. We would like to thank everyone for checking in on our blog to see what information we are posting. Hopefully, we have answered many of your questions about what is going on in the city and possible real world solutions to our problems here. From what many of our members have experienced as we talk to people around town, there is a lot of interest in what we are doing. Understandably, this whole idea has a lot of people asking a lot of questions. We are doing our best to address these questions for everyone to see, so hopefully it will bring some clarity for everyone.
I know for years the question of dissolving the city had come up in discussions around town. The lack of information left those discussions unresolved and many feeling like the power was out of our hands. It has gotten so bad here that members of our group are just fed up and are working to answer those questions by researching the information and informing the public of our findings. Hopefully, our work will not be in vane and we can be an instrumental part of bringing the power back to the people!!
Thanks again for your support!
Concerned Citizens of Polk City
Polk City in Debt 4th Year in a Row
Here's a little older Lakeland Ledger article that was published on August 19th. Just in case you missed it.
Polk City in Debt 4th Year in a Row
Polk City in Debt 4th Year in a Row
Cut in Deputies Worries Some in Polk City
Due to some tough decisions having to be made regarding the city budget, Polk City Officials have also had to make cuts in the city's law enforcement.
The Lakeland Ledger has been covering this story. Here is a link to the article Cut in Deputies Worries Some in Polk City.
There was an editorial comment letter from one of our Polk City residents also posted in the Lakeland Ledger this morning. Here's a link to that letter: Polk City Unprotected
Members of our group have also spoken to Vice Mayor/Interim Acting City Manager, Mrs. Trudy Block, regarding this issue. It is her understanding, after her discussions with Sheriff Grady Judd, the Polk County Sheriff's Department will try to make up for some of the shortages in patrols in the area, due to the City having only one officer on it's payroll for 40 hours per week.
If the people's vote in a special election regarding the future of the city decided to dissolve Polk City, there would no longer be any Polk City Police Department. The Polk County Sheriff's Department would patrol this area instead, like they had in the past when Polk City did not have it's own Police Department. From experience living in this area before we were annexed into the city, then living within the city limits without a Polk City Police Department, and most recently having a Polk City Police Department, over all it has always been a pretty safe place to live. Granted, we did go through a time, when the break ins in our area were on the rise, but that seems to have been reduced. When we did have an increase in crime in our neighborhood, we had increased Polk City Police coverage. If this area began to show a growing increase in crime, my guess is that the Polk County Sheriff's Department would try to do the same to help protect us, like they have in the past.
The Lakeland Ledger has been covering this story. Here is a link to the article Cut in Deputies Worries Some in Polk City.
There was an editorial comment letter from one of our Polk City residents also posted in the Lakeland Ledger this morning. Here's a link to that letter: Polk City Unprotected
Members of our group have also spoken to Vice Mayor/Interim Acting City Manager, Mrs. Trudy Block, regarding this issue. It is her understanding, after her discussions with Sheriff Grady Judd, the Polk County Sheriff's Department will try to make up for some of the shortages in patrols in the area, due to the City having only one officer on it's payroll for 40 hours per week.
If the people's vote in a special election regarding the future of the city decided to dissolve Polk City, there would no longer be any Polk City Police Department. The Polk County Sheriff's Department would patrol this area instead, like they had in the past when Polk City did not have it's own Police Department. From experience living in this area before we were annexed into the city, then living within the city limits without a Polk City Police Department, and most recently having a Polk City Police Department, over all it has always been a pretty safe place to live. Granted, we did go through a time, when the break ins in our area were on the rise, but that seems to have been reduced. When we did have an increase in crime in our neighborhood, we had increased Polk City Police coverage. If this area began to show a growing increase in crime, my guess is that the Polk County Sheriff's Department would try to do the same to help protect us, like they have in the past.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Residents Voicing Their Opinions
We have had numerous emails to our group. Some of those individuals commenting prefer to stay anonymous, but wanted to have a way to voice their opinions. We would like to share some of those with you. We would like to reiterate that the following statements are not ours, we are merely forwarding on other individual's statements.
"ASK YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS THIS QUESTION.
"CITIZENS OF POLK CITY STOP GIVING THE CITY MORE $$$$ AND JUST PAY OFF THE MESS THAT WE OWE"
"THE HISTORY OF POLK CITY WILL STILL BE HERE. IT'S THE NET WORTH WE ARE GETTING RID OF"
We love to hear from the people and how they feel on this topic. If you would like to add your 2 cents, but would like to remain anonymous, please email us at HelpPolkCityResidents@earthlink.net and we can add your comments as well.
"ASK YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS THIS QUESTION.
"CITIZENS OF POLK CITY STOP GIVING THE CITY MORE $$$$ AND JUST PAY OFF THE MESS THAT WE OWE"
"THE HISTORY OF POLK CITY WILL STILL BE HERE. IT'S THE NET WORTH WE ARE GETTING RID OF"
We love to hear from the people and how they feel on this topic. If you would like to add your 2 cents, but would like to remain anonymous, please email us at HelpPolkCityResidents@earthlink.net and we can add your comments as well.
Update on Audit Petition - Audit Petition Not Needed
Our initial understanding, after speaking with Polk City officials was that an audit under state statue 11.45(5) was not currently being done. After further research done by our contacts at the the State Auditor General's Office, we had been misinformed. Our contact in Tallahassee informed us that audits of the 2007 records and earlier have been done, and they are in the process of auditing the 2008 records.
Our contact advised us that it was not in the best interest of all involved to pursue the petition on the audit. If we did get enough signatures on the petition to request an audit, as originally planned, this would only be requiring the State Auditor General's Office to do a duplicate audit. We do not want to add to the wasteful spending of state funds, so we have decided to cancel this Audit Petition.
We will be following up with our contact at the Auditor General's Office to get further understanding of what happens to these audit reports once they are completed. If further action needs to be pursued regarding what was discovered during these audits, like calling in the State Attorney General's Office to investigate, we will let you know.
Our contact advised us that it was not in the best interest of all involved to pursue the petition on the audit. If we did get enough signatures on the petition to request an audit, as originally planned, this would only be requiring the State Auditor General's Office to do a duplicate audit. We do not want to add to the wasteful spending of state funds, so we have decided to cancel this Audit Petition.
We will be following up with our contact at the Auditor General's Office to get further understanding of what happens to these audit reports once they are completed. If further action needs to be pursued regarding what was discovered during these audits, like calling in the State Attorney General's Office to investigate, we will let you know.
What does the Sewer Issue have to do with Abolishing Polk City?
In November 2009, the sewer issue was a big debate around town. Mrs. Trudy Block organized a group of citizens to help spearhead a movement to stop the sewer expansion that the city was planning at the time.
This group had unbelievable backing and support from the community, since this city plan would more than double the utility bills for it's potential sewer customers along with high hook up fees at the property owner's expense. This plan would also have increased the city's already out of control debt by millions of dollars. Because of the huge support of the public at the time, it appeared that the city dropped the issue. After this, the citizen's put their trust in Mrs. Block in hopes that she would represent the citizen's wishes when she became a City Council Member last Spring. Mrs. Block was not only selected as a City Council Member, but immediately appointed by the new Council as Vice-Mayor, and has been acting as Interim City Manager for the last 2 months.
Since the city has nearly maxed out the proposed millage rate at 9.65%, with the cap being at 10%, the city is seeking new revenue sources. It doesn't take a genius to see that sewers are not a dead issue. The Cardinal Hill sewer plant is loosing money since it is only operating at approximately 25% capacity. Our understanding is that there are plans to reroute Mt. Olive Shores North sewer lines to connect those customers to the Cardinal Hill Plant. This would save money in repairs to the deteriorating existing MOSN sewer lines, but will require additional funds to reroute the system.
With the city's cut backs in attempt to reduce the city debt, FGUA (Florida Governmental Utilities Authority), will be brought in to run the water and sewer systems in the city. Our understanding is that a 5 year contract will be, or already has been signed. Leasing the water and sewer operations to this 3rd party, FGUA, will also relinquish control over future rate increases.
Most sewer systems are not a profitable venture for municipalities. Therefore, it is important that the facilities operate at or near 100% capacity to balance expenses. Even after MOSN customers are rerouted to the Cardinal Hill Sewer plant, it will still be far from operating at full capacity. So you can see, the sewer expansion issue for the city and it's surrounding properties is certainly not dead.
All the more reason to abolish the city...
**** Update ****
We would just like to clarify our article above in stating that we are not attempting to attack any City Officials personally, mainly Mrs. Block. We acknowledge that considering the mess of the city when the new officials took their positions, there have been numerous difficult decisions they have had to make to try to clean it up.
When we say," the sewer expansion issue for the city and it's surrounding properties is certainly not dead." we did not mean to imply that the massive plans the city was trying to push through last November are back on the table. We are simply saying that because of the problems the current sewer systems have, the city will have no choice but to spend more money on sewers and likely add more new customers to the sewer system to help pay for it.
This group had unbelievable backing and support from the community, since this city plan would more than double the utility bills for it's potential sewer customers along with high hook up fees at the property owner's expense. This plan would also have increased the city's already out of control debt by millions of dollars. Because of the huge support of the public at the time, it appeared that the city dropped the issue. After this, the citizen's put their trust in Mrs. Block in hopes that she would represent the citizen's wishes when she became a City Council Member last Spring. Mrs. Block was not only selected as a City Council Member, but immediately appointed by the new Council as Vice-Mayor, and has been acting as Interim City Manager for the last 2 months.
Since the city has nearly maxed out the proposed millage rate at 9.65%, with the cap being at 10%, the city is seeking new revenue sources. It doesn't take a genius to see that sewers are not a dead issue. The Cardinal Hill sewer plant is loosing money since it is only operating at approximately 25% capacity. Our understanding is that there are plans to reroute Mt. Olive Shores North sewer lines to connect those customers to the Cardinal Hill Plant. This would save money in repairs to the deteriorating existing MOSN sewer lines, but will require additional funds to reroute the system.
With the city's cut backs in attempt to reduce the city debt, FGUA (Florida Governmental Utilities Authority), will be brought in to run the water and sewer systems in the city. Our understanding is that a 5 year contract will be, or already has been signed. Leasing the water and sewer operations to this 3rd party, FGUA, will also relinquish control over future rate increases.
Most sewer systems are not a profitable venture for municipalities. Therefore, it is important that the facilities operate at or near 100% capacity to balance expenses. Even after MOSN customers are rerouted to the Cardinal Hill Sewer plant, it will still be far from operating at full capacity. So you can see, the sewer expansion issue for the city and it's surrounding properties is certainly not dead.
All the more reason to abolish the city...
**** Update ****
We would just like to clarify our article above in stating that we are not attempting to attack any City Officials personally, mainly Mrs. Block. We acknowledge that considering the mess of the city when the new officials took their positions, there have been numerous difficult decisions they have had to make to try to clean it up.
When we say," the sewer expansion issue for the city and it's surrounding properties is certainly not dead." we did not mean to imply that the massive plans the city was trying to push through last November are back on the table. We are simply saying that because of the problems the current sewer systems have, the city will have no choice but to spend more money on sewers and likely add more new customers to the sewer system to help pay for it.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Crunching the Numbers
We are getting very close to getting all the numbers we need to get an educated guestimate of how you as a Polk City Resident/Property owner will be affected financially if the people decide in a special election that Polk City's charter should be dissolved and it's residents return to unincorporated Polk County. We were challenged to do the math to see if we were barking up the wrong tree and jumping the gun on starting the petition for a special election for the dissolution of the city. We have taken on the Challenge!
It has taken a lot of phone calls, research, and time working on the formulas, but it's almost complete! From our initial findings, considering a worst case scenario of an assessed tax of the $10 Million city debt spread across the 1,200 Polk City property owners, most individuals will still be saving money compared to what they are paying now. This $10 Million debt figure is a number that the city provided as an estimate of it's current debt as of a couple of months ago. The very few who may not be saving, will more than likely have such a small change that it will end up being less than $20 per month more. Again, this is a worst case scenario. The balance of the sky high proposed millage rate of 9.65%, inflated water & sewer fees, inflated garbage rates, and additional taxes and fees added on other utility bills such as the electric bill in most cases cancel out any increases due to the added assessment tax and then some! With all the hard work the current city officials are doing to reduce the current city debt and refinancing it's loans, if the city does get dissolved and it's assets are sold off, it is very likely that the rough estimate of $10 M city debt will be reduced. The guestimates we will be providing will be leaning towards the conservative side.
We do not make these statements lightly. We are looking at a wide variety of individual situations from the ones in the city who are better off than others, all the way down to individuals who's properties have some of the lowest assessed values in city. We are first concentrating on the Residential Taxes and Fees. When those calculations are complete, we will start working on some comparisons for Commercial property owners.
Our plan is to have a way for City property owners/residents to provide us with only 5 key pieces of information:
1) 2010 Assessed Property Value - found on your most recent proposed tax notices received in the mail around the end of August. Also found on the Polk County Property Appraiser's Web page: www.PolkPA.org
2) 2010 Homestead Exemptions - again found on the proposed tax notices or www.PolkPA.org
3) Average monthly water consumption in gallons - found near the top of the Polk City Utility bill under "USAGE"
4) If you are also on Polk City Sewer services
5) Average monthly electric bill for the year
With just this little bit of information, we can provide an educated guestimate of how you as an individual may be affected financially by dissolving the city. Obviously, there are many variables that are changing daily, but we are attempting to provide a rough idea of what you can expect.
We will let you know when our calculations are complete and everything has been double, triple, and quadruple checked for accuracy.
It has taken a lot of phone calls, research, and time working on the formulas, but it's almost complete! From our initial findings, considering a worst case scenario of an assessed tax of the $10 Million city debt spread across the 1,200 Polk City property owners, most individuals will still be saving money compared to what they are paying now. This $10 Million debt figure is a number that the city provided as an estimate of it's current debt as of a couple of months ago. The very few who may not be saving, will more than likely have such a small change that it will end up being less than $20 per month more. Again, this is a worst case scenario. The balance of the sky high proposed millage rate of 9.65%, inflated water & sewer fees, inflated garbage rates, and additional taxes and fees added on other utility bills such as the electric bill in most cases cancel out any increases due to the added assessment tax and then some! With all the hard work the current city officials are doing to reduce the current city debt and refinancing it's loans, if the city does get dissolved and it's assets are sold off, it is very likely that the rough estimate of $10 M city debt will be reduced. The guestimates we will be providing will be leaning towards the conservative side.
We do not make these statements lightly. We are looking at a wide variety of individual situations from the ones in the city who are better off than others, all the way down to individuals who's properties have some of the lowest assessed values in city. We are first concentrating on the Residential Taxes and Fees. When those calculations are complete, we will start working on some comparisons for Commercial property owners.
Our plan is to have a way for City property owners/residents to provide us with only 5 key pieces of information:
1) 2010 Assessed Property Value - found on your most recent proposed tax notices received in the mail around the end of August. Also found on the Polk County Property Appraiser's Web page: www.PolkPA.org
2) 2010 Homestead Exemptions - again found on the proposed tax notices or www.PolkPA.org
3) Average monthly water consumption in gallons - found near the top of the Polk City Utility bill under "USAGE"
4) If you are also on Polk City Sewer services
5) Average monthly electric bill for the year
With just this little bit of information, we can provide an educated guestimate of how you as an individual may be affected financially by dissolving the city. Obviously, there are many variables that are changing daily, but we are attempting to provide a rough idea of what you can expect.
We will let you know when our calculations are complete and everything has been double, triple, and quadruple checked for accuracy.
City Officials Seen Removing Our Literature From Around Town
We have been informed that some Polk City Officials are doing their best to keep our information quiet.
We ask...
If Polk City Officials have the best interests of Polk City Citizens in mind, why are they trying to keep the public uninformed of our findings and trying to discredit us? We are merely informing the public of what we have researched and alternatives to keeping the status quo of the city. We are trying to practice full disclosure and have nothing to hide. If our research showed that keeping the city and refocusing our efforts into fixing it's broken state, we would say so. That is not what our findings so far are leading us to believe.
We ask...
If Polk City Officials have the best interests of Polk City Citizens in mind, why are they trying to keep the public uninformed of our findings and trying to discredit us? We are merely informing the public of what we have researched and alternatives to keeping the status quo of the city. We are trying to practice full disclosure and have nothing to hide. If our research showed that keeping the city and refocusing our efforts into fixing it's broken state, we would say so. That is not what our findings so far are leading us to believe.
Update on Blog post "Why should we sign the petition to request to abolish the city?"
***UPDATE***
It was brought to our attention that at the Polk City Workshop meeting held at city hall on Tuesday, August 31st, the Vice Mayor/Acting City Manager - Trudy Block mentioned a previous post from our blog and passed out copies to those in attendance. She stated that although she agreed with some of our points, she felt that some of our information was inaccurate. She warned all in attendance that we may be misleading the public.
Here's a link to the previous post: Original blog post
It is NOT our intention to mislead the public at all. We ourselves are just a group of average citizens, not lawyers, not CPAs, not politicians, trying to make sense of all the mess the city is in and make sure that someone is looking out for the Polk City residents. We feel like former city officials did not have the best interests of the residents in mind when many of their decisions were made. We have the utmost respect for the current city officials who are doing their best to take on the task of cleaning up the mess they inherited. When we don't have the expertise on a topic, we pick up the phone or research it in other ways. If there are inaccuracies in our information, we welcome any corrections to keep us straight.
We have attempted to contact Mrs. Block so we can have her clarify the inaccuracies she feels exist. She has not yet returned our call. If there are inaccuracies in our information, we will make any corrections needed to keep our information as accurate as possible and apologize for any confusion it may cause. This Blog is merely our attempt to educate the public and ourselves on what we have been able research about the dire state of our city and possible solutions to bring financial relief to it's citizens.
It was brought to our attention that at the Polk City Workshop meeting held at city hall on Tuesday, August 31st, the Vice Mayor/Acting City Manager - Trudy Block mentioned a previous post from our blog and passed out copies to those in attendance. She stated that although she agreed with some of our points, she felt that some of our information was inaccurate. She warned all in attendance that we may be misleading the public.
Here's a link to the previous post: Original blog post
It is NOT our intention to mislead the public at all. We ourselves are just a group of average citizens, not lawyers, not CPAs, not politicians, trying to make sense of all the mess the city is in and make sure that someone is looking out for the Polk City residents. We feel like former city officials did not have the best interests of the residents in mind when many of their decisions were made. We have the utmost respect for the current city officials who are doing their best to take on the task of cleaning up the mess they inherited. When we don't have the expertise on a topic, we pick up the phone or research it in other ways. If there are inaccuracies in our information, we welcome any corrections to keep us straight.
We have attempted to contact Mrs. Block so we can have her clarify the inaccuracies she feels exist. She has not yet returned our call. If there are inaccuracies in our information, we will make any corrections needed to keep our information as accurate as possible and apologize for any confusion it may cause. This Blog is merely our attempt to educate the public and ourselves on what we have been able research about the dire state of our city and possible solutions to bring financial relief to it's citizens.
New City Water Rates effective July 9, 2010
This is in answer to Carrie and any other Polk City residents who have not seen an increase in their water bill last month, and other residents who are wondering why their water bills have seen such a dramatic increase since last month. This will clarify the new rate schedule for residents who have a 3/4" water meter for their homes. These rates are only for residents living within the city limits. The water rates for outside city limits is 25% higher. These numbers do not include sewer rates.
Effective July 9, 2010 Polk City has increased the residential base rate to $17.09/month from $11.40.
Rates are as follows:
1 - 6000 gallons will cost $2.62 per 1000 gallons, up from $1.74 per l000 gallons.
6001 - 12,000 gallons will cost $5.23 per l000 gallons, up from $3.49 per l000 gallons.
12,001 - 18,000 gallons cost $9.15 per l000 gallons, up from $6.10 per l000 gallons.
18,000 gallons and above cost $14.63 per l000 gallons, up from $9.75 per l000 gallons.
For example: if you were billed for 20,000 gallons usages:
NEW rate OLD rate
the first 6000 gallons will cost $15.72 $10.44
the 2nd 6000 gallons will cost $31.38 $20.94
the 3rd 6000 gallons will cost $54.90 $36.60
the last 2000 gallons will cost $29.26 $19.50
the new base rate $17.09 $11.40
SUBTOTAL..............................$148.35 $98.88
ANNUAL SUBTOTAL..........$1,780.20 $1,186.56
Add the storm water fee.............. $ 1.50 $ 1.50
Add the Garbage pick fee............ $20.00 $20.00
TOTALS...................................$169.85 $120.38
ANNUAL TOTALS...............$2,038.20 $1,444.56
These numbers do not include the Polk City Utility Tax
of 10% of the base + usage fees, so there will be an additional $14.83 in taxes added to the bill.
The garbage rate for Polk City at $20 per month ends up totaling $240 per year.
For your comparison, these are LAKELAND ELECTRIC'S outside city limits water rates:
Base Rate for 3/4 inch residential water meter is $8.76
1 - 7000 gallons cost $2.15 per 1000 gallons
8,000 - 12,000 gallons cost $2.65 per 1000 gallons
13,000 - 19,000 gallons cost $3.29 per 1000 gallons
over 19,000 gallons cost $4.31 per 1000 gallons
In comparison the same 20,000 gallons used will cost:
First 7000 gallons @ $2.15/1000 gallons $15.05
next 5000 gallons @ $2.65/1000 gallons $13.25
next 6000 gallons @ $3.29/1000 gallons $19.74
last 2000 gallons @ $4.31/1000 gallons $ 8.62
Base Rate Cost $ 8.76
SUBTOTAL $65.42
ANNUAL SUBTOTAL $785.04
In unincorporated Polk County, garbage pickup fee will be only $154.00 per year and is included in your annual Real Estate Tax Bill from the county, not on the monthly water bill.
We hope this will clarify any questions you may have regarding the way your city figures out your water bill.
For the couple of people who have written in saying they have not seen an increase in their water bills, you might have been overlooked or your increase is still coming, since the city employees have to manually enter the increase. This recent increase is in addition to a previous increase only a few months prior to the July 6th increase. By the way, the city adds an addition 7.23% City Tax to your TECO and Lakeland Electric power bill.
Effective July 9, 2010 Polk City has increased the residential base rate to $17.09/month from $11.40.
Rates are as follows:
1 - 6000 gallons will cost $2.62 per 1000 gallons, up from $1.74 per l000 gallons.
6001 - 12,000 gallons will cost $5.23 per l000 gallons, up from $3.49 per l000 gallons.
12,001 - 18,000 gallons cost $9.15 per l000 gallons, up from $6.10 per l000 gallons.
18,000 gallons and above cost $14.63 per l000 gallons, up from $9.75 per l000 gallons.
For example: if you were billed for 20,000 gallons usages:
NEW rate OLD rate
the first 6000 gallons will cost $15.72 $10.44
the 2nd 6000 gallons will cost $31.38 $20.94
the 3rd 6000 gallons will cost $54.90 $36.60
the last 2000 gallons will cost $29.26 $19.50
the new base rate $17.09 $11.40
SUBTOTAL..............................$148.35 $98.88
ANNUAL SUBTOTAL..........$1,780.20 $1,186.56
Add the storm water fee.............. $ 1.50 $ 1.50
Add the Garbage pick fee............ $20.00 $20.00
TOTALS...................................$169.85 $120.38
ANNUAL TOTALS...............$2,038.20 $1,444.56
These numbers do not include the Polk City Utility Tax
of 10% of the base + usage fees, so there will be an additional $14.83 in taxes added to the bill.
The garbage rate for Polk City at $20 per month ends up totaling $240 per year.
For your comparison, these are LAKELAND ELECTRIC'S outside city limits water rates:
Base Rate for 3/4 inch residential water meter is $8.76
1 - 7000 gallons cost $2.15 per 1000 gallons
8,000 - 12,000 gallons cost $2.65 per 1000 gallons
13,000 - 19,000 gallons cost $3.29 per 1000 gallons
over 19,000 gallons cost $4.31 per 1000 gallons
In comparison the same 20,000 gallons used will cost:
First 7000 gallons @ $2.15/1000 gallons $15.05
next 5000 gallons @ $2.65/1000 gallons $13.25
next 6000 gallons @ $3.29/1000 gallons $19.74
last 2000 gallons @ $4.31/1000 gallons $ 8.62
Base Rate Cost $ 8.76
SUBTOTAL $65.42
ANNUAL SUBTOTAL $785.04
In unincorporated Polk County, garbage pickup fee will be only $154.00 per year and is included in your annual Real Estate Tax Bill from the county, not on the monthly water bill.
We hope this will clarify any questions you may have regarding the way your city figures out your water bill.
For the couple of people who have written in saying they have not seen an increase in their water bills, you might have been overlooked or your increase is still coming, since the city employees have to manually enter the increase. This recent increase is in addition to a previous increase only a few months prior to the July 6th increase. By the way, the city adds an addition 7.23% City Tax to your TECO and Lakeland Electric power bill.
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