The room was rather crowded compared to most recent city meetings. All the council members were present and there were several guest speakers during the course of the meeting. The proclamation of Girl Scout Week in honor of the organization's 99 year anniversary was made by the mayor, but no representatives of the Girl Scouts were present.
Public hearings for the 2nd and final readings of 3 ordinances, 1272 (the closing of a street so a local church can purchase the property for expansion), 1273 (allowing mobile homes in R-4 mixed residential zoning districts once again), and 1274 (amended the requirements for unoccupied homes) had no public comment and were all approved by council 5-0.
Acting City Manager, Trudy Block, was approved for another 30 day extension.
The Evaluation Appraisal Report, commonly referred to as EAR, is part of a 2-step update of the city's comprehensive plan required by the DCA (Department of Consumer Affairs) every 7 years. A schedule of City planning board workshops to update this document was announced. Workshops will be held March 29th, April 19th (if needed), May 2nd (if needed), and a Transmittal Hearing will be held on June 13th, 2011. Further details on the times should be publicly posted. Following this information, Interim City Attorney, Tom Cloud, added that there is a draft bill sitting in the Florida House of Representatives that is likely to eliminate the EAR requirement in the future. Mr. Cloud felt that there is a 75% chance that this bill will eventually be passed by the Legislature. With the potential passing of this law growth management in the state will be totally changed. Many jobs in the DCA will likely be eliminated since many of these jobs exist solely to review these reports. EARs have been a requirement of all municipalities since 1985. If this law gets passed, reviews of comprehensive plans will be gone, but comprehensive plans can still be amended whenever needed. The current limit of 2 changes to the comprehensive plan per year will likely be eliminated as well.
The Polk City Founder's Day celebration for 2011 has been postponed due to lack of participation. Individuals whom had publicly stepped up to get the event organized for this April have since backed out. Councilwoman Adorno recommended that the date of the next Founder's Day celebration be tentatively set for the 2nd Sunday in April, 2012, unless Easter falls on that date. No council members had a copy of the 2012 calendar handy, so no one could confirm if Easter fell on that date or not at the time of the meeting. Since the meeting, I have confirmed that Easter is on that date, April 8th, so council will be adjusting this date accordingly. Ms. Adorno also suggested that each council person donate one month's salary, approximately $52 each, towards covering the costs for the event. When asked what kind of things Ms. Adorno envisioned for the event, she described small game booths for the children and other family oriented activities. Other council persons had little comment on the salary donation suggestion. No definitive agreement was reached. Other holiday events dates were also approved: Safe Haven Halloween 2011 scheduled for 10/28/2011 at 4-8 PM, the Christmas Parade scheduled for 12/3/2011 at 2 PM.
The Uniform Collection Agreement with Joe Tedder, Polk County Tax Collector, was the next item on the agenda. Little information was available to the public prior the meeting, so Acting City Manager/Vice Mayor Block provided some details. The water and sewer availability charges, also known as WAC and SAC, are currently being billed manually by the city. The city passed a motion to add these charges to the annual county tax bill, instead. These are charges placed on undeveloped building lots for access to water and sewer lines running past the property. Despite not having any meters or use of these services, the city officials approved this ordinance in 2009 so these annual fees can be collected to pay for the "maintenance" of these pipes. These annual fees will charged indefinitely unless the ordinance is repealed. Councilman Kimsey made it very clear that he is willing to repeal these unfair charges if there is enough support from the other council members in the future. In many cases these fees amount to $500 - $800 per year when both water and sewer run past the property. Land zoned for agricultural purposes is exempt from this ordinance. Due to the overwhelming public outrage by the 600 parcel owners to these charges, the city has experienced difficultly collecting these fees since the passing of this ordinance. In the November 15, 2010, City Meeting the amended budget in Ordinance 1270 reflected actual cash flow for the fiscal year rather than anticipated cash flow. These adjustments are evidence that the city projected to collect "Privilege Fees" (disguised WAC & SAC) of a combined $169,450. Instead, the city was only able to collect a total of $26,090, a shortage of $143,360. Ms. Block stated that the main reason for these billing changes is to save on printing and mailing expenses for the city. What was not mentioned, but seems pretty obvious to us, is that the city is also hoping the collections of these fees will have more muscle if the fees are included on the tax bill mailed out by the county. Ms. Block stated that this week the city will be working on sending out invoices for past due 2009 WAC/SAC fees. First she stated that a penalty for late payment would also be included on these bills. When challenged by a city resident, Laura Lambert, during the public comment section of the meeting, Ms. Block recanted this statement by saying that property owners would be provided a notice to pay before penalties would be assessed, but future notices would include penalties for late payment. Manual bills for 2010 fees will be going out shortly, as well. The fees for these charges are sent out for the previous year, not in advance of the fiscal year. City officials indicated that they plan to bill for 2011 fees via the regularly mailed tax bill from the county. It was unclear during the meeting if the county has already agreed to add this fee to the tax bill. The adding of this extra line item may cause some issues in the formatting of the tax bill due to the number of line items already present on in-City tax bills.
Ordinance 1275 on renewing the 20 year contract with Lakeland Electric for the majority of the city residents electric services was tabled until next month's regular meeting. Mr. Cloud stated that Lakeland was presented with the new contract last week and has requested more time to review the document. Mr. Cloud stated that the franchise fee of 4%, the tax that the city collects through the electric bill as direct revenue for the city, will remain the same as it is currently. Mr. Cloud stated that other municipalities average a 6% franchise fee on their utilities. Upon hearing this average, Mayor LaCascia was quick to ask if the city can increase this fee to 6%, as well, to generate more funding for the city. Mr. Cloud advised that considering the public is not very happy with other fees, increasing the franchise fee would not be a wise move.
Mr. Mark Durbin, of Range Riders, was present during the discussion of the next step in the search for a new City Manager. He gave a brief summary of how council narrowed down the initial 60+ list of applicants, to the 12 candidates whom were contacted by City Clerk, Patricia Jackson, for further information. Many candidates were no longer being considered by some council members after their salary requirements were stated as being significantly higher than the budgeted $65 K, plus benefits. With this additional information in hand, each council member was asked for their top 5 candidates to narrow it down further. The 5 candidates who were mentioned by more than one council member moved on to the next round. Ms. Block tried repeatedly to convince council to consider two others whom she felt might settle for a lower salary than originally stated. Mr. Durbin and other council members felt there was little to no chance of this happening considering the individual she was fighting the hardest for had recently been offered a salary of 70K by the city of Mascott, FL, where he is the Acting City Manager currently, and still declined the offer. This article by Kevin Bouffard of the Ledger Polk City Manager Candidates Are Narrowed to Five goes into more detail about the individual candidates. Mr. Durbin recommended that a $35 criminal background check be run on the remaining candidates before scheduling the 1st round interviews for Saturday, April 30th, 2011. Council agreed to reimburse mileage at a rate of $.55 per mile for candidates to travel to the interview. No other expenses for travel will be paid by the city. All council members and Mr. Durbin agreed to be present for these interviews. If anything questionable comes up in the criminal checks, council will be notified.
Acting City Manager/Vice Mayor Block represented Polk City during a recent high school student art exhibit at the Polk Museum of Art and attended a Polk water Co-Op meeting where alternative future water sources for Polk County were discussed.
Representatives from Woodard & Curran, the new water and sewer company, were present and introduced. An update was provided. Frank Sanderson has resigned effective at the end of the month, so he can be closer to his home and family in Citrus County. Mr. Sanderson has been the main utility consultant, the $1,700/week man, during the time FGUA was assisting the city and also stayed on during the transition period as an employee of Woodard & Curran. In April, Woodard and Curran will begin drafting the new consumer confidence report, which is typically distributed in May or June. This is a required report that provides the public with information on water quality and current levels of certain contaminants. GAI reports are almost done. A city workshop will be scheduled in April to discuss the results of these reports.
The 3rd Annual Polk City Yard Sale will be held Saturday, April 30th from 8 AM - 4 PM. Registration is required, but the usual permit fee will be waived for city residents and individuals who are current customers of Polk City Utilities. Details were mailed out in the recent water bills and are also available online at Polk City's web page.
During the public comment section of the meeting, Mrs. Laura Lambert asked several questions about the Lakeland Electric contract renewal and how these contracts with utility providers work. The contract with TECO has historically been renewed on a 30 year basis. Ms. Block stated that the city typically makes between $48,000 - $64,000 in revenue from electric utility Franchise fees, which will vary based on customer usage. The actual budget figures from last fiscal year in Ordinance 1270 show that the actual revenue generated last year was $85,168, up $5,168 from anticipated revenue. Mrs. Lambert also asked for clarification on the difference between Impact Fees and WAC/SAC charges that the city charges. The Mayor and Mr. Cloud explained that Impact Fees are charged to recoup capital expenditure costs to provide these services and are charged one time when permits for development are acquired. Currently impact fees for the county and city have been temporarily waived to encourage growth. WAC/SAC fees are charged to maintain the availability of the services to the property parcel and are charged annually until the property is developed. It appears the city is trying to substitute permanent and recurring income with these fees, since lack of growth has been generating little to no Impact Fee revenue. When council was questioned if some Mt. Olive properties are being assessed at different WAC/SAC rates than in-city properties, there was some confusion in the answers provided by council. Ms. Block offered to provide this information to Ms. Lambert if she wanted to come to her office to discuss it further.
Lisa Shifflett requested that the regular reports which are approved with little to no discussion by council at most city meetings be made readily available to the public on the city's web page. She was informed that all of this information is readily available if a public records request if made to the city clerk. Ms. Shifflett stated that rather than providing multiple public records requests to multiple people on a regular basis it would be much more time saving and cost efficient to the city to just provide this information on the web page, since the web page is already designed to have this information posted and merely needs to be updated regularly. Patricia Jackson stated that she has had others request this information as well, and will be working to get this information updated on the website within the next couple of weeks. Ms. Shifflett also asked for an update on the possibility of the well drilling ban for irrigation being repealed. Mr. Cloud stated that it was not very likely since existing city bonds/loans from state agencies such as the DEP agreed to these bonds/loans based on increased water revenues expected to generated by this ban being in place. Mr. Cloud said that these fees could not be repealed without violating these loan agreements. Ms. Block clarified that Swiftmud does not have any restrictions on well drilling, but will only issue a permit if the municipality will issue a permit, which Polk City will not.
Another Mount Olive resident spoke up and stated that recently an individual had put down a $5,000 deposit to purchase a property in Mount Olive Shores North. After placing his deposit, he forfeited his deposit and withdrew his offer after finding out what typical water and sewer charges and other fees and taxes typically cost. This has not been the first time this has happened. It is becoming close to impossible to sell undeveloped building lots and values of these properties are decreasing due to these excessive fees from the city. The resident pleaded for the city to reconsider the many unreasonably high fees being charged.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Miami-Dade Mayor and Commissioner Recalled
On Tuesday, Voters in Miami-Dade had their say about how the county is run in South Florida. County officials were not listening to the people. The people took action. The people of Miami-Dade had the last word in a landslide victory. Polk City's day will come as well.
Angry voters oust Miami-Dade mayor in special vote
Miami-Dade voters fire Mayor Carlos Alvarez over pay hikes, tax increase
Voters toss out Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez, Commissioner Natacha Seijas
Angry voters oust Miami-Dade mayor in special vote
Miami-Dade voters fire Mayor Carlos Alvarez over pay hikes, tax increase
Voters toss out Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez, Commissioner Natacha Seijas
Thursday, March 10, 2011
March 14th, 2011 City Meeting Agenda
Here's the link to the meeting agenda that went out today: Agenda - March 14th, 2011 City Council Meeting
The meeting will be at 7:00 PM.
Ordinance 1275
The meeting will be at 7:00 PM.
Ordinance 1275
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
City Manager Applicant Workshop Action Plan
The Polk City Council Workshop on Monday 3/7/11 to discuss the applicants for the City Manager job opening was rather informal compared to the usual format in other workshops. The council members, Mark Durbin of the Range Riders, Interim City Attorney, Tom Cloud, and City Clerk, Patricia Jackson, all sat round table at the head of the room. The audience was encouraged to move closer to the front so they could hear, since the microphone system was not being used. One by one top picks of the submitted resumes were discussed, pros and cons, by each individual at the table.
By the end of the evening, the list was narrowed down to 12 applicants whom Patricia Jackson would be contacting by phone to get additional information, if it was not included in their cover letter or resume. Before narrowing the applicant pool too far, they wanted to find out if they were still interested and are still available for the job, the rock bottom salary and benefits range they would be willing to accept, and if they would be willing to pay for their own expenses if they were invited to interview from out of state. Mr. Durbin stated that it is customary for the prospective employer to cover travel expenses for a top candidate to interview from out of state, but council members wanted to see if that would be additional expenses which could be avoided. Mr. Durbin also recommended that preliminary queries done on these candidates online, through contacts, public records, and the like, might be a good idea to do prior to scheduling interviews to narrow down the field even further. Much of these searches can be done at little to no cost and might provide valuable information into why the applicant is currently looking for employment and if they would be a good fit for what the city's needs are. The plan by the end of Monday night's workshop was to have the results of the this work available for discussion by council for the Monday, March 14th regular City Council Meeting at 7:00 PM.
Here is a link to Mr. Kevin Bouffard's article in the Ledger about last night's workshop: Polk City Narrows List of Manager Candidates to 11
Another article will be posted here on the blog breaking down some of the information on each applicant the council is considering. It will take a little while to digest all the notes taken during the meeting.
By the end of the evening, the list was narrowed down to 12 applicants whom Patricia Jackson would be contacting by phone to get additional information, if it was not included in their cover letter or resume. Before narrowing the applicant pool too far, they wanted to find out if they were still interested and are still available for the job, the rock bottom salary and benefits range they would be willing to accept, and if they would be willing to pay for their own expenses if they were invited to interview from out of state. Mr. Durbin stated that it is customary for the prospective employer to cover travel expenses for a top candidate to interview from out of state, but council members wanted to see if that would be additional expenses which could be avoided. Mr. Durbin also recommended that preliminary queries done on these candidates online, through contacts, public records, and the like, might be a good idea to do prior to scheduling interviews to narrow down the field even further. Much of these searches can be done at little to no cost and might provide valuable information into why the applicant is currently looking for employment and if they would be a good fit for what the city's needs are. The plan by the end of Monday night's workshop was to have the results of the this work available for discussion by council for the Monday, March 14th regular City Council Meeting at 7:00 PM.
Here is a link to Mr. Kevin Bouffard's article in the Ledger about last night's workshop: Polk City Narrows List of Manager Candidates to 11
Another article will be posted here on the blog breaking down some of the information on each applicant the council is considering. It will take a little while to digest all the notes taken during the meeting.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Do You Drink Polk City Water Unfiltered?
In addition to drinking the water unfiltered, do you shower or bathe with it, or cook with it? I am now questioning how safe this is. I was working on my pool and got the idea to use my same chlorine test kit I use for my pool to test the chlorine levels in the tap water. Over the last several months, my neighbors and I have noticed on occasion, a strong chlorine odor coming from the tap water. I didn't notice the smell very recently, so it was probably not as high as it has been once in a while in the past, but I wanted to see what the test said anyway. I was totally shocked by my results!
Here is a picture of a sample I took out of the tap the morning of 2/28/2011. The ideal range for a swimming pool, as you can see in the picture, is between 1.0 - 3.4 parts per million, or ppm. This test result is clearly falling on the high end of the next higher level of 3.0-6.5 parts per million.
Shortly after getting these results, I contacted Acting City Manger/Vice Mayor Block who lives in my neighborhood. At first, she was hesitant to do anything about it on a Sunday, but after further discussion, she offered to contact Mr. Frank Sanderson from Utilities to look into the situation. A little later that evening, Mrs. Block and a representative from Woodard & Curran performed a water test on the tap water in front of me, as well as explained some information about how Woodard & Curran tests for Chlorine in the drinking water. The test they did tested for FREE Chlorine in the water. The result was 1.75 parts per million. The tester for the pool tests TOTAL Chlorine. Free chlorine is the chlorine that is still "active" in the water ready to kill any pathogens or bacteria. When this amount of Free chlorine is added to the chlorine that is already "used up" by pathogens or bacteria, this will give you Total chlorine level. The representative stated that they do test the Total chlorine level of the water coming out of the wastewater treatment plants before dispursing it on the sprayfields, etc., but they do not test for Total Chlorine levels in the drinking water, only Free chlorine levels. He said the maximum contamination level of Free chlorine in the drinking water can be as high as 4.0. Upon checking with the EPA website, I found that this statement was not correct. The EPA states the Chlorine MRDL (Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level) = 4.0. This means that the TOTAL chlorine level, NOT only the Free chlorine portion of the equation should not exceed 4.0 PPM.
A few months ago when the the chlorine smell from the tap water was quite obvious, one of my neighbors told me that she could not drink even one glass of tap water without experiencing stomach problems. Her pets, a bird and small dog, were also violently ill until she changed them to bottled water. I had mentioned this to Mrs. Block when I told her of my test results. Since 2/28, I found out that Mrs. Block informed this neighbor that the water department recently did some tests on the water and realized that the chlorine levels were on the high side, and they have since been lowered. That same courtesy extended to myself would have been nice, considering I was the one who brought the issue to her attention! With this new information, I did retest the water on March 7th, 2011. The test did reveal that the chlorine levels do appear to be closer to the "normal" range. You may not be able to see the subtle difference in the photographs above, but this more recent test is closer in color to the 1.5-3.4 range than the higher 3.0-6.5 range. Let's hope closer montitoring of chlorine levels will continue, and will not just be a one time extra check since the public made them aware of this problem.
I realize that chlorine used as a disinfecting agent in our water does have it's purpose to keep other pathogens and bacteria under control, but it should be used only at the recommended levels deemed safe for consumption. Besides the adverse health effects of excessive chlorine levels listed on the EPA's website, eye/nose irritation & stomach discomfort, other websites also site other adverse health effects. Many external ones you may already be familiar with if you have ever swam in a pool with excessive chlorine levels, dry itchy skin, rashes, and lightening of hair, even getting slight green coloration in the hair. Internally, long term exposure to elevated chlorine levels have shown to cause much more serious health problems such as increased cancer rates of many types of cancer, but specifically colon and bladder cancers. Inhaling chlorine in vapor form or absorbing it through the skin, such as while taking a hot shower, has been shown to significantly increase lung irritation in individuals with respiratory conditions, such as asthma. The by-products of chlorine disinfection processes are also linked to various health problems.
I am not telling you these things to scare you, merely to make you aware so you can make informed decisions about your drinking water. Most types of water filters, such as the ones built into many refridgerators, remove clorine from drinking water. Please keep in mind that most filters must be replaced regularly or require maintenance, most on a six month to annual basis to keep them working properly. Here is a link to www.WaterFilterComparisons.com This will give you a good idea of what types of filters and even which brands work well to remove various chemicals and contaminants from your water. Price is not always the best indicator of best quality. We are not recommending any particular products or even saying that they are necessary. We just believe that knowledge is power and if you are informed, you can make the decisions you feel are best for you, instead of trusting blindly that someone else is always looking out for our best interests.
The EPA requires that municipalities and other water companies provide what they call a Consumer Confidence Report to the public on an annual basis. This way the public can be informed of various contaminants in their tap water. On Polk City's web site, the Water Department Page contains a link to this report. Unfortunately, at the time of this article, the most current one I could find there was dated 2007. There are some obvious shortcomings that need to be worked on by Polk City.
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| February 28, 2011 Tap Water Sample |
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| March 7, 2011 Tap Water Sample |
Shortly after getting these results, I contacted Acting City Manger/Vice Mayor Block who lives in my neighborhood. At first, she was hesitant to do anything about it on a Sunday, but after further discussion, she offered to contact Mr. Frank Sanderson from Utilities to look into the situation. A little later that evening, Mrs. Block and a representative from Woodard & Curran performed a water test on the tap water in front of me, as well as explained some information about how Woodard & Curran tests for Chlorine in the drinking water. The test they did tested for FREE Chlorine in the water. The result was 1.75 parts per million. The tester for the pool tests TOTAL Chlorine. Free chlorine is the chlorine that is still "active" in the water ready to kill any pathogens or bacteria. When this amount of Free chlorine is added to the chlorine that is already "used up" by pathogens or bacteria, this will give you Total chlorine level. The representative stated that they do test the Total chlorine level of the water coming out of the wastewater treatment plants before dispursing it on the sprayfields, etc., but they do not test for Total Chlorine levels in the drinking water, only Free chlorine levels. He said the maximum contamination level of Free chlorine in the drinking water can be as high as 4.0. Upon checking with the EPA website, I found that this statement was not correct. The EPA states the Chlorine MRDL (Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level) = 4.0. This means that the TOTAL chlorine level, NOT only the Free chlorine portion of the equation should not exceed 4.0 PPM.
A few months ago when the the chlorine smell from the tap water was quite obvious, one of my neighbors told me that she could not drink even one glass of tap water without experiencing stomach problems. Her pets, a bird and small dog, were also violently ill until she changed them to bottled water. I had mentioned this to Mrs. Block when I told her of my test results. Since 2/28, I found out that Mrs. Block informed this neighbor that the water department recently did some tests on the water and realized that the chlorine levels were on the high side, and they have since been lowered. That same courtesy extended to myself would have been nice, considering I was the one who brought the issue to her attention! With this new information, I did retest the water on March 7th, 2011. The test did reveal that the chlorine levels do appear to be closer to the "normal" range. You may not be able to see the subtle difference in the photographs above, but this more recent test is closer in color to the 1.5-3.4 range than the higher 3.0-6.5 range. Let's hope closer montitoring of chlorine levels will continue, and will not just be a one time extra check since the public made them aware of this problem.
I realize that chlorine used as a disinfecting agent in our water does have it's purpose to keep other pathogens and bacteria under control, but it should be used only at the recommended levels deemed safe for consumption. Besides the adverse health effects of excessive chlorine levels listed on the EPA's website, eye/nose irritation & stomach discomfort, other websites also site other adverse health effects. Many external ones you may already be familiar with if you have ever swam in a pool with excessive chlorine levels, dry itchy skin, rashes, and lightening of hair, even getting slight green coloration in the hair. Internally, long term exposure to elevated chlorine levels have shown to cause much more serious health problems such as increased cancer rates of many types of cancer, but specifically colon and bladder cancers. Inhaling chlorine in vapor form or absorbing it through the skin, such as while taking a hot shower, has been shown to significantly increase lung irritation in individuals with respiratory conditions, such as asthma. The by-products of chlorine disinfection processes are also linked to various health problems.
I am not telling you these things to scare you, merely to make you aware so you can make informed decisions about your drinking water. Most types of water filters, such as the ones built into many refridgerators, remove clorine from drinking water. Please keep in mind that most filters must be replaced regularly or require maintenance, most on a six month to annual basis to keep them working properly. Here is a link to www.WaterFilterComparisons.com This will give you a good idea of what types of filters and even which brands work well to remove various chemicals and contaminants from your water. Price is not always the best indicator of best quality. We are not recommending any particular products or even saying that they are necessary. We just believe that knowledge is power and if you are informed, you can make the decisions you feel are best for you, instead of trusting blindly that someone else is always looking out for our best interests.
The EPA requires that municipalities and other water companies provide what they call a Consumer Confidence Report to the public on an annual basis. This way the public can be informed of various contaminants in their tap water. On Polk City's web site, the Water Department Page contains a link to this report. Unfortunately, at the time of this article, the most current one I could find there was dated 2007. There are some obvious shortcomings that need to be worked on by Polk City.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Letter to State Representative, Kelli Stargel
Date: 03/02/11 19:01:23
To: Chris.Dowdy@myfloridahouse.net
Cc: helppolkcityresidents@earthlink.net
Subject: WE Need HELP!!
Chris,
The residents of Polk City, FL are in State Rep. Kelli Stargel's district and we need help!!! The city council could be FL version of Bell, CA...well, maybe not with salaries, but with the way the city is being mismanaged and how our tax dollars are being squandered with total disregard of the wishes of the Polk City residents. Polk County has tried to force the city to repay debts owed to them or return land...we are now in a legal dispute with the county. Our sewage and water bills are between 200-400% higher that what county residents pay. There is documentation supporting mis-billed invoicing, and every resident living here can vouch that they have been over billed. We have had a petition signing to dissolve the city because of the outrageous utility bills that we began paying last year. The Lakeland Ledger has many articles addressing some of the concerns of our city, but the articles seem to have a bias that is pro city council. I am a widow living in a modest home and I am frugal in all I do...my water bill has been as much as $300/month and one month I spent $1600.00 trying to get a new line laid for my weekly one hour grass watering.
PLEASE review our blog below and suggest actions we might take that would move our elected officials to carry out the will of the people in Polk City.
Concerned Citizens of Polk City
Desperate for your help,
One Concerned Citizen of Polk City
This letter was sent by one of our Blog readers, and we received permission to post it on our blog. Many of us can identify with the feelings of helplessness and frustration this Polk City resident conveys. Ignoring the desperate financial situation that many of our citizens find themselves in during this economic downturn, our city leadership is still forging ahead with their unlimited spending practices. Tom Cloud and Gary Hartman have unlimited reign in deciding what is best for our city and county residents who are served by Polk City's water and sewer utilities. Let's not forget.....these two individuals are first and foremost interested in padding their own pockets. They have hit the jackpot here in Polk City. What ever these two suggest, our city officials follow blindly, since they have absolutely no clue what other alternatives might be available. They have complete faith in whatever is suggested to them, and don't know enough to ask educated questions. If we ever had anyone working for the city who is knowledgeable, they have been fired, therefore there is no opposition in anything that Cloud and Hartman propose. They have created a situation for the city to be totally dependent on their services, and the sky is the limit as to the fees they are charging us. Our city leadership is totally fine with this, since they feel their jobs are so much less complicated, now that they have outsourced just about everything at the expense of the tax payers.
To: Chris.Dowdy@myfloridahouse.net
Cc: helppolkcityresidents@earthlink.net
Subject: WE Need HELP!!
Chris,
The residents of Polk City, FL are in State Rep. Kelli Stargel's district and we need help!!! The city council could be FL version of Bell, CA...well, maybe not with salaries, but with the way the city is being mismanaged and how our tax dollars are being squandered with total disregard of the wishes of the Polk City residents. Polk County has tried to force the city to repay debts owed to them or return land...we are now in a legal dispute with the county. Our sewage and water bills are between 200-400% higher that what county residents pay. There is documentation supporting mis-billed invoicing, and every resident living here can vouch that they have been over billed. We have had a petition signing to dissolve the city because of the outrageous utility bills that we began paying last year. The Lakeland Ledger has many articles addressing some of the concerns of our city, but the articles seem to have a bias that is pro city council. I am a widow living in a modest home and I am frugal in all I do...my water bill has been as much as $300/month and one month I spent $1600.00 trying to get a new line laid for my weekly one hour grass watering.
PLEASE review our blog below and suggest actions we might take that would move our elected officials to carry out the will of the people in Polk City.
Concerned Citizens of Polk City
Desperate for your help,
One Concerned Citizen of Polk City
This letter was sent by one of our Blog readers, and we received permission to post it on our blog. Many of us can identify with the feelings of helplessness and frustration this Polk City resident conveys. Ignoring the desperate financial situation that many of our citizens find themselves in during this economic downturn, our city leadership is still forging ahead with their unlimited spending practices. Tom Cloud and Gary Hartman have unlimited reign in deciding what is best for our city and county residents who are served by Polk City's water and sewer utilities. Let's not forget.....these two individuals are first and foremost interested in padding their own pockets. They have hit the jackpot here in Polk City. What ever these two suggest, our city officials follow blindly, since they have absolutely no clue what other alternatives might be available. They have complete faith in whatever is suggested to them, and don't know enough to ask educated questions. If we ever had anyone working for the city who is knowledgeable, they have been fired, therefore there is no opposition in anything that Cloud and Hartman propose. They have created a situation for the city to be totally dependent on their services, and the sky is the limit as to the fees they are charging us. Our city leadership is totally fine with this, since they feel their jobs are so much less complicated, now that they have outsourced just about everything at the expense of the tax payers.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Florida Supreme Court Denies Lawsuit on High Speed Rail
With the high-speed rail project denied by Governor Rick Scott and the FL Supreme Court also denying the lawsuit to try to stop Governor Scott, Polk City's anticipated growth as a result of the high-speed rail project also goes up in smoke. With the Poly-tech campus planned to go in on the parcel of property on the other side of I-4 near the city limits of both Auburndale and Polk City, there was quite a bit of discussion that one of the rail stops would be placed near the campus. This could have potentially brought in quite a bit of traffic to this area.
Here's a short Ledger article that came out Friday March 4th about this decision: Lakeland Officials Disappointed, Not Surprised By High-Speed Rail Rejection
Here's a short Ledger article that came out Friday March 4th about this decision: Lakeland Officials Disappointed, Not Surprised By High-Speed Rail Rejection
PG Environmental Consulting Proposal for Hydrogeologic Services
At the February 22nd, 2011, Polk City Council Meeting, Mr. Gerald Hartman, from GAI Consultants, informed City Council that in the process of their Utility Study, they found that monitoring wells for the city utilities were not being maintained properly. In addition to providing this service, "Polk City has the need to have minor permit revision for the wastewater treatment facilities, prepare supporting documentation for modification of the groundwater monitoring plan, relocate two monitor wells, abandon two monitor wells, and redevelop the remaining existing monitor wells." PG Environmental Consulting had provided a Proposal for Professional Hydogeologic Services for these services which can be viewed here: PG Environmental Consulting Proposal for Hydrogeologic Services
The cost for these services has been estimated on page 4, in Table 1, of the document, to be approximately $15,755.
The cost for these services has been estimated on page 4, in Table 1, of the document, to be approximately $15,755.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Agenda - City Council Workshop, March 7, 2011, 7:00 PM
The Agenda for the upcoming City Council Workshop to be held on Monday evening, March 7, 2011 at 7:00 PM was emailed today and is posted on the city's website. Agenda - City Council Workshop, March 7, 2010 Should be a pretty interesting meeting. The City Manager's applications will be reviewed with the Range Riders. No new motions will be voted on.
RBC Backs Out of Deal, But It's Not Over...
See the details in the latest Ledger article Polk City Faces a New Debt Hurdle as Investor Backs Out
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
GAI Consulting Services Engagement Letter
At the February 22nd, 2011, Polk City Meeting, Mr. Gerald Hartman, of GAI Consultants, agreed to provide Polk City with Engineering Services on an "As Needed Basis." This information was available to City Council Members, but not provided to the public at the time of the meeting. Even after repeated attempts by the public, the rate schedule was not disclosed to the public until after the meeting adjourned via a public records request. This proposal for services was approved by a vote of the city council by a vote of 4-1. Here is a copy of the Engagement Letter: GAI Consulting Services Engagement Letter
Essentially, this agreement will permit GAI to perform the duties that a City Engineer would normally do. In the past, these duties were performed by Mr. Gene Kniffen, in addition to his other responsibilities in the Utility Department on a salaried basis. The rate schedule on page two of the document linked above discloses the HOURLY rates GAI will charge for these services. By the way this rate schedule is laid out, it appears very likely that several individuals working as a team could be assigned to various as needed projects simultaneously. When adding all of their separate hourly rates together, the cumulative hourly rate could likely jump to $500 or $1000 or more per hour for these services. That gets very expensive, very quickly. City Council may think that they are "saving" in salary expenses by hiring an outside firm to complete these services on an as needed basis, but the true "savings" will only be apparent when all the bills are added up at the end of the year. At these rates, just a few projects could easily run expenses in excess of the total annual salary, plus benefits, the city had paid one individual to do this function in the past.
Essentially, this agreement will permit GAI to perform the duties that a City Engineer would normally do. In the past, these duties were performed by Mr. Gene Kniffen, in addition to his other responsibilities in the Utility Department on a salaried basis. The rate schedule on page two of the document linked above discloses the HOURLY rates GAI will charge for these services. By the way this rate schedule is laid out, it appears very likely that several individuals working as a team could be assigned to various as needed projects simultaneously. When adding all of their separate hourly rates together, the cumulative hourly rate could likely jump to $500 or $1000 or more per hour for these services. That gets very expensive, very quickly. City Council may think that they are "saving" in salary expenses by hiring an outside firm to complete these services on an as needed basis, but the true "savings" will only be apparent when all the bills are added up at the end of the year. At these rates, just a few projects could easily run expenses in excess of the total annual salary, plus benefits, the city had paid one individual to do this function in the past.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Patience Is A Virtue
By now many of you may have been doing your research and have read Florida Statute, 100.361 Municipal Recall. It might seem a little intimidating to some of you, but the recall process is really not that complicated. It is designed for ordinary citizens to step up and take an active role in what is happening in their community. No Political Action Committee (PAC) needs to be formed.
F.S. 100.361 (2) RECALL PETITION
(c) Recall Committee-- states that electors of the municipality making charges contained in a statement of Grounds For Recall, as well as those signing the recall petition, shall be designated as the Recall Committee. A specific person shall be designated in the petition as the Chair Of The Committee, and this person shall act for the committee. The recall committee and the officer(s) being recalled are subject to the provisions of Chapter 106.
In order for council persons to be eligible for a recall, they must have served 25% of their term. So the council members who were sworn in on April 13, 2010 are not eligible for a recall until after that date in 2011, at which time they will have served one year of their four-year term. The two council persons that are eligible for the recall process at this time are up for re-election in April, 2012.
A very important statute must not be overlooked when recalling only 2 out of 5 officials.
F.S. 100.361 (7) EFFECT OF RESIGNATIONS.-- If the member of the governing body being recalled resigns from office prior to the recall election, the remaining members shall fill the vacancy created according to the appropriate law for filling vacancies. In other words, the majority of the remaining seated members still influence who is being seated to fill the vacancies. They can appoint 2 persons who support their agenda and these newly appointed officials will be in for the remainder of the term of the official they are replacing. Then all the work involved in the recall process will have been for naught. And the same process will be repeated when another recall process is started for the two council persons who can be recalled after April 13, 2011.
If the recall process is started after April 13, 2011, four council persons can be recalled at the same time. As F.S. 100.361 (7) EFFECT OF RESIGNATION.-- describes if all of the members of the governing body are sought to be recalled, and all the members resign prior to the recall election, the recall election shall be canceled, and a special election shall be called to fill the unexpired terms of the resigning members. In the event that any of the members that are sought to be recalled decide they want to resign before the recall election is held, the proceedings for the recall of members not resigning and the election of successors to fill the unexpired terms shall continue and have the same effect as though there had been no resignation(s). If only one council member remains, there will not be enough votes to appoint successors to fill the vacant seats by council, therefore the people get a say who will be seated through a recall election or special election.
For each official to be recalled, the total process requires two petitions to be circulated to collect the required amount of signatures. For the size of our municipality, the first petition only requires a minimum of 100 qualified voters signatures collected within a 30 day period. The committee chairperson files these petitions with the City Clerk. Immediately after filing the petition forms, the Clerk shall submit such forms to the County Supervisor of Elections who has to verify them within 30 days. After successful verification, the persons to be recalled will have 5 days to submit a defensive statement of not more than 200 words. The Clerk then has 5 days to prepare the "Recall Petition and Defense" and submit sufficient copies to carry the signatures of 30% of the registered electors to the Chairperson of the Recall Committee. The second petition only needs to have 15% of all qualified registered voters (a minimum of approximately 137 qualified voters signatures out of approximately 915 qualified registered voters). All signatures for the second petition need to be collected within 60 days.
All this can be done at a minimal cost. The City Clerk has to submit the first set of signatures to the Supervisor of Elections for verification at a cost of 10 cents per signature. So for 100 - 120 signatures the cost is only $10.00 - $12.00 for each official recalled. The second set of signatures for the petition containing a minimum of 15% of the voters is verified by the Supervisor of Elections at a cost of 10 cents per signature to be verified. So that cost might be approximately $14.00 to $20.00 for each official recalled, depending how many signatures are to be verified.
As you can see, waiting until April 14, 2011 will be to our benefit.
F.S. 100.361 (2) RECALL PETITION
(c) Recall Committee-- states that electors of the municipality making charges contained in a statement of Grounds For Recall, as well as those signing the recall petition, shall be designated as the Recall Committee. A specific person shall be designated in the petition as the Chair Of The Committee, and this person shall act for the committee. The recall committee and the officer(s) being recalled are subject to the provisions of Chapter 106.
In order for council persons to be eligible for a recall, they must have served 25% of their term. So the council members who were sworn in on April 13, 2010 are not eligible for a recall until after that date in 2011, at which time they will have served one year of their four-year term. The two council persons that are eligible for the recall process at this time are up for re-election in April, 2012.
A very important statute must not be overlooked when recalling only 2 out of 5 officials.
F.S. 100.361 (7) EFFECT OF RESIGNATIONS.-- If the member of the governing body being recalled resigns from office prior to the recall election, the remaining members shall fill the vacancy created according to the appropriate law for filling vacancies. In other words, the majority of the remaining seated members still influence who is being seated to fill the vacancies. They can appoint 2 persons who support their agenda and these newly appointed officials will be in for the remainder of the term of the official they are replacing. Then all the work involved in the recall process will have been for naught. And the same process will be repeated when another recall process is started for the two council persons who can be recalled after April 13, 2011.
If the recall process is started after April 13, 2011, four council persons can be recalled at the same time. As F.S. 100.361 (7) EFFECT OF RESIGNATION.-- describes if all of the members of the governing body are sought to be recalled, and all the members resign prior to the recall election, the recall election shall be canceled, and a special election shall be called to fill the unexpired terms of the resigning members. In the event that any of the members that are sought to be recalled decide they want to resign before the recall election is held, the proceedings for the recall of members not resigning and the election of successors to fill the unexpired terms shall continue and have the same effect as though there had been no resignation(s). If only one council member remains, there will not be enough votes to appoint successors to fill the vacant seats by council, therefore the people get a say who will be seated through a recall election or special election.
For each official to be recalled, the total process requires two petitions to be circulated to collect the required amount of signatures. For the size of our municipality, the first petition only requires a minimum of 100 qualified voters signatures collected within a 30 day period. The committee chairperson files these petitions with the City Clerk. Immediately after filing the petition forms, the Clerk shall submit such forms to the County Supervisor of Elections who has to verify them within 30 days. After successful verification, the persons to be recalled will have 5 days to submit a defensive statement of not more than 200 words. The Clerk then has 5 days to prepare the "Recall Petition and Defense" and submit sufficient copies to carry the signatures of 30% of the registered electors to the Chairperson of the Recall Committee. The second petition only needs to have 15% of all qualified registered voters (a minimum of approximately 137 qualified voters signatures out of approximately 915 qualified registered voters). All signatures for the second petition need to be collected within 60 days.
All this can be done at a minimal cost. The City Clerk has to submit the first set of signatures to the Supervisor of Elections for verification at a cost of 10 cents per signature. So for 100 - 120 signatures the cost is only $10.00 - $12.00 for each official recalled. The second set of signatures for the petition containing a minimum of 15% of the voters is verified by the Supervisor of Elections at a cost of 10 cents per signature to be verified. So that cost might be approximately $14.00 to $20.00 for each official recalled, depending how many signatures are to be verified.
As you can see, waiting until April 14, 2011 will be to our benefit.
Monday, February 28, 2011
RBC Capital Markets Investment Banking Agreement
At the February 22nd, 2011, Polk City Meeting, Mr. Gerald Hartman, from GAI Consultants, presents the Council Members with a copy of the proposed Investment Banking Agreement with RBC Capital Markets. Here is a copy of the document. RBC Capital Markets Investment Banking Agreement The council voted to 4-1 to move forward with this agreement for RBC for work out the details for this proposed bond/loan for $8.3 - $8.9 Million. The estimated interest alone will run approximately $6 Million dollars. If this bond/loan is later voted to be approved by City Council to move forward with the final deal that RBC proposes, the total city debt will be increased to somewhere in the neighborhood of $19 Million from the current $10.4 Million debt. See the details of these calculations in a previous blog post here: Proposed City Refinancing Will Nearly Double City Debt for Tax Payers
GAI Water and Wastewater Utility Study
At the February 22nd, 2011, City Meeting, Mr. Gerald Hartman, of GAI Consultants, presented his findings of the water and wastewater study he had been working on for the last few months. Here is a copy of the booklet presented to each City Council Member at the time of the meeting. There were 2 maps presented during the meeting as well. Unfortunately, some of the information on these maps is not legible since the copies provided are in black and white and many important details were differentiated with added lines in red, which get completely lost in the black and white copies. Other details are still viewable, but you may have to enlarge particular details significantly to see them, since the text is so small.
GAI Water and Wastewater Utilities Study
GAI Water and Wastewater Utilities Study Maps
GAI Water and Wastewater Utilities Study
GAI Water and Wastewater Utilities Study Maps
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Recall Procedures for Municipalities
Recall procedures are getting more and more common in today's challenging economic times, especially when taxes and fees keep going up, while people are experiencing layoffs, cut backs in pay and benefits, or hours worked. Voters are expected to be fairly represented by their elected officials, and if this is not the case, there might be sufficient grounds for a recall. On March 15, 2011, a recall election will be held in Miami-Dade County to recall Mayor Carlos Alvarez and County Commissioner Natachas Saijas. Here is a link to a recent article printed in the Miami Herald. Miami Herald Article Here is another article that gives a little more background in this case. Carlos Alvarez Recall, Miami Dade County, 2011 The main reason for this recall is an increase in taxes, in some cases up to 14%, and increasing the salaries of the public officials.
According to the Polk City Charter, under Article VIII - Qualified Voters; Powers, Section C-35; Recalls P.C. Charter Article VIII - C-35: Voters Powers - Recalls it refers to the Florida State Statute F.S. 100.361 where the procedure for Municipal Recalls is outlined in detail. Florida State Statute 100.361 Municipal Recall . There are also many cases of City Council Recalls throughout the nation as shown in this link: City Council Recalls. Florida State Representative Kriseman introduced a bill in February, 2011 to allow recalls in the Florida House & Senate, as described in this article: Florida Ballot News.
This recall procedure gives the power to the voters to remove any elected official from office who does not represent his/her constituents. After all, they are working for us, and are our voice in the decision making process that affects our daily lives.
According to the Polk City Charter, under Article VIII - Qualified Voters; Powers, Section C-35; Recalls P.C. Charter Article VIII - C-35: Voters Powers - Recalls it refers to the Florida State Statute F.S. 100.361 where the procedure for Municipal Recalls is outlined in detail. Florida State Statute 100.361 Municipal Recall . There are also many cases of City Council Recalls throughout the nation as shown in this link: City Council Recalls. Florida State Representative Kriseman introduced a bill in February, 2011 to allow recalls in the Florida House & Senate, as described in this article: Florida Ballot News.
This recall procedure gives the power to the voters to remove any elected official from office who does not represent his/her constituents. After all, they are working for us, and are our voice in the decision making process that affects our daily lives.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Whoops - Now there are 65 Applicants for Polk City Manager Position
Sun 'n Lake's in Sebring General Manager, Michael Wright, had some explaining to do to his supervisors when it was reported in The Ledger article on February 19, 2011, that his name was among the 66 applicants applying for the Polk City manager position.
This list included an application that was submitted back in July, 2010, by Michael Wright of Sebring, who was working as county administrator in Highlands for two years until June 22, 2010, when he was terminated. According to this article written in the Highland Today newspaper, Highland Today News Article , Mr. Wright, after hearing that Cory Carrier had resigned as Polk City manager in the middle of the financial crisis in June, 2010, sent a letter to Mayor LaCascia, applying for the job. In this letter he stated he had "resurrected the finances of cities that were in dire financial circumstances." However, Wright added, "I would not be interested in the position on a permanent basis, and would assist you in the recruitment of a new city manager."
It seems that City Clerk Patricia Jackson had included Wright's letter in the folder of applicants for the city manager position.
Wright was offered the job of interim general manager in Sun 'n Lake of Sebring in September, 2010, after Al Greishaber resigned on August 31. He was hired permanently as the SNL general manager in October at a $120,000 a year salary.
This list included an application that was submitted back in July, 2010, by Michael Wright of Sebring, who was working as county administrator in Highlands for two years until June 22, 2010, when he was terminated. According to this article written in the Highland Today newspaper, Highland Today News Article , Mr. Wright, after hearing that Cory Carrier had resigned as Polk City manager in the middle of the financial crisis in June, 2010, sent a letter to Mayor LaCascia, applying for the job. In this letter he stated he had "resurrected the finances of cities that were in dire financial circumstances." However, Wright added, "I would not be interested in the position on a permanent basis, and would assist you in the recruitment of a new city manager."
It seems that City Clerk Patricia Jackson had included Wright's letter in the folder of applicants for the city manager position.
Wright was offered the job of interim general manager in Sun 'n Lake of Sebring in September, 2010, after Al Greishaber resigned on August 31. He was hired permanently as the SNL general manager in October at a $120,000 a year salary.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Polk City Council Meeting Notes - February 14, 2011
February 14, 2011, Polk City Council Meeting Notes
Proceedings for the first segment of the monthly City Commission meeting, held on February 14, 2011:
A. APPROVE CONSENT AGENDA
B. PRESENTATIONS AND/OR RECOGNITIONS - None
C. PUBLIC HEARINGS:
1. ORDINANCE 1272 - Vacating Streets "A" and "B" Acting City Manager, Trudy Block, explained that this was just “housekeeping”, and this process was started during the last administration, but never finalized with an ordinance.
2. ORDINANCE 1273 - Allowing for Mobil Homes in R-4 Zones (mixed residential use), reversing a previously passed ordinance condemning mobile homes that had disconnected utilities for 3 months or more.
Both these ordinances passed with a unanimous vote.
D. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None
E. NEW BUSINESS –
1. Vice Mayor Block’s “temporary appointment” as Acting City Manager was extended for the 8th time for an additional 30 days by a 4 - 1 vote. Counselor Kimsey voted "Nay".
2. ORDINANCE 1274 – Providing for Requirements Regarding Unoccupied Dwelling Units
Unoccupied dwellings that have been vacant for one year or longer would be subject to an inspection to insure that the dwelling is safe for occupancy. This proposal passed with a unanimous vote.
3. Second Extension of Dormancy Period – Cardinal Hill Property
Ms. Block announced that she made an agreement with Mr. Johnson, the owner of the Cardinal Hill property, that Polk City, beginning February 1, 2011, will start paying him $3,000/month in lieu of the $1,000 water/sewer credit he was receiving per month under the land lease agreement. She initiated a motion to forward a check for $18,000 in advance for the next 6 months. When asked how many water/sewer credits Mr. Johnson had accrued, Ms. Block stated that he owns 300 credits worth $300,000 in water/sewer credits. These credits can be sold to a developer. It was not made clear if Mr. Johnson can resell these credits to any developer wishing to build anywhere within the Polk City Utility Service area. This could potentially dramatically reduce future income for water and sewer revenues for the city. This motion passed unanimously.
4. Vehicle Lease between the City of Polk City and Woodard & Curran
Ms. Block announced that she made a deal with Woodard & Curran to lease out all the city's currently leased utility vehicles for $1.00 per vehicle for 5 years. Woodard & Curran will take over the responsibility of maintenance up to $2,500 and gas purchases. When questioned about who assumes responsibility if the mileage exceeds the lease contract, Ms. Block did not know. She stated she would have to look into this issue and will provide that information at a later date. We’re still waiting for the answer to that question. This motion passed unanimously.
At this time the meeting was recessed until Tuesday, February 15, 2011 at 7:00 PM
The next evening, this meeting cancelled due to lack of a quorum and was rescheduled to Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 7:00 PM
Proceedings for the first segment of the monthly City Commission meeting, held on February 14, 2011:
A. APPROVE CONSENT AGENDA
B. PRESENTATIONS AND/OR RECOGNITIONS - None
C. PUBLIC HEARINGS:
1. ORDINANCE 1272 - Vacating Streets "A" and "B" Acting City Manager, Trudy Block, explained that this was just “housekeeping”, and this process was started during the last administration, but never finalized with an ordinance.
2. ORDINANCE 1273 - Allowing for Mobil Homes in R-4 Zones (mixed residential use), reversing a previously passed ordinance condemning mobile homes that had disconnected utilities for 3 months or more.
Both these ordinances passed with a unanimous vote.
D. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None
E. NEW BUSINESS –
1. Vice Mayor Block’s “temporary appointment” as Acting City Manager was extended for the 8th time for an additional 30 days by a 4 - 1 vote. Counselor Kimsey voted "Nay".
2. ORDINANCE 1274 – Providing for Requirements Regarding Unoccupied Dwelling Units
Unoccupied dwellings that have been vacant for one year or longer would be subject to an inspection to insure that the dwelling is safe for occupancy. This proposal passed with a unanimous vote.
3. Second Extension of Dormancy Period – Cardinal Hill Property
Ms. Block announced that she made an agreement with Mr. Johnson, the owner of the Cardinal Hill property, that Polk City, beginning February 1, 2011, will start paying him $3,000/month in lieu of the $1,000 water/sewer credit he was receiving per month under the land lease agreement. She initiated a motion to forward a check for $18,000 in advance for the next 6 months. When asked how many water/sewer credits Mr. Johnson had accrued, Ms. Block stated that he owns 300 credits worth $300,000 in water/sewer credits. These credits can be sold to a developer. It was not made clear if Mr. Johnson can resell these credits to any developer wishing to build anywhere within the Polk City Utility Service area. This could potentially dramatically reduce future income for water and sewer revenues for the city. This motion passed unanimously.
4. Vehicle Lease between the City of Polk City and Woodard & Curran
Ms. Block announced that she made a deal with Woodard & Curran to lease out all the city's currently leased utility vehicles for $1.00 per vehicle for 5 years. Woodard & Curran will take over the responsibility of maintenance up to $2,500 and gas purchases. When questioned about who assumes responsibility if the mileage exceeds the lease contract, Ms. Block did not know. She stated she would have to look into this issue and will provide that information at a later date. We’re still waiting for the answer to that question. This motion passed unanimously.
At this time the meeting was recessed until Tuesday, February 15, 2011 at 7:00 PM
The next evening, this meeting cancelled due to lack of a quorum and was rescheduled to Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 7:00 PM
Proposed City Refinancing will Nearly Double City Debt for Tax Payers
You ask, "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!!" Yes, it's true! City Officials probably don't even realize it themselves since they seemed oblivious when asked detailed questions regarding the amortization schedule of this new proposed municipal bond/loan. Read on for more details. We did the math.
Polk City is ready to spend approximately $800,000 of tax payer money for a piece of property that according to the Polk County Property Appraiser's office is worth approximately $70,000! Here is a link to the details at the Property Appraiser's web site: Cardinal Hill Property - Parcel ID 252630000000021030 During the public comment at the end of the 2/23/11 city meeting, Laura Lambert asked the council and city attorney the question of how much the property is appraised at and how many acres the property consists of that the city is willing to pay over $800,000 for. Laura was initially answered with dead silence and then Acting City Manager/Vice Mayor Trudy Block responded with something like, "I do not feel it would be wise to talk about this at this time since the city is still in negotiations with the property owner." This was a simple question of fact and the city officials and attorney refused to answer the question. This is public record and the city has already spent tax payer money to get an appraisal on the property in 2010, so they have this information. Any time a land purchase is being considered these are questions anyone would want to know and would be entitled to know. Ms. Block has been assuring the public that the price the city will pay will be under a million dollars for a piece of property that is only 38.9337 acres and valued at $70,000 on the Polk County Tax Record!!! How is that wise use of taxpayer money? Do they really think the public would have no way to find out this information?? No wonder Ms. Block was silent and the color drained from her face when pressured to answer the question. The tension in the room was so thick that Attorney Tom Cloud felt the need to break the dead silence and started his "you may have a differing opinion argument" that he loves so much when he doesn't want to answer a direct question because he knows he's been cornered.
The "house keeping" plan to "refinance" some of the city's current debt and add several more millions is just further proof that the city officials have no common sense when it comes to business and fiscal responsibility. City Officials are suggesting that this new loan for approximately $8.3 - $8.9M, financed over 30 years, plus the roughly $6M in interest is a "good deal" which could possibly reduce the city's monthly payments compared to what the city is currently paying for the $1 M loan to the county plus the $4 M loan to SunTrust. Officials and Mr. Hartman from GAI would not disclose what interest rate they were making these assumptions at. Simple math on an amortization calculator shows that they are figuring somewhere in the neighborhood of $8.3M at 4% for 30 years or $8.5M at 4% for 30 years, coming out to roughly $6M in interest. Considering all the fees for this deal will be tacked on the bond/loan at the end, lets go with the $8.5 number to be conservative.
At no time at last night's meeting would anyone provide a straight answer of exactly how much NEW debt is being incurred. Well lets do the math:
If we add this $8.5 M, plus the $6M in interest, plus the other debt that is not being refinanced that the city is conveniently not speaking about (see the 2009 Audit on P.C.'s web page, page 36 of the PDF file Polk City 2009 FY Audit to see the list of other long term debt obligations) we are estimating that the total debt the city would then hold would be approximately $19 Million Dollars!! Congratulations Polk City Officials! You will have successfully nearly doubled the total city debt in one fail swoop! With a population of only approximately 1,685 people, $19 M in city debt works out to be around $11,275 in debt for each man, woman and child living inside city limits. How can this be considered fiscal responsibility by any stretch of the imagination?
$8.5 Million - New suggested "refinancing" bond
$6 Million - Interest on this "refinancing" bond
$1.676 Million - Existing Series 2007 Capital Improvement Revenue Bond
$2.728 Million - Existing Installment Note to Florida DEP
$63,282 - Existing Installment Note to Old National Leasing
$19 Million Total City Debt (roughly)
City Council Members, why don't you get your heads out of the sand and stop putting your blind faith in these high dollar experts who you have essentially allowed to make all major financial decisions for the city since you hired them! Can't you see that they are all long term buddies padding each others pockets at the city's expense? Now you have also agreed to pay Mr. Gerald Hartman, from GAI, engineering consulting fees on an as-needed basis, and the hourly fee schedule is only found in the little packets provided to council? His fees must be pretty steep since after repeated questioning, not once did anyone directly state how much Mr. Hartman would be charging for his services. Great example of transparent government at it's best! NOT!!
Question of the day: Would Mr. Cloud, Mr. Hartman, Mayor LaCascia, Vice Mayor Block, and Council Members Adorno and Blevin dare to invest their personal money or suggest their family members to invest their retirement funds in these junk bonds? We highly doubt it! How can they expect any financial institution in this economy to make such a financial commitment? They would be insane!!
Here is a link to the Ledger article Mr. Keven Bouffard wrote about the meeting last night. Polk City Council Moves On Debt, Utilities Page two of this article states, "The biggest items on the list for bond money, according to Hartman's proposal, are $3.8 million to refinance a $4 million loan in 2005 from SunTrust; $1.4 million for 10 additional water and wastewater capital improvements, including $565,000 on improvements to the Cardinal Hill sewage treatment plant; $897,412 million to pay off a $1 million loan to Polk County as part of the transfer of the Mount Olive water and sewer utilities; and $531,199 to pay the county impact fees the city withheld for several years through 2009." Is this a Freudian slip? The city officials have gotten so used to dealing with Millions of dollars, as if they were Thousands of dollars, even the reporters can't keep their numbers straight. Sad state of affairs!
There is a lot more information that was covered during this meeting. We will update the blog with new articles in the near future with more of this detailed information or this post would be way too long. Thank you for your continued readership!
Polk City is ready to spend approximately $800,000 of tax payer money for a piece of property that according to the Polk County Property Appraiser's office is worth approximately $70,000! Here is a link to the details at the Property Appraiser's web site: Cardinal Hill Property - Parcel ID 252630000000021030 During the public comment at the end of the 2/23/11 city meeting, Laura Lambert asked the council and city attorney the question of how much the property is appraised at and how many acres the property consists of that the city is willing to pay over $800,000 for. Laura was initially answered with dead silence and then Acting City Manager/Vice Mayor Trudy Block responded with something like, "I do not feel it would be wise to talk about this at this time since the city is still in negotiations with the property owner." This was a simple question of fact and the city officials and attorney refused to answer the question. This is public record and the city has already spent tax payer money to get an appraisal on the property in 2010, so they have this information. Any time a land purchase is being considered these are questions anyone would want to know and would be entitled to know. Ms. Block has been assuring the public that the price the city will pay will be under a million dollars for a piece of property that is only 38.9337 acres and valued at $70,000 on the Polk County Tax Record!!! How is that wise use of taxpayer money? Do they really think the public would have no way to find out this information?? No wonder Ms. Block was silent and the color drained from her face when pressured to answer the question. The tension in the room was so thick that Attorney Tom Cloud felt the need to break the dead silence and started his "you may have a differing opinion argument" that he loves so much when he doesn't want to answer a direct question because he knows he's been cornered.
The "house keeping" plan to "refinance" some of the city's current debt and add several more millions is just further proof that the city officials have no common sense when it comes to business and fiscal responsibility. City Officials are suggesting that this new loan for approximately $8.3 - $8.9M, financed over 30 years, plus the roughly $6M in interest is a "good deal" which could possibly reduce the city's monthly payments compared to what the city is currently paying for the $1 M loan to the county plus the $4 M loan to SunTrust. Officials and Mr. Hartman from GAI would not disclose what interest rate they were making these assumptions at. Simple math on an amortization calculator shows that they are figuring somewhere in the neighborhood of $8.3M at 4% for 30 years or $8.5M at 4% for 30 years, coming out to roughly $6M in interest. Considering all the fees for this deal will be tacked on the bond/loan at the end, lets go with the $8.5 number to be conservative.
At no time at last night's meeting would anyone provide a straight answer of exactly how much NEW debt is being incurred. Well lets do the math:
If we add this $8.5 M, plus the $6M in interest, plus the other debt that is not being refinanced that the city is conveniently not speaking about (see the 2009 Audit on P.C.'s web page, page 36 of the PDF file Polk City 2009 FY Audit to see the list of other long term debt obligations) we are estimating that the total debt the city would then hold would be approximately $19 Million Dollars!! Congratulations Polk City Officials! You will have successfully nearly doubled the total city debt in one fail swoop! With a population of only approximately 1,685 people, $19 M in city debt works out to be around $11,275 in debt for each man, woman and child living inside city limits. How can this be considered fiscal responsibility by any stretch of the imagination?
$8.5 Million - New suggested "refinancing" bond
$6 Million - Interest on this "refinancing" bond
$1.676 Million - Existing Series 2007 Capital Improvement Revenue Bond
$2.728 Million - Existing Installment Note to Florida DEP
$63,282 - Existing Installment Note to Old National Leasing
$19 Million Total City Debt (roughly)
City Council Members, why don't you get your heads out of the sand and stop putting your blind faith in these high dollar experts who you have essentially allowed to make all major financial decisions for the city since you hired them! Can't you see that they are all long term buddies padding each others pockets at the city's expense? Now you have also agreed to pay Mr. Gerald Hartman, from GAI, engineering consulting fees on an as-needed basis, and the hourly fee schedule is only found in the little packets provided to council? His fees must be pretty steep since after repeated questioning, not once did anyone directly state how much Mr. Hartman would be charging for his services. Great example of transparent government at it's best! NOT!!
Question of the day: Would Mr. Cloud, Mr. Hartman, Mayor LaCascia, Vice Mayor Block, and Council Members Adorno and Blevin dare to invest their personal money or suggest their family members to invest their retirement funds in these junk bonds? We highly doubt it! How can they expect any financial institution in this economy to make such a financial commitment? They would be insane!!
Here is a link to the Ledger article Mr. Keven Bouffard wrote about the meeting last night. Polk City Council Moves On Debt, Utilities Page two of this article states, "The biggest items on the list for bond money, according to Hartman's proposal, are $3.8 million to refinance a $4 million loan in 2005 from SunTrust; $1.4 million for 10 additional water and wastewater capital improvements, including $565,000 on improvements to the Cardinal Hill sewage treatment plant; $897,412 million to pay off a $1 million loan to Polk County as part of the transfer of the Mount Olive water and sewer utilities; and $531,199 to pay the county impact fees the city withheld for several years through 2009." Is this a Freudian slip? The city officials have gotten so used to dealing with Millions of dollars, as if they were Thousands of dollars, even the reporters can't keep their numbers straight. Sad state of affairs!
There is a lot more information that was covered during this meeting. We will update the blog with new articles in the near future with more of this detailed information or this post would be way too long. Thank you for your continued readership!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
City Manager Applicants
A Ledger article Polk City Draws 66 Manager Applicants posted late Saturday night gives some insight into the applicants Polk City has received so far for the City Manager position. Just based on what Mr. Bouffard of the Ledger found about some of the backgrounds of these applicants, it doesn't sound too promising. Some sound downright scary! Let's hope a thorough background check is done on any potential candidate they end up considering, so we don't end up in a worse position than we are already.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Amended Agenda for Feb 22nd Meeting
An amended agenda went out today for the "continuation" meeting from the February 14th meeting, to be held on Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011, at 7:00 PM. It incorrectly states that it is a "reconvene from January 14, 2011, meeting", but should read "reconvene from February 14, 2011, meeting. The original "reconvene meeting scheduled for February 15, 2011, was cancelled due to lack of a quorum on the City Council. A few new items have been added.
Amended Agenda February 22, 2010 Meeting
Amended Agenda February 22, 2010 Meeting
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
"Continuation" of Monday 2/14 City Council Meeting Rescheduled
The 2nd part of the Regular City Council meeting from Monday, February 14th, 2011, which was originally scheduled to take place on Tuesday, February 15th, was canceled due to a lack of a quorum. Only 2 of the 5 council members were present.
The new date for the continuation of the Monday, February 14th meeting is now scheduled for Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011, at 7:00 PM.
To see a copy of the agenda for this meeting, click here: February 14, 2011, City Council Agenda
The new date for the continuation of the Monday, February 14th meeting is now scheduled for Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011, at 7:00 PM.
To see a copy of the agenda for this meeting, click here: February 14, 2011, City Council Agenda
Proposed Additional Millions of Debt For Polk City
Here is a preview of what will be discussed at tonight's Polk City Council Meeting. Proposed Additional Millions Of Debt For Polk City This article was posted late February 14, 2011, in The Ledger by Kevin Bouffard who covers our local politics for the newspaper. The meeting is a continuation of last night's meeting, and is scheduled to start at 7:00 PM tonight.
Wauchula Officials Shake-Up For Sunshine Law Violations
One of our readers sent a link to this story: Scott Removes Wauchula Official For Violating Florida's Sunshine Law, Four Others Resigned which was posted in The Ledger yesterday by Ledger reporter, Jason Geary.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Inflation Outpaces Incomes in Polk
As printed in The Ledger on January 26, 2011, Inflation Outpaces Incomes in Polk, this article really gives the residents of Polk County and especially in Polk City a reality check. In the five-year U.S. Census Bureau estimate, which was recently released, it shows that the median household income for Polk County was $44,043 and increased by only 22% since the 2000 census, while the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 28% during that same period. In order to keep up with the Consumer Price Index, also known as Cost of Living Increase or inflation, the median household incomes must have increased by at least 28%. The median is the halfway mark, which means that half of Polk County's 224,299 households have incomes of less than $44,043 and half have higher incomes. The income figures for the five-year average estimates have been adjusted to reflect 2009 dollars.
Of the 17 cities in Polk County, only 3 cities exceeded the counties' median household income increase: Eagle Lakes increased by 39.1%, Auburndale increased by 30.0% and Lake Whales increased by 29.6%. Polk City came in third from the bottom, with a measly 5.7% increase in median income. Only Hillcrest Heights with a 5.0% increase and Highland Park with an actual decrease of 17.2% were below Polk City. The retirees have been hit especially hard, since interest on savings and investments have been lowered considerably, and they have not received a cost-of-living increase from Social Security over the past two years.
According to the census bureau, the median income in Polk City was $32,083 in 2000, and $33,897 in 2005-2009. With that in mind, the increases in utility costs and advalorem tax we have endured in this city over the past few years, there is little doubt that Polk City's residents are hurting financially. Now our city's leadership is considering adding another $2Million - $3Million dollars debt to our already astronomical $10.4Million existing debt. A 12.4Million debt divided by the population of 1685 amounts to more than a $7,300.00 debt for every man, woman and child living in Polk City.
Why is Polk City so obsessed with keeping and expanding its waste water treatment plants despite its financial troubles? The city's debt exploded once it got into the sewer business, and the anticipated growth which was to fund this sewer endeavor never happened. Yet the administration is continuing to push forward, when there is no significant growth expected in this long recession. At present, the city's utility customers are paying approximately 2/3 of the city's revenue for its $3.8Million annual budget. It is the city administration's goal to add as many residents as possible to their sewer system, which is now only operating at approximately 25% capacity and is losing money. That will more than double the monthly water bills, once these customers are put on the sewer system instead of using their septic tanks. Most of our residents cannot afford this extra expense every month. They are having a hard enough time paying to keep their gas tanks full so they can go back and forth to work.
By seeking permission from our City Council to borrow additional Millions at the upcoming Feb. 14-15th meeting, the city is then planning to get the County off their back by paying off the debt it currently owes for $531,000 in past-due impact fees, and $1.4M for the Mt. Olive spray field. Then it plans to reroute the existing customers from the ailing Mt. Olive Water & Sewer Plant to the Temporary Cardinal Hill Treatment Plant, over the strong objections of the neighboring residents of that plant. This will potentially result in another expensive lawsuit the city will be facing in the near future. The property owners near the plant have expressed stiff opposition, and fear their drinking wells will become contaminated, forcing them onto city utilities. In addition, the lease on the Cardinal Hill property is expiring in February, 2012, and the temporary permit will have to be extended at great cost to the taxpayers. The city already had the Cardinal Hill property appraised last year, and is planning to purchase it with the additional borrowed funds.
At the February 7, 2011, mediation meeting with the city, the County repeated it's offer to take back the Mt. Olive WWT plant. By taking this Albatross off the city's back, it will give Polk City residents some relief of their mounting debt with no real tax base to support it. County Chairman Ed Smith said that would eliminate approximately $1.4Million of the city debt. However, the city continues to spend thousands of dollars in legal fees to prevent this from happening.
Polk City is on a path of financial destruction. Low income levels, economic factors and decisions now being considered by this administration make it less and less affordable to live here. Growth in Polk City will be the last thing that will happen with this business plan.
Of the 17 cities in Polk County, only 3 cities exceeded the counties' median household income increase: Eagle Lakes increased by 39.1%, Auburndale increased by 30.0% and Lake Whales increased by 29.6%. Polk City came in third from the bottom, with a measly 5.7% increase in median income. Only Hillcrest Heights with a 5.0% increase and Highland Park with an actual decrease of 17.2% were below Polk City. The retirees have been hit especially hard, since interest on savings and investments have been lowered considerably, and they have not received a cost-of-living increase from Social Security over the past two years.
According to the census bureau, the median income in Polk City was $32,083 in 2000, and $33,897 in 2005-2009. With that in mind, the increases in utility costs and advalorem tax we have endured in this city over the past few years, there is little doubt that Polk City's residents are hurting financially. Now our city's leadership is considering adding another $2Million - $3Million dollars debt to our already astronomical $10.4Million existing debt. A 12.4Million debt divided by the population of 1685 amounts to more than a $7,300.00 debt for every man, woman and child living in Polk City.
Why is Polk City so obsessed with keeping and expanding its waste water treatment plants despite its financial troubles? The city's debt exploded once it got into the sewer business, and the anticipated growth which was to fund this sewer endeavor never happened. Yet the administration is continuing to push forward, when there is no significant growth expected in this long recession. At present, the city's utility customers are paying approximately 2/3 of the city's revenue for its $3.8Million annual budget. It is the city administration's goal to add as many residents as possible to their sewer system, which is now only operating at approximately 25% capacity and is losing money. That will more than double the monthly water bills, once these customers are put on the sewer system instead of using their septic tanks. Most of our residents cannot afford this extra expense every month. They are having a hard enough time paying to keep their gas tanks full so they can go back and forth to work.
By seeking permission from our City Council to borrow additional Millions at the upcoming Feb. 14-15th meeting, the city is then planning to get the County off their back by paying off the debt it currently owes for $531,000 in past-due impact fees, and $1.4M for the Mt. Olive spray field. Then it plans to reroute the existing customers from the ailing Mt. Olive Water & Sewer Plant to the Temporary Cardinal Hill Treatment Plant, over the strong objections of the neighboring residents of that plant. This will potentially result in another expensive lawsuit the city will be facing in the near future. The property owners near the plant have expressed stiff opposition, and fear their drinking wells will become contaminated, forcing them onto city utilities. In addition, the lease on the Cardinal Hill property is expiring in February, 2012, and the temporary permit will have to be extended at great cost to the taxpayers. The city already had the Cardinal Hill property appraised last year, and is planning to purchase it with the additional borrowed funds.
At the February 7, 2011, mediation meeting with the city, the County repeated it's offer to take back the Mt. Olive WWT plant. By taking this Albatross off the city's back, it will give Polk City residents some relief of their mounting debt with no real tax base to support it. County Chairman Ed Smith said that would eliminate approximately $1.4Million of the city debt. However, the city continues to spend thousands of dollars in legal fees to prevent this from happening.
Polk City is on a path of financial destruction. Low income levels, economic factors and decisions now being considered by this administration make it less and less affordable to live here. Growth in Polk City will be the last thing that will happen with this business plan.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Agenda for City Council Meeting - February 14-15, 2011, 7:00PM It appears that this agenda has not been emailed to the distribution e-mail list, as in the past. This agenda was found on Polk City's official website. Please note this meeting will be split between two dates, February 14, 2011, and February 15, 2011. The February 15, 2011, date has not been officially announced on the city's website. On both dates the meeting is scheduled to start at 7:00 PM. As you may have noticed, the more important discussions affecting the future of our city and our wallets will occur on February 15.
As mentioned in the newsletter that accompanied this month's utility bills, "During every monthly council meeting there is a time for public comment at the end of the meeting."
As mentioned in the newsletter that accompanied this month's utility bills, "During every monthly council meeting there is a time for public comment at the end of the meeting."
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Clarification of Conflicting Meeting Dates for February City Council Meeting
After repeated attempts to speak to Polk City City Clerk, Patricia Jackson, directly to get clarification on the conflicting meeting dates announced for this month's Polk City Council meeting, we were finally able to get an explanation. The regular City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 14, 2011, at 7:00 PM., as posted on the city's official web page, Polk City Website . According to Ms. Jackson, the agenda for this meeting has not yet been released, however, it is expected to be quite lengthy. It will include discussions on refinancing a portion of the city's debt and adding an additional $2 Million in debt in this refinancing deal. Since this meeting is expected to exceed the usual time allotted, the agenda will show a "Continuation" Agenda for the Tuesday, February 15, 2011 meeting, which is tentatively scheduled to start at 7:00 PM.
Please preempt your calendar for these very important meeting dates. It is of the utmost importance that as many people as possible will attend these two very important meetings. They are re-charting the financial future of this city and it will affect your wallet!
Please preempt your calendar for these very important meeting dates. It is of the utmost importance that as many people as possible will attend these two very important meetings. They are re-charting the financial future of this city and it will affect your wallet!
Ledger Article: Polk City Pledges to Pay County Its $1.4 Million Debt Within Six Months
Polk City Pledges to Pay County Its $1.4 Million Debt Within Six Months
The article speaks for itself. According to the article, Polk City is scheduled to hold an important meeting discussing the details of this refinance plan with its City Council Members on February 15, 2011. This date was also reiterated by Ms. Trudy Block at the meeting last night. However, when checking the official Polk City website, there is no meeting scheduled for Tuesday, February 15. The regular Polk City meeting is still scheduled for Monday, February 14, 2011 at 7:00 PM.
The article speaks for itself. According to the article, Polk City is scheduled to hold an important meeting discussing the details of this refinance plan with its City Council Members on February 15, 2011. This date was also reiterated by Ms. Trudy Block at the meeting last night. However, when checking the official Polk City website, there is no meeting scheduled for Tuesday, February 15. The regular Polk City meeting is still scheduled for Monday, February 14, 2011 at 7:00 PM.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Polk City Planning Board Meeting Agenda
There is a Polk City Planning Board Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, February 8, 2011, at 6:00 PM at the Polk City Government Center, 123 Broadway Blvd., SE. Here is the link for the agenda:
Planning Board Meeting Agenda
Ordinance 1273
Ordinance 1274
Planning Board Meeting Agenda
Ordinance 1273
Ordinance 1274
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Conflict Resolution Public Meeting Reminder
In case you forgot to mark your calendar, the Conflict Resolution Public Meeting between Polk City and Polk County is scheduled for Monday, February 7, 2011, at 7:00 PM. The meeting will be held in the City of Lakeland Commissioners Chambers at
228 S. Massachusetts Ave., Lakeland (Lakeland City Hall). This will be a public meeting between the governing bodies, the County Commission and the Polk City City Council. No public comments will be allowed at this meeting.
This is the next step in a state-mandated mediation process to resolve the dispute between the city and county over the Mount Olive water and sewer utilities and payment of the delinquent $531,199 in impact fees due to the county. Polk County alleges Polk City violated the 2008 agreement made in October, 2009, to take over the Mt. Olive utilities, previously owned by the county. The 2008 agreement included a provision that the city would not raise rates on Mt. Olive customers living outside city limits for at least three years.
Under Florida Statutes, Chapter 164, "Florida Governmental Conflict Resolution Act," disputing local or regional governmental jurisdictions must follow a three-step procedure to resolve the matter before filing a lawsuit. The first step involved a meeting between top administrative officials in each jurisdiction. This meeting was held on December 17, 2010 at the Lakeland City Attorney's offices. Representing the county were County Attorney, Michael Craig and then Interim-County Manager, Jim Freeman. Polk City was represented by Acting City Manager, Trudy Block, also a city commissioner, Acting City Attorney, Tom Cloud, and the city's Utility Consultant, Gerald Hartman. The public was able to attend but no public comments were allowed. This meeting lasted approximately 10 minutes, and ended in an impasse.
In the event that this second step is not successful in resolving the dispute, the final step is for both sides to agree on an outside mediator. One side can sue in state court for resolution only if the mediator declares an impasse.
228 S. Massachusetts Ave., Lakeland (Lakeland City Hall). This will be a public meeting between the governing bodies, the County Commission and the Polk City City Council. No public comments will be allowed at this meeting.
This is the next step in a state-mandated mediation process to resolve the dispute between the city and county over the Mount Olive water and sewer utilities and payment of the delinquent $531,199 in impact fees due to the county. Polk County alleges Polk City violated the 2008 agreement made in October, 2009, to take over the Mt. Olive utilities, previously owned by the county. The 2008 agreement included a provision that the city would not raise rates on Mt. Olive customers living outside city limits for at least three years.
Under Florida Statutes, Chapter 164, "Florida Governmental Conflict Resolution Act," disputing local or regional governmental jurisdictions must follow a three-step procedure to resolve the matter before filing a lawsuit. The first step involved a meeting between top administrative officials in each jurisdiction. This meeting was held on December 17, 2010 at the Lakeland City Attorney's offices. Representing the county were County Attorney, Michael Craig and then Interim-County Manager, Jim Freeman. Polk City was represented by Acting City Manager, Trudy Block, also a city commissioner, Acting City Attorney, Tom Cloud, and the city's Utility Consultant, Gerald Hartman. The public was able to attend but no public comments were allowed. This meeting lasted approximately 10 minutes, and ended in an impasse.
In the event that this second step is not successful in resolving the dispute, the final step is for both sides to agree on an outside mediator. One side can sue in state court for resolution only if the mediator declares an impasse.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Resistance Rising to USF-Poly Site as Polk's High Speed Rail Stop
The proposed high speed rail stop at the proposed USF-Polytech University site is far from a done deal, as this article indicates. This article was printed in The Ledger on January 24, 2011.
Resistance Rising to USF-Poly Site as Polk's High Speed Rail Stop.
Resistance Rising to USF-Poly Site as Polk's High Speed Rail Stop.
Freeman Hired as Polk County Manager
In case you missed this article in the Thursday, January 20, 2011, edition of The Ledger, here is a link:
Freeman Hired As Polk County Manager
Freeman Hired As Polk County Manager
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Woman Identifies Some Of Vandalized Graves
This follow-up story was printed in The Ledger in Thursday's, January 20, 2011 edition: Woman Identifies Some Of Vandalized Graves
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Public Meeting Notice in Lakeland on February 7th, 2011
The next meeting in the conflict resolution process between Polk City and Polk County over the Mount Olive Utility System will be held on February 7th, 2011, at 7:00 PM in Lakeland. This meeting will be open to the public, but the public will not be allowed to comment, only listen. The meeting will be held at the chambers of the City Commission of the City of Lakeland, located at 228 South Massachusetts Avenue, Lakeland, Florida. Parking is very limited there, so if you plan to attend you may want to arrive early.
Here is the link to the official notice: Notice of Public Meeting
Here is the link to the official notice: Notice of Public Meeting
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
January 10th City Council Meeting Notes
In case you were not able to attend this month's meeting, here are some highlights.
First of all, the consent agenda had a money transfer from the General Fund to the Sewer Fund of $100,000. By adding this item to the Consent agenda, rather than the regular agenda, when the council brings up the approval of the consent agenda, very rarely is there ever any discussion on any of the items listed. This makes this money transfer almost invisible to the general public. This transfer is in addition to the transfer last month on the December 13th, 2010, consent agenda when $79,000 was transferred from the General Fund to the Sewer Fund, which had a note next to it that it was for the SunTrust loan payment.
Also on the Consent Agenda, there were several reports approved for November and December 2010, such as the Building Report, Code Enforcement Report, Financial Statements, Library Report, and Sheriff's Office Report. It sure would be nice if the city would post these on their web site for the public to easily access, instead of having to make a public records request to view them. Even the section for the Sheriff's Office Reports on Polk City's web site has not be updated with the most recent reports since June 2009. The other reports do not even have a link that we were able to find anywhere on the website. Why not?
During the discussion of re-appointing Vice Mayor Block as Acting City Manager for yet another 30 Days, Councilman Kimsey brought up that he would like to see a change in this position, even over the possible next 3-4 months it may take to recruit a new City Manager. He recommended that City Clerk, Patrica Jackson, fill this role during this time frame. Before Councilman Kimsey's suggestion could be brought up, the motion to approve Ms. Block had already been put on the table and had been seconded, so the Mayor required a vote on this first. Not surprisingly, the motion to extend Ms. Block's dual role was approved for another 30 days with a vote of 4-1, so Mr. Kimsey will have to wait another 30 days to bring this up again.
The Memorandum of Understanding for Intergovernmental Cooperation with the City of Lakeland was approved unanimously by the council. This was something that came up during the DCA meeting on November 8th, 2010, to approve the changes needed to let developers build on the large parcel of land located on SR33 across from the new Fountain Park subdivision and BP Station at the intersection of Mt. Olive Road. The City of Lakeland had sent a representative to the November 8th meeting to voice how the City of Lakeland had not been notified anywhere along this approval process, despite the fact that these planned changes are being made adjacent to their city limits. The City of Lakeland's main concern was the impact of the increased traffic and congestion, mainly commercial truck traffic, on the roads in that area and the wear and tear on these roads, which could make a substantial impact on Lakeland's expenses to maintain and expand these roads servicing this area. Interim Attorney Tom Cloud stated that following this November DCA meeting, the City of Lakeland was clearly intending to file a lawsuit against Polk City unless immediate action was taken to resolve their concerns. This mutual agreement between the two cities to keep each other informed on these type of issues will hopefully avoid any future litigation for similar issues.
The new ad for the City Manager position is planned to run in two free statewide publications targeted at current Municipality and County Employees. The submission deadline for the copy on these ads is 1/11/11 for the February edition of these publications. Initially, Ms. Block recommended to opt not to advertise in an additional nationwide publication due to a cost of $300 for the ad. Ms. Block's inexperience in placing employment ads is not aiding in her judgement, since even many local ads can easily run close to that price range. Even the Mayor questioned this decision motivated by saving the small dollar amount, and asked if she had considered the possible desirable nationwide demographics she would not be reaching by choosing to not place this ad for this executive level position. By her response, she had obviously not done her homework. The discussion moved on without a definitive agreement about the placing of the nationwide ad.
Pam Lawson, the City's Financial Administrator, requested that an additional Bank Account be opened to simplify the process of utility revenue collection by the new utility management company, Woodard & Curran. W&C is planned to take over the utility management function effective 1/12/11. Ms. Lawson stated that once the revenues are placed in this new account, it would make it easier for her to transfer the needed revenues into whichever account needed funding, whether it be the Water Fund, Sewer Fund, or General Fund. Currently as these revenues come in they are automatically split up by their corresponding amounts into the proper designated funds. As seen over the last few months, the city has needed to funnel substantially more revenue into the Sewer Fund than what is normally allocated to that fund. With this new accounting process, the allocations previously set for each fund will essentially be thrown out the window.
As part of the utility transition process over to Woodard & Curran, W&C sent a recent notice to the city informing them that an additional $14,937 "Transition Charge" would now be required in addition to the already agreed upon signed contract for services. Ms. Block stated that this recent charge was levied due to the unexpected complexity of getting the billing, metering, and computer systems up to the standards needed to make the transition. Ms. Block seemed reluctant, yet very willing to pay the additional charge without question or negotiation to avoid hard feelings with the new sub-contracted company. The Mayor had issues with this additional charge since in most cases, the burden of investigating these type of issues should have been considered by W&D PRIOR to bidding the job and agreeing on a contract. Council agreed to side-table paying this fee until further discussions/negotiations could be made with W&D on the issue.
Patricia Jackson has placed an order to get new lettering so the signage outside City Hall can be updated to reflect the new Monday meeting dates and time. Currently, it still states that the regular meeting date and time is on Tuesday at 7:30 PM and has been causing confusion with the public.
Councilwoman Adorno suggested that instead of charging the current rental fees, $414 in-city/$467.50 outside-city, for the newly remodeled City Activity Center, the city should consider lowering them to encourage more usage and revenue for the city. Ms. Adorno stated that currently the high fees seem to be discouraging any rentals, leaving the facility sitting unused, despite the city spending considerable money to get it updated. Currently, 1/2 of the rental fee would be held as a security deposit to be returned following the rental, if the facility is left in good condition. After a long discussion, council agreed that the fees would be lowered to $100 in-city/$150 outside-city with an additional $200 security deposit required, which may be returned if the facility is left in good condition. This $107 in-city/$83.75 outside-city fee reduction will hopefully encourage additional rentals instead of local residents seeking out other facilities for functions such as birthday parties, weddings, and other social events and also generate much needed revenue for the city.
Councilman Blethen brought up the issue that during a recent planning board meeting, members had agreed to make changes to the current ordinances allowing mobile homes to be replaced with mobile homes if they are damaged or were condemned. The way the code is currently written, reflecting changes made during the previous administration, any mobile home which had been damaged or even left without utility services for a specific amount of time would be condemned, and would need to be replaced with another more permanent structure before the city would allow anyone to reside on the property. This was an effort to force the city to clean up it's appearance. Unfortunately, these code changes had the result of many of the poorest residents paying a very high price and being driven from their homes. Councilman Blethen said that the wording of these ordinance changes is still in the works, but this change will take place in the near future.
An additional Utility Report will be provided on a monthly basis from W&C providing their findings and explanations of where money is being spent. The first report should be available next month.
Councilman Kimsey expressed ongoing concerns about how the Utility Department was charging seemingly excessive high fees for non-payment ($50), and reconnection ($50), as well as late fees ($5), making it even more difficult for customers who are already having difficulties affording their utilities. Mr. Kimsey stated that Auburndale doesn't even have a non-payment fee. He stated that the main purpose of these fees was to generate revenue for the city with little concern for the residents' ability to afford them. According to Pam Lawson, these fees generate an average of $6,000 for the city on a monthly basis. Ms. Lawson did state that the first time a customer is charged the non-payment fee, she has been given authority to waive it. Each month on the 6th, the non-payment fee will be charged unless the account has been paid in full. Utility services will be cut off on either the Tuesday or Wednesday following the 6th. No grace period is permitted, nor is a cut off notice given to customers. The only option is for customers to arrange for a payment plan prior to the due date, if the customer is unable to make their payment. If the customer waits until after the due date, no payment plans will be made. This policy seems pretty unforgiving considering Auburndale allows for a rolling 3 month grace period which results in almost no utility service cut offs.
The way current city ordinances are written, new utility accounts require an inflated "high risk" deposit on both high risk individuals who may have left unpaid balances on previous accounts, as well as properties where a prior account had been left with an unpaid balance. This unfair practice has resulted in landlords bearing the burden of having properties were a prior tenant has left an unpaid balance and now any new tenant, regardless of their past credit or payment history, is required to submit the "high risk" utility deposit of over $400, when their typical utility bill may run close to an average of $50 to $150 per month depending on if they have sewer service or not. Mr. Kimsey felt is was not fair for these individuals to have to come up with more than 3 months of typical utility bills just to open a new account in these situations. The city obviously wants to make sure that the compounded high fees and interest will be covered by making the deposits so high. Unfortunately, this is making it next to impossible for landlords to attract tenants when this has occurred because other local utility companies charge significantly lower deposits and apply their high-risk labels in a more fair manner. How can landlords possibly control how their tenants choose to handle the payments of their individual utility bills? It is not legal in the state of Florida to hold the property owner responsible for balances left on tenant utility accounts.
Temporarily, Ms. Lawson has been authorized to charge the standard deposits on properties labeled as "high risk" for new accounts unless the individual opening the account has poor payment history, despite the ordinance stating otherwise. Ms. Block stated that over the next couple months the city's utility ordinances will be reviewed with the assistance of Woodard & Curran, as well as GAI Consultants of Orlando, the utility consulting firm hired to perform the utility study for the city at a cost of $43,000 back on November 15th, 2010. For this reason, she did not feel it would be productive to continue further discussion on this topic at this time without the expertise of these parties in on the conversation. Hopefully, the WAC & SAC, water & sewer access fees, legality will also be addressed during these upcoming ordinance reviews.
During the public comment segment, a few issues which had been addressed to council and the city attorney at previous meetings, and had since been left unanswered, were brought up again:
Attorney Tom Cloud stated that he had contacted an acquaintance whom had been involved in the Cedar Grove city dissolution in 2008. According to his information, the county had acquired the remaining debt left when the city dissolved. Cedar Grove was a similarly sized small city in the panhandle of Florida, but had significantly lower debt than Polk City when it dissolved, but their debt was still substantial considering the population ratio. See additional info in this earlier blog post Cedar Grove, Florida - Case Study.
The Mayor addressed the reason why a Town Hall meeting type forum where the public can have an open question and answer session about their concerns has not been planned, although it had been promised. He stated that he has attempted to contact County Officials to get some discussions going about what might occur if Polk City dissolves, but the County has not been willing to work with the city due to the ongoing mediation process/possible future lawsuit over the Mt. Olive Utility situation. The Mayor stated that he would still be willing to have a town hall meeting as long as the dissolution of the city was not a topic of discussion, since no further factual information has been available and it would all be speculation.
One of the roads near downtown was recently closed to local traffic and has remain closed. The church adjacent to this road petitioned the county to close this road and voluntarily annexed themselves into the city limits. This way the city would permit them to close this road and purchase the property where the road currently exists. The church plans to use this property for other purposes.
The next regularly scheduled city council meeting is planned for February 14th, 2011, at 7:00 PM.
First of all, the consent agenda had a money transfer from the General Fund to the Sewer Fund of $100,000. By adding this item to the Consent agenda, rather than the regular agenda, when the council brings up the approval of the consent agenda, very rarely is there ever any discussion on any of the items listed. This makes this money transfer almost invisible to the general public. This transfer is in addition to the transfer last month on the December 13th, 2010, consent agenda when $79,000 was transferred from the General Fund to the Sewer Fund, which had a note next to it that it was for the SunTrust loan payment.
Also on the Consent Agenda, there were several reports approved for November and December 2010, such as the Building Report, Code Enforcement Report, Financial Statements, Library Report, and Sheriff's Office Report. It sure would be nice if the city would post these on their web site for the public to easily access, instead of having to make a public records request to view them. Even the section for the Sheriff's Office Reports on Polk City's web site has not be updated with the most recent reports since June 2009. The other reports do not even have a link that we were able to find anywhere on the website. Why not?
During the discussion of re-appointing Vice Mayor Block as Acting City Manager for yet another 30 Days, Councilman Kimsey brought up that he would like to see a change in this position, even over the possible next 3-4 months it may take to recruit a new City Manager. He recommended that City Clerk, Patrica Jackson, fill this role during this time frame. Before Councilman Kimsey's suggestion could be brought up, the motion to approve Ms. Block had already been put on the table and had been seconded, so the Mayor required a vote on this first. Not surprisingly, the motion to extend Ms. Block's dual role was approved for another 30 days with a vote of 4-1, so Mr. Kimsey will have to wait another 30 days to bring this up again.
The Memorandum of Understanding for Intergovernmental Cooperation with the City of Lakeland was approved unanimously by the council. This was something that came up during the DCA meeting on November 8th, 2010, to approve the changes needed to let developers build on the large parcel of land located on SR33 across from the new Fountain Park subdivision and BP Station at the intersection of Mt. Olive Road. The City of Lakeland had sent a representative to the November 8th meeting to voice how the City of Lakeland had not been notified anywhere along this approval process, despite the fact that these planned changes are being made adjacent to their city limits. The City of Lakeland's main concern was the impact of the increased traffic and congestion, mainly commercial truck traffic, on the roads in that area and the wear and tear on these roads, which could make a substantial impact on Lakeland's expenses to maintain and expand these roads servicing this area. Interim Attorney Tom Cloud stated that following this November DCA meeting, the City of Lakeland was clearly intending to file a lawsuit against Polk City unless immediate action was taken to resolve their concerns. This mutual agreement between the two cities to keep each other informed on these type of issues will hopefully avoid any future litigation for similar issues.
The new ad for the City Manager position is planned to run in two free statewide publications targeted at current Municipality and County Employees. The submission deadline for the copy on these ads is 1/11/11 for the February edition of these publications. Initially, Ms. Block recommended to opt not to advertise in an additional nationwide publication due to a cost of $300 for the ad. Ms. Block's inexperience in placing employment ads is not aiding in her judgement, since even many local ads can easily run close to that price range. Even the Mayor questioned this decision motivated by saving the small dollar amount, and asked if she had considered the possible desirable nationwide demographics she would not be reaching by choosing to not place this ad for this executive level position. By her response, she had obviously not done her homework. The discussion moved on without a definitive agreement about the placing of the nationwide ad.
Pam Lawson, the City's Financial Administrator, requested that an additional Bank Account be opened to simplify the process of utility revenue collection by the new utility management company, Woodard & Curran. W&C is planned to take over the utility management function effective 1/12/11. Ms. Lawson stated that once the revenues are placed in this new account, it would make it easier for her to transfer the needed revenues into whichever account needed funding, whether it be the Water Fund, Sewer Fund, or General Fund. Currently as these revenues come in they are automatically split up by their corresponding amounts into the proper designated funds. As seen over the last few months, the city has needed to funnel substantially more revenue into the Sewer Fund than what is normally allocated to that fund. With this new accounting process, the allocations previously set for each fund will essentially be thrown out the window.
As part of the utility transition process over to Woodard & Curran, W&C sent a recent notice to the city informing them that an additional $14,937 "Transition Charge" would now be required in addition to the already agreed upon signed contract for services. Ms. Block stated that this recent charge was levied due to the unexpected complexity of getting the billing, metering, and computer systems up to the standards needed to make the transition. Ms. Block seemed reluctant, yet very willing to pay the additional charge without question or negotiation to avoid hard feelings with the new sub-contracted company. The Mayor had issues with this additional charge since in most cases, the burden of investigating these type of issues should have been considered by W&D PRIOR to bidding the job and agreeing on a contract. Council agreed to side-table paying this fee until further discussions/negotiations could be made with W&D on the issue.
Patricia Jackson has placed an order to get new lettering so the signage outside City Hall can be updated to reflect the new Monday meeting dates and time. Currently, it still states that the regular meeting date and time is on Tuesday at 7:30 PM and has been causing confusion with the public.
Councilwoman Adorno suggested that instead of charging the current rental fees, $414 in-city/$467.50 outside-city, for the newly remodeled City Activity Center, the city should consider lowering them to encourage more usage and revenue for the city. Ms. Adorno stated that currently the high fees seem to be discouraging any rentals, leaving the facility sitting unused, despite the city spending considerable money to get it updated. Currently, 1/2 of the rental fee would be held as a security deposit to be returned following the rental, if the facility is left in good condition. After a long discussion, council agreed that the fees would be lowered to $100 in-city/$150 outside-city with an additional $200 security deposit required, which may be returned if the facility is left in good condition. This $107 in-city/$83.75 outside-city fee reduction will hopefully encourage additional rentals instead of local residents seeking out other facilities for functions such as birthday parties, weddings, and other social events and also generate much needed revenue for the city.
Councilman Blethen brought up the issue that during a recent planning board meeting, members had agreed to make changes to the current ordinances allowing mobile homes to be replaced with mobile homes if they are damaged or were condemned. The way the code is currently written, reflecting changes made during the previous administration, any mobile home which had been damaged or even left without utility services for a specific amount of time would be condemned, and would need to be replaced with another more permanent structure before the city would allow anyone to reside on the property. This was an effort to force the city to clean up it's appearance. Unfortunately, these code changes had the result of many of the poorest residents paying a very high price and being driven from their homes. Councilman Blethen said that the wording of these ordinance changes is still in the works, but this change will take place in the near future.
An additional Utility Report will be provided on a monthly basis from W&C providing their findings and explanations of where money is being spent. The first report should be available next month.
Councilman Kimsey expressed ongoing concerns about how the Utility Department was charging seemingly excessive high fees for non-payment ($50), and reconnection ($50), as well as late fees ($5), making it even more difficult for customers who are already having difficulties affording their utilities. Mr. Kimsey stated that Auburndale doesn't even have a non-payment fee. He stated that the main purpose of these fees was to generate revenue for the city with little concern for the residents' ability to afford them. According to Pam Lawson, these fees generate an average of $6,000 for the city on a monthly basis. Ms. Lawson did state that the first time a customer is charged the non-payment fee, she has been given authority to waive it. Each month on the 6th, the non-payment fee will be charged unless the account has been paid in full. Utility services will be cut off on either the Tuesday or Wednesday following the 6th. No grace period is permitted, nor is a cut off notice given to customers. The only option is for customers to arrange for a payment plan prior to the due date, if the customer is unable to make their payment. If the customer waits until after the due date, no payment plans will be made. This policy seems pretty unforgiving considering Auburndale allows for a rolling 3 month grace period which results in almost no utility service cut offs.
The way current city ordinances are written, new utility accounts require an inflated "high risk" deposit on both high risk individuals who may have left unpaid balances on previous accounts, as well as properties where a prior account had been left with an unpaid balance. This unfair practice has resulted in landlords bearing the burden of having properties were a prior tenant has left an unpaid balance and now any new tenant, regardless of their past credit or payment history, is required to submit the "high risk" utility deposit of over $400, when their typical utility bill may run close to an average of $50 to $150 per month depending on if they have sewer service or not. Mr. Kimsey felt is was not fair for these individuals to have to come up with more than 3 months of typical utility bills just to open a new account in these situations. The city obviously wants to make sure that the compounded high fees and interest will be covered by making the deposits so high. Unfortunately, this is making it next to impossible for landlords to attract tenants when this has occurred because other local utility companies charge significantly lower deposits and apply their high-risk labels in a more fair manner. How can landlords possibly control how their tenants choose to handle the payments of their individual utility bills? It is not legal in the state of Florida to hold the property owner responsible for balances left on tenant utility accounts.
Temporarily, Ms. Lawson has been authorized to charge the standard deposits on properties labeled as "high risk" for new accounts unless the individual opening the account has poor payment history, despite the ordinance stating otherwise. Ms. Block stated that over the next couple months the city's utility ordinances will be reviewed with the assistance of Woodard & Curran, as well as GAI Consultants of Orlando, the utility consulting firm hired to perform the utility study for the city at a cost of $43,000 back on November 15th, 2010. For this reason, she did not feel it would be productive to continue further discussion on this topic at this time without the expertise of these parties in on the conversation. Hopefully, the WAC & SAC, water & sewer access fees, legality will also be addressed during these upcoming ordinance reviews.
During the public comment segment, a few issues which had been addressed to council and the city attorney at previous meetings, and had since been left unanswered, were brought up again:
Attorney Tom Cloud stated that he had contacted an acquaintance whom had been involved in the Cedar Grove city dissolution in 2008. According to his information, the county had acquired the remaining debt left when the city dissolved. Cedar Grove was a similarly sized small city in the panhandle of Florida, but had significantly lower debt than Polk City when it dissolved, but their debt was still substantial considering the population ratio. See additional info in this earlier blog post Cedar Grove, Florida - Case Study.
The Mayor addressed the reason why a Town Hall meeting type forum where the public can have an open question and answer session about their concerns has not been planned, although it had been promised. He stated that he has attempted to contact County Officials to get some discussions going about what might occur if Polk City dissolves, but the County has not been willing to work with the city due to the ongoing mediation process/possible future lawsuit over the Mt. Olive Utility situation. The Mayor stated that he would still be willing to have a town hall meeting as long as the dissolution of the city was not a topic of discussion, since no further factual information has been available and it would all be speculation.
One of the roads near downtown was recently closed to local traffic and has remain closed. The church adjacent to this road petitioned the county to close this road and voluntarily annexed themselves into the city limits. This way the city would permit them to close this road and purchase the property where the road currently exists. The church plans to use this property for other purposes.
The next regularly scheduled city council meeting is planned for February 14th, 2011, at 7:00 PM.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
City Council Meeting Agenda - January 10, 2011 - 7:00 PM
Just a reminder that the next City Council meeting is next week Monday, January 10, 2011 at 7:00 PM. Here is a link to the meeting's agenda City Council Meeting Agenda - January 10, 2011.
It's great to see the public getting so involved in the city's council meetings, and we trust that it will continue in the new year. Hope to see many of you on Monday night.
It's great to see the public getting so involved in the city's council meetings, and we trust that it will continue in the new year. Hope to see many of you on Monday night.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Ledger Article: "Polk City Begins Manager Search"
Here is the link to The Ledger article Polk City Begins Manager Search which was printed in Tuesday's paper, following Monday's City Council workshop. In this article, the author, Kevin Bouffard, seems to imply that City Council decided that a "bachelor's degree, preferably in public or business administration", would be required. To the contrary, Council decided they would prefer job applicants with this degree, but would not require it as a minimum qualification, even though Mr. Simmons of Kissimmee, a member of the Florida Chapter of Range Riders, urged the council to limit the search to candidates with at least a bachelor's degree in public or business administration.
It was decided by council to keep the salary and benefits open or negotiable. The annual salary for the previous City Manager, Cory Carrier, was $72,000 plus generous benefits. As you might remember, her severance package included a monthly payment of over $9,000 for the last six months of her contract, which was the equivalence of her monthly salary and benefit package. That comes to a total of over $108,000 annually. That is a very aggressive compensation package and hopefully the new contract for the next City Manager will mirror the downsized role that this new manager will have. Quite a few of the responsibilities of our past City Manager have now been outsourced.
It was decided by council to keep the salary and benefits open or negotiable. The annual salary for the previous City Manager, Cory Carrier, was $72,000 plus generous benefits. As you might remember, her severance package included a monthly payment of over $9,000 for the last six months of her contract, which was the equivalence of her monthly salary and benefit package. That comes to a total of over $108,000 annually. That is a very aggressive compensation package and hopefully the new contract for the next City Manager will mirror the downsized role that this new manager will have. Quite a few of the responsibilities of our past City Manager have now been outsourced.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Hiring a City Manager & the City Charter
When it comes to effectively recruiting, screening, and hiring employees, I can personally speak from experience*. Please see the footnote on this article to see my Human Resources background.
At the City Council Workshop on January 3rd, 2011, Mayor Joe LaCascia and the rest of the Council showed how inexperienced they are in this very important aspect, even with obvious "on the spot coaching" throughout the meeting from Interim City Attorney Tom Cloud. Wisely, they contacted Range Riders, a retired group of volunteer former City and County Managers to assist in the search for a new City Manager. Hopefully, this was not done for appearances only. Mr. Dick Simmons, a Range Rider, gave a very good presentation to the council about what they can expect from the process and made several suggestions to effectively recruit for this position. Mr. Simmons helped recruit for two of the city's former City Managers, and has worked in the past in several Central Florida cities both big and small. He is very aware of what skill sets, as well as special experience, running a city in this area will require. Mr. Simmons offered some wise recommendations of what needs to be included in the job description and recruitment ad when finding a candidate who will be successful and last in their new position. Sample ads were also provided, but seemed to be ignored. Mr. Simmons and Mr. Mark Durbin, also a Range Rider, will assist in screening the candidates and also provide recommended interview questions that the council should ask each candidate. They also strongly advised that a thorough background check be done on any candidates they are considering. A time frame of 3-4 months was estimated to find a replacement, if all goes as planned. With this in mind, this process should have been started months earlier as previously recommended by Councilman Kimsey.
Hopefully, council will sharpen their listening skills quite a bit better than they demonstrated in last night's meeting. Many times when Mr. Simmons did a good job of clarifying questions the council had, the Mayor attempted to restate his understanding of what was just said, and stated almost the exact opposite of the point Mr. Simmons was trying to make. Understandably, Mr. Simmons looked a little frustrated on more than one occasion. Prior to the meeting, the Mayor had attempted to do his homework, prepared some questions, and quoted some wording that he thought should be included in an effective recruitment ad. In his insistence on sticking to his "Recruiting for Dummies" notes, many important points Mr. Simmons made clearly went over the Mayor and Vice Mayor's heads.
A recommendation made by both the Interim City Attorney, Tom Cloud, and the Range Riders of REQUIRING a bachelor's degree in either Business Administration or Public Administration seemed to just be brushed aside. In addition to the Financial/Accounting aspect of a degree like this, additional required learning in aspects of marketing, management, economics, and personnel management is just as important. Instead, the council concluded that this BS degree would simply be "preferred" but not required, if the candidate has equivalent professional experience. Is the council qualified to determine the professional experience equivalency of a BS degree in these fields? Interview questions can only reveal so much and anyone can falsify or embellish on a resume. All throughout the discussed list of job requirements for qualified candidates, the council "dumbed down" or lowered the recommendations from the Range Riders. Understandably, the city will not be able to afford a razor sharp city manager with a long track record of strong experience, not to mention it may be tougher than usual to hire a qualified candidate considering the challenges Polk City is currently facing, but they seem to have lowered the requirements for the job considerably across the board. Are they truly seeking a qualified City Manager or simply an Assistant City Manager?
To the knowledgeable public, it sure appeared that the required job experience and educational requirements were being reduced to parallel what the existing City Clerk, Patricia Jackson, has to offer, instead of sticking to the recommendations from the Range Riders and the City Attorney. Here is a link to some information we found on Patricia Jackson's previous short terms as City Manager in both Mulberry and Eagle Lake. Who is running Polk City? If Ms. Jackson was such a wonderful City Manager, why would she have been fired from Eagle Lake and then accepted a much lesser position of City Clerk in a small city like Polk City in late 2008? She might be a great City Clerk, but that doesn't automatically qualify her to be City Manager. If this is the plan the Mayor and Vice Mayor have in mind, this move will simply guarantee continuation of the same complete control the Mayor and Vice Mayor currently have.
Even the strongly recommended requirement of having the City Manager currently live within city limits, or be required to move to live within city limits within one year of accepting the position, was softened to be a "negotiable" time limit to meet this requirement. Is this "negotiable" time frame similar to the seemingly never-ending "temporary" Interim City Manager/Council Member dual roll which will have lasted close to a year if this hiring process goes quickly? Even the Mayor had concerns about where in the city the perspective City Manager might live, considering most of the city falls into two classifications: Taxed beyond affordability, i.e. Mt. Olive & Sandy Pointe, or the poverty stricken numbered streets areas. What does this say about how the city is currently being run?
There was no mention during discussions about requiring the applicants to complete a standardized Application for Employment. Are these applicants being scrutinized simply on the information included in their resumes? How does that work with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) requirements that each applicant be considered on equal ground when professional resume writers are skilled in conveniently omitting information that is not as favorable, such as periods of unemployment between jobs or short tenures. A classic example of this creative resume writing is listing only the years of employment instead of specific dates of employment. An individual could say that they were employed from 2008-2009 at company XYZ, when in reality they were hired in December of 2008 and were fired by January, 2009. Typically only standard applications will reveal these vital omissions. Applications will also provide much more detailed information on salary ranges and contact information, used when background checked are performed. Many times during these checks, former employers will not reveal any information other than job title, dates of employment, and possibly salary information. A thorough investigation of previous employment should not be limited to the somewhat vague information provided by most HR Departments. Direct contact with direct supervisors will sometimes reveal a more complete picture of past performance. This contact information can many times be obtained from standard applications, when a resume would usually not provide that much detail. Applications typically have a standard clause that disqualifies the applicant if the applicant intentionally falsifies their experience or educational background. This is another safeguard that the city should strongly consider to avoid potential legal disputes. The use of standardized applications for all qualified candidates will also make it much easier for the city to defend itself in the case that there is an EEOC claim filed against them on the basis of discrimination. Since no opportunities for public comments or questions were allowed at the workshop, these important issues were never brought up.
The second part of the workshop, "Review of the City Charter", City Charter of Polk City was a complete waste of time if you have access to the internet. The focus was on Article III, C-7 "Town Council", and Article V, C-21 "Administration", dealing with duties and responsibilities. When this topic was brought up as an item of discussion at this workshop, one would expect that there were parts within the existing charter that council members felt needed to be improved or changed. For instance, placing limits on the length of time an individual can serve in dual roles of Interim City Manager and Council person. Or, possibly putting it in black and white that it is required that the City Manager be must live within city limits so they too can enjoy the fruits of their labor. Instead, Councilwoman Adorno requested that the Mayor read to the audience of approximately 20 people specific sections of the City Charter word for word. Even the Interim City Attorney, Mr. Cloud, rolled his eyes at the request. I guess he didn't mind too much considering he's getting paid very generously for his time.
*My most relevant experience is that I have worked for several years for Nokia Mobile Phones, North America as a Human Resources Assistant, as well as working for the former Colonial BancGroup, N.A.. as a Human Resources Director for 4+ years running one of their two Operations Centers with a staff of approximately 120 people. I also have a BS degree, double majoring in both Marketing and Management. At Nokia, I recruited nationwide for many positions that were highly coveted in the industry. The ads were run blind, intentionally not revealing the company name, and yet many times would produce thousands of resumes and hundreds of qualified candidates. At Colonial, I was responsible for everything from recruiting and staffing entry level positions to top level executives, payroll, benefits, personnel relations, etc., with no HR staff besides myself.
Lisa B. Shifflett
At the City Council Workshop on January 3rd, 2011, Mayor Joe LaCascia and the rest of the Council showed how inexperienced they are in this very important aspect, even with obvious "on the spot coaching" throughout the meeting from Interim City Attorney Tom Cloud. Wisely, they contacted Range Riders, a retired group of volunteer former City and County Managers to assist in the search for a new City Manager. Hopefully, this was not done for appearances only. Mr. Dick Simmons, a Range Rider, gave a very good presentation to the council about what they can expect from the process and made several suggestions to effectively recruit for this position. Mr. Simmons helped recruit for two of the city's former City Managers, and has worked in the past in several Central Florida cities both big and small. He is very aware of what skill sets, as well as special experience, running a city in this area will require. Mr. Simmons offered some wise recommendations of what needs to be included in the job description and recruitment ad when finding a candidate who will be successful and last in their new position. Sample ads were also provided, but seemed to be ignored. Mr. Simmons and Mr. Mark Durbin, also a Range Rider, will assist in screening the candidates and also provide recommended interview questions that the council should ask each candidate. They also strongly advised that a thorough background check be done on any candidates they are considering. A time frame of 3-4 months was estimated to find a replacement, if all goes as planned. With this in mind, this process should have been started months earlier as previously recommended by Councilman Kimsey.
Hopefully, council will sharpen their listening skills quite a bit better than they demonstrated in last night's meeting. Many times when Mr. Simmons did a good job of clarifying questions the council had, the Mayor attempted to restate his understanding of what was just said, and stated almost the exact opposite of the point Mr. Simmons was trying to make. Understandably, Mr. Simmons looked a little frustrated on more than one occasion. Prior to the meeting, the Mayor had attempted to do his homework, prepared some questions, and quoted some wording that he thought should be included in an effective recruitment ad. In his insistence on sticking to his "Recruiting for Dummies" notes, many important points Mr. Simmons made clearly went over the Mayor and Vice Mayor's heads.
A recommendation made by both the Interim City Attorney, Tom Cloud, and the Range Riders of REQUIRING a bachelor's degree in either Business Administration or Public Administration seemed to just be brushed aside. In addition to the Financial/Accounting aspect of a degree like this, additional required learning in aspects of marketing, management, economics, and personnel management is just as important. Instead, the council concluded that this BS degree would simply be "preferred" but not required, if the candidate has equivalent professional experience. Is the council qualified to determine the professional experience equivalency of a BS degree in these fields? Interview questions can only reveal so much and anyone can falsify or embellish on a resume. All throughout the discussed list of job requirements for qualified candidates, the council "dumbed down" or lowered the recommendations from the Range Riders. Understandably, the city will not be able to afford a razor sharp city manager with a long track record of strong experience, not to mention it may be tougher than usual to hire a qualified candidate considering the challenges Polk City is currently facing, but they seem to have lowered the requirements for the job considerably across the board. Are they truly seeking a qualified City Manager or simply an Assistant City Manager?
To the knowledgeable public, it sure appeared that the required job experience and educational requirements were being reduced to parallel what the existing City Clerk, Patricia Jackson, has to offer, instead of sticking to the recommendations from the Range Riders and the City Attorney. Here is a link to some information we found on Patricia Jackson's previous short terms as City Manager in both Mulberry and Eagle Lake. Who is running Polk City? If Ms. Jackson was such a wonderful City Manager, why would she have been fired from Eagle Lake and then accepted a much lesser position of City Clerk in a small city like Polk City in late 2008? She might be a great City Clerk, but that doesn't automatically qualify her to be City Manager. If this is the plan the Mayor and Vice Mayor have in mind, this move will simply guarantee continuation of the same complete control the Mayor and Vice Mayor currently have.
Even the strongly recommended requirement of having the City Manager currently live within city limits, or be required to move to live within city limits within one year of accepting the position, was softened to be a "negotiable" time limit to meet this requirement. Is this "negotiable" time frame similar to the seemingly never-ending "temporary" Interim City Manager/Council Member dual roll which will have lasted close to a year if this hiring process goes quickly? Even the Mayor had concerns about where in the city the perspective City Manager might live, considering most of the city falls into two classifications: Taxed beyond affordability, i.e. Mt. Olive & Sandy Pointe, or the poverty stricken numbered streets areas. What does this say about how the city is currently being run?
There was no mention during discussions about requiring the applicants to complete a standardized Application for Employment. Are these applicants being scrutinized simply on the information included in their resumes? How does that work with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) requirements that each applicant be considered on equal ground when professional resume writers are skilled in conveniently omitting information that is not as favorable, such as periods of unemployment between jobs or short tenures. A classic example of this creative resume writing is listing only the years of employment instead of specific dates of employment. An individual could say that they were employed from 2008-2009 at company XYZ, when in reality they were hired in December of 2008 and were fired by January, 2009. Typically only standard applications will reveal these vital omissions. Applications will also provide much more detailed information on salary ranges and contact information, used when background checked are performed. Many times during these checks, former employers will not reveal any information other than job title, dates of employment, and possibly salary information. A thorough investigation of previous employment should not be limited to the somewhat vague information provided by most HR Departments. Direct contact with direct supervisors will sometimes reveal a more complete picture of past performance. This contact information can many times be obtained from standard applications, when a resume would usually not provide that much detail. Applications typically have a standard clause that disqualifies the applicant if the applicant intentionally falsifies their experience or educational background. This is another safeguard that the city should strongly consider to avoid potential legal disputes. The use of standardized applications for all qualified candidates will also make it much easier for the city to defend itself in the case that there is an EEOC claim filed against them on the basis of discrimination. Since no opportunities for public comments or questions were allowed at the workshop, these important issues were never brought up.
The second part of the workshop, "Review of the City Charter", City Charter of Polk City was a complete waste of time if you have access to the internet. The focus was on Article III, C-7 "Town Council", and Article V, C-21 "Administration", dealing with duties and responsibilities. When this topic was brought up as an item of discussion at this workshop, one would expect that there were parts within the existing charter that council members felt needed to be improved or changed. For instance, placing limits on the length of time an individual can serve in dual roles of Interim City Manager and Council person. Or, possibly putting it in black and white that it is required that the City Manager be must live within city limits so they too can enjoy the fruits of their labor. Instead, Councilwoman Adorno requested that the Mayor read to the audience of approximately 20 people specific sections of the City Charter word for word. Even the Interim City Attorney, Mr. Cloud, rolled his eyes at the request. I guess he didn't mind too much considering he's getting paid very generously for his time.
*My most relevant experience is that I have worked for several years for Nokia Mobile Phones, North America as a Human Resources Assistant, as well as working for the former Colonial BancGroup, N.A.. as a Human Resources Director for 4+ years running one of their two Operations Centers with a staff of approximately 120 people. I also have a BS degree, double majoring in both Marketing and Management. At Nokia, I recruited nationwide for many positions that were highly coveted in the industry. The ads were run blind, intentionally not revealing the company name, and yet many times would produce thousands of resumes and hundreds of qualified candidates. At Colonial, I was responsible for everything from recruiting and staffing entry level positions to top level executives, payroll, benefits, personnel relations, etc., with no HR staff besides myself.
Lisa B. Shifflett
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