Saturday, December 22, 2012
Surveillance Cameras... Why Not Put Them Where the Crime Is?
Sunday, December 16, 2012
It's Time to STOP the Red Light Cameras
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Has the Media Massacred the Massacre?
The event in Newtown Connecticut has been another total media melt down. From overly aggressive reporting to inaccurate facts it has been a nightmare of over exposure and on the air guessing.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Six People on A Mission, One not Sure, One Lone Dissenting Voice
Sunday, December 2, 2012
A Casual Conversation with Herb Polson
To be totally transparent, Herb and I have been good friends for well over 20 years, we worked very closely together while were both on staff at the City and I was a campaign worker and contributor to Herbs' City Council campaign in 2005.
I caught up with Herb a week or so ago at one of our favorite lunch spots, Coney Island on 9th Street.
For most of Herb's career with the City, both as a staff member and as an elected official, Herb dealt with the political side of the administration. Given that, Herb has an uncanny insight into the workings of the elected officials and the Administration. Herb served on the City staff during the City Manager era and the strong mayor period.
We had a lot of catching up to do but soon the conversation turned to politics and I asked the question a lot of people are asking: "are you going to run for Mayor?"
Our conversation had been pretty light hearted up to that point but Herb turned very serious, "I get that question frequently when I am out in public," Herb said. "Well?", I asked. "I am watching and listening carefully", was Herb's reply.
He went on, "The City has a lot of problems. There are serious issues that the next Mayor will have to deal with. The Pier/LENS, The Rays, the budget to name a few. Principle among them is the age of the senior administration, and the need to make some serious staffing changes. The old way of looking at things is just not working anymore."
"What are your major concerns?" I asked. Herb replied, "even though the Mayor is poling well, there is a serious lack of leadership on almost all issues." I don't get the sense that the staff or City Council has a clear idea of where they are going." Lack of leadership is clearly evident in the budget process, and the number of people leaving the administration is a serious problem, especially recent hires that have quickly left."
Our conversation moved out to the parking lot as the Coney Island lunch crowd grew, and it became considerably more detailed, but I'll leave that for Herb to make public later.
As the conversation drew to a close, Herb again waxed serious and said "I don't think we feel good about ourselves. The City seems to have lost its direction." The world is changing, our demographic is changing and it just doesn't seem like the City leadership is on board."
I could not help myself I had to try one more time. "So are you going to run for Mayor? I asked.
Without any hesitation but with a twinkle in his eye Herb replied, "I'll just wait a while and watch and listen to what the people have to say."
A quick handshake and we were off to our various destinations.
As I drove way I could not help but think, in all my experience with Herb, he has always been about what the people have to say.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Putting Lipstick On The Pig Continues
The evolution of the LENS design continues as the Michael Maltzan Architectural team unveiled their latest attempt to put something out there on the $50 million jogging track/walk to nowhere that might generate some enthusiasm.
They added some shade, an undeveloped beer garden, and a slab up front for restaurant that may or may not get built.
The Mayor was exuberant saying "I always wanted an eating experience at the end of the Pier." "The design", he added, "is starting to evolve into something that people can grasp and get excited about". "No one can say it is a sidewalk to a gelato stand anymore."
Nope. Now it's a sidewalk to a beer garden. I am sure Jim Kennedy will think it's a major improvement especially if it stays open until 3:00AM.
Maybe the Coney Island folks can grab the beer garden spot, now that would drive some traffic to the LENS.
It is unclear at this point if the beer garden will be part of the actual build or there just be a hole in the design so someone else can build it. Probably not a very viable business opportunity.
The upland "restaurant" is really just a slab, no walls as the City's managing director of Development Chris Ballestra was quick to point out. Usually you build the walls, leave the floor for the tenant to build out, but then this whole thing has been backwards from the start.
After saying The City of St. Petersburg is not in the restaurant business, Ballestra did point out there is $750,000 in the Pier budget to help build the restaurants. Any guesses as to which one of our fine Beach Drive entrepreneurs will grab that money?
Lot of talk about wrapping the LENS into the waterfront master plan. Don't be confused, that is just Gov speak for getting their hands into another pot of money because this oinker is in real trouble.
Still a lot of disagreement between Danner, Nurse and others about putting in playgrounds and other amenities on the upland or just putting up a sign that says "If You Really Want To Have Fun Head Over To North Shore Park". Maybe we should build a beer garden over there.
How will we know when the design has reached its maximum state of ridiculousness? When the design team excitedly unveils the new deluxe Pelican Feeding Station with credit card and cell phone friendly feed dispensers and a sloped automatic cleaning floor. Estimated cost $1.5 million. Those pelicans can create quite a mess.
e-mail Doc at: dr.webb@verizon.net, or send me a Facebook Friend request.
Have your say. Be sure to get a petition for the Pier Referendum and complete it properly. Information and schedule of events at Stop The Lens
Friday, November 23, 2012
Top 10 Reasons You Can Be Thankful For in Living ST. Pete
Friday, November 16, 2012
Should The New School Superintendent Be Caving In To The Teachers So Soon?
The new teacher evaluation system continues to create a fire storm among teachers. The system appears to be rife with problems and everyone from the superintendent to the school board is putting as much distance as they can between themselves and the evaluation system.
Since everyone generally agrees that the system has serious flaws, the question arises as to why the new Scholl superintendent would feel constrained to write a letter teachers can request and put in their personnel file that contains some language about how screwed up the new system is and their low evaluation score may not be their fault.
For more detail Curtis Kruger from the Tampa Bay Times has a good article For Pinellas teachers upset about evaluations, superintendent writes letter of explanation.
The problem I see with this approach is once in the file, the letter will stay forever. Any teacher with a nickel's worth of sense will want one of these letters in their file, regardless of their evaluation score, because the first time any action is taken regarding their performance out the letter will pop.
The entire conversation will shift to the evaluation system and that is precisely what the teachers union wants. Does not matter if it is next week or five years from now.
Superintendent Grego is about to find out how good the Pinellas County teachers Union is. They have run the show here for years and if he caves in early he will be just as ineffective at cleaning up the school system as his predecessors.
Everyone knows the evaluation system the Administration created is flawed. There has certainly been enough press. The Union made sure of that.
Grego and his Administration should quickly go back through the evaluation system and get a revised proposal to the State as soon as possible. Let's stop apologizing, creating documented excuses for poor performance and just get it fixed.
Then there is also the left hand chance that the system is more accurate than the teachers want to admit and the poor performers really are - poor performers.
Speaking of the Administration, if Grego hasn't already started a major house cleaning, the party is already pretty much over.
Snuggling up to the union has never worked out particularly well for Pinellas County School Superintendents, I doubt things have changed.
e-mail Doc at: dr.webb@verizon.net, or send me a Facebook Friend request.
Have your say. Be sure to get a petition for the Pier Referendum and complete it properly. Information and schedule of events at Stop The Lens.
Monday, November 12, 2012
A Casual Conversation With Rick Baker
A week or so before the election Theresa and were walking through Tyrone Mall when a familiar head appeared above the crowd. It was the "tall guy" as we all called him when he was Mayor, Rick Baker.
We both worked for the Mayor during his two terms so after a quick hello the first question we both asked almost simultaneously was "are you going to run for Mayor?"
The former Mayor's response? A twinkle in his eye and "I get that question a lot". "Well"? we asked. Rick replied "don't know yet, but I'll admit I'm thinking about it".
At that point the presidential election was still undecided and Baker indicated he was seriously under consideration for a Cabinet post should Governor Romney win. So in typical Rick Baker style again the smile and "We'll just have to see."
A lot of what we talked about I would consider off the record at this point, but the former Mayor turned very serious when he talked about what has been going on with current administration. He is concerned about the lack of leadership, and the current seeming ineffectiveness of City Council and general lack of progress.
Among his biggest concerns seemed to be his perception of a lack of continuing progress in Mid Town. From eight years working in the Baker administration I can assure you he was and is serious about Mid Town.
Rick Baker looks good. He has put on a few pounds. According to the former Mayor he is really enjoying his current work at USF and spending quality time with his family.
Current biggest impediment regarding a mayoral run - convincing his wife.
You cannot spend even five minutes in Rick Baker's presence without getting excited about the future. From the very first day I met him I noticed the man exudes a contagious energy. And that energy and leadership are what is lacking in the current administration.
The conversation lingered on for the better part of a half hour covering a wide range of subjects from baseball to the LENS. I'll leave the details to the former Mayor to reveal publicly when he feels it is proper, but it is safe to say Rick Baker has already formulated some ideas about most of the City's major problems.
As the conversation wrapped up we could not help but try one more time and asked, "So are you going to run for Mayor?" Once again that infectious smile and then: Baker looking pretty serious said, "well it may depend on who runs. There are certain conditions where I might be obligated to get in the race."
With that a quick handshake and the former Mayor was off on his shopping trip. Theresa and I had a lot to talk about on the way home.
Photo Credit Univesity of South Florida.
e-mail Doc at dr.webb@verizon.net, or send me a Facebook Friend Request.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
The Useless Audit
The word is back from the external audit of the Hilton Impact fee issue. The outside audit firm Mayor, Hoffman McCann P.C. concluded there were no improprieties. This external audit only looked at the auditing methods used in previously evaluating the impropriety and random sampled impact fee cases.
Cost $50,000.
All of which goes to show if you narrowly draw the external audit parameters you can pretty much get the results you want.
St. Petersburg tax payers are $50,000 poorer, Don Tyre, the guy with the short memory who cut the Hilton the break, is still drawing his salary and headed for a retirement ride on the tax payers dime and we still don't know what happened.
Another attempt to bury the issue failed. Council member Danner wanted a Resolution that essential excused Tyre from any "guilt", never mind the fact he IS the guy who made the change. Wisely Council did not side with Danner.
I am sure there are a lot people at City Hall, Including the Mayor that would like to see this issue go away. But I don't think it will.
Why would you keep Tyre on the payroll? He committed an improper act.
Why not just fire him?
Let's get this thing into court and see if Mr. Tyre will incriminate himself in front of a judge. In my limited experience with the legal system, a faulty memory is not usually a good defense.
I don't think anyone in the administration wants to see this thing in the legal system. That is likely why the Police Department was never asked to investigate. The threat of some jail time might seriously refresh Mr. Tyre's memory.
Mr. Tyre is still on the payroll because it is in somebody or somebody's' best interest to leave him there.
The Mayor has no stomach for these issues, City Council has had more than enough, the taxpayers have been denied both money and justice, Mr. Tyre is seemingly safe and secure in his job: nothing is right in this world.
Will we ever know what happened? Not likely, unless, Mr. Tyre decides to write his memoirs, after he retires of course.
e-mail Doc at: dr.webb@verizon.net, or send me a Facebook Friend request.
Have your say. Be sure to get a petition for the Pier Referendum and complete it properly. Information and schedule of events at
Stop The Lens.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Caught Again - The City's LENS Team just Can't seem to Follow the Rules
Once again the LENS Team lead by Chris Ballestra found itself on the opaque side of transparency. Weaverly Ann Moore writing in the Tampa bay Times has a story Scientists criticize lack of transparency in Pier plans.
This is the second time the LENS team has tried to slip one past the people monitoring the project. Early in October in what appeared to be a simple appropriation for Skanska, the construction management company, City Council caught an additional $60,000 neatly tucked away. See my Post The Lens The Real Game.
There has been an ongoing history of duck and hide on this project. Ballestra is proving to be a master at hiding stuff he does not want the public to know. Internally he has a reputation for bending the rules. The real question is: is he operating on his own or is he getting direction to be deceptive and if so from whom?
Every appropriation will need to be carefully scrutinized. Every meeting must made public. Quoting from Weaverly's article: "I think there is secrecy. It doesn't seem like a wise thing, considering the emotion and controversy involved," said Walter Jaap, a retired Fish and Wildlife Research Institute scientist, who now works as a consultant.
The last thing the LENS team wants is a lot of public scrutiny. With 23,000 petitions already signed and summarily rejected by a disingenuous City Council, and an active new petition drive to stop the project, every effort will be made to keep any authoritative dissenting voices out of the mix.
Apparently the LENS team missed politics 101 - the more you try to hide and cover up the worse you look.
The Mayor needs to put a collar on Ballestra. Appropriations, meetings and the process should be well vetted and very public. Right now they are not. The push must be for more transparency, not less.
It may be time for a change. If you can't trust the guy leading the effort, how can you ever expect to gain the public's confidence?
e-mail Doc at: dr.webb@verizon.net, or send me a Facebook Friend request.
Have your say. Be sure to get a petition for the Pier Referendum and complete it properly. Information and schedule of events at Stop The Lens.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Doc's 2012 Ballot
Below is my Ballot for the 2012 General Election. I tend to be conservative, believe strongly in limiting revenue to all government entities including the School Board.
The purpose here is not to tell you how to vote but to tell you how I voted.
Please take the time to inform yourself on all of the issues especially the Amendments and the School Tax referendum.
Do not let the length and complexity of this ballot keep you from voting. Every race is important and many, including the Presidential election, will be very close. If you are going to the Polls to vote on election day, write your choices down or load them in your smart phone.
Your vote will count be sure to have your say.
President and Vice President
• Mitt Romney, and Paul Ryan Republican
United states Senator
• Connie Mack Republican
Representative in Congress
District 13
• Bill Nelson Republican
State Senator
District 22
• Jeff Brandes Republican
State Representative
District 68
•Frank Farkas Republican
Sheriff
• Bob Gualtieri Republican
Supervisor of Elections
• Deborah Clark Republican
Board of County Commissioners
District 1 - At Large
• Neil Brickfield Republican
Board of County Commissioners
District 3 - at Large
• Charlie Justice Democrat
Justice of the Supreme Court
R. Fred Lewis
• NO
Justice of the Supreme Court
Barbara J. Pariente
• NO
Justice of the Supreme Court
Peggy Quince
• NO
District Court of Appeal
Anthony K. Black
• YES
District Court of Appeal
Darryl C. Casanueva
• YES
District Court of Appeal
Charles A. Davis Jr.
• YES
District Court of Appeal
Edward C LaRose
• YES
School Board Member
District 1 At Large
• Elliott Stern
AMENDMENTS
AMENDMENT NO. 1 Health Care Services
• YES
AMENDMENT NO. 2 Disabled Veterans Homestead Property Tax Discount
• YES
AMENDMENT NO. 3 State Government Revenue Limitation
• YES
AMENDMENT NO. 4 Property Tax Limitations
• YES
AMENDMENT NO. 5 State Courts
• NO
AMENDMENT NO. 6 Prohibition on Public Funds For Abortion
• NO
AMENDMENT NO. 7 This Amendment removed from Ballot
AMENDMENT NO. 8 Religious Freedom
• NO
AMENDMENT NO. 9 Homestead Property ax Exemption for Military Surviving Spouse
• YES
AMENDMENT NO. 10 Tangible Personal Property Tax
• YES
AMENDMENT NO. 11 Additional Homestead Exemption For Low Income Seniors
• YES
AMENDMENT NO. 12 Appointment of Student Body President to Board of Governors of the State University System
• YES
Referendum Question - One Half Mill ad Valorem Tax for School Board
• NO
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
The LENS Achieves Its Highest Status - Infomercial Recognition
The arts community must be cringing, Michael Maltzan is probably not returning calls and I can't wait for the City to put a positive spin on the LENS' latest supporter.
The Tampa Bay Times is reporting that TV pitchman Anthony Sullivan is starting an "unpaid" campaign to support the LENS. Not to take anything away from Mr. Sullivan a very successful protégé and partner of Billy Mays, who is without question one of television's most successful pitch men.
From CNN Money: "When Mays and Sullivan are debating whether to shill for a product, their mental checklist could easily be a decision tree for a new product launch at a major corporation. "First, it's got to have mass appeal," says Mays. "If you can connect to a broader audience, there's just a better shot of making it work. Second, the product needs to solve a common problem. I need to be able to show that it makes one's life easier. And also it gives instant gratification, hits you on an emotional level." Both Mays and Sullivan swear that believing in the product is essential to being able to sell it".
Mays and Sullivan built a very successful business promoting products that we didn't know we needed. The LENS certainly meets some of Mays an Sullivan's requirements. The whole functionality thing and mass appeal seems to be a problem for the LENS.
With their magnificent iconic art piece reduced to a comparison with the Swivel Sweeper, no matter how accurate, it must be a crushing blow to those who have long touted the iconic value of the LENS design. Maybe the Maltzan people can name one of those sweeping loops the "Swivel" in honor of Mr. Sullivan's support.
The LENS project has been recognized for what it is by a true expert in the field of infomercial promotional marketing. Something cheaply made, of limited functionality, with unique eye appeal and limited life expectancy.
Not art, just cheap infomercial junk. Finally a valid definition.
I can't wait to see Danner and Curran schmoozing with Sullivan trying to put positive spin on this one.
There could be a back story here. If Leslie Curran is still thinking about running for Mayor, definitely an uphill battle, maybe Mr. Sullivan can give her some pointers. Mayor Foster may want to jump on the band wagon and try to lure Mr. Sullivan into his camp. Just what very iconic art story needs - a sub plot.
If you don't want the "as sold on TV" replacement for the Pier, be sure to get a petition for the Pier Referendum and complete it properly. Information and schedule of events at Stop The Lens.
e-mail Doc at dr.webb@verizon.net, or send me a Facebook Friend Request.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Ballot Referendum Question Extending Property Tax Millage for the School Board
The Pinellas County school system continues to be one of the poorer The new Superintendent may change that, but the entrenched power structure and totally dysfunctional school board have thwarted all efforts up to this point.
Looking at the current School Board candidates and those who will likely win, I would say the new Superintendent is in for a pretty rough ride.
The Pinellas County school system may be looking at serious challenges with more charter schools, more private schools, more home schooling and more on line schools eating into student enrollment. Why? Because the public school system is not working.
My recommendation is you VOTE NO on the Referendum Question continuing the School District millage rate. The last item on the ballot.
Think about this. When was the last time you saw a governmental body willing reduce its size and change its approach when it was getting the money it wanted?
Right. Never.
It just may be, the best thing we can do to help the Superintendent accomplish his goals and deal with the teacher's union is to reduce the amount of money in play and let him use that as the catalyst to eliminate the waste, change the bureaucracy and improve teacher performance.
Don't pay much attention to the cries that education for the students will suffer. Educational performance will only suffer if the Superintendent and the School Board don't make the necessary changes to the organization that will insure kids get a proper education. Those changes are a lot more about management and leadership than they are about money.
History has shown the Pinellas County School Board is one of the best in the State at wasting money.
If you want more monuments to education, more bloated administrative staffs, poor and underperforming teachers carefully nested in their class rooms and poor student outcomes then vote yes.
Otherwise save yourself some money to cover those other tax increases, and VOTE NO on approving the Continuation of One-Half Mill Ad Valorem Tax for School District Operating Expenses.
e-mail Doc at: dr.webb@verizon.net, or send me a Facebook Friend request.
Have your say. Be sure to get a petition for the Pier Referendum and complete it properly. Information and schedule of events at Stop The Lens.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
The LENS - The Inspiration
A lot of thought went into the Pier Visioning process.
In a letter to Mayor Bill Foster dated June 13, 2012, William Ballard, president of Concerned Citizens of St. Petersburg, the group trying to stop the LENS, wrote the following:
"The Lens is not a pier. The Pier Task Force knew what a pier was and what a pier should be. I urge you to pick up your copy of the Pier Advisory Task Report of June 2010. Turn to page 13 "Case Studies" which contains photographs of seven successful piers. Please read the case study conclusions on that page. One of those conclusions is "All have either amusement type program or very specialized program as the predominant draw." Our Municipal Pier, all the piers studied by the Pier Task Force, and all of the pier alternatives proposed by the Pier Task Force, have the look, feel and "program" of a real pier. It is immediately obvious that The Lens does not have the look and feel of a real pier and it is equally obvious that The Lens will lack the amusement feature which was touted as the predominant draw. The reef which The Lens was to focus on would not provide much amusement by reason of the natural turbidity of Tampa Bay. It may be there, but people wouldn't be able to see it."
In the Pier Task Force Final Report their Vision of the Pier was:
"Our vision is for a vibrant Pier Complex that appeals to both local residents and visitors throughout the year. It should speak to our city's beautiful aquatic setting, and of spectacular views of our cityscape and the Bay. The Pier should complement the larger downtown waterfront and serve as its front door, centerpiece, and anchor. The architecture of the main building should reflect our history and unique identity as a place and City, and be a worthy symbol of our great City".
It sounds to me like the Pier Task Force had it right.
In a paper entitled "The Lens" - We Can do Better, William Ballard says "Michael Maltzan first set foot in St. Petersburg on September 19, 2011. His contest winning submission was filed by the November 30, 2011 deadline."
That's just 72 days counting weekends.
That seemed like a pretty short time window to come up with such an eclectic design. Surely there had to be some motivation for the concept, so I grabbed my camera and headed to the Pier for some inspiration of my own.
Assuming Maltzan and his team took some time to swing through the Dali museum on the way to the Pier, the pictures above may help explain the motivation and concept.
All of that dripping and looping had to come from somewhere.
City Council, are you really going to build this thing? Really?
e-mail Doc at: dr.webb@verizon.net, or send me a Facebook Friend request.
Have your say. Be sure to get a petition for the Pier Referendum and complete it properly. Information and schedule of events at Stop The Lens.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
What's Really Going On At City Hall
It's all over the newspaper, the blogs and is a general topic of conversation in St. Pete, what is going on at City Hall?
A lot of the writers, me included, have hung the blame on Bill Fosters' lack of leadership. And, as Mayor that's where the buck stops. It is the Mayors' job to lead, and pretty much everyone agrees that he has come up woefully short in the leadership column.
Bill gets up every morning truly believing there is a lot of good in everyone and if he just waits long enough they will do the right thing. Things just don't work that way. especially at City Hall.
A while back I posted "Does Bill Foster Really Want To Be Mayor of St. Petersburg" on SaintPetersblog. It is still a relevant question.
Mayor Foster has lost the respect of the staff, and more importantly they don't have any sense of fear that they may be held responsible for what they do. City Council sees the Mayor as a wishy washy adolescent who inadvertently got elected Mayor. Virtually nobody on the staff takes Bill Foster seriously. I know I was there.
City staff members have always had their own agenda, from Codes Enforcement to Parking to the Police Department the people running every City Department have their agenda and they work at it quietly all the time. Left without leadership they move in their direction.
The two really strong administrative leaders, Tish Elston and Mike Connors cannot seem to get any traction with the staff, most likely because Mayor Foster won't back them up.
All of this leads to the debacle at last Thursday's Council meeting item regarding red light cameras where staff goes off on its own agenda without any direction or reporting responsibility. Follow that with the LENS team trying to slip a cool $60K past Council so they have some wiggle money and you have a total lack of respect for leadership, or a leader totally in the dark
.
Unprepared and politically motivated, City Council members pounce and the whole organization looks like a very bad joke.
The child like sniping and condescending approach of the Mayor only infuriates Council and gives the public that sinking feeling in their stomachs.
What's Going On At City Hall? You're just seeing the proof that electing an adolescent adult to run a big City just doesn't work. And it's not going to get any better until there is a new Mayor and a couple of new Council members.
e-mail Doc at: dr.webb@verizon.net, or send me a Facebook Friend request
Have your say. Be sure to get a petition for the Pier Referendum and complete it properly. Information at Stop The Lens.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Where is the PD Video Surveillance Vehicle?
It has been just over 1 year since the Brinks Corporation donated an armored truck to the St. Petersburg Police department to be converted into a mobile video surveillance vehicle.
That's right 1 YEAR.
City Council approved the funding months ago and Police Chief Harmon promised City Council they would "see it" in July.
So where is it?
PD management has stalled, delayed and put off deploying this crime prevention tool. Why?
No one seems to know. Council member Nurse has asked repeated questions but gets the typical Chief Harmon generalities and lame excuses.
I built the first prototype in about 6 weeks so why is this one taking so long?
The simple answer is the Police Chief and his three assistant chiefs just don't want the thing on the street. They are not technology savvy enough to figure out how to use it, and scared to see what it might actually find.
Their approach follows the Chuck Harmon model "if I don't see it, I don't have to act". Or more appropriately, I can't hold the truck accountable for what it might see, so I would actually have to do something.
Mayor Foster promised the expanded use of technology in his campaign, but interestingly not one new piece of significant law enforcement technology has been deployed since his election.
Only two things motivate Chuck Harmon, fear of personal responsibility and boot you know where. That's all you've got work with Mr. Mayor, otherwise it will be at the PD as it has been since you took office - status quo, delay, delay, excuse, delay.
Where is the Brinks Truck? Last sighting it had a nice new white paint job, no Police markings and was sitting peacefully in a bay at the fleet maintenance lot with no one working on it.
Mr. Mayor, it is time to stop grinning widely and start talking to your Police Chief firmly otherwise all of those Public safety campaign promises are just so much smoke.
e-mail Doc at dr.webb@verizon.net, or send me a Facebook Friend Request.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Will a Community Redevelopment Agency Work For Midtown?
Before any discussion of a Community Redevelopment Act here is the State Statute Title XI, Chapter 163,
Given the history of midtown, the recent easy manipulation of tax increment funds(TIF) in the Pier debacle, the City has absolutely no business creating a CRA for midtown. Here are some reasons why.
- The CRA is an independent authority. It will be quickly riddled with special interests and the opportunity for fraud and mishandling of funds is almost a certainty.
- Look at the fine job the City has done managing the Housing Authority. This is the Housing Authority on steroids.
- The big question is will tax rates be increased in the CRA to provide the tax increment funds?
- How much will the City borrow against the tax increment funds?
- Who will pay the interest?
- What happens when the Midtown CRA goes bust. Who picks up the tab?
You have to start where the problems are: drugs, prostitution, crime and begin to solve those issues without worrying about the next riot. Throwing Tax Increment Funds into some huge bond effort in an attempt to somehow build our way out of these problems is unlikely to work.
Unless Mayor Foster is ready to make some long needed changes at the PD this whole effort is merely good money chasing the wrong problems.
e-mail Doc at: dr.webb@verizon.net, or send me a Facebook Friend request.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
How Can The St. Pete Administration Cut The Budget?
There have been calls to use the City's massive reserves to defray operating expenses, but Mayors and City Councils have generally shied away from this as a bad business practice since it really just pushes the problem down the road.
The private sector for decades has used a combination of plans to incentivize people to leave the payroll. These plans allow those at or near retirement to leave early or if they have just been hanging around, like a lot of City employees, it encourages them to leave.
Three steps To Transforming the City Administration
1. Determine the total amount of savings necessary to bring both the 2013 and estimated 2014 budgets into balance.
2. Look at the entire MANAGEMENT team and reduce the number of supervisors and managers, Majors, Captains, Assistant Chiefs, District Chiefs and administrators to meet that goal. As a general rule of thumb reduce:
- 2 senior administrators, and their support staff such as secretaries and assistants
- 1 manger in every 5 and their support staff such as secretaries
- 1 supervisor in every 8
- Public safety must participate but only with senior staff such as Assistant Chiefs, District Chiefs, and Majors, Captains, and civilian managers and supervisors.
- Once identified these people must leave the organization.
- No cut and shuffle leaving them hidden away on the payroll.
- Put together a viable incentive program that adds significantly to the normal termination pay and will encourage people to leave.
- Don't worry about people walking away with large sums of money. This thinking is a holdover from the David Fisher Administration and is last century's thinking. These payouts are investments in the City's future.
- Identify those whose positions are being cut, inform them of the decision, and they will have 1 month to take the incentive package or simply be removed from the payroll.
- Take whatever amount is necessary to fund the incentives and termination pay from the reserve funds.
- This approach creates permanent solution to the problem, blunts the argument against using reserve funds, because this program is a onetime effort that resolves the problem going forward.
- The pay back on this investment should be 100% in less than three years.
- Do not hire a consultant to study or do this - just do it.
- Maintain a hard hiring freeze for at least 24 months.
Two administrations, Baker and Foster, have tried to wait this thing out hoping something magical would happen. There is no magic bullet, it's time to act.
e-mail Doc at: dr.webb@verizon.net, or send me a Facebook Friend Request.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
The St. Pete City Budget Round 2
In what could easily be called a rare show of wisdom the City Council voted down the Fire Fee.
Ill conceived, as an attempt to load budget responsibility on the fire fighters, who by the way did not support the mayor's election bid, and would not have benefitted from this fee, it created yet more unneeded controversy and division in the City. To say nothing of the cost of the "consultant" brought in to give the administration some cover in this debacle.
Council agreed to a millage increase, the right way to go if the City really needs more money, and then started asking some budget questions. The Mayor could not provide any answers simply because he has no clue what is going on in the budget process.
A public records request for the third quarter numbers and year end estimates resulted in the two documents above you can look at for yourself.
The Third Quarter shows a $5.2 million deficit and a yearend surplus of $12.5 but the Year End only reveals a $2.66 million deficit a bit short of the Mayor's $10 Million number.
Council wanted some questions to ask so here are a couple:
1. Where is the other $7.5 Million? The LENS Maybe.
2. Is the bond fee for the LENS financing included in the 2013 Budget?
Council is looking for some recommended budget cuts here are a few:
Police
Eliminate the Assistant Chief of the Administrative Services Bureau ($162,000), eliminate 3 crime analysts (about $200,000), and if the City started moving the Police dispatch to the Sheriff there is several million dollars in recurring savings. We don't know how much because not one City official will ask the Sheriff for a cost estimate.
City Development Administration
Could likely be eliminated $652,000. What do they really do?
Planning & Economic Development
If you can find $3.2 million dollars worth of value in there send me a note. This is likely where LENS money is buried. A $1 million dollar cut here probably would not affect any citizen.
Public Works Administration/Engineering
With a combined budget of $6.2 Million there has got to be some room here for some house leaning now would be the time. Let's get $750,000 out of this area, and the City will be better off.
Budget and Management
I am still trying to figure out how this department runs a $2.6 Million dollar deficient. Someone help me.
The problem is all of these cuts involve eliminating jobs. The Mayor and his administration have not had the stomach for that, but it needs to be done. Still plenty fat, the staff has got to be cut and City council will have to hold the Mayor responsible.
Council needs to be very specific that cuts in police officers, and fire fighters, that are designed to enflame the public, will not be accepted.
These cuts designed to stir up the public and engender things like this millage increase and are the oldest tactics in the political playbook book. It is way past time to recognize them for what they are - political theater.
Look through the documents above and come up with your own ideas and send them to your District Council person. If you don't want to do that, just copy this and forward it to them.
e-mail Doc at: dr.webb@verizon.net, or send me a Facebook friend Request.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Where Did all of Those RNC Bucks Go?
Now that the RNC is over and most of the clutter is cleared up we are starting to see local
merchants and businesses carp about how little business they did during the RNC. How the RNC revelers didn't patronize the local businesses like the RNC and local politicians said they would.
Alarmingly, and apparently surprisingly, the RNC folks did not drink as much, shop as much, or cavort as much as the local business folks expected.
Fearing the worst for South Pinellas County, I took a drive down the beaches on Wednesday of RNC week and was amazed at what I did not see. Hotel lots were empty. Right below the WELCOME RNC signs the Vacancy sign was on.
If you listened carefully to the convention, only Clearwater was mentioned as a delegate site. I did not hear St. Pete mentioned after the welcoming Party.
Even the famous "Gentleman's Club" on St. Pete Beach had the "WELCOME RNC" sign out along with an empty parking lot. This group of Republicans were truly a conservative lot.
More and more often these days, large events promoted by the Politicians as great money makers turn out to be duds for the local business owners. You may want to think about that before you make a major donation.
For many, the GOP Convention and St. Pete "RNC WELCOME PARTY" turned into a local business debacle. It should not have come as a big surprise, since many of the delegates who showed up for the welcome party were bussed in bussed out and had no way to get down to Beach Drive, the real heart and soul of St. Pete. The weather didn't help much either.
On the Saturday before the Convention started, I saw one downtown moderate sized bar with 5 beer trucks lined up outside unloading kegs of beer. Probably as much beer as they sell in a month or more. Wonder how that worked out?
Small business owners are not the only ones that may end up hoodwinked by the RNC Convention. Apparently there is a bill at St. Pete City Hall for over $500,000 that somebody, most likely the tax payers, will have to foot. I did note that the Mayor seemed to have a good time.
There is a message here. If you're a small business person you need to carefully evaluate any of these large scale events promoted by the County or City as a "big economic benefit". Look at where they are, when the events are scheduled, how attendees are transported, how they affect your customers access and the nature of the attendees.
Some local business people always benefit. But they are usually the ones who know the "right" people.
e-mail doc at: dr.webb@verizon.net, so send me a Facebook Friend
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Charlie Crist - Republican, Independent, Democrat, Chameleon
I supported Charlie for Governor, was there at the Vinoy victory party, and I thought Charlie would make a really great governor.
Sometime during the second year Charlie seemed to become weary of being Governor. It is a tireless and somewhat thankless job. The problems never end, you can't put them all in jail its probably not that much fun. It seems to take someone with the tenacity and conviction of a Jeb Bush to really do the job and enjoy it.
Charlie started looking around for a high profile political spot that didn't have all of that grungy detail like unions and budgets to deal with. The US Senate was perfect.
But the party had grown weary of Charlie, dumped him for a better looking Marco Rubio so Charlie took the Republicans money ran as an Independent and lost.
Now Charlie is courting the Democrats. And boy are they interested. They are especially interested if they can snag a little of that John Morgan money and influence.
Could Charlie beat Rick Scott? Good possibility if the Democrats can rustle up some serious cash. It would be a brutal campaign against Scott. If he didn't win, Charlie would be done in Florida politics.
But what if Scott decided not to run? Impossible you say, but maybe not. How would you like to get up every day facing an almost impossible task, where everything you read and hear about you, your efforts and your family is trash talk. Where you can't trust anyone including your own staff, and you're doing it all on your own dime?
Rick Scott is far from a quitter, but even you harshest Scott critics have to admit it will have been a grueling 4 years. The real question may be how much of this is Rick Scott willing to put his family through?
What would Charlie do? Run as a Democrat and risk another defeat? Come dashing back to the Republicans with John Morgan in tow begging forgiveness? All good questions.
If I were the Democrats, I would watch Charlie very carefully. This mad rush to get him on the speakers list at the Dems Convention may be another indication of just how good a politician Charlie Crist really is. Who is really being showcased during this speech? Charlie Crist not Barack Obama.
Charlie's party may actually be the POM Party(Party of the Moment).
E-mail Doc at: dr.webb@verizon.net or send me a Facebook Friend request.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Foster- Flip Flopping or just Desperate?
Mayor Foster is now trying to gain some support for the sagging fire fee by asking City Council to exempt non-profits. I don't know if this one qualifies as a genuine flip flop but it sure shows some serious desperation on the part of the administration.
Foster has also said he wants to lower both of the components of the fire fee. Either you have budget problem or you don't. If you're going to reduce the base and lower the amount of the fee it sounds like the true budget detail may not support the fire fee at all.
If you want some detail, Mark Puente has an informative piece in the Tampa Bay Times: "Mayor Foster now says nonprofits shouldn't have to pay the fire fee"
Foster has done a good job of keeping Council off point on the Budget with the fire fee. It appeals to the base instinct of a politician, because it raises revenue but is not really a tax. Most of the discussion has been about raising revenue not really looking at costs.
Council rolled over and voted for the fire fee to "get a balanced budget" when what they should have done is reject the fee, send the budget back to Foster, specified no cuts in public safety and directed him to bring back a balanced budget. Put the pressure where it is supposed to be - on the Administration. That is what the Charter amendment voted in during the last election allows them to do.
It is hard to imagine that in a $200 million plus budget, with a shortfall of around $10 million, that another 5% cut would as the Mayor said, "lead to the deterioration of our city and the deconstruction of what we have built up over the last 20 years." It might if the Mayor let that happen, but if he would just lead instead of waffle, things would not deteriorate.
Proving once again it is easier to grandstand than fix the problems.
Council has one more opportunity to kill this really regressive fee/tax. No talking, debating, over thinking, legal mumbo-jumbo from the lawyers on the Council, just vote it down.
It is time for the Mayor to look at all of the departments and do some more cutting. There is room and he knows it.
e-mail Doc at: dr.webb@veriozon.net, or send me a Facebook Friend Request.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Unanswered Questions = More Fees and Taxes
Well part of the problem is the PD decided to have a "naming" contest so they can figure out what to call the thing. Good idea or just a delaying tactic. I'll let you decide.
While we're on the subject of video surveillance cameras, the PD was supposed to come up with a policy on where they would be located, who would monitor them and so on. Never mind the fact they have had a draft policy for over a year, no report yet.
What about the $250,000 or so in cameras from the RNC? Did anyone ever really figured out what they are going to do with those after the party?
Sticking with the PD, did anyone ever call or e-mail the Sheriff and ask him how much it would cost to have the Sheriff's call center dispatch the PD? Last time Wengay ask the question they all just ignored him. But the amount you're going to pay the City to cover the PD budget overage of $9 million or so is real. Either you'll pay a regressive fee/tax or a property tax increase, but no real serious effort to reduce cost.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
The Gateway Project - Who Knew What When
The Gateway Project - Who Knew What When?
Mayor Foster put on his innocent look. Council Chair Curran shrieked secrecy and back door deals. City Council ran for cover.
Then there is an interesting name, Rick Musset, that surfaced.
It is no stretch to say that Rick Musset is probably as close to a genius as anyone on the City staff. Beginning with the Dome and Bay Plaza right up to Bay Walk, Beach Drive, the downtown condo renaissance and the Shops at Bay Walk you will find Rick Musset's finger prints on virtually every major City development project in the last three plus decades.
Musset has an insatiable work ethic. A former City manager once told me, "Rick is my kind of guy. He is here when I get here, here when I leave, and usually answers his office phone on Saturday if I call". Musset was deeply trusted by two other notable deal makers: Rick Dodge and Rick Baker.
Serving City Mangers, strong Mayors and Councils since the 80s, save a brief stint up north, Musset has always been the consummate behind the scenes planner, problem solver and deal maker. In my experience the only people who knew what was going on are the people Mussett wanted to know and they only knew what Rick wanted them to know.
What is going on?
City staff is hobbled with a lack luster Mayor and a dysfunctional City Council. Right now my bet is most of the serious work is being done way behind the scenes. Staff can't trust the Mayor to keep his mouth shut about the deals in work, City Council is suffering from a serious case of talking too much, doing too little and ignoring the constituency. Curran, Council Chair, has lost any shred of public respect and provides no leadership. It is not particularly surprising they are not in the loop on anything big.
The fact that the entire elected City administration is not respected or trusted is evidenced by the fact the Darryl LeClair went to the County Commission about the Gateway project before coming to the St. Pete elected body.
It would be hard to believe that Musset would not be involved in something as big as this since the project would ultimately need a lot of City support. Musset is the principle deal maker and can string together a series seemingly impossible situations to make a deal work.
Musset plays Chess not Checkers. Curran has been around long enough to know that. When Rick Musset asks you to change something like a formal request from the Council Chair there is always more on the table than there is on the plate. Ask a few questions.
Just maybe if City Council and the Mayor listened to the people, paid more attention to the details and postured a little less, the serious people in the City with the ability to make things happen would include them.
They call that confidence.
e-mail Doc at dr.webb@verizon.net, or send me a Facebook Friend Request.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Baseball at Gateway a Good Idea or Not?
A new private (for the moment) plan to build a new stadium may be just the catalyst needed to get things off dead center. But is Gateway the Right place?
Scenario 1
You live in Pinellas County or Manatee County and work in Tampa. You are going to face a horrendous traffic nightmare every time the Rays play an evening home game. There are not enough roads and bridges to handle all of the traffic efficiently even if you use all three bridges as part of the equation. It would not seem possible to build an off ramp large enough to handle the stadium back up. Once again the Howard Franklin would become the "Car Strangled Spanner"
Scenario 2
A lot of the same people who ballyhoo the tourist industry as part of the Tampa Bay economy are deep in the stadium issue. Consider a family of four who have just flown into Tampa International on Friday arriving about 5:00PM, get a rental car and spend the next 2-3 hours on the Howard Franklin or Courtney Campbell Causeway trying to get to their hotel on the beach. Sounds like a set up for another of those "Least Friendly" awards.
Scenario 3
One of the really great things about this area is the Tampa International Airport and the ability to get to and from it for both tourist and business travelers. Placing a baseball stadium right in the middle of access to that benefit seems like an incredibly bad idea. If we want to continue to tout this area as a place for high tech business investment, good airport access is much more important than a baseball stadium.
And speaking of roads, just who will be picking up the tab for the massive exits, entrances, ramps and other road improvements required to support the Echelon plan. (Hint: go look in the mirror).
A stadium on the other side of the bridges where the it does not impact interstate rush hour commuter traffic flow and baseball traffic is generally using the lower volume side of the interstate system to get to the games seems like a much better all around approach.
For now it is an interesting conversation piece, but it's much more about finding a use for piece of Echelon property that has not developed as expected than it is about saving the Rays for St. Pete.
It might also be a good idea to go back and look at the City's box score in dealing with Echelon. I don't believe the City is leading in that series.
e-mail Doc at: dr.webb@verizon.net, or send me a Facebook Friend Request.