Senate Bill 686 and the Cost of Corruption

Posted on February 17, 2016 by M_Blank

church ladyUpdate:  There’s mention of a grand jury report in some of the linked newspaper articles.  Here it is.

I saw this news item while browsing the web:  Almost every top official in Texas city arrested in federal corruption case.  It really got me thinking.

Here’s a terrific editorial on Florida’s “Corruption Tax”.  Monroe County taxpayers have most definitely fallen victim to this.  The Acevedo scandal cost us over $400,000 – and that only came to light because of a courageous whistle-blower, who paid a steep price for doing the right thing.  Now another $20,000 has gone missing and the school board is wondering why employees are reluctant to come forward and assist in the investigation. Continue reading →

Posted in Bubba System, State government | Leave a comment

Fact Checking the “White Paper”

Posted on February 17, 2016 by M_Blank

New Monroe County Logo2County Commissioner, Heather Carruthers, has proposed a new sales tax, the Emergency Services Surtax (ESS).  She describes it as a “tax shift”.  Emergency services are currently paid for through property taxes.  Unfortunately, this proposal is being supported with some very questionable claims.

The “white paper” claims that tourists contribute nothing to property taxes.  This makes no sense.  What about hotels and tourist attractions?  Are locals paying their property taxes for them?  Or do they derive their income from tourists?   What about seasonal homes and vacation rentals?  Are locals paying the property taxes on those, too?

This claim is far-fetched, to put it in the politest possible terms.  According to my calculations, locals actually pay about 47% of the property taxes.  I didn’t figure in the effect of the homestead exemption, so its probably a bit less than that even.  County staff didn’t bother to try and substantiate this claim when asked.  I’ll assume they know they’re busted and have conceded the point. Continue reading →

Posted in BOCC, Bubba System, Fire and Ambulance | Leave a comment

Wastewater Funding Disparity Update

Posted on February 15, 2016 by M_Blank

money ladyNow would be good time to revisit the wastewater funding disparity situation.  For one thing, there’s been a bit of progress.  Hurray!  See here and here.

For another, I think it’s necessary to demonstrate once again how straightforward this calculation really is.  The county is still trying to conceal the issue by attempting to over-complicate it.  The truth is its easy, simple addition and subtraction.  The county should absolutely be able to handle this.  Then again maybe not. Continue reading →

Posted in KLWTD, Wastewater | 2 Comments

County Capital Project Costs Out of Control

Posted on February 15, 2016 by M_Blank

emoticon-937608_960_720Sigh.  From the KeysNet.com:  County capital-project costs skyrocket by $38 million.

This is what happens when you’re allergic to math and to reality in general.  Remember that thing I said about capital projects.  It’s true!  It’s really, really true.

Capital projects are definitely a “reality-driven” area.  If you’re screwing up it’s going to show in the finished product.

Continue reading →

Posted in BOCC, Bubba System, Budget, Financial Condition, Monroe County | Leave a comment

Monroe County – Allergic to Math

Posted on February 15, 2016 by M_Blank

mathUpdate:  Received this follow-up from Comm. Neugent about improved collections for emergency service.  I think this is great.  I support anything the county can do to improve things financially.  I’ll present everything I get in the interest of providing a clear, complete and accurate picture.  That said, there is nothing to show that this proposed Emergency Services Surtax (ESS) is in any way fair to those areas that spend more frugally (often out of economic necessity) on fire and emergency service.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Allergic to math.  Allergic to facts.  Allergic to common sense.  Allergic to decency.  Allergic to basic fairness.  That’s Monroe County government.

So my questions about the Emergency Services Surtax (ESS) set off a whole communication stream with representatives of Monroe County.  It’s hard to describe my feelings about all this.  I came away feeling like I put my brain in a blender for nothing.  There’s so much wrong.  Think fractal wrongness – where one starts with a false premise and reasons from there.  Every wrong assumption builds upon the previous set of wrong assumptions until you’ve got a real mess on your hands.  That’s what we’re dealing with here.  It’s scary. Continue reading →

Posted in BOCC, Bubba System, Budget, Financial Condition, Key Largo's contribution, Monroe County | Leave a comment

The Friday Papers

Posted on February 14, 2016 by M_Blank

beach-16698__180

I’m a bit tardy, but I did read Friday’s Blue Paper.  As always there are quite a few items of interest.

Affordable Housing Public Form:  This is hosted by the Democratic Party, and contains this very intelligent statement.

Missing has been a comprehensive and integrated long-term approach to managing and maintaining adequate affordable housing in our community.

Yes, that’s basically the problem with this whole “affordable housing” issue.  A county-wide plan is needed.  Blowing $55 million on 157 units that don’t even serve the population in greatest need just does not make sense.  That’s about $350,000 per unit.  If as some folks claim, the need for affordable housing is something on the order of 6,000 units, it will cost $2.1 billion at that rate spending.  Perhaps there is a more effective way to use the resources available?  I certainly hope so. Continue reading →

Posted in Affordable Housing, Bubba System, Media, Monroe County, Wastewater | Leave a comment

Emergency Services Surtax – Public Records

Posted on February 12, 2016 by M_Blank

pinocchio-560653__180As it was with sewer, so it is with fire service.  Monroe County squandered enormous amounts of taxpayer money on Big Coppitt and Cudjoe Regional.  They forced taxpayers from the rest of the county to make up the difference.  Now it turns out that neither one of those systems works very well.  Big Coppitt has long been failing to meet effluent requirements, and now reports are surfacing that Cudjoe Regional is suffering excessive start-up problems.

It also turns out that Monroe County has the most expensive fire service by far.  Now they would like taxpayers from around the Keys to subsidize that as well through a new sales tax proposed by Comm. Heather Carruthers. Continue reading →

Posted in BOCC, Bubba System, Fire and Ambulance, Monroe County, Public Records | 2 Comments

Emergency Services Surtax – Property Taxes

Posted on February 12, 2016 by M_Blank

New Monroe County Logo2The Emergency Services Surtax (ESS) is shady right out of the gate.  Immediately it’s being justified with some very questionable claims.  That alone makes me very suspicious.

Monroe County’s fire service is much more expensive than any other entity in the Keys. Why?  And why should Keys-wide taxpayers subsidize it?  I submitted two public records requests to try and find out.

In this post, I’ll try to get to the bottom of how much non-locals (tourists, seasonal visitors, out-of-county property owners) contribute to property taxes.  It’s not zero, of course, contrary to what the county claims in it’s “white paper”. Continue reading →

Posted in BOCC, Bubba System, Fire and Ambulance, Taxes | 2 Comments

Emergency Services Surtax by Income Bracket

Posted on February 11, 2016 by M_Blank

crossed-fingers-363478__340The sales tax is a regressive tax.  This has been mentioned in Keys media more than once, as a point of concern, in regards to the topic of the Emergency Services Surtax (ESS).  In it’s “white paper“, Monroe County has made some extraordinary claims.

  1.  Locals pay 100% of the property tax.  Most people would agree that is obviously, patently false.  Hotels pay property taxes.  Restaurants who cater mostly to tourists pay property taxes.  Souvenir shops pay property taxes.  And so on.  To pretend otherwise is just silly and blatantly dishonest.
  2. The new sales tax will only cost locals $125 per year.  This is another doozie.  The county stated that they expect to collect $34 million per year from this additional sales tax.  Locals, according to the county, pay an estimated 40% of that.  There are about 32,629 households in the Keys, according to the Census Bureau.  That works out to about $417 per household, not $125.

Continue reading →

Posted in BOCC, Bubba System, Fire and Ambulance | 2 Comments

Peary Court Mind Bender

Posted on February 11, 2016 by M_Blank

used car salesmanSaw this in the paper this morning:  City staff: Wait on seeking Peary Court lender.

So Key West voters are supposed to vote on purchasing Peary Court without having any idea what the terms of the loan are?

Really???

So you walk onto a used a car lot.  You see a car you might be interested in.  It looks to be in good condition but you haven’t checked.  The price is really, really high.  It’ll take everything you’ve got saved up plus a big loan.

The salesman insists that you sign the paperwork first.  Only then will he reveal the terms of the loan.

Does that sound smart?

Posted in Affordable Housing, Key West | 1 Comment