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The Martin County

  Defender

The e-newsletter for aware citizens – No. 82

Facing the budget crunch

Budget shortfalls are hitting cities, counties and states across the country.  Florida’s shortfall of $5.1 billion, third largest in the nation, is likely to mean that the state will try to offload more financial obligations on Martin and other counties. If we do not take early action, we could end up like Philadelphia (11 of 54 libraries closed) or Atlanta (salaries of 4,600 employees cut). 

One of our long time exasperations with the county’s wasteful spending relates to consultants. At the Dec. 2 Commission meeting, Commissioner Sarah Heard questioned why we are paying consultants who currently work on projects which will not be built for lack of funding. We are told staff is working on a plan to solve that problem, but why was there not such a plan in place six months or a year ago when the crunch was looming. 

There is a philosophical issue on what to do with new income that becomes available. This past week the Commission decided, 4-to-1 with Valliere dissenting, that an estimated $250,000 to be gained from allowing cellphone towers in our parks would go into the Parks Department fund so parks can be kept clean,  toilets open, and equipment maintained properly. County Administrator Duncan Ballantyne wanted the money to go into the General Fund to avoid a possible bad precedent for other departments. Of course, money sort of vanishes in a General Fund. Commission’s political focus rules when dealing with a highly visible quality of life issue.

Foreclosure help is on the way 

There are some 1,400 Martin County properties currently in foreclosure, of which about 200 have reached final judgment. This is more than ten times the normal rate. Further, there are 2,400 properties, with such characteristics as sub-prime mortgages and no owner equity, that are in danger of foreclosure. 

To deal with the problem, the county has set up a Foreclosure Task Force led by Community Redevelopment Director Jeff Oris. He outlined the four-phase plan developed by the task force as follows: 

-          Prevent foreclosures where possible

-          Assist residents forced into foreclosure

-          Preserve neighborhoods affected by abandoned houses

-          Seek state funding for neighborhood stabilization 

About $3 million in federal/state funds may be available for this purpose in Martin County, but it is uncertain whether we can get it. Oris will be working to involve a wide range of leaders and organizations to achieve task force goals. Efforts should focus on homesteaders and family businesses, rather than speculators. We hope those asked to participate will step forward to help. 

Until Martin’s effort becomes fully operational, residents needing advice about preventing foreclosure can obtain useful information online at www.hopenow.com, or phone 1-888-995-4673. The Federal Office of Housing and Urban Development’s Consumer Counseling Service at 1-800-741-7040 may also be able to help. 

There are plenty of mortgage counseling scams around. You can check with the Florida Attorney General’ Consumer Hotline at 1-866-966-7226.

School Board may be losing public support 

Some School Board actions this year are causing people to question the wisdom and propriety of its decisions. First is the issue of openness. All these years the Board failed to provide MCTV coverage of its meetings. Now we will have it thanks to the determination and some dollars from a few businessmen. Separately, when it was reported that the former superintendent was skirting the public records law by having e-mails sent to her secretary, the Board did nothing. 

Second, in what appeared to be a vindictive act aimed at incoming Superintendent Nancy Kline, the Board broke precedent by signing a three-year contract with the assistant superintendent instead of the usual one-year. Was that payback for Kline’s frequent dissents when she was on the Board? 

Third, the Board cuts public input by reducing speaking time from five to three minutes. That partly silences the very people who are the most devoted and willing to speak up about education issues. The excuse that five minute speeches take up too much time is unconvincing. They could meet a second time during the month. Or they could bunch all those nice but time-consuming ceremonial presentations into one Saturday. 

Ms. Kline is willing and able to shake up some school matters that need to be changed, especially with regard to transparency, costs and bringing others into the education picture. Our children would benefit by the School Board being more supportive of the newly elected superintendent. 

Correction of EAR schedule 

In DEFENDER No. 81, we noted the general schedule of EAR (Evaluation and Appraisal Report) hearings over the next 15 months. Through a miscommunication, we erroneously stated that there would be public workshops on the amendments to the Comp Plan in January 2009 at dates and times to be announced. In fact, Growth Management staff is still working on a schedule, due for completion next month, for LPA (Local Planning Agency) public hearings. County staff expects to start taking amendments to the LPA in January, and to begin advertising workshops in January. 

EAR-LPA FOLLOW-UP

At the Dec. 4, 2008 LPA meeting, Martin’s Growth Management staff presented a well conceived approach to developing the EAR document.  There was particular focus on Land use (Chapter 4), Coastal (Chapter 8), and Conservation (Chapter (9). Even prior to public hearings on these three elements, citizens can not only make general comments, but they can present detailed proposed drafts of amendments for consideration. One leading developer said he plans to do so. Submissions and comments should be sent to Growth Management Director Nicki vanVonno: nikkiv@martin.fl.us . Public comments may be sent simultaneously to LPA’s Administrative Specialist Joan Seaman at jseaman@martin.fl.us. 

As part of making Comp Plan provisions consistent and compatible with one another, and correcting scrivener errors, Growth Management plans to have it reviewed for understandable, plain language. Good idea, but here is where we run into an uh-oh. They plan to hire still another consultant to act as an editor to achieve clarity. Bad idea in these financially difficult times. It’s falling back on no longer affordable old habits: extra work – hire a consultant. If there aren’t a couple of county employees literate enough to edit for language clarity, then bring in some volunteers. There are plenty of competent residents in the county who would be willing do that – free!

Which commissioners are doing a second-rate job in posting public record e-mails? 

Any e-mail sent to a commissioner at the county facility becomes a public record – including those with the boiler plate statement that the e-mail is a privileged private communication. To facilitate open and transparent government, the county provides website space for commissioners to post - in a timely fashion - the e-mails they received. 

Some commissioners do an excellent job, keeping residents up to date. They include Commissioners Hayes and Heard. Ciampi is only one day late. However, two commissioners are laggards in posting e-mails: As of Dec. 4, Commissioner Valliere is almost three weeks behind, and Commissioner Smith is over two weeks late, which is not good constituent service. Get crackin’ guys! 

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For a free subscription to The Martin County Defender, send request with “Subscribe” in the subject line to: mcdefender@gmail.com 

Comments and requests to unsubscribe may be sent to this same address.

Al

Al Forman, Editor                                  12/6/08 

The Martin County 

  Defender 

The e-newsletter for aware citizens – No. 78

NOV. 4, 2008 

COUNTY COMMISSION ELECTION 

Number of candidates: There were 14 initial ballot candidates for the three Commission slots (a write-in and a couple that dropped out early are not counted). 8 were Republicans, 4 Democrats, and 2 No Party Affiliation (NPA). 9 of the 14 were in contested Primary races. 8 of the 14 made it to the General Election - 3 Republicans, 3 Democrats, 2 NPA.

Congratulations …. and Condolences

We congratulate the successful Martin County Commission candidates – Doug Smith in District 1, Patrick Hayes in District 3, and Ed Ciampi in District 5 - on their election victories. The condolences we offer are, perhaps perversely, to the winners rather than the losers. This sympathy is a recognition of the tough job commissioners will face in these difficult economic times; the requirement that they spend the large amount of time necessary to learn the full implications of decisions they will make; and the paramount need for patience and understanding in dealing with citizens who feel passionately about our community. It’s a weighty obligation. 

Financial analysis of the election

Campaign expenditures: A total of about $765,000 was spent by all of the Primary and General campaigns, including an estimated $35,000 which has not yet been reported. This is a record amount, especially notable in this depressed economy. About 60% of the total was spent during contested primaries.

Not included in the $765,000 are substantial amounts spent by independent groups. For example, the Keep Martin Green committee spent $129,065 this year for various issues and candidate positions.

Biggest spenders: For the Primary and General Elections, Doug Smith is expected to have spent about $200,000, Ed Ciampi and Lee Weberman over $100,000 each, mostly from business/developer related sources. They have  claimed that such generous contributions will not affect their decisions on the Commission. These three alone accounted for more than half of the campaign expenditures by all 14 candidates. The median total campaign expenditure for the eight final candidates was $43,910. 

Money matters – but not always: In the District 3 Primary, incumbent Lee Weberman outspent fellow Republican challenger Patrick Hayes $108,305 to $25,489, but still lost. So if enough people are fed up with a candidate, even a 4-to-1 money advantage will not save him. But in all General Election Districts, it was the biggest spenders who won.            

Voting analysis of the election 

THERE IS NO SINGLE FACTOR THAT DETERMINES VICTORY.

The four factors that seem to determine who will win are:

– Running on the Republican ticket

– Spending the most money

– Having multiple opponents split the vote

- Being better known 

In District 1: Running on the Republican line, Doug Smith spent more money by far than his two opponents combined. As an eight-year incumbent, he is well known. Furthermore, those two opponents split the Preservationist or slow-growth electorate. Since there is no runoff thanks to the state law of several years ago, which one can call The Incumbent Protection Act, Smith was elected  by a plurality (49.29%), not a majority.

In District 3: Running on the Republican line, Patrick Hayes outspent his Democratic opponent, a lesser known political newcomer. 

In District 5: Running as the official Republican candidate, Ed Ciampi also spent far more than his opponents. 

This election underscores the importance of the Primary election. So much money was spent on it because it turns out to be the election.

Wrap-up 

Even with two new faces, the new Commission will have more or less the same composition as the previous one – 4-to-1 in support of Expansionist or faster-growth proposals. If Preservationists want to prevail, they will need a more unified leadership.

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For a free subscription to The Martin County Defender, send request with “Subscribe” in the subject line to: mcdefender@gmail.com

Comments and requests to unsubscribe may be sent to this same address.

Al

Al Forman, Editor                                  11/5/08

The Martin County

  Defender

The e-newsletter for aware citizens – No. 77

The frozen-out Republicans

HALF OF THE COUNTY’S REPUBLICANS HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED FROM THE PARTY’S INSIDE DECISION MAKING

About half of all Martin County registered voters are Republicans. Though they may differ on the details, they generally favor business support, environmental protection and limited spending. However, based on the District 1 and 5 Primary Elections, about half of those Republicans favor more restrictive development, greater protection of neighborhoods, and opposition to Comp Plan amendments designed to accelerate growth. Those are the Republicans who are finding an increasingly unwelcome reception by the other half - sometimes subtle, often brazen - in the party’s inner councils.

Let’s be more specific about those inner councils. Within the party, there are such influential groups as the Republican Executive Committee, the Council of 100, and the Republican Club of Martin County. Many of the financiers and foot soldiers come from such organizations as the Chambers of Commerce, Economic Council, and Future Group. Speak up in some of these groups as being in favor of rescinding the Valliere Amendment, or increasing impact fees, or not extending public utilities beyond the primary Urban Service boundary, or keeping giant warehouses from looming over homes – to take a few of many examples – and you are likely to be treated like the proverbial skunk at the garden party.

With new Democratic voter registration outstripping that of Republicans, this exclusionary sentiment does not bode well for the Republican Party in the years ahead. And that is a shame because the basic Republican philosophy has so much merit. A bigger political tent is needed, not a smaller one. We don’t need reformers to be mislabeled “not real Republicans” by insiders in control.

The long term solution is balance, compromise and working out differences between opposing views. Both sides need to welcome each other in their inner councils. The short term solution is to send a strong message to those now at the top of the Republican power structure that money from Big Sugar, the growth machine and its allies can not buy our votes.

About half of voting residents in the recent Republican primary voted for quality-of-life candidates Henry Copeland, Ian Pollack and John Born. They – and independents who did not get the opportunity to do so – can make sure their voices are heard by voting for two long term active Republicans running without party blessing: Joan Wilcox (District 1) and John Patteson (District 5). And for those Democrats willing to support the best qualified candidates, irrespective of party affiliation, Wilcox and Patteson should be appealing.

This is the year of national Republican maverick reformers who stood up to the old establishment to improve the party. It can happen in Martin County as well.

BLIND LOYALTY DEPARTMENT

“We do still support Tim Mahoney” - Pat Emmert, President, 

Palm Beach-Treasure Coast AFL-CIO

Undecided voters really aren’t

A recent issue of Science carried a research report that people who think they are undecided about an issue often have made up their mind at an unconscious level. Using a computer-based psychological tool called the “implicit association test,” the researchers were able to predict with a high degree of accuracy whether study participants who sincerely considered themselves undecided would later be for or against a candidate or political viewpoint.

Participants were asked to respond as quickly as possible to word and picture cues by pressing a negative or positive key as directed. The reaction time difference between groups was small, about 100 to 200 milliseconds. However, the delay was long enough to predict their eventual positions.

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For a free subscription to The Martin County Defender, send request with “Subscribe” in the subject line to: mcdefender@gmail.com

Comments and requests to unsubscribe may be sent to this same address.

Al

Al Forman, Editor                                  10/25/08

The Martin County Defender is published and Copyright 2008 by WordsmithAmerica,

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  Al Forman
  mc_defender@fastmail.net