There is a vast array of conspiracy theories. JFK, Jimmy Hoffa, UFOs, Pearl Harbor, Marilyn Monroe and AIDS are just a few of modern times. And how about 9/11 and global warming? People can be very imaginative, and manipulative, going to great extremes to prove their point with the twists and turns of a controversial subject. Validation might be in the confines of their minds but there will always be those who share in those beliefs.
Notoriety can bring small fortunes. Books. Movies. TV documentaries and way too many talk show programs highlight media coverage. Many theories are resurrected decades beyond their origination. And still speculation doesn’t resolve the issue.
Don’t rack your brains trying to come up with a conspiracy of a positive nature. Most likely, it will be a fruitless effort. Most, if not all, theories are brought about by paranoia.
I suppose I fit into that psychological profile because there are some very interesting developments of late that deserve consideration. I might be overly assumptive, but Hernando County may very well have it’s own conspiracy coming to light at a very opportune time. Let me explain.
Human Resources Director Barbara Dupre has been given a lump-sum payoff in exchange for the honorable decision to resign from a position she has held for ten years. Her escapades include such tidbits as mismanagement, nepotism, the use of email to solicit petition cards and failing to implement recommendations to bring efficiency to the department’s policies and procedures that would have benefited the county and its employees. This had gone on for eight years.
Utility Department employees have been suspended, with pay, for their part in harassing co-workers with racial slurs and innuendos. A supervisor gave his resignation rather than face disciplinary action. The seriousness of the situation is demonstrated by the involvement of the EEOC. Dupre’s ineptitude in addressing the issue is another of her supposed incompetence.
Emergency Management Department has its own problems, the full extent of which has yet to be played out. Former department secretary Stephanie Anderson gave herself overtime pay that was unwarranted, unverifiable and to the amount of nearly $10,000 worth of compensation. The involvement of the Hernando County Sheriff’s Department and the State Attorneys office shows the seriousness of her actions. Anderson’s arrest may not be the sole result of the ongoing investigation.
Emergency Management Director Tom Leto is on paid administrative leave. His oversight of the department has been put in question.
County Administrator David Hamilton is overseeing the developments of all of these situations. He has to be admired for being ambidextrous though these and other challenges that he has inherited due to the actions and inaction of previous Administrators.
Is it possible that this all began during the time period that Bonnie Dyga held the Administrator position, when Barbara Dupre was hired? Did subsequent Administrators Paul McIntosh, Richard Radacky, John Gallagher and Gary Kuhl take part in what has recently been brought to light? Perhaps each of their early departures from their positions was, in part, due to the goings on in county government. Perhaps they had reached a point whereby they could no longer turn their heads away from too many improprieties in too many departments.
Is it not something more than a coincidence that the dismissal of certain employees are occurring at a time when County Budget Hearings are to begin; at a time when the hiring of replacement employees could result in lower monetary compensation that could ease the budget crisis; at a time when unemployment is at a level whereby replacements may accept whatever pay the county offers? Will the full extent of these matters ever be realized?
And the final kicker-question, Have I become an integral part of this conspiracy?
Monday, April 28, 2008
Shaking the Money Tree
Shake, shake, shake! Shake your booty!
Those were the words of song by KC & The Sunshine Band in the mid-70s. Soon, there’ll be a whole lot of shakin’ goin’ on during the annual Hernando County Budget Hearings. After the shakedown, booty on the money tree will be slim-pickin’s because of Amendment 1.
On that cold day in January, when Florida voters gave Amendment 1 the right of passage, these days of pinching pennies were already foreseen. The after-affects of property tax reductions are just now about to take interested residents through the economic abyss of fire and brimstone.
Things are so bad… How bad are they? This will become known as “The Year Of The Fussbudget”. Succeeding years will have a Roman numeral.
Freshman County Administrator Dave Hamilton has been given the authority to hold town hall meetings to give residents the opportunity to be an integral part of the budget process by letting them air out their wants and figure out what will become have-nots. It’s like nitpicking, or removing lint off a wool sweater. Residents can pick away at parasitic expenditures and the fluff of government spending.
Somewhere along the way we may also be introduced to an alternative source of revenue. That’ll come later in the budget campaign.
Hamilton has prior Administrator experience in Crow Wing, Minnesota. His comrade is Budget Director George Zoettlein. I can envision them having spent hours in running over some preliminary numbers, making preparations for the public meetings, coming up with a game plan and standing up, giving each other a high-five while shouting out the battle cry, “Let’s DO IT!”
This is an unlikely scenario but that level of adrenalin might be needed to get through the budget hearings. Right now, these two men are the most important of all public servants. The public of Hernando County will be doggin’ them around through a process that will reshape the very heart of our local government.
Hamilton must already realize that the annual raises given to government employees will be at the top of the “black list”. During last year's hearings, such was an often sought-after means to bring the budget in line with reality. Many residents submitted the suggestion during last year’s budget hearings but as the Commission clearly explained, it is mandated for all constitutional officers by the Florida State Constitution.
Apparently, the no-raise option is a taxpayer pipe dream, making it a mute subject. Complain at the dinner table but not at the hearings. Force reduction, down-sizing, right-sizing… whatever you want to call it, this is the primary means to chip away at expenditures.
County employees are not gauranteed pay increases.
THE Bus will once again be a major object of contention. To discontinue the operation of public transportation would put a hardship on the elder, the infirm and other unfortunate residents, creating situations where health problems are likely to be remain untreated. Making trips for food and other life necessities would become other objects of concern. Denying those in need of low cost public transportation denies people a means of having mobility. They would feel left behind, outcasts to society.
Low ridership on THE Bus has, in part, been attributed to limited routes and schedules. Since THE Bus has proven to be poorly planned and much too costly, alternatives should be in order. Perhaps the use of vans would afford additional routes. Called “Da VAN” they would be less expensive with reduced pollution. Funding might be a problem but the idea may warrant consideration.
In this election year, it should be rather intriguing with Commissioners Kingsley, Rowden and Stabins up for reelection. Each of them has been a participant of willy-nilly spending of tax dollars over the past few years. Commissioners Rocco and Russell are serving terms that began January 2007 so they’re in an enviable position that by Election Day 2010 the economy will be on the mend and their challenges may be less taxing, so to speak.
There’s an aforethought that the hearings will have a good degree of dramatics. An array of candidates will play the role of spoilers to the incumbents. These are the ones to watch as they try to position themselves to gain supporters. Hopefully they will follow protocol, adhering to the allotted three minutes of prime time speaking. Dribble talk isn’t needed. Criticizing, pointing fingers and making token suggestions that others have already made won’t make the grade. Without offering solutions, their words will give pause to their political aspirations.
Of course, reducing or eliminating services, thus employees, will be the main topic at the public workshops where everything can be put on the chopping block. It will be a tedious process, perhaps better presented to citizens with current line-by-line expenditures with residents given the option of using the line-item veto process. A show of hands would prove less obstructive than people yelling Yeas and Nays or even profanities.
Somewhere down the road of the budget process, Hamilton will propose the option of importing prisoners from elsewhere as a last stop before being transferred to a penitentiary. Select local low-risk offenders would be released with ankle bracelets, making space available for convicts that would bring in funds from State and Federal governments.
The savings of eliminating local inmates at the jail facilities would be $3-million this year (and $5.7-million next year) but there would still be a shortfall of $2.6-million of available budget funding. If the county takes the route of the risky investment of housing prisoners, it could bring in $1-million.
Hamilton worked with law enforcement agencies during his job as Administrator in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, where the population is but a third of Hernando. Apparently, it worked out well there. Brainerd is the county seat in Crow Wing, one hour north of St. Cloud and two hours away from Minneapolis. Although the cumulative population of these cities rivals that of Tampa/St. Pete, the metro area south of here sprawls far and wide and is but 40 miles from the Hernando County Jail. Our distance from a much larger overall metropolitan area means more prison traffic.
This would be a valid concern of residents living within close proximity to the jail. Notification letters to those living within a three mile radius would likely be in order.
As the budget hearings are about to begin, identifying and gaining support for reducing government spending will be a slow, painful process. County Administrator Dave Hamilton appears to be ready for the challenge, the first of many. I hope he’s good at dodge ball; flexibility and resilience will be needed, as citizens are going to play hardball.
If residents can be patient, thoughtful and realistic about how the county can make respectful budget cuts, perhaps the end result will bring a broader acceptance of the inevitable loss of services.
As the town hall meetings begin in May, show your support of making Hernando County an example to other budget-wrenched counties. As you enter the door, hold those five digits in the air, ready to give Dave and George a hearty “Let’s DO IT!”
Those were the words of song by KC & The Sunshine Band in the mid-70s. Soon, there’ll be a whole lot of shakin’ goin’ on during the annual Hernando County Budget Hearings. After the shakedown, booty on the money tree will be slim-pickin’s because of Amendment 1.
On that cold day in January, when Florida voters gave Amendment 1 the right of passage, these days of pinching pennies were already foreseen. The after-affects of property tax reductions are just now about to take interested residents through the economic abyss of fire and brimstone.
Things are so bad… How bad are they? This will become known as “The Year Of The Fussbudget”. Succeeding years will have a Roman numeral.
Freshman County Administrator Dave Hamilton has been given the authority to hold town hall meetings to give residents the opportunity to be an integral part of the budget process by letting them air out their wants and figure out what will become have-nots. It’s like nitpicking, or removing lint off a wool sweater. Residents can pick away at parasitic expenditures and the fluff of government spending.
Somewhere along the way we may also be introduced to an alternative source of revenue. That’ll come later in the budget campaign.
Hamilton has prior Administrator experience in Crow Wing, Minnesota. His comrade is Budget Director George Zoettlein. I can envision them having spent hours in running over some preliminary numbers, making preparations for the public meetings, coming up with a game plan and standing up, giving each other a high-five while shouting out the battle cry, “Let’s DO IT!”
This is an unlikely scenario but that level of adrenalin might be needed to get through the budget hearings. Right now, these two men are the most important of all public servants. The public of Hernando County will be doggin’ them around through a process that will reshape the very heart of our local government.
Hamilton must already realize that the annual raises given to government employees will be at the top of the “black list”. During last year's hearings, such was an often sought-after means to bring the budget in line with reality. Many residents submitted the suggestion during last year’s budget hearings but as the Commission clearly explained, it is mandated for all constitutional officers by the Florida State Constitution.
Apparently, the no-raise option is a taxpayer pipe dream, making it a mute subject. Complain at the dinner table but not at the hearings. Force reduction, down-sizing, right-sizing… whatever you want to call it, this is the primary means to chip away at expenditures.
County employees are not gauranteed pay increases.
THE Bus will once again be a major object of contention. To discontinue the operation of public transportation would put a hardship on the elder, the infirm and other unfortunate residents, creating situations where health problems are likely to be remain untreated. Making trips for food and other life necessities would become other objects of concern. Denying those in need of low cost public transportation denies people a means of having mobility. They would feel left behind, outcasts to society.
Low ridership on THE Bus has, in part, been attributed to limited routes and schedules. Since THE Bus has proven to be poorly planned and much too costly, alternatives should be in order. Perhaps the use of vans would afford additional routes. Called “Da VAN” they would be less expensive with reduced pollution. Funding might be a problem but the idea may warrant consideration.
In this election year, it should be rather intriguing with Commissioners Kingsley, Rowden and Stabins up for reelection. Each of them has been a participant of willy-nilly spending of tax dollars over the past few years. Commissioners Rocco and Russell are serving terms that began January 2007 so they’re in an enviable position that by Election Day 2010 the economy will be on the mend and their challenges may be less taxing, so to speak.
There’s an aforethought that the hearings will have a good degree of dramatics. An array of candidates will play the role of spoilers to the incumbents. These are the ones to watch as they try to position themselves to gain supporters. Hopefully they will follow protocol, adhering to the allotted three minutes of prime time speaking. Dribble talk isn’t needed. Criticizing, pointing fingers and making token suggestions that others have already made won’t make the grade. Without offering solutions, their words will give pause to their political aspirations.
Of course, reducing or eliminating services, thus employees, will be the main topic at the public workshops where everything can be put on the chopping block. It will be a tedious process, perhaps better presented to citizens with current line-by-line expenditures with residents given the option of using the line-item veto process. A show of hands would prove less obstructive than people yelling Yeas and Nays or even profanities.
Somewhere down the road of the budget process, Hamilton will propose the option of importing prisoners from elsewhere as a last stop before being transferred to a penitentiary. Select local low-risk offenders would be released with ankle bracelets, making space available for convicts that would bring in funds from State and Federal governments.
The savings of eliminating local inmates at the jail facilities would be $3-million this year (and $5.7-million next year) but there would still be a shortfall of $2.6-million of available budget funding. If the county takes the route of the risky investment of housing prisoners, it could bring in $1-million.
Hamilton worked with law enforcement agencies during his job as Administrator in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, where the population is but a third of Hernando. Apparently, it worked out well there. Brainerd is the county seat in Crow Wing, one hour north of St. Cloud and two hours away from Minneapolis. Although the cumulative population of these cities rivals that of Tampa/St. Pete, the metro area south of here sprawls far and wide and is but 40 miles from the Hernando County Jail. Our distance from a much larger overall metropolitan area means more prison traffic.
This would be a valid concern of residents living within close proximity to the jail. Notification letters to those living within a three mile radius would likely be in order.
As the budget hearings are about to begin, identifying and gaining support for reducing government spending will be a slow, painful process. County Administrator Dave Hamilton appears to be ready for the challenge, the first of many. I hope he’s good at dodge ball; flexibility and resilience will be needed, as citizens are going to play hardball.
If residents can be patient, thoughtful and realistic about how the county can make respectful budget cuts, perhaps the end result will bring a broader acceptance of the inevitable loss of services.
As the town hall meetings begin in May, show your support of making Hernando County an example to other budget-wrenched counties. As you enter the door, hold those five digits in the air, ready to give Dave and George a hearty “Let’s DO IT!”
Friday, April 25, 2008
Precision Perfect
The doctor is in. The diagnosis is apparent. The prognosis is one of positive results, unless the health care provider denies treatment. Recovery may take a few years but patience and determination of the doctors could provide a means for the afflicted to correct the maladies inherent with the ailment.
The ailment is the stagnant prospects of a Hernando County achieving a balance of economic well-being. The health care provider is County Government. The primary decision to wield the necessary surgical instruments lies with departmental heads within the government. They are lax at correcting decisions that have taken the life and breath out of our local economy. The wheezing of the asthmatic condition of the economy has progressively worsened, impaling a community in dire need of a healthy dose of oxygen. Gasping for air can be replaced with a bellow. Out with the bad, in with the good.
John Selway, along with co-owner Jeffrey Walz, of Precision Alliance Company hopes to bring some 135 machine tool manufacturing businesses to a 2-million square foot industrial park. Sounds like a big order to fill but his existing company, Eurotech, has been in Brooksville for over 30 years. He is aware of the needs of the community in terms of a diversified, positive outlook for the future. That future is just around a couple of corners: the goal is to make this happen within five years.
The Chamber of Commerce and Office of Business Development Director Mike McHugh are understandably keen on the idea. For years Mr. McHugh has taunted residents with visions of bringing manufacturing jobs to our county. His successes are well known. Rather than twiddling his thumbs and crossing his fingers to attract new business, he can now spend his days evaluating, discussing and setting in motion a means to bring this dreamy idea to fruition. No more nightmares, please.
Considering how Hernando County is viewed as a “bedroom community”, this is an opportunity of the new millennium. Finally, someone is taking the initial steps that may drag those sleepy-eyed residents out of bed, take a walk on the wild side of higher education and plan for the possibility of financial security. Without the support of qualified technical applications, Precision Alliance will have no choice but take their project to a location outside Hernando. I frown at this prospect.
The Hernando County School Board, Pasco-Hernando Community College and Nature Coast Technical High School will have their opportunities to provide the necessary technically skilled laborers that these businesses require. There will be challenges to meet those needs but professionals of education relish in demonstrating their prowess. This is of monumental importance.
The specific needs of manufacturing businesses do not rely on workers toiling in a greasy, grimy environment as some may falsely assume, but necessitates a higher degree of education that satisfies the knowledge of computer-based applications.
After two and a half years as a resident in the county, I had all but given up on the conservative (lazy?) nature of the community leaders to deliver their professed interest in bringing job opportunities other than retail, construction and lawn maintenance to locations within our borders. These are important means of employment for many but the limitations are evident. These elusive alternative goals are here for the taking, delivered on a silver platter.
County commissioners have been overly zealous in approving housing developments over the past 3 years, apparently assuming that commuters working in Pasco, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties will inhabit them along with retirees. Hickory Hill, Sunrise and, recently, Lake Hideaway promise over 10,000 new homes in the next ten to twenty years. Perhaps construction will begin sooner than projected. In the meantime, there are plenty of homes on the market to fulfill many of the necessary housing needs that will come with the manufacturing jobs.
Wouldn’t it grand to see those For Sale signs dwindle, where overgrown lots with Foreclosure notices have brought down home values and when builders and investors can unload unoccupied new homes? And talk about a real estate boom? It would be a win-win situation for a multitude of local businesses.
Perhaps more important to families, there will be the possibility of seeing their kids taking the necessary technical courses to secure local employment. Perhaps the expenses traveling to locations south of here will be less attractive, saving precious time and money to garner respectable wages to raise their own families. Just think how the average annual household income in Hernando County would eventually increase from about $28,000 to over $30,000 - or more.
The hiring of an estimate 4,000 high-paying, high-technicians would bring salaries upwards of $40,000. Let me do the figuring for you = $160,000,00 in wages for jobs in Hernando County. That’s a lot of zeros, a pretty sight to see.
Is it possible local residents will contact friends, relatives and business associates to consider moving here from locations outside the State of Florida? Keep in mind this industry will provide a means for Hernando to “Go Global”. Marketing of services targets businesses the world over. The initial location would be at the Hernando County Airport Industrial Park, a gateway to success.
This may be the dawning of a new day.
My personal comments may foresee the prospects for a positive future along Hernando County’s Nature Coast but the heart and soul of this news lies at the web sight http://www.moveyourbusinesstoflorida.com/. The smiley face of Joseph Selway gives an assurance that drastic economic fortunes could be forthcoming in the next few years.
My suggestion for Hernando Today’s readers is to share this information with family and friends. Right now there’s time to plan for the future and secure the technical training that will be required job applications. Contact county leaders, including Administrator Dave Hamilton, the commissioners and Growth and Development Director Mike McHugh. Not only express your interest, but also explain your expectations of making this opportunity not just a done deal but also a BIG DEAL.
Don’t tell me, “It can’t happen here.” IT CAN! Precision Alliance Company can make this a venture that is precision perfect.
The ailment is the stagnant prospects of a Hernando County achieving a balance of economic well-being. The health care provider is County Government. The primary decision to wield the necessary surgical instruments lies with departmental heads within the government. They are lax at correcting decisions that have taken the life and breath out of our local economy. The wheezing of the asthmatic condition of the economy has progressively worsened, impaling a community in dire need of a healthy dose of oxygen. Gasping for air can be replaced with a bellow. Out with the bad, in with the good.
John Selway, along with co-owner Jeffrey Walz, of Precision Alliance Company hopes to bring some 135 machine tool manufacturing businesses to a 2-million square foot industrial park. Sounds like a big order to fill but his existing company, Eurotech, has been in Brooksville for over 30 years. He is aware of the needs of the community in terms of a diversified, positive outlook for the future. That future is just around a couple of corners: the goal is to make this happen within five years.
The Chamber of Commerce and Office of Business Development Director Mike McHugh are understandably keen on the idea. For years Mr. McHugh has taunted residents with visions of bringing manufacturing jobs to our county. His successes are well known. Rather than twiddling his thumbs and crossing his fingers to attract new business, he can now spend his days evaluating, discussing and setting in motion a means to bring this dreamy idea to fruition. No more nightmares, please.
Considering how Hernando County is viewed as a “bedroom community”, this is an opportunity of the new millennium. Finally, someone is taking the initial steps that may drag those sleepy-eyed residents out of bed, take a walk on the wild side of higher education and plan for the possibility of financial security. Without the support of qualified technical applications, Precision Alliance will have no choice but take their project to a location outside Hernando. I frown at this prospect.
The Hernando County School Board, Pasco-Hernando Community College and Nature Coast Technical High School will have their opportunities to provide the necessary technically skilled laborers that these businesses require. There will be challenges to meet those needs but professionals of education relish in demonstrating their prowess. This is of monumental importance.
The specific needs of manufacturing businesses do not rely on workers toiling in a greasy, grimy environment as some may falsely assume, but necessitates a higher degree of education that satisfies the knowledge of computer-based applications.
After two and a half years as a resident in the county, I had all but given up on the conservative (lazy?) nature of the community leaders to deliver their professed interest in bringing job opportunities other than retail, construction and lawn maintenance to locations within our borders. These are important means of employment for many but the limitations are evident. These elusive alternative goals are here for the taking, delivered on a silver platter.
County commissioners have been overly zealous in approving housing developments over the past 3 years, apparently assuming that commuters working in Pasco, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties will inhabit them along with retirees. Hickory Hill, Sunrise and, recently, Lake Hideaway promise over 10,000 new homes in the next ten to twenty years. Perhaps construction will begin sooner than projected. In the meantime, there are plenty of homes on the market to fulfill many of the necessary housing needs that will come with the manufacturing jobs.
Wouldn’t it grand to see those For Sale signs dwindle, where overgrown lots with Foreclosure notices have brought down home values and when builders and investors can unload unoccupied new homes? And talk about a real estate boom? It would be a win-win situation for a multitude of local businesses.
Perhaps more important to families, there will be the possibility of seeing their kids taking the necessary technical courses to secure local employment. Perhaps the expenses traveling to locations south of here will be less attractive, saving precious time and money to garner respectable wages to raise their own families. Just think how the average annual household income in Hernando County would eventually increase from about $28,000 to over $30,000 - or more.
The hiring of an estimate 4,000 high-paying, high-technicians would bring salaries upwards of $40,000. Let me do the figuring for you = $160,000,00 in wages for jobs in Hernando County. That’s a lot of zeros, a pretty sight to see.
Is it possible local residents will contact friends, relatives and business associates to consider moving here from locations outside the State of Florida? Keep in mind this industry will provide a means for Hernando to “Go Global”. Marketing of services targets businesses the world over. The initial location would be at the Hernando County Airport Industrial Park, a gateway to success.
This may be the dawning of a new day.
My personal comments may foresee the prospects for a positive future along Hernando County’s Nature Coast but the heart and soul of this news lies at the web sight http://www.moveyourbusinesstoflorida.com/. The smiley face of Joseph Selway gives an assurance that drastic economic fortunes could be forthcoming in the next few years.
My suggestion for Hernando Today’s readers is to share this information with family and friends. Right now there’s time to plan for the future and secure the technical training that will be required job applications. Contact county leaders, including Administrator Dave Hamilton, the commissioners and Growth and Development Director Mike McHugh. Not only express your interest, but also explain your expectations of making this opportunity not just a done deal but also a BIG DEAL.
Don’t tell me, “It can’t happen here.” IT CAN! Precision Alliance Company can make this a venture that is precision perfect.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)