Comment Up
Dear Honorable Mayor, City Commissioners and Acting City Manager,
When I first applied for the newly created Financial Advisory Board in early 2010, I had high hopes that the new Board would serve two functions I thought were essentially missing in Lake Worth: 1. The Board would allow a group comprised of every day citizens to have access to the arcane world of Lake Worth’s finances and, as a result, allow the public to have input the financial decision making of the City; and 2. The Board would be able to provide real and material advice to the Commission that would otherwise not be afforded to it, advice based on the collective experience and expertise of seven Lake Worth citizens highly practiced in the arts of business and finance.
It has been abundantly clear to me for some time that this Board has been largely ineffective because we as a Board have not been allowed or able to serve either function. Despite the great efforts of City Staff, particularly Mr. Carr (who I believe is the best asset the City has), we have not, in my opinion, been granted access to financial information in a timely manner on various issues where we might have made a difference in City policy; rather, we often receive the information after policy has already been formulated or decided, effectively watering down any opinion we might have. We then become an oversight Board, rather than an advisory one, and I do not believe that role suits either the purpose for which the Board was created or benefits the citizens of Lake Worth in general.
It is has also been extremely frustrating over the last two years to see a group of seven dedicated citizens commit incalculable hours of time and inordinate amounts of energy on a work product that has almost always been dead on arrival at the Commission level. Our Board is a comprised of a group of individuals with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences who all have essentially one thing in common: strong success in business and finance. While I understand and respect that the Commission is in no way obligated to accept or heed our advice, I have always found it curious and unfortunate that over the last two years the Commission as a body has paid the Board or our advice little more than lip service. Any an all recommendations we seem to make usually seem to end up in the “receive and file” bin to be discussed no more.
Without trying to cause further consternation and debate, a prime example about what I am talking about is the issue of the proposed leases for the beach. Our Board, I believe, made solid recommendations to the Commission about the various tenants. Other than material in 500 plus page back-up, nowhere may those recommendations be found, nor were we asked to be heard about what we thought. If the Commission decided they didn’t like our thinking, they could have sent us back to the drawing board. Our Board, in my opinion, should have done the heavy lifting here; our Board should have worked side-by-side with the Commission and with Paul Snitkin or a similar representative to represent the City’s and the public’s interest and secure the most qualified and best tenants at the best price.. That is where our Board has value added. Instead……..
As a member of the Board, and as Chairman for the last six months, I realize that I have to accept some responsibility for the Board’s ineffectiveness. I have tried any method I could think of to change the way the Board receives information, the way it formulates opinions and gives advice, and the way that advice is conveyed to the Commission so that it may be heard, understood, and heeded. It is unfortunate that I have not been successful, for I believe that the Board, if utilized properly, could be of tremendous benefit to both the Commission and the citizenry of Lake Worth. As the new mayor and commissioner settle in, in my last act of advice, I ask that they work to find a way to use the Board so that everyone benefits. I sense, without actually knowing for fact, that the current members of the Board are frustrated by all of this that I have mentioned. I also believe, again without knowing for fact, that the conditions I have stated were the primary cause and reason for two members of the board to resign before their terms expired, and for two members, including our former Chairman, to not reapply to sit. I therefore implore the Commission to find a way to empower the Board and make it relevant, lest the Board fall further into the ash heap of Lake Worth.
There is an old saying in business that one should “lead, follow, or get out of the way.” I have recently started a new company that requires much of my time and effort. Given the hard work I see ahead for the Finance Advisory Board, particularly as it continues to work to find its niche and purpose in Lake Worth government, I feel the Board needs a member and a Chairman that can commit the time and effort to continue the journey and the struggle to be heard and to make a difference. I realize that can’t be me, despite my extreme reluctance to not finish what I have started. I have followed on the Board, I have led, and now I must get out of the way. With great wishes for Lake Worth, and tremendous thanks for the opportunity to serve, I hereby resign from both the office of Chairman of the Financial Advisory Board and from the Board.
Sincerely,
John Pickett
The City continues to implode
ReplyDeleteI don't understand. If Mr. Pickett thinks that Steve Carr has exerted his best efforts, who kept the information from FAB? I can only conclude it was Mr. Carr's boss, CM Susan Stanton.
ReplyDeleteWho kept FAB input from the Commission? Was it Kathleen Margolis who has been in charge of the beach projects? Susan Stanton certainly can't be blamed for that one.
This is the first I have heard of FAB wanting to work with Smitkin. It certainly didn't sound like Mr. Smitkin was soliciting teants or negotiating leases from what I could hear from last night's commission meeting. Maybe FAB's input could have made Smitkin's input last night more productive.
Mr Pickett's letter seemed to create more questions than explanations.
Lynn, there have been numerous ocassions on this blog where you have commented on the usefulness of the FAB. In fact on June 8, 2011, you wrote "I didn't realize that I had to spell out what I meant here. That statement is true in my opinion and shows that this board, from inception, has been a waste of time. It was formed for the purpose of agreement with the CM. No one wants a rubber stamped Board. It went from one extreme to what it is now. Both ineffectual."
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why you are complaining about the FAB chairman resigning when you held such a low opinion of the board.
I apologize if you read that into my comment. I NEVER had a low opinion of this Board. Everyone on it was and is bright and an asset to this City. It WAS ineffectual for all the reasons Pickett stated.
ReplyDeleteThe Secret Society of Lake Worth employees strikes again.
ReplyDeleteAnon at 5:14, you bring up some good points and ask some good questions that I should clarify. In terms of getting and receiving information, I think several factors were at work here: sometimes I believed that our requests for information simply overwhelmed an over worked staff. I believe in those instances that Steve Carr was doing the best he could to get us the information, and had every intention of producing it, but was simply overloaded. Sometimes we would get general information after asking for specific information, and on those occasions I suspected we were spoon fed what some people wanted us to see. And, lastly, sometimes we asked for sensitive information, that had the potential to be embarrassing to the city or staff, that I knew we would never see, and never did. For instance, at our last meeting two months ago, we asked for a comprehensive accounting of the $70 odd million in bond funds the city received. That is information the city should have at a moment's notice. Still waiting.
ReplyDeleteIn your post, you imply that the city staff kept, or may have kept, our findings, recommendations, what have you, from the Commission. With all due respect, that is, in my opinion, missing the point. The Finance Advisory Board, in a perfect world, should be the natural advisor to the Commission on any and all matters that affect the City's finances. It is the responsibility of the Commission to use the Board to it's advantage, not for the city staff to jam our opinion down the Commission's throat. That direction and demand has to come from the Commission itself. The proper utilization of our Board begins when a financial matter comes before the Commission and the first thing out of any one of the Commissioner's mouths is " what does the FAB think of this?"
John, from your very statement and comments this would clearly indicate that an investigation really needs to happen along with a very serious audit. One THANK YOU for your service and enlightening us in the public. Lynn Thank You for publishing this and for Gods Sake I hope this picks up wind and the so called "Financial Difficulty" that this city faces is seen in a Farce note because of property values but in the truth of bad and poor spending by our city staff and officials.
ReplyDeleteThe city leaders and people would be better off if we just do an ongoing independent audit. Personally, I think we need to do away with the FAB, CRB, and the CRA, they are all such a waste, so politically, a real waste of tax-payer money, especially the CRA. We have had a CRA for years now, what has it really done to address all the blight and crime in our city, where are all the improvements, they are not in the hood. The real goal of the CRA should be to eventual phase itself out once things have been improved, but they do not want this. I think our elected officials should do all and be held accountable, as volunteers are not, although it is all volunteer work, it has all become so political. Stop wasting time and money and get things done for the city and people!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the phasing out of all these boards, they are a waste and have become so political. That CRB board is like a three-ring circus, both with Panti running it as well as when the other one ran it, what a joke, they cannot even have good relations among themselves how do they expect the entire city to? They are all a joke, all a bunch of clowns, our elected officials need to step in and do more, accountability is essential.
ReplyDeleteThe so-called Finance advisory Board ,was a cover-up for mismanagement of our City finances by the City Commission, ignoring all problems.
ReplyDeleteThis political platform ,F.A.B. mission was: to create projects to generate revenues for our City.They didn't!
To find ways to reduce our extortionate Utility bills.Not one member read the FMPA Contract,reason for the rates with many harmful, only FMPA serving, conditions never examined!
That Board rehashed all problems taken care off years prior,rgought to be reinventing the wheel!
I attended some of their politics,selfpromotion, based meetings! Jennifer Marchal, a CPA for major Institutions, resigned in disgust, over the futility of that group politically appointed creatures,to guarantee Commission re-elections.
John Picket, like Jennifer, a succesful, intelligent business man, was a fish on land,obviously,surrounded by his lessers,tired of empty rantings of jessica self promoting, and half information on economic problems, Plotkin.
So he too,left this mini hot air filled Titanic.
Dee McNamara, Citizens Interests' and truth's Advicate.
The C.R.B phony Board, was appointed to secure re-election of their supporters and the Commission members who created that mental political abortion of the anarchists and their adherent rabble.
ReplyDeleteUseless as usual but strongly subversive and dishonest.