Thursday, February 7, 2013

The Train may not be off the Track

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Is it politics or is it sincere? I would suspect it is a little of both.

Scott Maxwell says he wants to create a "culture of challenge"-- wants the city to wean Lake Worth's dependence from Lake Worth Utilities that has helped, in a very large way, to operate our city.  He said that we need to "get the train back on track." The commission now has a five year goal to lower electric rates. They say high electric rates have been a deterrent to people wanting to move or do business here.

In year 2002, we entered into a contract with FMPA that locked us into higher costs. Commissioner Maxwell voted FOR that contract. The beginning of lowering rates started in December 2008 when we voted to exit FMPA All Requirements. By the end of this year, we will have ended our contract with them. In January 2014 we will have a new energy provider with Orlando Utilities giving us a rate that is more favorable to Lake Worth.

The problem is we are an older city with older housing stock on small lots. Many of these properties are less than 1000 s.f. and naturally are worth less. 60% of our city are rentals. Property values plummeted during the financial meltdown and our smaller properties dropped into a category where they no longer contributed to ad-valorem as their values were too low. Property values have yet to recover. Ad-valorem taxes cannot sustain the city's budget. We own our utility and the revenues we generate are there to help our city when necessary. That is what makes it so valuable to us.

With an operating budget of nearly $29 million, public safety takes $20 million. Have you ever heard of a budget where public safety takes 2/3rds of your operating revenue?  What about the pot holes? Out of the $29 million budget, $9.6 million comes from our utility. Without it we would go belly-up. We generate about $6 million in ad-valorem taxes; $4.3 million in utility services taxes; $4.3 million in state shared revenues. The balance of our revenues is from business tax receipts, permits and other incidental revenues.

The CRA just spent $23 million to bring in more low cost housing which includes low cost RENTALS on 6th Avenue South on the railroad tracks.  This is no way to build a tax base. This will only increase the cost of services and will probably get us more Section 8 housing down the road. Everyone can bring up a problem. That is easy.  Stop building low-cost housing--stop packing the people in. We are dense enough as it is and density costs money.

Commissioner McVoy was right when he said that we could be doing everyone a disservice by putting out an expectation without knowing how we're going to accomplish the goal. City Manager Bornstein will come back with a plan during this year's budget cycle. He told the commission that we will be in a tough spot, that we need to be very rational...we are stretched thin. "We can't be consumed by the tyranny of the crazed," he said.

Being a "cheerleader" for the city is fine as well as having a "vision," but blaming it on a former commission or lack of code officers is not the problem here. The Utility has always been the black hole but it has always allowed our city to stay on track by meeting budget. Let's see what the city manager's Plan looks like. It may not be "doable" as Commissioner Szerdi suggests. The train may not be off the track as Maxwell said. We won't know anything until we have a plan and then we will find out if this is nothing more than political posturing.

9 comments:

  1. An extremely well informed and perceptive article, Lynn.
    One change, it was in 2002 that then Commissioner Scott Maxwell made the motion to join FMPA.

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  2. Nice ghost written story.

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  3. Not sure what you are implying anonymous. Are you saying that someone else wrote it?

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  4. Whatchatalkinbout 4:09 pmFebruary 7, 2013 at 6:43 PM

    Have you seen this article written somewhere else? If so, please let us know. Maybe you are unfamiliar with different 'writing styles'? Every writer has one and this is distinctly Ms. Anderson's style.

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  5. Tyranny is usually thought of as cruel and oppressive, and it often is, but the original definition of the term was rule by persons who lack legitimacy.

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  6. Ah yes. How shall we do it? Why, AUSTERITY, of course. We haven't had enough of that yet in Lake Worth. Now that the tea party douche bags and Captain Kangaroo are running the city, you have to take your bad medicine.

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  7. SCOTT MAXWELL HAS ALWAYS VOTED ,TO KEEP HE L.W. TRAIN OFf TRACK,SINCE 2002,NO CASINO RE-CREATION,IT IS TOO LUCRATIVE A REVENUE GENERATION SOURCE IF MANAGED BY COMPETENTS,NOT SHABBY LAKE WORTH POLITICAL SELECTIONS.Strangle Lake Worth with FMPA's highest Utility rates,while promised 50% reduction if we joined FMPA!!!
    DID HE HIRE A GRAB QUICK COMMISSIONS BY SHOVING THE CHEAPEST RATE LEASES FOR our MOST VALUABLE,LUCRATIVE,PALM bEACH OCEANFRONT
    RESTAURANT SPACE LOCATION?$35.000 to $55.00.- per sq ft is Palm Beach Island rate.Worth Ave.$100,00 per sq.ft.!
    THE CITY MUST PAY THE LOAN WITH ITS' CASINO BUILDING REVENUE,NOT WITH SUBSTANDARD RESTAURANT TENANTS,FOR ITS' HIGH REVENUE POTENTIAL UPCSALE LOCATION, WITH OCEANVIEW.
    IT IS SURROUNDED BY NEARLY 7000 UPSCALE CONDO OWNERS, WITH UNLIMITD DISPOSABLE INCOME.I know their leaders.
    CITY HALL HAS NO IDEA WHAT THAT MEANS.
    I HAVE BEEN ASKED BY THOSE OWNERS'S LEADERS, TO HAVE AN UPCSALE RESTAURANT(I AM FAMILIAR WITH) OPEN A BRANCH IN OUR CASINO 2ND FLOOR SPACE,AS THEY CAN NO LONGER DRIVE AT NIGHT.
    THERE ARE 2 ELEGANT,WHITE TABLE CLOTH,HIGHLY POPULAR,SUCCESFUL
    CANDIDATES,NEVER ASKED BY THE PRESENT REALTOR.WHEN WILL THAT CONTRACT HAVE EXPIRED?I KNOW NO JOHNNY LONGBOAT TYPES, WITHOUT PROOF OF FUNDING ABILITY.
    WHEN THE CITY HAS DECIDED TO HIRE A REALTOR ,SPECIALIZED IN UPSCALE CLIENTS,USED TO UPSCALE DINING,I AM FAMILIAR WITH PALM BEACH ISLAND AND COUNTY,UPSCALE RESTAURANT BUSINESSES SINCE 1982 AS GUEST- ARTIST OF P.B.fIRST CLASS DEPT.STORE.THE CITY MANAGER HAS MY TEL.NUMBER ,HAS IGNORED MY POLITE REQUEST FOR A MEETING.( I AM high A TAXPAYER AND SALARY CO-PAYMISTRESS OF CITY HALL PERSONNEL),).INSTIGATED BY A SICK CREATURE,BIPOLAR? ILLEGALLY ALLOWED TO VOLUNTEER AT CITY HALL?
    WHEN I ASKED PAL LOPEZ FOR VOLUNTEERING, SHE SPECIFICALLY TOLD ME ,NO CITIZENS ARE ALLOWED TO VOLUNTEER,BECAUSE OF PRIVILIGED, PRIVACY SENTIVE ISSUES!
    SHE DID HIRE MARY LINSAY, WHO NOW CAN BLACKMAIL ANY CITIZEN,
    I LEARNED ,IN AN ATTACK OF RAGE,BECAUSE SHE CONVINCED COLLEGE PARK TO VOTE FOR PAM TRIOLO AND THE ARROGANT NEWSPAPER VENDOR,OF 205 LAKE AVENUE.

    FELLOW CITIZENS OUR PERSONAL,PRIVATE INFORMATION IS NO LONGER SAFE AT CITY HALL!I SHALL ASK THE INSPECTOR TO LOOK INTO THIS.

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  8. oUR ENERGY INDEPENDANCE IS PROTECTING US FROM PIRACY RATES OF THE OPEN MARKET.mAXWELL DID US IN ONCE.OUR GENERATORS HAVE BEEN KEPT IN GOOD CONDITION WITH ONE FMPA CONTRACT CONDITION,AS WHEN THEY WERE SHORT OF ELECTRICITY WE WOULD REPLACE WHATEVER THEY NEEDED, FOR ANY TOWN THEY DETERMINE!.IRRESPONSIBLE ,MANAGEMENT OF OUR $60.000.000 TO $80,000,000 GENERATORS,HAVEV IN THE PAST BEEN THE CAUSE OF PROBLEMS WITH RELIABILITY AND THE SABOTAGE TO FORCE CITIZENS TO GIVE UP ELECTRIC ENERGY INDEPENDANE TO ACCOMMODATE THE LAZY BUMS ON OUR STEEP PAYROLLS.THE 2 RESPONSIBLE, HIGHLY MORAL,EXPERIENCED ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS WE HAD,REYES, AND JORDAN, WERE FIRED INSTIGATED BY A TOTALL IMMORAL SNEAK WHO CLAIMED TO BE AN ELECTRICAL ENGINEER, BUT WAS A CIVIL ENGINEER,MATTEY.THEY SUED ,WE PAID!!!HAHAHA!TO COVER HER INSOMPETENCE THE CITY LOST TWO OF THE BEST ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, AND THE IDIOT COMMISSION ALLOWED HER WITHOUT VERIFICATION OF BACKGROUND!!!OUR GENERATORS, IRREPLACABLE, ARE PUBLIC PROPERTY AND THE 20 ACRES THEY ARE ON.
    GET 2 BONA FIDE(BACKGROUND CHECKED) ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS AND OUR HOME PRODUCED ELECTRICITY WILL REDUCE OUR RATES BY 30% TO 40% NOT $7.00 .ONE OF OUR HOMES HAS A $580.-- ELECTRIC BILL,A $7.000 REDUCTION IS?????BECAUSE CITY HALL BOUGHT AT THE WRONG RATES ON OPEN MARKET, ???ADVISED BY A NUTCASE?PRETENDING to have HIGHEST KNOWLEDGE OF OPEN MARKET ELECTRICITY COSTS?

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