Clearing up Lake Worth Political Myths

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Most of us believe in giving credit where it is due. But some play the blame game or just simply do not understand the facts when it comes to the subject of  robbing our Reserves to the tune of $9 to $12 million, attributing it to "the previous commission." This is a totally false declaration.

Those who say this tell the tale that it was this last commission that totally screwed up our city, meaning Suzanne Mulvehill and Jo-Ann Golden, and even if the allegation was remotely true, which it is not, they are only two votes. It takes three votes to royally screw up and make a difference. Now the story is that this present commission is cleaning it all up.

Well, I have news for you. If you want to put the blame on a commission, which I think is unfair to begin with because the commission must rely on the city manager and city attorney giving them the facts and guiding them correctly, then the blame goes to the Commission elected in March 2006 and the majority commissioners who were on the dais at that time:  Vespo, Burns and Lowe. Their first huge and costly mistake in 2006 was later that year, signing over our beach property to a flim flam artist (who NEVER performed and a company that they NEVER vetted) because Lowe (who signed the deal) and the rest of the majority were tired of kicking the football on the beach for another 30 years and wanted something finally done.

In the Fall of 2006, the budget for 2007 was formulated and agreed. We broke even in 2007. The following budget year, 2008, we spent more than we took in but all the plans and contracts were formulated and laid for the future.  At that time we had a city manager, Bob Baldwin, who made a bundle and was never here--he didn't even live in the city. This was against our Charter but was allowed by the Commission with Retha saying he was a "great guy."  In the 2008/2009 budget year, we had spent 9 million more than we brought in and dipped (big-time) into reserves.  Our Union costs were out of control--still are. The Utility was called the "black-hole" as revenue and expenses never could be tracked. Line items were moved, erased or disappeared. Money was gone too. Mark Bates was then the finance director.  In those days there was usually 10 to 14 items on Consent Agenda. At least you were allowed to pull them for discussion. We are now reverting to the same practice of putting everything possible on Consent.

We then hired a new city manager, Susan Stanton, in April 2009 and during her first year, she cleaned house. The city, once again, got in the black with a surplus of $843,000 after her first year. The next year was even better than that. The trend continued with budget cuts and delaying some capital improvements and at the end of the 2012 budget cycle, we had $3.8 million to the good. In 2013 we are back in the Red and the projection for 2014 is Red.

The bottom line here, we are as good as the management team we hire. Commissioners will always have their personal agendas but commissions have to get all the correct facts and must be guided. They need to read and understand everything that comes before them and question everything. City managers must stay out of politics. We must have an excellent internal auditor watching over the entire enterprise. We can't continue to spend more money than we bring in. Trust but verify.

Note:  If anyone has something that does not agree with my timeline of events, get in touch.