Flagler Estates Concerned Citizens, Inc.

The Assessment Hearings were held on May 6th and May 20th.  The community is grateful for a small roll-back. This year, they gave us back another $35 of the $126 they grabbed in 2008, bringing the total of the return to $75.  $51 TO GO!!! ( An additional $20 came off our bill last year but that was the pay-off of Phase I Paving, taken from OUR reserve.  It was NOT part of the Capital Improvement Money Grab).

There are 6184 taxable acres and the expected collection rate is 95% or 5,875 acres. For the sake of easy calculation and understanding, I rounded to 6,000. 

Let's see approximately how much money they have collected thus far!

6000 acres x $126 for 2009 = $756,000

6000 acres x $ 86 for 2010 =  $516,000

                         TOTAL        $1,272,000 NOW

6000 acres x $ 51 for 2011 = $  306,000

So far, we have NOTHING to show for this money collection.

What we DO have is the lingering "legacy" of Legacy Civil Engineers.

District Staff continues to dream of outlandish plans left in Legacy's (aka - Kelter's) wake.  

FYI - Board Members George Nelson and Cliff Scheiner voted for the reduction and we thank them.  Board Member Vic D'Agostino voted against and campaigned for an increase. 

Below, I am posting the letter I wrote to the Board between the Assessment Hearings.  Mr. D'Agostino rightfully contested one of my statements. I stand corrected. I am more than willing to admit when I am in error. The easiest way to correct a mistake is to look at it honestly.

PLEASE NOTE: NOTHING ELSE IN THE LETTER WAS DISPUTED.

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Dear Sirs:

For what it is worth, I have been studying the proposed budget and have consulted with a couple of people who are more knowledgeable about accounting issues than I am. I intend to seek more information but, because time is of the essence, I will attempt to share my thoughts.

$450,000 in a “Match Reserve” Fund is ridiculous. It appears to be a way to squirrel away excess funds. We have the 6 month reserve to be used in the event of catastrophe. If the economy crashes or a terrorist attack occurs, the landowners may lose their property or go without food but the ditches will be mowed. I am not opposed to the 6 month reserve. I just think, in a pinch, it could be reallocated and replaced. We have $239,723 unobligated reserve. Grants can be matched in other ways than cash. We seem to be having difficulty getting projects started much less completed and grant projects are almost always time sensitive. The economy and our abilities seem to indicate an incremental approach to improvements. Having too much money in your hands leads to temptation. We have seen this happen. While it is wonderful for private industry to have large reserves, it is suspect for government agencies to hold large reserves. They tend to forget to whom the money belongs.

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Below is is the issue I was mistaken about. It seems there was an unroad-worthy Peterbilt on the premises at the time that I forgot about. It was replaced by the Sterling.

In 2005, while I worked for the District, the Sterling truck was purchased. There was extra money that “needed to be spent” so Mike Paesch was asked what he would like to have. The original truck, which is still running, was getting old so he suggested replacing it.( Actual replacement may have occurred in 2006. The point remains the same.) 5 years later, the District wants to replace it AGAIN. The workload has not increased. Paving, done properly, reduces the workload. Our land mass has not increased. The economy is terrible. We do not need to spend on this purchase now.

Again, apologies for the error. The rest of this letter stands on its merit.

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Lease/Purchase, Capital Lease, Rental -By any name, it stays the same. Again, I worked in the office when the first lease expired. The deal was supposed to be that, upon ending the lease, you trade in the piece of equipment and get another one -no cash necessary. OOOOPS! We needed to ADD I believe $30,000 or more extra dollars! Then there is what happened at the January 7, 2010 meeting. Somebody was negligent and forgot about the warranty! No worries! We, The People will just pay!

 Computers – Why on earth do we need $10,000 dollars worth of equipment??? Networking is not expensive and computer prices are way down. That office does not require a complicated system. If WindStream is the problem, we cannot solve that.

 

So, the actual reserve total is $1,135,357.60. THAT IS ALOT OF MONEY.

 

There are plenty of other areas where savings can be found. These are just a few glaring examples.

 

On another note concerning transparency. For the past two years, We, The People have been accused of lying, threatened with lawsuits and treated with scorn and disrespect by your staff. Time has proven that we have told the truth and our diligence has saved us untold millions of dollars. The record needs to be set straight. Covering for Mr. Kelter one last time is unacceptable. The statement need not be elaborate. Acknowledge that you asked for his resignation and give the people the apology they are owed. It is the first step toward healing the community.

 Yours sincerely,

 

 Kathleen Fisher