Sunday's Palm Beach Post: "Cities should reject fire tax"

Sunday’s editorial came out strongly against the fire/rescue sales tax proposal. Many of the points made echo those made by both the Economic Council as well as those highlighted in the website One of the closing remarks in the editorial states:

Firefighters suggest that the shift would spread the burden of paying for fire-rescue service to tourists, who use the service but don’t pay for it directly.

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Perhaps, but a higher sales tax would fall disproportionately harder on the poor. The real reason they want the tax shift is to put firefighters in a separate financial pot, to spare the union the pain of budget cuts that all cities are having to confront in all departments. As governments cope with declining tax bases, fire-rescue reductions have to be part of their calculations.

The editorial can be found here.

RCPB May Lunch Meeting

Lunch – Bear Lakes Country Club

SENATOR JOHN THRASHER (FL SD8)

(Pending Special Session-Special Star TBA)

Former Speaker of the House, now representing the Jacksonville area in the Senate, Thrasher is our new star hero  Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. You will be totally engaged by his take on this year’s legislative session and his update on the plans for rebuilding the state Party.

Meet our  2010 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

11:30am Meet & Greet 12:00 Program Begins

REC Meeting 05/12/10

The monthly PBC Republican Executive Committee meeting was filled to the brim with attendees, information and candidates.

State Senator Paula Dockery was scheduled as the guest speaker but her staff called informing she was unable to attend. Therefore, former Palm Beach Gardens Councilman Hal Valeche was asked to speak about our county’s financial issues and the Taxpayer Action Network (TaxpayerActionNetwork.com).

Mr. Valeche expressed deep concern for our country and our county. Pensions are underfunded and solutions must be found that do not involve property taxes. We must demand that programs be cut.

In 2002, 2003, property values were up 15% and our commissioners spent the increases. Now, property values have dropped 15% and there is a shortage. Most of the monies are designated for government employees’ salaries and benefits. That cost has doubled over the past 5/6 years. We are dealing with a boom size government and a bust size budget, $120,000,000.00 short.

Solution:
70% of local government monies is for the government employee – salaries, pensions and benefits. Soon our personnel cost will consume all of the budget (i.e. CA and NY).
The excuse that if we cut the budget we must cut services is a scare tactic. Currently, the dollars are going to the employees, not for the service. We must reduce the cost of producing services. Government workers are paid more than private workers. A 10% pay cut and the same level of service is a solution.
YOU are needed. We must have a LARGE group to send messages to councilmen, commissioners, representatives and congressmen. YOU are needed to attend the meetings and to voice your opinions. Go to taxpayeractionnetwork.com and become a fan on Facebook.

Also discussed was the Fire Rescue Sales Surtax. Palm Beach Councilman Bill Diamond reported that the City of Palm Beach voted NO on the tax and to remove $42,000,000.00 from pensions. (THANK YOU, PB!)

We are not a servant to the government. The government is a servant for the people.

Chairman Sid Dinerstein announced that Abacoa Town Center is in foreclosure and CityPlace will most likely follow suit. He also shared that in April, the Federal deficit has consistently shown a surplus due to tax receipts. 2009 was the first year to show a deficit – $20,000,000,000. This April, 2010, the deficit is $80,000,000,000.
Gold is rising.
After Pres. Obama’s call to Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, the bailout for Greece increased from $20,000,000,000 to $1,000,000,000,000 (That’s $20B to $1T, if you don’t care to count the zero’s.)

Mark Hoch discussed Judicial Code of Conduct for Campaigns. Candidates for judgeship may attend club meetings but all candidates must be invited. They cannot attend fund raisers. Please call Mr. Hoch if you have any questions. He encouraged the clubs to be within the law for the consequences to the candidates are severe.

To answer concerns over the difficulty of truly knowing where a judge stands on issues, Jack Furnari reminded the committee that every year, following research, he produces the Jack Furnari GOP Voter’s Guide which include Judgeships.

Chairman Dinerstein congratulated Jack Furnari on his excellent Sun Sentinal Blog. Palm Beach Post writer, George Bennett recently published that Mr. Furnari was the first to suggest Gov. Charlie Crist would switch from R to NPA. http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/theslant/blog/jack_furnari/

State Committeewoman Fran Hancock announced the National RNC Conference will be held in Tampa, August 27, 2012. At the recent special Executive Board meeting held in Tallahassee, Jim Greer was formally removed from the party. Under Senator Thrasher’s leadership, the party raised $7,250,000. An oil painting of Gov. Crist sold on ebay for $6,700. Mrs. Hancock reviewed Rule 9 – REC members are prohibited from supporting NPA candidates. You may personally support contested primary candidates but not as a Committeeman/woman. You must formally revoke support of Crist and ask for return of donations.

State Committeeman Peter Feaman is impressed with Senator LeMieux sincerity and his 100% support of Marco Rubio. Mr. Feaman will be our speaker, May 26 for Right Nights.

Old Business:
Chairman Dinerstein explained how the Fire Tax Swap is the latest scheme from our PBC Commissioners. The AVERAGE salary for fire/rescue employee is $114.617. The suggestion is the 1% sales tax will be taken out of the budget – a swap – it will lower property taxes. The problem is 1) they are under no obligation to lower taxes and 2) if they did, it would more than likely only last one year. The BCC has done nothing to help homeowners nor create jobs. The average county employee makes $92,000 while the private sector average is $54,000. The gap must be reduced.
The REC unanimously passed the following resolution:

TAX SWAP RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Palm Beach County has an unemployment rate above 12%; and,

WHEREAS, Palm Beach County has one of the highest Foreclosure rates in the State of Florida: and,

WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of Palm Beach County seeks to raise sales taxes by 17% (from 6 to 7 cents) for the express purpose of removing the Fire and Rescue expenses from the Property Tax budget; and,

WHEREAS, such removal is not guaranteed to lower property taxes now or in the future; and,

WHEREAS, said Commissioners want to hold this referendum in August in an attempt to “blindside” the electorate into ignoring this ill conceived significant tax increase; and,

WHEREAS, said Commissioners have a proven record of high annual tax increases with no intention of being fiscally responsible,

RESOLVED, the Republican Party of Palm Beach County strongly OPPOSES this job killing, foreclosure causing Sales Tax increase; and,

Furthermore, RESOLVED, the Republican Party of Palm Beach County strongly OPPOSES the placing of this Referendum on an August date as an attempt to fool the taxpayers into ignoring this major tax increase.

Heather Landstrom encouraged everyone to go to nonewsalestax.org (THANK YOU, FRED SCHEIBL!) to get informed and to get involved.

New Business:
Philip Nicozisis, Christopher Kammerer and Michele M. Poole were elected to the REC.

Committeeman John Parson requested an amendment to PBC REC Constitution. He would like the County Executive Committee to consist of members from each precinct instead of each district. He implored us to be more organized for the upcoming elections. The districts are too large to organize.
Committeeman Jack Furnari moved to table the request until December when multiple studies could be presented to the REC.
Mr. Parsons requested a roll call vote rather to table or not; 44 voted to table and 66 voted no. Since several committee members left the meeting early, Mr. Parsons agreed to postpone vote until the June meeting. REC members approved.

The meeting concluded with candidate speeches and member announcements.

Fire Rescue Sales Tax Dropped from 5/18 BCC Agenda

The Board of County Commissioners has dropped the sales tax item from its agenda on 5/18 because the cities have not had enough time to reach their own decisions. Postponed for 30 days, it will be taken up at the June meeting and the focus will shift to getting the measure on the ballot for November rather than August.

We must still keep the pressure on! Plan on attending the June meeting and write to your city councils and the county Commissioners, and check frequently for updates.

Wake Up, America! Please!

You’re invited to join us to hear from author, attorney and  Palm Beach County Committeeman, Peter Feaman.  Peter will be talking about his two books and the war against terrorism, both domestic and foreign.

BOOK # 1:  “WAKE UP, AMERICA”-

BOOK # 2:  “WAKE UP, AMERICA!  PLEASE!” 

PETER M. FEAMAN, ESQ., Author, Attorney, Activist, has subtitled his books, “Understanding Jihad for Dummies”

WHERE:              Bear Lakes Country Club, 1901 Village Blvd, West Palm Beach

                                 Club Rules: Business Casual Dress (No Jeans); Please Silence Cell Phones, NO VALET TONIGHT—SELF PARKING

TIME/DATE:      Wed. May 26 ; 5:30 Gathering;  Program 6-7

COST:                   $5 Members and Guests  /  Light Refreshments / Cash Bar

RSVP:                       by MONDAY, May 24 NOON — 561-697-4911 or email:  info@gopclubpb.org  (NEW EMAIL ADDRESS AND WEBSITE)

RCPB Letter on Sales Tax Proposal

This was sent to the seven county commissioners on RCPB letterhead.  The Tuesday, 5/18 agenda item has been postponed until June, most likely ending discussion of an August ballot measure, but the issue is alive and well for a November ballot. Currently 4 of the 11 cities with F/R districts have voted no. See:

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May 12, 2010

Board of County Commissioners

Regarding the proposed Fire/Rescue sales tax surcharge proposal, the Republican Club of the Palm Beaches asks that you do not pursue this as an August ballot measure. While there is some merit to the idea of reducing the county tax burden from ad valorem taxes, it does not appear that this proposal does this, nor does it contain any incentives to reduce spending in an area where the budget has grown much faster than the county as a whole.

We have tremendous respect for the professional fire and rescue personnel in our county and the valuable services rendered by them. We object, however, to a new local sales tax dedicated to the exclusive use of fire and rescue departments. Among the reasons:

• It is permanent – there is no sunset provision.
• There are no limits or caps – whatever is collected from 1% of sales can be spent by Fire/Rescue.
• It contains incentives to increase spending, particularly at the city level (e.g. unfunded pensions).
• It results in 9 months of double taxation – sales tax starts in January, offsets do not kick in until September of that year.
• It is funding essential services with an unpredictable revenue source – ad-valorem taxes can be forecast, sales taxes are subject to swings in economic activity.
• There is no guarantee of revenue neutrality in the statute or the proposal – only that the Fire/Rescue portion of ad valorem taxes be offset, not that property tax will be reduced.
• The Fire/Rescue budget needs to be brought under control – the budget grew by 82% in the 6 years that call volume (workload) only increased by 25%

We, therefore, respectfully request you spare the taxpayers the unnecessary expense of conducting an election at this time.

Sincerely,

 

Melissa Nash Andrews, President
Republican Club of the Palm Beaches

Fire Rescue Sales Tax Debate

This afternoon at the South County Civic Center the Voter’s Coalition of Palm Beach County hosted a public meeting on the topic of the proposed 1% additional county sales tax to provide an independent funding source for Fire/Rescue operations.

Chaired by Voter’s Coalition President Bob Newmark and assisted by Honorary Chairman Harold Ostrow, the meeting started with an opportunity for candidates present to have 2 minutes of remarks. There were a LOT of candidates – so many in fact that the entire first hour was taken up by their presentations. Candidates for County Judge positions, County Commission and School Board seats, Florida House and Senate, and US Congress were present, including some familiar faces to the RCPB including Joe Budd (CD19), Carl Domino (FS25), Karl Dickey (BCC district 4), Anne Lee Kanjian (School Board district 4), and Lloyd Comiter (County Court Group 7).

The pro-tax side was represented by Fire/Rescue Battalion Chief Ron Beesley, who made the case that critical services are threatened by the pressure on ad-valorem tax revenue caused by the real estate downturn. Sales taxes he said, are payed by tourists (who use the services) and not just by homeowners. The intention is for the tax to be offset by an equivalent decrease in the ad-valorem taxes currently allocated to Fire/Rescue in the county and cities.

The anti-tax side was argued by Christina Pearce and Nat Roberts representing the business community (Nat is the incoming Chairman of the Economic Council of Palm Beach County). Their argument (careful to say they oppose the tax, not the Firefighters) focuses on the abundant negatives of the proposal, including that the tax is permanent and has no limit or caps (unlike the .5% tax for school construction which sunsets this year), has incentives for increased spending, will result in 9 months of double taxation, funds an essential service with an unpredictable source of funds, and that there is no assurance in the statute or the proposal that property taxes will, in fact, be reduced.

The State Legislature gave counties the ability to fund Fire/Rescue through the sales tax (SB1000 and HB365 which passed last year), by means of a ballot referendum. To get it on the ballot requires the approval of 7 of the 12 municipalites with independent fire districts, and approval of the County Commission which will take up the issue n meetings on 5/18 and 6/8.

A key moment in the debate occurred when Nat Roberts pointed out that Fire/Rescue spending increased over 80% in the 6 years (2004-10) that call volume only went up 19-25%, much of that to salary and benefit increases. Chief Beesley countered that with the fact that much of the increased spending was cash for capital construction of new fire stations – undertaken because “the revenue was available in the boom”. One was left to ponder the question as to what would restrain their spending when or if they were to get a “booming” source of revenue – like a sales tax during an economic recovery. Seemed pretty damning.

All in all, it was an interesting exchange attended by well over 100 members and guests. Below are some pictures from the event provided by Joy Stone.

Palm Beach County Inspector General Chosen

Following two days of interviews, members of the seven-member Palm Beach County Inspector General Selection Committee have tentatively chosen the county’s first independent Inspector General (IG).

Sheryl G. Steckler was the top choice among eight finalists for the new position. She is currently the inspector general with the Florida Department of Children and Families, and is second Vice President for the National Association of Inspectors General and President for the local Chapter (Tallahassee) Association of Inspectors General.

The County Attorney’s Office will now begin negotiating a contract with Ms. Steckler which, by ordinance, will be for four years.

Click HERE for the county press release.

RCPB members were involved in the creation of the county Ethics Ordinances that passed late last year. Through public comment, meetings with commissioners and staff, drafting some of the final ordinance wording that helped guarantee the independence of the office of Inspector General, and participation on the implementation committee, we fully support the process and wish Ms Steckler well in her new role if she chooses to accept it.

Background on Sheryl Steckler from the DFC website: (Click HERE.)

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Appointed Inspector General in October 2002, Sheryl’s office currently consists of three units: Investigations, Internal & Single Audit and Appeal Hearings. Ms. Steckler’s oversight includes the agency’s programs and functions which extend to the agency’s outsourced community partners as well. Ms. Steckler has worked in law enforcement and related positions for over 24 years. Prior to joining the Inspectors General community in 2002, she spent eight years as the Director for Pinellas County, Florida Consumer Protection which included Mediation, Criminal Investigations and Regulatory Oversight. Ms. Steckler was also with the Florida Auditor General’s office in Performance Auditing and Public Assistance Fraud for over nine years. Ms. Steckler is currently a Certified Inspector General and Certified Inspector General Investigator. She is an Infragard member with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (Homeland Security). She is also a former certified law enforcement officer and certified welfare fraud investigator. Ms. Steckler holds a master’s degree in Public Administration and a bachelor’s degree in Criminology from Florida State University. She is currently second Vice President for the National Association of Inspectors General and President for the local Chapter (Tallahassee) Association of Inspectors General. She has held elected positions as President and Vice President of Conferences for the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators. Ms. Steckler has also served as a member (appointed by the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services) of the Florida’s Consumer Council

National Day of Prayer

National Day of Prayer

Thursday, May 6, 2010

“If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land.” II Chronicles 7:14

There are several local events planned for this occasion.

The Republican Club of the Palm Beaches has chosen to attend the gathering at

Palm Beach Atlantic University.

11:00 – 11:25AM

On the green west of Warren Library

300 Pembrook Place, West Palm Beach

(one block south of Okeechobee Blvd. on Olive Ave.)

The theme for this year is “Prayer for Such a Time as This” based from Nahum 1:7, “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust HIm.”

Prayers will be given by:

PBAU President Lu Hardin
Campus Pastor Bernie Cueto
Dr. Randy Richards
Dr. Ken Mahanes

Special Music will also be included.

Please join us in observing the

National Day of Prayer this Thursday.

Action Alert! Voters' Coalition of Palm Beach County to host debate on 1% Sales Tax Increase

This was posted in the Sun-Sentinel and appeared in Sunday’s paper:

Voters Coalition hosting sales tax increase debate
> Posted by Andy Reid on April 29, 2010 06:20 PM

The Palm Beach County Voters’ Coalition on May 6 plans to host a debate over the proposed 1 percent sales tax increase to help pay for fire-rescue costs.

The Palm Beach County commission is considering allowing voters in August to decide whether to approve a “tax swap” – which calls for a 1 percent increase in the sales taxes with the money raised being used to reduce the property taxes normally designated for firefighting.

If approved, sales taxes would go up in January.

The Economic Council and firefighters union are scheduled to discuss the proposed sales tax increase at the May 6 Voters Coalition meeting.

Business leaders have raised concerns about increasing the sales tax. Firefighters support the move as a way to potentially lower property taxes and diversify fire-rescue revenue sources.

The debate begins at 1 p.m. and will be held at the South County Civic Center, located at 16700 Jog Road in Delray Beach.!

The Voters’ Coalition meeting on May 6th at 1:00 p.m. in the South County Civic Center is open to the public. No reservations nor tickets are required.

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