IRBust - Part 8

THE LYNCHING OF MARTIN SCHLESS

Sounds like a Dickens’ novel, doesn’t it? You’ll find it on the IRB Library shelf right next to The Grilling of Grieshaber, The Canonization of Cottrell, The Offing of Coffey, Salzman’s Sendoff and a few others.

All kidding aside, at this Tuesday night’s commission meeting on July 8th at 7 p.m., the fate of IRB Finance Director Marty Schless is on the line. This charter officer has been publicly insulted, criticized, turned on like a snake, and humiliated on more than one occasion; Tuesday promises to be no exception. Only this time, one can only hope that Marty puts his gentlemanlike demeanor on hold and finally calls a spade a spade—something long overdue.

While I’ve run businesses and can muddle through a set of financials or a simple balance sheet, I’m no financial genius by any stretch. So, I defer to those with more expertise in that area when it comes to assessing Marty Schless’ qualifications, abilities and performance. But, when I simply look at the facts, they just don’t point to Marty losing his job.

1. SCHLESS inherited a set of books from his predecessor for which a forensic accounting had to be hired to straighten them out because they couldn’t be closed.

2. SCHLESS worked through Cottrell’s unbelievably confusing “shell game” at budget time last year without so much as a whimper. It was Marty who was left to pick up the pieces after being asked to drop Cottrell off at home early one afternoon, taking possession of Cottrell's keys and the instruction to contact his lawyer if the City needed anything.

3. SCHLESS was not and is NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BUDGET; that job belongs to the City Manager. Yet, Marty was blamed over and over again for problems associated with Cottrell’s budget.

Marty’s biggest mistake, in my opinion, was answering truthfully “YES” to the point-blank question "Were loans or transfers being made from the General Fund to the Sewer/Solid Waste Fund”? Marty Schless didn’t lie. He didn’t try to cover it up, which may turn out to be a career mistake. Had he “fallen in line” and followed the trend of his predecessors, Tuesday night’s agenda might look differently.

It’s obvious that someone or a “string of someones” knew these unapproved loans were occurring. The “powers that be” had to know that these loans/transfers existed in order to continue accounting for them so secretly for such a long time. That “cat-in-the-litterbox cover-up” began BEFORE Schless was added to the IRB payroll, yet he gets scapegoat status.

No one in six years ever spoke up to reveal the problem because they were afraid that what is about to happen to Marty would happen to them. Does Marty Schless, if terminated, have a potential whistleblower action against the City of IRB? Can we afford another lawsuit? Between the Grieshaber fiasco and the Whitehurst mess, this City, to date, has spent almost $50M! (We’ve nearly spent enough money on lawsuits to keep our cop!)

I find it ironic, too, that the commissioner who publicly admitted to being totally confused during last year’s budget process is leading the charge against Marty. In truth, however, others with a great deal of financial acumen, are also calling for Marty’s ouster.

Firing Marty Schless will effectively shoot THE GUY with the most answers to the who, what, when, where and why of these secret fund transfers, loans or whatever you want to call them. There were serious violations of our City Charter, violations that defrauded all of us as taxpayers—violations that we are going to be asked to pay for in a big way. Firing Marty will be the precursor to the City jumping back into the litterbox and more sand flying through the air. We’ll be told that “how it happened doesn’t matter.” How can we be sure it will never happen again if we don’t know the particulars of how it happened in the first place?

The great sales/management consultant Don Beveridge once said that if an organization has NO TURNOVER in staff something is wrong. Well at least we don’t have that problem at City Hall. That’s certainly a relief.

Nancy Obarski
Beach Trail/IRB

IRBust - Part 7

GARNERING APPROVAL

Those who attend commission meetings with some regularity were surprised when CPA Robert Garner’s analysis of IRB’s enterprise funds surfaced. No one seems to remember the commission ever mentioning publicly that such a review was even in process. In fact, most residents just thought their comments at the podium, pointing out discrepancies, were being ignored. Even if Garner’s hiring didn’t require commission approval (or did it?), you’d think that somewhere along the line, it might have at least been mentioned. This begs the answer to the same question that seems to come up time and time again: WHY ALL THE SECRECY?

Why was the expense for Garner’s fees ($2,000) handled differently than the $1,500 expense for the “Protect the Sea Oat Signs” that Mayor Johnson spearheaded in April? The sea oat sign expense was properly handled with a budget amendment that received unanimous commission approval (as the town was allegedly going broke!) in full view of the public at a commission meeting. Was Garner hired without commission approval/input and, if so, who gave him the go-ahead?

The real mystery is WHEN Garner was put into motion. A timeline constructed after reviewing about 100 pages of e-mail correspondence on the subject, didn’t pinpoint the exact date. The internal purchase order wasn’t any help either; it was dated the same day that Mr. Garner made his public presentation to the commission and the public on June 24th—about a week AFTER the results were posted on the City Web site. (Interestingly, this P.O. was handwritten as opposed to another one issued to Garner for other services, which was typewritten.) Doesn’t issuing a purchase order AFTER the work is already complete defeat the entire purpose of a P.O. system anyway?

It’s apparent from the e-mail correspondence, however, that Garner was well into his sewer/solid waste “noodling” on June 9th. What we don’t have the answer to is: Was the “Garner Report” underway on May 27th when the commission’s attempt to pass the rate increase didn’t fly? If the rate increase hadn’t been stopped, would the name Robert Garner and the existence of the unauthorized loans still be unknown to the general public?

And, while we’re on the subject, just how many consultants does this town have anyway?

IRB 4th--POST MORTEM

Has Indian Rocks Beach ever drawn as many visitors as Fourth of July? Good time had by all with a stellar fireworks display as a bonus! The "Beach Trail Kids" certainly enjoyed the new water slide which rivaled Adventure Island. It's all over now but the water bill!

Kudo's to the IRB Public Works Dept. who was on-scene bright and early on the 5th clearing the remnants of one helluva party the night before.

IRBeHEARD Celebrates the 4th!

REMEMBERING RUSSERT THIS FOURTH

Last year, I missed one of my favorite holidays in IRB. I spent 4th of July 2007 in Nantucket vacationing on some friends’ yacht. The plan was to sail to Martha’s Vineyard that weekend, but bad weather changed our plans. Instead, my husband Gordon and I and another friend braved the light drizzle and walked up Nantucket’s main drag.

As we wound our way through the cobblestone corridor of gray-sided shops that all looked alike, we happened into a small piano bar. I was immediately drawn to an old, broken-down spinet holding up the back wall. Having been a music major in a former life, I almost never pass up an opportunity to embarrass myself. So, naturally, I joined the choir of folks gathered ‘round the piano.

The singers were a rather happy group of people who all obviously knew one another—mother, father, young adult son and his friends. The son’s name was Luke; but I still didn’t catch on.

Gordon grabbed me by the arm and tried to yank me into reality as he so often does: “Do you realize who you’re singing next to? That’s Tim Russert!” Having devoured every word in Russert’s books and watched “Meet the Press” on Sunday mornings many more times than I ever attended church, my first reaction was NO WAY. As this hulk of a man carrying a newspaper turned more in my direction, I could see that Gordon was right; it was none other than Russert himself.

As we sang Billy Joel’s “My Life,” I remember chuckling at his comment: “Like anyone would have any idea what my life is like!” They would if they’d read your books, I thought sotto voce. (If you’ve not read Big Russ and Me, do yourself a favor—go get it and do so ASAP. You can thank me later.)

There has been much criticism of NBC’s extensive coverage of Tim Russert’s sudden and untimely death. (Even our good buddy Leo took issue with it!) I must excuse those critics (even Leo) for they didn’t have the benefit of seeing what I saw firsthand that misty Nantucket night: A humble and understated guy who loved life and his family, who worked hard, produced a son even more fantastic than himself, made friends and kept them close. To my way of thinking, there can never be too much coverage of an individual like that.

This year, as I “oo” and “ah” at the sight of the rockets red glare over the Gulf from my perch on Beach Trail, I’ll think back to the cramped piano bar in Nantucket where one voice, in particular, will never be heard again and realize—what a difference a year makes.

Nancy Obarski
Beach Trail/Indian Rocks Beach

IRBust - Part 6

ANYONE CARE TO COMMENT ON THIS CRAZY IDEA?

What if the IRB Financial Crisis is fabricated? There are those who actually believe that no shortfall exists. After all, other than CPA Rob Garner, who imparted the bad news to the community on June 24th, no other accountant, consultant, auditor, City Manager, Finance Director, etc. ever painted a picture so grim.

Some believe that IRB's alleged enterprise fund meldown has been totally trumped up—conveniently at budget time—to provide a reason for this commission to increase the millage rate AND heftily jack up sewer/solid waste rates at the same time. With an influx of extra cash, this commission can then continue its spending frenzy on non-essential items without ramifications and campaign promises will be repaid at the citizens’ expense.

OTHER INCREASES COMING: Don’t forget that those in IRB with a lower living level not meeting FEMA’s elevation requirements will also be paying an additional 10% for their flood insurance! Every property in IRB once benefited from the 10% discount—but that’s not the case for future! Plus, the Pinellas Suncoast Fire and Rescue District increase takes effect in 2010, when the yearly fee for fire suppression and emergency services goes from $190 per household to $260. As Cleavon Little said in Blazing Saddles---"WELL RAISE MY RENT"!

IRBust - Part 5

SEWER/SOLID WASTE RATE JACKING

MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION: Was this commission aware of unauthorized loans to the Sewer and Solid Waste Funds when they tried to ram a rate increase through some weeks back?

Had the increase sailed through unopposed, the influx of additional revenue would have “masked” the problem awhile longer and possibly kept the public from learning the truth. With the public now in-the-know, the commission faces certain pressure to shelve any nonessential spending items—including projects certain commissioners support—projects that drew votes for them at election time.

Former IRB Mayor/Commissioner Ed Piniero effectively stopped the rate increase in its tracks by pointing out that proper notice, as required by law, wasn’t given to the public. Many of us in attendance at the public hearing that evening thought it odd for the commission to be in “such a rush” as to ignore the advice of the City Attorney, who felt Piniero's argument had merit.

Understand please that NO PREVIOUS COMMISSION was ever made aware that the enterprise fund balances were upside down such that loans from the general fund were required to prop them up. This is the FIRST and ONLY commission to which this information has ever been revealed. In essence, while past commissioners and citizens alike thought everything was rosy, the City was working its way to the verge of bellyupski. Previous budgets, audits reports, etc. show in-the-black balances for both the Sewer and Solid Waste Funds, evidently due to the influx of cash from hidden loans “siphoned,” without permission, from our ad valorem tax monies.

The joke is that if the proposed rate increase had passed some weeks back, we’d probably be facing another one almost immediately. The Sewer Fund is actually in worse shape than the Solid Waste Fund; however, the increase the commission had on the table asked for a higher percentage of increase in the solid waste rates.

Roll the clock forward to CPA Robert Garner’s report of the bad news. Mayor Johnson expressed disgust with himself for not having gone ahead just “done something.” His self-disgust pales by comparison to the aggravation that many citizens feel about a commission that sees throwing money at a problem to be the best solution.

The sentiments of many outspoken residents have been somewhat mischaracterized. Citizens don’t object to paying an increase; they object loudly, however, to footing the bill for an increase that no one seems to be able to explain. Citizens were told that the fund balances were upside down; yet all budgets, audits, reports—in fact everything ever released to the public—contradicts that statement.

As one astute resident (Sonny), who obviously spent some time reviewing the budget, commented on an earlier blog entry:

“This morning I labored through the budget…..I may be oversimplifying, but am I correct with understanding that in the year 2005, the city’s General Fund Balance Ratio (actual) was 33.5%, and in 2006, the following year, was 30%? I read this as the city reserves, and what we had in the bank “for a rainy day” or emergencies. That would have been a lot of money tucked away. I also reviewed the Sewer and Solid Waste Fund….Reviewing these funds showed respectable Fund Balance Ratios for the same years. The actual reserve for the Sewer Fund in 2005 was respectably 26.8% and dropped to 6.4% in 2006. I’m not sure what the drop in fund balance accounted for, it did not say. I would hope to take care of an emergency in town or unanticipated maintenance, but that is just a guess. The Solid Waste Fund Balance Ratio actual in 2005 was a healthy 25% and dropped to 18.5% in 2006, still a respectable reserve. What happened between then and now?"

With reasons that make sense, our residents will pay the freight. So far, however, the explanations simply don’t git 'er done.

It’s already been established that previous commissions going back six years were not aware of the existence of the recently disclosed loans. WHAT did THIS COMMISSION know and WHEN?

IRBust - Part 4

IRB ASSUMES FULL OPERATION OF LIBRARY

On June 10th, the IRB City Commission voted unanimously to assume the full responsibility for the operation of the IRB Library. On June 24th, exactly two weeks later, a CPA named Rob Garner, told us the City was approaching a financial meltdown.

QUESTION: Had this commission already discovered that our ad valorem tax revenues were being improperly diverted to the Sewer/Solid Waste Funds when they voted--abruptly and unanimously—to bring the Library under the City’s umbrella? Was this “takeover” pushed through quickly BEFORE the proverbial financial news hit the fan. No warning. No workshops. No public discussion of any financial impact. Mayor Johnson even went so far as to make certain that a provision for possible “expansion” of the library was included in the deal!

Originally, forming a Library Advisory Board was on a previous commission meeting agenda; however, Commissioner Wollin asked that it be moved a few weeks later, allegedly because that particular evening's roster was full. Then, when the issue re-emerged at the June 10th meeting, it was a totally different item, and the vote to fold the Library into the City sailed through UNANIMOUSLY.

This move took place at the same meeting where, once again, serious talk of reducing the police force in IRB emerged. The library and the librarian are sacrosanct, but the cops—well—they are expendable? As one citizen, David Pearson, who opposed any reduction in IRB’s law enforcement, pointed out, the City seal directly behind the five commissioner's heads on the dais says: "World's Safest Beach." Will "World's Most Well-Read Beach" have the same appeal?

The irony here is that building of a “war chest of monies” in the Sewer/Solid Waste Funds way back during the “DiNicola days” may have ultimately been the beginning of an unfortunate financial shell game that has put us where were are today—squarely behind the 8-ball. Enterprise funds, like IRB’s Sewer and Solid Waste Funds, by nature, are not designed to carry big fund balances. The idea is to provide services to citizens in a “break-even” scenario. “DiNicola Commissions,” however, saw the enterprise funds as a golden opportunity to charge high rates and stockpile extra cash to pay for things that the general IRB public would otherwise have screamed bloody murder over, if their ad valorem dollars were used.

Commissions that followed Mayor Bob feared that this pot of money would be used to build a new library facility. So, they wisely decided to absorb the brunt of the 88% sewer increase by the County as a means of spending the fund balances down to something more reasonable. How things got to the point where no one knew what the balances in each fund actually were is anyone’s guess. One can only surmise that the unauthorized loans may have possibly been someone’s way of covering up a mistake made while trying to remember under which shell budget monies for some pet project were located.

This move for the City to “assume” the Library would have been questionable even in the “fat” times. But, for this to happen now, with financial stability an issue, is unthinkable. What part of “broke” doesn’t this group comprehend?

P.S. This move also protects from scrutiny the $75,000+ CD that the Friends of the Library, Inc. claim is “theirs.” The now-defunct lease agreement between the City and the "Friends" stipulated that library revenues were to be deposited into the City treasury all these years. The “Friends” have $75,000; IRB has squat. Oddly enough, $75,000 is just about what the City will save if they cut one of our police officers.