Public Comment dominates an otherwise short Final 2014 Budget Hearing

The Final Budget Hearing on September 19th went smoothly, as expected. So too did the 2nd readings on the 2013 budget update, and the changes to the Investment Policy.

More interesting were the topics brought up during Public Comment.

Polly Taormina  from Sun Terrace at the Oaks, spoke about the subdivision’s reroofing project which she believes is being done improperly and not in accordance with the Master File. City Administrator Ferris directed several managers from the City to meet with Ms. Taormina immediately after her comments.

Barbara Grossman spoke about 7/50 and Agenda 21 – wanting the Council to have a workshop or discuss this regional planning concept, stating that the public isn’t knowledgeable about what’s going on in the county.

Vito DeFrancesco picked up where he left off at the prior agenda meeting – stating his concerns about the proposed Stadium and Ordinance 16, 2013. He’d read in a Houston paper, that Palm Beach Gardens is very close to a done deal on the Stadium – yet there is nothing in the upcoming document on PBG accomplishments in 2013 about the Stadium. He felt that the City would be the developer and as such, would have a conflict of interest in deciding the Ordinance. He wants to see everything that has done to date on the Stadium and has received nothing to date from his records request. Vito felt but couldn’t prove there were Sunshine violations and that City money has been spent on exploring the stadium, despite assurances that there would be no impact to residents. Councilman Russo took strong issue with any claims violations of Sunshine law, stating that he has seen no plans. He also took issue with the Council being classified as developers. He said it was no different than exploring any park and that looking into this IS THEIR JOB. There is nothing to tell the public yet because there is nothing to say yet.

City Watchers – continue to monitor what is said about the Stadium and Ordinance 16, 2013 when it goes back on the agenda at the October 3rd City Council Meeting. See  a summary of the discussion on the ordinance at the September 10th meeting.

 

September Council – from Budget to Domestic Partner Benefits

2013-2014 Budget

Key on the September 10th Palm Beach Gardens City Council meeting was the First Budget Hearing on the 2013-2014 budget. Allan Owens, Finance Administrator took the Council through an easy to follow presentation highlighting actions taken and economic factors that improved the City’s financial picture. These included:

• 2nd year in a row that property values increased
• Proactive dealing with both Police and Fire/Rescue pensions
• Strong reserves position

The Budget Oversight Committee, chaired by Dr. Mark Marciano also stressed that they were satisfied with the budget and its diversification and he congratulated the city on our improvement in the Fitch Bond Rating.

An other point made by staff was that ad-valorem taxes, while still the largest source of revenue, are a smaller percentage than in most of the other municipalities and that our revenue stream is appropriately used for intended purposes. An example made earlier in the evening was that funding for Bridge Refurbishment comes entirely from Gas Tax revenues.

The council was pleased with the presentation. However Mr. Russo, looking at the 5-year outlook, suggested that should inflation or increased valuations pose tax increases on the residents, that Operating Millage be brought down accordingly. The 5-year projection showed flat operating millage and a downward trend in debt millage. The council was in general agreement with Joe’s comments and the budget passed 5/0.

Final millage is “a proposed operating millage rate of 5.7404 mills and debt millage rate of .1733 for a total tentative rate of 5.9137 mills for fiscal year 2013/2014” and “the proposed rate exceeds the roll-back rate by 2.4%”. The final budget hearing will be on September 19th at 7pm.

Ordinance 16, 2013

This proposed Amendment to the Comprehensive Land Use Plan resulted in quite a bit of discussion. Natalie Crowley, Director of Planning and Zoning, presented a city-initiated proposal to exempt all government-owned/publicly-owned lands from the requirement to set-aside 25% of the upland property for conservation. Palm Beach Gardens in unique in the County for already having over 40% of total land dedicated to conservation. Ms. Crowley argued that the city of Boca Raton and Palm Beach County have similar exemptions and it would make handling government development for the public good easier.

Vito DeFrancesco spoke very skeptically about this proposal. He suggested that the amendment was driven by the proposed Stadium, and was concerned that the currently wooded land – across from two schools, would be cleared for such a project. He also believed that the proposed site might have been purchased under a bond that required that the land be wooded in perpetuity.

Council discussion ensued. Mrs. Tinsley was strongly against the proposed amendment. She argued that it is easier to make an exception or mitigation to a proposal to avoid the 25% set-aside than it would be to try and force the 25% set-aside if exempted. The council may not share views toward land management in the same way in the future. She would be amenable to changes that would keep the requirement but allow for waivers. Mr. Levy also had problems with the proposal. Mr. Russo, while not opposed, would not vote for it if 2 on the council had issues. After further discussion involving all the council and the City Attorney, it was decided to table the amendment until October 3rd.

This ordinance warrants watching and comment by the Public at the October meeting.

Benefits for Domestic Partners

At the end of the meeting, City Manager Ferris brought up providing additional benefits for Domestic Partners/Same-Sex Marriage employees. Some benefits had been provided since 2007. Mr. Ferris suggested that cost to the city would range from $50-$100k on an annual basis, and that the government (labor law) has strict definitions and criteria for domestic partnerships and for children of such partnerships. All on the council felt that the City’s economic situation had improved sufficiently to allow for this expansion and asked Mr. Ferris to come back with a plan.

Other topics for the evening included:

• Bridge Refurbishment – of the City’s 7 bridges, 4 were built in the 50’s and 60’s and need to be upgraded to meet FDOT standards. First on the list is the bridge on Lighthouse Dr in 2013, and next is Allamanda – which will be done in the summer of 2014 – since the bridge will have to be closed. All bridges will be completed by 2017.
• 40th Terrace/Sunset Drive – Possible utility plans were shown, some of which may necessitate land acquisition or right of way for roadway and easements. Eminent domain would only be used if owners wouldn’t deed land for the easements. The current schedule is unchanged from last time it was shown; in Nov-Jan a meeting will be scheduled with the homeowners with final costs.
• Passed were Gardenia Isles 2nd reading, proposed modifications to the investment policy, and the first reading of the proposed Chase Bank on US 1 passed.
• The City Golf Course is on schedule and budget with a soft opening targeted for mid-November.
• The Green Market will open on October 6th.

August Council Approves Briger Tract NOPC

Briger Tract

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At the August Council Meeting last evening, modifications for the Briger tract development plan were proposed, providing new detail for the design of two intersections on Donald Ross Road, and a Notice of Proposed Change (NOPC) was approved. As this development is a “Development of Regional Impact” (DRI), affecting other jurisdictions including the county, FDOT and the town of Jupiter, the change was approved to be sent to sent to the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council and others.

There are two entrances planned for Briger from the north, both opposite Abacoa – one at Max Planck and the other at Heights Boulevard, affecting the traffic flow east and westbound from Abacoa. These intersections bracket Parkside Drive, the major intersection east of Abacoa Golf Club which currently has a traffic light, and both will require lights in the future, making a “gauntlet” of 5 traffic lights in just over a mile from Military Trail to I-95. These lights will be constructed after traffic conditions require them (as specified in the NOPC) and since the build-out will take many years to complete, may not be soon.

The town of Jupiter has registered some objections to the plan, regarding imprecise language used and the absence of a requirement for the developer to obtain the right of way for widening the intersection at Heights. Jupiter Town Manager Andrew Lukasik and Councilman Jim Kuretski attended the meeting and registered their concerns.

The development, intended as an expansion of the Scripps biotech cluster, plans 2.6M sqft. of industrial/research, 1.2M sqft. of office space, a 300 room hotel, 500K sqft. of retail and 2700 residential units. It was approved by the City Council on April 1, 2010.

Other Items

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At the start of the meeting, Kim Delany, Strategic Development Coordinator for the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC) gave an update on plans for rail expansion in south Florida, including Tri-rail. She noted that many grade crossings will have to be enlarged to accomodate the nortward Tri-Rail extension, several of these in the Gardens, which may have a budget impact in coming years.

Finance Director Alan Owens reported that the Fitch rating agency has upgraded the Gardens debt to AA+ with outlook to positive from stable, citing progress on pension reform among other things.

A report from Carehere – the city’s clinic operator for employees and retirees showed trends of declining costs and improving measures of employee health.

In other actions, approval was given for:

• The PGA Plaza expansion on second reading
• Ordinance 11, 2013 – A complex “clean-up” to the Land Development (chapter 78) section of the Code of Ordinances
• An exception for larger signage on the upper facade of the Mellon Bank building in Gardens Plaza
• “The Learning Center”, a 10,000 square foot day care center in near PGA National in the LA Fitness Plaza

Also, rezoning was approved for Gardenia Isles, a proposed development next to Trinity United Methodist Church on the north side of Military Trail. The Kolter group plans to build a 21 home development, surrounded by an 8 foot tall vinyl coated fence. The development is adjacent to the Ballen Isles entrance, the plan is supported by that community’s HOA.

These items were approved unanimously 4-0 (Councilman Russo was absent).

July Council – FPL Campus and Other Issues

Lasting until well past 10:30 pm, the July council meeting covered a lot of ground, but the most significant was Resolution 35, the approval of the current stage of the proposed headquarters campus for Florida Power and Light.

FPL Campus

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Approved were four aspects of the plan:

1. Design guidelines (a detailed description of the development standards for the site, including setbacks, height, landscaping, signage, lighting, uses, architecture and screening)
2. Maximum building heights (165 feet for 12-15 stories)
3. Use restrictions for the site (professional office – more restrictive even than the current light industrial designation)
4. Inclusion of a “helistop”

A “helistop” differs from a “helipad” evidently, in that normal use is just pickup and dropoff. No fuel is stored on the site and the helicopter(s) are not parked there when not in use.

It was noted that the change in use restrictions is an improvement, as the current designation would have allowed businesses in the “light industrial” category which could have been more intrusive and less attractive.

A fortune 200 company like FPL locating a headquarters complex in the Gardens is a good thing for the city. It will host many high paying jobs and given the “captive” nature of the workplace (ie. including cafeteria, clinics, etc.), the traffic impact during the work day will not be excessive.

Several residents of nearby areas such as Garden Woods expressed concern about helicopter noise and the height of the buildings but most were appreciative of the project, including the Northern Chamber Chief Beth Kigel and Gary Hines of the County Business Development Board. The Council voted 5-0 to proceed.

Avenir Discussion

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During the “City Manager Report” portion of the meeting, the proposed development at Vavrus Ranch came up, as Mr. Ferris is proposing that staff in conjunction with the Treasure Coast Planning Council, solicit input on impact from surrounding communities. Avenir, as it is called by developer WAL Development Group of Coral Gables, would build 7,600 homes, professional office space, a 300 room hotel and a pediatrics center on the site of about 7 square miles. This could amount to 20,000 residents, about 40% of the current population of the Gardens. Many of the council members panned the project, saying they had “never seen the likes of this” (Jablin), and that it was “way too big” (Levy). “we’re not on the same page – not even in the same library.” (Russo) The current master plan for the site would allow about 500 homes and this is a massive change from what was envisioned for the western part of the city. Traffic, drainage, environmental concerns all are problematic.

What seemed to come across clearly in this discussion was that the developer has really not done due diligence in bringing the council into the loop. Going public with plans of this magnitude before even a courtesy call on the members is a tad arrogant. David Levy summed it up the feeling pretty well: “Ice cubes in Miami in the summer probably have a better chance than that project,” he said. “I think it’s DOA.”

Other Actions

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• The modernizing of the 70’s era PGA Plaza at Prosperity and PGA was approved. Home to the coming Trader Joe’s, this site is to get a fresh new look, with design and landscaping improvements and more retail space.
• Parking modifications to Downtown at the Gardens was approved, specifically adding a small strip along Kyoto Gardens Drive near Cabo Flats.
• Zoning changes were approved for development of the Palm Beach Orthopaedic Institute Medical Campus on the Klock property on the north side of Burns Road.
• Approval was given on second reading for the erection of the monopole antenna on the city hall municipal complex.

City Manager Annual Review

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Toward the end of the meeting, after 10:00pm, City Manager Ron Ferris received his “Annual Review”. This mostly pro-forma exercise is an opportunity for the council members to pile their accolades on the City Manager, who Eric Jablin calls the “finest city manager in Florida if not the country”. David Levy praised Ron’s leadership of the Gardens – “one of the most highly regarded cities in the state”. Marcie Tinsley praised his “out of the box thinking” and said he was “a great problem solver”. Joe Russo mentioned his “great job on the police contract”, and said the city employees “love him and work hard for him.” Finally, Mayor Bert Premuroso, applied four objective measurements: budget, staff morale, open communications, and truth, finding our city manager excellent in all of them.

Mr. Ferris’s contract expires in 2016.

Packed Chamber for June Council Meeting

Residents packed Palm Beach Gardens council chambers until the meeting was adjourned at 11:25 PM. The unusually large crowd received a surprise informational update from District 25 Senator Joe Abruzzo on legislative items worked on in the last session.

He noted talks of a 2nd spring training facility and the benefit it would bring to Florida, our city and county. He said Florida will spend 90 million in charter school funding out of the 74.1 billion dollar budget that they passed. Senator Abruzzo ended with saying how lucky he was when they changed the district boundaries. He ended up with Palm Beach Gardens in his district, and inherited a beautiful city with a reputation of doing things right.

Fire Chief Pete Bergel’s retirement is July 1 2013. Mayor Premuroso and the council recognized the Chief by proclaiming July 1 as Fire Chief Bergels’ Day. The City Manager gave our native Gardens resident a beautiful fire ax in appreciation of his 38 years of service to our community.

Items of Resident interest: Council member Joe Russo updated the council about the IG lawsuit. He acknowledged the papers had misrepresented him and that there was nothing else for him to offer to settle the issue on how to properly fund the IG. He predicted a lengthy court battle. Council members moved quickly through items due to agenda size.

Resolution 39: Passed by council 5-0 Allen Owens went over the numbers and economics for borrowing money (1.6 million @ 1.77%) for the golf course, and (2.6 million @ 1.89%) for Fire Station #2 rebuilding. Information about city debt was released that showed a 50% drop in city debt since 2005.

Ordinance 5: (Trader Joes PUD) was postponed until next council meeting 7/16/13 as the applicant was not ready. Resolution 20 is a companion item that is to be addressed later.

Resolution 41: Signage for the Nicklaus Out Patient Center, a component of Miami Children’s Hospital, at Legacy Place was approved with 3 waivers by council 5-0.

Ordinance 8 and 9: Klock property zoning for the new Palm Beach Orthopedic Institution. Both were approved by council 4-0. Mayor Premuroso did not vote.

Ordinance 7: Franklin Academy 2nd reading. Traffic was the topic and discussed. There were 8 residents that gave their comments in the public forum. Council approved 5-0.

Ordinance 10: (1st Reading) The rezoning of City Hall complex with companion Resolution 40 addition of 120 ft. monopole tower for the EOCC. Council approved 5-0.

Resolution 28: Charter Schools USA (Renaissance Charter School at Gardens West)
Traffic and intensity of project discussed. The applicant recently scaled back the number of students and said he was willing to work with city to do what was needed to get the building process going. 30 resident comment cards were submitted. Each resident was limited to 1 minute due to the late hour. After residents were heard by the council, the council also started a discussion. Planning and Zoning opposed project due to intensity and traffic concerns. As 11:30 PM was approaching and time running out to vote the applicant approached the council. He withdrew the site building request. He mentioned 3 cities that want the charter school built there. He stated he would not consider another school again in Palm Beach Gardens again, until there were some major changes in city operations and policy.

May Council Meeting – Charter Schools

Announcements/ Presentations

• The Cleveland Clinic of Florida is opening in Donald Ross Village.
• Scott Fetterman, Deputy Chief, Fire Rescue was recognized for 31 years of service.

Items of Resident Interest

• Amanda Buckley golf tournament was well attended.
• Nothing was resolved with the Inspector General lawsuit.
• Bert Premuroso gave a State of the City speech before the PGA Corridor Association.
• PBG is hosting a Youth Soccer Tournament from May 10-12th.
• A Florida Judge James Peterson III denied Florida Regional Medical Center’s Tenet Hospital to build an 80-bed hospital at the Briger Tract.

The meeting was very well attended.

The big topic of discussion was two charter schools – The Renaissance School and the Franklin School. Several people spoke for the Renaissance School. This school will appear before the Planning and Zoning Board on their May meeting.

The Franklin Academy School was passed with a 5-0 vote on first reading in Ordinance 7, 2013. The school is on Hood Road at the former Batt location. The school is projected to have 1300 students. Several area residents commented on the traffic situation. To mitigate the traffic situation the applicant proposed staggered start times, an automated pick-up/drop-off system, additional turn lanes, additional parking spaces, hiring of off-duty police officers, and regular meetings and dialogue with concerned area residents. Part of the complication is due to the fact that Hood is a county road. Several councilman recommended that the County accelerate the Hood lane widening that is part of the 5 year plan and Marcie Tinsley recommended the construction of an additional right turn lane on Central Boulevard turning west on Hood Road to eliminate a crucial bottleneck.

April Council – A New Mayor and a Proposed Roof Over Veteran’s Plaza

New Council Sworn-in

The first Council meeting since the March election featured the swearing-in of returning Councilmen Joe Russo and David Levy, and the election of Bert Premuroso as Mayor and Eric Jablin as Vice-Mayor – both chosen unanimously. Mayor-elect Premuroso, first elected in 2008, is a Vice President at SouthTrust Bank, and has been leading the Council as Vice-Mayor since David Levy left the Council to run for County Commission last year. Jablin is a 21 year veteran of the Council and served as Mayor four times before and Vice-Mayor twice.

Veteran’s Plaza

Most of two hours were then dedicated to a discussion of the plans for “artistic shade structures” (functionally a cover for the stage and seating area in Veteran’s Plaza), commissioned by the Art in Public Places (AIPP) board. Two vendors were chosen to bring forth plans, G.H. Bruce, LLC of Tucson, Arizona, and Mark Fuller Functional Arts of West Palm Beach.

The incoming assumption was that if chosen, a design would be constructed using about $450K from the AIPP funds which originate from impact fees on high end developments (> $1M). These funds are defined by ordinance to be limited to art and culture projects only and contain no ad-valorem tax dollars.

The Bruce design, called “Callinectes” after the indigenous crab family which includes the ubiquitous blue crab and is Greek for “beautiful swimmer”, consists of overlapping canopies floating above a structure of curving steel tubes. Seating under the canopy can be configured to accomodate 250 to 400, depending on arrangement.

The Fuller design on the other hand is a six sided tent-like structure supported by sweeping tubular steel support pillars with a web-like mesh fabric membrane. Its design accommodates 208 in the theatre seating arrangement or 170 at banquet tables.

Discussion by the Council was mixed.

Joe Russo wondered if something this large would be appropriate for the institutional space that attaches to the City Hall and Police headquarters. “Way too massive”, he said later.

Marcie Tinsley, who describes herself as a believer in “functional art” and supported the controversial bus stop shelters, thought they should move with caution on this one. She has studied the issue in some depth, including checking with other projects like the fairgrounds to ascertain their maintenance costs.

David Levy questioned whether it should be done at all, suggesting that a stage covering like in the Meyer Amphitheatre may be an alternative. He went on to suggest holding a workshop to gather public input.

Eric Jablin, a supporter of the concept, recalled that the “… camel was a horse designed by committee …” suggested that soliciting public input would be like seeking the camel. He further suggested that the Council should not rely on public comment at this meeting since there are supporters out there who did not come to the meeting..

Public comment was actually muted, with only four making comments. Joel Chandler of the PGA Corridor Association was supportive but had some thoughts on the design and decision process. Pat Hughey thought the design “looked great”. Barbara Grossman thought the money would be better spent on veterans. And a Jupiter designer showed a drawing of his own concept for the space.

There are many technical issues to resolve, such as hurricane hardening, drainage, fabric choice, pillar construction, footers and maintenance. Both vendors stated that no engineering work was done in support of the designs and as such a true cost estimate could not be given at this time.

The segment ended with the Council deciding to go off and “think about” the issue and take it up at a later date.

Council Election Results

Congratulations to David Levy for winning another 3 years on the City Council. Congratulations also to James D’Loughy for running a good campaign and making the race unusually competitive. The voters have spoken (although only 11% of them did so), and it was good that they had a choice in this race.

From the graph below, you will see that David Levy maintains a strong base of support in Ballen Isles and PGA National, while Mr. D’Loughy picked up support in Frenchman’s Reserve and Creek, coming within 6 votes there.

Click on the map segment for detailed results for that precinct or refer to the table below.

Precinct	Registered	Cast	Levy	D’Loughy	% Turnout
1186	1459	153	67	86	10
1188	787	47	17	30	6
1190	2358	215	81	134	9
1192	1438	97	56	41	7
1194	1875	482	244	238	26
1238	1541	222	131	91	14
1240	2484	236	154	82	10
1242	2491	322	204	118	13
1244	1502	183	122	61	12
1246	2140	133	59	74	6
1248	1491	210	106	104	14
1250	70	13	9	4	19
1252	2272	726	573	153	32
1254	442	59	46	13	13
1260	1298	126	49	77	10
1264	7	0	0	0	0
1266	563	11	6	5	2
1268	302	8	6	2	3
1270	12	0	0	0	0
1272	1898	183	75	108	10
1274	1602	163	63	100	10
1280	436	30	13	17	7
1284	2268	119	101	17	5
1288	38	7	6	1	18
1290	2143	151	84	67	7
1292	61	9	3	6	15
1296	727	17	10	7	2
1306	8	0	0	0	0
1310	4	0	0	0	0
1324	1304	40	22	18	3
1326	588	52	25	27	9
1340	14	0	0	0	0
1352	2067	125	69	56	6
1360	932	72	19	53	8
1372	149	6	3	3	4
TOTALS	149	4217	2423	1793	10.9

Council Votes 3-1 to spend $1.6M on Employee Raises, Bonuses and Capital Projects

At the March City Council Meeting, Ordinance 1, 2013 passed on second reading with a 3-1 vote. A routine adjustment of budgeted initial fund balances, the $1.6M “surplus” reflecting higher revenues collected or lower actual expenses than budgeted, was wholly targeted to new spending.

So what is the context for this apparent relaxation of austerity? Has the local economy turned the corner?

The details of the proposal were first proposed in February by Vice Mayor Premuroso – a 2% across the board raise for all employees, a 1.5% one-time bonus on top of that, and $783K of capital spending, including $611K for golf course irrigation modernization.

Cautionary comments were made by residents. John Chaplik cautioned that the economy has not improved enough to raise spending levels and thought should be given to returning some to the taxpayer. He also suggested that there be a review of how surpluses are handled. Kevin Easton suggested that performance based raises made more sense than across the board increases. Iris Scheibl pointed out that the county property appraiser is projecting a meager 1.5% increase in valuations and that the economy has not turned the corner. She also mentioned that last years’s move to raise the communications tax was based on the threat of declining reserves which we are now apparently spending. Two others spoke in favor of the ordinance.

In discussion, all the Council Members were in favor of the raises, and some wanted to increase the bonus to 2%. “Our employees are the best in Florida, if not in the country” said Eric Jablin. “We will lose these people if we don’t reward them”, said Joe Russo. Marcie Tinsley agreed we should proceed with caution, but the staff has done a good job without complaint. These three were less supportive of the capital spending and Joe Russo went so far as to vote no on that basis, as he believes the normal budget process is the time to consider things like golf course improvements.

The Vice Mayor sealed the deal with a well prepared and somewhat eloquent pitch for his proposal as presented. In his business (Bert Premuroso is a banker), he is seeing an uptick in the economy and across the board raises. He does not favor merit based increases as “some people don’t like them”, and foresees this level of raises as being a normal thing for the next few budget cycles. He reminded us that they have committed to flat millage for five years (instead of reducing it as valuations climb), and the increased property tax revenue that will result will let us continue to improve employee compensation and capital improvements.

With Mr. Premuroso’s closing, only Joe Russo maintained objection (only to the capital projects) and the ordinance passed 3-1.

It should be noted that the 2% increase applies to the Council as well as staff, although they turned down the bonus. A 2004 ordinance described by Eric Jablin as “making it easier to raise our pay”, requires that any cost of living increase given to employees must also be given to the Council. The City Attorney confirmed that to forgo the raise they would have to repeal the ordinance.

Since Mr. Premuroso signalled his intention to offer raises again next year, it may be useful to examine how the city employees are compensated relative to their peers in the county and other municipalities. We will be analysing this in a future article, but for now consider:

1. In the 2013 budget, the average employee compensation (salary and benefits) was $111,488, with an average salary of $73,681. This compares to about $67K for county government employees, and a county-wide average income (all employers) of $51K.

2. The current average city employee salary is 45% higher than the county average income. In 2006, when the average city employee salary was just $61K, it was only 27% above the county-wide average income of $48K.

3. In 2011/2012 a 3% employee increase was implemented for all FRS (Florida Retirement System) employees (not police and fire/rescue) to compensate for the fact that a state law mandates that they would now have to pay 3% in salary toward their pensions annually. It was justified by the Council

4. In the text of the 2012-2013 budget it states:

In the last three budget years, the beginning balance adjustments have been considerable – an increase of over $5M in 2012, $8M in 2013, and this year’s $1.6M. Perhaps in the future it would be wise to project during the budget cycle how such a “surplus” would be spent if it materializes. That would be useful information when the discussion turns to “spending” or “saving” the revenue expected from increasing valuations in the next few years.

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* Note:
1.Employee average salary is obtained by dividing budgeted salary by number of employees. Total compensation contains salary, retirement, FICA, Health Insurance and Workers Compensation.
2. County-wide income is taken from PBC budget documents.

Grassroots Groups Host Council Candidate Forum

On February 28, PBG Watch, along with the South Florida 912 and the Palm Beach County Tea Party, Taxpayer Action Board and the Palm Beach Gardens Residents Coalition hosted a candidate forum for City Council election, featuring former Mayor David Levy and challenger attorney James D’Loughy.. Moderated by Daniel Martell, CEO of the PBC Economic Council, the candidates were asked a set of questions about current issues facing our city, some of which proved to offer a real choice between the candidates. Present for the forum (and keeping them honest) was former Councilman and now County Commissioner Hal Valeche, and Councilman and former Mayor Eric Jablin.

The meeting was kicked off by the leaders of the sponsoring groups, including Shannon Armstrong, leader of South Florida 912, Michael Riordan, President of Palm Beach County Tea Party, Kevin Easton, President of Palm Beach Gardens Resident’s Coalition, and Fred and Iris Scheibl, co-founders of the Taxpayer Action Board (TAB) and PBG Watch. Timekeeping duties were performed by Barbara Grossman.

Below you will find a summary of the event, with the questions that were asked, and a link to a video of that section of the forum.

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