watchdog

Sunday, June 29, 2008

IT IS WELL BEYOND TIME THAT PEOPLE START READING GOVERNMENT BUDGETS-LET US START WITH THE CITY OF MEMPHIS

We read a lot about the lean mean budget of the City of Memphis. The City Council says it is fat but they pass it anyway. The City Administration says it is lean and cannot be cut. Who is right? What should be done?

Well I decided to make a start and put the budget on a spreadsheet and I intend to continue on until I get some answers and let the people who pay the bills, the TAXPAYERS, know about their budget.

This project is extensive but I intend to continue to work on it, the City, the County, comparable cities (Nashville, Louisville, and others) and see how we compare and compute.

I start with the attached spreadsheet which shows the various departments from the 2008 adopted City budget and compared it with the 2006 City budget, actual numbers. The following items should make the taxpayers and the City Council ask questions.

Here are the various departments:

EXECUTIVE, HUMAN RESOURCES, FINANCE, PUBLIC SERVICES, CITY COUNCIL, FIRE SERVICES, GENERAL SERVICES, CITY COURT JUDGES, POLICE SERVICES,HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, CITY COURT CLERK, PARK SERVICES, CITY ATTORNEY, GRANTS AND AGENCIES, PUBLIC WORKS, SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS (metro alarm fund, zoo, museums, mlk park, solid waste management and office of planning and development), DEBT SERVICE FUND, ENTERPRISE FUNDS (sewer, storm water and golf), INTERNAL SRVICE FUNDS (health insurance, printing and mail and vehicle maintenance).


 

Here is what I found. Look for yourself.


 

  • In the executive suite at City Hall, the employee count went from 36 to 98 and $12.6 million got added to the lean budget.
  • In Human Resources, 39 to 64 people with $6 million added to the budget.
  • The City Attorney added 16 people and $5.7 million
  • Housing and Community Development added 10 and $2.1 million.
  • Park Services added 54 people and $4.3 million.
  • Solid Waste Management added 72 people and $12 million.
  • Sewer workers added 39 people and $5.5 million.
  • Total Budget employees went up 1317 employees.

    THAT IS $48.2 MILLION JUST FOR STARTERS


     

The total operating budget is $744,577,884 not $540 million. Why? Just look at your utility bill and hidden on the back are the City of Memphis Sewer Charge, the Solid Waster Fee, the Storm Water Fee and the County Mosquito/Rodent Control Fee. Rather than put the first three on the operating budget, they charge you this tax through your MLGW bill.


 

Call or email your City Council members and let them know you want the City budget cut and by a substantial amount as there is plenty of fat there, especially starting at the top.


 

<Click here to see how $48.2 million got added to your 2006 budget for the 2008 budget


 


 


 


 


 


 

Monday, June 23, 2008

HERE IS A REALLY GOOD REFORM IDEA (FULL ELECTRONIC DISCLOSURE OF CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES) THAT GOT SHORT SHIFT BY OUR TENNESSEE LEGISLATURE

I proposed to Representative Brian Kelsey and Senator Paul Stanley that the election commissions in counties, with larger populations (e.g. Shelby, Knox, Hamilton and Davidson), be required to furnish their political contribution and expenditure reports in the same electronic format that state candidates adhere to. Actually it is easier to do so when compared to the current system of paper records. Moreover it certainly makes it easier to find out who contributes to whom and how the money is spent. Sound like a good idea? Of course it is except for one thing. THE LOCAL POLS DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW WHO IS CONTRIBUTING TO WHOM AND HOW MUCH. Therefore, despite good faith efforts to get it passed, HB2929 died.

These contributions are legal but they buy influence which can possibly lead to illegal activities as we have seen from recent convictions and pending trials. Making it easy to see who is contributing and to whom is a good idea to support honest government.

Here is a recap of the proposed bill that failed.

Campaigns and Campaign Finance - Requires candidates for local public office and political campaign committees in local elections in any county having a population in excess of 250,000 to file contribution and expense statements with the registry of election finance instead of with the local election commission. - Amends TCA Title 2.

To give you an example of the benefits of the state system, I have attached pdf files that came from the state excel spreadsheets on BELZ contributions for just one year to the parties listed and contributions to Ophelia Ford for just one year. The Belz's gave $148,257.97. In a separate report, Ophelia Ford got $59,686.88. Also a really big factor is the contributions of PACs (Political Action Committees). I have attached a list of over $5 million dollars in Tennessee for just one year of contributions that came from the state list.

Locally if you want similar information on Herenton or any other local politician you have to go to the election commission and pay 25 cents per sheet for these reports which in most cases started out as an excel spreadsheet. For instance, I have attached a Herenton file which I paid for and then converted to a pdf file showing that he got $185,000. Also I have attached a file on Ricky Peete showing contributions and contributors over a period of time compiled by a group of citizens from the difficult Shelby County Election Commission records. Total of $235,810. Does this more difficult process make sense? Of course it does, because the contributors and the receipients do not want you to know who is giving to whom and the present scheme make this difficult. Go figure.

Write your representatives and senators and demand that next year they rectify this situation and pass HB2929.



Click here to see what the Belz family gave to statewide candidates in 2006

Click here to see who contributed to Ophelia Ford in 2005

Click here to see who gave to Mayor Herenton from 2003 to 2005 from the difficult to obtain records at the Shelby County Election Commission

Click here to see who gave to Ricky Peete for a few years also from the difficult to obtain Shelby County Election Commission records

Click here to see more than $5 million dollars in PAC contributions during 2006. The list comes from the state electronic data base

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

SCHOOL BUDGETS CAN BE CUT-LOOK AT MIAMI/DADE

Since the subject of budget cuts to the Memphis City Schools is so much in the news, I investigated the Miami Dade County School system website and found the following interesting items about school budget cutting in the previous home of our new superintendant. Budget cuts can be made when the laws do not stand in the way.


 

DISTRICT BUDGET UPDATE
Superintendent Rudy Crew Addresses Budget Crisis

June 9, 2008

With a new fiscal year fast approaching and with Florida lawmakers having severely cut funding to our schools, the School Board will meet later this month to finalize more than $284 million in cuts for the 2008-09 school year.

In April, the Board approved a reorganization plan to save the District approximately $13.7 million in recurring annual costs. Last month, the Administration brought forth additional reduction plans, some of which were not approved, including a recommendation that would have saved the District an additional $33.9 million in position cuts, furloughs, and other down-sizing measures.

There are outstanding cuts still to be made, with all options necessarily on the table. As always, the best interest of our students must be and will be our overriding concern.

With nearly three-quarters of the District's $3 billion operating budget going to salaries, a further reduction in the District's workforce is inevitable. Times are tough, here and across the state, and it falls to us in the Administration and on the School Board to make the tough calls. This is hard for all of us, especially those affected by these reductions. Accordingly, we are recommending a plan to help ease the transition for affected employees, including job-placement assistance inside and outside the School District.

The Board will discuss the budget at a workshop on June 12, 2008, at 10 a.m., and its monthly meeting, June 18, 2008, at 1 p.m.


M-DCPS BRIEFINGS:
Statewide Cuts Lead to Reduction in Force and Other Budget Updates
,
(5/14/08)
Superintendent addresses Florida lawmakers' huge cuts to education funding
,
(5/6/08)
School Board Considers More Than $284 million in Cuts to 2008-09 Budget
,
(5/2/08)

Superintendent Recommends Reorganization and Restructuring, (4/15/08)
Board Chair Offers FL Legislature Cost Neutral Plan and Other Budget Updates
,
(3/26/08)

Education Policy Brief: K-12 Funding Update, (3/26/08)
Funding Cuts Impact M-DCPS Employees and Services to Students
,
(3/7/08)
District Faces Budget Cuts
,
(2/28/08)
Reductions to Salary Expenses Anticipated
, (2/15/08)
Tough Times, Tough Calls
,
(2/1/08)


RELATED RESOURCES:
Budget Workshop Presentation
,
(6/12/08)

A–3 Presentation to the Board, (5/21/08)
Budget Workshop Focus on FY 2008-2009, (5/13/08)
Process for Repurposing Schools Workshop
,
(5/13/08)
Budget Workshop Focus on FY 2008-2009
,
(4/28/08)

Tentative Budget Cuts 2008-09
Dollars & Sense Presentation
State Revenue Reductions 2007-08

Budget Presentation
Five-Year Capital Plan


RECENT ARTICLES:
Florida schools fear gains may vanish
,
The Ledger (4/13/08)

Tax changes fuel fears of funding loss, TradingMarkets.com (3/30/08)
Tax-cut proposal leaves big questions, The Miami Herald (3/19/08)
Florida agencies face deep cuts across board, The Miami Herald (3/16/08)
School, court funds slashed,
The Miami Herald (3/06/08)
Schools need more cash for state goals, The Miami Herald (2/28/08)
Schools to take another hit from state
,
The Miami Herald (2/27/08)

Monday, June 16, 2008

YOUR TENNESSE LEGISLATURE RULES OUT EFFICIENCY


 

With all the controversy about the City Council cutting the budget of the Memphis School System and possible lawsuites, I decided to look at the law that they are arguing about. I looked up the applicable portions of the Tennessee Code Annotated and found the following law.

  
 
 

           (B)  (i)  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, for fiscal year 1992-1993 and any subsequent fiscal year, if state funding to the county for education is less than state funding to the county for education during the fiscal year 1990-1991 or less than the previous fiscal year's state funding to the county for education (except that a reduction in funding based on fewer students in the county rather than actual funding cuts shall not be considered a reduction in funding for purposes of this provision), local funds that were appropriated and allocated to offset state funding reductions during any previous fiscal year are excluded from this maintenance of local funding effort requirement;

 
 
 


   
 
 

                (ii)  It is the intent of this provision to allow local governments the option to appropriate and allocate funds to make up for state cuts without being subject to a continuation of funding effort requirement as to those funds for any year during which the state reinstates the funding (or restores the previous cuts), and during any subsequent year should the state fail to restore the funding cuts.

 


 

What this means to me, a non lawyer but a businessman, is that you cannot save money by running a more efficient school system. I do not know the history of this law but it obviously was promoted and sponsored by the public teaching establishment to keep the possibility of cutting job off the table. It says that you cannot cut the budget from the previous year unless you have fewer students. But suppose you come up with a more efficient management or teaching plan that requires fewer administrators or fewer teachers but improves efficiency and learning? Sorry, you cannot cut the budget. It completely destroys the incentive to run a system more efficiently.

Under this law, the only way you could cut the budget would be to have the same budget as the year before and because of inflation, you would be spending less due to the lower value of the dollar. The politicians thought that they were doing something good but what they accomplished was a monument to inefficiency with no incentive to improve the system. We need a change in the law that would allow efficiency savings which would lower the school budget without a state penalty due to the above law.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

It seems it takes economic hard times to get politicians to address the root cause of our high taxes. Now we see the Shelby County Commission talking abut cutting the lush benefits of our public servants. Their reaction is predictable. They are mad.

I wrote about this in 2005. Here is the article that I wrote at that time after doing an exhaustive and extensive benefit survey and comparison of the City of Memphis, the MLGW, Shelby County and the two school systems. The point of the article was that our public servants were better paid and benefited than the taxpayers who work in private industry. Here is the article and attached is the benefit comparison for 2005. Also shown below is a national news article about the difference between those who work in the public sector and those who labor and pay for their benefits in the private sector.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-02-01-civil-servants_N.htm


 



Click here to see the comprehensive benefit spreadsheet compiled in 2005 for the City of Memphis, Shelby County, MLGW and the two school systems

Sunday, June 01, 2008

OPENING THE MEMPHIS SCHOOL SYSTEM OYSTER

June 2, 2008

The Memphis City School System (MCS) is much in the news lately and most of the news is not good. Investigations, allegations of fraud, mismanagment and poor quality of education results are among daily news items.

Back in January and February of this year I sent two open records requests which were basically ignored until I filed suit in Chancery Court for open records violations. I then started getting some answers but am still waiting for the basic information about job titles, job descriptions, salaries and benefits and information on computers purchases with details on the winning and losing bidders and reasons for the selection of the winning quotes.

As an interim step I have attached some information that I have been furnished concerning square footage and acreage of schools, names, locations and ages of schools and makeup of the school population. This is basic informaiton that should be on their website for parent and taxpayer information. After all, their budget for the coming year is over $1 billion dollars. We continue to spend money building new schools when basically the school population has not increased. Why?

I will keep you informed as I develop more information on this huge part of our tax cost in the City of Memphis as we struggle to keep our heads above water.

Attached are the following files

Enrolled students by school and by grade level

Enrolled students by school, grade level and ethnic catergory

Facilites data by school, date built and area

Zone 1,2,3 and 4 schools by name with acerage, buildings, classrooms, square footage, portable classroom numbers and square footage



Click here to see the student enrollment by school and grade

Click here too see the student enrollment by school, grade and ethnic breakdown

Click here to see the data about the schools in Zones 1,2,3 and 4 schools by name with acerage, buildings, classrooms, square footage, portable classroom numbers and square footage

Click here to see the square footage of the various Memphis City Schools