Lake County Fiscal Rangers

Public Input Refused at Board Meeting of North Lake County Hospital District

Tavares, FL - July 24, 2012

Board Meeting of North Lake County Hosp Dist - August 23, 2012 - 2 hours - held in Tavares, FL

 

Last night, the Board held their meeting and our two hour video below shows the discussions.  Board Chairman Ken Carpenter refused for the second month in a row to allow public input.  Time was taken for issues related to establishing procedures to implement HR-1299 which drastically improved oversight on about $8-million in tax funds given to the District which then will use it to reimburse local clinics and hospitals for indigent care. 

Note:  The picture is from a prior meeting.

See their homepage for minutes, agendas: 

http://www.northlakecountyhospitaldistrict.org/home/ 

See our two hour video of the meeting here:

http://youtu.be/NCXEYnkHrKY

Here is the detailed agenda:

Download Agenda tax dist Final 8-23-12

Here is a one page request from a non-profit Eustis "St. Luke's" clinic to be approved for receiving reimbursement:

Download St Lukes Proposal for NLCHD Tax Funds 82312

I will add my overview of the last two meetings by this Sunday Aug 26th.

vj

 

 

 

Learn about Florida Judicial Activism, and how to DUMP Three Liberal FL Justices

Tavares, FL - July 24, 2012

Florida Liberal Justices R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince are on the Florida ballot for merit retention this fall, and you need to DUMP them by voting NO for their "retention".

Educate yourself about judicial activism, and this Nov. 6th, vote NO to the three liberal judges.  Save their names.

HERE is a great video ad just published on this issue - watch it first:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JcDMgSv6T4  

Here is the main website for Florida's RestoreJustice2012.com campaign:

http://www.restorejustice2012.com/ 

Here is one article:

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/study-rips-judicial-activism-florida-supreme-court  

Here is another by Florida Watchdog about Jesse Phillips, who has been a leader in ousting the three liberal judges:

http://watchdog.org/50001/fl-activist-judges-set-to-face-the-music-in-merit-retention-fight/

This is all about the vote to say NO on the Florida Nov. 6 ballot about FIRING and NOT retaining the three ultra-liberal Florida judges R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince. Just vote NO by their name which means to NOT retain them.

The overall movement here is to remove liberal judges who think they know better than the voter what the law should be. Voters, via elected officials, create laws, and judges should not be re-writing the laws due to their political leanings.

vj

 

 

Florida Voter Fraud Update: New List of ACORN Spinoffs Published

Tavares, FL - July 24, 2012

The Washington Examiner published a long list of "community" organizations that are spinoffs from ACORN, the group that was shut down and cutoff from Federal Funding after it was disclosed they manipulated both registration and voter results in various elections, especially to benefit Obama's election in 2008.

I have written about ACORN spinoffs before, based upon a report from Judicial Watch, but this list is longer.

Florida Political Press actually wrote this article and they highlight several groups that are active in Florida:

http://www.floridapoliticalpress.com/2012/08/23/acorn-still-active-under-new-names-including-organize-now/  

The question is, whether our local Elections Superintendents & the Press in Florida will make sure to screen any registration or voter activities initiated by these groups KNOWN to be ACORN spinoffs which was involved in cooking the elections books?

Vance Jochim

Lake County Fiscal Rangers

Chief Fiscal Watchdog

Volunteers Searching for Ways to Improve Local Government Fiscal Management, Efficiency & Effectiveness

PO Box 1042

Tavares, FL 32778

Mobile:  352-638-3578

FiscalRangers@comcast.net

www.FiscalRangers.com   

TWITTER:  @FiscalRangers 

"FiscalRangers" page on Facebook

YouTube:  NEW 6/2012 - Videos of local political candidate forums and other meetings, like North Lake County Hospital District & Lake County Legislators' Delegation annual forums    -  visit the youtube channel "FiscalRangersFlorida" 

CLICK HERE to see recommended internet links related to Local Lake County government fiscal issues.

 

 

 

 

Invasion of Leesburg FL by Smart Meters Meeting & Our Video

Tavares, FL - Wed., July 22, 2012

Updated Jul 23 to add link to video of 8/22 presentation to citizens on Smart Meters. Update comments based on the 8/22 meeting are below in italics like this sentence.

Smart Meters are invading Leesburg, but the City and apparently the Daily Commercial don't want you to know they are "Smart Meters".

According to today's Daily Commercial article at the link below, a city representative will "offer tips" on using the "new meters" at 7pm at the Magnolia room at Lake Sumter Community College.  The "new meters" are really "Smart Meters" which have been castigated all over the internet for safety and privacy invasion reasons.

http://www.dailycommercial.com/News/LakeCounty/082212beatpeak 

UPDATE:  Here is our video of the Aug. 23 Presentation to Leesburg residents by City Manager Jay Evans about the Smart Meters - 1 hr 28 min.  Evans answered most issues described below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL6UlrwLjBg   

There was no discussion in the article on how much the conversion to Smart Meters will cost the city, Federal taxpayers or the Leesburg utility customers.   (However, on the video, the City Manager explained they got a $10-million Federal grant, and have generated savings to pay for the other $10-million of the cost, for a total of

Lake County Fails to Get Appointment to St. John's River Water Management District

Tavares, FL - Aug 20, 2012

Earlier this year, there was a vacancy on the Board of the St. John's River Water Management District (SJRWMD) for "Area 3" or the Ocklawaha River Basin area. 

The District controls and sets policies for River waters in five areas for 18 Florida Counties.  Lake County has historically never had a representative on the Board.

Earlier this year, there was a controversy and a public hearing with 500 present regarding the District's actions to turn off water flowing from Lake Apopka into the Harris Chain of Lakes, resulting in unacceptable low lake water levels.   After the hearing, they adjusted the flow rate to allow some water into the Harris Chain and restrict outflows so water levels could rise. 

One of the big issues is that in our opinion, the District staff and Board do not

Are Lake County Commissioners Harming Property Values by Ignoring Pleas to Remove Sustainable Development Restrictions?

Tavares, FL - August 16, 2012

All Lake County Property Owners should read this.

This week was eventful in Lake County because of the Florida primary elections, which we covered earlier.

However, it was also eventful for outing the sustainable development movement and the UN Agenda 21 implemented by the American Planner's Association (APA) in many LOCAL government regulations, including Lake County.

Readers know we have written a white paper on Agenda 21 located at www.tinyurl.com/HaltAgenda21 .  It includes many links to explanatory online videos, articles and the Republican National Committee (RNC) resolution "exposing" Agenda 21 and its affects on property and other rights.

This week two property rights events happened at the Tuesday meeting of the Lake County Board of Commissioners, and then three events happened at last night's meeting of the North Lake County Tea Party to support the idea that Agenda 21 & "sustainable development" initiatives may be banned in Florida to protect property rights, like they did in Alabama.

At the bottom of this article are some very specific suggestions for property owners.

A. What happened at the Tuesday Lake County Board Meeting?

1. "Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP)" - The Lake County Board on Tuesday ignored my public input to DISCUSS and then reject extension of a contract to pay $295,000, including $27,000 from the County, for a consultant to develop a plan to establish limitations on land use if your land is "scrub habitat".  The reason they say is that "scrub habitat" is needed for gopher tortoises, two types of lizards (really). scrub jays (as if we don't have enough public land already) and ELEVEN types of "endangered" PLANTS.  The consultant will also establish a "steering committee' made up of environmentalists, government agency staff, only two landowners, but no property rights or taxpayer rights advocates.  There is no estimate of economic impact, lost land values or estimated costs to pay for lost values due to the restrictions.  Basically, they are not considering the idea of "no action" but acting as if they will develop a plan to add restrictions to about 6900 acres of "scrub habitat".  Such actions reduce the value of land greatly, and property owners should just sue the County for not providing just compensation for a "taking" of land like the US Constitution describes.    You can find all the documents related to this contract at http://www.lakecountyfl.gov/AgendaDocPop/connect.aspx?ParentTrackingNumber=6948 

The Board ignored my request to openly discuss this contract, and let it be processed via the "consent agenda", so the contract was extended without public discussion by the Board.  If you are a land owner, you should ask the Board members why they want to implement land use restrictions that destroy your property rights.  You might also ask why they are approving a total expense of $295,000 for a consultant to develop the "plan".

2. Land Restrictions in North Lake County - Another member of the public gave input about how the comprehensive plan or zoning restrictions on five lots he bought in North Lake County were preventing him from creating a garden or removing trees.  He said with those restrictions he probably has lost all value in the land and would not be able to sell it at any time.  The Board ignored his plea that they issue a waiver, and did not really provide him with any method to find a solution.

You can watch the online video of our public input sessions HERE in Video 1 for the August 14 meeting.  My public input starts about 00:09:15 minutes in to the video after the awards session, the the other public input on land usage started at 00:09:38 after some other speakers. 

B.  What happened at the Wednesday evening meeting of the North Lake Tea Party?

1.  FiscalRangers.com Report on Local Government:  I described the two events above and how they fairly reeked of sustainable development & the UN Agenda 21 stealth tactics to reduce property rights, and how the Board ignored the issues presented.

2.  Coalition on Property Rights Presentation:  Dan Peterson, Executive Director of the Orlando based Coalition for Property Rights (CPR) gave an hour talk on property rights and the history of the UN Agenda 21, how President Clinton facilitated their "sustainable development" tactics to use stealth and Federal tax dollars to fund and roll out socialist objectives to reduce property values and uses via the American Planner's Association and ICLEI (see my white paper).  The crowd got visibly upset as he described how the process of Agenda 21 infiltration worked.   One new visitor was a major property owner and asked some detailed questions.  Also in attendance was FL Rep. Larry Metz, FL Senator Alan Hays, and soon to be Lake County Property Appraiser Carey Baker. 

3.  Senator Alan Hays announced he had an initial draft of a bill he will submit to the FL legislature in early 2013 to ban Agenda 21 derived objectives, and limitations on property rights.  His bill is based upon the one recently passed in Alabama.  (See article about the Alabama bill HERE)   Hays told me that he will send FiscalRangers.com the final draft after 'cleaning up" the wording.

You can see the video of the meeting of the CPR presentation and Alan Hays reading his draft bill at our YouTube page, FiscalRangersFlorida HERE:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXRHWbZTWLA  

The public and land owners are becoming educated about the assault on property rights by some government agencies and "planners".

Please educate yourself at:

-  www.tinyurl.com/HaltAgenda21    my white paper on Agenda 21 & 'sustainable development"

- www.proprights.com  -  The website for the Coalition for Property Rights

- BUY Rosa Koire's book, "Behind the Green Mask" on Agenda 21 and read how bad it can get based upon her experience in northern California. 

- If you are a property owner, especially larger lots, agriculture land, etc, ask your Lake County Commissioner why they are not taking action to remove "sustainable development" land use restrictions from the County's Comprehensive Plan that defines land use restrictions for the entire county.

- If you are a property owner who found your land use is restricted due to the County Comprehensive Plan, consider calculating the loss in property value from the "green restrictions" and contact an attorney to consider suing the County for "just compensation" since the loss is a "taking" protected by the US Constitution.  Ask why the public and land owners were not allowed to vote on a referendum over the land use restrictions in the comp plan.  Ask why the County has not notified you and EACH land owner of all new restrictions on their land use.  Why should a new owner find out about restrictions and regulations on their property AFTER they paid for it?

- Ask your Commissioners why they passed land use restrictions in the Comp Plan (before Leslie Campione & Sean Parks were elected) and have no process to warn current owners OR potential buyers of the land use restrictions and a calculation by the Lake County Property Appraiser of how much your property value was reduced.  For instance, in the example above where the landowner talked about not being allowed to cut down some specific trees so he could create a garden, or add parking, etc., then Lake County should pay him for the loss of value.

vj

 

Lake County FL Election Primarys Concluded Today and here are Results

Tavares, FL - August 14, 2012

Here are the final results for the primaries for Lake County, FL local elections:

Upset was Carey Baker over Ed Havill for Property Appraiser.

Margie Eaton, Republican, won with 52% and will face Democrat Emogene Stegall in runnoffs.

Jim Miller will go against Rosanne Brandeburg in runoffs on Nov. 6.

Thuy Lowe will go against Debbie Stivender in runoffs.

Sheriff Borders won handily.

Matthias won.

http://elections.lakecountyfl.gov/pdf/081412_ElectionSummary.pdf

Results from Yesterday's South Lake County (FL) Candidate "Hob Nob"

Clermont, FL - Wed., Aug. 8, 2012

Update:  August 9, 2012 - Debbie Stivender, who was mentioned below, sent a response - see end of document.  vj

Yesterday evening was the South Lake County Hob Nob where local elected candidates setup tables and brochures and talked to interested voters.  The voters each had a ticket to trade for an election ballot which they then filled out in a straw poll.  This Hob Nob was arranged by the South Lake Chamber of Commerce, led by Ray San Fratello, who sent us these official results from 331 voters.

Before you read the results, here are some caveats you need to know, which indicate you can't take the results as a TRUE vote, but only a popularity vote based upon who got the most friends to go to the event and vote for them:

- Each candidate received six tickets to give to supporters.   However, we know one candidate not only had those six tickets, but had three supporters contact the chamber and get 10 more tickets each for supporters, thus they had 36 tickets to give to supporters.

- Long time incumbents know each other and make side agreements to have their supporters vote for each other.   So rumors are that supporters of Debbie Stivender and Sherrif Borders voted for each other, and at the prior Leesburg Hob Nob, supporters of Ed Havill and Emogene Stegall voted for each other.   New candidates don't always know this is going on.

- Hob Nobs have different rules which experienced candidates know how to benefit from.  The Leesburg Hob Nob cost $12-15 to attend, thus only motivated active candidate supporters go, plus candidates can buy as many tickets as they want and give them to supporters, thus you always see a huge crowd of Sheriff Candidate supporters wearing T-Shirts.   The Clermont Hob Nob limits excessive tickets (but see above how it can be circumvented) while the Leesburg event does not.   Additionally, the Leesburg event allows supporters to congregate in front of the candidate table and network with anyone anywhere while wearing T-shirts, but the Clermont event prohibited each, and also would not let candidates stand in front of their table and wander the hall to nab prospects (well, except for Jim Miller, who is nicknamed "The Wanderer").

- Clermont had much better food becuase they lined up sponsors who paid for everything.  But they limited access to the event by requiring tickets which had to be picked up at the Chamber offices.   Thus, experienced candidates locked up all the tickets a week before the event, so when the press published a notice or political parties notified members, the tickets were all taken, again, giving an edge to the experienced candidates.

So, not that you know how the Hob Nobs really work, don't place too much credence in the scores unless there is an upset.   For instance, Republican Margie Eaton got 43% of the vote to 42% for incumbent Democrat Emogene Stegall.  However, the mix of results seems to indicate that there were about 70 Democrats (or 22%)  voting for Val Demings vs about 241 or 77% Republicans and NPA's voting for Daniel Webster for Congress.  About the same ratio existed for Senator Bill Nelson and Barack Obama votes.   Thus Democrats (or the ones supporting them) were not a major factor in this Hob Nob.   More people voted for Val Demings (69) than voted for Bill Nelson (61) or Barack Owebama (63). 

Kudos to the Clermont Chamber for providing a decent voting guide (paid for by ads and donors) and also allowing a vote on all the upcoming Amendments.  Observers think the results from this Hob Nob are less distorted than the results of the earlier Leesburg HobNob because Clermont has better procedures to minimize experienced candidates implementing biased tactics.

Here are the results in pdf format from the original excel worksheet.

Two pages - One is candidate results, the other is the Ameindment results.

Download 2012-08-07 Clermont Hob Nob

Download 2012-08-07 Clermont Hob Nob Amendments

=========================================================

Response received from Debbie Stivender Aug. 8th, which appears to indicate she did not have a side deal with another candidate... she mentions "proofing" my work - that is why I said rumor - this is an opinion column - vj

Vance,

Thank you for forwarding this information. You might want to proof your work before sending out to the masses, as well as not make assumptions on rumors.

See ya,

Debbie

vj

Another VOTER FRAUD case in Kentucky - this time votes being bought for $25 each. http://foxnewsinsider.com/2012/07/29/widespread-vote-buying-in-eastern-kentucky-revealed/

Florida Voter Fraud & Manipulation of Absentee Ballots by paid Hispanic "Ballot Collectors"

Democrats keep saying there are no records of voter fraud, but here is an article reported in the Kansas City Watchdog, of all places, on absentee ballot fraud in the Miami area.

http://watchdog.org/46532/fl-witnesses-come-forward-in-potential-absentee-voter-fraud-scandal/   

Voter Fraud - the gift just keeps giving us headaches because Elections Supervisors don't detect and track down these practices.

vj