Fiscal Rangers

Lake County Republicans Publish List of Endorsed, Recommended or Certified local Republican Candidates

Tavares, FL - June 29, 2012 by Vance Jochim - FiscalRangers.com The Lake County Republican Party met last Wednesday and voted on whether to "certify", "recommend" or "endorse" key local Republicans for various elected offices in Lake County. The category definitions are below. To get a category recommendation, the candidate had to get 2/3 of the REC precinct members present. Some candidates barely got 2/3 of the votes , others got quite a few votes, and some only got about 30% support. About 72 REC voting members were there, but not all voted in each motion. The results of the event are in a press release at the bottom of this document. The upset was Margie Eaton receiving the sole "Endorsement" approval of the group for Elections Supervisor. Eaton has been campaigning for almost a year, visiting political groups and has done the most research on her targeted position. Incumbent Property Appraiser Ed Havill did not get 2/3 approval for the Republican categories. He had dropped out of the Republican party during the Charlie Crist / Jim Greer fiasco, said disparaging things, and then re-registered as a Republican, but did not get approval. I was surprised at how strongly some... Read more →

FiscalRangers Opinion on the $1.2-million Lake County Investment in Regional Marketing Group

Update: We updated the link to the Fox Orlando interview of our opinion, also wrote more on this issue and were interviewed by Channel 9 two days later - look for a later July 2 article on this blog. But read this one first. Tavares, FL - June 29, 2012 by Vance Jochim, FiscalRangers.com I believe that the Lake County Board needs to sever relations with the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission (MOEDC) and spend the $288,000 budget on more productive areas. I am not against Economic Development funding, but I am against a taxpayer funded regional agency that uses, for example, a marketing program that only gets 138% return based upon projected TEN year data for Lake County when the total projected (not real) returns for all four covered counties gets an average of 457% return. And, then you find Lake County is paying MORE per capita than other counties, and that the "return on investment" calculation is not based on real data. Read below and see what I mean. Fox Orlando 35 had a short video segment Wednesday where reporter Tracy Jacim interviewed me about thisissue. You can find it here: http://www.myfoxorlando.com/video?clipId=7449297&autostart=true But it is hard to explain... Read more →

Rick Riker Guest Column: Lake County School Board reverses earlier decision and will not change dress code...

Tavares, FL - Tuesday, June 19, 2012 Guest column by Rick Riker on Results of the Lake County School Board Meeting last night regarding another Board vote on whether the tighten dress codes or not. Board Member Kyleen Fischer flipped her vote again, and was joined by Debbie Stivender and Rosanne Brandeberg in voting down a proposed change in the School District Dress code supported by Jim Miller and Tod Howard. Riker gives a good description of the 3 1/2 hour public hearing last night. Links to the District's press release and other articles are at the bottom of this document. The picture at left is NOT from the Lake County Dress Code policy. Vance Jochim ================================================================= By Rick Riker Monday night found the county Board of Commissioners chambers packed with over two hundred Lake residents, all were there to weigh in on the proposed uniform dress code the School Board had tentatively passed on the first reading the previous month by a 5 to 0 vote. And weigh in they did. The four hour meeting gave the public the opportunity to voice their opinions which was not afforded them the previous month when the subject, which everyone thought was... Read more →

Florida Tea Party Network Members Try, but Fails to get Adam Putnam to Fight $8-billion Energy Bill

Tavares, FL - June 12, 2012 Florida Tea Party Network representatives met with Florida Agricultural Commissioner Adam Putnam to understand why he supported HB-7117, an energy bill that will cost Florida taxpayers over $8-billion to subsidize "alternative" energy sources like wind and solar. it became law on April 14, 2012 without a requested veto from Gov. Scott. Thus your energy costs will go up more in the future to subsidize more costly wind & solar energy that is not reliable. The bill shifts energy surtaxes to selected recipients of residential and commercial property owners who make retrofits desired by GOVERNMENT (not market based). This is a typical Federal objectives "green" bill that uses tax funds to subsidize gvoernment desired "sustainable development" goals. The bill should be killed. Read BOTH of the Tea Party Network reports below and remember that when you are asked to vote for Adam Putnam in the future. Here is a link to Putnam's Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services webpage: http://www.myflorida.com/agency/1/ Here is a link to the Florida Senate Info page on HB-7117 http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2012/7117 Here is the link to two reports from the Tea Party Network representatives, or read the entire text below. http://theteapartynetwork.org/2012/06/meeting-with-commissioner-putnam-on-energy-bill-hb-7117/ =========================================================================== Report... Read more →

Rio+20 Conference DRAFT Outcome Report on Agenda 21 Objectives Leaked to Press

Tavares, F: - Tuesday, June 12, 2012 Rio+20 Agenda 21 & Sustainable Development Update - Here is a leaked (attached) 81 page draft of expected "outcomes" for the international conference in Rio. If you have been following Agenda 21 issues, this is a glimpse on what the conference wants to announce at the end of the conference. This was obtained by the UK's Guardian newspaper - follow the links and you have to enroll using Facebook on Scribd to download it. I suggest you set the visibility settings to "only me" and don't let Scribd access your info when they ask - skip the options. Here is a quote, followed by the link. "5. We recognize that people are at the center of sustainable development and in this regard, we strive for a world which is just, equitable and inclusive, and we commit to work together to promote sustained economic growth and development, social equity and environmental sustainability, and thereby to benefit all." Remember social equity is income and property re-distribution. They also want open borders so any immigrant can enter another country and live off their resources / benefits. Read the attached draft or go to the link below... Read more →

Lake County School Board – Update on CFAC Committee to identify alternative revenue sources for Capital Projects

Tavares, FL - Monday, June 11, 2012 by Vance Jochim - FiscalRangers.com Lake County School Board – Update on CFAC Committee to identify alternative revenue sources for Capital Projects The School Board is not meeting today (Monday) , either for a workshop or regular meeting. Lake County CFAC Meeting (Capital Facilities Advisory Committee) This Lake County committee (see info here) started a new series of meetings to examine details on Lake County SCHOOL capital funding to determine what revenue methods could be used as alternatives to the currently waived School Impact Fees. So far, the schools have “lost” $6-million in revenues for capital projects because the County Board waived their impact fee revenue sources. The Committee is only looking at capital funding (to build schools, buy buses, etc), and not salaries, operational costs, etc. Only certain revenue sources can be used for capital projects due to ALL School Districts still using the archaic “fund accounting method” which even a tribe of gypsy hackers could not understand without hours of information. More modern governments now use “program budgeting” where reports and budgets are tracked by programs or projects, not by different fund source data. HERE is the page on the Lake... Read more →

SOME of Palm Beach County Cities (but not all) Sue to NOT fund County Inspector General

When you see a headline like this, you assume the Inspector General Office in Palm Beach County, FL is screwing up, but not in this case. The IG was created about 3 years ago by a Palm Beach County citizen referendum vote, with authority over Palm Beach County (also previously known as Corruption County), School District and all the cities. But a number of the larger cities sued a few months ago to NOT be invoiced for their share of the IG costs. No other reason seems to exist other than not wanting to pay for it, or they don't want some of their actions to be subject to review by an independent IG. But, there are quite a few cities that did NOT sue to stop funding, so maybe this issue will die as the cities suing not to be subjected to audit find out the public might not be happy with that approach. That was the point of the editorial below. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/opinion/let-good-cities-do-the-right-thing/nPN7C/ vj Read more →

Two local Lake County FL Hospitals received an A and a C score on hospital safety.

Two local Lake County FL Hospitals, Waterman & Leesburg, received an A and a C score respectively on a Hospital Safety Score report. You can read more how the scores were issued at the links below. The scores were published nationally by Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit that advocates for safer healthcare delivery. "Health analysts based hospital grades on 26 variables, including rates of infections, medication mix-ups, acquired injuries (including bedsores), and other preventable — and often fatal — conditions." Read this overview article first from the Orlando Sentinel, which does mention that Waterman is one of only three hospitals in central Florida to get an A grade. The read the detailed report pages for the two hospitals shown further down this page. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-06-06/health/os-hospital-safety-grades-20120606_1_hospital-deland-safety-grades-leah-binder Scrolling down the pages below, you will find many details on how the score was developed, but they don't provide any place for a response from the ranked hospitals. Knowing the Hospitals somewhat from observation, I am guessing Waterman knew this study was coming, and implemented procedures early to ensure their safety methods were improved. Waterman Hospital Received an A http://hospitalsafetyscore.org/hospital-details.html?location_id=531 Leesburg Regional Hospital received a C http://hospitalsafetyscore.org/hospital-details.html?location_id=547 One thing to keep in mind, is that... Read more →

Should Lake County Emulate the Massachussets High School Looking at Auctioning Naming Rights for Football Field, etc

Here is a high school where they are so short of funds to buy new computer technology that they are planning an auction to sell naming rights to areas in the school. http://articles.boston.com/2012-06-08/yourtown/32127075_1_bid-process-campaign-state-inspector The Newton, MA High School "foundation has proposed selling the naming rights to school spaces, such as athletic fields, science labs and classrooms, to raise as much as $6 million in three years for technology infrastructure and training." Even the State Auditor General got into the act, saying the foundation should have competitive bidding for the firm chosen to market and run the naming rights campaign. I would do that for free (plus advertising expenses) for the Lake County School District. Just think, if local Lake County School District did the same thing, we could have a Lake Tire High School, Daily Commercial restroom and a Welton Cadwell parking lot. vj Read more →

Guest Columnist Jim Krakowski on Lake County School Board Fiscal Weaknesses

Tavares, FL - June 8. 2012 This is a guest column from Jim Krakowski of the South Lake 912 Tea Party. He attends many workshops and regular meetings of the Lake County School Board, and this column is based upon his attendance at the Lake County (FL) School Board workshop and regular meeting held last Monday, June 4, 2012: =========================================================================== My comments / observation regarding June 4, 2012 Board Meeting. (Jim Krakowski 6/7/12) james krakowski [[email protected]] After hearing the last few budget presentations and subsequent discussions, I am becoming more and more convinced that the board should request monies be spent on educating themselves and the administration on financial management and fiscal responsibilities. The CFO (Carol MacLeod) has made several presentations on the fiscal year 2011/12 budget and this is what I take away from these presentations: Transportation: The district’s buses travel approximately 29,000 miles per day or 5.2 million miles per school year … yet there doesn’t seem to be any reserves being established to replace buses. Utilities: Utilities cost the district $25,000 per day or $9.1 million per year … yet there doesn’t seem to be any reserves being establish to replace heating, air conditioning lighting, etc. Staff:... Read more →

Lake County Deadline to File for County Offices Expires and Last Minute Surprises Occur

Tuesday, June 8, 2012 - Tavares, FL by Vance Jochim - FiscalRangers.com UPDATED 7pm with info on Bill Smalley & Ralph Smith, who filed so late they were not on the candidate list I was given by the Elections staff at noon. Today at noon was the filing deadline for Lake County elections for positions like Sheriff, Constitutional Officers and some County and School Board Positions. The only new candidates filing by the deadline were for Board position openings on the North Lake County Hospital District. Additionally, County Property Appraiser Candidate Pam Lee changed her candidacy to a Write In Candidate, which means she will not be listed on the ballot but people can write her name in as a candidate. Lee was unable to get enough signed petitions or fees to file and be listed on the ballot, so she is a write in candidate. As of this writing, the updated, final list has only been posted in the Excel format on this page: http://elections.lakecountyfl.gov/candidate_information/index.asp Incumbents that are safe, where no one filed to run against them include: - Welton Cadwell - County Commissioner - Bob McKee - County Tax Collector - Neil Kelly - Clerk of the Circuit... Read more →

Boca Raton Watchdog Group Complains about Excessive Firefighter Benefits & Pensions

Tavares, FL It seems that the CITY of Boca Raton, FL (not County) is slipping into heavy deficits, and like Lake County, the elected officials are ignoring the steep costs of pension and benefits for employees. In this case a new watchdog group was formed to disclose facts about excessive pensions and benefits and wages for city firefighters and EMS employees. We also added a link at the bottom of this posting to a story about how San Diego and San Jose referendums were passed to drastically reduce government employee pensions costs. Here is the Boca Raton story: http://www.bizpacreview.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=news.details&ArticleId=738070&returnTo=dale-king And, attached below is a VERY GOOD graphic 12 page Powerpoint that clearly shows the effects of excessive pensions and benefits for the firefighters. Watch the Powerpoint first - it is very good, then read the story. This is very clear analysis that should be an example of the type of visual analysis required of EVERY government agency about the effects of their pension, wages & and benefits. Download 2012_BCFRGoalSetting AND, here is a story how both San Diego and San Jose citizens pushed through referendums to drastically reduce government employee pensions. One city eliminated "pension spiking" which is the common... Read more →

220 People Attend last night's Hot Formation Meeting for New "The Villages Tea Party"

Tavares, FL - June 5, 2012 by Vance Jochim Last night, in "The Villages", FL, a new tea party organization was born, The Villages Tea Party. 220 people showed up for a very organized meeting with an agenda and everything. This group is the fourth spinoff from the old Tri-County Tea Party due to unhappiness with a dictator type management and lack of action committees. Both groups meet at 6:30 pm every Monday night, so if 220 attended this first meeting, you can see the unhappiness with the old one. The new Villages Tea Party held a very organized meeting, promised complete transparency over their cash & accounting (which was not the case at the old one), promised that they would follow Robert's Rules of Orders and let anyone speak for two minutes (which was not allowed at the Tri-County group), promised that elections for the full Board would be held each year, promised that the members define their activities, and the Board helps implement them. Last night's meeting was about the closest to a re-enactment of the US Constitutional meetings in the 1700's that I could imagine. "We the People" were in charge, not a dictator. Clearly many people... Read more →

Are ACORN Spinoffs Operating in Lake County or are HUD Grants Being Used to Fund Bogus "Community" Groups & Perpetrate Voter Fraud?

Tavares, FL - June 4, 2012 by Vance Jochim I recently came across some information about Federal HUD grants and how they can be used by bogus community groups to do things like illegally register voters like ACORN did, or skim money. Additionally, I found that although ACORN was closed and defunded by the Federal Government, they actually had a planned method to just create new names, use the same people, and continue with their questionable financial and voting "consultations" like before. As I discuss below, there actually is an ACORN replacement firm in Orlando called "Organize Now". So, I sent the following email to Lake County Commmissioner Leslie Campione and several staff, which is followed by her response. One reason I sent it is that Lake County administers and distributes funds for some Federal grants, which could include housing, financial counseling and voter registration programs. According to her response, Campione has been watching, and actually prevented one questionable firm from getting grant funds distributed by Lake County. Everyone needs to watch for ACORN spinoff activities, which is a reason for many of the new voting regulations like Voter ID in Florida and many other states. I expect all sorts... Read more →

Obama's HHS Offers $500,000+ grants for Community Services that run for FIVE YEARS!!!

Tavares, FL - June 4, 2012 by Vance Jochim Here is a federal Child welfare grant for "community based service providers" being offered that should make you mad. This is a Federal HHS social service grant for up to $500,000 for community services and the grants run FIVE YEARS long. We don;t know what the total funds available are, but I am guessing tens of millions of dollars. This is clearly an attempt by the Obama administration to fund favored "community organizations" and run up the debt for socialism programs that extend FIVE YEARS in case Obama loses. There should be a law about offering new grants that run past an election cycle. Leave Children's welfare up to the State, not the Feds. All Federal grants should be outlawed. vj Here is the text describing the HHS grant: **NEW**Providing Housing Assistance for Families in the Child Welfare System Deadline: July 30, 2012 These targeted Health and Human Services five-year grants are to be awarded to support: The development or expansion of triage procedures for a subset of families who come to the attention of the child welfare system due to severe housing issues and high service needs; local implementation of... Read more →

Florida Voter Fraud Update - A lot is happening this week including Court Date to Evaluate Obama Ballot Eligibility

Tavares, FL - Sunday, June 3, 2012 by Vance Jochim - FiscalRangers.com and FiscalRangers on Facebook The Florida Dept. of Divsions has been investigating a list of about 2700 registered voters and over 50,000 "dead people" to determine if the records are good, bad and the voter is alive and eligible. Additionally, people have challenged Obama's eligibility to be on the Florida ballot. And, the liberals have filed suit to overturn the Florida Voter Reform Act which established better procedures over how voter registrations are processed. So, below is new news on all those issues... A. Florida Judge Removed Time Deadline for Voter Registration Groups to turn in new Registration Forms So, the new FloridaWatchdog.org website tells us that Northern District Florida Judge, Robert Hinkle, and the liberals want to reduce restrictions that might prevent Florida Voter fraud. This judge ruled that a portion of Flrodia's voter reform bill be struck down. " Of all the reforms the Legislature enacted last term, the only one to feel the judge’s gavel was the provision requiring a 48-hour window for voter-registration drives. All the rest, including voter identification requirements, the reduction of early voting hours and stricter protocols for obtaining absentee ballots,... Read more →

We Analyze the newly proposed, 3 year, $1.2-million Lake County School District

Tavares, FL - Sunday, June 3, 2012 by Vance Jochim Here is my analysis of the proposed NEW 3-year LCEA Collective Bargaining agreement going to the Board for approval on Monday night, June 4, at 6pm. This report has already been sent to the Lake County School Board and key administrators for comments on Friday, June 1, with a deadline for comments of Sunday evening. Only one comment was received and I revised the wording. The agenda for the “regular” 6pm Board meeting on Monday, June 4th can be located in the Board Docs menu section of the Lake County School District website here: http://www.boarddocs.com/fla/lake/board.nsf/Public Below, I listed my review notes for the entire 96 page agreement, where I commented ONLY on changes from the prior agreement. MY summary conclusions are: FiscalRangers.com Conclusion Summary of our Review (details are further down): - Overall the wording changes seem to improve the Administration and Board authority over some important staffing decisions. - The wage increases have a total impact of $1.2-million, and the increases are under 2% for most teachers for a one step increase, and not huge in comparison to inflation and CPI rates. The contract does not specify how long... Read more →

This is Bilderberg 2012 Week - We Tell you about a Secretive International Group Affecting Freedom

Tavares, FL - Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - (Updated June 3rd with video links) Since this is a holiday week, neither the Lake County School Board or Lake County Board met last week, and the County Board is not meeting on Tuesday. So, I decided to cover the secretive Bilderberg meeting in Virginia, with an article each day on our Facebook page ( FiscalRangers ) through the weekend on this secretive "One World Government" group behind many international decisions affecting our banks, freedom, support for sustainable development, etc. The annual Bilderberg secret meeting will be held this weekend, May 31 to June 3 in Chantilly, Virginia. Yes, normally you probably want to watch FoxNews or Glen Beck this weekend, but I suggest you also watch some of the online coverage on Bilderberg, which is one hub besides the United Nations in the One World Government plan. Your local "mainstream media" outlets rarely challenge or cover Bilderberg, although many of their media leaders attend the actual meetings. This will be educational, since many independent online videographers are attending the meeting this weekend and will be live streaming what they find. After the "What is Bilderberg" section, I provide a link to... Read more →