South Beach Bridge Reconfiguration from St. Lucie TPO

The St. Lucie Transportation Planning Organization presented information on the South Causeway Bridge Reconfiguration Study today at the Riverwalk Center in Fort Pierce. About 60 residents attended, and the discussion was often spirited. Most attendees did not favor reducing the number of lanes on South Beach bridge for safety, traffic or evacuation reasons. Several bridge walkers and cyclists attended and gave testimony about the safety hazards of walking and riding bicycles currently on the South Bridge. Many attendees spoke against the reconfiguration because of the $1 million rough cost estimate, especially now during the economic downturn. The St. Lucie TPO has information on its website on this proposal.: http://www.stluciempo.org/. Commissioners Edward W. Becht and Reginald Sessions serve on the TPO from the City of Fort Pierce. Commissioners Rufus Alexander and Tom Perona are alternates.

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/sep/17/residents-argue-for-against-south-causeway-plan/

Residents argue for, against South Causeway Bridge plan in Fort Pierce

By Cathy S. Reeder Special to Treasure Coast Newspapers

Saturday, September 17, 2011

FORT PIERCE — More than 75 local residents and bridge users debated an early conceptual plan to rebuild the South Causeway Bridge on Saturday at the River Walk Center in Fort Pierce.

"It was a great meeting with great ideas, and we'll go back and consider each of them," said Peter Buchwald, executive director of St. Lucie County Transportation Planning Organization, which sponsored the two-hour public input meeting. "We're very early in the planning stages on this."

The plan would turn the current four-lane bridge with 4-foot barricaded sidewalks into a two-lane bridge with barricaded 12.5-foot bike/pedestrian lanes. During hurricane or nuclear evacuations, the bike/pedestrian lanes would be used for vehicle evacuation and emergency vehicles, transportation planners said.

That roughly $1 million configuration is the safest when vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists use the bridge at the same time, said Kimley-Horn traffic engineer Stewart Robinson.

Robinson said the local roads leading to the causeway already are two-lane, and making the causeway two lanes at current traffic levels would place it at 75 percent capacity.

Some residents were not convinced.

"I think we're going backwards instead of forwards if we're taking four lanes down to two on the bridge," said Mike Greene, a 39-year resident of South Beach. "Why would we make a lot of people suffer to give a very few people these improvements?"

He defined "suffering" as sitting through several traffic lights with no way around fender benders or to let ambulances get by, or to deal with other everyday traffic problems.

A younger resident countered that thought. "I would be one less car in that man's traffic jam if it were safe to come over the bridge on my bike," said Lorae Simpson, 25, of South Beach. "I want to ride my bike to work, but it isn't safe the way it is. I like this plan."

Planner Lisa Frezier of Kimley-Horne said current cyclist and pedestrian use of the bridge is not an adequate measure of who would use the facility once it's safer and easier to use. She also said the local economy would feel a direct positive impact from connecting more modes of transportation between Hutchinson Island to downtown Fort Pierce.

Peter Harrison, a land manager, argued a differing point. "It's not right to shift the use of this bridge when people in the condos there paid tens of thousands in taxes and development fees to build the four lanes. They want to use their cars to get to restaurants and movies and shopping. They don't want to use bicycles."

Cyclist Charlie Hayek, a South Beach resident, saw the project as more than a local issue. "We are trying to reduce our carbon footprint. We're trying to get people out of their cars, and ride bikes and walk," he said.

TO SHARE YOUR OPINION

The public input period for the South Causeway Bridge continues through early November. Send your written comments, along with your name, address, and (optional) phone number, to:

definie@stlucieco.org

St. Lucie Transportation Planning Organization

2300 Virginia Ave.

Fort Pierce, FL 34982

772-462-2549 fax

Flag Ceremony Honors 224th Anniversary of Constitution

September 17...Today I attended the Flag Ceremony in commemoration of the 224th anniversary of the framing of the US Constitution. Held in conjunction with the Downtown Farmers' Market of Fort Pierce at Marina Square, the Color Guard was provided by the US Coast Guard. St. Lucie County Commissioner, Frannie Hutchinson, was the guest speaker. The 20-minute colorful and patriotic ceremony was sponsored by the Cora Stickney Harper Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

FPUA Revenue Comes from the Ratepayers

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/sep/12/fort-pierce-considers-ways-to-collect-more-fpua/

Fort Pierce considers ways to collect more FPUA revenue without rate increases

By Eric Pfahler

Monday, September 12, 2011

FORT PIERCE — Fort Pierce Utilities Authority Director Bill Thiess' plan to put $1.5 million into city coffers wouldn't require a rate increase, but residents would not receive a decrease planned for April either.

Thiess presented options to city commissioners on how the authority could send more money to the city, but he's looking for more time to delve into details.

Commissioners are expected to discuss the potential transfer further at their meeting Oct. 17, while FPUA board members could discuss the issue Sept. 20.

At issue is the transfer fee the city collects annually from the FPUA.

In 2010-11, the city collected $5 million from the FPUA. The city is supposed to collect 6 percent from FPUA revenues, but the two sides disagree on what is considered revenue. Historically, the city has not collected money brought in from the power cost adjustment, which gets flipped straight to Florida Municipal Power Agency, Thiess said.

The power cost adjustment is part of the bill and covers the fluctuating price of fuel. The adjustment makes up $34 of the bill for a ratepayer using 1,000 kilowatt hours, which is roughly the average monthly residential electric use.

City officials are considering clarifying the definition of "gross revenue" in the city charter to include the power cost adjustment. The money could help offset future city deficits and lower the property tax rate.

But commissioners plan to take more time to go through the options presented by Thiess and consider others. Thiess said the $1.5 million would affect the base rate — now $42.32 per 1,000 kilowatt hours — by $2.80. That would eliminate the planned decrease in April, Thiess said.

Two City Commissioners — Eddie Becht and Tom Perona — said they hope to take some of the politics out of future rate increases. The two discussed the idea of using a state index to help determine future rates. The Florida Public Service Commission creates a "deflator index," which serves as a way to measure inflation in the energy world. If the two commissioners' proposal is approved, the FPUA could raise rates by a percentage or all of the index without needing city approval.

Details on the proposal have not been finalized, but the index is expected to rise no more than 1.5 percent per year during the next five years.

CFP Pursues Increased Transfer from FPUA

September 12....The City of Fort Pierce (CFP) Commission met today to discuss their pursuit of an increased transfer amount from the Fort Pierce Utilities Authority (FPUA). CFP City Manager told the Commission that this is simply a matter of clarification of what the transfer amount should be and asserted that the FPUA is an "enterprise fund" of the City. FPUA Director Bill Thiess told the Commission that there may not need to be an immediate rate increase, but that planned electric rate decreases would not be feasible if the increased transfer of $1.5 million occurred. The City needs increasing amounts of money to pay down their debt at an annual rate of about $5 million per year in the coming years. The increased millage rate proposal passed at the September 6 meeting was not discussed at all, but will be the subject of a September 19 and September 26 CFP commission meetings. Members of the FPUA Board attended today's meeting as guests. FPUA Board Chairman, Darrell Drummond, addressed the Commission, saying that the FPUA Board would be discussing the impact of the transfer at its next meeting, September 20, 2011 and must act in the best interests of the ratepayer.

Bottom line: Calling it a "clarification" doesn't take away the fact that the money, $5 million a year in the past, and $6.5 million a year in the future, came from the ratepayers and will come from them in the future.

Millage Rate, FPUA Charter Change

September 6, 2011... Three City Commissioners voted to raise the millage rate: Alexander, Perona and Sessions. Two did not: Becht and Benton. Two more public hearings will be held on the millage rate. Commissioners also talked about a charter change to get more money from the Fort Pierce Utilities Authority (FPUA), but postponed action until October 17. The FPUA presented their budget and Commissioners questioned certain line items, including a 2% salary increase in 2012. City of Fort Pierce has projected a 2% tax increase 2013.
I was at the meeting and gave testimony. Also at the meeting were a large group of city activists and church leaders who are organizing a local chapter of PICO, a national network of faith-based community organzations.
Read about the meeting here: http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/sep/06/fort-pierce-gives-preliminary-ok-to-increased/

My Testimony

My name is Linda Hudson. I live on Frances Court in Fort Pierce.

For two years, your Citizens Budget Advisory Committee made recommendations for the City and the FPUA to reduce spending and NOT raise taxes or rates.

We did NOT recommend a millage rate increase.

We DID recommend reductions in personnel costs that would be fair to the employee and the taxpayer, save jobs and ensure that the employee retirement fund would be solvent in the future. The Committee recommended that you reduce costs in the following areas: legal, pension, insurance, sick pay, vacation pay, overtime, car allowances, technology and travel. We did NOT recommend cutting salaries or cutting jobs. We did NOT recommend reductions in services to your city residents.

You do not have a revenue problem; you have a spending problem. Raising taxes or rates is a short-term fix for the spending addiction, but it doesn’t break you of the spending habit.

If you raise taxes and rates, you increase the costs to the business community and the residents. Businesses are already struggling to stay alive. Property values will decrease even further if you raise taxes and rates. Not only will new business not come to Fort Pierce; the businesses that are here now will close their doors. What you should be doing is developing a way to help Fort Pierce businesses and citizens prosper, because their prosperity helps both the city and the utility.

Over many years, the ratepayers of your public utility have given you a lot of money. We ratepayers routinely subsidize the city by $5 million. Some ratepayers don’t even live in the city and they get to pay even more. With your proposals tonight, you’re telling your own utility that you want more money, money that has nothing to do with the cost of electricity, and money that came from ratepayers like me.

You’re also proposing a tax increase. You have racked up $95 million in debt and you must repay $5million every year. Over the years, while the debt increased, the city refused to make meaningful, long-term spending cuts. You engaged in several rounds of refinancing the debt, hoping the day would never come that you would have to pay it. Because of the increasing costs of debt and personnel, you have abandoned capital spending, money that should be going to keeping our city safe in the future.

Many people in Fort Pierce and St. Lucie County have lost faith in government and feel disconnected and at odds with those in power. Elected and employed public servants seem to be living in isolation from what is happening in the outside world. People outside the government inner circle are truly dumb-founded by your words and deeds.

Fort Pierce needs A New Beginning. Start fresh tonight by measuring every vote by this standard: Is this vote protecting our citizens and serving all the people in Fort Pierce? Put the private sector ahead of the public sector and by doing that, you will enhance your revenue streams. Do not raise taxes or increase utility rates, which will further depress the economic well-being of Fort Pierce. Find a new beginning for Fort Pierce tonight, by putting those who elected you back into your thoughts and deeds.

Open letter to City of Fort Pierce Commission and Staff

Do not increase taxes, before you make meaningful cuts in your spending by acting on the City of Fort Pierce’s Citizens Budget Advisory Committee recommendations that will reduce the city's costs immediately and in the future:

Reduce legal costs by $250,000; Reduce health care costs; Eliminate the annual sick leave conversion bonus; Establish sickleave payout upon retirement to 620 hours (6 weeks); Establish the retirement multiplier to 2.5 for all city hall employees (except police); Cap pensions to75% of base pay, and eliminate vacation, sick and overtime amounts (exceptstate-mandated overtime inclusion); Increase the retirement age and the number of years of service required; Increase the vesting period to ten years. Reduce Commission pay and review car allowances, technology, and travel for Commissioners and employees to make sure they’re justified.

Your debt repayment goes up to $5.2million in 2014. Most of this debt is due to the 2007 Sunshine Loan that you were warned the City could not pay back; you then shifted the responsibility to the FPRA, which is now unable to pay it either. This debt payment exists because of expensive property purchases and building a city parking garage. The staff and the commission must now assume responsibility for their speculative behavior by coming up with money that does not come from the taxpayer or the ratepayer to pay your debt.

Higher taxes, higher utility rates, or cut spending?

The City of Fort Pierce is seeking increased revenue streams, and Commissioners, especially those facing elections, are proposing a tax increase. City of Fort Pierce Finance Director, Gloria Johnson has also steered them toward a place she deems rich in cash: the Fort Pierce Utilities Authority. She said she identified FPUA cash reserves that would pay the city $1.5 million more than it did this year. The FPUA says its cash reserves are accounted for in the annual rate study and if the city is successful in getting more money out of the FPUA, the utility will have to increase rates.

The Commissioners are faced with the dilemma of increasing taxes and risking an angry electorate, or increasing the transfer from the FPUA to the City, this year at $4 million, and let the ratepayers be angry at the FPUA. The taxpayer and the ratepayer are one and the same, for the most part, so either way, the lowly resident and business owner will be asked to pay more. Increasing taxes or utility rates will hasten the local economic decline, and will not address the real problem: excessive spending

According to Finance Director Johnson, the City needs the money for future budgets, especially in 2013 and beyond, for increased debt service payments. The total debt service payment of the City of Fort Pierce will be $5,278,827 in 2014. The City's debt is due, largely, because City Commissioners purchased property at top price, such as Jetty Park and Fisherman's Wharf, plus other properties, and built a parking garage and retail space behind city hall. Now, the taxpayer, or the ratepayer, is being asked to pay for their spending spree. .

There is a way that the taxpayer and the ratepayer could be treated fairly. Do not raise taxes or utility rates, but reduce personnel and other costs. Salary and benefit levels at the City and the FPUA have become increasingly generous and cannot be sustained. The private sector has had to tighten its belt, and so must government.

Read about this issue in the news:

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/sep/01/fort-pierce-commissioner-becht-may-hold-key-to/

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/aug/12/fpua-rates-could-go-up-if-fort-pierce-asks-for/

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/aug/17/anthony-westbury-storm-over-utility-payments/