Two years ago, the Peyton administration and Jacksonville City Council decided that we Duval County taxpayers did not deserve the property tax relief promised to us by the Florida Legislature and imposed three new taxes on us. Now, the stormwater and garbage tax bill has hit us for the second time. This bill is twice as large as the last one.

Please join us in our effort to repeal these new taxes before it is too late.

On June 9th at 4 PM, let’s gather outside of City Hall prior to the City Council meeting and call for the repeal of these taxes!

Once the City Council meeting starts, you can tell City Council that the fees need to go during the public comment portion of the meeting. We need as many people to show up as possible. If we do not stop this tax now, it will become more difficult to remove in the future and will become a burden for generations to come in Jacksonville!

We seek nothing less than the immediate and permanent repeal of the ordinances authorizing the new fees:

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The newly redesigned website for Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County has a web based content management system, a blog, online payment for membership fees, and links to their social network pages as well as the ability for readers to share content from the web site via their own social networks.

It is the mission of the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County, Inc., to prevent, identify, and publicize all forms of fiscal waste, extravagance, and imprudence within and by the government which impacts residents of Duval County, Florida.

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If you want to know what is wrong with city government spending in Jacksonville, take a look at bill 2009-403 that is coming up for a public hearing on Tuesday May 26th.  It spends $5,800 of taxpayer money to restore the Lakeshore Entrance Arches (see the picture to the left).  According to the bill summary, “the Lake Shore entryway at Blanding Boulevard, Appleton Street and Bayview Road was designated as a historic landmark by the City Council earlier this year. The entryway was constructed in 1925 in the Mediterranean style at the height of the Florida land boom.”  So basically what we are talking about is spending taxpayer money to fix up some old structure because someone decided that it has “historic” value.

If this is not bad enough, the money is being awarded to Rhodes Stucco without competitive bidding. The exemption is based upon Section 126.107(g) of the Ordinance Code which stipulates that “supplies or services to be provided by those specifically prescribed within authorizing legislation that appropriates the same” can be exempted from competitive bidding. You would think after the uproar over the no bid Trail Ridge contract to Waste Management that competitive bidding would be the way to go.  But apparently the City Council thinks that the amount is low enough that no one will notice. As you can see, Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County has noticed!

This is also touted as an emergency expenditure. Emergency?! Unless this structure is about to collapse and take out a busload of nuns, this is hardly an emergency!

I do not see how this repairing this structure could be considered a valid government function. If anything, it is a waste of taxpayer money!

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The following letter to the editor written by Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County board member Victor Wilhelm was printed in Sunday’s Florida Times Union.

Wrong direction

Shame on state Rep. Mike Weinstein for supporting a bill that allows a supermajority of the City Council to pass a sales tax increase without a vote of the people.

This usurps the home rule of families and their community. The intent of only allowing a sales tax increase by referendum for consolidated governments is to protect the outlying communities from the excesses of the urban core. This preserved home rule for communities like Mandarin or Baldwin.

Now 13 people on City Council can decide on the merits of a sales tax increase when it previously required the consent of a majority of the entire county.

Residents in Duval County are quite capable of deciding what services we wish to pay for. Duval County residents voted for over a $2 billion tax increase for the Better Jacksonville Plan.

Political power with respect to the relationship of individuals to government is a zero sum game. By changing the law to allow 13 people on City Council to decide versus over 700,000 individuals, Weinstein has shifted the balance of power in the wrong direction.

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PRESS RELEASE
From: Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County, Inc.
John Winkler, President and legal counsel
(904) 384-9918 www.jaxtaxpayers.org
April 26, 2009 Jacksonville, Florida

The legality of Mayor Peyton’s efforts to give Waste Management a $750 million City contract without competitive bids was challenged in a lawsuit by a local citizen’s group late Friday. The Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County, on behalf of all local residents, are requesting a court ruling on whether the Mayor’s proposal for the Trail Ridge landfill can even legally be considered by City Council. John Winkler, President of the CTDC, said his group is unaffiliated with any potential landfill operator. “Our sole purpose is to insure that the City follows the spirit and letter of its own laws on giving out large contracts, ” said Winkler. “City Council must determine both who will run the landfill and how much it will cost the residents for the next thirty years or more. Hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars are at stake, and the process has to be transparent, fair, and free of corporate intimidation of either the public or public officials.”

Winkler explains that the suit asks the court to declare that a vote by City Council to waive the city competitive bidding rules is illegal, as would be entering into the restated contract on Trail Ridge. The CTDC maintains the Mayor’s request to City Council violates local law because the overriding public purpose of the Procurement Code and the contracts it covers make it clear that landfill operations must be bid. The proposed “restated” contract is also unlawful because it contains provisions which could force the City to sell the entire 977 acre Trail Ridge site, together with the newly-purchased City “dirt mine,” to Waste Management without following the City ordinance on land sales.

“The citizens must guarantee City Council is not intimidated by Waste Management’s threats of litigation, amplified by the Mayor, into approving execution of an illegal ‘no-bid’ contract on the landfill,” Winkler reiterated. “Moreover, even a legal contract that could force the City into selling its only landfill site to a private company is irresponsible. The people of Duval County are unwilling to take that risk.”

See filed court documents below.

Complaint For Declaratory And Supplemental Relief

Exhibit 1

Exhibit 2 Part 1

Exhibit 2 Part 2

Exhibit 3

Exhibit 4

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Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County board member Phil Laibe made the following comments about the April 9th City Council hearing on the proposed Trail Ridge contract.  His comments are his own and do not reflect the opinions of Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County.

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So you want to know how to justify putting the taxpayer on the hook for $200,000 ($125,000 loan and $75,000 grant) to a business to expand its truck washing facilities?  Tell everyone that it reduces crime!

Yes, it’s true!  According to the City Council analysis of bill 2009-185, more than half of the 18 new full time jobs created by this expansion will be available to assist the re-entry of felons back into society.  Jacksonville businesses apparently have caught on to the fact that if you want to get money from the city government, it helps to have a crime prevention angle going for you.  It is not only absurd to use economic development money to do crime reduction, but also expensive since we are spending over $11,000 per job.

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Waste Management, Inc. has recently fired its latest salvo over the proposed $750 million Trail Ridge landfill contract by placing an advertisement in Sunday’s Florida Times Union newspaper. It promises the taxpayers of Duval County a cost savings of $250 million over the current contract if they allow Waste Management to continue to run the landfill site. It makes other promises such as recycling, efficient solid waste disposal technology and no closure and post closure expenses for the city. Finally, it emphasizes what a great partnership the city of Jacksonville has had with Waste Management. Wow, this sounds so good that it gets one thinking that the landfill contract does not need to be competitively bidded after all!

Not so fast. It is like marrying the first girl you fall in love with. Sure, it could turn out great, but why not shop around before you take the plunge? In medical science, scientists run clinical trials to verify if a drug really can cure the disease that it claims to cure. So the drug company says that the drug reduces the symptoms of the disease by 50%. Should we immediately start using the drug? Not exactly. You first ask if there was a control group. This control group has the same disease and is similar to the group receiving the drug, but does not get the drug. If the control group also sees a reduction in the symptoms of the disease of 50%, then we know that the drug is no more effective than letting the disease takes its natural course.

What does this have to do with the proposed landfill contract? When you bid the contract, each company submitting a bid is a control group for other bidders. Sure, $250 million sounds great. But could it be matched by other waste management companies? We will never know until we bid the contract.

Also, in the advertisement, Waste Management would seem to be our friend by taking us aside and asking us if this really is a good time to risk litigation costs and permitting delays. You would think that Waste Management is doing us a favor by helping us to avoid all of those headaches. What a pal!

I guess that this is the part that perturbs me the most. Waste Management is using the carrot and stick approach. Sweeten the pot with the carrot of $250 million of cost savings, but swing around the stick of litigation at the same time. Both the city and Waste Management are pursuing risk adverse courses. Waste Management avoids litigation that they are likely to lose according to Florida Coastal School of Law professor Cleveland Ferguson and the city’s General Counsel and also avoids the possibility of losing the contract through competitive bidding. The city avoids the cost of litigation and the possibility of running out of landfill space due to possible injunctions against bidding the landfill to any other company while the litigation is taking place.

The big loser in all of this is the competitive bidding process. The bidding process not only protects the taxpayer by assuring that city services are provided in the most cost efficient manner possible. But it also ensures that government contracts are not awarded to companies that have the best connections within city government. Using fair and transparent competitive bidding avoids government corruption and ensures fairness in the awarding of government contracts. Bid the contract!

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The Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County Board of Directors passed the following resolutions at its February 9th meeting:

A RESOLUTION OF THE CONCERNED TAXPAYERS OF DUVAL COUNTY IN OPPOSITION TO THE NO BID TRAIL RIDGE LANDFILL CONTRACT

Whereas multiple companies have demonstrated an interest in waste disposal services for the City of Jacksonville; and

Whereas the competitive bid process predominantly offers the taxpayers of Duval County the most cost efficient services; and

Whereas the city’s current procurement policy requires that this contract be competitively bid unless it is waived by city ordinance;

Now therefore be it resolved that the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County supports a competitive bidding process as essential to achieving the best deal for the taxpayers in regards to the Trail Ridge Landfill waste disposal contract.

Be it further Resolved that the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County supports Trail Ridge landfill contract terms that do not exceed the life of any active landfill cell and that the decision to build additional cells requires a competitive bidding process and a new contract for the life of the new cell.

Be it further finally resolved that the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County urges City Council to abide by the city procurement policy and not waive the rules requiring that the Trail Ridge waste disposal contract be competitively bid.

A RESOLUTION OF THE CONCERNED TAXPAYERS OF DUVAL COUNTY IN SUPPORT OF THE CITY ETHICS OFFICE

Whereas good ethical behavior is essential to effective government operations; and

Whereas the City Ethics Office has been effective in improving ethical standards within Jacksonville city government;

Now therefore be it resolved that the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County fully support the City Ethics Office.

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A group of citizens studying the future financing of Jacksonville city government met recently in a small room at the Jacksonville Community Council Inc. (JCCI) building on Atlantic Blvd. After a short introduction to the city pension problem, the meeting was opened up for questions and comments. It quickly became apparent from the ensuing dialogue that many were uncomfortable with the taxpayer being on the hook for city pension fund obligations if investments are not sufficient to meet them. As of September 2007, Jacksonville is looking at a half billion dollar unfunded liability for the police and fire pensions alone.  Add to that the unfunded liability of the city employee pensions and we are approaching the operating costs for a single year of city government operating expenses.  As the moderator of the JCCI discussion asked, who will be expected to assume the risk that these pension plans are not able to meet their financial obligations in the future?

I will make a few observations. For the most part, private industry has moved away from pension plans towards 401(k) defined contribution plans principally due to the immense financial costs associated with pension plans. The question is why has the city not done so?  First, the police and fire unions oppose it. They want the guaranteed payouts of a pension system no matter how costly it is to the taxpayer.

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