Daily Loaf

According to this article, many residents were surprised at the furlough days implemented because of the recent budget cuts down at the county. Hey, they have to pay for Commissioner White’s $500,000 sex trial and Pat Bean’s let’s give ourselves a raise award somehow, right? The additional upcoming furlough days are Jan 15th, April 2nd, June 18th and Sept 9th. (Sadly, none of those appear to be BOCC meeting days.)

Taking a handful of furlough days due to budget cuts doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it might be hard for commissioners to explain in light of the costs associated with Kevin White’s sex trial and County Administrator raises-for-my-friends attempt and one for herself too!

More disturbing to me was learning via the Planning Commission’s website ( in my opinion, the only objective planning agency in town) that they are now closed every Friday due to the absolute slashing that the BOCC did to their already lean budget.  So while the BOCC is supposedly getting behind this rail referendum, that one would think should include land use planning, our Planning Commission is crippled, having to close its doors to the public one day a week. Way to go, Hillsborough. Don’t worry, I am sure the Sports Authority is doing just fine with this year’s budget.

Commissioners should be ashamed at this development and citizens should be outraged at the way they spent tax dollars this year. And the County wants us to approve taxing ourselves for rail? Better start cleaning up their own back yard, because I think there might be some government trust associated with approving new taxes and let’s face it, that is not this county’s strong point.

Well, that bureaucrat watch is still on for embattled County Administrator Pat Bean but she is managing to stay afloat despite some very questionable activities. Since my last update on this even more issues have come to light: 1. She has a driver in spite of taking a car allowance  2. There seems to be no documentation of how her self given raise came to be (how convenient) and 3. Her former top aide, Wally Hill, has thrown her under the bus and said she gave herself the raise (recall she said she didn’t know who submitted her name for the raise award.) Uh-huh.

The Trib editorial board has called for an investigation and the Times has been calling for her head all along. Only Commissioners can clean this mess up (since Bean is not elected she is hired by the County Commission.) She is rapidly becoming the poster child for an elected County Mayor though. I was undecided on this issue or as Wayne Garcia once posed the question Seven knuckleheads or one? But at this point I am now in favor of an elected county Mayor or elected County Administrator whatever you want to call it. Read the rest of this entry »

As if giving double digit raises in an economic crisis to some of her faves wasn’t infuriating enough to taxpayers, it was recently revealed that County Administrator Pat Bean took an “award” herself. It was a 1% pay increase, really……..isn’t that a raise? The Internal Performance Auditor (IPA) uncovered this (after 300 hours of searching) and was professional enough not to send it to all of the Commissioners before it somehow got leaked to the press.

In her defense, Bean asked County Attorney Renee Lee if it was OK for her to accept the “award” and Lee gave her the green light. Guess who else took the raise award without the Board’s knowledge? Lee! The raise award in question was for saving the county money (isn’t that Bean’s job?) and according to this article it was designed for lower level employees (which is where Bean probably should be). Read the rest of this entry »

This is the first year I have really followed the county budget. While I have a lot of concerns about how politicians spend tax dollars I narrowed it down to the top ten for Thursday night’s final budget hearing. This is the message I delivered to the County Commission regarding my picks for wasting tax dollars:

10. $500,000 to study a rural section of Lithia Pinecrest which was not actually on any plans to be widened.

9. Cost of Pat Bean’s double-digit clandestine raises to some of her faves without your knowledge, including one employee without a college degree pulling in six figures.

8. Pat Bean’s raise to herself without your knowledge. Read the rest of this entry »

According to this press release from Hillsborough County:

Hillsborough County has been notified that it will receive $7,665,200 in federal stimulus funds to undertake energy efficiency and conservation projects on its facilities and vehicles. The award is the largest energy grant awarded to a County government in Florida to date. The funding comes from $2.7 billion set aside as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions by governments around the nation.

The County plans to use the grant money on the following improvement projects:

-A solar photovoltaic system on the original County Courthouse on Pierce Street, $1.307 million

-Energy-saving lighting retrofit to two County warehouse buildings on Falkenburg Road, $300,000
Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, if you were asked which local governments were early proponents of all things green, you may think: Sarasota with its early adoption of green ordinances; St. Petersburg, Florida’s first certified Green City; or Tampa with its initiatives and recent Green City designation. Yes, all good choices, but I bet it would surprise you that Hillsborough County led the pack. With little fanfare, one of the county’s employees has been quietly implementing energy saving strategies. It all started way back in 2000 when the county made the bold move of hiring Energy Manager Randy Klindworth. Back then, all he set out to do was curb expenses. Nine years ago, who would have thought that carbon footprint, sustainability, green, or Energy Star would be part of the vernacular?

On April 29th, in conjunction with USGBC’s Gulf Coast Chapter, County Administrator Pat Bean and Commissioner Rose Ferlita will host a tour of the Mr. Klindworth’s crowning achievement- a district cooling plant that provides chilled water for air conditioning for five county buildings downtown. The plant contains a thermal energy storage system that makes ice at night when utility rates are lower and are more efficient to operate, greatly reducing the carbon footprint of the county’s operations. This plant also collects condensate water from all five county buildings it serves, saving over 3 Million gallons of water each year. As a result of this program, the county has received the Energy Star Award for 3 of their downtown buildings. Thanks to the implementation Mr. Klindworth’s progressive programs, county taxpayers have saved over $1.2 million a year.

Preceding the tour, an overview of the county’s sustainability program will be presented.

When: Wednesday, April 29th (click to register)
Registration: 5:00pm – 5:30pm 
Program: 5:30 – 7:00 pm
Where: Edgecomb Courthouse – 800 E. Twiggs Street
Cost: $10 for USGBC Gulf Coast Chapter members, $20 Non members