IN YOUR CORNER
The September 5th primary election left in its wake the promise of a new
leadership approach at the county commission level. However, facing this
next board will be all the old familiar problems associated with
managing
county government. The Taxpayers association is looking forward to
helping were we can.
Month’s ago, the taxpayers’ association chose to review selected
procedures in the hope that strengthened procedures would more likely
produce sound results. Selected for review were the procedures to
purchase real property, the approach used to justify capital
expenditures (labeled enhancements and CIPs by the county), and that
used to justify new hires (a work in process). Modified procedures have
been submitted to the county for all but one. We also saw value in
conducting complete exit reviews to get a better understanding for
employee attrition, a real expense item.
Events following these initial reviews indicate a need for additional
studies on the county’s wage and salary administration practices, plus
its
approach to negotiating with the bargaining units.
***
We are pleased to report that Martin County’s General Services has made
a good effort at refining their budget, and it appears they have
implemented zero base budgeting techniques in their decision making
process. In the zero base process top level managers must make decisions
concerning billing levels and other planning assumptions to be used by
their organizations throughout the budgeting cycle; managers must (1)
decide which activities and functions to develop their decision packages
around; (2) identify and evaluate alternatives and decide on the best
method as well as several alternative levels of effort; (3) decide on
meaningful work load indicators and measures of effectiveness, and then
evaluate their performance against those measures; (4) decide on the
relative importance of each package; and (5) establish the budget
deciding which packages they cannot do without, which they can afford to
fund, and which they cannot afford to fund. In order to do this, they
must involve the leaders of the various tasks.
The requirements for decision making and establishing of priorities for
zero base budgeting are viewed as an extremely dangerous and upsetting
process by those managers, who have learned to survive by keeping low
profiles or ‘keeping their noses clean’. Zero base budgeting takes away
the blanket of security from those managers, identifies exactly what and
how well each activity is doing, and forces some very difficult
decisions. This fear of decision-making and close scrutiny of all
activities seems more common and pronounced in managers in government
rather than industry and seems to be more common in poorly managed
organizations than in well managed ones. Our hats are off to the
Directors of General Services for showing such conscientious leadership
that benefits us all.
***
Apparently the "Notice of Hearing to Impose and Provide for Collection
of
Non-Ad Valorem Assessment" resulted in a large number of letters and
telephone calls from single family residential property owners recently.
The Environmental Services Department sent out a slightly confusing
announcement that, simply stated, advises of an annual increase of $1.67
or 1.04% over last year’s rate. Indiantown didn’t fare as well; they got
an annual increase of $2.86 or 1.54% over last year’s rate. We commend
this
department’s efforts to correct the confusion by a further explanation
in
the Stuart News, and they have assured us that next year’s notice will
be
more clear to all of us taxpayers.
***
There has been much discussion about the operation of the Martin County
Golf & Country Club, and the necessity of an additional public-owned
facility. This has generated questions from our membership. Reviewing
these issues will be an ongoing project for the MCTA Watchdog group.
The Martin County Golf & Country Club land is leased by the Martin
County Golf & Country Club, Inc., which is a not-for-profit corporation,
from the County in accordance with the Golf Course Lease, dated 7/17/92.
It is operated by a Board of Directors and has not increased its play
rates since its inception. The operation is completely fee based, and no
county taxes are used. The operating budget of $2.1 million for two
18-hole golf courses appears reasonable for a well run facility.
Operational costs have remained constant for the last four years. The
Club has remitted $114-140K yearly to the County in accordance with the
1992 lease. A new lease will be negotiated in 2001.
A more difficult issue is the need for an additional public course. At
present, there are 432 private and 207 open-to-the-public golf holes to
serve the needs of Martin County residents. It is anticipated some of
the
open-to-the-public holes will become private in the future. We have
discovered that Martin County currently has leases which generate income
from two other courses: Heritage Ridge Golf Club of Hobe Sound, Inc. and
First Fairways Limited Partnership (Summerfield).
Compounding the issue is the county's $2.2 million purchase of parcel
93-2R (Bessemer Property) by Lands For You funds to build another public
golf course. In 1994, it was determined this parcel was not suitable for
development of a 27-hole golf course. The Public Golf Course Citizens’
Advisory Committee recommended purchasing additional land from an
adjoining parcel (market value of $315,000) that would have been
sufficient to construct the 27-hole course.
In looking back on all this, it is difficult to determine why a 27-hole
course was deemed necessary, but on February 28, 1995, it became a moot
point as the county commission decided not to fund another public
course. At the 11/09/95 Land Acquisition Selection Committee meeting, it
was learned the original applicant, the Golf Course Citizens’ Advisory
Committee had been disbanded. While we have not formed an opinion as to
the need for another public golf course, possibly the county commission
should re-establish a public golf course citizen’s advisory committee.