IN YOUR CORNER

by the Martin County Taxpayers' Association 10/23/99

The Sheriff's Office and Public Safety are investigating the purchase of a new county-wide emergency radio system. They say the current system was poorly designed and has become obsolete in the seventh year of its projected ten-year life. Emergency upgrades have been expensive and are no longer economical, parts are increasingly difficult to find, and the system will probably crash in about two years. It will take about two years for a new system to be operational. The projected cost is $10 million.

The people who ordered the present system are no longer with the county, but it appears that the problem arose when they tried to write system specifications based on design rather than performance. The county does not have the technical knowledge to write design specifications, and we doubt if the $200 thousand consultant approved by the commission does either. We suggest that the county write performance specifications, what they want the system to do, in detail. The people who use the system should be able to define their needs. Give the performance specifications to the prospective vendors, there are only three, and ask for suggestions and ultimately bids. Have the consultant help review the proposals and consider leasing the equipment. Ten million dollars is a lot of tax money, so let us be sure it needs to be spent and if so, spent properly.
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Some commissioners recently expressed concern about the ever-increasing cost of county government and the lack of justification for departmental budgets. These are subjects that have concerned us for years and we are happy to see commission concern. The first step in solving a problem is recognizing that there is a problem. The present county budget format does not address these problems and cannot, and a change will be necessary if they are to be addressed. We have a solution to these problems which we have been propounding for years, zero-based budgeting. The so-called zero-based budgets of two departments last year were fakes that had no relation to the zero-based process. Maybe when all else fails the commission will give zero-base a fair trial. The City of Stuart waited until they were almost bankrupt to rein in costs. We hope the county does not make the same mistake.
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A survey covering a fairly diverse group of Martin County residents found that overall 82% of those interviewed were satisfied with county services. We don't know what this survey cost the taxpayers and we don't know if it was demographically accurate enough to mean anything. Not included in the final report were negative comments about commission micro-management, traffic problems, and the diversity of the industrial base. It is interesting that one out of five people interviewed are dissatisfied with county government. Eighty-two percent is a C grade in our public schools.
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More on the piece of land purchased for the proposed site of the Martin County Health Center for which the county paid $625,000. The land needs to be rezoned and the zoning is currently being delayed by the litigation between the county and the City of Stuart. Now we find that the 15.2 acre parcel has 2.3 acres of wetlands, which could make up to five acres unusable if the county applies its wetland setback rules. The commissioners