It's Your Money

We were extremely disappointed to find out that the Children’s Services Council of Martin County failed to heed our advice and are proceeding with plans for constructing a new headquarters building in Stuart. We believe the CSC, a tax supported altruistic organization, should be looking to fulfill their mission of helping children with the minimum overhead expenses possible. In our opinion they should make every taxpayer dollar, or the interest they receive from them, available for those they serve. This is especially true during the current economic conditions that are expanding the need for charitable services. Paying over a half million dollars for a 1.25 acre lot and allotting over two million for an expensive new 12,000 sq. ft. “green” headquarters is not in keeping with that philosophy or the challenging times.

The CSC currently occupies an 8,300 sq. foot leased facility with a large meeting room and office space for their 10 employees. This building, which has been their headquarters for a number of years, appears adequate and is being leased for $137,000 annually. This equates to approximately 1.26% of their $10.8 million tax funded budget, not an unreasonable amount. This expense is also one that could probably be reduced by a skillful negotiator in today’s commercial real estate environment. A new three million dollar headquarters for an organization with 10 employees and a total budget of $10.8 million for 2010 IS NOT a reasonable expenditure

The major requirements listed as driving the need for this new headquarters are extra meeting room(s) and more office space so that it can be “shared” with some of the organizations/programs that CSC supports. We note that many suitable commercial buildings are now going empty and adding another, especially one that is off the tax roles, makes little economic sense - and the County has at least a dozen large meeting rooms available for the asking.

We were far more disappointed with the CSC decision when it was revealed last week that the Indiantown Boys and Girls Club, an organization supported by CSC, is in desperate need of a new facility. According to media coverage: the aging club is so cramped, the Boys & Girls Clubs can’t offer programs … That, in turn, means it’s not attracting as many boys and girls as it should. About 60 local children are active members of the club, but there are many more who are unsupervised during the after-school hours …. That’s a problem — especially in Indiantown, where about one-third of all children live in poverty.

Last Thursday, the Club kicked off a campaign to build a 20,000-square-foot, $3.5 million facility on the 6.5 acres it already owns in Indiantown. It has accumulated about $900,000 for the project so far and hopes to break ground on the building by next summer. According to the reporter: “ … paying for the new center won’t be an easy task. Particularly at this time of year — particularly in this painful economy — the Boys & Girls Clubs will be one name among many charities asking for donations. The group will face the added challenge that it’s seeking help for Indiantown — a 30-minute drive from most of Martin County’s residents. It’s easy to forget so much need exists there.

This situation offers the CSC an opportunity to revisit their decision and do the right thing for the children they serve. The dollars earmarked for their new headquarters could theoretically completely fund the Indiantown Club – or give them a big leg up and also help other worthy programs. T he CSC should re-negotiate their current lease and use the dollars accumulated to help fund this needed facility. Since they do not pay property taxes it costs the CSC little to hold their already purchased land until it can be sold at a profit, or a new facility is actually needed by CSC or another government entity supported by Ad Valorem taxes. The CSC should not allow what may have been reasonable decisions in the past to prevent doing the right thing now .

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We would like to wish all of our Indiantown readers a wonderful Thanksgiving. This tradition of getting together with family and friends to commemorate the plentiful “harvest” provided by America is a uniquely appropriate celebration. Whatever your religion (if any) please pause for a few moments during the day to reflect on how lucky we all are to be living in this wonderful country.