PBC Taxpayer Action Board Update
TAB Members,
February was a busy month for TAB.
- We brought the TAB story to the Republican Club of Central Palm Beach County and they decided to join us as a coalition partner.
- We presented our legislative "wish list" to both the Legislative Affairs committee of the PBC Economic Council as well as the Business Forum, and both groups voted to adopt our legislative goals.
- After a presentation to the annual meeting of the Singer Island Civic Association, that group has decided to work with us on legislative action after the municipal elections.
- Our partner, the Town of Palm Beach Budget Task Force, has decided to continue under the leadership of Mayor Gail Coniglio, and work with TAB on implementing a study by Florida TaxWatch.
- We met with an interested party concerning the Solid Waste Authority plan to select a vendor for the $800M waste to energy plant and plan to dig into that area to understand why the first and third bidders are $200M apart.
- We met with Tax Collector Anne Gannon to follow up on our piece concerning her VOIP project and heard a convincing case for reform in the way the county supports the constitutional officers.
- We met with Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff and discussed various aspects of the Senate's support (or lack thereof) for the Governor's budget.
We hope March will be just as interesting
On the website you will find some new material on pension reform and how it relates to the county budget, some thoughts on public sector compensation, and a link to the Palm Beach Post editorial that used our data to argue for restraint in Fire/Rescue compensation. See the links below.
On the county government front, the schedule for the 2012 budget workshops starting June 13 is available. To view the entire calendar, click HERE. Also, mark your calendar for the April 5 County Commission meeting where proposals for charter changes will be discussed. This is an evening meeting (6:00pm) - an experiment. Many people have asked for regular evening meetings and this will be a test of turnout - if you would like to see more evening meetings, consider attending this one.
Thank you for your interest in responsible government spending.
The TAB Team
Pension Reform and Implications for Palm Beach County
By: PBCTAB
03/07/2011
Highlights Governor's FRS reform worth close to $100M / year to Palm Beach County (with schools included) Senate bill SB1130 implements only portions - reducing savings to about $30M Any change in special risk accruals are strongly opposed by the police and fire unions The legislature lacks the... [Read More...]
Coalition Partner Defines Mission
By: PBCTAB
02/28/2011
The Town of Palm Beach County Budget Task Force, a TAB coalition partner, has adjusted its goals under new chairperson Mayor Gail Coniglio. Members Carla Cove, Erica Elliot, Bobbi Horwich, Bruce McAllister and Jere Zenko reached consensus on 4 areas of focus: Continue working with TAB on county budget... [Read More...]
Public Sector Compensation – Some Perspective
By: PBCTAB
02/27/2011
With the conflict over public employee compensation raging in Wisconsin and likely to spread across the country, there are still misconceptions about how public employees are compensated (and how well), the role of unions in setting the levels of compensation, and the political aspects that typically... [Read More...]
TAB Study Referenced in Palm Beach Post Editorial
By: PBCTAB
02/26/2011
Our study of county pay and benefits ( Palm Beach County Pay and Benefits - How Much is Enough? ) was recently referenced in a Post editorial ( Rein in fire-rescue costs: Pay that was reasonable in better times no longer is ) regarding Fire/Rescue compensation. We came to the conclusion that the... [Read More...]
Florida Cities, Counties Can’t Afford Promised Pensions
By: PBCTAB
02/10/2011
In a recently released study, the nonpartisan LeRoy Collins Institute at Florida State has concluded that many local governments throughout the state cannot afford the pension obligations they have promised to their employees. According to the Sally Kestin, in a Sun-Sentinel article today, municipal... [Read More...]
Chris Christie on Public Sector Salaries
By: PBCTAB
02/07/2011
This man tells it like it is. Go to article→