Something smells out at the PSTA

PSTA can't get Board chairman nominated legally

St. Petersburg, FL

Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Coauthor of: So You Want Blog.

See Janelle Irwin saintpetersblog; Darden Rice nominated 2016 PSTA board chair

Then from Mike Ferrier and Mike Deeson at 10 News: 10Investigates Sunshine Law violation at PSTA.

According to the Ferrier/Deeson report, Pat Gleason assistant attorney general says the nomination vote and the vote by the entire Board today to elect Rice chairman next year is null and void and needs to be redone.

And from Janelle Irwin at saintpetersblog, Darden Rice sets right PSTA Sunshine Law violation.

Well voting again on something that was already a violation of the Sunshine laws doesn't exactly "set it right."

First of all, Darden Rice is always looking for something to add to her political resume because that what she does public service. So it almost is an intuitive given that she would jump at the chance to set in the lead chair on the PSTA Board.

You might want to shrug all this off as a simple mistake upon the part of Ms Johnson and Ms Rice, but both are seasoned politicians; both understand the Sunshine Law, and both should know better.

Deals or "understandings" no matter how innocent they may seem are inappropriate in a public body and Rice's ducking of the Channel 10 news teams direct question about the incident should raise further questions.

The PSTA Board has a less than stellar history over the past few years from their booting out Norm Roche to their continued support of Brad Miller as CEO after serious questions arose during the GreenLight debacle have been a classic examples of how screwed up this Board really is.

Bay Post PSTA CEO Continues to Hang on to His Job

Bay Post Brad Miller PSTA CEO  Annual Evaluations

Bay Post Should Miller Go as PSTA CEO?

To set it really right Rice should simply withdraw and let the PSTA Board elect someone else as chair.  If she chooses not to withdraw her name from consideration, the PSTA Board should protect the taxpayer's interest and not confirm her nomination.

Let's not start out 2016 by approving something that was obviously done wrong and simply re-voting does not erase the violation that occurred.

Large amounts of Federal money are starting flow into PSTA again, and the Board needs to be pristine in its operation.  With Miller and basically the same GreenLight staff still in place the PSTA Board chair has a significant challenge on his or her hands to keep the PSTA administration in line.

Starting off with a questionable Board Chairmanship election process is just not the way to go.

E-mail Doc at mail to:dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (Gene Webb) Friend request. Please comment below, and be sure to share on Facebook. See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos.

Disclosures:
Contributor: Waterfront Charter Amendment (Vote on The Pier), Carly Fiorina for President

PSTA trolling for dollars in Washington

Should the Feds hand Brad Miller more Federal money?

St. Petersburg, Fl

Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Coauthor of: So You Want Blog. 

There are times when you question people's judgment and then there are times you just scratch your head and smile. This article in the Tampa Bay Times by Tony Marrero: Pinellas officials head to D.C. in search of funds for St. Pete rapid bus line caught my eye.

PSTA CEO Brad Miller hauled County Commissioner Janet Long and St. Pete City Councilmember Darden Rice up to Washington to meet with Representatives David Jolly, Kathy Castor, Senator Bill Nelson and someone from Marco Rubio's office to talk about getting some federal money for PSTA projects.

If you don't follow the goings on at PSTA, this might seem like a worthwhile effort since PSTA is pretty much capped out on tax revenue and Federal dollars for public transit have dried up.

Brad Miller going to Washington to ask for Federal Dollars is kind of like the guy who just got arrested for breaking into your house sending someone by to knock on your door and ask if you could help with his bail.

Miller, who misused federal funds to try to get even more of your tax money in the GreenLight sales tax debacle and then lied to the PSTA Board, would likely be the last person any federal or state politician would be excited about handing federal grant dollars.

From 10 News Investigates:

PSTA uses security grant to back Greenlight tax

Emails show PSTA officials lied about grant

County Commissioner Janet long, recently laughingly reappointed to the PSTA Board, gave Miller a bad review and then would not support his removal.  See my Post Janet Long reelected to serve 3 more years on PSTA Board.

You can check out their evaluations of Miller:

PSTA CEO Brad Miller's Evaluation by PSTA Board Member Janet Long

PSTA CEO Brad Miller's Evaluation by PSTA Board Member Darden Rice

Darden Rice, a long-time Miller supporter, just can't seem to see any fault with Miller's actions.

Even with PSTA's mounting financial problems, it is hard to rationalize how Long and Rice could look at US House Members, a Senator and a Senator's Representative with a straight face and ask for more money to be managed by the same staff that misused the last large federal grant.

Apparently Long and Rice must feel that the people in Washington are so isolated inside the beltway that they are oblivious to what is going on at the ground level in Pinellas County.

For now, Miller has seven months to "improve his performance." Not exactly sure what that means but one might assume figuring out more ways not to get caught misusing PSTA funds.

The PSTA Board should be required to clean up the PSTA staff before any more federal or state money flows into the coffers. The Board's lack of oversight and the backbone to deal with issues like Miller's dalliances are the real reasons public transit in Pinellas County lacks public trust.

If you would like to send a copy of this Post to your Florida Representatives and Senator, here is the contact information.

You can just copy the Post URL at the top of the screen, or copy the whole Post and paste into their email form.

Representative David Jolly: http://jolly.house.gov/contact/

Representative Kathy Castor: https: //castor.house.gov/contact/contactform.htm

Senator Bill Nelson: https://www.billnelson.senate.gov/contact-bill

Marco Rubio's office: http://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

E-mail Doc at mail to:dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (Gene Webb) Friend request. Please comment below, and be sure to share on Facebook. See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos.

Disclosures:
Contributor: Waterfront Charter Amendment (Vote on The Pier), Carly Fiorina for President

Janet Long reelected to serve 3 more years on PSTA Board

An example of what's really wrong out at the Suncoast Transit Authority

St. Petersburg, Fl

Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Coauthor of: So You Want Blog

  

In what County Commissioners apparently consider a frivolous and unimportant decision, they jokingly re-elected County Commissioner Janet Long to three more years serving on the PSTA Board of directors.

You can read the disappointing example of poor governance in saintpetersblog, by Devon Crumpacker, Finite jest — OR — the 40 seconds it took to approve Janet Long’s three-year term to the PSTA Board.

You can read Janet Long's evaluation of PSTA CEO Brad Miller at Bay Post Internet, PSTA CEO Brad Miller's Evaluation by  PSTA Board Member Janet Long

Long a staunch supporter of all things Greenlight and PSTA CEO Brad Miller gave him a low rating yet would not second a motion to fire the PSTA CEO.

The cavalier approach to selecting PSTA Board members is just one of many examples why PSTA continues to be in a functional and political mess.

Long is one of fifteen or so elected officials on the PSTA Board of Directors that spend much more time being politically correct than they do dealing with the real public transportation issues in Pinellas County.

The PSTA Board is quick to embrace more taxes but short on keeping the PSTA house in order. For example, read my post in Bay Post the Internet: PSTA CEO Continues to Hang on to His Job.

These public transit boards like HART and PSTA are proving to be useless and easily manipulated. It is time for the Governor or the Legislature to step in and remove the issue of public transportation from the hands of the politicians and put its fate in the hands of the citizens.

Until that happens, we are going to get more GreenLight Pinellas and Go Hillsborough initiatives that are more about moving money into the hands of a select few and much less about moving people who need public transportation.

E-mail Doc at mail to:dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (Gene Webb) Friend request. Please comment below, and be sure to share on Facebook. See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos.

Disclosures:
Contributor: Waterfront Charter Amendment (Vote on The Pier), Carly Fiorina for President

PSTA CEO continues to hang on to his job

St. Petersburg, Fl
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Coauthor of: So You Want Blog

Then there is the whole issue of Miller deciding to fight a termination and what might actually come out.

Brad Miller CEO of The Pinellas County Public Transportation System, PSTA, has a checkered history with the agency.

It seems the PSTA Board of Directors, made up of mostly elected officials, just can't bring itself to deal with their sometimes wayward CEO.

A recent 10 News Investigate Report by Mike Deeson: PSTA personnel committee kicks can down the road on CEO details the latest PSTA attempts to deal with the issue through its Personnel Committee.

There was a glimmer of hope at the Personnel Committee meeting when Dunedin Mayor Julie Bujalski offered a motion to fire Miller, which could not even get a second from any of her fellow Board members.

If you would like to see Miller's evaluations by the PSTA Board Members, you can read them here: Brad Miller PSTA CEO Annual Evaluations

Given Miller's history of misusing Federal funds, lying to the Board and illegally audio taping an employee's telephone conversation about a disciplinary action without the employee's knowledge it seems the transgressions are enough to warrant Millers moving on.

However, apparently not for the PSTA Board.

It could be that the PSTA Board is just trying to wait Miller out hoping he will resign and avoid the severance pay and the hassle.

Flawed thinking on their part.

Then there is the whole issue of Miller deciding to fight a termination and what might actually come out.

The terms for Miller's removal seem to be met. The real question is why has the PSTA Board waited so long to make a decision?

Through a public records Request, I acquired a copy of Miller's Employment Agreement with PSTA. It's a little long but an interesting read.

E-mail Doc at mail to:dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (Gene Webb) Friend request. Please comment below, and be sure to share on Facebook. See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos.

Disclosures:
Contributor: Waterfront Charter Amendment (Vote on The Pier), Carly Fiorina for President

PSTA CEO Brad Miller's Evaluations by PSTA Board members

The PSTA is the classic example of why these transit authorities don't work and why the public is reluctant to fund public transportation.

St. Petersburg, Fl
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Coauthor of: So You Want Blog

  

Below in a series of Posts are the PSTA Board Member evaluations for PSTA CEO Brad Miller.

It is a bit of a read, but you will find the variance, attention to detail, seriousness and stunning lack of a grasp of reality by some of the PSTA Board members almost unbelievable.

PSTA is an authority to oversee public transportation in Pinellas County and the 15 member board was constituted so almost all the 24 municipalities in Pinellas County would be represented.

The result is a board that it is cumbersome, inattentive, and incapable of managing even their own CEO let along a public transportation system.

Miller has violated Federal law, lied repeatedly to the public and the PSTA Board, violated the rights of PSTA employees and has shown a general disregard for the public.

However, none of that appears in these evaluations, and that is not really surprising since this is the same board that repeatedly gave him votes of confidence.

Public transportation is a mess in Pinellas County, and the reputation of the Authority has never been worse. The face of these problems is Brad Miller but the PSTA Board just keeps its head in the sand hoping things will change.

They won't.

Brad Miller should be terminated from his position at the next PSTA Board meeting regardless of the cost.

 Here are some more Posts; Brad Miller - You Just Can't Trust Him, Should Miller Go as PSTA CEO?

The PSTA is the classic example if not the poster child for why these transit authorities don't work and why the public is reluctant to fund public transportation.

Check out Brad Miller's reviews below.

PSTA CEO Brad Miller's Evaluation by PSTA Board Member Brian Scott

PSTA CEO Brad Miller's Evaluation by PSTA Board Member Curtis Holmes

PSTA CEO Brad Miller's Evaluation by PSTA Board Member Darden Rice

PSTA CEO Brad Miller's Evaluation by PSTA Board Member Dave Eggers

PSTA CEO Brad Miller's Evaluation by PSTA Board Member Janet Long

PSTA CEO Brad Miller's Evaluation by PSTA Board Member Ken Welch

PSTA CEO Brad Miller's Evaluation by PSTA Board Member Joe Barkley

PSTA CEO Brad Miller's Evaluation by PSTA Board Member Wengay Newton

PSTA CEO Brad Miller's Evaluation by PSTA Board Member Mark Deighton

PSTA CEO Brad Miller's Evaluation by PSTA Board Member Pat Gerard

PSTA CEO Brad Miller's Evaluation by PSTA Board Member Patricia Johnson

PSTA CEO Brad Miller's Evaluation by PSTA Board Member Bill Johnson

PSTA CEO Brad Miller's Evaluation by PSTA Board Member Ben Diamond

E-mail Doc at mail to:dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (Gene Webb) Friend request. Please comment below, and be sure to share on Facebook. See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos.

Disclosures:
Contributor: Waterfront Charter Amendment (Vote on The Pier), Carly Fiorina for President

Former PSTA Board Chair 90% sure GreenLight defeat was a good thing

Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Coauthor of: So You Want Blog .

Wednesday's PSTA Board meeting was a typical right up to the very end.

The Board whizzed along Wednesday through the agenda and received a favorable budget report that estimates PSTA will be able to operate to nearly 2021 without dipping into reserves.

PSTA has done a good job of pulling some rabbits out of the hat but has used some estimates on fuel prices and property tax revenues that could be a bit volatile. The entire budget on paper looks pretty good.

More telling will be how the budget actually affects service, and that will become clear in the next few meetings as route changes and deletions begin to take shape.

All went along well until item number 12 on the Agenda which is simply Board Comments.

PSTA Board member Doug Bevis, Mayor of Oldsmar, was first up in this round robin of comments where most members resort to promoting some event in their community or thanking PSTA staffers for their efforts.

Mayor Bevis began by thanking the budget staff for their excellent work and then said, "I think it is a good thing GreenLight failed.' He went on to add, (Paraphrasing)"If Greenlight had not failed we would not have had the level of review we see in this budget and a leaner PSTA."

I was at the meeting and as he as speaking, I did a quick sweep of the dais and if looks could kill Oldsmar would be looking for a new Mayor.

The next couple of speakers tiptoed around Mayor Bevis's remarks doing the soft shoe that is typical of this section of the Agenda, then Commissioner Welch was up to bat.

Neither able nor capable of just letting it pass, Commissioner Welch said he could not agree completely with Mayor Bevis that the GreenLight defeat was a good thing but, "He was about 90% sure the Oldsmar Mayor was right."

What?......

Welch, who did everything to get the GreenLight referendum passed except lay his first born on the GreenLight alter is now 90% sure it was good that GreenLight was defeated?????

Remember Welch was the PSTA Board Chairman, who defended the ethics review during GreenLight, supported Brad Miller's bad judgment during the misuse of Federal funds debacle, lead the charge for a vote of confidence for Miller, constantly and vehemently pushing the GreenLight referendum and belittled those who opposed it.  

Now all of sudden 8 months later he is 90% sure it was a bad idea. Where was the great enlightening? It could not have been the vote because he was still up on the idea after GreenLight was mauled at the polls.

The unanswered question is: how many other people on the PSTA board really agree with Mayor Bevis but are afraid to speak out?

They booted Norm Roche when he didn't buy GreenLight.

Here in lies the problem with PSTA, HART and all of the "Taxing Authorities" that are set up and populated with a majority of elected officials. The problem is all of these people are politicians. These boards should be made up of a majority of citizens so the politics is second and the governance is first.

It does not take a rocket scientist to simply observe and see that this board does not really function as a governing board. It is politics first and functional governance second in virtually every case.

The evidence is pretty clear as the board snuggles up to its new consultants and members who may face elections begin to set the stage by distancing themselves from their failed attempt to take $130 Million a year from this County's economy for something the people did not want.

And then they wonder why we don't trust them.

As for me I am 100% sure GreenLight was a bad idea before the vote, after the vote and I will be forever. And it is a fact 62% of the voters agree. 

E-mail Doc at mail to:dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (Gene Webb) Friend request. Please comment below, and be sure to share on Facebook. See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos.

Disclosures:
Contributor: Waterfront Charter Amendment (Vote on The Pier), Carly Fiorina for President

PSTA misses another opportunity for funding as a grant request disappears from the State budget

Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb, PhD
Coauthor of: So You Want to Blog

In Friday's PSTA planning meeting the subject of the disappearing million-dollar PSTA State budget line item came up briefly. The response from the PSTA administration was "we will make an application to FDOT and get the money from them".

It is hard to tell if the decision to pass on a budget line item for a PSTA grant is just a State budget issue or a not so subtle message to the PSTA Board and Pinellas County.

It could just be that the people who actually control the way money flows in Tallahassee are sending a suggestion that it is time for the PSTA to clean up its house and replace the team that pushed all of the limits in the GreenLight debacle up to and including the misuse of Federal FEMA funds which ultimately had to be returned.

I am not sure why any State or Federal funding agency would want to get in bed with Brad Miller and a public board that condones his misuse of federal funds and then gives a vote of confidence to those who misused the money.

The PSTA Administration cited State Senator Jack Latvala as the likely emissary to help acquire the FDOT funds. The good Senator might want to think twice before he hitches his star to an organization that views outright misuse of funds as "bad judgment".

There is no doubt that public transportation in Pinellas County is a major problem. But the real problem at PSTA is how it is being run. It may be time for a call to the governor's office and full scale complete review of PSTA and its Board.

These public transportation boards made up of elected officials sound good on the surface, but in reality all they seem to do is centralize everything bad about elected officials and their in ability to really represent the citizens.

FDOT should be cautious about turning over any funds to PSTA unless there will be extensive follow-up on how they are used.

Probably the most difficult thing to understand is why the PSTA Board has not moved to replace CEO Brad Miller who was at the center of all of the shenanigans at PSTA.

Then again maybe it's really not too hard to understand at all.

E-mail Doc at: mailto:dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (Gene Webb) Friend request. Please comment below, and be sure to share on Facebook and Twitter. See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos

Disclosures:

Contributor: Waterfront Charter Amendment (Vote on The Pier), Carly Fiorina for President

Sunday February 1, 2015 PSTA a bleak future

Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD

This past Wednesday Brad Miller, PSTA CEO, laid out the PSTA fiscal forecast for the next few years. Things are dismal to say the least.

By fiscal year 2018, PSTA faces an almost insurmountable capital and operating budget deficit.

In many ways this is a self inflicted wound.

At this point, given the horrendous defeat the Greenlight plan took at the poles and all of the improper and inappropriate activity of PSTA leadership and its supporters to get the Greenlight plan adopted, it is hard to say that a more conservative approach might have worked.

PSTA and its Board would like the voters to believe they are responsible for the current PSTA plight and that Greenlight was defeated because voters were greedy and didn't want another tax.

I for one don't buy that for one minute.

As I have stated before, the Greenlight Ordinance was the worst tax initiative Ordinance I had every read. You can go back in my Posts and refresh your memory about the Greenlight Ordinance at GreenLight Pinellas - An Analysis of Ordinance 13- 34 .

As I sat through the Wednesday PSTA Board meeting, it was hard to feel very sympathetic for an administration and a Board that tried to put one over on the public and got their hands slapped.

Public transportation here in the bay area is in real trouble. In Polk, Hillsborough, Pinellas and Manatee County voters have rejected grand plans to build transit systems. I don't know how many times public transportation authorities and their Boards of directors have to get boxed about the ears before they realize a more conservative approach is more likely to work.

In his comments to the Board, Miller mentioned a more "regional" approach, that is simply political speak for we have to get these funding issues out of the reach of actual public approval. Those watching PSTA, Hart and other transit authorities must remain diligent.

Mayor Bob Buckhorn's public transit funding idea of a "local taxing district", Saintpetersblog, Janelle Irwin: Tampa Mayor’s push for special taxing district could be St. Pete transit win, is not likely to fly either since it would tax a small area and apply the tax to a county wide problem. Not the brightest idea for a guy thinking about running for Governor.

Miller proposed some ideas to smooth out the PSTA budget problems, and the whole issue of Federal and State funding remains a big unknown.

The PSTA Board has three new members and a new Chairman. On February 18, they will take up the PSTA funding issue in a budget workshop. They have a lot to chew on.

Where will PSTA go, how will it get there and where will the money come from? The PSTA Board has some tough decisions to make, and so far this Board has been lackluster at best.

Let's hope that some new blood and a new Chairman can make a difference.

E-mail Doc at: dr.webb@verizon.net. Or send me a Facebook (Gene Webb) Friend request. Twitter@DOCONTHEBAY. Please comment below, and be sure to share on Facebook and Twitter. See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos