Will Nonsense or Common Sense prevail?

Now that the Go Hillsborough law enforcement investigation found no criminal wrongdoing, Tribune reporter Joe Henderson decides it is time to move on to putting another huge sales tax hike boondoggle on the 2016 ballot. His column today Go forth with Go Hillsborough so people can make their choice. It is almost comical to watch the schizophrenia. 

First, though, the Hillsborough County Commission has to decide whether to proceed with the referendum in November, and it’s anyone’s guess how that will play out. There’s a 3-3 split on the board on whether to proceed, with Commissioner Victor Crist waffling. 

But I say they should go ahead and have the vote. 

I have said, and still believe, that it will get stomped like a bug at the ballot box. Even if my prognostication skills are dead on, though, it’s no reason not to put this before the people. We’ve certainly been talking about it long enough. 

If a transportation tax is whomped at the ballot box again like the one in 2010, leaders will have gotten the message — maybe. They’ll be forced to go to Plan B, just as soon as they can come up with one. 

Joe admits the referendum will fail and it will. 

When I spoke to Joe and asked him what the upside was for putting a referendum that is DOA from the get go on the ballot, he gave the same lame excuse we heard in 2010 - "let the people vote".

There's two huge issues with that excuse now. 

The people did vote in 2010 and overwhelmingly said no. Go Hillsborough is simply 2010 all over again funding high cost trains that highly subsidize the affluent, will do nothing to help commuters or reduce congestion. 

Go Hillsborough may be worse than 2010 because the county revenues continue going up and up and up yet the county has continued to neglect our roads and transportation needs. The county has money but they continue spending our current budget on lower priority items. It is absurd to ask taxpayers to raise our sales tax for revenue the county already has. That will never sell. Since our roads have been neglected for almost a decade, we need the county commissioners to use their own political capital to start funding our roads and transportation needs now within the powers they already have - no referendum needed.

The second big issue with "let them vote" excuse is "they" went to Tallahassee and intentionally got the Children's Board property tax reauthorization off the 2016 ballot. Don't forget the Children's Board had their own scandal just a few years ago. Apparently, the excuse of just "let them vote" is selective of course, as Ken Roberts accurately points out in his Tribune letter to the editor we reposted here. County Administrator Mike Merrill applauded the removal because it would make the way clear……[for the sales tax hike referendum]. Really?

May 2015 text messages between Leytham and
County Administrator Mike Merrill

Go Hillsborough may also be worse than 2010 because it cost taxpayers $1.35 million. As we posted here, what Parsons Brinckerhoff handed to the Policy Leadership Group (PLG) on November 5, 2015 did not deliver what was presented at the October 21, 2014. County Administrator told the county commissioners multiple times that Parsons PRISM tool was needed and a reason they handed them the work.

Parsons Brinckerhoff's PRISM tool presented
 at 10/21/2014 PLG meeting

What did we get for $1.35 million? A proposed 30 year tax for a 10 year list of projects.

Parsons Brinckerhoff handed the county/PLG a 10 year alphabetized laundry list of projects, not a prioritized project list. Where is the benefit and cost analysis we were promised? Where is the output from Parsons Brinckerhoff PRISM tool? What is the benefit for spending all these billions - Improved road levels of service, reduced congestion, better throughput, safety, what? If that information exists, it is in hiding somewhere for the public to never see. No one at County Center can or will provide such information.

Why isn't Joe and the Tribune asking these questions? It's not rocket science.

Back to Joe's sales tax hike schizophrenia. Here's Joe's Oct 2, 2015 column It’s time for Plan B on Go Hillsborough effort (emphasis mine)

The effort is not exactly overflowing with public goodwill right now, given that the sheriff’s office is investigating how $1.3 million of taxpayer money was funneled to a contractor involved in the project. 

Was it an inside deal and ethically shaky, as a recent TV report made it out to be? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, it’s all about credibility. A skeptical electorate tends to tune out after hearing words like “tax” and “investigation” used in the same sentence. 

That leaves the county with two options. Officials can wait until the morning after the election to get the message that voters don’t trust them, or they can go to Plan B.

We’ve been talking about traffic solutions around here for years, and all we ever do is vote down referendums and build more roads. The goal of Go Hillsborough is to address that with a comprehensive plan and then sell it to the public, but it’s not working.  

That doesn’t mean the plan is bad, but the execution has been. I think people understand the need to address this problem and they’ll be willing to pay for it, but they have to trust the process first.  

Right now, they don’t. 

It’s time for Plan B.

As I told Joe when we spoke the other day, the PLG was ironically created in March 2013 because former county commissioner Mark Sharpe correctly stated there was a lack of trust in Hillsborough County. The Urban Land Institute told the county commissioners that back in 2012 when Commissioner Murman brought them in during her Economic Prosperity Stakeholder Committee initiative. Gee - What happened to that initiative? 

Does the Go Hillsborough debacle and mess create more trust or distrust? I think Joe answered that question in his October 2nd article.

It also raises the question that if the county can’t even handle a relatively small amount of money like that without controversy, what will officials do with a pot of dough in the billions? 

I was on Rob Lorei's Florida This Week on PBS with Joe on Sept 25, 2015. The segment can be found here.  

Go to 16:58 of that segment and listen to what Joe said about Go Hillsborough then: 

"What part of no do they not understand", 

"yes they should have had a plan b, c, d, e and f",  

"people aren't going to vote to approve this stuff, they are just not".  

Talk about speaking in exclamation points (which Joe said I do) - too funny.

In Joe's article Tribune today, he states

"So for the love of congestion, can we please move on?" 

If he or the Tribune were truly serious about addressing our roads and congestion, they would stop pushing a sales tax hike referendum that is DOA and they know it will fail. 

If they were truly serious about addressing our roads and congestion, they would start holding our electeds accountable for the mess that's been created and demanding they start fixing the problem now.

If they were truly serious about addressing our roads and transportation, why do they want to kick the can down the road and lose another year and another budget cycle neglecting our roads and transportation needs. That is fiscally irresponsible. The longer our roads continue deteriorating the costlier it becomes to fix them.

Throwing another sales tax hike on the ballot that has no natural base of support and will fail is not good governance and then we all lose. That is not smart politics nor an indication of any common sense.

Yes Joe we need to move on…..move on from nonsense to common sense.

And Common Sense demands we move on to a Plan B NOW!

#NoGoHillsborough

Concerns with Syrian Refugees is Not "Political Hysteria"

Our hearts and prayers go out to Paris and the horrendous terrorist attacks that occurred last Friday.

Yesterdays's Tampa Tribune includes a commentary from Joe Henderson, Refugee hysteria is about politics, not security.

The hysteria we’re seeing and hearing all over the news has nothing to do with keeping us safe from orphans, mothers or hungry babies fleeing from Islamic terrorists. It’s certainly not about the national ideals of charity and hope we love to embrace, at least until we don’t. 

It’s about winning an election, and making us afraid might help do that. Politicians see the refugees as collateral damage in a campaign season for the highest office in the land. No one spoke that more clearly than New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who also happens to be running for president.

We also remember the Tribune reported in September Number of Syrian refugees arriving in Tampa area jumps.

The Tampa area already is seeing a surge in the number of Syrian refugees fleeing their war-torn country, but the brunt of the influx is a year or two away, state officials say.

At the same time as the number of Syrian refugees are expected to surge, the county commissioners took this formal action presented by Commissioner Kevin Beckner. 

Hillsborough County commissioners earlier this month voted unanimously to become the first — and so far only — refugee welcoming county in Florida. The resolution was presented by Commissioner Kevin Beckner. 

“It’s important with the diversity of our culture here in Hillsborough County that we recognize the contributions refugees make after they escape persecution,” he said. “

Part of the purpose of the resolution, he said, is to make sure refugees feel welcome in Hillsborough County.

Creating a simplified media sound bite about diversity and that concerns about the Syrian refugees is about politics and not security is being very naive.

There are a number of valid issues to consider with security of course, being a major one.

As President Obama moved to allow 10,000 Syrian refugees to come to the US, this is what FBI Director James Comey said during a House Committee on Homeland Security in October:

FBI director James Comey said during a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing on Wednesday that the federal government does not have the ability to conduct thorough background checks on all of the 10,000 Syrian refugees that the Obama administration says will be allowed to come to the U.S.

As Thompson, a Democrat, said, “a lot of us are concerned about whether you have enough information available to you to do an accurate vetting.” 

Comey acknowledged that knowledge gap. 

“You can only query what you’ve collected,” he reiterated.

Concerns of security is not a partisan issue. Even the Democrat candidate running for Governor of Louisiana has called for a moratorium on Syrian refugees until more is known about the vetting process

The Wall Street Journal reported that one of the Paris attackers had used a fake Syrian passport.

Mystery deepened over a Paris attacker who traveled to Europe via Greece and the Balkans, after French officials said Monday that the Syrian passport he had used was indeed a fake. 

Authorities in France and Greece have said that fingerprints taken from the remains of a suicide bomber outside France’s national sports stadium, the Stade de France, match the prints of a man who entered Europe via the Aegean island of Leros on Oct. 3.

That news brings us a Fox News flashback to the issue of forged Syrian passports.

A Daily Mail reporter who said that he obtained a forged Syrian passport, ID and driver’s license in just four days discussed the Paris terror attacks on "Fox and Friends" this morning. 

A Syrian passport was reportedly found near one of the terrorists after Friday's attacks, raising fears that ISIS is infiltrating Europe among the wave of refugees fleeing Syria. 

Nick Fagge traveled to Turkey to meet with the forger, and paid him $2,000 for the documents.

International Business Times reported:

"There are people who are in Turkey now who buy fake Syrian passports because they know Syrians get the right to asylum in all the member states of the European Union," Fabrice Leggeri, the head of the border control agency Frontex, told Europe 1 earlier this year. “People who use false Syrian passports often speak in Arabic. They may originate in North Africa or the Middle East, but they have the profile of economic migrants.” 

Getting a fake Syrian passport is "surprisingly easy" if you have the money, as BuzzFeed put it last year. Along the Turkey-Syria border, high-quality passports cost $2,000, while less realistic options are $1,000. A BuzzFeed reporter was able to buy a Syrian ID card for $150. 

The prices and the process vary. A reporter for Dutch magazine Nieuwe Revu paid $825 for a passport and ID, which took all of 40 hours to obtain in September. When the forger asked for a photo, the reporter sent a headshot of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. He received it with no problems, Dutch News reported.

While the media portrays the refugees are all from Syria, reports from ex-military, ex-intelligence and some journalists have stated they are not all Syrians. With forged Syiran documents easily attainable on the black market, how do we know where all these people are actually from?  

Another issue is that the United States is relying on the UN, often not exactly a haven of pro America sentiment, for determining who is getting refugee status. Is this process being fair?

CNS News reported yesterday So Far: Syrian Refugees in U.S. Include 2,098 Muslims, 53 Christians

Most refugees considered for resettlement in the U.S. are referred by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 

“The United States’ reliance on the United Nations for referrals of Syrian refugees should also be re-evaluated,” they said. “That reliance unintentionally discriminates against Syrian Christians and other religious minorities who are reluctant to register as refugees with the United Nations for fear of political and sectarian retribution.” 

Sookhdeo says Western governments “must understand that vulnerable Christians are being overlooked in rescue program that take only those in the camps to safety. Fully aware of the victimization that is likely to await them in refugee camps, Iraqi and Syrian believers are mainly taking shelter in schools, churches, and apartments, or with relatives where possible.”

There is also the issue of tracking the refugees once they are here. Already a Syrian refugee went missing in Louisiana.

The American Mirror reported yesterday:

WBRZ has learned Catholic Charities helped the refugee who settled in Baton Rouge, but said the immigrant left for another state after a couple of days, and they don’t know where the refugee went since they don’t track them.

“We’re at the receiving end,” Chad Aguillard, executive director of Catholic Charities, says. “We receive them, we welcome them into our community and help them resettle. There has been a lot of commotion and fear with Syrians. The fear is justified, but we have to check that against reality.” 

State leaders are upset after the federal government began relocating Syrian refugees in the state without notifying them. (emphasis mine)

“This is a federal program, and it was their responsibility, as the governor has stated, that they should have notified myself or governor directly,” according to the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management Director Kevin Davis.

The missing refugee was found heading to Washington DC. Gateway Pundit who had originally posted about the missing refugee was told by Governor Jindal's office that the feds were no help and the state police had to locate the missing Syrian.

Breitbart reports Governor Scott's interview yesterday with Hannity.

Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) stated that the White House told him the White House wouldn’t explain how the US’ refugee vetting program is better than France’s and they wouldn’t give him “any authority to make decisions for my state,” or law enforcement “background information” on refugees in an interview broadcast on Wednesday’s “Hannity” on the Fox News Channel.

Bottom line, the federal government is not doing their job assisting and appropriately communicating with the states receiving these refugees.

The American Mirror also reported yesterday detail about what a Texas refugee services group gives to those refugees the Obama Administration is bring into America. This is at a time when Americans are still struggling in a stagnant economy, our Veterans deserve better treatment and we have other Americans who are in need. Please listen to the audio recording.

Liberty News recently published an audio recording it says is a phone call between a representative of Refugee Services of Texas and a man posing as a potential volunteer. 

The services detailed in the call — being paid for by U.S. taxpayers — is staggering.

“Every refugee receives a sum of money from the government that’s welcome money. It’s $925 per person — a one-time sum,” the organization employee tells the caller.

That’s only the beginning. She also rattled off a laundry list of services offered to incoming refugees intended to make them “self-sufficient and indeptendent,” including: 

Being picked up at the airport
Finding and securing an apartment
Setting up the apartment “so it’s livable”
Providing bus orientation
Transporting them to Social Security office to apply for card
Helping find employment
Eight weeks of English as Second Language (ESL) classes 

The organization gives the volunteer a Walmart gift card to buy “all the items needed for the refugee’s apartment.” Any waste, fraud and abuse in this program?

The employee of Refugees Services of Texas stated they do not even know who they are receiving until two to three weeks before the refugees are here and she admitted that makes it difficult to plan.

According to the Center for Immigration Studies

As Americans continue to debate what to do about the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East, this analysis attempts to estimate the costs of resettling refugees from that region in the United States. Although we do not consider all costs, our best estimate is that in their first five years in the United States each refugee from the Middle East costs taxpayers $64,370 — 12 times what the UN estimates it costs to care for one refugee in neighboring Middle Eastern countries. The cost of resettlement includes heavy welfare use by Middle Eastern refugees; 91 percent receive food stamps and 68 percent receive cash assistance. Costs also include processing refugees, assistance given to new refugees, and aid to refugee-receiving communities. Given the high costs of resettling refugees in the United States, providing for them in neighboring countries in the Middle East may be a more cost-effective way to help them. (emphasis mine)

Powerline blog also reports that resettling refugees is very expensive.

The Heritage Foundation’s Robert Rector estimates that the net cost of resettling 10,000 refugees averages out to $6.5 billion over the lifespan of those refugees. So resettling 100,000 refugees will cost around $65 billion.

The federal dollars are never enough to cover all the refugees expenses. It is expected that non-profits (who often receive taxpayer dollars), state and local governments pick up the remaining tab. There is a real fiscal cost to this effort.

We are a nation that helps others when needed but there are always options to consider. 

Why isn't the Obama Administration working with our allies to provide the refugees a safe haven in Syria with a no fly zone and help with providing necessities to them there?  Why isn't the Obama Administration working with Syria's neighboring countries to accept these refugees? None of the neighboring countries are taking their own indigenous people. Why is that? Why aren't the Russians and Chinese taking these refugees?

Americans deserve an answer from the Obama Administration to these questions BEFORE starting an influx of thousands of Syrian refugees at an enormous economic and social cost to the United States.

Ann Corcoran began investigating the refugee resettlement program eight years ago when problems and questions arose regarding a local charity in her own hometown.

Eight years ago it came to our attention in Washington County MD that a non-profit group (Virginia Council of Churches) had been bringing refugees into the city of Hagerstown (county seat) for a couple of years. Some problems arose and citizens started to take an interest and ask questions about how this federal program works. Our local paper had no interest in finding the facts, so we decided to find them ourselves.

As a result of her initial investigation Corcoran set up Resettlement Watch. We must realize this issue is a local issue because it impacts our own backyard. 

According to thehayride.com blog there are approximately 180 cities that are eligible to accept the 10,000 Syrian refugees that the Obama Administration wants to bring in. Here are the US Refugee Public Affiliates in Tampa.

US Refugee Public Affiliates in Tampa

Also according to thehayride.com 

The so-called “monitoring” conducted by federal agencies is questionable, considering trends in other states with refugees and migrants show that refugees have been able to falsify records, travel back and forth to war-torn countries and potentially convert to jihad without the State Dept. ever stepping in. 

Also, the process of “screening” by the State Department is questionable. In the Hayride‘s special report yesterday, we outlined the number of refugees with red-flags that should have alerted the State Dept., but apparently did not. 

And the Hayride reminds us 

The most infamous terrorists in recent United States history are Dzhokhar and Tamerian Tsarnaev, also known as the Boston Bombers. 

The Tsarnaev brothers were political refugees that went through the State Department’s screening process.

Kevin Drum of the liberal Mother Jones wrote Liberals Should Knock Off the Mockery Over Calls to Limit Syrian Refugees. Even some Progressives understand the gravity of the situation.

Here's the thing: to the average person, it seems perfectly reasonable to be suspicious of admitting Syrian refugees to the country. We know that ISIS would like to attack the US. We know that ISIS probably has the wherewithal to infiltrate a few of its people into the flood of refugees. And most voters have no idea how easy it is to get past US screening. They probably figure it's pretty easy. 

So to them it doesn't seem xenophobic or crazy to call for an end to accepting Syrian refugees. It seems like simple common sense. After all, things changed after Paris.

Mocking Republicans over this—as liberals spent much of yesterday doing on my Twitter stream—seems absurdly out of touch to a lot of people. Not just wingnut tea partiers, either, but plenty of ordinary centrists too. It makes them wonder if Democrats seriously see no problem here. Do they care at all about national security? Are they really that detached from reality?

Forged documents, a costly refugee program, questions of waste, fraud and abuse within the refugee program, questionable tracking of the refugees in our homeland, lack of communication from the federal government with the states to receive the refugees, our basic security and why we are not considering working with our allies to provide a safe haven for the refugees in their own homeland or neighboring countries. 

These are all valid concerns and questions especially after the Paris terrorist attacks and the downing of the Russian plane by ISIS. 

They are not political hysteria. Reducing this issue to that sound bite rhetoric is nonsense.

Government's fundamental and primary role at ever level is to protect its own citizens. Our safety must be ensured FIRST. 

We cannot afford to be naive. 

Then You Win

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."

That quote... really an imagined quote mis-attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, sums up the attitude of the local media and the politicians regarding Go Hillsborough.

We reported over the past year numerous issues with Go Hillsborough, and regularly reached out to county leaders.

They ignored us.

Go Hillsborough and the Transportation Policy Leadership Group refused to consider any alternatives besides a sales tax increase. Only the single sales tax increase was proposed... or was it two? Yet there was no real plan to build anything, only a promise to spend. They did not consider impact or mobility fees, they ignored the TBX plans, refused to develop any real plans, as if their lack of action developing feasible transportation plans over the last decade was our fault. What do we know?

Beth Leytham, working her magic "because I'm good" PR, deflecting her own creation of the mess called Go Hillsborough:

“Actually I don’t think this is just coming to light because of the TV,” Leytham said. “I think the tea partiers and anti-tax types have been talking about this for months and months.”

They laughed at us.

From the Tribune's editorial on September 19,

But tea-party opponents of the effort will look for opportunities to drive a wedge into every crease that opens in the process, no matter how small or trivial. In this case, they have the appearance of cozy relationships between elected officials and a contractor.

No. Tea Party opponents are not driving a wedge into every crease in the obviously flawed Go Hillsborough process. The Go Hillsborough team is quite good at doing that to themselves. We just report it. The Tribune presented no evidence otherwise. Only now the Tribune states the audit needs to

Eliminating that appearance [of cozy relationships between elected officials and a contractor] should be done quickly so the public can be assured the effort is about improving transportation and not about improving the bottom lines of contractors and the friends of elected officials.

Eliminating the appearance? Or should we get to the truth?

Many others besides the Tea Party, have come out against Go Hillsborough, from the Sierra Club to La Gaceta. The big story was broke by Noah Pransky. Are Sierra Club, Patrick Manteiga, and Noah Pransky Tea Party? So what gives, Tampa Tribune?

The Tribune has a lot of credibility to lose here. They've refused to acknowledge their meetings and  own "cozy relationship" with Beth Leytham, the focus of much of this investigation. Why not? 

The Tribune, severely damaged by their unacknowledged relationship with Beth Leythan, the center of the controversy, is leading the fight.

Here's a Tribune "Letter of the Day" from September 30.

Having lived through the Greenlight Pinellas war, I see another tea party activist using the same tactics to denigrate a thoroughly reasonable proposal that would benefit the entire community in West-Central Florida. Sharon Calvert is using the same methods that some No Tax For Tracks members used to unjustly defeat Greenlight Pinellas. One member repeatedly misled local municipal councils and went to Denver and brought back a totally erroneous report on Denver’s light rail. She constantly smeared PSTA management, calling into question some of their actions which in hindsight proved to be perfectly legal and reasonable. Now I see Calvert using the same misrepresentations to try to defeat Go Hillsborough — all in the name of “no new taxes.”

The fact the Tribune allowed this fact free LTE to be the Letter of the Day, much less published at all, is clearly a set up.

"Unjustly" defeated Greenlight? It was justly defeated 62 - 38%.

"Smeared PSTA management, calling into question some of their actions which in hindsight proved to be perfectly legal and reasonable."

Seriously? Which is worse in your world, an erroneous report on Denver or the federal government demanding repayment of misappropriated funds, that was not judged "perfectly legal and reasonable", but was in fact judged potentially criminal?

"This is how the tea party is destroying America."

No. This is people like Dave Stanton who are destroying America, by purposely ignoring the malfeasance and dishonorable behavior if it fits their agenda, and tarnishing those that expect more from our public servants.

Remember Greenlight Pinellas, when proponents stated only the tea party was against it. Remember 62-38. We're all tea partiers now.

And weeks later, Joe Henderson has yet another column, on the Sam Rashid story that keeps on giving him columns... so many, I've lost count.

Yes Rashid used crude language. About a month ago.

Can we move on, Joe?

Unless, you know, you really want to write something about the real issues that we and Noah Pransky have uncovered regarding Go Hillsborough, and the valid concerns that Rashid raised.

But that's not as easy as writing another column about Rashid and his bad word.

As Joe closes,

There are legitimate reasons to raise an eyebrow about the way Go Hillsborough is being run, so let the investigation reveal specifically what’s going on and act accordingly.

No matter what turns up, though, I have a feeling it won’t be enough for Rashid and opponents of the transportation measure. I’m sure the Lindbergh baby kidnapping figures into this somehow.

That’s not true, of course, but when you hate something as badly as Sam Rashid appears to hate this proposed sales tax increase, there’s no need to wait for the facts. Those things can be inconvenient anyway.

Gosh, Joe almost took on the real issue. But he dipped back into the ad hominem attacks on Rashid, rather than the merit, or lack thereof, of his argument.

By the way Joe, did you know that Sheriff David Gee was a fundraising chair for County Commissioner Stacy White during his run for commission?

Sheriff Gee was fundraising host for Commissioner Stacy White

Now we hear that (downtown only) Tampa Mayor Buckhorn, on a trip to Denver this week, with over 100 Tampa Chamber of Commerce members inspected Denver's so called light rail success was quoted  as saying "those Tea Party cowards are funding the opposition to Go Hillsborough."

The only funding the Tea Party is contributing are our taxes that is funding the Go Hillsborough debacle.

Who's the coward, Buckhorn? Hiding behind the skirt of his "friend and advisor", not a lobbyist or campaign manager, but a political donor to him, Beth Leytham, who Buckhorn has helped direct hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to.

We'll take you on any time, downtown Bob. Name the time, name the place. Bring some facts, not pejoratives.

Then they fought us.

As we wrote last week, now they've lost. Just like 2010. Just like 2014.

We are all Tea Party now.

Then we win.

Here's a Plan B

As we wrote here on EyeOnTampaBay recently, Go Hillsborough is dead, and it's time for Plan B.

Now, Joe Henderson of the Tribune has finally caught up and now understands the implications of the Go Hillsborough debacle, has gotten on our wagon and is calling for Plan B.

Was it an inside deal and ethically shaky, as a recent TV report made it out to be? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, it’s all about credibility. A skeptical electorate tends to tune out after hearing words like “tax” and “investigation” used in the same sentence.

It also raises the question that if the county can’t even handle a relatively small amount of money like that without controversy, what will officials do with a pot of dough in the billions?

That leaves the county with two options. Officials can wait until the morning after the election to get the message that voters don’t trust them, or they can go to Plan B.

Unfortunately, his Plan B involves recruiting Jeff Vinik and "other business people" to get involved, and that's about it.

Plan A is dead. Time for Plan B.

Vinik has made it clear he's not eager to take a position on the local political issues, other than we need solutions that improve mobility.

Why doesn't Vinik get more involved in political issues that could help Tampa's most impoverished neighborhoods and workers with little income mobility?

"Put yourself in my position," he said. In pursuing a project that could be worth $1 billion or more, "we think not only will it directly benefit downtown … we think this rising tide will lift all boats of this area."

Assuming that, he said, "we need broad support in general to do this, and we need to listen and to talk to people. If you were me, would you come out strongly on political questions, voice strong opinions? … If we were to wade into this too deeply," it would "take the focus off what we're trying to do."

And transportation is the ultimate local political issue.

As far as the "other business people", be prepared for increased opportunities for graft, which is the problem we've run into Go Hillsborough with only $1.3 million. Just imagine a several billion dollar trough for "other business people" to gorge themselves on, and the questions that could be raised. What exactly, are these "other business people" expertise and qualifications in transportation? Could Vinik steer the Plan B to support his downtown vision of Vinikville? Would the Westshore Alliance and Downtown Partnership representatives force a rail project between downtown and the airport, which would offer no relief to daily commuters?

Sounds vaguely like the Committee of 99. Yes, we've been talking about transportation issues around here since before 1999.

Joe does mention Sharon,

And, listen carefully, make the opponents part of the process. At some point county officials will realize that people like Sharon Calvert of the tea party aren’t going to shut up, so have her suit up and get in the game. I don’t agree with many (most) of her positions and she can be, um, feisty. But she’s smart and she cares about the issue probably more than anyone you can think of.

We actually agree with Joe on this. She can be quite feisty. And smart too! Not only that, she's already suited up and been in the game since 2010.

If our "Very Smart Officials" had listened to Sharon a year ago, we would not be stuck in the jam with Go Hillsborough.

Since Joe's brought the need for a Plan B up... actually, we've brought it up in numerous occasions in past few months in this blog. Sharon also brought up the need for a Plan B on September 25th on Florida This Week, where she was a panelist, along with Joe Henderson, to which Joe responded "we need a Plan B, C, D, E, and F".

Regardless, we'll throw our hat in the ring for Plan B, adapted from our friend Ken Roberts.

Establish a Transportation Trust Fund as follows:

1. Pledge 50% of all new county revenues to the Transportation Trust Fund. This year the county found over a $100 million in new funds. much of this money comes from an improving real estate market and the attendant increases in home values. The BOCC must first perform their fiscal due diligence with our existing budget. They will have to make some decisions on millage rates, but what are we paying them for if they can't optimize the budget?
2. Given the growth forecast for Hillsborough County, up to 600,000 new residents by 2040, enact an ordinance that establishes a mobility fee to mitigate the cost of development throughout the county as well as the cities. Downtown development and growth impacts the infrastructure as well, not just the suburbs where most of the growth will occur. A fair mobility fee would yield around $50 million per year. 
3. Raise the gas tax a nickel. That adds $25 million per year. A recent Go Hillsborough poll indicates strong support for this increase. The gas tax is essentially a user fee to pay for roads. 
4. Announce there will be no referendum for a sales tax increase.

These actions would yield $125 million a year in today's economy. They require no consultants and can be accomplished with four votes at a county commissioner's meeting. 

This can be done right now. 

Remember, we need to do something now. At least one commissioner has stated publicly that $60 million of the $98.9 million could be re-appropriated to transportation.

What to do with all that money? Lets start with some quick wins. 

1. Fix our roads first! The county has too long neglected our roads. The majority of the current road work in Hillsborough is funded through FDOT, even on some of the county roads. We have over 7000 lane miles of county roads, and hundreds of miles of F-rated roads in need or repaving, widening, and improved traffic flow. Don't delay any further. Fix our roads first!
2. Invest in Automatic Traffic Management Systems (ATMS). While not a silver bullet, ATMS is cost effective, and can improve the flow traffic with more intelligent traffic signal optimization on many arterial roads. In parallel, explore analytics and big data solutions, such as smart phone apps that can help detect traffic and rough road conditions, which can be used to further dynamically reroute and optimize flow and fix roads quicker.  In the 21st century, not every problem requires more infrastructure. Some issues can effectively and quickly improved with technology.
3. Kill the Public Transportation Commission (PTC), or at least allow ride sharing such as Uber and Lyft to service Hillsborough without over regulating and impeding them.
4. Support FDOT's TBX plans. It's not perfect, and FDOT will need to make improvements and listen to input from the community. But 600,000 new residents moving into the county won't "live, work and play" in the same neighborhood (there is much to offer everyone across Tampa Bay!). Adding capacity throughout the Tampa Bay Interstate system will be required to have any decent future for Tampa Bay.
5. Support HART Transit Development Program (TDP), their 10 year plan for meeting transit needs across Hillsborough County. Consider expanding if ridership and fare recovery continues to improve relative to population growth.
6. Ensure we are focused on improving mobility, and not trying to force a transportation solution into some economic development plan. Keep them separate. We can fund economic development for the economy's sake more effectively with a focus on that, and mobility focused on improving mobility where it is needed -- across the entire county -- not just around some job or economic hot spots. Sure, there are areas for some convergence we should plan and exploit, but that's the exception, not the rule.
7. Focus on the busy times -- rush hour -- which means commuters. That's when everything is gummed up. Wasting time and money on the latest urban planning craze adds cost and delays for the vast majority of commuters and residents who will continue to enjoy living in the county.
8. Limit the plans to 10 years. No one can effectively plan beyond 10 years. After that they are guessing. Review and refine the plans every two years based on successes, failures, revenue changes and new technologies.

If the above actions were taken by our commissioners, we believe most people would stand up and cheer!

If not, well, let us know how to make Plan B better.

Weekend Update

A couple of quick hits on things that grabbed our interest over the weekend.

Joe Henderson of the Trib is sounding a bit resigned about some of the missteps around the GoHillsborough transportation outreach and planning effort in Hillsborough County.

I remain skeptical, however, that voters will approve any sales tax increase, no matter the benefits. The need was great in 2010, too, but that didn’t stop voters from shooting down a similar referendum.

Joe did reach out Sharon, co-author of this blog, for some of her thoughts:

I reached out to Sharon Calvert of the Tampa tea party. She is a regular at transportation meetings and is as well-informed as anyone on the subject. Although I don’t always agree with her views, particularly on rail (I’m for it; she is not), Calvert makes a good point that leaders should consider before this referendum plan gets too far down the, um, tracks.

“I would like to see them come back with several scenarios,” she said. “I would like to see that discussion held first before tying everything into a sales tax. The logical sequence of questions that should be asked is what is (the tax) for, and how long is it for?”

Sharon's statement's are on point, of course, especially given Commissioner Ken Hagan's recent comments promoting a sales tax hike before the plans are developed

“I’ve consistently advocated over the past two years that we’ve had these PLG meetings that we have a measured and methodical approach,” Hagan told the group. “But I’ve got to tell you, I feel it’s time to bring this in for a landing.”

Which of course, Sharon addressed earlier this week.

Speaking of Ken Hagan, he's already back in the news today. The Trib reported he's considering skirting around the spirt, if not the letter of the law, to run for his old county commission seat, perhaps as soon as 2016.

Term limits, popular among Florida voters, have shown limited success in breaking the cycle of career politicians.

Nowhere is that clearer than in Hillsborough County, where one county commissioner is giving some thought to a first-of-its-kind move that could lengthen his total time in office to 20 years.

Commissioner Ken Hagan, a Republican, said he hasn’t ruled out leaving his countywide District 5 seat midterm to run next year in his old north-county District 2. The move hinges on whether District 2 incumbent Victor Crist quits to run for circuit court clerk, a move Crist said he is considering.

By switching back to his home-district seat, Hagan could avoid being forced out of office by term limits in 2018 and start a new clock — one that would allow him to stay on the commission until as late as 2024.

Hagan said the move is a long shot, but the prospect exposes a loophole in the county’s term limit law that the authors of the county charter never envisioned.

Perhaps the county charter never envisioned such attempts to thwart the constituents will, but this is rather callous to think he can get away with it. Which he might, given the war chest he's amassed of over $300,000 from his last campaign, when he had no opposition.

Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan

Perhaps he's focused on unfinished business over the 12 years (as of 2016) he will have been on the BOCC. He still wants to bring in the Rays into Hillsborough... and he may be wanting to control any big wad of money that would come in from his proposed sales tax transportation referendum in 2016.

He's not committed, so we... and everyone else... need to stay tuned.

Which ties back to transportation yet again.  As it must be that time of the month for the Trib editorial board to promote increasing transportation taxes yet again.

As Commissioner Ken Hagan told the panel overseeing the development of a transportation plan, “... it’s time to bring this in for a landing.”

...

If citizens want any meaningful improvements to a system that includes more than 12,000 lane miles, 700 bridges and 600 signalized intersections, it seems to us a 1-cent sales tax increase, which would raise $6 billion over 30 years, will be necessary.

The county has more than $3 billion in immediate transportation needs — about $750 million in maintenance needs alone. By way of comparison, the county has spent $1.3 billion on transportation in the last 20 years. It can’t deal with its backlog of problems, much less meet future needs, with existing funding sources.

Yes, but we still have no plan. The GoHillsborough folks are still working on it.

There have been 26 public sessions throughout the county in which more than 1,400 residents have participated. About 12,000 citizens participated in two telephone town halls. That is far more people than generally get involved in community discussions.

That's an average of about 54 people at each of the 26 public sessions throughout the county.  That's not a very high bar for participation in our opinion, especially, as we've documented on several occasions, we are spending nearly $300,000 for the PR and outreach phases in the GoHillsborough plan.

We agree with the Trib we have transportation issues. We also agree the outreach is at least better than 2010. However, we already have more than a good idea about our problems and what we can do to get started NOW.

Why wait 2 more years to improve traffic signal timings?

Why wait 2 more years to add to HARTs TDP?

Why wait 2 more years to begin to think about improving Hillsborough's neglected F-rated roads, with over a 1.5 million trips per day?

Why wait 2 more years for a risky sales tax hike and put all your eggs in one basket, rather than take a look at the Hillsborough County budget and make some choices based on the high priorities of transportation... now? If only to get started on some quick wins?

Perhaps the Trib is coming around.

We still believe rail should be part of the community’s future, but citizens have shown their wariness. Better to start with a less ambitious plan and build support.

Or, as Joe Henderson concluded

But while they’re doing that, the clock is running.

It will be about 20 months before a referendum can be held.

Even if it passes, new buses, routes and roadwork won’t appear the next day.

If it doesn’t pass?

I hope Hagan and others have a Plan B in case their powers of persuasion fail to sway enough votes.

Their cause is just. The need is great. And no matter what, it’s going to cost a lot of money.

I think I just lost everyone on that final point, didn’t I?

Joe, your point is well taken. But why wait 2 years when there are quick wins we can get started on now?