City to charge for city provided fire services !   

   What's next -- POLICE PROTECTION -- those on the dais may need that    service if the public ever gets smart !

        Not only have the mayor** and the city manager held their "dog 'n pony" shows -- supposing called "Budget Review Public Meeting" (even in the mayor's church), but now they have come up with another way to replace the exorbitant mis-use of tax funds laced with the hideous high salaries, retirement plans, and reckless foolish spending habits.

(The meetings -- as run by the mayor -- were jokes.)   

        The below article in "GOVERNMENT WATCH" of the Orlando Sentinel just shows the inability of the current city management, and government to face the reality they are completely out of touch with the tax funds trusted to them.   It doesn't take a brain scholar to figure out the "McLemore Con Plan"!     Their "General Fund (slush fund)" amounts to over 1/3rd of the $61 million dollar yearly budget.    Read the article --- then the below comments!     The city manager laughs (see picture) all the way to HIS bank !

            First let's take one of the most "exposed" mi-use of your tax dollars.    In 1996 when the city manager brought to the City of Winter Springs his personal retirement funds (after being fired in Martin County) he immediately began working on another plan he could reap his retirement benefits from the city coffers.    Yes he RE-ORGANIZED the city's retirement fund into the highest paying fund in the State of Florida.

            But whoops -- the bottom fell out of his PERSONAL retirement funds (not related to city employment) when the .COM market fell apart.   He and the police chief (whom he had conned into joining with him) lost vast amounts of money they had personally put into those funds.    Upon the pretext of the police chief joining him again --- he went to the city commission and conned them into not only REPLACING his lost funds retroactive to the prior years, but by now had not even included the police chief in his theft of taxpayers' monies.    The commission bought it "lock-stock-'n-barrel" --- even the mayors -- all of them!

            NOW take a look at some of the wasteful spending habits of your reigning "political guardians" who have absolutely no regard in adjusting that frenzy by even considering that money IS NOT THEIRS !    Take the $200,000 gift -- a political maneuver by your mayor -- to invest in a futuristic project that will see absolutely NO INCOME until probably 2012 during a time known that budgets will have to be cut.    Didn't even faze them -- the robber barons of your tax dollars.    They have no conscience!    They'll get it elsewhere --- FIRE FEES.

            And then one can find certain ties --- financially --- to various city management types with developers, property management firms, and of course the "good-'ole-boy" Seminole "political machine".     All, if not unethical, are close to being suspected as personal gains with little respect for their offices the hold -- paid for with your tax dollars.    Once in office, or city employment, all previous campaign promises and supped-up résumés' are thrown to the wind.      The respect for the voting public is GONE!

            It must be pointed out, however, not ALL fall into this category, but when pursing the interests of the public sometimes even those responding to their constituents needs are infiltrated by an undesirable element.   

          An example of that type of intrusion was very obvious when a particular commissioner, wishing to go one-on-one with the voting public, issued an invitation for that voting element to meet with him, but the mayor interceded thus forcing those "coffees" to become a "PUBLIC MEETING".    There was absolutely no reason for the mayor to intrude on those meetings to make HIS appearance a uncomfortable occasion by inserting his vocal opinions.    The mayor became an unwanted burden by his presence, and forcing the meetings to be posted as "public meetings" --- requiring more expense by the city.    That is nothing more than "political posturing"!

         Then one can point to "financial posturing" between an ex-commissioner (McLeod & his Vistawilla project) by the city manager inserting his family's real-estate/brokerage business* into the project.    Or you could question what took place between that ex-commissioner (McLeod) and the head of the city's planning department when that person became an owner of one of the "luxurious" condos in his "towncenter" project.    The same project he cemented with votes --- as a seated commissioner.    Some issues in the City of Winter Springs have a strange stench associated with various city development projects.

         Don't stop there --- you have a seated commissioner employed by a "property management" company who continues to vote on developments within her district --- against the wishes of her constituents.    In fact, McGinnis had to resign her seat on a homeowners board-of-directors -- when that "conflict-of-interest" issue arose.    She, along with the mayor, was instrumental in the golf course sale to a developer -- which is now  a vast expansion of a weed laden un-developed project.    The city really goofed up on this horrendous blunder by the mayor, city manager, and commission.

          But then, one can take a look at the bare acres of land with pipes and weeds sticking up from the ground as another blunder by the city manager.    He used tax money to pave a slightly used street know as Orange Ave -- anticipating the vast flow of traffic from his "behind-the-high-school" city.    Or, how about the excessive use of your tax dollars on a project on a PRIVATE DEVELOPERS PROJECT to plant over $8,000 dollars of trees.

***** MORE TO FOLLOW  *****-

* They knew they had been caught -- they changed their website, but not before PFGG got a hard copy of the site.    People trying to hide facts --- create many blunders.

** The  Mayor, probably under the demand of the city manager, is now manipulating PUBLIC commission meetings.     In case you haven't been following the time element that it takes to discuss "IN PUBLIC" the city manager's outlandish agendas posted for the meeting -- there are TWO smart commissioners who now vote NOT TO EXTEND the commission meetings into the wee hours of the early morning time slot.    The city manager deliberately puts IMPORTANT agenda items on the last part (regular agenda) those that he hopes will not attract public opposition as to the contents of the item.

        So he, and in collusion with the mayor, now START the meetings at 5:15PM when most of the concerned public is either on their way home from work (which neither the mayor or city manager have to contend with such a time), or have taken time to eat dinner.    They don't want public outbursts against their meeting deceptions with poor nomenclature outlining the subject of the agenda item.   

        They mayor NOW also has taken a strict stanch against ANYONE who opposes the agenda by limiting the time to  speak in the "PUBLIC FORUM" by closely holding them to the three (3) minute dissertation in opposition.    All the while allowing their three stooges on the dais to spew their lengthy and long "speeches" outlying their idiotic fever of favor.    This is well orchestrated, and performed by the "political actors" calling themselves "representatives-of-the-people" .    

        It's a sham and scheme to pass whatever the CM dictates --- supported by his royal highness the MAYOR ! It will take ONLY one more GOOD commissioner in next year's election to join the two now reasonable commissioners now on the dais recognizing this fallacy, and also the election of an INDEPENDENT mayor to correct the current cronyism.    That also means --- DO NOT ELECT to ANY office a former McLemore representative ---- that has sided with him these past eleven (11) years.