May 10, 2012

Commissioner Jimmy Conner is very pleased the County has a partnership with the National Training Center which will provide more ball fields for the youth in South Lake County.

Conner said these type of partnerships-which save taxpayer's money since infrastructure investment is not needed- are exactly what he wants to see-providing services at minimum costs.

Commissioner Conner wants to express his appreciation to the National Training Center for their willingness to assist the county in meeting the needs of our community.

May 1, 2012

From the Orlando Sentinel

TAVARES — Property values may drop 5 to 8 percent this year, making for another difficult budget cycle for local governments already lean from three years of declining tax revenue.

The annual update on property values is key for local governments dependent on property-tax revenue. Following the collapse of the real-estate market, values have dropped, forcing cities, counties and regional agencies to cut costs, reduce staff positions and trim services.

April 17, 2012

Today, the Lake County Board of County Commissioners and several dignitaries held the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Hooks Street extension, between Grand Highway and Sandhill View Blvd. in Clermont.

The ceremony commemorated the completion and opening of the $1.5 million project, which took nearly 8 months to complete. The finished project includes the construction of approximately 2,667 feet of divided roadway, with four travel lanes and two bicycle lanes. The project was funded by a grant received from the Florida Department of Transportation.

April 13, 2012

The Florida Association of Counties (FAC) Board of Directors met yesterday voting to pursue legal action against H.B. 5301, a controversial new law that will leave taxpayers on the hook for millions in state Medicaid accounting errors. Numerous local elected officials, tea party activists and good government advocates had vigorously opposed the legislation, calling it “the worst kind of body blow to taxpayers” and a “bureaucratic mess.”

“From the outset, we’ve said that local taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to pay for Tallahassee’s accounting errors,” said Chris Holley, Executive Director of the Florida Association of Counties. “And to ensure that they are not, we will be pursuing legal action.”

FAC’s decision to pursue litigation comes less than two weeks after Governor Scott signed H.B. 5301 into law. The suit would be filed in the 2nd Judicial Circuit in Leon County in the coming weeks. Already Seminole, Pasco, Polk, Manatee and Leon counties have voted to join with the Association’s pending suit and with this decision more counties are expected to join.

“We appreciate the Governor’s promise to address these systemic Medicaid billing errors,” said Holley. “However, H.B. 5301 has made this multi-million dollar accounting mess the law of the land, something we simply cannot allow on behalf of our members and Florida’s taxpayers – to stand.”

April 11, 2012

The county commission, by a 4-1 margin, voted to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a vanpool program, a program Commissioner Jimmy Conner has fiercely opposed since becoming a Commissioner.

Under the vanpool program, taxpayers-the federal government- purchase vans and then allows people to ride to work for a modest fee. The fee is designed to cover operating costs but the fee does not cover the purchase price of the vans so these are taxpayer subsidized trips.

Conner calls this one of the most egregious expansions of the role of government and an example of why America is $16 Trillion dollars in debt. Conner challenged people to ask themselves if the government paid for the vehicle they drive every day.

"Vanpools and carpools are good ideas and I encourage employees to use them,"said Conner. "But, I do not believe employees need the federal government to buy them vehicles for carpooling to be successful," he added.

In Lake County, 14 of 15 vanpools-currently operated by Lynx at no direct cost to Lake County- travel to Coleman prison. While salary information is not available, Conner told Commissioners if they proceed with this program, it should be targeted toward lower income employees and not middle income wage earners.

Chairman Leslie Campione defended the program saying it keeps cars off the road but Conner said citizens can carpool themselves and do not need the federal government to buy vans for carpools to work.

February 28, 2012

The County Commission voted unanimously to advertise an ordinance that would continue to waive school impact fees for another year.

Yesterday, the school board voted unanimously to recommend the waiver to the Commission.

Commissioners are expected to approve the extension at a Commission meeting in March.

February 21, 2012

TAVARES — With unusually dry conditions continuing to increase wildfire probability, the Lake County Public Safety Department enacted a countywide burn ban today, in accordance with County Code 10.5-75.

According to a letter issued by John Jolliff, Director/Fire Chief for the Public Safety Department, Lake County's Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) indicates 39 percent of the county is above 500, and 61 percent exceeds 600. The index has exceeded 500 for more than 3 weeks.

The mandatory burn ban affects all of unincorporated Lake County. The ban prohibits all outdoor burning that has not been specifically permitted by the Florida Forest Service. This includes burning yard waste, as defined by FAC 62-256.200(19); and bon fires and campfires on private or County property.

The mandatory burn ban shall remain in effect until further notice. Any burning within the County will be in violation and will be considered a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to a 60-day imprisonment and up to a $500 fine.

Although the use of gas grills and charcoal grills are permitted, the public is encouraged to keep a constant watch for any stray sparks or embers while cooking outdoors. Additionally, due to the potential for accidental ignitions, the use of motorized equipment such as all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and dirt bikes are not suggested during times of high wildfire risk. Lawnmowers can also pose accidental ignition risks.

One of the more effective ways to reduce the possibility of wildfires is to clear underbrush or debris blown down in storms, as these dry plants and vegetation create more fuel for wildfires. It is recommended that homeowners try to maintain a 30-foot defensible space around their home to act as a firebreak. Other Wildfire prevention tips include:

· Prune all branches around the residence to a height of 8 to 10 feet. Keep trees adjacent to buildings free of dead or dying limbs and moss, and remove dead branches that extend over the roof.

· Remove all dead limbs, needles and debris from rain gutters.

· Avoid open burning completely, especially during this dry season.

· Regularly dispose of newspapers and rubbish.

· Rake leaves, dead limbs and twigs. Clear flammable vegetation from around and under structures.

· Store flammable materials in approved safety cans.

· Keep items available that can be used as fire tools, such as a rake, handsaw, chainsaw, bucket and shovel.

· Never throw a lighted cigarette from the window of a vehicle or walk off and leave a burning cigarette.

For more information about wildfire prevention, call the Lake County Public Safety Department at (352) 343-9458.

February 15, 2012

About 18 months ago, Commissioner Jimmy Conner recognized the opportunities the county would have in handling its solid waste once the contract with Covanta (incinerator) ends in 2014, so he suggested forming the Solid Waste Committee. The Committee has been very effective and has worked over a year on making recommendations to the Commission.

Commissioner Conner made the point of how important it is for cities and the county to work together and he knows that by doing so, costs can be lowered to residents. "By increasing volume, we can pass savings on to consumers," said Conner.

Commissioners directed staff to pursue the recommendations, which included:

-- The county will develop a request for proposals and solicit bids from companies in addition to Covanta in the first half of 2013. The county could use a different company for collection, disposal and recycling.

-- Consider the mechanized collection of trash with cart sizes of 96, 64 or 48 gallons, and consider single-stream curbside recycling.

-- Consider once-a-week pickup each for garbage, recycling and yard waste where there is mechanized collection and in other areas where feasible, rather than the current unlimited twice-a-week garbage and yard waste collections and once-a-week recycling.

-- Continue household hazardous waste collection events, and the offering of drop-off centers.

-- Enhance the current program of disposing of hazardous waste and electronic waste from the waste stream through a state-approved facility.

-- Increase recycling of residential and commercial waste through single-stream recycling, with all of the recycling to be processed through a private vendor.

-- Increase the reuse of yard waste through composting.

-- Work with cities on a collection and disposal system, and educate the public on the process.

-- Burn waste if economically feasible, and bury it only as a last resort.

While the Lake County Landfill has a life of twenty years, Conner said he wants to preserve that and prefers not to use it.

February 9, 2012

Excerpts from Article
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Mixtures of illegal drugs are killing people in Lake County, Commissioner Jimmy Conner said. "It's a real serious problem, so I'm glad to see Lake County cracking down," Conner said.

The moratorium is on the issuance of new business tax receipts for pain management clinics, meaning no new clinics can open during that time period. The ordinance also forbids existing clinics from operating as "cash-only" businesses, and limits hours of operation to 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. There are 13 pain management clinics in Lake, Herrell said.

February 7, 2012

Commission Chairman Leslie Campione announced today she was withdrawing the residential areas around the Mt. Plymouth golf course from her proposed Community Redevelopment Area in Sorrento-Mt. Plymouth.

Her proposal had been met with significant opposition and by removing the residential area, it is likely the CRA will be less controversial.

CRA's designate a certain area and taxes from future increases in property values are designated to remain in that area.

Commissioners will discuss their philosophy of CRA's in more detail later this month.

May 2, 2012

From the Daily Commercial

Lake County commissioners want department heads to cut their budgets by 5 percent so the county can avoid running out of savings by 2015.

At a Tuesday morning workshop at the Administration Building in Tavares, County Manager Darren Gray gave a two-hour presentation, showing the county's currently financial position with an 8 percent projected decline in tax revenue for 2012. Gray's five-year projection showed by 2015, the county won't have any funds available in its savings account to address emergencies such as hurricanes or other natural disasters.

The county currently has 9.3 percent of its budget earmarked for savings, but officials feel better with 15 percent. Gray said there is a chance the commission could later reconsider dropping the 15 percent to something like 10 or 12 percent, if necessary.

The county has also used its savings in the past to help balance its annual budgets due to a decline in property tax revenues since 2007. Lake County has lost $36 million from its general revenue fund since that time and has had to reduce its workforce by 147 employees to help cover the loss.

"The county has been using its rainy day account for the last four or five years," Gray said.

The county still doesn't know how much money it will be losing to expected federal cuts in Medicaid. Those cuts could hurt Transportation Disadvantage, a transportation program used to help those with disabilities meet medical and nutritional needs.

Commissioner Jimmy Conner, who made a suggestion to use more volunteers to fill needs in places areas such as at libraries, was against making cuts to programs that serve those less fortunate like Children Services Grants and Aids.

County Commissioner Sean Parks agreed, saying: "That is one (program) I have trouble with a five percent reduction..."

Officials say the 5-percent departmental cut is an overall average because some departments could get cut more than others.

Property tax revenue figures won't be known until late May or early June and officials hope they don't see the 8 percent projected decline.

"We are hoping for anything below 8 percent, which is a good situation for us," Parks said. "Ideally, it would be great if there where no loss of property value. Anything less than 8 percent would be a bonus.

"If it came in at 4 percent or 2 1/2, then the situation gets a little bit better, (but) we are still in a predicament, so that is why it is important to get that official number."

April 20, 2012
From the Orlando Sentinel

TAVARES — City officials have postponed the Seaplane Fly-In, which was scheduled to begin Saturday.

Weather reports "indicate unfavorable flying conditions," officials said today. For the safety of the pilots and spectators, the event will be moved to April 28.

Officials hoped for as many as 40 aircraft to arrive this weekend for the Seaplane Fly-Inout.

The Fly-In, patterned after other seaplane events around the country, pits pilots against each other in three events: bomb drop, spot landings and shortest takeoffs In place of bombs, pilots drop pomelos or grapefruit from 200 feet in the air with a buoy as the target.

For more information, see Tavares.org.

April 14, 2012
Frpm the Orlando Sentinel

Residents should see relief in traffic congestion now that an extension of Hooks Street has been completed.

Hooks Street now stretches from Citrus Tower Boulevard to U.S. Highway 27. That should ease traffic on the highly-traveled State Road 50, where a six-lane interchange to U.S. 27 is being constructed, said Jim Stivender, the county's public works director.

It took eight months to complete the $3 million project, Stivender said. He said the county used state grant money to pay for part of the 2,667 feet of new road, which is four lanes wide and includes two bicycle lanes.

County commissioners will celebrate the road-extension completion during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday. It starts at 9:30 a.m. on Hooks Street between Grand Highway and Sandhill View Boulevard.

Lake should fight Medicaid costs
By Lauren Ritchie

Claiming to be the brilliant governor who cut back on state spending is a snap when all you do is push the cost of running a government onto the counties in your state.

And that's exactly what Tea Party darling Rick Scott did when he signed a bill that "solved" a convoluted Medicaid mess by forcing counties to pay $325 million to fix it. Lake's share is $3.2 million, and if you're paying more in property taxes next year, this tangle will be part of the reason.

What's worse, the new law created a system that wrongly will suck even more cash from Lake taxpayers once thousands more people become eligible for Medicaid in 2014 under new health-care regulations.

Now, Medicaid covers children up to 18 who come from poor families and seniors who are both poor and chronically ill. For example, a single senior whose income is $11,172 or less annually, has almost no assets and is desperately sick may qualify.

Although Medicaid is a federal program, the state keeps the books on it, and each county has to kick in money for its own residents. Lake pays $55 a month for each senior citizen on Medicaid who is in a nursing home, and the county pays 35 percent of the daily cost of a hospital stay for any Medicaid patient for the 11th through the 45th days.

(And you were worried this was going to get complicated, weren't you?)

Last year, that total cost was $3.1 million. This year, the total is expected to hit $4 million.

Here's how it works: Each month, the state Agency for Health Care Administration, known as AHCA, emails a big bill to Lake County with the names and amounts of each Medicaid patient's claim on it.

Allison Thall, the county's director of health and human services, examines the address on every single claim — there are between 1,000 and 1,700 each month — and uses a computer program to determine whether the person actually lives in Lake.

If so, she clicks a little box to agree to pay the bill. If not, she rejects it and gives AHCA the reason.

Most often, the reason is that the person lives in the Sumter County portion of The Villages but seems to have a Lake address or the patient has a Umatilla mailing address but actually lives in Marion County.

For some reason the state is unable to explain, it cannot stop the billings, regardless of how many times Thall explains that these patients live in other counties. The poor woman must think she's the star of that old movie "Groundhog Day," in which people are caught in a weird time warp and are doomed to live the same 24 hours over and over.

"It makes no sense," Thall said. "If, according to the state, a person is a Lake resident, then by golly, they're a Lake County resident."

Since 2001, Thall and staffers who had the job before her have rejected $3.2 million in what they say are Medicaid bills for people who don't live here.

The state is determined to get the cash. Under the bill just signed by Scott, counties are getting this one-time, never-to-be-repeated offer: Pay 85 percent of what the state says is owed — that's $2.7 million for Lake — and call it a day.
The money would be repaid over five years, with nearly $1 million of it due during the budget year that starts Oct. 1. Thanks, Rick!

The other option is to fight. The Florida Association of Counties is considering a lawsuit, and Lake has the option within the next couple weeks to join. That decision might be tricky, considering that the state doesn't have to give the county a list of the specific bills it says are owed until Aug. 1. So it's nearly impossible to know whether it's worth the fight.

Worse yet, the state has engineered a new way of collecting that it apparently learned from the mob. It will simply deduct everything that it says is owed from the sales tax and gas tax revenue that is supposed to come back to the county from which it was collected.

That will leave Lake and every other county fighting to get refunds or begging Don Corleone for justice.

Scott has said he'll send staffers to talk with county officials to help work things out. Talk is cheap. Lake should seriously consider joining with other counties to fight what is simply thuggery by the state.

April 10, 2012

Commissioner Jimmy Conner supported the ordinance and said it strikes "The Right Balance" between protecting dogs and being fair to dog owners. The original ordinance invoked a $500. fine for the first offense, something Conner said was too harsh. Under the adopted ordinance, dog owners will receive a warning for a first offense then subjected to a $150 fine for subsequent violations.
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From the Orlando Sentinel

TAVARES — Lake County Commissioners unanimously passed this morning an ordinance that prohibits tethering dogs except when owners are out with them in the yard. Residents also are banned from tying up their animals during thunderstorms and extreme temperatures.

Commissioners initially considered a complete ban on "single-point" restraints, which tie an animal to a house, tree or pole. They had received complaints that dogs were being chained up all day in scorching temperatures.

County officials plan to first educate the public about the new rules before starting to issue fines in November. Those who violate the anti-tethering ordinance could face $150 fine after a warning. They could be fined $500 for each further violation within the next five years, officials said. If the dog is injured or it dies while tethered, the owner could be hit with a $500 or $1000 fine, respectively.

County officials estimate that there are about 180,000 dogs in Lake and 5,000 that are tethered.

February 23, 2012

Commissioner Jimmy Conner will tour the Sheriff's and EMS dispatch centers on Thursday afternoon. Conner has toured them previously and found them to be in very crowded quarters and in old buildings that needed significant improvements. The sheriff's dispatch is in the old jail and EMS is in a shopping center in Mt. Dora that is over fifty years old.

The Sheriff Office is also dispatching for several cities and other cities have expressed interest in transferring those duties to the sheriff's office but the current offices have no room for expansion.

Commissioner Jimmy Conner supports this direction and knows it is a more cost effective manner to deliver services. Conner has long advocated eliminating the duplication of services and believes dispatching is a natural area for cost savings.

Berkshire Consultants recently recommended combining the EMS with the Sheriff's dispatch and confirmed this would also create cost savings. Conner said he also supports combining dispatch due to the savings as well as increasing public safety.

Next Tuesday the Commission will hear a presentation on a combined dispatch center as well as the EOC.

February 15, 2012

When Lake-Sumter EMS merged into Lake EMS, the new Lake EMS board ordered a full review of EMS operations.

On Tuesday, Berkshire Consultants made their report and gave a glowing review of Lake EMS. They also made some recommendations for improvement.

First and foremost, Lake EMS is responding in a timely manner and their life support services continue to be one of the best in the nation. The consultants credited the medical staff, the executive director and the entire leadership team at Lake EMS for their management style.

They also recommended combining the communications center into one location and said there would be cost savings by taking this approach.

They also made personnel recommendations-eliminating a few positions- that will be considered.

The EMS board directed the Executive Director and County Manager to study the recommendations and give their opinions at the next meeting which will be in May.

Commissioner Jimmy Conner said the overall transition has been very successful and he is proud that Lake EMS continues to provide outstanding service to the citizens of Lake County.

February 13, 2012