Florida | Coral Gables Watch

State Pension in Pretty Good Shape

January 3, 2011 Leave a comment

State pension funding is one of the least problems that the new governor will face. Also, Florida’s pension fund’s footing is one of the best among the 50 states. Mr. Scott seems to be in campaign-mode rather than good-governing mode. This seems to be a political distraction from the many other problems in the state.

Scott’s forecast of a deeper pension funding hole contradicts the position of the State Board of Administration, which invests $148 billion for more than 1 million current and future retirees and hundreds of state and local government agencies. The SBA’s outgoing trustees — Gov. Charlie Crist, Attorney General Bill McCollum and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink — said the pension fund was recovering from steep losses it suffered during the recession.

via Scott casts skeptical eye on state pension funding – Political Currents – MiamiHerald.com.

Filed under Florida

Florida State Government Not a Business

January 2, 2011 1 Comment

Mr. Scott pretends that he will run the State of Florida government like a private business. Too bad the stockholders and consumers will have something to say about this, as follows:

…Scott’s health-care transition team has recommended merging the agencies that regulate doctors, oversee the $20 billion Medicaid program and provide services to the disabled and elderly to re-create a single health-care agency. To critics, that looks like the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services that was broken up in the mid-1990s.

That proposal has already drawn opposition from the powerful Florida Medical Association.

Scott’s “regulatory reform” task force has proposed merging the state’s road-building agency with agencies that protect natural resources and regulate growth to create the “Department of Growth Leadership” that would focus on economic development.

Transition team members wrote that “the ‘system’ has lost touch with strategic purpose,” and that “the regulatory structure is about barriers rather than progress.”

But the notion of combining Florida’s environmental and urban sprawl watchdogs with its chief road-building agency is certain to spark fierce resistance from conservation, transportation and consumer groups.

“It doesn’t make a lot of sense,” said Eric Draper, with Audubon of Florida. “They have such distinctly different purposes, it’s difficult to see how they would work together. … I’ve got to think this would not be viewed favorably by the Legislature.”

Opposition is also likely to spring from unions over Scott’s charge to slash billions of dollars in state spending by reforming the nation’s third-largest prisons system and perhaps requiring state employees, teachers, police and firefighters to start paying into their pension funds.

via Florida Gov.-elect Rick Scott poised to take office — can the former CEO run the state like a business? – OrlandoSentinel.com.

Filed under Florida

We’ve Heard this Before? Good Luck, Governor

January 2, 2011 Leave a comment

One may suppose that these efforts are mutually exclusive: cut the budget, justify the money spent, cut taxes, help business expand, cut corporate and property taxes, pay for medicaid, pay pensions (already well funded by the state), all simultaneously. Sound like an unattainable wish list if tax revenues fail to grow enough.

[Scott]…wants to place a freeze on new business regulations. He wants to phase out corporate income tax over the next seven years and cut property taxes by nearly 20 percent. He also wants to expand Florida’s K-12 vouchers and charter schools.

Scott wants to solve Florida’s $3.5 billion budget deficit and will ask all state agencies to justify all the money they spend. He wants to save $1.4 billion annually on Florida’s public employee pensions by requiring greater worker contributions to the funds and by placing new workers into the 401(k) retirement plans. He wants to cut Florida’s budget all the way back to its 2004 baseline.

via Florida government workers may have to contribute more to their pensions – Miami Labor Relations | Examiner.com.

Filed under Business and Commerce, Florida, Taxes and Fees

Coral Gables, Wake Up: State Situation is More Pressure to Raise Property Taxes

December 8, 2010 Leave a comment

This describes a Florida, Miami-Dade and Coral Gables that will face more property tax declines. Unless governments keep reducing outrageous public salaries and benefits and control other spending and staffing, Coral Gables’ taxpayers will have to pay more next year, without doubt.

This is a strong reason to bring in a new mayor and commissioners.

Jobs growth is anemic, she said, and the housing market is still in the tank. Florida’s gross-domestic product was 45th in the country in 2009, and dead last in 2008. In comparison, Florida’s GDP was fourth-best in the country in 2005.

Personal income has been slowly growing since the second quarter of 2009 in Florida, but the state still ranks only 37th in this category. The state’s October unemployment rate of 11.9 percent was the nation’s fourth-worst, and population growth is nearly flat.

At the same time, existing home sales are slowing, prices are flat and Florida had the second-highest foreclosure rates in the country in October. Cape Coral-Fort Myers had the second-highest number of foreclosures among metro markets in the country in October, Miami-Fort Lauderdale was the seventh-worst, and Orlando-Kissimmee was the 10th-worst.

“It is still very slow, a very gradual recovery,” Baker told the Senate Budget Committee Tuesday morning, cautioning that Florida’s time frame for an economic rebound would lag the national picture “because it’s driving both our tourism and our population growth.”

via State economist: Revenues down, Medicaid costs up – Central Florida Political Pulse – Orlando Sentinel.