An open letter to our community
—–Beach residents have organized in regards to the opposition of the Beach Library expansion plans and gross neglect by government organizations. Members of the group, called FMB Concerned Taxpayers, met Tuesday morning with a stance that they are against controlled spending, being unjustly taxed, believe they have received unfair representation and are trying to be responsive citizens. Their next step is to pull in state legislation. They ask if anybody within the special taxing district would like to help in the fight against taxpaying, email ftmarina@aol.com.
During the past several months we’ve all experienced a rather unsettling situation regarding the proposed Fort Myers Beach Library expansion. As a result of the initial turmoil surfacing last November, a diverse group of residents and taxpayers, supported by more than 700 petitioners, got together to investigate what was happening. Our group, for lack of a better name, has called itself the FMB Concerned Taxpayers. We are a group of men and women, who, prior to our forming this group, previously were not acquainted. We come from various walks of life and experiences, some retired, some still working, some from major industries, some from government and some from small businesses. We’re engineers, housewives, accountants, teachers, business owners, etc. Most importantly we’re your neighbors.
What piqued our curiosity was the lack of information available about the proposed Library expansion and, more importantly, the inability to retrieve answers to various questions we had individually posed to the Library Board of Directors and their Director. No, we’re not against having a library here on FMB. For that matter we think we have a good library and all of us use it. But we were aghast at the scope and cost — more than doubling the size and, for example, inclusion of a cafe, all at a $9 million tab! Our library square footage is already double the exemplary category listed in the Florida Standards for Public Libraries for its population base and meets the service standards for libraries to provide. The portion of our 2010 taxes we paid for the entire the Town of Fort Myers Beach was only 56 percent more than we paid for our library. As a result, we began a rather expensive and time consuming effort to understand where we’ve been, where we are and where we’re going relative to the Library issues confronting us.
WHERE WE’VE BEEN: Like most of the residents, outside of our Trim Statements (tax notices) most of us weren’t aware that we are part of an Independent Taxing District for the Library. As such, members of the Library Board of Directors are elected to represent us in the operation of the Library. They alone have the right and responsibility to provide for our library’s needs, both present and future. Sometime during the past 8 years the Library’s Board generated a long-term plan for an expansion project. As part of that plan, the Operating Budgets of the Library were modified to provide Capital Funding through elevated expense projections. Essentially, the tax burden was elevated year after year through artificially inflating the expense budget thus providing for the expected expansion.
Further, within the past 24 months, a bond was secured providing $2.4 million at what was determined by the Library’s Board of Directors to be a very low rate. Additionally, the Library purchased the adjacent property with the initial and published intent of increased parking. In 2008 the Library requested a zoning change for the intended parking lot, asking for a height variance allowing for an elevator tower in the proposed expansion.
This simple request for a zoning variance should have been the tip off for any of us to question what was going on, but it didn’t. The Library Board of Directors and the Civic Association is absolutely correct when they criticize those questioning the expansion plans for having been silent all this time. We should have been more vigilant and weren’t. But in that regard we’re reminded of Bell, CA (pop 38,000) where voters were unaware their town manager was making almost $800,000 per year until exposed by the LA Times last summer. However, it’s also true that the Library’s Board of Directors has operated well under the town’s radar. A few examples:
The Board’s meeting schedules are noticed annually in the Fort Myers News Press. A more frequent notice, perhaps as part of the Director’s frequent informational articles, is more than reasonable.
The Board needs to be proactive in its Budget disclosure. None of us recalls seeing the Budgets being published.
The Board, during the past 10 years, has failed to comply with the reporting requirements of Title 189 by not providing the required fiscal and operating status of its district to both the town and county. It wasn’t until the town’s attorney brought this to the town’s attention that a sophomoric attempt in providing it was generated and sent to the county on Dec. 30, 2010.
Had the Board submitted the required reports or had the Town or County demanded the required compliance, we all would have been aware of the expansion plans at our cost.
The Board’s stealth method of capital formulation is totally unreasonable.
The Board and its attorney’s position that the zoning variance request also served as the facilities report required by Title 189 to be unbelievable given what the law clearly requires.
Unfortunately, the past 6 months have degenerated to a point where the facts are being overridden by personal affronts, indignation and ignoring fiduciary responsibilities.
WHERE WE ARE: Eight weeks ago we hired an attorney to look into a number of the legal issues that were raised during the preceding six months. To date our legal expenses are approaching $10,000, and a number of interesting points have surfaced. Our attorney has uncovered numerous irregularities involving required reports and accounting practices, but so far nothing that can’t be corrected and would not likely convince a judge to issue an injunction to stop the project. However, we are still considering this approach and other remedies to make the Library more responsive to the voters of FMB. While at this time we can’t claim that the Library Board of Directors or its management has violated the law, we can say that they have been very close to the edge of its spirit and intent. Further, the Library has claimed openness and responsiveness to this community and we question that claim. A few examples:
Posting meetings for a 12-month period doesn’t lend itself to an informed public.
Not providing the very surveys that supported its expansion decisions is at best troubling and, at worst, derelict.
Numerous queries have been intentionally unanswered regarding finances, usage and alternatives.
Notifying residents and taxpayers that they are not permitted to attend a meeting(s).
Failure to recognize a large segment of the resident’s explicit concerns regarding, in their view, an unnecessary $9 million capital expenditure.
Although it’s been offered, their rejection to televise their meetings.
Its unwillingness to recognize the changing economic conditions.
Failure to recognize the declining population of our town and school.
The Library today sets on approximately $7.4 million cash with a current debt of approximately $800,000. What’s important here is that most of this cash has been raised through artificially high taxation during the past several years. It’s to Florida’s fiscal shame that several other states have capital funding laws requiring capital projects to be voted on when they reach into the millions of dollars.
WHERE WE’RE GOING: Each and every one of us believes in a strong community that serves its residents well. We also believe that, based on all the facts developed to date through our investigation, we have a good library whose operation and physical plant are first rate, especially for a community our size. Further, any perception that our investigation and plans are personally motivated or directed to any one person or group of individuals couldn’t be further from the truth. We believe that the Library Board of Directors and its staff have done a wonderful job over the years. Unfortunately, we also believe that this group has fallen into the belief that this expansion project, conceived several years ago, is relevant in today’s fiscal and technologically advanced environment. The financial collapse we’re still mired in and the “Kindle” should serve as a wakeup call to all of us that change is not only upon us, but accelerating at an ever-faster pace. We believe that, at the very least, each and every one of this community’s residents deserves the following from the FMB Library and its Board of Directors:
All meetings televised as offered from the FMB Town Council.
Full disclosure of all financial records including responses to financial questions remaining unanswered.
Providing the very survey/poll that supported the expansion project.
Knowing that the intent of the petition, signed by more than 700 FMB resident taxpayers, was calling for the termination of the expansion project, why did the Library Board of Directors refuse its acceptance?
A detailed analysis of the millage reductions year by year once the expansion is complete and the elevated rates that provided capital formation are no longer necessary.
Why does the expansion include significant space for an auditorium, caf, etc. when more than adequate space is already available at nearby Bay Oaks for large audiences, etc.?
Our plan is to continue our investigation through all available channels and seek appropriate remedies where and when available. Further, we believe the original purpose and need for a Special Taxing District status for our library has long ceased to be valid. Everything we’ve ascertained through our investigation leads us to the conclusion that the FMB Library Board of Directors is just wrong regarding this expansion project. What we find woefully lacking is a concerted effort to bring the library into the “Kindle”/digital book age regarding how books are used while devoting all effort to this unwarranted expansion.
Sincerely; Fort Myers Beach Concerned Taxpayers