COMMENTARY

“What we see in the current city council’s decision to establish a storm water utility is a rare measure of courage and statesmanship. The decision is to be applauded, not belittled.”

MARK SCHUMANN

I cringed when I read the following contradictory assertions in a column by Press Journal pundit Larry Reisman. Reisman was addressing the City of Vero Beach’s plan to form a storm water utility to pay for drainage projects urgently needed to help address the Lagoon crisis.

“As for upgrading, (filtering drainage into the Lagoon), the city should continue to budget money annually from its general fund,” Reisman wrote.

In claiming no additional source of income is needed to make up for a current shortfall in funding for drainage projects that would help clean storm water runoff before it reaches the Lagoon, Reisman must believe there is plenty of extra, unspoken-form money in the city’s general fund.

Yet, in the same column he argued that the city and its taxpayers would be better off selling their electric utility at a loss, or, failing that, running it as a non-profit, thus forgoing a six percent return of approximately $5.5 million a year. Earnings from the city’s electric utility are, of course, transferred to the general fund to help pay for municipal services such as police protection, life guard protection, parks maintenance and recreation programs.

Reisman wrote, “But the council continues to charge exorbitant electric rates to city and Indian River County customers, then funnel about $5.5 million annual in electric ‘profits’ into its $20.7 million general fund.”

First, Reisman’s only measure of what constitutes “exorbitant,” seems to be a simplistic comparison to rates charged by Florida Power & Light, the company where the wife of Press Journal publisher Bob Brunjes works as a vice president of external affairs. In truth, Vero Beach’s rates are within the statewide average; and to the current city council’s credit, much is being done to reduce rates.

Second, if, as Reisman proposes, the city forgoes 25 percent of its general fund revenue in search of the lowest possible electric rates, how will it not be necessary to raise property taxes and other revenues to continue to operate the city? In arguing the electric system can be sold without significant offsetting tax increases, Reisman and his fellow pro-sale propagandists have defied even their own circuitous logic.

Reisman seems quite proud of Bob Solari and his fellow county commissioners for not following the lead of Indian River County’s municipalities in forming storm water utilities to help fund projects to address the Lagoon crisis. Solari, of course, was a member of the same city council that agreed to pay $10 million for the old Dodgertown golf course, a move that is costing the city nearly $700,000 a year in local option sale tax money that could otherwise be used to fund drainage projects.

Reisman is harshly critical of the city’s purchase of land it is now seeking to sell at 50 cents on the dollar, but he is carful not to tag Solari with any of the blame.

It was Solari who recently persuaded his fellow county commissioners not to join with four other counties and three state agencies in forming the Indian River Lagoon Coalition, a group which can now more effectively seek funding for Lagoon projects. Fortunately for the Lagoon and for the interests of all Indian River County residents, the cities of Fellsmere, Sebastian and Vero Beach joined together to take a seat on the Lagoon Coalition. (Indian River Shores, a barrier island community made up largely of part time residents, declined to participate. The members of the Shores Town Council must believe their runoff is not polluted.)

Just this week, Solari said he would not support county funding for a study of the potential benefits of diverting storm water runoff into reservoirs. He said he wants some other state or federal agency to pay for the study. Ironically, though, Solari refused to be part of a coalition that can now more effectively seek state and federal funding.

A number of months ago, Reisman was seen having lunch with Solari. The journalist and the politician must be feeding each other bad information. Clearly, pretzel logic is contagious.

Reisman closed his column calling for a referendum on forming a storm water utility. It is an argument that suggests he does not understand representative democracy. Government by referendum can lead to disaster. Just look at the mess the state of California is in.

What we see in the current city council’s decision to establish a storm water utility is a rare measure of courage and statesmanship. The decision is to be applauded, not belittled.