Latest T-shirt Graphic

We would like to thank all of the comments and emails requesting the "So easy even a School Board Member can do it" graphic. All that you have to do is right click it and then click Save Picture As to save it to your computer. If you would like a bigger image, simply click on it to open it in another screen and then do the right click thing.

And again... we hope to see these around town!

Kissimmee Puppet Commission Theatre - Budget Crisis

Sunday Funny - Politician Driving

A politician was swerving all over the road and driving very badly, so she got pulled over by a cop. The cop walked up to her window and asked, "Ma'am, why are you driving so recklessly?"

The politician said, "I'm sorry sir, but wherever I go, there's always a tree in front of me and I can't seem to get away from it!"

The cop looked at her and said, "Ma'am, that's your air freshener!"

Comment Corner

It has been a busy week for comments and we would like to thank everyone who contributed. In just the past 5 days we have had 51 comments that have added quite a bit to the conversation on our un-news topics. Please remember that, unlike local governments, we actually listen (or read in this case) what you have to say. Also remember that it is ok to tell us when you do not like what we are saying. If you think our un-news is too far off track, let us know. The more comments, the better.

Comments on Funding Commuter Rail:
Anonymous said - The communter rail project needs to be killed. If the only way to keep it going now is to raise our taxes again, then kill the project. I do not live near anywhere near the rail line, and my drive on 15 will not be affected by the slight drop in traffic near the rail line. Yet I will still have to pay for this mess. Kill the project!!!

Respones: This comment really sums up the entire argurment when it comes to adding additional taxes to the residents of Osceola County. How can you tax people for a special project that does not help them in any direct way? And how can you justify a tax for a project that leaves you with a surplus of the people’s money? We believe that killing the project is still up for debate, but we feel that this needs to be debate based on fact, not hype.
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Osceola Puppet School Board Theatre - Throw Down:
- My sides hurt from laughing so much! This is the craziest video yet.
- Greer and Wheeler are just so cute in their little outfits. Do you think they will wear their new outfits to the next School Board Meeting?
- I kept thinking "CatFight". Imagine my surprise when I log on to WayneWho today to see these two idiots locked in a dance off.
- Maybe they should just channel all that built-up frustration and tension through a dance off.

Respones: Sorry we could not list them all, but thank you for all of the great comments. Our only real response is, “So you think you can dance?”
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A Tale of Two Cities:
- Why don't they use the $30 million to pay for this stupid light rail instead of raising my taxes again. I have to commute an hour a day because there no jobs in Osceola. So no I am going to be penalized with a gas tax because of their incompetence. Just great.
- I think to get more people out to the budget meeting, they should have the Kissimmee and School Board Puppet Characters there to sign autographs. And I do mean the popsicle stick puppets, not the actual elected puppets.
- i have not heard of any other fire department losing fire positions. funny, tampa is letting go of 219 employees and their mayor in an open letter said no public safety positions (police or fire). That first city will be adding firefighters. you can see tampa's mayors letter at tampa.gov. [The real link is http://www.tampagov.net/]

Respones: When you listen to government officals explain that there are different pots of money that can not be touched for the things that would help residents, and that we have to pay more even when there is $30 million sitting in an account, you have to wonder is this Hogwarts or hogwash? How can money appear and disappear so quickly? All we can say is that we are glad that there are so many of you paying attention to what is going on.
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There They Go Again:
- But they can dance! Well at least a couple of them can dance. And their favorite dance is the Hustle.
- That picture represents every politician that we have sitting in all of our governments.
- Maybe it should be elected offical subsidized housing. We can just dump them all in once place so we can keep an eye on them.
- I think the fact that the Osceola News Gazette was able to put a real article together is scary. Quick, through in some more advertising.

Respones: By this point in the week, we realized that our readers were in full swing. What was great is that all of the comments had a great mix of humor and facts. We think the title on this article says it all about the school board. As the week went on, they continued to stick to the title.
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Un-News Bites:
- Can school board members be recalled?
- … they are going to put the worst teachers with the worst students and then hand them one of their new DVD's that will make things all better.
- I think a recall is exactly what is needed. Just not at the school board but in all of Osceola County's governments.
- Do you think the Ad-zette even realized the quote they put in the bubble was bad?
- If you are truly fed up with local government....Run!!

Respones: We think the last comment that we highlighted is only a partial answer. We understand that not everyone wants to be a politician. We think that you must get involved with local government no matter what. Part of the price of our democracy and the freedoms that we enjoy is that citizens must be involved to make it work. And what makes our country the strongest is the fact that we need and encourage not just the wealthy, but the poorest as well, to participate and discuss ideas together. Run if you can run, but get involved with your local government no matter what!

Budget Opportunities

The City of Kissimmee will have its budget workshop tomorrow and this meeting is open to the public. This is not a televised meeting so the only way you can watch what is going on with your money is to attend the meeting. The floor is not open to the public, but you are able to hear what the commissioners are thinking which can give us regular folks some idea of why the are going to vote one way or another. This time around, because of the property tax reforms from the state level, the budget process will be difficult and present challenges we have not asked a commission, or staff, to face in a very long time. WayneWho believes that this process is an opportunity for the City of Kissimmee to shine, if egos can be checked at the door.

First: We think that it is important to discuss as much as possible during this workshop, and the regular commission meetings to follow. There is a tendency by the commission to bypass boring topics to speed up meetings, but in this case, we believe that this would create more distrust in the budget process. We would say, drag it out, and say your peace.

Second: It is not the job of the City Commission to teach the people a lesson about what happens when you ask for tax relief. It is the job of the City Commission, to find the best way to work with the budget they have. It is also the job of the City Commission to understand what services are the most important to the residents. Police, Fire, and the construction and maintenance of roads are the services at the top of the list. Cutting of services is going to happen, but what service need to be cut is where the question lies. Removing positions from the police and/or fire departments is questionable at best and should not be a politically motivated maneuver. Keeping the forces at full strength is your primary role as commissioners. Cutting, reducing, not filling, adjusting, or doing anything that will lower the number of police officers or firefighters off of the street should not be an option that is considered. We hope this makes sense to those who read it.

Third: Funding parties, groups who throw parties, trips that inspire parties, or anything else that does not directly relate to the day to day business of government should only be funded after the primary responsibilities of government, and the people, are taken care of. We have elected you to make difficult decisions just like any CEO would have to make when the company they work for is put into a financial crunch. You told us you could make the difficult triage decisions you are now faced with. The public expects nothing less.

Fourth: Intergovernmental meetings and dealings should not mean the public is removed from the process. At the end of the day the different governments in this community work for the citizens and not each other. Taking property off of the tax roles to let the school board build a school on it in the middle of an area the community has designated as an area for redevelopment tells your residents that you have plenty of money to fund more officers with. Government working for government is a problem, not a solution.

We believe that the Kissimmee City Commission can and will do the right thing for the community. We believe that this budget is an opportunity to show true leadership driven by the commission.

Un-News Bites

WayneWho's Worst Headliner In Osceola County Award:
WayneWho's Worst Headliner in Osceola County Award was very difficult to decide and the WayneWho team ended up eating multiple pizzas during the lengthy debate. In the end we decided to make sure to mention the runner up along with, in our opinion, the winner.

And the runner up is Tami Loechner, a 27 year old mother who coached her young children through the process of stealing a Boston terrier puppy from a pet store in St. Cloud. The quirky caper unfolded over a 45 minute period where the mother can clearly be seen managing the heist. We can only hope that there is some type of process in place to help these children get back on the straight and narrow.


And the Winner of WayneWho's Worst Headliner in Osceola County Award goes to one of our very own School Board Members. Yes, this is somewhat old news, but why let the news cycle die on a story like this? It appears that School Board Member Tom Greer got caught up in his own spin machine last week when he was trying to fast talk reporters from the Osceola Ad-zette circular. In a long string of meaningless cliches from the Board Members and Superintendent Muse, which included 'From day one you have to hit the ground running', 'There should not be any down time', and 'When we conduct walk-throughs we want to see alot of direct instruction' (direct instruction in a school, who would have thought it possible?) slipped a quote into the true insight of the entire school board. "So many times we put our worst teachers with our worst students because we felt like they weren't going to gain anyway," School Board Member Greer said. All we can say is wow. How much of our tax dollars are you people in charge of? Anyway, the WayneWho's Worst Headliner in Osceola County Award goes to School Board Member Tom Greer for a general disregard for what the people elected you to do. (Your dancing talent almost kept you from winning!)

Other Un-News Bites:
The St. Cloud Workshop scheduled for last night the 17th was mysteriously canceled. One of our citizen journalists headed over to the meeting to find that the workshop that was scheduled, and had been scheduled on the City's web site all day long, was canceled. From the last meeting where the Council members decided in favor of the people and made the decision to hold a special election, we were confident that the City Council was going to defend the peoples rights. We hope that nothing has changed.

The columnist Carl Cricket has posted another great article that you should check out. Our folks had told us of an outburst by Mr. Q., but we haven't had the space to cover it yet (hmmm... puppets anyone?). For real Osceola County news please take a look at the site where Carl Cricket lives: http://www.ksib.net/

We will be posting a real article this afternoon on the "Budget Meetings" scheduled for tomorrow in the City of Kissimmee. So check back in a little while. Is that the "General Fund" I hear?

There They Go Again

“Officials rack brains-why did grades fail?” reads the headline. What a misleading headline. It probably should have read: “Breaking news - officials have brains!” The Osceola County School Board has spewed the same rhetoric since they all took office. Every time the FCAT scores are released we’re told: “We’ll have to evaluate the data and make improvements and corrections where they are needed.” When school grades come out every year we are told: “We’ll evaluate the data and make improvements and corrections where they are needed.” Well, more than 3/4 of Osceola County’s schools either maintained or fell in letter grades –not an impressive number and not a great indicator of a quality community. A recent Workforce Central Florida survey reported that most employers feel that a better K-12 grade education is needed for a better and stronger workforce.

Based on last week’s school board meeting statements, the parents are to blame. Is it true? But at the same time the school board says that the reason they need the government subsidized housing project in St. Cloud is so they can attract qualified teachers. Well, how did we get the teachers that are teaching here now? Aren’t they qualified enough? There are no government subsidized housing projects now. Is the school board accurate to say that it’s the parents fault and the teacher’s fault that the schools perform so poorly? We don’t think so. The parents in this community are hard-working people that are doing the best they can for their families. Sure there are a few bad apples but what barrel doesn’t have a few bad apples? Our teachers are the best there is, in fact they are so good that the school board gave them a raise this year, making them among the highest paid teachers in Central Florida. So why is the school board blaming everybody else? Because it’s easy. Responsibility is a hard pill to swallow. But we believe that when you're sick, you need to take your medicine if you’re going to get better. Don’t treat the symptoms, treat the cold. The only problem with this analogy is that a cold will usually get better on it's own, and that is not going to happen with this cold known as the Osceola County School Board. How do we know this? Look at the recent history of our schools. Backsliding grades, increasing discipline problems, and more money being spent than ever before to accomplish these falling standards. Any doctor would look at a chart with that kind of data, and declare there is a problem. We also highly doubt that the prescription to make the patient better comes in the form of a government subsidized housing project, or a $185,000 DVD that blames the parents for the lack of educational increases in our community, or spending money on customer service posters detailing how administration personnel and teachers need to improve their customer services skills. Now those are hard pills to swallow.

The buck stops with the Osceola County School Board Members who are responsible for the state of our schools. Perhaps if we built a subsidized housing project to attract qualified school board members our schools and kids would start scoring better, but then again, school board members probably don't want to live in projects either.

A Tale of Two Cities

Is it the best of times, or the worst of times?

This is a tale of two Central Florida communities. Both knew that they would be impacted by property tax reforms and took various reactive measures to minimize the impact.

The property tax reforms came and went, and budget time approached. Elected officials from the first community appeared in the press, saying that they had planned well, and along with expected development and growth, their budget would virtually remain the same. Not only would it remain the same, but this community was going to build large entertainment venues for the residents that lived there.

The second community, in spite of such things as creating a new "revenue neutral" fire fee, an increase in the storm water fee, increased impact fees, a hiring freeze, and discussions of raising the county gas tax to fund various projects, continued to wring their hands. Standards began to slip, and residents became increasingly confused as to why they were paying more for less. Frustration was at hand.

Certainly the messenger can have many intentions when delivering the message. The first community certainly understands that if they deliver a message of doom and gloom, there would be no community support for various entertainment venues the community leaders wish to build. But if a positive message is intended to support further growth and development, what is a negative message intended to do? Good leaders usually understand how to deliver a message to motivate those they lead and we have to ask ourselves which set of leaders is leading, and which is reacting? Only time will tell.

Budget meetings have begun in the second community. They should be interesting to watch. If only there was a potential new stadium to serve as a motivator. Or maybe a.... wait for it... a new "Expo Center" that could be built with the thirty million dollars that is just collecting dust in the Visitor Bureaus coffers and that can not be used for anything else. Just a thought.

Eye On The News

1. Red light camera lawsuit, and a possible solution
Well, we may have a court precedent very soon on whether cameras can be used for automated red-light enforcement in Florida. Several news outlets are reporting that the Florida Civil Rights Association is considering suing Orlando, Apopka, and Orange County over their use of red-light cameras. The group is citing a recent Minnesota Supreme Court ruling overturning red light camera use.

We are glad, in this case, that other cities will be the test cases on this effort, but we also believe their might be a more simple solution to this issue. If we were to go ahead and install the red-light cameras, but with a celebrity proximity detectors on them so the only time a picture would be taken is if a celebrity runs a red light, then we should get past the whole issue of violating privacy rights. It has been well documented that celebrities are afforded no real privacy when it comes to someone taking their picture, so a red-light camera should pose no real issue. The only problem that we see is that this system might have to be tested in court to define who and /or what a celebrity actually is. We will keep you posted.

2. Traffic Crash Fees
Also in the news this week, DeLand is considering joining Maitland and Winter Park in charging a fee for emergency response to traffic crashes. In many cases the fee is charged to each driver's insurance company, regardless of who is at fault. At first glance, you might say "well, that's fine, it doesn't impact me unless I'm in a crash." We say that this bears watching, because if crash fees become popular (and local governments love their fees), we believe that these fees will impact every driver's insurance rates. We have also heard rumors that some type of point of sale system might be installed into emergency vehicles so you will have a choice of Credit, Debit, or let the Crash Fee go on to the insurance companies. Interestingly, DeLand is also considering a Fire Fee in addition to the Crash Fee.

Osceola Puppet School Board Theatre - Throw Down

We hope you enjoy our newest puppet adventure with a cast of new characters. As always, your comments are welcome and appreciated.

There seems to be alot of traffic for this video today. If you have trouble viewing the video on our blog, follow this link to see it on YouTube.com
http://youtube.com/watch?v=TFJ_lCVfYHk

Funding Commuter Rail

For as long as the property tax debate was going on in Tallahassee, we heard from local elected officials "don't cut property tax revenue or we'll have to kill commuter rail." This past week, Osceola County brought forth the idea of raising the local gas tax by five cents per gallon to fund commuter rail and other transit options.

Five cents sounded like a big increase to us, and being so close to the Orange County line, a reason to go to Orange County to buy gas if the increase went into effect. So we did some research. As we understand it, Osceola County's current fuel tax is one cent per gallon, enacted on 1/1/1987 (source: Florida Department of Revenue). In 2006, $1,634,234 in fuel tax was distributed to Osceola County (source: Florida Department of Revenue). We took that number and did some math. According to the Orlando Sentinel, County Manager Michael Freilinger is proposing adding a nickel to the local gas tax to fund transit, bringing the local tax to six cents per gallon. If we multiply the $1,634,234 that the county received at one cent per gallon by six, we get a projected annual gas tax revenue of $9,805,404 (based on 2006 volume).

That's a big pile of money. According to the Sentinel, Osceola County's share of funding for the commuter rail project is $22.2 million in 2011 and then $3 million per year in 2017. ($3.85 million is in the 2008 county budget for engineering and parking, according to the Osceola News-Gazette.)
With all other things being constant, assuming the gas tax change went into effect in 2008, the difference in revenue between the current and proposed gas tax is $8,171,170 per year. So let's look at the income and outlays for the new tax and the commuter rail:

Year	Addl Income	Rail Payment	Difference
2008	+$8171170	$0	+$8171170
2009	+$8171170	$0	+$16342340
2010	+$8171170	$0	+$24513510
2011	+$8171170	-$22,000,000	+$10684680
2012	+$8171170	$0	+$18855850
2013	+$8171170	$0	+$27027020
2014	+$8171170	$0	+$35198190
2015	+$8171170	$0	+$43369360
2016	+$8171170	$0	+$51540530
2017	+$8171170	-$3000000	+$56711700

and so on...

So, sure, $22 million is a big number in 2011, if the county needs to have all of that cash in their pocket to make the payment right then (bonds anyone?). But with our little math model, there is still $10 million left over that year. And the gas tax revenues far overwhelm the estimated operating payments going forward. Would someone like to show the error in our math? Or is this just another big scary tactic that is almost sure to wipe out support for commuter rail while generating funding for other projects?

Sunday Funny - Life before the computer

• An application was for employment
• A program was a TV show
• A cursor used profanity
• A keyboard was a piano!
• Memory was something that you lost with age
• A CD was a bank account And if you had a 3 1/2 inch floppy You hoped nobody found out! Compress was something you did to garbage Not something you did to a file And if you unzipped anything in public You'd be in jail for a while!
• Log on was adding wood to a fire
• Hard drive was a long trip on the road
• A mouse pad was where a mouse lived
• And a backup happened to your commode!
• Cut - you did with a pocket knife
• Paste you did with glue
• A web was a spider's home
• And a virus was the flu!
• I guess I'll stick to my pad and paper And the memory in my head
• I hear nobody's been killed in a computer crash But when it happens they wish they were dead!

Comment Corner

As you know, we did not do a comment corner last week. Those holiday weeks can really throw you off sometimes. In light of that, we will show some of the comments for The General Fund episode of the Kissimmee Puppet Commission Theatre in addition to this past week’s comments.

Comments on Kissimmee Puppet Commission Theatre – The General Fund (There were 33 comments total!!! For time saving reasons we cannot list them all and will have to condense the ones we do use, but we do encourage you to go to that entry and read them all.):

- Worth the wait!!! Brilliant!!
- I could not stop laughing...
- I like your episode better than the last movie the put out with Jessic Simpson and Johnny Knoxville.
- I love how the State Boys get stuck in traffic when they get to Central Florida. Ain't it the truth!!
- Get'em taxes!
- Sad part is Boss Swan and his croneys have increased their "revenue neutral" fees (taxes) so much that the people's tax cut is now "beneficially negative" for us.
- Rollback Taxes!
- I think Channel 9 picked the wrong video to air!
- Wayne Who - 1 :: Local Government - 0
- Thank God for our un-news. Get'em Wayne Who.
- "Oh my God!"
- I give it Five Stars.
- I had to watch this again this morning before I started work. Too funny!
- This was the best puppet theatre yet.

Response: Thank you. We have a feeling that the General might be needed again. And… if you think that this one was funny… you might want to watch on Monday!
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Comment on Kissimmee Puppet Commission Theatre – Fixing a Problem:
Anonymous said - As I watched the meeting last night, I had to do a double take to make sure I was watching the BoobTube, and not the YouTube commission meeting. At least your episodes get to the point in less than 10 minutes.

Response: When you’re not running for re-election, you don’t have to be as long winded.
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Comments on Breaking un-News in St. Cloud:
Anonymous said - I am a voting resident of St. CLoud. And the council should apppoint no one at all. Hold a special election. Regardless of the cost. This is the American thing to do. See who the people want in there to fill that seat and vote on this housing issue. The residents should make the decision on who represents them not the other council members. God help the council if they do. Them and their re-elections.

Anonymous said - St. Cloud Council, your Kung-Fu is no good.

Response: We are proud of the actions that the St. Cloud council took regarding this issue (read the follow-up story for the details). We hope that other local government bodies will follow in their footsteps.

Champions of the People

We would like to thank those of you that sent in the email requesting us to place a larger image of "Champions of the People" on the blog for download purposes. We had already starting using the image for our computer desktop, but wouldn't have thought of making a t-shirt with it. We think that the t-shirts will indeed look great and hope to see them being worn around town.

Breaking un-News Follow-Up

In one of those moments that makes you proud to be an American, the St. Cloud city council unanimously agreed to defend and uphold the people’s right to vote for their representatives. After a lengthy conversation between the council members and the city attorney concerning all of the council’s options to fill Mike Wetzel’s vacated seat, and after several public comments that were warmly wrapped in patriotism, honor and all that is red, white, and blue, St. Cloud can hold its head high and know that it’s city council put aside their legal ability to appoint a replacement and instead took the high road. In true, American WayneWho fashion, this city may not have a plaque that carries the title but we tip our hats to Osceola County’s true All-America city. St. Cloud city council, thank you for being true Americans and defending the people’s right to vote. Regardless of the outcome of this special election, the people will have chosen their representative.

Breaking un-News in St. Cloud

St. Cloud field reporters for WayneWho have been told by their sources (who have requested to stay anonymous) that the city council of St. Cloud has already decided that a special election is not going to be held to fill Mike Wetzel’s vacated seat.

Instead, an appointment will be made by the council. In addition, there is possibility that the appointment has already been decided to be given to an ex-council member that was un-seated by a majority vote of the residents of St. Cloud in the not-so-distant past.

In light of the apparent tie that the four council members have regarding the government subsidized housing project, we can’t help but question the sitting council’s motivation in skirting a vote by the people and instead choosing a recently un-seated politician. Will this stay in line with the campaign promises made to the people during the campaign season?

Stay tuned…

Community Policing Through Technology

The Boston Police Department received a fair amount of national press this week as the latest law enforcement organization to accept crime tips via text message. Boston's system generates automated messages asking questions about crime categories, descriptions of suspects, weapon types, and other details.

Boston and other cities also send out different levels of text messages regarding recent crimes. Some cities, for example, send out AMBER alerts, or descriptions of recently-stolen vehicles, or suspects wanted in violent crimes. Amsterdam police tried a program where they sent "this is a stolen cell phone" messages to stolen phones so frequently that the phones were virtually unusable.

Cell phone text messages usually cost the receiver money. Some (but not many) carriers have special programs allowing for no-cost text messages from government agencies. (Note: the City of Kissimmee plans a pilot program to test emergency alerts to local residents who opt-in.)

For discussion:
1. Would you like some way to send a written (non-emergency) report to the local police? (For example, text message or e-mail.)

2. Would you sign up to receive crime alerts from your local law enforcement agency? Would you be willing to pay text message fees for those messages?

WFTV also reported on Tuesday about a pilot program used by the Orange County Sheriff's Department to remotely monitor security cameras at locations targeted by their nuisance abatement unit. Deputies have the ability to remotely monitor the cameras over the Internet. The cameras are purchased by the business owners, not the county.

3. (Bonus question)...if your home or business has security cameras, would you be willing to let local law enforcement remotely access your cameras?

Tidbits of Info

1. Kissimmee curbside recycling:
On the commission agenda tonight is a proposal by city staff to obtain a grant to start a pilot project for curbside recycling within the city. We think it's a great idea, as we wrote in an entry back on June 12th. Maybe we could reduce enough waste that way that the $1/month waste collection increase that the commission is considering tonight wouldn't be necessary. (Side request to the commission: maybe you could do all of the new fees/fee increases at once, rather than rolling out one a month.)

2. All-America City, Round II:
The Kissimmee commission is also going to talk about their plans to enter the All-America City competition again in 2008 at tonight's meeting. Let's hope they think about the following: 1) There's plenty of lead time to solicit donations/sponsorships for this effort, so that it isn't entirely funded by various government agencies. 2) A mixture of new/different community programs would need to be added to any new entry...we don't think there is any way to win with the same group of programs that have already been entered once. 3) Hopefully the inevitable "advisory committee" will include some fresh faces.

3. St. Cloud and The Preserve:
Well, whoever (School District, Education Foundation, or private developer) had The Preserve zoning on the St. Cloud agenda for this week asked that it be delayed. Guess the odds among the 4 remaining sitting commissioners wasn't good. Does this mean that they felt that Mike Wetzel was going to be the decisive "yes" vote in a 3-2 split? If that's the case, the special election could truly come down to a single-issue campaign. Stay tuned.

Kissimmee Puppet Commission Theatre - Fixing a Problem

Sunday Funny - Paying the Bill

Walking up to a department store's fabric counter, the pretty girl said, "I would like to buy this material for a new dress. How much does it cost?" "Only one kiss per yard," replied the male clerk with a smirk. "That's fine," said the girl. "I'll take ten yards." With expectation and anticipation written all over his face, the clerk quickly measured out the cloth, wrapped it up, then teasingly held it out.

The girl snapped up the package, pointed to the old geezer standing beside her, and smiled, "Grandpa will pay the bill."

Affordable housing revisited

Back on May 3rd, we wrote about an article we had read from an affordable housing developer, outlining how he builds his projects (with 20 years of experience). It basically came down to 1) cheap, less desirable land; 2) high density; and 3) effective building plans.

We read Tom Greer's letter to the editor in the Thursday 7/5 News-Gazette. He outlines the combination of forces that came together to make him sure that The Preserve project is going to work:
1) $5 million in state grant funds
2) $1 million in grant funds from Osceola County
3) School impact fee waivers
4) Reduced land costs
5) Loans from local financial institutions

With all of that, we have to ask...is there any builder in this area that wouldn't sign on to a project where there is a basket of money, discounted land prices, and fee waivers? Sounds like a sweetheart of a deal to us. In fact, we would guess that a lot more housing would become affordable if the local governments just waived their impact fees, never mind the free (tax-generated) grants.

As long as we're thinking about it, has anyone been past the old Reedy Creek Inn that was going to be developed into moderate-income condos? (See our blog entry, 3/26/07.) If that actually gets done on time (they quoted August at that time), it would really bring into question whether local governments can compete on building projects with the private sector.

Lightning strikes twice in St. Cloud

Here we go again. Deputy Mayor of St. Cloud, Mike Wetzel was arrested Wednesday evening after driving through a police barricade at the intersection of Cypress and New York Ave. After the officer smelled the alcohol on Wetzel's breath, a field sobriety test was conducted, which he failed. He was then taken to the county jail. This is the second time in less than two years Mr. Wetzel has been arrested for DUI. In March of 2006, Mr. Wetzel was pulled over for speeding and charged with marijuana possession, possession of drug paraphernalia and DUI on the night of his re-election. The marijuana and paraphernalia possession charges were later dropped. Mr. Wetzel pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a one year-long probation which included DUI school. He appealed for and won an early termination of that probation in December of 2006.

St. Cloud's charter states that any council member should step down from office if he is 'convicted of any crime involving moral turpitudes or if a plea of guilty is entered.' The council could have Wetzel removed from office after a public meeting is held and a vote. The issue is being placed on the July 12 council agenda.

Mr. Wetzel has an obvious personal problem. What a person does in their home is a private matter. However, as an elected official, Mr. Wetzel has a responsibility to his constituents to take the high road at all times. He has, in fact, chosen the path of a public life. Mr. Wetzel, this means that you are always under the microscope. It just comes with the territory. We believe that people do in fact make mistakes; it's in our human nature. However, the practice that we teach our children is to learn from those mistakes so that they will not repeat them. The irresponsibility and negligent actions of Mr. Wetzel have not only demonstrated that he has not learned from past mistakes, but those same mistakes have also placed the lives of his constituents and the lives of children at great risk. We are thankful that it was a police barricade that was run over and not an Independence Day celebrator. We believe that it is in the best interest of the city of St. Cloud, its residents and even Mr. Wetzel to have him removed from his city council seat as soon as possible. There is an old saying that states 'If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.'

Bob Makinson, you will be missed

On a day of celebration, a truly sad event took place. We lost a man who was always dedicated to serving his community. If not for Bob's vision and action, many good things in our city might not have happened. He will be missed.

Much has been made this morning about a city commissioner's request to the city manager that the US flag be flown at half-staff in Mr. Makinson's memory. We've never been above calling out the city on issues, so we wanted to review some flag policy to see if the statement that the city manager could not make that order was accurate. We went to this flag flying site: http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/flagetiq.html#q09

And it appears that only the state governor can order the US flag at a government building to be flown at half-staff. So perhaps a quick call to Governor Crist's office is in order. We did note the question about "Can my company fly the US flag at half-mast for a former employee?" and the answer that a company flag can be flown at half-staff. Perhaps a compromise is in order, and the city's flag could be flown at half-staff in Mr. Makinson's honor.

Election reform revisited

Remember back before the Charter Review Committee was formed, when the City Commission decided to propose five changes to the city charter regarding election reform? One of the proposed changes is to implement a lottery system to determine the order in which candidates' names will be placed on the ballot. The argument is that being first on the ballot can give a candidate a 5-10% bump in votes.

Men's Health magazine recently wrote of another candidate group that gets a vote bump:
"Uninformed voters may be more dangerous to democracy than low voter turnout. According to research by Princeton University professor Larry Bartels, Ph.D., incumbents receive a 5 to 10 percent boost from politically ignorant voters who cast ballots based on name recognition alone. Check Project Vote Smart, a non-partisan, nonprofit research organization, before you hit the polls. vote-smart.org"

So how do we solve this one?

Independence Day

WayneWho hopes you are enjoying your 4th of July, Independence Day, safely with your loved ones and/or friends. We hope that you take time to remember not only those who have fought, but also those who may still be fighting in our name, and in our honor. We owe them much for the sacrafices they have made on our behalf. And while we ask you to remember them, we also ask you to remember what this day, Independence Day, represents.

Independence Day is the day that on July 4, 1776 delegates from 13 colonies declared their independence from the rule of King George III. They did this with a document called the Declaration of Independence, which even on this 231st Birthday of our country establishes the idea of a government that has yet to be duplicated. This document was a powerful rebuttal against a tyranny that had lasted too long. This was the day that would set the tone, and the mindset of a nation. Our Independence had been declared.

Be safe, be smart, and have fun.

Economic Development

We recently stumbled across this job posting from the City of Winter Park* for an Economic Development Director. We scratched our heads as if to say "hmmm...how big is Winter Park relative to Kissimmee," but our question was answered in the first sentence, where we see that Winter Park's population is 32,000...about half of Kissimmee's. Which reminds us that St. Cloud, also smaller than Kissimmee, has an economic development consultant as well. What kind of responsibilities would such a position have? Read on:

Winter Garden Florida, (Pop. 32,000) the fastest growing city in Orange County is seeking an experienced ED Director to lead the community's economic and business development goals. This includes new business attraction, business retention and expansion, entrepreneurial initiatives and implementation of redevelopment plans. Experience in negotiating sale of City owned property, implementation of business assistance and attraction programs required. Considerable knowledge of business development; considerable knowledge of economic development; working knowledge of municipal zoning and infrastructure; working knowledge of planning programs and processes. Ability to analyze and communicate effectively orally and in writing with industrialists, architects, contractors, developers, owners, supervisors, employees, and the general public; Ability to establish effective working relationships. Bachelor's degree in urban planning, business or public administration, marketing or a related field. Equivalent combinations of education and experience may be considered. Competitive Salary and outstanding benefits package. Apply: e-mail jobs@cwgdn.com, or fax 407.877.2795 or mail HR Department, 251 W. Plant Street, Winter Garden,
FL 34787 EOE

Now that the economic director whom we've been relying on all this time has double duty, isn't it time to re-think how we handle our own economic development? The money spent on the All America City competion, which was done to "help bring in economic development" along with what we currently pay the county for part-time help could be combined and realocated in next year's budget to make for a decent starting salary. Come on Kissimmee... isn't it time?

*Correction - this was actually Winter Garden. Thanks to Osceola Observer for keeping us straight.

Kissimmee Puppet Commission Theatre - The General Fund

Sunday Funny - Heckling The Mayor

A old man was sitting in the front row at a town meeting, heckling the mayor as he delivered a long speech. Finally the mayor could stand it no longer, so he pointed to the heckler and said, "will that gentleman please stand up and tell the audience what he has ever done for the good of the city." "Well Mr. Mayor," the man said in a firm voice. "I voted against you in the last election."

Post Friday Entry...

We wish to apologize for not updating the blog on Friday. No, we have not retired, nor have we (as one commenter put it) taken on the Osceola News Gazette schedule. You see, it is quite simple, one of us (me), the writer that was supposed to post to the blog decided to go to the grand opening of the new Best Buy and wait in line (forever) for a new I-Phone. The rest of the gang would have filled in, but... they were too busy putting the finishing touches on the upcoming KPCT property tax episode. Make sure to watch it on Monday. It will be great!

A special message to Evergreen Consultants

You're under the bus now, and the back wheels are approaching rapidly. Whether you got there on your own, or were thrown there isn't going to be relevant much longer. So you know what to do. The most senior person possible needs to deliver a detailed report with significant "thud factor"* to the city post-haste (we would say by Monday at the latest). Because you know what's coming in the next sentence...

We just have to ask the city: a contract project was allowed to go five months overdue? And that project's delivery is a key factor when negotiating with a public safety employee union? How much of a discount did you negotiate into the contract for late delivery?

* "Thud factor" refers to the weight/size of the project report...how big of a "thud" it makes when it hits the client's desk or conference table.

Comment Corner

We have received so many great comments over the past week and a half. For the sake of time, we are only going to list a few, but encourage you to read all of them on the blog.

Let's focus on the comments about "Kissimmee Puppet Commission Theatre – School Board Strikes Back" (we've edited the comments for length, feel free to read all of the comments directly under the "Theatre" entry)....

- It is all Empire building. And the taxpayers pay for it all.
- I would say the school board is the "Dark Side".
- Lord Chalifoux couldn't have been a better match.
- The School Board is now saying that Osceola County is filled with crime and that is why they need a special place for their teachers to live.

Response: We are in total agreement. We have been receiving emails regarding the “Projects” in St. Cloud and will post more about it as we dig up the facts.

- Rumor in the downtown is that WFTV is asking questions about the newest puppet video.
- YOU MADE THE NEWS! PUPPETS MADE THE NEWS!
- Channel 9!!! You made it on Channel 9!!! Awesome....
- How about a puppet show about our friends in Tallahassee and the "big" tax cut?

Response: Imagine our surprise when the grandkids came running in to tell us their puppets were on TV. We hurried out to see what they were talking about when we caught Kissimmee Puppet Commission Theatre on Eyewitness News. To say the least, we were a little shocked by the coverage, and by the excellent report that they did. All we can say is that the best of the Kissimmee Puppet Commission Theatre is still to come, so don't miss out on Monday's property tax episode. And yes, we are making sure the grandkids are brushing those teeth after every popsicle stick parody puppet is created.

For those of you that missed it:

No tax-free lunch

Well. After all of the posturing and fear-mongering, the first round of tax changes are in place. Anyone feel that a weight has been lifted?

One local business owner noted:
"I own a non-homestead property in Kissimmee. According to my 2006 tax statement from the county tax collector's office, I paid the City of Kissimmee $1,333.64 in property tax. If I read the news correctly, this is what will happen to the Kissimmee portion of my taxes this year...the amount of tax is being reduced by 9%, which would reduce my city real estate taxes to $1213.61. But there is a new 3/month storm water fee, which increases the tax to $1249.61. And then there is the new fire fee, which starts at $13/month for commercial buildings (and I don't know my exact amount yet), so the tax goes to at least $1405.61. So, before tax reform, my city tax liability was $1,333.64, and after tax reform with the city's new fees, my city tax liability is at least $1405.61, and that's before any adjustments are made to the value of my property."

At the same time, we hear various elected officials continue their shrill message of "don't vote for the tax cuts, or we will have to cut everything" with everything ranging from emergency services to social services to commuter rail. It seems that at least some of the Orange County elected officials are on record saying that they can live with the tax reductions that were approved. Locally, it seems that only County Appraiser Atlee Mercer has been willing to step up and say that the cuts will be offset by increases in property values.

It seems like everyone wins in this one, except the taxpayers. The state officials can say "hey, we promised to make tax cuts and we did." The local officials can say "those state guys messed us up, but we made the hard decisions to protect our communities." But for those planning to solicit campaign donations for 2008, you might come up a little short. The taxpayers have new fees to pay.

Kissimmee Puppet Commission Theatre - School Board Strikes Back

Haven't we read this somewhere before?

Saturday's News-Gazette reports that the Kissimmee CRA has delayed their appeal of Osceola County's zoning denial for the proposed relocation site ofthe Rinker cement plant. The reason for the delay? Since Cemex purchased Rinker, a part of the deal was that Cemex has to sell off some of the Rinker plants to allow for competition in certain markets, including Central Florida.

How do we know this? Well, we wrote about the Cemex deal and the announcement that plants would be sold once the deal would be complete, back on April 13th, based on news reports at that time.

So, we think this is a good thing...one less case of government agencies suing each other (even though it wasn't a negotiation that solved the issue). But we have to ask: if Cemex decides to sell the property, and not as a cement plant, but just as a land parcel, does the CRA need to be involved? We would support the free market resolving the issue at that point, leaving just the land already purchased for the unapproved plant relocation to be dealt with.

Sunday Funny - KFC: Our Daily Chicken

A salesman from KFC walked up to the Pope and offers him a million dollars if he would change "The Lord's Prayer" from "give us this day our daily bread" to "give us this day our daily chicken." The Pope refused his offer.

Two weeks later, the man offered the pope 10 million dollars to change it from "give us this day our daily bread" to "give us this day our daily chicken" and again the Pope refused the man's generous offer. Another week later, the man offered the Pope 20 million dollars and finally the Pope accepted. The following day, the Pope said to all his officials, "I have some good news and some bad news. 'The good news is, that we have just received a check for 20 million dollars. The bad news is, we lost the Wonder Bread account!'''

Here's your slogan

Some well-known names are already talking about plans to enter the All-America City competition again in 2008. As the story goes, entering in 2008 is a natural, because there is so much fresh experience from the 2007 competition, and the 2008 competition is in Tampa, reducing travel costs.

Word on the street says that a competition planning committee will be formed in the coming weeks to begin identifying the community programs that could be featured in the 2008 competition. Of course, we hope that any such committee will include some fresh faces from the community at large.

With this much lead time, and apparent enthusiasm, we would suggest that this is also the time to begin obtaining funding pledges from various local companies and community groups. Obviously the money would not need to be collected and spent unless Kissimmee actually reached the finalist group. If we get there, wouldn't an appropriate slogan be: "Our entry was funded by our community, not local government."

Your Kung Fu (Explained)

Sometimes there is no meaning to what we do. And sometimes the things that mean nothing, mean the most. To define the lesson even more would be to say that you can learn a lesson from something that does not seem like a lesson. That is the first and most important lesson that is taught by Kung Fu masters.

There is an ancient story about man who goes to a Shaolin temple to learn Kung Fu. The master of the temple agrees to teach him and calls for a large trough of water to be brought out. The master then tells the new student to hit the surface of the water with all of his strength. The student decides that this is a simple task so he begins to hit the water with every ounce of strength he has.

This exercise continued into the next day. The student swatting the water time after time, hour after hour, day after day. Weeks stretched into months, and the student slapped the water furiously while he began to have his doubts about his training. Each day he would release his anger and frustration in the only activity he could, slapping water.

Finally, after two long years of hitting a trough full of water, his anger overcame him. While sitting at a table for dinner, the student stood up and shouted at the master, "I have been hitting that trough of water for two years, and I have learned nothing about Kung Fu!" In his anger the student pounded his fist on the table and to his complete surprise, the sturdy wooden table broke into several pieces from the force of his blow. His anger forgotten, the student turned to the master. The master still in his chair, and not surprised by what just happened, said, "Now my pupil you have learned your first lesson."

Kung Fu loosely translates from Chinese as skill or work. To knock someones Kung Fu, or to praise it, is to knock their work performance, or skill level. Kung Fu requires both work and skill, and is something that must be studied and practiced for a lifetime. Kung Fu is a way of life and is not something that can be rehearsed in just a few days by people who have no interest in understanding what Kung Fu is really about.

This really follows the idea, and the problem, with the attempt at All-America City. It should be something we do on a daily basis. It is about more than just trying to figure out how to win a competition.

The real truth is that the Kung Fu line was put in because one of our writers thought it was funny. An avid watcher of Martial Art movies, the line, to the writer, seemed to fit. In retrospect, we think that this line, which really meant nothing, ended up meaning everything.

"The View" In Kissimmee

In an abrupt resignation released by a local activist yesterday, the saga of the on-again, off-again blog personality changed direction once again. The often controversial activist who is best know for his effort to convert Osceola county into a suburb of California and usher in new breed of liberal politicians seems to have called it quits once again. This "The View" type drama has played out to the dismay (or disinterest) of a blog readership that numbers in the hundreds (well, not in a single day). We are disappointed by the loss of a stirring liberal guidepost with his finger on the pulse of political happenings in San Francisco.

As for the possible news that another local voice my no longer be in circulation, we are deeply saddened. The articles from Carl Cricket at a website called KSIB.NET have been an inspiration to those at WayneWho for some time. The articles filled with rumor that more often than not contain more truth than all of our local media combined will be missed. We can only hope that somehow this voice will continue. We also hope that the rumors of health issues can and will be overcome.

Those of us at WayneWho will continue our unique brand of satire in hopes of mobilizing other voices to step forward. Democracy is not about quitting or being silent. Be heard and make your community better.

Kissimmee Puppet Commission Theatre (Tribute to Sopranos)

Emergency Spanish

We were disappointed by some of the negative comments we've seen posted on other message boards about the recent Orlando Sentinel article on the Kissimmee Fire Department's Spanish cheat-sheets.

It's important to recognize that the cheat-sheets and the basic training just provide more tools to our firefighters and EMS personnel. As noted in the article, being able to use some key phrases means that there is less need to spend time waiting for a translator. This means that the patient can be treated more quickly, and the KFD staff are freed up that much faster to respond to the next call. Even if our local population were 100% English-speaking, we are still a tourist-driven economy, and we are going to have non-English speaking visitors.

If you can't communicate with the staff at one store, you move on to another one. If the fire department can't communicate with you during an emergency, you have a real problem. We commend the fire department, and the police department, for their efforts to keep our community safe.

We’ve heard that in addition to the rumored redesign of the City of Kissimmee logo, some city officials are considering adding the tagline “All-America City Finalist” to the city’s printed materials. One commissioner was quoted as saying “it’s really going to be nice to put All-America City Finalist on all our stuff.”

In lieu of this, we have come up with some alternate slogans for consideration:

• Close but no cigar


• Couldn’t quite cut it


• Always a bridesmaid


• Maybe next year


• And the runner up is


• Your kung-fu is good


• Central Florida: It’s more than Orange and Polk County


• Sorry for wasting your tax dollars

In these times of budget reductions, we think the smart money is on not redesigning things that don’t need to be redesigned. We question the added marketing value of saying that we came close. And will we discard and reprint items next year if we enter the competition again and win?

If you have some alternative slogan ideas that you would like to submit for consideration, you can do so anonymously by clicking on the Comments button. We welcome your input.

Kissimmee Puppet Commission Theatre (Term Limits)

If the puppet theatre does not automatically come up, click on the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4Iex-EXtOQ

Sunday Funny - Morning at the White House

White House staffers were perplexed one morning to see Bill Clinton walk into the Oval Office with a pair of woman's panties pinned to his arm. Somewhat used to the president's tendencies, they let it go and went about their daily tasks.

As the day wore on, several VIPs were ushered in and out of the Oval Office for meetings with Clinton about important affairs of the state. Each one left with a puzzled expression on his face, but no one dared ask the President's personal business.

Finally, Betty Currie, Clinton's loyal secretary walked into the office between appointments and gently closed the door behind her. "Mr. President," she said. "We've come to expect many unusual things from you but we're all quite concerned that you seem to be wearing a pair of woman's panties on your arm. Please tell me this doesn't mean more 'trouble'."

"Oh no," the President grinned, "it's the patch. I'm trying to quit."

Follow-ups and amplifications

Every so often, we like to take a stroll down short-term memory lane and update issues we've written about in the past.
Way back on April 4th, when we were just a baby blog, we talked about the current asthetic state of the Embarq building at the entry to downtown Kissimmee. We're encouraged to see that the building is now surrounded by temporary construction fence, suggesting that some long-needed facade work is imminent.

On May 17th, we discussed the commission appointments to the Kissimmee Charter Review Board, and expressed disappointment that the majority were former city commissioners. We learned this week that former commissioner Steve Burke would not be serving, and he will be replaced by former commissioner Scott Brooks. Anyone want to start a pool on which former commissioner is warming up in the bullpen in the event of another vacancy?

Throughout May, we had discussions over the School District's proposed use of the old Sports Authority building on 192 as a special use educational facility. We learned this week that (at least some of the members of the) School Board are amazed that they would need to pay rezoning application fees to the city.
Hmmm...wonder what will happen when they demand their free building permit? Oh, and School Board, just so you know now, the city will have a Fire Fee shortly for properties in the city.

Coming soon...the automatic public toilet

Various news outlets this week covered Fort Lauderdale's decision to install an automatic public toilet on a beach strip currently lacking public restrooms.

The punch-lines almost wrote themselves! The toilet, as envisioned, will:

- Ration toilet paper

- Clean itself after every use

- Blast a siren and automatically open the door if someone overstays their allotted time.

It also plays soothing music, and locks itself automatically every evening.

We can imagine that there are hundreds of thousands of households across the country with teenagers who would gladly line up to purchase the auto-cleaning and timer functions for their home bathrooms.

The serious part of the conversation is this: Fort Lauderdale, and other cities that have installed these types of toilets, are betting on the future. They're betting that the higher up-front purchase cost of these items will be recovered through reductions in the long-term operating costs. The same is true of the green buildings that are beginning to pop up throughout the country. With our rising energy costs and upcoming reduction in tax revenue, wouldn't we be foolish not to consider the same issues?

Comment Corner

Comment: "Looks like your arch nemesis has disappeared again. I guess with out KSIB.net posting anything this week your buddy has no new material."

Response: And of course, the standard caution that elected officials who don't want to end up being quoted in a blog probably shouldn't voluntarily keep showing up at the blog writer's house. We don't have elected officials stopping by our place, but then again, we're anonymous.

Comment: "Can we send donations to keep your videos going."

Response: We haven't figured out a way to stay anonymous and make that work that wouldn't be a distraction to the local authorities, so we won't tell you to tape an envelope of bills underneath the cover of the third trash can at The Loop.

Comment: "You might want to expand the range to other local governments just for an episode or two."

Response: The staff is looking closely at this one, but we're not sure the grandkids' teeth can withstand that many popsicles (we need to get dentist approval first).

Economic Development reading

The Wall Street Journal published a section this week called "Economic Roundup." Lots of interesting articles, allow us to excerpt from two:

1. Title: The Little Engine That Could: In many cities, the hottest development is taking place along the train lines

...Most successful transit-oriented developments are public-private partnerships. Local governments build or refurbish rail lines and surrounding infrastructure like roads and parking facilities. Private developers then build in the surrounding areas. "There's a lot of research that shows that if the public sector puts money into a transit system, they can expect three to five times that amount in private money" for adjacent development, says Marilee Utter, president of Citiventure Associates LLC, a Denver firm that has worked with a number of cities on development around light-rail systems.

These developments can pay off for cities in several ways. Research shows that the value of commercial and residential properties close to transit stations often rises - and that translates into higher real-estate tax revenues in that area. Economists from the University of North Texas, for instance, found that between 1997 and 2001, office properties near suburban Dallas Area Rapid Transit stations increased in value 53% more than comparable properties not served by rail. Values of residential properties rose 39% more than a control group not served by rail.

2. Title: Safety First: For cities in search of growth, getting rid of crime definitely pays

...It may sound so simple, but city after city has found that getting crime under control is the crucial foundation to stimulating economic development. Indeed, the trend toward placing police sub-stations in apartment buildings and shopping centers took off after cities found that establishing a stronger law-enforcement presence in an area that was once written off established a beachhead for economic growth... Research published in the February issue of Economic Development Quarterly by David Bowes, an economics professor at Southeastern Louisiana University, found that retail developers will to some extent tolerate property crime. (In fact, he founjd that retail developments increase property crimes by acting as a lure to thieves.) However, he also found that retail developers were repelled by violent crime.

"What may be discouraging retail development is not higher costs associated with loss from theft or increased insurance rates but loss of potential customers who are reluctant to to into [violent] areas," writes Dr. Bowes.

Comment: With consultants from Denver, rail systems in Texas, and economists from Louisiana, this isn't just "big-city East Coast" information and thinking. For a whole section on municipal economic issues, including enforcing economic incentives, retaining college graduates, influence of casinos on state economics, and development vital signs, To read the whole section, get to your local library and check out Section R of the Monday 6/11/07 Wall Street Journal.

Recycling Envy

For years, whenever we've heard a recycling question asked of local officials, the response heard has been some variation of "it's just not cost effective." So when we started reading the Orlando Sentinel article on recycling in Central Florida, we expected more of the same...officials from all over the area saying that they'd like to, but it just isn't cost effective. Imagine our surprise as we read down the list of counties, outlining all of the items that they not only accept for recycling, but pick up curbsite at residents' homes. Then we got to Osceola County, the only county in Central Florida with the note "There is no curbside pickup for recyclable materials."

Then we started digging into the statistics. For the counties with curbside recycling, the average percentage of household waste (from single-family residences) that was recycled, rather than going to the landfill, was between 22% (Brevard) and 59% (Volusia), based on 2004 numbers. The percentage that went to recycling in Osceola? 7%.

We note that in Kissimmee, when the commission recently discussed increasing the sanitation service fee, one of the reasons that costs had increased was the increased dumping cost at the landfill. Perhaps it is time to re-evaluate whether curbside recycling should be offered in Osceola County.

What's in a Title?

We would like to acknowledge all of those individuals who gave of their time and effort into the All-America City presentation. Your dedication and community spirit are appreciated and welcomed.

Our feelings on this award, both leading up to the presentation and after, have been mixed at best. Our pride in our community is very strong and although it would be nice to have a title like "All-America City" to brandish, would it really make our community a better place?

Being an All-America City is more than a title, it is a way of life. Do we have less civic pride today now that we have lost this competition? Do we have fewer opportunities for economic development? Should we cheer less for our community and for what she has to offer?

We think not. Not being named a winner should not be considered an obstacle, but instead should highlight the attitude that we need to have from government on down to our citizens.

We offer this note to the City of Kissimmee for when budget time rolls around later this year. The city invested $27,000 in this competition, and we understand that that specific $27,000 was under a Commission Discretionary fund and could not be spent in other areas. But when you look at the budget for 2008, wouldn't it be wise to allocate at least that much to economic development, or an economic development person, instead of trying to spend it on a title that we already own?

Kissimmee Puppet Commission Theatre (All America City)

If the puppet theatre does not automatically come up, click on the following link:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=U77Qq8yy8WU

Sunday Funny - Politically Speaking

"My uncle ran for political office last year."
"Really? What does he do now?"
"Nothing. He got elected."

The Courts… Our New Elected Officials

Here we go again... The School District and St. Cloud are on the verge of another court battle, this time over who should build road access to a new school. How many lawsuits do we currently have underway between various governmental agencies in Osceola County? Does this indicate poor communication between the various agencies, or a deeper issue of differing goals and directions among the agencies?

In the meantime, it seems that many of the big issues affecting the county lately have been made by the courts... perhaps it is time to skip the middleman and just outsource some of our governing directly to various judges?

True Citizen Charter Review

Article II, Chapters 3-6 have been posted to the True Citizen Charter Review. Now that you have watched the puppet theatre of the Charter Review discussion item, go to the site, take a few hours, read what is posted and leave your comments.

KPCT - Episode 2 (Charter Review)

If the puppet theatre does not automatically show up, click on the following link:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=a7vR1J9FoME

Comment Corner

Let's start out with the comments about "Puppet Commission Theatre" (we've edited the comments for length, feel free to read all of the comments directly under the "Theatre" entry)....

-"This is funny, but at the same time this is actually what the commission meetings look like most of the time."
-"I want more Puppet Commission Theater!"
-"I guess Access Osceola just ended up in a bigger ratings battle. My vote goes to Kissimmee Konnection."
-"Well, it's not Shrek III or Pirates III, but it sure is worth watching. I hope that there is a sequel in the works."

Response: Thanks for all the kind words, and there are more episodes in the works. We might even introduce some more characters, as soon as the grandkids give us some more popsicle sticks. Seriously, though, we hope that if nothing else we've proven how easy it is to make your videos available to a worldwide audience.
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In response to our Top 10 list on reasons to be an All-America City (don't forget, the award is announced on Friday night in California), an anonymous comment read...

"They are going to be upset with you Wayne Who...They don't like naysayers. Spending this money is about pride and economic developement and you know we just don't have enough payday loan places. Maybe we should be known as the All Amscot City. Kissimmee, Your OK With Us!"

Response: Well, the third Amscot location along Vine looks like it is about ready to open (conveniently located across the parking lot from Starbucks), so we guess that it's officially time to welcome Amscot to the city as a significant business presence...they're starting to give several drug stores, banks, and fast food chains a challenge in terms of number of locations within the city limits. And amazingly, they keep building here seemingly without any government/economic development encouragement at all.

Kissimmee Puppet Commission Theatre

Wayne Who's Top 10 Reasons to Become an All America City

#10) Opportunity to change the way the city letterhead looks.

#9) All America City Logo will look good on the re-election mailers.

#8) Might finally be able to attract a Bubba Gump restaurant.

#7) Metroplan Orlando might finally remember our name.

#6) That silly Osceola County School Board might finally stop making fun of us.

#5) Make Steve Burke (Crackers) and Scott Brooks look stupid.

#4) It sounds more American when an All America City raises your taxes.

#3) Residents with civic pride don't complain about sitting in traffic.

#2) What else would we spend $109,000 on?

And the #1 reason to become an All America City is... those damn bloggers might leave as alone for awhile.

Property Taxes, Part ?????

Next week, the legislature heads back into special session to readdress the property tax issue. Let's look at what's being written lately.

'...Overall, though, the property-tax revenue of Florida's city and county governments has been rising at a rate much faster than the state's population, a trend that critics see as a sign of a bloated bureaucracy. In 2006, the state collected $30.5 billion in property taxes, almost double the level of 2000. Over the same period, the state's population grew by about 13%'
- The Wall Street Journal, 5/29/2007

'The value of homes and business property in Central Florida continuesto increase by double-digit percentages, county officials are reporting, adding further fuel to legislative efforts to dramatically slash property taxes..
...At current tax rates, Orange and Lake counties could see roughly 17 percent spikes in revenues, based largely on a sharp increase in new housing, condo and business construction. In Osceola County, the spike was almost 20 percent, and about 11.5 percent in Seminole. Property values in the city of St. Cloud shot up 31 percent. Even local government officials, who have protested for months that proposed legislative reforms would slash money needed for police, fire and other necessary services, acknowledged that the increases underscored the need to cut taxes, at least somewhat. "I've said we need to do some tax reform at the county level," Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty said. At this year's millage rate, Orange County next year would collect an additional $79 million in discretionary revenue alone.'
_ Orlando Sentinel, 6/1/2007

'[Sen. Mike Haridopolos] predicted industries relying on city and county spending would follow the money to a private sector that he said is certain to surge after tax cuts are OK'd. "These professions have been doing a lot of work with local governments because that's where the money is the last few years," he said.'
-Orlando Sentinel, 6/4/2007

Stay tuned, folks. This is sure to be a lively debate, if we can get the local media to stop devoting the front page and first 5 minutes of each broadcast to "who will be the next Orlando Magic coach."

As always, your comments are welcome!

Did they just say that?

We had the opportunity to watch the recording of last week's Kissimmee City Commission meeting. Our notepad quickly was overflowing with notes, but here are some of the things that made us say "hmmmm...."

1. When speaking about a new workforce housing project, the CRA Director spoke of giving extra points to firefighters, police, teachers, and others in order that they might receive preference for the housing units. The City Attorney moved very quickly to ask that those remarks be clarified, and the discussion of extra points was hastily withdrawn.

2. During commission discussion of the 192/Vine planning report, one commissioner appeared to be a naysayer because the city didn't own any of the land, and another commissioner expressed concern because the future illustrations of the intersection of Vine and Main did not show any gas stations.

3. Also during the 192/Vine report, a well-known property owner addressed the commission and threatened to sell his company's property holdings along 192/Vine if the commission adopted the plan presented.

4. During the discussion of the potential school district use of the Sports Authority building, representatives from the school district and the city noted that the Sports Authority site would need an additional 10 acres of land to accommodate a typical elementary school.

Much like a sports event, you really have to watch to see how the game is played. In order to increase interest in watching the meetings, Wayne Who is attempting to find some recurring themes that could be developed into the commission meeting bingo game or the commission meeting drinking game. Stay tuned.

Sunday Funny - World War III

Bush and Powell were sitting in a bar. A guy walked in and asked the barman, "Isn't that Bush and Powell?" The barman said, "Yep, that's them."

So the guy walked over and said, "Hello. What are you guys doing?" Bush said, "We're planning World War III." The guy asked, "Really? What's going to happen?" Bush said, "Well, we're going to kill 10 million Afghans and one bicycle repairman."

The guy exclaimed, "Why are you gonna kill a bicycle repairman?!" Bush turned to Powell and said, "See, I told you no one would worry about the 10 million Afghans!"

KFD launches a new community outreach program

Building on the recent notoriety of KPD's Operation Citizen Watch, we have heard a rumor that owners of certain long-vacant commercial buildings are lobbying Kissimmee Fire Department to test a similar program, where the building would be burnt down to see if anyone notices.

Dominoes Dealt

This Saturday the Hispanic Business Council of the Kissimmee/Osceola Chamber of Commerce is putting on a Dominoes Tournament that promises to be a fun event to attempt to drag a weary business community out to the old Hyatt Orlando hotel that is now called the Orlando Sun Resort by Lexington. The renovated resort has gone through a $5 million dollar face-lift and is in the process of reopening.

Wayne Who believes that the selection of a gambling event is the perfect venue in which to bring more hotel rooms into our inventory in Osceola County. With a CVB racked with scandal, and a County Commission confused on the benefits of tourism, gambling could be considered a mild term. It seems the only thing in the county that is not gambling is being a residential home developer. Want to build a new hotel in a tourist corridor on land that is zoned accordingly? The answer is no. Want to destroy wetlands and the last shred of environmentally sensitive lands we have in the county to build a toll road (or should we rename these to tax roads?) that will open up a large pool of land for developers to destroy? Go right ahead, the circle of sprawl is almost complete.

Dominoes could be the most appropriate word ever used for the policies and practices of local governments. We just have to wonder if the residents are ready to clean it all up after the dominoes start to fall?

True Citizen Charter Review

We have just posted Article II (chapters 1 & 2) to the Wayne Who "True Citizen Charter Review". Although much of it is boring and quite the long read, we encourage you to skim through it and post your comments regarding your views on its effectiveness and what changes are needed if any. All that you have to do is click on the comments link at the bottom of the Article II post and follow the instructions from there.

http://kissimmeecharter.blogspot.com/