INDIAN ROCKS BEACH – The numbers tell the story; Indian Rocks Beach could face bankruptcy.
According to a report filed by consultant Robert R. Garner after examining the declining value of the city’s sewer and solid waste enterprise funds, “There is danger that the continuing cash drain … will affect the fiscal viability of the city unless corrected quickly.”
The report by Garner’s firm, Government Consulting Services in Tallahassee, continues to detail that in the last fiscal year, advances from the general fund into the solid waste and sewer funds amounted to $940,405; the unreserved balance in the general fund was just $1,004,200.
Commissioner Terry Wollin said she first learned about the impending fiscal shortfall in a phone call earlier this year from acting City Manager Danny Taylor who told her, “We’re in big trouble.” Wolllin blames the situation in part on circumstances that led to a revolving door for city managers.
There have been four manager changes in recent years, starting with the resignation of Tom Brobeil in 2003, followed by the resignations of John Coffey and Al Grieshaber and ending when Steve Cottrell resigned suddenly last year.
“That’s when the drive to roll back taxes took hold,” Wollin said, “with a commission bent on reducing taxes at any cost, depleting our reserves. It’s a perfect storm that happened when the county suddenly increased by 88 percent its fee for waste water treatment in 2001.”
Subsequent fee increases to city residents averaged just 5 percent over each of the next five years and left the city with a deficit that now approaches $1 million.
Garner, whose firm examined financial trends using documents including records of budget meetings, balance sheets and audit reports over the past six to seven years concurs – 5 percent compounded over the period 2001 to 2007 doesn’t begin to cover that deficit.
“The city was 88 percent behind then and it is worse today,” he said.
Garner’s recommendation is for continued professional auditing as well as significant increases in solid waste and sewer fees if the city wants to avoid fiscal mishap. His firm, he said, does not conduct audits but rather attempts to tract trends in fiscal performance and predict their outcome.
“We don’t have complete figures for the first nine months of fiscal year 2007-08,” Garner added, “But it’s fair to say that if revenue-generating increases are not already in place then they’ve lost important time.”
