Remarks made to the PBC School Board on Tax Increase Proposal

OPENING: Good evening. My name is Teri Hughes. I am a PBC tax payer and my 16-year-old daughter attends a PBC high school.

At the last PBC School Board meeting we heard from the Board members discuss placing the proposed tax hike on the ballet in November to cover the cost of the mandatory hiring of Resource Officers, as well as mental health resources in order to fulfill the mandates set forth in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. The proposal would add $1 to every $1000.00 in taxable dollars if it’s placed on the November ballot and approved by the voters.

It is critical that every tax payer in this room familiarizes themselves with the data before any votes are cast. Hat tip to WJNO’s Brian Mudd’s Cheat Sheet and Jane Justice, one of our leaders.

OVERALL REVENUES

• Broward County: Received $74 million over last year and $152 million over two years.
• Miami-Dade County: $87 million over last year and $144 million over two years.
• Palm Beach County: $477 million over last year and $629 million over two years. This money represents 50% of the entire budget of PGC.

 

$ PER STUDENT

• Broward County: $8,928.00/student
• Miami-Dade: $9,116.00/student
• Palm Beach County: $15,420/student
• Average state spending per student in PBC is $8,920

Average per Student for the 2017-2018 School Year

• Broward County: +$9 or .001% higher
• Miami-Dade County: +$196 or +2.2% higher
• Palm Beach County: +$6,500 or 72.9% higher

Now Let’s take a look at Administrator’s Base Salaries which come from tax payer dollars

• Superintendent Avosa was hired at: $325,000/yr
• Avosa’s two friends were hired at $202,000/yr and $190,962 respectively.
• MB $185,657/yr
• DF $185,400/yr
• GL $175,100/yr
• LC $169,332
• WP $161,600/yr
• ST $157,996.65/yr
• TOTAL: $1,567,390
• During the 2015-2017 school calendar year, salaries over $120,000 doubled from 37 staff to 74. That’s 120,000 x 74 = $8,800,000

These salaries in my opinion are outrageous and what is even more outrageous is the CHUTZPAH of the School Board asking taxpayers in PBCC for more money.

Palm Beach County has seen a windfall from the 16.7% sales tax increase in PBC, which the PBC school district nets half of. I would argue this places Palm Beach County in a financial position that should enable it to meet all its needs, challenges, and cost increases without even blinking an eye – let alone suggesting other tax increases are necessary.  

So I have just one question for each of you; where is the $629 million being allocated to if not the retention of good teachers and safe schools.

I say NO to property tax increases in PBC. Maybe you need to manage your money better.

2018 GOP Political Jamboree

Every two years, during the summer of an election year, the county GOP hosts a “Jamboree” – an old fashioned political picnic for candidates on the upcoming ballot to introduce themselves to the party activists. With a barbecue lunch under the pavilion roof at the South County Civic Center, surrounded by covered booths hosted by candidates and political clubs, it is gathering place for the GOP faithful and those who seek to represent them at all levels of government.

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After remarks by county chairman (and RPOF vice-chair) Michael Barnett, and state committee reps Cindy Tindell and Joe Budd, master of Ceremonies Sid Dinerstein introduced the candidates.

The only state-wide candidates present were Attorney General candidate Ashley Moody who listed her impressive resume and endorsements which include current AG Pam Bondi, and John Mercadante – a long-shot candidate for Governor with lots of enthusiasm.

In CD18, incumbent Brian Mast has drawn a couple of primary challengers, mostly as a result of his controversial stance on gun control which is perceived as a vulnerability. Dave Cummings spoke and presented himself as a conservative in support of the Trump agenda. The winner of this primary will face one of two well-funded Democrats in a race that has drawn national interest.

CD22 was represented by candidate Javier Manjarres who is facing Nicholas Kimaz (who was at the event but left before speaking), and Eddison Walters. The winner will face entrenched Democrat Ted Deutch (who has a long shot primary challenger in Jeff Fandl) in this D+14 district.

For state legislative offices, Belinda Keiser spoke. She is competing with current House member Gayle Harrell for the Senate 25 seat vacated by Joe Negron. The winner will face Democrat Robert Levy in the fall.

For House district 89, vacated by term limited Bill Hager, competitors Matt Spritz and Joe Caruso spoke. The winner of that race will face one of two Democrats in November.

At the city level, we had Boca acting mayor Scott Singer and his opponent BocaWatch founder Al Zucaro. Municipal elections are usually in March, but the departure of indicted former Mayor Susan Haynie prompted a special election to be held coincident with the August primary.

This year, the number of candidates was fewer than past years (9 versus 19 in 2016 and 14 in 2014), partly due to a lack of challengers overall, and partly from the absence of Republican candidates that are running. CD18 incumbent Brian Mast and challenger Mark Freeman were absent for example. This year there are NO Republicans running for open seats on the school board, Port Commission, or County Commission districts 2 or 6.

DeSantis rocks at Trump National

On Saturday, Republican candidate for Governor Ron DeSantis appeared at Trump National in Jupiter with “The Great One” Mark Levin, Fox pundit Dan Bongino, and CD1 Congressman Matt Gaetz. The large crowd was welcoming and enthusiastic, and possibly indicative of a surge in popularity for his candidacy. With some polls showing that the double digit lead held by Adam Putnam has waned, Ron appears to be making the most of his endorsement by President Trump, and has begun to define his value proposition as governor.

Ron has had support among the tea party grassroots since before his election to the sixth congressional district seat (Coastal from south Jacksonville to New Symrna Beach including Daytona Beach) in 2012. A tea party conservative, he is a key player in the House Freedom Caucus. I have long been a fan of his work in Congress, repealing Obamacare, opposing the Iran deal, and pushing for oversight of the corruption at the top levels of the Justice Department and FBI. His candidacy for Governor though, had seemed to be weak.

For the most part, Ron had seemed to be touting his Congressional bona-fides, and his campaign literature and fund raising appeals seemed more a call for Congressional re-election than a bid for the top executive job in the third largest state. A line of attack from the Putnam camp is that he is running his campaign on Fox News (Ron is a regular), has never held an executive job, and knows little about the Florida issues outside of Washington.

It was a different message we heard on Saturday. First, his surrogates described his work in DC as just as much “Florida Issues” as national ones. Health care, Immigration, tax cuts and de-regulation to boost the economy – these are all things that concern us within the state’s borders.

When Ron took the podium, he brought the focus back locally. Water issues and toxic algae, sanctuary cities and immigration, these are state issues, as is opposing common core and introducing civics back into the K-12 curriculum. He drew a sharp contrast to Adam Putnam on Sugar money (he doesn’t take it), ethanol mandates (Putnam opposed a measure to stop the measures that were harming the marine industry), and Congressional term limits (Putnam opposed).

Although his website is still short on specifics, he seems to be holding his own on the issues with Putnam and referred the audience to the Fox News debate between them last month, which he feels he won.

On the Democrat side, Jeff Greene seems to be developing a lead. With the money he plans to put in the race, a unified GOP will be needed to hold on to the Governor seat. DeSantis and Putnam are both credible candidates, but a tightening race may see the race turn negative. Let’s hope not.

At the end of the day, the Trump factor may make the difference. The President has endorsed DeSantis, and praised his work with the Freedom Caucus. There is evidence that Putnam has never really been a Trump fan. We will see how much weight that carries in Florida.

TPP Call – 7/15/18

Welcome to the Tea Party Patriots Weekly National Leadership Call Report. Glad you stopped by.

Chris Wright’s Constitution minute featured the Department of Homeland Security’s changes to its sign-on-procedure process that will reduce the # of asylum seekers.

Bill Pascoe reported from Washington that Last week the House took up and passed several bills under suspension of the rules. The Senate floor invoked cloture and confirmed Mark J. Bennett to seat on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

FBI Agent Peter Strzok testified for nine hours before the House Judiciary Committee in an open hearing on Thursday. He came across as angry and belligerent as he refused to answer questions on grounds that the FBI instructed him not to. The highlight of the hearing was an exchange between Representative Louie Gohmert and Strzok about the 30,000 emails on her homebrew server that found to have gone to an unauthorized source. The Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) Horowitz and Strzok were notified and never followed up. Lisa Page testified behind closed doors by House Republicans on Friday afternoon with an FBI attorney present.

A group of conservative house lawmakers draft articles of impeachment against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for failing to comply with congressional subpoena to obtain documents about FBI surveillance during the elections, intentionally stalling document production for congressional investigations into possible government misconduct and failing to enforce key law and protocols. However, there has been no indication that Speaker Paul Ryan and other House GOP leaders will act on the measure.

The Smear campaign against Jim Jordan continues. There have been no calls from GOP leaders for Jim Jordan to step down and many university officials have vouched for his contention he knew nothing of the alleged sexual abuse of the wrestlers.

President Trump traveled to Brussels and made the case to the NATO members who have been free-loading on the U.S that they need to pay their 2% or changes will be made.

President Trump will be meeting with Putin in Helsinki on Tuesday. On the Russian probe front, the Mueller probe indicted 12 Russians for conspiring to hack Democrats during the 2016 presidential campaign. There were no US citizens indicted and no evidence of collusion.

President Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court Justice. Despite his support by conservatives, some have reason for concern based on his interpretation in the Susan Seven-Sky v Eric Holder Obamacare case. Kavanaugh contended that with a small tweak of the language, there is no difference between a “tax” and a “penalty.” In the end Kavanaugh used a previous held opinion allowing him to bow out of a decision since the alleged tax has not yet been put into effect.

Jenny Beth Martin’s Call to Action for the week of July 16-July 20.

There are three distinct call to action activities for this week. We need each and every Tea Party member to visit the Tea Party Patriots website and sign the petition for swift nomination of Brett Kavanaugh and to sign the Pledge to Vote and share with friends on social media in the midterm election.

Finally, there is still time to register to secure your spot for the Tea Party Patriots national fly-in conference, July 24-25 in Washington, D.C. Conference speakers include Representative Jim Jordan, Senator Ted Cruz, Senator David Perdue, Representative Mark Meadows and many, many, more.

That’s all for this week.
Thank you for tuning in.
Keep fighting for Liberty and God Bless.
Teri Hughes

FreedomWorks Fly-In

John Michael Chambers at Boca

Please RSVP:

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John Michael Chambers was born and raised in New York and has traveled across much of the United States. Presently residing in both the U.S. and Asia.

1996 – 2008: Financial Advisor, six independent offices in Colorado, Florida, and New Mexico with a focus on wealth preservation. Interviewed by the Wall Street Journal as well as many other newspapers and radio and television stations of note across the country, including CBS and NBC.

In Washington, D.C., John attended meetings held by members of Congress that were also attended by former President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, on Social Security Reform, Tax Reform, and Homeland Security. He was awarded by the Presidential Business Advisory Council of Washington DC, 2004 & 2005, The Businessman of the Year Award for the state of Colorado. John is a patriot who loves his country and serves as but one voice for humanity.

2008 -2017: Radio talk show host on 860 WGUL AM radio, a Salem Communications Company. Public speaking in over 30 cities, six states and three countries where he addressee both the dangers and opportunities as Trump deconstructs the New World Order. Founder of the Save America Foundation, a 501(c)4 not-for-profit foundation providing a variety of educational formats and modules. He has dedicated much of his time over the past two decades sharing insightful and empowering information to help keep freedom alive.

Author: 2013 – “Surviving Global Governance”. 2015 – “Misconceptions and Course Corrections” 2016 – “What One Man Can Do” John’s latest book – “Trump and the Resurrection of America”. Presently John is posting daily on his blog site and will continue to write and publish books and blogs. https://johnmichaelchambers.com/

As of January 2017 John has embarked upon a public speaking tour across the nation beginning in the great state of Ohio. The name of his tour is “Trump and the Resurrection of America”.

John Michael Chambers at Abacoa

John will discuss:

JOHN MICHAEL CHAMBERS will be delivering a powerful and riveting speech to all Trump supporters and activists. He is currently on tour awakening and motivating a POSITIVE action across America.
Join us to become involved in this movement: become empowered with pertinent information,tools and resources.

Please RSVP:

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John Michael Chambers was born and raised in New York and has traveled across much of the United States. Presently residing in both the U.S. and Asia.

1996 – 2008: Financial Advisor, six independent offices in Colorado, Florida, and New Mexico with a focus on wealth preservation. Interviewed by the Wall Street Journal as well as many other newspapers and radio and television stations of note across the country, including CBS and NBC.

In Washington, D.C., John attended meetings held by members of Congress that were also attended by former President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, on Social Security Reform, Tax Reform, and Homeland Security. He was awarded by the Presidential Business Advisory Council of Washington DC, 2004 & 2005, The Businessman of the Year Award for the state of Colorado. John is a patriot who loves his country and serves as but one voice for humanity.

2008 -2017: Radio talk show host on 860 WGUL AM radio, a Salem Communications Company. Public speaking in over 30 cities, six states and three countries where he addressee both the dangers and opportunities as Trump deconstructs the New World Order. Founder of the Save America Foundation, a 501(c)4 not-for-profit foundation providing a variety of educational formats and modules. He has dedicated much of his time over the past two decades sharing insightful and empowering information to help keep freedom alive.

Author: 2013 – “Surviving Global Governance”. 2015 – “Misconceptions and Course Corrections” 2016 – “What One Man Can Do” John’s latest book – “Trump and the Resurrection of America”. Presently John is posting daily on his blog site and will continue to write and publish books and blogs. https://johnmichaelchambers.com/

As of January 2017 John has embarked upon a public speaking tour across the nation beginning in the great state of Ohio. The name of his tour is “Trump and the Resurrection of America”.

Trump Birthday Rally and Flag Day

Military and PGA Boulevard, 6/14/18. Good turnout for a rousing salute to the President.

TPP Call – 6/10/18

The Elephant in the Room

Congressman Brian Mast, speaking at the Abacoa chapter meeting on Monday, confronted his critics and doubled down on his call for age limits and the ban on the sale of “gas operated, semi automatic” rifles, such as the AR-15 and AK-47. (Actually that definition probably applies to many of rifles sold that are not single shot bolt action devices.)

In an attempt to guide the audience down the path of his thinking, he asked a series of questions, starting with “who would keep the gun laws as they are?” (most raised their hands.) Very few agreed with “expanding background checks”, “raising age limits”, or banning other categories of equipment, but there was support for restrictions based on mental health. He referenced the “national firearms act”, in place since the 30’s that bans the retail sale of automatic weapons, and argued most don’t think that infringes on the second amendment.

A self described owner of many firearms himself, who grew up around weapons and was trained in the military, Congressman Mast supports the usual gun rights position that guns are tools and you don’t blame the tool for the action of the wielder. That said, he does object to the “lethality” of semi-automatic rifles in the hands of the mentally defective, and believes that the sale of these weapons should be stopped “at least for a while”, while we figure it all out.

Banning the sale of the AR-15 and the like would obviously lead to banning the possession of such of course, and by some counts there are over 3 million AR-15 variants in the hands of American citizens, who are almost entirely law-abiding. That, presumably is part of “figuring it all out”.

While Brian also touched on other topics, such as his support for the tax cuts, opposition to the omnibus spending bill, opposition to sugar subsidies (controversial in Florida), and his initiative to open a Congressional office in the VA hospital.

He also deflected criticism he has received from low conservative “scores” from Heritage Action and Freedomworks. Heritage assigned him 46% on their “key votes” where the average house Republican is at 64%. Freedomworks has him at 49%.

“I wasn’t elected to represent Heritage Action” was his defense, and suggested that he supports President Trump in areas where these organizations do not.

To be fair, the scoring is somewhat one dimensional and a vote is not always what it seems. Your really have to look at the votes and decide for yourself. Heritage Action dinged him for example, for reauthorizing the CHIP program and supporting FAA reauthorization without the privatization they wanted. Most bills have pros and cons, and there is room for interpretation.

During the Q&A, most focused on his position on guns. Teri Hughes lit into him for blaming guns for Parkland, even though there were so many governmental failures that did not adequately deal with the shooter before hand.

Then Linda Wummer asked the question many of us were thinking – how are you going to win your base back and get re-elected? Many people in the room have been strong fans of the Congressman, worked for him in 2016, and have defended him against critics since he was elected. His current difficulties are self-inflicted. Calling for a gun ban is tilting at windmills – it is not likely to happen, and there is no upside to proposing one (if you are a conservative).

Brian is now facing a primary challenge from Mark Freeman and Dave Cummings – something that would have not have happened without this stumble. The Democrats have Lauren Baer and Pam Kieth – neither likely to draw many Republican votes, but in this narrow R+4 district, turnout in November will be key.

Politicians always break your heart at some point, and Brian has broken many over the last few months. This seat is too important to lose over a single issue though, and we have to put on our big-boy pants and consider the big picture. If you disagree with Brian only on the gun control proposal, it is painful but not likely to make a substantive difference in the debate that has already moved on. Consider what losing this seat to a Democrat will do to the Trump agenda, and maybe you will choose the pragmatic course.

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