PORT ST. LUCIE — Florida Inland Navigation District officials have changed their meeting and travel expense practices at least partly in response to a series of stories by Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers.

FIND officials will book monthly meetings at less expensive venues, tighten up on travel expenses and improve public notification about community events and the construction of sediment processing facilities, said David Roach, the district’s executive director, in a memo responding to the stories.

The FIND commissioners spent nearly a half-hour Saturday morning discussing the suggestions in Roach’s memo and related issues raised by the district’s auditor and attorney. The meeting was held at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott in St. Lucie West.

The Scripps Newspapers stories included disclosures that FIND spent $459 for a hotel room in Washington, D.C., during a district official’s lobbying trip and $254 per room for district officials attending a commission meeting in Miami. Roach’s memo noted. The 12-county district typically holds commission meetings in a hotel in a different county each month.

“Staff will work to ensure that we continue to book the hotels that can adequately accommodate our meeting needs at reasonable rates while staying away from those hotels that create the perception of extravagance,” Roach said in the memo.

The FIND commissioners voted 8-1 to give Roach the power to “authorize travel and make decisions about the most economical method of travel in accordance with (Florida Statutes) for staff and commissioners.”

The commissioners delegated that authority to Roach based on advice from the district’s auditor, J.W. Gaines of Fort Pierce, and its attorney, Peter Breton of West Palm Beach, to comply with state laws regulating public spending on travel expenses for public officials.

“As we’re presently handling this, we’re not complying with the law,” said FIND Commissioner Nancy Freeman, who represents Volusia County. “I don’t think the system is broken, I don’t think we should over fix it, but this is a legal point that we need to clear up. There isn’t a person on this board that’s going to do something or submit something that’s out of line.”

The commissioners should confer with Roach if they plan to book a flight to attend a commission meeting, instead of renting a car or using their own vehicle, Roach and Breton said.

The Scripps Newspapers stories also included disclosures that FIND paid for flights for FIND Commissioner T. Spencer Crowley III, who represents Miami-Dade County, to commission meetings in Nassau and Duval counties at the northern end of the 12-county district. FIND also paid for Crowley’s flights to Orlando and Tallahassee.

“It’s not only a question of a commissioner or the executive director, but outside agencies or our auditor general questioning payment of airfare and the issue could come in, ‘well, was that the most economical method for that particular trip and did the agency head make that determination?’ ” Breton said. “If you want to deviate from what’s become the norm — taking your own privately owned vehicle or renting a car and paying the gas — that just to protect yourself, bulletproof your expense report, that you bounce it off of your designee being David.”

Taking a two-hour flight from Miami to Jacksonville could be considered a more economic method of travel than driving for eight hours because the commissioner’s time is taken into account, Breton said.

Crowley, the lone dissenter on the vote, argued it would be a waste of time to ask Roach for permission any time he wants to book a flight for FIND business.

“This doesn’t make sense to me,” Crowley said. “It’s idiotic.”

In a related issue, FIND commissioners voted unanimously to require all vouchers for reimbursement of travel expenses to be submitted within 90 days.

Roach said the FIND commissioners will hold their May 18 meeting in Miami, instead of Indian River County, so they can attend the Volvo Ocean Race, which is a global sailing race. The FIND commissioners will meet in Indian River County on Aug. 18.

Earlier during Saturday’s meeting, two Sebastian area homeowners, Gary Kaczinski and Frank Marshall, raised questions about the need for a $3.3 million sediment processing facility and a $1.7 million dredging project in northern Indian River County.

The Scripps Newspaper series about FIND also reported the questions about the need for the sediment facility and dredging project.

When Kaczinski questioned Roach about the details of the testing of the sediment that will be dredged, FIND Commissioner Bruce Barkett, who represents Indian River County, objected.

“I resent that you’re going to come in here and try do a cross examination of a project right now that’s not on the agenda,” Barkett said.

Kaczinski then showed the FIND commissioners Army Corps survey charts showing the Intracoastal Waterway is at least 10 feet deep in northern Indian River County and said the public’s objections to the sediment facility and dredging project have been “ignored.”

After the public speaking portion of the meeting, Shelley Trulock, the Army Corps’ project manager for the Intracoastal Waterway, said the completion date for the sediment processing facility has been pushed back to June so additional work can be done on roads on the site.

“It’s coming along well,” Trulock said.

After Saturday’s meeting, Roach said he did not need to address the need for the sediment facility and dredging project in his memo about the Scripps Newspapers stories. Roach also reiterated his position that the sediment processing facility and dredging project are needed to maintain a safe depth in the Intracoastal Waterway so boaters don’t run aground on build ups of sand washing in from the Sebastian Inlet.

“We still think we need to build dredged material management areas for our waterway as soon as possible,” Roach said. “Otherwise there’s a lot of problems, just like we’re having.”

FIND REFORMS

How the Florida Inland Navigation District commissioners and district staff changed the way they conduct business at least in part in response to a series of stories by Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers:

Travel expense issues

• “We will seek to find hotels with fewer fees and lower room rates that can still meet our needs.”

• “Staff will work to ensure that we continue to book the hotels that can adequately accommodate our meeting needs at reasonable rates while staying away from hotels that create the perception of extravagance.”

• “Staff will continue to advise commissioners traveling by air to get their tickets early when possible to keep the cost down.”

• When commissioners rent vehicles to travel to meetings “we will continue to advise commissioners to get the most economical vehicle that meets the transportation needs of a particular trip.”

• “Travel expenses by district staff (will be) paid with district credit cards and not itemized on travel reimbursement vouchers.”

• “All (commissioners’) vouchers for reimbursement of travel expenses must be completed and submitted within 90 days of travel.”

• FIND Commissioners delegate the authority to the executive director to “authorize travel and make decisions about the most economical method of travel in accordance with (statute) 112.061, (Florida Statutes) for staff and commissioners.”

Other expenses

“The executive director will not pay any district expenses (such as for tree trimming at the district office and a state permit fee for a project) again unless there is an emergency.”

Community outreach events

• “To ensure better community outreach, staff is increasing the waterway information available at the events, incorporating more presentations and placing display advertisements in local papers.”

• “We will be running display ads and providing a notice for community calendar in the local newspaper to try to increase general public attendance.”

• “Staff feels the cost is reasonable for the benefit and we will continue to seek ways to reduce the costs for these events.”

Public notice about construction of sediment processing facilities

“In the future, to go above and beyond the legal requirement, the staff has suggested using a modified (Florida Department of Transportation) Public Information Meeting format to provide more notice to our neighbors and the community prior to a construction event.

Source: FIND agenda packet for Feb. 18, 2012 meeting)

Sebastian area sediment facility

The Florida Inland Navigation District is building an earthen dike near Sebastian to process sediment dredged from the Intracoastal Waterway in northern Indian River County.

Location: 9900 to 10470 U.S. 1, two miles south of Sebastian.

Site size: 179.45 acres

Containment basin: 32.63 acres

Basin capacity: 428,000 cubic yards

Construction dates: February 2011 through June 2012

Dredging project: 2012/2013

Amount to be dredged: 400,000 cubic yards

© 2012 TCPalm. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 

The Florida Inland Navigation District, the taxpayer-supported agency that manages and maintains waterways in 12 counties on Florida’s East Coast has changed the way it does business.

The changes recently approved by district commissioners at the recommendation of Executive Director David Roach fall on the heels of a nine-month investigation into FIND operations by Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers. While 98 percent of the $20 million FIND collects annually from taxpayers goes into projects such as dredging, piers, boat ramps, shoreline stabilization, boardwalks and marinas, the investigation found questionable expenditures for travel and the district’s monthly meetings.

The investigation results, reported in December, showed that FIND had spent more than $503,000 on travel and meetings for district commissioners — one appointed by the governor for each county in the district — and staff since 2005, including stays at luxury hotels, cocktail parties and expensive airline costs. Yet their meetings, open to the public, are rarely attended by citizens. Rather, they are more often attended by local government officials and members of the marine industry.

Reforms approved by the district board, with input from the district’s auditor and attorney, include:

• Seek to find hotel rooms with fewer fees and lower room rates.

• Staff to work to ensure that the district continues to book hotels that can adequately accommodate meeting needs at reasonable rates while staying away from hotels that create the perception of extravagance.

• Staff will continue to advise commissioners traveling by air to get their tickets early when possible to keep cost down.

• When commissioners rent vehicles to attend meetings, they will be advised to get the most economical vehicle that meets their needs.

• Travel expenses will be paid with district credit cards and not itemized on travel reimbursement vouchers.

• Commissioners delegate authority to the executive director to “authorize travel and make decisions about the most economical method of travel in accordance with (Florida Statutes) for staff and commissioners.

• To ensure better community outreach, staff is increasing the waterway information available at the events, incorporating more presentations and placing display advertisements in local papers.

These are common sense efforts that should have been made a long time ago.

Few question the value that FIND brings to the communities it serves, though many in the public are not very aware of what FIND does and how it spends public money. Reducing any appearances of extravagant spending and being more transparent and open to the public are valuable steps in assuring public confidence in how their taxes are spent.

But these reforms are just first steps. In this day of teleconferences — that can be held for free via mobile device — there’s no reason for FIND to rent hotels for its meetings. Other reforms are due with respect to acquisition and implementation of land, its future use, and how the public is notified.

Now that it’s come up with a set of good reforms, the district must put them into action. Let’s hope they do.

© 2012 TCPalm. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 

Question: When is a “community outreach event” not really a community outreach event?

Answer: When the vast majority of attendees are members of the inner circle and good ol’ boy network.

In many ways, the taxpayer-funded Florida Inland Navigation District appears to operate frugally on the $20 million it receives each year in property tax revenues. The district, which manages and maintains the Okeechobee and Intracoastal waterways in a 400-mile-long, 12-county area along Florida’s East Coast, spends 98 percent of its money on capital improvement projects and 2 percent on administration, according to longtime Executive Director David Roach.

Sounds good, at first blush.

The district is governed by 12 commissioners — one from each county — and conducts one commission meeting in each county per year. The night before each meeting, the agency holds “community outreach events” or cocktail parties where FIND officials dine on free appetizers and drink wine and mixed drinks provided at a cash bar. Although advertised on the agency’s website and in local newspapers and other publications, the meetings and outreach events rarely are attended by citizens. Often, the events are held in banquet or meeting rooms at luxury hotels and attended mostly by FIND officials, local government officials and representatives from the marine industry.

This is disconcerting.

First, community outreach events should involve members of the public not previously connected with the district.

Second, expenditures for travel and meetings are extravagant and unnecessary.

Since 2005, the district has spent more than $503,000 on travel and meetings for commissioners and staff. FIND’s travel expenses have steadily increased over the last six years — except for fiscal 2010, when expenses went down slightly from the previous year. Travel expenses in the last six years show:

• Luxury hotel stays at the Washington Court Hotel in the District of Columbia, costing more than $300 and $459 per night; $254 per night at The Palms in Miami Beach; and $243 per night at the Viceroy Hotel in Miami.

• Expensive flights to in-state meetings. In one case, a one-day, round trip for a board member to fly from Miami to Tallahassee cost $697.

• Rentals of a Lincoln Navigator luxury sport utility vehicle by one board member, costing nearly $900 in total, not including gas.

• Annual lobbying trips to Washington, costing as much as $2,000 per board member.

No one expects FIND commissioners and staff to stay in cheap hotels and eat fast food while conducting the district’s business. However, there appear to be multiple opportunities for the district to eliminate waste and rein in expenditures.

While unpaid commissioners might choose to spend their own money in this fashion, they’re not; they’re spending money hard-earned by taxpayers. Do they have to get together for monthly meetings preceded the night before by social time? Doubtful. Technology is such that meetings can be held more often via the Internet, accessible to the public.

The cocktail parties are disconcerting for other reasons. Business should be conducted openly in the boardroom; there should not even be a whiff of it in cocktail parties, open or not. Pat Gleason, special counsel for open government with the Florida Attorney General’s Office, warns officials that casual conversation between board members can lead to: a) an appearance of impropriety; and b) discussions that potentially could violate the law. In other words, she says, it’s most prudent to meet with fellow commissioners only in the boardroom.

The mere appearance of officials gathering in cocktail parties — with alcohol involved, no matter who pays for it — is unseemly. The fact that commissioners get special deals at fancy hotels based on their public status doesn’t look good, either. It’s easy to distrust government as it is, but the aforementioned activities make it even more difficult.

FIND officials need to scrutinize their travel and meeting expenses — and make appropriate adjustments. After all, Florida taxpayers are funding these trips and events.

MARTIN COUNTY — Several Martin County officials and activists agreed that local governments should have the final say on the location of Florida Inland Navigation District sediment processing facilities for dredging projects in the Intracoastal and Okeechobee waterways, as requested by a group of Sebastian homeowners.

“I think that’s a fine proposal,” Martin County Commissioner Sarah Heard said. “I think that all projects that are funded with taxpayers dollars should undergo rigorous public scrutiny before they’re approved.”

The Concerned Taxpayers of Indian River County submitted petitions with more than 600 signatures to state lawmakers asking for legislation to give county commissions veto power over the location of sediment facilities. They hope the proposal will be discussed during the legislative session that starts in January.
The group is fighting a sediment facility under construction on U.S. 1 near their homes, which they fear will harm their property values and quality of life. They were taken aback that work started on the 46-acre earthen dike without notice to nearby property owners or the typical government approvals for a construction project.

Use our interactive map to locate FIND projects

“We have been and continue to send letters to advocate for a change in the Florida statute because it is the basis for all that is wrong with FIND,” said Hal Goforth, a Sebastian area homeowner. “It gives tax dollars and autonomy to FIND without public recourse.”

David Roach, FIND’s executive director, said the district does not need to obtain local government approvals to build the containment basins because they are used to maintain a federal transportation facility, the Intracoastal Waterway. Roach also maintains FIND only spends money on dredging projects and facilities that are needed.

“The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway project is a congressionally authorized federal navigation project supporting intrastate commerce,” Roach said. “As such, it is exempted from local laws through federal supremacy.”

While officials in Indian River and St. Lucie counties have required no local county permits for the construction of sediment facilities, Martin County planners said they believe FIND would have to comply with at least some county development regulations.

The issue could come to a head in 2012 when FIND plans to start work on a 32-acre containment basin near the St. Lucie Lock and Dam in Martin County to handle the sediment from a dredging project in the Okeechobee Waterway that is set for 2013.

Engineering and design is under way for the $1.8 million sediment facility, FIND records show. Engineering and design for the $1.5 million dredging project is expected to start in 2012.

The agricultural property would need a land use and zoning change to conform to county policies for a dredge spoil management site, Martin County Growth Management Director Nicki van Vonno said. The sediment facility also would need site plan approval, unless FIND can point to a state statute that exempts the project from local permitting requirements.

“Regardless of that determination there are provisions within the Comp Plan that all sites must meet,” van Vonno said. “So these policies would be reviewed with them at (a pre-application meeting with county planners).”

Roach said local governments have a legal responsibility to designate lands in their comprehensive plan for spoil sites.

Virginia Sherlock, a Stuart lawyer who often represents homeowners on land use issues, said she agrees FIND’s sediment facilities should be subject to county regulations.

“I do not understand why federal or state regulations should pre-empt local land use controls which protect neighborhoods and citizens from having potentially hazardous materials dumped and stored near their homes,” Sherlock said. “The farther removed citizens are from the decision-makers, the harder it is to ensure that good decisions are made.”

Jacqueline Trancynger said she was surprised to learn that FIND has long-standing plans to build a sediment facility east of Savannah Road, not far from her home in the Jensen Park Estates subdivision.

“Why are people so angry at government right now in this time in our country’s history? It’s because people have no say in their own government,” Trancynger said. “I want my destiny to be in the hands of the people in Martin County.”

By John Corzine, Port St. Lucie

If it is meant to sell newspapers, it probably has succeeded. If it is meant to provide a non-slanted look at the Florida Inland Navigation District, it has totally failed.

A few folks take exception to a FIND cleanup location, and through very slanted reporting, this series is meant to incite and provoke dissension toward an organization doing, by any business analysis, a decent job at the tasks it was assigned to do.

Consider the headline “Some residents surprised at how FIND spends money.” How many residents? Who are they? Are they the same folks taking exception to a specific cleanup site location?

The newspaper reports, “FIND officials dine on free appetizers and drink wine and mixed drinks provided at a cash bar.” I see nothing wrong with the use of appetizers to help folks mingle, and smooth the FIND mission. To report “drinks wine and mixed drinks provided at a cash bar” is meant to incite.

I fail to see the eating of a few miniature hot dog appetizers and purchasing a drink at a bar with non-taxpayer money being equivalent to having a free lunch or dinner with booze and wine as reported.

The newspaper reports: “Since 2005, FIND has spent more than $503,000 on travel.” How many readers will understand that is a seven-year period or $71,857 per year, or $5,988 per month for all FIND associates. I can see the reporter adding up the yearly travel expenses until a total of half a million dollars to report was reached.

This series is slanted and poor muckraking journalism at its best.

“I didn’t know.”

It is a recurring refrain from Treasure Coast homeowners who learn they live near property owned by the Florida Inland Navigation District — property that may eventually be converted into a sediment processing facility.

“I wasn’t aware of it,” said Jacqueline Phillips, when told the state agency plans to build a sediment processing facility on U.S. 1 in Tequesta, within a quarter-mile of her home.

“We didn’t know nothing about it,” said Lucinda Oliver, longtime County Line Road area resident, of FIND’s plans to build a sediment processing facility on Indian River Drive and County Line Road, just north of the Martin County line.

There are many Treasure Coast residents who might be surprised to learn they live near or adjacent to a future sediment processing site.

Consider: FIND owns 231 properties in the 12-county area it oversees on Florida’s East Coast, including 37 parcels on the Treasure Coast. Much of the property is valuable waterfront land. The agency eventually plans to build more than 50 facilities on the east coast to process sediment dredged from the Intracoastal and Okeechobee waterways as part of a 50-year plan, which includes 12 sediment processing facilities on the Treasure Coast: six in Martin County, three each in St. Lucie and Indian River counties.

The Concerned Taxpayers of Indian River County — a group of Sebastian area homeowners fighting the construction of a sediment facility east of their neighborhood — is worried the site will smell bad, hurt property values and pose a threat to public safety if a major storm breaches the dike and spills sediment into the neighborhood. Residents point to a 2006 spill in St. Johns County that covered a 54-acre wetland with arsenic-laden mud.

When it comes to homeowners and potential sediment processing facilities, there should be no surprises.

David Roach, executive director of the navigation district, is quick to point out that state statutes require local governments in coastal areas to identify locations of sediment disposal facilities in future land use sections of comprehensive growth management plans. But not all counties comply with these requirements. For example, Martin County’s growth plan does not show all of FIND’s sediment sites, county records show.

Martin County needs to add this information to its growth management plan.

But let’s be honest: How many Treasure Coast residents — or prospective property owners — actively monitor growth management plans to see if the land they own — or are considering for purchase — is located near a potential sediment processing facility? Very few.

Consequently, FIND needs to be proactive about informing local residents. More conspicuous signs on property would help. Printed correspondence mailed to all those in the immediate vicinity of a future site would be a positive first step.

“(With) something like this, they should send something to the homeowners,” Oliver said.

Agreed.

More transparency on the front end may alleviate some of the problems FIND experiences after homeowners learn they live next to a future sediment processing facility.

For an organization that has assets worth more than $166 million, records show the day-to-day accounting practices of the Florida Inland Navigation District are unconventional.

FIND is a six-person state agency based in Jupiter that works with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to maintain and manage the 400-mile Intracoastal Waterway along Florida’s east coast. The governor appoints 12 unpaid board of commissioners, who represent the 12 counties on the east coast.

Since 2005, FIND has spent more than $503,000 on travel and meeting expenses for commissioners and staff, a Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers investigation found.

A review of travel records for the commissioners revealed they frequently stay in luxury waterfront hotels when attending meetings, throw taxpayer-funded outreach events the night before each meeting and on occasion rack up big bills for plane tickets and car rentals.

Scripps then looked at employee travel records and found expenses reports weren’t as detailed as those filled out by commissioners. For example, staff members often don’t list the price of hotel stays on reports or the cost of airfare for trips.

FIND Executive Director David Roach said staff doesn’t list the cost for hotel stays or airfare in most cases because those costs are paid for using agency issued credit cards.

He said commissioners by law are required to pay out-of-pocket travel costs up front and later seek reimbursement. Roach said it’s for tax purposes because commissioners are not employees of FIND, which is exempt from being taxed.

But Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers also found other out of the ordinary accounting practices.
Records show Roach booked two one-way flights for himself and his wife from Jupiter to Washington for a FIND lobbying trip in July 2010. The total cost of the one-way flights was $251. Roach submitted and approved reimbursement for both he and his wife’s ticket. Roach said rather than seeking reimbursement for a round trip for himself, he added his and his wife’s tickets together for the cost of his round trip.
“We were picking up our grand kid, and I paid for those three tickets coming back out of my personal account,” Roach said. “Apparently, when I filled out that travel voucher I didn’t have that other receipt coming back so I did the easy route. Instead of me going home and going through my personal records and finding that other receipt I just said well just double it. It did cost me the same amount back.”
Records show Roach sometimes pays for corporate expenses with personal checks. He even wrote one in 2009 for $700 to pay a permit fee to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

He used the same payment method in 2008 to pay for landscaping services at the FIND office. Roach said he is not authorized to sign FIND’s checks. He said Florida law requires the checks be signed by two commissioners, which can be difficult when paying for immediate expenses because commissioners are scattered across the state. The checks also are signed by FIND’s finance director.

“Even if I wanted to pay somebody $10 with a check I’m not authorized to write it,” Roach said. “Every check we write has to be mailed out for signature somewhere within the district. That’s the law, and that is a good check and balance because we’re such a small staff. … It is a little bit inefficient, but we’re used to doing it.

“Most vendors send you an invoice for 30 days payment, so we cut checks every two weeks and ship them out and get them back and distribute them and make it work.”

Roach paid out-of-pocket $100 cash for office landscape maintenance and then received reimbursement after producing photo copies of $20 bills.

He conceded making photo copies of $20 bills totaling $100 doesn’t prove he gave actual cash to the contractor.

“But that’s what I did to try to have something in the file for the auditors and you know anybody who wants to look at it like you,” he said.

Roach said the contractor asked for partial payment in cash because he was financially struggling. Roach wrote a personal check to the contractor for the remaining balance of $500.

“He’s always $20 short of everything,” Roach said of the landscaper. “He’s come over to do work for you and he’ll be like, ‘Can you give me $20 so I can go get lunch and fill up my truck?’ So he always likes to get a little cash on the deal. So, we had him trimming here and he wanted to get paid immediately because he’s living hand-to-mouth, so I just paid him and got my reimbursement. He’s a heck of a nice guy, and it makes me feel good to help him.”

Roach on at least three occasions stayed at more expensive hotels for meetings but in handwritten notes addressed to “whom it may concern” and “the file” asked only for reimbursement for the less expensive rates paid by FIND officials staying at another hotel.

Roach said he stays on occasion at different hotels with his wife for a more private setting away from his coworkers. Asked why his reimbursement request wasn’t addressed to FIND’s finance director or Assistant Executive Director Mark Crosley, Roach said, “I just wanted to document what occurred for the finance director, commissioners, our independent auditors and anyone else that might review the information.”
Employees have also requested and received lump-sum reimbursements for travel more than a year later. Crosley received a $2,283 check in 2008 for a year’s worth of travel expenses. Roach said there is no policy establishing a time frame for when employees must submit reimbursements.

“I don’t think it’s good,” Roach said. “We got on him about it, and now he’s submitting them at least twice if not three or four times a year.”

Robert Weissert, vice president for research and general counsel with Florida Tax Watch, a nonprofit government watchdog group, said FIND should have a policy that dictates when reimbursements must be filed.

“As far as having no policy, that sounds like that would be an opportunity to have a policy in place that would ensure within a reasonable time where verifications can be made and where people could remember their expenses,” he said. “The longer you wait after expenditures are incurred the harder it is to verify things.”

Expense reports for Crosley also were heavily whited out. Roach said Crosley fills out his reports using an ink pen and used liquid paper on several of his reports to correct mistakes.
Weissert said organizations handling taxpayer money should have standard policies in place governing expenses.

“We need to make sure that entities that are being reimbursed for public expenditures are keeping good records,” he said. “Timely and accurate records are important for any organization handling taxpayer dollars. They don’t have to be hard and fast policies, but there should be some standard in place for what should qualify, and it should pass the smell test.”

Are you paying attention to the Florida Inland Navigation District?

You should be.

Created in 1927 by the Florida Legislature, FIND is a little-known, taxpayer-funded agency that possesses considerable resources. Statewide, it collects more than $20 million annually in property taxes and has amassed net assets — in revenue and properties — in excess of $166 million. The agency, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, then uses these resources to maintain and manage the Okeechobee and Intracoastal waterways. The latter is about 400 miles of navigation channel stretching from the southern Georgia border to Miami-Dade County.

Yet, despite FIND’s extensive resources and responsibilities, many Florida residents know little or nothing about the agency. Consequently, it receives little scrutiny from the public. For example, no members of the public spoke during hearings on FIND’s fiscal 2012 budget Sept. 27 at Fellsmere City Hall and Sept. 16 at Delray Beach City Hall.

Here are four reasons, among others, why the district deserves greater attention from taxpayers.

APPOINTED BOARD. The governor appoints the 12-member FIND board of commissioners, one from each county on Florida’s east coast. There are no elections. As a result, there is no recurring public forum — i.e. election — where voters are educated about FIND, its operations and responsibilities, and the individuals that oversee the agency.

Appointed boards, by their very nature, are more secretive than elected boards. Consequently, it takes extra work on the part of taxpayers to familiarize themselves with an appointed board and the agency it oversees.

Furthermore, due to the size of the district, it could take hours to drive to attend a board meeting.

LOSS OF EARMARKS. For years congressional earmarks were used to fund dredging maintenance projects. However, this revenue stream dried up last year when Congress eliminated earmarks. With fewer federal dollars available, counties and municipalities on the Treasure Coast that have relied on federal earmarks to fund dredging projects will be relying more on FIND to assist with such projects. Therefore, the process whereby the agency decides which projects to fund suddenly takes on greater importance.

NO SURPRISES: Dozens of Sebastian homeowners in northern Indian River County say they were surprised to discover earlier this year that FIND is preparing a sediment containment site — for material dredged from the Indian River Lagoon — on 179 acres not far from their homes.

The agency’s long-term plans call for 12 such sediment processing facilities to be built on the Treasure Coast: six in Martin County, three each in St. Lucie and Indian River counties. Property owners throughout our region would do well to learn if any of these facilities are planned in their communities.

IT’S YOUR MONEY: In the past 25 years, two FIND grant programs have given money to more than 860 projects in the district’s 12-county area — at a cost to taxpayers of almost $167 million. These wide-ranging projects include education programs, small dredging projects, marinas, parks, parking lots, boats, boat docks and boardwalks.

Some have questioned whether the money is being distributed fairly among the 12 counties.

It’s your money. You should have an active say in how this state agency is spending it.

To date, the Florida Inland Navigation District has received little scrutiny from the public. This needs to change.

A pair of Treasure Coast state lawmakers contend that the Florida Inland Navigation District — and other special taxing entities — would be held more accountable if voters periodically decided if those districts should keep existing.

And one of them — Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart — would favor giving local governments more say when FIND wants to build storage sites for the sediment it removes from the Intracoastal Waterway’s depths.
Negron and Rep. William Snyder, R-Stuart, both agreed residents who pay into special districts should get to vote every few years whether those entities should keep getting their tax dollars. Or at least, districts should be discontinued, or should “sunset,” if they’re not renewed by the Legislature over a certain time period, Negron and Snyder agreed.

Snyder said he spoke with a representative at the state Auditor General’s office, who said the office only audits districts like FIND for proper bookkeeping, not appropriateness of spending.
“There’s no legislative oversight,” Snyder said. “Having them schedule sunsets or have voter referendums, one of those two is the policy that I would support. That would add the necessary oversight.”
FIND Executive Director David Roach has said the agency welcomes the legislature and Gov. Rick Scott’s scrutiny.

FIND is the state partner of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in dredging and maintaining the Intracoastal, and owns plots of land up and down Florida’s east coast where it stores sediment dredged from the Intracoastal. The agency also hands out grants for various projects promoting access to the Intracoastal — piers, riverwalks and the like — and pays for outreach events along the coast before its commission’s monthly meetings.

Rep. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, cautioned against quick across-the-board changes to districts like FIND, an agency she praised for its economic and recreational contributions for taxpayers. She said each district should be looked at case by case, which Scott has proposed to do during the upcoming session.
“We don’t want to throw out the baby with the bath water,” Harrell said. “If there are things going on in FIND that are inappropriate, let’s look at them, and make sure we make whatever changes are necessary. But I certainly would not have a blanket elimination of them at this point.”

The agency has spent more than $203,000 on travel and meeting expenses over the last two years, sending its 12 commissioners to meetings from Jacksonville to Miami. Commissioners also have traveled to Tallahassee and Washington for lobbying.

Roach said the organization books hotel rooms at $121 a night on average, but some beachfront and Washington reservations cost $250 to $450 a night, agency records show.

“That’s out of line with reasonable business travel,” Negron said.

A group of Indian River County residents is also concerned over a nearby Intracoastal dredging project and a sediment storage and processing facility off U.S. 1 in Sebastian. The $1.6 million dredging is expected to start in late 2012, or in 2013, depending if the federal government helps pay for it, Roach said.
The Concerned Taxpayers of Indian River County members fear the sediment facility will smell, hurt property values and threaten public safety if a major storm breaks the dike and sediment pours out. So they’re asking state lawmakers to give county commissions more say about whether FIND can start building sediment facilities in their backyard.

Negron said he supports more local power over those projects. But his focus is on moving more special districts toward renewal by voter referendum.

“Just as citizens of a county have a to get permission from a government to construct in the county, a special taxing district shouldn’t have carte blanche to do any project it wants inside the boundary of a county,” Negron said.

Rep. Debbie Mayfield, the Vero Beach Republican representing the Sebastian area that hosts the dredged material storage site, cautioned FIND to be careful in its spending, but didn’t go into any specifics.
“FIND, just like every other special district, should be held accountable for how they spend taxpayer money,” Mayfield said. “I remain committed to safeguarding public dollars and ensuring that all governmental entities are properly fulfilling their core missions.  As FIND carries out its dredging responsibilities to ensure that our waterways remain safe and navigable, they need to do so without unduly burdening citizens in the process.”

Roach has defended the agency’s spending. He points out the district spends a small percentage of its budget on administrative costs and travel expenses.

Because of continued federal budget woes, FIND also has paid for more than $69 million in dredging duties since 1997 that are the Army Corps’ full responsibility, FIND documents show. But Negron said he doesn’t fault the agency for doing what is “part of their core mission.”

U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, said it’s a local decision whether or not to pick up the slack for those projects, “given the reality of the current situation” with federal funding issues.

But U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta, stressed that it’s ultimately the Corps’ job.

“Congressman Rooney believes the Army Corps of Engineers has a responsibility to fund and complete waterway projects under its jurisdiction,” Rooney spokesman Michael Mahaffey said. “The decisions regarding funding are made solely by the Army Corps of Engineers, and Congress cannot direct the Corps to fund specific projects under new rules prohibiting earmarks.”

The Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers staff has undertaken an exhaustive examination of the activities and finances of the Florida Inland Navigation District. FIND staff has had contact with about a dozen Scripps employees over a nine-month period and provided thousands of documents, budgets, photos, spreadsheets, collateral material, interviews and more. The scope of the paper’s work is impressive.

Unfortunately, the report’s sensationalized headlines are not reflective of what the reporters actually discovered during the examination. If readers take the time to pore over the extensive list of projects, benefits, and details available in the Scripps reports, the conclusion is unmistakable — FIND’s contributions far outweigh its costs.

Consider these points:

FIND’s actual taxation rate is 34 percent of the allowable rate. In fact, FIND has either lowered the tax rate or kept it stable for 15 years.

FIND manages about 150 projects a year with a six-person staff housed in a very modest office. We spend 98 percent of taxes collected on capital improvements within the district and its communities.

Over the past four years, FIND collected an average of $1.7 million in annual taxes on the Treasure Coast to maintain and enhance an asset that generates about $599 million in local annual sales and provides 7,781 jobs on the Treasure Coast alone.

Studies calculate that if the waterways were not adequately maintained, Treasure Coast residents would lose $114 million in personal income and $640 million in property values.

I know of no other return on investment that comes close to the value FIND’s taxpayers derive from their investment in our waterways.

I hope readers will take the time to visit the Scripps website (findinvestigation.com) and review the list of Treasure Coast projects FIND has invested in over the past several years: dredging, shoreline stabilization, piers, boat ramps, waterfront parks, environmental education centers and exhibits, marinas, boardwalks, and boating safety programs. It would be hard to find a resident that hasn’t enjoyed, utilized or benefitted from these investments.

Scripps reporters noted that FIND spent district funds on community outreach events and commission meeting expenses. The district extends 400 miles from the Florida/Georgia border to south of Miami — a lot of territory to cover. Yet, we meet in every county of our district every year. We feel it’s our obligation to be as accessible as possible and to conduct our business in the sunshine. Our commissioners are also spread out over the length of the state so they have to travel to the meetings. They aren’t compensated for the time they spend on FIND business and they aren’t compensated for the time they spend traveling. We do, however, reimburse their hotel and travel expenses. Some places to stay cost a bit more than others but our average is a reasonable — $126 a night for lodging, and our community outreach events are limited to $25 per person, regardless of venue.

The Scripps report faulted FIND for spending $69 million on projects that were the responsibility of the Army Corps of Engineers. I believe FIND displayed the kind of leadership we are looking for from our government in completing these essential projects. An adequately maintained waterway is crucial to Florida’s economy. At times we chose to ensure that the waterway stayed open and didn’t wait until Uncle Sam was ready to pick up the tab. That’s not always possible but, when it is, we are going to act to ensure Florida has an operational waterway.

Finally, Scripps seems to equate elections with accountability and oversight, suggesting that because FIND’s commissioners are appointed and not elected our agency operates without budget or financial oversight. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our 12 commissioners scrutinize every line of our budget and the law requires that two commissioners approve every expenditure and check. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection reviews the budget, we are audited by an independent certified public accountant, our audits are reviewed by the state auditor general, we advertise and conduct public hearings on the budget and, ultimately, our commissioners answer to the governor — an elected official.
Few agencies offer their constituencies more value for their tax dollar than FIND. FIND is effective, cost-efficient and strives to be accessible to the public, despite daunting geographical challenges. I urge your readers to fully examine our programs by visiting our website, www.aicw.org. In doing so, we feel confident they will take away more than just sensational headlines and come to the unmistakable conclusion that FIND’s contributions far outweigh its minimal costs.

S. Norman Bray is Nassau County representative and chairman of the Florida Inland Navigation District board of directors.