Hawks

In this posting, Philip R. Klein offers little substance but lots of nonsensical opinion:

Stop the frigging presses. Everyone hold on? Maybe we woke up in Candyland this morning - but gezzzz....now all of a sudden we are in the middle of fiscal hawk land? Demanding that budgets be cut and that we have smaller government and calling upon the private sector to pick up the slack?

Hello? Where the did we wake up? Click our heals three times and take us back to Jefferson County please!

Klein presents yet another figure for the potential shortfall between revenue and expenditures in the 2011 Jefferson County budget (emphasis is mine):

We said it to you last week and will say it again this week. Jefferson County Texas is bankrupt. And the real number is going to be $21.5 million. But don't say anything.

If Jefferson County is bankrupt, so must be the State of Texas with its $18 billion budget shortfall. For dimwitted political consultants, that's "billion" with a "b."

On Friday of last week, Philip claimed the shortfall was $13.5 million:

Math - Hmm....13.5 minus 4 million in cuts is.....still 9 million. How is that courthouse security and navy looking now?

On Wednesday of last week, Klein claimed the shortfall was $8 million:

Well - the Review has learned that the smart old guys that watch your money on commissioners court have come up with a plan...uh but wait. Is that $8 million?

By the end of this week, Philip will claim the shortfall is greater than the U.S. deficit.

PRK also presented random quotes from three elected officials taken out of context. I've included the links to the articles below, so that readers can determine the proper context for themselves (the emphasis is Philip's):

FLASHBACK - ELECTION TIME - JANUARY 4, 2004 KFDM THE NEWSLEADER!


Commissioner Mark Domingue:

"Not everything that's happened is their fault but they're gonna have to prove themselves so we can at least break even if not make money at the complex, so there will not be a continuous and significant drain on our county resources." KFDM TV

Commissioner Mark Domingue:

"I think some of the expectations of reduction in force, especially the district attorney's office, our correctional facility and sheriff's office will have a hard time meeting obligations and at the same time cutting costs as drastically as the budget officer programmed."

Only Philip R. Klein would take a quote from this article and not mention the Father of Ford Park, Judge Carl Griffith:

County Judge, Commissioner Answer Questions About Ford Park

Griffith and Domingue disagreed about whether taxpayers should have been able to vote on the entertainment complex.

Griffith says no one could have predicted the economic downturn tied to September 11th.

Domingue says the issue should have gone to the voters.

From the Beaumont Enterprise:

Former Jefferson County Judge Carl Griffith in 1997 was the mastermind behind the entertainment complex.

Four years later, the county issued $55 million in bonds to pay for it. By the time the facility is paid off in 2025, the debt service will push that figure to $127 million.

By the time the facility was finished, the cost had increased to about $75 million without debt service.

In one of his Nitwit Tidbits, Philip wrote this about Carl Griffith at the same time Griffith was selling his boondoggle to the citizens of Jefferson County:

Carl R. Griffith Jr. - Oh boy. Here is our man...The leader of all leaders (and we are serious about that). The guy has his ticket written and the media loves him.

Near the end of Griffith's administration, 14 elected officials refused to participate in a management study, referenced by Klein in this article, when it became obvious that the purpose was to find ways to pay for Griffith's albatross at the expense of other departments. This study was supported by Judge Griffith and funded privately by local businesses. I've often wondered who solicited the money from those local firms that paid for the MGT performance review and how much Philip contributed.

With this perspective, consider these quotes posted by Klein (emphasis is Philip's):

Judge Layne Walker :

Judge Layne Walker of the 252nd District Court has notified the county's purchasing agent that he will not participate in what he calls a "political, overreaching, self-serving maneuver by our county judge to once again deflect the true blame for our county's financial crisis. The purpose of this study is to point fingers at innocent people, thereby shielding himself from the pathetic choices made while serving as county judge."

Walker says he realizes that he is subject to political retribution from Griffith, but believes it's time for people to "stand for what is right, true, and just."
Walker concludes by saying, "the result of the bogus study will be that innocent people will lose their jobs and Griffith will be able to blame the study instead of himself."

District Attorney Tom Maness:

"This is not about the study--it's far from it. There's not an elected official here who wouldn't willingly, assuming they had trust and confidence in the fourth floor, in Judge Griffith and his office, would welcome the study. And I can almost assure you that if Judge LeBlanc were still judge, or Judge Leonard Giblin were still judge, that wouldn't be any problem at all. As a matter of fact, if they decided to do something of this nature, they would call all the elected departments, talk about it, see the best way to do it. I've never been called; I've never been asked my opinion about it. The judge continues to say there's millions of dollars. We'll, he hasn't told me where it is in my shop."

Klein posted only one link in this article, which led readers to the MGT performance review. :

Remember the Management study? You know - this one that predicts what was to come if the county went out of control spending. It was supported by local businesses and did not cost the county a dime. And those sitting in office - 14 elected officials that did not participate because they knew better?

Even the most cursory examination shows Klein hasn't actually read this document. Echoing Judge Layne Walker's comments, the performance review found that under Judge Griffith's administration (emphasis is mine): 

Jefferson County’s revenue growth has been sluggish in recent years, yet its expenditures rose in all but one year since fiscal 1999. Consequently, the county has experienced repeated budget deficits since fiscal 2000.

To finance these deficits, the county has relied heavily on its fund balances. The General Fund balance fell from $25.4 million in fiscal 1999 to $5.1 million in fiscal 2004, a drop of 80 percent. The Government Finance Officers Association recommends that governments maintain an unreserved fund balance of 15 percent of general fund expenditures or two months of general fund operating expenditures.

In addition, Jefferson County’s Enterprise Fund has been operating in the red.

From fiscal 2000 to fiscal 2004, the airport ran a deficit averaging $1.7 million per year, while Ford Park’s deficit ballooned to $3.6 million in fiscal 2004. These deficits are partly financed by transfers from the General Fund, thus increasing its problems.

As shown in another recent article, Klein is clearly confused about the nature of the unreserved balance in the general fund, which he has called the "rainy day fund.  Regarding Judge Griffith's legacy to Jefferson County, the study made these conclusions regarding administration of Ford Park under Judge Carl Griffith.

Shortly after the project began, the nation entered an economic downturn that affected the park’s financial prospects. In addition, the park has been plagued with management problems, including flawed financial projections, poor record-keeping and underestimated funding  requests. The county has not yet developed a long-term strategy for the park.

 Klein mentioned none of this, but instead made this bizarre claim:

This is just too sweet! And there has been only one group that as been warning of this for years - it is us.

Right now there are business leaders that are looking for Carl Griffith to bring us out of this mess. But you voted for it....and you got it.

How's that divorce going?