Miles to Go

Melissa Dean’s front page story concerning county commissioners and travel budgets is worth further exploration on several fronts.

Change the Law

State lawmakers should change a law that elevates elected officials above those in the private sector.

When a county commissioner can sign off on and submit travel reimbursement for September 2010 in November of 2009 there is something fundamentally wrong.

The section of Florida Statute 112 that pertains to travel states that the Florida Legislature sought to bring uniformity and eliminate disparity in how mileage was paid for “official business.”

But allowing an elected official to arbitrarily mark down a “typical” month in travel on “official business” for an entire year and submit said sheet month after month, year after year, as is reflected in the travel records of county commissioners, offers a lack of accountability as much it does uniformity.

How many businesses allow their employees to submit mileage reimbursement months in advance? And to simply turn in the identical ledger of trips taken and mileage accrued?

The guess is the answers would be zero.

And county commissioners are employees – of the taxpayers.

There is simple way to bring uniformity to in-county travel mileage reimbursement.

All submit mileage on a weekly, monthly, quarterly basis based on actual miles traveled, providing odometer readings.

Sounds uniform and would tweak a law that puts local elected officials on a pedestal above the private sector.

Ethics

The central flaw in the law is underscored in the case of Commissioners Carmen McLemore and Billy Traylor.

That their travel on “official” business would not have been altered since they entered into employment with BP is on its face illogical and yet they turn in the same mileage sheet.

They may very well be able to meet the needs of their districts while working full-time for BP. The majority of the board has a day job.

However, the travel reimbursement for Mr. McLemore and Mr. Traylor also compounds the perceptions of conflict in their employ with BP.

Hundreds remain unemployed in the county, many of whom went through the required training and received contract numbers for work on the beaches or the water and yet remain out of work.

 Mr. McLemore and Mr. Traylor not only earn $26,500 as commissioners, along with retirement and health benefits, they are banking good dollars – at least $1,200 a day for the former, at least $12 an hour for the latter – while working for BP, and are nearly bringing in another paycheck in mileage.

Last year, each pocketed more than $10,000 alone for in-county mileage reimbursement.

And nothing changes when they go to work for BP.

Maybe it is all legal and passes muster with the auditor, but does that pass the bar on leadership and service to the people?

And if it did, why was the response of three of the four commissioners interviewed for the story to hang up the phone when questioned about mileage, showing the same disdain for questioning as they do every two weeks in the commission meeting room?

Budgeting

Alarming above all else is what the travel reimbursements for county commissioners say about the county budget process.

This is a board that has over and over again talked about how difficult a budget year it will be, how important it is to be bare bones and cut every penny.

Yet, commissioners started this fiscal year over budget on their in-county travel. Those duplicated mileage sheets submitted individually or in some cases in bulk add up to more money than commissioners budgeted.

Mr. Traylor commented that he didn’t even know his travel budget.

Another example of the talk and actions of commissioners so often diverging when it comes to taxpayer dollars, joining items such as legal advertising which dings taxpayers for an additional $250 for every printed ad that goes out of county.

As long as the bottom line balances, what difference does it make?

The difference is that commissioners have yet to show the fiscal discipline that tough times scream for, the kind of discipline that has been forced down the throat of every business in the private sector.

And if there are dollars in sufficient quantity to do so much shifting around, questions arise about how thin the budget really is.

Commissioner Warren Yeager commented that this was a unique year when the county requested an early start to scallop harvest season.

Commissioners should follow suit and eliminate in-county mileage reimbursement for the coming fiscal year.

Yes, it is just $30,000-$40,000, but it could serve as a sign that commissioners are serious about giving back what they have taken from taxpayers since the heyday of the real estate market.

Tough times call for leadership. That leadership has to start somewhere. Miles traveled seems like a perfect place to start.