Commissioner Murman quoted in this Times article on Civil Service reform:

 

Hillsborough County Commission advances Civil Service reform

BILL VARIAN, Tampa Bay Times

October 2, 2013

TAMPA — Hillsborough County Civil Service, which sets workplace rules for local government employees, could be reduced to more of a grievance committee under a proposal that commissioners agreed Wednesday to pursue.

The County Commission voted unanimously to support a proposed bill that would be submitted to the legislative delegation this winter allowing government agencies to opt out of the program.

Currently, the Civil Service Board performs much of the human resources work for county government, constitutional offices such as the tax collector and some independent agencies such as the Tampa Sports Authority. In that role, it publicizes job openings at the county, screens applicants, sets job classifications and establishes pay ranges for 21 separate agencies.

It’s the only one of its kind in Florida, created by a special act of the Legislature in 1955.

County officials for years have complained that it adds an unnecessary level of bureaucracy when it comes to hiring employees, promoting the good ones and getting rid of those who don’t meet expectations. Commissioner Sandra Murman asked her colleagues to support proposing legislation that would make participation by local governments a choice, at least as it relates to the agency’s human resources role.

“We really need to simplify,” Murman said. “This is another layer of government that I believe we have outgrown.”

Under the proposal, Civil Service would maintain its role of reviewing employee demotions, suspensions and dismissals, something that many government workers value as a layer of protection against getting disciplined for political reasons.

Local government agencies could choose to retain some or all of Civil Service’s programs, under a “conceptual outline” of a bill that has been shared with commissioners. Or they could seek bids for parts of the human resources work and allow Civil Service to compete.

Tax Collector Doug Belden, an early participant in talks that began in August to modify Civil Service, said he may ask Civil Service to continue testing applicants for vacancies within his office. But when it comes to setting pay ranges and job duties, he said he believes he should be in charge of that.

“We don’t need a regulatory agency,” Belden said before the meeting. “We need more of a support agency.”

He held up an audit of the agency dating to 1999 that found many problems with Civil Service and noted that there has not been an audit since, despite indications from the earlier one on a need for change.

County Administrator Mike Merrill said Civil Service, under director Dane Petersen, has made many changes that have been helpful in recent years as the county dealt with layoffs and had to move workers into different jobs.

“But I think he’s pretty much done everything he can do under the statute and the rules,” he said of Peterson before the meeting. “I think the next step is to do what we’re proposing to do, which is to let everyone choose what services are valuable to us.”

Scott Trepina, chairman of the appointed Civil Service Board, told commissioners he thought the step they were taking bucks a trend in corporate America of consolidating back-office operations. And he said that could drive up the costs of human resources as each agency moves to create its own personnel office.

“This resolution will add additional expenses to the taxpayers of Hillsborough County and bloat the administrative hierarchies of the agencies who decide to opt out,” he said.

Merrill and Belden both said they believe it could actually drive down expenses by allowing the county to test the cost of Civil Service against the price of doing the work internally or hiring private companies to, say, handle testing for job candidates.

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tribune article on the Civil Service Board:

 

Hillsborough moves to reduce role of Civil Service Board

Mike Salinero | Tribune Staff

October 2, 2013

 

TAMPA — Hillsborough County commissioners moved Wednesday to reduce the role of the county’s Civil Service Board in classifying workers and setting pay scales.

The commissioners voted unanimously to present a bill to the county’s local legislative delegation on Dec. 2 that would restructure Civil Service. The proposed changes would allow the 21 public agencies that now use the board’s services to perform those themselves or contract for some or all of them, said County Administrator Mike Merrill.

For instance, Civil Service recruits and tests prospective employees for county agencies. The agency processes about 115,000 job applications and fills 1,300 jobs a year.

“A number of things they do routinely, if the Legislature passes this, any of us could pick or choose from them to continue or not,” Merrill said after the meeting.

If the bill passes, Civil Service would continue its role in refereeing workplace grievances, such as firings, demotions and disciplinary actions, Merrill said.

The state Legislature created the county’s Civil Service board in the 1950s as part of a nationwide movement to provide continuity in government workplaces by protecting workers from wholesale firings after new politicians take power.

But County Administrator Mike Merrill and constitutional officers such as the tax collector and clerk of court say the agency’s complex job classification formulas prevent supervisors from giving workers new duties or raising their pay above a certain grade without permission from the Civil Service Board.

Commissioner Sandy Murman said the proposed changes make sense as public agencies compete with the private sector for the best workers.

“Business is getting better; they come and cherry pick our best workers,” Murman said. “We start this cycle over and over. We need to be able to retain these people and pay them equal to what’s going on in the marketplace.”

Scott Strepina, chairman of the Civil Service Board, defended the agency, comparing it to recent efforts by private corporations to centralize all their “back office” operations such as human resources and accounting. County agencies already have such an operation with highly skilled personnel in Civil Service, Strepina said.

“Opening it up so agencies can opt out of the services provided by the Civil Service Board will shift the work load from a centralized department with the skills and expertise to handle this, out to agencies to develop their own solutions,” Strepina said.

“It will be a great expense to build out these teams, including staffs, managers, etc., to duplicate the benefits provided by civil service,” he said.

County Tax Collector Doug Belden disagreed, saying he knows best what kind of jobs his employees should do and what they should be paid. The Civil Service bureaucracy has hindered his efforts to make the Tax Collector’s Office more efficient while holding on to workers who take as much as a year to train, Belden said.

“I have always taken care of my employees and I think I’ve always looked for ways to do things better, faster and cheaper,” Belden said.

If the Legislature adopts the changes, county agencies could opt out of Civil Service starting in October 2014.

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Observer article on the South County Job Fair:

 

South County Job Fair targets local unemployed

By Kevin Brady

September 25, 2013

Hundreds of locals are expected to turn out this week for a job fair aimed at relieving local unemployment.

The South County Job Fair is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to noon, Sept. 27 at the Hillsborough Community College South Shore campus, 551 24th St. NE in Ruskin. The job fair is being held in association with the Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance, Hillsborough Community College South Shore campus and Hillsborough County.

“With the challenges that we are all facing with the economy, the most important thing that we can do in county government is to help our unemployed or under employed citizens to find jobs,” said Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandy Murman who is hosting the fair.

“When more people are working, more people are saving and spending money at local businesses, and the economy will continue to improve,” said Murman.

There are few areas in the county that have been hit harder by unemployment than South County, Murman believes.

“It’s critical that we get people back to work,” said Murman whose district  includes large swathes of South County west of Interstate 75 as well as sections of northwest Hillsborough. She was first elected in 2010.

As well as founding the South County Job Fair, where more than 30 employers and vendors met with nearly 250 job seekers last year, Murman also spearheaded the Hillsborough County Small Business Job Creation Program, which has put more than 115 people back to work and given nearly 70 of these businesses more resources to help keep their doors open.

Tanya Doran knows the unemployment picture in South County all too well.

“There are still quite a few people out there looking for work. We have people who regularly come seeking employment and these are people with great qualifications,” said the executive director of the Greater Riverview Chamber of Commerce.

While the chamber encourages local job-seekers to use their networks of family, friends and former coworkers, and directs them to local job websites, a trip to the Workforce Alliance is also suggested. And not only for potential employees.

“We highly encourage employers who have openings or may have openings in the next few months to work with the Alliance. They not only have training programs but they also offer incentives for employers. They do a lot of prescreening, which helps with the cost of hiring.”

Around 35 employers including the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue and Ashley Furniture are expected to turn out for the job fair, according to Mark Douglass, chief operating officer for the Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance.

“We are expecting a good turnout as long as the weather allows,” Douglass said.

Hillsborough County’s unemployment rate currently stands at 6.7 percent, down from 8.8 percent at the same time last year, according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 7 percent, down 1.6 percentage points from 8.6 percent a year ago. The U.S. unemployment rate was 7.3 percent in August. Florida’s unemployment rate was below the national rate for the sixth consecutive month.

 

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Patch.com article on the South County Job Fair:

 

News | Government

South County Job Fair Coming; Exhibitors Sought, Public Welcome

The fair is in association with the Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance, Hillsborough Community College SouthShore and Hillsborough County government.

Posted by Linda Chion Kenney (Editor) , September 21, 2013 at 03:32 AM

Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandy Murman is set to host a South County Job Fair on Friday, Sept. 27, from 8:30 a.m. to noon at Hillsborough Community College’s SouthShore Campus in Ruskin.

The event is being held in association with the Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance, Hillsborough Community College SouthShore and Hillsborough County. Employers are encouraged to participate; job fair exhibitor forms are online.

The campus is at 551 24th Street, N.E. in Ruskin.

“With the challenges that we are all facing with the economy, the most important thing that we can do in county government is to help our unemployed or under employed citizens to find jobs,” Commissioner Murman said in an event announcement. “When more people are working, more people are saving and spending money at local businesses, and the economy continues to improve.”

The announcement contends that no area “has been hit harder” in the commissioner’s district than South Hillsborough County.

“It’s still critical that we get people back to work,” Murman said.

The South County Job Fair is free and open to the public. For more information call David Robinson at Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance at 813-930-7868.

Learn more about Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandra L. Murman by visiting her Commissioner page online.

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Times article on Homeless Recovery:

 

Hillsborough official: 200 live in squalor paid for by public

By Will Hobson and Bill Varian, Times Staff Writers

Wednesday, September 18, 2013 2:25pm

 

TAMPA — Former Tampa Port Authority Chairman William “Hoe” Brown isn’t the only landlord who got county money to house the poor in substandard living conditions.

 

There still are about 200 people receiving public rental assistance through HillsboroughCounty’s Homeless Recovery agency while living in unacceptable housing, County Administrator Mike Merrill told commissioners Wednesday.

 

“It’s systemic,” Merrill said of problems plaguing the county agency.

 

Commissioners voted to have the county’s internal auditor examine Homeless Recovery, which had sent clients and more than $600,000 to Brown since 1998, the Tampa Bay Times reported Sept. 8.

 

Brown, a prominent Republican fundraiser, resigned as port chairman in July after several Times articles about squalid conditions and criminal activity in a makeshift mobile home park and extended-stay motel next to his SeminoleHeights office.

 

While Homeless Recovery managers denied referring clients to Brown, hundreds of emails showed the agency routinely sent clients to Brown for years.

 

County officials said they were unable Wednesday to produce a list of the other properties housing Homeless Recovery clients in poor conditions.

 

“It’s not something I want this organization to stand for,” Merrill said of the county subsidizing inhumane living conditions. “We will correct this.”

 

That correction could mean farming out the rental assistance program to nonprofits, Merrill said. Monday, he met with representatives from several nonprofits to discuss how to improve operations for Homeless Recovery, which has an annual budget of about $1.2 million, more than $800,000 of it in county money.

 

“They clearly are turning the ship in the right direction,” Tim Marks, president of Metropolitan Ministries, said Wednesday.

 

Merrill outlined for commissioners other changes made to Homeless Recovery. Its manager, Jim Silverwood, resigned Sept. 9. Silverwood’s supervisor, Sam Walthour, submitted a letter of resignation last week, then retracted it. He was fired Friday, county spokeswoman Lori Hudson said.

 

While Walthour and Silverwood told the Times that Homeless Recovery didn’t have the funding to inspect properties where its clients live, Merrill said they never told that to him.

 

“Prior management had numerous opportunities to tell me they needed additional resources,” Merrill said. “We needed a completely different direction.”

 

Commissioners praised Merrill’s quick action while assailing the treatment of some of the county’s most vulnerable residents.

 

Commissioner Kevin Beckner called it “indefensible” for county tax dollars to pay for the poor to live in “deplorable conditions.”

 

“This issue is not only troubling, it is to me personally an embarrassment,” added Commissioner Al Higginbotham.

 

Commissioner Sandra Murman said she hopes something good can come from the audit. “I think we have an opportunity to turn this black eye around and be a real shining star,” she said.

 

Wednesday’s meeting provided the first public discussion of Homeless Recovery by county officials, several of whom have declined repeated requests for interviews by the Times during the last two weeks. Among those who have not returned calls: Ven Thomas, the department director who formerly oversaw Homeless Recovery; Paula Harvey, the new department director overseeing the agency; commission Chairman Ken Hagan; and Commissioner Mark Sharpe.

 

Brown’s name was not mentioned at the meeting Wednesday. The GOP fundraiser has donated money to all five Republican county commissioners, election records show. He gave Hagan $1,000 combined over two campaigns; $250 to Murman in 2010; $1,500 combined over two campaigns to Higginbotham; $250 to Victor Crist in 2010; and $1,750 over three campaigns to Sharpe.

 

Before the discussion ended, Murman consoled Thomas, the department director who no longer oversees Homeless Recovery.

 

“These things happen,” she said. “Just look at this as a building block to where we’re going to go in the future.”

 

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Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tribune article on enterprise zones:

 

Hillsborough leaders divided on stretching USF enterprise zone

By Mike Salinero | Tribune Staff

Published: September 18, 2013

 

TAMPA — A proposal to stretch a redevelopment area around the University of South Florida all the way down to southern HillsboroughCounty is creating friction on the county commission.

 

A proposed amendment to the boundaries of the University Area Enterprise Zone would extend its borders to include PalmRiver and Gibsonton, according to county commissioners who have seen the maps. The enterprise zone now encompasses 3.1 square miles bordered by Fowler and Bearss avenues, Interstate 275 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. Up to three noncontiguous areas can be added to an existing enterprise zone as long the total area isn’t more than 20 square miles.

 

The state government designates enterprise zones based on the median family income in an area. The zones are intended create jobs in blighted, economically disadvantaged areas. The University Area Enterprise Zone was created in February 2003.

 

CountyCommissioner Victor Crist, who, as a state legislator sponsored the bill to create the enterprise zone in the University Area, said he opposes enlarging the boundaries, especially pushing them down into south county. A larger area would dilute the amount of money the zone gets from the state, he said.

 

“Those dollars haven’t changed in years at the state level,” Crist said. He compared enlarging the boundaries to take in south county to “dropping a drop of chlorine in a 60,000 gallon pool.”

 

Crist blamed the proposed boundary changes on unnamed single-member district commissioners who want resources from the University Area Enterprise Zone to benefit their constituents. The commissioners who represent Palm River and south county are Les Miller and Sandy Murman.

 

“There are two options: go back to the state and get new legislation to create a new enterprise zone — that’s hard to do — or expand current enterprise zones in areas where you want to do it,” Crist said. “This should have been done as a separate enterprise zone altogether.”

 

Murman, who favors the new borders, said she explored the possibility of creating a new enterprise zone in Gibsonton and Ruskin, but the median family income there wasn’t low enough.

 

“I think we need to be very careful of concentrating all our resources in one area,” Murman said. “I think it’s important to look at the big picture, the whole county, and make sure all impoverished areas have the opportunity to have development and services.”

 

The county is planning community meetings on the proposal in the University Area, PalmRiver, Gibsonton and the 56th Street area, according to an e-mail sent Tuesday by Lynn Schultz, a member of the county Economic Development Department.

 

Schultz said a legal advertisement outlining the proposed boundary amendment was to be published in today’s edition of The Tampa Tribune. The matter will go to the county commission Dec. 18, Schultz said.

 

###

 

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tribune article on Homeless Recovery program:

 

Social services director fired

By Mike Salinero | Tribune Staff

Published: September 19, 2013

 

TAMPA — Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill continued his shake up of the county’s Homeless Recovery Program this week in the wake of a scandal that saw hundreds of homeless clients referred to substandard housing.

 

Merrill told county commissioners Wednesday he had fired Sam Walthour, director of the county’s social services division, which included Homeless Recovery. Last week, the homeless program’s manager, James Silverwood, resigned under pressure.

 

Walthour, who was making $100,651 a year, could not be reached for comment.

 

The men’s departure followed the disclosure earlier this month that the county had paid more than $625,000 to Republican fundraiser and former Tampa Port Authority chairman William “Hoe” Brown to house homeless clients in rundown apartments.

 

Though the program is still being investigated, Merrill said it was apparent “most clients were being placed in substandard housing.” He blamed poor leadership and a lack of effective policies and procedures for the suffering endured by many county clients.

 

“That clearly was not something that I approve of; it’s not something that I want this organization to stand for,” Merrill said. “So I do apologize to those clients and to the community for that.”

 

Merrill said he has ordered the county’s internal auditor to investigate Homeless Recovery and other rental assistance programs for fraud and other abuses. Meantime, code enforcement officers are checking rental properties the program used to ensure they are up to code.

 

“We’ll have a good clean list to start from,” Merrill said after the meeting.

 

The county also doubled the amount of money that will go toward a month’s rent for a family of four to $1,200. Most of the money comes from county property taxes.

 

The Homeless Recovery Program is now operating under the Affordable Housing department, but Merrill said he’d like to see the county quit operating the program altogether. On Monday, he met with representatives of some of the county’s largest social service providers, including Metropolitan Ministries, Salvation Army, and the Homeless Coalition.

 

At some point, Merrill said, he will bring commissioners a plan to contract out homeless services to the private, nonprofit providers. As it does with other nonprofit organizations, the county would perform yearly audits of the agencies chosen to handle housing for the homeless.

 

Ideally, temporary housing would be one component of getting homeless people on their feet, said Commissioner Sandy Murman, who supports Merrill’s outsourcing plan. It should be incorporated with food, clothing, job training and other assistance, Murman said.

 

“This is the time for us to break out of our shell and go talk to these other people,” Murman said. “They’re the experts.”

 

Commissioners generally supported Merrill’s plans and complimented him for taking quick action to revamp the troubled homeless program. However, Commissioner Kevin Beckner said he wanted the internal auditor to widen the scope of her inquiry to include other county programs.

 

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Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tampa Tribune article on Port buying Channelside:

 

Port Authority To Buy Out Channelside Center

Richard Mullins, Tampa Tribune Staff

September 10, 2013

The Tampa Port Authority late Tuesday approved a plan to buy out the troubled Channelside retail and shopping complex for just under $6 million in cash, potentially ending years of legal and political wrangling over the nearly vacant property.

If all goes as planned — and several legal steps must be sorted out — the port authority could take full possession of Channelside in the next three to eight weeks. That, in turn, could not only open up the property for a serious face-lift, but also trigger wider redevelopment of the whole area for a potential baseball stadium site, according to several port authority board members.

“This is a fresh start,” said Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn after the Tuesday night vote. “This lets us take control of our own destiny.”

Once the check clears and the property is truly under the port authority’s control, Buckhorn said, the port will likely call on the development community to bring their ideas and resources to remake Channelside into a prosperous venue again.

Despite being at the doorstep of the cruise ship ticketing venue, and next door to the Florida Aquarium, the Channelside complex is more than half vacant, and the second floor mezzanine only has one operating restaurant that sits next to several empty nightclubs and a closed-down movie theater complex.

The port authority board met in private Tuesday to consider the proposed settlement, then emerged only for a few minutes to unanimously approve the deal and take questions from the media.

That deal involves a broad legal settlement between the Port of Tampa and the Irish Bank Resolution Corp., which still holds a multi-million mortgage on the property above ground. The deal calls for the port authority to pay $5.75 million in cash from the port’s own roughly $45 million annual operating budget. That budget is funded by fees and rents from port operations, several port authority board members hastened to mention, and not from taxpayer dollars or government funds.

Port authority lawyers will now file notice of the settlement with several courts that have various actions related to Channelside.

The move could potentially end a long and tangled drama over Channelside, which was originally built as an entertainment complex for millions of cruise ship passengers. Unfortunately, it was built with a closed-off design, and the property struggled over several years, ultimately becoming a mostly empty hulk.

The property fell into disrepair and bankruptcy, but because the port authority owns the land underneath, the port was dragged into legal fights as the above-ground structure is backed by a mortgage from an Irish-based bank. That bank collapsed, further complicating legal matters.

At one point, several outside bidders sought to invest in the property and take over operations, including the Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik, but he later backed out of consideration.

The Irish bank subsequently filed for bankruptcy protection connected to the Channelside property, leading some port commissioners to wonder if the port authority should simply make an offer to buy out the bank and take total control of the property.

According to port counsel Charles Klug, the deal also clears another potentially tricky legal hurdle. A partnership between the developer pair of Liberty Group and Convergent Capital had previously tried to acquire control of Channelside by buying out the Irish bank’s interest but were rebuffed by the port authority for offering what port officials said was an inferior offer. Now, Klug said, the Irish Bank has essentially paid off that group to release their interests.

As for Channelside’s immediate future this summer, Buckhorn ruled out the possibility of demolishing the site and starting over. Instead, he suggested the new deal would open the door for development across the wider neighborhood.

Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandra Murman said after the vote that she hoped the move would “kickstart more development, maybe a baseball stadium. It’s like a lawnmower, once you get the engine started, it just goes.”

 

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tribune article on the Family Justice Center:

 

Hillsborough commissioners deny funding for Family Justice Center

Mike Salinero | Tribune Staff

August 21, 2013

TAMPA — The Family Justice Center, a nonprofit agency that helped victims of domestic violence, failed to get emergency funding from the Hillsborough County Commission today following a scathing county audit.

Instead, commissioners decided to keep the $100,000 requested by the center, and reallocate it later to some other services for domestic violence victims.

“We are not abandoning domestic violence victims at this board; we want to help,” said Commissioner Sandy Murman, who asked for the audit.

Murman said domestic violence continues to be a “rampant siuation.”

Commissioners made the decision after hearing a synopsis of the audit from Tom Fesler, director of business and support services.

Fesler said the Family Justice Center had maxed out a $50,000 line of credit and used it for operating expenses. The agency currently has no employees, he said.

The agency was rocked when the Children’s Board of Hillsborough County cut the center’s funding by half, to $300,000. Since then, the agency had been surviving on borrowed money.

“When they received notice of the reduced funding from the Children’s Board, we expected to see cost-cutting measures or some additional efforts to provide added revenue,” Fesler said. “While we did see some cost-cutting, it was not significant enough to survive into the future.”

Fesler said the center has a “very large lease” for space at the Floriland Mall that consumed 35 percent of the agency’s budget. The Children’s Board has agreed to increase funding to other agencies that will try fill any gap left by the Family Justice Center’s closing.

“I think the bottom line today, the important thing the report points out is that the service gaps have been filled from our standpoint,” Fesler said.

The Family Justice Center had acted as a clearinghouse, connecting domestic violence victims with needed services, as well as assessing the danger the victims faced and counseling them. Opening in 2006 as part of a federal program, the agency had helped 80 to 90 women a month get protective injunctions against abusive spouses or other family members.

Nikki Daniels, executive director of the Family Justice Center, could not be reached for comment.

Commissioner Kevin Beckner asked County Administrator Mike Merrill to have county staff bring back options for reappropriating the $100,000 in a way that would address domestic violence. Beckner said the Family Justice Center had done good work, but was unsustainable financially.

 

“I would strongly encourage them to reorganize and come up with a future plan to compete (for funding) again,” Beckner said.

Commissioner Murman mentioned in this Observer article on SouthShore new teachers breakfast:

 

SouthShore Chamber welcomes new teachers

21/08/2013

Mitch_Traphagen, Observer News

 

RUSKIN — The SouthShore Chamber of Commerce held its annual New Teacher Breakfast at Destiny Church in Ruskin on August 16, with 145 teachers in attendance, all new to South County schools, and 210 people in total, representing area officials including Hillsborough County Sheriff Office Major Ron Hartley, Chris Farkas, District 8 Area Supervisor, Dr. Alan Witt, President of the Hillsborough Community College SouthShore Campus, school administrators and chamber members.

 

Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandra Murman also attended the breakfast, bringing 150 sackpacks, canvas cinch-bag backpacks, each with a plastic zipper pencil pouch that included crayons, a pencil, a pen, a plastic ruler, a pencil sharpener and a large pink eraser. Murman received the sackpacks from the Office Depot Foundation’s “National Backpack Program,” which has helped more than three million children since 2001, by donating sackpacks and backpacks to students across the nation and the world.

 

In a press release, Murman stated that she is working with the SouthShore Chamber to identify schools and teachers in the area that would most benefit from receiving the sackpacks.

 

Chamber members also stepped forward to help students in need, providing everything from classroom supplies to clothing items for children. Additionally, the chamber once again held a shoe collection for children in need of such basic supplies. Last year the organization collected 75 pairs of shoes with a goal of beating that this year with 100 pairs of shoes. According to chamber executive director Melanie Morrison, the chamber exceeded that goal by collecting 112 pairs, all of which were donated last weekend to the Back to School Coalition of Hillsborough County.

 

The chamber also donated checks to the Parent Teacher Association to ensure that every student in South County will be able to purchase at least two books when the book fair comes to their respective schools.

 

Each teacher in attendance was presented with a gift bag containing school supplies and special gift baskets were also presented to four area elementary schools. The special gift baskets included toiletries, socks, underwear, and shorts, along with gift cards from Staples and from Barnes & Noble.

 

According to the results of the June 2013 Horace Mann Educator Advisory Panel Survey, the majority of teachers will spend up to $400 of their own money for needed school supplies in the coming year. Those supplies will range from essential items needed by students who can’t afford them to supplies needed for classroom operation and projects. In the survey, 38 percent of teachers responding stated that more than two classroom projects had to be abandoned due to lack of funds. The State of Florida does reimburse teachers for a fraction of what the typical teacher will spend on supplies for the coming year.

 

As a result, the support of the chamber in such events has an immediate and significant impact for both teachers and their students. In the Horace Mann survey, 90 percent of teachers considered community support and involvement in schools to be either critical or very critical.

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Fox13 News story on Emergency Notifications:

 

In 2013, are emergency sirens enough?

Posted: Aug 21, 2013 9:06 PM EDT Updated: Aug 21, 2013 9:07 PM EDT

By: Kristin Wright, FOX 13 News

TAMPA (FOX 13) –

A CSX train derailed at the Port of Tampa in July, spilling more than 4,000 gallons of highly flammable ethanol. The derailment raised concerns over safety at the port, as more people and businesses move downtown.

Then two weeks later, a tank at the port caught fire. Sulfur dioxide was released, potentially causing respiratory problems for people living nearby.

The city and county sent out a “shelter in place” alert, essentially telling people to stay inside.

“People don’t know what that means,” said Port Authority board member and Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandy Murman. She says the port needs a better system to warn people.

The “shelter in place” message only went out to those signed up for emergency notifications.

“I drove down Davis Blvd. There’s a lot of outdoor eating places and people are just outside, like nothing has happened and I said ‘we really need to fix this communications gap,'” Murman said.

The following week, the very same tank caught fire again. As far as hazards go, sulfur dioxide is not at the top of the scale. But ammonia, which is stored at the port, is. Had ammonia been leaking, sirens would have blared.

Downtown Resident David Noetzel says he has never even heard the sirens being tested, much less know what to do it he heard it.

“Get in the car and go?” said Noetzel. “There should be something universal in place, probably, because if something did happen over there, it would be more immediate than say a hurricane, where everyone has a week to get to the grocery store and prepare.”

The area around the port is rapidly changing, as more people move downtown. Murman says now is a good time to make better use of technology to communicate when an emergency threatens.

“We all know that a lot has changed from just blowing horns,” Murman said.

Murman says involved agencies, including The Hillsborough County Emergency Operations Center, Tampa Fire Rescue, and Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, are working together to improve communication systems.

Read more: http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/23224339/2013/08/21/in-2013-are-emergency-sirens-enough#ixzz2chzjHRht
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