Commissioner Murman Honors

Indigent Health Care Plan Providers

For the past several years, Hillsborough County has secured millions of dollars in additional federal funds for the hospitals and Federally Qualified Health  Centers (FQHCs) providing services to the HCHCP by participating in the Low Income Pool, Disproportionate Share, State-wide Issues, Buybacks and related intergovernmental transfer (IGT) programs administered by the Agency for Health Care.

At the BOCC Meeting held on November 6, 2013, Commissioner Sandy Murman recognized through proclamation all Hillsborough County Health Care Plan (HCHCP) partner hospitals, networks and ancillary providers for their participation in the innovative and cost effective health care programs for the County’s indigent population, commonly know as the Low Income Pool (LIP).
Participation in these programs has resulted in a return of more than $200 million to our community for state fiscal years 12, 13 and 14.
Commissioner Murman proclaimed November 4, 2013 – November 8, 2013 as Hillsborough County Health Care Plan’s Provider Recognition Week.

To secure this funding, Hillsborough County enters into contracts with AHCA for the LIP programs in which the County agrees to transfer funding to AHCA at levels agreed to by the parties. The source of funding is the Indigent Health Care Trust Fund. In turn, each participating HCHCP hospital and FQHC agree to provide services to the HCHCP at no charge to the County up to the total amount of the IGT transferred by the County on its behalf.

FY14 is the first year that the HCHCP ancillary service providers partnered in the IGT and LIP Programs resulting in a total of approximately $60M dollars in total IGT and LIP Program dollars.
This proclamation action was recommended by the Hillsborough County Health Care Advisory Board (HCAB) to recognize the Hospitals, Networks and Ancillary Providers at their October 18, 2013 meeting.

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Times article on Tampa Bay Water:

Tampa Bay Water votes to settle reservoir suit, pay engineers $21 million in legal fees

CRAIG PITTMANTampa Bay Times

Monday, October 21, 2013 11:59am

After losing both at trial and on appeal, Tampa Bay Water’s board voted 8-0 Monday to end its pursuit of damages from the engineering company that designed its flawed 15.5 billion gallon reservoir.

Instead, the utility will pay HDR Engineering’s legal fees and costs, totaling about $21 million.

“These fees will be paid through funds on hand and they will not directly affect water rates,” Tampa Bay Water spokeswoman Michelle Biddle said in a statement emailed to the Times.

The utility’s board really had no choice after the appeals court decision last month, explained board members Susan Latvala, Charlie Miranda and Sandra Murman.

“There were no other avenues to take,” said Miranda, a Tampa city councilman.

Latvala, a Pinellas County commissioner who chairs the Tampa Bay Water board, said voting to end the suit was “one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to face.” But given what happened in court, she said, “there’s nothing left to do but pay up and move on.”

While Murman agreed, she expressed anger and frustration that HDR would insist on so much money from a government entity. She said that was one of the main reasons for dropping the case: “We can’t afford to pay them any more money.”

HDR chairman George A. Little said he was “pleased by the Tampa Bay Water board’s decision.” However, he said, the five-year court battle “was frustrating for us because we made every attempt to resolve the issue so everyone involved could avoid time consuming and expensive litigation.”

HDR, a Nebraska company, designed the C.W. Bill Young Reservoir and oversaw its construction in Hillsborough County. The project was approved in 1998 with no discussion by the utility’s board. The company the board hired to design it — again, with no discussion or debate — had never worked on a project like it.

The only off-stream reservoir that HDR had worked on before was built for Clinton, Texas — a project the city manager says was “orders of magnitude smaller” than what Tampa Bay Water got.

The job of overseeing the company’s work was assigned to a utility employee who wasn’t a licensed engineer. Meanwhile, state permitting officials from the Department of Environmental Protection had never dealt with a reservoir this big, so they relied on the advice of a consultant who worked for the phosphate industry on smaller dams.

The reservoir — the largest in Florida — opened in June 2005 to store water skimmed from the Alafia River, Hillsborough River and Tampa Bypass Canal. Within months, cracks developed in the earthen embankment surrounding the reservoir. The utility is now spending about $122 million to fix it.

In 2008, Tampa Bay Water sued HDR and two contractors who had worked on the reservoir, saying they should pay for repairs. The contractors settled the claims for $6.75 million, leaving only HDR as the defendant.

Tampa Bay Water initially demanded $225 million from HDR. In 2011 HDR offered $30 million to settle, but Tampa Bay Water officials rejected that.

In April 2012 the case went to trial in federal court. By then Tampa Bay Water had reduced its damage claim to $73 million.

After listening to testimony for a month, the jury took just four hours to find for HDR. The quick verdict marked another public relations setback for Tampa Bay Water, which has seen two of its boldest projects — the reservoir and the Apollo Beach desalination plant — evolve into the source of repeated headaches.

U.S. District Court Judge James Whittemore ruled that HDR deserved $9.2 million in attorneys’ fees and $10.8 million in expenses for defending itself against the lawsuit. Whittemore called the fees “extraordinary” but explained in his 38-page ruling, “This was no ordinary engineering malpractice case.”

In fact, he noted in his ruling, some testimony suggested it might be “the largest engineering professional liability case, in terms of damages sought, ever tried to a jury.”

The utility appealed. But last month three judges with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta issued a ruling rejecting the utility’s arguments that the trial judge had committed a series of errors.

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tribune article on the 5-2 district plan:

Bid for single-member district fails at Hillsborough commission

By Mike Salinero | Tribune Staff
Published: November 6, 2013   |   Updated: November 7, 2013 at 06:57 AM

TAMPA — Norma Reno struggled to regain her composure Wednesday after Hillsborough County Commissioners killed her hopes of adding a Hispanic-leaning commission district through a voter referendum.

“We knew this didn’t mean we would get a district,” Reno said, wiping away tears, “but we’ve been fighting so hard. This was one more step we needed.”

Four Republican board members _ Ken Hagan, Sandy Murman, Victor Crist and Al Higginbotham _voted against putting a redistricting proposal on the November 2014 ballot. The proposal, by Commissioner Les Miller, would have added a fifth single-member district to the commission, eliminating one of the three at-large commission seats, which are elected in a countywide vote.

Miller needed five votes to send the district proposal to the voters but got only three _ his own and those of fellow Democrat Kevin Beckner and Republican Mark Sharpe.

“I can’t for the life of me understand why this commission will not allow the people that elect you to decide how to elect … to have what they want,” an exasperated Miller said as he saw his chance for passing the measure evaporate.

It was the second time Miller had tried and failed to get the measure passed. In 2011, commissioners voted 5-2 against even holding a public hearing on the issue. Both times, Hispanic groups rallied their supporters to attend public hearings, but to no avail.

Hispanics hoped Miller’s proposal would lead to a district with 35 percent or more of Spanish-heritage residents who could coalesce to elect one of their own. The ordinance the commission voted down included language about increasing the “opportunity for representation …that reflects the diversity of the citizenry of the commission.”

Reno, who said she is a Republican, blamed the defeat on the tea party’s influence and the conservatism of the board’s GOP members.

“They’re afraid of change; they listen to the party,” Reno said. “They are thinking about votes. Maybe when we start voting, they’ll listen to us.”

Several commissioners said they disagreed with a provision in the ordinance calling for the city-county Planning Commission to draw the new voting lines should voters approve the change. Beckner pushed to have the provision inserted to prevent the kind of political gerrymandering he said Republican commissioners engaged in after the 2010 census.

Murman said she didn’t believe it was the commission’s job to draw new districts so soon after the 2011 redistricting process. She said any proposal to add or subtract districts should come from the county’s charter review commission.

“I believe … if you keep going outside your process, it will really dilute our authority and power up here,” Murman said.

Other commissioners voting no said they wanted to preserve the present system that allows every voter to cast ballots for a majority of the commission _ one commissioner who lives in their district and three members who are elected in a countywide vote.

The vote came after commissioners heard nearly an hour’s worth of public comments. More than 20 people, mostly Hispanics, spoke in favor of putting the district proposal on the ballot. Many speakers pointed out that Hispanics are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the county, making up 25 percent of the population. Yet there are no Latino commissioners in Hillsborough County.

“How are you going to know about the real issues of 25 percent of the population if they are not properly represented?” asked Maria Asuncion Lopez, president of the Hispanic Alliance of Tampa Bay.

A few speakers opposed the idea of carving out voting districts to favor any ethnic or racial group.

“This board at times seems preoccupied with discriminating policies that identify us as anything but citizens, that set us apart from one another, serve only to divide us,” said Ken Roberts. “I think we should avoid them.”

Miller said he originally proposed the change to create smaller districts that would bring county government closer to the people. Each of the four district commissioners now represents 307,000 people. Adding a district would reduce the number of people represented by a commissioner to 247,000.

Edwin Enciso, who spoke in favor of Miller’s proposal, added some perspective. He said each member of the U.S.House of Representatives represents 721,000 people, less than the 1.2 million represented by each of the at-large commissioners.

“These at-large commissioners can be elected without any Hispanic support,” Enciso said after the vote. “That’s the reason we want them broken up – we want to have representatives closer to where we live.”

After the redistricting proposal was defeated, commissioners unanimously passed a motion by Miller to have the county’s charter review board take up the redistricting proposal when it meets again in 2015. The charter board, by a two-thirds majority, can put charter changes on the ballot.

Commissioner Murman mentioned in this Times article on the renaming of ELAPP for Jan Platt:

Hillsborough commissioners name environmental lands program after Jan Platt

BILL VARIAN, Tampa Bay Times

October 16, 2013

TAMPA — The Hillsborough County Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to name its popular land-preservation program for its originator, former board member Jan Platt.

Known as “Commissioner No” for her stubborn refusal to bend to developers and other elected officials, Platt, 77, came up with the idea for the Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program in the 1980s. It was approved by voters 25 years ago and has since preserved more than 61,000 acres of county land at a cost of about $254 million, with two-thirds coming from property taxes.

Commissioners showered Platt with praise for her perseverance and dedication as a public servant. They also dismissed criticism from a few environmentalists who said the idea was hatched in haste and that the program shouldn’t be politicized by attaching one person’s name to it.

Commissioner Kevin Beckner acknowledged that the proposal he floated last month was spontaneous. It came as the board was celebrating the 25th anniversary of ELAPP, and Beckner said he realized during that presentation that the program and environmental stewardship are among Platt’s most enduring legacies.

“My suggestion did not come out of nowhere,” he said. “It came from the heart. And sometimes when you’re sitting up here on this dais and you hear things as they move forward, there are things that come to your heart and you just believe are just the right thing to do.”

A small crowd of Platt’s friends and family, including her husband, son, and former commissioner, state Sen. and University of South Florida president Betty Castor were on hand in support. So were several current and past county employees.

“This means so much to me,” Platt told commissioners. “I just thank you so much for recognizing the importance of this program.”

One by one, each of the seven county commissioners took a moment to praise Platt both for coming up with the idea for ELAPP and for her years of public service, as a commissioner and with the Tampa City Council. At a time when politics nationally is defined by partisan gridlock, it was notable that the praise for Platt, a Democrat, was offered in equal measure by the board’s five Republican members.

“At a time when I think the public confidence in our elected officials is so low, to have individuals who are willing to get into the arena and, irrespective of party affiliation or your position, conduct yourself with such honor, integrity and character at all times and walk away with your head held high and people respecting you says so much about you,” said Republican Commissioner Mark Sharpe.

Republican Commissioner Sandra Murman, the lone woman on the board, praised Platt as a role model for young females.

And Commission Chairman Ken Hagan, also a Republican, dismissed concerns raised by some that attaching a name to the program could cause people to waver in supporting it. He noted that about 80 percent of voters in 2008 authorized an extension of ELAPP.

“Anyone that would not support ELAPP simply because of who the program is named after is likely among the 20 percent that voted against it anyway,” Hagan said. “There is no one more deserving of this honor than Jan.”

Playing on her nickname, Commissioner Victor Crist asked County Attorney Chip Fletcher if board members could each vote no but have those votes each recorded as a yes as a salute. As Fletcher looked around uncomfortably and other board members glanced at Crist sideways, he withdrew the suggestion.

Commissioners presented Platt with a mounted placard to memorialize the occasion.

It credits her with helping preserve thousands of acres for future generations to enjoy. It concluded: “You have provided a legacy of serene places to visit, glorifying the natural beauty of Hillsborough County.”

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Observer/Current article on Amazon in South County:

Without a word, Amazon making huge waves in South Hillsborough

MITCH TRAPHAGEN, The Current

October 17, 2013

The world’s largest Internet retailer, Amazon.com, is making huge waves in Ruskin and throughout the Tampa Bay area without saying a word.

According to Hillsborough County records, a company named RELP Tampa, LLC, a Delaware corporation with the same mailing address as USAA Real Estate Company, purchased 80 acres of mixed use, commercial property in Ruskin from South Shore Corporate Park, LLC, a company affiliated with property developer Ryan Cos. U.S., Inc. of Minneapolis late last week for $14.6 million. The property is located near I-75 in the vicinity of 30th Street NE between State Road 674 and 19th Avenue NE. The Hillsborough Community College Ruskin campus is also located in the immediate area.

The Tampa Bay Business Journal reported last month that USAA Real Estate Company has developed seven Amazon distribution centers around the country over the past two years.

Amazon has not confirmed or denied the 80-acre purchase in Ruskin is related to a proposed distribution center, which the company refers to as fulfillment centers. The company has not issued a public statement on the matter since earlier this summer after coming to an agreement with Governor Rick Scott to invest $300 million and bring at least 3,000 jobs to the state starting in 2014.

Requests for comment by The Current went largely unanswered with one Amazon media representative replying that the request hand been “passed along to the right team” within the company.

The fulfillment center is expected to be in excess of one million square feet and employ 1,000 people. Also earlier this summer, the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners voted to waive half of Amazon’s property tax bill for the first seven years and approved paying $1.1 million in incentives for the company to include at least 375 “high paying jobs”, offering salaries in excess of $47,500.

“The South Shore area has been a diamond in the rough for a long time,” said Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandra Murman. “Someone has finally found the treasure here in Amazon’s decision to locate its distribution center in Ruskin. It’s going to mean economic development and more jobs for an area that so desperately needed a jump-start after the recession. It’s a perfect fit, and it couldn’t happen in a better place than South County.”

With Amazon expected to begin business operations in Florida in any of several possible sites around the state in 2014, residents will, at some as of yet undetermined point, begin paying Florida sales tax on Amazon purchases, which are currently not subject to sales tax. That issue, however, may soon be rendered moot as Congress inches ever closer to an Internet sales tax, requiring all but the smallest Internet merchants to collect state and local taxes. On the positive side for Amazon customers, however, is the possibility of same-day service on Amazon orders, a service that the company offers in eleven other cities around the country. Subscribers to Amazon Prime, a $79 annual membership plan, pay as little as $3.99 per item for same day delivery in those markets.

Amazon, founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in a Seattle garage, went online in 1995. Today the company operates 33 fulfillment centers in the United States with at least two more expected to go online in the coming months. Amazon has nearly 40 other fulfillment centers around the world. The company employs approximately 100,000 full and part-time employees, not including seasonal employees, and reported $61.1 billion in 2012 revenues.

Commissioner Murman mentioned and quoted in this Tribune Editorial on Amazon:

October 11, 2013

TBO.com

As far as economic news in Hillsborough County is concerned, it doesn’t get much better than this.

By all indications, online retailer Amazon.com has chosen a site in Ruskin to build and operate a giant warehouse operation that will employ as many as 1,000 people, a third of them for annual salaries averaging nearly $50,000. The facility is expected to generate millions of dollars a year in local property taxes.

In addition to the local economic windfall, the state will also benefit by collecting the 6 percent sales tax on purchases made by Amazon’s customers in Florida.

County Commissioner Sandra Murman announced Thursday that the Seattle-based retailer has signed a long-term lease on the land where a 1-mllion-square foot warehouse will be built, and that construction will soon begin.

Amazon’s interest in Hillsborough was revealed in June, when Gov. Rick Scott announced the retailer was promising to invest $300 million by building facilities in the state that would employ 3,000 workers.

It appears Hillsborough hit the jackpot. Amazon will spend $200 million building its assembly and distribution center in Ruskin, where a third of those 3,000 workers will be employed. A smaller operation is also expected to open in Lakeland.

The deal represents the best possible use of economic incentives to create jobs and stimulate a local economy.

To lure Amazon to Ruskin, Hillsborough County commissioners agreed to exempt nearly $1 million in property taxes over the first seven years of its operations. That represents about half of the anticipated annual property tax bill. The county is also contributing $225,000 toward a package of incentives involving local and state money.

Plenty has been written about wasteful incentives given to companies that fail to deliver jobs. But Amazon is a proven retail giant that can be expected to contribute to the economy for years to come.

Critics also question whether the sales tax that will be assessed against online Amazon purchases in the state represents a tax increase for Floridians. Far from it. All online sales in the state should be assessed a sales tax, just as purchases from brick-and-mortar stores in the state are assessed.

In her announcement, Murman said the Amazon deal “is bigger than the Super Bowl, a National Convention or the Olympics.”

We’re not sure how valid those comparisons might be, but we are certain that landing Amazon is a major boost to a county badly damaged by the housing meltdown and weary from the lingering effects of the recession.

Commissioner Murman quoted in this 10News article on Amazon’s impact on South Hillsborough County:

Amazon closes deal on Ruskin site

1:56 PM, Oct 10, 2013

10 News Staff

Tampa, Florida — In an official announcement early Thursday morning, developer Ryan Companies US, Inc. closed on the sale of the land in Ruskin to USAA which will become the future location of an Amazon mega-warehouse fulfillment center.

USAA and Amazon have signed a long-term lease and construction on the site will start immediately.

Commissioner Sandy Murman stated in a release Wednesday the new Amazon Fulfillment Center in Ruskin will create 375 new quality jobs with average annual wages of at least 115% of the state’s average wage.

According to County Economic Development staff, the Fulfillment Center is expected to generate more than 1,000 permanent jobs, including the 375 jobs mentioned above, and create hundreds of additional seasonal temporary employment opportunities.

Commissioner Murman’s office says the package also indicates that the improvements and equipment required for this project will result in Amazon making or causing to be made through a third party an investment of approximately $200 million.

“This is bigger than landing the Super Bowl, a National Convention or the Olympics,” said Commissioner Murman, who represents Ruskin. “Because this is bringing more than 1,000 permanent jobs to South Hillsborough County, with nearly that many seasonal jobs every year, along with the construction jobs It’s a mega-storm of growth that’s hitting our county with feeder bands that will create economic growth all over this area.”

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.