On 10.06.11, In Blog, By Murman

Demorris A. Lee, St. Petersburg Times
Thursday, October 6, 2011

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/hillsborough-sheriff-warns-internet-sweepstakes-cafes-to-fly-right/1195463

In joining a crackdown already under way in neighboring counties, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is warning owners of Internet sweepstakes cafes to stop any illegal gambling or risk prosecution.

In a letter dated Oct. 3, the Sheriff’s Office writes to owners that it is “obligated to investigate all illegal activities occurring within our jurisdiction, including illegal gambling activities.”

The letter states that “according to our understanding of your operation, you are conducting business activities in violation” of state gambling laws.

The letters come as Hillsborough County commissioners are set to meet next week to take their own steps to regulate the cafes.

Sweepstakes cafes have been allowed to operate freely in Hillsborough, while in Pinellas and Pasco counties, Sheriffs Jim Coats and Chris Nocco have shut down such cafes and arrested owners.

In both Pinellas and Pasco, the sheriffs began their enforcement campaigns against the cafes with similar letters of warning. Coats and Nocco contend that the cafes foster illegal gambling.

Larry McKinnon, a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, said Wednesday that the letters sent this week give owners the opportunity to make sure their businesses operate legally.

“If they are unclear about what the law says, then they should consult an attorney or the State Attorney’s Office for clarification,” McKinnon said.

The number of Internet sweepstakes cafes has soared in the Tampa Bay area recently.

Sweepstakes cafe customers purchase Internet time that they use to access casino-style games on cafe computers. Points won in the games can be redeemed for cash in the cafes.

Last month, Hillsborough County commissioners voted unanimously to direct staffers to draft an ordinance banning simulated gambling devices. The ban could exempt nonprofit groups.

Commissioners have scheduled a workshop for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday to discuss regulating the cafes. If they can agree on language for an ordinance, a public hearing will be held Oct. 19.

Commissioner Sandy Murman, who wants the establishments banned, said there are at least 25 Internet sweepstakes cafes operating in unincorporated Hillsborough.

“The Sheriff’s Office is doing the right thing,” Murman said of the letters. “They are supposed to stop crime and illegal activity.”

The letters are arriving at cafes days before commissioners discuss local regulations, but Murman said the two events are not related.

“I don’t think anyone is operating on a timeline because of the ordinance we are proposing,” Murman said. “The workshop will allow both sides to present their case.”

Nancee Laursen, owner of the Enless II sweepstakes cafe on W Hillsborough Avenue, received one of the letters. She said she is running a legal business.

“I’m going to wait and see what happens,” Laursen said. “The fact is, it’s not gambling. If they are going to investigate, they should come into my store and let us know they are here so I can explain it to them. It’s completely black and white. It’s not gambling.”

But area law enforcement agencies point to Florida gambling statute 849.16, which states in part that any device is considered a slot machine — illegal in Florida except where specifically allowed — if it operates “as a result of the insertion of any piece of money, coin or other object” and if the user, because of “any element of chance,” receives anything of value.

Sweepstakes cafe proponents point to a different state statute on game promotions when they argue their cafes are legal. They say they are merely using sweepstakes games to promote their businesses.

A Pinellas cafe owner is challenging Coats’ decision to raid and close her Palm Harbor business. A federal court hearing in Tampa is scheduled for Oct. 14.

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Platt Street to Close for 120 Days

On 09.27.11, In Blog, By Murman

Posted: 4:00 AM

  • By: Heather Gordon

Hillsborough County officials will hold a meeting Tuesday to discuss the upcoming closure of the Platt Street Bridge in downtown Tampa.

District 1 County Commissioner Sandra L. Murman and other city and county staff will be leading the Community Information Open House Meeting beginning at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Freedman Tennis Court Center at 59 Columbia Drive, Davis Islands.

At the Open House, citizens will be able to hear a briefing and visit information stations to find alternate commuting options and to provide comment.

The Platt Street Bridge will be closed beginning Monday, October 3, and is scheduled to remain closed for 105 days. Officials say the closure is necessary as part of the required rehabilitation of the bridge to allow the contractor to open the drawbridge and perform replacement work on its components. The full project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2012.

For more information on Alternate Routes, call the City of Tampa at (813) 274-8333.

For more information on the Platt St. Bridge Project, call Hillsborough County at (813) 635-5400.

Detailed information can be found on online at www.hillsboroughcounty.org/publicworks/traffic/platt.

Read more: http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_tampa/platt-street-bridge-to-close-for-105-days#ixzz1Z9m2yFcE

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Wainio contract at Port of Tampa extended until 2014

On 09.20.11, In Blog, By Murman

Date: Tuesday, September 20, 2011, 1:32pm EDT

Mark Holan

Staff Writer – Tampa Bay Business Journal

The Tampa Port Authority    Tampa Port Authority Latest from The Business Journals CSX, Kinder Morgan team up for ethanol hub at Port of TampaCSX, Kinder Morgan team up for ethanol hub at Port of TampaTampa Port Authority to discuss director’s contract Follow this company board has extended the tenure of port director Richard Wainio until March 2014, despite criticism from some port tenants and concerns the agency lacks an adequate executive evaluation process.

Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandra Murman and new board member Patrick H. Allman, general manager of Odyssey Manufacturing Co., voted against the extension. They favored a one-year deal.

Wainio was hired in 2005 and is paid $251,000 annually. Compensation for the extension remains to be negotiated.

Allman pointed to the change of leadership at Tampa International Airport    Tampa International Airport Latest from The Business Journals VSPC begins ‘Dolphin Tale’ marketing blitzZink to head communications at Tampa International AirportAirfares slated to rise this fall Follow this company as an example of what he would like to see at the port. He called Wainio “an able leader and a good steward” of the port, but said there should more vision and better communication with port tenants.

Murman called for a more detailed and substantial evaluation form to measure the director’s performance, which the board agreed it would update by the end of the year.

Still unclear is whether the board will hire an outside firm to create the new form, or use human resource officials at the county and city of Tampa to do the work at no expense to the port.

Wainio’s contract was set to expire in March and would have renewed automatically for one year without board action.

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and commissioners Lawrence Shipp, Stephen W. Swindal and William A. Brown supported the two-year extension. Commissioner Carl Lindell, who gave Wainio a strong written evaluation, was absent from the meeting.

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Davis Islands, Harbour Island residents decry plan for Platt Street Bridge project

On 08.26.11, In Blog, By Murman

By Aubrey Whelan, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Friday, August 26, 2011

St. Pete Times

http://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/roads/davis-islands-harbour-island-residents-decry-plan-for-platt-street-bridge/1187801

 

DOWNTOWN — The plan to close the dilapidated Platt Street Bridge for much-needed repairs has been on the table for months now, county officials say.

But time hasn’t eased the frustration residents of Davis Islands and Harbour Island feel over the project that will eliminate a major link to and from downtown for 105 days, some time in early October.

They say the city hasn’t provided enough options for diverting traffic away from the bridge, contending that the closing will create a near-constant gridlock in and around the Platt Street area.

“Hopefully this (traffic plan) is a work in progress,” Davis Islands resident Joe Fontana said at an open house this week hosted by County Commissioner Sandy Murman. “But this is the same as nine months ago. That’s extremely inefficient.”

One resident said the traffic plan made her feel “claustrophobic,” while others expressed concerns about access for emergency vehicles in the area. They’re also worried that cars leaving from Tampa General Hospital on Davis Islands and St. John’s Episcopal Church School in Hyde Park — which send employees and students home around the same time — will further clog the area.

City transportation officials say the plan is a tentative one and are still looking for suggestions from residents as the project draws closer to its start date.

City transportation manager Jean Dorzback said while the traffic situation in and around Platt Street isn’t ideal, the city will “deal with it as best as we can.”

In part, the current plan will divert neighborhood traffic crossing the Hillsborough River onto Kennedy Boulevard and Franklin Street. Other alternatives will detour drivers onto Verne Street and Plant Avenue, which will soon allow three lanes of traffic through.

Commuters will be encouraged to take the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway across town to avoid Bayshore Boulevard. The Tampa Police Department will station officers at key intersections to direct traffic during the first few days of the bridge closure, and the city plans to post 30 electronic message boards around the area to warn drivers.

The county, which owns the bridge and is overseeing the $13.8 million project, is offering monetary incentives to its contractors to finish the job on time — $10,000 per day if the bridge is completed up to 20 days in advance and $10,000 penalties for every day past the 105-day completion window. The project is part of ongoing repairs to the bridge that began in January and have caused lane closures along the way.

But no matter what, officials say, residents will have to deal with occasionally frustrating traffic.

“The first few days are going to be awful,” said Martin Stone, the planning director of the state Expressway Authority. He was at Monday’s open house, handing out free SunPasses to help residents prepare for the months to come.

Despite all their planning, officials say they still expect some confusion in October.

“We’ve been promoting this for months now,” said Shannon Edge, the head of the city’s neighborhood and community relations office. “People aren’t going to realize it’s actually closed until the day of.”

Aubrey Whelan can be reached at (813) 226-3446 or awhelan@sptimes.com

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Commission takes first step to add after-school rec programs

On 08.25.11, In Blog, By Murman

By TBO.com
Published: August 24, 2011
Updated: August 24, 2011 – 5:08 PM

 

Tampa — Hillsborough County’s after-school program may get a reprieve.

Commissioners agreed unanimously this afternoon to have county officials draw up a plan that would add 19 parks that would provide recreational programs after school – more than the 11 regional centers commissioners had approved for their 2012 budget after agreeing to discontinue full-time staffing at 31 recreation centers.

County officials will come back to the commission on Sept. 8 with standards to determine the success of the program – including having a minimum of 25 children per site — and how they will communicate to parents that the program, which they were told was being discontinued, is back on.

Under the plan, commissioners would receive a 6-month report on how the program is performing and would re-evaluate the program after the end of the school year, in time to inform parents so they can make plans before the start of the next school year.

The maximum cost for attending the program would be reduced from $48 to $38 with a $20 fee for children who meet income guidelines for free or reduced cost school lunches. Commissioner Ken Hagan, who proposed continuing the after-school program at 30 recreation centers, said lowering the fee will attract more participants.

County administrators and parks director Mark Thornton have argued the current program is too expensive at $7.5 million, and declining enrollment has exacerbated the problem. Participation has shrunk to about 1,900 kids from 5,600 enrollees in 2008. The slide started after commissioners approved a sliding fee scale for what had been a free program.

Hagan argued that if the county can increase numbers, the program will be self-sufficient.

But commissioners Kevin Beckner, Sandy Murman and chairman Al Higginbotham wanted some benchmarks to determine whether the plug should be pulled on the program.

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Hillsborough to draw up law banning sweepstakes cafes

On 08.17.11, In Blog, By Murman

By MIKE SALINERO | The Tampa Tribune
Published: August 17, 2011
Updated: August 17, 2011 – 10:30 PM

TAMPA 

 

Usually one of the calmer, more-demure Hillsborough County commissioners, Sandy Murman broke out of character Wednesday when a fellow board member suggested delaying an ordinance to shut down internet sweepstakes cafés.

Murman made the motion to ban the cafés, which she described as illegal gambling operations that feature computerized slot machines. The county sheriff’s office also supports a ban.

But Commissioner Victor Crist, raising the specter of lawsuits by the café owners, urged caution and suggested the county appoint a work group that included sweepstakes café owners to study the issue.

“I am totally surprised at what’s come out of your mouth,” Murman almost shouted at Crist, who served with her in the Florida Legislature. She pointed out that Crist had served for years on the state Senate Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations.

“You can’t sit at the table and try to work out a consensus with people that promote illegal gambling,” she said.

After long debate, Crist withdrew his motion and the board voted 7-0 to have the county attorney draw up an ordinance banning the cafés. A public hearing on the matter will be held sometime in coming months.

The cafés have proliferated in Hillsborough as adjoining counties have moved to shut them down. Murman said there are now 25 operating in the unincorporated areas of the county, and an unknown number in Tampa.

The businesses, which often locate in strip malls, sell internet time on computers. Patrons get phone cards that allow them to participate in sweepstakes contests that are just like playing a slot machine on a computer.

Chris Brown, a lawyer with the sheriff’s office, said the video sweepstakes games meet the state’s legal definition of slot machines, which are largely prohibited in Florida.

“They are illegal gambling,” Brown said.

But the cafés have persisted because of the ambiguity of state gambling law, Brown said. The law’s loopholes make it difficult to successfully prosecute café owners, who often fight back with civil lawsuits.

Defenders of the cafés say they are no different than the sweepstake cards that some businesses give to customers who buy something.

Jacksonville attorney Kelly B. Mathis, representing a not-for-profit called Allied Veterans, said Brown mislead the commission about the legality of the cafés.

“No judge has ever held that they are illegal, that they’re slot machines,” Mathis said after the meeting. Mathis said the veterans group, which operates about 40 internet cafés in Florida, would welcome “reasonable regulation.”

Commissioner Mark Sharp asked whether the board should wait to see if the Legislature passes clarifying legislation to the gambling statute next year. But Commissioner Kevin Beckner, citing the Legislature’s failure to deal with personal injury protection insurance fraud, nixed the idea.

“We need to protect our own community and not wait for Tallahassee to act,” Beckner said. “We have that responsibility as legislators up here to do what we feel are in the best interest of our community.”

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After confusion, Tampa and Hillsborough officials try to improve economic incentive process

On 08.02.11, In Blog, By Murman

By Richard Danielson and Bill Varian, Times Staff Writers 

In Print: Tuesday, August 2, 2011

TAMPA — Last week’s confusion over a $1.2 million incentive package for Pricewaterhouse­Coopers had local officials talking Monday about creating a process that is more clear, consistent and unhurried.

“This last one did not go as smoothly as everyone would like,” said Bob McDonaugh, Tampa’s acting economic development administrator.

So officials met to discuss ways to refine the process for the future.

On July 25, several days after the Tampa City Council and Hillsborough County Commission approved the incentives, a top PricewaterhouseCoop­ers executive said the firm never considered moving its operating center out of Tampa.

That disclosure surprised several council members and commissioners who said they were led to believe that a then-unnamed financial services firm needed incentives to keep 1,633 jobs in Tampa.

State law allows the identities of companies to remain confidential while local officials negotiate incentives, but PricewaterhouseCoop­ers identified itself as the company after the subsidies were approved.

At Monday’s meeting, officials from the city and county met with executives from the nonprofit Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp. and came up with at least four potential improvements:

• Giving city and county elected officials the same information in a standard format.

• Putting such requests on regular meeting agendas, giving elected officials time to review them in advance, instead of walking them on to the agendas just a day or two before the meeting as happened with the PricewaterhouseCoopers package.

• Having a staff member from the Economic Development Corp. on hand to answer questions. (EDC representatives were at the County Commission’s meeting, but didn’t speak.)

• Having the Economic Development Corp. provide elected officials with a briefing on the economic development process and how it works.

Those steps would help, City Council member Mary Mulhern said, but they wouldn’t have necessarily given elected officials the information they should have had on this project.

“We still don’t know whether they were planning to move or not,” said Mulhern, who has said that elected officials were misled.

Mulhern said local officials also need to work through other questions, including whether they should even offer incentives to companies for retaining existing jobs — as opposed to creating new ones — and whether the identities of the companies should remain confidential.

The City Council has asked its staff for a report on the process used to consider the incentive package. On Wednesday, the County Commission is expected to discuss the Pricewaterhouse­Coopers project at the request of Commissioner Sandra Murman.

After Monday’s meeting, county chief financial administrator Bonnie Wise would not say whether there will be a recommendation to proceed with the subsidy.

“Part of the problem is that we’re still under a confidentiality agreement right now,” she said.

“I think where we ended up is: This is still a good project, still a good company, good jobs.”

McDonaugh agreed, saying the proposal requires Pricewat­erhouseCoopers to invest in a new building with an estimated cost of $78 million to receive the incentives. Not only that, but the particulars of the incentives will come back in a detailed agreement for another vote.

The firm plans to move into the building, being constructed in West Shore, in 2013.

McDonaugh noted the city wouldn’t pay any incentives until 2017.

“We would have three or four years of property taxes before spending the first nickel,” he said. “The taxpayers are protected.”

Without saying the process broke down in this case, Wise said she expects officials involved in Monday’s meeting will sit down again at some point.

“We all want to coordinate and communicate better, which I think is always a good thing,” she said. “There’s always room for improvement.”

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Tale of Two Republicans manifested at HART meeting

On 08.01.11, In Blog, By Murman

Commissioner Murman mentioned in this Creative Loafing article on HART:

Posted by Mitch Perry on Mon, Aug 1, 2011 at 11:46 AM

As we’ve noted on various occasions, last November’s rejection of a transit tax in Hillsborough County not only killed the possibility of a light rail system being built anytime soon, but nine months later, there aren’t any plans now over the next 10 years to revisit the issue.

However, members who serve on Hillsborough County’s transit agency, HART, have said that what they can do for now is to concentrate on what they do best – efficient bus service.

But when it came time on Monday to vote to approve a maximum millage rate that the board will consider, which meant voting for a minimal increase in taxes to alleviate a large reduction in service, one Hillsborough County Republican chose to eschew the no-taxes mantra of his party and supported the modest measure, and one did not.

The millage increase would go from .4682 to .5. When the issue came before the board two months ago, both Sandy Murman and Mark Sharpe voted against it.

Murman said again Monday that she couldn’t support the raise, saying she would look like a “hypocrite” after supporting a decrease in the millage last week with her position on the County Commission. “I think we have to dig a little deeper,” she said, adding that asking all of the taxpayers in Hillsborough to raise their millage when only a small percentage utilize their services would be unfair.

But commissioner Kevin Beckner warned that a failure to raise the millage would interfere with the stated goal of the board to increase its basic services, not cut them. He then asked Katharine Eagan, the chief operating officer for HART, what would happen if the board ultimately voted not to increase the millage?

She recited a litany of service cuts that would include, eliminating weekend service in south Hillsborough on weekends, no service out to Brandon hospital on weekends, no Christmas or Thanksgiving service, and fewer rides from Brandon to MacDill Air Force Base.

HART has already cut 1.4 percent of its bus routes since March of 2010, but another reduction would eliminate two to three percent of current routes, or roughly twice as much as what has already been cut.

It was also revealed that the millage increase, which would add $1.8 million to HART’s coffers, would break down to about 41 cents per month to Hillsborough citizens via their property taxes (that’s based on the average household value of $90,420 in 2012).

After listening to Eagan, Hillsborough County Commissioner Mark Sharpe said that he had changed his mind, and would now vote for the tax increase. Calling Commissioner a “kindred spirit,” Sharpe said he understood where she was coming from, but said he couldn’t go along with her in not approving the raise, adding,”My concern is we’d be entering into a death spiral, we’d be fulfilling a prophesy,” by eliminating service routes.

Today’s vote was on setting the maximum millage, but not the final vote locking in the new millage rates.

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Times: Parks Budget scales back programs

On 07.28.11, In Blog, By Murman

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Times article on Parks budget:

Hillsborough commissioners approve controversial scaling back of after-school programs

By Bill Varian, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Thursday, July 28, 2011

http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/hillsborough-commissioners-approve-controversial-scaling-back-of/1182693

TAMPA — A divided Hillsborough County Commission voted Wednesday to dramatically scale back after-school parks programs, a budget cut that has drawn spirited condemnation from parents.

But commissioners left open the prospect of revisiting the issue, planning to talk next month about whether they can keep the programs operating at more parks than were approved Wednesday.

“I think we’re probably far away from a resolution on this,” said Commissioner Sandra Murman, saying she thinks a broader board discussion on how it serves children is needed.

The vote came as commissioners met to make some of the main unresolved budget decisions needed to set a tentative property tax rate for next fiscal year. Commissioners agreed to shave a tiny fraction from the current rate, reducing the county’s portion of the tax bill on a $200,000 home with a $50,000 homestead exemption by 72 cents.

The rate tentatively set for unincorporated areas is about $10.76 for every $1,000 of taxable value. Commissioners can lower the rate before September when they pass a final budget, but can’t raise it.

The parks dispute has represented one of the thornier decisions on their plate as they wrestle with a $3 billion budget.

For now, the commission vote means that after-school programs operating at 42 county parks will be consolidated at 11 regional recreation centers. The vote was 4-3, with Commissioners Ken Hagan, Les Miller and Victor Crist opposed.

Prevailing commissioners said the county can no longer afford the $7.5 million service that has seen its enrollment dwindle since fees were introduced in an attempt to recoup costs.

Hagan said he agreed. He nevertheless is floating a proposal to keep the programs operating at 30 parks. He also wants to see an analysis of whether fees could be lowered to draw more kids and bring in more paying customers.

“It would be fiscally irresponsible to ignore the reality,” Hagan said. “I think we can do better.”

Under the plan approved Wednesday, children who don’t live near one of the regional parks would be encouraged to use the HOST program, an after-school program offered at more than 130 elementary and middle schools. It costs the same as the county service, $48 per week for each child with discounts available to low-income families.

The county used to offer its after-school programs for free. When property tax revenue began declining in recent years, county officials targeted the programs for elimination as a luxury they could no longer justify.

Parents rallied on their behalf, agreeing to fees that were implemented and then increased. Enrollment declined from a high of 6,200 in 2007 to 1,800 currently, with average weekly fees collected per child at $23 after low-income discounts.

At a public hearing last week, the after-school program was the prevailing topic. Among other things, speakers argued that the county service, with multiple structured offerings from athletics to crafts and tutoring, is far superior to the school district’s HOST program.

Gwen Luney, an assistant superintendent for Hillsborough County schools who oversees the program, noted it has 8,000 children enrolled. She said supervised outdoor activities are offered as well as homework assistance and access to school media centers.

“We try to make sure we work with every parent … to give (them) a safe, wholesome opportunity for their children,” Luney said.

Bill Varian can be reached at (813) 226-3387 or varian@sptimes.com.

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63 New Jobs and Counting

On 06.21.11, In Blog, By Murman

Commissioner Murman lauded in this Tribune editorial on her small business job-creation program:

Editorial: Public money for private sector jobs

Editorial

By TBO.COM
Published: June 20, 2011

It’s a dicey proposition anytime government tries to get involved in creating private sector jobs.

It’s one thing to hire private companies to build roads, buildings and other necessary public projects; it’s another to use tax dollars to actually subsidize private jobs.

Under such scenarios, businesses that receive government aid may benefit, but competitors can suffer, even end up eliminating jobs and making the net effect on the economy negligible.

That is why government usually should avoid tinkering with the marketplace.

But with the county suffering an unemployment rate near 12 percent, it’s understandable that commissioners don’t want to simply sit on their hands.

And the county’s Small Business Job Creation Program provides a cautious but meaningful way to encourage local firms to hire more workers.

It won’t solve the jobless crisis, and county officials should monitor its long-term impact, particularly whether the jobs it creates last and whether it gives some firms an unfair advantage over others.

But the signs are encouraging that it is indeed giving private businesses an incentive to hire more workers.

Hillsborough Commissioner Sandy Murman, who championed the plan, says it has resulted in plans for at least 63 jobs. “That is like bringing a corporation to town,” she says.

The commission approved the program in March, providing $500,000 that will be used to reimburse small businesses for a portion of the salaries they pay new workers over three months. Businesses are limited to subsidies for three workers, and there is a maximum payout of $3,900 per employee. Only firms with 10 employees or fewer are eligible.

Participating companies must be pre-approved. They must be Hillsborough-based and have been in business two years. Workers must be Hillsborough residents. The firms do not have to agree to keep the workers beyond the three months, and they need only pay minimum wage. But they are not reimbursed by the county until the end of the three months, which ensures the jobs actually are filled and that no abuse occurs.

Murman reports an enthusiastic response. Close to 30 businesses have applied, and just a little more than half the funds remain. City Council member Lisa Montelione understandably would like the city to launch a similar effort.

With the city’s budget shortfall, it may be best to see exactly how the county’s experience plays out.

This little program is not going to suddenly ignite the economy, but it does give businesses that are gaining traction reason to invest in growth. Murman, her fellow commissioners and retiring Economic Development Director Gene Gray deserve credit for fashioning a simple, accountable way to give business a hand, without getting government’s fingerprints all over the place.

 

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