The Alborn Foundation

Master Gardeners show up!

2012-01-27T09:55:00.000-05:00

Coffee and Doughnuts, Bacon and Eggs, Chocolate Chip Cookies and milk... some things just belong together.

Cliff Fairweather (pictured), Environmental Education Coordinator and Naturalist, Audubon Society of Northern Virginia (ASNV) and Nancy Berlin, ANR Program Technician, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Virginia Cooperative Extension-Prince William (VCE-PW) came to the same conclusion about the ASNV's Audubon at Home (AAH) Ambassador Program and VCE-PW's Master Gardener Program.

To leverage the infrastructure, brand, and common skills of both organizations Cliff and Nancy (with the enthusiastic approval of Terry Liercke, ASNV Board of Directors and Paige Thacker, the Unit Coordinator and ANR Extension Agent, Agriculture and Natural Resources) decided to join forces.

Earlier this week (25 January, 2012), Cliff Fairweather took the first step in making this partnership real by briefing VCE-PW Master Gardeners on how to become ASNV AAH Ambassadors. The ASNV Board of Directors gave VCE-PW Master Gardeners full credit for their education only requiring this course on the Audubon at Home Program and a field visit to a client to become Ambassadors. Thirty-one of those Master Gardeners signed up.

Both programs emphasize water quality and watershed protection, native plants, environmental education, and conservation. Both offer volunteer driven services to Virginia residents. Both teach homeowners things they can do to improve the environment and the value of their property.

This new team of Master Gardener/ASNV at Home Ambassadors are now in the process of completing the certification process via a field visit to a client. ASNV wildlife consulting and he AAH Wildlife Sanctuary program will be one more tool in the Ambassador certified VCE-PW Master Gardener's tool box when they visit client sites as part of their best yard or storm water management visits.

We don't always have to wait for the Government to tell us what we need to do to make our community, our County, and our World a better place. This exciting new program will let you make a difference. I encourage you to check it out.

For more information, check the VCE-PW or ASNV websites. Now... get out there... and plant something!

by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

I am happy to share my message with like minded bloggers. Anyone is welcome to republish my blog pieces if they do so in whole, with links intact, and give full credit to my byline which is: by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

2012-01-22T17:00:00.000-05:00

I'm taking a break from blogging and Facebook for a while to work on my book. For those of you who know where and how to find me, I'll be here.

I'll be back.

Al

Tall Oaks III... sometimes it's best to "do nothing"

2012-01-10T15:54:00.000-05:00

A lot of groups we didn't chose and people we didn't vote for got the Town of Occoquan into this mess... and it's a mess. Tonight, we see a Republic in action. We elected eight people to represent our interests. I believe Mayor Porta and the people of the Town of Occoquan have made a case that the Tall Oaks III project, as currently proposed, is a risk to their safety.

Our Government, as Chairman Stewart correctly points out often, is first and foremost responsible for its citizens public safety. This is a public safety issue. The risks have been identified but not mitigated to the satisfaction of the Mayor of Occoquan, its Town Council, its citizens, and many residents of Prince William County.

This is a risk our County shouldn't assume. We've seen Occoquan flood before. We still have the Holly Acres flood fresh in our mind. I would suggest we should learn from these experiences and apply the lessons learned to the Tall Oaks III decision.

Sometimes, "do nothing" is the best alternative. I strongly recommend that you, the folks who found your way to this blog, attend tonight's (7:00 Tuesday evening, 10 Jan 2012 BOCS meeting) and tell our Board of County Supervisors to chose the "do nothing" alternative for this land (for now) and disapprove the Tall Oaks III rezoning request before them this evening.

I'll be there.

Why should you care about Tall Oaks III

2012-01-08T12:42:00.001-05:00

Across Prince William County, there are self-appointed groups, committees, alliances and advocacies working quietly out of public view to advance some particular cause, apply their world view to projects in our communities, or simply meddle in places they don’t live. I’m not criticizing the people who belong to these groups. They are, in their own minds, good citizens weighing in on matters that they care about. Many of them are my friends (and I am candid in my criticism with all of them). Often, their approach to these matters involve specific ideologies about how the rest of us should live, work and play.

There is an emphasis on transparency in Government. Ironically, many of the groups who criticize Prince William Government’s lack of transparency operate with a relative lack of transparency themselves. Our elected officials call upon these groups to weigh in on issues, particularly, land use issues, because these small, out of site groups provide excellent political cover in the form of citizen participation and input. They give the appearance of an open, public process.

I have one simple question: How many of you can name the group or groups (there are often several) claiming to represent your interests? How many have invited you to join? ...to vote for their officers or Board of Directors? ...to attend a meeting?

These groups also provide citizen input cover for developers. Presentation to a couple of local groups provides the appearance of citizen input and (in some cases) smooths planing commission and Board approval. The box is checked: coordinated with the community. It's a cheap, effective alternative to actually reaching out to and meeting with the people who live in the neighborhoods and communities that might be disturbed or impacted by whatever proposal is under consideration.

If you've ever driven down Hoadly Road, Route 234, the Prince William Parkway or any street in your community, noticed someone digging, and wondered "what's that"? "That" is probably the result of the process I detailed above. Surprise!

So, why should we care about Tall Oaks III? Because it could easily happen in your neighborhood or my community. You will find the history here in a letter to Coles District Marty Nohe (my Supervisor).

The response is always the same... these are open meetings... everyone is welcome... we represent the community. This is simply not the case. These groups are usually a half dozen civic minded folks making decisions for the 50,000 residents of a district and/or the 400,000 residents of Prince William County. I’ve seen attendance serge to a dozen... perhaps more on rare occasions; however, the meetings seldom (if ever) truly represent a sampling of community opinions. Generally speaking, its the folks who oppose something who show up.

We need to stop outsourcing Government. We need to bring citizen input and opinions back into the formal process. That’s the purpose of public hearings, citizen times, office visits, town hall meetings, letters to staff, appointees, and elected officials are all about. Government should not (has no business) “:outsourcing” public comment to these self-appointed groups of which I am a critic.

Our direct involvement with Government “complicates” the process and slows it down. Our elected leaders are all receive little compensation for what is basically a part time job (for most of them). Frankly, anything that smooths the process of getting things through the machinery while cutting down on actual citizen input is probably a welcome addition to the process. The fact that private group meetings lack accountability, are not subject to FOIA, and seldom (if ever) actually publish any meaningful record of proceedings or rational is probably a bonus.

I often make note of the fact that very few people actually participate in the process of Government., This incident caused me to reflect on that a bit. We don’t participate because we generally don’t know what’s going on. I get newsletters from several County Supervisors. Some are better than others. They often provide useful news about local happenings, safety tips, etc.

I suggest any land use decision that merits referral to a local community group merits inclusion in our Supervisor’s newsletters and mention on their websites. Further, these posts should include any community groups that our Supervisor has referred these issues to.

We deserve to know what’s going on. We have a right to understand which groups our elected officials have referred issues to so we may play. We also have the liberty to ignore all of these groups and participate in the transparent public process that exists for gathering input from County residents on issues that impact our lives.

Tall Oaks III is an example of what can happen when we don’t know what is going on in our communities. We have a right to know what is going on. The focus on transparency that so many emphasize these days stops when issues are “outsourced” out of the Government process into private groups for review. We need to bring issues back into the process of Government... back into the light of day.

Mayor Earnie Porta is leading a citizens revolt to fight the symptoms of the problem of which I speak. The current process failed the Town of Occoquan. Tall Oaks III is a shining example of all that can go wrong when public business is outsourced to private groups.

There is a high probability that the Town of Occoquan will lose this battle. If Occoquan loses, we all lose. Success or failure of Mayor Porta’s citizen revolt will hinge upon how many folks turn up for the Public Hearing at 7:00 this Tuesday evening, 10 January, at the McCoart Administration Building.

Decisions are driven by those who show up. I suggest you show up. If you don’t, please keep your complaint to yourself when you wake up to dump trucks putting a four lane divided highway in your front yard... and... there's... nothing... you... can... do... about... it!

I strongly encourage you to show up at the Public Hearing next week and support the good folks of the Town of Occoquan reverse this failure of Governance.

Do you really know what’s planned for your community? ...really? You could be next.

The Prince William County Tea Party Patriots and Tall Oaks III

2012-01-07T21:27:00.000-05:00

I'm not a member of the Prince William County Tea Party Patriots (PWCTPP); however, I occasionally attend an event when it's interesting (whether it's the Tea Party or any other group). As a Libertarian, I sympathize with their small Government fiscally conservative philosophy.

Today, they hosted a class on "How to become a citizen Lobbyist" taught by Rich Anderson, Mark John (a lobbyist for Toyota), and Chris Marston (a former lobbyist and current consultant on election compliance). It was a great course. I’ve been to a couple Prince William County Tea Party Patriot sponsored classes. They are always quality events with great guest speakers.

I hung around to see what they were up to these days. When it comes to a small, Constitutional Government, these are “my kind of people”.

The interesting part was the discussion of issues lead by Nancy Schiffman, the Chairwoman of the PWCTPP. To my surprise, she brought up Tall Oaks III as an example of Government out of control ignoring its citizens. I was (pleasantly) surprised that Tall Oaks III is on their radar. Ms. Shiffman and the PWCTPP folks are aware of its history and the public hearing next Tuesday evening (10 January, 7:00 PM).

I hope Ms. Schiffman is wrong about her bleak assessment of the Town of Occoquan’s success. She predicted that Mike May is the only vote they can count on. (For the record, they really like Mike May... as do I.)

The Prince William County Tea Party Patriots are “watching” the Tall Oaks III vote next week. I suspect a couple Patriots might just show up. I was really surprised just how engaged they were in this issue.

Tall Oaks III

2012-01-07T06:44:00.001-05:00

Supervisor Nohe ("Marty"),

As you know, I have long been an opponent of the influence of small, self appointed groups who take it upon themselves to represent communities in which they do not actually live. I participate in many of these as a defensive measure because I fear they may take positions based upon a lack of information, a political agenda (or simply hubris) that in no way represents the opinion or best interests of people actually affected.

Often, their only source of information is from the developer or a very small group (if any) of folks with some stake in the outcome. The members of these groups are good people and my friends. I believe that, in most cases, they are simply trying to do "the right thing".

That being said, I did not vote (I was not given the opportunity to vote) for any of their leaders and have not given them the authority to act on my behalf. I vote for my Supervisor (which is you). You appoint citizens to represent my interests. While I know that you take input from anyone with an opinion, I council that some opinions are better than others and hold my elected officials accountable to make sure those opinions actually represent the community involved.

Tall Oaks III is an example of that which I speak. I often fear that a "Tall Oaks III" will happen in my neighborhood or the Coles District if I ("we," the community) don't pay attention to what these groups are up to. That's the only reason I attend meetings (and I make no secret of this fact).

Mayor Earnie Porta is leading an Occoquan "Citizens Revolt" to the Tall Oaks III project. As I understand its history, the developer of this property presented his plan to LOCCA PELT a couple of years ago. No one from the Town of Occoquan attended. LOCCA PELT not only approved this project but also went before the planning commission supporting it. Mayor Porta and the good people of Occoquan were unaware of the project or the fact that LOCCA PELT supported it until approximately a year later when it went before the planning commission. This put the Town of Occoquan on the defensive speaking against a local citizens group who "approved" and apparently "endorsed and supported" the project.

As I understand it, the LOCCA PELT folks recognized that perhaps they had overstepped their bounds here. The developer thought that he had community support when LOCCA PELT endorsed the project. This clearly was not the case. In fact, Mayor Porta advised me that the LOCCA PELT recognized their error and that its principals had apologized for their missteps here.

The "damage" has been done. A development that does not consider the best interests of its neighbor, the Town of Occoquan, and perhaps puts Occoquan at risk is going before the Prince William County Board of County Supervisors in a public hearing format for your consideration. I recognize this is a "by right" development "(NOTE: I got this important detail wrong. Please see Mayor Porta's correction in comments); however, I also recognize that the BOCS must approve any design. A design that does not consider the interests or safety of its neighbors should not stand.

I strongly request that you support Mayor Porta, the Town of Occoquan, and the citizens of Prince William County in stopping the Tall Oaks III project as it is currently designed. The developers should work with all of the stakeholders to develop a design that considers its neighbors. No plan should be approved until it is endorsed by the Occoquan Town Council and Mayor. While a self-appointed group may be the cause of this problem, it is up to those whom we elect to correct it.

There's a lesson here. I also suggest that you take input from these self-appointed citizens group with "a grain of salt". They often do not represent the community in which a project is proposed, do not publicize minutes of any meeting, and do not share their recommendation outside of the small group that participates. Their proceedings are usually not well attended and never really "public". That's a recipe for surprises such as the Tall Oaks III project. "We" (the citizens of Prince William County) don't like surprises such as this.

Please support Mayor Porta, the Occoquan Town Council, the citizens of Occoquan, and citizens such as myself who are enraged that such a situation was allowed to occur,

Thank you for considering my request. This letter will be posted on the Alborn Foundation blog.

Regards,

Al

Alan P. Alborn

Principal. Alborn Foundation
www.alborn.net

by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

I am happy to share my message with like minded bloggers. Anyone is welcome to republish my blog pieces if they do so in whole, with links intact, and give full credit to my byline which is: by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

Why I plan to support and vote for Ron Paul.

2011-12-27T12:05:00.001-05:00

It is Government's nature to "grow". It needs two things to grow:

1. our money, and

2. things upon which to spend our money.

Our money is the fuel for the expansion of the business of Governance and the process of Government. Bureaucrats and elected officials spend a great deal of their time (ironically, on salaries paid for with our money) thinking of new and creative strategies to collect taxes and fees (to pay for, among other things, their salaries). A simple look at the history of our Government (let alone the history of the world) confirms the genetic predisposition of Government to take ever increasing amounts of the wealth of the Governed to fuel it's perpetual growth.

Of course, collecting our money is only justified by new and creative ways for the Government to spend it. Ironically, the justification is often some program or policy designed to give some small portion of the revenue Government collects (our money) back to us (less, of course, a handling fee to pay for the machinery of Government hosted by Washington DC and the people who keep the machine running).

This model assumes that every living person or thing within its borders in fact belongs to the Government. The taxes and fees we pay allow us to "rent" our property and lives one day at a time. The Government has the power and predisposition to create the conditions necessary to take everything that we might own (including our lives) whenever it suits its interests.

Everything in which Government or society is involved is driven by economics. It's all a math problem. Regardless of those who claim otherwise, no one really understands the math. Unfortunately, there are plenty of people who claim to understand. In my humble opinion, they are all liars, fools (or perhaps both) or hapless victims of self-delusion of some divine or superior insight that has eluded humanity and the rest of us for the last 5000 years or so (which doesn't preclude also being a liar, a fool or both). We are constantly the experimental subjects of a perpetual series of social and economic experiments which have no foundation in experience, research, or sound science.

While Government is driven by economics, it is really sustained by a perpetual marketing and propaganda program. Every elected Chief Executive of any Government at any level does so with a desire to bring his or her latest "grand scheme" to office. All they have to do to get their hands on our money to execute their latest "grand scheme" is convince us that theirs is the superior approach.

The safety, security and future of our Country, our family, and our person is usually driven by those who most effectively and sustainably market their point of view. We know intuitively that marketing has little to do with quality or value. We are driven by emotion. We respond to beauty. We are lifted by a strong voice, a quick wit, a memorable phrase. If we are buying toothpaste, this is ok. If we are picking our next President, not so much. Our choice makes us, our families, our neighbors, and perhaps our allies unwilling (perhaps unwitting) test subjects for the next four to eight years.

The Historical problem with Government is that they all fail. I propose that they all fail because there is an inflection point natural to all systems built by man when complexity exceeds intellectual manageability. I believe this inflection point is reached when Government commands control of too much of its people's money while simultaneously losing track of where it is actually being spent. It is (IMHO) impossible for a Government to sustain itself on an inconsistent mix of "grand schemes" implemented as Government agencies, programs, or wars indefinitely.

The symptoms are a loss of control over the process and machinery of Government and a certain hubris assumed by the bureaucrats and elected officials. Government becomes an engine for collecting and spending the wealth of its Nation. At some point, they just lose control of where it actually comes from (our of the economy and our pockets) and where it goes (often into other peoples pockets, wars, foreign aid, subsides, special interests, I could go on).

If one buys into the proposition that it is Government's nature to "grow", that it needs our money and Things upon which to spend our money to fuel it's growth, and that it's growth sews the seeds of its eventual demise; then pondering whether or not we have reached the inflection point now is a worthwhile exercise. I propose that we are approaching or are very close to that inflection point. I suggest that the best way of reducing the risk of failure of America is to change the start the process of scaling the size and scope of Government downward and reducing the revenue it collects from its citizens. We need to create a Government that is actually capable of being efficiently managed and understood. We need to reduce the complexity of the math to something that might actually be able to understand. subsidies

Whether we are an historical footnote of an experiment in Democracy or the model for a new world order in a thousand years will depend upon how we the Governed respond to the nature of our Government now.

My personal response will be to ignore candidates marketing and propaganda campaigns while focusing on resumes and math. If one accepts the proposition that too much of our money and too many programs designed to spend our money are in fact the seeds of our demise as a Democracy then the solution is clear: look for those candidates with a record of spending less and doing less.

The most efficient way for our Government to waste a lot of our money quickly is war. To me, war is the ultimate marketing and propaganda tool. It quickly galvanizes the Country to service and obscures all other problems (for a while). Marketing for the next war, a war with Iran, is in play.

There is only one historically outspoken opponent of war running for office with a resume of consistently voting against collecting more of out Money and spending it on the growth of Government (for the past 30 years): Ron Paul.

I don't agree with everything Ron Paul says. The fact that he has a thirty year resume to explore has resulted in some troubling discoveries that bother even me. That being said, he is the only candidate who is not actively engaged in a campaign to obscure his record, manufacture sound bites that appeal to whomever he is addressing, or compromising thirty years of low taxes, small Government, anti-war philosophy.

He is what he is. I'm not really sure what the others really are, only what i think they want me to believe them to be (which changes frequently).

I think I'll vote for honesty, integrity and truth in advertising this time around. I plan to support and vote for Ron Paul. If you see things as I see them and accept my proposition regarding America's future, I ask you to join me.

I love America. I spent twenty-two years of my life defending it. With all of its flaws, it remains the greatest Country in the world. I would rather not see it end as a foot note in history as an "interesting experiment" that was replaced by "something else".

Our grandchildren may not like the "something else".

A Libertarian’s Holiday Wish

2011-12-24T09:29:00.000-05:00

I wish Liberty, Free Markets, and Peace for the world.

Liberty to live, work, play, worship, associate, think and read as we choose. I don’t care what church, synagogue, Mosque, or temple chooses to which my neighbor might go; whether the couple next door is a man and a woman, a couple of men, or a couple of women; or what my neighbor is eating, smoking, or drinking. As long as they follow the simple Libertarian philosophy of “don’t hurt other people or take their stuff”, they may do as they wish. I do not claim that what I happen to believe "must" be shared by those with whom I associate and only ask that others accord me the same courtesy.

Free Markets so people are free to engage in fair transactions where both benefit to their satisfaction. It doesn’t matter if the transaction is what you get paid for your work or how much you make when trading or selling your product or service. The key to free markets is a Government focused on Justice in these transactions (as enumerated in the Constitution), not unnecessary and burdensome regulations that strangle the creation of jobs, new businesses, and commerce.

Free markets are the key to peace in the world. A world that trades globally creates an economic interdependence that makes going to war to solve problems counter productive. A just, fair free market allows everyone to improve their circumstances, create jobs, and lift the third world out of poverty. I engage in a number of programs that promote free markets in third world nations by making micro-loans to emerging businesses. If you want to invest in peace, I particularly recommend Kiva. The price of lunch invested in a small business on the other side of the world is an investment in peace.

To protect these simple principles, I am prepared to vigorously defend those whose liberty is threatened by individuals who or a Government that feels some divine insight or to tell the rest of us how to live, work and play. To defend my rights, I must protect everyone's rights. I expect Government at all levels to focus on providing for our security, public safety, defense and Justice... and nothing else.

Ironically, Government has historically been the biggest threat to Liberty, Free Markets, and Peace.

I am happy to pay taxes to support these fundamental obligations of Government; however, I don’t like paying “too much” in taxes. A Government that collects more revenue than it actually needs sucks money out of the economy and our pockets to be put to dubious uses that only create bureaucracy and “bigger Government”.

Government that grows bigger than it must to fulfill its Constitutional duties tends to stray into our personal lives, engage in empire building adventures, and dabble in social and economic engineering that reflects the whims of whomever happens to be in power at any given moment. "Smaller" is better. It forces those whom we elect to focus on the fundamentals.

When Government believes that the wealth created by the people it Governs is theirs to take as they please and spend on things that clearly are not its legitimate role in society or our lives, it has grown too large and powerful and deserves our criticism.

That’s a Libertarians Holiday wish. May you, your family, and your loved ones have a safe and peaceful Holiday season!

How to write policy (a methodology).

2011-12-16T11:33:00.002-05:00

I got a couple of great Facebook questions about policy and thought I would address those in this article. I actually have written policy (and have a letter of appreciation from the White House for doing so). It's (like all things) a math problem.

There are a number of ways to approach it; however, here is one methodology. To write a policy, you start with a problem, define what the result should look like (or vision for the result), and determine who has the authority to approve the proposed policy.

From the Federal perspective, the first question is (or should be) "can we do this" or is it Constitutional and legal? That should be one question; however, (for complicated reasons) that's not always the case. That answer "depends"; however, once you trace to a line in the Constitution and pass the legal hurdle, you may proceed.

The second question is "do we want to do this"? This translates into public pressure and support and political purpose and will. This often biases the answer to the first question. It pays to do a bit if "due diligence" to make sure there is political will to actually support whatever you are working on.

The third question is "what are the alternatives"? This is the "most fun" part because its really a "brain storming session". It also includes a peak at "are we doing this somewhere today"? Those which survive go to the model (next).

Then, its about creating the weighted criteria for representing the environment and measuring the results and plugging them into a model that measures cost and risk. Cost to implement, to maintain) is always a measure. Linear Programming might be appropriate if cost (and other considerations) are constraints that bound the solution set (or, allow you to optimize some resource).

All policy (I stress “all policy”) will result in unintended consequences. Sensitivity analysis to the cost/risk model is how we attempt to flush these out. You "tinker" with the model to test its sensitive to changes in the measures (which represent changes in the environment). Note that (in policy with which I have been involved) we costed "doing nothing" along with every alternative.

No matter how hard you try, there will be still consequences which you did not consider. It is my opinion that most of our tax dollars are collected to pay for the unintended consequences of policies of the past.

Generally speaking, the dominant alternatives are candidates for implementation. Assuming the “top three” are all relatively close on the range of alternatives, they are presented to the decision maker. If one clearly dominates, it is presented as the recommendation with a discussion of other alternatives.

Note that “do nothing” often falls out early in the process as non-viable.

I left out a lot of details that others might add. I’ll save the legislative process for another post; however, it usually involves Bean Soup at the Congressional Cafeteria. I think I’ll add this to my latest blog post.

Now, get out there and “write some policy”!

The making of a political activist

2011-12-16T09:49:00.006-05:00

I really don’t like getting involved in the process of Government. I prefer my privacy. I hire folks I trust every two, four or six years to run things on my behalf. I like to think of it as outsourcing responsibility for running things.

I have other things to do with my time. As I approach 64 years of age, I become sensitive to the fact that many of my choices might be my last (last new car, last vacation, last walk on a mountain path, last blog post).

I support socially tolerant, fiscally conservative honorable candidates (when I can find them) who support a small Government that doesn't intrude into my life and personal decisions or take more of my money than it needs. I believe that these are the folks who will keep the process of Governance out of my life and Government’s hand out of my pocket.

As a Libertarian, that generally means a compromise since neither party nor most candidates reflect all of the things I value. Fortunately, there are good people out there who pass the “honorable” sniff test. I may disagree with men and women on specific issues when I am confident that they use judgment I trust in running “my Government”.

I recognize the role of Government in our lives. We need a body empowered to provide for our public safety, ensure justice, manage relationships with neighboring Governments, and collect revenue to pay for the aforementioned. At the Federal level, you will find these four tasks enumerated in the Constitution (plus a lot of specific stuff enshrined in in Article 1, Section 8. Did you know that the Constitution mandates that we establish post offices?)

I really don’t expect Government at any level to get involved in anything else other than those things I enumerated above. That being said, I recognize that my opinion doesn’t necessarily represent the community and defer to the will of the majority as expressed through our democratic process (or the Republic form of Government we have put in place to manage those things I have enumerated).

The problem is that I believe most people share my distaste for getting involved in the process of Government. The evidence is ample. Just attend any BOCS meeting (or watch it on cable or your laptop) and you’ll notice that Prince William County Board of County Supervisor meetings are sparsely attended events typically drawing a crowd of a dozen or less. If we are “lucky” to have some issue that has captured some constituency’s attention, we might be treated to a group of a couple of dozen or more. Every now and then, Prince William County involves itself in an issue so controversial that it draws crowds of hundreds. I only remember one of those in the last twenty five years or so... the immigration debate of 2007.

If you’ve made it this far reading this article (and I suspect most have already moved on), I suggest you read an earlier blog post entitled A Systems View of Power.

The nature of the Republic as a form of Government exists on the proposition that people indirectly control Government through those whom they elect to represent them. This form of Government is enshrined in the Constitution. It is an elegant and efficient way of keeping the people out of the process of Government to ensure that the machinery of Government runs smoothly.

“Smoothly” is a subjective value judgment. (If you made it this far, I can only assume you are interested in an arcane subjects such as this. I’d insert a joke or two, but don’t have any that readily come to mind.)

Government achieves its power through its Constitutional mandate to be and through the revenue it collects to operate. Too a Libertarian such as myself, this poses two issues that "we the people" need to watch:

- Are they doing what they are supposed to do (In the case of the Federal Government, these are its enumerated powers and responsibilities. In the interesting case of the Virginia Constitution, this often is about not doing anything Government is not suppose to do), and

- Are they spending “my money” on things are legitimate reasons for Government (at any level) “to be”.

There is room for honest disagreement on what constitutes proper boundaries (or scope) on both points. Some arguments are easier to make than others. For example, no one quibbles over Government at any level’s obligation to provide for the public’s Safety, a system for justice, or a process to collect revenue.

Pushing the boundaries might be using any of the legitimate functions of Government as cover for functions that perhaps do not truly fit the appropriate scope. This is often the result of a few citizens demanding that Government “do something”.

Government feeds upon public requests to do something. Doing something justifies its reason to be, develops a grateful and indebted constituency (useful for support and future political campaigns), generates a requirement to collect more of the people’s money, and provides great publicity. The engine for the growth of Government at all levels is this simple syllogism:

We must do something,
This is something,
Do this.

by satisfying the "something" by providing the "this".

All one has to do is pull up the Prince William County website or walk through the McCoart Administration Building, the Development Services Building, or any of the other Government leased or owned facilities in Prince William County, Virginia to see the results of this simple syllogism.

Doing nothing should always be an option on the table.

I want a Government at all levels that understands “doing nothing” is always an acceptable choice.

I want a Government that understands “saying no” to a request from a half dozen disgruntled constituents is ok.

I want a Government that collects enough revenue to pay for those things that made it through a formal and transparent budget process consisting of an assessment of risk and priority... and nothing more.

I don’t have to agree with everything that’s in the final product. I do prefer that every dime of “my” money that Government collect be spent on something that’s in it. I’m not a “big fan” of “Discretion” when that’s just a polite word for taking money out of the pockets of the people who are Prince William County’s “reason to be” and spending things that clearly would not have made it through the formal budget process.

I know how Government works. I ran with the “big dogs” at the Federal level. The general philosophy when an “uncomfortable issue” comes up is to wait a while and see if it simply goes away. “This too shall pass” is a political strategy for dealing with public angst or outrage over issues. It works most of the time.

The political calculus is measuring the level of outrage involved. If you are “wrong”, the issue doesn’t get better with age. It tends to grow and get worse.

I am, by choice, a political activist. My targets are politicians, candidates and activists who have the hubris to believe that the Power of Government and "my money" is theirs to do with as they will. My strategy is to make sure important issues don't simply "go away".

I would really rather spend my time wandering around the Shenandoah Mountains with my fly rod and binoculars; however, there are just too many issues at too many levels that cry for citizen involvement and perhaps outrage. There are just too many things I can’t ignore.

I’ve started a PAC dedicated to supporting fiscal conservative causes and issues (or perhaps highlighting issues for those who don’t understand what that term really means). I will take particular pleasure in “outing” those who claim the banner to win office while dipping into my pocket to stay there. There's plenty of publicaly available facts to accomplish that goal; however, I learned as a soldier not to waste my ammunition early in any battle.

You’ll find mymoneyPAC on Facebook. I haven’t registered yet and am not collecting money. If you are of like mind, let me know. Our informal headquarters is the Starbucks on the corner of Hoadly Road and the Prince William Parkway.

Thanks for sticking with me for the entire length of this article. You might just be someone who should join my group.

by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

I am happy to share my message with like minded bloggers. Anyone is welcome to republish my blog pieces if they do so in whole, with links intact, and give full credit to my byline which is: by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

"I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!"

2011-12-11T09:44:00.002-05:00

I just read this article By John S. Gray CPA PC, Lake Ridge, VA, OPINION: Rainbow Riding Academy’s Tax Return On Bill Golden's PrinceWilliamLife.com Reading Bill's website is part of my morning routine. There's not much I can add to Mr. Gray's analysis.

I feel like Captain Renault in the movie Casablanca, "I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!"

John Gray is a CPA. He obviously knows how to find the bodies. The "kindest" read of this information is that Prince William County was asked to give $100,000 of "our money" to a very well healed local group with almost $1,000,000 on the books (most of it in cash thanks to an apparent very profitable real estate transaction). The "unkindest" read is... well... perhaps worse. There is nothing I can add to John's analysis (or would attempt to because... well... I'm NOT a CPA.)

I plan to watch this unfold carefully (along with, I'm guessing, most of Prince William County and Northern Virginia). I do have a few suggestions for our Chairman, Corey Stewart:

1. I suggest you suspend all Discretionary Fund donations immediately until Prince William County sorts this out. Clearly, due diligence isn't part of the current process.

2. I suggest that you appoint a Chairman's Citizens Committee to review the entire Discretionary Fund process and task this group to make recommendations on the future of this dubious process.

3. Should you elect to continue to allow discretionary fund distributions, I would suggest that NO donation to a private non-profit be approved until the IRS 990 is reviewed and that the IRS 990 be published with the request for public review. It's only reasonable that the residents of Prince William County know where our elected officials decide to spend "our money".

I'm guessing that a lot of folks will be reviewing agendas, pulling up past donations, and reviewing the IRS 990's of groups who received some of "our money". If you want to find out where "our money" has went for the past few years, just go to The Prince William County Government listing of the past agenda (and the current one). You can go back as far as 2008 on-line (and further off-line with FOIA requests).

But... you might want to "connect a few dots". To do that, you need a group's IRS 990. It is considered a best practice for a non-profit to publish its latest IRS 990 on its website (and perhaps demonstrates a desire to avoid public scrutiny to do otherwise). Non-profits are required to supply IRS 990's for free and quickly upon request. Email's ok.

If you prefer to investigate quietly (such as due diligence for a donation you are considering), most IRS 990's are available at the Economic Research Institute's website for free. You can also request up to three years of IRS 990 by sending an IRS Form 4506-A to the IRS office in Ogden, UT.

While I'm no CPA, I'm guessing this is the final nail in the coffin of Discretionary Funds in Prince William County. The quicker this artifact from the past is buried, the sooner the public will stop digging into past distributions.

The old "quid pro quo" approval process has apparently let us down. We deserve better Stewardship of "our money".

by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

I am happy to share my message with like minded bloggers. Anyone is welcome to republish my blog pieces if they do so in whole, with links intact, and give full credit to my byline which is: by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

I see a storm coming...

2011-12-09T08:46:00.004-05:00

I read this article this morning while browsing INSIDENOVA.COM on-line, Prince William escapes Moody's negative outlook Unfortunately, most folks will read the headline, know their heads in approval, and look for the comics section.

This is "good news"... sorta. Notice the reference to the "new reality" and our probable future economic outlook in Northern Virginia. "Only a fool" would continue to plan as if significant changes to our economy are NOT in our future.

I frankly don't generally believe in Economic predictions based upon esoteric and unproven theories. Economists generally prefer to retrofit explanations on past events. You will find predictions about our economic future predicting scenarios across the continuum. Whomever guesses right is the "winner", will probably wright a book, and become a TV Consultant guest.

Some things don't require a complicated model to predict. If a sailor is standing on the bow of a ship and sees dark clouds and thunder approaching, he or she knows there is a high probability of a storm and will alert the Captain. Any sailor knows its best to tighten the rigging early and prepare for the storm. It's time to plot a course correction, keep a watchful eye on the weather, and minimize the damage. In really bad storms, the Captain know that there will be damage. The goal is to minimize that damage with preparation.

I see a storm sweeping across Northern Virginia. As the article states, Northern Virginia relies on the federal government for 26 percent of its gross regional product, according to a Senate Finance Committee analysis of fiscal 2010 data, the most recent available.

Sailors know that the storm is getting close when the wind is picks up and a bit of rain starts to fall. I can see the wind of change coming Northern Virginia's way. The Super Committee failed to do its job. Regardless of whatever compromise Congress works out by 2013, the Government will be a smaller entity. We are pulling out of Iraq this month and are planning our pullout from Afghanistan. We simply can't afford to be the world's policeman in the future. Various estimates of job losses are on the 100K-120K range. Our real estate market, secondary economy (those small businesses that do the dry cleaning, serve the meals, sell the greeting cards to folks employed directly or indirectly by Government) will take a hit. Subcontracting opportunities will dry up as Primes (the "big Dogs") use available work to protect staff positions (that was my world, that is what I did).

That's why I have taken a special interest in Fiscal Responsibility in Government at all levels. A "tight ship" may take a bit of damage; however, it will generally stay afloat if it course corrects and manages the rigging. One leak won't sink it; however, many leaks will.

Leaks are easier to fix in calm weather.

It's time to plug the leaks now and prepare for the storm. At the local level, Prince William County discretionary funds, to me, are one of those leaks that we can't just "step over" and let pass any longer. We need to "stop this steady drip" now.

Any sailor will tell you that it is tougher to be "caught in a storm" unprepared than to be ready for it. Sometimes a ship is surprised. This storm isn't one of those times.

Let's plug the Discretionary Fund leak now... before we hit the rough economic weather on the horizon.

I see a storm coming. Captain, are you listening?

by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

I am happy to share my message with like minded bloggers. Anyone is welcome to republish my blog pieces if they do so in whole, with links intact, and give full credit to my byline which is: by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

Budgets and process

2011-12-08T13:35:00.004-05:00

We all understand budgets. In the case of our family budget, We bring in x amount of money and try to balance that with y amount of bills. If we have more money than bills, we may contribute to a 401k, go out to dinner, or whatever we choose.

Government budgets are a bit more complicated because we are dealing with other people's money (otherwise known as "our money").

Our government collects x amount of revenue and tries to balance that with y amount of expenses. Because its "other peoples money", Government by its nature (should) work very hard to match x with y so that we (the folks who pay the taxes and fees) have as much as possible to pay those family bills and perhaps a little left over for our 401k, a bit of entertainment, or whatever we choose. In some cases. money left in family budgets might just be the difference between dinner this evening, an electric bill, medicine for a child, or much more personal choices.

Both families and Government use the same basic process (in theory). We list our expenses, prioritize them by importance, and write the checks.

Prince William County has a great budget process. I've been on a couple of Budget Committees and one Strategic Task Force for Public Safety (which created so much personal interest in the topic that I volunteered to attend the Prince William Police Department Citizens Police Academy to learn more... I highly recommend others do the same). I consider myself an "advanced amateur" on the subject but no expert. I am lucky to know a few smart people who are educating me on the details.

The "Cliff Notes" for the process and the decisions for FY2013 may be found by looking over the slides presented at the last Board Financial Retreat held on 22 November 2011.

Prince William County has a great budget process! That's thanks to excellent County leadership! I'm a Melissa Peacor fan and am grateful she's our CEO. I have attended budget presentations given by the Office of MAnagement and Budget. Michelle Casciato does a great job managing our money and keeping our Triple A bond rating. So, about what am I concerned?

I am concerned about the things that fall outside of the formal budget process.

I am concerned what happens to revenue in excess of expenses collected by Prince William County (or, money they collect but don't need to cover things in the budget).

I'm concerned about millions of dollars of taxpayer money taken out of our pockets and our economy to be held in Supervisor Discretionary Funds (totaling over a Million dollars at the moment), various reserves (in excess of the 7.5% required to keep our Triple A bond rating), and FY2011 carryovers totaling almost $40,000,000 ($100 per every man, woman and child in Prince William County or a few hundred dollars per family).

I a concerned that Prince William County is using taxpayer dollars, dollars taken out of those family budgets mentioned previously, money that could be spent at small businesses, pay electric bills, tucked in a 401k, or whatever a family might choose to support purely discretionary choices made outside of the budget process (or, never "competed" with those things considered to survive the priority model). There's a reason those funds are called "discretionary".

The Prince William County budget process is (at least, in my opinion) very straightforward and quite robust. While I notice a slide describing the process and its application to the budget process was missing from this year (they were presented last year), I know the County has a process for assessing the importance and risk of everything on the table. That makes the "hard decisions" a little easier. While the County prepares these data as input, it is still up to our elected officials to make the final decision and approve the budget.

I like this process! I'm a math modeler by trade (ORSA for fellow military vets). I may not like something that's on the table; however, I don't quibble with the output of a well defined model for determining the results. The "elevator story" is simple. Put your proposal in the model, run it through the risk and priority process, and live with the results.

If, after going through the process our Chairman and Supervisors make changes on the results (something we pay them to do), that's part of the process. It's public. It's transparent. It leads to an outcome that the community can support. We understand the tradeoffs (or what "didn't get done" so something else "could get done"). At that point, we can pick up the phone early in the process to communicate our opinion to our Supervisor and/or our Chairman.

It's the things that fall outside of this process to which I object. When a $5000 donation is made for a Christmas show, a $10,000 donation is made to an Arts Center, a $100,000 donation is made to a charity outside of the budget process (I could go on), I have no confidence as to whether or not this is the "most important", "least risk", or best choice of how to spend Prince William County tax dollars.

There is absolutely nothing illegal about the donations that I listed above. That doesn't mean their are right.

The quid pro quo process of reviewing one another's Discretionary Fund distributions on a weeks notice and incrementally "aggressive" use of Prince William County tax revenue probably contributed to the approval of more than one "interesting" contribution over the past few years. This is "our fault" because we just don't pay attention. The intent to make a distribution is usually made in front of a half dozen regulars who actually attend a BOCS meeting and perhaps the few dozen more who actually watch on TV or our laptops.

I particularly don't like large donations to private groups or charities because they take away a group's incentive to "compete for our money". I support the use of faith based and community groups to deliver services that fit within County functions and strategic direction. I encourage the County to continue to evaluate groups on a competitive basis and provide tax dollars within our budget process framework to deliver services quicker, faster, cheaper. I encourage distribution of large amounts of money to managed like any other grant or contract. Establish measures of effectiveness, keep track of where "our dollars" went, and consider the results in making budget decisions the following year.

Charities which are truly supported by the community should have no problem raising money from that community. I"ll point out that Prince William County is one of the richest, best educated County's in the Country... so we have the money. I would expect to see fundraisers, events, solicitations from the County's "top 10%" income folks, etc.

I object when any member of our BOCS takes it upon him or herself to work outside our formal budget process to make a discretionary decision (particularly with large amounts of money) regarding which private group deserves to benefit from Prince William County real estate taxes, personal property taxes, Sales Tax, or a host of other taxes which we pay.

Some discretionary fund distributions are more palatable than others. Who can argue, on the surface, with a Discretionary contribution to the Red Cross, to ACTS and Serve or other very worthwhile organizations, for example.

Well, I could. (For the record, I donate to all of those worthy groups). What assurance does the public have this is the "best" use of "our money". Why isn't revenue deemed discretionary applied to those things which were in the budget model. I listened to Chiefs Dean and McGee testify about projected shortages in their respective areas at the last BOCS meeting to be followed by a $5000 donation to a Christmas show.

Somehow, the correlation between discretionary fund distributions, public safety, and the formal Prince William County budget process eludes me.

A lot of people across the County are clamoring for Discretionary funds to "go away". I agree with them. We need to bring "our money" that is outside of the budget process into the process.

As a taxpayer, I have no problem paying for office space, staff and expenses to support the business of our Chairman and County Supervisors.

I do see the requirement for a process to handle emergencies and the unexpected. I suggest that such a process be built INTO the budget process so requests may be evaluated on a priority basis (using an expedited process) from perhaps pre-qualified sources (the Red Cross, ACTS or Serve for example). Supervisors should be taken out of the decision making role. For the record, I really haven't seen that many "emergencies" handled by discretionary funds.

If Prince William County collects "too much" of our money (particularly in things like real estate or personal property taxes), it should refund any excess to its residents instead of look for creative ways to "spend it" or "park it" outside of the local economy and our pockets.

I really don't mind paying taxes. It's the price of a civil society. I do object to paying "too much" taxes.

More to come.

by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

I am happy to share my message with like minded bloggers. Anyone is welcome to republish my blog pieces if they do so in whole, with links intact, and give full credit to my byline which is: by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

Christmas donations

2011-12-07T21:10:00.005-05:00

Every December, I sit down with my checkbook and a pile of solicitations from charitable groups to do my Christmas charitable giving. My donations reflect my personal values and the things in which I believe. I put a lot of thought into what to give to who and how much. It's a very personal thing. I actually had to take a break out of frustration of what's going on with "my Money" in Prince William County.

I really don't mind paying taxes. It's the price of a civil society. I do object to paying "too much" taxes; however, that's a very subjective call. I don't tend to quibble with the details if the community is comfortable with the services our Government provides.

My "frustration" is that I routinely watch the folks I elect to watch over "my money" give it away to a variety of charities of their choosing. This is not their decision to make. When I vote for an elected official at any level, I do not consider making decisions regarding which charitable group to give "my money" ("our money") to part of their job description.

When Prince William County collects so much money that our elected officials can "give it away" at their discretion to groups that may have nothing to do with any function of Government, I know that they are collecting too much of "my money".

"Money to give away", "money to stash","Money to burn" is not a symptom of a tightly run ship. It is not the fiscal conservative Government I thought I voted for. It is a sign that perhaps "our Government" is collecting too much of "our money".

The potential to make decisions that perhaps are at odds with the religious beliefs, cultural practices, or political persuasion of members of the community is enormous (and I found out is an occasional issue).

I got a pretty good lesson in the Prince William County budget process today. I was amazed at just how much of "our money" is taken out of the local economy and our pockets to be "parked" someplace for years instead of returned to those of us who earned it. The issue that frustrated me this evening as I write checks is but the tip of the iceberg. I have the data and the numbers. I'll be slowly sharing the facts in future blogs.

This is a process problem, not a people problem. County staff and our elected officials continue to do what they have done for years. Because nobody complained (or, more correctly, because so few people actually pay attention to Government) the practices I mention grew. As with all such practices, the "ante" continued to climb. As it turns out, the "price of public attention" was $100,000.

Now, we are paying attention.

County staff do what those we elect tell them to do. Such is the nature of a Republic. We elect people to make judgments on our behalf. I believe its time to let our elected officials know that we would like a change in behavior on their part regarding discretionary funds, fund balances, carryovers, reserves, tax rates, fees, and other items that serve as places to take money out of our economy and our pockets and put it on the shelf, apply it to uses that have never been vetted through the formal budget process, or simply (wait for it...) give it away.

The next election is four years away (perhaps sooner for some). It could be a long four years.

I"m guessing I've been scratched off probably eight Christmas Card lists this year. That just makes my task easier. you'll be hearing a lot more about what I found as I delved into where "our money" goes in future blogs.

Merry Christmas.

by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

I am happy to share my message with like minded bloggers. Anyone is welcome to republish my blog pieces if they do so in whole, with links intact, and give full credit to my byline which is: by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

What I really don't like about discretionary funds.

2011-12-06T09:06:00.008-05:00

I've been getting a lot of emails about my posts on Discretionary funds. I got one yesterday from a friend who is probably an expert on the subject asking me exactly what I object to. I gave an incomplete answer. As I dig into this subject, I realize it's bigger than just those handouts we see our Supervisors approving on the Dias.

This all started with one rather large donation that "woke up" Prince William County to just how loosely controlled Discretionary Funds (otherwise knows as "our money") really are. As people explored discretionary funds, the story just got worse.

I give full credit to John Gray for expanding my understanding of the Prince William County budget process. He is clearly the "David Allen Sibley" of the County Budget Process (if you're not a bird watcher, that reference will be lost on you).

Frankly, our problems may be bigger than Discretionary Funds. I look forward to learning more from John on "carry over spending", or money left over from the budget process every year. I expect Government to take what it needs to provide Constitutional services and functions necessary to support the County and nothing more. If it takes too much of "our money", I want the "leftovers" back.

I am becoming suspicious that perhaps our budget process is designed to collect too much of "our money" to ensure there is money left over for "carry over spending". That isn't a "good thing", it's a symptom of perhaps a larger problem in the budget process.

I was a Program Manager and Division Manager in my past life. I understand the concept of "slack" in a Program Plan to allow for extra time to finish a project and prepare for the unexpected. It's part of the process. We never admit it's there... but it's there. I could accept a bit of "slack" in the budget process if it was acknowledged as such and provisions were made to return excess revenue ("our money") to the people either as a direct refund (as Fairfax County and the Town of Haymarket does), as a reduction in next year's tax rate, or as a reduction or elimination of some fee.

I don't expect my Government to look for ways to hide it, spend it, give it away, or make any decision other than return it to the people. It's "our money".

Considering economic scenarios Prince William County may encounter in the future, we should "rig for high winds" and tighten our budget process. You may read more about this issue in my post There's no such thing as the wrong place for person with the right skills

Like many others in Prince William County, I plan to educate myself about our budget process and look for "slack".

Back to Discretionary Funds. I don't like:

!. The absence of process. The fact that "quid pro quo" approval of a Supervisor's fellow Board Members and a weeks notice of intent is all that is necessary to spend $250, $500, $1000, $10,000, $100,000 doesn't pass the fiscal conservative "make sense" test to me. I've blogged extensively on "why" so I won't belabor the issue here.

2. The absence of competition. I am seeing lots of "our money" go to perhaps worthy organizations as a "sole source"... I'm not sure quite what to call it... contract? grant? Donation? Subsidy? Because of the absence of process, we really never know "why" a donation is made. Does the recipient duplicate, supplement, enhance, or replace some Prince William County function? Is it the best alternative?

3. The obvious use of "our money" as part of a four year incumbent campaign. I like honest campaigns. I attended several debates during the last election cycle and endeavored to learn as much as possible about the candidates. Parties mean nothing to me, I am interested in the person and what he or she believes. I also donate to the candidates who best reflect the values. I have no interest in seeing "our money" used as "walking around money" to engage in a four program of Campaigning by buying good will within the community.

4. The lack of transparency in the other uses of "our money". To quote John Gray from a previous post (which is worth reading) More info on Discretionary Funds... it's good to know a CPA, "...there is absolutely no public disclosure of the use of these funds (though nothing stops one from requesting a FOIA disclosure) and “therein lies the rub”. One Supervisor used these funds for about a three year period, to pay his “Chief Policy Advisor” (gee, I wonder if the County issued a 1099 to that recipient). As you will see below, the Chairman actually overspent his allocation by June 30, 2010, resulting in a deficit! In 2010, I know I personally stopped a $10,000 charitable contribution one Supervisor tried to make to a misnamed Charity whose real purpose was solely anti-abortion counseling. I called and emailed the County Attorney immediately when the Agenda was published, gave her the website address and by EOB that same Friday, the contribution was rescinded."

5. Carry-over. Funds not spent are carried over to the following year. Supervisors may continue to build rather large balances using "our money". According to John's data (like I said, the Sibley of...), the FYE 6/30/11 aggregate carryovers of "our money" is $950,085. As usual, I watched last week's (29 November 2011) BOCS meeting on my laptop. I remember the Police and Fire Chief testify about shortages in manpower and equipment. This was followed by discretionary donations to charities totaling $5600... and our supervisors sitting on almost a million dollars of "our money" which is managed outside the formal budget process. Questions?

I think perhaps the issue is larger than just Discretionary Funds. It's about our budget process. I published News you can use - the FY2013 Prince William County Budget Calendar I am beginning to wonder if this is really just the theater of Government versus the process of Governance.

Perhaps its time to re-energize the Chairman's and Supervisor's budget committees and involve them more intimately in the budget process.

I can imagine the "chill running up the spine" of Prince William County employees and elected officials as they read that last sentence. I spent a lot of time working the hill (Federal Government) for Large Government Agencies. I realize that true public involvement is the last thing Government wants to occur. We ask "uncomfortable" questions. We make "out of the box" suggestions. We slow things down.

Creating theatrical events such as budget committees, task forces, etc. to give the appearance of public involvement while shielding the public from the actual deliberations is very efficient. "We" (Prince William County residents) need to demand more transparency and involvement in the entire budget process, more participation in budget committees, and more public meetings where we may watch what's going on.

I would suggest that slowing down the process and growth of Government is a "good thing".

Moving too fast is probably why we end up with large Carry-over balances. We need to slow down a bit, look at the process, address the complaints that I listed above, and integrate Discretionary Funds into the budget process. If we need it, we should let folks who can do it quicker, faster, cheaper than Government compete to do it, formally fund them through the budget process, and evaluate the results of our investment for consideration in future requests.

It's "our money".

If I "missed anything", please feel free to comment (below) or email me.

by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

I am happy to share my message with like minded bloggers. Anyone is welcome to republish my blog pieces if they do so in whole, with links intact, and give full credit to my byline which is: by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

News you can use - the FY2013 Prince William County Budget Calendar.

2011-12-05T22:28:00.002-05:00

For those of you with a renewed interest in Prince William County's budget, here is the FY 2013 BUDGET CALENDAR

DATE ACTIVITY
Dec. 6, 2011 (Tue.) BOCS BUDGET GUIDANCE
Jan. 10, 2011 (Tue.) THE CXO PROPOSED FY 13-18 CIP IS PRESENTED TO THE BOARD
Feb. 14, 2012 (Tue.) THE CXO PROPOSED FY 13 BUDGET IS PRESENTED TO THE BOARD
Feb. 15, 2012 (Wed.) PLANNING COMMISSION CIP WORK SESSION
Feb. 18, 2012 (Sat.) COMMUNITY MEETING: McCoart Building - 9:00 a.m.
Feb. 21, 2012 (Tue.) BOCS AUTHORIZE TAX RATE ADVERTISEMENT FOR FY 13 BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING
Mar. 2, 2012 (Fri.) TAX RATE ADVERTISEMENT APPEARS IN NEWSPAPERS
Mar. 6, 2012 (Tue.) BOCS BUDGET WORK SESSION: McCoart Building - 7:30 p.m.
Mar. 20, 2012 (Tue.) BUDGET WORK SESSION: McCoart Building - 2:00 PM & 7:30 p.m.
Apr. 2, 2012 (Mon.) PUBLIC HEARING; McCoart Building - 7:30 p.m.
Apr. 10, 2012 (Tue.) BOCS BUDGET RECAP: McCoart Building - 2:00 p.m.
Apr. 17, 2012 (Tue.). BOCS BUDGET MARKUP: McCoart Building - 2:00 p.m.
Apr. 24, 2012 (Tue.) BOCS ADOPTS FY 13 BUDGET: McCoart Building - 2:00 p.m.
July 1, 2012 (Sat.) FY 13 BUDGET AND FY 13-18 CIP ONLINE

For a little visibility into the process, suggest you check out the Financial Board Retreat slides.

Budget guidance is scheduled to be discussed at tomorrow's (December 6) BOCS meeting. You might want to tune in on TV or your laptop for that one. I know I won't miss the Community Meeting scheduled for Feb 18, 2012. It's on my calendar!

Enjoy!

The internet, social neworking, blogging and Tipping Points

2011-12-05T08:30:00.010-05:00

A Prince William County Supervisor who I both like and respect engaged in a perfectly legal use of County money like many Supervisors before him to make a large donation to a very respectable non-profit in Prince William County, Virginia. Little did he know that the County had reached a "tipping point" regarding these donations in general and that his particularly donation of $100,000 would be the coins on the fulcrum that "tipped" this issue from public annoyance to public outrage.

If the internet, social networking and blogging didn't exist, none of us might have noticed.

Very few people actually participate in the process of Governance. twenty five years ago, this donation would have been perhaps published in advance in a local newspaper (just guessing) and witnessed by the dozen or so "regulars" who attend Board of County Supervisor Meetings. Any reporter attending would have probably considered it routine and not worth reporting.

Things have changed.

The "kindling" was publication of the Board of County Supervisor's Agenda in advance on the Prince William County Website.

The "match" (at least, for me) was one of a handful of Prince William County residents who actually participates actively in Government recognizing the impact of one item on the agenda and immediately posting it on Facebook.

Chris XXXXXXX Item 10-B. Intent to donate $100,000 by Wally Covington to RRC. That's a quarter of his discretionary funds. Furthermore, this facility isn't even in the Brentsville District. Brentsville District residents should be furious over this.
http://www.pwcgov.org/documents/bocs/agendas/2011/1129/10-B.pdf
Like · · Reshare · November 26 at 9:43am ·

The "fire" was produced by bloggers across Prince William County Virginia picking up on this agenda item and "running with it". Some started with the agenda, some perhaps with Chris' post, some with blog articles written in response to the issue.

The Supervisor in question felt the heat, recognized the tipping point, and quickly moved to put the fire out. While some may question the original donation, he gets credit for responding to the publics will. That being said, the embers will continue to generate heat for a long time. The fire he started will not go out.

Many of us tuned in to watch the BOCS meeting that was the subject on our TVs, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

As I stated in my original blog post, I didn't find it first. Chris gets full credit (at least, in my case) for the "fire". I saw Chris' post and immediately recognized something was wrong. It wasn't "rocket science" to Google the Rainbow Riding Academy, find this article in the Greater Warrenton Chamber of Commerce News, and quickly "connect the dots" between the donation, a non-profit outside the donors district, and a relative.

So I, like many others, blogged and went on Facebook.

The issue quickly went viral. It was truly the tipping point that nudged Prince William County residents from mild discomfort and angst to anger and rage over the use of Prince William County funds ("our money") to support a variety of pet causes, charities, groups, or centers.

Once you reach a tipping point, you can't go back. Now that the public rage is "out there", the public will be watching every nickel of discretionary funds with great interest. I would not want to be the Supervisor who feeds the fire.

We have all watched politicians ignore growing public outrage. The public usually wins. It's up to our elected officials just how much pain they wish to take, how badly they want to continue to damage our County's reputation and their own, how long they want to be the subjects of social media and local blogs, how "safe" they feel from following a long line of politicians who misjudged these things and was forced to resign from public office.

I worked Federal Government for many years. I learned from the best. The most savvy politicos on the hill recognized when they were at the beginning of a "tipping point" and got past it quickly by listening to the public and correcting their behavior. It was often accompanied by theatrical apologies, legislation to correct the problem, and new behavior.

This is not a conversation you want to keep alive. It distracts from the good things our County Government does and disrupts the business of serving the people.

The "amateurs" always thought they could outlast the public. Sometimes the public forgets, and sometimes they don't. The internet had made "counting on forgiveness" a bit problematic. Those of us with blogs and Facebook accounts will be reminding the public regularly. We don't plan to forget.

The interesting thing about this issue is that many of us are now much more interested in the Prince William County budget process. My friend, John Gray, has actively watched "our money" for years. He shared many other anomalies in how the County manages "our money" that captured my attention. I already had an issue (that "$40,000,000 in leftovers" the County decided to spend a couple of months ago). You may read an analysis from John on an earlier blog post aptly titled, More info on Discretionary Funds... it's good to know a CPA.

Thanks to the internet, social media, blogging, and this one Discretionary Fund Donation Governments at all levels may no longer count on apathy of the public for political cover.

So... what to do? Well, a lot of folks are taking different paths to the same end. I suspect we will be reading a lot more about how Prince William County spends "our money" in the future.

My neighbor George is looking into a Referendum. I've known George for fifteen years and learned a long time ago that he's not a good person to "piss off". I have no idea how one goes about pursuing a referendum in Prince William County; however, if its possible I'm guessing he will do it.

John Gray will continue to follow our budget process as he always has. Now, he has fans. John's a CPA. He knows how the knobs and levers work. He does the math. He's sharing the results. I know I'm paying attention.

I've started mymoneyPAC, a state level non-aligned Political Action Committee devoted to encouraging true fiscal conservatism among our elected officials at all levels. It turns out that I really don't have to register until I spend "other people's money" and a 502c4 might just be more appropriate at some point. I plan to follow how Prince William County spends "our money" throughout the budget process (John Gray particularly piqued my interest in "carry over spending") and share my opinion on Facebook and this blog.

We are at the beginning of the FY2013 budget cycle. I invite your attention to the last slide (page to the end of the presentation) of the Five Year Plan titled Is there Any More to Cut from the County's Base Budget? I would suggest they "missed one".

If this issue lasts long enough, I plan to raise money, create TV ads, buy newspaper space, and perhaps influence the outcome of elections. Then, I will have to be a registered PAC. I already have a youtube video script outlined in my mind. Think "Dukes of Hazzard..."

I actually heard the words "Recall Election" mentioned; however, John Gray (who I have discovered is a font of knowledge regarding the mechanics of Government) advised that there are no provisions for those in Virginia.

Others are investigating where "our money" actually went in the past and monitoring the budget like never before. We are all watching future donations of "our money" in the future. Discretionary Funds will easily be the source of four more years of blogging and the subject of campaign adds and candidate debates in the future.

As I have said many times, we have a great Board of County Supervisors in Prince William County. Under the leadership of Chairman Stewart (who doesn't give away "our money" to private groups it turns out), our Board has gotten us through some really tough times, protected out Triple A bond rating, and kept unemployment low. This isn't about our elected officials. It's about a broken budget process. I plan to focus on identifying what's broken and encouraging our elected officials to fix it.

After all, it's "our money".

by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

I am happy to share my message with like minded bloggers. Anyone is welcome to republish my blog pieces if they do so in whole, with links intact, and give full credit to my byline which is: by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

There's no such thing as the wrong place for person with the right skills.

2011-12-04T10:13:00.010-05:00

I've been in the tech industry since I was twenty-one years old writing assembler for the IBM 360. I moved through a dozen platforms graduating to super-computers for the Intel Community and then to managing projects across the technology spectrum for Government and Industry. I understand tech talent, how to get it, build it, apply it, and charge for it. While I am no longer active in the industry, I still watch the space that dominated the majority of my life and was the source of the modest success I now enjoy.

This article in the December 1, 2011 edition of Business Week, Retailers Are Losing the Software Talent Wars, contains a lot if "metadata" that some will miss.

The biggest take-away is the quote, "Target’s Web woes are only the most obvious symptom of a big problem afflicting e-commerce: The dearth of talented engineers. Across all of tech, the job market is tight, with too many openings chasing too few people with technical skills. Retailers have an especially hard time finding qualified engineers because they lack the panache and pocketbooks of Silicon Valley companies. “There’s no question that things are a lot sexier going to Google (GOOG) or some startup,” says Greg Buzek, president of retail technology consultant IHL Group.

I have blogged a couple of times about Andy Grove's book "Only the Paranoid Survive" and inflection points. You may read my earlier post if you want to learn more. The "elevator story" is that at some point, you might conclude that things are changing and you should perhaps change your business also. This "point" (which actually might be a period of time) is an example of a strategic inflection point. Inflection points are either a "problem" (if you miss them) or an "opportunity (if you exploit them).

Northern Virginia is at a strategic inflection point.

Let's define a few dots:

1. The Super Committee failed. Any way you slice it (no pun intended) our Government will be smaller by 2013 and probably continue on a downward trajectory thereafter.

2. Our wars are winding down. We pulled out of Iraq last week and are on a glide plane to significantly reduce our strength levels there.

3. DoD will take a hit... and it won't hurt our defensive posture. With today's technology, intel capabilities, tools, and other force multipliers it isn't about boots on the ground... it's about a flexible, special operations based capability to identify threats and surgically eliminate them.

4. Northern Virginia will be a much different place in the future. Various estimates indicate we could lose 100-120 k jobs under various economic scenarios.

5. We have one of the best educated, highly skilled, experienced workforces in the nation supporting a side range of Government and industry applications across the technology architecture.

Simply put, our Federal Government can't "keep doing what they are doing"... and neither can Northern Virginia.

We have choices. Lets explore what we might connect these dots.

We may "keep doing what we are doing" which would put us on the downward side of the curve, or failure. The symptoms would include a high unemployment rate, reduced tax base, collapsed commercial and business real estate market, the closure of secondary and tertiary businesses who depend upon the DC Metro economy for their success, etc., etc., etc.

Or, it could be an opportunity. The technology exists to allow knowledge and technology workers to "do what they do" from anywhere in the world. I propose we "connect the dots" that I listed above and start marketing the Northern Virginia knowledge pool as a virtual talent base available to industry requiring their advanced esoteric skills around the world. Our Governor travels internationally promoting Virginia products and business friendly climate. I suggest that he add the intellectual capital of Northern Virginia to his marketing strategy. Let us "connect" our smart people with jobs across the Country and around the world using telework.

There's no such thing as the "wrong place to live" for person with the right skills.

The technical skills in Northern Virginia are high-end and generally draw top rates. Commercial rates (and I have sold both commercial and Government technology skills) tend to be much higher than their Government counterparts. System development tools and methodologies exist to support concurrent development of objects within a system at multiple locations to an integrated architecture. the technology is generally in place to allow people to work anywhere... at home, Starbucks or Paneras (my favorite places)... anywhere. This is not rocket science... it is not a new idea... it is available technology today... it is the "leverage" Northern Virginia needs to smoothly transition to "what's next" when the job market contracts in our area.

The "secret sauce" of inflection points is to be "first". Early adaptors take the greatest risks and reap the greatest rewards. The "second wave" (or the folks who let others "Bleed" a bit before deciding), benefit from the risktakers who jumped in. The late adaptors pick up the crumbs or go out of business.

I suggest that Northern Virginia should be "the" early adaptor in leveraging its intellectual capital as a services product available to any business, any where, any time.

What if I'm wrong? I'm not sure I see a down side to expanding the portfolio of opportunities for the residents of Northern Virginia to include new national and global markets.

I am the Chairman of the Prince William Chamber of Commerce Telework Task force (a group i created). A number of very talented people who see this inflection point have come together to develop a telework strategy that's good for business, good for real estate values, and good for the quality of life of Prince William County residents. (If you browse this blog, you will find several posts on this topic). We are exploring how telework helps local businesses, improves our real estate values, and makes life better for our residents. We will also review public policy at the Federal, State and local level.

I looked at the November 11, 2011 Prince William County Budget Retreat slides a couple of days ago. Prince William County's Five Year Plan shows progressive growth in the County budget based upon ever increasing revenue streams to build more roads, deliver more services, set. As my financial advisor alway whispers in my ear, "Past performance (especially very recent past performance for a short period time) is no guarantee of future performance. I didn't "create" these dots, I only "connected" them.

I would suggest Prince William County consider the scenario I discuss in developing its FY2013 and beyond budgets and its next generation strategic plan. Simply put, Prince William County needs to consider the inflection point it faces and develop a "Plan B".

We all know that Prince William County is a great place to live, work and play.

I suggest it is also a great place to telework.

by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

I am happy to share my message with like minded bloggers. Anyone is welcome to republish my blog pieces if they do so in whole, with links intact, and give full credit to my byline which is: by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

Bo, we don't live in Hazzard County any more...

2011-12-03T09:58:00.004-05:00

Prince William County has transitioned from a rural community consisting of a sparsely distributed population and pastoral views to one of the wealthiest, most educated, fastest growing, populated areas in the Country. Our County Government has evolved into a complex body that provides services from cradle to grave to its citizens. Prince William County is routinely recognized as one of the best places to live, work, and play in national surveys. Simply put, we are moving into a cornerstone position in the DC Metro Area's housing, jobs, and economic engine.

We still have a few artifacts of that rural culture of the past. Discretionary Funds, a polite name for what is generally called "walking around money" is one of the (IMHO) most egregious of those artifacts. It's time to eliminate discretionary funds.

Because of the controversy over one particularly large Discretionary Fund distribution last week, people are starting to look "under the covers" a bit to see where "our money" is going. Our Supervisors (I note that our Chairman doesn't appear to engage in the practice of giving "our money" to private causes, groups or charities) routinely dispense small and large amounts of money to a list of very worthy causes. I write checks to a few of the same groups myself.

I don't think our Supervisors are "bad people"... I like all of them (although I'm guessing my name is being eliminated from a number of Christmas Card lists this year). I donated to three BOCS campaigns and campaigned for my own Supervisor, Marty Nohe (actually, I froze my "***" off working the six to nine shift at the Penn Precinct Voting Station). I would do the same again.

This isn't about corrupt politicians whom I would like to see thrown out of public office. It's about what I consider to be a "broken fiscal process" that we need to repair. I have no interest in derailing the successful trajectory Prince William County is now on over this one issue. I have no objection to making a few people uncomfortable over this one issue.

Our Supervisors inherited a culture of using taxpayer money outside any formal budget process and with only quid pro quo oversight from their peers as "walking around" money. I can understand that Discretionary Funds give a politician the political power to buy good will across a community. Buying that good will indiscriminately with our money may, in some cases, override the desire of the community or perhaps be at cross purposes with religious, political or cultural beliefs of some of that community's members.

I support and prefer faith and community based delivery of services to the Community. In fact, I prefer them to Government involvement. I believe that Government support for these services should be managed like a business. Any private organization desiring to provide public services that enhance the Government's ability to serve its citizens (within the context of our Strategic Plan and approved functions) should compete for "our money". Competition ensures that these groups operate efficiently, innovate continually, and deliver most of "our money" to its intended target.

We basically are paying for four years worth of incumbent campaigning. It's hard to put a price on the publicity, good will, news features, donor listings, etc. that come with handing out "our money" to private groups. Many of these groups perhaps don't even realize they are receiving a donation from the good people of Prince William County.

As I pondered this issue (and I think about it quite a bit lately), I wonder why this wasn't a (perhaps "the") Campaign issue. I went to several candidate debates and didn't hear this issue mentioned once. I can only assume that all candidates from all parties recognize the value of "walking around money" as a tool to keep groups and constituents in line and beholding to their Supervisor.

I have no plans to ever run for public office. If I were running against an Incumbent who claimed the banner of fiscal conservatism while dipping his or her hand in my pocket for "walking around money", I would create a 30 second video with the theme song from "The Dukes of Hazard" running in the background as I rolled through news clippings, listings in annual reports, videos, and stories of whomever I was running against dispensing "our money" as they see fit. My campaign theme would be simple, "Bo, we don't live in Hazzard County any more..."

The simple fact that I didn't see this video, didn't hear this issue, didn't listen to this topic at the many campaign debates I attended tells me just how pervasive the expectation of "walking around money" is on the part of those holding or seeking public office.

Every donation requires a choice. A donation to a group is a donation denied to another group. this is not a decision our elected officials should be making with "our money". I donate to several local groups. My donations reflect my culture, beliefs and values. When I vote for a Supervisor, I don't expect them to use "my money" to make these decisions for me.

We are the only County in Northern Virginia that still dispenses "walking around money" in the form of discretionary funds. Prince William County is trying very hard to attract new business, improve its image, and demonstrate that we are truly a great place to live, work and play.

For the record, our Chairman and Supervisors are doing a great job in that regard.

Discretionary funds are the last artifact of our more rural culture. If we truly want to join the rest of Northern Virginia in sound financial management practices, its time to eliminate them. If a Supervisor believes that a group can deliver some legitimate service to Prince William County residents quicker, faster or cheaper than the Government or any other group, that Supervisor should refer the group in question to County staff so they may be allowed to compete for "our money".

Yes, I know supervisors have to pay for offices, staff, supplies, etc. The simple fact is that we obviously (probably by design over the years) allow far too much money to our Supervisors for this task, provide too much discretion over how it is spent (no, I don't consider saving money on office space and staff an acceptable excuse for giving away "my money"), and (to overcome the "baggage" term itself now carries) rename the process of paying for Supervisor's legitimate and business related expenses.

We need to change this culture. I do not consider making charitable contribution decisions with "my money" part of the job description of those who I elect for public office. We the people reserve that right for ourselves.

This isn't a story that is going away any time soon.

by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

I am happy to share my message with like minded bloggers. Anyone is welcome to republish my blog pieces if they do so in whole, with links intact, and give full credit to my byline which is: by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

More info on Discretionary Funds... it's good to know a CPA.

2011-12-01T16:45:00.003-05:00

We would all like to know more about Discretionary Funds. John Gray, local CPA, has been doing his "homework". This message was forwarded to me by a third party. I asked John if I could share it "as written" and he agreed.

You'll notice John is encouraging bloggers and social networkers to publish this so feel free to copy and use it as you see fit.

you'll probably see it lots of places.

A Prince William County Supervisor who I truly respect once put issues in perspective for me. The Supervisor correctly pointed out that while he listens to all constituants, he recognizes that often the few who complain about something perhaps do not represent all of the 54,000 residents of his District (or the 400,000 residents of Prince William County) or the opinions of those who don't complain (which one might conclude means they agree or approve of whatever the issue is). He (correctly) sought larger forums for such issues to listen to the full range of opinions rather than act on the recommendation of just a few.

If only a few of us care, this issue will go away... and I'll be ok with that. I understand the concept of a Republic and the value of bringing in a bit of "direct Democracy" occasionally to get the pulse of a community.

We'll just have to see how many folks care.

Enjoy!

From: John Gray [mailto:john@johngraycpa.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2011 12:21 PM
To: 'John Gray'
Subject: Supervisors Discretionary Funds

I’ve sent you all this via a “bcc” because everyone wants anonymity, so I will respect that. However you may trash this, forward it to anyone you want or post it anywhere you want, meaning a blog, InsideNova.com or Facebook. I have nothing to hide and this is all public information anyway.

I’ve spent some time researching the Magisterial District Discretionary Funds. As a primer, if you are not aware, each Supervisor receives $49,000 per fiscal year for these funds. They can spend the funds or carry forward any unused balances. And as we’ve seen, the use is “Discretionary” on their part. The premise behind the funds is for the Supervisor to use them for the benefit of their district constituents and is supposed to allow the Supervisor to legally circumvent the lengthy and cumbersome procurement process. As we’ve seen, the funds are also used for charitable contributions and as we’ve seen in the Supervisor’s Agenda’s, the charitable giving has been for the most part, to very worthwhile endeavors. That being said, beyond the Charitable giving, there is absolutely no public disclosure of the use of these funds (though nothing stops one from requesting a FOIA disclosure) and “therein lies the rub”. One Supervisor used these funds for about a three year period, to pay his “Chief Policy Advisor” (gee, I wonder if the County issued a 1099 to that recipient). As you will see below, the Chairman actually overspent his allocation by June 30, 2010, resulting in a deficit! In 2010, I know I personally stopped a $10,000 charitable contribution one Supervisor tried to make to a misnamed Charity whose real purpose was solely anti-abortion counseling. I called and emailed the County Attorney immediately when the Agenda was published, gave her the website address and by EOB that same Friday, the contribution was rescinded.

I’ve complied the Carryover Balances for each district at the June 30, FYE for 2010 and 2011 as provided below. Prior to 2010, only the aggregate carry forward was provided, not the individual District:

BV Coles Dumfries Gainev Neabsco Occ Wdge Chair
2011 $357,700 $ 267,204 $ 87,727 $ 85,944 $ 62,297 $ 17,706 $ 61,453 $ 9,855
2010 $302,004 $ 273,591 $ 110,141 $ 10,526 $ 36,491 $ 23,457 $ 27,971 Deficit

Aggregate Carryovers for the FYE 6/30/11 $ 950,085
6/30/10 $ 931,182
6/30/09 $ 777,942
6/30/08 $ 1,079,950
6/30/07 $ 1,128,074

I am pretty sure the current year end balances includes the $89,000 each supervisor has received the last two fiscal years (FYE10 & FYE11) and will get for three more years, in what was inappropriately and intentionally misnamed as “Community Development and Staff Retention” funds. I “caught” that in the Carryover Discussion in the August, 2010 meeting agenda and after a few phone calls, quickly discovered the CXO had arranged the yearly $712,000 allocation ($89,000 for eight BofCS members) to be made over five years, a total of $3,560,000. When this was first exposed, two Supervisors (Caddigan and May) immediately declined the funds being placed into their Discretionary Accounts but “contributed” their $89,000 to other expenditures, Caddigan contributing her $ 89,000 to the Montclair Library Building Fund and May contributing his $89,000 to the Rainey Day Fund. Marty Nohe later had “buyer’s remorse” and in April 2011 gave his $89,000 to the Transportation Reserve Fund. The point is each supervisor accepted the money but five kept it in their accounts for “Community Development and Staff Retention”. For the FYE12, this allocation is no longer provided its own line item and has been buried elsewhere, but I have been assured each supervisor is still getting their $89,000

For the Current CALENDAR Year (January 1, 2011 through Nov 29, 2011) per the BofCS Agenda, Supervisors have made the following contributions out of their Discretionary Funds:

Brentsville $ 21,500; Coles $ 14,350; Dumfries $ 19,270; Gainesville $ 7,700; Neabsco $ 16,485;
Occoquan $ 4,400; Wdbdge $ 17,275; Chairman $ 600: Total” $ 101,580

I don’t have time to analyze contributions made in the prior years and I’m sure it wouldn’t prove anything anyway. Charitable contributions aren’t illegal. The point of this exercise is that the whole matter of Discretionary Funds needs to be a matter of public debate and the use of these funds needs to be disclosed IN THEIR ENTIRELY. Anyone interested in doing a FOIA request? I did one a few years ago and found one Supervisor was paying a professional political consultant quite a large chunk of money for what was described as “administrative assistance”. It was a flat out lie, the consultant was obviously doing pure political research. After I discussed this with that particular Supervisor, he agree the expenditure could be misconstrued and discontinued the consultants services, which was another way of saying he received the information he needed.

This email is pretty long so I should close but if anyone thinks the Discretionary Fund spending is a joke, whoa-boy, don’t even TRY to look at the “Carry Over Spending” done each year in the only meeting held each August. I’ve harped on this for years to no avail but I am convinced it’s because NONE of the Supervisors have a real understanding of how that works. As bait: Anyone want to explain why each year PWC “carry’s over” on average $ 7.5 million of unspent expenditure money, meaning expenditures budgeted to be made but weren’t? How this year (FYE June 30, 2011) the County managed to create yet ANOTHER reserve fund out of unspent tax dollars, this time called the “Transportation Reserve” for another $ 7.8 million (not the $7.5 million above)? It wasn’t there last FY! Why is PWC allocating a couple million in capital expenditures out of the General Fund? Why aren’t these in the Capital Improvement Program plan ,i.e. $750,000 in funding for three medic units, $690,00 I Public Works construction projects ?

Okay, I’ll stop…….thanks for your time and I hope I haven’t bored you too much (but I have to admit, I love this kind of stuff!).

John

John S. Gray CPA PC

by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

I am happy to share my message with like minded bloggers. Anyone is welcome to republish my blog pieces if they do so in whole, with links intact, and give full credit to my byline which is: by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

I really hope our time isn't up.

2011-11-30T09:43:00.005-05:00

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years.” ~ Alexis de Tocqueville.

We have come to accept earmarks, discretionary funds, and the loose use of collecting too much of our money at all levels. Right now, for example, Prince William County government is talking about creating stable new revenue streams to collect more of "our money" through yet to be determined taxes on our lives, fees on our activities, etc. I would suggest that perhaps the people would be better served if we looked for regular expenses to discontinue.

We just went through hard times in Prince William County. Thanks to good leadership, we came out the other end better than most. It's not "Rocket Science" that there is a high probability that Prince William County and Northern Virginia "ain't seen nothing yet!"

The Federal Government is getting smaller. It's handing out fewer and smaller checks. The Commonwealth is moving more expenses to localities. The failure of the Super committee, the drawdown of our overseas adventures, and the simple fact that the Federal Government is going broke will pretty much strangle the sources of Prince William County's tax base. There are predictions that the Commonwealth could loose 100,000-120,000 jobs. Northern Virginia would take the brunt of that blow. Unemployment may go up, real estate values may go down, small businesses may close, and we might not get out of the next downturn quite as gracefully.

We know this is coming. We have a chance to prepare for it. I would suggest that prudence dictates Prince William County carefully evaluate every expense, reconsider every effort to grow staff, mission, or facilities, and look for things to eliminate.

I believe discretionary funds should be the first to go. There are several ways to do this form a policy perspective. I will be exploring them in future posts.

Tocqueville correctly observed that losing control of the money we entrust our Government with leads to the collapse of democratic Governments. We've lost control. We have to regain control as if the future of our Democracy depends upon it.

If everyone wants to keep a hand out for a piece of the action ("our money" collected as a "stable revenue stream" of one sort of another), it might just be. The problem is much larger than Prince William County; however, I live here. We have to start somewhere.

The "good news" (yes, there is good news)... every "problem" is also an "opportunity"... for those who understand inflection points. I'll be discussing that in future posts, also.

I hope our time as a Democracy isn't up. We may not like what's next.

by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

I am happy to share my message with like minded bloggers. Anyone is welcome to republish my blog pieces if they do so in whole, with links intact, and give full credit to my byline which is: by Al Alborn http://albornbiz.blogspot.com/

Update: Supervisor Covington pulls controversial donation.

2011-11-28T16:04:00.006-05:00

I just read on the INSIDENOVA.com website that Supervisor Covington has pulled his controversial donation That's a good thing.

The real "win" here is public awareness of Discretionary Funds and their use. I have noticed that the amounts have risen over time and the recipients have become more diverse. The fact that we are now watching what our Board of County Supervisor's are doing with "our money" was worth this exercise.

I have the feeling that somewhere along the way, our Board of County Supervisor's might have lost sight that every dime they spend on anything... paper for their office... a potted plant for the McCoart Administration Center... donations to private groups... comes out of "our pockets". We have to constantly remind them that their office didn't come with a monopoly board full of cash... it came with the responsibility of being good stewards of "our money".

I think this episode brought a "drip" in our pockets to the public's attention. I applaud Supervisor Covington for recognizing that perhaps the public was not sympathetic to this particular donation; however, the job isn't over. We need to "plug the leak". We need to take Government's hands out of our pockets.

I would suggest our Board consider the following steps:

First, shut down discretionary funds immediately. I don't care how long they have been place what they do for our community. this episode recognizes just how much room for abuse or misjudgment exists in their distribution.

Second, return outstanding discretionary fund balances. It's "our money" and we want it back.

Third, every dime over a specified threshold should be planned for in the County Budget. If we haven't planned for it, built a business case, evaluated it against all of the other alternatives for spending "our money", performed an ROI to determine if it may be best performed by Government, private enterprise, or a non-profit... we shouldn't do it.

Forth, (as I have said many times on many previous posts), if the Government collects too much of "our money", they should give back what they don't need (by check, a tax decrease, elimination of a fee, or whatever). The thought of our BOCS thinking of creative ways to spend the $40,000,000 of "our money" that was leftover from last year's budget process or excess discretionary funds that are more of "our money" that remain and roll over every year just isn't how the business of Governance should be managed.

IF you agree with any or all of these, you might consider giving your Supervisor a bit of encouragement via email, letters, office visits, and citizens time.

Extra money found anywhere shouldn't be treated as a "tip" from a grateful public, it should be treated as an error in the budget process, returned to the public, and reflect a better budget process the following year. Collecting too much of "our money" isn't time to throw a party, it's time to look at the budget process to see where it failed.

Like I said in my original post, I like Wally Covington... I really, really do. I am sure his heart was in the right place. I suspect that all of the Supervisors believe that they are doing the right thing when they select some cause, some charity, some unfunded budget item or public works project upon which to spend "our money". I also suspect they will re-think how they spend discretionary funds in the future because... after this incident... we will be watching.

I regret the embarrassment that Supervisor Covington, his lovely wife and family, or the good folks at the Rainbow Therapeutic Riding Academy may have felt as a result of exposing this perhaps not atypical example of how Prince William County Discretionary Funds are spent. As I said, if I lived in the Brentsville District, I would vote for him again. I agree with his decisions on the Dias most of the time... this just isn't one of those times. Apparently, a lot of people agree with me.

The Rainbow Therapeutic Riding Academy deserves to be considered for our Individual and Corporate support. I plan to add them to my annual giving list and hope those who consider its mission more important than some of the other charitable alternatives join me.

Making the decision of which charitable organizations to support is important to me. It reflects my values. I reserve that right for myself. I do not consider making charitable giving decisions for me with "my money" part of the duties of those I elect to perform the business of Governance.

That being said. I am grateful this incident finally moved Prince William County resident's dissatisfaction with the Discretionary Fund process from a "minor annoyance" we just live with to a "major public issue" which causes an outcry. I understand how a Republic works. It's based upon trust of the few to represent the many. This time, our BOCS was exposed to a little direct democracy... and the message from Prince William County resident's is clear.

It's time to get rid of Discretionary Funds.

Thank you Supervisor Covington!

2011-11-27T09:37:00.006-05:00

I like Wally Covington... I really do. If I lived in Brentsville, I'd vote for him. He strikes me as a reasonable man trying to do the right thing and navigate his way through the part time position of County Supervisor. I support his positions on the Dias most of the time. This isn't one of those times.

I would like to say I found it first; however, I'll give credit to a Facebook friend for bringing my attention to an agenda item on the 29 November Prince William County Board of County Supervisor agenda, DONATE $100,000 FROM FY2012 BRENTSVILLE MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT FUNDS TOP THE RAINBOW THERAPEUTIC EQUESTRIAN RIDING CENTER.

I'm sure Wally thought this was a good idea at the time. I was an executive with a fortune 200 company for a number of years and recognize that sometimes what I considered a "good idea" didn't stand up to peer review. The Rainbow Therapeutic Equestrian Riding Center serves a worthy cause and provides a worthwhile service to our community. I truly believe that Wally's heart was in the right place; however, his judgment in this case... not so much. The idea that no one would object to giving $100,000 of "our money" to a private charity where his wife is President of the Board of Directors, and its outside of his Magisterial District (a "principle" thing) to boot boggles my mind. Doing it right after the votes are counted strikes me as a bit cynical.

I always review the BOCS Agenda to see what's going on. I am particularly interested in who the BOCS is giving "my money" to in the form of discretionary fund distributions. I have always been against the use of discretionary funds (otherwise known as "our money") to support private groups and charitable foundations chosen by our Supervisors. That being said, I "bite my tongue" as I read about $500, $1000 or perhaps more going to groups which I may or may not support. I can write my own checks to the groups I chose, thank you (and do regularly) and enjoy the tax break for my contribution. I DO NOT support the use of "our money" to make purely discretionary donations to private groups. My Supervisor, Coles District Supervisor Marty Nohe, is well aware of my feelings on this issue.

After pondering this a bit, it occurred to me that Supervisor Covington might have done Prince William County a great service. Most people are against discretionary funds; however, not enough to force change. This poor judgment (IMHO) in the use of public funds might just be the catalyst for change we need to finally reform the use and distribution of discretionary funds (or, more to the point, eliminate them).

The unintended consequence of this particular request might be a critical review and revision of County policy on discretionary funds. Office, staff, and operational expenses should be submitted and reimbursed as actual expenses. A reasonable cap should be established. Any distribution to a private group or charity should be managed by the County as a grant (application, Review, ROI to county, etc.). Supervisors may support a grant request; however, approval should be after staff review and recommendation (this could be a citizen committee).

One of the lessons we learn in the Military is that the "appearance of impropriety" is just as damning as actual impropriety. A reasonable person would certainly consider this use of "our money" to be inappropriate regardless of the honorable intentions that perhaps motivated it.

Prince William County ended the last fiscal year with an extra $40,000,000. Many of us suggested that perhaps a fiscally conservative Board of County Supervisors should return some of "our money" to... well... us. After the laughter subsided, the money was spent like extra change found in sofa cushions on things that weren't actually planned for this year. While I realize this is mixing "apples and oranges" (a longer conversation), the simple fact is that our County Government appears to be under the impression that all of our salary, retirement checks, interest, dividends, etc. actually belongs to them... and we may keep what's left.

It's all "our money"! If the County doesn't need it, "we" want it returned to us! You an write us checks or use it to reduce next year's taxes... but don't, as an alternative, think of creative way so spend (wait for it...) "our money".

I believe that Government at all levels should be run like a business. We are its shareholders. Our "Board of Directors" (BOCS) should be good stewards of our money. They should spend as little of "our money" as possible on the business of Governance. If there is any left over, they should return it. Right now... I'm getting the feeling... that just isn't the case.

If this passes, it will probably be the end of discretionary funds as we know them. It will provide months of conversation better spent on more important County issues and focus public attention on something that, to date, has only been a minor "irritant". It has the potential to create a groundswell of public outrage that will force change to the process. Actually, that might just be worth $100,000 in the long run.

Thank you, Supervisor Covington, for finally bringing discretionary funds to the public's attention and perhaps galvanizing the community and your fellow board members to review how they are distributed in the future. I strongly suggest you fix this now and withdraw your request. This isn't a story that will get better with age.

I'm a 2... and I like it!

2011-11-23T17:00:00.008-05:00

I am currently enrolled in George Mason's Leadership Prince William. It's a great program that walks us through Prince William County Government one function at a time. Last week, we went to Prince William Forest Park for the day to discuss environmental and recreation issues.

Our "homework" included a "walkability" exercise. We were instructed to go to www.walkscore.com and compute our walkscore. A walkscore is a measurability of the "walkability" of your neighborhood, or how close you are to the amenities that you need in life (work, shopping, Starbucks, etc.) on a 1 (worst) to 100 (the best) index.

I computed mine and discovered I'm a 2!

The assumption is that everyone should want a high walkability score. We all should strive to live in nice clustered homes or high rise apartments to cut down on our use of cars, improve our health, and a myriad of other really good things.

The "flaw" with this currently popular bit of social engineering is that not everyone wants to live in a crowd. I'm a 2 for a reason... I like my privacy. I'm one of those folks who really doesn't like to be told where to live, work or play by some "enlightened soul" with the "divine insight" to instruct the rest of us. These "self appointed social engineers" feel compelled to "organize" the rest of us (often, ironically, from the comfort of their Country estates).

So... I'm a 2. That's because I have the Oak Hill Country Store a mile up the road (for bread, milk, eggs, wine, and perhaps a sandwich... they make the best BLT in the County). I envy one of my fellow students who is a 0. He thought that was a bit "high" for his tastes. I like this guy!

The simple fact is no one should lay awake at night thinking about where the rest of us should live. I left Old Bridge Estates in Woodbridge, VA in 1996 because of what I considered to be an "out of control" Home Owners Association telling me where to park (long story). I now live on a couple of acres in a private community with a no trespassing sign at the entrance and no rules. We pay the same taxes as everyone else (actually, we probably actually pay two to three times what most folks pay due to property values) while getting a lot less County services.

We maintain and plow our own roads, drink water from our own wells, dispose of our wastewater in our own septic systems, and live nowhere near a park, library, civic center, baseball or soccer field, or any other public amenity... all of which we pay for.

I wouldn't change a thing. In fact, you can keep my tax dollars as long as you leave me alone!

About that parking dispute with my HOA, I now have a parking area bigger than the size of my lot in Old Bridge... sweet irony.

People and families are not "one size fits all". We are the product of our environment and our history. I spent twenty-two years of my life in the Army going where I was told, living where I was assigned, and working wherever they sent me. At this point in my life, the last thing I want to be told by some "self-appointed, un-elected activist" engaged in unproven social engineering with no particular research to back it up is that I have no right to live where I chose. And, for the record, I haven't done something just because someone told me to in a number of years. I find that when I chat with my neighbors, I hear a lot of similar stories. People come to my neighborhood to "get away" from the crowds.

I extend this reasoning my brethren. Prince William County expects significant growth in the coming years. If you own property, I believe that as long as you comply with zoning requirements and public safety, you should be free to do with it what you will. If you want to build a home, you should be free to explore Prince William County, buy land based upon the things you value, and build the home that you have dreamed of for whatever reason as long as you follow the rules.

It's the people who spend their time worrying about other people's property or lives that bother me. They tend to be highly motivated and "show up" (while the fact that the vast majority of Prince William County resident's don't care enough to show up is dismissed an important data point.) They also tend to hide their true motivations under cover of popular public causes or issues. Folks who attempt to influence public policy often obscure their true intent in popular causes about which the general public knows little.

I would suggest that anyone who values their freedom and their right to chose how they and their family live, work and play keep an eye on the "details" of the Governance process. One thing that I believe our County Government doesn't do enough of is long term impact analysis to reduce unintended consequences. If you accept the story of the proponents of a specific public policy, you often miss its true impact on the community.

We must be ever vigilant of efforts to chip away at our right to live as we chose.

Pay attention, folks. There are a few people who spend their idle time thinking about how the rest of us should live, work, and play. They would really love to see everyone with a high "walkability" score... living in tightly planned communities... wheather those people want that kind of life... or not.

Everything is connected.

2011-11-20T11:56:00.003-05:00

My last post, MIDCO's Occoquan Reservoir Overlay District final report, caused me to think about “Systems Theory”. I’m a practitioner of Systems theory. I have withdrawn from the business world to apply my expertise to the public policy and the system of Governance.

The report in question was written by some very civic minded folks who truly care about our community. There’s a lot of really “good stuff” in there. There is also quite a bit with which I disagree.

After thinking about it, my major issue is that it lacks recognition of the reality that everything is connected. The report approaches the “problem” of protecting the Occoquan Reservoir as narrowly defined to a mile strip on the Prince William County of the Occoquan River. The Occoquan Reservoir is owned by Fairfax County. the Occoquan Watershed spans Fairfax, Spotsylvania, Loudoun and Prince William County as well as the Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park. It includes Mid-County and the Rural Crescent.

Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality (DEM), the Federal Government's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Cheaspeake Bay Act overlay additional legal requirements. It feeds the Potomac River, the Chesapeake Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean. When you “relieve yourself” in the Occoquan Watershed, you are literally “peeing in the world’s water supply.”

There’s only so much water in the world and we can’t make more. It’s the same amount that was there when the earth formed around 8 Billion or so years ago. Only three percent of it is drinkable. Protecting it isn’t a Prince William County problem, it’s a global problem. Developing a solution requires a regional stakeholder driven solution based upon science and sound research.

When you approach problems outside of a systems context, you are optimizing a subsystem (if you’re lucky... and have the right people working on it) at the expense of the system and working on mitigating a symptom instead of identifying and solving the real problem (or root cause). We need to understand and define real “problems” and stop working on “symptoms”.

In consultant-speak (a term I have used many times with clients), “We need to diagnose before we prescribe.”

Prince William County’s water, power, roads, communications, weather, jobs, etc., etc., etc. don’t stop at the Occoquan River. We are tightly coupled to Fairfax County, Washington, DC, and the entire DC Metro region. Fortunately, we do have some really smart people who have figured this out. They are taking a regional approach.

The Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC) is one example. The NVRC is providing the framework for identifying and solving problems. It is a regional council consisting of fourteen member governments in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. It is a systems view of our region.

The Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments is another body that applies a systems perspective to a region consisting of Maryland, DC and Virginia. It recognizes how tightly coupled our roads, environment, housing and other issues are coupled.

These are just a couple of examples of Regional frameworks available to solve problems that cross borders instead of working on symptoms. These are examples of a systems approach to our regions problems. This is where we should start.

Everything is connected.

We have people who understand that we must think regionally and look to the future and people whose thinking stops at the Occoquan River and like the past. I believe that the people we elected to represent us in Prince William County are looking to the future. They recognize that while our “symptoms” may appear local, the “problems” (or root cause) must be solved on a regional basis.

We have another cycle of Strategic Planning coming up for Prince William County. In today’s connected world, it is particularly important that we stop thinking locally and start thinking regionally. There is simply no excuse for working on a symptom versus identifying and involving all of the stakeholders in solving the real problem.

Let’s start “connecting the dots” within the DC Metro area so we may really solve our Region's problems.