Golden Hydrant goes to Feds for spending $145 Million on stupid TV commercials to market Census 2010
As I was paying bills the other night during the Olympics, I saw yet another of those annoying 2010 U.S. Census commercials and decided - as I was grumbling about government waste under my breath - that it was time to award another Golden Fire Hydrant.
The U.S. government is spending $340 million to market the 2010 Census. About $145 million of that is for the creation and airing of television commercials, which can be seen during the most expensive time slots in TV (including a $2.5 million 30-second spot during the Super Bowl).
The ads stink, by anyone’s definition. They use marginally famous actors in a painfully unsuccessful attempt to be humorous. They share practically no useful information (not even telling viewers to fill out their census forms) and are unlikely to convince anyone who is opposed to or disinterested in completing the form to do so.
The Hydrant usually goes to a Hennepin County expenditure and, in the past, I have avoided calling out federal programs (as I would be posting on wasteful spending four times a day). But the combination of paying my bills and seeing one of these annoying multi-million dollar commercials for the umpteenth time put me over the edge. Read more…
Cost of Healthcare for the Indigent is Falling Disproportionately on Hennepin County Taxpayers
We’ve heard a lot of talk over the past few months about the scheduled elimination of the General Assistance Medical Care (”GAMC”) program. GAMC is a state program providing health care coverage to the very poor in Minnesota who are not covered by other state or federal programs. GAMC served over 35,000 Minnesotans in 2009, many of them mentally ill, disabled or chemically dependent.
Governor Pawlenty unalotted GAMC last year after proposing reforms to the program that the legislature failed to consider. Funding for the program is scheduled to end on April 1, 2010.
The largest percentage of GAMC patients in Minnesota use Hennepin County Medical Center (”HCMC”) for their care. HCMC is a public safety-net hospital that is subsidized by the taxpayers of Hennepin County. If the Governor and legislature do not find a way to restore a part of GAMC funding this session, HCMC will receive about $43 million less in state funding in 2010 than it did in 2009.
The Hennepin County Board has already promised $18 million of taxpayer money from the 2010 property tax increase to fill part of that hole. HCMC plans changes in its service delivery and operations to fill another portion. There will still, however, be a gap. Read more…
Janitors will clean Hennepin County buildings during the day.
Yesterday’s Star Tribune included a story (”Cleaning in the Light of Day“) about the upcoming change to janitorial services in Hennepin County buildings:
Janitors typically do their work sight unseen, after everyone else has gone home. But soon that’s going to change at the Hennepin County Government Center and other heavily used county buildings.
By shutting off the lights and turning down the thermostats at night, the county expects to save at least $100,000 a year in energy costs.
Starting March 1, about half of Hennepin County’s buildings - 63 in all - will be vacuumed, wiped down, swept and emptied of trash during the daytime rather than at night. It’s thought to be the first public entity in Minnesota to move to day cleaning, a trend that has gained popularity in the private sector. Read more…
We’re Not Going to Win 2010 by Default
It’s been wild listening to some prominent Democrats this past week who seem completely clueless as to the message behind the amazing Republican victory in Massachusetts. Some are arguing that their candidate was bad or that local issues mattered or that Obama hasn’t been liberal enough (or conservative enough). Martha Coakley, the Democrat who lost the seat, stated in her concession speech that she lost partly because people are “angry about our two wars and our inability to properly care for those who return home after fighting.”
I suppose there is some anger out there about those issues, but that’s not the tenth of it. The citizens of Massachusetts and America are angry for a much, much bigger reason: Government is completely, utterly and infuriatingly out of control! Read more…
Happy New Year!
The Hennepin County Board had its first meeting of the year this week, re-electing Mike Opat as our chairman and making various appointments to committees and boards throughout the county.
I voted for Mike as chairman. Although I frequently disagree with him and believe the county is spending entirely too much money, the reality is that this board is going to elect a democrat as chairman and I am comfortable with that democrat being Mike. I believe he is fair and runs an efficient meeting.
Someone asked me yesterday why I didn’t put my name in for chair. I told them that I would have received exactly one vote (and that vote would have been somewhat dependent on how I felt about myself that morning). Read more…
County Board Raises All Three County Tax Levies - One by 4.95%, One by 114% and One by 176%
The county board adjourned for the year last week by raising every property tax levy we have authority to raise.
The general county operating levy was increased 4.95% (an additional $12.5 million over 2009). The county rail authority levy - used to fund light rail trains - was increased 114% (an additional $8 million over 2009). The county housing authority levy was increased 176% (an additional $2.3 million over 2009).
Commissioner Randy Johnson and I voted against the budget that included the 4.95% levy increase. I was the only member to oppose the other two levy increases. Read more…
County Leading Five-Year Program to Address Availability of Fruits and Vegetables
FOCUS! That’s a frequent directive I give to my two boys after school. They are charged with getting their homework done before they’re allowed to play with friends. And it can be a struggle! “Dad, can I have the TV on while I’m doing my homework?” “How about if I just put it on mute?” “Can I at least listen to my iPod?” “Let me tell you about what happened at recess today.” My response always: “FOCUS! You can watch TV, listen to your iPod or tell me about recess later. Right now we need to get the homework done.”
I assume my sons are pretty typical young boys when it comes to this issue and that it will be a struggle for years to come, but sometimes I think my 8 and 11-year-old boys are much better able to focus than we are in Hennepin County government. Read more…
We are nearing the end of our annual budgeting process on the Hennepin County board, with a vote on the final budget scheduled for Tuesday, December 15. I expect a 2010 budget to pass (although I will not support it) that is slightly smaller than the 2009 budget, but it will contain a 3% increase in the property tax levy. I will post more information on that proposed budget soon.
Today, we had a budget hearing during which commissioners were allowed to propose amendments to the budget the administration has presented to us. There were a couple of amendments to move or restore funding to certain programs that had been cut. I brought in one amendment: To cut our commissioner office budgets by 4% for 2010. It failed 1 - 6. Read more…
Tom Hauser did a great “Tracking Your Money” story on my Lowry Avenue Bridge post last week:
Golden Hydrant goes to Lowry Avenue Bridge
We’re in the midst of budget hearings and property tax discussions on the Hennepin County Board, so it’s been awhile since I last awarded a Golden Fire Hydrant, but I can’t pass this one up. The newest Hydrant goes to the Board’s decision to spend an extra $14 million to make the new Lowry Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis a “signature” bridge - meaning it will look much fancier than most other bridges in Minnesota.
A little background:
The Lowry Avenue Bridge was built in 1905 and spans the Mississippi at Lowry Avenue in North Minneapolis. For over 100 years, the bridge carried motorists over the Mississippi almost uninterrupted until it was closed last year based upon the discovery that one of the bridge piers had shifted.
After that discovery, the county appropriately decided that the old bridge was no longer structurally safe and needed to be demolished and rebuilt. Read more…
