(Doug Guetzloe, chairman, Ax the Tax, Orlando, FL, reprinted the following, with permission, from The Tampa Tribune, Tampa, FL, March 31, 2008) TAMPA, FL--Just when you thought the state's secret deal with CSX Transportation could not smell worse, more pollution comes flowing from Tallahassee.
The state Department of Transportation said this week - in the name of public accountability, of course - that the price of purchasing 61 miles of track near Orlando and relocating a rail yard to Winter Haven has increased by a third. The cost to taxpayers could now top $649 million, up from $491 million in 2006. (Florida Sen. Dan Webster photo at right)
Central Florida lawmakers accepted the increase without batting an eye. No matter that DOT so badly misjudged the costs. No matter that DOT tried to hide the project by calling it something else. No matter that other states refuse to pay for-profit railr
oads to lay tracks through remote areas, a policy decision DOT made without consulting the Legislature, which is supposed to make policy.
(Rep. Dean Cannon photo at left)
The price increase came to light after CSX said the deal wouldn't proceed unless the state made the railroad immune from liability in the event of a commuter train accident - an unreasonable demand that would make Florida taxpayers responsible even if CSX were at fault.
A House committee approved the provision last week, even as officials in Massachusetts, which ironically saw a CSX freight train ram a commuter train Tuesday night, declared the railroad's demand for immunity a "deal breaker."
Florida's secret deal with the for-profit railroad is bad public policy and has
damaged the credibility of DOT, where officials work in secret with railroad friends and shift arguments depending on the day.
Let's Review The History
From the start, this deal has tipped toward the railroad.
Look at the history:
•Gov. Jeb Bush (photo at top) announced the plan with great fanfare in August 2006, though only a few people, mostly DOT officials and industry insiders, were part of the negotiations. Communities that will face a steady flow of mile-long trains were kept in the dark.
•DOT tried to hide the funding requests, seeking money for rail through different line items in the 2005 growth management bill. Never did the line items mention CSX.
•To prove the project's value, DOT hired a consultant who was already working hard to make the numbers work for commuter rail.
•DOT employ
ees signed confidentiality agreements promising not to talk about the details. Gov. Charlie Crist, (
photo at left) who has been a champion for open government, has yet to address this abuse.
The public does not trust this deal. Neither does the federal government, which has yet to come through with matching funding. The feds said in a November 2007 report that Florida had failed to make the case for commuter rail in Orlando.
Curiously, proponents say Florida's credibility - and its chances for federal funding - will suffer if the state attempts to renegotiate the CSX contract. Yet it's the federal government saying this deal doesn't pass the smell test. At least someone in government is looking out for taxpayers.
Look, Tampa supports Orlando's efforts to get commuter rail and move traffic off congested highways, but Florida should not plan major transportation projects that negatively affect neighboring regions without those communities at the table.
Neither DOT nor CSX has been persuasive in saying that the planned Winter Haven hub will be good for Lakeland, Bartow, Mulberry, Lake Wales, Plant City, Wildwood or Ocala.
And despite the promise of attracting well-paying jobs to the region, the railroad expects to create only 110 jobs. Its spokesman says the promised 8,000 new jobs will come from related businesses - such as dry cleaners and convenience stores - that grow to serve hub workers.
In other words, in anticipating the creation of new jobs, DOT relied on a wing and a prayer.
Hitching Up To Industry Insiders
The secrecy at DOT is benefiting industry insiders.
Tribune reporter Lindsay Peterson reported that during the CSX negotiations, former DOT Secretar
y Denver Stutler (
photo at left ) asked rail executive Earl Durden (
photo at top) for advice. Durden chaired the Florida Transportation Commission when it approved a DOT plan that set aside money for CSX - a plan that also contained more than $6 million for a railroad Durden owned.
State law prohibits transportation commissioners from getting involved in DOT operations, including the awarding of contracts. The law also bans commissioners from having a financial interest in a DOT contract or benefiting from state contracts made during their terms.
But Durden had an interest in pushing the CSX deal - a $6 million interest.
Shifting In The Wind
When asked about the process, DOT officials shift their stories.
Last week they said the price increase had to do with rising construction costs for overpasses. In August 2006, the cost of improvements to a CSX freight line included five highway overpasses the state said would cost $59 million.
The projected cost is now $203 million, though DOT insists the overpasses were planned not to meet the demands of increased freight traffic, but to meet the needs of drivers on congested roads.
So why did the department add the price increases into the CSX deal? And why should taxpayers trust these numbers?
Guetzloe urges concerned citizens to contact Senator Dan Webster and Rep. Dean Cannon and tell them to: "Pull the plug on the commuter rail boondogle; ax the commuter rail tax; and say no to the CSX sovereign immunity taxpayer scheme."
Senator Dan Webster
Room 330Senate Office Building
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100
Doug Guetzloe
Chairman
Ax the Tax
P. O. Box 531101
Orlando, FL 32853
(407) 388-1776 - office
(407) 895-8331 - telefax
ORLANDO, FL--David J. Patten (left photo) and Thomas A. Byers, (right photo) partners in Commercial Mortgage Advisors (CMA) are pleased to announce the closing of this land loan on an 84 acre planned unit development located along the intercoastal waterway in Flagler County, FL.
Pugent Sound skyline photo above)
