Cost of Jeb Bush's secret CSX deal skyrockets from $491 Million to $649 Million.

[seafan]

Why, so far, is The People's Governor Charlie Crist silent on this? We need a thorough investigation.


Secret Deal For Railroad Hub Lays Bare Shady Practices At DOT

The Tampa Tribune
March 31, 2008

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.

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 railroads to lay tracks through remote areas, a policy decision DOT made without consulting the Legislature, which is supposed to make policy.

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.

.....

From the start, this deal has tipped toward the railroad.

Look at the history:

•Gov. Jeb Bush 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 employees signed confidentiality agreements promising not to talk about the details. Gov. Charlie Crist, 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.

.....

The secrecy at DOT is benefiting industry insiders.

.....

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?

It's time for Crist to pull this contract and renegotiate it on behalf of all Floridians.

Crist's silence is unbecoming for a governor who says he believes in transparency.

Yet another secret deal engineered by Jeb Bush, for the benefit of his cronies, while occupying the Governor's mansion.

We will be uncovering Jeb Bush's flagrant abuse of power for years to come.

[libodem]

1. What a piss ant

sounds like a primer for the presidency.

[Spiffarino]

2. The Audacity of a Dope.

I am coming to the sad conclusion that no Bush will ever be held accountable either for their crimes or their blatant stupidity.

[seafan]

3. And, in the meantime, Volusia County will close 7 elementary schools in wake of state budget crisis

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-closings0108apr01,0,7096341.story">Budget crisis prompts Volusia board's OK to close 7 elementary schools

Erika Hobbs | Sentinel Staff Writer
April 1, 2008

The Volusia County School Board will close seven schools in three years in an attempt to avert a budget crisis.
The five board members overwhelmingly voted to close the schools, saying they had no choice because they were "held hostage" by a lack of state funding.
"We're being slammed every way we turn," board member Candace Lankford said.

.....

By closing the schools, board members hope to save $4.6 million in an effort to stave off a cash crunch caused by a drop in state funding, partly because of declining enrollment, and by an anticipated loss of revenue from the Amendment 1 property-tax measure.

.....

Closing schools -- especially elementaries -- is always a heartwrenching experience. Parents tend to form deep bonds with the teachers and staff who educate their youngest children, and do so close to home. Elementary schools, too, tend to act as community anchors, serving as a place where the public can meet for sports, performances and other activities.

And in Seville's case, parents fear losing a beloved landmark. The school, built in 1924, has 12-foot ceilings, hardwood floors and Depression-era paintings of sailing ships on the walls.
"The survival of the city I live in depends on the next generation, and the quality of education we have in our city," said Oak Hill Commissioner Mike Thompson.
"Business will not come to a city that does not have quality education . . . and we'd like to keep it," he said, reminding them that voters will may not re-elect them to office in coming years.

.....

Florida is suffering a catastrophic budget shortfall.

It is because of Jeb's $19+ billion tax cuts to his very wealthy friends. It is also because of the Republican-pushed Amendment 1 that is sucking funds from schools, police, fire, libraries and other local services. And Jeb is finishing off public education with a butcher knife by engineering the obscure Taxation and Budget Reform Commission to amend our constitution, resurrecting private school vouchers and forced use of public money for religious institutions. Florida is Jeb Bush's personal slush fund. It is immaterial that he is out of office. His minions, led by Speaker Marco Rubio and his political hacks perching on obscure commissions, push on with Jeb's Revenge.


This Republican legislature is marching in lockstep to give $649 Million in dessicated state funds to a private railroad corporation, in a deal cooked up between CSX and Jeb Bush, in secret, with no knowledge of, or input from, the citizens this deal will most affect.



This CSX deal must be stopped cold.

Where is CFO Alex Sink on this?


A federal investigation would be in order.

[Spiffarino]

5. How typically "Bushian"

Stealing from schoolchildren to enrich the rich. Just another chapter in the Bush family history.

:nuke:

[driver8]

4. I fucking hate the Bush family...

How much is enough?

When will this family get tired of lying, cheating, and stealing?