Hernando County Review
In the past four months, a lot has gone on in Hernando County government. The county budget this year was approved at $390 million. The tax rate remained the same, but the overall budget is less than last year’s. This resulted in budget cuts across the board.
One of the main programs to get slashed was Hernando County Libraries. Library funds were cut resulting in severely chopped hours of operation. Out of four main library branches, only one is still opening its doors on Saturdays, and many are open noon to 8p.m. one day out of the week with regular 9-5 hours the remaining four days. Two of the smaller branches are no longer open on Mondays and have asked citizens to call each week for their hours.
The contamination of the public works site is still costing the county loads of money. The contract for this clean up project went from $77,050 to $2million. Another ongoing project- the dredging of Hernando Beach is going to cost the county $9 million while there is only $6million available for the project. If delays keep up, county commissioners have warned they will cut the funding. In another move, commissioners rejected parking fees at boat ramps, but boosted fees for park pavilions. These hikes were the only way to save personnel.
Although costly, the county agreed to build a hurricane shelter for citizens, and commissioners are in the process of seeking out part of the federal block grants from the state to stabilize the housing crisis. Seeing as Hernando County currently has 3000 homes in process of foreclosure, this was probably a necessary move.
A few interesting side notes: County Administrator David Hamilton earned a “B” on his first evaluation since he was elected. Congratulations Mr. Hamilton. Also, the local airport got a new tower for safety reasons (no taxpayer money involved).
Eyebrow raiser: A county utility worker was fired for making a sexual innuendo to a female employee as she walked down a hallway. Exact quote: “If I had a swing like that in my backyard I’d take it apart and work on it everyday- screw by screw.”
The Schools
While Hernando County Schools are experiencing a constant state of growth, their funds are dwindling away. This year the budget shrank 5.7% causing YMCA swim lessons to be axed and the new K-8 school to lose nearly half of it’s $5o million budget. As the schools filled up, teachers were shuffled to different schools since there isn’t enough money to keep hiring new ones.
Despite all of the bad news, we now have a new charter school and all schools in the county received higher grades this year. The new high school being built will also be beneficial to incoming students, but it comes at a pretty penny- $59 million dollars to be exact.
Elections: Former guidance counselor and Air Force Veteran James Yant was elected to the school board. Mr. Yant is an African American and appears to be a positive new member of the board, but only time will tell.
That’s all folks. Nothing earth shattering going on in Hernando, but for residents these changes mean everything.
Economy spins out of control and Hernando County Schools Suffer
The last two words the Hernando County school system wants to hear are “budget cuts” and that’s all they’ve been hearing since things started to look sour in the real estate market which was booming just two years ago.
This year, funding for Hernando County Schools dropped 6.4% with a new budget of $419.9 million to save homeowners some tax money. According to an article by reporter Tom Marshall on www.tampabay.com, while this cut saves the average owner of a $200,000 home taking the homestead exemption a total of $50 on their taxes, it chops up areas of the school system that desperately need money.
It’s true that education all over the state has been subject to budget cuts, but one of the main issues with Hernando County in particular is that it’s a constantly growing school district. Twenty-three thousand students attend Hernando County Schools right now and 364 new students were enrolled this year. These children are the ones who will suffer the most from the budget cuts. As a result of the cuts, the schools laid off 54 teachers and 28 staff jobs in the county last summer and stuck to a “zero-growth” policy which means they’ll only add more teachers and staff during the year if it is absolutely necessary.
In a school district that is bursting at the seams, more and more people are taking on responsibility for projects they never expected to have to work on. Superintendent Wayne Alexander made the decision to oversee facilities and maintenance of the schools along with two other members of his board of directors. This is another way to cut corners on staff and to save the schools $200,000 for the 2008-2009 year.
With continuously growing numbers of students, more schools are being added along with a new high school and K-8 complex on U.S. 19 which is scheduled to open in 2010. There is hardly a budget to work with, but the schools must meet the demands of students and keep student-teacher ratios low. The capital budget for school construction took a $16million hit last year when the state’s “Classrooms for kids” program failed to contribute and the usual budget for construction shrunk 12% this year.
As a Hernando County resident, I’ve grown up in the school system and I know just how crowded classrooms can get. I also have two family members working in the school system as a teacher and a school nurse. Last summer I worried for my mother and my aunt as jobs were slashed from the school system and I’ve heard stories about teachers and staff taking on more and more work. Staff are the core of a good school system and people who work with children are what makes a school successful. When these people are eliminated the quality of education drops, and it’s sad to see that happen anywhere- let alone in a district that is constantly growing.
Court post
This morning I attended traffic court. I originally planned to attend civil court, but upon arrival the officer in that courtroom told me that “none of these people ever show up” and directed me to the traffic court room where “things would be much more interesting.”
I have had the glorious privilege of attending traffic court before- in Hillsborough County, but this was Hernando County, and it was far less interesting so I will begin with my experience in Hillsborough. I remember it like it was yesterday…This past July I ended up in downtown Tampa for traffic court because I had been pulled over at USF for an expired driver’s license. I was supposed to be attending a class, but I had to be in court so I made the long haul down 275 to downtown and fought for a parking spot until I was so down on time that I ran to the court house in heels resulting in blisters on my ankles.
Covered in sweat and disheveled, I rushed into the court room and awaited my turn. I waited and waited and waited until I knew what the judge was going to say by heart. The room was filled to capacity with multiple DUI offenders and reckless drivers, and I was sitting here waiting to explain my expired driver’s license. It hardly seemed fair as I watched a man get handcuffed for repeated DUI offenses and careless driving. Unfortunately for me, I was at the end of the alphabet and waited for nearly two hours to have my case heard. I listened to case after case of people who needed speedy trials and had to pay hundreds of dollars for their offenses. Luckily, by the time the judge got to me she had listened to many serious cases and decided to dismiss mine.
In comparison, today when I visited the Hernando County traffic court I noticed there were far fewer people in attendance and absolutely no DUI cases. The court room was quiet and there were no Spanish translators present as there had been in Tampa. The first case was for a woman who had run a traffic light. The woman was not present and was found guilty of the offense. Her fine was $139 and her license was suspended. The next case heard was for a Ricardo Hamilton. Mr. Hamilton was fined for going 24mph in a 15mph zone and he wanted to contest. In his contest, Mr. Hamilton was charged for going through a school zone over the speed limit. Mr. Hamilton said he did not see the blinking light for the school zone and went back to check it after receiving his ticket. The judge said the light would not have still been flasing upon Hamilton’s return to the site and ruled that Hamilton would not receive points on his license, but would still have to pay the $139 fine for speeding in a school zone.
The second case heard was for a Jared Kearn who was ticketed for driving a dirt bike on a road. The officer who pulled Kearn over wrote the wrong fine number on Kearn’s ticket and Kearn was here to contest the higher fine that came with the wrong ticketing number. The judge ruled that the number was wrong and that Kearn should only pay the fine for the actual violation and not for the fine number the officer wrote on the ticket.
Mr. Ralph Sheffield was next up. He was fined for going 64mph in a 45mph zone and requested a contest to the case. Sheffield was clocked at 64mph, but swore to the judge that he was only going 50mph in the 45mph zone. His biggest concern was that the wheels on his vehicle were the wrong size and that this affected the laser system the officer used to calculate his speed. The judge ruled that Sheffield was probably not speeding, but was still at fault for not having the proper tires on his vehicle. Sheffield had the points removed from his license, but still has to pay the $204 fine in 90 days for his offense.
Matthew Wiggins was next up. He was caught going 81mph in a 50mph zone and was offered to have points removed from his license if he plead no contest to the crime. Wiggins plead no contest and was ordered to pay $350 and take a 12 hour driving improvement course in 90 days.
Richard Zack failed to yield in a right of way and requested a hearing. His witness was not present so his case was dismissed. The judge had a hard time letting this case go, but the officer was not informed of the court date and the judge did not find it fair to reschedule since Zack was present for the hearing. Zack also offered photos of the incident, but the judge declined to see them.
Lastly, Richard Whiteman’s case was heard. Apparently Mr. Whiteman was going 95mph in a 60mph zone and blamed it on his wife being in an automobile accident. Whiteman was fined $350 and was given 90 days to pay his fine. His points were dismissed.
Public Figure Profile- Phyllis Busansky
Phyllis Busansky, recent winner of the 2008 election for Hillsborough County’s Supervisor of Elections, has had a long career in public service. Busansky’s successful career started with a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College in Illinois and an MBA in Mission Driven Management from the Heller School at Brandeis University in Massachusetts. While she had previous dealings in public service in Massachusetts, Busansky began her career in Hillsborough County in the early 1980s with a gig as the Hillsborough Director of Aging Services where she contributed to the community by securing a grant to help seniors so they could live independently instead of in nursing facilities.Phyllis Busansky records:
Busansky’s first major stint in government was her election to the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners in 1988 where she was elected as a “change” candidate on the platform of ending corruption in government. In 1991, Busansky served as the BOCC Chairman and was re-elected without opposition. Busansky served eight years on the county commission and was awarded Governing Magazine’s title of ”public official of the year” for her role in changing Hillsborough County health care and making health care more affordable to the working class in the county.
More recently, Busansky served as executive director of the Florida Work & Gain Economic Self-Sufficiency (WAGES) Board where she helped decrease the welfare caseload by 80% and saved the state $500 million in welfare payments. In 2006 she ran for congress, but was defeated by Gus Bilirakis, and in the 2008 election she defeated Buddy Johnson for the position of Supervisor of Elections by 17,800 votes.
Busansky is married to Sheldon Busansky, an attorney and a former Honeywell Corporation executive. The couple has 3 children and 9 grandchildren. With a look at the property appraisers website ,I found out they have a home in Carrollwood that they purchased August 1st, 1979. I found the deed to their home on the Hillsborough Clerk website along with a satisfaction to the Busansky’s mortgage showing they paid off their mortgage this year. The Busanskys’ home is located on Schefflera Road and is a single family residence with a just market value of $241,466 and an assessed value of $130,697. The house is one story and was built in 1969. Also, according to the tax collector’s website , the Busanskys have not suffered too much in terms of taxes. In 2001, they paid $2,446.80 and in 2008 they paid $2,563.42 in property taxes.
Busansky has a clean record. I searched for both her and her husband on the Sheriff’s website along with the FDLE website and found nothing, but while checking with the Hillsborough clerk I also found some interesting tidbits from Busansky’s past. In official records, there is a court record available about a lawsuit filed by Arthur and Paula Yambor against Busansky along with other members of the Board of County Commissioners she served on in the late 80s and early 90s. Apparently, the Yambors tried to file a lawsuit in regard to workman’s compensation against the board, but the case was dismissed by the judge because each commissioner could not be held individually responsible. In addition, a lien was filed by Tampa General Hospital against Busansky in 1994 when she did not pay outstanding hospital bills followed by the satisfaction of that lien.
On www.campaignmoney.com, I found a few contributions made by Busansky in the 2008 election cycle. Busansky contributed $250 to the Hillary Clinton for president campaign and $250 to the Democratic Executive Committee of Florida. In 2007 Busansky paid $2,000 into her own congressional campaign and $500 to the John Dicks for congress campaign.
As far as Busansky’s run for Supervisor of Elections goes, I found information on her campaign contributors which included $10,945.26 from 70 private individuals. Busansky’s highest expenditures were in local media advertising and she spent a total of $17,798.35 for her 2008 run in the last quarter. All of these numbers were from are from the 10/11/2008 to 10/30/2008 cycle. Information from all parts of the election cycle is available on www.votehillsborough.org
Busansky was seen in a positive light by the media when she decided to run for Supervisor of Elections. The incumbent supervisor Buddy Johnson was seen as shady in the public light when he made some controversial decisions such as moving two polling places without written notice to voters and dealing with a special interest group seeking to put a controversial initiative on the ballot. In an article by columnist Sue Carlton of the Saint Pete Times, Busansky was being encouraged by the media and the public to run and restore confidence to the Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections. Carlton also mentioned that 70-year-old Busansky might have trouble getting elected because of health issues she faced. According to Carlton, Busansky was open about her battle against lung cancer and has been issued a clean bill of health from her doctors since she underwent surgery. Instead of sulking over her health problems and recent congressional loss in 2006, Busansky picked herself up and turned her troubles into ways to help others by starting an anti-smoking cause in her consulting business. According to the article by Carlton, when asked about her 2006 race Busansky only offered positive responses and refused to show any dismay over the loss saying “I loved that race- the speeches, the people, the energy.”
In researching Phyllis Busansky, I honestly could not find anything negative about her. She has been an advocate for her health care and a hard working public official most of her adult life, and her recent win for Supervisor of Elections was an important one. On the night of the 2008 election a situation erupted at the University of South Florida where students waited in line for hours to get their votes in and Buddy Johnson was of little help to the crisis so while Busansky’s win was not unveiled right away, her win was worth the wait for many in this community. It is good to know we have such a strong community advocate in the Supervisor of Elections position now. I only have one qualm about Mrs. Busanksy. While attending the Joe Biden rally on campus, I met Busansky waiting in line at the USF Sun Dome. She walked by me with fliers and asked if I would vote for her. I answered honestly and told her I was a Hernando County voter and not a Hillsborough resident. With that, she snatched her flier back out of my hand and said I could not have it if I was not a Hillsborough voter. In that moment I could not help but think she was rude, and it took lots of deep researching to change my mind. Word of advice to politicians: be careful when interacting with others-even measly college students.
1. DEED to home
http://pubrec3.hillsclerk.com/oncore/showdetails.aspx?id=3255173&rn=9&pi=0&ref=search
2. Satisfaction of Mortgage: just paid off
http://pubrec3.hillsclerk.com/oncore/showdetails.aspx?id=1120489&rn=5&pi=0&ref=search
3. Lien on Busansky for unpaid hospital bills
http://pubrec3.hillsclerk.com/oncore/showdetails.aspx?id=6353278&rn=1&pi=0&ref=search
Satisfaction of lien: http://pubrec3.hillsclerk.com/oncore/showdetails.aspx?id=6465674&rn=0&pi=0&ref=search
4. Land Holdings: http://www.hcpafl.org/perl/re2html.pl?strap=18281611Q000036000110U&c0=1&c1=1&c2=1&c3=1&c4=1&c5=1&c6=1
5. Lawsuit from Arthur and Paula Yambor against BOCC
http://pubrec3.hillsclerk.com/oncore/showdetails.aspx?id=6557181&rn=3&pi=0&ref=search
6. Campaign Contributions by Phyllis Busansky in 2008.
http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/contributions/phyllis-busansky.asp?cycle=08
7. General campaign finance and expenditures of Phyllis Busansky:
http://www.votehillsborough.org/CFElectionFilings.aspx?elect_id=21&office_id=90&cand_id=-3875
8. Expenditures: http://www.votehillsborough.org/CFFilingDetail.aspx?type=expenditure&file_id=2679
9. Contributions:
http://www.votehillsborough.org/CFFilingDetail.aspx?type=contribution&file_id=2679
10. Tax Collector
http://www.hillstax.org/taxapp/property_detail.asp?pmid=3666195
Affordable Housing looks bleak- public meeting 2
The Hernando County Affordable Housing Action Committee met this morning to discuss the final draft of their incentive plan to be submitted to the Board of County Commissioners on December 16. Being the only public attendant of this meeting, I felt a little awkward, but I listened carefully as they went over some of the objectives in the document.
Due to the sluggish economy, the committee recommended there be an alternative method of fee payment for affordable housing and a waiver of the $100 inspection fee for affordable housing projects. Also included is a recommendation for a reduction in impact fees of affordable housing units in the county.
After the document was reviewed, committee members discussed the housing crisis in the county. With 1300 homes already in foreclosure and 3000 more in process of being foreclosed upon, Hernando County is facing some serious problems. The problem with affordable housing, according to board members, is that banks are unwilling to finance the efforts of the legislature in this crisis. While the legislature recently passed bill 1363 calling for affordable housing, the economic situation simply will not allow for things to get moving.
Some suggestions were made about the foreclosed homes in the county including buying them up and using them as homes for local school teachers who would then find themselves living closer to their places of work and with mortgages they can afford, but the general feeling I sensed from the board members was one of confusion. Members argued back and forth with one another about the housing situation, but no one really took the reigns on the board’s role in the crisis. The attorney also reminded everyone that the board can merely make recommendations to the county commission; they cannot borrow or spend funds themselves.
The board closed with talk about a subcommittee meeting to be held this Friday addressing funding for the county. It was recommended that one member of AHAC attend the meeting and share the information with other board members for their next meeting in February. While a few members seemed eager to get the ball rolling on affordable housing, the rest of the board appeared apathetic and tied up in politics. Sadly, what is a real crisis affecting real people in the county is only being addressed every few months by a board that seems to have no real direction except tip toeing around red tape.
School Board meeting turned pep rally. -public meeting 1
November 18th’s Hernando County School Board meeting went from what should have been a welcoming meeting for the newly elected James Yant of district four to a public plea for the well being of Nature Coast Technical High Schools’s coach Jamie Joyner.
Coach Jamie Joyner of Nature Coast Technical High School
Coach Joyner was involved in a situation on the field Friday November 7th in NCT high school’s game at Groveland South Lake where he allegedly threw punches along with other players when the power went out on the field. For three minutes and forty-five seconds visibility was limited and players began fighting with one another until someone turned on the headlights of a nearby vehicle. A witness claimed he saw Joyner throwing punches along with another player.
Since the incident, Joyner has been suspended for six weeks and NCT has been fined $100. Joyner has also been prohibited from attending a single NCT football game until December 19th, but that did not prevent droves of concerned citizens from coming to the school board meeting and voicing their opinion of Joyner. Every seat in the house was filled and students lined the walls in support of their coach. Several parents spoke on behalf of their children with nothing but kind words for Joyner that were subsequently met with thunderous applause and cheers from the crowd. Mothers, fathers and even a few football players themselves spoke in defense of Joyner with a sense of deep respect and praise while board members acknowledged their support.
The board thanked community members for coming out in support of Joyner, but told everyone their hands were tied on the matter because they were awaiting the decision on whether Joyner should remain at NCTHS from the Florida High School Athletic Association.
After most of the voices were heard and the board took a short break, the room was nearly cleared. From there, the board approved contracts and expulsions, and I watched the dismay of what appeared to be a high school boy sitting next to me as he was officially expelled.
James Yant- newly elected school board member
The board went on to welcome Yant and allow each member to make a statement. Yant said he was glad to be on board this year and that he would make the best decisions for every student involved.
For more information on the NCTHS football incident visit http://hernando.tampabay.com or www.hernandotoday.com
Joyner photo courtesy of www.tampabay.com
Midterm Question 3
Vetting a candidate is very important as is obvious in the current presidential election, and of all the reporting assignments I could receive this is one I would most look forward to producing. If state senator Victor Crist decided to run for Congress the first place I would look to write a profile on this candidate would be his current job as a state senator. Since Crist has been a state senator, he has to have a voting record and for information on that voting record I would visit websites like www.ontheissues.org and http://flsenate.gov
For information on Crist provided through the Florida Division of Elections, I would visit their website at http://election.dos.state.fl.us/. This website provides information on candidates running for office such as a searchable database for disclosure of finance reports for campaigns or political action committees. With this information, I could find out how much money Crist is spending on his campaign and where that money is coming from. If that money is coming from PACs I could also find out how much of it has been donated from those PACs to Crist.
Other websites I would visit to obtain information on campaign finance for Crist would include www.moneyline.cq.com and www.opensecrets.org. Money Line is very good with exposing PACs contributions and how much they’re giving to whom. This website would be the best place for me to look for Crist’s possible relations with lobbyists. Also on this website is information about individual contributions for candidates and how much money they have spent during different time periods in the election cycle. Open Secrets is a well organized and detailed source providing information on congressional and presidential candidates. While this site wouldn’t offer any information about Crist’s past in the Florida State Senate, it would provide me with information on his current race for a national senate seat and who is contributing to that. Open Secrets also provides detailed information on what lobbyists are contributing to which candidates and how much each one has contributed.
Other possible sources of information on Crist include previous newspaper articles or broadcasts about Crist. For this information I would visit the USF libraries website to access the thousands of newspaper archives available. If this wasn’t available, I would simply google search Crist or look him up in whatever databases were available to me through my employer. This information would help me come across anything I might have missed before.’
Another good source of information on Crist would be the Tax Collector’s website at http://www.hillstax.org/. Through this website I could find information on homes owned by Crist and taxes on those homes. In looking at this information I would be able to come to conclusions about this man’s wealth and if anything looks questionable about what he owns.
After going through mounds of data I would start making some phone calls. If anything in the data came up questionable, I would need to order a background check on the candidate and call former employers and others he worked with. With all of the information I finally gathered, I would be able to write a well researched profile of Mr. Crist.
Midterm Question 2
Florida’s Sunshine laws provide that anyone has the right to access government meetings in the state of Florida. These laws apply to both the state and local levels of politics. They also apply to both elected and appointed boards and committees. Other requirements under the sunshine laws are that reasonable notice of the meeting is given to the public and that minutes are recorded. Meetings are specifically defined so that any gathering of two or more members of the same board to discuss something that relates to that board’s upcoming meetings is considered to be a public meeting. For instance, if two county commissioners decided to sit down together at the local Panera Bread and discuss an upcoming meeting that is considered a public meeting and anyone has the right to attend it.
According to the Attorney General’s office, some examples of entities subject to the Sunshine Law are civil service boards, county municipal boards, interlocal agreement boards, regulatory boards, and special district boards. Advisory boards or committees that are created for purposes of advising officials associated with law or ordinance are also subject to the Sunshine Law except when an advisory board has been established for fact finding only. If the advisory board has any kind of decision making they are subject to the Sunshine Law. Private entities are not subject to the Sunshine Law, unless they are created to assist or provide information to a public entity. Federal agencies and boards are not subject to the Sunshine Law as well as the state judiciary due to reasons such as the right to a fair trial. Closure of criminal proceedings is subject to a three point test. The three points are that the closure is necessary to prevent threat or harm, there are no alternatives available other than change of venue, and that closure would be necessary in order to protect the rights of the defendant. The Legislature, on the other hand, is subject to the Sunshine Law in most cases, but there are exceptions such as when the constitution requires that the meeting is closed. Any violation of the Sunshine Law is a second degree misdemeanor and could result in removal from office.
Another open government safeguard, the governor’s commission on open government reform was ordered into creation by Governor Charlie Crist on June 19, 2007. This commission was created to make recommendations about Florida’s laws in regard to public meetings and public records. Other functions of the commission are to review and evaluate public records meeting laws and public records laws. According to Executive Order 07-107, this commission is made up of nine members from Florida including a representative of a state agency, a representative of the Florida senate, a representative from the Florida House of Representatives, a Florida law enforcement official, a representative of city or county government, a representative of the First Amendment Foundation, a media representative, a first amendment attorney, and a Florida resident who is a private citizen. The commission meets every three months at a place and time decided by the chair of the commission who is appointed by the governor.
Some key issues covered and to be covered by the commission includes exemptions to meetings and records being open to the public. According to the executive order, the commission will consider if certain closed meetings help government agencies to more effectively do their job and if the administration would be impaired without the exemption. Another basis for decisions is if the exemption is protecting personal information and if the leaking of that information would be damaging to individuals or would put those individuals in harm’s way. Lastly, if the information exempt would damage a business or hurt its place in the market, commissioners will consider that as well.
Other issues the commission pays attention to in regard to public meetings and records include fees for inspecting and copying public records, Internet availability and storage of public records, the public’s right to participate in open meetings, and if telephone or video conferences should be under the same umbrella as other public meetings. On a broader scale, the commission monitors Florida’s status on open government in comparison to other states around the nation.
This year the commission was supposed to hold three public hearings inviting the public and the media to take part in the open government discussion. In those meetings editors and other citizens raised issues on their minds about open government. One issue raised was to what extent government employees should be able to use government property for personal use. Another issue raised by some editors was whether background information and memos stored internally by a computer are also public records. The editors and citizens want them to be considered public records, and the commission could not seem to find a good argument that these were not public records.
The issue of emails sent from a personal or home computer also came up in the discussion. Citizens were concerned about whether these kinds of communications were considered to be public records, and the commission confirmed that just as notes on personal stationery are public records, emails and communications done from home or on a personal computer are still public records and are still subject to the law just as any other public record is subject to Florida’s public records law. In regard to other communications such as text messages, the commission found that texting about official board issues and meetings was a clear violation of the Sunshine Law, but not necessarily a violation of public records law because saving and storing text messages and making them available as public records is still difficult as far as technology is concerned.
According to transcripts available through the www.fl.gov.com, the Sunshine Laws are important and it is important to educate those involved in government about these laws. According to the transcript, there will always be people who do not want to go along with the law, but having the Sunshine Laws in place discourages people in government from participating in shady business that goes on behind closed doors.
Midterm Question 1
A report on Al Zimmerman would not only require documents sought from the Hillsborough County Sherriff’s office and jail, but also from the agency he works for. The first documents I would seek in order to learn about Zimmerman are the arrest record from the Hillsborough County Sherriff’s Office website, http://www.hcso.tampa.fl.us/ . This will give me some general information, but if I want more I’m going to need to go down to the Sheriff’s office to obtain the criminal report affidavit and any other information they might have there pertaining to the arrest such as news releases and incident reports.
Back at the office, I will compile my information on Zimmerman and have a look at the FDLE website, http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/, to order a background report on Zimmerman and to make sure I didn’t miss anything important in relation to what is going on now in comparison to Zimmerman’s past.
When the search warrant for Zimmerman’s arrest became available through the courts, I would go down to there and check out that information. Search warrants contain information on the probable cause officers had for Zimmerman’s arrest, so I’m sure getting that information would be vital in this report.
A trip to the jail would also be necessary in finding information on Zimmerman, so after compiling the information I obtained from the sheriff’s office and the courts, I would make a trip to the jail and request records involving Zimmerman such as jail logs and incident reports. While at the jail I can also take a look at Zimmerman’s personal property that may have been held such as jewelry, money, and other miscellaneous items.
Now that I’ve obtained nearly every general public record I could in relation to Zimmerman’s arrest it is time for me to begin investigating him on more of a personal level. This means starting with his place of employment and making my way down to personal contacts that would be willing to share information about Zimmerman.
I start this process by visiting the website of his employer: The Department of Children and Families. On the website I look up Zimmerman and find any kind of information about him made available online such as an employment biography and a link to his contact information.
Now it’s time to make phone calls. I call DCF and talk to Zimmerman’s supervisors and coworkers who are willing to speak with me. I ask about Zimmerman’s work history and if he ever had a habit of hiding information from fellow employees. I ask about his personal life and what kind of vacation time and sick time he took. I ask supervisors for records of all of Zimmerman’s personal emails and if they are reluctant to produce the information I explain that it’s a public record and that I will be contacting people at the First Amendment Foundation if they refuse to disclose the information to me. If this doesn’t work, I take matters further and type up a complaint which I send out to important state agencies such as the Office of Open Government.
In speaking with Zimmerman’s employers I will probably receive contact information for relatives and friends of Zimmerman. If I don’t, I will just take a look at arrest information and find where he lives in order to make contact with these people.
This is a very sensitive case, especially because it involves someone who works for the Department of Children and Families, so I am aware that getting information from co-workers and family members is not going to be easy, but I have the background information I need from my public records sources to give me a launch pad for questioning.
Questions I would have for Zimmerman’s friends would be about more personal matters such as his habits. Did he spend lots of time away from home? Did he exhibit any suspicious behavior? Is he married and does he have children of his own? Was he abused as a child? What kind of environment did he grow up in? Had he ever sought counseling in the past for any reason? If anyone knows any information about the child pornography are they willing to share what they know?
Last, but certainly not least I would sit down with parents of the children who were abused by Zimmerman. This would be very difficult, but I would ask them the hard questions such as if they knew their kids were spending time with Zimmerman and the level of trust they had in this man. I would ask them if they talked to their children about these kinds of scary things and what their reactions where when they found out about these atrocities. If possible, I would take their testimonies to Zimmerman himself and present him with their reactions. I would ask Zimmerman for his own testimony on the event after he was sentenced.
WFLA – Steve Andrews
While the channel 8 news center is hidden in downtown Tampa, investigative reporter Steve Andrews has been all over the place. As an Emmy Award Winning Investigative reporter, he is someone I deeply admire and respect.
Andrews’ presentation really put the icing on the cake of what we’ve learned this semester about public records. Andrews talked to us about different stories he worked on such as the crosstown expressway collapse and firefighters exploiting the rules and abusing “swap time.” In the expressway story, Andrews got his hands on a heavy duty geological study which became an important public record for the story. Thanks to the availability of this study and Andrews’ sharp thinking that lead him to take it to a geologist, this public record helped Andrews to unearth the problem: sinkholes.
In the firefighter story, Andrews exposed wrongful behavior, but the fire department didn’t do much to reprimand its employees. In this case, Andrews was able to obtain the information on employees abusing swap time with public records and the truth was exposed in his news report, but there wasn’t much of an outcome. Paradoxically, in another story where Andrews exposed State Attorney Harry Lee Coe III of borrowing large sums of money from employees to support a gambling habit, the story did not just go away and impacted Coe enough to lead him to commit suicide.
When I found out that Andrews was the one to find Coe’s body under the crosstown expressway I began to have second thoughts about investigative reporting. While I believe this kind of journalism is essential to our democracy and honorable in many cases, I am not sure I could personally stomach this kind of work. It’s important to note that Andrews did nothing wrong and should not blame himself for Coe’s death, but I cannot see how this kind of event doesn’t stay with the reporter for the rest of his or her life.
For more information on Steve Andrews visit www.wfla.com/personalites/andrews.htm
For information on investigative reporting visit www.ire.org
