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August 30, 2009

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Susan English - Stole $120,000 To Help Grandkids?

Former Hendry Appraiser Kulpa In Court

Kristina Kulpa Gets Ready For Trial To Get Her Job Back

LABELLE, FL. -- Former Hendry County Property Appraiser Kristina A. Kulpa showed up at the Courthouse in LaBelle this morning for three motions presented to Circuit Judge Christine Greider in her case against Supervisor of Elections head Lucretia Strickland.

Kulpa lost last year's election for Hendry Property Appraiser to Phillip Pelletier, and wants the court to overturn the election, claiming various irregularities surrounded the voting at the Clewiston polling place last November.

Judge Christine Greider denied a motion by Hendry County Attorney Mark Lapp on behalf of the Hendry County Canvassing Board for a Summary Final Judgement to remove the Board from the case. Although there seems to be no claims of fault against the Board in the law suit, Greider pointed out that Florida Statutes say the Board is an indispensable party to suits regarding elections, and so must remain part of the process.

Kulpa's attorney George L. Zinkler, making an appearance by telephone from Boca Raton, was denied his motion to compel Hendry Elections Supervisor Lucretia Strickland to produce voter information including voter oaths of affirmation, voter assistance forms, and voter registration forms. The Judge said Kulpa can go to Strickland's office to view them in Strickland's presence.

Strickland is being represented by local attorney James O. Luckey, at Hendry taxpayer expense because she is an elected official working for the county. The legal bill so far total $77,609.77 and will rise much higher after bills come in from the numerous witness depositions heard this month and a two-day trial next month.

Kulpa today was granted permission by the court to access absentee ballot envelopes, see the signatures on them and examine the signatures on file with the Supervisor of Elections office, but was not given court permission to make copies of anything.

Kulpa's attorney wants to determine the authenticity of the signatures of some absentee ballot envelope, claiming Kulpa has reason to believe some of the absentee ballots may have not been signed by the voter, but by a third party.

Judge Greider admonished the attorneys: ''This case needs to be moved along, folks,'' pointing out these last minute motions being heard today. The case was filed by Kulpa after last year's elections and the depositions have just finished this week, in preparation for a September 21st and 22nd non-jury trial.

Hendry Commissioners Try To Cut Costs 10%

Hendry Commissioners Hold Budget Workshops - Now Ready For Public Comment

LABELLE, FL. -- The Hendry County Board of County Commissioners met on August 18th and19th at a public workshop to work on the 2009-2010 county budget. The Commissioners were looking for a 10% decrease in the budget across the board from both the general fund and from the constitutional officers.

As a result of cost cutting measures by the Board, for the third year, Hendry county employees will not receive any cost of living increases, raises or bonuses. Commissioner Tris Chapman said, ''Call me old fashioned, but when property values decline by 10% as they have on average this year, our constituents should see a 10% decrease in their property taxes." 

One area under consideration is the cost of employee health insurance benefits. Employees would be asked to take on a greater share of the costs for their insurance benefits. Commissioner Kevin McCarthy stated that health insurance is a huge issue and must remain affordable.

Constitutional officers, the Clerk of Court, and County Property Appraiser, also worked to reduce their budgets by the suggested cuts. The Commissioners expressed a desire for consistency in the budget process as opposed to only asking one part of the government to cut their costs. Commissioner Janet Taylor expressed her appreciation for the hard work done by her fellow Commissioners and staff in reviewing the budget and finding areas to reduce costs.

The workshop discussions continued on August 25th regarding the Hendry County Sheriff's budget. The Sheriff committed to saving money wherever he could to reduce his budget. Insurance is an area he will be looking into to make some additional adjustments. Commissioner Harris conveyed his appreciation for the excellent job staff did in restoring the $2.7 million the Commissioners borrowed from the Disaster Relief fund used to balance the FY 2009 budget.

The first public hearing on the proposed 2010 budget is scheduled for September 3rd at 5:15 p.m. in the Clewiston City hall located at 115 W. Ventura. The second public hearing is scheduled for September 22nd at 5:15 p.m. in the Hendry County Courthouse in LaBelle. For further information please call 863-675-5264.

Boil Water Notice Cancelled - Port LaBelle

Malfunction At Port LaBelle Water Plant

LABELLE, FL. -- A boil water notice this week has been lifted for the Port LaBelle Utility Service area in Hendry County. All Port LaBelle residents were advised to bring drinking water to a rolling boil for at least one minute prior to consumption. The notice was necessary due to a pump malfunction at the water treatment plant.

The pump problem was the result of the failure of an electrical contoller. The water plant at Port LaBelle passed Bacteriological Sample Tests (BacT's) Friday from the Health Department.

The notice affected over 5,000 residents in the Port LaBelle area that spans over 11 square miles. Several schools, a hotel/restaurant and daycare facility were affected as well. Samples were immediately sent to the Health Department for testing.

The notice was issued as a precaution and there was no suspected contamination. The water pressure went below the acceptable amount, which by law requires Port LaBelle Utilities to issue the notice.

The potential health risk is a backflow situation where contaminated water might possibly enter the water mains when pressure goes below a certain level.

Hendry Tax Assessments Surprise Owners

Most Taxable Values Down - Except Black Communities?

LABELLE, FL. -- While Hendry Property Appraiser Phillip Pelletier has set taxable real estate values down this year compared to last year for most owners in the county, owners are still a bit confused over the numbers for their property taxes which seem to have increased. And owners in Hendry's black communities may have even more questions.

The appraiser's office is getting lots of calls since the 2009 Notice of proposed property taxes were mailed out this week to all Hendry property owners. Many question why the property tax appears to be increasing from last year despite a reduction in taxable value. And others may question why property in black neighborhoods is valued by the appraiser's office higher than lots in white neighborhoods in Port LaBelle.

Property taxes are under the jurisdiction of the various taxing levying agencies such as the school board, the county commissioners, hospital board, and fire and water districts. These boards decide on the taxes at meetings held around the county in September at which they will make final decisions on the tax . All meetings are open to the public, and to a large extent boards will decide to raise or lower taxes based on input from the public at each meeting. They have already had workshops with county department heads to discuss the needs and wants of each.

The property appraisers office however, does not set the tax rate but sets the taxable value of each parcel. Your taxes will depend on how high Pelletier's staff sets your property's worth. Port LaBelle property owners this year had a pleasant surprise tax-wise as Pelletier dropped values from $7980 to $5500 this year. Port LaBelle is Hendry county's largest subdivision with 30,000 acres of land, mostly vacant quarter acre lots.

However, owners of property in Hendry's predominantly black neighborhoods, Harlem in Clewiston, and the areas around Martin Luther King Boulevard in LaBelle have lots this year valued by Pelletier's office higher than Port LaBelle lots. Standard sized lots in those mostly lower income areas are typically smaller than middle class Port LaBelle lots. Port LaBelle lots are typically .20 acres while Harlem lots are .19 acres, or one-quarter acres in Port LaBelle compared to one-fifth acre in Harlem.

For example one-fith acre lots around Virginia Ave in Harlem this year are valued by Pelletier's office at around $6160 compared to a slightly larger one-quarter acre lot in Port LaBelle at $5500.

Why the disparity? An appraiser from the office says that property sales in Harlem support the higher values. Port LaBelle owners are not going to complain about their low values this year, even though they seem to be getting the benefit of lower taxes even on larger lots than Harlem's.

15 Hendry Vehicle Burglary Cases Closed