Call me naive, but Lobbyist Dusty Melton, in the comments on yesterday's post, pointed me in a direction that I am looking forward to exploring with you: The Lobbyist expenditure report (Hit to enlarge the form). It is surely lacking in depth, however, it is something else we can all look at to get information to make us more savvy citizens. I can't wait to look at these documents.I have also included the Clerk's explanation of each category on the form which you should look at (Hit read more to see it). The lobbyist needs to fill one of these out for each client so they should be pretty interesting. Will keep you posted. I have already made some inquiries into getting completed forms from certain lobbyists.
WAIT A MINUTE DUSTY...I am finding out that these reports are coming in blank from Lobbyists....see 2 comments. Now I am not so happy.
8 comments:
Heard from the county already:
We can copy the reports for you at a cost of .15 cents per page. We will have to count the pages and let you know. The latest reports we have on file are for calendar year 2007. The 2008 reports are due no later than July 1, 2009.
WHAT? THAT DATE SHOULD BE APRIL NOT JULY....
WHAT?
Jeffrey Bercow filed 64 reports with zero dollars listed for his expenditures in 2007.
Miguel De Grandy filed 49 reports for 2007. All but one had “None” listed for expenditures
WELL DUSTY THIS APPEARS TO BE A BLIND ALLEY. ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT?
It sounds like Melton sent you on a wild goose chase genius, and you fell for it.
I said I was naive!
For lobbyists such as I, who do not wine and dine and entertain public officials, reporting NONE for every client each year on the required form is not a vice but rather complying with the law. I did not guide Geniousofdespair to the data repository believing that G would find a lode of scintillating information; quite the contrary, I knew G would not. I suggested it in the clear -- ah, there you go again, Dusty, with your obsession about details -- context of measuring each lobbyist's roster of clients in total, not a mere snapshot since last November 1.
Whether other lobbyists (a) file and/or have filed the required forms for every client every year and/or (b) truthfully report their expenditures on those forms was not and is not any concern of mine. But THAT annual filing is the only way to understand the magnitude of each Miami-Dade registered lobbyist's practice, when comparing one to the other, which G was doing in G's initial posting. Just trying to provide accurate data, y'all.
No G. was not actually trying to weigh a lobbyists worth on a two month search. G was just recording new clients that were picked up...I know how to look at each lobbyists list of ALL clients. By looking up just NEW sign ups you can see where there is going to be activity in the near future. Who will be looking for variances, zoning, or who has a bid coming.
This form tells the public nothing except who is lobbying, which is already required. I guess the lobbyists wrote the form.
Form that no one fills in: is not a form. It is a sham.
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