Taxpayers Foot Bill for Endless Self Promotion of Mr. Needelman

Before I go off on the next subject, a reminder this Friday, June 29th, at 8:00 a.m., the new and old Clerks will debate on AM 1240, WMMB, on the Bill Mick Show. On Saturday, June 30th, we are having a cookout at Sandpoint Park in Titusville (noon). And before I forget, this is a paid political advertisement, paid for and approved by Scott Ellis, Republican for Clerk of the Court.

The Brevard County Clerk’s Office has been mobilized to fund the re-election efforts of the current Clerk, Mr. Needelman. Numerous uses of Clerk funding and personnel is being done to continue to push the Clerk’s name out to the public, often for no reason other than to raise the name recognition.

For example, radio ads ran for weeks on WMMB (and maybe other stations) promoting the Clerk’s website and advertising on the website. Rather than have ads paid for by Zephyr Communications, the firm which sells the ads, the taxpayers paid for the radio ads (with some bogus disclaimer about being paid for by ‘advertising revenue’) steering individuals to first Mr. Needelman, Clerk of the Courts webpage, and second Zephyr Communications, a private company. The taxpayers pay to advertise Mr. Needelman and Zephyr, he gets the name ID and they get the business traffic. Heck of a deal.

Then came the bomb of a meeting inviting law enforcement to view a product of the Clerk’s new imaging vendor, Blueware. The Digital Data Pen supposedly would save time for the police if they’d only buy it from Blueware, and wait there’s more, the Clerk is hiring a Grants Writer and maybe he can get some free money for the pens. Not much response so far, but not to worry, the project will continue to be pushed by Clerk’s personnel, public expense for private profit.

Early in the year the Clerk tried to drag County Commissioners into some publication he was calling an annual report. When I asked how much did the report cost to prepare, print, and then mail, I was told the project was on hold. Since the timing for an annual report would be in March after the County’s Annual Financial Report has been completed, evidently this table top magazine will not be back until next January.

By the way, it was to be another freebie, not paid for by taxpayer funds. Since the project went on hold we may have to wait to know who was on the hook for the expenses.

From: Sean Campbell [mailto:Sean.Campbell@brevardclerk.us]
Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 4:11 PM
To: Scott Ellis; Public Records Requests; Michael McDaniel
Subject: RE: Clerk of Courts Annual Report (to be published and mass mailed) FS 119 if need be

Scott,

We currently have this under consideration; however, we have not made a commitment to mailing it at this time.

Sean

From: Scott Ellis [mailto:sellis@spacey.net]
Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2012 10:51 AM
To: Public Records Requests; Michael McDaniel
Subject: Clerk of Courts Annual Report (to be published and mass mailed) FS 119 if need be

Here’s a very simple request that should not take 15 minutes of research.

Since taxpayers are not paying for this, who is?

That’s all I need, no need for the amount as I can see for now it is undetermined. I’ll ask later for printing and mailing costs.

Scott

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Happy New Year! I wish nothing but the best for you and yours in 2012.

I would like to take a moment to offer you an opportunity to reach out to the citizens of Brevard County in an educational and positive format.

As you may know, the Clerk of Courts may, at their discretion, publish an annual report to the citizens of their county informing them of the activities of the Clerk’s Office and County’s finances in the previous year.

The Brevard County Clerk of Courts last published an annual report in 2007. It is important to keep our citizens informed of what their County and Clerk are doing to serve them and what that associated cost is to them in terms of taxpayer dollars. Particularly in these difficult economic times, we have a duty to make sure our taxpayers know that we are doing our very best to keep costs reasonable while maintaining the highest level of service. The report will also provide information regarding the services the Clerk’s office provides, organization charts, and other details that will make it easier for our citizens to navigate through the system. This is not intended to be a “throwaway” publication. The goal is to make it a reference tool that people will keep and use in future when they have a question regarding the Clerk’s office or function.

To that end, my office is in the process of preparing a report detailing the activities of 2011. It will be ready for distribution early in 2012. I want to emphasize that none of the cost of this report, either printing or mailing will use any taxpayer dollars.

This report is also intended to inform our taxpayers of Commissioner and County Managers office activities and provide reference materials for each. It seems a good time to let people know what the other county offices are doing to serve them, and how to contact those resources.

Therefore, I have reserved space for you in the report. You will have space for a photo of yourself, one or two paragraphs regarding your service to the county, contact information, mailing address, etc. You should include anything that you believe will assist the taxpayers in understanding your role and what you offer them in terms of assistance within your jurisdiction. Please limit your comments to 300 words so as to stay within space constraints.

I am excited about this annual report since it has been so long since one has been done and I think our citizens will appreciate this effort to inform them of our activities.

Please provide your photo and your content no later than Wednesday, January 11, 2012 so that it can be added to the layout of the document in timely fashion for us to go to print.

Thank you for your input. I look forward to receiving your materials for inclusion in the Clerk’s annual report.

Sincerely,

MITCH NEEDELMAN

Lastly is the totally shameless pandering to the jurors. Jurors are being hardcopy mailed and e-mailed the following letter. Unfortunately the image did not come across when the e-mail was forwarded, I have been told it is the new Clerk logo. Note in the letter below there is NOTHING in larger font than the name ‘Mitch Needleman’.

Although the office is critically shorthanded as operations is starved to save money for large capital contracts, Clerk’s employees evidently are preparing and mailing these letters. For those receiving it by e-mail, I have to figure the Clerk is taking down private e-mail addresses and using them as a mailing list, maintained by the staff.

Scott

----- Original Message -----
From: mitch.needelman@brevardclerk.us
To:
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2012 7:15 PM
Subject: Thank you from Clerk Mitch Needelman

MITCH NEEDELMAN

CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT AND COUNTY COURTS

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

Dear ,

Jury service is one of the most important civic duties you can perform. The protection of an individual's rights and liberties in our courts is largely achieved through the teamwork of judge and jury. Jury trials cannot be held unless people like you are willing to perform their civic duty. Jurors are essential to the administration of justice.

On behalf of our judicial system, I want to personally thank you for serving your community and your fellow citizens. Being called to jury service is both a rewarding and demanding experience. Jury service means rearranging schedules, canceling appointments, and often times missing work. But if you were on trial, wouldn't you want someone like you to make the sacrifices necessary to be a part of your jury? Your public service as a juror protects everyone's right to have a trial by an impartial jury.

Over and over, jurors who have served tell us they enjoy being involved in making an important civic decision. Often jury service is the most direct participation the average citizen can have in the workings of government. I hope you found the experience rewarding, and thank you for serving!

If my office can ever be of service, please do not hesitate to call.

Clerk of Courts,

Mitch Needelman

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Scott [Ellis]
Paid political advertisement, paid for and approved by Scott Ellis, Republican for Clerk of the Courts.