ST. LUCIE COUNTY — Four of the five commissioners who oversee the county’s $587 million budget suffered personal declines in their net worth last year.

Commission Chairwoman Paula Lewis, on the board since 1996, was the only one to record an increase, growing nearly $20,000, even as her home dipped in value by $10,000 and liabilities grew by $3,000.

The largest drop was recorded by Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky, who was elected to the board in 2008. He saw his net worth down nearly $200,000 from the prior year, with real estate being the biggest reason. His two residential properties in Fort Pierce lost a combined $185,063 in value from 2007 to 2008.

The biggest percentage decrease was felt by Commissioner Chris Craft. In subtracting the mortgage from the overall value of his home in 2008, Craft came out with a net worth of $6,000, far below the $93,000 he reported in 2007.

Commissioner Charles Grande, even with his home going down nearly $100,000, recorded his net worth being $29,000 less than a year earlier.

Commissioner Doug Coward, whose home bucked the regional trend by increasing in value, put his net worth at $90,000, down from $165,000, picking up $11,836 in credit card debt during the year.

COUNTY COMMISSION NET WORTH

Charles Grande

Salary: $71,955

Net worth

2007: $750,000

2008: $720,795

Homestead

Address: 9950 S. Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach

2007: $500,017

2008: $400,000

Other Assets: Retirement accounts, $50,000 (down from $75,000 in 2007); equity portfolio, $250,000 (down from $280,000 in 2007)

Liabilities: Charles Schwab Bank, $40,000 (down from $85,000 in 2007)

Doug Coward

Salary: $71,955

Net worth

2007: $165,000

2008: $90,000

Homestead

Address: 1153 S.E. Palm Beach Road, Port St. Lucie

2007: $121,942

2008: $154,800

Other Assets: Retirement account, $8,999 (down from $14,482 in 2007); Florida Prepaid College, $4,605 (up from $4,000 in 2007)

Liabilities: home loan, $136,074 (down from $139,000 in 2007); auto loans, $17,863 (up from $12,689 in 2007); Capital One, $11,836

Paula Lewis

Salary: $71,955

Net worth

2007: $88,891

2008: $107,330

Homestead

Address: 502 S.E. Starflower Ave., Port St. Lucie

2007: $150,000

2008: $140,000

Other Assets: Checking account, $47,906

Liabilities: Riverside National Bank, $80,576 (up from $77,348 in 2007)

Chris Dzadovsky

Salary: $71,955

Net worth

2007: $548,200

2008: $359,503

Homestead

Address: 2006 Mariner Bay Blvd., Fort Pierce

2007: $320,563

2008: $237,900

Other Assets: 1209 Texas Court, Fort Pierce, $83,600 (down from $175,000 in 2007); Riverside CD, $102,853; Met Life annuity, $100,000; Riverside checking, $78,503; stocks, $29,680

Liabilities: Wells Fargo, $311,407 (down from $318,000 in 2007); Riverside credit line, $42,042; auto loan, $9,284 (down from $10,600 in 2007); power line, $4,607; Bank America credit card, $1,525 (up from the $1,500 on a Citi Bank Master Card in 2007)

Chris Craft

Salary: $71,955

Net worth

2007: $93,000

2008: $6,000

Homestead

Address: $6311 Lilyan Parkway, Fort Pierce

2007: $260,000

2008: $201,000

Other Assets: Fifth Wheel trailer, $15,000 (down from $25,000 in 2007); retirement account, $22,000 (down from $26,000 in 2007); vehicles, $43,000 (down from $60,000 in 2007)

Liabilities: Riverside mortgage, $182,000 (down from $197,000 in 2007); National City, $23,000 (same); Riverside and Ford auto loans, $46,180 (down from $59,000 in 2007); Citibank, $27,000 (same); Bank of America, $6,000; Chase, $5,900
By Jim Turner, TCPalm.com

Tags: commissioners, Economy, gains, loan, loss, net worth, salary, trend, value

This entry was posted on Friday, July 31st, 2009 at 11:24 am and is filed under Economy, St. Lucie County. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.