Sunday, August 23, 2009

This is not okay Mayor Alvarez. By Geniusofdespair

Backdated payraises are not okay. Mayor Mouthpiece Victoria Mallete can't talk her way out of that one. County Commissioner Sally Heyman (never one to mince words) has a right to be angry:

"What the mayor submitted to us is false, absolutely misleading. A lie. Everyone knew we were coming into tough times, yet now to find out he gave raises to his top staff -- I find it appalling."

Also, while the Mayor is calling for 5% salary cuts of Miami Dade Employees in the proposed budget, the Herald said:

"In all, 12 employees of the mayor have received raises of more than 10 percent since last year..."

Damn, that is not okay either. And, btw, I could update your Facebook page for $46,000 a year Mr. Mayor and I will throw in a free blog, or I will do both for $10,000 and a pension. That will save you $36,000. I am often a fan of the Mayor's but this Miami Herald article by the tag-team of Haggman and Dolan is not making me happy one bit. Mr. Mayor, the salaries are out of control. Look at State of Florida staff salaries for some guidance and show leadership in lowering the bar on pay. Municipal workers get great perks and a pension, in exchange for lower salaries, that is how it SHOULD work. There are over 80 angry comments on the Herald site so far. I like this one on the Mayor's Chief of Staff salary of $206,783: "Morales is making more money than a United States Senator. Something is wrong here."

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

County Hall = Business as usual. This is a disgusting display. It makes you wonder if anybody in government gets it.

Anonymous said...

This is outrageous during a time that meals for the elders, after school programs for kids, parks etc. are being cut. Is he not aware of the important programs that will be cut to have his friends make more money, probably the same amount as the cuts? Shame on him! P.S. Maybe his buddy, Frank Carollo, who is an accountant since 2003 is advising him.

Anonymous said...

What a shame! I guess this is another way to lie and cheat taxpayers of their money. So much for the cuts he was asking for! I really would like to know what degrees these people have, so that I can get myself one of those, because even with a good career in healthcare we rarely get more than 3-4% increases (and this year we got none due to the economy).
What a hypocritical stand! Oh how I wish we could just get rid of everyone in the city and create "real", productive jobs from scratch!

Anonymous said...

As of 4:31 PM Sunday the subject Herald article has generated 221 comments - the overwhelming majority of which are negative in tone.

The North Coast said...

Wow, does this ever sound so Chicago.

How do we stop our local politicians from doing this? How do we go about forcing our city councils to keep their pay in line with reality and manage the city's money prudently, when they are empowered to make the rules and we are not?

Anonymous said...

Work at a county with a geographic footprint comprising more than 2,000 miles is more complex than many realize, Carlos Alvarez wrote in a separate statement posted on the county's website last week.

``Too often to outsiders, high-paid executives become just names with salaries next to them,'' the mayor wrote. ``That's unfair. You never truly know someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes.''

WHO KNEW THE SHOES WOULD HAVE TO BE BRUNO MAGLI!
Harry Emilio Gottlieb

Cato said...

Stop whining and go apply for a job at the county, only then can you experience the joy of being overpaid and getting great benefits and pension to boot.

Anonymous said...

368 comments at Miami Herald website as of 10 pm on Sunday. There's a lot of angry folks voicing their disappointment at our elected officials. Maybe we can figure out a way to focus all that anger into a constructive way to address this problem, such as voting for changes and making some of these corrupt politicians go away for good. Recall!

Anonymous said...

I will spit on that slimy crook if I ever see him in public so he knows how I feel about his lack of ethics. I hope he drowns in spit for shafting the taxpayers of this county and the regular working stiffs of this county.

Anonymous said...

Carlos Alvarez is an a**hole. What a sleeze. Isn't he double dipping too? Getting a salary of $250,000, benefits of $100,000+ plus a pension from being a policeman?

This is the same Carlos Alvarez who forced the taxpayers to spend probably well over $3 billion bailing out his buddy, the New York City based owner of the Canadian owned Marlins.

Does Carlos Alvarez do anything to help Miami-Dade residents?

Anonymous said...

Time to clean house. Eliminate the worthless and costly Manger along with all of his 550 Assitants and we will save alot of $$$$$$.

Anonymous said...

This Mayor and Manager have as much to do, or more, with our current woes as the nonreformable majority of the County Commission. Burgess needs to go, right away, and we should strongly consider recalling this Mayor!! The waste, the incompentence, the give-a-ways, need to stop now!!!

Anonymous said...

Burgess lies every time he opens his mouth.

karenne said...

Cato:

You don't just "get" a job at county hall.

If you are a political appointee, then you fall into a job.... otherwise you and 9000 other people have applied for the secretarial job in elections you wanted. And only someone who is connected gets the job.

It is a joke. Police are promoted on whose butt they kiss. They take tests for certain promotions but the assignments are given by friends and family system.

People rocket up through the county hall offices depending on who they know, not on doing a job well done. Trust me, a person who does a super job can be labeled as one who is not promotable in spite of the great work and commitment.

It is depressing.