Yikes! It was reported today that Carlos Gimenez wants to raise taxes by 5.37%. Isn't that the main reason that Commissioner Natacha Seijas and Mayor Carlos Alvarez were booted out of office? Let me remind you that the Mayor just returned from a trade mission to Spain. His lobbyist buddy and his wife were with him -- at least on the Italy portion of the trip (they self-paid for that).
Inflated salaries to County bigwigs (see my report yesterday, almost $300,000 to the designated port director), County Commissioner trips on our dime to Columbia, Costa Rica, Spain and Singapore and I got an email that another "TRADE" junket is planned for County Commissioners. Bullshit. These are vacations with our tax dollars. Yes they are a drop in the bucket but if things are tight, they shouldn't be globetrotting. Every drop helps, soon the bucket is filled. That Animal rescue bill we had a straw vote on wasn't meant to raise our taxes. Gimenez uses it as an excuse for this tax hike. People might not have voted for it had they known. That is why I never vote for that crap:
Commissioner Esteban “Steve” Bovo suggested from the dais last month that some voters might not have supported the animal shelter ballot measure had it been binding. “They felt, ‘Well, it’s not going to raise my taxes — it’s only a straw-ballot question,’ ”And remember, when the County Commission voted to give the Marlin hundreds of millions knowing that billlions of dollars of unfunded infrastructure existed. We reported on the infrastructure short-fall as early as 2006.
The tax roll for the county is expected to go up 3.9% this upcoming fiscal year and last year it increased by between 1.5 to 1.8%. With these increases I see no need to increase taxes. Buying hundreds of excess cars...and other stupid moves should be stopped. Commissioners should stop with the Mom and Pop Grants. Let them tighten THEIR belt not ours.
NO NEW TAXES.
They knew about unfunded infrastructure for years, I reported on Water & Sewer unfunded infrastructure in 2008. Gimleteye reported on $7 billions dollars of unfunded infrastructure in 2006 when the County Commissioner was flush with extra money from inflated tax rolls. That was 7 years ago. Where were the rainy day funds?
Will this make Carlos Gimenez a one term mayor? The good news, if it passes, Lynda Bell will be gone. Lynda it will be hard to escape this vote.
All you idiots out there: Stop voting for bond issues.
One reader left this comment, I am adding it to the post:
Numbers don't lie
1. 3.9% property value increase
2. 5.37% Mayor's proposed tax increase
3. 8% already approved water rate increase
4. $830,000,000 Jackson bond proposal
The County government is really trying to raise home owner taxes 10%-12%, raise to transit fees 8.8% as well as raising entrance fees to Viscaya Gardens 20%. The Mayor and County Commissioners do not understand or care about the burden this places on everyone.
41 comments:
History repeating itself.
3.9% increase in the tax base add in a 5.37% tax hike equals a 9% overall tax hike and 9% more for the county to waste. How much of this is union driven?
Then Jackson wants $830,000,000. They are all detached from reality.
The real question on Jackson is whether the $830,000 request is really game playing with the books, cost shifting. Did these financial "geniuses" simply cut out what should be spent in regularly budget maintenance and capitol expenses, claim victory in alleging a surplus, then play catch up by asking for a bond.
Add all the numbers together and you reach the unmistakable conclusion that Jackson is really $800,000 in the red.
Hellloooooo, Commissioner Honey Boo Boo, the 'gamblin' mayor' (on our money) what happened to all the wealth you were going to create through opening up the UDB to developers?
You mean we have to put up with all that new traffic, more strain on our infrastructure, but no tax relief?
And of course the excuse is pet owners and libraries. Commissioner Honey Boo Boo is hot for new books for the library to replace all the ones she has already colored in. Oh no, did I type 'colored'? Not in Bell's presence.
Someone should acknowledge that libraries have had their day. They are passe. Consolidate them and get rid of most of them.
Gimenez is just using libraries and dogs and cats to soften the blow "you do want these things don't you people?" If he said he needs the money for sewage no one would support it. He is manipulating us.
If you want to refer to County Commissioner Lynda Bell, use her name. No one but you knows who Honey Boo Boo is. Google will never pick it up.
Taxes do need to be raised but they shouldn't blame it on Libraries and dogs and cats. How about they be straight with us and it wouldn't be so infuriating.
Does he even have the votes? With some commissioners up for reelection, this might not fly...all for nothing.
All the Even numbered commissioners are up for reelection:
Monestime
Heyman
Sosa
Bell
Souto
Diaz
He can't rely on their votes. Sosa, Heyman and Souto don't have to worry but the others do.
First, the Jackson thing is a BS game. The Jax people intervened to prevent a 10 year expansion/update facility plan that would only do 3 section because it cost so much to do. And now the Jackson wizards are going to create magic in 3 years and come under budget. Not. Get the commission of of the health business and out the hospital foundation business as well.
Secondly, Gimenez is focused on not honoring police contracts. I am not an officer, but I think it is less than honorable to renege on commitments made in contracts and I certainly think county-wide, the mayor needs to stop attempting to balance his budget on the backs of his employees. He hires people under one set of benefits and proceeds to chip away at the benefits. He apparently thinks that the Florida government employees are paid so well that he wants parity with their pay scale. Unfortunately, the state employees are so underpaid that some of them qualify for food stamps.
Gimenez needs to stop traveling with an gaggle of people. He is mayor, not king or president. And no, I would not vote for him or bell for governor.
Numbers don't lie
1. 3.9% property value increase
2. 5.37% Mayor's proposed tax increase
3. 8% already approved water rate increase
4. $830,000,000 Jackson bond proposal
The County government is really trying to raise home owner taxes 10%-12%, transit fees 8.8% as well as entrance fees to Viscaya Gardens.
The Mayor and County Commissioners do not understand or care about the burden this places on everyone.
The electorate needs to replace officials that raise taxes and fees in the next 2 election cycles.
Annon needs to go to a library, they are full of people.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Someone should acknowledge that libraries have had their day. They are passe.
Bloat, bloat, bloat. Learning how to live within your means is wise given the current fiscal mess.
Carlos Gimenez is a good guy, but a tax increase is just not indicated. How about paring back the "bloat creep" of the last decade!??!
I'd hate to vote for someone else, but I will if this goes through.
Find out what the average EMT in the private sector is paid (30,000 probably). Miami-Dade EMTs are payed double and still are being called Fire-Rescue. Time to rename them EMT-Rescue. Ballot should include a provision to rename service. Nobody will ever vote for higher taxes for EMTs. Audit calls of 911 system will show MDFR greatest scam in history.
Diaz is the one pushing the Pets Trust tax........He needs to go for a whole bunch of other reasons as well!
What part of "non binding" made this politically "binding". The pets trust people are starting to remind me of the CFC in they way the "mob" the commission. Different issues, same type of thugs!
The increased for the MDX roads is bad enough, now all this other stuff is coming due.
Jackson needs to raise the revenue from the private patient care to pay for their improvements. These is a merry go round with this group every year.
They are out of touch with mainstream voters and taxpayers. Most of us are just nearly holding on. After cut-backs every year for things for daily survival, there is nothing left for increases in anything, especially more taxes. Their world is a world of plenty, ours is one of scarcity. They live in an alternative universe. He is a one-termer. And we must clean out anyone anyone who supports him on this. We are interested in tax cuts not tax increases.
Its official. Mayor Carlos Gimenez is a member of the wine-and-cheese club.
Ah, well, ma leetell fraaaaahnd, we wheel ahv a glass of shampanya and toast to zee future.
Of course it ain't "Honey Boo Boo".
It's "Mama June", y'all!
Wow. Carlos Gimenez is out of touch. He has been getting overfed, overpaid and over benefitted for so long he has no clue how tough it is in the private sector. Yup. Low pay and no benefits. Gimenez loses my vote.
Add the Properyy Insurance Fiasco and Politicians and Lobbyist will be all that's left in FLORIDA, the rest of us who have to work for a living can't afford it.
What happened to Gimenez's moral compass. I thought he was a straight shooter. Looks like he has shot himself in the foot. He is spending too much time with lobbyists who are out of touch with us and advising him badly.
You forgot the Toll increase on the Dolphin Expressway SR836. County Government is out of their mind!
Tax cuts is an absolute no without pay cuts and more stringent corruption oversight.
Carlos Gimenez appears to have no idea that County employees and government employees in general make considerably more than their public service counterparts and at considerably less risk. Gimenez needs to be reducing the number of County employees NOT proposing tax increases.
Why doesn’t anybody criticize Carlos Migoya’s salary? He makes $590,000 a year plus bonuses, he received $160,000 last year and will receive twice as much this year. He also receives an expense allowance plus car allowance. Car allowance to get to work? The regular workers don’t get car allowance. Why should he?
My point is Kuryla’s salary comes out of the million dollar businesses he brings to the port whereas Migoya’s hefty salary comes out of the more than $300 million dollars JMH receives from taxpayers money. Kuryla should get paid as much as Migoya, after all Kuryla has to work harder to ensure the port’s contribution to Dade County’s economy keeps growing and Migoya can continue benefiting from it.
Might be wrong, but I don't think unions have anything to do with it - don't see how?
Our family, including my 3 tech-loving teenagers go to the library a lot - and they always have lots of students and adults. We've been to about 5 different libraries and all of them were busy, no matter time of day/week.
I voted for that straw poll about the animal shelter thinking that it would at least get another round of talk.
The increase in tax is smelling rotten. I don't think it has anything to do with whatever they are saying the reason is, but I don't know what it is going to pay for.
mb a few County employees have inflated salaries, but the couple I know are not. They were lots of layoffs and salary cuts and benefit cuts and my one buddy said they have mandatory days off with no pay.
THanks Genius
Your summarization of numbers as you say "don't lie". A tax hike will sink home-owners who are struggling, also making car payments with gas & tolls to drive them unaffordable.
Whatever happened to "looking out for the constituency" that elected leaders campaign on?
Riley
How about adding in, property insurance if you can get it.
Y'all know it's bad when KG_Dreamer chimin' in!
The average non-union employee in the United States makes $38,000 per year. The average union worker makes $49,000 per year. The union workers should be taxed to give money to the lower paid non-union workers. What ever happened to the concept of "public service"?
It's the upper level administrators who are over fed with too many benefits. The everyday worker at County Hall is getting screwed. Cut from the top down, not from the bottom up.
As to the Pets Trust nonsense. Why spend all that time on lobbying for a "non binding" increase when all along if they would have just been honest with the voters, it probably would not have passed, and now they're mad because the county isn't taking the "will of the people" in to account when the "will of the people" if it were a real tax increase was never asked!
Gimenez could lose a few "vice mayors" and others making over $150K within the county. Then, get rid of the Mom & Pop grants (slush funds) to start!
Maybe the legislators could actually do something about the outrageous homeowners insurance instead of taking their lobbying money and feigning outrage with citizens. It's kind of like the auto insurance reform (scams) which never dropped their rates as promised!
28,000 County employees? 27,000? Gimenez should eliminate 2,000 full time employees starting with the many patronage jobs Gimenez has handed his friends.
To quote Bon Jovi:
"It's all the same... Only then names have changed"
and not enough of those names have changed at that.
We all believed this time would be different. And right out of the box, he got rid of Burgess and we thought, YAY this guy is different.
But alas, it was not to be. The Burgess influence was so strong with those that remained, that it has not infected the current resident of the 29th floor.
Too Bad!
Disappointed in Miami
Gimenez spends too much time talking to lobbyists and to other members of his inner circle. Obviously, Gimenez is divorced from reality. A tax increase? Really Carlos?
It has been some time since I've commented on any news article or blog online. I simply fell out of love with the dirty politics, but I had to add my two cents when it comes to raising property taxes. I once had a serious conversation about this with Commissioner Steve Bovo --- when he was still up in Tallahassee. One of the things we discussed was eliminating the property taxes, and instead taxing expensive, durable items that cost over $500. Another way to get the money . . . since Mayor Gimenez was so eager to please the Dolphins with their agenda to take money from tourists, is to add a few pennies to the tourist tax and use it to serve the people.
Gimenez needs to meet some regular private sector people.
Gimenez is piling on taxes to benefit his firefighter buddies.
Here we have another politician whose career will come to an end simply because he failed to have a few "no" people on his staff. "No" people see things others don't see. They keep you grounded, in touch with the masses, keep you from shooting yourself in the foot, will argue alternative positions, evaluate possible impacts, and they can spot issues and problems before you venture into them. No one seems to learn anything here. It is the same mistakes over and over again. From one train wreck to another. They surround themselves with "Yes" people who make them feel good, but are useless when critical decisions have to be made.
Gimenez hired fellow ex-firemen and with other aides who would never question his (flawed) opinion. No wonder Gimenez stumbles from one blunder into another.
While hiring a few sycophants is common, people who successfully lead large organizations like the county usually hire top tier professionals to advise them. This issue should have been vetted out in his office, and discussions and debates should have been intense and bloody. He should have clearly known the implications one way or the other. Yet when he made the announcement, he seem surprised at the immediate negative public outrage and reaction to his announcement, and that it would cost him his job.
I think we need to ask for a book report from the Mayor as to what exactly he did on his summer vacation. I would like to know specific, actionable items that came out of the meetings in Europe while on county business. I would also like a similar report from Commissioners Bell and Edmonson ... really specific ones that break it down for us so we can understand why we paid for them to go overseas.
Can I hear a hell yayahh on this one, people.
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