Wednesday, December 18, 2013
County Commission vote on 5%: Hypocrisy Unites Them. Guest Blog by Norma Rae
Yesterday Carlos Migoya admitted that none of his senior staff at Jackson contribute 5% of their salary, like all the other employees at the hospital. He said he would implement the 5% policy for his staff on January 1, 2014. We do not think that is right. Rather than wrongfully taxing the senior staff, we just want to get rid of this wrongful income tax for everyone. The unions are not about tearing other people down to reduce their earnings by equivalent amounts - that smacks of communism. We would like everyone to enjoy the fruits of their labor, and take home their entire paycheck. We just want to be given that simple dignity. We don't want Migoya to start taking money from his senior people. Just quit taking it from everyone at Jackson.
According to a September 30, 2013 official county document, most of the Commissioners who voted to impose the 5% payroll contribution on county workers don't ask their own employees to make the 5% contribution. And, most of the Commissioners who supported the county workers have been deducting the 5% from their employees. That's just not right. We don't think anyone on the commission staff should have to give up 5% of their earnings.
We want the Commissioners who supported us yesterday to quit deducting the 5% from your staff. Please stop taking the 5% from your employees, Commissioners Jordan, Monestime, Barreiro, Moss, and Souto. And, we do not want the hypocrites who voted to deduct the 5% from our paychecks to take it from their employees. We are fine with the fact that you treat your immediate workers fairly and give them the dignity of taking home their entire paycheck. Don't start penalizing your workers just because you are being exposed for being duplicitous. Reform your ways. Treat all of us with the same dignity.
The hypocrites: Commissioner Heyman (the biggest hypocrite), Lynda Bell (who's chief of staff drives a Mercedes), Zapata (who attacks county workers in the press) and Bovo (consultant to Dade Medical Scam College) do not currently deduct the 5% from their employees' paychecks. And we don't have a problem with that. The 5% income tax is not right. We support them for treating their employees fairly. But, why can't they treat everyone else that works for the county the same? Hypocrisy, hypocrisy, hypocrisy. These commissioners need to learn that integrity is not a four-letter word. It is OK to be consistent with your policies.
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44 comments:
What are the real issues here; these politicians are working for their agendas not for the people. We need to expose them more and more. And maybe they will be forced out….
Yes, hypocrite but they don’t care because they think they have the power to play…..
If there is no money, there is NO money. You can't get blood from a turnip.
If you sat at the BCC hearing yesterday you were treated to a spectacle the likes not seen since Circus Maximus. There was our strong mayor Carlos Gimenez, the beneficiary of a fraudulent absentee ballot election, surrounded by Attorney Roger Cuevas and Vice Mayor and Finance guru Ed Marquez. If you add up the salaries of these three plus benefits you are looking at $1 million plus. Then there was Jennifer Glazer Moon, a survivor of our old county nanager's regime and responsible for a budget that does not add up (making $200k+). There was the commission, headed by hipocryte Rebeca Sosa who dreams of being the next mayor. And there, further afar, there's Esteban Bovo, who allowed absentee ballots to be stored in his district office! And when you thought it could not get any crazier, in walks State Attorney Kathy Rundle, with an entourage of puppets to announce the "new" Inspector General! Wow, what a surprise! Mary Cagle, one of her former prosecutors! And now along with Joe Centorino that completes the triumvirate and is off to cover up the next fraudulent election! Then the vote, off course against the employees! And then to discuss the new soccer stadium! Yes, in the mot expensive piece of real estate in the county! Wow! What a day! What a county! Nero would have been proud!
Let’s get our priorities straight right…we have monies for a Soccer stadium. This is not about if we have monies or not is about what is owned. We pay for FPL even if we don’t have a lot of money.
We don’t go and spend it on other things like expensive dinners. We need to see what is happening here we have allowed for these politicians to play with the union’s contracts and now they are taking whatever they want without any remorse or respect… Let’s be clear……
Strange blog post. Shouldn't the biggest "Hypocrite" award go to Rebecca Sosa. She flip flopped on her vote. Her flip flop from an original yes to a no vote yesterday cost county workers their five percent. After all, they were one vote shy of having the nine votes needed to override the veto. Her flip flop did us in.
Mayor Gimenez asks where is the money to pay the employees? Well, here you will find some of it:
In the pockets of lobbyists Jorge Luis Lopez, Rafael Garcia Toledo, Freddy Balsera and his own son Carlos Gimenez Jr. In the salaries paid to unqualified vice mayors, his TWO Port of Miami directors and JMH director Carlos Migoya. Ask yourselves, how come the SAO never convened a grand jury to investigate the absentee ballot fraud of 2012? Simple, because the State Attorney knows that she would have joined Al Lrenzo, Carlos Gimenez and Esteban Bovi in prison.
Brilliant posts today, kudos!
Of course there is money! There is waste in every department! Lots of waste!
About lobbyists:
1. Why is there an Intergovernmental Affairs Department with staff designated to lobby for Miami-Dade County? This staff travels to Tallahassee and to DC. During Florida's Legislative Session they live in Tallahassee. We pay for their flights to and from, their lodging, meals and cars. Do you hunk the piublic knows this?
2. Why does WASD have its own Intergovernmental Affairs staff tasked with the same duties? They too travel to and from Tallahassee and DC. Taxpayers pay for their flijrs, hotels, apartments, meals etc.
3. Why don't the Commissioners and their top-paid staff lobby for the Cointy as many other cities and counties do? They travel on junkets often.
4. Why do we hire SO MANY lobbyists from SO MANY legal firms. Why not save millions there?
No. The biggest flip floper was Frau Bell. She earned the "Hypocrite" award. She voted no the first time, then flip flopped on her vote knowing that Sosa. Don't buy her insincerity. She is anti-employee.
The Moody's downgrade suggests that things are much tighter than many people think and we are cutting it very close. The Mayor is going to have to cut costs at all levels to get the situation under control and stop borrowing money at crazy interest rates. The Detroit situation is instructive. They kept spending and borrowing money from junk bonds, until eventually they had to lay-off massive numbers to employees to use their salaries to pay bond holders. And the rest is history.
Why is it that we are the only county that has these massive budget issues? Cape Coral & Pinellas County had more foreclosures than we did. When was the last time we had a balanced budget? Most other Florida counties have to deal with unionized employees. Their county managers can balance their budgets. You have part-time BoCC earning $6,000 (with outside interests] deciding the future of the county. We did not approve 5 deputy mayors [@ $250,000 each] to replace a $425,000 county manager.
isn't it funny that Rebeca Sosa has taken several Norwegian Cruises and paid the cheapest fares, then has Bill Johnson upgrades her to suites. she is a regular and recently sponsored a resolution to give NCL three million dollars. this was done on the very same day she voted against the employees. hmm maybe that was the deal she made with Mayor gimenez. check out agenda 8 (J) (2). the resolution passed without going to committee. just saying!
Many County employees live in Broward County. It appears the County employees complaining do not understand the concept of public service. They just want to get rich by soaking the taxpayers. Ever see the employee parking lot? Lots of Mercedes, BMW's, Lexus, big shiny pick ups... Greedy pigs. They all want taxes to go up so they can get richer. (I am not referring to the handful of employees making less than $42,000 per year, just all the rest...)
File Number: 132420 File Type: Resolution Status: Adopted
Version: 0 Reference: R-1052-13 Control: Board of County Commissioners
File Name: SEAPORT NLC BAHAMAS LTD CRUISE TERMINAL AGREEMENT Introduced: 11/26/2013
Requester: Port of Miami Cost: Final Action: 12/17/2013
Agenda Date: 12/17/2013 Agenda Item Number: 8J2
Notes: Title: RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AMENDMENT NO. 2 TO THE CRUISE TERMINAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY AND NCL (BAHAMAS) LTD. INCREASING NCL’S ANNUAL PASSENGER COMMITMENT TO COUNTY AND PROVIDING COUNTY MARKETING INCENTIVE PAYMENTS TO NCL OF THREE MILLION DOLLARS; AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR OR THE MAYOR’S DESIGNEE TO EXECUTE THE AGREEMENT FOR AND ON BEHALF OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY AND TO EXERCISE ANY CANCELLATION AND RENEWAL PROVISIONS THEREIN
Indexes: CRUISE TERMINAL AGREEMENT
Sponsors: Rebeca Sosa, Co-Prime Sponsor
Lynda Bell, Co-Prime Sponsor
We are not discussing salaries; we are discussing illegal practices by some. You sound resentful and angry…
I am a county employee of over 10 years & came from the private sector small business owner because of the benefits. I am not ashamed of my salary but of the management mayor on down. In his opening statement last week & his power point he stressed that he had no money or magic drawer full of money. But wow MAGIC money for bonuses for some. If Sosa thinks that there aren't going to be any lay offs boy is she going to be act surprised come 2014. Puff the magic money drawer indeed.
Sally Heyman probably makes her staff work in her mobile coffee truck to make up for not taking the 5% out of their paychecks. She actually goes to County sponsored events and sells coffee out of a roach coach. Maybe Kathy and her new I.G. buddy can look into the ethics of sponsoring county events and showing up as the Commissioner-Barrista to make money.
FIVE Deputy Mayors at over $200,000 each - WHY?
New Communications Director at $200,000 - WHY?
TWO Port Directors - WHY?
WASD: One Director; Two Deputy Directors; Five Assistant Directors and too many Chiefs to count - WHY?
This is the single most corrupt administration in Miami-Dade County history!
Lynda Bell doesn't ask her employees to contribute 5% of their wages???. Bell thinks it is just impossible to balance the budget without having the cleaning staff at Jackson contribute from their measly paychecks. But she doesn't think it is necessary to ask that creep who works for her that had the liposuction to contribute? What a two-faced wretch!
HEY AT THE END OF THE DAY THE ETHICS COMMISSION GETS A PAYCHECK FROM MIAMI DADE COUNTY. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ETHICS IN MIAMI DADE COUNTY.
HOW CAN A PORT DIRECTOR MR. KURYLA GET A 69% PAY RAISE OR JUST 150,000 MORE.
THIS IS UNETHICAL,SPECIALLY WHEN THE PORT IS NOT MAKING ANY MONEY AND INMORAL...AGAIN TOP HEAVY
And what's the deal with Zapata? He didn't even bother to attend the impasse hearing. Gimenez must have him on a short leash. He had his butt in the chair to stop the override. Zapata's office doesn't contribute the 5%??? We all indirectly work for the commission, so why can't we have the same fair deal?
All of these out -of-county employees have hurt us financially and in other ways. They need to work where they pay taxes and contribute to the economy. We have become a donor county, our tax money goes to support other people's economy. It was a bad decision by the commission to allow this. And now, it will kill us financially. The people who live here, have no big jobs, can hardly pay taxes every year, yet all our money is going out of the county to Broward to support their economy. Things have got to change here.
Two articles in Politico Cordodito also spell out the hypocracy. Three million dollars to NCL for marketing? Throwing out salaries to the public for debates on that topic is just a guise. This county's administration is non transparent and deceptive.
http://www.politicalcortadito.com/2013/12/18/budget-score-county-labor-consultants/
http://www.politicalcortadito.com/2013/12/18/mayor-carlos-gimenez-veto-sticks-minority-rules-now-what/
Has anyone quantified how much of our tax money goes to salaries of Broward county voters and taxpayers?
Chairwoman Rebeca Sosa said “Everybody has to make a sacrifice.”
Guess she doesn’t really mean everybody.
Not her staff, which got a 3% raise this year.
According to the president of the AFSCME local that represents the WASA workers, since 2007, WASD has spent at least $410 million on consultants for projects that will never be built.
Amazing, right?
No. This is common knowledge to everyone on the Administration floor of the WASD building in Douglas.
Ask any secretary.
How many broward, Munroe,and Palm Beach county employees live in Dade and pay taxes here and work for the other counties... They see and hear how Miami Dade treats their employees, I am sure they will dump their homes as fast as they can to get away from this unethical corrupt county. The residents of Miami Dade county are given nothing but lies and led to believe that employees are the root of all evil. As a native Miamian I have never been so embarrassed to say I am from Miami...
What is the mayor going to do with the magical bonus money he found in the "magic" drawer now that he does not have to give bonuses to the lowest paid employees? Oh I know, give it out to his puppets so it makes up for their 5%... Even if they don't contribute to their Health insurance..... Out one pocket into the other... He has to have ice running thru his veins...
I doubt very many. Those counties are not stupid enough to hire people outside their county. They want to contain all their money within the economy of their counties.
Based on the comments I have seen on this board by county employees, the county needs to immediately begin cleaning house.
80% of the highest paid 400 fire union members at the City of Miami live in gated luxury communities in Broward County. Southwest Ranches anyone? Worse most drive taxpayer owned "take home" vehicles for their commute.
They won't have to, people are leaving on their own and going where they will be respected. The mayor can then bring over the rest of the city of Miami friends and family and they can start a new retirement plan just like him. it's unfortunate that these comments reflect the moral of county employees....
To address this issue, many communities place a tax on people who work for a jurisdiction but live outside its boundaries. The tax is substantial and is equal to what they would pay property taxes if they lived here. If the problem is extensive in Miami-Dade county, this might be a good new source of revenue to help pay salaries and bond holders.
Xavier Suarez should be honest with his votes. Either he believes in "being fiscally responsible" or he feels he has to pander to unions. X cannot have it both ways.
The small-minded Gimenez trolls want to change the subject and talk about commuting to work? There is a multi-million dollar federal study to plan for the development of the Southeast Region called 7-50. Mayor Gimenez appointed one of his Deputy Mayors from Broward to the Executive Committee.
The purpose of the 7 County / 50 year plan is to address the common interest of the region. Many employers in Miami-Dade draw on talent from the region, and the County is no different. Gimenez has hired a guy from Broward to be his Deputy Mayor in charge of Finance.
If a man or woman from Palm Beach, Broward or Monroe wants to put on a Miami-Dade uniform and save my life or serve warrants on criminals in my neighborhood, they have my full support. And they should be paid their full paycheck - without an income tax deduction.
Quit spewing BS and wake up and realize that we live in a metropolitan region that allows people the freedom to work where they want, live where they want, and shop where they want. If you want to install Block Monitors and track people, there is a nice island community 90 miles south of here that will welcome you and your thinking.
I don't have a problem with it, just pay the tax. Stop pimping off of us. Pay your fair share of the tax burden.
Many of us have been aware that for a long time there has been a sustained effort to transfer wealth from Miami-Dade county to surrounding counties. They have been fumbling around trying to figure out a way to directly take taxes out of Miami-Dade Country and give it to other counties. Elected officials so far have not been stupid enough to let this happen. But they have been stupid enough to give jobs and our tax money to individual people who live outside the county.
Wish the Miami Herald editorial board (or person, as it has shrunk over the years) would read EOM. So tired of editorials lauding Gimenez without his administration accountable. Everything Gimenez does is golden in their "eye."
Firemen and Policemen have been taking money from Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami and living in Broward County for years. And using "take home vehicles" for their commutes! This fosters an attitude that these employees see Miami as the golden goose that enables them to get rich at the expense of hard working Miami taxpayers. The solution is that all new hires must live in the municipality that employs them. If they want the pay and benefits then become a stakeholder.
Back to the topic...I don't care where Lynda Bell's staff lives, but why don't they have to contribute 5% of their salaries and I do? She votes to make me pay 5%, and lipo-boy drives a Mercedes and gets his full paycheck. How is that fair?
You are right. Everyone should pay the 5%.
And people living in other counties should pay an additional tax. New money to help with our budget problems. We may get enough to keep the libraries open for people who actually live here.
Everyone should pay 5% of their salary to Miami-Dade County? Is that the suggestion of the anon above? So, you want an income tax for every worker in Miami-Dade County to offset the property taxes you pay. Let's work on that.
Everybody in the private sector and the public sector contribute 5% of their pay to Miami-Dade County. We will be the only jurisdiction in the State of Florida with an income tax, but maybe that way we could lower our property taxes. That might work.
We need to do computer run to see hoe many county employees live outside the county and how much of our tax money they make and take to Broward county.
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