Friday, October 31, 2014

Mayor Fishing for Souls To the Polls? By Geniusofdespair


Administrative Leave: Time spent doing this activity (it calls for 5 hours) you get to take later as time off, in this case, half the time you 'volunteer'. So 20 employees get 2 1/2 hours off in the future.  Your tax money is paying to get this activity going at a church. Don't churches usually find their own volunteers?

It is hard to be granted administrative leave, ask any staff member. It is also hard for Gimenez to make friends and garner good will in the black areas around Miami Dade County. This is a perfect opportunity for  the 2016 election. This church is a hugely active political church. They have an early voter program, candidates visit the parishioners at the church. So this isn't just helping out a poor little church. It is a vote getter ploy.

They want souls to the polls while we, as usual, are taken to the cleaners.


19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why are we involved with a church? I thought there was a separation of church and state. Only in Miami.

Anonymous said...

Somehow this seems an inappropriate use of taxpayers money.

Anonymous said...

WTF?! I guess they are getting around the law because its a 'free community event'? Total BS.

Anonymous said...

The Black vote was the reason the Transit Tax passed years ago. After many multi-million dollar contracts, we got no transit improvements, the money disappeared, and there was no accountability to the taxpayers about what happened to the money. But, we are still paying the debt.

O said...

Wasting tax money to curry favor with the black community?

Yet another sign that Gimenez is a liberal spendaholic that is preparing a switch to the Democratic Party.

Anonymous said...

Anyone want to bet those County workers who will be paid as goodwill ambassadors to attend are also members of the church who would be there anyway? This mayor is corrupt to the bone. Shame.

Anonymous said...

This is not a county event. This is mis use of his office, position and our tax dollars paying these people to "volunteer" and it should not have been on county letter head/ e mail addresses.

How is this legal?

Anonymous said...

I wonder if he'd offer the same courtesy to a Santeria church?

Anonymous said...

Disgusting. He has nothing but contempt for the taxpayers who are footing the bill.

Anonymous said...

Both the Orange Bowl and the Miami Dolphins have large volunteer bases that could have been tapped into for volunteers. This could have been a part of community service hours for students also.

There was no need for tax money to be used other than pandering for votes in the future.

Anonymous said...

The Democratic Party does not want him. He is a villain. While individuals pick their prefered party and the party cannot reject the individual, they can refuse to endorse.

Anonymous said...

Does this action cross the line and break any rules?

I saw on the Channel 10 news that the Mayor lured a Deputy Director with the additional perk of 80 hours of Administrative Leave - breaking a rule. There was no recourse.

Anonymous said...

UT OH!!!!

Lured a deputy mayor where, for what?

Anonymous said...

I remember in 2012 how this blog defended and endorsed Carlos Gimenez. I slso remember Miriam Marquez, Bernadette Pardo, Michael Purney, Jimmy Cefalo, etc., supporting Gimenez, a corrupt politician who has given away millions in county contracts to his associates. Our citizens will never know the injustices committed by Gimenez against employees who dared to stand up to him. They will never know how he has destroyed county infrastructure. Let's hope we can all unite in 2016 and give Gimenez the boot.

Geniusofdespair said...

It was the best choice at time. Least worse remember. I would never vote for a shadow banker.

Anonymous said...

The Black community voted for Transit because many people use transit for day-to-day transportation to work, shopping, and other things. They dangled transit expansion and improvements in front of their faces, and these communities voted for it looking forward to the promises being realized and better transportation for them and their families. What did they get? Nothing. Now the money has gone in people's pockets and there is nothing to show for it.

Anonymous said...

"The mayor also doesn't think it is wasteful that Deputy Mayor Ed Marquez was given the most administrative leave of his staff. Records show he received 168 hours of paid time off during the last two years, worth $21,566. That was in addition to Marquez's $267,000 annual salary and two weeks of regular vacation time earned.

"Is it fair that he should get two weeks more?" Palombo asked.

"If he puts in that additional time, which he does -- way above and beyond 80 hours -- yes," Gimenez said."

A county official said Marquez was given the administrative leave "in order to mirror the four weeks of vacation employees with 20 years of experience get." As a former county employee and a re-hire Marquez does have that combined experience, but not from "continuous" service as county rules require.

"Should it be investigated?" Palombo asked the librarian.

"Definitely," she said.

"It's not unfair," Gimenez said. "It's fair. And he's a great employee who works more than the 80 hours that he gets."

Gimenez also said the money spent on administrative leave is not additional money paid to the employees, but rather time off while they're being paid their regular salary.

http://www.local10.com/news/miamidade-county-employees-getting-paid-for-not-working/25695216

Anonymous said...

We found out some time ago on this blog that this is the chief finance man who really runs the county, does the heavy lifting and keeps the county afloat .There is plenty of dead weight there, who could disappear and everything would go on. Tons of them do no work at all. Many have no-show jobs. I would not advise destroying someone who is carrying the load.

Anonymous said...

Ref. Above anon, if by "carrying the load" you are referring to Ed Marquez, you must admit that no civil servant is worth $250k plus benefits a year- especially one who has the checkbook at the ready to pay off the mayor's friends' cushy contracts. If you are referring to Gimenez, then you are using his well worn excuse of "dead weight" to get get rid of employees that prevent him from stealing more. Talk to any county official in the lower echelon and he/she will tell you about the ongoing abuse and graft Gimenez is committing.