Miami Dade County ... now what? by gimleteye

With so much focus at the top of county management and politics, it is easy to ignore staff demoralized by paralyzed government. Nothing is happening. There is massive uncertainty; not just from within county departments but also the state and wholesale dismantling of programs by Gov. Rick Scott including growth management. If I were a member of the county rank and file (not in the police or fire departments), I would expect an atmosphere characterized by chaos and sloth. Why do anything, if your department is about to be merged or eliminated? If I was ambitious to move up, I would be consumed with worry about who above me is going to get the axe and how does that affect me.

The news focuses on recall elections and threats to municipal budgets and finance. In the meantime there are thousands of employees who are adrift. After years of budget cuts and reassignments, inside county government walls the anxiety overwhelms news of recalls and voter discontent.

Former county commissioner Natacha Seijas, and her chief of staff Terry Murphy, had a field day running the county show while the building boom was "on" but never gave much thought what to do, when it was turned "off" by the accumulated weight of fraud. Much of the county staff adapted around them-- accustomed to her tirades and storms-- but now they are gone and who will fill the vacuum?

Managing through the worst economic contraction in modern history requires skill and foresight and courage. But we can already see how the crisis provides opportunities for our own tribal warfare. That is what Seijas' protege, Lynda Bell, is fostering. Bell is from South Dade and recently unleashed land speculator James Humble on the county environmental agency, DERM, through a lightly attended (by press) "town hall meeting" that devolved into a mob aimed against environmental regulations in West Dade. (Humble became a wealthy millionaire farmer, land-banking and arbitraging property values outside the Urban Development Boundary, preying on peoples' anger against government. He recently put his name in the hat, for appointment to the governing board of the South Florida Water Management District.)

A system that was barely workable under the political meddling of the county commission, and a county manager who cared mostly about building sports stadiums and other entertainments for the politically connected, is grinding to a halt. If I worked at county hall, I would wonder if today would be my last day, or tomorrow, whether my department will exist. That is, if I cared whether I got my job done. A lot of county workers care less and less.

Here is a grim lesson. When government is designed to serve special interests-- in other words, designed to fail the public interest-- and when the underlying economic stability of that system, falters; there is a great risk that government will fail. Period. What will then emerge is a system that further serves the politically entrenched interests who caused the system to be designed, to fail, in the first place. This is happening on a national level, with the rise of the Tea Party pushing the right, even further to the right. It is happening in the states where governors like Rick Scott have decided that government itself needs to be dismantled, to achieve what Grover Norquist and Karl Rove wanted all along: destroy government from within and liberate the "free" market.

Voters would be foolish to elect new representatives from the same system that produced such carnage. Is Miami-Dade ready to elect Julio Robaina, Mayor of Hialeah, who was one of Seijas' strong supporters? I don't know. Lynda Bell was elected from the cesspool of South Dade politics. We don't just need new faces: we need new leaders who are dedicated to making government work for taxpayers and people. That day does seem far, far away.

Type the rest of the post here

Burgess is Gone and Braman Wants to be Interim Mayor. By Geniusofdespair

Burgess is having a press conference to announce his departure. Alina Hudak will take over for now.

What? Braman wants to be Mayor for a bit. That could be interesting...or not.

Rumored: Gov. Scott's anti-regulatory jihad to "create jobs" already infecting county planning ... by gimleteye

It is happening: Gov. Scott's plan backed the GOP Florida legislature to knee cap comprehensive land use planning and environmental regulations has landed explosively in county management where permitting for large infrastructure projects and small has been years in the making. For example the requirement by the South Florida Water Management District to hold Miami-Dade accountable for the consequences of too much growth and too little clean water. There is no uncertainty about Scott's intention to hobble regulations, even though he is clueless why they are important. Now, decisions made years ago involving billions in costs and planning are going to be undone-- the effort to make up for the severe political influence of lobbyists and special interests shifting infrastructure costs on the backs of taxpayers-- will be forgotten. Floridians will be living in a dirtier state more under the thumb of lobbyists: the backsliding has begun.

$3.6 Million Dollar County Boondoggle. By Geniusofdespair

We now have 64 posts in our boondoggle file -- most have occurred under the watch of Miami-Dade County Manager George Burgess. Once again we have proof that the County is just too big and bloated to manage. Our last boondoggle post was only a week ago on transit. To the County Commissioners' credit on the HUD money the Feds want back, they wouldn't release general funds to bail out management staff. According to Miami Herald reporter Martha Brannigan:

"In the latest sign of weak financial controls in Miami-Dade government, the county must pay back $3.6 million in federal grant funds received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development after a federal audit found that county officials couldn't show the money was properly used."

Don't Like the Wackenhut Deal. By Geniusofdespair

Wackenhut was accused of billing the County for no-show guards to the tune of between $3.3 to $5.8 million dollars. The money damages that County Commissioners would vote on tomorrow are not bad, however, in cases of fraud there is triple damages so they should be more, but I am not going to quibble on damages. What I don't like is the part where: Miami-Dade would end its bid to keep Wackenhut from doing business with the county. According to the Miami Herald the settlement says:

It (the County) would promise not to use the facts of this case against Wackenhut on current or future contracts...The county also agreed to clarify its final audit by Miami-Dade's chief auditor Cathy Jackson, saying her comments ``should not be construed to mean that the principals or management of Wackenhut engaged in fraud.''

What?? Wackenhut over-billed for years, why should we give them any more business? Bad deal Burgess. Anyway, didn't Wackenhut change their name, and you know how short memory is in this County. Their lobbyist for this settlement is Jeffrey T. Foreman.

We wrote about the Wackenhut story many times, here are three examples:
Wackenhut 1 - Wackenhut 2 - Wackenhut 3

Also NBC 6 is following the story and they have posted a video. Michelle Trimble was a whistle blower on Wackenhut, she would get $1.25 million if the deal is approved, and she is featured in the NBC video.

County Manager Burgess Clashes with Javier Souto: Again. By Geniusofdespair

We all know County Commissioner Souto can be a buffoon, blathering on and on about nothing often insulting Anglo citizens with his negative references to "The Wine and Cheese Set" and those "East of Biscayne". But I have a question for all of you. Do you find it unseemly for the County Manager to call Souto's allegations "ridiculous, offensive, puzzling and baseless" on the pages of Miami Today? I do, and here is why. WE are not allowed to say anything negative about County Commissioners or the Mayor at County Hall. If we said what the County Manager said about Souto, even though citizens are routinely abused, we would be escorted away. How does the County Manager get to say what he did, he might as well have called Souto a liar too. Is there a double-standard for citizens? Don't we rate as high as staff? If I said to Vile Natacha Seijas: "Your accusations are offensive" (which they are) I would be thrown out.

Frankly I don't thing Souto has it that wrong. Yes, his motives might stink (angry over budget cuts to his cattle show) and his delivery poor, but taking on the issue of lobbyist power with Commissioners and Staff is refreshing and I think he deserves an apology because Souto's accusations about the lobbyist love-fest are not "baseless," Mr. Burgess, and we all know it. And, I agree with Souto that "the administration has lost touch with the people" so don't call that claim "ridiculous."

Mayor Carlos Alvarez's Reign. by Guest Blogger OutofSight

The most obvious explanation for Alvarez’s current political situation arises from a lack of planning for changes in a global economy along with poor management of county resources. It is the equivalent of his buying a new car and never changing the oil or tires…

The issue with Carlos Alvarez and his staff raises really has nothing to do with money, as much as the perception that he sold out. He ran on a “Better Government” platform and won. Change was in the air, citizens were breathing deep. Detractors during the campaign pointed out there was no plan for the county’s future in Alvarez’s platform.

Perhaps they were right. The county has been on a self-maintenance plan which doesn’t work for car maintenance or for county voters who expected positive changes in county government. (Hit read more)

County government is over-loaded with plans. George Burgess is great at doing plans. Getting the Marlin Stadium approved was an example of his tenacity in getting things done his way even if it means stepping hard on people to do it.

Burgess’ strategic management plan was set to make Miami-Dade County more like a corporate business. This plan plays well to the powerful business chambers in the county. In reality, the strategic management planning process did nothing more than create more meetings for the community (Public Relation opportunities) and loads of aggravation for the Department Directors. More often than not, the departments are left scrambling to figure out how to fit their true functions and achievements into a one-size fits all series of forms that does not jive with their actual mission. As a result, there may have been some great creative writing going on throughout the county over the past few years since all departments have to fit the same mold.

With the county strategic planning formula on auto-pilot, it leaves little wiggle room for positive change. County staff has their hands tied because of their fear of repercussion when their thinking strays out of the box. And, backroom politics at the county is viler than ever.

This is where the Strong Mayor mode of county government fails for Miami Dade County. The creative smarts of the rank and file employee in county government is stifled and asphyxiated by the rules of engagement.

Indeed, this is a sad budget year for Miami Dade County. This year’s budget is not the result of just the recession; this year’s budget is the result of the lack of a true long-term strategic vision which includes the change the electorate thought they voted for. It is great to make plans, but strategic planning needs a vision and the vision for the past six years has translated into “more of the same”. How tragic is that for the high hopes of the voters?

Bendixen Channel 10 Poll Regarding Miami Dade County Government. By Geniusofdespair

On this first one, all I want to know is, what is the Black Community thinking? They appear to be out of touch with the County Commission with a 43% approval rating and a paltry 28% percent negative rating. The White and Hispanic Communities disapproved by 47% and 50% respectively. On the last two: See Mayor Alvarez, you are looking bad with a 66% negative and the guy you should have gotten rid of, he has escaped the wrath of citizens with a 38% negative rating. The poll was conducted September 8th.


Executive Summary of poll and MY FAVORITE graphic from the poll:

Miami-Dade County Budget Poll


The results and findings in this memo are based on a telephone poll of 400 registered voters of Miami-Dade County (5% margin of error). All the interviews were conducted on the evening of Tuesday, September 8, 2009 in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole. The sample of the survey is representative (by race, ethnicity, gender and age) of the approximately one million registered voters in Miami-Dade. The poll was conducted by Bendixen and Associates and sponsored by WPLG Channel 10 and WLTV Channel 23.

1. A clear majority of county voters (59%) support cutting the salaries of all county employees by 10 to 20 percent to balance the Miami-Dade budget. Meanwhile, only 19% favored increasing property taxes, while even smaller groups were in favor of laying off thousands of county employees (6%) or making substantial cuts in the funding of arts and social services programs (7%).

2. Mayor Carlos Alvarez has lost the trust of the large majority of county voters (74%). These respondents said that they had "little trust" or "no trust" in the Mayor when it comes to responding fairly and with integrity to the needs of the people of Miami-Dade. Only 23% said that they had "a lot of trust" or "some trust" in Alvarez.

The mayor could be in political trouble. The voters of Miami-Dade are divided on whether to recall him (with 46% for the recall and 47% against it). It is clear that recent revelations that Alvarez gave several of his closest advisors large pay increases, even though he knew about the county budget deficit crisis, have had a major negative impact on his political credibility.

3. Last week's vote by the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners to freeze property taxes splits the electorate with 43% saying they support the decision and 48% saying they oppose it. Black and Anglo voters oppose the decision by a 2 to 1 margin because they fear that it will lead to substantial cuts in funding for arts and social services programs and to the firing of thousands of county employees. Meanwhile, Hispanic voters support the decision by a 5 to 4 margin because they think it will lower their property taxes for next year. The poll also reveals that two-thirds of county voters (69%) have "no trust" or "little trust" in the County Commission when it comes to responding fairly and with integrity to the needs of the people of Miami-Dade. Thirty percent (30%) said it has "a lot of trust" or "some trust" in the County Commission.

4. The personal image ratings for the most important county leaders are strongly negative. Twenty-four percent (24%) have a positive opinion of County Mayor Carlos Alvarez, while 66% have a negative opinion of him. County Commission Chairman Dennis Moss has a 17% positive rating and a 42% negative rating. The ratings of County Manager George Burgess are 20% positive and 38% negative.

5. The debate at County Hall has the attention of most county voters with 74% of respondents indicating they were following the debate about the budget deficit "very closely" or "somewhat closely."

Mayor Carlos Alvarez: Are We Beating a Dead Horse? By Geniusofdespair

The Miami Herald, hammering on the Mayor since last Sunday, has a column and a news story today on the Mayor's raises to staff and the shuffling around of personnel to make it seem like he had reduced staff. The Herald calls him the Man who always saw things as black and white. I agree, so how then did Mayor Alvarez get into operating in the gray area? My guess: Most likely County Manager George Burgess (always making concessions and edgy ethical "deals"). It also could be some shitty adviser on the Mayor's staff, doubt that but I do think Mayor Alvarez was taught these bad tricks. I truly don't think that Alvarez, on his own, could have thought up the back-dated raises to throw off Commissioner Sally Heyman's public records request. That is not what he has been about his whole career. I don't think he is a sneaky guy by nature. I think he took bad advice and it dug him into a deep hole. He is responsible for the hole but the shoveling of the crap, I am inclined to think it is not him although he consented to it -- putting aside his ideals.

Mr. Mayor, as a Monday morning quarterback let me say: Rather than raising salaries of your staff to be more in line with the Manager's office, you should have fired the Manager, like you were suppose to when you became strong Mayor, and then, you should have given the Manager's staff a choice of lower wages or the door.

Putting up hurricane shutters on the county budget ... by gimleteye

The stock markets are rallying hopefully on signs of the economy bottoming out. But as the Wall Street Journal notes, stronger earnings than expected "is less a sign of an improving economy than of how deeply businesses have cut costs in response to the downturn." These cuts have dramatically reduced workforce employment and lead to the continuing crisis in consumer confidence. Wage earners are saving money and putting out anchors to keep from being swept away by the worst economy since the Great Depression. The grim reality is that American households have lost "about $14 trillion in wealth, more than their collective earnings from all sources of income last year." ('Obama Aides see signs of recovery, but say it will be slow;, August 3, 2009, New York Times)

The proposed county budget for 2009-2010 is an effort to close a $400 million shortfall ... (please click, 'read more')
between revenues and projected expenses. The areas taking it hardest on the chin: social and cultural expenditures peripheral to core services like public safety. In Miami-Dade, Florida's most populous county, "Final property tax roll growth for calendar years 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 showed extraordinary increases of 13.4 percent, 18.7 percent, 21.4 percent and 15.4 percent respectively. For 2008, final tax roll estimates for the Countywide is minus 0.09 percent when adjusted by the impact of the January 29, 2008 constitutional amendments. For FY 2009-10 the estimated tax roll adjustment at a Countywide level is an unprecedented 9.5 percent loss. For FY 2010-11, the property tax roll adjustment is assumed at 12 percent loss, flat for FY 2011-12, and 3 percent growth thereafter. This conservative tax roll forecast is the result of current real estate market conditions." (Proposed County Budget, Page 98)

While there may be a lot of wishful thinking built into these assumptions, it is hard to fault Mayor Carlos Alvarez and County Manager George Burgess for delivering the bad news: don't shoot the messenger. The size of government either has to be reduced, services cut and curtailed, or citizens have to support county commissioners who approve new taxes. Balancing revenue to service even the reduced, proposed and painful county budget will require higher taxes.

The proposed County Budget is dismal, but the news is yet worse: there are some $20 billion in unfunded infrastructure deficits: a fact that mocks claims by developers and the Growth Machine that the rabid, speculative fever during the housing boom benefited taxpayers. We now get to see the true nature of their Ponzi schemes.

Growth does not pay its own way: what lead to this point in time is nothing less than disaster capitalism in practice. I predict a severe backlash against the unreformable majority of the county commission for 2010 elections. But that too may be wishful thinking: all around us perpetrators of economic fraud are being rewarded. None are being held accountable. The speculators with bad investments outside the Urban Development Boundary are being kept afloat by banks no longer required to "mark to market" investments of dubious value on their balance sheets. The absence of transparency also leads to despair and consumer anxiety. As frequently noted on Eyeonmiami, voters and taxpayers are stuck with a campaign finance and electoral system that is "representative" democracy in name only. Every effort at reform of the county commission has failed, anchoring the parochial interests of an economic elite that will ride out this hurricane on platforms of wealth built during the boom times.

The heavy lifting on the county budget is being lead by Commissioner Katy Sorenson who begins a series of budget workshops on August 24. The first public hearing on the ordinance enabling the new budget will be on Sept. 3rd. At that meeting the county commission will vote on the preliminary budget and tax rate. September 17th is the final vote and trumps whatever they do on Sept 3rd., but according to state law the first meeting is the critical one for the tax rate.

Javier Souto: His Memo's are as long as His Tirades. By Geniusofdespair

I have to admit I am growing to appreciate the wit of the ramblin' man (unintentional on his part I think). Look at this memo Commissioner Javier Souto wrote to County Manager Burgess July 31st, it is a hoot and it also serves as a lesson on what is wrong with district voting (commissioners have tunnel vision, only seeing their district -- very obvious here):

"I called you today and was told by one of your 18 Assistant County Managers, that you were on vacation in Australia and you could not call me because you were out of reach. I tried to get the telephone number to your hotel, but they would not give it to me.

Last week, your secretary called my secretary to inform me that you could no longer attend or provide an Assistant County Manager, a Senior Advisor to the County Manager, an Executive Assistant to the County Manager, a Special Assistant to the County Manager, or one of your 18 Assistant County Managers to examine municipal problems in Fontainebleau, Westchester and Kendall (District 10) (UMSA – Unincorporated Municipal Service Area). We have checked the salaries of all these assistants of yours, and they total over $3.5 million. (Hit read more) You can probably add another half a million dollars in benefits. I want to know if any percentage of these salaries are paid with UMSA tax dollars. I want you to know that the community is pretty angry about the high salaries in Miami-Dade County government in general. Now is the time to do more with less. But I see that you don’t know how to manage in difficult times. Managing when there is lots of money around is easy. Let me remind you that the Westchester-Kendall area is the top per capita vote producer area in Miami-Dade County. Everyone is watching.

As you are aware, I have expected all your predecessors, County Managers, over the past 15 years: Joaquin Avino, Armando Vidal, Merritt Stierheim, and Steve Shiver to dedicate 2 or 3 hours a week to their other responsibilities, as the Municipal Managers for the tax payers and residents of UMSA (Unincorporated Municipal Service Area). (In District 10, that I represent, we are 100% UMSA.) They all understood this as an important function and responsibility since in addition to their responsibility as County Manager, they are responsible for overseeing the services provided to the residents of UMSA (the largest “city” in Miami-Dade County) for the $481 million in taxes that they paid last year alone. In the past, all your predecessors attended these Friday tours of the Unincorporated areas of Westchester, Fontainebleau and Kendall themselves, even though they all had less than half the number of Assistant County Managers to help them than you have today. Over the past three years, you began attending less and less frequently and sending your Assistant County Managers instead. Lately, you send the Assistant to the Assistant County Manager and I have not complained about your diminishing involvement in overseeing the Unincorporated Areas and the municipal services provided to the Unincorporated Areas.

You have shortchanged my constituents of District 10 by dedicating your time to other “more important” matters to you, like the tunnel or the baseball stadium. I too have a busy schedule as an elected official. However, I tour my district almost daily, including evenings and weekends to make sure that storm drains are functioning, street lights are working, shopping centers are illuminated, bulky waste trash piles are being collected, etc. You can spend hundreds of millions of dollars on new departments like 311, on management strategies and plans, on studies, on surveys and opinion polls, but unless you go into the neighborhoods to look at the problems that are clearly visible and talk to the people paying the taxes and using the services, you are wasting millions of dollars in tax payers monies.

All the studies, theories and surveys won’t uncover deterioration of municipal services, and get the pulse of the community. By the way, since you moved from Budget Director to County Manager, the number of departments has increased from 34 to 50, most of it under your administration. While the County Administration was growing, the services were diminishing and the areas of County responsibility were diminishing too. Dade County lost eight large areas of Unincorporated Miami-Dade County, where we provided municipal services ten years ago, as new cities incorporated (Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach, Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay, Miami Gardens, Miami Lakes, and Doral). However, you kept creating departments and inflating the budget.

The time for bureaucrats in fancy offices is gone. It is time for pounding the pavement to see firsthand the pain and suffering that our tax payers and small businesses are experiencing, in these difficult moments of deep economic recession that we are living.

I am very disappointed in your decision of not touring District 10, 100% UMSA, anymore on a weekly basis, and in the manner in which you communicated this decision through your secretary. This means that you do not have the time or staff to dedicate to the tax payers of Westchester, Fontainebleau, and Kendall (District 10).

I can see that you are “too busy” to talk to me, the Commissioner of the area. If you insult me, you are in fact insulting the community that I represent.

I won’t forget these actions."

And I won't forget what Souto said here: We have checked the salaries of all these assistants of yours, and they total over $3.5 million.

Excel for Dummies ... by gimleteye

Dear County Commissioners,

The news is out: the proposed county budget from Mayor Carlos Alvarez' administration is ready for your review. It is harsh. It is painful. 1,700 county employees may lose their jobs. Under such circumstances you will be under tremendous pressure, and in particular you will want to be fully informed about the formulas used to build the budget.

What makes this particular time so difficult is that you have shown (except for a few of you, you know who you are) almost no curiousity about revenue. As far as you are concerned, bright skies are just around the corner. Part of the problem is that the media-- whom you like to bash at every occasion--has itself consistently misstated the depth of today's economic crises. What if the "green shoots" of the economy are wrong and only predictive only of stagnation? What if we are in a multi-year, perhaps even a decadal, period of stagflation. What if we are on the cusp of inflation? What if real estate markets fall to 1980's pricing? Fortunately, dear commissioners, there is a program from Microsoft Corporation called Excel that can turn those "what if" questions into hard numbers. Have you heard of Excel?

I'm guessing that a few of you have heard of Microsoft. That's the company started by Bill Gates. Have you heard of Bill Gates? He's a billionaire. That makes him even wealthier than Sergio Pino or Rodney Barreto or Chris Korge or Courtney Cunningham and even Ron Book and Jorge Perez. It makes Bill Gates wealthier than any of them plus Armando Codina and Adolfo Henriques times ten. His company makes the program called Powerpoint that provides you with presentations like the one on the Florida Marlins deal, for instance. Here is a crazy feature of Excel: you can take very complicated formulas made from numbers like income and expenses for a budget and ask questions: "what if" certain numbers change. What happens to the formula, then? And imagine this: Excel does this the same way for my home budget as it does for our $8 plus billion dollar county budget!

You might think because you have an $8 plus billion dollar budget that you need more bells and whistles than my little program that comes pre-installed on my computer with Powerpoint and Outlook and Word. But no! The program works the same way on little formulas as big ones. You don't even need to know how to use Excel. You just need to have someone, somewhere, on the county manager's staff who does. And you need them to do some "scenario planning" for you.

"Scenario planning" (this is for Pepe Diaz, former US Marine) is what the military does when it evaluates different options on the battle field. They ask lots of 'what if' questions, too. (Let's say you are developer, Pepe, and have 367 potential building sites. With Excel you could drop the price by 40 percent and see what revenues you have, but you only need to do the formula once, copy it to each of the 367 "cells" (ie. trailer home sites) and Excel does the rest. Also, you could increase your financing costs by 3 or 4 percent across each of the sites and it would automatically update the totals.)

In Miami Today, Michael Lewis writes that when the county commission was asked to approve the bonding for the Florida Marlins at two in the morning, you were given a repayment schedule that "presumes rapid and undiminished annual growth in tourist tax receipts starting at 10% in 2011 and never dipping below 5% thereafter through 2049." Mr. Lewis asks, "Who believes 38 years of uninterrupted growth? Ever hear of hurricanes? It's also possible that the county won't face hundreds of millions in change-order charges that the stadium developer, a Marlins subsidiary, could try to shove onto taxpayers."

It is also possible that it won't "snow three feet in July" or, more to the point, that sea level rise won't have any effect on revenues within the service lifetime of the bonds for the Marlin's Stadium (or for two new nuclear reactors at Turkey Point.) But what if it does?

If you were responsible to your constituents and to taxpayers, you would be asking those 'what if' questions. But maybe you don't know about Excel, so I'm bringing it to your attention. If you take a hard enough look at our current economy, you might find that the 'what if's' actually help move your deliberations on the county budget. You also have some time to ask those 'what if' questions about the Marlin's deal, that you didn't ask-- or that County Manager George Burgess didn't provide to three of you.

Here is my suggestion of the week to those three county commissioners who deserve a star on their next agenda package: Katy Sorenson, Carlos Gimenez, and Sally Heyman. Go out and buy "Excel for Dummies" (at Books and Books) and give copies to your colleagues on the county dais during the presentation part of the next county commission agenda. I might even come down to the County Chamber and take a photo and put it on the blog.

Is There LSD in the Water at the Stephen P. Clark Center? By Geniusofdespair

Okay, I can only conclude that the Mayor has been taking acid or that Burgess wrote the memo because this reality, it ain't ours! Alvarez said this in his preamble to the budget memo to Moss:
"It is a time for our community to make some perhaps difficult but essential choices about what kind of government it wants to have." (LIKE WE HAVE A CHOICE? If we did, I would get rid of the County Commission in a second).

"Our residents have told us in a comprehensive, factual, statistically valid manner that they are satisfied with the services we provide..." (SAY WHAT? Getting us into the Marlin's stadium deal and mismanaging transit are two examples of crappy service in my book. Yes, I acknowledge they probably fill potholes very well, if that is the 'services' Alvarez is referring to.)

As I said, the water must be laced with something over there. Take a look at the proposed budget, it is posted.

Oh, yes, they also want to raise taxes! Burgess has asked that the Board adopt higher millage rates by July 21st and Alvarez says they are eliminating 1,700 positions.

Are We all Afflicted with Short Memories when it comes to Miami Dade Transit? By Geniusofdespair

I dug up this old photo of a May 5th 2008 press conference that Kendrick Meek and the County Commission held to announce that "They are working together to improve Miami Dade Transit’s financial and operational plans to improve the odds of securing funding for the construction of the Metrorail Orange Line." The Orange Line is approximately a 10-13 mile Metrorail extension, East-West, from the Miami Intermodal Center at Miami Airport to Florida International University and west of SW 137th Avenue. 

So why did they have this press conference again?

It is pathetic to note that the press conference was held May 5th, a little over a month before the Miami Herald's Award Winning Expose "Taken for a ride" hit the streets. That means the expose was thoroughly researched and pretty much written when the press conference took place.

I am amused by the earnest posture of Burgess in the photo. What could he be thinking? How about: 'This ain't never gonna' happen!' If the Herald knew there was no money and no chance of matching funds on May 5th, then County Manager Burgess had to know too. Why did he let this embarrassing press conference proceed? See what the Herald knew:
(Hit on images to enlarge them)

County Manager George Burgess: Classic Jim Morin. By Geniusofdespair

See more of Jim Morin... Also see in Today's Herald Jaw-dropping Marlins stadium deal (or as I like to call it, the mea culpa editorial -- the best the Editoral Board could muster in way of an apology to us) and the Guest Op Ed By Norman Braman on the Stadium Deal.

Fire all of them: managers and incumbent commissioners who supported the Marlins deal ... by gimleteye

I can just imagine Nero, the Roman emperor, and the upper class of Roman nobility, the sycophants and hangers-on cheering the construction of a new colosseum for the people, while watching the city state's wealth drain away. It doesn't take much imagination. Only a passing interest in history. We have our own example: the newly planned and approved Marlin's baseball stadium in Miami.

Back then, the idea was to distract "the people" with entertainments. It is not much different, a few thousand years later. Just more monstrous. Instead of payoffs for stone slabs (My quarry, not yours), we have cement and preforms and cranes and dericks and a whole supply chain more complicated than iron gate fitters for lion cages. I suppose, back in Nero's day, there were also scribes and contract drafters, wearing togas and sandals instead of bespoke suits and Bruno Magli shoes. But it worked the same way: the insiders knew the treasury was being drained and figured we better stick our straws in deeper today because who knows what happens tomorrow. Tomorrow, their thinking went, even we might be thrown to the lions.

The 37,000 seat stadium will cost taxpayers, all told, $65,000 per seat. (Before cost overruns. County Commissioner Katy Sorenson, the lone voice of logic on the county commission, might have asked County Manager Burgess, how much of that per seat cost will be returned to taxpayers by Marlin owners once the team is sold.)

The Marlin's financing shows both local governments -- the city and the county-- lunging at exactly the same exotic financing scheme that characterized mortgage fraud in residential housing: teaser loans with low upfront costs and massive balloon payments at the back end. The underlying logic, that financing conditions will improve, is bankrupt because the deal never made sense in this economic climate in the first place. But that is also how millions of individual homeowners made their own bad decisions to take on more mortgage than they could reasonably afford.

''It was always presupposed the payments would be backloaded,'' County Manager George Burgess, the chief deal architect, told the Miami Herald this morning, every bit Nero's consigliere. ''This is the sort of financing you do when you cannot afford it,'' said Leo Guzman, president of securities firm Guzman & Co. in Coral Gables, who is not involved in the deal."

But we are all involved in the deal. Soon enough, we will be paying taxes to these baseball entertainments that were sold to us as what we wanted and needed for general morale in tough economic times. We needed "the jobs", most of all, never mind that the king's ransom we are paying goes to the financiers, the lobbyists, and to fund the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Oh, and the commissioners get individual box seats and parking spaces.

The Marlin's deal is a disgrace. We said so, all along. The managers should be removed. The Cool-Aid drinking majorities of the city and county commissions should be voted out. Of course, that assumes Miami's voters have more life than hanging chads.


Posted on Tue, Jul. 07, 2009
Final cost of Florida Marlins' Little Havana stadium down the road may shock some

BY MATTHEW HAGGMAN
mhaggman@MiamiHerald.com

As Miami-Dade County commissioners worked late into the night to finalize financing for the Florida Marlins stadium last week, Commissioner Katy Sorenson posed a simple question: What's the total cost of financing going to be?
''I don't know off the top of my head,'' County Manager George Burgess replied.

With bonds issued last week in New York, the total cost is finally in black and white: $2.4 billion, spread over 40 years, to repay $409 million in bonds that will primarily, though not exclusively, cover stadium construction.

The total exceeds earlier estimates, which pegged final costs at $1.8 billion to $2 billion, according to papers released by the Wall Street firms underwriting the bonds. The new figures show that one $91 million bond offering alone will cost, with interest, more than $1 billion to repay. The bonds are backed by tourist-tax dollars, but if those numbers don't meet projections, the county can dip into the general fund.

The prime reasons for the rising figure: The county is paying higher interest rates than anticipated -- and is putting off huge pieces of the repayment until decades down the road. That means interest will compound year after year, raising the total.

Stadium critics say the figure shows the team should have put up more money, which could have significantly lowered the ultimate public payout.

''It is very expensive money,'' said Sorenson, who voted against the deal. "Who knows what we could have gotten out of them if we had tougher negotiators.''

The team is contributing $120 million toward construction, plus the repayment of a $35 million county loan. But the team doesn't have to pay until the final phases of construction.

Burgess, the county's chief stadium negotiator, said it was vital to keep debt obligations low at the start so as not to risk having to use anything other than tourist taxes. He said financial obligations down the road were not as great as they appear because future dollars are worth less.

''It was always presupposed the payments would be backloaded,'' said Burgess, who said a report detailing the bond sale will be issued Wednesday.

DIFFERING VIEWS

Experts offered mixed views on the financing plan, with some saying the county was fortunate to secure the ballpark bonds in a fragile economic climate, but others saying the back-ended financing could ultimately bring havoc.

''This is the sort of financing you do when you cannot afford it,'' said Leo Guzman, president of securities firm Guzman & Co. in Coral Gables, who is not involved in the deal.

Stadium proponents downplay the significance of the total cost, saying homeowners who buy a $300,000 house ultimately pay much more than that with interest.

Also, there's the chance the deal can be reworked when credit markets improve -- shaving untold millions from the payout figure.

''Miami had the unfortunate luck of trying to deal with a market where it is difficult to finance anything,'' said Mark Rosentraub, a sports management professor at the University of Michigan.

''The hope is it can be refinanced, and that has been done many times before'' at other stadiums, said Rosentraub, a critic of the Marlins deal who contends the public is paying too much.

LONG ROAD AHEAD

The 37,000-seat Little Havana ballpark is slated to be ready Opening Day 2012. Workers started clearing the site for construction last week, and an official groundbreaking is set for July 18.

But stadium financing was not officially inked until a week ago, when a county commission meeting that stretched into Wednesday morning resulted in the Marlins agreeing to pick up $6 million in costs -- after Miami-Dade County's bond sale fell short of expectations and county leaders agreed to a higher bond interest rate.

The commission approval cleared the way for the county to sign contracts to sell $409 million in bonds backed by the promise of repayment from tourist taxes.

Roughly $100 million will refinance existing bond debt and another $9 million goes into a debt service reserve fund. The result: $300 million for stadium construction, financed in two ways.

One portion, underwritten by Merrill Lunch totaling $220 million, has an interest rate of 6.4 percent and requires immediate repayment. In October 2010 the county must pay $9.6 million, though there are questions over whether tourist taxes will meet that. This year, for instance, they're on track to generate $7.2 million.

Annual payments run through 2049 and climb as high as $71 million per year.

The second portion, underwritten by JP Morgan, is for $91 million -- $80 million for construction. That carries an 8.17 rate, but repayment doesn't begin until 2025.

Yet that grace period comes with a big price: $83 million a year for three years starting in 2038. Then, starting in 2041, six years of payments totaling $118 million annually. Total cost to retire the debt: $1.2 billion.

Miami Herald staff writer Douglas Hanks contributed to this report.



© 2009 Miami Herald Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.miamiherald.com

What is With Miami's Love Affair with Buses? By Geniusofdespair

Let’s just give up on rail altogether and stop dangling it like a carrot to voters. Face it reader: Everybody else is not going to take the train and leave the road clear for you! In today’s Miami Herald ( Tri-Rail budget would cut daily runs, end service in 2011) they talk about the county reducing its share to tri-rail by about 3 million dollars. This would put us in jeopardy with the feds. Yvette Taylor, of the FTA said if there are Tri-Rail service cuts they may demand a return of $256 million for double tracking. In the same article it says OUR crappy Miami Dade Transit, with Broward, will launch the first full-fledged regional bus service between Miami and Broward. So we are cutting funding to rail and launching a NEW bus program?

We are so sprawled out that we don’t have enough density to get matching funds for rail according to County Manager Burgess. So why don’t we take rail off our plate once and for all? A half ass rail system that doesn’t run regularly and goes nowhere is not going to be used. In New York I take the Long Island Railroad everywhere and the subway. Here, I have been on a bus once when I got stranded and have never taken the train, ever. Buses get caught in traffic, what is the point of taking buses?

Finally Wackenhut Gets Canned. By Geniusofdespair

Tired of being overbilled, Miami-Dade officials are set to ban a security firm from county contracts
Wackenhut says: "We are shocked that the County Manager has falsely accused us of intentionally overbilling the county."

Jeff Burnside Channel 6 Investigative Reporter said:
"Our investigation of Wackenhut continues with this blockbuster: Miami Dade County Mgr George Burgess told NBC 6 today that he is firing Wackenhut from all existing county contracts (about $20 million per year) and banning them from all future contracts with the county. He said this is as a result of the systematic overbilling and fraud mainly on the multi-year lucractive contract to provide secuirty on Metroraiol and Metromover. County will throw support behind whistleblower lawsuit against Wackenhut by fired guard that could force Wackenhut to pay as much as $100 million, 20% to the guard, fees for her attorney, and the rest to the county."

We have a Wackenhut File in our index (11 posts) and have been following this story. Thanks for giving us notice of the breaking news Jeff! So I agree with Burgess on something now...that was a quick switch from this morning. The County should have done this long ago...but hey it is never too late to do the right thing. Guess who is a lobbyist for Wackenhut: Carrie P. Meek. Kendrick Meek was their lobbyist on the Metrorail Contract and RFP in 1998-99. Other Wackenhut Lobbyists and Wackenhut's press release:

(and maybe this is why it took so long for the County to see the light, look at this list)

ARMANDO GUTIERREZ
NONE 1/28/2008
Open

SERGIO PEREIRA
NONE 1/28/2008
Open

DREW LEVINE
METRORAIL SECURITY CONTRACT 11/6/1998
Open

RENE PEDRAYES
METRORAIL SECURITY CONTRACT 11/6/1998
Open

JOSEPH BOBER
METRORAIL SECURITY CONTRACT RENEWAL 3/18/1999
Open

RENE PEDRAYES
METRORAIL SECURITY CONTRACT RENEWAL 7/12/1999
Open

ELIJAH PENDLETON
MTERORAIL CONTRACT RENEWAL 7/27/1999
Open

LESLIE A MEEK
NONE 4/15/2004
Open

LESLIE A MEEK
4/15/2004
EDDY ESQUIVEL
1/4/2005
Open

CHRISTINE L WELSTEAD
REPRESENTING WACKENHUT IN LITIGATION 1/18/2006
Open

CARRIE P. MEEK
CONTRACT SECURITY WORK IN MIAMI DADE COUNTY 5/22/2007
Open

ELIJAH PENDLETON
NONE 6/14/2007
Open

ANGELA C DE CESPEDES WENKE
REPRESENTING WACKENHUT IN LITIGATION 3/3/2008
Open

CHRISTINE L WELSTEAD
REPRESENTING WACKENHUT IN LITIGATION 4/17/2008
Open

AUGUSTO E MAXWELL
NONE 5/6/2008
Open

On April 10, 2009, G4S Wackenhut made the following statement:


"We have just recently received the County Manager’s memorandum along with the final audit report from the Miami-Dade Audit and Management Services (“AMS”) Department. We will be reviewing the final audit in detail and will respond accordingly.

However, we are shocked that the County Manager has falsely accused us of intentionally overbilling the county. AMS has admitted that it deviated from generally accepted auditing standards, yet the County Manager has stood behind this inaccurate report and his actions will have far-reaching implications involving the public’s safety and security.. G4S Wackenhut is the premier security solutions provider and has a proven record of service excellence with the County’s transit, juvenile assessment centers, and special taxing districts. AMS, with a history of mismanaged audits, has ignored the mountain of evidence provided to refute the serious allegations.

The County’s audit department has continually ignored and refused to acknowledge the compelling evidence presented to them by G4S Wackenhut. The County has turned down our request for an unbiased and competent third party review of the audit to resolve the matter with our assurance we’d stand by the decision; instead, they have decided to be the judge, jury and executioner.

The County Manager’s allegation that the County was intentionally overbilled is false and has not been substantiated, even after their own 3-year investigation. His decision to cover up the facts and not continue doing business with G4S Wackenhut is based on our refusal to meet his demand to pay over $3.2 million because we will not be held hostage and will vigorously defend our position and integrity. Experts have substantiated our contention that the AMS report is based on a grossly biased and fatally flawed audit investigation and this should cause the citizens of Miami-Dade County great concern. It will be harmful to all our employees assigned to county contracts who proudly perform their responsibilities with courtesy and professionalism; the safety and security of the public at large by lowering the standards expected of security personnel; and, our company who has nearly a two-decade track record of service excellence with the County.

Until we have the opportunity to evaluate all options – including legal remedies – and provide an appropriate response we can not comment any further. A press conference will be held in the very near future to answer all questions. G4S Wackenhut has shown great restraint through this arduous and frustrating process and we look forward to revealing what actually has been going on throughout this process to the citizens of Miami-Dade County."

Okay Wackenhut: Spill the beans! We citizens can't wait to hear it. And, while you are at it, tell us why are you changing your name to G4, phasing out Wackenhut?

George Burgess allows Marlins Stadium to be financed from dying bed tax revenues... by gimleteye

Who knows how long George Burgess will last as county manager. By July 1st, the county manager will report to the county commission if the funding formula for the new Marlins stadium will work, based on tax revenues from the bed tax.

Today, the Herald reports that County Commissioner Carlos Gimenez is steaming, that Burgess withheld important information on February tax receipts until the day after the highly controversial vote by the county commission whether to move forward with the stadium. 90 percent of the stadium construction cost is to be funded by hotel taxes.

February hotel tax revenues plunged 24 percent compared to 17 percent in January. Gimenez knows that information is withheld all the time by county agencies when that information either contradicts predetermined outcomes or conflicts with the agenda of special interests who control commissioners through campaign finance capacity.

County Commission Chairman Dennis Moss represents himself as a public official who takes into account facts and data. The Herald doesn't give Moss' reaction to the news, but at any rate, the plan relies on a quick bounce back of the economy. Which is just around the corner, or, not. If the current office holders are wrong, not to worry: they'll be long gone by the time voters are angry enough to pick up the pitchforks.

Depression.org ... by gimleteye

If you want to know why the stock market is plunging, it is because the world is caught between President Obama's assurance that the trillion dollar stimulus-- the first of several initatives-- is the beginning of the end of our economic troubles and the worry, expressed by numerous observers, that it could also be the beginning of the unravelling of the world economy: a Depression.

This is not a matter interpreting whether the stimulus glass is half-empty, or, half-full.

To give the public confidence that we are not pouring money down that black hole (and to help buoy stock markets around the world), the list of stimulus targets must be strongly balanced to reflect that public money will be spent to fundamentally rework our economy to make products that people need, recreating long-term and sustainable jobs based on a new energy model. If it is all repaving and road and bridge contracts, we are headed to a Depression. (hit read more.)

I am not reassured by the project list assembled from the US Conference of Mayors Report (whose chair is Miami Mayor Manny Diaz). For Miami-Dade, the list totals $7 billion: the number I've used to summarize the infrastructure "deficit" that has been held closely guarded as a state secret by the county manager for years.

There is a new website called stimuluswatch.org that appears to be an honest effort by independent researchers to inform the public: this is the list of "shovel ready" projects that could be funded through the stimulus bill just signed into law by President Obama. I've taken a quick look. It's a bonanza windfall for cement manufacturers and road pavers, as I suspected it would be and cautioned against. It is for workers with shovels and heavy construction equipment.

Take a look for yourselves.

Let me put this as succinctly as possible: these projects, nearly all of them with the exception of the water treatment facilities, may be "shovel-ready" but they really represent icing on a cake that doesn't exist. The "cake" itself is where the stimulus money should be directed: build new jobs and economic drivers. What the list reflects is the absence of both imagination and a sense of urgency tied to the current reality: we are on the cusp of a Depression.

Carl Hiassen put it simply, in The Miami Herald: "Developers have controlled state and county governments for so long that no Plan B exists." Hiassen is right. If you look closely at the list, it clearly shows there is no Plan B.

"Lost and clueless, lawmakers desperately hack away at public budgets while clinging to the hope that boom times will return."

The list of projects on Stimuluswatch.org basically lay out the red carpet for the return of the boom times, without adding a single cent or inkling where the boom times will come from.

Repaving roads and bridges and so forth may be a quick stimulus to improve infrastructure, but these economic activities do not get at making things that people need. These products most certainly will not come from thin air, or, from the inflation of developers' expectation that a new market for suburbs or platted subdivisions in farmland will suddenly materialize. It ain't gonna happen.

It's over. Throwing money at road paving contracts is maybe what you do after a Depression and you have to thin the soup and bread kitchen lines. We're not there yet, but if the list from Miami-Dade is any indication and if this is where the stimulus money goes: we are headed in that direction.