Ron Book, Lobbyist, Always Scores Big in Budgets. By Geniusofdespair

There is so little money to go around yet Lauren's Kids (Ron Book and His daughter State Senator Lauren Book's charity) is slated to get $1.5 from the State Budget.

Lauren Book, as a State Senator, had to do a financial disclosure. Someone please look it up for me. Never mind I did it. Lauren Book's net worth is 1,566,718. Her salary fro Lauren's Kids was, in 2016, $135,000. Until recently she also Made $71,300 doing research for Ron Book's firm. She has two residences worth almost a million dollars. She has very little debt.

What kills me, Ron Book is a master fundraiser, why doesn't he raise the money himself for this charity? Why is he always at the public trough getting the money? Exactly how much money has this charity collected over the years? And how has Ron Book separated charity funds from his lobbyist/law firm funds at the same address? Which one pays for the staples and scissors?

My Dear County Commissioners: Miami Dade County is On Life Support.

You are about to approve a Cuban Museum on Parcel B. Fine, use valuable WATERFRONT land to score points with a few Cubans. All I care about: does this museum have any money? Does it need to be on the waterfront?  If the Perez museum needs money, what do you think this is going to cost us over the years? Wasn't this land promised to OTHER constituents as a park. I guess that isn't important. Whatever, no money for libraries, police, infrastructure is unfunded -- For instance: Cruise ships have to idle their engines all the time when in Port  (do you know how much pollution that causes? Maybe it is equal to 40,000 cars in an hour for each cruise ship docked (sometimes 4). Think about that infrastructure needed. We have billions of unfunded infrastructure.

The Mayor wants to layoff detectives because of the lean budget. THINK COMMISSIONERS.  The county gave almost a million dollars to a defunct school according to an Inspector General Audit.  Something is very, very wrong and you guys had better start thinking instead of pandering.  Use what little brainpower you appear to have to make sense of the county.  We need you to stop voting on new things and fix what we have. All of this was in today's Miami Herald. Do you even read?

And ask for an audit of the damn budget.

Cordially, Geniusofdespair

P.S. Does anyone remember those old Mickey Rooney movies where the world is collapsing around them and they say "Let's have a Show"? Well this is the same, the world is collapsing around the County Commission and they say: Let's build a stadium or museum. Yep, that will fix it.

Carlos Gimenez raids property taxes for convention center which has its own tax (but that was raided for stadiums). By Geniusofdespair

The Rob Peter to pay Paul Budget Guru - Creator of the Sleight of Hand Budget

You heard of the saying "Rob Peter to pay Paul except in this case PAUL (tourist taxes) can only be used for Convention Centers (which they stretched into meaning stadiums). Peter is our sacred Property Tax money that can be used for anything.   Well our property taxes are now being used for the Miami Beach Convention Center because these stadiums bankrupted the Tourist Tax and the convention center STILL needs $580 million.

You have, of course, heard them say over and over that the tourist tax, money they use for STADIUMS, can only be used for that. It is actually money set aside for Convention Centers not stadiums.  Well Gimenez is taking our short supply of property tax monies to pay for the Miami Beach convention center in a convoluted deal. And this of course SUCKS. Douglas Hanks of the Miami Herald reported this July 4th. It was buried on a holiday and I think it is the most important story of the week:

Jorge Gonzalez, the former Miami Beach city manager, said the agreement highlights the legacy of the 2009 decision by Miami-Dade to spend hotel taxes on Marlins Park. By tying up hotel taxes for the stadium — ballpark debt is slated to take up $9 million in hotel taxes this year — Miami-Dade can’t dedicate tourist-generated dollars for the convention center.

“Yes, we’re using hotel taxes for the baseball stadium,’’ said Gonzalez, now manager of Bal Harbour Village. “But we’re using property taxes for the convention center.”

This might turn out to be a good deal for Miami Beach with all the perks that Carlos Gimenez is offering but it is a deadly deal for us. We have been lied too. This deal postpones the inevitable, it is a sleigh of hands. And it left us in debt to the Marlins.

As part of a complicated swap with Miami Beach, Gimenez wants to delay paying $18 million in property taxes to the resort city this year and another $14 million in 2016. In exchange, Miami-Dade would add about 20 years to the life of a special taxing district around the Lincoln Road area — which is forecast to cost Miami-Dade about $800 million in diverted property taxes during the extension through 2045.

Read the article and see how you have been lied to about this stupid tax over the years. Barbara Jordan always says, when she approves ever Stadium scam, "it is not our taxes the tourists pay it." They keep saying, it is not our tax money it is tourist money and they approve the deals. Well now it is our tax money. Because they spent the damn convention money on stadiums.

Stadiums are the thorn in the side of every mayor in Miami Dade County because they keep entertaining them. And the stupid commissioners, they agree to everything. What is wrong with just plain NO. Beckham is off to Broward, good riddance. Read the article in the Miami Herald.