Economy, Politics and Local Government
November 30, 2006 Leave a comment
Another reason to have a strong mayor-county manager form of government!
Miami man admits to $1 million theft from county
Vance deposited 20 $50,000 checks in Modular accounts, though the
company spent only about $100,000 delivering mail, prosecutors said.
Does any keep track of the money in Miami-Dade County? Are there auditors in Miami-Dade County and do they work?
November 30, 2006 Leave a comment
Businessmen offer solutions to S. Florida’s traffic woes
They’d like to see better-synchronized traffic signals. They’d like to see police make the enforcement of traffic laws a much higher priority. They’d like to see local government limit road construction to late evening and non-rush hours.
It would seem that the business community has few new ideas for “fixing” the transportation problem. Between the lines, I read that business wants “no more taxes” and there would seem to be little support for better public transportation, although the discussion seems to be lead to building more highways. No doubt we will be like LA in the not too distant future. Better to expand public transportation and establish the incentives to use it.
November 28, 2006 Leave a comment
South Florida is the public corruption capital of the country, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Between 1996 and 2005, a record-setting 576 people were convicted of federal corruption charges in the district that extends from Key West to Sebastian, according to the agency’s most recent annual report.That’s far more than the 402 convicted during the same 10 years in Washington, D.C. or the 453 convicted in Chicago, where political machines have been rolling for decades.
New York City, another hotbed of government scandal, didn’t even come close. A mere 374 people were convicted of public corruption charges during the last decade, the report shows.
This reported by Palmbeachpost.com
November 2, 2006 Leave a comment
Coral Gables commissioner: Annual report `a royal waste’
One of the City Commissioners, Mr. Ralph Cabrera, opposes the publication of the Annual Report of the City of Coral Gables.
”I thought the funds could be better used someplace else, like traffic calming or sidewalk repairs,” Cabrera said. “This is a royal waste of money.”
It is very unusual that the term “annual report” of a company or city would be applied to a document that does not include information on the financial management of the city and an auditor’s report. Many modern cities are making a special effort to supply city financial data to the citizens, and in this case, the City Commission and City Manager have missed an opportunity to increase citizen participation and knowledge of where taxes are going.
November 2, 2006 Leave a comment
Alvarez’s plan for strong mayor clears a roadblock
Alvarez has argued for a strong-mayor form of government since he took office in 2004, saying it would make him more accountable to the public and rein in corruption. The proposal would give the county mayor the authority to hire and fire department heads and the county manager, and more control over the awarding of substantial county contracts.
There is no doubt that the County Commissioner-County Manager form of government needs to be changed in Miami-Dade. Miami-Dade County is the largest city that has this system in the U.S. and it is a system that has lost favor with local and city governments. By far the dominant system of small local government organization in the U.S. is the Council-City Manager system in which the City Manager is given wide authority to appoint and manager the city under supervision of the Council and Mayor. Moving to a strong mayor is more the model of large cities. One danger of the Alvarez proposal is that the County Manager will not have the authority to select the department heads, which continues a model of excessive politicization of management in this county.
