Coral Gables: What Should We Ask the Candidates for Commissioner and Mayor? (1)

November 5, 2010 1 Comment

It is election time again.

There are a number of well financed candidates for the jobs of commissioner and mayor.  It is hoped that the candidates volunteer their views on property taxes, pensions, salaries, city management and organization, the Biltmore problem, the country club, spending on low priority items, among others.

We look forward in hearing about some of their specific proposals and suggestions for solving the cities problems.

Here are some critical questions that should be asked of the candidates.

These are just examples of questions that might be raised.  Send me your suggestions and I will add them to the list.

TAXES–

  • What are your proposals for future tax increases?
  • Should taxes be frozen for several years in light of the economic crisis the taxpayers are going through in Coral Gables, or should they continue to increase?  Do you favor a real tax freeze (not numbers games with the millage rate)?
  • Do you think that taxpayers are able to continue to pay more and more taxes, as they have in the past.
  • Do you favor increasing fees to make up for tax shortfalls?

BUDGET–

  • Do you favor having an open discussion of the budget by citizens, rather than the two-minute-moments they are getting now.
  • Will the city manager and staff be willing to accept multiple questions on the budget?

OPEN AND TRANSPARENT GOVERNMENT–

  • What will you do about making our government more open and more participatory?
  • Do you favor any of the following:  town hall meetings, open website with a page for comments and question, regular reports from the city manager,  quarterly progress reports on the budget, among others.

SALARIES, PENSIONS, UNIONS–

  • What should be the goals of the city negotiations with the police and firefighters?
  • Should the negotiations continues to be secret for the citizens?
  • Should police and firefighter salaries and benefits be cut.
  • Should  the number of police and firefighters be cut to help cut expenses and taxes?
  • Are you willing to take a strong stance against salaries and benefits in future Impasse Hearing?

PRIORITY SERVICES–

  • What services do you propose to cut in order to keep our taxes down?
  • Will you restrict unnecessary spending related to the Museum or other community centers in Coral Gables?

CAPITAL SPENDING–

  • What are your ideas for capital spending in the coming years?
  • Should we keep borrowing money for capital projects?

Filed under Coral Gables, Election, Employees and Unions, Politics, Taxes and Fees

Coral Gables: The Amazing Missing Taxpayers

November 4, 2010 Leave a comment

Missing Taxpayer

Where are the electorate and taxpayers in Coral Gables.

For national and state issues the electorate is fiscally and socially conservative.

But for local issues there is a preference to let things take their course, except for very big issues like banning leaf blowers.  The city commission has approved additional taxes year after year with little actual community protesting.  The commission has favored labor unions and workers benefits over taxpayers, it has pushed its favorate projects (the Coral Gables Museum is a case in point), it has consistently ignored its fiduciary responsibility to oversee the administration of city leases, ad infinitum, and it has favored land owners, developers and the “too big to fail” UM.

In short, where are the amazing disappearing voters and taxpayers.

Filed under Coral Gables

Taxes and Deficits: Not Peanuts

November 3, 2010 Leave a comment

Most everyone understand the fundamentals; you can’t cut taxes and reduce the deficit at the same time (unless you are willing and able to cut medicare, social security and defense substantially–the rest of government spending is peanuts).

And exit polls suggested that even these more conservative voters get what the Republican Party leadership still doesn’t: that there is no way to tackle the deficit and slash taxes at the same time. Only 19 percent said cutting taxes was the top priority for the next Congress.

via Election 2010 – NYTimes.com.

Filed under Coral Gables

People Still Believe in “Old” Florida and Coral Gables Growth

November 3, 2010 Leave a comment

This proves that the old development coalition of developers and unions still think that Florida will return to its old growth of unfettered real estate and commercial development.  The mere thought of Amendment 4 sent land owners in Coral Gables running to the city commission for building zoning exceptions for downtown Coral Gables, and the commission jumped right into the game.

What is almost certain is that it will be a decade before any recognizable real estate investment returns, and it will have to take an entirely different form; so with or without Amendment 4, Florida will never return to the old model of population growth and real estate leading the state’s growth.  George Merrick is certainly turning over in his grave.

Our leaders will have to find a new growth model based on educating people–it is people who count, not land.

Amendment 4 would have required voter approval to change city, town and county comprehensive land-use plans.

Opponents included business groups, developers and some labor unions and they spent more than $12 million. They said Amendment 4 would seriously damage the economy, cost jobs and make it more difficult to lure companies to the state. They also said it will also cost municipalities tens of thousands of dollars or more to run the required elections.

via Florida voters reject land-use amendment – Politics AP – MiamiHerald.com.

Filed under Coral Gables, Economy, Housing

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