Coral Gables Budget: Police

July 28, 2010 Leave a comment

The cost of 255 police positions is $31.6 million in personal services at an average cost, including salary and benefits, of $123,900 per position. The average cost of 10 administrator positions is $156,300.  A large number of positions are 97 for uniform patrol ($128,400 per position), 42 in criminal investigations ($135,100 per position) and 56 in technical services, mainly communications ($98,000 per position).  The total cost of the police services is estimated at $36,933,675 that cover salaries, benefits and all other ancillary operating expenses services and equipment.

Filed under Budget, Coral Gables, Finance

Coral Gables Budget: Firefighters

July 28, 2010 Leave a comment

The City Commissioners are reluctant to reduce public security staffing of police and firefighters.  It seems to be that they are reticent to be blamed for any public security event in the city, especially in an election period. Also, the firefighters and police are members of strong unions who are good negotiators and this make its hard to reduce  staffing, salaries and benefits of public security.   Also, these unions have been known to support candidates for the Commission.

The number of fire fighter will remain constant  compared to last year’s budget at 147 positions and salaries and benefits will increase from $21,968,223 to $22,886,809, which is a not insignificant increase of 4.18%.  Total salaries and benefits for fire fighters is creeping back up to the 2008-2009 budget amount of $23,494,578.  Average compensation of salaries and benefits declined from $157,681 in 2008/2009 to $149,444 in 2009/2010 to an estimated $155,693 in 2010/2011.

The total outlay for firefighting service $25,253,660 or 20% of the $127,706,578 estimated operating budget of the city of Coral Gables in 2010/2011.

Filed under Budget, Coral Gables, Employees and Unions, Finance

Biltmore Neighborhood Association

July 28, 2010 Leave a comment

The Association is to be strongly praised for its aggressive defense against both the City of Coral Gables and a private school company who want to set up a large charter school in a city neighborhood in a church school.  The City Commission was willing to approve a 200-student school.  With this the Commission was on both sides of the question–they supported somewhat the parents who wanted to send their kids to the school and they supported the neighbors who didn’t want the school. (Peruvians say “ni chica ni limonada“).  I was extremely impressed by the legal representation of the Association and the well presented views of the neighbors against the school.

The Biltmore Neighbors Association filed a motion Monday with the circuit court to challenge the 110-student certificate of use, which the city issued in June.

The suit says the certificate was inconsistent with the city’s comprehensive plan and its zoning code. The comprehensive plan says if a religious institution operates a school, the school must be run by the religious organization.

“The city didn’t follow its own rules,” said Tucker Gibbs, an attorney who is representing the homeowners. “It’s non-church operated, so that makes it illegal. We filed the suit to basically enforce what we believe is the city’s rules.”

Filed under Community, Coral Gables

The Biltmore Hotel Management Wants A Free Lunch

July 28, 2010 Leave a comment

The comportment of the Biltmore Hotel is similar to that of Wall Street–their lemma is “Privatize the Profits and Socialize the Losses”.

The Biltmore management has suddenly discovered that they are losing money and they want the City of Coral Gables (meaning the taxpayers) to pick up their loses.  We cannot recall that they came forward to volunteer extra payments to the city when times were good and occupation rates were strong. Rather they have suddenly discovered millions of dollar in costs that they want reimbursed.

Sadly, the taxpayers of Coral Gables are not in a position to subsidize a Biltmore, an unprofitable company that benefits just a very people.

I say get another operator or return the Hotel to the US Government before taxpayers have to pay more property taxes or suffer reductions in their own services.

The Biltmore is an anachronism, it is the model of an earlier time when money was flowing.  It is time for the City Commissioners to side with their citizens in this matter; the US is entering a long period of austerity and the Coral Gables citizens should not have  to bailout the Biltmore.

Filed under Business and Commerce, Coral Gables, Finance

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