A Coral Gables Resident Apathetic about Taxes and Fees
September 20, 2009 Leave a comment
A Few Questions on the Budget
September 19, 2009 Leave a comment
1. Why should the citizens finance merit increases during a period of economic austerity and no inflation.
2. Can you tell me if the Museum amount included in this year’s capital budget is fully financed by the nonprofit contributions or is the city financing a good part of this expenditure?
3. Is the capital budget a multi-year or a one year budget. Please show us a multi-year budget. Small expenditures in one year (e.g., the museum design, preparation and construction) invariably lead to multi-year expenditures that are justified on the earlier smaller expenditures.
3. In the capital budget, which projects are fully financed out of donations and other sources and do not require additional borrowing or property taxes payments?
4. Is there no information on the 2008-09 budget execution? Why does the city always compare the “budget” of the prior year with the new “budget” instead of the actual budget results. We should be comparing our 2009 budget with the actual final (including estimates for the last month) execution of the 2008-09 budget?
5. Why hasn’t the Building and Zoning staff be reduced even more? With the fall in permit fees many staff are not justified.
Can this be True? $6.50 Property Tax Increase
September 18, 2009 Leave a comment
This is not a joke.
Owners of a $150,000 home in Jasper County will pay $6.50 more in property taxes next year under a new property tax rate schedule approved by the County Commission on Thursday.
P.S. Miami-Dade Holds the Line on Taxes! And now Coral Gables?
September 18, 2009 Leave a comment
The Miami-Dade County Commissions have approved an austerity budget with a flat tax, significant salary and reductions of positions.
At 5:01 a.m., exactly 12 hours after the meeting began Thursday evening, county commissioners approved a $7.4 billion budget.
The winners: elderly residents who get county subsidized meals and community-based service organizations paid for through the commissioners’ discretionary funds. Both saw most of their county funding restored.
The losers: county employees who stood to lose $106 million in salary cuts under the mayor’s original budget and now stand to sacrifice another $68 million in assorted benefits.
But the number of proposed layoffs has been reduced from 1,700 to 945.
Is there a lesson for Coral Gables? Based on the well known views of Commissioners and the City Manager, the answer seems to be No.
Coral Gables Watch 