DAY 319 - HYPOCRITES

Tomasito and Norman.

Going for a revenge recall on Mayor Alvarez for raising taxes.

Tomasito raised fees.

Then lied about raising taxes.

Norman called the Mega Plan "outrageous" "shameful and an embarrassment."

Read today's Crespo Gram Report.

Then tell us if what is going on at the C.R.A. is not "outrageous" "shameful and an embarrassment."

Where is all the rhetoric about using C.R.A. dollars to fight "slum and blight"?

And why are you doing nothing to stop it?

We've never liked Mayor Carlos Alvarez.

But we hate hypocrites like you two even more.

DAY 318 - THE BUCK STOPS WHERE?

This morning we reported about arrogant Billboard Dutch Boy Bockweg refusing to give city commissioners an accounting of his budget that goes to salary increases and more bureaucrats.

And now we find more bureaucratic indifference and arrogance from the City administration.

Imagine if you made a $100,000 mistake in your job, would you have a job tomorrow?

Well, according to the Miami Today, that's exactly what just happened at the City.

IRS PENALTY: In another case of the City of Miami paying now for past mistakes, Finance Director Diana Gomez told commissioners last week that the city had to pay the Internal Revenue Service a $100,000 penalty for not reporting on time. City Manager Carlos Migoya said an employee who was in charge of making payments was late twice and the $100,000 was the second of two fines. He said the employee no longer works for the city. Ms. Gomez said a system is now in place to avoid late payments, including online payments rather than by phone and a second person who checks that payments have gone through.

Mistakes of the past?

Who was there IN THE PAST and responsible for oversight of the Finance Department?

Larry Spring!

From September 2007

"The City of Miami City Manager Pete Hernandez has announced the appointment of Larry Spring to Chief Financial Officer. In his new role, Mr. Spring will oversee the Departments of Finance,"

Larry loves his $200,000+ compensation, but he won't take responsibility for the mistakes of his employees.

And yes, this too:

He became a Certified Public Accountant in May, 2001.

So is he a CPA or not?

$100,000 of OUR money needlessly down the drain.

Where does the buck stop?

DAY 318 - WHO'S WORSE?

We all know Mayor Alvarez proposed tax increases, and the County Commission approved them.

But Tomas Regalado refuses to admit that City of Miami taxpayers will pay MORE in increased "fees" and other taxes to the City.

"The budget we approved did not have any tax increase," says Mayor Regalado.

The Herald differs:

"Earlier Monday, commissioners passed a series of fee hikes and fines setting the stage for the 2:30 a.m. budget approval."

Higher FEES and FINES must not mean taxes.

"Tuesday's vote means a higher tax bill for about one in five in a city of 127,000 homeowners."

So Tomasito, what does "a higher tax bill" mean exactly?

Bottom line: people will pay MORE, and Tomasito did nothing to lower the City millage rate.

Tomasito will also not use his mayoral powers to reign in Marc Sarnoff and stop the shenanigans and chicanery at the C.R.A.

From the Herald:

Even as commissioners propped up the city's 2011 budget with redevelopment money, they chastised the agency's new executive director [Billboard Dutch Boy Bockweg] for failing to provide them with employee salaries -- and then refused to approve his budget.

CRA Executive Director Pieter Bockweg was berated by the commission for not offering a line-item account of the $80 million combined budgets he oversees at two of the city's three redevelopment agencies.

When Commissioner Frank Carollo pushed Bockweg on why the CRA payroll increased by 8 percent even as city employees suffered significant pay cuts, Bockweg said it was to cover expected hires and his yet-to-be approved salary -- a point of contention well before the meeting.

Why should Bockweg care when he knows that Sarnoff has his back?

And does the C.R.A. money go toward remedying "slum and blight?"

Nope!

It goes to pay Bockweg, his BMW, and the other Sarnoff cronies at the C.R.A.

Worse yet,

Tomasito does not have the "cojones" to stand up to him.

And Braman is fixated with taking out Mayor Alvarez while the stealing at the C.R.A. goes on under his nose.

So who's worse?

Alvarez for proposing tax increases and going through with them?

Or Tomasito for continually lying to us all along?

DAY 317 - MOTIVATION: REVENGE

WHY SPARE BORIS AND NATASHA?

TOGETHER WE WILL BURY OUR ENEMIES

WHAT ABOUT THE MIAMI C.R.A.???

WHY DOES EVERYONE HATE ME?

The Herald takes a stab at the Billionaire Braman / Tomasito recall effort, but the story misses several key points.

Targeting Miami-Dade mayor for recall faces a test.

"For the second time this year, the county mayor has been targeted for recall."

 

Braman attorneys and the Herald would do well to carefully read Section 8.02 (7) of the County Charter:

"No recall petition against such an officer [the Mayor] shall be certified within one year after he takes office nor within one year after a recall petition against him is defeated."

 

The Herald also needs to ask Braman the following:

1. What exactly was discussed at your secret meeting with Mayor Tomas Regalado this past Saturday?

 

Was lobbyist Armando Gutierrez present?   

2. Why is the recall effort focused solely on Mayor Carlos Alvarez?

 

The Mayor PROPOSES the budget, but the County Commission APPROVES the budget.  

 

Why not go after the County Commissioners then?  

 

And, why were you asked by Mayor Regalado to spare his friends Boris Bruno Barreiro and Natasha Seijas?

3. The City of Miami just transferred 10.4 million in C.R.A. funds to cover losses in their general fund.

The Herald has quoted experts that seriously question the legality of this move.

"Frank Schnidman, a professor at Florida Atlantic University and one of the top CRA experts in the state, questioned the transfers."

"Where is the paper trail that shows that this was the intent of the parties, rather than just another effort to steal redevelopment money from the poor to fund pet projects of elected officials?'' asked Schnidman."

And yet, Mr. Braman says nothing about this, in spite of his vociferous and aggressive opposition to the Mega Plan?

Norman Braman's motivations are not as pure as some would believe.

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

But in the year of the Miami Heat...

Braman and Tomasito better watch their backs.

DAY 316 - RECALL OR REVENGE?

We were tipped off to a secret meeting this weekend between Billionaire Recaller Norman Braman and Mayor Tomas Regalado.

After their defeat in trying to stop the Mega Plan, Norman and Tomasito are saddling up once more to try and take down County Mayor Carlos Alvarez.

Word of the meeting came from a certain fat lobbyist who has a really big mouth and can't stop telling everyone how deep in his pocket Tomasito really is.

According to sources, Tomas told Norman that he would pledge resources to the recall, and asked Braman not to go after several of Tomas' friends on the County Commission.

Here is the question, is Tomasito's friendship with Braman stopping him from criticizing the shenanigans at the C.R.A.?

Or is Tomasito setting up Sarnoff?

We all know the $220,000 compensation package for Billboard Bockweg is just the tip of the iceberg.

Will the Braman effort then go from recall to revenge?

DAY 316 - IT'S ON!

ROBIN HOOD?

SHERIFF OF NOTTINGHAM

ROBBING DA HOOD

PRINCE POPPYCOCK

FRIAR TUCKED

VILLAGE IDIOT

FRIAR FUCKED

It's on!

10 AM today, big announcement coming from Braman.

And the Herald giving us a little dose of what goes on in the County brain trust:

"The majority of the Miami-Dade Commission passed a balanced budget by raising the property tax rate to hand out salary increases and other perks to almost all of its 28,000 employees during the coming year. Surprise, surprise!"

"Nah, with unemployment stuck at over 12 percent in this county and foreclosures rising, County Mayor Carlos Alvarez argued at the Thursday budget hearing that county officials aren't responsible for the economic mess we're in."

"Really?"

Really.

This is the same reason why "Lebron James" is the Mayor Regalado's economic development strategy.

The same reason that really fat cat lobbyists can ram through no-bid contracts.

It's also the same reason that Sarnoff lackey Dutchboy Bockweg gets a $220,000 compensation package.

And the "Discussion related to demands that the city of Miami is making of the SEOPW and OMNI CRA's regarding funds that the city advanced on behalf of the CRA's."

Just an excuse to pay Sarnoff trio Bockweg / Karsh / Gonzalez more money.

Norman,

When you take the recall to County Hall, make sure you have enough left for Miami City Hall.

DAY 313 - ARROGANCE!

SHUT THE FUCK UP, AND PAY YOUR TAXES!

It's not often we deviate from the fun over at the City of Miami, but this is too important to ignore.

With the unemployment rate over 12%, amidst the worst recession since the Great Depression, and no end in sight...

Mayor Alvarez says "Let's raise taxes!"

Last night, taking a page out of the Third World economic development manual, our County Mayor and Commission voted to increase taxes so they can raise their already greedy bloated six figure salaries.

Miami Dade Commission approves budget with tax rate hikes.

At 3:20 A.M., in the dark of night, a time when most of us with real jobs were sound asleep, the County Commission was busy jacking up our taxes.

Call any of their offices bright and early this morning, none of them are there.

According to Haggman, the County budget "calls for hiking property tax rates 14 percent to offset the drastic plunge in property values and increases in various county fees.  County parks will get new parking fees.  Water bills will go up, too."

What happens in your home or business when you make less money?  You cut back expenses

Not in government!

They just tax more.

"Meanwhile, salary and benefit increases will cost $132 million. "

The bureaucrats get their raises.  We get stuck with the bill.

 

The commissioners voting in favor: 

 

Dennis Moss

Katy Sorenson

Barbara Jordan

Sally Heyman

Bruno Barreiro

Dorrin Rolle

Audrey Edmonson

Natacha Seijas.

Thanks a lot ASSHOLES! 

 

Miami Dade County private sector employment is suffering from layoffs, wage freezes and reductions, double digit unemployment, and great uncertainty.

 

But the public sector is feeling no pain...

 

Yet.