Residents of North Bay Village roll up your sleeves and get ready for the biggest conflict of the year.

 Mark your calendars for Tuesday September 17, 2013 and Wednesday September 25, 2013 at 6 pm Budget Hearings at Treasure Island Elementary School Auditorium.  Our Village Budget is out of control and may cost our home owners as much as $ 600.00 to $ 1,000.00 more in real estate taxes depending on the assessed value of your home.  In today’s economy this may have a big impact on many of our North Bay Village home owner’s budget.  You can ask yourselves why? Is it the out of control police budget? Could it be our very expensive legal Department?  Or is it just the inability of our commission to control expenses? Mr. Kevin Vericker’s gave you the details and figures of where the money went and will continue to go if the hard decisions are not made.

 Many of us would want to blame our legal department. However our unplanned legal costs stem from our administration and department heads picking and creating legal conflicts that are impossible to win!  The lawyers that represent North Bay Village don’t work for free and charge by the hour for work not anticipated on their contract.  We all know how expensive legal fees can be. If you stop these legal conflicts you automatically reduce the legal cost.  You ask what is left?  Some of us will say control the police budget and you can save more money.  Furthermore stop the frivolous spending such as the Fourth of July celebrations and any other non-necessary expenditure and you will see our taxes roll back to 2012 rates.  Many of our municipalities are reducing their millage while ours want to raise it to historic levels!  North Bay Village Residents on September 17, 2013 at 6 pm and September 25, 2013 Budget Hearing at Treasure Island Elementary School Auditorium, be there! to voice your opinion and raise your concerns!!!!!!

Honestly opinionating

PUTTING NORTH BAY VILLAGE FIRST!

Mario Garcia

September 8, 2013

The role of government is to protect its citizens.

This basic concept applies to local state and local government as well. North Bay Village residents will be placed at a disadvantage and could face possible dangers that could be a matter of life and death if the planned cuts to the fire department and fire rescue take place. Our Village has an elementary school, multiple day care schools and a senior citizens facility all of which will be placed at risk should an emergency arise and help is not available or  takes too long to get here. We have multiple high rise condos and apartment buildings that could suffer should an emergency arise and help is delayed.  Mr. Kevin Vericker has published all the stats and North Bay Island Commissioner Richard Chervony has clearly explained what these cuts could mean to North Bay Village residents.  On Tuesday August 27, 2013 at 6:00 pm there will be a meeting to decide the future of engine 27 at  Little Haiti Cultural Center 212 - 260 NE 59 Terrace Miami, FL 33137. 

I will not be able to attend because our neighborhood crime watch meeting had been previously set up for the same day. I am asking all our North Bay Village residents to answer the call and attend this crucial and deciding meeting. Please be there and let Mayor Carlos A Gimenez know that this is a dangerous and intolerable choice that affects the safety of us all in North Bay Village.

Honesty Opinionating

PUTTING NORTH BAY VILLAGE FIRST

Mario Garcia

August 22, 2013        

 

Finally score one for the village!

 Yesterday at the special commission meeting, Ms. Nina Boniske North Bay Village Attorney of Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza Cole & Boniske, P.L. presented a detailed report of the litigation history that started January 2006 and hopefully has ended August 2013 against then property owner Mr. Rose.  The bills, fees and penalties were for unpaid water, wastewater, sanitation, and storm water plus unpaid fines.  The property owner of 1755 Kennedy Causeway went back and forth with negotiations and at times making ridiculous settlement offers that were insulting and disrespectful.

The new owners, a prestigious real estate investment company offered a settlement of $ 210, 000.00 under the corporation known as 1755 NBV, LLC.   This amount will cover the legal fees that total $ 70,000, 00 leaving $ 140, 000.00 to cover the unpaid bills and fees.  In return all liens, charges and fees would be deem paid and balance zero.   This is the same real estate investment company that purchased the property where the Crab House Restaurant was located.

The commission with Commissioner Chervony absent but according to Mayor Connie Leon Kreps let it be known that he would not approve anything but the full amount paid.  It was pleasant to see Treasure Island Commissioner Wendy Duval back on the dais where her financial knowledge is welcomed. Vice Mayor Eddie Lim, Commissioner At Large Jorge Gonzalez and Mayor Connie Leon Kreps made their political statements and accepted the settlement with a unanimous vote. However the victory is for North Bay Village and the Credit goes to Nina Boniske our Village Attorney.

Honestly Opinionating

PUTTING NORTH BAY VILLAGE FIRST!

Mario Garcia

August 14, 2013

 

 

The stage is set and the parameters are in place.

 North Bay Village’s millage was set at 7.5 for Trim Notices at yesterday’s commission meeting. This number was arrived at because the commission agreed to give themselves some room to maneuver.  The North Bay Village operating budget for 2013 -2014 Fiscal year if no changes are made will require a millage of 6.0031.  In addition the proposed debt millage was set at 1.0405. The total millage is geared to be set somewhere from 7.0031 to 8.5405 if no further cuts are made to our operating budget. In perspective an assessed home valued at $ 240,000.00 will receive a North Bay Village Real Estate Tax increase from roughly $ 237.26 to $ 606.24 per year.

The largest item and most relevant is the police budget, if adopted will go from $ 3, 182,368.00 to $ 3,802,453.00 an increase of $ 620,085.00. Additionally this commission is not making any serious attempts to making wasteful cuts and painful decisions.  Commissioner Richard Chervony is on a well deserved vacation and Commissioner Wendy Duval made an attempt to partially participate via conference call. The audio was terrible but from what little we understood through audio interference and low quality noise polluted sound it was apparent that Commissioner Duval was not happy with the proposed Trim Millage, but voted yes with Commissioner Jorge Gonzalez, Vice Mayor Eddie Lim and Mayor Connie Leon-Kreps. The absent vote was Commissioner Chervony which we know it probably would have been a nay.

We are making some progress however, at the meeting the new Interim Manager Frank Rollason controlled the discussions and made sure that the commission stayed on track. Mr. Rollason was articulate and spoke with authority. It was clear that he was prepared, informed, and cooperative and provided professional wisdom to the commission.    

The September Commission meetings were set for Tuesday September 17, 2013 and Wednesday September 25, 2013. These are the meetings where the commission decides and votes to finalize the operating budget and set the millage rate. Mark your calendars! Mark your Calendars!

We need to show up to these meetings! Residents of North Bay Village let us show this commission that we are fed up and will not take it anymore! I am hoping for wall to wall Village residents to be present at these commission meetings held at Treasure Island Elementary School Auditorium. If we don’t we will face the same budget problems for the 2014-2015 budget. Fiscal responsibility is not a choice, it is an obligation.

Honestly Opinionating

PUTTING NORTH BAY VILLAGE FIRST

Mario Garcia

August 1, 2013   

 

There is a new Sheriff in North Bay Village!

The Special Village Commission Meeting today July 22, 2013 at 6:30pm to hire Mr. Frank K Rollason marks yet another page in our village history. The three member commission dais consisting of Mayor Connie Leon-Kreps, Vice Mayor Eddie Lim and North Bay Island Commissioner Richard Chervony voted unanimously on hiring Mr. Rollason as our new Interim Village Manager. Treasure Island Commissioner Wendy Duval still recovering at home once again unable to participate because this matter is that urgent according to our Mayor.   Commissioner At Large Jorge Gonzalez out on vacation was absent as well.  The Mayor was all smiles ear to ear and is taking all the credit for initiating the hiring.

We could continue to illustrate the lack of transparency with the process; however it is beneficial for the village to table it for now. I must say that Mr. Rollason was well prepared and addressed the sequence of events that led to his hiring. His explanations were clear and thought out. I am satisfied enough with his explanation and he earned my vote of support.  

Commissioner Richard Chervony once again proved to be on target. He reminded the commission members that if they were comfortable voting with just three of them present; that he was ready to vote if they were.  Commissioner Chervony was referring to the commission meeting of June where the commission was unable to appoint board members because Vice Mayor Eddie Lim was absent, imagine that!  When it was readdressed on the Public Comments section, Vice Mayor Eddie Lim offered some silly explanation about having the right to a vacation totally not answering the question or understanding it.  However it is best to table that as well for now!

Turn the page, Mr. Rollason was impressive in setting the tone of his Village Interim Manager Administration reign. He explained that changes must come from the top. Starting with vacation needs to be first earned then taken. Additionally, vacation earned not taken would be lost   and not carried over. He detailed plans regarding the fire department cuts, police budget and changing the attitude that the way of doing business in the past has come to an end.  He acknowledged and praised the village staff and pledged to work hard and lead them in bringing the village out of our budget, contract and infrastructure problems. He appears to be the right man for the job. I was satisfied with his explanation, impressed with his resume and confident with his ability; time will tell. Let’s support Mr. Frank K Rollason our new Interim Village Manager until proven otherwise.  Good Luck Mr. Rollason for your sake as well as ours your success is our success!

PUTTING NORTH BAY VILLAGE FIRST

Honestly Opinionating

Mario Garcia

July 22, 2013

   

The Positives and The Negatives!

North Bay Village “positives” and “negatives” let’s take a look. Positive, the Village Clerk Ms. Yvonne Hamilton is quiet and gets her work done. Positive, our Interim Manager Ms. Jenice Rosado and her staff gets the job done and can dialogue to make things better. Positive, Mr. Bert Wrains our Finance Director transparent, professional, resourceful and detailed, not afraid to say “I don’t know”. Positive, Public Works Director Rodney Carrero-Santana Professional, resourceful, detailed and no nonsense type of person.  Positive, most of our policemen are professional, caring and doing a superb job. Positive our garbage collection people do a fabulous job and have no problem accommodating our residents. Positive, North Bay Island Commissioner Richard Chervony is always prepared and not afraid to call it as he sees it. In addition he works hard to keep our residents informed.  Positive, Treasure Island Commissioner Wendy Duval in short time appears to have the ability and knowledge to get things accomplished. Currently Positive, FSM Landscaping Inc is improving their services and have been more visible doing their job, definitely an improvement. I am sure to have missed a few more, feel free to add.

The negatives, The Mayor, Vice Mayor and Commissioner at Large not taking our budget seriously and not having the courage to listen and make the necessary responsible budget cuts! This is a problem foreseen since 2011.  Negative, our police budget and over spending. Negative, the red light camera program makes money only for ATS, Inc.  and their answer is to add more cameras.   Our roads, speed bumps and sidewalks need repair. The Public Works grounds and facilities have deteriorated and are an eye sore. The Tot Lot needs the proper flooring, our children deserve nothing less! Our Building Codes need to be updated to the 21^st Century and the costs to do business in North Bay Village need to be transparent and fair. Negative, no appointments to the Budget and Oversight Committee could have come in handy given the disarray of our Village finances.  Negative, the backdoor way that the commission is a hiring a new Interim Village Manager.  Negative, the cost of our legal department, I am sure to have missed a few, feel free to add.  

Honestly Opinionating!

PUTTING NORTH BAY VILLAGE FIRST!

Mario Garcia

July 20, 2013

 

I don't Know About You but this scares me!

I encourage all North Bay Village residents to log on to the North Bay Village website.  On Monday, July 22, 2013 at 6:30 PM a special North Bay Village Commission meeting will be held.  The proposed contract for hiring Mr. Frank Rollason as an Interim North Bay Village Manager is posted. I opposed the backdoor way in which Mr. Rollason has been hired. However, Mr. Rollason’s resume and credentials are excellent. Given the results of the first budget workshop it was apparent that this administration is unable to handle our financial needs with restraints and fiscal responsibility. Commissioner Richard Chervony and hopefully Commissioner Wendy Duval with the help of the Interim Village Manager Mr. Frank Rollason can influence the Mayor, Vice Mayor and the Commissioner At Large to begin making the necessary cuts and sacrifices to tame the budget monster.

As the budget for 2014 was presented and if all the suggested expenses are adopted there will be an increase from Fiscal Year 2013 of $ 5,330,317.00 to Fiscal Year 2014 of $ 7,879,948.00 a difference of $ 3,059,557.00. What does this mean? In ordered to make up for this increase the North Bay Village Real Estate Millage Rate would need to be raised to 9.2800 from 4.7772.  That’s a 95% increase on your taxes.

 Let’s say a $ 350,000.00 assessed value home paid @ 4.7772 the sum of $ 1,672.00 for the North Bay Village portion of the Real Estate Taxes.  Now at 9.2800 the same home will be paying $ 3,248.00. I don’t know about you but this scares me.

 Out of the proposed budget increase of $ 3,059,557.00 the Police Department portion is $ 1,689,529.00 from a Police Budget for 2013 of $ 3,182,368.00 to a proposed budget for 2014 of $ 4, 871,897.00. I don’t know about you but this scares me.

 Commissioner Wendy Duval will most likely be present at the next workshop and she will be a crucial participant to the process.  I wasn’t impressed at the urgency to make painful and necessary cuts by Commissioner Jorge Gonzalez, Vice Mayor Eddie Lim and Mayor Connie Leon –Kreps.  

It could be a tactic to scare us so that a raise of let’s say a Millage rate of 7.5000 won’t sound so terrible.  The same house assessed value @ $ 350,000.00 will now pay $ 2,625.00 it would seem like a bargain to pay $ 953.00 more a year from $ 1,672.00. I don’t know about you but this still scares me.

North Bay Village Residents get involved and participate in the process.

Honestly Opinionating

PUTTING NORTH BAY VILLAGE FIRST

Mario Garcia

July 19, 2013