Lake Worth, Florida

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Unemployment Nation-wide: 9.6
Florida: 11.9
Palm Beach County: 11.7
Lake Worth: 10.2
Stats continue to change as I write. These are from October.

According to Sperling's Best Places, Lake Worth's cost of living is 19.40% lower than the U.S. average and the unemployment rate in Lake Worth is 10.20 percent. Recent job growth is Negative but that is pretty much the case across the country. Lake Worth jobs have decreased by 5.18 percent. Good news--less and less illegals hanging about taking U.S. citizen's jobs and The Resource Center will be CLOSED by January 1.

The BAC PAC and a certain Commissioner complains about this City and its government being the reason that we have high utility rates without telling you that we are paying for a Reverse Osmosis System and improving infrastructure. They continue to use high utility bills as a trumped up reason why businesses are not moving here. Tell them they are full of it. Businesses are moving here in spite of the high rents.


We had constant complaints about the high cost of Utilities from this political action committee headed by Shanon Materio during the campaign. All it did was complain and gave NO solutions other than to vote in their candidates who also had NO solutions. Commissioner Maxwell even had three town meetings on the subject in order to get people riled up and mad. He also had NO solutions.

The handwriting is on the wall for Election 2011--high utility bills will be the buzz line. The Mayor says more needs to be done to lower utility bills. He's also up for re-election. The fact is, residential rates fall right in the middle of all rates State wide, a pretty good place to be. Agreed, commercial rates are the highest. In order to bring commercial rates down, services will have to be cut and jobs eliminated or...taxes will have to be raised to the max. Perhaps the Unions can go away or the Mayor and Commissioner Maxwell can come up with some viable ideas to soothe all these complainers.

Waste is and has been a problem. And what about that forensic Utility audit, Mayor? We keep asking for it. Without one, we have no clue about our Utility. Where is the missing money? What about collecting all the money that is owed to the City for unpaid utility bills? All $8-9 million of it. What about unnecessary labor? Nine guys to screw in a light bulb.

We all should be grateful that we do not have a State Income tax. Think about what Donna and Tom are paying in South Carolina: 7% State Income tax and a 7.5% sales tax. And all we hear are gripes about Utility bills. We own our own Utility and in a few years, we will be in the driver's seat once our Utility infrastructure is paid and we have exited FMPA. When Commissioner Maxwell agreed to the FMPA contract, it was said that rates would go down. Why were the rate increases never challenged? Rates are projected to be lower when we exit this Contract but who knows what the cost will be in three years?

In the meantime, count your blessings and learn how to conserve. Be thankful that we have a City Manager, Susan Stanton, who is attempting to solve some of our outrageous, run-away costs. She has already made some very difficult decisions.

Lake Worth is a great place to live.