Are you Tired? - Tom Ramiccio

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Are you tired of getting these negative mailers from Tom Ramiccio? He is toning down his braggadocio regarding FPL. Now all you see about selling our Utility is in a small caption with a lightening bolt going though it. His latest mailers haven't changed in that they are still in a negative modus operandi.

We have a reliable source of power. Tom does not seem to know that. He really should meet with our Utility Director and understand what we have and where we are going. Other than the power failure for a total of a few hours during this year, it has been totally reliable, better than FPL's.

Tom says we have parts of our city that look like war zones which is a description from a drama queen and a typical Ramiccio over-exaggeration. We do have abandoned properties that have been neglected, many in foreclosure. We know that the city is working through problems and they have made some significant strides. William Waters, community development director, is working with property owners to get their properties into compliance with all city codes. City Manager Susan Stanton said that in the past all we did was "Write and Cite." We had no way of ever collecting huge fines. Mr. Waters is now negotiating and working with the property owner during a specified time frame to find a solution that would lead to the property being brought into compliance and the collection of a portion of the outstanding fines and fees. Tom should meet with Mr. Waters and find out what is really going on.

Everyone is aware of safety and we take precautions when we are out of our homes. I was talking to a C.O.P. last evening who said that they are looking for volunteers. When the program first started under our own Lake Worth Police, it was considered successful. We had over twice the volunteers that we now have. Now that it is under PBSO, participation has dropped off to less than half. Is it that people feel safer or is it the constraints? Neighborhood Crime Watches are in effect and some residents are taking a more pro-active approach.

Tom now wants to extend the Sheriff contract beyond the two year deal (a rash statement) that Susan Stanton just negotiated. We have no idea what two years will bring. Ric Bradshaw is under the gun with Palm Beach County to contain costs and he is balking. We just can't continue to pay, and pay, and pay when our ability to do so is infringed. Hopefully in two years the economy will start to improve but that does not mean that we should be hostage to out of whack salary and benefit demands for public safety.

The Fire/Rescue is now being studied to determine the future of staying with PB County or having our own fire department once again. As stated before, we had our own fire department for nearly 100 years and no one complained. We went with the County to save money and our fire chief agreed. This was totally wrong. We still pay 172% of payroll for those firemen who stayed in our retirement program. This is insane. Fire/Rescue salary and perks are the highest and "have ballooned out of control." The average base salary in PB County is almost double that in the State of Florida. With our own department, we will be able to contain costs especially pension retirement benefit plans. Tom wants to stay with PB County no matter what.

With excellent staff in place, our city is working to improve the city and taking all of the right actions. Let's stay positive and reject the doom and gloom candidate, Tom Ramiccio, who wants to concentrate on bully negatives and promises he can not fulfill, some that are downright foolish.