City Manager Wants to Grab your Cash

Comment Up

Reminder and Re-Cap of the Unjust and Unfair
Special fire assessment which is nothing more than

GRABBING YOUR CASH:

At the end of August I wrote a blog giving you the difference in the amount of money that would be paid by taxpayers if the City of Lake Worth kept the fire pensions on the tax bill and did not special assess, data below. It was a difference in money of $72,000 and change. Just from that little bit of money difference, we can conclude that this has nothing whatsoever to do with the City Manager's excuse that properties of lower value are not paying their fair share thus we must special assess to raise the necessary cash to run our city.

The City Manager has continually told us, even writing a letter to Chief Steve Jerauld on June 23, 2011, complaining that certain homesteaded (homesteads, our right under Florida law) properties within the city of Lake Worth pay little to no taxes. If she had her druthers, she would love to do away with homesteads that have been a thorn in her side. She further stated that the use of the fire MSTU counts toward the City's Constitutional 10 mil property cap and had "adversely impacted the ability to fund other critical public safety needs." That is really bull.

If we were to tax at 1.3 Mils or Special Assess this Pension cost, following is the difference, per the Finance Department, in what the City would collect:

Residential Parcels
1.3 mils: $922,349
$60 per household: $939,300
Difference: ($16,951)

Non-Residential Parcels
1.3 mils: $427,494
price per s.f.: $476,533
Difference: ($49,039)

Mixed Use Parcels
1.3 mils: $33,376
price per s.f.:$39,414
Difference: ( $6,038)

But in this case, the millage was not reduced. The City gets it all. The CM gets the millage; she gets the special assessment; she gets to put a lien on your property.

The City Manager made a moral judgment to tax the poor disproportionately to their income and ability as well as their property value...the city manager's definition of justice. She must hate poor people. She must hate the church. She must hate granny who struggles on social security to survive. She is now taxing not for profits, poor church preachers whose mission is to help the impoverished as well as the poorest of the poor. She says that she can't collect on the schools; they are exempt. Did you know that the School Board owes us over $18,000 in unpaid utility bills and we're not collecting? The Commission agreed with the city manager (they always do) and all for $72,000. This is a Commission, or so I thought, that was concerned about the have-nots in this life. The City Manager, however, has convinced them that property taxes are not a fair way to tax. Since when?

All this is to the City Manager and the sheep who follow is nothing more than GRABBING THE CASH in the amount of $1.45 MILLION DOLLARS in order to go around the 10 mil cap and to open the door to MORE OF THE SAME in special assessments. Look for this fire pension to come back EVERY YEAR larger than ever along with anything else the Commission allows the City to get away with.

This particular tax is anything but a BENEFIT. A special assessment is a real property tax proportionately levied on homeowners and landowners to cover the costs of improvements that will be for the benefit of all upon whom it is imposed. All this special assessment is folks, is one BIG LIE and I still question its legality, no matter what Governmental Services Group says, a company that was hired to find out every way possible to screw the property owners of Lake Worth. I believe that they lied as well. Any dummy knows that fire pensions are not an improvement to our personal property nor are they a benefit.

Tomorrow night at 6pm the Commission will have its final vote on this fire assessment. It is important to attend because if this passes, it will not be the end of the screw job.