Come November, we will have a lot to vote for--Florida, Palm Beach County and a Lake Worth initiative is in the wings for August--I believe that the City of Lake Worth is not fooling around with committing the taxpayers to a big debt for possibly 20 to 30 years for infrastructure. If they go out on a general obligation bond, you will have to approve of that debt at the ballot box. And think about it--half the town will be gone and their valuable Snowbirds who do vote here will have flown the coop.
Tonight in Lake Worth there is another workshop to inform the public and perhaps tell us how they want you to fund their infrastructure initiative. Clever ideas will be hashed and tossed about even possibly funding part of it through a 16% water increase. Even the utility is something they desperately need when it's convenient to raise money and using it basically as a tax for its initiative. Our water rate is too high as it is. The Mayor has mentioned a revenue bond--a type of revenue generator (an assessment) that this commission was vehemently against just a few years ago.
Two measures are certified for the 2014 ballot in Florida. Five additional measures, all legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, have been proposed for the November 4, 2014 ballot. We already know about Jeff Clemens' medical marijuana bill and his 5 mph increase.
Some Trivia:
- Since 1988, 80 of 102 or 78.43% of Florida ballot measures have been approved by voters. Lake Worth knows that once this infrastructure initiative gets on the ballot, it will most likely pass. People are sick of lousy streets.
- Conversely, 22 of 102 or 21.57% of measures have been defeated.
- In 2006, a measure was approved that increased the number of votes required to approve a proposed constitutional amendment to 60%. Since 2008, two measures were approved by simple majority, but failed to meet the supermajority requirement and thus were defeated.
- And in Lake Worth, the voters can go to the polls, vote in an initiative and the city government says "screw you."
I guess we are still waiting for the big announcement from the Citizens Against Virtually Everything, about why they dropped the lawsuit against the State Law that kicked the referendum to the curb. You still want to blame it on the majority that are accountable for what they decide based on advice from their attorney.
ReplyDeleteThe way they are accountable is they can be voted out of office, right Suzanne? Well what happened?
If they had acted so egregiously, surely someone would have stepped up to be the voice of the people.
But no, you think they should have acted against their attorney's advice and against the Sate Law and against what they had campaigned for: the advance of a Hotel District where we could possibly lure a hotel with 50 rooms and take advantage of the boom of tourists coming to South Florida.
You are right.
Just keep getting this same little pissed off commenter who likes to say the same old things over and over again, running that big ole mouth.
ReplyDeleteTo clueless: This election was Not ABOUT a hotel district. It was NOT about your illegal banner you erected on the Gulfstream Hotel. Please re-read the referendum. Do it several times so that you will, or rather, might understand what in heck it was all about.
It definitely was not about holding up the vote results with Tallahassee for three months on some law that Rick Scott might or might not have signed and then try and convince yourselves it applied to a Charter Amendment.
Just because a terrorist wears red, white and blue does not make him a patriot. It doesn't make him someone who believes in voters rights or that the people are supposed to rule, not dictators. An election counts in this country and you twisted that to hell and back.
I'm only saying the same ole thing again because you are saying the same old tired thing again too. I have also stated on this blog that I would happily accept the verdict of the judge with no reservations. Happily, without calling names or trying to defend the "No" voters.
ReplyDeleteYou, on the other hand, will complain to the end about how "this was a Charter Amendment" (about land regulations) not a comprehensive plan change. Apparently, it appears they might be one and the same. But then you will complain about the law being retroactively applied. Ah, ya!
Well since the flood gates have opened and the building department has been turning away mega-developers in droves and asking them to park their cranes west of town, we can still feel the breeze and the tall buildings haven't blotted out the sun..... yet.
You got everything that you wanted with the exception of the Hotel District. That was a good compromise. You didn't want a compromise. So now you have what you have.
Apparently, the City was more than happy to defend its position. I'm waiting to hear how it got dropped.
Millions have disappeared in Lake Worth with no trace.Hello, Greater Bay and our non-existent pool repairs. Hello repairs at Bryant Park which were never run by our Commission. Joe Kroll stated that they would cost "250,000 dollars". Only, not so much. They were done by ex-city manager Susan Stanton for 20,000. Were the city employees going to throw themselves one heck of a pizza party with the difference ? Do you idiots really think that I'm going to give you millions more to put into your pockets? Even if my family and I could afford to pay more in taxes I would never vote for this increase. You would squander it away in a heart beat. My neighborhood west of I-95 gets NOTHING for my taxes that I ALREADY pay while every other neighborhood has gyms, parks, playgrounds ,etc. Any city stupid enough to think that it's O.K. to spend 60,000 a year on a lobbyist in D,C, doesn't deserve one more DIME of my money.
ReplyDeleteToo bad. Your neighborhood is in the plan too. Looks like with attitudes like yours, the situation will get worse.
ReplyDeleteBut keep looking on the dull side.
What Plan? To put the 2nd poorest city in PB county in tremendous debt for 20 years when we already have debt we can't pay down? To grab all the remaining cash we have and spend it on roads and infrastructure to attract developers? Is that a good thing, anonymous with your snarkey remark at 1:29. I would say it is the realistic side of what's going on.
ReplyDeleteSlight mistake above--NOT 20 years but 30
ReplyDeleteSeems to me the only debt we can't pay down at this moment is the beach loan to ourselves. All bond obligations are being met. You can argue all you want about how all that money disappeared, but who's watch was that on? All these accountable elected politicians?
ReplyDeleteWith bonding in place, the money is supposed to be obligated to the purpose it was voted on. I trust this regime much more than the past few to get the job done right and provide proper oversight.
The city is looking more professional now. Not run by a bunch of clowns like the past several years, picking fights with the county and all our municipal neighbors. Maybe now we can get some real improvements, yes, to attract developers (that dirty word). For residential infill and commercial and mix use projects that will improve our curb appeal and replace all that blight you keep bellyaching about.
What's your plan?
I continue to ask you not to disparage but debate. Using the word CLOWN is not acceptable. Why can't you GET THAT??????????????????????
ReplyDeleteWe still owe millions on the bond that is now a note on the Utility upgrade and the RO...around $54 mil or so. This will be paid off by 2029.
We still owe $2,822,400 on a note payable to the ECR.
We still ow $6.8 mil on the loan to the State Dept of Environmental Protection for the RO plant.
And we support the final payment that the CRA has on the Gateways Note.
We have unfunded liabilities for three pension retirement funds of around $88 mil.
So, I don't recall a past commission picking fights with PB County but I do recall this commission making fools of themselves promoting John Prince Park as a ball field.
Proper oversight? Getting us into more long-term debt for $60 plus million? Taking all the cash?