What a bunch of sad sacks we are. We are so desperate for money that we will do just about anything for it-- granny's silver is not sacred--or suggest to bulldoze John Prince Park or sell beach parking decal stickers to non-residents. Take your pick, both stupid.
One desperate move was to hire the Washington lobbyists last night, the firm of Alcalde and Fay out of Alexandria, Virginia for $5,000 a month (a mere pittance in the scheme of things but a lot to us..which fund did they move money from now?) plus expenses for a chance to get a "seat at the table." What it did was get a lobbyist's foot in the door to Lake Worth. It sort of reminds me of selling all those decal stickers to get a chance to park your car in the "resident" parking lot that is NO LONGER THE RESIDENT PARKING LOT but one for non-residents as well. And no, Commissioner Szerdi, this is not "finally at rest."
Alcalde and Fay describe themselves as a 45 member firm with partners and professionals with a "rich diversity in both background and effective advocacy." Three of the heavy hitters were there last night giving their pitch to our desperation. Our point guys will be Skip Bafilis and Jim Davenport from the firm.
They will be assisting the city with its grant applications and developing strategies to obtain Federal funding and use all their years of rubbing shoulders with the high and mighty Washington elites for some pay-back to little ole Lake Worth. There is no telling what these guys will make off the grant amounts. Now get this--we don't even have a Grant Writer. So, this $60,000 a year plus, plus, plus will probably turn out double when we realize that we need to hire a Grant Writer in order to get off the ground.
And one more thing--all that decal parking permit money that the city will be collecting from non-residents for the chance of finding a space will off-set this lobbyist cost. For the commission, it's a win, win, plus, plus in the "scheme" of things.
26 comments:
You told us Laurel Decker would issue a statement by 4/15/14 as to why she dropped her law suit.
I know you tell people to ask her but I don't know her and you do. Please post it on your blog as soon as possible, or inform us why a statement is not forthcoming. Thank you.
The Feds love to dish out money like candy, money it doesn't have to give that is. Just another part of this commission's wish list.
A seasonal resident is not a non-resident!
This is a great idea. There are lots of federal dollars out there and God knows we need help. Understanding the Washington bureaucracy is complicated. Knowing when to hire an expert shows me that this commission has the smarts to know that the city staff cannot do it alone. lets pray this new firm can help us. If you can think of a better idea let us know.
On top of the craziness, the first payment to them was due on April 1...15 days BEFORE the commission even voted on the deal. It wasn't changed in the contract that I can determine.
$5,000.oo a month will fill a lotta potholes, just saying! Please try to see how much MORE money would be available locally if we tossed the part where we “BEG GRANT” for federal funds! We Pay a STEEP Pass Thru Fee where the $$$ travels up to the Fed so we can have it “GRANTED” back when that money never should’ve left the state! Our Bill of Rights, specifically Amendment 10 states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Federal Mission Creep or Coloring outside the lines of the Constitution will reap unintended consequences delegating the people’s power where it was never intended!
Claiming the City has no voice in Washington, DC is just not true if we ALL obey ALL the Laws. You Swore an Oath to support the Constitution of the United States and Article 4 Section 4 states, The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican (or REPRESENTATIVE) form of government. We have the Law of the Land chain of command and this ‘suggestion’ IS a big ‘Poker Tell’ you are barking up an unauthorized tree because if obeyed, Article 1 Section 4 Clause 2 of the Constitution says “Congress shall assemble at least once in every year”. Limited Government Means Limited Authority. Meeting at least ONCE A YEAR DEFINITELY Limits the damage that can be done thank GOD! Who is your Federal Senate and House Rep, your Florida State Reps? That is your chain of command! You can’t have it both ways and waste the taxpayer’s money in processing fee’s! We don’t get to make it up as we go along. We created our country based on the Rule of Law over a King/Tyrant and the whims of man. If you expect We the People to obey your laws you might consider leading by obeying your oath 1st! No More Acts of Pretended Legislation Please!
Carrot is sweet put the poke from the
stick IS painful! After watching the City Meeting tonight - well - this video says it all about the Proper Role of Government! (Adrian has 16% and 1K volunteers)
FYI: You can skip through the commercials.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvDigruvqI4
This is crazy. Lobbyists?! Will we get reports about the "great" things that these guys will bring to our city?
Just like we get reports on what the results are of all the travel these Commissioners are doing?
I guess it's easier to get kick backs from lobbyists than it is from grant writers.
If these people received payments before the Commission approved this deal for them, somebody needs to resign .Or go to jail. NOW.
CAN YOU COMMISSIONERS GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF YOUR COLLECTIVE AZZES AND GET SERIOUS ABOUT THE VERY REAL PROBLEMS IN THIS CITY ?
This Commission has lost all sense of reality. LOBBYISTS?!? Unbelievable.
We don't even have to kick these guys out of office. Just tell them that there's a bag of magic beans in the middle of Dixie Hwy. and lock the door after the lunatics run out of the room.
Unfortunately, this is the way it works, if we want money (which we do desperately need b/c our tax base is so low and we simply cannot raise our mill rate much higher) then paying for a lobbyist can work. If they get the city $1 million in grant money then its well worth it. At this point we don't know.
I do agree there is very little transparency with this administration.
To answer 9:05 above:
From: ladecker@
Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2014 9:38 AM
To: Lynn Anderson
Subject: Re: [Lynn's little bit of trivia--Lake Worth] New comment on The Lobbyists.
A statement is not forthcoming because
1. I'm busy
2. It's very low on my list of priorities
Why all the hand-wringing over it?! Lol
Sincerely,
Laurel Decker, CPA
561-305-6259
Sent from my HTC EVO
Lynn, any chance you can put the US DEBT clock inside this post? Perhaps watching the money in your pocket become More and More Worthless by allowing federal grants where they PRINT THE MONEY (States can not print $) will wake one person up!
The Fed Gov isn't Santa Claus deciding who gets what!
9:10 above...if you were at the meeting or listenEd online, you would change your tune. Even the CM referred to them as "non-residents." They are only property owners who live here for a few months out of the year. Don't you GET IT YET?????????????????
Have you listened to the last part of the meeting?
2:56:40 Pam Lopez offers the letter of Fed Tiger Grant (Broward and Palm Beach County) ENTHUSIASTIC Support for safety/ quiet zones. It was read into the record and signed by all! Is that legal? It must be added at the beginning of the meeting not thrown in at the end!
They are paying an attorney to sit there for hours on end at $200 an hour. Besides, Ms. Lopez is a "company gal."
This little bit of "influence" is like sitting at the back of the bus or sitting in the bleachers at a Yankee game. Maybe you will see that home run or that strike-out.
John, we shouldn't be running the city on prayers.
ALL lobbyists are corrupting the principles of America and should be outlawed.
These guys are paid influence peddlers.
Our elected officials in Washington SHOULD NOT be listening to the lobbyists that undermine what we the people want. Does it surprise me that this Commission is paying for people to whisper in the ears of the elected? Sadly, no. This Commission has no respect for the voice of United States citizens at a local level. So of course they don't at the highest levels.
I wouldn't mind, and have asked MULTIPLE times, for grant writers in this city.
Hiring Lobbyists? Disgusting. Katie Mcgiveron
We're not running the city on prayers. The commission you all hate so much on this blog actually have a plan. Unfortunately it costs money to implement and carry out most plans. The small minded people that read and comment this blog clearly don't understand this and stay focused on issues like whether Canadians that OWN PROPERTY IN LAKE WORTH SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET BEACH DECALS.
You complain about the blight but then you complain when the commission tries to take any action. You all complain to complain which is why your complaints fall on deaf ears.
The ONLY ones that should have ANY influence over ANY politician at ANY level is WE THE PEOPLE ! Congratulations to this Commission that just jumped the SLIMY TRAIN off of their local tracks and onto a NATIONAL LEVEL !!!
11:21--There are two sides to a coin. You're on the backside, flip-side, tails side. That's a little heads-up for your snarky comment.
Of course I agree that elected representatives shouldn't be listening to hired guns a/k/a lobbyists. But that is how DC works and will continue to work, just look at the recent united states supreme court decisions on money in campaigns.
So, we have to face reality, we a little City in So. Fla. are not going to get DC to give up the lobby game, so do we stick to our morals and pass up much needed federal dollars that we could get and could go to pay for infrastructure issues likes roads? Or do we do what ever other city does and pay a lobbyist to try and grab that money? I say go for the money.
I say go for the money using grant writers.
"So we have to face reality". Hello, you're playing the game with my tax dollars. And yes, we DO need to stick to our morals. The idea that we can't get federal dollars unless we spend 5,000 dollars a month for lobbyists is pitiful, and as I said before disgusting. And disappointing. At least this confirms just what kind of moral character this group of Commissioners possesses. Katie Mcgiveron
Hiring a lobbyist is not morally wrong and to say so is ridiculous. We need a voice in Washington and we need help. So few properties in this city pay city taxes and until that changes we are dead in the water. Our life is completely dependent on our utility company. Since when did Katie become an expert on getting Federal dollars? I am all for whatever it takes to save this city. The slum and blight will never go away without the dollars needed to staff a code department and to pay for the demolition of buildings. If your not paying your fair share of city taxes perhaps you should donate to the cause instead of waiting for the rest of us to pay for your free services.
@8:29--next time, post with your real name or it will not get posted. You want to take a swipe at someone who has the guts to post under her name and you take a personal attack under ANONYMOUS? Go to that bully blog for that. You can double the code department and it will NOT get rid of the slum and blight.
anony at 11:21 sure hope you're not a neighbor of mine.
"Hiring a lobbyist is not morally wrong and to say so is ridiculous. We need a voice in Washington and we need help"
I never said I was an expert at getting federal dollars. I did say that we shouldn't have to hire people to whisper in politicians ears to get federal dollars.
We need grant writers, not paid influence peddlers. And how did we skip Tallahassee and go straight to D.C.? Hiring lobbyists IS MORALLY WRONG. Whose idea was this in the first place?
This is the same Commission that said we couldn't afford to keep our pool open, the same Commission that will come begging for more money next election because they can't even do basic road repairs, and yet they don't blink an eye spending 60,000 to operate in the shadows on a national level.
What's next? A FOR SALE sign on Bryant Park ? Toll gates on Dixie? Don't put anything past this group. Katie Mcgiveron
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