Letters to the EditorPalm Beach Post
January 25, 2015
OPINION--POINT OF VIEW
Lake Worth must tackle road repair
The Lake Worth City Commission is holding a meeting, Financing Infrastructure — the Road Ahead, on Tuesday.
Increased property valuations have already added substantially to this year’s tax bills. Although a smaller bond issue may be the easy way out for city officials, I suggest that avoiding another tax increase on citizens will lead to the continued growth and long-term sustainability of our city.
PBPost photo
We have $17 million in reserve to pay for
water- and sewer-line restoration. Our tax rate is already among the
highest in Palm Beach County, and our increase in valuations will
provide more revenue for infrastructure needs.Living within our budget, rather than burdening us citizens, might be a novel concept for commissioners — who envision large projects, for example, park of commerce roads and infrastructure at our expense. But these projects would be better left as a point of negotiation between the private property owners and the companies that buy their parcels to establish a business.
The Community Redevelopment Agency’s boundaries divert large percentages of taxes away from infrastructure needs. The size of this district is a luxury that we can no longer afford. To increase our general fund, shrinking the downtown CRA district can give our city back significant revenue to use for road repair.
Taking back only the Gulfstream Hotel and the Lucenté townhomes would add $200,000 to the city’s general fund. In future years, more parcels could be returned to benefit the general fund. Earmarking these funds for infrastructure improvements would allow us to live within our means while still allowing the CRA to have enough collateral to satisfy its creditors until the loan is paid off.
Our country’s infrastructure, and virtually all roads — municipal, state and federal — need repair, particularly after the economic downturn when they were mostly neglected. Road deterioration is perennial and universal and is the rule rather than the exception.
In 2011, our road budget was cut in half from the historical $1 million. With additional funds now available, our city could increase the annual amount allotted for roads.
Constant and gradual attention to road repair would allow the City Commission to improve our environment, and without making our recovering city unattractive because of excessive taxation.
LAURENCE McNAMARA
LAKE WORTH
I agree with Larry on this, but no more taxes on people who own and live in their houses, Homesteaded properties. They need to however double or triple the tax on all property in the city, likely about 70% to all non-homesteaded investment properties that rent and make high profits from their properties, yet keep them blighted and dumpy so that they never increase in value so they keep their taxes low. There are so many rental, dumpy, low valued properties that pay next to nothing in taxes, yet the owners are renting them out making $10k or more a year in rent income. Let them pay more in taxes to address the roads, sidewalks, blight, rundown conditions, in this city. By doing this, they can generate enough money to make tons of money to make the road improvements, etc. Tax all these investors who rent out more than half our city and keep their properties all blighted and in poor conditions.
ReplyDeleteRight, NO MORE TAXES!
ReplyDeleteYou can only tax, by law, up to 10 mills. You cannot tax in the way that you suggest. The key is living within the budget and the revenue we collect. They reduced the electric rate to attract business that is costing us a bunch and raised the water rate beyond sight that affects all of us who want to irrigate our lawn and operate our washing machines. Politics.
ReplyDeleteRight on! The CA is suckling $$ the City needs and quite frankly they aren't any benefit these days. I would rather get rid of them instead of shrinking their districts. Many residents are not even aware of how they operate and reward.
ReplyDeleteAttention Commissioners: That's transparency; telling the truth about the CRA's power and theft from the general budget!
ReplyDeletePeople assume the CRA has money and not the debt the city had to help them with!
Time for the commissioners (ELECTED & ACCOUNTABLE TO US) to take back the CRA and open up the budget w/that new $75K software and count the cost to the taxpayer for the CRA (Shadow Government)!
CA did a report many years back and the CRA's did poorly compared to regular citizens efforts on Economic Development & Housing!
All LW has done is legalize theft!
Proof is in celebrating INTERNATIONAL "Talk like a Pirate Day" over & instead of celebrating the Constitution Day (they SWEAR AN OATH to uphold)!
We do not have a money problem.
ReplyDeleteWe have a money management problem.
Many valid comments! We as a city can only survive if we insist that our Commissioners live on what we already give them in taxes ! The very same Commissioners who were screaming that our roads could not be maintained because of lack of funds were more than happy to accept personal slush funds of 800,000 EACH ! EACH Commissioner would have been handed what amounts to blank checks for more than TWICE our annual road repair budget!! Did ANY of their 50,000 (the tax money they took from us while telling us they had no money to fix a single pot hole) worth of "educational " materials that they sent out mention THAT little gem? No,of course not !I as an individual cannot go to my boss and say "My house needs a new roof.Please increase my paycheck to cover it". Sounds crazy,right? BUT THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THIS GROUP OF CITY COMMISSIONERS WERE TRYING TO SHOVE DOWN OUR THROATS !!!! It is time for change! Katie Mcgiveron
ReplyDeletereward: shoes and boobs
ReplyDeleteparity: 1mo 'n 1yr salary
of an average lw person
cra: cheating residents anonymously
Kinda like paying the electric & grocery bill on a credit card...
ReplyDeleteAsk all the candidates tomorrow nigh if they will work to abolish the CRA in our city and do the job without a pay check.
ReplyDeleteWould they? Would any of them? The ones in power do not want to give it up, they do very little, yet want to stay in office. Mark P has done more as an average citizen than any of the commission in office currently in the same amount of time.
This city is lawless and blighted and what are the comm, codes, and police doing? NOTHING!
ReplyDeleteOver the past 10-15 years this city has become more and more lawless. The crime is out of control, no one has any regard for laws, nor do the illegal immigrants, laws are for the other person. This city is out of control.
Garbage everywhere, the roads are bad, but so is the crime and lawlessness of the people who live here. Like you say all the time Lynn, the comm never do or say anything about the crime here, this is a much bigger problem here.
I disagree that we do not have a money problem. We absolutely DO have a money problem. And after voting 4-1 to spend $130k for a valuation on an electric utility we can't sell, based on convoluted trumped up BS if I ever heard it, I would now agree that we have a money management issue. Thankfully, they don't have much to mis-manage.
ReplyDeleteWhat a bunch of crybabies. The ONE thing that Lake Worth has going for it that stands out to the rest of South Florida is the successful effort the CRA has put forth. That effort can be seen in dozens of projects completed and on-going.
ReplyDeleteWinning competitive grants that have added parks and playgrounds, hundreds of new houses and dwelling units where abandoned and foreclosed crack houses once stood, renovated the two gateways into the city to name only a few and many, many more programs that are transforming us into a destination, not just a struggling town.
The city's general fund receives the same amount of property taxes it did before the CRA existed. Those that tell you differently are lying.
To the guy who just tried to post here--\
ReplyDeleteLaurence, not Larry, just wrote an OP ED piece with his ideas. Why should he speak at compass or even show up for that matter?
Yes, that's the problem, the City receives the only same amount that it did in those districts before the CRA existed almost 30 years ago.
ReplyDeleteAll the increases in revenue coming in from the development in areas that were made into CRA districts go to the CRA and not the general fund. So our general fund is starved by giving those millions to the CRA. No wonder we have little money for road repair.
The no bid contract for $8 million for 10th Ave N. and the $6 million for contract 6th Ave S.were exorbitant sums to spend for the pipe dreams of the mixed use development that was forecast but has turned into nothing but one low price rental on the railroad tracks on 6th ave S. and no development at all on 10 th Ave. N.
Wrong again Larry. Before the CRA renovated 6th and 10th, they were eyesores that most residents in Lake Worth wanted improved. Even with the limitations of space inherent in older communities, the CRA was able to pave the way for mixed use development which would enhance our two gateways. Even the low price rental development you speak of will help the area as it was an old industrial blight on our city's South end.
ReplyDeleteYou didn't happen to mention all the millions of County tax dollars that have stayed in Lake Worth or the fact the much of the increase in property values, which is how the CRA is able to fund worthwhile projects, is attributable to those same CRA efforts, grants, parks and playgrounds they have championed.
Please never forget, the BCE didn't want to pursue the $23 million grant which has transformed quite a bit of our most needy neighborhoods into thriving neighborhoods with active associations and home owners in place of REAL slum rentals.
Yes, there is still a long way to go. But where would we be right now without the vision of our CRA?
Laurence is his name!
ReplyDeleteNext, the CRA has done a great job bringing in more affordable housing, attracting more slum, blight and crime and spending wasted millions. Building one little affordable house at a time is doing NOTHING to eradicate the problems we have. The $23 million grant did nothing but put money in the pockets of builders, contractors and the like.
The city's never looked better and I'm finally excited about the future.
ReplyDeleteLet's see.... money in the pockets of builders, contractors and the like? The like would include the people working for the contractors, sub-contractors, painters, plumbers, electricians? You mean one house at a time totaling over 150 brand new dwelling units? Would you rather what was there before? Crack houses, vacant overgrown lots, abandoned and foreclosed houses that were destined to become more sub-standard rental housing units that would attract the less desireable, low income types you infer instead of "qualified" working families wishing to experience the American dream of home ownership that would not be possible for them if not for the CRA and its partners?
ReplyDeleteYou are right. It was much better before the CRA forced all those new homes down our throats.
Lynn and Laurence are right, we need to do away with the CRA in our city. It is NOT DOING ENOUGH. We still have way too much blight which then breeds crime, look at all the crime we have here. Living in the dwtn west of city hall is a lawless out of control other country where police just do not have a handle on the problems. The police, CRA, and city leaders are not doing enough, if you do not live in this area, you do not have a right to speak about the crazy conditions over here, we live it everyday. I am tired of hearing how wonderful the CRA and police are in this damn city, we live it everyday in this dump and NOTHING serious is being done to address ALL the problems. The CRA is a lie!
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't take much to get you excited. Blight and crime is an everyday look around here.
ReplyDeleteNot to mention the six figure salary of the CRA director which is money from citizens, how could that be used in other ways? Maybe some sidewalks for our downtown where people still have to walk in the road between Lake and Lucerne on N D St? Hardly any sidewalks on either side of the street. This is in our downtown. A real safety issue. Does anyone really care?
ReplyDeleteLynn, do any of the CRA board members actually live in the CRA district? How about the CRA director or office help? Everyone raves about all that is happening, yet there is still so much blight and crime in the CRA and still almost 80% rental. How many more years will it take to see improvements in the CRA district? 50? 100? Goals?
ReplyDeleteAnon at 9:47 did you ever wonder what the salary of Mr. Palatkas is at Compass. The city leases the building to Compass for $1.00 a year, yet he travels all of the world, and is seldom in Lake Worth.
ReplyDelete11:31...the lease amount changed under Stanton. They pay much, much more. Don't have time to research it right now but they wanted the city to pay for some of their costs that went over and above their expectations and ability to pay. As I recall, the lease was re-written.
ReplyDeleteRight, I agree, palatkas has another racket going on in this city and state. Receiving millions of dollars from the gov and donations and living high on the hog, hardly doing anything for the gay community, it is all a scam what he has going on and yes, another sick six figure salary for another taker who is taking the gays and gov. good. They think that people really respect them. Anyone who has a mind can see what is really going on with Compass and this huge scam they have going on. He probably takes a lot of kickbacks from the big pharma too. These people make me vomit.
ReplyDelete"Anonymous said...
Anon at 9:47 did you ever wonder what the salary of Mr. Palatkas is at Compass. The city leases the building to Compass for $1.00 a year, yet he travels all of the world, and is seldom in Lake Worth."
Tony Palatkas is no different from Berney Madoff, he is a schemer looking to make a buck and knows how to rip off the government and people who follow him and donate to Compass. Maybe someday he will rot in jail too!
ReplyDelete