Spending Money

If Only The Tax Hike Were 7%

The 2016 Budget is being worked on as we speak.   

You've already heard the news, supposedly good news, that the Miami-Dade Property Appraisers Office said our values went up  last year.  

What that means:

2015 Spending Money $4,041,217 

2016 Spending Money $4,329,530 (if we don't change the millage rate.)

Now I sure we all got 7% raises this year and heck, we know inflation is eating up some of that.  Oh what's that?  Inflation so far this year is in THE RED and running at -.08%.  Well, still, it's getting more expensive somewhere, like fuel.  North Bay Village costs for fuel keeps rising because they buy at special places or something.   

Anyway, with its new found money, the Village can do a lot of things.  It could for example, fund all of the resident requested new programs like:  

Animal Control

Halloween

Winterfest

Egg Hunt Spring

Scholarship Program

4th of July

Dog Park Run

Senior Programs

PAL

Causeway lighting

Plant Maintenance at Entrances

Basketball Court

Holiday Lighting

Deco Bike Program

For about $211,000 of the increased tax revenue.  

But that's not what happening.  

First of all, the Village Manager and the Commission proposed new programs totaling a cool $1,473,000.   That's right 26% more spending.   And just to put that in perspective, only 3% for things that we either used to have (Animal Control, PAL), things we like to have (Holiday celebrations) or would love to see (Deco Bike)  

Well, when Rootin' Tootin' Straight Shootin' Village Manager Frank Rollason presented his list to the Commission on July 28 and the Commission in turn said "Hey, we should totally do something for the residents." he came back with the bad news that if the village does stuff for the residents, then the tax rate has to go 6.29, plus the water and sewer have to go up because our costs dropped.  

A 26% Tax Hike

The Mayor and Commissioners Lim and Chervony were all "No Way! How come?" and told the manager to go look at what he could cut so Mayor Crazy Eyes can run for a fourth term the residents aren't taxed out of their own homes.  

Vice Mayor Jorge Gonzalez likes when other people pay taxes (he occasionally pays his own taxes in fairness) and only was worried that there might be pedophiles riding around in cars.  

So  Rootin' Tootin' Straight Shootin' Village Manager Frank Rollason is sitting down now and thinking about how he could finds cuts in:

Animal Control

Halloween

Winterfest

Egg Hunt Spring

Scholarship Program

4th of July

Dog Park Run

Senior Programs

PAL

Causeway lighting

Plant Maintenance at Entrances

Basketball Court

Holiday Lighting

Deco Bike Program

The Cuts being discussed Categorized by impact

 Because clearly there's nowhere else to look.  The key thing is to punish the residents and make life less enjoyable for them.  Surely you don't expect him to find the savings by carefully evaluating the value of the marginal spend?  He doesn't even know what that is not being a professional city manager.

This cost cutting will go on throughout August.  Our commission is super bored and disengaged exhausted and so is taking the month off and the new budget will be presented in September to the Commission on September 8.   By that time, the current village manager will either be a memory because the mayor is determined to get rid of him, or the mayor will be helpless because she lost.   

But it doesn't matter.  Your taxes are going up and your services are being cut.

I'm sorry I don't have any funny graphics but I thought I would show you in a chart how little the cost of the services we want are.  A mere $211,000 out of a budget of over $5,000,000.  

Total Budget on the Left, Increase in the Middle, Resident Services on the Right.

 Kevin Vericker
August 4, 2015