Unemployment falls throughout State, but not in Miami-Dade.

Recent unemployment numbers continue the bad news for Miami-Dade County with region joblessness topping 13 percent.

Contrast this with statewide numbers where Florida's unemployment rate dropped to 10.8 percent, and in metro areas such as Tampa-St. Petersburg dropping to 10.5 percent and Orlando where the rate dropped to 9.9 percent.

Why is the unemployment rate dropping throughout Florida and yet continues to rise in Miami-Dade County?

Perhaps former Florida Governor Jeb Bush's comments to The Miami Herald can shed some light as he describes Miami-Dade County government as "a monstrous beast that is unaccountable, not transparent and allows far too much corruption."

The unaccountability, non-transparent, and thoroughly corrupt government at Miami-Dade County quashes the motivation for any serious companies to make the investments necessary in Miami-Dade County that create high wage jobs. Public corruption at Miami-Dade County tells investors that unless you are willing to "pay to play," Miami-Dade is closed for business. Businesses have recognized this and are going elsewhere in the state.

Sources are indicating that major private sector investment projects are coming to the Tampa area in the next six to twelve months and Orlando continues to grow with private sector activity. Yet, when was the last time a major private sector company decided to expand operations into Miami-Dade County? Were it not for the positive tourism numbers, the unemployment rate would be much higher.

The mayor elected today has a serious task ahead to clean house at Miami-Dade County government, starting with the 29th floor, and to restore confidence in a broken system, so that businesses will once again be confident in the ability of Miami-Dade government to provide a level playing field.

Until then, Miami-Dade County and its residents will continue to suffer while opportunities for jobs pass us by toward other areas of the state.

Transit troubles are the tip of the iceberg: Feds promise more to come.

Sources inside the Beltway are indicating that the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General is broadening its scope of investigation into the alleged criminal activities at the Miami-Dade Transit Agency. Investigators from the United States Department of Justice are also considering involvement.

Federal officials are expected to focus on the alleged cover-up at the Agency and are reportedly astounded at the lack of truthfulness and disclosure from county officials involved. One source close to the matter has stated how federal investigators "can't believe what they are finding down there" and that "[MDT] ought to be shut down."

Areas of concern reportedly include the use of American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) monies, and procurement practices at MDT, including Metrorail and Metromover contracts.

Ironically, County Commissioners voted this week to eliminate pay hikes to non union employees, patting themselves in the back for saving $2 million on their way toward plugging a $250 million budget hole.

Commissioners, however, have yet to take action to stop hundreds of millions of dollars from being wasted at MDT.

Did Ysela Llort cover up woes at MDT?

"Why are we airing dirty linen in front of others?"

These are the words of Assistant County Manager Ysela Llort contained in an October 29, 2010 email to Assistant Transit Director Marjan Mazza when Mazza complained about the conditions at MDT.

Mazza was then fired November 23, 2010.

According to Miami Herald articles, the lax financial practices at MDT date back to at least October 2009. In November 2009 "FTA found flaws in MDT's federal procurement practices" and in "February 2010, outside auditors for MDT flagged the same problem, saying the agency 'did not comply with requirements regarding procurement.'"

"[b]y Sept. 8, the FTA regional administrator warned the transit agency it intended to restrict the county from withdrawing certain federal funds through an online payment system, instead demanding proof of valid expenditures before approving reimbursements."

In November, "Mazza took her case to Assistant County Manager Llort, who oversees Transit, claiming in an e-mail that same day that [former MDT Director Harpal] Kapoor had 'provided false information' to federal auditors and the FTA.

"Despite the unfolding chaos, top county officials including Burgess and Llort failed to intervene to address auditors' growing concerns."

And now County Manager Alina "Burgess Lite" Hudak expects Llort to fix MDT.

When given the opportunity, instead of taking charge and fixing the issue immediately, Llort asked Mazza not to air "dirty linen" and then Mazza was fired. This is leadership according to Ysela Llort and the 29th floor at County Hall, who went on to tell county commissioners that "[t]his is not a sky-is-falling issue."

But now the skies are indeed falling, including a federal investigation into criminal activities, and the person put in charge to oversee this mess is the same person that created it.

Since at least late 2009, Ysela Llort has been instrumental in ignoring or hiding the truth of what is going on at MDT. For this she is paid $260,970 a year by county taxpayers.

Our high paid so called professional bureaucrats, starting with County Manager Alina "Burgess Lite" Hudak, have failed us.

It is now time for the political leadership in Miami-Dade County to take the reigns and fix this mess once and for all.

We urge County Commission Chairman Joe Martinez to personally meet with officials at FTA immediately, to plea the County's case, to show FTA that there still exist some responsible accountable parties in County government, and to restore some semblance of normalcy in an otherwise chaotic situation.

As we reported: With criminal investigation, the Beltway tightens around MDT.

We reported this past April that federal interest was growing into County misappropriation of federal funds with Congressional staffers making a broad range of recommendations on how to deal with the MDT scandal.

Beltway Rumblings: Congressional interest grows into County misappropriation of federal funds.

The Miami Herald is now reporting that "county officials confirmed for the first time that the U.S. Department of Transportation is conducting a criminal investigation at Miami-Dade Transit."

The Herald's editorial page goes on to state: "It should never have come to this."

If, as the old saying goes, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, then why should the results at MDT be any different when the same people are in charge now that were in charge back when this all began?

Alina "Burgess Lite" Hudak, Ysela Llort, and the rest of the team that brought this mess onto MDT are still there.

That we are six months into this scandal and it is yet to be resolved shows the complete and utter lack of leadership and common sense that permeates County Hall.

We put forth these three suggestions:

1. Remove Ysella Llort and all top level management at MDT, replace them with a new management team that includes a turn-around specialist that is an expert on federal matters and has a relationship with the FTA and U.S. DOT.

2. Conduct a complete forensic audit of MDT down to every single red cent, including a review of procurement practices and accounting methods.

3. Admit wrongdoing, eat some crow. Then ask the FTA to come back and complete their audit with your full cooperation.

Alina Hudak sadly learned from her predecessor that leadership can be achieved by writing memoranda covering the collective bureaucratic behinds.

As long as this behavior continues, we can all expect the same disastrous results over and over again.

Whither the Miami-Dade Ethics Commission?

While browsing the local blogosphere this past week, our curiosity was piqued by postings in The Crespo Gram Report and Take Back Miami regarding the status of the Miami-Dade Ethics Commission, specifically questioning why its executive director, Robert Meyers, was still at the helm. Meyers resigned as executive director in February after he was "accused of engaging in a questionable 'personal relationship' with an aide."

As is typical with all things Miami-Dade, ethical indiscretions are not a bar to being the head of the ethics commission, and to continue "earning" your $230,000 a year taxpayer supported salary.

The story of Robert Meyers, well documented by CBS 4, started when "an anonymous complaint about Meyers was sent to Mayor Carlos Alvarez accusing Meyers of engaging in a 'personal relationship' with an assistant" who was Meyer's subordinate. "The complaint included hand-written notes from Meyers to the assistant discussing lunch plans."

Rather than investigating Mr. Meyer's actions, Ethics Commission advocate "Michael Murawski [$146,671 a year salary], who is also called a prosecutor, focused on who obtained the lunch notes, apparently from the office of Meyers’ assistant. In a memo to most of the staff, Murawski wrote that he was going to conduct 'an investigation' to 'determine the person(s) responsible for rummaging through a co-worker’s office.'"

The investigation, referred to as an "inquisition" by one Commission staffer was encapsulated by another staffer who commented "'They are focusing on all the employees instead of all these notes between the director' and his assistant."

This is the behavior of the Miami-Dade Ethics Commission that is supposed to enforce and maintain the public trust by keeping an eye on the politicians of Miami-Dade County. No wonder that MDT, Jackson, WASDA, Housing, and so many other agencies are running amok when the public watchdog is asleep.

What's worse of all is that Mr. Meyer's actions are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the behavior of Commission members, all calling into question what ethical and moral authority does this Commission have when it has been unethical itself?

In its nearly thirteen years of existence, when is the last time the Ethics Commission actually made a difference?

It is time to put the "Ethics Commission" and its $2 million budget to rest and transfer its jurisdiction and mission over to the Office of Inspector General.

Hudak replies and hides behind Charter; Llort arrogantly blames FTA for MDT woes.

It is comforting to know that Miami-Dade County officials can take the time from their busy schedules running a multi-billion dollar government enterprise to reply to a blog posting. But reply they have.

From Suzy Trutie, Assistant Director of Communications:

According to Article 2, Section 2.02, D of the Miami-Dade County’s Home Rule Charter, it states: “…the Mayor shall have the power to appoint all department directors of the administrative departments of the County. Appointment of these department directors shall become effective unless disapproved by a two-thirds majority of those Commissioners then in office a the Commission’s next regularly scheduled meeting.”

We expected the typical bureaucrat reply, hiding behind process to excuse a lack of action on important matters as is in this case.

We also fully understand that Ms. Hudak is powerless to name a director, however she has the full authority to place a caretaker to oversee MDT as she has already done.

So here is a question for the County Manager: of the 3,000 plus employees at MDT (several of which make salaries in excess of $100,000), is there not one who could have taken over Mr. Kapoor's duties and act as an interim director?

Instead we get Ms. Llort, whom in the May 5th edition of Miami Today states:

"FTA understands that the longer it goes on the harder it will be for the county to maintain the services provided to the public. That this comes at a cost."

At no time have Ms. Hudak or Ms. Llort publicly accepted responsibility for the complete financial chaos at MDT, and Ms. Llort has the gall to blame FTA, as though the federal government has any fault whatsoever that the bureaucrats at the county seem incapable of running MDT. County executives would rather cut public transit service to over 320,000 people than accept blame and responsibility for their actions.

Candidates for Miami-Dade mayor must tell the voters exactly how they will put an end to this utter hubris from these so called public servants, and restore true leadership, confidence and faith in our county government.

Advice to graduates: forget the private sector, join Miami-Dade County instead!

UPDATED: Interesting to note that County Commissioner Barbara Jordan, a 30+ year County bureaucrat, receives a $178,850 a year government pension for her former "public service."

Read more in the Miami New Times

Inspired by President Barack Obama's commencement address at Miami Dade College together with a wonderfully revealing piece in this weekend's Wall Street Journal titled "California Prison Academy: Better Than a Harvard Degree," here is our advice to newly minted college graduates:

Forget the private sector, join Miami-Dade County instead!

There used to be a time when college graduates competed for jobs on Wall Street or created new jobs on Main Street all on their way to middle class prosperity. These days, and in the midst of tough economic times, why go through all that hassle and uncertainty when a job at Miami-Dade County is the most secure and lucrative way to get ahead.

Consider this from the WSJ article:

As a California prison guard, you can make six figures in overtime and bonuses alone. While Harvard-educated lawyers and consultants often have to work long hours with little recompense besides Chinese take-out, prison guards receive time-and-a-half whenever they work more than 40 hours a week. One sergeant with a base salary of $81,683 collected $114,334 in overtime and $8,648 in bonuses last year, and he's not even the highest paid.

Sure, Harvard grads working in the private sector get bonuses, too, but only if they're good at what they do. Prison guards receive a $1,560 "fitness" bonus just for getting an annual check-up.

Most Harvard grads only get three weeks of vacation each year, even after working for 20 years—and they're often too busy to take a long trip. Prison guards, on the other hand, get seven weeks of vacation, five of them paid. If they're too busy racking up overtime to use their vacation days, they can cash the days in when they retire. There's no cap on how many vacation days they can cash in! Eighty officers last year cashed in over $100,000 at retirement.

The cherry on top is the defined-benefit pension. Unlike most Harvard grads working in the private sector, prison guards don't have to delay retirement if their 401(k)s take a hit. Prison guards can retire at the age of 55 and earn 85% of their final year's salary for the rest of their lives. They also continue to receive medical benefits.

Sound familiar?

Miami-Dade County offers such benefits to "public servants" and they only get better the longer you stay with the County. Click here the County's employee benefits highlights.

You don't even have to work all that hard or be good at what you do. Just think that the current county manager, Ms. Alina Hudak, lists on her official biography that she "has also managed the County's intensified oversight of the Jackson Health System." We all know how well that is going!

And former County Manager George Burgess. He left Miami-Dade County with a multi-million dollar deficit and financial scandals in several departments. In his taxpayer funded golden parachute, Burgess gets, among other benefits, a severance of one year of base salary, $326,340, plus deferred compensation of $22,000. He and his family will get medical and dental coverage until he’s 65 years old, and will also get an expense allowance of $3,000 a month and a car allowance of $600 a month until March of next year.

Similarly, recently departed bureaucrat Harpal Kapoor, whose greatest claim to fame is leaving the Miami-Dade Transit department in complete financial shambles, will receive a lifetime pension derived from his $242,000 salary.

For the sake of argument, if Mr. Kapoor takes 50% of his former salary as a pension, he will continue to make over $121,000 a year for life. We all know that the percentage he gets to keep is much higher however. And all this for running a department into the ground.

Alvarez, Burgess, Hudak, Llort, Kapoor, and the rest of the County bureaucracy can always rest assured that no matter how bad their decisions, no matter how much taxpayer money they squander, no matter how much animosity they incur from taxpayers, they can all count on a lifetime windfall once they leave.

Why would anyone then enter the risky world of the free market economy, when economic security can come from County government, and the pockets of captured taxpayers?

Alina Hudak misses golden opportunity to reform MDT

The resignation of Harpal Kapoor as MDT director gave county manager Alina Hudak a golden opportunity to reform and make wholesale changes to the beleaguered agency.

Unfortunately, Ms. Hudak reverts to a page from the George Burgess playbook and places Assistant County Manager Ysela Llort in charge of MDT, papering her decision with the same old bureaucratic platitudes we have come to expect from the 29th floor at County Hall.

In a one page memorandum to county officials, Ms. Hudak only acknowledges that "MDT's business and financial management continues to disappoint the community" toward the end of her opening paragraph.

This is a severe understatement, showing us all that for Ms. Hudak, keeping up appearances is more important that accountability and facing tough challenges head on.

Ms. Hudak ends her missive stating that "[m]any challenges lie ahead for MDT, and strong management will be critical for the department's success."

Her idea of "strong management" is to appoint the person responsible for this fiasco to head the department. In this case, the cure is worse than the disease.

As the Assistant County Manager with oversight responsibilities for MDT, it is Ms. Llort who was "caught by surprise" at the actions of the FTA and has since last year been unable to fix the situation.

The same team that did not satisfy federal auditors and caused the financial meltdown at MDT is now expected to "develop an action plan to address deficiencies." What makes Ms. Hudak think that the outcome will be any different when the actors have not changed.

We are all aware that Ms. Hudak has stated previously her desire to stay with the County once a new mayor is elected.

However, Ms. Hudak has shown an unwillingness or inability to make the needed changes to County operations. When presented with such an opportunity, Ms. Hudak has once again disappointed, showing she is little more than "Burgess Lite."

County Executive Office Monitoring of Miami-Dade Transit

Breaking News: Miami-Dade Transit director Harpal Kapoor steps down

As reported by the Miami Herald:

Harpal Kapoor, head of the beleaguered Miami-Dade Transit Agency, is stepping down from his job after failing to restore millions in federal funds suspended last year after allegations of mishandling of agency accounting practices.

“Yes, it’s true,” said Suzy Trutie, Miami-Dade County’s assistant director of communications. “He is retiring from his job.”

The announcement about Kapoor came a few weeks after he refused to sign a letter to the Federal Transit Administration acknowledging that accounting information given to federal auditors about county transit operations was “neither fully accurate nor complete.”

Kapoor could not be reached for comment and did not answer a call to his cellphone.

Mr. Kapoor's resignation is a step in the right direction, but it should not stop there.

Ysela Llort, the Assistant County Manager who is responsible for Miami-Dade Transit oversight, should do the right thing and resign as well.

Beltway Rumblings: Congressional interest grows into County misappropriation of federal funds

Inside the Beltway readers are informing us that several Hill staffers are taking great interest and are following events closely regarding the fiscal fiasco taking place in Miami-Dade County government, specifically with the misappropriation of federal funds.

Heightened interest has been placed on recent news reports of the Federal Transit Administration ceasing their audit of the Miami-Dade Transit Agency earlier this month, and the total arrogance displayed by County bureaucrats in their dismissal of federal concerns.

Staffers for the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, chaired by Floridian John Mica, and the House Committee on Appropriations, chaired by Hal Rogers of Kentucky, are starting to recommend measures ranging from a forensic audit to a full blown takeover (as was done with Miami-Dade Public Housing Agency), all with the objective of preventing further abuse and waste of taxpayer dollars.

One email to us read "[p]eople are pissed off at the hubris and business as usual attitude from the County and are looking at ways to teach them a lesson."

At a time when federal funding is at a premium, and communities across the country are facing cuts in infrastructure and other funding, the County's approach has sent a message that they don't care about the freeze in federal funding, leading several Beltway insiders to question the seriousness and professionalism of County administrators.

County leaders would do well to implement accountability measures to repair their precarious relationship with the federal government and start to act seriously in how they spend federal monies, or risk further embarrassment and a possible freeze and/or denial of pending and ongoing requests for federal funds.

The County Commission must investigate the lack of leadership at Miami-Dade Transit.

Miami Dade Transit "is working with the Federal Transit Administration to address financial issues pointed out in a preliminary review, and MDT is already taking immediate corrective actions.”

So said Harpal Kapoor in November 2010.

What was the effect of this "immediate and corrective action?"

In January of this year, the FTA cut off funding to MDT, calling it a "rare action'' that was taken "to protect the taxpayers' dollars.''

FTA auditors found "very serious financial management oversight and internal control issues'' at MDT, saying that "cutoff of grant funding would continue until federal auditors are satisfied that Miami-Dade has fixed the problems and adopted new procedures."

Six months later, MDT has not "fixed the problems," prompting the FTA to stop its review, citing they cannot determine "the veracity of [Miami-Dade Transit’s] information."

And yet, County Manager Alina Hudak continues to place her trust in Mrs. Llort and Mr. Kapoor.

After six months and with $185 million in federal funding on the line, Miami-Dade County taxpayers deserve to know what exactly is being done to protect their interests. Mrs. Hudak, Mrs. Llort and Mr. Kapoor must all be held accountable.

It is time that the County Commission initiate a full investigation into the practices and procedures at Miami-Dade Transit, including their compliance with all federal guidelines, to ensure that the same issues that have caused the FTA to doubt "the veracity" of MDT have not spilled over into other areas.

Begin a full investigation now, or the County Commission risks further losing the voter's trust.

Why do Ysela Yort and Harpal Kapoor still have their jobs?

Miami-Dade Transit is once again in boiling hot water as federal regulators further clamp down on the agency.

According to the Miami Herald:

Federal regulators have abruptly suspended audits of the Miami-Dade Transit agency, intensifying concerns about how long a crucial cut-off of federal funding will drag on.

In two letters dated April 8, Yvette Taylor, regional administrator of the Federal Transit Administration in Atlanta, notified the county-run transit agency that after nine weeks of probing county records, the federal agency cannot determine “the veracity of [Miami-Dade Transit’s] information’’ and was suspending its review until the county fixes eight areas of concern.

The unusual move — which caught county officials by surprise — means a five-month federal cutoff of some $185 million in grant money the county relies on to fund daily operations will continue indefinitely. The uncertainty raises the specter of potential funding issues for bus and rail services down the road, although county officials are playing down any such concerns.

The latest setback for the beleaguered Miami-Dade Transit agency comes after the FTA took the extraordinary step in November of suspending all federal grant payments to the county-run transit agency amid concerns about shoddy financial management and weak internal controls.

Since early February, federal contractors have camped out at the county agency, poring over thousands of transactions in a bid to get a clearer picture of the agency’s financial practices and procedures. The hope was the problems would be resolved and federal funding restored.

That was the "hope," but not the result.

Ysela Yort, with her $260,970 salary, was "caught by surprise" and is "playing down" the severity of losing access to $185 million.

MDT Director Harpal Kapoor, whom we all remember as the $242,602 a year bureaucrat that was part of the infamous Doral warehouse meetings with ousted mayor Carlos Alvarez, also can't explain what's going on.

Why do Ysela Yort and Harpal Kapoor still have their jobs?

Contrast this with the recent news of the FAA administrator who resigned over sleeping air traffic controllers. When subordinates failed to do their job, the top person and supervisor resigns.

But that is not the case at County Hall.

Ms. Yort and Mr. Kapoor continue to draw their hefty salaries in exchange for fiscal mismanagement, playing down crises, and platitudes about "delivering excellence," while the federal government and others continue to express grave concern over their management practices.

County manager Alina Hudak (whom we accused of being "Burgess lite") famously told the Miami Herald that she "hopes to continue in some capacity after a new mayor comes in."

In her handling of the MDT crisis and of its perpetrators, Ms. Yort and Mr. Kapoor, Ms. Hudak is showing the same lack of leadership that plagued George Burgess, where accountability gives way to excuses.

If this is the way Ms. Hudak runs Miami-Dade County, the next mayor will do well in wishing her a speedy retirement to enjoy her six figure pension.

Cason wins in Coral Gables, a harbinger of things to come.

Garnering 39 percent of the vote, Jim Cason was elected mayor of Coral Gables yesterday, promising to tackle the largest issue facing the city - a nearly $200 million shortfall in the city’s pension fund.

The first time office holder won because as voters told the Miami Herald: “The main issue was the control over the budget and pensions. They need to be reined in.’’

As Miami-Dade County faces an election for mayor on May 24, is Cason's election in Coral Gables a harbinger of things to come? We think so.

The voters of Miami-Dade County already resoundingly rejected the fiscal lunacy of former Mayor Alvarez, voting him out of office based on his decisions to raise taxes and his inability or unwillingness to address budget and pension issues facing the county.

Of the eleven people now running to replace Alvarez, one will have to emerge with a coherent plan to tackle excessive salaries, runaway budgets, and the pension obligation dangling over county hall like the Sword of Damocles.

Mayoral aspirants would be wise to take a page from Mayor Cason's playbook that included "an extensive brochure detailing the city’s pension issues, with the headline: The Real Truth About the Financial State of the City of Coral Gables."

Contrary to the opinion of many so-called political campaign consultants, the people of Miami-Dade County are not dumb and cannot be led to vote through silly slogans and visceral appeals. Rather, the people of Miami-Dade are ready for a candidate to face fiscal reality and explain to us how he or she will deal with these challenges.

The people are ready to listen, are any candidates ready to speak the truth?

The Mayor's Staff: Where are they now?

While the ouster of Carlos Alvarez and the subsequent resignation of George Burgess is stirring up county politics, one cannot forget that the two men did not act alone.

What no one is talking about is how the Mayor and Manager's acolytes continue to populate county hall making the day-to-day decisions that have brought Miami-Dade County government to the precipice.

Mayor Alvarez' cadre of "advisers" making six figure salaries, all with car allowances and other perks.

• Mayor's Communications Director Vicki Mallette - $136,019
• Mayor's Scheduler and Assistant Delivette Gonzalez - $110,337
• Mayor's Special Advisor Luis Andre Gazitua - $107,110
• Mayor's Policy and Legislative Affairs Director Robert Villar - $104,428

Where are they now?

If there is no mayor, who are they advising?

Let us not stop there.

Terry Murphy, Chief of Staff to deposed County Commissioner Natasha Seijas, is still employed by the county earning his $135,887 salary for presumably sitting in an empty office.

The County Manager's office?

County Manager Alina Hudak has kept Burgess' circle of trust intact:

• Assistant County Manager Ysela Llort - $260,970
• Assistant County Manager Alex Munoz - $199,941
• Executive Assistant Henry Sori - $167,472
• County Manager Assistant Matthew Pinzur - $119,488
• County Manager Assistant Ana Bustamante - $115,147
• County Manager Assistant Mario Morlote - $114,719
• County Manager Assistant Liliana Collazo - $110,166
  

Propaganda minister Judy Zito is still head of the Government Information Center, keeping her $209,000 salary.

Bureaucrat department directors?

This one is a hoot. Bureaucrats always protect themselves from ouster by claiming they stay insulated from politics. That is the greatest excuse for having bureaucrats and professional staff, you do not want your government run by cronies who serve at the whim of politicians.

Miami-Dade bureaucrats, however, have it both ways.

Take Harpal Kapoor for instance.

The Miami-Dade Transit director, who participated in the Mayor's "brain-trust" meeting in a Doral warehouse, allowed transit workers to campaign for the Mayor, and "led" his department to be placed under federal fiscal oversight is still happily employed making his $242,602 annual salary.

Police chief James Loftus ($200,297.82), Fire Chief Herminio Lorenzo ($225,010.09), and Special assistant county manager Howard Piper ($158,053.83) were also at the "brain trust" meeting and are still employed.

In fact, all of the over 60 county department heads hand picked by Alvarez and Burgess to perpetuate their "vision of government" are still at County Hall.

Moreover, all of the above mentioned bureaucrats are also accruing time toward their respective taxpayer supported pensions.

Removing Alvarez and Burgess' resignation were the first steps of a long journey ahead. And while Charter reform must happen, a systematic purging and cleanse of the entrenched bureaucracy at County Hall must take place for any real change to occur.

Our next mayor must clean house and bring in new blood with fresh ideas on how to face our county's challenges, and how best to take us into the future.

We've taken out the head, now the roots must follow.

Charter reform? Not without pension reform.

After the historic and overwhelming recall vote of Carlos Alvarez, the talk in Miami-Dade County has turned to the need for reform of the Miami-Dade County Charter. Norman Braman has already announced that this will be his next initiative.

The Miami Herald asks: Will voter revolt bring change at Miami-Dade County hall?

Our answer: only if charter reform comes together with pension reform.

Take the example of George Burgess who quit the County after the results of the recall election. According to the Herald, Burgess:

"will be paid severance of one year of base salary, $326,340, plus deferred compensation of $22,000.

"The 52-year-old career bureaucrat and his family will get medical and dental coverage until he’s 65 years old, under a county “Departure Incentive Program’’ that is available to select employees.

"Unused sick time of about $79,892 and accumulated vacation pay of about $78,777 will be included in his next paycheck, according to the county human resources director Mary Lou Rizzo.

"During the one-year severance period — which runs March 21, 2011, to March 18, 2012 — he will also get an expense allowance of $3,000 a month and a car allowance of $600 a month. Burgess opted to return the car the county leased on his behalf, but he’s still entitled to the car allowance.

"And he will get an annual sum of $10,000 in executive benefits, paid out biweekly over the coming year. For 2012, he’s entitled to one final $8,000 payment to cover the premiums on a life insurance policy and a disability policy; he’s already gotten that annual payment for 2011, said Rizzo."

County Mayor Carlos Alvarez will also receive a similar golden parachute package after his ouster.

When such lavish packages are bestowed on private sector executives upon retirement, the press usually decries them, especially in the wake of the financial crisis that engulfed Wall Street in the last few years. Yet, there is no such sentiment when the Mayor, County Commissioner, and County Manager walk out of County Hall hundreds of thousands of dollars richer.

The Herald's Myriam Marquez weighs in. "I’m not among the voters who want to deny the pair [Alvarez and Seijas] — or, for that matter, County Manager George Burgess, who resigned a day after the recall — their pensions. They made whoppers of bad decisions, but there was no proof they were crooked."

Is this the standard to which we hold our elected officials?

Ms. Marquez along with so many others fails to realize that while the great majority of public servants are not "crooked," their bad decisions affect each one of our wallets directly. Add to that the moral imperative when Alvarez and Burgess wreak havoc on County government through their lax financial oversight and reckless spending only to walk away richer in the process, and you can see why we need pension reform now.

It is now time for charter reform to include the elephant in the room which is the exorbitant salaries and pensions we all pay for those who call themselves our servants. Time to align the public sector with the private, and put public workers on 401(k) or other similar investment plans that the rest of us have.

The greatest luxury that Alvarez and Burgess had while in office was not the taxpayer funded cars, or any of the other perks that have riled so many into voting for the recall.

Their greatest luxury was knowing that no matter how many bad decisions, or how costly their decisions were to the taxpayers, those same taxpayers would be on the hook for their costly lifetime pensions, giving them the luxury of not ever having to worry about their retirement future.

More of the same: New County Manager equals Burgess lite.

Some people just never learn. After being severely rebuked by the county electorate when 88% of voters favored his recall, Mayor Carlos Alvarez is still tone deaf to the needs of the county. In naming a Burgess clone to the post of County Manager, Alvarez continues to propagate the same mess that got him ousted from office.

The Miami Herald quotes the new County Manager, Alina Hudak, as saying: "The county is my life, it’s not just a career."

Ms. Hudak is right. Starting in the County in 1984, she has never held a job outside of county government, never in the private sector. For her longevity, she earns $264,000.

What Mayor Alvarez continues to fail to understand is that replacing Burgess with another Burgess ignores the problem of the entrenched bureaucracy that has drowned Miami-Dade County government. For instance, among Hudak's portfolio of oversight responsibilities as assistant county manager is Jackson Memorial Hospital, and we all know how well that is being run.

"Hudak, who didn’t sign an employment agreement for the new job, hopes to continue in some capacity after a new mayor comes in."

We disagree.

The new mayor needs to start with a blank slate, replace all the deadwood, and bring new energy and thinking into county hall, along with real-world private sector expertise. To do otherwise will place the next mayor on the same path that got the current mayor run out of office.

Alvarez ousted, Burgess resigns: but do they really lose?

When is the last time in recent memory that 88% of the electorate agreed on anything? It happened yesterday, when 88% of Miami-Dade County residents casting their ballots voted to recall County Mayor Carlos Alvarez.

The Miami Herald headline signals a "revolt" where voters "fire" the Mayor. As a result of this rebuke, County Manager George Burgess also tendered his resignation. But do either of them really lose?

Both Mayor Alvarez and Manager Burgess can retire comfortably on their lifetime taxpayer funded pensions after ostensibly being "fired" by the voters.

Let us take Mayor Alvarez for instance. According to the Miami New Times:

Alvarez's FRS pension [amounts to] (approximately $200,000 each year) that he currently receives after retiring from his MDPD Director position. According to his most recent financial disclosure report, Alvarez has a net worth of $1.74 million despite having only worked in the public sector during his career.

How anyone can amass such a personal net worth while never working outside government is the fundamental issue that must be addressed as Miami-Dade County brings in a new mayor and manager. The days must end where public service becomes a means to public enrichment.

It may be too late for Alvarez and Burgess, they will enjoy retirement living well from the six figure pensions we will all pay for. But it is not too late for future Mayors and bureaucrats.

Pension reform must happen now, and New Miami Coalition will continue to lead the way to the alarm. We call on Florida Governor Rick Scott to support pension reform for politicians and bureaucrats that earn six figure taxpayer supported salaries.

It is time to restore a sense of shame and honesty to public service. Time to restore common sense and balance, respecting taxpayers, ending the lifetime subsidies of high paid bureaucrats.

County salaries are out of line.

An excellent tidbit from the Miami New Times posted to their blog yesterday.

In case you missed it:

Setting the County Record Straight

If you're still on the fence about recalling Mayor Carlos Alvarez and County Commissioner Natacha Seijas, we present to you a list of the highest paid county executives forwarded to us by a loyal reader:

1. Burgess - $422,118 *

2. Alvarez - $315,462 **

3. Assistant County Manager Alina Hudak - $264,343

4. Assistant County Manager Ysela Llort - $260,970

5. Assistant County Manager Alex Munoz - $199,941

6. Executive Assistant Henry Sori - $167,472

7. Special Assistant Howard Piper - $158,054

8. Communications Director Vicki Mallette - $136,019 ***

9. BNC Regional Coordinator Suzanne Salichs - $123,931

10. County Manager Assistant Matthew Pinzur - $119,488

11. County Manager Assistant Ana Bustamante - $115,147

12. County Manager Assistant Mario Morlote - $114,719

13. Mayor's Scheduler and Assistant Delivette Gonzalez - $110,337

14. County Manager Assistant Liliana Collazo - $110,166

15. Mayor's Special Advisor Luis Andre Gazitua - $107,110

16. County Manager Assistant Lourdes Gomez - $105,679

17. Policy and Legislative Affairs Director Robert Villar - $104,428

* Burgess is the highest paid county manager in the nation. His salary, which is determined by the Mayor, exceeds that of the President of the United States.

** Does not include Alvarez's FRS pension (approximately $200,000 each year) that he currently receives after retiring from his MDPD Director position. According to his most recent financial disclosure report, Alvarez has a net worth of $1.74 million despite having only worked in the public sector during his career.

*** Alvarez gave Mallette a 54% pay increase after telling taxpayers that everyone must make sacrifices.

This of course follows the now infamous post by Random Pixels showing that over 3,000 county employees are compensated in excess of $100,000.

Judy Zito: Miami-Dade County's $209,000 propaganda minister

For a moment, let us all overlook the County's double digit unemployment rate and $45,000 annual average wage. Let us also overlook ongoing financial scandals at several County departments and a County Mayor accused of "arrogance."

According to the Government Information Center and its Director Judy Zito, everything in Miami-Dade County is just great!

The Miami Herald continues to shed the light on how taxpayer money is being used to promote the idea that Mayor Carlos Alvarez and Manager George Burgess are professionally running the multi-billion dollar county government.

We first told you about Burgess' personal PR "spinzur" Matt Pinzur, and now we can add to the Herald's revelations.

Judy Zito receives $209,000 to run "the Government Information Center, an obscure department with 187 employees and a $16.8 million budget. It runs the county website, TV station, and the 311 hotline." The "Center" also employs several highly paid bureaucrats to make sure County workers toe the line against the effort to recall the mayor.

Zito keeps track of where bureaucrats speak, emailing "department heads, urging them to speak to community groups in defense of the county budget.

She implores “[t]his is the final push and I expect every division head and region manager to be doing their part.” And woe be unto thee if you fail to meet these expectations, for County Manager George Burgess will have you in his cross-hairs.

"Zito keeps a database to track speeches by county administrators, including which groups have been pitched and when."

Of course, many of the County department directors have a vested interest in protecting their six figure taxpayer funded salaries and golden pension plans, with the added "benefit" of a coercive and intrusive boss.

The propaganda machine starts straight at the top, with George Burgess.

"In the past month, Burgess has sent email blasts — called “View From The Top” — to more than 700 government workers, lobbyists and community leaders touting his county work. One email heaps praise on Alvarez for a “stirring” State of the County address, and for making “powerful statements” about lowering property taxes:

“It was yet another chance,” Burgess wrote, “to reflect how fortunate Miami-Dade County has been these last six years to have a leader of great integrity, commitment and bravery.”

In the end, no amount of propaganda will drown out the people's voice.

And on March 15th, they will speak loudly to reject this "leader of great integrity, commitment and bravery" and send him home to enjoy his six figure lifetime taxpayer funded pension.

Polling confirms what we have known all along: "there is something rotten at County Hall."

New Polling data from the Miami Herald confirms what we have known all along: as far as voters are concerned, there is something rotten at County Hall.

"In a community often fractured by ethnic and political differences, Miami-Dade voters across the board heartily agree on one thing: County Hall politicians are doing a lousy job.

"Whether black, Hispanic or non-Hispanic white; Republican, Democrat or independent, a majority of voters gives low marks to the 13-member county commission and the mayor, according to a new poll.

"Sixty-four percent of those interviewed think the county commission is doing a “poor’’ or “mediocre’’ job, and only 24 percent said the panel, which oversees the sprawling regional government and sets its $7.3 billion budget, is doing a “good’’ or “excellent’’ job.

"That’s better than the 78-percent negative rating County Mayor Carlos Alvarez —who faces a recall election — received, but hardly an encouraging sign for the commission, which has long drawn negative views from the electorate."

With one scandal after another coming to public light, the people are tired of business as usual in Miami-Dade County government.

On March 15th, voters will express their deep disgust with the Mayor and the direction he and County Manager Burgess have take our government in.

But it will not stop on Wednesday the 16th.

Alvarez on Transit campaign workers: "Action will be taken."

From the Miami Herald:

"Less than two weeks from recall-election day, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez came under heavy attack Wednesday after his administration excused 12 county transit employees from their regular jobs to work on a vaguely defined union committee — while still collecting full salaries — and for revelations that one of the dozen workers was campaigning for him.

"Alvarez said he is looking into allegations of transit workers mixing politics and work, issuing a statement that such a move violates county policy and that, if the rule was broken, “action will be taken.”

Miami-Dade Transit, a severely mismanaged agency, is protecting Mayor Alvarez and the $242,602 annual salary of its director Harpal Kapoor.

It is quite simple to determine whether the twelve workers alleged to have been campaigning on County time were actually on the public clock or not by reviewing time records, payment schedules, and the like. Mayor Alvarez and County Manager George Burgess will not undertake such an investigation however because they know full well what the results will be. They are merely buying time until the election March 15, hoping the entire thing will blow over.

Harpal Kapoor, Miami-Dade Transit director, was in attendance at last weeks meeting of the Mayor's "brain-trust" in a Doral warehouse and the transit worker's union has donated $20,000 to Mayor Alvarez' PAC, Citizens for Truth.

The only "truth" here is that Mayor Alvarez should show some leadership for those under his purview.

Commissioner Natasha Seijas, facing a recall herself, puts it best:

“I cannot imagine a more blatant abuse of taxpayer dollars. Why would the Strong Mayor think it is reasonable for the taxpayers to foot the bill for campaign workers?”

The same way the Strong Mayor thinks it is reasonable to dip into taxpayer wallets to pay for raises to his executive staff. This Mayor has shown a consistent disregard for taxpayers. Having taxpayers pay for his campaign workers is no different.

Carlos Alvarez: Man of the People

While still not articulating a single reason why he should remain in office, Mayor Carlos Alvarez has instead launched a desperate personal attack against Norman Braman.

From the Herald Naked Politics blog:

Mayor "Alvarez reminded listeners of his background as a police officer. He defended his administration, accused recall supporters of distorting the facts and attacked Miami businessman Norman Braman, who has orchestrated the recall effort.

"Se está pasando como una persona del pueblo cuando francamente del pueblo no tiene un pelo," Alvarez said -- which roughly translates as, "He's trying to pass himself off as common folk, but he doesn't have a hair on his head of common folk."

Who then is the true "man of the people," Norman Braman or Carlos Alvarez?

Consider the following:

Norman Braman drives around in a luxury automobile paid for from his own pocket. Carlos Alvarez drives a BMW 500i Gran Turismo (along with two other taxpayer funded cars), the money to pay for it comes from the pockets of the people. The people also pay for his gasoline and insurance.

Norman Braman cruises in his luxury yacht paid for from the earnings of his businesses. Carlos Alvarez cruises in a boat borrows from the Metro-Dade Police marine patrol, a boat paid for by the people.

Norman Braman has supporters working at the polls that are either volunteers or paid by a political action committee. Carlos Alvarez has supporters working at the polls that are transit workers and other county employees whose salaries are paid for by the people.

Norman Braman's employees take vacation time and travel off the clock. Carlos Alvarez' former Chief of Staff wanted to travel to Panama so he could moonlight as a security consultant, he did so on the people's time and expense.

Norman Braman makes decisions on whether his employees should get a raise based on the profitability of his business. Carlos Alvarez decides to give a raise to county employees amidst a worldwide recession and dips into the wallets of the people.

Norman Braman fires inefficient employees who fiscally mismanage his business interests. Carlos Alvarez keeps George Burgess around and pays him $422,000 to mismanage the people's assets.

Finally, Norman Braman made money in private sector business. Carlos Alvarez' current and future six figure lifetime pensions are paid for by the people.

Undoubtedly, when it comes to having his hand inside our wallets, Carlos Alvarez is truly a man of the people.

Mayor Alvarez' last hope: county employees.

From the Miami Herald:

To win recall, Mayor Alvarez may need to appeal to new groups.

And what groups are these?

"To defeat the effort, Alvarez will have to rely on the support of county employees and their unions."

"Alvarez’s campaign could hinge on whether county employees — whose jobs, salaries and benefits Alvarez’s budget helped preserve — cast ballots in large numbers in the special election. Miami-Dade County employs 27,647 workers; many of them belong to unions that back Alvarez and know how to reach out to their members to go to the polls."

Not coincidentally, there is an early voting sight at County Hall, where bureaucrats are only a short elevator ride away from the voting booth.

It is a telling indictment of Alvarez' tenure that while he "was the darling of suburban Hispanics who saw him as a reformer who would clean up corruption in Miami-Dade County," he can no longer count on his base for support. All that is left are the County workers whose salaries were increased on the back of "suburban Hispanics" and the rest of Miami-Dade County.

Mayor Alvarez has arrogantly dismissed any attempt to justify why he should stay in office, instead relying on old politics union tactics, where those at the public trough are scared into voting for their protector.

These so called "public servants" need to learn that they have an obligation to the people they serve. If they no longer like or accept the will of the people, then let them find jobs in the private sector alongside the rest of us.

No amount of union protectionism of outrageous county salaries can overturn the will of the people.

The Herald errs: Miami-Dade County government needs recall and reform

The Miami Herald's Sunday Editorial calls for Reform, not recall.

We disagree.

Miami-Dade County government needs recall and reform.

There are times when political systems are so broken, that the only way to fix them is through a shock to its core. The recall election of Mayor Carlos Alvarez is the catalyst that will bring much needed reforms to the county government structure.

Prior attempts at reform (including those proposed by the the Charter Review panel) have been stymied by the County Commission and not supported by the current Mayor. So why does the Herald think that the Mayor would be amenable to reform now?

Removing the main obstacle to reforms is the first step in bringing transparency and accountability to county government. Miami-Dade County's next mayor, whomever it may be, will be on notice that the people of this county will no longer sit idly by while government continues its wasteful ways.

Under normal circumstances, the Herald's reasoning that "recalls should be focused on malfeasance or misfeasance in office — not simply on making unpopular decisions" makes sense. But these are not normal times. While the county's unemployment rate continues to rise and it's economic foundation is in peril, Mayor Alvarez' actions have demonstrated such total disregard for the taxpayers that they rise above merely "unpopular decisions."

Consider these decisions: "Doling out double-digit percentage salary increases to top staffers while calling for shared sacrifice among other county employees was wrong. So was allowing his chief of staff to work in Panama as a private consultant on taxpayer time. Or for the mayor to have more than one taxpayer-paid luxury vehicle."

Such continued arrogance clearly shows the Mayor's disregard for the citizenry.

Add to that George Burgess' complete fiscal mismanagement of county hall, and the actions certainly amount to more that just "unpopular decisions."

Meanwhile, the Mayor does not offer a single compelling reason why he should remain in office.

Arrogance, utter disregard for taxpayers, complete financial mismanagement, and dipping into the collective wallets of the citizenry to pay for salary increases during a recession may not amount to "malfeasance or misfeasance" according to the Herald, but it's the people who will decide come March 15th.

And when the people do speak, politicians will be placed on notice. Ignore the electorate, and face Carlos Alvarez' same fate.

Worried about high unemployment? Not if you are in the public sector.

If you ever wonder why those in government don't become alarmed at the dire unemployment situation, the graph above explains it all. While private sector unemployment rates have risen in the past few years, remaining at 10% nationally (with 13% and 14% here in Miami-Dade County), the rate of unemployment in the public sector is half that.

For Miami-Dade County, the top employers are both public sector. Miami-Dade County government employs more people than the top three private sector employees in the County. This imbalance creates a very noticeable dichotomy whereby the private sector continues to shrink while government continues to expand.

The next Mayor of Miami-Dade County must shrink the size of County government, and help create a climate of prosperity where the private sector leads in job creation, and not the other way around.

Why are Mayor Alvarez and Commissioner Seijas afraid of voters?

Mayor Carlos Alvarez goes to court again to block the recall election from taking place while Commissioner Natacha Seijas drops her lawsuit.

Fear of facing the voters is driving both the Mayor and Commissioner to undertake what some call "desperation moves," as reported in today's Miami New Times, hiring State Senator Alex Diaz de la Portilla to collect absentee ballots.

According to the Miami Herald, Alvarez "is gearing up for the upcoming vote."

"The mayor held an organizational meeting to strategize with supporters Thursday evening at a warehouse in Doral, drawing dozens, including many county officials. Among those attending were James Loftus, director of the Miami-Dade Police Department; Fire Chief Herminio Lorenzo; Harpal Kapoor, director of Miami-Dade Transit, and Special Assistant County manager Howard Piper."

Why would Miami-Dade County employees get involved in this election? To protect their salaries of course.

James Loftus: $200,297.82
Herminio Lorenzo: $225,010.09
Harpal Kapoor: $242,602.70
Howard Piper: $158,053.83

Now, these are pure salary only, not counting executive benefits, car allowances, pensions, or other compensation.

It is these County employees and so many others that benefited from the Mayor's tax increases on the people, so it is these employees that have the most to lose were the Mayor to fail in this upcoming election.

Instead of giving the people a reason to vote for him, the Mayor's arrogance blinds him to the need of the people he is supposed to serve. He cannot properly articulate any reasons or vision to keep office, but instead must rely on "political operatives" and high-paid bureaucrats to do his bidding.

The March 15th election is a grassroots uprising from people tired of being manipulated, of having their wallets dipped into by greedy politicians.

The Mayor and other politicians need to learn a lesson: no amount of posturing, legal maneuvers, or dirty politics will keep the people's will from being done.

UPDATE

From the Miami Herald:

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez’s 11th-hour legal bid to block his upcoming recall vote was thrown out Friday morning, as voting is set to begin Monday in the elections seeking the ouster of both the county mayor and Miami-Dade Commissioner Natacha Seijas.

Matthew Pinzur: $120,000 to deliver Burgess' good news

As with every good bureaucrat, Miami-Dade County Manager George Burgess has surrounded himself with an army of acolytes whose sole purpose is to make him look good.

One such acolyte is former Miami Herald reporter Matthew Pinzur.

Miami-Dade County taxpayers pay Mr. Pinzur $119,488 a year, (plus a $1,950 car allowance and $7,211 in executive benefits) to handle his former employers at the Herald and issue feel good statements about how great things are going at Miami-Dade County Government Center.

While the Federal Government continues its scrutiny over the Miami-Dade Transit department over lax fiscal oversight, Mr. Pinzur (or "Pinzur the Spinzur" as he is affectionately known over at One Herald Plaza), gets to work.

In an email sent to County staff, he writes:

"After weeks of uncertainty and speculation – which were at least as frustrating for us as for anyone else – our partners at the Federal Transit Administration sent us notice on January 7 of their preliminary findings from a review of financing systems at Miami-Dade Transit.

"Even before that official notification, the County Manager had assigned a team of professionals from outside the Transit Department – including from the Office of Strategic Business Management, Audit and Management Services and Finance – to investigate our procedures. That review is proceeding quickly, and that team is cooperating fully with FTA.

"At least some of the concerns appear, at this stage, to be founded on incorrect or incomplete information provided by Transit’s management team to FTA. We are grateful for the engagement of our FTA partners and eager for any opportunity to improve our financial-oversight practices. The County Manager has already terminated one employee and removed another from her position as a consequence of their failures to properly oversee these operations.

"Rest assured that we are taking aggressive steps to fully investigate this matter – including both FTA’s concerns and those raised by our own professionals – and will not hesitate to make whatever further changes are necessary to ensure an efficient and safe system of public transportation for our residents and visitors. In the meanwhile, we remain entirely able to operate our network of buses, trains and special transportation services without any changes visible to passengers."

Mr. Pinzur artfully continues the Burgess message that the findings from the Federal Government are mistaken, and that we should all rest assured that Mr. Burgess and his team of professionals are on the case.

Lost on Mr. Pinzur is that this is the same team of professionals that have mismanaged funds at JMH, the Transit Agency, the Housing Agency, Water and Sewer, and others.

Further lost on Mr. Pinzur is the irony that he does not live nor pay property taxes in the County which he provides his "Spinzur" talents. While the citizens of Miami-Dade County pay Mr. Pinzur's $120,000+ compensation, Mr. Pinzur chooses to live in Broward.

Even more ironic is that while Miami-Dade citizens saw their taxes raised to pay bureaucrats like Mr. Pinzur higher salaries, Mr. Pinzur's taxes in Broward actually went down by nearly 24%.

Only in Mr. Burgess' world of bureaucratic "spinzing" can any of this makes sense.

On March 15th, the taxpayers of Miami-Dade County have the opportunity to end this wasteful charade.

Burgess to Feds: We're right, you are wrong.

From Miami Today:

"In the midst of a third federal audit in four months, MiamiDade Transit has issued its first audit response highlighting improved procedures and findings, which includes $4,500 to be refunded to the federal government.

"The audits come after the federal administration, following an Aug. 30 transit oversight visit, placed the department on grant retrieval restriction Sept.14 for funds awarded for preventative maintenance - any work to keep vehicles in working condition.

"By November, actions were expanded, barring Miami-Dade Transit from any online drawdowns of federal grant money - estimated at about $182 million - and suspending all reimbursements.

"A financial management overview was the department's initial audit that began at the end of September. The county, Ms.Llort has said, had reasons to believe transit officials didn't handle this audit properly as they didn't show auditors some county controls and financial reports."

A $4,500 refund among millions in unaccounted for tax money is not bad. Telling the Federal government that they missed all of your accountability and control measures is not bad either.

Typical response from the Burgess bureaucratic machine: we're right, you're wrong.

Then again, if so many accountability and fiscal control measures were in place, how could the Federal government auditors possibly have missed them all? Are these the same measures that are in place for Jackson, the Housing Agency, Water and Sewer, and so forth?

Miami-Dade County taxpayers need to start demanding real accountability as to how our tax dollars are being spent, and it starts at the top, with George Burgess himself. Stop making excuses and start earning your lavish salary Mr. Burgess.

Time to fight back over public sector wages and pensions

Jennifer Rubin asks a very valid question in her article from the Washington Post:

"The Wisconsin debate comes down to a simple question: do the voters and their elected representatives have the final say in how the state spends its money"

According to the public sector unions, the answer is no.

Steven Malanga writes in the Autumn 05 edition of the City Journal:

"For 50 years, public unions, health-care lobbyists, and social-services advocacy groups have doggedly been amassing power in state capitols and city halls, using their influence to inflate pay and benefits for their workers and to boost government spending. The bill for that influence is now coming due, and it is overwhelming state and local budgets."

For Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami, this has been the case, with ever increasing pension obligations, and taxes either staying level or rising in order to meet the need of retired "public" servants.

It it time for the residents of Miami to have the final say in where our tax money goes. Will we use it to improve our collective lives? Or will it go to improving the lives of those who are meant to serve the public?

President's Day: White House salaries and public service

On President's Day, some interesting information on salaries at the White House.

From the UK Daily Mail:

"According to the White House’s latest salary list, no-one would be receiving a pay rise this year - not even Mr Obama himself.

"As a result, this gives a pretty good indication on what the incoming White House staffers are getting in their pay checks.

"The White House has an annual payroll of nearly $39 million.

"It is required to divulge the salaries of its employees - except the office of the Vice resident, which is technically an arm of the Senate.

"Mr Obama himself earns $400,000 a year (provided by Congress) and he employs 469 people at his home/office.

"In 2010 Mr Obama capped the salaries of any employee making more than $100,000 a year, and salaries range from $21,000 to just above $172,000 a year.

"Mr [Bill] Daley [Chief of Staff] and Mr [David] Plouffe will be among 23 top aides - including the press secretary, chief speechwriter, White House counsel and senior advisers - earning the top full-time staff salary of $172,200.

"By comparison, Vice President Joe Biden makes roughly $230,000 a year, according to Senate records.

"Most other White House staff - including staff assistants, press aides, analysts and researchers - earn between $40,000 and $60,000."

The most powerful office in the world, no one is getting a pay raise this year.

The highest possible salary for a staff member? $172,000

The irony here is that $172,000 is what a department head makes in Miami-Dade County, where 1,000 employees earned over $100,000.

We all know that Manager George Burgess makes $422,000, more than the President. Burgess' cadre of bureaucrats also earn over the $172,000 that the top staff members make at the White House.

And bankrupt JMH wants to pay their next CEO nearly a million dollars!

The difference is that while working in the White House is a once-in-a-lifetime honor, working for Miami-Dade County is a great way to survive a recession, while keeping a high six-figure salary intact.

Time for Miami-Dade County bureaucrats to wake up and notice that taxpayers are no longer willing to finance their lavish salaries and retirement packages.

Lessons from Wisconsin: Who do Public Sector Unions Represent?

While unrest continues in Wisconsin over the Governor's plan to restrict some public sector benefits, the question arises, who do public sector unions represent?

An interesting view from the Economist blog:

"[Public sector unions] are bargaining against everybody who pays taxes and/or benefits from government spending. The question of distribution in democratic politics isn't about splitting up jointly-produced profits. It's about interest groups fighting to grab a bigger share of government revenue while sticking competing groups with the tax bill.

"Because of the sheer size and relatively uniform interests of the group, public employees constitute a politically powerful bloc with or without unions. As the percentage of the labour force employed by the government rises, the heft of this group only increases.

"Public-employee unions simply consolidate an already impressive concentration of political bargaining power. Moreover, as the Democratic Party comes increasingly to rely on patronage from the public-sector unions, the determination of Democratic politicians to bargain against the unions on behalf of taxpayers and the beneficiaries of competing government programmes necessarily weakens."

We stand for the proposition that public servants should be such, serve the public. If for any reason they stop wishing to be public servants, then they should join the rest of us in the private sector.

Here in Miami-Dade County, Mayor Carlos Alvarez and Manager George Burgess have continually negotiated contracts with the public sector unions that give County workers far more benefits that those available to the large majority of the private sector.

Now, in his time of need, it is these same unions that are coming out in support of Mayor Alvarez in his effort to fight his recall.

The next Mayor of Miami-Dade County must align County worker benefits to those offered in the private sector, offering taxpayer relief along the way. Failure to do so will end in the same fate Mayor Alvarez faces on March 15th.

Who wants to be a millionaire? JMH willing to offer new CEO million dollar package.

From CBS4

JMH Willing to Pay Big Bucks for New CEO

"A committee involved in the search for a new president for Jackson Memorial Hospital said Thursday it was willing to pay “up to $975-thousand” for a new hospital chief.

"The actual salary will be determined once a new president is selected. With benefits and other bonuses the package could well exceed $1 million."

This is the type of fiscal attitude we have come to expect from the bankrupt Miami-Dade County, where financial mismanagement is dealt with by pouring more taxpayer money into a black hole.

That anyone in their right minds would suggest a million dollar package for a bureaucrat is indicative of the endemic lack of regard for taxpayer money that occurs at the County each and every single day. In the midst of a tenuous economic recovery, the County can offer million dollar packages because quite simply, it's not their money.

The last person to complain about this outrage is the one who many benefit from it.

Instead of looking out for taxpayer dollars, not a peep from County Manager George Burgess who has been floating his name to take over at JMH. Not a bad leap to go from $422,000 to over $1,000,000. And with his expertise at fiscal shenanigans, Burgess would continue the sound fiscal practices at JMH that have made the County such a paragon of fiscal accountability and restraint.

The residents and business leaders of Miami-Dade County have had enough of this playing fast and loose with taxpayer dollars, where public "servants" place their needs above those whom they serve.

March 15 will send a strong signal to politicians and bureaucrats: look out for taxpayers first, or you will be out of a job.

County employees never get sick.

From San Diego:

"San Diego County lets its managers and administrators cash out sick time when they leave, allowing some payouts approaching six figures and in one case reaching $118,605.

"The benefit has cost the county more than $2.5 million over the past four years, according to an analysis by the Watchdog Institute. The average size of the payouts has been growing. In 2007, the sick-time sums averaged $6,768. Last year, it was $14,004.

"The practice of paying out sick time is rare in the private sector, and more common in government service, experts say. What makes the county program more unusual is there is no cap on sick time employees can accrue.

"Jennifer Loftus, the national director for Astron. Solutions, a New York-based human resources consulting firm, said the county’s policy of allowing employees to accrue unlimited sick time and then cash it out is “extremely rare” in the private sector."

Sound familiar?

Here is yet another instance where government workers, so called "public servants," enjoy benefits greater than those they supposedly serve.

In Miami-Dade County it is no different, with sick time accrued and paid out once an employee leaves.

Already several government agencies are putting an end to this practice.

"The city of San Diego, for example, does not distinguish between sick time and vacation time, but it caps the amount of unused time off most employees can accrue at 350, 600 or 700 hours depending on when they were hired, said Scott Chadwick, human resources director for the city."

The next Mayor of Miami-Dade County must curtail this practice, (along with the unlimited payout of vacation time), placing a cap on how many hours can be accrued.

Mayor Carlos Alvarez' State of the County Address: Residents come last.

"Chairman Joe Martinez… Members of the Board of County Commissioners, Property Appraiser Garcia, Fellow Elected Officials, members of our Consular Corps, distinguished guests, Mr. Manager and my Executive Office team, County Attorney Cuevas, Department Directors, Miami-Dade County employees and residents…"

This is how it begins, and how it ends --- the residents are last.

During his State of the County Address delivered earlier today, Mayor Carlos Alvarez continues to deliver the platitudes that bounce of the rarefied air in his 29th floor echo chamber, without addressing the major issues facing the County government.

Click here for a copy of the remarks as prepared for delivery.

In a speech filled with excuses and blind ambition, not one did the Mayor apologize to his constituents for raising taxes amidst a recession, and not once did the Mayor come out and directly say he would lower taxes on the already overburdened citizenry.

"Most recently, our investment portfolio received the highest rating possible from Standard and Poor’s, a testament to the skills of our cash management team. Our taxpayer’s money is being invested in a prudent manner. Our professional management team… led by County Manager George Burgess… is doing the hard work today to bring about our best tomorrow."

Burgess' "hard work" for which he is paid $422,000 includes:

---Fiscal chaos at Jackson Memorial Hospital
---Fiscal chaos at Miami-Dade Transit
---Fiscal chaos at Miami-Dade Housing
---Fiscal chaos at Miami-Dade Water and Sewer.

And these are the ones we know about.

Instead of investing taxpayer money "in a prudent manner," this "professional management team" is merely buying their time, padding their salaries, so they can collect higher returns on their life long pensions.

"Attacks are easy. Solutions are hard."

But what solutions have you proposed Mr. Mayor? None. And while every day bring another financial scandal to Miami-Dade County Government, you continue to offer platitudes, without solutions.

"And so I say to those critics, rather than try to divide us politically, work with us. Join us in our efforts to keep our County moving forward. We have made tremendous progress, but our challenges still loom large. The only way we can solve them is by working together – all of us."

You have been on office six years Mr. Mayor, with all due respect to your position, the time to work together has long since passed you. These are all things you should have considered before you raised taxes and handed out salary increases to members of your staff.

You have failed to make the truly tough choices, including firing Manager George Burgess, and your inaction coupled with Burgess' ineptitude and disdain for taxpayers are leading the County into a fiscal abyss.

Miami-Dade County needs strong principled leadership that will significantly reduce the 29,000 strong County bureaucracy, streamline County operations, and deliver tax relief to our citizenry.

Mayor Carlos Alvarez and Manager George Burgess are incapable of doing it.

In the Mayor's speech, residents do in fact come last. But come election time, the residents will speak loudly.

And for Mayor Alvarez and Manager Burgess, the day of March 15th will be their last.

The Wall Street Journal reports that public sector unions are gearing up for a fight as public sector wages and benefits are put on the chopping block.

It is interesting how these public sector unions made up of "public servants" are the ones that most loudly yell when taxpayers demand relief from burdensome taxation that goes to support these so-called servants.

Here in Miami-Dade County, the recall of Mayor Alvarez, scheduled to go for a vote on March 15, is driven by this arrogance of the public sector, where taxes were raised to increase the compensation of County workers. Several outlets have already reported that over 1,000 County workers make in excess of $100,000 in salary and benefits.

And as you can see from the above chart, public sector wages and benefits have outpaced private sector growth in the past decade. Why then do "public servants" continue to grope?

Miami-Dade County continues to suffer from very serious and deep financial woes. While the citizenry hurts, County bureaucrats fatten their wallets.

On March 15, this needs to end.

Floridians Frustrated: Why Aren't County Leaders Reacting?

A newly published Sunshine State Survey released by Leadership Florida identifies "deep concerns about prolonged economic hard times."

The Survey finds that:

--- 65% of Floridians say their state government spends tax revenue in a relatively wasteful manner, up from 54% in 2010 and 45% in 2008. 


--- 69% of Floridians believe community business leaders do what is right for the state only “some of the time” or “never.”

--- 71%, 77% and 77% say the same thing about their local, state and federal government leaders respectively.

Here in Miami-Dade County, our political leaders continue their utter disregard for taxpayers in wasting tax revenue as Jackson Memorial Hospital continues to bleed red ink with no end in sight.

Their internal auditor is investigating payments made to the Jackson Foundation Health Services (FHS) including 10 airline tickets over $1,000 and expenditures on computer equipment delivered to the home of the FHS CEO.

And yet, while receiving criticism from the Board of County Commissioners, County Manager George Burgess continues to bureaucratically explain away Jackson's problems.

Mr. Burgess should honor the intelligence of taxpayers and the $422,000 salary we pay him by proposing concrete measures on how he would fix the mess at the Public Health Trust.

Instead, all we get are platitudes.

Burgess tells commissioners there is a solution, but that it is "complex."

For $422,000 a year, Mr. Burgess is paid to do the complex.

If anyone wonders why over 70% of Floridians surveyed don't trust their local government leaders, the unaccountable George Burgess gives them good reason.