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.