Good News in Homestead: Reduced Property Tax Rate for 2014

According to the Miami Herald, on July 31st The Homestead City Council unanimously voted to advertise via the state-mandated letter known as a "TRIM Notice" a reduce the city tax millage rate to $5.9215 from last year’s rate of $6.2435 per $1,000 of taxable property for the 2013-2014 budget starting on Oct. 1.  The advertised rate sets the ceiling millage rate and they can only further reduce it.If the advertised rate becomes final, the...

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Humbled Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez Makes 180 Degree Turn on Proposed Tax Hike!

A contrite and humbled County Mayor, Carlos Gimenez, admits to making a misstep with a 930-page budget proposal to hike county taxes this coming Fall.  We at Homestead is Home (HIH) called him out as a flip-flopper which appears he got wind of it since he mentioned it during his recent speech.  Mind you we did Tweet it directly @MayorGimenez so it appears to have resonated with him.  However, that's what he would've been had he stuck...

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Homestead Schools' Grades are IN!

Excerpt from Miami Herald article:  Florida school grades drop under new formula.Even though student test scores have held steady — and are in some cases rising — Florida has a record-high 107 F-rated schools this year, state education leaders announced on Friday.That has put supporters of Florida’s A-to-F grading system on the defensive. And the total number of failing schools only stands to get larger, as letter grades for high schools and...

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County Mayor Carlos Gimenez Flip-Flops on Tax Rate Hike!

Six days and six nights have passed and it's hard to keep track of County Mayor Carlos Gimenez' tax rate fumble.  One day he wants to raise the taxes to ensure firefighters and librarians keep their jobs and turning Miami-Dade county into a domestic pet sanctuary.  The next he wants to forgo county services and layoff some folks.  So which is it? I mean was he so out of touch with the taxpayer that he actually proposed a tax increase...

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2013 City Council Election: Show me the Money!

In support of transparency in the political process HIH is providing insight into the campaign finances of the candidates for the City Council next November.  If the cash on hand is an indicator of who will be in office you will readily discern who will win.  While money by itself wont sweep candidates into office it surely helps to get them there.   Click on the names of the candidates to see the Campaign Treasurer's Report Summary...

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FPL’s Transmission Lines on US1 or Bust?

The largest purveyor of electricity and political contributions, Florida Power and Light (FPL), is adamant  about getting its way when it comes to laying out new transmission lines along US1 and Everglades National Park. So much so they now influence the Public Service Commission (PSC) to the point where all commissioners have a utilities background.   Never mind a Governor that is a large recipient  of FPL's campaign contributions. ...

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Too Many Chiefs & Not Enough Subordinates at Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Dept.

I reported a few days ago that County Mayor Carlos Gimenez was welching on his promise to cut the fat at County Hall.  By cutting the fat we mean getting rid of duplicate and unnecessary positions that have a meaningful impact on the county budget.  We didn't mean performing a reorganization tantamount to moving the chairs around, eliminating empty positions and calling it a day. Only one day has passed and Commissioner Xavier Suarez has...

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