Mayor Bateman and Four Council Members Decide They Need More Office Help, Homestead Does Not Need More Police

“I love my job, and I want to answer everybody, and I can’t do it with the resources I have now,” Mayor Steve Bateman said during the sometimes tense discussion.

Three More Police Officers Can Be Added To Crime Ridden Homestead For The Same Amount


The Mayor No Longer Supports The Police Department?

 

$311,000 Is What Bateman, Fairclough-McCormick, Waldman, Maldonado and Williams Will Spend Additionally On Their Staff

 

Just a few years ago one person was assigned to the Mayor and Council, then it was two, soon it will be seven. This is the only dept. they manage and it is clearly out of control. Vice-Mayor Burgess and Councilman Shelley voted no on this expansion plan.

 

 

Miami Herald Report Is Below

 

Homestead City Council members decided they all need their own assistants to effectively get all their work done.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/13/3141119/homestead-council-members-want.html#storylink=cpy

 By Christina Veiga

cveiga@MiamiHerald.com

Homestead’s mayor, council and their assistants are overworked, council members said Wednesday.

So they voted to hire an assistant for each of the seven elected officials who serve in the city. At the time, they didn’t know how much the new hires will cost, and instructed city officials to come back with an estimate before a final vote by the council.

“I love my job, and I want to answer everybody, and I can’t do it with the resources I have now,” Mayor Steve Bateman said during the sometimes tense discussion.

Four full-time aides currently work for the mayor and council — answering phone calls, scheduling meetings, arranging travel details. They make between $40,000 and $51,000 for their work, according to Homestead’s spokeswoman. One of the helpers is a “temp” hired through a staffing agency.

They all qualify for overtime, which has cost the city between $4,000 and $8,000 per assistant, according to figures provided by the city.

Additionally, the three assistants hired through the city get almost $27,000 in fringe benefits, according to a draft memo sent Thursday from the city’s finance director to the city manager.

The finance director wrote that the new positions would cost the city $311,000.

Councilman Jimmie Williams brought the issue up for discussion, saying there is too much staff turnover in the office of the mayor and council. Assistant Ana Paneque recently was reassigned to another city department because her position as an aide to the mayor and council was overwhelming, Councilwoman Judy Waldman told the Miami Herald.

Council members bickered amongst themselves over who uses the aides more, and whose events and needs seem to take precedence when it comes to staff time.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/13/3141119/homestead-council-members-want.html#storylink=cpy

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What is Wrong with Dennis Moss, Carrie Meek and Leroy Jones?

Amid Investigation, Homestead Kicks Out Nonprofit Business Center

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/12/3139048/amid-investigation-homestead-kicks.html#storylink=cpy

The center also has a trail of unpaid bills and judgments against it from payroll companies and banks, totaling more than $250,000, Gretsas said.

“It’s embarrassing. The more the facts come out, the worse it gets. And I think we just need to move on. This doesn’t look good for the city,” he said.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/12/3139048/amid-investigation-homestead-kicks.html#storylink=cpy

The items highlighted in red are quite possibly "crazy talk." The one in pink is a cautionary advisory.

By Christina Veiga

cveiga@MiamiHerald.com

Homestead officials have kicked out the operator of its Carrie P. Meek business center amid a county investigation into the center’s director.

But Miami-Dade Commissioner Dennis Moss has asked city officials to hand over operation of the center to a non-profit which is considering employing the scrutinized director.

The Meek center, also known as the Business and Technology Development Corp., is under investigation by the Miami-Dade County Inspector General’s Office for suspicion of grand theft and money laundering, according to Homestead City Manager George Gretsas.

Run by Hilda B. Hall-Dennis, the Meek center has operated rent-free out of a city-owned building on Civic Court in Homestead. It’s supposed to provide help and subsidized office space for businesses starting up in the area.

The center’s lease with Homestead’s Community Redevelopment Agency expired Sept. 30, but it has continued to work out of the building. Now, Hall-Dennis has until Dec. 14 to get out, according to a letter sent to her by the CRA.

The CRA, a special taxing district which helps fix up blighted areas, will run the center until a new, permanent operator can be found.

Moss, according to a letter sent to city officials, hopes that the new operator will be NANA, the Neighbors and Neighbors Association.

NANA on its website says it started the Mom and Pop Small Business Grant Program and the City of Miami Micro-Enterprise Assistance Grant Program. The organization is funded with county and city of Miami money, according to its website.

NANA director Leroy Jones said that Hall-Dennis has worked for the association in the past as a paid consultant, conducting training and workshops. He said his organization’s board is currently considering whether to hire her again as a contractor, or to give her a job.

Jones said Hall-Dennis would not be given any position that handles money.

“To be perfectly honest with you, I would love Hilda to work for me. And I understand what’s out there, but I also understand that she has not been found guilty,” Jones said. 

Commissioner Moss had faith in both NANA and Hall-Dennis, he said.

“NANA is an organization that has a credible track record in this community,” the commissioner said. 

“They will do an excellent job of running the center.”

In a letter to the city of Homestead, the center’s namesake, former U.S. Rep. Carrie P. Meek praised Hall-Dennis. Meek has no affiliation with the center, other than its name and her help in first securing the money for the center.

“I am extremely proud of the center and the work that Hilda Hall-Dennis has done,” she wrote.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/12/3139048/amid-investigation-homestead-kicks.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/12/3139048/amid-investigation-homestead-kicks.html#storylink=cpy

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Residential Customers Of Homestead Energy Services Pay 29% Higher Costs Than FPL Customers

Since you live within the service area as well and do not get to vote as a shareholder on a utility that you own you are subject to the will of the council acting without your proxy as they determine what happens with Homestead Energy Services and it's revenues. 

The numbers are what they are and the case should be made that FPL should be approached for a proposal on ridding the amateurs on the City Council of the burden running the dinosaur known as HES. The antiquity of the plant had FPL omit a bid for it in 2002, they just wanted you as their customer and the transmission infrastructure. Now with an additional 6,000 customers than 2002, it is time to move on and save.

If you are using a scant 1,000 kWh from HES you paid $122.07 but if you had FPL you would have paid $94.62 a savings of $27.45 monthly or $329.40 annually. It is like an extra tax, you pay it but what is it for?

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Big Business Gets Absolutely Killed By Homestead Energy Services, A Staggering 57.2% Higher Energy Cost

Now an empty Park of Commerce makes sense, why would you want to pay 57.2% higher energy costs by moving into the Homestead Energy Services area? The large business utilizing Homestead Energy Services would pay a monthly cost of $25,057.10 for 200,000 kWh yet only $15,935.52 with FPL a savings of $9,121.58 monthly and an annual savings of $109,458.96.

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Medium Sized Business Pays 42% More For Homestead Energy Than FPL

That's right if you use 10,000 kWh monthly with HES you pay $1,385.61 and with FPL you would pay $972.96 a difference of $412.65 a month or $4,951.80 over the course of one year. What additional benefit do you receive for paying 42.4% more in your utility bill? Let us know so we can share your comments.

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If Homestead Is So Pro-Business As Mayor Bateman Claims Why Does Homestead Energy Services Charge Small Business 35% Higher Electric Rates Than FPL?

Based upon monthly use of 1,500 kWh, typical small business.You pay $205.76 with HES and $152.42 with FPL that is 35% higher with the City of Homestead as your provider, $53.34 monthly and $640.08 annually, it's like an additional tax.

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MISSING MINUTES, MAY 12, 2005 "NEW" CITY HALL DISCUSSION NOW WHAT HAPPENS?

In light of the city hall contamination issue it is difficult to imagine that only these minutes are not available without a motive, also it should be noted that the related agenda is accessible but there is also no video recording of that particular meeting on the city website.

On September 10, 2012 I made a PRR, (Public Records Request) for the minutes of the May 12, 2005 C.O.W. Meeting. At that meeting one of the many items the city council members were to discuss, per the agenda, were the reasons why a new city hall was required and what they expected the architect to provide. After one month and no response I inquired again, this was the clerk's response on October 10th of this year.

Good morning Mr. Pascuzzo,

I have searched our records for the minutes of the  May 12, 2005 COW Meeting and I cannot not find them.

Respectfully,

Elizabeth Sewell, MMC

City Clerk

City of Homestead

Florida Statutes Chapter 119 Public Records

 

119.021 Custodial requirements; maintenance, preservation, and retention of public records.—

 

(1) Public records shall be maintained and preserved as follows:

(a) All public records should be kept in the buildings in which they are ordinarily used.

(b) Insofar as practicable, a custodian of public records of vital, permanent, or archival records shall keep them in fireproof and waterproof safes, vaults, or rooms fitted with noncombustible materials and in such arrangement as to be easily accessible for convenient use.

(c)1. Record books should be copied or repaired, renovated, or rebound if worn, mutilated, damaged, or difficult to read.

2. Whenever any state, county, or municipal records are in need of repair, restoration, or rebinding, the head of the concerned state agency, department, board, or commission; the board of county commissioners of such county; or the governing body of such municipality may authorize that such records be removed from the building or office in which such records are ordinarily kept for the length of time required to repair, restore, or rebind them.

3. Any public official who causes a record book to be copied shall attest and certify under oath that the copy is an accurate copy of the original book. The copy shall then have the force and effect of the original.

(2)(a) The Division of Library and Information Services of the Department of State shall adopt rules to establish retention schedules and a disposal process for public records.

(b) Each agency shall comply with the rules establishing retention schedules and disposal processes for public records which are adopted by the records and information management program of the division.

(c) Each public official shall systematically dispose of records no longer needed, subject to the consent of the records and information management program of the division in accordance with s. 257.36.

(d) The division may ascertain the condition of public records and shall give advice and assistance to public officials to solve problems related to the preservation, creation, filing, and public accessibility of public records in their custody. Public officials shall assist the division by preparing an inclusive inventory of categories of public records in their custody. The division shall establish a time period for the retention or disposal of each series of records. Upon the completion of the inventory and schedule, the division shall, subject to the availability of necessary space, staff, and other facilities for such purposes, make space available in its records center for the filing of semicurrent records so scheduled and in its archives for noncurrent records of permanent value, and shall render such other assistance as needed, including the microfilming of records so scheduled.

(3) Agency orders that comprise final agency action and that must be indexed or listed pursuant to s. 120.53 have continuing legal significance; therefore, notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or any provision of chapter 257, each agency shall permanently maintain records of such orders pursuant to the applicable rules of the Department of State.

(4)(a) Whoever has custody of any public records shall deliver, at the expiration of his or her term of office, to his or her successor or, if there be none, to the records and information management program of the Division of Library and Information Services of the Department of State, all public records kept or received by him or her in the transaction of official business.

(b) Whoever is entitled to custody of public records shall demand them from any person having illegal possession of them, who must forthwith deliver the same to him or her. Any person unlawfully possessing public records must within 10 days deliver such records to the lawful custodian of public records unless just cause exists for failing to deliver such records.

History.—s. 2, ch. 67-125; s. 3, ch. 83-286; s. 753, ch. 95-147; s. 5, ch. 2004-335.

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