Bell to Beacon Council: It’s Miller Time
by SDM
SDM admits that tonight’s post is inside baseball, but the topic is intriguing nonetheless.
The story began a couple months ago when local newspaperman and trouble maker Grant Miller stood up at a Palmetto Bay Business Association meeting and challenged Beacon Council President Frank Nero. Miller – echoing a common refrain in South Dade and elsewhere in the county – complained that the Beacon Council has been ignoring our community.
Miller followed up his comments with a column and that’s when the you-know-what hit the fan. Nero sicced a high priced law firm on Miller’s company, demanding a retraction. You can imagine where Nero got the money to pay for these attack-lawyers. (Hint: SDM doubts Nero paid for the services from his huge pay package.)
Unfortunately for Nero, his high handed tactics caught the attention of Commissioner Lynda Bell. Bell and Commissioner Suarez responded by proposing a resolution that could significantly alter the Beacon Council’s contractual relationship with the county. The item is on the October 16 Internal Mgmt. & Fiscal Responsibility Committee agenda and it’s a doozy.
Bell and Suarez are demanding changes in the Beacon Council’s relationship, including amendments:
A. Providing for an annual joint meeting between the Executive Committee of the Beacon Council and the Board on or before June 1 of each year at which the following agenda items are to be discussed:
(1) the economic development strategy to be implemented by the Beacon Council pursuant to the Agreement…;
(2) Board input regarding the [Beacon Council's] economic development strategy…at least thirty (30) days in advance of the annual meeting;
[SDM Translation: 13 commissioners and the mayor will be sending "suggested" changes to the strategy...kind of like "make them an offer they can't refuse."]
(3) benchmarks and goals…;
(4) the Beacon Council’s efforts focused on creating, sustaining and/or growing local businesses, including businesses in urban and rural communities; and
[SDM Translation: South Dade and much of the urban core have complained for years that Beacon has ignored them. If this passes, those areas will be front and center in the discussion.]
(5) the Beacon Council’s annual line-item budget providing its anticipated revenues, salaries, and other expenditures and a report detailing the amount of the Beacon Council’s salaries and other expenditures which are paid by County funding.
[While SDM relishes the idea of forcing Beacon to justify their lucrative compensation packages, such a public flogging could easily drive away economic development professionals.]
The annual meeting shall be noticed as a public hearing [where regional economic development organizations like the] the Economic Development Council of South Miami-Dade…shall be invited by the Chairperson ofthe Board to speak…
[SDM predicts Beacon's leadership will be torn by this provision. On one hand, the giant egos in Beacon's administrative offices think every decision they make is the correct one, so they're chomping at the bit to show up the "hicks" from EDC. On the other hand, many board members recognize the danger such public hearings will cause to Beacon's highly controlled agenda.]
B. Deleting of the automatic renewal provision of the Agreement…and the addition of a more customary provision for renewal…
[SDM predicts an explosion over this idea. Forcing Beacon to annually renew will shift the balance of power back to the county and back to the politicians. Danger Will Robinson!]
C. Allowing the Board to appoint one (1) of the voting members to the Beacon Council’s Executive Committee.
[SDM Says: They should send Souto over there. Now that would be punishment!]
D. Requiring the Beacon Council annually to submit its line-item budget providing its anticipated revenues, salaries, and other expenditures and a report detailing the amount of the Beacon Council’s salaries and other expenditures which are paid by County funding.
E. Requiring the Beacon Council to create an advisory board comprised of regional economic development organizations to provide recommendations as to the development of the economic development strategy and any subsequent plans to implement such strategy.
[SDM calls this the Grant Miller provision. In fact, SDM Says: appoint Miller.]
F. Requiring other provisions or amendments which are necessary or appropriate to ensure that business tax dollars are being used responsibly and transparently.
SDM Bold Prediction: The Beacon Council will haul every one of its heavy hitters before the county commission to beg for a reprieve. If they were serious, however, they’d announce the end of the Nero era and they’d probably get one.
My prediction. Commissioner Bell will governor of Florida one day. She’s got brains, guts and integrity.
So now all advocates are labeled “troublemakers?”. Grant & Michael Miller, and their community newspapers, awaken sleeping giants by reporting information that the common person is unaware of. Kudos for their continuous fight to maintain balance and common sense in the small business arena.
It is time for the Beacon council to be as accountable as any other taxpayer supported entity. It is also time for the Beacon council to recognize that South Dade is no longer a farming field, but rather a vibrant and fast growing part of the Miami Dade landscape. Kudos to Grant Miller, Kudos to our commissioner Lynda Bell for taking the council to task. I look forward to watching the transformation of the Beacon. Our own Economic Development Council should become an important ingredient, as they truly understand South Dade.
In the Herald, there was a small blurb about the Beacon Council’s annual luncheon wherein they tout their successes. They claim they directly helped create 1,900 jobs. Are those jobs for today or spread over a time period? Usually companies gaining these incentive packages have years to create the jobs.
If the EDC is so valuable why have Mayor Stanczyk, Vice Mayor Pariser and Councilwoman Lindsay actually voted against supporting it?
Mayor Stanczyk, Vice Mayor Pariser and Councilwoman Lindsay belong in a local government hall of shame for failing to support economic development. They wont support anything they are not directly control. See the minutes from the March 13, 2012, council meeting. They want to see the plan: http://www.palmettobay-fl.gov/sites/all/files/2012-03-12_regular.pdf
This from a vice mayor who lied at the Palmetto Bay Business Association when he claimed to be ‘pro business’ at the candidate forum while he tells homeowners that he is the only candidate protecting homeowners from business interests.
Very slippery Mr. Pariser, who is a conservative Republican when at a home with a Romney sign and a lifelong Democrat when speaking to a family with an Obama sign out front.
Pariser will enact stricter zoning codes when speaking to the anti-Palmerites, but has been heard assuring voters concerned with the endless losing litigation that he will break from the troika and vote to end all foolishness after the election.
Which is it Mr. Pariser? Man of all things to all people? The candidate who never answers a question, but rather only asks what the voter thinks then tells them how he agrees?
Shame on anyone who votes to continue the stupidity in Palmetto Bay.
How does the economic impact of 1,900 undefined jobs compare to the actual yearly costs of the Beacon Council?
SDM, please open a back door to sending you Village documents. In response to a public records request for SHADE documents and transcripts prepared by Mr. Singer and me, Eve Boutsis has written 16-page letter to Pam Bondi seeking a legal opinion as to whether the Village must comply. You must read this s%&$ pile to fully appreciate the machinations, gyrations and contortions Boutsis is going through to prevent disclosure before the election. It also needs to be parsed and released to the public.
SDM has a strict policy of not receiving emails and documents. However, SDM would really enjoy reading the documents on John Dubois’s website or on Karyn Cunningham’s. SDM would think Mr. Pariser’s opponents would have the most to gain from exposing the village’s predilection towards keeping its residents in the dark.