A new article published today online in The Miami Herald, NMB tentatively approves budget with police layoffs (http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/07/2397073/nmb-tentatively-approves-budget.html), focuses strictly on the fact that the North Miami Beach police UNION decided to lay off officers instead of finding other means to cut its spending.  We keep hearing that the city is going to lay off 17 police officers, but we don’t hear about any concessions the UNION is offering in order to avoid these layoffs.  Mike Pons, UNION president, keeps insisting that the city is “hiding money.”

The article states, “Officer Harvette Smith, 41, said that the union had hired a forensic accountant, who said the budget shortfall is $237,000 and not $3.9 million as Bonner claims.”

Aside from the fact that I’d love to know how much this forensic accountant actually cost the UNION, I’d love to see the magical accounting that it took for this finance expert to come up with such a disparity.  If I were a betting woman, I’d wager a ton of money that this accountant, egged on by the UNION, is counting on the money that must be paid back to the reserves for the water department that were pillaged and raped by the former city manager, Kelvin Baker.  The fact that our utility has absolutely no reserves for emergencies, and the fact that the utility’s credit rating was downgraded by Fitch because of the lack of a reserve, means absolutely NOTHING to the UNION.  They don’t understand the concept nor do they care to understand.  The UNION just wants what it wants, when it wants it, and screw all y’all who actually live in North Miami Beach!

The fact is that the four intelligent members on the Council, Mayor Vallejo, Councilwoman Barbara Kramer, Councilwoman Beth Spiegel and Councilwoman Marlen Martell, actually do understand that the city has to spend responsibly and save for a rainy day.  They somehow accept the fact that revenue is way down and that in order to maintain a decent level of services for the residents – you know, the people who actually pay for those services, they need to pass a responsible budget.  They also know that the passing of this budget is only the beginning of a long and arduous process to streamline the city’s finances and change the entire way it’s run in order to restore sanity back to our government.  The previous administration literally halted and prevented any forward progress, and depleted every last dime of our emergency savings accounts.

The UNION president Mike Pons scoffs at the recent credit downgrade, telling the Council that they’re stupid for even worrying about such silliness.  He actually admonished them, “Better be careful where you get your advice!”

Oh, yes, Mayor and Council!  PLEASE!  Listen to Mike Pons, Financial Wizard Extraordinaire!  Don’t take advice from the Fitch rating company.  They don’t know ANYTHING about economics.  Mike Pons will solve all your problems if you just follow HIS advice!

I got a word of advice for Mr. Pons.  Please take a number and go stand behind Phyllis Smith in the STFU Line!

Pons also told the Herald that the Mayor “gives little opportunity for the community to voice their opinions on the issue.”  Let’s see…NINE budget workshops and four council meetings later, most of which were centered around the police department, including an inordinate amount of time given to public comment…and Pons has the freaking chutzpah to say that the community wasn’t given an opportunity to voice their opinions!  In fact, Pons himself was given TWENTY MINUTES to address the council when other public speakers were limited to the customary three minutes.  He’s been given more than enough air time!

Puh-LEEZE!  Gimme a break!

We have spent almost no time discussing anything else BUT the police department!  The Mayor, Council, Manager and residents are blue in the face talking about the police department, and frankly, we are all so over talking about the freaking police department.  Mike Pons, guess what?  We are so over you!

Because we’ve been hijacked by the police UNION, we’ve spent almost no time talking about any other department, most of which are also losing employees.  Just ask the Three Mental Muffins, who are frustrated beyond belief that they have to give up their personal secretaries, which is the main (but not the only) reason none of them voted to pass the budget.  The fact that the Council are considered part timers, and not even employees at that, it’s hard to believe that they would raise such a ruckus about losing not one, but two, secretaries.  I understand Phyllis’ concern that some of the departments are still top heavy, such as the Manager’s and Attorney’s office.  I have said numerous times that these two departments don’t need two assistants each.  I also understand that the Finance Department is STILL a complete disaster.  That definitely needs to be addressed.  Despite the fact that the people from Customer Service say they take hundreds of calls a day, and despite the fact that they have a ton of employees, no one I speak to can ever get someone on the phone.  What’s up with that?

So, yes, there are still problems.  But the biggest problem the city is facing right now at this very minute is that if we do not pass a balanced budget by the next meeting on September 20, 2011, we are facing seriously stiff fines from the State.  This is the reality of the situation.

The Mayor, Council and Manager have vowed that the passing of this budget is only the beginning of the restructuring of our city and our financial mess.  They have stated emphatically that as soon as this budget is approved, they will get back to work immediately and continue to make cuts.  Councilwoman Martell stated at the last council meeting that this particular budget can be amended at any time, and she told me she will make sure that it is amended because it is not perfect.  Even though I fully expect at least two of the council members to slack off since they never took an interest in running the city anyway, but at least four, maybe five, of them mean business.  I believe that they will do this, and I will personally hold them to their promise.

Mike Pons may not care about the truth, or how he behaves, or what people think of him, but I have a reputation to maintain.  My entire premise for this blog is to root out corruption at City Hall and to demand responsible, accountable and transparent governance.  If I were to be remiss in that goal, I would let all of you down and, even more importantly, I would compromise my own principles.  I am not about to do that for anyone or anything.

That being said, I am putting my faith in this Mayor, this Council and this City Manager that they are being honest and forthright, that they are being fiscally responsible and that they will not rest until all of the city’s finances are set right.  They had better not let any of us down or they will hear it from me.

In the meantime, the bigger problem is one that Mike Pons himself said at the August 2nd Council meeting when he stated, “The city employed us.  The city has given us the job.”  He should repeat that a hundred times a day while looking in the mirror!  The problem with Mike Pons and his UNION is that they keep forgetting the basic truth that they are the employees.  He forgot that truth when he accosted the Mayor after the last Council meeting and decided to grandstand in front of news cameras.  He continues to ignore that truth on a daily basis when he disrespects not only his employer but the residents who pay his salary.  Since Pons himself doesn’t get it, let me remind him that he works for the City of North Miami Beach.  Not the other way around.

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”