Commission Minutes 06/20/1984
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I'I'BM R-lA .Ill!:QVBS'l' 01" MILDRED l"ALIt, PRBSIIlIBIIIT, IIIAIII BEACH IIOMBOIIIIIBRS
ASSOCIATI<>>I, IlIC. , 'l'O DISCUSS . .. . PllOPOSBD CIIAII2'BR ~
RELATING TO ISSUAIICE 01" BORDS OF $250,000 OR JI:)RB BY 2fIB CITY OF
IIIAIII BBACIl .....
ACTION:
Mrs. Falk appeared in oppo*ion to placement of proposed Charter
amendment repealing Section 37(h) regarding issuance of municipal
bonds, on election ballot.
No action required or taken.
WEISBURD: All right, let's go to R-lA, Request of Mildred Falk, President,
Miami Beach Homeowners Association, Inc., to discuss . ... proposed charter
amendment relating to issuance of bonds of $250,000 or more by the City of
Miami Beach .....
FALK: Mr. Vice Mayor, with your approval, I'd like to wait until we have a
full Commission. I think this is such an important matter ...
WEISBURD: You may not get one.
FALK: Well, then I'll
SINGER: Mrs. Falk, this thing probably won't come up again until 6 - 7
o'clock tonight and then you're lucky if you have a full Commission.
FALK: You're right. Well, I think you're right and I will speak.
SINGER:
Okay.
FALK: I see only three people, four people. All right. Five. You're here,
okay, Alex.
I want you to know, all of you, and the people in the audience what
brought about the Falk Amendment because this is the amendment that through
legal dexter i ty you're going to try to repeal by using the words 'we need
more flexibility' in issuing bonds. Of course you'd like to have more
flexibility. When they had the flexibility in 1975, according to the
package, they were very very generous with the way they spent our money and
I'll just read it for the purpose of the audience; they should know how the
money was spent. It was spent for -- $1,000,000 for graphic signage and
information for the Convention Center area, $2,500,000 for a park; $1,000,000
for lighting, and other stuff like that. I call it garbage. The public
response, when I was lucky enough to stop the bond validation, was so great
when they knew the horrendous things, how the Commission at that time
proposed to spend the public's money, that it never came up again.
Now, Mr. Singer, you asked me to get you the legal as to whether other
funds could be commi tted and in this package, which you now have, you see
that I did give you the legal power. All the Commission has to do, when they
issue a revenue bond, is not only enumerate the anticipated source of funds,
but also pledge any other funds that the City is entitled to collect, such as
occupational taxes, inspection taxes, license fees, anything at all to make
up any deficit. In other words, the City is responsible for any revenue
bonds.
The next question comes up, well, how come some cities go bankrupt or
they don't payoff their revenue bonds if they have the source of revenue,
and the answer is when you get a town of 5,000 people issuing $50,000,000
worth of bonds and pledges the revenue of the town, of course they have no
way of backing it up and the town goes bankrupt, and that is the reason.
But, our town fortunately is stable and we have means to tax each and every
person, tenant, homeowner, property owner, to make up any deficit.
Now, I foresee that if you were to have the power to issue bonds without
voter approval, you would not go to the County and ask for the $300,000,000
worth of bond issue which has already been authorized and validated by the
Florida Supreme Court for South Beach, but you'd turn right around and pledge
the same source, the tax increment financing, for the people of Miami Beach
to bear $300,000 worth of indebtedness, and I don't think that now that you
know what has already been done, and you have the figures available, the
$300,000,000, and you know that it's not only confined to the tax increment
financing, but any other financing the City can raise, that I think it would
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FALK (continued): be utterly reprehensible for anyone of you to vote to put
on the ballot to repeal the Falk Amendment no matter what device you use,
such words as .flexibility., and that's why I put in the agenda package and
that's what I wanted the people to know and the people will know, if this is
put on the ballot, why, Mrs. Falk and all of the people back in 1977 voted
for this, not once, but twice, and we should once and for all tell our
Commission .no.. We want to know what's going on and if we are going to have
to pay for it, we want to have the right to vote for it. I thank you.
WEISBURD: Thank you, Mrs. Falk.
(Meeting continues on next page)
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