1625-1 Various Miami Beach Even though Golden Beach is adjacent to the Broward city of Hallandale, any
effort to move it out of Dade into Broward would not be easy, Henning said.
First, county commissions as well as the school boards in both counties
would have to agree, Henning said. The Legislature would have to approve the
move at some point, and town residents would likely have to vote on the issue.
Unknown -- and it ' s one of the things that the attorneys will research --
is whether the state constitution would have to be amended if the Dade-Broward
line moves.
State Sen. Howard Forman, D-Pembroke Pines, said he recalls Hallandale
annexing a piece of unincorporated Dade in the mid-1970s without much
difficulty.
This whole issue is intriguing, " Forman said.
Miami-Dade Commission Chairwoman Gwen Margolis said she did not think there
was - -any earthly way" Golden Beach could join Broward.
Margolis ' district includes Golden Beach, but she had no inkling the town
was thinking of leapfrogging north into Broward.
"That nobody picked up the phone and called their own commissioner was
pretty bizarre, " Margolis said. " I haven't even had a chance to try and find
the mayor to get the information. "
Margolis said there are practical reasons Golden Beach couldn' t leave
Miami-Dade. For one, the town ' s residents have taken part in countywide bond
issues . "And they would be responsible for those kinds of issues and the debt
service that was committed. "
Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas said he heard about Golden Beach' s bid to
depart Dade in calls from reporters.
- - I 'd love to hear the concerns from them directly, " Penelas said. " I 'd
be more than willing to sit down with any Golden Beach official to discuss any
concerns they have regarding their county. "
Even if it falls flat, Golden Beach' s bid to break free from Miami-Dade is
another potential public relations nightmare for a county already stung by
criminal indictments, critical audits and ongoing investigations.
Rodriguez, a longtime Republican activist who was appointed to a vacancy on
the Golden Beach council by Gov. Lawton Chiles in February, was named the
town' s liaison with "the county or counties " four weeks ago in an effort to
see about getting better services.
Rodriguez said that in the past year, city residents paid $2 .5 million in
taxes to Miami-Dade. In exchange, the county repaired the town' s lone traffic
light, made 21 rescue calls and handled a few police complaints.
The final straw, Rodriguez said, came when Miami-Dade commissioners voted
to lend Golden Beach $250, 000 to help start a major storm sewer project. Then
the town got a letter from county staff reneging on the offer, saying - -the
county was not in the lending business. "
Rodriguez said his courting Broward is not a negotiating ploy to get better
Dade services .
"We ' re serious, " he said. - -We gave them plenty of opportunity to do
something for us. "
KEYWORDS: GOLDEN BEACH ASSET BROWARD
TAG: 9805230031
6 of 102, 46 Terms
mhcur WEALTHY TOWN 05/21/98
THE MIAMI HERALD
Copyright (c) 1998, The Miami Herald
DATE: Thursday, May 21, 1998 EDITION: Broward
SECTION: Local PAGE: 1B LENGTH: 80 lines
ILLUSTRATION: map: Golden Beach
SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: By RON ISHOY And RONNIE GREENE Herald Staff Writers
WEALTHY TOWN
MAKES BID TO
JOIN BROWARD
For the affluent town of Golden Beach in northeastern Miami-Dade County,
the Golden Ring may well be across the county line -- in Broward.
Golden Beach Town Council member Cruz R. Rodriguez asked the Broward
legislative delegation Wednesday to consider annexing the one-mile-long
beachfront town of palatial estates.
Miami-Dade County, Rodriguez said, takes and takes from Golden Beach and
gives nothing in return.
"They don 't care about us, " he said. "We' re just fed up with Dade.
That ' s the word -- fed up. "
Broward legislators were almost giddy about the idea of annexing a town of
831 residents with an assessed value of $217 million.
" I think it ' s really neat, " said state Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz,
D-Weston. — It ' s a testimonial to the good work we do here in Broward
County. "
The delegation then instructed its attorney to meet with Golden Beach Town
Attorney Jon Henning to see what legal steps would have to be taken to move
the beachside town into South Broward.
- - I can tell you that the Town Council is very sincere, " Henning said
after Rodriguez ' s meeting with Broward legislators. " ' It ' s not something
they' re taking lightly. And we 're very pleased about the reception we
received. "
Even though Golden Beach is immediately next to the Broward city of
Hallandale, any effort to move it out of Dade into Broward would not be easy,
Henning said.
First, county commissions as well as the school boards in both Dade and
Broward would have to agree, Henning said. The Legislature would have to
approve the move at some point, and town residents would likely have to vote
on the issue.
Unknown -- and it ' s one of the things that the attorneys will research --
is whether the state constitution would have to be amended if the Dade-Broward
line is somehow delineated in it.
State Sen. Howard Forman, D-Pembroke Pines, said he recalls Hallandale
annexing a piece of unincorporated Dade County in the mid-1970s without much
difficulty.
This whole issue is intriguing, " Forman said.
Miami-Dade Commission Chairwoman Gwen Margolis said she did not think there
was " 'any earthly way" Golden Beach could join Broward.
Margolis ' district includes Golden Beach, but she had no inkling the town
was thinking of leapfrogging into Broward.
That nobody picked up the phone and called their own commissioner was
pretty bizarre, " Margolis said. "I haven't even had a chance to try and find
the mayor to get the information. "
Margolis said there are practical reasons Golden Beach couldn't leave
Miami-Dade. For one, the town' s residents have taken part in countywide bond
issues. —And they would be responsible for those kinds of issues and the debt
service that was committed. "
Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas said he heard about Golden Beach' s bid to
depart Dade in calls from reporters.
" I 'd love to hear the concerns from them directly, " Penelas said. - - I 'd
be more than willing to sit down with any Golden Beach official to discuss any
concerns they have regarding their county. "
Even if it falls flat, Golden Beach' s bid to break free from Dade is
another potential public relations nightmare for a county already stung by
criminal indictments, critical audits and continuing investigations.
Rodriguez, a longtime Republican activist who was appointed to a vacancy on
the Golden Beach council by Gov. Lawton Chiles in February, was named the
town' s liaison with ' -the county or counties " four weeks ago in an effort to
see about getting better services .
Rodriguez said that in the last year, city residents paid $2 . 5 million in
taxes to Miami-Dade. In exchange, the county repaired the town' s lone traffic
light, made 21 rescue calls and handled a few police complaints.
The final straw, Rodriguez said, came when Miami-Dade commissioners voted
to lend Golden Beach $250 , 000 to help start a major storm sewer project. Then
the town got a letter from county staff reneging on the offer, saying - -the
county was not in the lending business. "
Rodriguez said his courting Broward is not a negotiating ploy to get better
Dade services.
We 're serious, " he said. - -We gave them plenty of opportunity to do
something for us. "
TAG: 9805230038
7 of 102 , 43 Terms
Transfer complete. Press [RETURN] to return to Menu: