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1625-2 Various Miami Beach 1 of 102 , 7 Terms mhcur GOLDEN BEACH 05/22/98 THE MIAMI HERALD Copyright (c) 1998, The Miami Herald DATE: Friday, May 22 , 1998 EDITION: Final SECTION: Local PAGE: 1B LENGTH: 71 lines SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: By DEBRA FRANCO and MORGAN WINSOR Herald Staff Writers GOLDEN BEACH TOWN OFFICIAL ACTED ALONE COURTING BROWARD WAS HIS DUTY, HE SAYS News of Golden Beach' s desire to defect to Broward County came as a shock -- especially to the town' s mayor and most of its council members. At least one Miami-Dade County commissioner said the idea will never come to pass. Golden Beach Councilman Cruz Rodriguez -- the town' s liaison to Miami-Dade County -- apparently acted alone when he pitched the idea of seceding to Broward officials on Wednesday. ' - I don' t have to notify anyone, " Rodriguez said. " I used my power to make the move because that ' s what I 'm here to do. If we fail, we will be in the same position as we are now -- fighting Dade County. " Miami-Dade Commission Chairwoman Gwen Margolis said she was shocked. She spent much of the day answering calls from parents worried that their children would not be able to attend Miami-Dade public schools. " It ' s bizarre, " Margolis said. - - It ' s the craziest idea I 've ever heard of in my life. It will never happen. " Rodriguez told Broward legislators the town didn't feel supported by Miami-Dade and asked if Broward would be willing to take in its 831 residents and $217 million tax base. But he didn' t discuss his presentation with town officials, even though they had a council meeting Tuesday night. Mayor Judy Cuenca said she had no idea what Rodriguez was up to. " I have no desire to secede, " she said Thursday. Other council members echoed her comments. ' - I don' t know if he was authorized to do what he did, " Councilwoman Sari Addicott said. " I am so opposed to it. I don't why this itty-bitty town is getting sucked into this mess . " But some residents wanted to know more. " It makes sense, we ' re closer to Broward, " Sandy Segall said. " I 'd like to look into the issue more closely. I don't know if it would help us or hurt us. " Others, though, had doubts . "No way it ' s going to happen, " said Harold Kronstadt, a 32-year resident. "They won' t let a rich community like this just slip away. " Margolis said county officials haven't discussed the idea with Golden Beach. She said she has never spoken to Rodriguez. Town Attorney Jon Henning accompanied Rodriguez to Broward but said he didn' t expect to create such a furor. "We just wanted to get an initial reaction, " Henning said. "We don't mean this as an insult to Dade County, but the town is trying to look out for its best interests. " The notion of dumping Dade for Broward has been batted around in Golden Beach for years . "Once a year or so, residents would get up during our council meetings and say, 'Let ' s become part of Broward, ' " Cuenca said. "But it ' s always been tongue-in-cheek. It ' s an expression of frustration. " Like many smaller municipalities, a lot of Golden Beach residents feel they get few services for their tax dollars. Golden Beach has its own police department and maintains its own roads, except for AlA. Golden Beach officials became even more disgruntled last year, when Dade reneged on an interest-free loan to help renovate the town' s government center and meeting hall . Even if Rodriguez manages to sway fellow council members into supporting his plan, seceding from Dade County may be difficult. No one -- not Golden Beach' s attorney or the county' s attorneys -- seems to know exactly how secession would be accomplished. - "To my knowledge, this has never happened in the 25 years I have been with the county, " said Murray Greenberg, first assistant county attorney. " I don' t know of any time when a municipality has tried to break away. " KEYWORDS: DADE GOLDEN BEACH BROWARD TAG: 9805230239 4 of 102 , 30 Terms mhcur DEFECT TO 05/22/98 mhcur GOLDEN BEACH 05/21/98 THE MIAMI HERALD Copyright (c) 1998, The Miami Herald DATE: Thursday, May 21, 1998 EDITION: Final SECTION: Local PAGE: 1B LENGTH: 79 lines ILLUSTRATION: map: Golden Beach SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: By RON ISHOY And RONNIE GREENE Herald Staff Writers GOLDEN BEACH 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 WassermanSchultz, 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 annex the beachside town into 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. "