1639-1 Politics •
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HARMONIOUS TEAMWORK
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RESULTS IN SOUND GOVERNMENT
Capable, Conscientious City Officials Contribute Much To
Miami Beach's Fame As Most Efficiently Operated City
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conscientious city eoun- Beach has one-fourth of all the hotel
CAPABLE,cilmen—civic-minded commun. r , rooms in Florida.
ity leaders of character and in +Agrti , , Although population multiplied
tegrity—contributed much to Miami nearly 14 times in 21 years, operating
Beach's rise to fame as a winter and costs were only a little more than
summer resort. trebled. Even the current tax levy
is less than two and one-third times
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Since its incorporationyears the 1925 levy.
ago, Miami Beach has been fortun-
ate in having exceptionally competent • .k• '`
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Low interest rates on bonds,annual
city councils, such as the present one ;t-, l`, balanced budgeta•''and prompt tax
composed of Mayor Herbert A. Pt-ink,
404
collections indicate the sound finan-
cialWilliam Burbridge, John H. Levi, ,&v&I structure of Miami Beach. •
Marcie Liberman, Ralph C. Pole, D. Stv0,, t' ; Twenty-one years ago it cost Miami
Lee Powell and Louis_F. Snedigar. Beach an average of 5.61 per cent to
They have served an aggregate of borrow money. Miami Beach's last
571/2 years. lit
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t two bond issues, with an average ma-
John Levi, veteran of 28 years on turity of 151/2 years, cost only 1.75
the council, was its president for 10 per cent—lower than the interest rate
City Manager Claude A. Renshaw of U. S. Government bonds of 'the
years and mayor for 51/2 years. _
Snedigar was elected mayor by pop- Gilman named by the council as its same maturity. Thus, Miami Beach
ular vote for four terms totaling 81/2 chairman. bonds may be considered as safe an
years before the city charter was Sound judgment of Miami Beach investment as federal government
changed. Now tht mayor is a coun- city councils was best portrayed by bonds. •
- their appointment and subsequent , Called "stone face" at his desk,
biennial re-appointment of Claude A.
` Renshaw as city manager during the
past 21 years.
Operatiiig as a harmonious team, •
city councils and Renshaw have made
Miami Beach one of the most effi- •
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ciently operated municipalities in the yr •
• world. Only about a dozen city man- -' i •
agers in the nation.have remained at
their post as long as Renshaw and .4--!.:
• probably none has made a better re-
cord. t
', W ,n Miami Beach's phenomenal pro- ��
," ` , 'Id gress in 21 years of a city manager ;
Renshaw says "no" as quickly to a construction costs were abnormally
. friend as to a stranger if saying"yes" high. Cost of the improvements had
is not for the best interest of Miami become disproportionate to the bene-
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Beach. fits as many of the accumulating
His vigilance in the taxpayers' be- liens with interest had exceeded the
half was noticeable particularly dun- .; value of the property. Quick action
ing the depression years. In 1933, <. .. was necessary in the spring of 1934
with city. council approval, Renshaw to prevent increased taxation of other
personally negotiated the refunding property and to encourage payment
of $2,711,000 in municipal bonds ma- P of liens and general taxes.
tuning between 1933 and 1940. Ne-
Renshaw recommended and the
cessity for this action was caused by city council approved on March 16,
heavy debt service requirements dun- 1934, a plan by which the liens were
ing a time of increasing tax delin- 4/5
adjusted. His foresight contributed
quencies and declining property val- to Miami beach's quick recovery.
nes reflecting the national economic
In less than three years the liens were
condition. reduced to $24,574 and during the
In addition to affecting consider- subsequent 13 years tax collections
Tom F. Smith Publicity Director
able annual reduction in debt service, _. have averaged better than 99 per
Renshaw in this one transaction saved to be outstanding improvement liens cent. Delinquent taxes accumulated
Miami Beach approximately $100,000 of $741,391 and delinquent taxes of since Miami Beach came into being
by handling negotiations himself in- $468,291. The majority of these im- in 1915 amount to less than$30,000—
stead of employing a bond house. provements were made and the liens a tribute both to RelisSlaw and C. 1W.
The national depression also caused levied in 1925, 1926 and 1927 when (Continued on Page 18)
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Mayor Herbert A. Frink of Miami Beach (third from right), presenting watch to City Clerk C. W. Tomlinson on
occasion of Tomlinson's 25th anniversary as city employe. Looking on (left to right) are City Councilmen William
Burbridge, Marcie Lieberman, John H. Levi, Ralph C. Pole, D. Lee Powell and Louis F. Snedigar.
10 TT e-nI.Tl�. Tii+•.eT r.rr. �.�..rnw--. --�--__ _..__..-