Like the obscenely lucrative red-light camera scheme,
the Tax Lien Sales is the latest scam for quick-cash by money-grubbing cities across the nation. Though it is illegal in many states, South Florida has no problem selling tax debt in bulk to the highest bidders from a slew of shell companies set up by the very banks we taxpayers bailed out. Once these predators buy the debt from local gov, they quickly move in for the kill. Their targets are the most vulnerable among us.
Shame on the officials of the Town of Surfside.
Recently the town sent out over 80 notices to residents informing them that they had unresolved permits dating back, in some cases ( are you ready?), over 15 year. The burden of proof now rests on grandma to clear her records in town hall or face liens on their property. I know from conversations with several neighbors that the towns record-keeping is loaded with inaccurate information. One very decent widow was so intimidated as to be in tears over this presumed blemish on her otherwise perfect record of 40 years. If she can't fix it, she's f*cked.
Another item on the "assault package", the town was considering quietly changing the rules to prohibiting parking of residents vans with signs on ground that they are ugly or whatever. One friend and long-time resident who is also a state licensed contractor took offense. I know he has provided invaluable service to many neighbors for decades but now his livelihood is under attack. He marched in to town hall to express his discontent but our elected officials resisted until he pointed out that there are also plenty of sign-laden police cars parked in driveways in the town which would be affected by the proposed ordinance. The oppressors quickly back-peddled… for the time being.
I have been holding back posting anything serious from this sleepy seaside town because, frankly there is nothing good to say, other than the ocean is perfectly beautiful.There are plenty of painfully unpleasant affronts to ordinary citizens here that are not getting attention. The big problem is these underhanded and contemptuous schemes are happening everywhere but people are helpless unless they organize. The system knows it can safely go after us one at a time.
Next post will be about the town's plan to: install OneArmBandit parking meters and red-light cameras then tear up all our roads for a new water main...
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Well....let's organize shall we? It should be f&*(ing easy in our 1/2 square mile hamlet. Mayor Dietch has blown our minds turning out more Machievellian than Burkett. Who goes to the meetings and who speaks out save for their own special interests.
ReplyDeleteWe suggest joining forces with www.savesurfside.com
ReplyDeleteand who http:controlssurfsideflorida.blogspot.com for the most effective way to gain local support.
Thanks for speaking up.
Error: the blog address is
ReplyDeletehttp//whocontrolssurfsideflorida.blogspot.com
Greed and corruption.
ReplyDeleteSince 2006 the town of Surfside has been afflicted with the diseases of conflicts of interest and failed ethics and squandering public money and lies to taxpayers so can the community be saved before complete permanenet damage is done?
ReplyDeleteNot only is the town persecuting the 80 people with the ANCIENT permits but they are showing their HYPOCRASY by giving one family (obviously a friend of the former mayor) a super sweet deal of a ZERO PERCENT loan, payment of their realestate taxes, the purchase of their home at 100 % premium to market with absolutely NO QUESTIONS ASKED by Dietch and his YES MEN. SHAM! FRAUD! DISGRACE!
ReplyDeleteYou must mean the Maranon bail out
ReplyDeleteTalk about the 80 residents with the ancient permits!
ReplyDeleteAfter paying the $80 and being told that their property is not in violation, the Town refuses to refund the money.
EXTORTION
Which former mayor, what zero percent loan, stop the code and tell us what you are talking about this smells really bad
ReplyDeleteThe entire Maranon fiasco should be investigated by the FBI. Graubart tried to ask some questions at the last meeting but as usual the other four blew him off. Why are they trying to cover it up?????
ReplyDeleteFollow the Insane Maranon bail out fiasco on the http://whocontrolssurfside.blogspot.com blog. It's a real eye opener to sleepy Surfside residents.
ReplyDeleteWOW WHAT AN EYE OPENER IT IS
ReplyDeleteInsane Maranon Bail Out
Can someone explain to me why we hired the attorney known as the lawyer who made Sunny Isles possible? Is that the Surfside we want?
ReplyDeleteIt's not what you want. It's what (MONEY GRABBERS want).
ReplyDelete"We need hotels, we need garages, we need cops as code enforcers, we must not ask questions about how we blew $5 million, we need the attorney who built Shadey Isles, we need bonds, we need to be like everyone else"
ReplyDeleteFederal money being corrupted. State and local money being corrupted. Where is it going - there is no outside view. All information comes from Surfside Town Hall. Is it credible? Accurate? Or not. How many layers of smoke and blankets are covering up where the money has gone, where it is going, and who is ending up with it. "Contributions" in exchange for zoning "favors"? Chaning laws and systems to facilitate administrators and lawyers selling the public out to avarice?
ReplyDeleteSince the birth of America, men and women have fought and died to protect our nation, our democracy, and our right to vote. Our community here in Surfside Florida has traditionally recognized Independence Day, Veterans Day, and Memorial Day and honored our nation, its military and veterans,through times of both war and peace and we are proud of our town’s long standing ideals. lf only they were not being disrespected by our own town government.
On this day in 2011 we must sadly recognize that right here in our own community, the Town of Surfside, we are being denied the right to vote. Denied the very rights that Independence Day is all about. Town officials have adamantly refused to comply with the Town Charter and as a result we have not been allowed to have a referendum — no public votes - on critically important matters such as:
—- dozens of no-bid contracts given out, siphoning off & depleting the town’s savings
-— the needless demolition and destruction of the beautiful, historic Community Center
-- the expenditure of millions of dollars of town savings (far more than is being admitted to by Town Hall) for demolition and to build a new and smaller Community Center with no Auditorium or Library, to be run on a deficit basis
—— the sell-out and complete changing of the Town's zoning code to vastly increase allowable development, density and congestion
—— the Town going into debt for 16 million dollars plus 9 million in interest and fees to replace the entire water and sewer system to expand capacity for future development in Bal Harbour and Surfside while simultaneously soaking our residents with enomiously increased, oppressive water and sewer bills.
Surfside is being run far more like a dictatorship than as a participatory democracy. Town offcials provide cover for the drain of town money, and they let developers write zoning laws to suit their agenda.
Special interests reign and manipulate all official decisions.
lt is a disgrace that we have been refused the right to vote on such crucial issues. The community has been permanently damaged as a result. We need help! to have our Town Hall return to the ways of the Public Interest and to abandon its current priority of serving special interests at our expense.
Our wallets, and our quality of life, are being ripped off!
Don’t be deceived by town officials’ false, contrived, bullying rhetoric.
Surfside is being dragged into gridlock. Congested these days not only with overwhelming traffic, but also with shady deals that smell like a community being sold out. Taxpayers’ money, quality of life, and even public safety is being drained away by irresponsible government.
ReplyDeleteTown officials are on an irrational spending binge. Disingenuously proclaiming a token tax rate “decrease” as political cover for themselves, officials hide from the truth that is painfully obvious. We are paying incredibly MORE to Town Hall than ever before. More in property taxes, more in water/ sewer fees, more for sanitation fees, much more total money flow from us to Surfside. We pay so much more - and receive so much less in service. Why? Because we are paying for overdevelopment and private profits.
Town officials are patting each other on the back. The Town Attorney covers for them. Why? Town officials are rapdily pushing huge, dark, costly, special interest deals. They approve the deals without even informing the public. Covered in layers of deception. The taxpayers will only find out when its all far too late.
Contact the Department of Justice. Demand a stop to the outrageous abuses at Surfside Town Hall.