Here we go again. Last night there was a shooting in North Miami Beach. While it wasn’t technically within our boundaries but in the area known as the “doughnut hole,” most people outside NMB don’t know the difference. Heck, most people who live in our city don’t know the difference. The truth is it doesn’t even matter, since the doughnut hole is actually right smack in the middle of a larger tract of land known as the City of North Miami Beach. Like the hole of an actual doughnut, if you walk into Krispy Kreme and buy a doughnut you also get the hole. In the city, we surround them, and like it or not, for all intents and purposes, they are us. They may not pay taxes to our city coffers, and they may have their own police department, i.e., Miami Dade County, but to the unsuspecting visitor we are all one big happy family. Along with our own cops, the Miami-Dade County police patrol our city, and I have yet to hear of an incident when one of our own police officers refused to fly to the scene of an emergency inside the doughnut hole when called. I believe it’s called reciprocity.
As for this latest incident where, according to news reports (http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/14/2407306/man-shot-dead-in-the-middle-of.html, http://miami.cbslocal.com/2011/09/14/man-shot-dead-on-busy-n-miami-beach-street/, http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/21005373313921/), two men were arguing inside a store at the Mall at 163rd Street, continued their argument outside to the parking lot and then into the main thoroughfare, and eventually one of them shot and killed the other one.
Lost amid our own news yesterday, there was also a shootout at a Subway restaurant in Sunrise, two people were killed in a nightclub in Lauderdale Lakes early this morning, and a teen was killed yesterday in Boynton Beach after a botched armed robbery attempt. Yeah, bad shit happens. All the time.
Many of you out there are probably screaming that gun laws need to be strengthened. Yeah, that’ll help. If you take away the guns from all the people who are legally licensed to carry them and own guns responsibly, all you’ll be left with are the thugs who somehow get their hands on guns illegally – and they will no matter what the gun laws are – and who will have even more unarmed moving targets for them to shoot. I’m pretty sure that once the investigations of all these shootings are completed, the results will show that most, if not all of the suspects were not licensed to carry a weapon. I’m also pretty sure that tougher gun laws won’t keep guns out of the hands of these thugs. Just think about that while you consider more ways to take away the rights of law abiding citizens.
Some of the comments on the Miami Herald’s article are either ignorant or just plain stupid. Some of the comments come from people who have no clue that North Miami Beach is separate from the City of Miami or Miami-Dade County. Typical Herald readers, I guess. Even scarier…they vote. But the ones claiming that this shooting wouldn’t have happened if (a) there were more cops on the street, or (b) we had a different police chief, or (c) our local officials are to blame, or (d) gun laws are too lenient, are completely insane.
First of all, this particular incident could not have been prevented no matter how many or how few police officers are patrolling our streets. The argument started in a store, which is private property, and escalated in a way that can only be described as a pissing contest between two men whose testosterone levels were in overdrive, one of them got their feathers ruffled because he perceived that the other one dissed him somehow (What? Did he have the audacity to look at the other dude’s girlfriend or something?), and he decided that the man needed killing. I’m no expert, but I’m pretty damn sure there’s not a cop in this city (or any other city for that matter) who has the ability to be driving around and think, “Gee, I’d better pull in to this T-Mobil store (or Subway, or nightclub, or bank) because I have a premonition that two assholes are going to start shooting each other. Smells like trouble to me.”
Despite the fact that this shooting happened in the county’s jurisdiction, even if it had happened within our city limits, no amount of police work could have prevented this crime unless a cop just HAPPENED to be in that store at that particular moment and watched the argument start. Do you have any idea of the odds of that happening? Slim to none. No matter how many or how few cops we have, sometimes shit just happens.
That all being said, however, there are a lot of things that could have been done for decades in North Miami Beach that weren’t done, which probably could have prevented the culture of crime that now pervades our city and its surrounding areas, including the doughnut hole.
For starters, let’s start with the crazy boundaries that our city encompasses. I’d love to know in whose infinite wisdom decided where North Miami Beach’s city limits end and another jurisdiction’s begins. Never mind the doughnut holes (there are more than one), have you ever seen a map of NMB and pondered the zig zag and interwoven boundaries we have? I have, and I can tell you none of it makes any sense whatsoever. Along Biscayne Boulevard, one side of the street is NMB and the other North Miami. You even have properties that are half in one city and half in the other, such as the land where the Melting Pot restaurant sits. You can drive in either direction on Biscayne, go through North Miami Beach, then enter North Miami, then re-enter NMB. Is there any wonder that visitors have no idea where the hell they are? Or WHO we are for that matter?
Ditto for 163rd Street.
If you think that’s crazy, try driving through Skylake. I dare anyone to figure out what jurisdiction you’re in without looking at the color of the garbage cans.
This is just plain nuts.
Then we get to one of our biggest problems, and I’m pretty sure you’ll think this is trivial: LACK OF CODE ENFORCEMENT. Yeah, I hear your sneering laugh. Laugh all you want, but to criminals and gang members we are nothing but the Wild, Wild West. We ostensibly have codes, only no one knows what all the rules are, and more importantly, no one enforces them. A perfect example is that you’re supposed to have only one family living in single family homes. Isn’t that right Councilman Frantz Pierre? I’m just saying.
The fact that in North Miami Beach, no one enforces this single family home ordinance, any number of gang members are having a field day renting homes and apartments and holing up in those abodes with their (illegal) guns and drugs. And no one is stopping them. According to Mubarak Kazan’s “broken window theory,” when a neighborhood is allowed to become run down it attracts society’s worst elements because they can hide in plain sight. If Code Enforcement were on the ball, and people would start taking pride in their property, these thugs would not be welcome in the neighborhood.
Another thing that’s been completely mismanaged is the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA). Much of the property within the CRA should be demolished and redeveloped. Instead, we get useless roundabouts on Northeast 19th Avenue and storefront facades. I’m pretty sure the CRA money should be used to improve urban blight. 19th Avenue was hardly “blight.” Using eminent domain, the City of North Miami Beach’s CRA should be targeting the crack houses and Section 8 housing right around City Hall, razing those havens for gang members and other criminals, and improving the property. Throwing money at problems without oversight or urban planning doesn’t cut it.
Until you fix the Code and start enforcing it, this city will continue to be a shit hole. Firing two hard working Code Enforcement Officers and keeping the useless department head was probably the dumbest idea imaginable. No wonder the criminals think of us as the Wild, Wild West. We are.
Some of the crime problems are out of our control no matter what. Until the Federal Government cracks down on illegal aliens and starts deporting them, we probably will never get the gang problem solved. No, they are not “undocumented residents.” They are ILLEGAL aliens and they are committing a crime simply by being here. A good many of these illegal criminals are also committing other crimes. Mostly with guns. Guns obtained illegally. Good luck with trying to toughen gun laws when you can’t get rid of the illegal people who illegally have them in the first place. Use common sense, people!
Then again, I know who my audience is and I know I’m wasting my breath.
Lastly, the increase in crime in general is directly proportionate to the decline in our economy. There are desperate people out there who are resorting to desperate and unthinkable measures, including theft. Some of these normally docile people are just going postal by fear of the future. I cannot even imagine what goes through a person’s mind if he has no job and hungry children at home. I’m not condoning resorting to crime, but who can predict what will happen if someone gets desperate enough?
But, the bottom line is unless a cop had been present in that particular store at that particular moment, I seriously doubt anything that any police officer could have done would have been able to prevent last night’s shooting and the murder of a person in cold blood. Like I said, they don’t have crystal balls in their police cars. I know we are having “issues” with the police department with respect to budget problems, but the crime wave we are experiencing is not their fault. It’s a combination of things – some within our control, some not.
There are, however, some things over which we do have control. We all have to be constantly vigilant and at the highest level of awareness of our surroundings. We need to avoid confrontation at any cost because we never know who we’re dealing with. We need to report crime and suspected illegal activity immediately. If you are a gun owner, it is especially important to act responsibly and keep your guns locked up and secure from theft. We need to be good, honest, responsible citizens and obey the law ourselves.
Lastly, I implore you that whatever happens, don’t invite trouble. If someone cuts in front of you in line at Publix or in traffic, let them. If someone gives you the middle finger, smile and run like hell in the opposite direction. Getting into a pissing contest with someone might get you dead. I’m just saying.
Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”
The 19th Avenue traffic circles have nothing to do with the CRA and aren’t even close to the CRA boundary. These were (re-installed) through a grant, at no cost to the City, in order to control the speeding east-west cut-through traffic and the stacking of up to six vehicles between each pair of medians creating almost daily accidents up and down the avenue. if you look at any old aerials of our city, you will see that these circles were an original feature of this avenue and were brought back for good reason. Anybody that lives along this avenue will tell you how much better traffic is now.
Then I was given wrong information, because when I asked I was told it was CRA money. Perhaps the person who told me was confusing grant money with CRA. Either way, I find them to be useless. I live off 19th Avenue and these roundabouts have actually made the traffic situation much worse. If there is a driver in the roundabout waiting for traffic flow to open up so he (or she) can either turn left or go across 19th, any other vehicle wanting to make a left at that street must wait behind the car in the intersection, thereby bringing traffic on 19th Avenue to a grinding halt. Anyone behind the stopped car is in danger of hitting it. I am guessing that sooner or later there is going to be a serious accident on one of those streets. I hope not, but I’m afraid it will eventually happen. The only way to alleviate this problem would be a turning lane, but that would have cut into the median and would destroy the entire look. I admit the landscaped median and roundabouts are very attractive, but the way it has been designed is not conducive to easing traffic flow.
Actually, the car behind them, if crossing, is supposed to wait behind the stop sign; this is no different than the law agains blocking an itersection. At a 30 MPH limit and two lanes in each direction, a car waiting to make a left on one of the lanes should not be a problem and it definitely would not bring “traffic to a halt”. Difficult raffic flow is what keeps cut-through speeders off local roads; why do you think they are called traffic control devices and all the better cities are doing it? before this project 19th avenue was a highway.
I’m not talking about cars that are coming from one of the side streets and have stop signs. I’m talking about cars already traveling on 19th Avenue and needing to make a left hand turn. If there is a car in the roundabout, the driver also needing to turn left has no choice but to stop on 19th Avenue and wait for the intersection to clear before proceeding. This definitely slows the flow of traffic on 19th. Also, if someone is speeding on that street (yes, it happens all the time when no cops are there), there is even a greater danger that car will hit someone who is stopped on 19th waiting behind someone in the intersection.
I’m sure you’re right about it naturally slowing down traffic. I don’t quite understand the engineering stuff about the corners, but it sounds logical to me. I also think the median and roundabouts look nice. Never disputed that. But there is still the danger that whenever anyone stops on a major street there’s always the chance they’ll get hit from behind. Yes, the speed limit is 30, but I can’t tell you how many times I nearly get run off the road by people flying by at 60 MPH or more! The cops do a great job catching speeders, but they can’t be there all the time. Has anyone considered traffic lights every few blocks? That would definitely slow everyone down!
Did someone say doughnuts? Jelly please.
As fate would have it, a cop who uses the screen name “Judgegones” posted a comment about this shooting on the leoaffairs.com website last night, jumping to the erroneous conclusion that I would be the first to blame the cops for this incident. He wrote:
“News flash-9/14/11, another deadly shooting in NMB. Does this surprise you STP’s and Staph Kinzel. Welcome to Mayberry!!!! 2 murders in 4 days. Yup, layoffs sound like the answer to me. After all, i don’t have to worry about that where i live. Put that in your blog Staph and don’t forget to mention how you benefited from your husbands UNION contracts and enjoy his government pension he received for FREE! Oh! And how your enjoying his DROP monies too. Its no wonder why everyone laughs at your hypocracy. Lol!!!!!!”
Obviously, Officer Judgejones (any relation to Judge Judy?) hasn’t read this column or he’d know I am neither surprised nor accusatory.
I posted this comment so that the residents of NMB who read this blog will know what some of the cops actually think of those of us who are taxpaying residents, and what they think of our city. This is not the first disparaging remark Officer Judgejones has made. On 9/11, for example, he wrote:
“To all our suporters, we will go above and beyond for you. To the “STP”, we know who you are, If you need us i’ll be the best reporter i can be, then i’ll hit the submit button and let someone else deal with your problems. I’ll collect my $100k a year and go to my beautiful city where my kids can play outside without the fear of a driveby shooting. Lol!!! Like they say, F&$k you pay me!!!! Lol!!!!”
Apparently to this NMB cop, who LOLs a lot, we are nothing but a joke, good only for paying his $100,000.00 salary while he laughs all the way to his crime free neighborhood.
And yet, I’m sure Officer Judgejones can’t imagine why so many of us are fed up and begging the city manager to let the county take over our police department. Some of the members of our own department obviously have no respect for the city or the residents who live here. It really does take only one bad apple to spoil the whole damn bunch.
And one more thing: There was actually a lot of urban and transportation planning thought given to the 19 Avenue project. In addition to controlling east-west cut though traffic, all corner radii were reduce to 30′. Before this project, the corners of every intersection had 75′ radii, which allowed a right turn at 45 to 50 MPH without having to touch the brakes. Now anybody that wishes to go over the 30 MPH limit must slow down to the proper speed before turning off the avenue into residential neighborhoods. This small, but effective change has also greatly reduced the speeding along this residential roadway which had become a speedway for rush-hour drivers.
Whenever a city like Coral Gables does this kind of traffic control project, the residents jump for joy and are thankful for the improvement to their quality of life; but whenever North Miami Beach does it, it is seen as a waste of time and money. So I have to wonder if this is a result of ignorance or just lack of self respect. Why are we any less deserving of this kind of roadway improvement than the residents Coral Gables?
Stephanie you make the comment:
“And yet, I’m sure Officer Judgejones can’t imagine why so many of us are fed up and begging the city manager to let the county take over our police department. Some of the members of our own department obviously have no respect for the city or the residents who live here. It really does take only one bad apple to spoil the whole damn bunch”.
Do you actually think that the County, if they take over, will care more and have more respect about the City than the current officers? The County has over 3,000 officers which bid during shift change every 4 months what district they wsnt to work in the entire County. You will constantly get new officers working this area, and they will surely have no attachment to NMB. Plus, the egos of the politicians in this City are too huge to not want to have their own police department. Look how they wanted and got their own Rescue Station, which they are paying the County over $140,000 a year, just to maintain it open with 2 or 3 Rescue personnel. And we know that 4 of the 7 Council members live in Eastern Shores. Just saying…..
Ricky, I’ll answer your questions and comment one at a time.
IF the county were to take over, I would expect nothing less than complete professionalism. I have dealt with county officers in the past and they were professional, courteous and respectful. I expect ALL law enforcement officers to treat the public with respect. I have to be honest with you that since this budget issue has reared its ugly head, I have not seen much professionalism or respect from many of our own officers. And I’m not talking about myself or their responses to my blog (although many of them have been great even if they disagree with me). I am specifically talking about the way I’ve seen them at meetings staring down residents they don’t like, and I’m also referring to their comments on that leoaffairs website. I said to someone just yesterday that while it’s nice to have police officers who know us personally and greet us by name, as the saying goes, “familiarity breeds contempt.” What I mean by that is that they stop seeing us as the public they’re supposed to serve and protect and start treating us like we’re annoying uncles at a Bar Mitzvah – they have to greet us because we’re family, but they’re not happy about it. It’s gotten to the point that an outside agency made up of complete strangers who haven’t formed personal opinions about us individually sounds like a good idea. I’m just saying.
Regarding your comment about the “egos of the politicians,” oh boy, do I have comments! I will agree with you 100% (and more if that were a mathematical possibility) that Frantz Pierre and Phyllis Smith have egos the size of New York City. This is actually quite laughable considering what buffoons they are and how they continue to embarrass themselves publicly. I don’t know Mr. Derose well at all, but I don’t think he has an oversized ego at all. He does not come off that way at all. Ever! I personally know the Mayor, Barbara Kramer and Marlen Martel, and I can tell you that all three of them are truly genuine and humble. What you see is really and truly what you get. They are NOT politicians in any sense of the word. George and Marlen both ran for office for the very first time this year, and Barbara ran for the first time in 2009, with none of them ever holding a public position before. All three stepped up to the plate and decided to run for office because they were tired of the corruption and fraud that seems to run rampant in politics and they were determined to tackle the “culture of corruption.” I would never, ever have supported any of them if I thought for one moment they were capable of being slick “politicians.” I am not kidding! As for Beth Spiegel, I have heard that people think she’s haughty because she’s a lawyer. I don’t speak with her as often as I do the with the other three, but I’m sure people would be surprised to learn she has a great sense of humor (which I love!). Beth also ran for the first time in 2009 and also because she felt there was too much “politics” involved in running the city. She is also NOT a career politician. I will tell you that Beth is not in this for fame, fortune or glory, but for the sole purpose of representing the people in this city and legislating policy that she believes is in the best interest of the entire community. Again, I support her and I believe she is truly doing this job from the heart without guile or ulterior motive.
I’m not sure why you think any of their “egos” would preclude their wanting to go with the county over having our own department. It seems to me that most of them have been affected by the tensions this entire process has caused, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they are at the point that they’re ready to make a change. Of course, I cannot speak for them, but I will tell you that at least these four are taking all of this very seriously. They are only interested in doing the right thing for their constituents, and politics has nothing to do with it.
According to some disturbing things I heard last night, which I am hoping to confirm and substantiate, Phyllis and Frantz are possibly up to no good. I won’t write about it until I have proof, but from what I’ve heard I’m pretty sure it’s true. Let’s just say, if it is true, I’m not surprised. So, yeah, these two absolutely cannot be trusted.
As for Mr. Derose, like I said, I don’t think he has an ego problem. I’m pretty sure he has an agenda, but it’s not evil or for any personal gain. By the same token, I rarely speak with him, except in passing, and for the most part I have absolutely no idea what he’s thinking. I don’t know if anyone else does, either.
Lastly, I’m glad you brought up the rescue station in Eastern Shores. For YEARS there was a privately run rescue crew there that cost the city (if my memory serves me correctly) nearly half a million dollars a year. A vast majority of residents were upset about it and had demanded for years that the city drop the private crew and contract with the county. The hoopla was over the fact that while our county run fire and rescue trucks would go to Eastern Shores if needed, their private crew was only for them. This issue was a political hot ticket and whenever someone ran for re-election, he or she would pander to the elderly people in Eastern Shores by telling them that his or her opponent wanted to get rid of their ambulance. For years, it worked! There was no convincing these voters that the county would be a much better service, and for less money. They would storm city hall and tell their sob stories of how their ambulance saved their lives, and they were convinced that if the county took over they would all be dead of heart attacks within the year. It was really pathetic. Finally, the previous council and CM decided to switch to the county, save tons of dollars, and that rescue unit is not limited to responding only to Eastern Shores, but to the entire city if needed. As far as I know, no old person has died of a heart attack due to the county’s service over a private ambulance. I’m sure some have since passed away, but it’s not because of the county.
Now, as an aside, my husband is critical of the fact that there are only 2 or 3 rescue people on duty as opposed to a full crew. That may be something that needs looking into. You should talk to him since he has all the dirt on that and how much it should cost, etc. I’ll bring it up to him and ask if he can broach this subject to the council. You might have a very good point there.
Ricky, I hope I’ve answered your questions to your satisfaction. I realize most of this is my opinion, and you might disagree with some or all of it. I just know what I know about the four council members I mentioned, and I will personally vouch for their character and honesty. If you know anything at all about me, by now you should get that I am a person who places principles above politics at all times. If I did not believe wholeheartedly in someone’s character, I’d be the first to call them out and then have fun ridiculing them.
Steph
The county has already met with the city attorney and manager. They said 30-50 officers is the manpower they would devote to NMB. That number comes from the size of the city and amount of residents. NMBPD has 114. So if you think your services will be the same or better, good luck with that. The ones that will benefit are the NMB officers. We could move throughout the county and use our police cars for personal use. The residents would have much to lose.
If that’s the case, the it obviously is not an option.
Uh, no my friend the County has not met with the city. Maybe another department. They are a little busy with their own budget woes. Where you get your info from I wonder
Uh, yes they did. MDPD Major Jeeter and two county finance execs met with city manager, chief gomer, and city attorney. Yes, they are having their own financial problems and yes they told NMB if they were forced to take over NMBPD they’ll provide the city 30-50 officers. No more than that.
We are still talking about the same crap-ola? As I have said before, there will be NO layoffs! This is a political game that goes on in most cities at one time or another. We just have to ride the wave and hang in. This will pass and we will continue doing what we do best! I Love this place. Pass the Patron and a round of beers for everyone! Relax!!
Miami-Dade is not in the business of taking over cities. Remember, people have agendas and this is not in the agenda. Right now NMB Residents have a voice and people are hearing thier voice. If MD were to take over (police services) people would no longer have a stage and the dance would be over. Smaller department – more control. Larger department -less control. Ride the wave!!!
I hear you. But what if all residents want is a drama-free city, without a “stage” or “dance” and just mutual respect between them and the city employees? I know that’s all I’m asking for.
You nor I will ever see a “drama free” city. Politics and drama go hand in hand. It’s like love and hate. The drama is left at work and once I come home, I have my family and my friends. In one form or another we will see tomorrow. This is the cities destiny and we are just here for the ride. It’s up to us and our attitudes. This has been a great learning experience and this will make some of us much stronger. Winners surround themselves by positive people and put their family and friends first. Rise above all this bottom feeding and stay strong. We will meet again at the finish line. Life is too short. Live, love and drink!!!
Hi Stephanie:
Getting back to your original topic, you are correct that crime occurs everywhere to include, Sunrise, Lauderdale Lakes, Boynton Beach, etc… The problem with NMB is that it occurs more frequently than in other cities in South Florida, excluding Miami Gardens. Just in the past month you had the shooting at the mall this week, you had a drive by shooting where 1 was shot last week, and you had the person walking with the rifle in the street (fake or no fake, it’s still a person walking the streets of NMB with a rifle and pointing it at people and dogs). NMB is a violent City, right up there with Miami Gardens. And to propose eliminating 17 police officers is a detriment to the residents of NMB, who will be hurt the most. Not the residents of Eastern Shores, who will still have police 24/7. I’m talking about residents like you, who live in the heart of NMB. Yes, I know we could go back and forth disagreeing about it’s the UNION who want to lay off these officers, and while I disagree (there is 12 million in the Reserves that they dont want to touch, other depts. either dont lose any actual positions / bodies, other depts. wont have to make any cuts due to being understaff, etc, etc.) I could go on and on, and we could rehash old topics again, yet the bottom line is that if they lay off these 17 officers, a VIOLENT CITY will become more VIOLENT. Thats a reality and a fact. In the so-called “negotiations” this week, I heard that the Union proposed 1.3 million in reductions, yet the City Manager did not propose any leeway from their end. These are supposed to be “negotiations” (both sides) not just the Union proposing cuts and concessions and the City Manager just saying he wants more, without even proposing any assistance from their end. Bottom line is that within 2 years, you will have numerous officers who will be leaving the dept. due to retirement. Try to fix the budget over several years, don’t just try to balance and build up the reserves in 1 year. This year the police is getting the brunt of the cuts, next year, Sanitation and Public Works will get huge reductions / cuts, or privatized completely. We can bet on it if you would like. And once again, the ones who will suffer will be the residents of the “real NMB – West of Biscayne Blvd”.
Have a nice day, and God Bless…..
Look, as far as I’m concerned, it is what it is. Yep, we live in a violent city. I get it. It’s not going to get any better with or without 17 less cops. Yeah, we have gangs, we have shootings, we have car jackings, we have rapes and murders. I get it. Not happy about it, but it’s a fact of life. If I could afford to sell my house right now and move I would. But the assessed value is so below normal that I’d probably only be able to walk away with very little cash, and certainly not enough to buy anywhere else without going into deep debt. So that’s the way it is.
I’m not blaming the cops for the crime, like some residents do. I blame quite a few things, but the cops aren’t on the list. Unfortunately, because several of the cops have stated publicly that they’re only going to take care of the residents who supported them and take care of the rest of us when they get around to it, it’s almost as if the cops are saying, “Even if crime doesn’t get worse after layoffs, we’ll make sure you feel the heat anyway.” Yeah, that’s nice.
You claim that the UNION proposed $1.3 million in reductions. I heard the offer was closer to $700K. I don’t know which is the correct number, but I do know that neither one is even in the ballpark of four million. You also say that there are $12 million in reserves. Where are you getting this from? Please give me the details and where I can find this information so I can verify it.
As for the negotiations, you also said that the city isn’t proposing any “assistance.” Exactly what assistance should be offered? I’m not at all sure what that means.
Look, I get it that the UNION and/or the Police Department are pissed off at having to make budget cuts. I also get that the city is in the hole for something like $8 million dollars, PLUS it is in debt for about $140 million, of which $70 million are what they owe on police pensions. I’m curious at just what type of “assistance” the police are looking for when it will take us decades to pull out of all the “assistance” this city has doled out over the past few decades or more.
In case you aren’t aware, we are in a recession, which looks more like a depression to me. As of the August report by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, there are FOURTEEN MILLION people out of work in the United States (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm). I personally know people who have been out of work for TWO FREAKING YEARS! I just don’t understand how the union doesn’t get that IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID!
I am so sick of talking about this you have no idea. If there’s no money, there’s no money. If there’s more crime, there’s more crime. If services are cut, fine. I don’t freaking care. Frankly I’m finding it hard to give a crap anymore.
Yeah, I’m in a bad mood, in case you didn’t notice.
One shooting in the city and that was the shooting on 159 street area.
Shooting this past week was in the County and anyone can get pissed off at someone in any city and go nuts and pull the trigger. The poor man in Washington Park was a horrible, horrible tragedy and NOTHING to do with crime so stop your maddness and b.s.
Also it is my understanding that the same amount of cops will be patrolling the streets as before. Heard it from everyone, but more importantly the City Manager, so nothings changing there, stop trying to scare the residents.
You have no idea what the negotiations were because I heard what they were from a council person today and they did not come close to a million dollars. This is a huge problem with cops, they think they can run our city, budget our city and so on. Just do your job you were hired to do and if you don’t like it why wait for the city to contract out, just leave. Oh, but you won’t do that since you might loose out on something called $$$. If the city contracts out maybe it would work better even if shifts are something that change every 4 months. You don’t need to be pals with the residents or the other employees, just do the job you were hired to do since that is what you were trained for and do best, I hope.
Eastern Shores has 24/7 policing? Are you kidding? They have a guard house with a cop in it who can’t leave their post. The other guard house has no cop so please stick to facts.
They complain that they don’t see the cops patrolling there too.
Lastly before I bust a gasket. We are the residents and we need to fix the budget now, next year and the next, yep that must be the “several” years you talk about. I don’t think the Council is done just from tightening of the belt with this budget. Maybe you all don’t give a rats ass that we have no reserves, but it isn’t your problem, so why should you. This is OUR city and I support the decisions being made. This city needs to slim it’s fat figure and it should be slimmed from everywhere. Maybe this year it’s the PD and next year or during the year it will be somewhere else, but meanwhile this should have been done a long time ago in which case it could have been done over “several” years. It’s about time responsible individuals elected to serve are SERVING. Of course the ecomomy is helping them along in making tough decisions not like the sissy’s that ruled this city before who couldn’t and wouldn’t in fear of the very person I’m responding to.
“You have no idea what the negotiations were because I heard what they were from a council person today and they did not come close to a million dollars”
Hold on, so your telling someone they have no idea but in the same sentence your saying “I Heard”. Thats the problem around here, too many people commenting on information they weren’t present to hear.
To give you an idea of how the negotiations went. The city manager provided in his budget the savings of $379k for taking away the take home cars. The Union presented that same savings in their offer and the city returned and stated that they made a mistake with that original number and it’s only $120k. Hmmmm..so the number of $379k was very convincing when city manager presented it to council for a reason to take the cars away, but when the union used the same number he suddenly made a mistake and it’s actualy a savings of $120k. Talk about a shell game.
mytwosense, I’m sure your intentions are good but you should really get your facts straight before stating “i heard” as if what you heard is as good as gold.
Uh, yeah that’s what I’m saying. “I H E A R D I T F R O M A C O U N C I L P E R S O N! What don’t you get from that? And I don’t think that councilperson WHO I ELECTED would lie. Perhaps if I can get my hand on that sheet of paper that has the information on it I will get it to Ms. Kienzle and let her scan it for YOU TO SEE. And I didn’t say I heard it from a person who heard it from a person who heard it from a person who heard it from a Councilperson.
As far as the take home cars, I don’t know that scenerio so I won’t comment unless it comes to me from a COUNCILPERSON!
Well i was there mytwosense and no council person was. So if thats what you want to beleive then theres nothng else to discuss. If i told you the sky was blue you’d probably argue it was green beacause thats what you heard.
Yeahright, are you talking about the negotiation meetings or something else? I’m not sure what you were talking about when you mentioned the $379K for take home cars. That sounds quite high to me, but is that the actual cost? I don’t remember the figure that someone quoted originally, but I don’t think it was that high. With all the numbers flying around about different things, I don’t remember what was what anymore.
How many times are we gonna say the same thing? It is what it is. The city will NOT lay anyone off. This is the political machine in full speed. Let’s wait to see. Most of these people do not want to hear about all the crime. The crime will continue- this is Miami-Dade for the love of baby Jesus. No layoffs!! By the way, I heard Eastern Shores wants their own PD? That would be awesome.
The bottom line is that this city wants a smaller PD so this budget was made to give them that. Less cops, less pay, less liability, less benefits and less problems. We should just close the PD at 7 PM and have the county respond to the calls. This way we can all work day shift and take public transportation to and from.
Thanks. Even when I defend the cops, I still get attacked. Screw all of this.
Boys and Girls this is Not about what we are willing to give to the city. This is a movement to cut the city down to 75 officers, turn over major crimes to MDPD. This is just the beginning. Get out while the getting is good! Police went from Heros to Zeros since 2001. People don’t look at police like they once did. It’s a new wave which will slow down in time. Stay safe and take care of your families. Go to work do yoir job and go home. No more and no less. Put your uniform away and forget about NMB. No one but your family and friends care about you. Positive thinking!!! If people don’t like where they live, they can move. Maybe the city will pay the cost?
Boys and Girls? Gee, maybe the teacher’s should go home and stop teaching our children. WAKE UP ALL OF YOU! Whah, you poor babies. Life has got you by the you know what’s like everyone else. Stop blaming NMB for the crap you are facing. I never had a problem with this PD UNTIL I started reading this blog and reading the cops disgusting disingenious garbage. You must be the most spoiled rotten, imature, and uneducated bunch of badge wearing men and woman I have ever had to come across. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Life takes turns from side to side up and down and all around. Do you ever watch the news? And I don’t mean the local news, the channels where you look for your compadres picketing infront of their city halls. Stop the madness already. Crap happens and deal with it. I don’t blame you if you don’t want to take a cut to save your fellow police officer’s, but stop reguritating all of your frustrations at the very place that has spoon fed you since you came here. Where is your professionalism? I can just imagine you working for a private company and getting away with your attitudes. I sure hope you teach your children not to have expectations in life so they won’t be nasty, ungracious and obnoxious members of our society like you all are!
I truly wish all of the PD well, those staying and those having to possibly find another job should this budget pass and or negotiations come to a halt. I sure hope it’s this horrible pressure that has taken over all of you with such maddness and unrealistic expectations. A city must survive, and the taxpayers need to have reasonable services. Hopefully when and I mean when the ecomonomy turns around the elected officials serving us will give us the decent parks, ball fields, beautification upgrades and a customer service department that answers the phone that we have been cheated of for all of these years while the employees got whatever they asked for.
Wow. You sound very angry. Let it go. We are very professional. Don’t you worry about what I teach my children. It is not your business. Stop with the threats, they are USELESS! This is a small bump in the road. It is what it is. This will pass and we will still be here. As far as being “spoon fed” you are on another plant. Most of us have worked very hard and have made major sacrifices. What have you done for your community? Some people have no respect and need to listen and not talk so much.
You are right I am angry, angry at what I read and angry at what I hear at the meetings. Put the shoe on the other foot and you will get where I’m coming from. Honestly I never ever had issues like I said with not only our PD, but so many officers across South Florida. You are right this is a bump in the road, but that is not what I see and hear the other police officers saying and rightfully so for many as they don’t see it as a bump. Many are too young that are facing a possible layoff and they don’t know a bump in the road since they never came across one. Unfortunatley it will take this life experience that they will get through to let them see that life does go on.
As far as sacrifices, we all make them so don’t tell me I need to listen and not talk so much, it’s the listening that is making me talk so much.
P.S. “This will pass and we will still be here”, I should hope so. I do hope that those officers that are left, should again,the layoffs even occur, I hope they still appreciate what they learned in the Academy and that is to serve and protect. I hope that the Chief, who ever it will be can make our PD the very best it has always been even though it may be smaller. This whole city will need to be the very best it should be with less personel. It can be done.
Stay well everyone I will move on from this conversation as I’ve said enough.
Steph, the city manager has on paper and presented it to city council via power point at a budget workshop the amount of $379 k in savings if we opted to remove the take home cars. Last negotiation the union agreed to 1.1 million in concessions to avoid the layoffs which the city manager advised the union we would have to come up with 1.4 million to avoid layoffs, yes were $300k short of that but thats what negotiating is all about. So anyways, weve agreed to give up the cars to save the city 379k which was part of our proposal. The city manager stated he liked what he saw in our proposal and the union decided to meet the next day to see if the city agreed to our offer. The next day Bonner gave his opinion that our proposal was a little lower than the 1.1 million we offered. One of the numbers he downsized was the savings on take home cars. He said it was a savings of only $120k and not $379k as his original number was a mistake. How f$&king convenient!!!!
These concessions for me personally would amount to a 15% reduction in pay, which would suck but i’ll deal with it. Others more and for some its less. We found a way to save 15 of the 17 positions and the city had no interest in saving the last 2. Its apparent they want to downsize the pd and they have every right to do so. The officers staying wont be affected much from it but i feel, from my experience in this profession, is that the residents might see the difference. I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see.
I can tell you one thing though. Im gonna stay far away from NE 159 St and 12 Av. Theres some guy who lives wih his mom named kazhan whos obsessed with photographing police officers. I get shy around cameras 🙂
Thanks for this information. I’ll see if I can find out more about it.
This is Not about what we are willing to give to the city. This is a movement to cut the city down to 75 officers, turn over major crimes to MDPD. This is just the beginning. Get out while the getting is good! Police went from Heros to Zeros since 2001. People don’t look at police like they once did. It’s a new wave which will slow down in time. Stay safe and take care of your families. Go to work do your job and go home. No more and no less. Put your uniform away and forget about NMB when you leave the city. No one but your family and friends care about you. Positive thinking!!! If people don’t like where they live, they can move. Maybe the city will pay the cost? They have the CM 10,000. I could move my family to China for that amount.