Good thing South Florida has Willard Shepard reporting the breaking news for our local NBC affiliate, a/k/a Channel 6. Otherwise we might never have found out that our North Miami Beach Mayor George Vallejo owes property taxes on his home. Now this is a real scandalous story of epic proportions. Thank God Willard Shepard is on the case!
Damn good thing Mr. Vallejo doesn’t have access to the city checkbook or who knows what might happen, huh? Whew! That’s a relief!
Damn good thing we have a City Manager, who is in charge of signing the checks and not that scoundrel of a Mayor, huh? Whew! That’s a relief!
Damn good thing we have a Finance Department, which is hopefully in better shape now that former Finance Director Susan Gooding-Liburd, a crony of fired City Manager Kelvin Baker, is gone after making a mere million dollar mistake in the budget report, and under whose watch, along with the former ousted mayor Myron Rosner, $2.6 million was embezzled. Whew! That’s a relief!
We simply can’t let Mayor Vallejo get away with this blatant “abuse of power” or next thing you know he’ll be bullying Building Department officials into issuing him permits for construction without applying for variances, bypassing having to pay the City of North Miami Beach thousands of dollars in fees.
Next thing you know he’ll be threatening residents with code violations if they criticize him or simply won’t put his campaign signs in their yards.
Next thing you know he’ll be bullying city vendors into giving him thousands of dollars’ worth of free advertising on their bus benches and claiming only a $500.00 in kind donation on his campaign treasurers report.
God only knows WHAT the Mayor will do if we let him get away with paying his real estate taxes late, even if he has to pay the interest on the bill!
If we don’t bring Mayor Vallejo down for the heinous crime of paying his property taxes late, next thing you know he’ll be breaking the law!
What would happen if one day he decided to run for Congress, like United States Representative Charlie Rangel, who owed taxes on the rental income of his beachfront house for which he took in $1,500,000.00 over a twenty year period from 1988 to 2008, or who improperly used official government resources to raise funds for his Rangel Center foundation, and was also was found guilty of filing a decade’s worth of misleading annual financial disclosure forms that failed to list hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets, all the while he was and still is a Congressman. We can’t let THAT happen!
If the Mayor isn’t denigrated for being late in paying his real property taxes, what would happen if one day he was appointed as the Secretary of the United States Treasury, like Timothy Geithner, who is now in charge of the Internal Revenue Service, and owed $34,000.00 in back income tax while he was being sworn in to run the very agency to which he owed the money. We can’t let THAT happen!
If George Vallejo isn’t brought to his knees for paying his real estate taxes late, what would happen if one day he decided to run for the office of the presidency of the United States? Who knows? Maybe a crack reporter like Willard Shepard would uncover the fact that George had a questionable social security number issued from a state in which he never even lived, like Connecticut, for example. Or, perhaps the Mayor’s wife might have been disbarred from practicing law by an agency of the Supreme Court of Illinois. We can’t let THAT happen!
No, Mayor Vallejo has absolutely no excuse whatsoever not to pay his real estate taxes on time. Someone just commented on one of my recent columns, “I personally don’t like my tax bill but save all year long in anticipation of fullfilling [sic] this obligation to our Goverment [sic], I don’t like it one bit but believe that it is a responsiblity [sic] that we all have.” He is absolutely correct. The Mayor should have been saving all year long to pay this bill instead of allowing himself to be affected by the drastic decline in his mortgage business due to the real estate market’s crash. The Mayor should not have allowed the horrendous economy to force him to feed his children instead of paying his real estate taxes on time. The Mayor should not have spent the last three months at City Hall his every waking hour trying to fix the disaster he inherited from his predecessor, instead of working to try to salvage what little mortgage business is trickling in now. The Mayor should have put his own personal issues ahead of the residents of North Miami Beach, and focused solely on his own problems instead of the future of our city.
No, that kind of unselfish dedication should never go unpunished!
Damn good thing we have Willard Shepard to bring us this scandalous story. I mean who cares about gang shootings and rogue cops threatening residents anyway? Nothing, I mean absolutely NOTHING is more newsworthy than the Mayor’s paying his real estate taxes late! If we don’t stop Mayor George Vallejo from committing such heinous a crime, who knows where this could lead?
Thank you, Mr. Shepard! Your investigative reporting is just too sexy for this one horse town. I hear the Weekly World News has an opening for someone with your extraordinary talents, which are just going to waste down here. Maybe you should consider applying for the job. You’d be perfect!
Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”
First of all that is precisely why our city is in trouble, because the citizens are in trouble……..DUH! The Mayor is a citizen, no? He gets it. Most of the Council gets it and have felt this economic punch. Unfortunately layoffs had to happen because when everything was A-OK and residents could and did pay their taxes on time the former elected officials wasted the money we had. Hmmmm something doesn’t add up. Willard Shepard should be ashamed of himself as well as Channel 6 WTVJ.
This economic crisis is happening all over the Country, but the municipalities that didn’t save, that were not responsible are having the problem and having to cut their budgets and layoff employees. Sadly, we are one of them!
Let Mr. Shepard put that in his pipe and smoke it, I only hope it blows up in his face! (with no injuries, of course)
First of all that is precisely why our city is in trouble, because the citizens are in trouble……..DUH! The Mayor is a citizen, no? He gets it. Most of the Council gets it and have felt this economic punch. The residents are certainly getting it. Let’s not forget the Mayor pays $ 17,000.00 in taxes. Mayor Vallejo purchased the land for his home over 10 years ago and then built his home a couple of years later, I believe. He didn’t buy it when things were sky high; he bought it when things were at the norm. Who would have thunk this would have happened? Not the best investors, developers and economist saw this disaster 8 years or 10 years into the future. I’m sure some WTVJ employees were caught by surprise. No, they’re not MAYOR’S, but really, it takes honest people going through hardship to really get it. I think someone like Mayor Vallejo will understand like the rest of us pissed off residents in NMB that we need reform, we need to save, and we need honest direction.
Unfortunately budget cuts and layoffs had to happen because when everything was A-OK and residents could and did pay their taxes on time the former elected officials wasted the money we had. Hmmmm am I that much of a genius for figuring that out? Willard Shepard should be ashamed of himself as well as Channel 6 WTVJ.
This economic crisis is happening all over the Country, but the municipalities that didn’t save, that were not responsible are having the problem and having to cut their budgets and lay off employees. Sadly, we are one of them!
Let Mr. Shepard put that in his pipe and smoke it, I only hope it blows up in his face! (ok, not literally, just figuratively)
What is the Police Union doing and saying………What does that say about them……………Off track distraction and more………………Whats their fear all about…………Oh, I see……..The TRUTH…..Don’t you see…….Time to say GOODBYE…..Hello COUNTY… Call the NMBPD and see! Again and Again………….Totally Trailer PARK.
According to the telephone calls I received last night after this story broke was that this type of news will be the downfall of reporters like Shepard specifically his dialog about investors paying the Mayor’s taxes. Made it sound like the Mayor was taking advantage of his position instead of the reality that if you are late in paying your taxes investors buy your taxes and you then have to pay them around an 8% fee on top of what you owe. Everyone I spoke with first of all were incensed that the Mayor’s taxes were over $17,000. The fact that he shares the pain with the taxpayers of NMB makes him more understanding of their financial situation in addressing the over spending and exorbitant unsustainable salaries and pensions of government workers (Management and Police) in NMB.
Our mayor is a real person like many of us. I stand by our mayor.
Mubarak,
I have read a lot of your posts on here and one of your common themes is that people need to live with in their means. If someone cannot afford to pay their taxes on the million dollar home, is this living in their means?
See below for my reply.
Wow this is why the country is in the condition that it is in right now. You want us to fell sorry for a person that lives in a million dollar home on the water in a gated community and he can’t pay his taxes on time. Wait, 5 out of the seven council members live in the same community. Maybe we should tell them they can also forget to pay their taxes on time. Maybe the council should adopt a new ordinance now saying that everyone can forget about their taxes, no problem.
I don’t know about you guys but I pay my taxes on time, because I know if I don’t someone will try and take my home away from me, It’s called being responsible. Because of that I have a hard time feeling sorry for someone who lives in a million dollar home and can’t pay his. Maybe he needs to live within his means and move to Sunray or Uleta, ya like that will happen. Again it’s called being responsible and being the Mayor he should never had let this happen.
Correction: Four, not five, out of seven council members live in Eastern Shores. Did I say anything about feeling sorry for the Mayor? Mr. Vallejo bought his “million dollar home” over ten years ago, well before the real estate boom and eventual bust. He also worked very hard to be able to afford such a nice home. What you’re saying sounds like class envy to me. The fact that the economy has tanked, and especially the real estate market where he earns his salary, has affected the wallets of everyone, not just the poor. If at any time George feels that he can no longer afford to live there, I’m guessing he would consider moving to a less expensive home or some other option.
What the reporter failed to mention is that there are literally thousands of tax certificates sold from the tax collector’s office every year. The “investor” he spoke of is actually a person who buys tax certificates (usually these “investors” are groups of people or companies who do this because it’s a money maker for them). Upon the sale of the certificate, THE REAL ESTATE TAXES ARE PAID IMMEDIATELY TO THE COUNTY. The homeowner pays the “investor” back with interest, and no tax lien is ever filed. With the economy in the toilet right now, more and more people are dealing with this issue, but you never have Channel 6 cover those non-stories, either.
That was the point of my blog. I suspect that the disgruntled police UNION is behind this “hot news tip.” I could be wrong, but I doubt it.
No what I am saying is that I pay my taxes on time, he should pay his on time. That’s what I expect of every citizen and especially A Mayor of a City.
I am not disagreeing with you. Everyone SHOULD pay his taxes on time. Everyone SHOULD also make their car payments, credit card payments, child support payments, etc., on time. There is no denying that. There is a penalty for every bill that’s not paid on time – whether it’s a repossessed car, having your electricity turned off, your credit cards canceled, your ex-wife throwing you in jail. In the mayor’s case, his penalty will be a high interest rate to pay back the taxes, but he’ll just have to deal with that. Hopefully he’ll be able to hold off further problems until his business can pick up. If not, he may be forced to make concessions, like moving or something even more drastic.
After all, as I’ve been saying for months, these are dreadful economic times. Everyone is feeling the pain, which is why the city had to make painful cuts, too. I have never seen an economy this bad in my entire life, and no one is safe from money problems. Not even a mayor.
In the meantime, please keep in mind that the mayor and council set policy and enact legislation. They do NOT manage the finances or keep the city’s books. They are two separate and distinct things. I’d be a lot more concerned if a City Manager screwed with the city’s finances, such as depleting the utility reserves and outspending the city’s revenues, for example. Oh, wait, where have I heard that before? Sure does sound familiar…
Unbelievable, you’re so unbelievable that you’re UNBELIEVABLE. Let me guess you are an NMB employee or you’re Myron Rosner or your Myron Rosner’s relative.
First off, not everyone lives on a fixed or regulated income. Some people are self employed or are in sales. If you are either you have sacrificed your pay check to make sure your employees got paid, your rent is paid etc, etc. or haven’t got paid much if anything because no one is BUYING ANYTHING much these days. It’s one thing if the Mayor just got back from a trip to Europe or perhaps just bought a brand new car or maybe just renovated his home and he failed to pay his taxes on time. It’s another if he is having financial difficulties like the rest of us and will pay as soon as he can. It also would probably unnerve me if times were great, business was booming and he was partying like it was 1999 and not paying his property taxes on time. Dude or Dudette it’s happening to the best of us and it’s the best of us who are trying to keep afloat and get through this storm. The real slime dogs are the ones who can afford to pay for their depts., but don’t because they are slime dogs.
I’m sure it doesn’t pay for Mayor Vallejo to sell his million dollar home, which ain’t worth a million dollars these days, smarty pants. He’s going to pay his taxes, he’s being responsible and unfortunately he has to take a hit because he has to pay interest to the investors (the whores) that are buying up these unpaid property taxes.
I respect Mayor Vallejo and the job he’s doing AND if I didn’t like him this wouldn’t be one of the issues I’d care about because I like so many hundreds of thousands of American’s are going through the same shit and boy does it suck!
“The homeowner pays the “investor” back with interest, and no tax lien is ever filed.”
Where on earth do you get your information? What in the heck do you think a tax certificate is? The tax certificate itself is a lien on the property for the unpaid taxes. If the taxes remain unpaid after 2 years, the “investor” can file for a tax deed to take title to the property. Also, since the economy is so bad, who’s to say there will be enough investors willing to risk losing their investment if the taxpayer never pays? Any certificates that do not sell have to be “bought” and held by the county. But, I digress, as this is not the point.
The fact that the county (and other taxing authorities) get their money once a tax certificate is sold is irrelevant. The fact that there are thousands of other people not paying their taxes either is also irrelevant. I REALLY don’t see how anything else in your article has anything to do with the fact that the MAYOR, who is supposed to be a leader, did not see fit to pay his (substantial) tax bill on several different occasions. If he was so strapped for cash, why did he loan himself over $7,000 to run for office?
According to his own profile, “In addition to mortgage lending, George owns commercial offices and the property tax appeal training firm named Tax Appeal Business Systems.” So I am pretty sure he has other sources of income besides “trying to salvage what little mortgage business is trickling in now”.
So here we have someone who not only fails to pay his property taxes, but also runs a business that directly results in more money in his pocket, yet causes MORE revenue loss due to cities and counties as a result of “property tax appeals”. The property tax agents he “trains” get paid on a contigency basis of anywhere from 10 – 50% of the first year’s tax savings if they successfully appeal the value of a property. According to his company website “Our most successful member earned $275,530.23 in her first five months using our system.” Based on the aforementioned 10-50% contingency fee range, that means local cities, counties, hospital districts, and other taxing bodies lost anywhere from $550,000 to $2.5 million dollars in five months just from that ONE agent’s appeals.
If you are going to be a citizen activist, please be fair and honest instead of hateful and vindictive. This absolutely was a newsworthy story, reported by a, expreienced, respected jounalist from our community. Every single one of those other issues you mention HAVE been covered in the local media- the former Mayor’s ethics complaint, the “rogue cop”, the gang shootings, etc. The fact that you are so outraged that someone had the audacity to criticize someone you so vehemently support really shows your true colors. Just because YOU don’t think it’s a big deal that your own Mayor doesn’t like to pay his taxes doesn’t mean it’s not news. Get over yourself.
You are a complete idiot. Obviously you are probably the one that called Mr.Think He’s So Slick Willy, for this News Breaking bull crap. You are quite lucky that you are soooo stupid, that your head is in the sand and you don’t know what’s going on in this world. I bet your taxes are a few hundred bucks, probably why you can pay them. The Mayor is late with his payment, big friggin deal!
Regarding property taxes, you, Stephanie, probably know more than me having worked in a real estate law firm for 30 years. I’m not an expert or current on property taxes but this is my basic understanding.
When property taxes are not paid by the property owner, they are paid by persons who purchase the tax certificates on that property. Interest builds on the tax certificates. That is the incentive for the purchasers of the certificates.
The government receives their tax money immediately from the purchaser of the tax certificates. The property owner may redeem the certificates from the purchasers by paying all amounts due including, of course, the interest to the purchaser at least up to the time of tax certificate sale.
If the property owner ultimately does not redeem the tax certificate then the purchaser and holder of the tax certificate may cause a tax certificate sale, which is similar to the foreclosure of the certificate and its tax lien. The property tax lien is in the #1 position of liens and comes in front of any recorded mortgages or recorded judgments (even ahead of a 1st Mortgage).
The owner of a property has many options to pay the certificate holder including paying from personal income; obtaining a mortgage for the amount against the property equity or that of other property; sale of the property; among many other options to redeem up until the time of the tax certificate sale.
Almost certainly, a tax certificate purchaser is the mysterious “investor” that is mentioned in the NBC6 article. But more importantly, there is no moral issue here. The taxes for the property are paid (by “the investor”/ tax certificate purchaser) at the time of purchase. It is not a criminal matter not to pay property taxes like it is sometimes for unpaid U.S. income taxes.
The tax professional in the article that offered that “if everyone did that…. ” is a screaming meemee jackass of the first degree. What is he possibly talking about? You could say that about anything. “If everyone took a shower or flushed their toilet at the same time there would be no water pressure”…”if everyone got in their car and drove the roads would be parking lots”… and on and on.
With possibly a few exceptions, how can the investment of a relatively small amount of money at a good interest rate in tax certificates that have a 1st Lien position on property in Miami Dade ever be a bad investment? The government sets the rate of interest and sets it high. The property taxes are always small in relation to the value of the property.
George Vallejo always has spoken out about the high costs of government and tried to cut government spending and taxes back. If his taxes are “killing him” maybe that’s why he decided to get involved in government. Is there a problem with that?
This should not be considered as legal or financial advice.
Norman W. Edwards
I am amazed at how misinformed some of you are, yet you unequivocally “stand by your man”. Ignorance is bliss, I guess.
Your “basic understanding” is, indeed, basic. From the website of the Miami-Dade Tax Collector:
Tax Certificate Sales – General Information
Beginning on or before June 1, the Tax Collector is required by law to hold a Tax Certificate Sale. The tax certificate represents a lien on unpaid real estate properties. Interest accrues on the tax certificate from June 1 until the taxes are paid. The amount of the certificate is the sum of the unpaid real estate tax and the non-ad valorem assessments, penalties, advertising costs and fees.
Exceptions
Tax Certificates are not sold on parcels with Homestead exemption with taxes less than $100.00
Tax Certificates are not knowingly sold on parcels involved in bankruptcy or litigation. If bankruptcy or litigation occurs after a certificate is issued, the court may determine the amount of interest to be paid. Bankruptcy and litigation may extend the life of a certificate and places an automatic stay on the Tax Deed Application process.
Tax Deed Applications
Any time after two (2) years have elapsed since April 1 of the year of issuance of the tax certificate and before the expiration of seven (7) years from the date of issuance, the tax certificate holder is entitled to submit a tax deed application. The tax deed application must be submitted between the 1st and 10th of the month with required documentation and payment.
Tax deed applications will not be accepted prior to April 1st on tax certificates issued as result of this sale.
The tax deed applicant must pay all fees and the cost of the ownership and encumbrance report pertaining to each tax deed application in accordance with Florida Statutes.
Transfer /assignments for tax deed applications must be submitted before the 10th of the previous month to allow for processing and update(s) to monthly reports.
The Applicant is not guaranteed title to the property. This will be determined by the Tax Deed Section of the Miami-Dade Clerk of the Court upon completion of the tax deed foreclosure sale.
In 1994, George and Sandy paid $84,500.00 for the piece of land. They spent a few thousand dollars more and developed this land to their current abode. Everything was valued less than $300,000.00 by early 2000’s. Up came a false housing scam where Wall St. crooks were involved, pushing the housing prices through the roof.
Many later floundered after these property values continued to be over priced. We continued paying our taxes set by the government appraiser who wanted to maintain their lavish life styles. Voters got angry and choose to vote for an appraiser. Low and behold, they voted a Realtor, Pedro Garcia into office who choose to look the other way when properties were being sold for peanuts. Only lately the property values on the appraiser’s list were lowered, but not as what it should reflect.
George and Sandy’s home on Garcia’s list is shown to be valued at almost $1 million. This home today, no one will pay that money for. It actually would be sold for less than $400,000.00, but the owners still have to pay the over valued taxes.
This couple is living within their means, but we have crookish unscrupulous government forcing them to be behind their bills, like many. Even though my taxes are not as significant, I will delay my payment in support.
Thanks also for pointing out the “investor” is not a “family friend” as Will Shepard want us to believe.
What you (and others) fail to understand is that “George and Sandy” have the benefit of a homestead exemption, which also includes the “Save Our Homes” proptection. This law limits the increase in assessed value for properties receiving the Homestead Exemption to no more than 3% or the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), no matter how much larger the increase in just value would otherwise be. (taken from the Broward County PA site)
The actual market value of their home is over $900K, however for tax purposes, the assessment is about $590K minus the $50,000 Homestead Exemption ($25,000 for School Board assessment purposes). If you compare recent sales in Eastern Shores, you will find that this is well below what the homes there are currently selling for. So his home is not by any means “over valued” speaking in terms of taxable value.
Try again.
By the way, Ms. Kienzle, is there any reason why you haen’t published my posts? They are all “awaiting moderation”.
I did not respond to your three comments, nor did I approve them until now, because of the Jewish holiday, which just ended tonight at sundown.
OK, thanks for your reply. I know many sites automatically moderate questionable content, so I wasn’t sure if I had written something that isn’t permitted.
I was not able to moderate the site for the last 24 hours, and new comments are not automatically posted. Once approved, your comments will be automatically posted unless I revoke the permalink. I do not censure comments unless I feel they are really out of line, and in that case I will email the person privately to discuss it. As a firm believer in the First Amendment, I feel it’s important to give everyone their say. I only ask that everyone use common sense and, hopefully civility, when addressing others.
Stef and all my other Jewish friends and neighbors, I want to take this opportunity to wish each and everyone of you a pleasant Yom Kipur. G_d bless.
Mayor Vallejo is no different than the rest of us. Many people are choking financially in these horrible economic times. No matter how hard we work, it is just not enough. Why in the world would anyone have to pay 17,000 in taxes? For what in return? There is really something wrong with that. The middle class works more and more to give away more and more.
I struggle as a single mom and work very hard to get what my children need. My children don’t qualify for anything free (for example, free lunch or a college education), yet I can’t afford to pay tuition fees for college. It seems like middle class taxes pay for everyone else to live it up but the middle class just keep working harder and harder only to pay more for everyone else.
I read that 85% or more of kids at my daughter’s middle school “qualify” for free lunch. If my eleven year old daughter forgets (or loses) her lunch money, the cafeteria workers turn her away from the lunch line. That is pathetic. My taxes (and the rest of the working class taxes) pay for all of those free lunches, but my daughter gets turned away from lunch because she forgot to bring her 2.25. I had to go to bat when my daughter was in elementary school because she was put at the back of the line for gifted testing because she did not receive free lunch and because – get this – English was her first language. I have worked since I was 15 years old and my daughter got pushed to the back of the line? However, greater than 90% of her classmates could get pushed to the front of the line because they received free lunch or speak English as a second language. Then, when my daughter finally got tested, she had to score one or two (I can’t remember) standard deviations higher on the test because she did not get free lunch. This is what my taxes pay for? (Of course, she passed with flying colors).
Major Vallejo is no different than the rest of the middle class that is getting squeezed out by all of this economic mess. We are all in this mess together.
Ms. Kimball, thank you for writing. I apologize for not approving your message sooner, but the Jewish holiday just ended. I completely understand your situation, and will respond with my thoughts a bit later. I appreciate your writing and look forward to discussing this issue with you. Thanks!
I hope my point came out that I in no way see the Mayor in a bad way because of the ridiculous story about his property taxes. I was trying to make the point that we are paying way too much in taxes, and for what in return? He is just like everyone else out there today -struggling to support his family while having to support everyone else with a huge property tax bill!
I feel a pressing need to pass on a lesson on recognizing “Red Herrings” in rhetoric. I suggest it be required viewing for council members.
http://youtu.be/exdK7Lirngg
Thanks for the video, pattypan. Excellent explanation of Red Herring fallacies.
Excellent Karin. Yep, that is how it works here. Our politicians fight for the mighty (tax exemptions for the rich) and the “ones who can’t afford it”.
The people at Eastern Shores like the rest of NMB, are hard working families, who are being bled to death by exorbitant property taxes. We have a lazy good for nothing County Tax Appraiser, who is not doing his work.
Hopefully we do declare financial urgency. Our reserves are empty, and we are faced with unsustainable pensions and salaries.