First some good news.  For starters, Christmas is a BFD for one homeowner in North Miami Beach.  I saw this amazing display of Christmas lights at a house on NE 181 Street, just west of NE 19th Avenue:

How awesome is this?  REALLY AWESOME!

If you happen to drive by to see it, make sure you roll down your windows so you can hear the Christmas music, too!  This house rocks!

Hey!  I have an idea.  If you see any really cool holiday light displays in North Miami Beach, please send them to me and I’ll post them on this website.  Maybe we’ll even have a contest for the best Christmas house.  Think about it.

Also in the Good News Category, the North Miami Beach’s Water Department just had its Fitch Rating increased from AA- back up to A+.  You’ll remember it was downgraded on July 18, 2011 from its original A+ rating due to former, former and FIRED city manager Kelvin Baker’s mismanagement and raping of the reserves.  He was fired a month later for his incompetence.  Not racism, thank you very much.  Due to some prudent fiscal planning and the beefing up of reserves, Fitch has assigned the increased rating to our utility.  Fitch expects continued financial stability and improvement for North Miami Beach.  WOO HOO!

Now for the bad news.  Well, not for NMB, but bad for North Miami mayor Andre Pierre and the city he’s running into the ground.  According to a press release issued today:

“The Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust (COE) today found Probable Cause that North Miami Mayor Andre Pierre exploited his position from October of 2009 through January of 2012 by avoiding payment of rental fees at a municipal athletic field used by his soccer club.   Mayor Pierre engaged in this activity even though a resolution was unanimously passed by the North Miami City Council in April 2010, which established policies for park rentals and limited fee waivers to certain qualified organizations for only one no-cost use per year.  The complaint (C12-35) charged that Pierre’s group, the “North Miami Taxpayers Soccer Club,” used the fields more than 100 times without paying.   Mayor Pierre objected to the accusation through his attorney, who argued the mayor was following proper protocol by utilizing the facility for “pick-up soccer games” and claimed the usage was consistent with “community service” activities of the city.  The case will proceed to a public hearing.”

In addition to Pierre, the Commission also found Probable Cause that Miami City Commissioners Frank Carollo and Marc Sarnoff exploited their official positions in two unrelated matters.  Bad boys!  It also “formally advised” Golden Beach Mayor Glenn Singer and Town Manager Alex Diaz “of ‘prohibited investments’ that conflict with the public interest,” fined registered lobbyist Alfredo Balsera for failing to file an expenditures report, and dismissed complaints against Miami-Dade County Commissioner Juan Zapata and Sunny Isles Beach Commissioner George Scholl filed by their former opponents in recent elections.

The Commission also gave opinions on two other issues, which I find too boring to even report.

As for our favorite ethically challenged local official, I first reported Andre Pierre’s scam on April 2, 2012 in Soccer-Gate, in which I estimated that he ripped the North Miami taxpayers off for about $29,000.00.  Some folks’ estimates were even higher, but I couldn’t confirm that since my requests for those public records were never fulfilled and I never pursued the matter.

Good thing someone did and filed a complaint with the Ethics Commission.  Good thing the Commissioners ate their Wheaties this morning because good old Andre has yet another headache to deal with.  I wonder if he’ll hire his go-to criminal lawyer, Ben Keuhne to represent him in this latest case.  In any event, as soon as I find out when the Commission schedules his public hearing, you’ll be the first to know.  That should be good for some post-holiday entertainment!

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”