I know that North Miami Beach has budget problems.  Everyone knows this.  The general employees know it.  The police employees know it.  The feral cats that hang around the back of the Public Works Department for scraps of food know it.  If you didn’t know it, you do now.

The Mayor and Council have been telling us for a few years now that we’re broke, dangling on the precipice of financial disaster.  For all I know, this might be true.  I’m certainly no financial expert, so who am I to argue?

But here’s the thing, though.  It’s been over 48 hours since a homicide took place in our city, and there appears to be absolutely no one at City Hall or in our Police Department who is willing or capable of issuing a press release.  No one!

Gee, I’m sorry, but no matter how broke we are (even IF that’s the excuse), this is just pathetic!

A reader posted the following comment on my column yesterday:

“The NMBPD takes pride in announcing Open House or Free turkey give away, but to actually inform the very residents that are surrounded by the chaos? Not a top priority. PIO Carney handles the one side (feel good) and I believe a Major Katerman is supposed to handle the crime (not feel good) side of the reporting. News crews don’t even respond anymore because they know they aren’t going to get a statement worth running from the Major. Most of the time its an independent camera man that shows up to the scenes.”

If this is the case, and I have no reason to believe it isn’t, why hasn’t Major Katerman issued a press release, or at least returned a phone call from Rosh Lowe?  According to a text message last night between me and a source, the Major might be on vacation.

Note to the sarcasm impaired: My cat did NOT apply for a job at North Miami Beach.  DUH!  She already has a job as a double agent.

In all seriousness, though, if Major Katerman is taking a vacay, is there any reason Tom Carney can’t cooperate with the media?  Or at the very least, issue a press release?

Then again, the world is still waiting for a press release for the home invasion/armed robbery that took place on August 24, 2013.  OR another one that happened three days earlier in NMB per Mac Serda’s email to the Mayor and Council on August 26, 2013 when he was acting as Interim City Manager.

Ironically, in that email Mac claimed that Mayor and Council should take pride in our PD:

Yet he obviously saw no need to tell the public about the great detective work performed on this case.

As an aside, I just assigned the crack Team of Irony Specialists to investigate this incident.

Note to Mac Serda:  In case you were wondering why the cops don’t like you, there’s your answer.

If I hadn’t gotten a tip about that crime (or Sunday’s murder) and did some digging, you wouldn’t have known about it either.

I’d apply for the job as Public Information Officer at the NMBPD, but obviously the City can’t afford me.  (I’m already apparently doing it for free anyway.)

Maybe my cat still wants the job.  She’ll work for food.

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”