Coral Gables Historical Archive
The Times
Saturday, May 1, 1976, page 15 (of 30)
The page
The text of this pageRead by computer from the scan, so some words may be wrong. The page picture is the original.
Cut trash fee, up taxes? SM council will decide
The $43 sanitation fee in the City of South Miami, always difficult to collect, may be dropped in the coming city budget in favor of higher taxes to bring in the same amount of money. City Manager Jack Present said he is gathering information and statistics to present to the city's council the pros and cons of eliminating the sanitation fee and raising the tax millage. "It's a policy matter," explained Present. "The council south miami report . . . edwin knight will make the decision on whether to drop the sanitation fee." But the city manager did say that he is also discussing the proposal with West Miami Mayor Edmund Cooper. West Miami dropped its sanitation fee in 1974 in favor of higher taxes. In a report to the West Miami council on savings to the homeowner and the city, Mayor Cooper brought out several positive reasons for eliminating the fee, the biggest being the elimination of the cost of mailing and collecting the fees. Residents could save by being able to take the higher taxes off federal tax returns. The city manager said that he will make a report to the council and let that body decide whether it wants to continue collecting the fees. "But I would say that the decision will have to be made by July 1 if the fee is to be eliminated in the coming budget," the city manager added. The city manager must have his recommended budget to the council by late in July and the budget must be ready and adopted to go into effect by Oct. 1. The idea for dropping the sanitation fee is coming at a time when the city is strapped for funds to complete this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. The city manager brought out this week that the city presently is behind by $12,747 in sanitation fees for this fiscal year alone. For last year, a total of $4,214 in sanitation fees went uncollected and the city is faced with $16,215 in unpaid sanitation bills for several years back. The council learned at a meeting last year that at one point several years ago, a total of $20,000 in garbage and trash fees was written off in one fell swoop. The figure is even higher for commercial sanitation fees. In eliminating the sanitation fee, the city would have to raise the millage to bring in the same amount of money which would have been brought in if all the fees had been paid - about $235,000 in the present budget. The initial cost of mailing out the bills, $3,500, would be eliminated, as well as the notices of deliquent fees. By eliminating the sanitation fee and increasing taxes, the city would likely get more in federal revenue sharing funds, too. By increasing property taxes, the city will be credited with a greater taxing effort in the allocation of federal revenue sharing monies. When the city lowered the millage last year, South Miami automatically lost $10,000 in revenue sharing which it could put to good use to make up present big budget deficits. One of the disadvantages of the plan may come from putting an added burden on business and industry in the city through the added taxes, particularly when those businesses have private companies handle their garbage and trash pickup. Several members of the city council have shown an interest in dropping the sanitation fee, especially in view of city difficulties in collecting the fees each year.
Lighting costs rise at SM athletic field
An $86,500 bid from Rosser Electric to install a new lighting system at South Miami Field may add up to considerably more due to a change in the city's lighting plans. Raising the height of the seven poles supporting the lights and moving the poles further from the athletic field may cost the city as much as $49,000 more than Rosser's original bid. But the city's council at last week's meeting authorized City Manager Jack Present to negotiate with the electric firm for a better price. After calling for bids on the lighting system, the city decided to raise the height of four concrete poles from 60 to 85 feet and the three steel poles from 60 to 110 feet. In addition, the latest lighting plans call for moving the poles further from the field for better illumination. The city council decided on a new lighting system for the heavily used field after City Manager Present described the old lights as "deteriorated to the point fo being dangerous." The old poles and lights since have been removed in preparation for the new lighting system. Erection of the lights is the first phase of a complete renovation of South Miami Field, which is used jointly by the city and South Miami Junior High School. The council has set aside $200,000 for upgrading the field, with $150,000 of that amount coming from the city's revenue bond trust fund. Another $50,000 will come from a Metro grant of state monies. In addition to the lighting, the city will provide two baseball/football fields, two field backstops, new fencing, reconditioning of restrooms and a new football field. The new lights are expected to be ready for the coming football season. In other action at its April 20 meeting, the council: REQUESTED by resolution that the city manager file evaluation reports on city employes at six month rather than yearly intervals. DETERMINED by resolution that the service rendered by the Postal Service in South Miami is inadequate, sub-standard and ineffective and requested that the members of the Florida Congressional delegation take steps to rectify the situation. The resolution was sponsored by Councilwoman Mrs. Cathy McCann. APPOINTED Councilwoman Mrs. Betty Lantz as the city's representative to the Dade League of Cities. REQUESTED by resolution that the Metro Commission expedite the establishment of a county court branch in Homestead and further requested that the Dade delegation, the legislature and the governor create and appoint five new county judgeships for Dade County.
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