Dear Neighbors,
Happy New Year to all.
To quickly address key issues affecting all Village residents, my first 30 days have focused on our community safety, police, and code. On December 17, 2016, the Commissioners, Village Manager, and I held the first community forum, where approximately 40 residents joined in attendance to discuss their criticisms and raise questions about improving our Police Department and our code enforcement. Additionally, several residents sent emails with in their comments and/or suggestions. I greatly appreciate the community in helping us to pinpoint the problems, and provide suggestions on how to improve the quality of the services we provide to the Village. This is the first of what I hope will be many forums where we can exchange ideas on how to improve the Village.
As some of you may have already heard, Corporal Nick Wollschlager has been appointed the new Interim Chief of Police. He has proudly served and protected our community since 2011. I am confident that he will provide the leadership needed during the transition to find a permanent Chief of Police. Corporal Wollschlager is aware of the residents’ needs, and he is ready to put into motion police practices that will meet these needs. The choice of Interim Chief Wollschlager is a positive step forward in meeting the needs of the Village. I look forward to hearing from you, the residents, the progress made with regard to increased patrolling, traffic enforcement, crime deterrence/prevention, and community policing.
The Village Manager is in the process of hiring a new code enforcement officer, and we await the Village Manager’s update during Tuesday’s Commission meeting.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016, REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING
Welcome Residents!
On Tuesday evening, January 10, 2017 at 7:00 p.m., at the log cabin, the Village will be holding our first meeting with the newly installed Commission. There are several items are on the agenda that might be of interest to you, individually, and others that, collectively, are important to all residents. Please visit the link below for the agenda and the supporting documents:
Because it is a lengthy agenda that includes a variance hearing, my intention is to reconvene if the meeting extends past 10:00 p.m., to an upcoming date agreed upon by the Commission.
For all future Commission meetings, I will work with the Commission, Village Manager, and Clerk to focus on key business items to keep meetings to a reasonable length of time. I encourage resident participation and quality of discussion. Below are highlights of some of the items to be discussed:
- Driveway Ordinance – Date to Comply
One item of concern to many residents is the driveway ordinance, 2015:04. This agenda item is asking the newly seated Commission to decide on a new timeline for compliance. For clarification: In November, 2016, proposed amendment(s) to the 2015 ordinance to correct problems in the 2015 ordinance was before the Commission for a vote. It failed to pass.
The issue on Tuesday’s agenda is to discuss what type of relief, if any, is to be given to the residents who have been affected by the ordinance. Not all residents have been affected in the same way. So, we will discuss what type of relief may be afforded these residents, depending on the particular problem.
I anticipate a robust discussion on to how to deal with the issues found in the original ordinance.
- Police Staffing
During my campaign, I promised to address the issues of police staffing for the safety and protection of our residents and their properties. The two agenda items on Police Department staffing are directed to toward fulfilling this promise. The first item addresses the need to prioritize the hiring of, and increase the number of, reserve police officers. Second, I propose to convert the current full-time administrative detective’s position, at $48,510, to a full-time patrol officer’s position, starting at $38,000, and to do so without delay. This position is currently vacant, with Captain Hector Pineda’s recent resignation. Converting the positions would not affect any current employees and would save the taxpayers not only the difference in salary and fringe benefits, but also overtime, by covering 160 patrol-hours each month.
- Fire Alarm System
On November 12, 2016, the Village Manager became aware that the log cabin’s fire alarm system was not functioning, and apparently (at least the alarm panel) was likely not working, and has not been working since the log cabin’s opening in January, 2016. I discovered these facts on December 12, 2016, and have been working with the Village administration to assess the extent of the problem and ensure that fixing the system is made a priority. To understand and assess the extent of the problem, I reviewed all the contract documents (plans and shop drawings) that were provided to me on December 27, 2016, and I the prepared report to the all Commissioners, and the Village Attorney, and the Village Manager. I have also requested to review the permits and inspection files for the Log Cabin and the new Village Hall/Annex building to ensure that we, the Village, are confident that there are no further fire protection issues. I will continue to work with the Village administration to ensure that the responsible parties will be held accountable, and that all proper permitting and inspection processes will be followed in the future. I have also questioned why there are no smoke detectors and fire alarm system installed in the new Village Hall (confirmed by Village staff), the status of the certificate of occupancy for the Log Cabin and the Village Hall. At Tuesday’s meeting I expect to have answers from the Village Manager.
- Proposed Amendments to the Charter
This proposed amendment to the Charter deals with the need for oversight of the Village administration by the Commission. The current Charter has abrogated almost all oversight responsibilities and the Commission has very little – almost no – control of the Village administration. The amendment to the Charter being proposed to the residents to vote on will provide a check and balance on the powers of the administration and the fiduciary responsibility of the Commission. I propose that the Commission: (1) review the findings of the previous Charter Review Board; and (2) amend the Charter to provide greater oversight and responsibility the hiring of key Village positions. I am asking the Commission to submit my proposed Charter amendment and any other amendments that may be voted on by the Commission to the voters at the time that elections are held to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of David Coviello, who submitted his resignation as of March 31, 2017. There is also a resolution on the agenda to set the special election date.
Best Regards,
Tracy Truppman
Mayor
As a long term resident of Biscayne Park, and representative of many home owners, I find the spend spend attitude of Mr. Jonas to be appalling, as it very disrespectfully ignores the interests of the already overtaxed homeowner for our elected officials to save money by providing only the basic necessary functions of government. Any of the grandiose spending plans such as landscaping and art projects that serve only special interests such as the Real Estate agents who make money by churning Village homes should not be financed by taxing everyone. That amounts to theft under the guise of municipal government. All of these new officials must respect the rights of homeowners and stop these plans to use homeowners as the funding mechanism for their favorite project. We need more effective residential police patrols and smaller overall government. I suggest the Village create a website that allows citizen to post public comments to the Commission, so that us who are not pushing some political spending agenda can have realistic input to the commission.
Tracy,
Your enthusiasm is commendable. Your impatience and bullishness are not. You have given yourself tasks that are not yours. You and others will end up frustrated.
If the Manager knew on 11/12/16 that there was a problem with the fire alarm system, do you think there was still a problem a month later? If for some reason there was, do you think it was because the Manager was lazy or aimless or unmotivated, and it took you to effect action that could have been taken earlier? You seem to be failing to appreciate a big picture here.
The Commission (meaning the Commissioners, which means you) have plenty to do. And your task is not an easy one. Doing the Manager’s job is not on your job description, it is not anything that anyone needs you to do, and it will not solve the problems that are the real purview of the Commission. You will recall that during the Meet the Candidates event last November, each of the candidates, including you, identified the disadvantageous state of the Village’s finances as the Village’s biggest problem. You and the other candidates were right. That’s your task, and I will venture to say you won’t solve it. But it would help if you put your minds to it, and tried to formulate a long term plan. What the Village needs more than anything is a real increase in its revenue. Your thinking at the time, before you had real insight into municipal functioning, was that you would like to see the Village exact fees where we had not exacted them before. Specifically, you thought of parking meters around the recreation center. I doubt we’re talking about meaningful income here, but the idea shows that for a moment, you understood the problem. I know it’s hard, and it takes determination and leadership from forward-thinking elected officials, but solving this problem is one of your greatest tasks. Another problem you can solve is elevating the neighborhood, to make it both a better place to live, and a place of higher value, and values. Again, this isn’t easy, but it’s a great use of your opportunity as a Commissioner.
Tracy, I’m rooting for you to do a good job. But a good job is a job that addresses the real issues. Just addressing anything, and anything easy, because it’s, well, easy, isn’t a good job. Don’t waste your time and opportunity, and don’t disappoint your neighbors and constituents.