Miami taxpayers could be on the hook for City Commissioner Joe Carollo‘s frivolous and ridiculous lawsuit against the mayor, city clerk and others to take the strong mayor referendum off the ballot. They could be billed for his political stunt.
The lawsuit was dismissed — practically laughed out of court — in an 18-page ruling Saturday by Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Miguel M. de la O, who said that Carollo’s arguments had no merit. Not a single one. He basically called Carollo a sore loser who, having lost the vote at the dais when the commission voted to put the question on the ballot, turned to the courts.
Read related: Judge calls Joe Carollo sore loser, rips apart strong mayor lawsuit
Carollo has 30 days to appeal, though in matters of elections the courts want things expedited and the fact he hasn’t appealed yet indicates he took his spanking hard. But whether he appeals or not, the legal costs incurred so far can be estimated at between $25,000 and $80,000, depending on how many attorneys he had “consulting” on it. That could include Tania Cruz, the daughter-in-law of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who got an email exactly two minutes and three seconds after the court’s online system confirmed receiving the case from lead attorney Jesus Suarez.
Suarez, who works for the Genovese Joblove & Battista law firm, doesn’t work for free and someone is going to have to pay him for his work.
“No payments have been made at this time,” City Attorney Victoria Mendez told Ladra after I asked. Keywords: At this time. That doesn’t mean that he won’t be paid in the future.
Read related: Joe Carollo files late campaign report, with $60K for mayor’s daughter-in-law
And, in fact, he could be paid from city funds after all. Carollo filed the lawsuit as a city commissioner, not as a citizen or as a voter. The first line of his emergency complaint says so.
“Plaintiff/petitioner JOE CAROLLO, as an individual and as a commissioner in the City of Miami, Florida, sues Defendants/Respondents …” The keywords there are as a commissioner.
Que descarado! That’s what’s called trying to “achieve standing” so the city would be on the hook — meaning he would be making taxpayers would be funding this political feud.
Is he going to do this every time he loses a battle on the dais? Every time the other commissioners vote against him, is he going to take it to court and make taxpayers foot the bill?
That could get very expensive.

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The purchase of a home on Old Cutler Road, to convert it into a fire station outpost, and regulations for motorized scooters are among the agenda items at the Coral Gables commission meeting Tuesday, the first since City Manager Peter Iglesias was given the permanent job.
Some people are unhappy about the way that Iglesias got the top administrative post after Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark‘s forced exit without any type of national search or even look around town.  There may be some residents who bring it up during public comments, but the city manager’s position and the police structure and the relationship between the two is not on the agenda this week for the first time in a while.
What they will discuss includes the purchase of Cal Rosenbaum’s residential property at 7000 Old Cutler Road for the purpose of “preserving landscaped open space and renovating the existing house for use as a fire station to enhance fire rescue response time to the surrounding neighborhood.”
Read related: Coral Gables manager Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark quits job in battle with chief
It seems odd that this is the first some might hear about the purchase of this property, which is right adjacent to Cocoplum Circle (see aerial photo here). Has there been any study as to whether the location is the best option? Have other homes or properties even been identified? In fact, how did this one come onto the city’s radar?
The city has already gotten a multitude of assessments which vary from $1.3 to $3.9 million, depending on whether the prperty is used as residential or commercial. The city’s proposal, of course, is to pay top dollar: $4 million as is.
There are $1.5 million available in state grant funds and $2.3 million would come from impact fees, leaving $200,000 from the general capital improvement budget.
Why would the city pay the highest amount? Even the property advisory board recommended $3 million.
And that’s likely not the end of the expenses. What would it cost to turn the house into a functioning station? And how would that impact the community around it?
Read related: New proposed Coral Gables police and fire HQ raises concerns, ‘propaganda’
The city, which is in the process of building a new public safety headquarters for police and fire, currently has three fire stations. The main one at 2801 Salzedo Street (photographed here), which shares space with the police department, is in such bad shape that some equipment is parked outside so it doesn’t get damaged. This station would be replaced by the new public safety building. Fire Station II at 525 South Dixie Highway is crumbling, with firefighters sleeping in trailers in the parking lot. And Fire Station III at 11911 Old Cutler Rd., may still have mold issues.
Maybe before the city gets into another fire station, it should bring the ones it has up to par and finish the main public safety building. It doesn’t seem that this is such a bargain deal that it has to happen right now. There’s even a clause where the residents get to stay for two years paying no rent. This is a sweet deal for Cal Rosenbaum, who asked the commission in 2015 to buy his home so he could move out of the Gables because of overdevelopment. I kid you not.
What’s the hurry?
“Fire response to the City’s central areas has been challenging due to travel distances and access limitation caused by traffic congestion and lack of alternate travel routes for its existing fire stations,” says the memo in the commission agenda package. “Locating a fire station somewhere near Sunset would help to narrow the gap between the existing fire stations and allow faster response times to communities such as Coco Plum, Gables Estates, Hammock Lakes, and portions of the University of Miami.”
It’s bonus that the lot they are looking at has a lot of wooded ground and 136 trees that would create a buffer to the firetrucks in an expanded garage. “This area primarily consists of residential so staff wanted to ensure the location had minimal [visual] impact to the neighborhood,” the memo says.
Maybe we’ll see what the neighborhood says Tuesday.

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If you live in Senate District 40, where incumbent Sen. Annette Taddeo is facing a challenge from Republican superwoman Marili Cancio, then you also probably live in either House District 115 or House District 118.
This Wednesday, you have a chance to see the candidates in both your senate and house race at the first of three candidate forums brought to us by the Kendall Federation of Homeowner Associations, which has been hosting some well-attended candidate forums since at least 2011.
Beginning at 7 p.m., residents can hear from Democrat Jeffrey Solomon and Republican Vance Aloupis in the 115 race and State Rep. Robert Asencio and his Republican challenger Anthony Rodriguez in 118, as well as Taddeo and Cancio.
Read related: Vance Aloupis fails to mention GOP as required, courting NPAs in general
A week later, they will host Democrat Javier Estevez and Republican Doral Councilwoman Ana Maria Rodriguez, who are running to replace former State Rep. turned Ambassador Carlos Trujillo in District 105, Democrat James Harden and Republican State Rep. Daniel Perez from District 116 and Democrat Heath Rassner, who is running to replace termed-out State Rep. Jeanette Nuñez, who was tapped as LG for Ron Desantis, in District 119.
Juan Fernandez Barquin, the Republican in 119 who beat Analeen “Annie” Martinez, Commissioner Joe Martinez‘s better funded daughter, said he might be out of town, said KFHA President Mike Rosenberg.
KFHA wants to host the congressional candidates from District 26 and 27 on the 25th, but apparently only the incumbent, U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, has confirmed.
Read related: Carlos Curbelo is bad for public education; teachers back Debbie
“We’re still trying to confirm Debbie Mucarsel-Powell and Maria Elvira Salazar, but we’re having a difficult time reaching them,” an email blast said.
Rosenberg told Ladra that Donna Shalala, the Dem running against Salazar to replace Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in #CD27, is willing and ready to come out any time, but that he has tried multiple times to reach Salazar to no avail.
“Sometimes I have to be beyond the ‘normal’ persistent in reaching out to candidates,” Rosenberg wrote in an email to Salazar he shared with Ladra. “For some reason there are candidates that don’t want to debate their opponents. I truly don’t understand that, but our forums are not debates, but rather questions. We want to know who you are and what kind of leader you would make. We simply want to ask you questions.
“I will continue to reach out to you as I believe our audience is very engaged and eager to learn.  As President of the Kendall Federation, I must try and make sure all the candidates appear. So, forgive my persistence, but I have always believed, if we can’t get you to meet with our community before an election, we’ll never be able to get you afterwards.”
Rosenberg, who said he hasn’t given up on Mucarsel-Powell either, is right about that.
The KFHA meetings are always in the Kendall Village pavilion at that shopping center, 8625 SW 124th Ave.

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A Miami-Dade judge on Saturday ripped apart, er, ruled against a lawsuit filed by Miami Commissioner Crazy Joe Carollo in an 18-page spanking, uh, decision that basically calls him a sore loser who ran to the court after he failed to get his way on the commission.
Carollo is against the strong mayor referendum that city commissioners voted to put on the ballot in August. He was joined by Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who has gone on TV and radio against the measure, so it’s a defeat for him as well.
“The essence of the matter before the court is that Commissioner Carollo opposes changing the governing structure of the City of Miami to a strong mayor form of government. In his role as City Commissioner he argued against the issue being presented to, and decided by, the voters in the form of a ballot referendum,” wrote 11th Circuit Court Judge Miguel M. de la O in a final summary judgement for Mayor Francis Suarez and the other defendants in Carollo’s stunt, er, legal challenge.
Read related: Gimenez clan involved in Joe Carollo lawsuit vs strong mayor
“He now asks this court to declare the referendum illegal for a number of reasons, none of which have merit,” the judge continued in his intro. “The question of how the City of Miami should be structured is at its core a political one. Therefore, Commissioner Carollo must rely on his powers of persuasion to convince the citizens of Miami as to the folly of a strong mayor form of government, if it is indeed folly.”
Wait, powers of persuasion? Who says a judge can’t be funny?
De la O didn’t let Crazy Joe use his “powers of persuasion” in court even though Carollo, in true form, “sought to take dozens of depositions, and subpoenaed in excess of 30 witnesses to the October 5, 2018 hearing, all of which this Court deemed unnecessary.”
In other words, nananina said the judge, cutting Crazy Joe off before he could start.
He lays into Crazy Joe and fails all of his counts on what apparently amounts to a frivolous and ridiculous lawsuit:

The ballot language is, indeed, abundantly clear and complete on the purpose of the referendum and not misleading, the judge said.
The petition signatures do not need to meet Miami-Dade standards that are not required by the city of Miami charter and, even if they did, the city commission placed the referendum on the ballot, not the petitions, so that is a moot point.
And the complaint about the pay formula is not only moot, because that’s not the purpose of the measure, it also “misses the mark,” wrote de la O. “First, there is in fact a pay formula now, it is whatever manner and amount the Mayor is currently paid. Commissioner Carollo’s counsel stated at the hearing that the Mayor’s salary is set at the discretion of the Commission. That is a pay formula. It may be purely discretionary, but a discretionary formula is no less a formula.”

In other words: “Duh.”
Was it intentionally ridiculous?
If not, this should be a huge embarrassment for the attorneys because the lawsuit apparently doesn’t have a single leg to stand on. The judge laughs at it throughout the ruling, says that a comparison to a Leon County case under appeal was “remarkably different” and pokes so many holes in it that it almost seems like it was intentional. Like a parody of a lawsuit.
Read related: Joe Carollo files late campaign report, with $60K to mayor’s daughter-in-law
If it is, this could be fraud. Ladra can’t help but wonder how much was paid to Jesus Suarez, the lawyer whose name it is under who filed it, and maybe also Tania Cruz, Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s daughter-in-law — the one who got paid $60,000 for “mailers” during the campaign. She was likely advising Carollo on the matter, as evidenced by an email from Suarez to both Tania Cruz and her husband CJ Gimenez two minutes after the lawsuit was filed. “Done,” it said.
The public also needs to know who paid for it?  Someone is paying Suarez, at the Genovese, Joblove & Battista law firm. Five other firm emails were ccd as was Carollo campaign attorney Benedict Kuehne. They are not doing this for free. Is Cruz making more from a political action committee? Maybe her Papi-in-law’s PAC this time?
When Ladra first asked City Attorney Victoria Mendez if the city had paid the attorney, she wrote back “No payments have been made at this time.” Which sounded like the city could be paying for this frivolous lawsuit sometime in the future. So I asked again and got the same answer. “There are no records responsive to your request. The City is not paying Mr. Suarez at this time,” she wrote again.
What does that mean?
Neither Carollo nor Suarez returned several calls.
Ladra challenges Joey Flechas or Doug Hanks (since the Gimenez clan is involved) to find out what this lawsuit really was. Payoff to someone for something? Propaganda maybe?
Because the one thing it’s apparently not is a legitimate legal challenge.

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The elected property appraisers in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties came together this week to write an op-ed piece about Amendment 2, urging voters to vote yes to keep an annual 10 percent cap on the increase in non-homestead property values — and make it permanent.
This includes apartment buildings and duplexes where owners generally pass the increase in taxes to their tenants and charge higher rents, which could exacerbate the affordable housing crisis we have now. And if at first it seems smart to raise taxes on commercial properties to raise the funds we need for education, climate change resiliency, Everglades restoration and other state and local needs, these property appraisers warn that — if amendment 2 does not pass and the cap is not extended — there would be a trickle down effect that could cause a significant raise in the price of products and services. 
Here, in it’s entirety, is the op-ed piece written by Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Pedro Garcia (photo), Broward County Property Appraiser Marty Kiar and Palm Beach Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks.
“As the Property Appraisers for Florida’s three largest counties, we urge all voters to pay close attention to Amendment 2 on the upcoming November ballot.
The amendment asks voters whether to make permanent a 10 percent limit on the annual increase in assessed value of a non-homestead property. A “yes” vote will avert a sudden and largely unexpected tax crisis for more than 530,000 residential and business property owners in Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
Most residential property owners in Florida enjoy the tax savings afforded by two $25,000 homestead exemptions. Business owners, rental property owners, second homeowners and part-time retirees whose permanent residence is in another state are not eligible for those exemptions. For them, Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2008 that placed a 10 percent limit on the annual increase in assessed value of a non-homestead property. Over the past 10 years, these property owners have enjoyed significant tax savings because of this cap.
What many people do not know is that the 10 percent cap on non-homestead property is set to expire at the end of 2018. If Amendment 2 does not pass, more than a half-million residential and commercial property owners in South Florida will shoulder a total tax increase of $422 million effective Jan. 1, 2019. In Palm Beach County alone, 134,592 property owners will share the cost of an additional $66.3 million in taxes. In Broward County, 170,000 property owners share the cost of an additional $88.5 million in taxes and in Miami-Dade County, 227,680 property owners share the cost of an additional $267.5 million in taxes.
For many high-value commercial property owners, the prospect of such an increase may be barely noticeable. However, please do not think that this is a problem for someone else who can easily afford it. Consider the ripple effect of a repeal of the 10 percent cap. Think about the rental property owner who raises rent to make ends meet or the small-business owner – your favorite produce stand, car repair shop or family-owned restaurant – who raises prices to cover the additional cost.
The owner of a duplex in a south Florida community forgot that the 10 percent cap was temporary and was surprised to learn that without it, the assessed value of his property will increase by 21 percent on January 1, 2019. In addition, his tax payment, compared to last year, will increase by 13.7 percent, or $654, rather than the $300 to $400 annual increases he has experienced from year to year with the cap in place. He prides himself on keeping the rental rates below average for the area so he can maintain good tenants, but admits that his ability to
continue doing that will be hampered, if Amendment 2 does not pass.
Finally, consider Florida’s part-time retirees, many of whom are on fixed incomes, whose contribution to our local economy benefits us all year long. Can South Florida continue to attract part-time retirees, if the cap expires?
What is perhaps most concerning about the cap’s looming deadline is that many of the people whom it will directly affect are unaware of the cap and/or its expiration date. We encourage all voters to talk to friends, family, local business owners and the part-time retirees in your neighborhood about the importance of this amendment.
If you are the owner of a non-homestead property, we welcome you to call our offices to find out how the repeal of the 10 percent cap will affect your property.
The numbers are 305-375-4712 in Miami-Dade, (954) 357-6830 in Broward and (561) 996-4890 in Palm Beach County.

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People watching the City of Miami meeting last week were surprised when Commissioner Joe Carollo went with the majority and voted against the very contract he helped negotiate with Ultra Music Festival organizers, even after getting everything he demanded.
The three-day electronic music event was kicked out of Bayfront Park, its home the past 18 years, when commissioners voted Sept. 27 unanimously not to renew their contract for next year. They cited the noise and traffic bothering downtown residents as their prime concerns.
But in reality Carollo is just trying to trade in one noise and traffic nightmare for another: Formula One racing. He thinks that if he can appease the downtown residents on Ultra — there, I did that for you — then it will be easier to sell the Miami Grand Prix.
Read related: Joe Carollo files late campaign report, with $60K to mayor’s daughter-in-law
And he’s doing it for his new BFF, lobbyist CJ Gimenez, son of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez. CJ represents Formula One racing interests.
But what people need to know is that its not apples for oranges.
Yes, the Formula 1 racing would likely not extend into the wee hours of the morning like Ultra does. But the noise is arguably worse and the traffic is still going to be a nightmare. And the agreement negotiated so far with the city manager provides far less rent to the city than Ultra, whose organizers had agreed to pay $2 million annually to the city for the three day use of the park, a demand Carollo had made.
Read related: Why is Joe Carollo on Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s camp’s payroll
But Carollo and the Gimenez clan have a very special relationship. It’s a relationship where Mayor Gimenez was paying him $6,000 a month through his political action committee — for what? nobody knows — and where Crazy Joe paid the mayor’s daughter-in-law Tania Cruz, an attorney, almost $60,000 for mailers and campaign work. Both CJ and Tania, photographed right at a 2017 campaign event, were very present during Carollo’s commission contest and Cruz helped represent him after Alfie Leon challenged his residency.
Yes, it was an anonymous vote to deny Ultra another year. But Carollo was the one who negotiated and brought the contract to the table. Was it sabotage? Did he bring a poison pill?
Why wouldn’t he make it easier for his pal CJ to get Formula One passed? Todo en familia.

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