October 30 2012- A Morally Unacceptable Zoning Story Revisited

Close your eyes for a moment and contemplate what could be the most terrifying and agonizing life event to occur.   Now imagine it is not just a nightmare, but its reality. 

Mine would relate to the health and welfare of my children.  If the health of your child was an issue, who would you pursue for help, support and guidance. Doctors, family, friends and co-workers?  What if there was a way our Village elected officials could help?  What if there was a way they could help but the refused?

Below is a quick snap shot of what occurred in the Village of Palmetto Bay, December 12^th 2011. 

A Doctor, with a 10-year-old son who is chronically ill, was seeking a routine variance for 5% more lot coverage than is permitted under the zoning code for his home.  Variances as such were granted routinely without a hearing when we were unincorporated.  The 5% more was not to cram a McMansion or a gigantic garage to house motorized toys; he wanted to make room for his extended family to be able to all fit on the ground floor of his house.  It’s this family that would take care of his son who is afflicted with cystic fibrosis. 

Cystic Fibrosis is one of the most common chronic lung diseases in children and young adults. It is a life-threatening disorder, but given proper care, the child will have a chance to live to adulthood.

The variance request was denied. Mayor Stanczyk, Vice Mayor Pariser and Councilwoman Lindsay rejected the good Doctor’s application. They had very little empathy for a family struggling with their 10 year-old son’s potentially fatal disease. 

To add insult to injury the variance process cost thousands of dollars because it requires attorneys, architects and other expenses as part of the process.  Variances as such, in our Village of Palmetto Bay, include the requirement of having surrounding neighbors approve and sign off on the request.  The Doctor did just that and had all of the signatures of his neighbors for approval at the zoning hearing.   I would have considered this a legitimate request and it should have been a slam-dunk, right?

Well it wasn’t a slam-dunk, because certain members of this Council don’t really care about anything unless it’s one of their pet causes, which, apparently, does not include a chronically ill minor.

The entire December 12^th, 2011 Palmetto Bay Zoning hearing is available to be viewed on the Palmetto Bay website.  Be prepared to be outraged.   While my opinion is clear from what I have written above, if I was to express myself without reservation this email would be nothing but expletives.

There is a line in Spiderman that fits: “With great power, comes great responsibility.”  Whoever wins the Village election this time should memorize that line and repeat it to themselves each day they serve in office.  This is necessary because the Mayor, Vice Mayor and Councilwoman shirked their moral responsibility.  If they cannot look out for the weakest of us all, then what do they stand for and why do we need them?

David Singer

October 24, 2012 - Help define our COMMUNITY

To All,

I would like to apologize in advance for this email. I’m sure at this point in the election cycle you are as tired as I am from receiving hundreds of emails related to this election. That being said, I feel this email is extremely important as the Village of Palmetto Bay’s direction and future is at stake.

The election of candidates and charter changes related to the Village of Palmetto Bay – the choices that you will make on this election cycle’s ballot – is a referendum on how best to define COMMUNITY.

The present Council, including Mayor Stanczyk, Vice Mayor Pariser and Councilwoman Lindsey have demonstrated during their tenure that their definition of COMMUNITY can be defined as purely residential housing and nothing else. They support policies that result in the restriction of private schools that could ultimately eliminate them from our neighborhoods. They feel that residents should leave the Village to worship, eat and shop because those activities are an annoyance to residential living. They feel that reasonable noise and lighting from children playing baseball, football and basketball is more of a nuisance to them than it is a joy to those of us who are parents and a benefit to our future generation. They’ve all been a part of depleting the Village coffers by 10+ million dollars in three years, part of which was on an overblown Village Hall as an extravagant monument to their wasteful bureaucracy. And, maybe this is the worst of all, they support policies that build a virtual moat and wall around the Village to out keep non-village residents. To them, COMMUNITY stops at our borders.

Candidates running for office including John Dubois, Jim Araiza, Karyn Cunningham, Howard Tendrich, believe in a different definition of COMMUNITY. While I am in not endorsing any of them by including their names or pointing this out, their view includes a measured balance of homes, schools, churches, businesses and opportunities for children. Furthermore, they support a sensible, responsible fiscal plan going forward.

This email isn’t meant to disparage the Mayor, Vice Mayor or Councilwoman. If you asked them, they would admit they desire to have ultimate control of all growth, lighting, noise, traffic and construction and they certainly have a right to their point of view.

But to what end? Should a church be allowed to expand if they have the land to do so? Should children be permitted to play outside even if you can hear their distant laughter in your yard? Wouldn’t you like to eat and shop in your COMMUNITY rather than driving 20 minutes or more?

Is it really sensible to place virtual roadblocks in an attempt to keep non-village residents out of our COMMUNITY? Is that what you do if you’re proud of where you live? Imagine if Pinecrest, or Coral Gables, or Cutler Bay did that to us?

This is not a type of atmosphere, which I choose to live in. I love the fact that there is the possibility for our Village to be an all inclusive COMMUNITY to live in.

I’m requesting that before you vote on November 6th, you take the time to delve into what the candidates are advocating. I would request that you ignore lawn signs and petty tit-for-tat issues. I would hope that you vote based on the definition of COMMUNITY on its most all-encompassing meaning.

For the record, and hopefully to give you a level of comfort about my intentions: I, David Singer, have not given any contributions, committed my vote, endorsed, placed signs, run, walked or played patty cake with any candidate in this election. I am beholden to no one and no one is beholden to me. That’s just how I roll.

On November 7th, the day after the election, everyone in our COMMUNITY will still wake up, go to work, pay our bills, feed our families and celebrate life. The real question is in what type of COMMUNITY would you like that to be? Only you can decide with your vote.

David Singer

10-23-12 Recall Meeting Location & Time

A recall meeting to organize and discuss recall procedures will be held on Thursday, November 1st at a location and time (probably 7pm) to be decided. Anyone who would like to help in the petition process needs to attend for specific instructions. For more information please contract David Zisman at eve9621@aol.com or dmsinger@bellsouth.net.

10-22-2012 How do you spell Hypocrite?

How do you spell Hypocrite?   B-r-i-a-n  P-a-r-i-s-e-r

Truthful politics is an oxymoron at best.  However, Vice Mayor - Brian Pariser takes the contradiction to new levels.  Nothing proves this more than Brian Pariser’s comments regarding campaign contributions from out-of-Village individuals at last week candidate debate.   Actually, the debate was extremely professional and reserved until the Vice Mayor suggested that a few candidates had their credibility impaired because they received campaign contributions from various attorneys who had defended Palmer Trinity, or had received contributions from out-of-Village family, friends and businesses.   He later stated that he has received 80% of his contributions from Village of Palmetto Bay residents.   

Brian’s statements were extremely misleading. This is very important since creditability is playing an important role in this year’s Vice Mayor race.

Lets look the Vice Mayor’s numbers:

Brian Pariser has received $13,305.00 in contributions; he has self-funded $5,152.23 and received $8,152.77 in other contributions.

Out of the $8,152.77, about a 1/3, or $2,550.00 has come from attorneys and individuals outside of the Village.  This leaves an amount of 2/3’s, or $5,602.48 from individuals who live in the Village of Palmetto Bay.    By the way, in my math 2/3’s, is less than 80%.

The interesting part is, of the donations received from individuals who live in Palmetto Bay almost half or $2,236.00, was donated to the Vice Mayor from people associated with the Concerned Citizens of Old Cutler, Inc. (CCOCI.)

So, if Brian, as stated, is so concerned with the creditability of candidates taking contributions from individuals who live outside of the Village of Palmetto Bay, and he’s so concerned about candidates taking money from attorneys who represent Palmer Trinity, why is he taking campaign contributions from associates of the CCOCI (Probably Palmetto Bay’s largest special interest group)?   Need I also remind you that CCOCI is a named defendant, along with the Village, in the litigation brought by Palmer Trinity in an attempt, as the court rulings have shown, to preserve its rights under the law.  This litigation has caused the divisiveness that’s disturbing the quiet enjoyment of our sleepy little Village.  And who, you might ask, kept voting to appeal and prolong this litigation racking up the risk to the tune of a potential $13,000,000 judgement against our fair Village?  Brian Pariser.

In fact, a contributor to Brian’s campaign, Gary Pastorella, is the Vice President of CCOCI.  Mr. Pastorella arrived at the debate last week with over a hundred flyers promoting the Neighborhood Protection Charter Amendment.    The back of the Mr. Pastorella’s flyer additionally included misinformation; some might say libel, about opposing candidates.  You may have seen the same yellow flyer in your Palmetto Bay mailbox last week.   It’s titled ”Palmetto Bay Concerned Residents independently of any candidate.”  (Mine is lining my parakeet cage.)  Independently?  Really?  Not-so-much.  Seems as though Palmetto Bay Concerned Residents is not a real organization – I can’t say for sure but it appears to be a fake front for the CCOCI.  Another question, are there any campaign ethics violations that could potentially surface against the Palmetto Bay Concerned Residents?

It’s the old glass house theory, which I guess they didn’t teach Brian at law school.     If you accuse people of doing things you yourself are doing, the hypocrisy is going to come back and bite you. 

Brian’s Campaign Treasure’s reports are easily found on Recallpalmettobay.com or the Village of Palmetto Bay's Website.   

David Singer

October 18, 201 - The $600 toilet seat and the $500 hammer

To all,

I finally got the opportunity to speak with the Village Manager Ron Williams and Director of Finance Desmond Chin over the phone Wednesday.  All I can say is the Village Manager was not very forthcoming.  In fact, after five minutes on the phone, I got the feeling that the only way I was going to get a truthful answer was by contacting the CIA for a little water boarding.  The Village Manager evaded my questions as of he was avoiding Ebola.   I assume he has learned from the best – Mayor Stanczyk, Vice Mayor Pariser and Councilwoman Lindsay. 

As I hung up the phone, the only thing I could think was “WHAT ARE THEY HIDING”.   I started reviewing documents that I received earlier in the day and I found a spreadsheet that was titled “Village of Palmetto Bay Capital Assets Schedule 9/2011”. 

I guess, I’ve come to the point where I have to explain why I’ve titled my email “The $600 toilet seat and the $500 hammer”.   If you remember back in the 1980’s the Pentagon was involved in a scandal that uncovered their purchase of various items at over-inflated costs.

Well this is the story of Palmetto Bay’s $600 toilet seat and $500 hammer. 

Executive chairs for Council Members     -             $15,065.10

Gym Equipment for Village Hall               -             $33,487.77

(apparently the council doesn’t  

realize there is a gym at Village Hall)                                                                                     

Audio Visual Equipment                            -          $220,434.00

The 168^th Traffic Circle                             -          $350,179.32

Brick Pavers on 152^nd & Old Cutler          -          $293,339.00

Cashier system                                          -          $  56,538.00

Nikon D90 Cameras (2)                             -          $    2,278.00

These are just a few of the item’s I’ve decided to reference.  There is much more and, after repeated requests, I still have not received the 2012 Capital Asset Schedule - can you imagine what I’ll uncover?   No doubt it will be more Government waste. 

Now to be candid, a couple of these items were purchased in the last quarter of 2010 before Ms. Stanczyk was Mayor, but she was a Councilmember with Vice Mayor Brian Pariser both of whom voted on the budgets that Manager Williams prepared.   

Based a track record of wasteful spending,  it’s not difficult to see how the current council has reduced the Village’s reserves by $10 million in the last three years.  The $10 million figure is easily verified by reviewing the official Village finances obtainable on the Village website.

So don’t be fooled:  Mayor Shelly Stanczyk, Vice Mayor Brian Pariser and Councilwoman Joan Lindsey are not fiscally responsible.  Waste at every level is being perpetrated by a majority of the Council (only Patrick Fiore has voted against the budget two years in a row.) The residents of Palmetto Bay deserve to have services delivered efficiently with the balance of the money as a healthy reserve for a rainy day.

No one wants to foot the bill for our equivalent of a $600 toilet seat or a $500.00 hammer.

October 17, 2012 - The Lies Just Continue

Once again sent to the Mayor and Village Council

To all,

I’ve been reviewing the Village of Palmetto Bay’s Financial Statements in detail and have serious questions. Once again, neither Palmetto Bay’s Village Manager nor Director of Finance has given me the courtesy of a return phone call. So I am submitting this story to the Miami Herald.

What’s a bigger problem than a Village Council which refuses to be fiscally sound? One that uses lies and misinformation comparing itself to other municipalities in Miami-Dade County. At the final budget hearing, before the Mayor and others voted to support the use of 2.3 million dollars of reserves in the fiscal year 2012-2013 Budget, the Mayor described the concept of “Best Practices” to us. In doing so she noted how much healthier our Village’s reserves are than other Miami-Dade municipalities as a defense for spending more than we took in. The Mayor specially referred to Miami Lakes, the City of Miami (Seriously, are those the financial standards your trying to achieve?) and was about to name a third municipality before the Village Manager – no stranger to foot-in-mouth gaffes himself – stopped her. I guess he knew she was going down an indefensible path.

The fact is there is no municipality in Miami Dade County, that I have found, other than the City of Miami, as financially strapped as the Village of Palmetto Bay. (I have done a lot of research over the last few weeks.) Now to be fair, I did not look at every municipality, but I did review the following:
Aventura had, as of 9/2011, $41,309,000 in Total Fund Balance and $39,615,000 in unrestricted reserve balance or 97% of yearly operating expenses;

Pinecrest in their 9/2013 Budget, $18,628,095 in Total Fund Balance, with $8,248,619, in unrestricted reserve balance or 50% of yearly operating expense;

Coral Gables had, as of 9/2011, $60,112,541 in Total Fund Balance, $51,805,505 in unrestricted reserve balance or 40% of yearly operating expenses;

Miami Lakes which the Honorable Mayor quoted “only has 2.5 million in reserves” actually had as of 9/2011 $14,988,614 in Total fund balance, with a $6,947,000 in unrestricted reserve balance or 57% of yearly operating expenses, and;

Cutler Bay budgeted for 9/2012, $10,061,259 in Total fund balance, with unknown unrestricted reserve balance, or 40% of yearly operating expense.

Furthermore, every municipality above is fundamentally increasing their fund balances each budget year, while the Village of Palmetto Bay Council has been raiding our coffers for the past three years to the tune of $10 million total.

Now compare those municipalities with what you think is fiscally sound or “Best Practices:” Palmetto Bay has budgeted for 9/13, an $8,277,734 Total Fund Balance with a $5,419,341 in unrestricted reserve or 36% of yearly operating expenses. That is LESS than every municipality I described above. That doesn’t sound like we have a financially conservative policy or “Best Practices” to me. Maybe we have a different definition of what “Best” means. Maybe to the Palmetto Bay Council Worst Practices is good enough. I’ll get to “Best Practices” in a subsequent email because I’ve done plenty of research on the Mayor’s favorite phase and I’m not sure the Mayor knows what the real definition of “Best Practice” is.

Then add to that that we are facing a 13 million lawsuit without insurance coverage. 13 million is more than the five-and-a-half million we have in unrestricted reserves. But then the council spent more than $10 million in reserves over the last three years. That’s right – the council has spent more than $10 million dollars in the last three years. The Mayor believes this is misinformation – but numbers don’t lie – it’s all on the Palmetto Bay Website. We could only have hoped that the Mayor, Vice Mayor Pariser and Councilwoman Lindsey, all of whom pretend to be fiscally conservative, would have followed the same prudent approach that other municipalities in Miami-Dade County have – saving reserves in case of a hurricane – or maybe a $13 million dollar lawsuit.

As you can tell, the past few weeks I have been reviewing the finances of Palmetto Bay (most of you know I’m an experienced CPA.) It has been like watching a train wreck – I just can’t look away. Maybe a better analogy is that Mayor Stanczyk, Vice Mayor Pariser and Councilwoman Lindsay are driving a train fiscally headed for a cliff.

Either which way, when a concerned citizen who’s a CPA can’t get a meeting or a phone call returned from a Village Manager or Finance Director, when the finances are in turmoil and the Budget is bungled – the future stability of the Village is at stake.

Once again, as previously stated, for your pleasure, all referenced finances are easily substantiated on the Village of Palmetto Bay’s website or those of other municipalities referenced.

David Singer
Recall Palmetto Bay

October 15, 2012 - Where is 10 Million Dollars go?

Sent to the Mayor and Village Council

To all,

I have not been able to meet, after repeated attempts, with the Palmetto Bay’s Director of Finance [Desmond Chin]. This meeting was imperative to either confirm or refute my calculations below. Thus since no meeting occurred, this will be the story I will be submitting to the Miami Herald. Of course it will be more detailed.

In accordance with the attached Summary of Funds that I downloaded from the Village website, the beginning Fund balance on October 1, 2012 is $15,061,167. The ending Fund balance budgeted for September 30, 2013 is $8,298,573. Therefore the use of funds during the upcoming year, based on the current budget is going to be $6,762,594. You are spending almost seven million dollars of reserve. That’s not what you said on the record.

If you look further into the numbers of the attached document, you will see that the use of reserve funds over the past three-year period has been $10,014,568. That is really horrendous for a Village that ran in the Black for the first eight years of operation. Where did the 10 million dollars go?

Looking further down on the attached document, you will see that the Unassigned Fund balance ending as of September 30, 2013 is $5,440,180. This Unassigned fund balance, or ‘reserve,’ if you will, is lower than any other local municipality I have investigated, which includes Pinecrest, Miami Lakes, Coral Gables, and others. There were references made at the budget meeting that the Village had more money in reserves than other many municipalities in Miami-Dade – a total misrepresentation on the part of the Mayor.

At no point in the final budget meeting, and I’ve watched it repeatedly, was a $6,762,594 use of reserves mentioned. $6,762,954 is the number budgeted to be spent in FY 2012-2013 regardless of what was represented verbally at a public hearing. In fact, everyone who spoke about the numbers is on record as saying that only $2.3 million would be used. And that was only after they finally admitted that the $900,000 which they originally floated was deemed to be a misrepresentation during my simple questioning. If you need reminding, the budget hearing is on video, unless of course there is a Nixonesque deletion of the hearing in the near future.

At no point in the final budget meeting was there disclosure that there is only $5.4 million in unassigned reserves rather than $8.3 million. $8.3 million turns to $5.4 million because $2.8 million has been earmarked as “committed” and can’t be used for a contingency (unless you have your own accounting definition of what “committed” means.) In fact, when Vice Mayor Pariser asked for current reserves Manager Willams noted they were $9.8 million – another incorrect remark. If the Manager has not been able to review his copy of the Budget, he could always check it on the Village Website – that where all this information comes from.

At the last budget meeting, the Mayor accused me of disseminating misinformation, but it’s the Mayor and Village Manager that continue to mislead the public. But what is of further concern is that no other Council member corrected the financial information that was being disseminated. Somebody needs to be looking at the numbers. At least one Council Member, though, had the good sense to vote against the budget. It seems to me that there is enough to go the State Attorney’s office involved.

And as a personal aside, Eve [Boutsis, village attorney], I’m not being superfluous and inflammatory as you have accused me of previously – but you can only cover up the current administration’s incompetency for so long. I’m planning on making an appointment at the State Attorney’s office sometime this week if you would like to join me.

It is far from palatable what is occurring at Village Hall. Budgeting and correct financial records are a bedrock of any democracy. I guess the only transparency in the Village of Palmetto Bay resides in Meighan Alexander’s office where information is provided on a timely basis.

There used to be a saying when I was working in public accounting “NUMBERS DON’T LIE, PEOPLE DO.”

I look forward to seeing everyone at the Wednesday event [the State of the Village speech by Mayor Stanczyk].

David Singer

THERE WILL BE MORE INFORMATION TO FOLLOW.

10-14-2012 - Intolerance at its best

 

Welcome to Palmetto Bay Village of Parks INTOLERANCE.

Mayor Stanczyk, Vice Mayor Pariser and Councilwoman Lindsey, please verify to the Citizens of Palmetto Bay that the list of items presented below is comprehensive and accurate:  Schools X, Churches  X , Children X , Noise X,Traffic X, Freedom of Speech X, Westchester & Hialeah X, Property Rights , Construction .  Check, Check, Check, Check, Check, Check, and Double Check.  Are there any other items which you as Village Council are intolerant that I’ve you’ve missed?

We’ve come a long way from the community that I was born and raised in.  I remember a day when we strived for and appreciated diversity of opinions and ethnicity.    Where and when did it all start going wrong?  Maybe it’s when Stanczyk, Lindsay and Pariser began cramming their community ‘vision’ down our throats without asking the residents of Palmetto Bay if we were actually interested.  One of the items included in their new vision is the Neighborhood Protection Ordinance (NOP).

The real question is does the NPO actually help the Village and who does the NPO protect us from and why?  

When one of the NPO favorite supporters, who is the chairperson of the charter revision commission states on the record that she didn’t want our Village “to look like Westchester or Hialeah,” what did she mean by “look like?” How much more offensive could political leaders of the Village become?  Are you representing the residents of Palmetto Bay or the members of the Concerned Citizens of Old Cutler, Inc. (CCOCI?)   

You remember the CCOCI, they were the group that pushed the Village into a six-year litigation battle with Palmer Trinity that will eventually cost the Village taxpayers’ millions of dollars in attorney fees and damages.

But that’s old news - what’s on the agenda today?  The NPO - the new zoning ordinance is punitive and onerous to Churches, Schools and Hospitals needing building permits.  The Village was promised it would be enacted four months after the building moratorium was passed by Mayor Stanczyk, Vice Mayor Pariser and Councilwoman Lindsey and the timing is right on target.   The NPO and its consequences are so technical and likely litigious that they are daunting and complex to the most seasoned professionals.  Yet, the Mayor believes that she and Joan Lindsey have done such an outstanding job that we should vote for a charter change which will entitle them to serve three - four years terms in various Council positions.   

Our Council, led by Stanczyk, Pariser and Lindsay, have again dug a proverbial hole in the ground.  It appears they have promised their fifty or so supporters that they would stop any future expansion of Churches or Schools by risking the liability of massive litigation.   Envision the Palmer Trinity fiasco, part two.   

Where does that leave us as a community?  The Florida State Statues allow us as Citizens the process of Recall.  The same set of Statutes that allow our Village to exist afford us the right to Recall Mayor Stanczyk and Councilwoman Lindsey. Vice Mayor Pariser can simply be voted out in the upcoming election.    As my mom used to say, “It’s all fun and games until the someone loses an eye.”  No one has lost an eye, but you don’t have to be blind to see the irreparable damage Stancyck, Lindsay and Pariser are doing to our community.  Please sign the Recall petition when I comes your way, its your right as a Citizen to be properly represented.  

NEXT UP .... THE THREE MILLION DOLLAR LIE AND THE PRACTICE OF DECEPTION BY CITY HALL.

 

New Blog

Welcome to my new Blog. 

I will be posting on all my new updates on this blog. I will no longer be using www.recallpalmettobay.proboards.com for my updates. 

Please  go to www.RecallPalmettoBay.com to view articles and information about the Recall and see how you can help

Thank you
David Singer

Village Council Meetings

I sincerely apologize for not updating the website recently, but my I.T. person in on the lamb and I can’t find anyone to replace him. In any event, there have been numerous events (too many to discuss) that have occurred in the Village of Palmetto Bay over the past month and I am hoping everyone is keeping up with these by reading the two fantastic blogs I have referenced on my home page.

I currently have a request with the Office Clerk for the Village of Palmetto Bay for all the Public Records regarding the SHADE meetings related to litigation by and between the Village and Palmer Trinity School. As soon as these are received, they will be scanned and posted on the website.

Please place the following dates on your calendars. They are Monday, September 24th and Monday, October 1st. These are two very important dates as they deal with finalization of the budget and the regular monthly Council meeting that has not occurred in the last 60 days.

If you care about the Village, you will attend both these meeting to see how various individuals are trying to damage the Village of Palmetto Bay once again.

An update regarding when we will be starting collecting signatures for the recall will be posted within the next two weeks. Please check back with the RECALL PALMETTO BAY website every couple of days.

08-30-12

Even though one sad chapter in the history of the Village of Palmetto Bay has closed, it is not a time to celebrate, sing, dance or gloat. There is still much work to accomplish in order for the Village to run effectively, efficiently and within the rule of law.

Whether friend or past political foe we must all work together for the good of Palmetto Bay and to become what we, the Citizens of Palmetto Bay, feel is an example of the way a City should be run. The Village was not incorporated for 50 individuals but for 25,000 residents.

This agenda is in no particular order and I’m sure others will let me know if I’ve missed something.
• The Recall of Mayor Stanczyk and Joan Lindsay
• The Election defeat of Brian Pariser in the upcoming election
• The defeat of all Charter Changes
• The defeat of the Neighborhood Protection Ordinance until a new council is elected
• The finalization of all litigation between Palmer Trinity and the Village
• A resolution to the Shores at Palmetto Bay lawsuit

In order to accomplish this there are various leader that are in the community that have to get off the sidelines, make their voices heard and put some skin in the game. This is not a task for three or four individuals.

This is a task for Leaders of the community that have been silent unless they are talking behind closed doors. It’s time for you to take a public stand and not hide behind an alias. This is your Village, what are you prepared to do to save it?

08-15-12

Great News the petitions are finalized, but unfortunately we are still on hold regarding the collection process. There has been a unanimous decision by members of the committee to delay the signature collection process for a short period time due to strategic factors. I know I’m being very evasive to the timing but it’s very important that I not disclose any details of our Recall strategy in this public forum.

The petitions to Recall Shelly Stanzyk and Joan Lindsay are now in a form that we feel are litigation proof and I am personally chomping at the bit to get this Recall drive officially started. As I’d like to think, failure is not an option for sake of the citizens of Palmetto Bay.

Due to the Florida Statue, it will be necessary for the electorate to vote Brian Pariser out of office in November. Personally, I will not only be voting for an alternate candidate but will be filing a Florida Bar complaint as a Palmetto Bay resident.

In the meantime, I am ready to enlist help in collecting signatures. We need approximately 15 very dedicated individuals who will devote at least one 10-hour day to collect the signatures necessary for phase one of the Recall. If you are interested, you can email me at dmsinger@bellsouth.net or call 305 235 5191.

We are moving along, be it not as fast as anyone would like or anticipated but I assume that is a consequence of changing the political landscape for the betterment of Palmetto Bay.

David Singer

08-07-12

Good Morning,

Please find an update on what is happening in the world of the recall.

I would first request that everyone visit the websitehttp://southdadematters.com/.The analysis of what the council is trying to pass or has passed previously is spot on. I encourage everyone to visit that website on a daily basis to see if there are any new updates.

In the future, I will try to link the website Southdadematters.com to Recallpalmettobay.com so both sites can be visited at once.

Money, money and more money. If you have not noticed, I have now attached to the website, under the SUPPORT tab, PayPal for contributions. Any contribution, in any amount will be greatly appreciated. To date, I have raised approximately five thousand dollars for payment of attorney fees and other miscellaneous expenses associated with the Recall. I believe we are doing very well raising funds since I have received five thousand dollars in this short amount of time but that still does not mean we will not need additional financial help. All contributions will be in strict confidence.

We are still working on the petition - I can only promise it will be forthcoming soon. I think I speak for everyone involved with the Recall effort in saying the petition has taken longer than we expected, but it’s absolutely necessary for it to be impervious from potential litigation. All I can say is good things come to those who wait and recalling the Mayor, Vice Mayor and Councilwoman will have a very good and positive effect on the community.

In addition to the Recall effort, Recallpalmettobay, or more specifically me, have decided to file a Bar Complaint against Brian Pariser for his involvement in the Council’s frivolous litigation over the past 2 – 4 years. According to Florida Bar rules, attorneys cannot be involved with frivolous lawsuit and as such I believe a bar complaint is warranted.

I look forward to the day where I can say the petition is finalized and we’re ready to collect signatures. Until then I promise everyone associated with Recall Palmetto Bay is working as hard as possible to save this community.

David Singer

08 -01 -2012

First, I would like to apologize for those annoying ads on the discussion page. I am hoping they will be gone in the next couple of days.

We now have retained and have a signed attorney agreement with Jean Olin. She is the attorney who worked directly with Norman Braman on the exercise to Recall Mayor Carlos Alvarez.

She is extremely knowledgeable when it comes to the legalities of a Recall effort and has been instrumental in the development of the petition. We hope that when the petition is finalized, hopefully by the end of this week, it will be bullet proof against litigation from either Mayor Shelly Stanczyk or Joan Lindsay.

As for Vice Mayor Brian Pariser, we are working diligently to ensure he is voted out of office in November since we can’t Recall him within a year of his new term if he is re-elected. As far as Recall Palmetto Bay is concerned, the Vice Mayor is as much of an issue on the Commission as Shelly Stanczyk or Joan Lindsay. In fact, Recall Palmetto Bay feels as an attorney he should have known better when it comes too frivolous litigation.

In any event, we are moving forward slowly, but carefully, to insure that the residents of Palmetto Bay get what they deserve - a competent Mayor, Vice Mayor and Councilperson.

One other point worth mentioning, we have now formed a PAC called, RECALL PALMETTO BAY. This was primarily formed in order to receive contributions to help fund this Recall effort. Unfortunately, it takes money to clean up government and we need help. Think of it this way - pay now or pay later. If we keep these three in office, we will probably be paying years to come.

Please go to the support page and contribute whatever you feel you are able to. Every little bit helps.

Thank you
David Singer

7-23-2012

Quick up as to the progress of the Recall...

JB Harris, David Zisman and I met with two unnamed attorneys on Saturday morning. The purpose of the meeting was to write the petitions that will be used in collecting signatures for the Recall of Shelly Stanczyk, Brian Pariser and Joan Lindsay.

After about two hours of discussions we now have the verbiage that will appear on the petitions.

In addition to getting the petition finalized, we discussed the timing for the petition drive kick-off date, formation of a PAC and training of the circulators who will be responsible for getting the signatures and other necessary information on the petition.

As the collection of first 1,500 signatures needs to be done within a 30 day period, a short term lease on a store front office was also addressed.

For all those of you who have been clamoring to sign the petition, please do not despair, the drive will be kicked off shortly and we hopefully will be seeking new officials to represent the Village of Palmetto Bay soon enough.

July 19, 2012

First, I would like to apologize for the delay of the update. I was a little under the weather yesterday.

That being said, please find below a summary of the meeting, which was held on July 17th to discuss the recall of Shelly Stanczyk, Brian Pariser and Joan Lindsay.

Prior to the commencement of the meeting approximately four or five Stanczyk supports tried to gain access to Dave Zisman’s home. I must give them props for their misguided attempt in seeing who was at the meeting and how much support we have generated. Dave was extremely courteous when he asked them to leave his home. I would not have been so pleasant.

In any event, the meeting lasted two hours and had over 30 concerned residents who attended to see in what form and fashion they could help in the recall. The meeting was scheduled to educate us on the basics of the petition and timing necessary for the recall. An unnamed attorney who worked with Norman Braman on the Carlos Alvarez recall was present. She detailed the procedures involved with the Carlos Alvarez recall while comparing that exercise with our intended recall of Stanzyk, Pariser and Lindsay.

At the end of the meeting, I personally walked away with the feeling of ease. The process appears to be more straightforward than I originally thought it would be in some aspects, although it might take a little longer than I anticipated.

Currently, JB Harris and I will spend the next couple of weeks, if necessary, working on the wording of the petition. After the petition is finalized, there will be a maximum of 30 days to collect the first round of signatures. Approximately 1500 signatures will need to be collected. A drop in the bucket considering more than a majority of residents of The Village of Palmetto Bay desperately wants a regime change.

I would like to give full details and specifics of the actual stages of the recall, but that will have to wait for another day.

I believe an executive committee of ten including myself, JB Harris, and David Zisman will be formed to keep the recall focused and on target. I saying that, all are welcome to participate in the recall and we value everyone’s personal opinions unlike the Mayor, Vice Mayor and Councilwoman who we are attempting to recall.

One more bit of information there are numerous news sources and blogs, which are writing about the actions of the three amigos on a daily basis. I am trying to keep up with these articles as fast I as can and download them to the recall website. If you know of any article I’ve missed that you think should be on the website please email me.

If you have any questions please feel free to post on the boards or contact me at dmsinger@bellsouth.net or dsinger@recallpalmettobay.com . Spread the word and help Save the Village.