Citizens beware: They are coming after your money! There are now 14 cities (Wellington is dropping their lawsuit) that still want you to pay for the inspector general with new tax dollars, rather than have the contractors of their city pay a .025 percent fee on their contracts with the city. That is the plan that Palm Beach County adopted to cover the IG’s cost, and the plan that Miami-Dade has been using for the last 13 years. So don’t let them kid you that it won’t work.
Why is it not good enough for these 14 cities? Why are they protecting their contractors? Their latest ploy was to give exemptions to 46 categories, which so diluted the funding base that there were not enough funds to adequately pay for the inspector general. The commissioners saw through this ruse and voted down that plan 7-0. Their new idea is to set up a taxing district, which would raise your taxes by increasing your millage rate. That’s your tax dollars being spent, instead of the contractors’.
Isn’t it about time the cities come to their senses and drop this costly lawsuit, like Wellington is doing, and go along with the contractors fee program? No cost to the cities, and no cost the residents. It will only cost the contractors a minuscule amount — $2,500 on a $1 million contract.
If the cities still don’t get it, vote officials out of office just like Wellington did.
Morley Alperstein, Wellington
