SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE - Per the Vice Mayor:
A salary and insurance is apparently not enough for their part time service, per the Vice Mayor:
Your council members want to give themselves a $24,000 car allowance while considering raising your taxes. They tried to push this through without public input. That’s unacceptable.
This reads like a enemies list - use of one's tax dollars against them. What a tangled web the Mayor and council have weaved against some neighbors who have been pursuing a legal process in regard to the "Tanglewood" surplus property (located under the FPL power lines):
The county urged the village to negotiate a compromise, but instead, the village spent over $132,000 of your tax dollars on a high-powered lobbyist to fight these residents. Worse, the contract was marked confidential, despite being publicly funded, and included plans to monitor “opposition activities,” meaning our own neighbors.
Taxpayer dollars should never be used to undermine residents who follow the rules.
Read the Vice Mayor's updates and get on his e-mailing list!
Hello,
I want to share what I've been working on as your Vice Mayor and how it affects your daily life in our village.
I recently had the pleasure of joining Michael Miller from the Community Newspapers to share with you what I have been working on. Watch my interview with Michael Miller to hear firsthand about our community’s progress and plans.
Traffic Safety in Your Neighborhoods
When residents reached out to me about how rush hour traffic turned some of our quiet residential roads into dangerous shortcuts, I took action. The good news is that we're slowly making changes that work. I am exploring how we can remove these shortcuts from navigation apps and am working with our administration on adding traffic-calming measures to places that need them. Throughout my term, I want to do more than the old approach of adding speed bumps to streets and calling it a day. Your street could be next. Just email or call me, and I'll come walk it with you.
Fighting Distracted Driving
Distracted drivers put your family at risk every day. We've all seen it with drivers swerving between lanes while talking on their phone, or the near-misses when someone's texting instead of watching the road. These dangerous choices kill thousands each year and create those frustrating backups when phone-distracted drivers miss green lights. I refuse to accept this as normal. That's why I'm headed up to Tallahassee to fight for a complete ban on handheld phone use while driving, joining 31 other states that have already taken this life-saving step. Your safety on our roads matters more than someone's phone call.
Moving Palmetto Bay Forward
Since the election, I’ve been honored to serve as your Vice Mayor, focused on improving our community’s safety, infrastructure, and overall quality of life. Sadly, a fellow council member is now making false claims that I’m not the legitimate Vice Mayor, despite our fair and square election win. To counter these unsubstantiated allegations, the village had to spend $6,000 of your tax dollars onan independent legal opinion that fully confirmed my oath was properly administered. Despite that, this council member continues to push this debunked narrative.
Meanwhile, the real issues you care about are waiting. I remain ready to work with everyone to move Palmetto Bay forward. That’s what you elected me to do, and that’s what I’ll keep focusing on.
Looking Out for Good Government
I love parks. Like you, I want more green spaces for families and neighbors to enjoy. But how we create them matters just as much as having them. Many of you have asked about a property in northern Palmetto Bay, and you deserve the facts.
Nearly three years ago, local residents followed all the proper steps to buy land next to their homes, just as their neighbors did in 2018. But as they neared the finish line, the village sent Miami-Dade County a “poison pen” letter, attempting to derail the sale. The county urged the village to negotiate a compromise, but instead, the village spent over $132,000 of your tax dollars on a high-powered lobbyist to fight these residents. Worse, the contract was marked confidential, despite being publicly funded, and included plans to monitor “opposition activities,” meaning our own neighbors.
Taxpayer dollars should never be used to undermine residents who follow the rules.
Do I want more parks? Absolutely. But not through backroom deals and hidden spending. You deserve transparency and honesty about where your money goes. We can find new places to build parks, but once trust is lost, it’s hard to rebuild.
So I ask: What’s more important, another park, or a government you can trust?
Protecting Your Tax Dollars
Your council members want to give themselves a $24,000 car allowance while considering raising your taxes. They tried to push this through without public input. That’s unacceptable. This makes no sense when our Village is running out of money for basic needs like stormwater management and infrastructure repairs. I ran for office to serve you, not to pad my own pockets. Adding new benefits to council members while asking you to pay more would break your trust, and rightly so. I will be pushing to stop this proposal so we can focus on what really matters, like solving our financial challenges and protecting the services you count on.
Your Voice Matters
Every decision I make starts with asking, "How does this help our residents?" If you have concerns or ideas about improving Palmetto Bay, my door is always open.
You can reach me at 786-309-6743
Also, if you want to discuss any of these issues in person, just email me. I'm here to help!
Thank you Vice Mayor Merwitzer for attempting to bring back transparency and accountability to the Village of Palmetto Bay.
Some highlights (or lowlights depending upon your view):
$6,000.00 has been spent due to a council member's rampage. The $6K confirms the opinion of the Village Attorney.
Tanglewood property - a majority of the Village Council has restored transparency and accountability. It was disclosed how the county was managing surplus land - in this case - the FPL Easement Land at SW 77th Avenue and approx. 140 Street. Over $132,000 of village tax dollars were spent on lobbying for this property (against the residents/surrounding landowners). It is the Vice Mayor's opinion that (go to the 9:00 minute mark of the video) the procurement code was bypassed. "monitoring opposition activities" were raised as part of the takes assigned the lobbying firm. Furthermore - an unknown person or organization paid for a "push poll" - incorrectly insinuating that the land was to be sold for private developers. The surrounding residents are NOT private developers.
The Vice Mayor is committed to bringing back the Neighborhood Protection Committee. I briefly served on this committee until I was removed. The entire committee was eventually shut down. This was unfortunate.
Transparency alert! - Check out 17:00 of the video. A journalist notified Vice Mayor Merwitzer that Palmetto Bay was the only municipality not to share wage and benefit information for elected officials - apparently the Village Mayor and Council Members have allowed themselves to receive a "car allowance" of $400 per month. Does anyone here recall this ever being disclosed publicly; including approving such a major perk during the budget process?
