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Garbage & Waste Hauling

Success!Condominium owners were exempted from the City of Miami's "Supplemental Waste Fee," the City's newest revenue-generating measure intended for commercial businesses.

After months of discussions with Commissioners, the City Manager and the City's legal department, the BHA was successful in convincing City Commissioners that residential condominium buildings should not be included.

The Commission originally passed the ordinance last spring for "commercial establishments," payable May 31st. According to the wording of the ordinance, condominium associations were considered commercial establishments, and the City mailed invoices for the fee of about five dollars per unit to about half the membership of the BHA.

While five dollars does not sound like a lot of money, for some of the larger BHA member associations, it represented an unplanned, unbudgeted line item of several thousand dollars. The total cost to Brickell Condos alone would have been about $25,000 each year.

Upon learning that the City was characterizing condominium associations as commercial establishments, the BHA protested vigorously, including an appearance before the Commission in late May. Commissioner J.L. Plummer introduced an ordinance correcting the misnomer which was passed unanimously on second reading at the Commission's September 28th meeting.

Informtion on filing for refunds is expected soon.

Reprinted from BHA News, Summer 1998
Identity Crisis: Condo owners face "commercial" fees

Just when the Brickell Homeowners Association seemed to be making headway with the notion that City residentswhether living in condos or single-family dwellingsshould be treated equally since they contribute to the tax base at the same rate, the Miami City Commission likened condo associations to commercial enterprises. The result is that condo associations throughout the City of Miami are finding themselves included in the latest revenue-generating fee enacted by the commission: the "Supplemental Waste Fee."

The Commission passed the ordinance March 31 assessing a supplemental waste fee on "commercial establishments," payable May 31st. According to the wording of the ordinance, condominium associations are considered commercial establishments, and the City mailed invoices for the fee of $5 per unit to about half the membership of the BHA.

Upon learning that the City was characterizing condominium associations as commercial establishments, the BHA protested vigorously, including an appearance before the Commission in late May. Finally the BHA prevailed upon Commissioner Plummer to introduce an ordinance correcting the misnomer which was passed four to one on first reading by the Commission in late July. The second reading is scheduled for September 8, the next regularly scheduled Commission meeting. If it passes on second reading, it becomes effective in 30 days and refunds of fees paid would be expected.

The big unknown at this time is action by the Governor's Financial Oversight Board. With news nearly every day of how the Oversight Board is getting tougher and impatient with the City, the pressure increases on Commissioners looking for new revenue every place possible.

If the Board does not interfere, BHA leaders hope that reason will prevail and the City will give final approval to recognizing that condominiums associations are not commercial enterprises.

The Miami Herald is calling for commissioners "Face Up to Reality" and "Do What It Takes" in its editorials, including raising garbage-collection fees to reflect actual costs and curb expenses.

In Tony Doris's "Good Morning" column in the Miami Daily Business Review on August 10th, Mr. Doris suggested that "Maybe the little people out there can help the clueless officials come up with some cost-cutting ideas." He credited BHA ally, TTUFF (Tenants and Taxpayers United For Fairness), along with the Brickell Homeowners Association"Brickell condo commandos that have always been a tough crowd"with a list of suggestions for fixing the City's budget woes. Mr. Doris does not necessarily endorse these ideas, but said he did endorse the idea of "putting such suggestions in the public domain and obligating people in positions of authority to respond."

Here's the list reprinted with the permission of Miami Daily Business Review.

• Eliminate overtime, unless there's a national emergency.
• Raise the garbage collection fee to cover the true cost rather than subsidizing the service.
• Lease capital equipment and vehicles, such as fire trucks, rather than purchasing them.
• Minimize out-of-town trips for elected officials and city employees.
• Put a cap on allowances for cars, cellular phones, laptop computers and special insurance benefits.
• Limit staff, such as body guards, for mayor and other officials.
• Don't allow police or other city employees to take pool vehicles home, so that one car can serve three shifts.
• Economy cars for all officials who get cars, not including police.
• Minimize use of outside counsel and consultants, and where outside counsel is a must, negotiate flat rates rather than hourly.
• Account for every dime spent by making easily accessible to the public a readable list of all disbursements made from city coffers.
  
  

Reprinted from BHA News, Summer 1998
President's Column By T. Sinclair (Tory) Jacobs: Do we know who we are? Does the City of Miami know who we are? What difference does it really make?

The recently enacted Supplemental Waste Fee assessed against commercial establishments erroneously included condominium associations. When we brought this mistake to the attention of Commissioner Plummer, J.L. sponsored a remedial ordinance which passed on first reading four to one. However, its passage at the second reading scheduled for September 8th is at risk because of potential intervention by the Governor's Financial Oversight Board.

Currently, the dollars involved amount to some $5.00 per condominium unit annually. Far more critical than the immediate financial burden is recognition of the condominium community as part of the City's residential tax (and fee) base, rather than part of the City's commercial tax base.

Residents are empowered primarily by their right to vote. Commercial establishments are empowered not so much by owners' voting rights as by their contributions to candidates' election campaigns and employment of lobbyists. Commercial establishments have the opportunity to pass increased in taxes and fees on to customers. Residents do not have this pass-along opportunity.

We know condominiums and condominium associations are part of Miami's residential tax base. We must be sure the City recognizes this verity.

It can make a big difference to our future financial well-being.

A Letter from BHA to the Governor's Financial Oversight Board

August 3, 1998

Dear Board Members,

The City Commission on July 21st passed an ordinance exempting residential condominiums and residential condominium associations from the assessment of supplemental waste fees.

The following morning at the Financial Oversight Board meeting, there was a comment to the effect that this action represented another example of the Commission not being firm in its revenue generation commitments and succumbing to voter pressure.

Actually, this is not the case at all. The Commission was correcting an inadvertent mistake in a previous ordinance that levied this assessment on COMMERCIAL establishments and, obviously, condominiums and condominium associations are not "commercial establishments."

Single-family residential entities whether juxtaposed horizontally or vertically must be treated equally with regard to taxes and assessments. Residential condominiums are a significant segment of the City's residential ad valorem tax base and are subject to the homestead exemption which is, of course, not available to residents in commercial, multifamily properties.

It should be noted that residential condominiums currently benefit from the City's public right-of-way cleaning services to no greater extent than do residents of single-family, unattached housing.

It is arbitrary and fallacious to characterize residential condominiums and condominium associations as commercial. These entities are not operated for profit and thus, by definition, are not commercial establishments.

We respectfully request that the Board take no action that would impede the City Commission's passage of this corrective ordinance at the scheduled second reading on September 8th. This is a matter of fairness and conformity with Noah Webster, far more than it is one of revenue.

Sincerely,

T. Sinclair (Tory) Jacobs

President

Reprinted from BHA News, Spring 1998
Condo Owners To Pay For Illegal Dumping in Miami and More for Their Private Haulers

To the dismay of many residents, two other revenue measures passed by the City of Miami Commissioners will be financed by Brickell homeowners, along with other condominiums and businesses throughout the City.

The City's new "Supplemental Waste Fee on Commercial CU's" will help finance the cost of picking up illegally dumped garbage throughout the City, a 65,000-ton annual problem. The new fee is based on Certificates of Use. For a BHA condo association, this amounts to $144 per year plus $5 per unit. For large condominium associations such as Brickell Place I with 552 units, that's an unanticipated $3,000 check owners will need to write to the City.

What Garbage?

At first, some BHA residents thought this fee surely must not apply to them, never having encountered illegally dumped garbage on their condo property. But that's not what it's for. The fee is for garbage dumped anywhere in the City of Miami, regardless of who is the victim.

The Brickell Homeowners Association voiced its opposition at the May 26th City Commission meeting and asked whether it is legal to assess condominiums a tax designed for commercial businesses. Mayor Carollo instructed the City Attorney to research it.

A Third Jump

In another measure, the City increased the excise tax they charge commercial waste haulers from 15% to 20%, a 33% increase. The private haulers will undoubtedly make up this loss in fees by increasing the rates they charge their condo association customers.

The reaction of one resident expressed the sentiment of many over the new Fire Rescue Fee, the new fee to cover illegally dumped garbage and the increase in excise tax to private haulers serving condos: "We're getting screwed in three ways by the City and without even a single kiss."