I read, with a great deal of interest, your article about voter registration and busing people in to vote. I was an Assistant Precinct Captain in the days of Mayor Richard J. Daley back in the 1950s in Chicago. I could tell you stories to curl your hair.

I think you have a great paper — honest and fair with all sides represented. Keep up the good work!

Sincerely,

Bob Zukas

Deerfield Beach

Let your voice be heard

To the Editor:

Now is the time for all of us here in Century Village to come to the aid of ourselves – yes, each other. We need our voices to be heard now. Time is of the essence. We all complain among ourselves but one person cannot do it all. Come on people, write and call our City Commissioners and Senators and the Governor. Talk is cheap. I’ve heard all the bull. The politicians love us when it’s election time. We need to come together or we’ll be out on Hillsboro Boulevard waiting for a bus to go shopping, to the doctor, to work or anywhere we want to go. I wrote to the Governor. Now everyone else has to write and call. We need to back each other up or we’ll be up the creek without a paddle come January. No one is going to help us but ourselves. Come together and do it now.

Marilyn Fernando

Deerfield Beach

How to entice out of state home buyers

To the Editor:

My brother is a small builder in Clayton Georgia. Home sales have slowed there but they haven’t collapsed like Florida. In the past two years, he built and sold three mountainside homes, they sold for $350,000 to $398,000. One sold to a retiree from West Palm Beach. The other two sold to retirees from Pennsylvania and New York. The New Yorker is going to use the Georgia home as his winter home. My brother asked him why he didn’t buy a place in Florida and he replied “ they have a terrible tax situation and they don’t know how to fix it or they don’t want to fix it.” The Observer publisher heard the same thing from British citizens he met on a cruise. This is evidence that not only are people fleeing South Florida but that people from the northeast, who in the past retired in Florida, are buying in the other southern states where taxes are much lower.

Our county and city officials’ top priority should be to cut taxes and related fees enough to entice out of state buyers and stabilize the market. As long as more people leave Florida than are moving in, real estate values and the economy will continue to collapse.

Deerfield Beach Officials as a whole are more interested in feathering their own nest than stabilizing the South Florida economy. The Deerfield Beach proposed budget calls for increased spending of about $10 million dollars. They pulled a rope-a-dope on the citizens by lowering the tax rate but raising fees and utility bills more than the tax reduction. To be fair, Commissioners Marty Popelsky and Steve Gonot voted no on the huge increase in water and sewer bills.

I believe that raises and benefits for city employees should be in line with what the taxpayers are getting in the general economy. For several years, they have been paying themselves a 9 percent salary increase each year when everyone else was lucky to get 2 or 3 percent. Again this year, everyone from the City Manager on down got a 9 percent raise. Also the city fire department and general employees get 100 percent of their health insurance paid after they retire up to age 65. Not only does no one in the real world get this, but most other government employees do not get this. They should have their salaries frozen, especially the over 40 employees who are paid more than the top salary allowed for their job.

Many citizens have lost jobs or had their hours cut. Some small business owners don’t have any money left for their own salary after they pay the operating costs. Every shopping center and office building has a space-for-lease sign in front due to many failing businesses.

Where is the shared sacrifice from the City of Deerfield Beach? While working families and small businesses are suffering, they are feeding at the public trough like pigs. They are also taking care of their friends. They voted to pay Pete Bonis $600,000 for the tiny strip of beach he bought about three years ago for $200,000. Has your property tripled in value in the past three years? In reality, it has no market value if he cannot take over the pier and build a restaurant on it.

Join me at the public hearing on Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. and demand at least a 20 percent cut in the budget.

Robert Lloyd

Deerfield Beach

Appreciating Abandoned Property Ordinance

To the Editor:

I would like to thank the commission for passing the Abandoned Property Ordinance. This ordinance is an excellent tool for the city. Not only will it encourage the upkeep of these problem homes, it will hold the proper parties responsible for the cost and maintenance.

Based on statements made at the Aug. 19, 2008 city commission meeting, it is obvious that there is confusion about what the ordinance actually accomplishes. Upon reading the ordinance, the benefits to the city become very clear.

Any lender who holds a mortgage on real property in the city is required to inspect all defaulted properties for evidence of vacancy. This must be done prior to the issuance of a Notice of Default. If the property is vacant, it shall be deemed abandoned, and the lender must register the property within 10 days with the city.

As long as a property is in default, it must be inspected monthly for signs of abandonment. When the leader registers with the city, he/she must provide a direct mailing address, a direct contact, a direct phone number and email of the person responsible for the property. In out-of-state situations, a local contact must be provided. This will save time spent chasing down the responsible parties.

An annual registration fee of $150 will be charged per property. This is direct revenue to the city to help offset any costs.

The ordinance has strict rules on the maintenance of these properties, as well as holding the lender responsible for securing the property. The lender must hire a local management company to maintain these properties. They are required to inspect them bi-weekly for compliance. The property must be clearly posted with the name and 24-hour contact number of the local management company. All of this, is to be done at the lenders expense.

The recent steps by the Code Enforcement Board and the City to take action on abandoned properties deemed a danger to public safety is separate from this ordinance. The board has always had the authority to take such action and in the past they have done so. What the board and city have never faced is the sheer volume of abandoned homes with public safety issues. That is the only reason that the city took the initiative to earmark dollars for rectifying these dangerous situations. To date, the city has spent less than $2,000 to fix these public safety issues. This action has nothing to do with the ordinance itself.

This is an extraordinary time for the housing market, and what the city is facing is unprecedented. This ordinance is a positive and proactive move by the city and it should be applauded.

Bill Ganz

Deerfield Beach