Margate Commissioner owes more than $15,000 in delinquent Sales and Use Tax
When special agents from the Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (AB&T) inspected business records at McLean’s Bar & Grill in January, they found 53 receipts for the purchases of beer and wine from retail vendors – not from licensed wholesale distributors as required by law.
Consequently, Margate City Commissioner, David McLean forfeited his 2COP beer and wine license and was issued a tax warrant in March by the Florida Department of Revenue for almost $16,000 in Sales and Use Tax the city official collected from customers, but never paid to the state agency.
Revenue officials also placed a $400 lien on McLean’s Bar & Grill for Unemployment Tax due.
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Margate Salaries Doom City Coffers
Salary increases for city employees issued in fiscal year (FY) 2010 may have largely contributed to the almost $3.8 million budget deficit Margate taxpayers now face in 2011. While the rest of America was tightening their belts, city officials in Margate approved salary increases despite having the knowledge and foresight at hand to plan for the recession ahead.
While ad valorem taxes in the city had already begun spiraling downward, city salaries and matching costs (benefits) paid for by Margate taxpayers increased by almost $750,000 last year.
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Fire Fee increase rejected by Margate Commissioners
After listening to Margate residents speak to high unemployment, low disability checks, fixed incomes and foreclosures – for almost two hours Wednesday night, Margate City Commissioners in a 4-1 vote decided against raising household fire fees in the city from $185 to $225 yearly.
A staunch supporter of Margate’s Fire Service, Commissioner Arthur Bross dissented.
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Drop in Margate’s taxable value not as bad as neighboring cities
Although Margate’s almost 19 percent drop in taxable land value in 2010 is tied with Tamarac for Broward County’s fifth steepest decline for fiscal year 2009 - 2010, it’s better than the almost 22 percent average drop in taxable land value for North Lauderdale, Lauderhill and Lauderdale Lakes.
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Margate fire fees increasing to $225 a year
Effective October 1, 2010 Margate Fire Rescue fees are proposed to increase more than 20 percent for Margate residences, from $185 per Margate household to $225 annually.
A public hearing on the matter is scheduled for July 7, 2010 at Margate City Hall at 7:00 p.m. in Commission Chambers.
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Florida Senator shares gaming concerns
Florida Senator, Jeremy Ring, in his legislative update at Margate City Hall last week, made some poignant remarks regarding his stand on casino gambling and the Seminole Compact. Although Margate’s share of the Seminole Compact helps to mitigate the increase in police and fire costs associated with the Coconut Creek Casino, Ring said, “I don’t think it [the Compact] addresses the bigger need.”
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Margate Commission throws code enforcement under bus
As Margate Code Enforcement puts its best foot forward cleaning up sign code violations in the city, Margate City Commissioners, without public notice, approved a moratorium Wednesday night on “truck sign” violations, effectively calling off code enforcement efforts.
Margate City Commissioner, David McLean, acting on calls from local business owners who said they were being cited for truck signs by Margate code enforcement, asked fellow commissioners to side with him in approving the last minute moratorium, which was neither listed on Wednesday’s city commission agenda nor procedurally noticed to the public.
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Macaroni & Cheese and other City Business
The Junior Honor Society of Margate Middle School is asking residents to drop off boxes of Macaroni & Cheese at City Hall to help Kids in Distress. The Macaroni & Cheese program was started two years ago by a Margate 6th grader and has provided more than 3,000 boxes of Macaroni & Cheese to needy families and children throughout Broward County.
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Margate Freezes City Worker Pay
The message was the same for Margate city workers represented by the Federation of Public Employees (FPE) and Margate police captains and lieutenants represented by the Broward County Police Benevolent Association:
“What you’re making today, you’re making tomorrow,” Margate City Manager, Frank Porcella, told union representatives in the first round of negotiations at City Hall Tuesday, essentially freezing wages for the second year in a row.
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Margate’s Newest, Oldest Mayor
Margate City Commissioner, Joseph Varsallone, was sworn in as Margate’s new mayor at the city commission meeting on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, replacing acting Margate Mayor Arthur Bross, 73, in the annual mayoral rotation.
Every year, Margate City Commissioners choose a new Mayor and Vice Mayor from among the ranks. Although votes are tallied on the dais, historically, Margate City Commissioners are known to occupy the mayoral seat in sequential order.
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Margate Commissioners to Oppose Term Limits
Each year Margate city officials send a wish list of issues they want state lawmakers either to support or oppose during the spring legislation session in Tallahassee. The list is compiled by the city manager and put before commissioners for approval.
This year, city officials in Margate are requesting that Governor Crist and the Florida Legislature oppose Senate Bill 598 and House Bill 495 intended to mandate Term Limits for elected officials at the municipal level.
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Reader Opinion
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Cell Tower on Golf Course Denied
After a presentation by cell phone provider T-Mobile followed by a lengthy, heated debate among Margate city officials and residents at Wednesday's city commission meeting, T-Mobile's request to place a cell tower disguised as a flagpole on Margate’s Oriole Golf Course was denied.
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County Commissioner holding Town Hall Meeting in Margate
The economy, budget concerns, environment, public transportation and the outlook for the future are just some of the general topics that Broward County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs will discuss at a town hall meeting in Margate on Thursday, December 10, at the Northwest Focal Point Center, 6009 N.W. 10th St., beginning at 6:30 p.m.
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Margate Grants: the needy, the greedy, the connected
Every year for the past few years, the City of Margate receives ‘Free Money’ in the form of grants that trickle down to the city from State and Federal housing programs designed to foster low income housing initiatives in Margate. Once approved, the money is managed by ‘New Community Strategies’ (NCS) a third-party services provider chosen by city officials to administer grant programs in the City of Margate.
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Margate may be mismanaging taxpayer dollars
The last thing taxpayers want to hear is that their city’s finance department is carelessly keeping track of hard-earned taxpayer dollars, especially in the face of rising property taxes and a drop in home values.
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State Rep Hopeful asks Margate Commissioners to take Pay Cut
Margate resident and candidate for the Florida House, Scott Yardley, publicly asked Margate City Commissioners to “sacrifice” like everyone else in the down economy and take a pay cut in the upcoming fiscal year.
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City Meeting Highlights: August 19th
Back from summer break, the city commission agenda Wednesday was brief. Worth noting:
Rezoning AZTEC on State Road 7 for a Luxury RV Park passed unanimously on second hearing. Margate resident, Robert Perkis, spoke in favor of the project, pointing to the potential for economic benefit. Resident, Rich Popovic, asked city officials how a developer who doesn’t own the land could petition for rezoning. No one on the dais answered.
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Proposed Budget Saves Jobs and Bus Service
As part avoiding job cuts in the city and preserving Margate Inner City Transit routes, City Manager, Frank Porcella, is proposing to Margate City Commissioners a property tax hike of $1.02 (includes debt service for GO bonds) for every $1,000 in home value, hiking the city's mil rate from $6.90 to $7.93.
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Reader Opinion
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Luxury RV Park Getting Green Light
As part of an effort to clear the way for a Luxury RV resort where the former Aztec mobile home park lay barren on State Road 7, Margate city commissioners took a necessary step, Wednesday, toward expanding the future land use scope of the 100-plus acre Aztec property to include Recreational Vehicles.
The RV resort, scheduled to open in October/November 2010, will be home to more than 600 Class-A Recreational Vehicles, say investors, and be run as a condominium association complete with clubhouse and pool.
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Tough Budget Year for Margate
Similar to cities across South Florida, city officials in Margate will have their hands full making ends meet in the 2009-2010 budget year. There are overtime issues to deal with, longevity bonuses, salaries and diminished funding from the County for Margate’s inner city transit.
Last year, Margate budgeted more than $293,000 in overtime, excluding Police and Fire Departments. More than half of overtime dollars budgeted was for wastewater treatment, a direct result from numerous vacant, hard-to-fill positions.
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Local Leaders to fight 'Muzzle Law'
Sweepingly approved by the Florida Senate and signed into law on June 10 by Governor Charlie Crist, Senate Bill 216, aka the “muzzle law,” is questionable as to how it’ll impact Florida cities like Margate.
The new law plainly states that Florida municipalities, such as Margate, can no longer use tax money for ballot campaigns. They can’t use public funds to buy ads in newspapers advocating for or against a particular ballot issue, nor can they use tax-supported media, like a city website, to convince you to vote one way or another.
“They can still go out and rally the troops,” said Florida Senator Charlie Justice. “It doesn’t lock them in their office.”
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Margate Sign Law may need closer look
Back in 1997, Margate city officials adopted the daunting task of revising city sign codes that had not been looked at since 1978. The goal was to clean up the look of Margate, say city officials, and to increase the uniformity of commercial districts.
More specifically: “to create the framework for a comprehensive and balanced system of sign control, thereby facilitating clear and attractive communication between people and their environment,” as stated in Margate City Code.
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Margate Lobbyist Returns with News
In a Florida legislative session consumed by budget talks and spackled with higher fees, Margate got a few things, said Margate Lobbyist, Jack Tobin. Tobin spends the majority of session in Tallahassee rallying against policies proposed by lawmakers that could negatively impact Margate. He says it's one of his most ‘intense’ sessions yet.
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Margate's Fair Share of the Stimulus
Hot off the press is a report released by Congressman Robert Wexler’s office (District 19) entitled Reinvesting in Florida’s Economy: an Economic Stimulus Guide for the South Florida Community, a composite version of Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment act that more clearly defines how federal stimulus funds might impact South Floridians.
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Don't have a Business Tax Receipt?
Data retrieved from the Secretary of State by MargateNews.net indicates that almost 3,500 registered Florida Corporations call Margate home, an estimated 1,500 more than the number recorded by Margate’s Business Tax Receipt office. “A potential treasure trove of uncollected taxes for the city,” said Dr. Sabrina Segal, DBA, Nova Southeastern University.
The data has been handed over to the City Planner’s office. If you’re a Florida Corporation and list Margate as your primary place of business, you better have a tax receipt, declare city officials. Margate Tax Receipt Office.
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Frank Porcella 35 Years with Margate
Margate City Manager Frank Porcella started working for the city the same year Sonny & Cher aired their last show. Gasoline was around $0.65 a gallon and, facing impeachment, Richard Nixon resigned as America’s 37th President. Films released the year Frank signed on as a Margate firefighter include The Lords of Flatbush, The Godfather Part II and wouldn’t you know it, The Towering Inferno. The year was 1974. The City of Margate was 19 years old.
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New Mayor Sworn in Tonight
Mayor Pam Donovan steps down in regular Mayoral rotation while current Vice Mayor, Arthur Bross steps up to Mayor. If rotation goes as planned and everyone sticks to it, says Margate Commissioner, David McClean, Commissioner Joe Varsallone (seat 4) will be Margate’s next Vice Mayor.
Meeting starts at 7 p.m. at Margate City Hall
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Housing Perks for Margate Workers
Margate city staff proposed to commissioners
Wednesday night that $200,000 in grant monies coming from the federal government be used to subsidize housing for Margate employees and for those working in city special districts, such as the Hospital District and CRA.
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Hair and Nail Salon looking for break on rent from taxpayers
Margate’s Hair We R Unisex Salon in the Ace Hardware Plaza on Margate Boulevard has asked landlords, the Margate Community Redevelopment Agency, for a reduction in monthly rent. Although salon owners were not present at the MCRA meeting Monday night, Margate Commissioner David McLean made a motion to charge tenants in the Ace Hardware Plaza a maximum $10 per sq. ft., effectively granting the salon's request.
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What are all those white signs?
In an effort to attract developers and entrepreneurs to Margate, town officials approved a massive rezoning of North State Rd. 7 from the hospital south through the proposed City Center to Atlantic Boulevard. The white signs around town were to notify the public that they could attend the rezoning meeting and contribute their input.
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Margate Zoned for American Idol
While millions of Americans watched Idol’s first Hollywood show, the Margate Board of Adjustment was deciding whether or not to grant Rio Grande a beer and wine license within 180 feet of a preschool. Rio Grande is a new Mexican Restaurant in the Penn Dutch plaza.
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"Whoop Bingo! Right in the canal!"
“Whoop Bingo, right in the canal!” is what my wife’s grandmother used to say 20 years ago when reading stories in the newspaper about cars floundering into city canals. Recently, Margate city officials decided to start charging car owners a $1,000 to retrieve their car from the canal, whether it got there by accident or on purpose.
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