Are Community Redevelopment Agencies a Big Fat Scam? By Geniusofdespair

County Commissioner Xavier Suarez made the Keynote Address. Seen here with a member of his staff, Sarah Odio.

The County Commission --on occasion --sends Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava back to the drawing board with her proposed legislation ---they didn't send Linda back with her famous FENCE ordinance they just passed it. I think it is a stalling tactic to put off the good work of our new Commissioner who is so polite they are trying not to offend her. She brought up, at the Economic Prosperity Committee, proposed CRA legislation for future CRA's to prevent their abuse: Namely to focus their mission and make sure the investments go to the communities they are done in and to benefit the residents. I think they sort of...put her off on that one. I was NOT there. But the money is so often diverted to developers, it is a joke. The community never prospers, they just gentrify the community and hope the disadvantaged move out. They do.

I noticed Mary Cagle, our Inspector General, who has yet to prove herself, was at the Miami Center for Architecture And Design Meeting last night (Sponsored by the Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions (CUES), FAU School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP), Co-Sponsored by the Urban Environment League of Greater Miami (UEL),“Miami After Dark” Radio Program, WZAB 880AM, and Grand Central).

Cagle was listening as students from CUES outlined CRA mismanagement and the diversion of funds to other projects in the CRA zone, besides the blight they were meant to address. Perhaps Cagle can find some way to sunset CRA's that are running the wrong way like the one in Homestead. When a devastating audit comes in on the CRA, like the one in Homestead, something should be done about it you can't wait for the damn thing to sunset. As Frank Nero said, CRA's were for meant for blighted areas, taking money out of General Funds to fix them. The last thing the money is going to is blighted areas. Too much money is coming from general funds for these boondoggles. I think Mary should formulate ideas for stopping this. The commissioners are not going to stop it. I think they are just stalling Daniella Levine Cava. Cagle you have subpoena power: Use it here. Get all these CRA's audited too.

Daniella Levine Cava, a speaker at the meeting.

There needs to be a penalty for mismanaged CRA's like....to get rid of them. I spoke to a student on the side, boy they dont like CRA's very much after their research projects. Maybe now they can help write the fix???

Graduate Students from CLUES

The Homestead Audit I wrote about in February 2010.