Left-to-right on dais: Hallandale Beach City Comm. Keith S. London, Mayor Joy Cooper, Comm. Anthony A. Sanders, Comm. Alexander Lewy, City Manager Mark Antonio; Not attending: Comm. Dottie Ross.May 18, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.
Why? Joy Cooper's Rubber Stamp Crew on the Hallandale Beach City Commission is set to give $200,000 in CRA loans to a non-profit entity that fails to meet the city's OWN RULES, which are already like Swiss Cheese to begin with.
The city's rules state that among other things, in order to be qualified, an applicant must own property within the City of Hallandale Beach.
This applicant, Chaya Aydel Seminary, a non-profit located at 1295 E. Hallandale Beach Blvd., not only DOESN'T own any property in the city, they DON'T own the very land in question.
Really.
Yes, it really is another 'only in Hallandale Beach story.'
Consideration of an Application by Chaya Aydel Seminary, Inc. for funding in the amount of $200,000 through the Hallandale Beach Community Redevelopment Agency's Business Incentive and Enticement Loan Program. CAD#005/02
Hallandale Beach City Manager staff report recommending approval
Supporting Documents
And guess what?
Some evidence suggests that the applicant already owes $170,000 to the city's taxpayers from a previous loan!
And yet Mayor Cooper has stated that she wants to do away with some of the few 'requirements' the city does have -not that that means anything, since it only takes 3 votes to change them.
What does she want to change?
Well, for starters, she wants to toss overboard that messy "jobs created" requirement that's usually the goal of such programs in the rest of the county -and state and country.
In this particular case:
Business to provide quarterly payroll documentation to ensure the creation of the 20 jobs as a result of the assistance provided from the CRA.
So does this sound like a story that people would be interested in hearing about on local TV newscasts in Miami?
Below, the scene of this crime against Hallandale Beach's citizen taxpayers -Hallandale Beach City Hall on U.S.-1/South Federal Highway, across U.S.-1 from Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino.
May 18, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.
Looking north from in front of the U.S. Post Office.
May 18, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.
May 18, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.
