RE: Garbage pick-up
Dear Editor:
For years now, I have been using the city for garbage pick-up at my small auto repair shop. The fee was $169 a month for a 6 yd. container. However, my last two bills were only $75. I called to question that and was told that was correct, so I figured not to look a gift horse in the mouth … until today when I got my December bill of $279. I called again and was told that’s the new charge for a 6 yd. dumpster. Not much I can do about it except move down to a 4 yd. for $220.
The point is … how can the city just raise prices with no warning whatsoever? I mean a letter would have been nice about a $100 increase. This just burns me up. At least if I had known, I could price shop … Typical city move — just keep raising more revenue ‘til we are all out of business.
Steve Fabrizio
Deerfield Beach, FL
Treatment of Petland owner
Dear Editor:
This past commission meeting was an embarrassment of epic proportions … a new low for our commission.
We watched the meeting live, horrified and ashamed by this behavior, going outside protocol to call up a taxpaying business owner of our city for no other purpose than to ridicule a man who is outright exhausted from having to defend his name, his business and his livelihood for weeks.
He broke no laws. His business is state and federally licensed, and he adheres to those regulations. This was nothing more than modern-day McCarthyism.
After so much consideration afforded to The Cove Shopping Center businesses (multiple discussions, meetings, workshops, carrying on for months) despite a 60-year plus taxpayer subsidy given to those businesses, there was no real discussion making the taxpayers aware we’d be losing our freedom of choice, certain commissioners refused to meet with the business owner to learn more and have their questions answered, and the majority didn’t bother to respond to communications from constituents opposed to the severity of this ordinance.
Since it was a resolute “no” before this meeting even began, they should’ve kept it respectful and said no…instead of embarrassing themselves, and our city, with rambling, incohesive attempts to justify why they support an ordinance proposed by someone who doesn’t live here, fails in its intent of consumer protection, and opens us up to lawsuit which could’ve been avoided, the cost of which now falls on the taxpayers.
Jenn Pedone
Deerfield Beach
