RE: Utility Tax, FPL bills
Dear Editor:
“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” That is a fitting quote for what the city has done to thwart the will of the voters who signed the Rescind Unfair Taxes petition.
In the beginning, the city attorney told us the goal was 10 percent of 41,850 registered voters at the last municipal election. Not so, said the Supervisor of Elections (SOE). The number is 41,280. So we did not have to get 4,200 signatures to have our petition validated … only 4,128.
On Wednesday, Rescind Unfair taxes paid the city $47 to have copies made of all the signatures we had submitted to the city clerk on Sept. 6. That gave us the opportunity to count every signature, for a total of 6,220. The SOE only got 5,614. What happened to the other 606?
In addition, a letter to the Supervisor of Elections, the Deerfield City Clerk with the approval of the city attorney, asked that the precinct numbers be verified. The Supervisor of Elections stated that they have never been required to validate precinct numbers to verify that the signer was a registered voter. The Deerfield charter asks that the precinct be added, but nowhere does the charter ask that the number be verified. In our conversation with the Division of Elections, we were told that if the city charter did not specify that the precincts had to be verified, the SOE could have ignored the directive from the City of Deerfield Beach that made that demand, since the state statute does not require precinct verification to identify a registered voter.
Since Dr. Snipes claims their hands were tied, the SOE threw out 973 names and disenfranchised those voters at the request of the city clerk and the city attorney. The map given to us to determine the precincts was defective and inadequate, to say the least. The job done by the SOE was not stellar either. They threw out any voter who had a Pompano Beach address, thereby eliminating at least 12 registered voters, although these were newly-annexed registered voters. They threw out the name of Gloria Battle as being in the wrong district, whatever that meant.
With FPL charging residents a 10 percent utility tax for usage in September when the tax was not effective until Oct. 1, and the city making the same error on the water bills, maybe it’s time for the city to listen to the majority of the city residents and rescind this oppressive tax.
Jean Robb
Chairperson, Rescind Unfair Taxes, Deerfield Beach, FL
Editor’s note: “Management has become aware of a billing cycle issue regarding the public service tax (utility tax). “We are in the process of working to address the situation, and will provide an update as soon as more details become available,” said the city last Friday.
As of press time Wednesday: “We are still reviewing the Florida Statutes to determine what actions to take. We recognize there is a misperception about the October billing cycle, but would not describe it as a ‘problem.’ Nonetheless, we are reviewing what option the City may take if in fact we deem it to be an issue.”
RE: FPL bill
Dear Editor:
Well, it’s here … my electric bill at my repair shop in Deerfield. Ready for this? These are the actual numbers of all the taxes on the bill. Gross receipts tax: $8.05, Utility tax: $23.19 and Florida Sales Tax: $23.89. Never mind the Franchise Charge: $19.31, whatever that is. So the Grand Total of taxes is $55.13. Multiply that times 12 … the Grand Total per year just in taxes is $651.56. What about the electric? Oh, that’s only $310.78. Thanks to all, we will be out of business soon, or we will have to raise our prices just to pay taxes.
P.S. Did not see the house electric bill yet, which is also in Deerfield. Double tax … why not?
Steven Fabrizio
Deerfield Beach, FL