By Michael Martino
Martino: Time for Significant Tax Relief
It’s that time of year again when the Palm Beach Gardens City Council begins determining how to budget for the City’s needs, wants, and desires. In my opinion, this is the most important and compelling component of the voter’s trust bestowed upon the elected Council members. From my prospective, the City Council’s participation in preparing the 2015-16 budget for the City should be open, transparent, and communicable with the public. The Council... [Read More...]
Martino: Tinsley – Thrown Under the Bus
Have you been thrown under the bus lately? No, that’s good! Neither have I. But in my humble opinion, Palm Beach Gardens City Councilwoman, Marcie Tinsley, has seen the tire tracks of the City Council bus run over her dedication and hard work, not once but twice. In a sometimes not so subtle way, her cohorts on the City Council, Messrs. Eric Jablin, Joe Russo, David Levy, and Bert Premuroso, at recent Council meetings have thrown Tinsley under the... [Read More...]
Martino: Term Limits will make competition for votes fairer
In a recent Palm Beach Post “Letter to the Editor” from a Palm Beach Gardens resident who wrote he was “disturbed” about the results of the November 2014 election concerning term limits. I fail to understand his lamentations. He admits that of 20,000 votes cast, 16,000 were favorable. That’s an impressive 80%! The resident also says with misplaced enthusiasm, “While it’s true that our City Council has been elected to office over a 25-year... [Read More...]
Martino: City Manager Contract Extension Premature at Best
On Thursday April 2, 2015 the City Council of Palm Beach Gardens has an agenda item to discuss an extension of the current City Manager’s employment contract with the City for two additional years from 2016 to 2018. I have a few questions for the City Council to answer. The current contract expires in 2016, so why now? Why the rush? Are there specific and compelling reasons for this extension? This call for an extension to this City Manager’s... [Read More...]
Martino: Forget About a New Logo and Solve Issues
From a Community Feature article in the Palm Beach Post on March 17th I learned that the City of Palm Beach Gardens “is out to freshen up its image” with a new website and a new logo. Does the City really need “a citywide rebranding” as the article suggests? I visited the City’s website as the article references to find out. Lo and behold there they were two new logos “A” or “B”, both instigated by the PGA flyover bridge with its... [Read More...]
Martino: Council Surrendered to the Developer on Res. 13
On March 5th, the one and only one monthly meeting of the City Council of Palm Beach Gardens was gaveled to order at 7:00 PM and adjourned at about 11:00 PM. For that one and only one monthly meeting of approximately four hours Gardens’ taxpayers paid the five part-time City Council members approximately $5000.00 each in salary and benefits. The agenda was typical and far from strenuous. Of significance to me and the reason for my attendance were... [Read More...]
Martino: Term limits are now a part of political life in PBG
The November 4th election has come and gone. In Palm Beach Gardens the two Term Limits ballot initiatives were both big winners. As the City of Palm Beach Gardens has matured so has the mindset of its registered voters and they have embraced term limits as an asset that will improve the governing of the City. The Gardens voters’ choice to insert Term Limits into the City Charter as another barometer for City elections affects the current long-time... [Read More...]
Martino: Special Interest Money against Term Limits in the Gardens
Is the Palm Beach Gardens term limits ballot initiative a referendum on the present City Council members, as some would say? I would answer, no, not really. However, in the final days before the November 4th election, evidence suggests I may be wrong. A slick piece of literature has showed up in my mailbox. It suggests that, maybe, the present City Council members would prefer to have the term limits ballot questions be about them. On the City Council’s... [Read More...]