One Shutdown Appears to be Over

Let's say, merely for purpose of discussion, that a minority faction of one political party decided to try to overpower the whole country.  In the most self-centered and infantile way, it had a group temper tantrum, threatening the rest of Congress and the rest of its party, that it would sabotage the country if it didn't get its way.  It was apparently willing to allow the country to cease functioning and even to suffer serious damage to its fiscal viability and power and reputation in the world at large.  This was all over resentment that it didn't get its way on one issue: the Affordable Care Act.  Even members of this same party felt this tactic was outrageous and inordinate, and that Congresspeople had to grow up and accept the larger consensus, and reality.  It took some real muscle from the grownups in Congress to bring this stalemate to an end.  But everyone had had enough, and the shutdown has been ended.

Not a subtle analogy, right?  And it is truly what we have been facing, and continue to face, in Biscayne Park.  A small group of immature neighbors who simply want their way about self-serving issues, or sometimes no identifiable issues, have been holding the Village hostage, and they are apparently prepared to have the Village fail as a punishment for its disrespect of them.  They have succeeded in preventing the Village from raising funds everyone, except one Commissioner (Watts), agrees it needs for its survival.  They have blocked every viable avenue of support for the Village.  One of them has announced the eventual death of the Village, in 10 years, and he refuses to lift a finger to prevent it. In a telephone and e-mail conversation I had with one of our manager candidates, this man, who has a whole career of experience, says he disagrees we have 10 years to live.  He thinks it's more like five years.  I imagine he has told that to the five Commissioners who have interviewed him.  Or who should have interviewed him by now.  Commissioners have to whittle the field to three by Thursday night, though this may depend on whether they have gotten the guidance they said they needed from someone or other.

So the country dodged a bullet over the federal "fiscal cliff."  It's a little less clear the Village will dodge a bullet.  The majority of the current Commission-- Jacobs, Cooper, and Watts-- have us squarely in their sights, and they have already set in motion the mechanism of destruction.   There is a possibility that at least some of that can be reversed if we act quickly and decisively, but it's critical to end the stranglehold this majority has on the Village.  Whether Cooper is right that we have 10 years to live, or Lee Evett is right that it's closer to five, we must develop an adequate revenue stream, and we have to begin to do it soon.  The Commission majority has hog-tied our ability to raise revenue from ad valorem property tax for another year.  So we'll hope for no surprise expenses or crises in this coming year.  The same majority has done its best to prevent the possibility of annexing other territory, or even exploring the idea, but we may have another chance, if it doesn't get too late fast.

The Cooper and Jacobs Commission seats expire in December.  It's critical that we displace one or both of them.  Neither of them has brought anything to the table, so it's no loss to us if we vote them both out.  It's a big loss to us if we don't.