Commissioner Paule Villard`s Delusional Vision for North Miami Beach
Late last week, I got a door hanger on my front door (others reported getting it in their mailbox) from Paule Villard. This door hanger was so devoid of truth that you can turn it into a drinking game and you wont even need to drink alcohol, take a drink for every truthful statement on the page - you will end up sober and with a royal headache,
Paule Villard likes to say "People Over Politics" but Paule is nothing more than a compulsive liar who should be using the slogan "Paule over People".' Her statements are designed to mislead residents of North Miami Beach, specifically those who pay little attention to city politics into painting a picture of grandeur however Paule Villard's embarrassing legacy is rooted deep in corruption.
In addition to her accomplishments, officer Paule Villard outlined her vision for North Miami Beach, the closest thing to a political platform she has published. As usual with Paule Villard her vision is little more than a delusional dream as her actions over her previous term in office are the antithesis to the statements on the campaign materials.
Maintain Low Property Taxes
This is a lie with a kernel of truth. The controversial City Manager, Arthur Sorey proposed a millage rate of 6.20 mills and in a scripted move, Paule Villard proposed a rate of 6.15 (which later turned into a 6.10 in the September City Commission Meeting). While this may sound like it is better than a tax increase, it is actually a insult as Miami-Dade County advised a rate of 5.493 mills. Paule's definition of "Low Property Taxes" will actually save the average taxpayer a few pennies a year but that is not considering the the rates of water and garbage have risen to absorb the savings.
So while it is true that Paule did vote to lower taxes by a few pennies, she actually voted for sharp increases in taxes. Instead of tightening her belt to stop wasteful spending in the City of North Miami Beach and actually make meaningful reductions to the amount taxpayers will owe, Paule Villard is able to book several trips... paid for by the generous residents of North Miami Beach.
Don't feel left out if you are someone who rents instead of owns, these increased taxes will be passed onto you as well with higher rent.
Paule Villard's claim about lowering taxes is exactly like handing you a plastic tarp and making a press release that she fixed your roof.
Reduce Utility Costs
If you look at your latest water bill, you would have definitely noticed that Paule Villard did not help to reduce utility costs, in fact the opposite is true. Even if the amount of your bill has not gone up by much, you would have noticed the reduction in the number of recycling pickups - essentially a reduction of service as a tax increase.
While it is true that the city commissioner did pass a resolution that was co-sponsored by Paule Villard to get a one time credit on their water bill, this will be paid for by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). A program that Paule Villard has abused for her Publix Gift Card Campaign Events.
Promote Community Safety and Crime Reduction
Paule Villard, someone who falsely claims to be a retired Police Sergeant for 27 years has done absolutely nothing to improve community safety and crime reduction, in fact she has done the complete opposite. Paule does care about safety, her safety but not yours. Paule has taken police officers off the street to serve as her private body guard/limo driver while still collecting her $600 a month taxpayer funded vehicle allowance and the fact that Paule villard used the deputy police chief of North Miami Beach on a overseas trip to Haiti.
If Paule really cared about the safety of the community, she would immediately cut out her uncontrolled spending and re-invest the money into hiring more police officers and retaining the current police officers we have. She would have worked to hire more officers to focus on traffic control instead of allowing the corrupt city manager to hire his friend for a fictitious position within the police force with a salary that could easily pay for 2-3 qualified police officers. This position is the "Special Advisor to the City Manager" and has never existed prior to the hiring of Arthur Sorey.
To further prove how this position was manufactured for the city manager's friend - it was never advertized on any of the employment boards that the city normally advertizes on. It was simply offered to his friend with a very generous salary.
Encourage Neighborhood Beautification
Paule Villard in no way encourages neighborhood beautification and a simple drive around parts of the city demonstrate this. Washington Park and Highland Village are overflowing with bulk trash and Paule's plans to sell parks to private property developers to replace our green-spaces with 25 story condos/apartments will do noting to make this city beautiful.
I honestly feel that Paule's only idea for beautification is to post her photo on every city sign and pamphlet, something only a narcissist like Paule Villard would think of. This of course has no benefit to the residents of North Miami Beach, a trend with anything that Paule Villard is involved with.
Enhance Parks and Recreation Activities
This is not only a lie but Paule Villard's actions prove that she does not care about enhance parks, especially when she plotted to sell the Daniel D. Diefenbach Park/Arthur Snyder Tennis Courts to private developers via a series of closed door meetings that were not even made public until after developers were contacted and invited into a taxpayer funded party that can only be described as "over the top". This party cost the taxpayers over $67,000 to host.
To add more insult to injury, this sale is unlawful under the Dade Country Charter which would require it to be on the ballot for the public to vote on. Additionally the whole idea of organizing this behind closed doors and hosting a private party spits on Paule's commitment to Government Transparency.
Expand Freebee Car Services
Freebee is advertised as a free service for North Miami Beach residents to get rides to local businesses within the city in a electric car. This may be seen a excellent program that opens up the city to those who lack transportation, however this is misleading at best because the bill is actually passed directly to the taxpayers of North Miami Beach. In reality the Freebee service actually has a cost of over $500,000 a year that is slipped into property taxes.
The city will try to explain the solution to offsetting the costs will be selling advertising in the vehicles so riders can be exposed to other local businesses however the reality is that they would need to cover every square inch of the Freebee cars with ads and attach around 3 commercial shipping containers to each car covered with ads to break even.
Promote Government Accountability and Transparency
In an effort to save the best for last, Paule Villard's vision for North Miami Beach implies that she cares about transparency and accountability, a statement that is laughable at best to anyone who has ever worked with Paule Villard. During Paule Villard's reign, she has demonstrated a complete lack of accountability and a commitment to subvert open record requirements when it comes to government transparency.
The city of North Miami Beach used to comply with open record laws to ensure that public record requests were efficiently answered in a reasonable amount of time and accessible to all. In most cities, a public records request often takes several days to be completed however in North Mimi Brach simple public record requests can often take months to complete and effort is actively taken to sweep them under the carpet and applying tiny fees to requests in an attempt to make it inconvenient for residents to get the information that they are legally entitled to see. The city has been known to apply a cost to some public records requests that are as low as $2.47, knowing that most residents will not be able to take a check to the city clerk's office during business hours to pay, the city does not have a way to pay online.
The city has several public record requests that go unanswered for months, one as far back as January 25th of 2022 (PRR-2022-63). City Employees seem to actively work to protect Paule Villard by stalling requests related to her spending such as PRR-2022-209 which has been open since March 8th of 2022. There does not seem like there is a conspiracy theory as most other public record request that do not expose Paule Villard questionable behavior while holding public office. Instead of trying to pretend like she encourages accountability, we the residents of North Miami Beach should be demanding that Paule Villard is held accountable for using the North Miami Beach Police Department as her private limo service, illegally using taxpayer funds for religious services and holding taxpayer funded parties to honor her personal family and friends.
If you want to see for yourself if Paule Villard actually cares about transparency or accountability, try to contact her via email ([email protected]) or in person to ask one of the following questions:
- How did you select the recipients to your unsung heroes event?
- How do you justify using city employees for personal business?
- How do you justify all of the trips you are taking and what benefits do they offer to residents of North Miami Beach?
- Many of our commissioners have a tent with their name on it, why do you have two?
- Why do you have your name and photo on all city fliers?
- Why did you work to try to sell the tennis courts?
- Why didn't you not vote to accept the counties recommended roll-back millage rate, instead opting for the higher 6.10 rate?
- How does your trip to Haiti benefit the residents of North Miami Beach?
- How do you justify the controversial hiring of a City Manager who has a reputation for bankrupting the city of North Miami?
Needless to say, there are far more questions that I can come up with however feel free to come up with your own. I just made this list because these are some of the questions I have personally asked and have never gotten a response from. If you happen to find any answers, please let me know.