North Bay Village Commission as a Criminal Enterprise

The North Bay Village Commission voted 3 - 2 to fire the City Manager tonight. Voting for the illegal firing were George Kane, himself no stranger to illegal commission actions, Rey Trujillo, who apparently based his reasoning on the city manager's communication skills, and most disappointingly, Dr. Paul Vogel, who told me that he had to vote that way as he had "so much pressure on him".

Following this illegal act, former vice mayor Rey Trujillo was removed as vice mayor, then voted against the motion, then George Kane became vice mayor.

What didn't get done tonight: no interim chief, no software system, no full consent agenda.

But the commission did manage to squeeze in time to approve a code variance for a boatlift on a dock at 1570 S. Treasure Drive, a boatlift that is clearly outside of the spirit and law of the code. The commission did this "to avoid a lawsuit." This is complete nonsense - the neighbors whose home is being ruined by this unsightly project have every right to sue to stop it.

Now, the firing of Schwartz won't stand. It's clearly illegal under the city charter, but now we are broke and going to add to our list of lawsuits. If the people next door to the McMansion with the code busting dock don't sue, I'll be shocked. And there are more in the pipeline.

I'm tired, disgusted and I'm going to bed. More later.

Kevin Vericker