Homestead voters will go to the polls Tuesday to vote for a mayor in the middle of the city's worst budget crisis in decades.

The city saw a 24.7 percent drop -- a nearly $1 billion loss -- in its tax base this year, the steepest in Miami-Dade County.

As foreclosed Homestead homes sit empty, economic issues have repeatedly come up during the debates between the two mayoral candidates -- incumbent Mayor Lynda Bell and former City Council member Steve Bateman.

``We have lost our mom and pop base. Jobs equate to money and money equates to buying foreclosed homes,'' Bateman said at a Wednesday forum at the Keys Gate Golf Course Clubhouse.

Both he and Bell say they are the one to lead the city into strong fiscal shape.

Yet, both have contended with business problems.

FAILURE TO RESPOND

Bateman, who touts his business experience, has faced the most challenges.

The Southeast Florida Better Business Bureau, based in West Palm Beach, issued an ``F'' grade three years ago to Bateman's Florida City-based Two Brothers Construction for failure to respond to a complaint. The Better Business Bureau would not say what that complaint entailed.

Bateman, 54, president of Two Brothers Construction, has also been in and out of the Miami-Dade court system 32 times since 1980 on business-related matters concerning companies he ran, including Two Brothers and Hidas Investments, which was closed in 2003.

The majority of these cases ended in dismissals.

In addition, records show Bateman has owed Homestead $11,000 since 2006 in development costs for a housing project he oversaw.

Bateman could not be reached for comment despite one call on Thursday and four on Friday.

TENANT TROUBLE

Incumbent Bell, 52, Homestead's first woman mayor, ran into a challenge last year over the condition of a house she and her husband Mark had rented.

Last year, a tenant complained of deplorable conditions in a Naranja home she rented from the Bells. Inspectors from the Miami-Dade Housing Agency, which administers the Section 8 program for subsidized housing, found a host of violations, including leaks in the walls and the ceiling and a malfunctioning air conditioning unit which led to mold in the walls. There was garbage and debris throughout the house.

Bell contends the tenant trashed the home and only complained about the mold after learning she was to be evicted, which meant the tenant would lose Section 8 status. The tenant ultimately left.

``It took us almost a year to get that house back in order,'' Bell said, estimating a total repair cost of $15,000.

She added that the matter is now resolved.

Both she and Bateman are up to date on their Homestead property taxes, county records show.

Each have their own plans to revitalize Homestead.

MARKETING PLAN

Bateman said he will increase marketing to attract new businesses and new owners to foreclosed houses.

``To fill these empty homes, you've got to market your city. You've got to bring new business to Homestead,'' he said Thursday at a debate at the Keys Gate Charter School, where more than 250 attended.

Bell noted in the debate that she has been working to woo companies to Homestead.

She said the city added 323 new businesses last year, creating 2,000 new jobs.

More jobs are on the way, she added, because of new DEA and FBI offices being planned for Homestead.

Miami Herald writers Jonathan Davila and Liana Kozlowski contributed to this report.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@