Hialeah wants to raise property taxes. It also just bought the mayor a luxury SUV
Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernández is facing criticism after the City Council authorized his purchase of a 2017 Jaguar SUV at a time when the city is seeking to raise taxes to increase public school security services.
Six council members on Tuesday voted in favor of the $43,779.25 purchase for a 2017 Jaguar F-Pace from Doral Lincoln, LLC, according to public documents.
The president of the Hialeah Fire Department union, Eric Johnson, criticized the SUV purchase, particularly when city officials also approved a special election to increase the property tax rate from 6.30 to 7.05 mills to finance the strengthening of public school safety.
"Buying a luxury SUV is not a good move," said Johnson. "When we have a shortage of police and firefighters, this purchase is unacceptable. The lack of personnel in these departments is a priority problem to attend to, not the purchase of luxury wheels."
Hernández on Thursday said that the purchase was made to replace the Ford pickup that was assigned to him when he assumed office in 2012.
"I had a vehicle since 2012, with 80,000 miles of use," Hernández said, adding that the criticism was politically-motivated from adversaries.
Mayors from neighboring municipalities told el Nuevo Herald they do not have city vehicles as a perk and use their own cars to get around. One acknowledged receiving a monthly municipal stipend of about $600 to cover transportation costs, including gas and tolls.
The measure to raise property taxes is scheduled for a vote on Aug. 28. If approved, the estimated $6.7 million generated from the tax hike will be used to hire more police, as well as acquire specialized equipment and state-of-the-art technology and pay for additional training in response to mass shootings that have occurred in other cities across the nation.
This story was originally published May 11, 2018 at 11:45 AM with the headline "Hialeah wants to raise property taxes. It also just bought the mayor a luxury SUV."