Dear Neighbors,

Thank you very much to all of you that have signed this petition. Please, let's keep up the momentum and share this petition with more people you know.

Some of us have been receiving an email from Jose Toledo from Friends of Tropical Park. Please. BE AWARE of this group that is pro-incorporation. If we incorporate is a fact that our TAXES WILL INCREASE, along with zoning, permits, etc. They are making it look that Westchester will improve. There are many economic interests behind this move of trying to incorporate Westchester. This group, along with Javier D. Souto, want to have control over who develops in Westchester. This smells like kickbacks, corruption, etc. DO NOT BELIEVE A SINGLE WORD OF WHAT THEY SAY! Residents need to keep in mind that if we incorporate our community may drastically change from mostly residential, single family homes, to high rise condominiums. This will bring a high population density, everything else that comes with it like overcrowding, noise, traffic, pollution, etc. 

This is the email being sent by this Friends of Tropical Park group and its leader Jose Toledo:

We want to continue to be as transparent as possible in this process.  So here are some facts and figures that may help you better understand incorporation. Currently, in Miami Dade County there is $337 Billion of the taxable property value on which the UMSA tax of 1.93 Millage is levied ONLY on unincorporated areas, the county also collects an additional 4.6 millage in county property taxes from ALL areas incorporated and unincorporated. In addition, the county collects sales taxes, utility taxes, communication taxes, alcoholic beverage taxes, and business taxes. From UMSA and all these taxes combined excluding the counties, 4.6% of Westchester generates approximately $25 million dollars annually of which a sizeable portion goes to other areas of the county, but if Westchester were to incorporate all those monies would remain in Westchester and this DOES NOT include the portion of the half-cent transportation tax that would also be returned to an incorporated Westchester. If we incorporate the UMSA portion would NO longer be paid to the county but be replaced by the proposed City of Westchester. (SEE TABLES BELOW)
Currently, if a developer wanted to develop a piece of property in the Westchester area the ultimate approval would come from the Miami Dade County Commission of which we only vote for 1 of the 13 commissioners. If the City of Westchester were incorporated the ultimate approval would have to come from our mayor and council, who would not only be elected by us but would also live among us. The latter situation gives residents much more say when it comes to any new development.
The new city of Westchester would contract with the county for Police protection, this means we would have a Major selected by our city and answerable to us and dedicated officers chosen by the city who would serve only this area. Miami Lakes has used this system for many years and it's not only cost-effective but has raised their level of service in comparison to unincorporated areas that border them.
We welcome any respectful feedback and or questions. Keep in mind the MAC meetings should begin relatively soon and you will get notices for those meetings. If you have questions or concerns, we encourage you to participate. We will post those notices on our Facebook page once we receive them as well.