Harvey Vengroff vs. Sarasota city commissioners

The Sarasota Herald Tribune had an interesting article about how a group of Sarasota landlords is requesting a recall of Sarasota city commissioners. The Sarasota Landlords' Association is seeking to remove the commissioners because on July 19 they voted unanimously to override the new property tax rollback rules established only a month earlier in a special legislative session.

The city of Sarasota was pegged for a 9 percent cut based on the fact that it has raised taxes substantially in the past.

Landlords, snowbirds and commercial property owners are upset about how the current Florida property tax system unfairly favors homesteaded properties. Florida's Save Our Homes constitutional amendment caps caps property tax increases for homesteaders. This puts a burden on the back of non-homesteaders.

Harvey Vengroff held up his hand to make a recall motion at the landlords' gathering this week. According to the Sarasota Herald Tribune Vengroff owns 1,400 units in Sarasota and Manatee counties and runs the 2nd largest collection agencies in the world.

Vengroff and the landlords' association is gathering a petition for the recall. However, according the newpaper a recall will be extremely difficult to accomplish. Perhaps their motivation is to get as much press as possible.

The Florida property tax system really is unfair and the latest attempt to fix the problem by the Florida government does not help non homestead property owners. If the bill is passed in January the motivation to make any immediate repairs to the tax system will be gone. As a landlord I would probably vote for a recall.

Harvey Vengroff seems like an interesting guy. This article gives a few tidbits about him:

One day about five years ago, Harvey Vengroff turned to his managers in his Sarasota office and said, "I'm going sailing. I'll see you in two months."The next day Vengroff didn't show up for work. His managers thought he was kidding. A few days later, when he still didn't show, they realized he was serious.

Harvey Vengroff manages by empowerment.

He's not afraid to say, 'I don't know the answer.' Most bosses say they know everything.

He apparently hates meetings. Nobody sits down. If you sit down, the meeting is going to last too long.

He was the keynote speaker at a Sarasota Chamber of Commerce Committee of Economic Development breakfast. The event, packed with men and women in business suits, was held at Michael's on East. Vengroff ambled in wearing his trademark corporate uniform--a T-shirt and shorts.

This guy sounds cool. Harvey do you need any help with your real estate? ;-)