if i was on the Hialeah city council...

Among the issues that affect the prosperity of any city is the ability of that city to retain its citizenry, its businesses, and its industries. Its the citizens who live and work there that provide the taxes necessary for its survival. And its the citizens who give the city a reason to be.

So there are two categories of things that must be analyzed.
1- what can keep the citizens from leaving, and
2- what can drive them away

What can keep residents put can be simply stated as happiness.
What can keep businesses put can be simply stated as profitability.
What can keep industries put can be simply stated as a workforce.
the opposite of these can drive them away.
all of these are inter-related.

Now lets look at some major causes of unhappiness for citizen of my city:
-some high cost of living expenses like housing, food, & transportation
-low wages
-high property taxes
-lack of recreational and entertainment opportunities

the wages they earn are directly related to the issue of profitability of businesses.
the wages they earn are also directly related to them seeking to be a part of the local workforce.

It might be hard for a city government to control the prices of homes on the market, or the cost of milk on the grocery shelves, or gas at the pump. But, aside from these cost of living issues, there is much our city government can do to help local business stay profitable leading to higher wages, and help local industries find a trained workforce. And, for sure our city government can reduce property taxes and provide clean parks and recreation facilities.

Here's my idea:
How about we encourage local residents to work locally. It will reduce their transportation costs for sure. The encouragement can come in the form of an annual reward. A citizen can fill out a form with proof of residence and proof of employment and choose a reward that works best form them. One example of a reward that will also helps a local business includes a one-year free basic membership to a local gym. another is a discount on your property taxes if you own your property. another discount on property taxes can be given to those who live in the property they own. another can be given if the own a residential and a commercial or industrial property. another can be given if they own a residential property and own a local business.

Yes, these discounts may reduce the amount of money available for the city government...
So.. it does mean that the city would have to reduce some of its fat, become a little leaner. lets concentrate on the basics: sanitation, water&sewer, streets, police and firefighters. lets streamline the bureaucracy.

Our city is pretty much built out, and our goal is to keep the businesses and residents from leaving, so lets encourage them to make renovations and improvements on existing property. lets cut the requirements to upgrade an existing property to a minimum. just structural and safety related issues and design assistance when they run into problems with plan reviewers and inspectors.

We have a branch of the community college so lets encourage our local business to recruit a local workforce and give them incentives like waiving certain fees and free advertising on the city website or free banners on park fences if they do. And we can arrange for local students to get free tutoring through volunteers at the college or high schools. Or help the students at the community college get internships with our local businesses.

There is no shortage of ideas on how retain people and get them to spend in our city. And the above ideas will bring in people and business from outside of the city. So, while there may be a short term loss in revenue it will be offset with long term gains due to higher property values and more businesses and residents paying for permits to expand and grow.

Another problem our city faced in the 80s was the phenominom of "white flight". Over the past couple of decades our city has taken on a latin flavor and a brown skin tone that comes from genetics and not tanning. Well, there are very few whites to flee now. But I do not underestimate the power of America to assimilate its inhabitants. And in the process making itself culturally much richer. This will happen in our city too, if the current residents stay here. The children growing up cities and in our schools are bi-lingual, and while their parents or grandperents might not know english, they do. As long as these people do not move away, we will see a return to the use of english in most interactions over the next 20 years. If we keep our property taxes low and show the residents that there is no reason to leave. then the assimilation will continue. But if there is a constant turn around, with those who are able to move on, leaving to other cities rahter then expanding their roots here, and we have a city of mosty new immigrants, then not only is there no assimilation, but there is no growth. I think new immigrants benefit in a community where they have to interact with local residents who have an established local culture. And it is a good thing for us that our established local culture is no longer based on white nuclear families, we are much more dynamic now.