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<\/a><\/p>\nWritten by\u00a0Anti-Media Team<\/a><\/p>\n (<\/b>ANTIMEDIA<\/b><\/a>)<\/b>\u00a0Miami-Dade County, FL \u2014<\/i>\u00a0At a time when South Floridians rocked by Hurricane Irma were still surveying the damage to their properties, the county of Miami-Dade apparently thought it appropriate to begin handing out safety notices.<\/p>\n We’re revolutionizing the news industry, but we need your help!\u00a0Click here to get started.<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Celso Perez\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0local\u00a0WSVN-TV<\/i>\u00a0that he, his family, and his neighbors were starting to clear fallen trees from the streets after the storm passed through at nine in the morning on Monday. Hours later, in the afternoon, Perez got a visit from the county.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd we thought he was here to help us or offer some type of assistance with the trees, maybe he was going to bring us ice or something,\u201d<\/i>\u00a0Perez told\u00a0WSVN<\/i>. Instead, the official slapped a safety notice on the only part of Perez\u2019s fence still standing.<\/p>\n \u201cI laughed,\u201d<\/i>\u00a0he said.\u00a0\u201cI thought he was kidding. \u2018You are kidding right? We just had a hurricane six hours ago.\u2019 \u2018No, I\u2019m not kidding. I have to cite you for this.\u2019 I just laughed. OK, whatever; knock yourself out!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n But Perez stopped laughing when the official told him he would be writing up a report and would be back to check on the property. Perez told\u00a0WSVN<\/i>\u00a0that the man said he\u2019d\u00a0\u201chave to write me a fine\u201d<\/i>\u00a0if the fence wasn\u2019t up to code by then.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the time this officer was out here, we didn\u2019t have power, we didn\u2019t have food, we didn\u2019t have ice. He is crazy, ridiculous,\u201d<\/i>\u00a0Perez said, adding that\u00a0\u201cit\u2019s not like I can go to Home Depot\u201d<\/i>\u00a0because all the stores were closed.<\/p>\n The South Floridian says he understands that there is a lot of work that needs to be done but that the county\u2019s rush to issue warnings was inappropriate:<\/p>\n \u201cGive us a minute to breathe. Let us get our power back on. And I wouldn\u2019t mind if they told me that a few days down the line or due time but it bothers me that they came out here just a few hours after the storm had passed.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n On the issue of restoring power,\u00a0Reason<\/i>\u00a0noted<\/a>\u00a0that at the time Miami-Dade was handing out citations \u2014 the\u00a0WSVN<\/i>\u00a0investigation\u00a0found<\/a>\u00a0Perez was far from alone; the county handed out 680 pool barrier and 177 electrical hazard notices in the hours after Irma \u2014 16,510 homes and businesses were still\u00a0without power<\/a>.<\/p>\n When\u00a0Reason<\/i>\u00a0tried to confirm with Miami-Dade if monetary fines would be attached to citations, the county\u00a0responded<\/a>\u00a0with the following statement:<\/p>\n \u201cWe were looking to advise residents of the following hazards on their properties that they may not have been aware of, but that pose a life safety threat: damaged structures that rendered them unsafe, unsecured pools with no barriers, electrical hazards (down lines, damaged meters) and gas hazards (damaged meters). If any of these hazards were found, our inspectors gave out a safety notice, which is neither a notice of violation warning nor a citation. That means there is no fine attached. The safety notices given to property owners identify the hazard, steps that should be taken to correct the hazard, and who to contact for additional information.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n Fine or no,\u00a0WSVN<\/i>\u2019s legal expert and Broward County\u00a0public defender<\/a>, Howard Finkelstein,\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0the timing was\u00a0\u201cawful\u201d<\/i>\u00a0for the people trying to recover:<\/p>\n \u201cThis is outrageous. After Irma, people were stressed, they were worried and for a government official to slap a warning notice on them to add to their misery is insulting.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n