Looking west from 1180 E. Hallandale Beach Boulevard; March 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier
beneath weathered yellow police tape and two barricades without working lights(!), lies an
egregious example of Hallandale Beach's bureaucratic red tape and chronic malfeasance that Hallandale Beach Blog has railed against -and brought to your attention- for well over a year now.
Four months since a car accident took place there, there's still plenty of broken window glass and bits of automobile plastic and molding there on the ground for all to see.
In fact, the last time South Beach Hooiser was there, just a few hours ago, there was still a bottle of alcohol lying there, amidst the broken glass near the shrubs.
Hmmm... perhaps one of the contributing factors to the accident in the first place, you think?
Seeing something like this day after day, week after week, month after month, it's hard to shake the notion that the City of Hallandale Beach is perfectly intent on ignoring this scene, because the alternative is to admit that they really can't run the city competently, efficiently and with a modicum of class.
And that perhaps the idea that large portions of the city government should become privitized, with some accountability and transparency built into the system.
Just over one month ago, following a very impressive and fact-filled overview of the current South Florida water situation, and its effect on Hallandale Beach, during the day-long City Commission forum at the Cultural Center, I took a microphone in hand and publicly congratulated new DPW Director William M. Brant in his first public appearance.
Later, I spoke to him in person and told him that I wished him luck, because he had perhaps the worst job in the city, since so many people in the community believe with conviction that DPW is, in fact, the single worst and MOST chronically under-performing dept. in the city, which isn't bragging.
Services that residents have a right to expect and be done properly and efficiently.
I gave him a head's-up of 3-4 very specific issues/sites he needed to look into right away, and then handed him my business card, complete with website info, emails and phone numbers.
I looked him in the eye and specifically told him that if he had any questions, to please contact me, because I wanted him to succeed. But that he should know that I had a handful of photos posted on the blog of those very problems his dept. is tasked with.
Plus lots of other ones I've never run.
A few hours later, in the afternoon portion of the proceedings, after I took the microphone at the forum and spoke with some specificity about some other issues in the city, including some that touched on DPW's consistently poor performance, City Manager Mike Good got up on the other side of the room and grabbed the other microphone, which he, Mayor Cooper, and the four Commissioners had used to ask questions of staff or presenters, or respond to resident questions.
He nodded his head and then publicly directed Mr. Brant, now in the back of the room, to follow-up with me on my complaints and contact me.
Later, as I was starting to leave the room -having put in my eight hours!- the city manager approached me before I got to the door.
I told him that I needed to leave but that I'd already given Mr. Brant all my contact information, and looked forward to hearing from him.
A month later, nothing's happened.
A month later, nothing's happened.
No phone calls, no emails.
Much like the car accident scene above, which, ignominiously for the city, featured a large piece of a car fender or bumper right on a busy Hallandale Beach sidewalk for four months -and which was only removed last week- nothing has happened.
Meet the new boss -same as the old boss.
Hallandale Beach Blog previously discussed the issue of the car accident scene on Hallandale Beach Boulevard in a February 3rd posting:
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