Monday, August 31, 2009

Tuesday's S.E. Broward Republican Club meeting: 9/12 Tea Parties and 2010 BSO Budget

Southeast Broward Republican Club

Dear Members and Friends,

Our next meeting is
Tuesday,
September 1st, 2009

Check In: 6:30 P.M.
-Meeting Begins: 7 P.M.
Hollywood Beach Culture & Community Center
1301 South Ocean Drive/ A1A
Hollywood, FL 33019

Topic of Discussion: The 9/12 Tea Parties
and the Broward County Sheriff's Office
2010 Budget

Please feel free to pass on our invitation to your
friends and family, all are welcome.


Take I-95 to Hollywood Blvd., drive East towards
the beach.
Drive over Hollywood Blvd. Intracoastal Bridge.
turn right/South.
The Hollywood Beach Culture and Community
Center
will be on your left-hand side at
intersection of Azalea Terrace.


Metered parking lot.
Refreshments served.

Tickets will be on sale for the "Heroes In Action"
-
Hollywood Police Athletic League-Boxing event.

If you have any questions, please feel
free to call me anytime.


Until then...Stay active, connected and informed!


Ed Napolitano, President
(954) 296-0041


----------
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/1191012.html

Miami Herald

Details of Broward Sheriff's Office budget cuts expected

August 18, 2009

The budget battle between Broward County commissioners and Sheriff Al Lamberti could be near a resolution by Tuesday's end.

The Broward Sheriff's Office is scheduled to go before commissioners Tuesday with details of how it will trim $21 million from its spending plan. Most of the savings would come from cutting in-custody treatment programs, an unspecified number of layoffs and closing the Stockade, the minimum security jail.

About $3 million of the total would be made up in more money from fees.

Lamberti would reopen the Stockade in short bursts should the inmate population get too high. Broward is under a federal court order to stay beneath a jail population cap or face a fine.

If approved, the budget agreement would end months of wrangling between commissioners and BSO.

With property values down, county commissioners began this year's budget process with an approximate $100 million shortfall. They wanted Lamberti to shoulder about half of the burden and cut $46 million from his agency, the largest of its kind in Broward.

His proposal meets about half of the county's goal. Whether this is enough to please county leaders will be hashed out at Tuesday's workshop.

If Lamberti and commissioners don't reach a compromise before the start of the fiscal year Oct. 1, the sheriff could appeal his budget to the Florida Cabinet, a potentially lengthy process.

A presentation about BSO's spending plan is scheduled to go before county commissioners at 10 a.m. in room 430 of the Broward County Government Center, 115 S. Andrews Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. It will be the first in a full day of presentations from various county services.

--------------
Two columnists write on the no-win situation for
BSO with Maury Hernandez


sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/sfl-bso-maury-mayocol-b083109,0,514119.column

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

In real world, miracle deputy doesn't get dream ending

Michael Mayo

News Columnist

August 31, 2009


If the miraculous recovery of Broward Sheriff's Deputy Maury Hernandez were a movie, the ending would have Hernandez putting on his badge and holster and returning to his job as a street detective.

But this is real life, which means things aren't so tidy. Two years after taking a bullet to the head during a traffic stop, Hernandez walked into a recent meeting at the Sheriff's Office in uniform, and the reaction was discomfort.

Hernandez, 30, now confronts a tangle of insurance and pension issues. Instead of life-affirming triumph, there's soul-deadening bureaucracy. He has a lawyer. There's tension in the air.

"I'm not asking for a charity position," Hernandez wrote by e-mail Monday. "If the sheriff didn't really mean it when he said there would be something waiting for me then I just want him to tell me so. I will not have hard feelings."

Said Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti: "Emotions have overtaken everything."

On this there's agreement: Hernandez isn't fit to perform his old job. His mobility is compromised, his left arm partly paralyzed. Basically, a return to a weapon-carrying law-enforcement job doesn't appear possible.

During his rehabilitation, Hernandez got full pay through the county's worker's compensation system. But that's about to lapse. Lamberti said Hernandez has two options:

He can retire with a permanent disability pension from the state, which would pay him 65 percent of his salary for life, tax-free. The payments would start at $32,229 a year and rise with inflation. He'd also get lifelong health insurance.

He can take a civilian job with the Sheriff's Office, something like an investigative aide. But that would mean he'd be disqualified from getting disability benefits related to the shooting in the future.

"It's Maury's decision, but we just want to make sure he fully understands the ramifications," said Lamberti, who didn't attend the Aug. 5 meeting.

"So far, all that has been offered is disability retirement, which is not a job," Hernandez wrote Monday. I wanted to talk face-to-face, but his attorney wouldn't allow it.

"I loved working at the BSO, and my heart is there," Hernandez wrote. "It's a shame the way things are right now, but there is too much positive history and too many great friends there for me to say that my feelings have soured."

Lamberti said he wouldn't want Hernandez to return to the Sheriff's Office, get injured because of his condition and not be entitled to benefits. The sheriff said the meeting was meant to be a starting point, not an ultimatum.

"We want what's best for Maury," Lamberti said.

Lance Block, Hernandez's attorney, called the Aug. 5 session "a sales meeting to get him to take the disability option."

If Hernandez took the disability pension, Lamberti said he could remain involved with the Sheriff's Office as a motivational speaker or crisis-team volunteer. "Look, the guy is a true inspiration," Lamberti said.

Lamberti knows that Hernandez makes for the ultimate sympathetic figure, and this is a public-relations fight he can't win.

But it's not as if Hernandez is the first to get wounded or disabled on the job. If Lamberti makes an exception to let Hernandez keep his position, then lawsuits from other disabled deputies could follow.

Hernandez's shooter, David Maldonado, is now serving a life sentence.

A shame that Hernandez, as the victim, might also have to serve a life sentence, losing the job he loves.

"I don't know what my next step will be," Hernandez wrote.

Not exactly a Hollywood ending. But it could have been a whole lot worse.

----------------
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/columnists/daniel-shoer-roth/story/1199594.html

Miami Herald
August 24, 2009

BSO denies deputy his dream to serve again


E
ver since Maury Hernández emerged from a coma a year and 10 months ago he has received countless demonstrations of the community's affection and been highly decorated. He even got to throw the first pitch at a baseball game between the Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays.

Through it all, Hernández, the deputy shot in the head while on duty two years ago, has yearned for only one thing: to return to the Broward Sheriff's Office.

He was ecstatic when he was scheduled to meet with BSO on Aug. 5. The night before, he filled four notebook pages with new handwritten ideas. And in the morning, he suited up in his old uniform, which now includes a green honor medal usually presented posthumously to fallen officers. He came that close.

He was devastated after the meeting. He says BSO officials told him he would go on permanent disability retirement. "It's the worst betrayal of my life,'' said Hernández, 30, who suffers from motor-function problems on the left side of his body. "Everybody knew I wanted to go back to work.''

Jim Leljedal, a BSO spokesman, said no final decision has been made on Hernández's case. "We discussed his future, his options and his eligibility for a disability pension,'' Leljedal said. "Everyone here admires and loves Maury, and we want the best for him.''

BSO seems to think retirement would be best. Hernández says that was the only offer on the table.

"If they really want the best for me, they should have asked me, knowing that going back to work is what my heart wants,'' said the Cuban-American officer who lives in Hialeah with his parents. Hernández almost died protecting this community, and BSO, for all its proclamations of love and admiration for him, responds by shattering his dream of returning to the work he loves. Shameful.

It's deviously hypocritical coming after Hernández became Al Lamberti's poster child during his campaign for sheriff and never missed a photo-op next to the hero.

This injustice could stir Broward County's Hispanic community, which claims it is not adequately represented in Broward's police departments, said José "Pepe'' López, a member of BSO's new diversity committee.

"This is not well seen in the Hispanic community, especially among Cubans who went all out to support the sheriff with donations and votes,'' López said.

Doctors gave Hernández no hope of survival in August 2007, when David Maldonado, a motorcyclist he confronted for speeding past several red lights on Pembroke Road, shot him twice. Last year Maldonado was sentenced to life in prison.

The officer survived miraculously and gradually recovered, winning the hearts of South Floridians.

On Thursday, Hernández accompanied his father, Mauricio, to Dadeland Mall to buy a handbag for his mother, Rosa, for the couple's 32nd wedding anniversary Saturday. When they went to gift-wrap the present, Hernández said the clerk told him, "You are that cop! You have no idea how much we've prayed for you.''

Two years ago the Hernándezes spent their 30th anniversary at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, surrounded by their son's colleagues and superiors, who brought them a cake.

"In these two years, the BSO kept a very close relationship with us, almost like family,'' Mauricio said. "We don't understand why the case is now so tactlessly handled.''

The answer may be in the budget. If Hernández is given a disability retirement, his pension, which would equal his salary, would be paid from sources other than BSO's budget. Except this is not about money, but about honor.

"At police departments there are enough positions assigned to officers wounded while on duty,'' said Alejandro Recio, a retired detective from the Hollywood Police Department. ``If Maury wishes to go back to work, he deserves that right.''

Hernández is not thinking of conceding defeat. He has hired an attorney.

These last few years, life has taught him to challenge all predictions. First he was told he would never walk again. But he walked. Then he was told he would walk only with a cane. He now walks without one, and strolls around a neighborhood lake.

"This is why I believe I can still make a difference in the police department,'' Hernández said. "There is nothing like getting up in the morning and doing the work you love.''

Reader comments at:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/columnists/daniel-shoer-roth/story/1199594.html?commentSort=TimeStampAscending&pageNum=1

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Last minute thoughts on HB Budget Workshop on Wednesday

Well, as you know, tomorrow at 10 a.m., the
powers-that-be at Hallandale Beach City Hall have
decreed that despite the over-riding public interest
of many HB citizens in attending and participating
in the city's public budget workshop at a convenient
time and place, they voted 4-1 against Comm.
Keith London'sperfectly
reasonable motion to
move the public workshop from a smallish second-floor
City Hall room -that's considerably smaller and less
convenient than the Commission Chambers that just
underwent repairs that YOU paid for
- and keep
it in a place where they can better tamp down
attendance and keep citizens under control.

They also voted 4-1 against moving the city budget
workshop to the evening, where more Hallandale
Beach citizen taxpayers and residents could attend
and express their opinions, ask for pertinent facts
and figures, or even demand some long-overdue
explanations from the city commission and mayor,
the all-too-often-absent city manager and his
overpaid staff.

The latter includes the various Dept. directors,
some of whom pay so little attention to matters
around them, that two months after taking over
their Dept., they don't even know that their name,
phone number and email address are STILL
not on the city's terrible website so that citizen
taxpayers can actually contact them.
You know, the people who pay their salaries?

Speaking for myself, it's hard not to see this 4-1
vote as yet another in the never-ending efforts by
Mayor Joy Cooper and City Manager Mike
Good
to orchestrate a public meeting like a
puppet show.
One guess who the puppets are?

They are deathly afraid of the kind of unscripted
and spontaneous meeting that could emerge when
a room full of well-informed citizens are present
precisely because it would mean going off in directions
that City Hall doesn't like, and for good reason.
Even they know they can't explain the
unexplainable,
and what is HB City Hall
if not unexplainable?


And how do you explain away the fact nobody ever
is held responsible and accountable and punished?

Last week, I asked an unelected city official in a
position to know whether or not the city ever even
considered moving the budget workshop to the HB
Cultural Center, since there's so much more room.

Then I decided to check if there were some time
conflicts in that building that'd prevent it from moving
there.

Answer: The city never explored it and there
are no
conflicts tomorrow that'd prevent it from
being held there.


Again, Joy Cooper and Mike Good want the
meeting in a small room because it discourages the
public from attending -and staying!

Strangely enough, back in June when the Planning
& Zoning
meeting was moved to the Cultural Center,
there were only three non-city employees in the entire
room, of whom I was but one.
But that didn't seem to bother anyone.

Cooper and Good don't want to have a scenario
where well-informed ordinary citizens ask why the
city continues to spend money in amounts and scale
(and accrue debt) that seems completely inappropriate
for a city of Hallandale Beach's size, even while simple
and self-evident problems are never properly resolved.

Problems that we see everyday that last for weeks
and months and years, like simply having appropriate
signage or ensuring public safety on city property,
including directly in front of Hallandale Beach
City Hall
.

Where are the much-needed cuts coming from and
what are the policy or procedure modifications that
will be necessary?

They'd rather talk about how much of your money
they plan on giving to cronies of theirs or waste on
the HB City of Commerce, that does zero but which
last year received $50,000.

If you doubt what I'm saying about puppet shows,
just consider how terribly botched the recent Master
Transportation Plan meeting was handled, years
late and over-budget.
The meeting that Comm. Anthony Sanders was
AWOL at, with no explanation then or since.

Despite its importance, there were no helpful handouts
of any kind for the public to peruse, and the Power Point
presentation was full of numbers and columns that were
FAR TOO SMALL to make any sense of, which
meant that citizens couldn't ask informed questions,
but instead had to generalize and got little specificity
in return.

The City Manager's office could've easily posted all
the pertinent info on the city's terrible website in
advance of the meeting, even the Friday afternoon
before the meeting, so that citizens could look at it
over the weekend and take notes.
But they didn't do that, did they?
Instead, who had the copies?
Not you, but you're the ones left to pay the bill.

Those of you who have spoken to me in the past
about what you said was your anger or seething
disgust with the longstanding unethical hijinks,
gross incompetency and low-caliber management
at Hallandale Beach City Hall, will have your
opportunity to finally stand-up and be counted,
even if it's less than the optimum situation.

Will you take advantage of it, or will you let it
slip away like so many other opportunities,
and let the Rubber Stamp Crew under Joy Cooper
once again have the last laugh at your EXPEN$E?

By the way, in case you forgot, the room that the
workshop will be held in is the same exact room
where Hallandale Beach City Manager Mike Good,
Police Chief Thomas Magill and Fire Chief
Daniel Sullivan all quit their jobs since December
-and then were magically rehired, with new
contracts
.

It's also the same exact room where the vote took
place to buy the property of Comm. Anthony Sanders
and his wife for more than it was appraised at.

And what do you know, coincidence of coincidences,
in none of these cases did the city ever comply with
the state's Sunshine Laws and make that agenda
information public beforehand as required.
Not once.

Not on the city's website and not on the printed agendas.

Hm-m-m... the city manager, police chief and fire chief
all being re-hired without any input from Hallandale
Beach citizens?

Yes, because the mayor and city manger wanted it done
that way, and City Attorney David Jove just winked at
that insult to Hallandale Beach citizens like he has so many
times before over the years.

This essay below by Sara Case is what the Balance Sheet
Online
wrote about Hollywood's budget situation back on
June 26th.
--------------
http://www.balancesheetonline.com/money.htm

Hollywood Budget: A Stone Unturned

-----------------

SPECIAL MEETING (Supporting Docs)

CITY COMMISSION, CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH

CITY HALL, ROOM 257

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2009 10:00 AM

1. CALL TO ORDER

2. ROLL CALL

3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

4. OVERVIEW OF THE PROPOSED FY 2009-2010 BUDGET

5. CITY COMMISSION REVIEW OF THE PROPOSED FY 2009-2010 BUDGET

A. MAJOR EXPENDITURES BY CATEGORY

1. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (See Capital Improvement Tab)

2. GENERAL FUND (See Expenditures Tab)

3. TRANSPORTATION FUND

4. SANITATION FUND

5. CEMETERY FUND

6. WATER FUND

7. STORMWATER FUND

8. SEWER FUND

9. OVERVIEW OF LANDSCAPING PROJECTS, VEHICLE REPLACEMENT REQUESTS, AND COMPUTERIZATION REQUESTS

B. REVENUES

1. REVENUE PROPOSALS & NEW REVENUES (See Revenue Facts Tab)

C. GOLDEN ISLES SAFE NEIGHBORHOOD DISTRICT (See Expenditures Tab)

(Including Revenues) (See Revenue Detail Tab)

TO BE HEARD IN CONJUNCTION WITH GOLDEN ISLES SAFE NEIGHBORHOOD DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING ITEM #3.A.

D. THREE ISLANDS SAFE NEIGHBORHOOD DISTRICT (See Expenditures Tab)

(Including Revenues) (See Revenue Detail Tab)

TO BE HEARD IN CONJUNCTION WITH THREE ISLANDS SAFE NEIGHBORHOOD DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING ITEM #3.A.

E. COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY (See Expenditures Tab)

(Including Revenues) (See Revenue Detail Tab)

TO BE HEARD IN CONJUNCTION WITH HALLANDALE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING ITEM #3.A.

F. BUDGET NOTES (See Budget Notes Tab)

6. REAPPROPRIATIONS OF FY 2008-2009 FUNDS (See Reappropriations Tab)

7. BUDGET AGENDA

A. Discussion of Sanitation Division (Staff: Director, Public Works) (See Backup) (Staff Report)

B. Discussion of the Property and Grounds Maintenance Division (Staff: Director, Public Works) (See Backup) (Staff Report)

C. Discussion of City Web Streaming (Staff: Director, Information Technology) (See Backup) (Staff Report)

D. Discussion of Aquatics Division (Staff: Director, Parks and Recreation) (See Backup) (Staff Report)

E. Discussion of Group Medical and Dental Coverage for FY 2009-2010 (Staff: Director, Personnel)(See Backup) (Staff Report)

F. Discussion of City Programs (City Manager) (See Backup) (Staff Report)

G. Discussion of the City Commission Summer Meeting Schedule(City Manager)(See Backup) (Staff Report)

8. PUBLIC HEARINGS

A. An Ordinance of the City of Hallandale Beach, Florida Pertaining to Public Health and Safety; Amending Chapter 14 "Minimum Property Maintenance and Occupancy Code" by Creating Article IV, "Lot Maintenance and Clean Up" in Order to Require the Clean-up of Property Under Certain Conditions; Providing the Purpose and Intent of the Revision Providing Definitions; Declaring Certain Conditions on Lots, Parcels, and Tracts Within the City Boundaries to be a Nuisance; Prohibiting the Accumulation of Trash, Junk, or Debris, Living and Nonliving Plant Material, and Stagnant Water; Prohibiting the Excessive Growth of Grass, Weeds, Brush, and Other Overgrowth; Prohibiting the Keeping of Fill on Property that Results in Certain Conditions; Prohibiting Certain Conditions that Constitute an Imminent Threat to Public Health; Authorizing the City to Undertake Immediate Abatement and Remedy of Imminent Public-Health Threats; Providing for Enforcement of Violations; Requiring Notices to Owners and, if Applicable, Agents, Custodians, Lessees, and Occupants of Property in Violation of this Article; Providing for Appeals of Violation Notices; Authorizing the Imposition and Levy of Special Assessments if Costs are Incurred by the City and not Reimbursed by the Property Owner and, if Applicable, the Property Agent, Custodian, Lessee, or Occupant; Requiring Notices of Assessment; Creating Assessments for the Cost of Lot Clean-up; Establishing the City as a Special Assessment District; Authorizing the Levy of Non-Ad Valorem Assessment in Connection with Violations of this Article; Providing for Collection of Non-Ad Valorem Assessments; Authorizing an Agreement with the Broward County Property Appraiser and Tax Collector; Authorizing and Requiring the Adoption of a Resolution Regarding the City's Use of the Uniform Method of Collecting Non-Ad Valorem Assessments; Providing for Annual Non-Ad Valorem Assessment Rolls; Providing Transition Provisions and Ratifying Assessments to Recover Costs Incurred by the City to Remedy Violations Prior to the Ordinance's Enactment; Repealing all Ordinances Inconsistent with this Ordinance; Providing for Severability; Providing and Effective Date. (First Reading) (Staff: Director, Development Services) (See Backup) (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)

9. DISCUSSION OF DONATIONS TO CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS

A. Discussion of Donations to Charitable Organizations (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)

10. PERFORMANCE REVIEW OF EMPLOYEES HIRED BY THE CITY COMMISSION

HB Mayor Joy Cooper's faltering damage-control of budget facts while unelected Mike Good giveth and taketh from HB taxpayers. Mostly taketh!

July 3, 2009 photo by South Beach Hoosier © 2012 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved

Below the Hallandale Beach Water Tower on State Road A1A/Ocean Drive, on the south side (right) is the "Community Center" that HB City Hall, thru their gross incompetency, has made impossible for HB citizen taxpayers to use now for 105 weeks and counting, as of August 22, 2009.
And where's the American flag on the Fourth of July weekend? 

Missing in action as it has been for months!


July 3, 2009 photo by South Beach Hoosier  © 2012 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved

This building underneath the city's iconic Water Tower, just steps from both the Atlantic Ocean and State Road A1A, was turned over to the City of Hallandale Beach on August 3rd, 2007, and yet STILL remains OFF-LIMITS to everyday HB citizens, taxpayers and residents, the true "owners" of the building, TWO YEARS later.
There has STILL not been a single public open forum held by the city to gauge how citizens want to utilize it best.

Instead, the building remains a veritable clubhouse for the cronies and pals of HB City Hall's elected officials and employees.July 3, 2009 photo by South Beach Hoosier  © 2012 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved


Below, a letter of mine that made the rounds on Monday 
to myriad in-boxes all over Hallandale Beach and media in-boxes all over South Florida.
------------------------------
Monday August 24th, 2009
8:25 p.m.

Fellow Hallandale Beach citizen taxpayers, once again, un-elected Mike Good is making deals and not just spending money poorly, as is his usual wont, but literally giving it away like he's a benevolent free-spending Santa Claus with an unlimited expense account.
And you're paying!
Without the proper amount of HB City Commission input or scrutiny or the public being told about it until after-the-fact.

And to show how serious City Manager Good is about public safety, especially on weekends when most HB residents use their boats -and he's back home with his family in Cooper City- he is proposing to effectively kill the HB Marine Patrol for lack of money, even though
that amount is actually LESS than the amount that he is giving away in his role as Santa Claus.

Giving away city funds to individuals whom the general public not only doesn't know, but who lacked even the common sense, class or gumption to show-up in person at HB City Hall before the City Commission and public to make their case.
Yes, yet another Mike Good back-door deal, to the tune of $25K.
And now, Mayor Joy Cooper, for the first time as as mayor, is asking the public to come to
her house Tuesday night to talk about the city's budget?

Even before you consider the sad-but-inescapable fact that an unelected person like Good and his staff and not the elected (Rubber Stamp) City Commission are driving the whole process, ask yourself this obvious question:
Why is Mayor Cooper inviting the public to come to her house at night, when she's someone who has personally always argued for keeping City Commission meetings in the day, even though common sense informs us that more citizens, taxpayers and residents could attend and participate if all the proceedings were held at night?
(So, having wasted months and months this year, when is the ONE-and-ONLY public budget workshop? During the day, of course.)
The sad but obvious answer is because Mayor Cooper is a thin-skinned hypocrite of the worst sort, which is the sort that NEVER EVER learns from history and experience, and almost always makes bad problems worse because she is unable to admit that she might've been wrong in the first place.
Hubris.

Consider OUR own collective history with her the past few years, where her illogical mis-steps, mis-statements and false assertions could literally fill a book.
(Or a blog!)

Aren't the pages of recent HB history replete with examples upon examples where she's shown that she doesn't care what actual HB citizens and residents think, as long as her close pals, cronies and supporters around the city, county and state -and at the local and state League of Cities- think she's doing a good job.

It's the appearance she's concerned with, not the actual results.

If you don't think her getting her own new office at City Hall for just under $4,000 back in January, when there wasn't anything physically wrong with her old one, wasn't proof, then why don't you ask her some time why she and her cohorts are keeping it a secret?

Her city hall is so incompetent that more than SEVEN MONTHS later, her name STILL does not appear on the building directory when you walk in downstairs.


These are the same geniuses I remind you, who left former State Senator Steve Geller's name on the directory for SEVEN MONTHS after Eleanor Sobel had been elected, and made it her district office, too.
Good luck to the hapless constituent looking for her office.

But to be fair, though it took HB City Hall employees over seven months to actually put Sobel's name on the directory, they did so.
One month before Sobel & Company moved out!


Of course, if Sobel and her staff were actually paying any attention to genuine constituent concerns instead of the frivolous ones she's been consumed with so far -tanning beds, tattoos and Shylock- something they've not seemed esp. keen on doing, it would seem, they'd have noticed it right away, the same way that you and I have, since the public HAS to walk right by it in order to get into the building.

But because the Cooper & Good tag-team don't ever learn from history or pay any attention to what's actually going on around them, there's still nothing on the directory about Joy Cooper new office.
Sh-h-h!! 

Top Secret!!
(Personally, I've got plenty of photos of all this chronic HB City Hall incompetence since Election Day, but you may want to snap a shot of your own on Wednesday on your way in.)


But if you think spending tax dollars for a new City Hall office for Joy Cooper when she doesn't really need a new one seems like small potatoes, consider for a moment the logic of ALL FIVE members of the City Commission of a town of under 38,000 going to Orlando on the taxpayers' dime two weeks ago, for the recent League of Cities confab,
There's your HB City Commission at work.

But if you think that's just too 'inside baseball,' let me return to one of my favorite and most obvious examples of the collective longstanding failure of the Cooper, Good & the Rubber Stamp Crew: the so-called "community center" under the HB Water Tower on A1A and Hallandale Beach Blvd..
The one that I've told you about so many times in emails and on my blog -complete with photos- that you and haven't been able to use for over two years now,

To quote myself, imagine what sort of hoops land-locked South Florida cities like Pembroke Pines, Coral Gables, Hialeah or Miramar would jump thru in order to have a nice two-story public building for their residents, just steps from the beach?
That they didn't have to pay for.I have and so have you.

Yet here in Hallandale Beach, under Cooper, Good & the Rubber Stamp Crew, we've had such a PUBLIC building for 105 weeks and counting.

You all know from the dozens and dozens of photos I've taken of it over the two-plus years, there is NOT now nor has there ever been so much as a sign anywhere on the building telling you that it
a.) belongs to the citizens of this city, or,
b.) WHEN it will be open for use by taxpayers like you and I, not just used by the PALs and cronies of Hallandale Beach City Hall, who think they're VIPs..

These are all things that I've told the city manger and his staff, in person, many times over the years, including LAST YEAR'S budget meeting..

Cooper's rank hypocrisy at asking the public to come over to her house Tuesday night, in an obvious PR stunt, when she's the person who has continually sleepwalked for months as other South Florida communities have made good faith efforts to host numerous public budget meetings involving their citizens and residents, knowing full well when the legal deadline is, could hardly be more self-evident.

Instead, Cooper chose to do NOTHING and took the summer off.

Now, with a deadline breathing down upon the city, she wants to invite you over so she can try to finesse you.
Beware, for if you let her, she may try to wave a magic wand over you when you're not paying attention so she can erase your common sense, curiosity and sense of propriety about how things are supposed to be done in a representative democracy that's actually accountable to the people.

Well, you can go to chez Cooper Tuesday night if you wish, but I'd really be remiss if I didn't advise you that I've already seen this movie before, a few times, actually, so let me give this SPOILER ALERT.

The shallow, thin-skinned witch and her coterie of dim-witted flying monkeys holed-up in their redoubt will NEVER ever admit they're wrong, and will only use the time to verbally attack the very people who HAVE actually been paying attention, as they have so many times before.

Yes, attack the very people who have been telling their friends and neighbors the true facts about what Cooper & Co. have been doing at HB City Hall and environs .
Or NOT doing.So, all these various elements, plus the mayor's strange attempt to engage in damage-control,
promise to make Wednesday a day to remember in Hallandale Beach.

Please make plans NOW to be there in person to speak your mind and bear witness to what
happens when the truth finally comes out, as it surely will.

And don't forget to bring as many of your friends as possible, along with your camera
or camcorder, too.


FYI: In the emails below, I've deleted some un-necessary graphics and made all the fonts the same so it would be more compact and, hopefully, easier to read.
Otherwise, it's verbatim.
And still hard to believe -but all-too-true.
----------------
From: Barry Webber
Subject: Hallandale Beach Marine Patrol
To: "Joy Cooper" <JoyCooper@aol.com>, "Bill Julian" <wjulian@hallandalebeachfl.gov

>, "Keith London" <bikerguy69@bellsouth.net>, "Dottie Ross" <dross@hallandalebeachfl.gov>, onevision4life@aol.com
Cc: "Mike Good" Office@hallandalebeachfl.gov>, "Tom Magill" office@hallandalebeachfl.gov>
Date: Thursday, August 20, 2009, 10:06 PM

Dear Mayor and Commissioners,
I have read the summary memorandum of the proposed 2009-2010 Fiscal Year Budget submitted by the City Manager's Office. I am once again extremely disappointed to see that they recommend elimination of the Marine Patrol. The recommendation is located in the first paragraph of page 6 of the document. I believe the recommendation is based upon incorrect information as well as a lack of historical perspective which I want to bring to your attention and to the attention of the City Manager.
The memorandum states that "for the past several years the Police Department has operated a Marine Patrol with the assistance of a County-funded grant". In fact the City has participated in the grant program every year since the programs inception in 1994. The program was started fifteen years ago for the purpose of ensuring that the entire Intracoastal Waterway throughout Broward County would have sufficient law enforcement officers on the water to protect the public safety. At the time of the commencement of the program in 1994 the City did not have a Marine Patrol. The City applied for a grant for the purchase of the boat to be used for this purpose. The City was awarded a grant for the purchase of the boat and started it's participation in the program. It has applied for and received funds to operate the boat on weekends and some evenings, every year since that time, including applying for a grant for the 2009-2010 Fiscal Year. In this years application the City acknowledged that over the years since 1994 it has received funds for the purchase of the following equipment.
1) 23 foot Intrepid vessel
2) Twin 150 hp 1997 OMC engines
3) Twin 150 hp 1999 OMC engines
4) Twin 150 hp 2003 Yamaha engines
5) Construction of a boat dock with a boat lift
6) Construction of a Marine Storage Facility
7) Panasonic laptop computer which is currently used for warrant and registration queries

There have been a great deal of funds awarded to the City recognizing the importance of this public safety issue. Every single portion of the Intracoastal Waterway is patrolled by various law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction over their portion of the waterway. If the City of Hallandale Beach abandons it's waterways as proposed it will be the only portion of the waterway in all of Broward County which will have absolutely no law enforcement presence.

The budget memorandum states that the total cost to operate the Marine Patrol is $78,665.19 of which $39,680.00 is reimbursed by the County and the City expends $38,985.19. The City Managers office was apparently given inaccurate information. According to the Broward County department that administers the grant, the amount awarded to the City for the 2009-2010 Fiscal Year is $52,416.00, not $39,680.00. I am sure that you will see that as unexpected good news, as the actual cost to the City will not be $38,985.19 as thought, but will actually be only $26,249.19 which is approximately the same cost as last year. The actual cost to the city will be $12,736.00 less than was thought. Since the grant is paying double what the City is paying for this important public safety service, the city will be losing the right to receive two dollars for every dollar it spends. I fail to see how this makes economic sense in this very difficult budget year. I can't imagine any situation where the City gets more bang for the buck for funds expended for a very significant public service to insure the public safety.
The memorandum states that only two citations were issued in this fiscal year. I would bring the following to your attention concerning this issue.

1) Issuing citations is not the purpose of the patrol. The purpose of the patrol was articulated very well in the City's grant application. In the application which covers the City's portion of the waterway, which is described as Zone "X", the City stated the following: "High visibility in Zone "X" will serve as a deterrent to speeders and other violators. Continuous public contact, including boating inspections, educates the public and provides for a safer boating environment".
2) There is no question that City could write a great many citations. This is apparent to anyone who spends any time observing the Intracoastal Waterway. The Police Department however, knows their purpose is to discourage bad boating behavior and educate the boaters.
3) As part of the City's application they are required to provide information as to their activities on the water during the last full fiscal year. The City represented the following information on their application for the fiscal year 2007/2008.
PUBLIC CONTACTS --------------1,410
SAFETY INSPECTIONS -------- 74
WARNINGS--------------------------- 250
BOAT ACCIDENTS ---------------- 0
CITATIONS --------------------------- 18
Obviously they are a very active unit and a very important presence on the water in this city.
4) Citations issued on the Intracoastal Waterway to enforce state statutes do not provide revenue to the City. The fines that are paid, are paid to the State of Florida. The EMLEG grant program was never set up to provide revenue from citations. It was created to assist law enforcement in providing for the public safety.
Finally, the memorandum states that the boat is in need of replacement. Just last year, the Sergeant that is in charge of the Marine Patrol stated at a meeting of the City's Marine Advisory Board that the boat was in good condition and was only in need of cosmetic work. The engines were also operating well for the boats mission. There is no reason to believe that the boat went from good condition to needing replacement in less than one year.
The City of Hallandale Beach has a responsibility to protect it's citizens and the boating public traveling through the City. I know that each one of you takes this responsibility very seriously and works hard to protect your residents. I would urge you to fulfill this responsibility and not leave the City's waterways totally unprotected. Please don't leave the waterfront residences of your citizens totally unprotected from water born criminal activity. Please don't throw away over $52,000.00 in this critical budget year and please do not tell your residents that they are not entitled to protection by their police department. The benefits provided by the Marine Patrol are great, the cost is small. I would urge you to provide for the Marine Patrol in the 2009-2010 budget.
I would be happy to discuss any of these issues with you. My numbers are listed below.
Sincerely,
Barry Webber

Michael is the person behind the fact-based website, Change Hallandale Beach

http://changehallandale.com/ and the person who sent me the letter that Mayor Cooper was circulating

From: Michael Butler

Date: August 24, 2009 1:43:26 PM EDT

once again she's representing the city manager and his staff, not the residents.
if there have been so many opportunities to discuss the budget, why then does she have to have something at her private home?
why isn't this a public meeting?
why wasn't adequate discussion and time provided by the city at the official budget
workshop?
and if the city commission takes July off, then why wasn't the first budget workshop
scheduled earlier in August instead of the last week?
why is her meeting scheduled in the evening and not during the day like the official
workshops, which should be in the evening as well?
speaking of misleading the residents, why were Good's numbers wrong on the
marine patrol?
if the budget issues is so important, then why has she scheduled this meeting with
ONE DAY'S NOTICE?
NOW she decides the budget is important enough to have a meeting at her private home?



Begin forwarded message:


Date: August 24, 2009 1:09:14 PM EDT
Subject: (no subject)


Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I have been writing articles on a weekly basis to keep everyone informed. Regretfully again Commissioner London has been sending out information that is not 1000% factual and are lies about commission actions.
This in not the time for politics it is time for work.
Since the budget is such an important issue in deciding our quality of life have decided to host a meeting at my home to listen to your concerns, questions and ideas.
301 Holiday Drive
from 5:30 to 6:30 PM
Everyone is welcomed this is not a formal meeting of the commission just a open forum
Please let me know if you will be attending so I can plan accordingly.
Budget workshops are scheduled for two days. Not one.
The discussion will be on the "CITY MANAGER'S PROPOSED BUDGET" The commission will work on the budget makes changes. The commission has had the proposed budget transmittal letter since Friday August 7th. This lays out the major changes and proposed cuts. After the commission workshops the budget then is published for full review. The budget then is reviewed at two public hearings in September.The Final Budget will not be adopted until Sept 24th, a month from today.
The tentative tax rate was set on June 17th which is and increase. This something that I have also written about.
The one good thing that he has done is sent out the budget transmittal letter for your review.
There is only ONE budget workshop scheduled for the commissioners and citizens to review the budget in detail, and it occurs on Wednesday August 26th 2009. EVERY other municipality has already had the multiple meetings and budget workshops. While some may imply that previous meetings included budget review discussions, its laughable to assert that a budget was reviewed before it was available. In addition, to date, there have been NO public notices of the budget workshop in either the Miami Herald or the Sun-Sentinel.
Many cities take off in August, we take off in July . The suggestion that there has been any negligence on this matter is mislleading to you the residents and lying. It is also frankly an insult to our staff that has worked tirelessly over the months facing up to 25 layoffs and working to make cuts while preserving basic services .
As always please contact me at anytime with your questions and concerns!
Warm regards! Joy
----------------------------------

Caution: facts ahead!
As you read this email from Commissioner Keith London to some of the city's citizens
and residents,
keep in mind that the absurd situations he describes, which I've been a
witness to and described here in this space, is what passes for normal at Hallandale
Beach City Hall under Mayor Joy Cooper and City Manager Mike Good.


Wrap up of the City of Hallandale Beach City Commission Agenda for Wednesday, August 19, 2009 1:30 PM Meeting


London, Keith <KLondon@hallandalebeachfl.gov> Mon, Aug 24, 2009 at 8:18 AM

To: "London, Keith" <KLondon@hallandalebeachfl.gov>

Everyone,

The following is an update of the agenda items and other issues that were discussed at the City of Hallandale Beach Commission Meeting held Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 1:30 P.M.

Highlights of this Wrap-Up
  • Commission approves a 4 month lease of a city-owned property for $10. The subject was not on the Agenda, nor was any backup provided.
  • Mike Good gives $25,000 of your tax dollars, without commission discussion or input.
  • Follow up from the August 5, 2009 Commission meeting on Mike Good spending $300,000.with nothing in writing (see very bottom of this wrap up).


Please remember to visit www.changehallandale.com for the latest updates on the city.
New update on the City’s purchase of the property at 501 NW 1st Ave.

REGULAR AGENDA
CITY COMMISSION, CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2009 1:30 PM
1. CALL TO ORDER
5. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (to be heard at 1:30 P.M.)
History was made when the commission waited over 10 minutes for me to return to chamber from being sick for a vote on a 501 NW 1stAve (this was previously Commissioner Sanders' property, purchased by the City for $235,000).
He Here are some of the facts:
· The item was not on the agenda and NO backup material or documentation was provided.
· There was neither public notice nor a competitive bid made for the $10 lease for a 4 month term, which commenced on May 21, 2009.
· The lessee was given a open ended lease with no expiration date for the same terms.
· The lessee was given $25,000, without public discussion, by Mike Good.
o I want to note here that the City Commission has given the City Manager the authority to spend up to $50,000 without Commission approval. This authority is in addition to the City Manager's authority to spend up to $200,000 per unit for structures, without Commission approval.
· The operator is ZAMAR OF MINISTRY AND PERFORMING ARTS, INC. not Zamar School of Performing Arts Inc. as is listed on the lease.
· The operator’s license is inactive with the State of Florida Division of Corporations see document N96000002475.
· This is the same property purchased from Commissioner Sanders for more than the appraised value, with no back up provided, and never appearing as a noticed agenda item.
· The property was acquired in February 2009 for future affordable housing. Six months later we are leasing the property to a corporation whose license is inactive with the State of Florida (see attachment at bottom of email)
· Passed 5:0. It has been my personal policy to never vote on anything without being given proper notice and appropriate backup. I restated my policy during this vote. But on the surface, this appeared to be a good cause. However, with a little personal research into the background,I've determined my vote was a mistake, and in future I will stick with my policy. (I am continually surprised how little basic research is conducted by this City Manager before approving large sums of taxpayer dollars).
6. CONSENT AGENDA
A. Approval of Minutes - Regular Meeting of August 5, 2009
B.
  • Vice Mayor Julian required an explanation of a Florida Statue (F.S. 286) because he did understand the intricacies regarding a commissioner and their voting requirements. He required an explanation regarding the difference between a conflict of interest, a recusal, and being absent from the room while a vote is taking place. The Assistant City Attorney, Melissa Anderson, provided a quote from the statue as well as a citing from a precedent setting case, but provided no written material. At the conclusion of the meeting I asked for a written copy of the Statue she quoted and was informed that it would take a week to produce (see email below). How this information that was cited verbatim at the meeting and then possibly take a week to produce is mindboggling.
----- Original Message -----
From: Good, Mike
To: London, Keith
Sent: Thu Aug 20 11:38:29 2009
Subject: RE: CR Legal Statue For Minutes and Case study 081909

Good morning Commissioner London,



Your request has been assigned a CR#140/09, with a suspense date for a response to my office of August 27, 2009. As always, should you have any further questions, do not hesitate to give me a call.



City Manager Mike Good



From: London, Keith
Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 4:50 PM
To: Good, Mike; Rafols, Nydia M; Jove, David
Cc: 'londonshow@bellsouth.net'
Subject: CR Legal Statue For Minutes and Case study 081909
Importance: High



Commissioner Request (CR) For Florida Statue and legal case Assistant City Attorney Melisa Anderson referred to at the City of Hallandale Beach commission meeting today 081909



Mike Good,



Please provide me with a copy of the Florida Statue (section and subsection) that Assistant City Attorney Melisa Anderson referred to at the City of Hallandale Beach commission meeting today August 19, 2009; also provide the president setting Hallandale Beach case she referenced.



Please include this complete email in my Commissioner Request and provide me with a CR number to track this request.



Thank you,



Commissioner Keith S. London
7. CITY BUSINESS (Voting on Items Deferred to Evening Consent Agenda to be Heard at 7:15 P.M.)
Passed 5:0
A. Presentation by PFM Asset Management, LLC for the Investment Results for Surplus Funds for the Period April 1, 2009 through June 30, 2009.


B. Presentation by Principal Financial Group of the Quarterly Results of the General Employees and Professional/Management Pension Plans for the Period April 1, 2009 through June 30, 2009.


C. Consideration of City Nominations for Broward Pioneer Days
Passed 5:0
D. Discussion of Creating an Abandoned Real Property Ordinance
  • Staff will research the issue and bring back information during the budget workshop
Passed 5:0
8. COMMISSIONER REPORTS
9. OTHER
10. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (to be heard at 7:00 P.M.)
None
12. PUBLIC HEARINGS (to be heard at 7:30 P.M.)
A. An Ordinance of the City of Hallandale Beach, Florida, Approving and Authorizing the Lease of up to a 90,000 Square Foot Portion of City Owned Property to Broward County for Library Purposes, Said Property Described as: All of Hallandale Lawn, According to the Plat Thereof, Recorded in Plat Book 7, Page 32 of the Public Records of Broward County, Florida, and Lot 1 and Lot 4, in Block 11 of the Subdivision 27, Township 51 South, Range 43 East, According to the Plat Thereof, Recorded in Plat Book "B", Page 13, of the Public Records of Dade County, Florida, and including Lots 11-15 Block 3 of the Unrecorded Plat of Federal Park Sub-Division, Said Property Commonly Being Known as the "Annenberg Tract,"
The following are some of the highlights of the discussion pertaining to this topic:
· The building is owned by the City and the County operates the facility
· Being part of a county system has many advantages (pick up and drop off of material at any location)
· This item (lease) will be on the Broward County Commission Agenda on Wednesday, September 2, 2009
· I requested more computer stations at the library to decrease wait time
· I requested the building have WIFI capabilities for those individuals with their own computers
· I requested the contract provide for a minimum amount of hours the library stays open or the contract becomes void
· I requested the library not close for more than 30-60-90 days or the contract becomes void
· This item is scheduled to be heard for a second reading next month and I hope to support the continuation of the county system with some of the suggestions incorporated into the final version of the contract
Passed 5:0

  • Follow up from the August 5, 2009 Commission meeting on Mike Good spending $300,000.00 with nothing in writing (see very bottom of this wrap up).
  • Please see the information and exchange of communication between myself and Mike Good with regards to this topic
  • I do NOT support spending $300,000 of the residents/taxpayers money without any written documentation and due diligence.

REGULAR AGENDA
CITY COMMISSION, CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 05, 2009 10:00 AM



B. Consideration of Approval to Apply for Florida Department of Transportation County Incentive Grant Program Matching grant funding is $300,000.00
· This is funding for the construction/continuation of the SE 2nd Hibiscus roadway behind the FPL substation which continues behind the 1250 Building and then runs parallel to East Hallandale Beach Blvd. all the way to the entrance to Gulfstream on East Hallandale Beach Blvd.
· In order for this project to become a reality, Gulfstream would have to give us land.
· Mike Good has made CONTACT with Gulfstream but has NOTHING in WRITING and wants to spend $300,000.00 for a “maybe” at best.
· This is the issue where the Cooper and Good want to give away/swap the Golden Isles Tennis Center for land development (ultimately a 450-500 unit high-rise condominium development) on the Saint Matthews property.
Passed 4:1 London no
COMMISSIONER REQUEST
















REQUEST #128/09

DATE: August 10, 2009

TO: City Manager Mike Good
FROM: Commissioner Keith S. London

THRU: D. Mike Good, City Manager

The following information/action was requested by Commissioner Keith London as noted:

RE: Roads, SE 2nd Street/Hibiscus Street – Request for Written Documentation
Commissioner Request (CR) – SE 2nd/Hibiscus Street Request for Written Documentation/Repot 081009

Mike Good,

Please provide me with a detailed and documented written report describing your meetings with any and all of the individuals at Magna Entertainment Corporation (MEC) or associated with MEC as it pertains to the SE 2nd/Hibiscus Roadway.

This issue was discussed at the last (Wednesday, August 5, 2009) City of Hallandale Beach Commission meeting. You specifically mentioned you have met with Frank Stronach, Bill Murphy, and Don Cameron to discuss this issue.

Please include this complete email in my Commissioner Request and provide me with a CR number to track this request.

Thank you,

Commissioner Keith S. London

Please take the necessary steps to complete the request and submit a Summary Report to my office no later than August 18, 2009.





















DATE: August 10, 2009

TO: Commissioner Keith London

FROM: D. Mike Good, City Manager

< RE: Above Commission Request

Commissioner London,

As I have explained before, the above have been discussions not only with Mr. Stronach, Don Cameron, and Bill Murphy, but also with Father Quinn, representing the Archdiocese of Miami. There is no written documentation of these meetings.

This CR is now considered closed. City Manager Mike Good



Department Head Signature __________________________ Date _____________

Department Director/Staff Time to Complete:







< City Manager/Staff Time to Complete: 15 Minutes
**Time Certains are Provided as a Guide and May Not be Heard at the Time Specified**
I welcome and will gladly add those individuals who may not currently be included on my email distribution lists. Please feel free to forward those email addresses and contact information to me.

Thanks, and I look forward to seeing you at the next Commission meeting.

Best Regards,

Commissioner Keith S. London
954-457-1320 Office
954-494-3182 Cell

For all you who are unable to physically attend and participate at the City Commission meetings, these meetings are replayed on Comcast Channel 78 on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday @ 12:00 P.M. and Mondays and Wednesdays @ 6:00 P.M.

You are always welcome to contact me with questions or suggestions and I encourage you to contact the rest of the City Commission with your questions or comments.


Other good contact information:








Florida Department of State - Division of Corporations www.sunbiz.org Florida State Flag
Detail by Entity Name
Florida Non Profit Corporation

ZAMAR OF MINISTRY AND PERFORMING ARTS, INC.

Filing Information

Document Number N96000002475
FEI/EIN Number NONE
Date Filed 05/09/1996
State FL
Status INACTIVE
Last Event ADMIN DISSOLUTION FOR ANNUAL REPORT
Event Date Filed 09/26/1997
Event Effective Date NONE


Principal Address

2201 SW 42ND AVE
HOLLYWOOD FL 33023


Mailing Address

2201 SW 42ND AVE
HOLLYWOOD FL 33023


Registered Agent Name & Address

BROWN, DEBORAH R
712 NW 9TH CT
HALLANDALE FL 33009 US


Officer/Director Detail

Name & Address

Title D

BROWN, DEBORAH R
712 NW 9TH CT
HALLANDALE FL 33009


Title D

JACKSON, JOSEPH
708 NW 9TH CT
HALLANDALE FL 33009


Title D

LAMPKIN, LOWELL
401 NW 2ND AVE
HALLANDALE FL 33009


Title D

SCOTT, RANDY
2848 SW 4TH ST
FT LAUDERDALE FL


Title D

BROWN, EVELYN
657 NW 9TH CT
HALLANDALE FL 33009


Title D

SIMS, INEZ
4431 NW 13TH ST
FT LAUDERDALE FL


Annual Reports

No Annual Reports Filed

Document Images