It's a damn shame that FL House Rep. Joe Gibbons will now have to go to Tallahassee to do his job instead of... avoiding South Florida reporters armed with 'inconvenient facts; Florida redistricting meets Broward County Commission Seat 1 race

Fla. judge orders special session to redraw state congressional map: http://t.co/T5ieDM9pxI | Keep up with @NakedPoliticsFL
— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) August 1, 2014

It's a damn shame that FL House Rep. Joe Gibbons will now have to go to Tallahassee to do his job instead of... avoiding South Florida reporters armed with 'inconvenient facts' in his continuing attempt to explain away his dreadful record of insignificance in Tallahassee, and longstanding track record of perpetually looking the other way at what was taking place in his supposed "home" of Hallandale Beach under the direction of his friend Mayor Joy Cooper, especially as it relates to the misuse of the city's CRA,with her directing ill-founded schemes that made it an ATM for her political cronies and pals.

When the concerned citizenry of HB publicly proclaimed its genuine desire in 2013 for JLAC to perform an independent audit that would investigate where all the millions in CRA dollars went over the recent past, with Joy Cooper deciding where the money went, as I've written here many times, what did Joe Gibbons do?Nada!

It's also a shame that as soon as the FL House does what they need to do in order to meet the judge's order, regardless of how long it actually takes, Gibbons will inevitably say that there's just "not enough time" left for a no-holds-barred debate with Beam Furr in the HB/Hollywood area, a debate the public wants 

PRIOR to the primary for the Broward County Comm. District 1 seat.

You don't have to be as prescient as me or as familiar with Gibbons' M.O to know that cold, hard facts are NOT and have never been Gibbons' best friends.

Instead, Gibbons will no doubt continue playing the role of elusive rabbit to Furr's measured, fact-based issues campaign that actually compares and contrasts their records.

As it happens, I will have a nice fact-filled blog post next week on the issue of ethics and Joe Gibbons, and as you can imagine, it will deal with his lack of them, even when dealing with the federal government.

Who lies to the feds about something that's so easy to check on? Guess!

It'll feature irrefutable facts and a back-story that you have never read or heard about before.

Yes, think of it as my primary campaign 'contribution.' :-)

Sandbagged! Independent audit of Hallandale Beach CRA was in offing by Florida JLAC, but Hallandale Beach's beleaguered citizens/taxpayers get stabbed in the back by Eleanor Sobel, Oscar Braynon II, Joe Gibbons, Shevrin Jones and Barbara Sharief. Why? To help HB mayor Joy Cooper preserve her facade that everything here is okay; @mayorcooper

Hallandale Beach Municipal Complex, November 19, 2013 photo by South Beach Hoosier. © 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved 

Sandbagged! Independent audit of Hallandale Beach CRA was in offing by Florida JLAC, but Hallandale Beach's beleaguered citizens/taxpayers get stabbed in the back by FL state Senators Eleanor Sobel & Oscar Braynon III, FL state Reps. Joe Gibbons & Shevrin Jones and Broward County Comm. Barbara Sharief.

Why? To help Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper preserve her facade that everything her is okay, @MayorCooper. 
You know, the mayor with the twitter account that is nothing but her, her, her, her -plus mindless govt. press releases, including many that have nothing to do with this city or county or state. 
See for yourself: https://twitter.com/MayorCooper 

They put a higher price on protecting Mayor Joy Cooper's political flank than actually helping the community -their constituents- find out where and how the $80 Million REALLY was spent. 
The very Hallandale Beach CRA that Broward IG labeled guilty of "gross mismanagement" with Joy Cooper in charge. 

Thanks to the five of these useless elected officials, we may never know. 
But we WON'T FORGET their betrayal of Hallandale Beach's residents, taxpayers and small business owners when next elections roll around next august and November.
No, we definitely WON'T forget and we will make sure that the public and the press forget, either. 
And no, this Thanksgiving weekend, we are NOT thankful for these turkeys.

More below the articles. 

Two senators short-circuit Legislature’s plan to audit troubled Hallandale Beach CRA 

By Willliam Gjebre, BrowardBulldog.org 

November 26, 2013 AT 6:13 AM

A Florida Legislature’s joint auditing committee is dropping its inquiry of Hallandale Beach’s questionable use of local redevelopment funds at the urging of two area state senators, one a long-time acquaintance of Mayor Joy Cooper.

Democratic Senators Eleanor Sobel and Oscar Braynon II, representing portions of Hallandale Beach, could not be reached for comment, despite repeated calls, to elaborate on a letter they signed recommending against a state audit or any action related to the controversial city spending of Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) funds.

Read the rest of the article at:

http://www.browardbulldog.org/2013/11/two-senators-short-circuit-legislatures-plan-to-audit-troubled-hallandale-beach-cra/

As for the below, who even knew that turkeys like our mayor could dream, much less, of ghosts? 

South Florida Sun-Sentinel  
"Ghost' of Keith London haunts Mayor Cooper  
By Brittany Wallman  
November 26, 2013 2:14 PM EST
sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/broward-politics-blog/sfl-commissioner-lazarow-mayor-cooper-mix-it-up-20131126,0,7873057.story 

Not mentioned above but equally as guilty of denying citizens the honesty they deserve is Broward County District 8 Commissioner Barbara Sharief.

Map showing how HB is divided at FEC Railroad tracks, with everything west of Dixie Highway in Sharief's District 8 and everything east in Sue Gunzburger's District 6.

http://bcgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/OnePane/basicviewer/index.html?appid=c7f7450dc0b147d4b4b9526d9b1f93e7

WHERE exactly has she been the past two years on this very important issue to all of us?

A woman who is supposed to represent Hallandale Beach's residents' best interests but who has done just about everything but the past three years?

The very woman whose Broward County Comm. district was the HOME of the majority of the corruption, incompetency and unethical behavior directly tied to the HB CRA, where there was no accountability at HB City Hall under Mayor Cooper and her high-paid minions? 

Where was Comm. Barbara Sharief resolve to do the right thing?

Missing-in-action, just like Joe Gibbons, Shevrin Jones, Sobel & Braynon.

Barbara Sharief was and continues to be in hiding on this issue, refusing to respond to public calls for her to say or do something -anything.

I know this from first-hand experience because she and her staff have ignored my emails about this issue for the past two years, though I actually know much more about the HB CRA situation than she or her staff did -or Gibbons or Jones or Braynon- and knew things that as many of you regular readers know, that even the Broward IG hadn't yet learned at the time.

A continued willingness to suspend reality and ignore inconvenient and troubling facts and the people who will tell you the truth is NOT a good sign in an elected official, and is actually proof that Barbara Sharief is NOT a genuine leader by any stretch of the imagination as most of us know the word.

Well, when you know that Sharief didn't even show-up at the June 4th County Commission meeting where the issue was brought-up, you could see that she wanted no part of being on the right side of financial accountability and ethics.
Months later, given her own financial and ethical situation, we see the double irony of that and wonder if her absence was even more revealing than we first thought.

Trust me, those inconvenient facts WON'T be forgotten as she runs for re-election next year, having to explain to the news media and area residents and voters why she so completely and willingly abandoned her own constituents, just like the power-craven and egotistical Sobel, the useless and high-living Jones, and the completely-invisible-in-HB Braynon, whom nobody has ever seen or knows from Adam.

As for Joe Gibbons, District 100 state rep. and former HB city commissioner of no particular distinction, who actually has the gall to run to replace term-limited Sue Gunzburger on the Broward County Commission for District 8 despite his sub-par performance and the fact that his wife and kids have NEVER lived here since he was married, the truth about Gibbons with respect to many ethical and policy issues has been known for years, despite the media's chronic inattention to detail.

Gibbons is only fooling himself if he thinks his recent stunt of showing-up at a HB City Comm. meeting for a few minutes when some kids are making a presentation -with their parents in the Chambers- and then splitting after they left, impressed anyone.

Gibbons can't change his stripes.

(And Gibbons is now so typecast by his abysmal track record in office that even the name, position and caliber of his supporters -and what they represent- are actually a big plus, almost a paid commercial for his opponent, former Hollywood City Comm. Beam Furr, who didn't run for re-election last year.)

Gibbons is both ineffectual and a carpetbagger, and a longtime apologist for the corrupt and incompetent status quo at HB City Hall that so thoroughly mis-served the public.

The very place he did nothing positive to change while he was there.

He is a knee-jerk in every respect that matters.

In case you those earlier recent blog posts of mine laying out the case or the predicate for better understanding these four characters ignoring what was happening with the millions miss-spent at the HB CRA, here they are for you in chron order:

Nov. 2:  http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2013/11/latest-news-re-hallandale-beach-cra.html

Oct. 18:  http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2013/10/where-has-hallandale-beach-cra-spent-80.html

Oct. 17: http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2013/10/instead-of-looking-out-for-you-and-your.html

Oct. 16:  http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2013/10/latest-on-curious-case-of-at-city-of.html

On Sunday at some point, I'll have much more here on the blog to say in detail about Comm. Barbara Sharief's own failure to lead on an issue of great and urgent concern to this 
often-neglected community, and look out for the best-interests of HB residents -me and my neighbors.

But I will tell you one thing right now and that is that based on my conversations with people around town and the county, I believe Sharief has not only long since lost the benefit of the doubt of any concerned and well-informed HB or Broward citizen who cares about the true facts and wants a better-run county, she has no chance of ever recapturing it.

That's gone for good.

I'll also have some news and facts about her that may surprise many of you.

Hallandale Beach's beleaguered citizens & taxpayers have a good day at meeting of Oversight Comm. of Broward's Inspector General, uniformly great actually, as Mayor Cooper's efforts at obfuscation and misdirection fall flat and backfire. Her name ends up being the one most-cited over two hours -and NOT in a good way. It was delicious!

From the p.o.v. of Hallandale Beach's beleaguered citizens & taxpayers, Friday morning's crucial meeting in downtown Fort Lauderdale of the Oversight Comm. of Broward's Inspector General was uniformly great, even when HB CRA Attorney Steven W. Zelkowitz spoke, since it's what Zelkowitz didn't say or couldn't admit -and that WAS mentioned by my friend and former HB Commissioner Keith London and myself- that was most telling.

Along with the comments of the Oversight Comm. members themselves and IG John Scott and his Chief Counsel, in what was the most open and fairly-run meeting I've ever been to in South Florida the past ten years.

(HB CRA Director Rosemond was also present, but did not speak publicly.)

Even though absent from the proceedings, Hallandale Beach's obnoxious, thin-skinned and anti-democratic mayor Joy Cooper was the Broward pol whose name was mentioned MOST

over a period of about two hours -and not in a good way!

Just like the name "Hallandale Beach" was repeatedly used as an example of what NOT to do in these things.

And all the negative things that were mentioned all came under the reign of Mayor Cooper.

I especially love the idea that it came out during CRA Attorney Zelkowitz's comments that Mayor Cooper sent the Oversight Comm. a letter re the Broward IG.

But guess who Mayor Cooper DIDN'T send a copy of her THREE-PAGE letter to.

Yes, the IG's Office.

When I spoke, I told everyone present that this was no mere oversight, it was entirely intentional by her, and that the mayor wanted the IG and his staff to be blindsided by it at the meeting.

Instead, though, Mayor Cooper's self-serving stunt completely backfired on her.

Not that much of the South Florida news media actually bothered to show-up to the Broward County Govt. Bldg. to report on what transpired, which was entirely in keeping with how things have been down here for years, as the Sun-Sentinel still has NOT mentioned the HB CRA scandal in an editorial, six months after the IG's inch-and-a-half thick Final Report alleging and proving "gross mismanagement" was released.

But your faithful blogger was there, and did I ever get a wheelbarrow's worth of facts and nuggets to share!

It was also NOT a good day for the anti-IG Broward League of Cities and their hardcore and permanent crew of longtime apologists and paid consultants throughout the county, who continue to want to allow themselves the freedom to continue to misrepresent what's really going on with ethics in this county and what the IG's Office is doing, but also continue using municipal taxpayer dollars to pay attorneys to tell them  what exactly they want to hear, instead of simply following the spirit and letter of the law.

Or as one of the learned members of the Oversight Comm. put it, it seems like Broward cities love using taxpayer dollars to "shield" themselves, but there's no reason for that to continue any longer.

(So, remind me again why South Florida's news media refuses to go after the Broward League of Cities and ask for meaningful transparency from them on how much they receive every year in taxpayer money from each and every Broward city, and show  from any of the many examples they could choose, just how that money is continually used in ways that are fundamentally against the best long-term interests of their own citizens, and rather FOR the benefit of career politicians, including lobbying against their own citizens? Oh, right. 

The South Florida news media doesn't want to do that.)

More details on all this will be coming out in the coming days on the blog, along with photos and video on Monday and Tuesday, including answering the question of who the unexpected people were who showed-up with Mayor Cooper when she twice had to testify under oath and answer questions from the IG's office over the past year.

The answers to that surprised members of the the Committee and left some of them -and most of the audience, even the Broward League of Cities types- shaking their heads in bewilderment at Mayor Cooper's efforts to deny, deny, deny.

In retrospect, I could NOT have scripted it better myself from the point of view of frustrated HB citizens FINALLY getting some highly-relevant and meaningful and provable facts out in the open for everyone to know, esp. among such well-known people as those on the committee.

And, of course, into the record!

If only members of the JLAC in Tallahassee could have been there to hear some of the damning testimony, and litany of inconvenient facts concerning HB's CRA and the invisible oversight of its millions by Mayor Cooper and her loyal  Rubber Stamp Crew, suddenly being uttered aloud.

C'est al vie...

But next week some time, I will send them some excerpts of what was said and let's see them try to ignore the stone cold facts uttered by people who know them like the Inspector General knows them.

The proof is in the pudding, and the case has never been more stronger that JLAC needs to come thru for citizens in our city so we can finally find out where the $80 MIllion has gone the past 10 years.

Latest news re Hallandale Beach CRA: Where are Joe Gibbons, Shevrin Jones and Barbara Sharief hiding? They're NOT adequately representing HB citizens who want to find out where the $80 Million in CRA funds has really gone; Response of JLAC re my inquiry re legislator's letters re prospective audit of Hallandale Beach CRA by JLAC

Latest news re Hallandale Beach CRA: Where are Joe Gibbons, Shevrin Jones and Barbara Sharief hiding? They're NOT adequately representing HB citizens who want to find out where the $80 Million in CRA funds has really gone; Response of JLAC re my inquiry re legislator's letters re prospective audit of Hallandale Beach CRA by JLAC

November 1st, 2013

If any FL state legislator you have recently spoken to has told you, either flat-out or strongly implied, that they have made clear their desire for there to be a JLAC-authorized audit of the HB CRA, as the official response I received from Tallahassee Thursday afternoon makes clear, those state legislators are NOT being honest with you.

There are 140 elected state legislators in Florida and not a single legislator among the bunch has had either the backbone or initiative to directly contact JLAC's office and publicly declare their public support for this community's desire to find out where the $80 Million in CRA funds has really gone the past ten years.

So you might ask, where ARE the four state legislators that represent Hallandale Beach in Tallahassee, and why are they still in hiding on this issue, and not stepping-up to represent their constituents and get the facts on such an important issue?

Well, since you asked, as you'll recall from my previous email on this matter, state Sen. Eleanor Sobel and state Sen. Oscar Braynon II have lined-up firmly on the side of protecting the flank of the very woman who is most directly-responsible for the mess that combines the very worst aspects of corruption, crony capitalism, incompetency, indefensible public policy and consistent lack of oversight and accountability, Mayor Joy Cooper. 

As for Braynon, well, my sense of things in talking to the people who are the most-involved in this community is that Braynon is so little known and seen in this city that he is far more rumor than reality, a fact that should not go unnoticed or unremarked upon by others.

As for state Rep. Joe Gibbons and state Rep. Shevrin Jones, well, like members of an Old West bank-robbing gang, they are currently hiding in plain sight from their own constituents within the safe confines of the hip pocket of Hallandale Beach mayor Joy Cooper and her lobbyist pal, Judy Stern.
To be brought out whenever these two women find it convenient and serve as props that insulate them from any moral or legal responsibility and incoming fire from legislators, the media and the public.

Sorry to say it, folks, but there's your late-2013 snapshot of the 'Profiles In Courage' of your members of the Florida legislature. They are exactly what they appear to be.

And after you've finished pondering that question, that is, how we can be represented by so many people who show so little concern about such an important issue, ponder something else: Where is Broward County Commissioner Barbara Sharief?

The handful of times I've personally interacted with her she's always been friendly, engaged and willing to speak honestly about what she thought about a particular issue or situation, even if it was an unpopular opinion.
Which is all to the good I think.

But here's the thing.
I've probably sent Comm. Sharief and her staff a few dozen emails over the past two years re the HB CRA, each one full of facts, first-hand anecdotes and the city's very own troubling and inexplicable words and docs that painted the picture of the longstanding mess it's been in, doing little public good while greatly profiting a small handful of people with connections to HB City Hall.
Even if only because of those emails I sent her, Comm. Sharief knows -or should know- much more than most of the reporters who've written about this subject, the few who have

I would argue that my sending those emails to her was entirely appropriate given that most of the incompetency, corruption, and general shadiness with the HB CRA took place in -wait for it- her District.

So given all that, what has Comm. Sharief actually said or done the past two years to show that she's actually looking out for HB taxpayers and small business owners on this matter involving, I remind you, tens of millions of dollars?

Comm. Sharief and her staff have NEVER responded to any fact-filled email of mine that specifically dealt with the HB CRA over the past two years.
Comm. Sharief was NOT present at the Broward County Commission meeting in June when former HB Commissioner Keith London and current Comm. Michele Lazarow spoke honestly and plainly about the longstanding need for this community to finally have an honest and thorough audit.

Yes, an honest accounting for what has taken place in the past that will assure HB residents.
To no avail.

Despite having the better part of two years to say or do something that was in any way supportive of the effort for the people of Hallandale Beach to finally get the truth, Comm. Barbara Sharief has said and done nothing.
Period.

Are HB residents, taxpayers, small business owners -and voters- supposed to ignore that inescapable fact?
I think not.

Why are local TV/print reporters and other bloggers NOT directly asking the five of  them to explain themselves on this issue, and say why they are sticking it to the people of this community, and, frankly, actually seem to be supporting the very people who are directly responsible for this financial scandal, as Sen. Sobel and Sen. Braynon have made clear for everyone with their condescending tone in their letter to JLAC telling them NO AUDIT.

If you feel inclined, here's how you reach them:

Braynon's District Office: 606 NW 183rd Street Miami Gardens, FL 33169 (305) 654-7150

Sobel's District Office: The "Old" Library First Floor 2600 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood, FL 33020 (954) 924-3693

Gibbons' District Office  Suite 203, Pembroke Park Town Hall  3150 SW 52nd Avenue Pembroke Park, FL 33023-5413  (954) 893-5006

Jones' District Office  1965 South State Road 7  West Park, FL 33023-6733 
(954) 893-5010

Sharief doesn't list a district office on her website, only her main office at the Broward County Governmental Center, 115 S. Andrews Ave., Room 410 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 
954-357-7008

Joint Legislative Auditing Committee (JLAC) is physically located at 876 Pepper Building,
but their mailing address is 111 W. Madison Street Tallahassee, FL 32399-1400 
(850) 487-4110  jlac@leg.state.fl.us

Those are the facts as of 2:00 p.m. on November 1st, 2013.
It's up to you to change the dynamic now or we will never find out where that $80 Million in CRA funds really went.

On a happier note, there are still lots of very talented people in this world whom you have never of -until now- who have bright futures ahead of them, and one of those persons is Miriam Bryant 


Steve Layton YouTube Channel:  Miriam Bryant sings the DuBose Heyward/George Gershwin classic from Porgy & Bess, "Summertime" on the August 10th, 2013 broadcast of SVT's "Sommarkväll" at The River Cafe, Göteborg, Sweden.
http://youtu.be/5cVr9VKmmdo
As seen in my October 30th, 2013 blog post re Miriam,
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2013/10/just-like-swedish-summers-short-sweet.html

Hallandale Beach is on both the ocean and on the Intracoastal, so why in the year 2013 do we NOT have even one restaurant like the one shown in Miriam's video, The River Cafe in Göteborg, Sweden?

Good question.
That's why there are elections that carry genuine consequences.
Something similar-but-smaller in scale that allows the public to actually be able to see and feel the water should already be in the works on the south side of the Intracoastal bridge, next to where The Related Group's project The Beachwalk is being built now.
But it isn't, is it? Nope.
Another missed opportunity for Hallandale Beach.

-----
I've removed the email addresses below for obvious reasons and replaced by name with initials.

The Committee has not received any written requests, either for or against an audit of the Hallandale Beach CRA, since the September letter from Senators Sobel and Braynon.

Kathy DuBose, Coordinator
Joint Legislative Auditing Committee 
(850) 487-4110 


From: JLAC 
Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 1:44 PM
To: Dubose, Kathy; White, Deborah
Subject: FW: Attn: Kathy DuBose -re prospective audit of Hallandale Beach CRA by JLAC


From: DBS
Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 1:00 PM
To: JLAC

Cc: DBS
Subject: Attn: Kathy DuBose -re prospective audit of Hallandale Beach CRA by JLAC


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: DBS
Date: Wed, Oct 30, 2013 at 1:00 PM
Subject: Attn: Kathy DuBose -re prospective audit of Hallandale Beach CRA by JLAC
To: Joint Legislative Auditing Committee
Cc: DBS


October 30th, 2013
12:55 p.m.

Dear Ms. DuBose:

Just wanted to follow-up on my previous email of two months ago and your response of Sept. 9th regarding the possible audit by JLAC of what I and so many other Hallandale Beach citizens believe has been an ineffectual and poorly-managed Hallandale Beach CRA for
so many years.

To date, has the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee received a request FOR or AGAINST an audit of the Hallandale Beach CRA from any member of the Legislature, other than the September 16th letter AGAINST an audit co-written by Sen. Eleanor Sobel and Sen. Oscar
Braynon II?

There have been no media reports in South Florida of any kind the past six weeks on this issue, to say nothing of anything publicly from the two state senators who are supposed to represent the citizens of this community, who have borne witness to the millions of CRA dollars that have gone out  the door with nothing tangible to show for them, not the very people directly responsible for doing so.

I just wanted to know what the scoreboard is looking like as of this afternoon.
Thank you in advance for your assistance!

----
I've added these links to earlier Broward Bulldog articles to give any new readers of the blog some sense of perspective that's not written by me:

"Hallandale finds allies amid aggressive response to county’s request for CRA documents." I'll have a lot more on this matter and our angry and vindictive Mayor Cooper soon.

Hallandale finds allies amid aggressive response to county’s request for CRA documents http://t.co/m1XbloJBnb
— Broward Bulldog (@BrowardBulldog) September 25, 2013

Broward opens broad inquiry into misuse of property tax dollars by CRAs; millions at stake

Broward opens broad inquiry into misuse of property tax dollars by CRAs; millions at stake http://t.co/bl39juxy0D
— Broward Bulldog (@BrowardBulldog) September 12, 2013

Hallandale Mayor sends multiple texts to Lobbyist during Broward Commission meeting

Hallandale Mayor sends multiple texts to Lobbyist during Broward Commission meeting http://t.co/521M2hD7Fa @browardpolitics @Buddynevins
— MediaTrackersFL (@MediaTrackersFL) July 31, 2013

Defiant Hallandale commissioners reject call for new legal opinion on CRA spending

Defiant Hallandale commissioners reject call for new legal opinion on CRA spending http://t.co/9FySftQ2L6
— Broward Bulldog (@BrowardBulldog) July 11, 2013

Hallandale may seek Attorney General opinion on CRA spending; statewide impact seen

Hallandale may seek Attorney General opinion on CRA spending; statewide impact seen http://t.co/90rfgM2gxt
— Broward Bulldog (@BrowardBulldog) July 9, 2013

Hallandale diverts millions from CRA’s budget to pay for non-redevelopment programs

Hallandale diverts millions from CRA’s budget to pay for non-redevelopment programs http://t.co/Pn7GVcJqBi
— Broward Bulldog (@BrowardBulldog) July 6, 2013

Hallandale Mayor & Commissioners fail to document contacts w/ lobbyist Judy Stern

Hallandale Mayor & Commissioners fail to document contacts w/ lobbyist Judy Stern http://t.co/pa28Lpwjpt @browardpolitics @Buddynevins
— MediaTrackersFL (@MediaTrackersFL) June 27, 2013

Unhappy Broward commissioners want more control over city CRAs

Unhappy Broward commissioners want more control over city CRAs http://t.co/a6207ZuNEl
— Broward Bulldog (@BrowardBulldog) June 12, 2013

Lobbyist Judy Stern uses texts to thwart Hallandale CRA investigation

Lobbyist Judy Stern uses texts to thwart Hallandale CRA investigation florida.mediatrackers.org/2013/06/10/hal… @browardpolitics @browardbulldog @buddynevins
— MediaTrackersFL (@MediaTrackersFL) June 10, 2013

Legislature asks Hallandale for answers about CRA spending; Subpoenas land at city hall

Legislature asks Hallandale for answers about CRA spending; Subpoenas land at city hall browardbulldog.org/2013/06/legisl…
— Broward Bulldog (@BrowardBulldog) June 10, 2013

A problematic model: Hallandale Beach CRA under city manager’s thumb

A problematic model: Hallandale Beach CRA under city manager’s thumb j.mp/13xk92t
— Broward Bulldog (@BrowardBulldog) May 15, 2013

Broward Auditor looks at Hallandale Beach CRA with eye toward recovering misspent funds
By William Gjebre* BrowardBulldog.org 
The Broward County Auditor’s Office has begun looking into whether Hallandale Beach should be required to repay some of the millions in tax dollars allegedly misspent due to “gross mismanagement” by city officials.

Broward Auditor looks at Hallandale Beach CRA with eye toward recovering misspent funds j.mp/11ysUve
— Broward Bulldog (@BrowardBulldog) May 13, 2013

Broward Inspector General: Hallandale leaders don’t know what they’re talking about, By William Gjebre* BrowardBulldog.org. The Broward Inspector General’s final report on the “gross mismanagement” of millions in tax dollars by Hallandale Beach is sharply critical of city leaders it says have shown a “basic misunderstanding” of what’s gone wrong.

Broward Inspector General: Hallandale leaders don’t know what they’re talking about browardbulldog.org/2013/04/browar…
— Broward Bulldog (@BrowardBulldog) April 23, 2013

New post: Legislative Involvement in Administration: Problems in Broward County, FL tinyurl.com/9ykrjeb
— City Ethics (@CityEthics) October 3, 2012

Instead of looking-out for you and your Hallandale Beach neighbors, HB's craven state legislators (Sobel, Gibbons, Jones & Braynon) are doing Mayor Joy Cooper's dirty work in Tallahassee, making excuses for her ten years of oversight/policy failures with the HB CRA; #JLAC

Today I'm delivering into your hands more proof of what I've hinted at for many months about who in this community was working hard to help the people of Hallandale Beach,

and who was ACTIVELY working against us and our collective long-term best interests. 

The name is hardly a surprise.

For your inspection, via this email and later this morning on my blog, I've got what I consider to be the Smoking Gun that shows how Mayor Cooper's network of cronies

around the state is working behind-the-scenes (and unremarked upon by the local 

news media) to run interference for her, obfuscate, and in general, do their best to 

prevent the truth from coming out about what has been going on here for years with her

in charge, and with millions of dollars going out the door with little to show for it.

That Smoking Gun comes in the form of a smarmy and incriminating letter that Mayor

Cooper's good pal, state Sen Eleanor Sobel, and state Sen Oscar Braynon II, sent to the Joint Legislative Auditing  Comm. (JLAC) in Tallahassee, asking them NOT to investigate the incompetent and maybe even illegal activities of the HB CRA while the Mayor has been in charge of the CRA Board and NOT to perform an audit so that HB citizens will finally know the truth. 

As I could've predicted.

As we ALL could've predicted, because that's who she is.

As you read the attached letter, what's noticeable by its absence is the same exact thing that has been completely absent from public conversation the entire time that Eleanor Sobel has been in the state Senate, supposedly representing us, and in particular, missing the past two years while so much public scrutiny has attached to the HB CRA while it was

FINALLY being investigated by the Broward Inspector General's Office -anything by Eleanor Sobel remotely resembling genuine concern about getting to the truth of things, and actually finding out what happened to all those millions that were supposed to eliminate blight and create jobs within the CRA district, but which were instead used as part of a crony capitalism racket based on politics, with the CRA loan to the fake newspaper being but the most obvious example of that.

There's a very logical reason that there are ZERO newspaper articles or TV news videos

available of Sobel saying that she wants to get to the bottom of the whole sordid CRA mess.

She doesn't want to!

She wants to ignore the issue completely and does NOT want the South Florida 

news media asking her to publicly explain why she has been so invisible in HB 

for so many years, and on this troublesome issue in particular.

Just like state Representatives Joe Gibbons and Shevrin Jones, who have also been completely invisible on this matter and who want to stay on the mayor's good side. 

In her letter, Sobel fundamentally misrepresents what happened because she has to have the Mayor's back on this issue -or else.

Same reason that useless Gibbons and clueless Jones didn't do the right thing for HB citizens, taxpayers and small business owners, esp. the ones who live and work within that district, which is most of the city, including me.

With these three people, being a friend of Joy Cooper is far much-more important than 

actually doing their job responsibly and looking-out for the best long-term interests of HB's 

citizens, their own constituents.

In my opinion, they flat out sold us out

Rather than signing the letter herself, though, Sobel shows her true nature and somehow 

has managed to make things even worse.

She uses the cover of a co-signing African-American legislator like Braynon on this letter,

-someone who, literally, has NO IDEA what's been going on here with the HB CRA 

and that I have NEVER seen at any meeting or event, never even heard his name 

mentioned once- in her attempt to perform PR spin for the mayor and the city among her

colleagues.

It's perfectly despicable.

That Sobel has managed to get this guy who literally has no idea who anyone in this city

is, to simply roll over for her in her attempt to publicly protect her friend Joy Cooper, says 

as much about her as it does for his really poor judgement in letting us know with certainty

how truly disconnected he is to our community.

And just in case you forgot, most of the CRA corruption took place in HIS legislative district, too. http://maps.flsenate.gov/de1/map.html?plan=s016s9030&district=36

Yes, just more of Eleanor Sobel being Eleanor Sobel.

Again, a point that ought to be hammered home as often as necessary.

Fecklessness all around us in Hallandale Beach.

Sobel, Braynon Joint Letter to Senator Abruzzo 09-16-13 (2).pdf 366K   View   Download

Latest on the Curious Case of AT&T, the City of Hallandale Beach, the Hallandale Beach CRA, and AT&T's Non-compliance with Florida's Sunshine Laws -Why is the City of Hallandale Beach renewing a contract with AT&T, a firm that does NOT COMPLY with state law?; the mysterious text messages to/from Mayor Joy Cooper, City Manager Renee C. Miller and lobbyist Judy Stern to prevent the Broward County Commission from authorizing an independent audit of the HB CRA so HB residents could know where all the million$ went

Above, my photo of Hallandale Beach City Hall Complex, August 7, 2011. Back when the lights on the city's monument sign actually came on at night.

My blog post of this afternoon is a follow-up to several blog posts of the past few several months on several important and related matters, including:

a.) the issue of the current and past financial state of the Hallandale Beach CRA, but especially since its creation, given the millions of dollars that can not seem to be accounted for and the Broward inspector General's scathing report on it earlier this year alleging "gross mismanagement" of it by the HB CRA Board of Directors (City Commission) and high-ranking city officials; 

Above, the sort of headlines you can get and expect when, despite great citizen opposition, you use your position on the CRA Board to force the HB CRA to give the publishers -who make $200k a year in salary- a $50,000 CRA loan every year, despite the fact that they DON'T actually cover any legitimate news going on in the city, not even at City Hall.

But they do give you, the real head of the HB CRA Board, Mayor Joy Cooper, a "column" for you to spread your ill-considered nonsense and propaganda. Yes, that's right, The South Florida Sun-Times, the faux newspaper that DOESN'T even do Letters to the Editor.

So how exactly does that eliminate blight in this city?

b.) the effort by concerned Hallandale Beach residents, taxpayers and small business owners to get an honest and independent audit of the HB CRA by the Broward County Auditor, and then by the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee in Tallahassee;

c.) the way that Public Records Requests are dealt with in this city and specifically, my request of a few months ago for text messages between Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper, City Manager Renee C. Miller and Cooper pal and Broward lobbyist, Judy Stern, and their collective efforts to lobby and cajole Broward County Manager Bertha Henry and the elected nine-member Broward County Commission to prevent an audit from taking place as Hallandale Beach taxpayers wanted, so they can finally know where the millions of dollars really went for years with no real oversight or accountability;

d.) the city's longstanding anti-democratic and anti-taxpayer attitude and past track record of consistently attempting to hide relevant and germane public records from its citizens as long as they could, however they could, and the pernicious and negative effect that continues to have on the city and its citizens, as in this case, it appears on the face of it that the city is attempting to use AT&T as defensive bulwark against having to turn over public records that may prove embarrassing or difficult to justify if made public by Cooper, Miller & Stern.

For those of you who are new to this issue -that would be Channel 4/CBS4, Channel 6/NBC6, Channel 7/7 News and Channel 10/Local10, the Miami Herald, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, et al- or who've forgotten some of the pertinent details, you may want to re-read Tom Lauder's spot-on piece about this very matter from July,  

Media Trackers Florida
Hallandale Beach Mayor Fails to Report Texts to Lobbyist During Meeting
By: Tom Lauder 
July 31, 2013
http://mediatrackers.org/florida/2013/07/31/hallandale-beach-mayor-fails-to-report-texts-to-lobbyist-during-meeting

the many stories that have appeared on this at the Broward Bulldog, 

http://www.browardbulldog.org/?s=Hallandale+Beach

as well as some emails about these matters that I wrote and sent out previously, which appear below the agenda for tonight's HB City Commission meeting.

So, after all that, here's my email to Hallandale Beach City Clerk Sheena James this morning about these matters.
A lot of information to absorb be sure, but much of it familiar to many of you and it has the added advantage of connecting-the-dots that nearly everyone in a position to help this community's citizens have consciously refused to do, despite all the years of accumulated evidence all around us in this city, and what is -and isn't- over at HB City Hall.
They merely have to open their eyes.

-----

October 16th, 2013

Dear Ms. James:

Since according to the agenda for tonight's City of Hallandale Beach Commission meeting, as it appears on the city's own website, below, the city seems intent on extending their contract with AT&T, as well as purchasing more IT equipment, software and services from other vendors, I'm formally requesting public records today.

Specifically, I would like to have copies of documents relating to your efforts as City Clerk, as well as those of the City Attorney and CRA Attorney, to bring the city into compliance with the state's Sunshine Laws and the the 21st Century.

What exactly are your collective efforts the past two months to make public records available to the public who already pays the bill for them, under the state's Sunshine Laws?

How exactly is the city preserving text messages of elected officials and city administrators regarding official city business?

According to you, they aren't doing anything.

I'm asking specifically because you failed to provided certain documents to me relative to my Public Records Request for copies of the text messages between Mayor Cooper and City Manager Miller and lobbyist Judy Stern and to others in their efforts to lobby and prevent the Broward County Commission from authorizing the County Auditor to do an audit of the HB CRA.

The verbal and written reason you gave me at the time for the city's failure to comply was to blame AT&T, but you never provided a copy to me of the email or letter sent by you, Mayor Cooper, City Manager Miller and possibly City Attorney Whitfield and CRA Attorney Zelkowitz, asking AT&T for those requested public documents, and their official response.

You'll recall that at the HB CRA meeting where I spoke and brought this matter up, they all said from the dais that they'd "love" to be able to comply but that their hands were tied.

Okay, well I'm interested in finding out specifically how the city and those individuals have actually worked in the past two months, in a tangible way, to untie themselves and the city.

Have tried to change things for the better so that the public CAN finally access public

records in a timely fashion, using a phone service that HB taxpayers have and continue

to pay for.

Again, you never provided a copy of the correspondence to and from AT&T when the 

city failed to honor my request, and the agenda for tonight's meeting reminded me of this fact and failure.

I and many other HB residents seriously wonder why the city is renewing a contract with a company that according to you, the mayor and the city and CRA attorneys, will NOT comply with Florida's Sunshine Laws without the specific request of a court order.

Despite the fact that the records are clearly public records and they're being 

requested by the person with the account, a public official under state law?

I don't see how continuing this bad arrangement where citizens are intentionally left in the dark regarding public policy matters affecting the city is in the public's best interest.

I look forward to hearing from you on this matter.

-----

REGULAR AGENDA

CITY COMMISSION, CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013 6:30 PM

1.    CALL TO ORDER

2.    ROLL CALL

3.    PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

4.    PRESENTATIONS

5.    PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - (To be heard at 6:45 P.M.)(Speakers must sign-in with the City Clerk)

6.    COMMISSIONER COMMUNICATIONS - Items not on the Agenda

A.    COMMISSIONER JULIAN

B.    COMMISSIONER LAZAROW

C.   COMMISSIONER SANDERS

D.   VICE MAYOR LEWY

E.    MAYOR COOPER

7.    CITY ATTORNEY COMMUNICATIONS  - Items not on the Agenda

8.    CITY MANAGER COMMUNICATIONS - Items not on the Agenda

9.    APPROVAL OF DRAFT MINUTES

A.    OCTOBER 2, 2013 REGULAR CITY COMMISSION MEETING (Supporting Docs)

10.  CONSENT AGENDA

A.    A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXPEND THE ANNUALLY BUDGETED FUNDS FOR TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES FROM AT&T BUSINESS NETWORK (AT&T) FOR THE DURATION OF THE PREVIOUSLY APPROVED AND EXECUTED CONTRACT; AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS TO EFFECTUATE THE PURCHASES IN THE APPLICABLE FISCAL YEARS; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.(STAFF: CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER) (SEE BACKUP) (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)

B.    A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXPEND AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED NINETY ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED SIXTY FOUR ($91,864.00) DOLLARS FOR HARDWARE MODULES, SOFTWARE LICENSES, MAINTENANCE, AND CONSULTING SERVICE FROM SUNGARD PUBLIC SECTOR AKA H.T.E., INC. PURSUANT TO AN EXISTING CONTRACT, AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL RELATED DOCUMENTS TO EFFECTUATE THE PURCHASE AS NEEDED; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (STAFF: CHIEF INCORMATION OFFICER) (SEE BACKUP) (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)

C.   A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE UTILIZATION OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT SERVICES AND GSA CONTRACTS AS LISTED IN EXHIBIT "2" FOR THE CITY'S INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, SERVICE AND MAINTENANCE  PURCHASES FOR A TOTAL AMOUNT OF TWO HUNDRED NINETY THOUSAND ($290,000.00) DOLLARS; AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL RELATED DOCUMENTS TO EFFECTUATE THE PURCHASES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2013 - 2014; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (STAFF: CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER) (SEE BACKUP) (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)

D.   A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXPEND THE AMOUNT OF FIFTY SEVEN THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY SIX ($57,186.00) DOLLARS TO PURCHASE TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES, FROM SPRINT, INC., UTILIZING THE U.S. GENERAL SERVICE ADMINISTRATION CONTRACT #GS-35F-0329L; AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS TO EFFECTUATE THE PURCHASE FOR FY 2013-2014; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.(STAFF: CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER) (SEE BACKUP) (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)

E.    A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO RENEW AN AGREEEMENT WITH AWARE DIGITAL FOR SUPPORT AND SERVICES OF CITY SECURITY CAMERA SYSTEM IN FY 2013-2014 IN AN AMOUNT OF FIFTY FIVE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED EIGHTY SIX DOLLARS AND EIGHTY TWO CENTS ($55,486.82), AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL RELATED DOCUMENTS TO EFFECTUATE THE PROJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (STAFF:CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER) (SEE BACKUP) (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)

F.    A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO RENEW THE ANNUAL CONTRACT FOR SCHOOL CROSSING GUARD SERVICES FROM STAFFING CONNECTION/ACTION LABOR MANAGEMENT, LLC IN THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF ONE HUNDRED THIRTY THOUSAND ($130,000.00) DOLLARS; AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS TO EFFECTUATE THE RENEWAL FOR FISCAL YEAR 2013-2014; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (STAFF: POLICE CHIEF) (SEE BACKUP) (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)

G.   A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE PIGGY-BACKING OF THE CITY OF PEMBROKE PINES RFP # PD-08-08 FOR THE RENEWAL OF CAR RENTAL SERVICES FOR FY2013-2014 FROM BUDGET RENT-A-CAR IN THE AMOUNT OF ONE HUNDRED FOURTEEN THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED AND FORTY ($114,440.00) DOLLARS; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (STAFF: POLICE CHIEF) (SEE BACKUP) (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)

11.  ORDINANCES ON FIRST READING

A.    AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 2, ADMINISTRATION, ARTICLE I, IN GENERAL, SECTION 2-3, LOBBYIST REGISTRATION AND DISCLOSURE; ENFORCEMENT BY AMENDING REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE REGISTRATION AND ACTIVITIES OF LOBBYISTS; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICT; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (FIRST READING) (STAFF: CITY CLERK) (SEE BACKUP) (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)

12.  ORDINANCES ON SECOND READING/PUBLIC HEARING

NONE

13.  RESOLUTIONS/PUBLIC HEARING

NONE

14.  RESOLUTIONS/CITY BUSINESS

A.    A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH, FLORIDA, APPROVING THE NOMINATION OF LORRAINE JOHNSON FOR THE 2014 DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. HUMANITARIAN AWARD; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (STAFF: DIRECTOR OF HUMAN SERVICES) (SEE BACKUP) (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)

ITEM#14.B. & #14.C. WILL BE HEARD IN CONJUNCTION

B.    A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH, FLORIDA, APPROVING A COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP GRANT AWARD TO SOUTH FLORIDA EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTER, INC.; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT TO EFFECTUATE AWARD OF FUNDING; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (STAFF: DIRECTOR OF HUMAN SERVICES) (SEE BACKUP & BACKUP FOR ITEM #14.C.) (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)

C.   A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH, FLORIDA, APPROVING A COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP GRANT AWARD TO HALLANDALE FOOD PANTRY; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT TO EFFECTUATE AWARD OF FUNDING; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (STAFF: DIRECTOR OF HUMAN SERVICES) (SEE BACKUP & BACKUP FOR ITEM #14.B.) (Supporting Docs)

D.   A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH, FLORIDA, PROHIBITING THE ISSUANCE OF PERMITS FOR PREFABRICATED HOMES, MODULAR, CONTAINER, AND OTHER OFF-SITE BUILT STRUCTURES FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF SIX (6) MONTHS WHILE ZONING CHANGES ARE IN PROGRESS; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.(STAFF: DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES) (SEE BACKUP) (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)

E.    A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH, FLORIDA, SUPPORTING PROPOSED LEGISLATION AUTHORIZING THE DECOUPLING OF GREYHOUND RACING AND GAMBLING; DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO DISTRIBUTE THIS RESOLUTION TO THE LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION AS ONE OF THE LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES FOR THE 2014 LEGISLATIVE SESSION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (SPONSORED BY: COMMISSIONER MICHELE LAZAROW) (STAFF:CITY ATTORNEY/CITY CLERK) (SEE BACKUP) (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)

15.  ADJOURN

-----

Editor's Note: I never sent that email mentioned below to HB CRA Atorney Zelkowitz, for reasons that were borne out weeks later by his smarmy and dismissive remarks about HB citizens and taxpayers at a recent CRA meeting, where he stated that he implied that he di NOT have to answer questions from anyone not on the CRA Board of Directors, i.e. the elected City Commission, including mayor Joy Cooper, the person at the center of this story on ethics, finances and public policy. 
I also note for the record that the CRA Board never publicly voted to give approval to Miller and Zelkowitz to appear and speak at the Broward County Commission meeting of June 4th on behalf of a policy that disadvantages HB citizens, taxpayers and small business owners. 

Just wanted to give you all a head's up that next week I'll be sending

a pointed email to the Hallandale Beach CRA Attorney, Stephen Zelkowitz.

Specifically, asking him just what IS he doing to make sure that the

Hallandale Beach CRA IS complying with the state's Sunshine Laws?

Specifically asking him what, if anything, he's actually done to follow-up 

on his comments at the city's CRA Budget Workshop that he'd "look

into it" after I brought to light the fact that the City/CRA has adamantly

refused to comply with my legitimate Public Records Request for all

text messages between Hallandale Beach Mayor/CRA Director Joy

Cooper, HB City Manager/CRA Executive Director Renee Miller and

Cooper pal and Broward lobbyist Judy Stern, in the mayor's efforts

to prevent the Broward County Commission from approving a request

at their June 4th meeting to have the Broward County Auditor's office

provide a thorough audit of the Hallandale Beach CRA.

A County Commission meeting at which CRA Attorney Zelkowitz 

himself spoke at, along with Miller, and may've also received those

very text messages -public records- that I have requested.

In case you've forgotten, the damning report the Broward IG's Office

delivered months ago re the HB CRA's performance re millions of dollars

used the words "gross mismanagement" in its title.

The Broward OIG didn't label the HB CRA's years of work(?) with millions

of dollars, for the ostensible effort of eliminating blight, a troubled if

good-faith effort during difficult economic times, rather they labeled it

exactly what it was: "gross mismanagement."

And rightly so -millions were spent and there's no tangible sign

of those millions anywhere within the CRA district, which takes 

up a large part of this city, even while the majority of the current

CRA Board prefers to spend almost all of its budget within one

part of the overall CRA for largely political purposes, even while

other areas of the CRA suffer, despite having more economic 

potential because of better roads and public access.

The city has claimed in their email to me that their communications

provider, At&T, refuses to provide them -the client- the documents

they say they have requested to honor my PRR unless there is a

court order.

The problem, of course, is that it took the city well over over six weeks

to get that fishy and rather convenient answer, and in their last email

to me, they failed to show ANY proof whatsoever that they'd actually

even contacted AT&T.

Hmm-m...

At that HB CRA Budget Workshop of August 1st, where I had and any 

other HB resident who wanted to speak about the CRA and its budget

had to do so before the meeting started because the public wasn't 

allowed to ask questions about what was presented and discussed

by CRA employees, I publicly asked why they simply don't periodically

log those text  messages themselves, as some Florida cities and

counties do for public records purposes, since they are public

information.

They all acted like they didn't understand the concept of doing what is

both smart and prudent and saving themselves trouble down the line.

Clearly, given their dubious track record, not for the first time.

As I have previously discussed, the CRA's record has been noteworthy

almost entirely for its lack of success in its legally-mandated role, 

as well as its almost complete lack of prudent financial oversight, scrutiny

and verification, both by the CRA Board and the city's most-senior 

management.

BROWARD INSPECTOR GENERAL FINAL REPORT RE: GROSS MISMANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC FUNDS BY THE CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH AND THE HALLANDALE BEACH COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY

http://www.broward.org/InspectorGeneral/Documents/OIG11-020HallandaleFinalE-REPORT04-18-13.docx.pdf

That completely unsatisfactory performance is the real reason that I and

many other concerned HB residents believe Mayor Cooper doesn't want

the public to know about her personal efforts to thwart the public's desire

to learn the whole truth, even while she and Miller use resources paid for

by HB taxpayers in doing so.

Mayor Cooper greatly prefers being able to publicly malign and bully the

Broward OIG and engage in self-serving rationalizations, revisionist histrionics

and misrepresentation of the facts, to having a full-and-thorough audit that

serves as a public accounting that'd remove the enormous mistrust and

grave doubt that the citizens of this community have had for years about

the HB CRA under her direction the past ten years.

-----

Speaking of public officials trying to evade their moral and legal obligations

to the public, see https://twitter.com/DarrellIssa/statuses/367737535352422400

and this,

The Washington Post EPA may have tried to evade Freedom of Information request, judge says By Lenny Bernstein

Published: 4 pm August 14, 2013

A federal judge said Wednesday that the Environmental Protection Agency may have tried to evade a Freedom of Information Act request and added that “numerous inconsistencies” in the agency’s court filings “undermine confidence in their truthfulness.”

As a result, Judge Royce C. Lamberth granted the conservative Landmark Legal Foundation, which filed the request for e-mails of current and former top EPA officials, the right to question them in person and in writing.

“The possibility that unsearched personal email accounts may have been used for official business raises the possibility that leaders in the EPA may have purposefully attempted to skirt disclosure under the FOIA,” Lamberth wrote.

Read the rest of the article at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/epa-may-have-tried-to-evade-freedom-of-information-request-judge-says/2013/08/14/d21f27d0-0522-11e3-88d6-d5795fab4637_story.html

------

My email of August 1st, the last many of you heard from me about the Hallandale Beach CRA.

My comments are after this very timely article.

*Editor's Note: This also had a link to the Tom lauder article cited above.

August 1, 2013

I wanted to let you all know today that since I sent a formal request to the

City of Hallandale Beach six weeks ago, it is refusing to fulfill my Public

Records Request and comply with Florida's Sunshine Laws in providing me

with all the text messages between Broward lobbyist Judy Stern and HB

Mayor  Joy Cooper and HB City Manager Renee C. Miller in their lengthy

efforts to prevent Hallandale Beach residents from getting the true facts.

This, even as the three of them lobbied Broward County Commissioners

and staff, including County Administrator Bertha Henry on this matter, to

prevent a thorough audit of the Hallandale Beach CRA via the Office of

Broward Auditor Evan Lukic.

A thorough audit that HB residents desperately want so they will

finally know precisely what really happened to millions of dollars.

I was told Wednesday in-person by HB City Clerk Sheena James, prior to

the city's CRA Budget Workshop, that the city would be unable to comply

with my request because, rather conveniently, they say their phone carrier

-that is, AT&T, the carrier who is paid tens of thousands of dollars

every year by Hallandale Beach taxpayers for telephone services

used by Hallandale Beach elected officials and staffers-DON'T have

to provide requested public records without a court order, even if the parties

'owning' the phones request them.

Personally, I think HB City Hall is laughing at the idea of their being able

to successfully thwart my honest efforts to get to the truth on this matter,

and get my hands on public records that I have strong reason to believe

contain some very incriminating comments by the three of them, possibly,

even about me.

When I brought this up during my three minutes to speak prior to the actual

meeting, I specifically mentioned that HB citizens would be very interested

in hearing from CRA Attorney Stephen Zelkowitz in the future on why the city

doesn't simply log those messages in a timely fashion, since it seems clear

to me that the city is using the carrier as a buffer to not comply with legitimate

Public Records Requests, and that in any event, there will be requests by

someone at some future point for text messages, since they are public records,

so the city better figure out what they were going to do to comply with the

law.

After I returned to my seat, Mayor Cooper then responded in a semi-sarcastic

manner that she only wishes she could get access to all those messages

(Of hers!)

I was not amused, chiefly because I know the truth is that she does NOT 

want those messages being made public.

In any case, Mayor Cooper then went on to say, rather tellingly, that those

text messages between herself, lobbyist Stern and HB City Manager Miller,

regarding their efforts to thwart an audit, were "private."

No, those text messages about the City of Hallandale Beach and its CRA

were and are public records that I'm legally entitled to see under Florida's

Sunshine Laws.

But that callous and condescending response of hers shows you the caliber

of the individual that the beleaguered citizens of this town are dealing with,

in that Mayor Cooper is someone who has repeatedly shown in the past

that she will use any means necessary to thwart both the spirit and the

letter of  Florida's Sunshine Laws -even to the point of suing a HB citizen-

and she she continues to do so today.

You may also be interested in knowing that Wednesday night at the HB

CRA Budget Workshop, where city management employees out-numbered 

actual residents in the room by a factor of 12:1, I told the assembled CRA 

Board of Directors and the CRA Executive Director (City Manager), along

with the city's various Dept. heads a fact I had already shared with some

Broward County Commissioners and well over a hundred other interested

parties before and after that June 4th meeting mentioned in the article

above.

To wit, despite the fact that the Broward Inspector General's final report was

issued months ago, the city has refused to place a link to the report or the

city's  own response to it on the city's website for residents, taxpayers and

small business owners to read for themselves.

But because HB City Manager Renee C. Miller and CRA Attorney Stephen

Zelkowitz were going to be speaking at that June 4th County Commission 

meeting against the request by HB Commissioner Michele Lazarow and 

former HB Comm. Keith London, and thought that it was important for the 

County Commission to be able to see and review them, they transmitted

both, so Broward County actually had links to both on their agenda for the

meeting.

So, Broward County was given the information that the city has refused 

to provide its own citizens on the city's website, even though the city's

taxpayers and the CRA paid the legal fees in the official city response,

as well as for Zelkowitz to appear at the Broward County Commission.

So we can pay for all of that but we can't see it on the website that

we're also paying for.

That's how things are done here, and it's not by accident.

Yes, the Broward OIG report that characterized as "gross mismanagement" 

the performance of the City of Hallandale Beach officials to describe what

they found when funds are given to people and groups in this city without

anyone actually EVER following-up and checking to see what actually happened

to the CRA funds, or even whether they were actually used for the purpose 

they'd been proposed for in the original application.

Yes, HB City Hall operated on the honor system with all that money.

People and groups that claimed to be non-profits but who weren't according 

to the IRS, and who didn't file required documents, and yet who were quite

content to not properly disclose all sorts of relevant basic information, even

while they strongly resisted almost all attempts at basic transparency to

the  citizens of this community, or to the public at large.

Now you know why the concerned residents of this city so desperately want

the Florida JLAC to perform a thorough audit that will tell us the truth, since

the very people at HB City Hall who are supposed to be providing responsible

oversight of the HB CRA are also the people almost entirely responsible for

the mess it's in, and the great loss of confidence the community has in City

Hall's ability to perform even simple tasks honestly, ethically and competently.

Yet these people, like Mayor Cooper, are also the one who are trying their

best to keep the public in the dark about the facts as long as possible thru

intentional obfuscation, needless finger-pointing and serial misrepresentation.

And the community saw another perfect example of that very thing 

last night, as if we needed another reminder.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, and please DO

let me know when a decision is made regarding JLAC's future intentions

on this important public policy matter to Hallandale Beach's VERY frustrated

citizens.