Important! Per continuing Hallandale Beach CRA scandal, just found out that the required CRA Advisory Board mtg is TODAY in Room 257, City Hall, at 3:30 p.m.!

Per the continuing Hallandale Beach CRA scandal that led to its Director being fired three weeks ago, within the hour I've found out after calling the HB City Clerk's office that the required CRA Advisory Board mtg is TODAY in Room 257 at 3:30 p.m.!

No, not next week as you'd expect in a normal city.

I only found out because I called them!

Just over two weeks since today's meeting was mandated by HB City Comm. vote in mid-December, via a common sense motion to defer final vote on dispersal of funds until January 14th by Comm. Michele Lazarow, to verify accuracy and legality of documents, info re today's meeting was STILL NOT posted on the city's website as of 10 a.m. today.

Really.

Stupid me, I naturally assumed the city would hold it in a non-holiday week -like next week, when more people are actually here.

That reminds me, I've given new City Manager Rene Crichton a lot of latitude and the benefit of the doubt a number of times over the past six months. 

I really wanted to believe her when she told me -to my face- that she very much wanted to change the dysfunctional and secretive culture at HB City Hall.

But continuing to keep taxpayers, residents and small business owners completely in the dark is NOT the new culture she promised, it's more of the C.Y.A. mentality we've all been dealing with there for YEARS.

We all know the difference -from experience!

-----

Hallandale commission fires CRA boss; abrupt move avoids airing “dirty laundry,” mayor says

http://www.browardbulldog.org/2012/12/hallandale-commission-fires-cra-boss-abrupt-move-avoids-airing-dirty-laundry-says-mayor/

Broward Inspector General looks ready to ask prosecutors to investigate Hallandale grants

http://www.browardbulldog.org/2012/12/broward-inspector-general-looks-ready-to-ask-prosecutors-to-investigate-hallandale-grants/

Csaba Kulin gets the Miami Herald's whitewash treatment: McClatchy's Co.'s Herald practices the opposite of giving credit where credit is due, editing out the name of the one person in South Florida most-responsible for finding out why and how 3 former Hallandale Beach City Managers will soon be multi-millionaires with taxpayer dollars; a story that Miami Herald reporters, editors and management have completely ignored for years!

Where did all the taxpayer money go? Good question! Csaba Kulin knows some of the answers. Imagine if we had City Commissioners here like him and Michele Lazarow who'd actually take their oversight  responsibilities for taxpayers seriously, and ask probing questions instead of just sitting on the dais and playing the role of rubber stamps for the mayor. Hmmm... October 24, 2012 photo by South Beach Hoosier. © 2012 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved.

Csaba Kulin gets the Miami Herald's whitewash treatment: McClatchy's Co.'s Herald practices the opposite of giving credit where credit is due, editing out the name of the one person in South Florida most-responsible for finding out why and how 3 former Hallandale Beach City Managers will soon be multi-millionaires with taxpayer dollars; a story that Miami Herald reporters, editors and management have completely ignored for years!

It's a damn shame that the Miami Herald's editors have once again shown their infamous tin ear for Broward County news, their terra incognita,.

In this case, by editing-out the name from their version of this past week's latest embarrassing story about Hallandale Beach in the Broward Bulldog, written by Bill Gjebre, of the one person in South Florida most-responsible for finding out why and how 3 former Hallandale Beach City Managers and other highly-paid officials will soon be multi-millionaires with taxpayer dollars.

In doing so, they do a serious dis-service to someone whose diligent unpaid hard work for two years first turned-up evidence of financial self-service by Hallandale Beach's three most-recent City Managers, ripping-off Hallandale Beach taxpayers while producing sub-standard results that we can all see around us in this small ocean-side city, HB civic activist and City Commission candidate, Csaba Kulin.

Pension plan pays off big for ex-Hallandale Beach city managers  

Hallandale Beach’s former top managers collect fat pensions from a retirement plan they pushed a decade ago

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/10/23/v-fullstory/3063859/pension-plan-pays-off-big-for.html  

(FYI: The above story will disappear from Herald website in a few days, unlike Broward Bulldog's website.)

Seriously, folks, whom exactly did you think gave the reams and reams of information with copious notes to the Bulldog's Bill Gjebre in the first place, to get him fully-acquainted with all the pertinent facts and figures, Joy Cooper, the notoriously thin-skinned and ethically-challenged longtime autocrat of a mayor, under whose "leadership" the city's budget has nearly doubled the past 6-8 years, with hardly anything tangible for put-upon citizen taxpayers to point to except a Wastewater Treatment facility? 

Hardly!

And it's certainly not former HB City Manager R.J. Intindola, one of the central parties under-the microscope in the article.

As I've mentioned here previously, Intindola is the smug and poison pen online blogger who lives in Georgia, far from what's actually going on here, but who acts like he's a real player in what happens here. 

He not only isn't, of course, but his name now provokes laughs in people who know that he's been spinning a spiffy PR story about himself for many, many years that is now finally getting the genuine scrutiny it deserved many years ago, and best of all, using the city's own documents.

As we say in France, touché monsieur!

Hallandale’s ex-top managers collect fat pensions from retirement plan they pushed a decade ago

By William Gjebre, BrowardBulldog.org

October 22, 2012 at 6:23 AM

http://www.browardbulldog.org/2012/10/hallandales-top-managers-collect-fat-pensions-from-retirement-plan-they-pushed-a-decade-ago/

Some of you regular readers of the blog may recall this story from five months ago, in my blog post of May 19th:

Csaba Kulin exposes the multi-million dollar bill to be borne by Hallandale Beach taxpayers for having a disconnected City Commission that was -and is- NOT interested in paying close attention to detail or in asking tough questions. That's how and why former City Managers Intindola and Good have made out like bank robbers

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/csaba-kulin-exposes-multi-million.html

Which was followed-up by a large email and subsequent blog post here on Tuesday:

Thanks to Csaba Kulin's many months of diligently digging thru city records to find the truth -only some of which city had- we now know what the real cost to Hallandale Beach taxpayers has been for having an inattentive City Commission for so many years: Millions and millions of dollars for Intindola, Good & Antonio's pensions!

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/as-predicted-here-months-ago-thanks-to.html

And here's the real kicker -Csaba Kulin already has the proof of the city's embarrassing "smoking gun" that kicks this story up several notches from what's written here. 

The sort that, IF Broward County had a solid and dependable local prosecutor, leads to real investigations, real grand juries and real legal consequences.

A fact that the Miami Herald seems determined to find out about -after-the-fact.

And I happen to know it, too, thanks to months of listening to Csaba connect-the-dots.

Not that the Herald's beat reporter for Hallandale Beach, Carli Teproff, ever thought to look into any of this, even though I've sent her some of the information that positively connects-the-dots, months ago, just as I sent it to the Sun-Sentinel's Tonya Alanez.

Nope, they just couldn't be bothered.

And neither could anyone else in South Florida's deservedly-maligned press corps -except Bill Gjebre of the online Broward Bulldog.

Why?

You'd have to ask Teproff and Alanez for that answer, but I have my own suspicions.

No, seriously, why don't you ask them why they weren't interested in a news story involving a city they covered that involved millions of dollars?

If I was their editor, you can be damn sure I'd be asking, but then I wouldn't work for either news paper, now would I?

Nope.

One, the Sun-Sentinel, with a pay-wall that is suffocating the newspaper and making it even more irrelevant, and the other, the Herald that plans on erecting one soon that will only hasten its likely demise. 
Not that their reflexive geographical myopia helps them any! 

(But lure existing and new customers and eyeballs to pay for what new and original content? Ah, there's the rub! What do they have to offer people dis-satisfied with the current product, more of what they dislike?)

Csaba has done what the smartest prosecutors presenting a case before a jury do -letting people hang themselves with their own words.

In this case, Csaba not only has used their own words to help paint a story, but has also used the documents these folks created, the city's own documents, to show what has been going on for years below-the-surface of Mayor Joy Cooper's economic facade on S. Federal Highway.

A city which, if you didn't already know, has a rapidly declining Reserve fund because of its continual use to balance the city's books on everyday expenses, as well as Cooper's craven crony capitalism, an economic theory that treats the city's CRA funds like an ATM for her friends and supporters.

Especially for her loyal supporters in Northwest Hallandale Beach, where do-nothing Comm. Anthony A. Sanders happily plays the role of bank teller with citizen's tax dollars or CRA funds that are supposed to end blight.

Except Sanders acts like it's his money, not ours, and he wants to be thanked for it at the ballot box in ten days. 
No, I won't be thanking you for squandering money and refusing to face HB concerned citizens in person for over three years.
Sanders & Co. needs to get the heave-ho but quick come Election Day...

Csaba penned some words on Thursday that I have included below that spell it out pretty well for all to see and chew-on, especially the very bitter supporters of Cooper, as well as longtime Commissioners Bill Julian, Dotty Ross and Sanders.

This claque of aggressively loud-mouthed and high-strung supporters, whom, as you might imagine, don't much want to let the real facts and bad judgment of their heroes interfere with their preferred alternative-version of reality, where Cooper, Julian, Ross and Sanders are just super, just like the state of the city, and it's people like myself, Csaba, Mike Butler, Keith London and others interested in reform and transparency who are keeping the city down.

Yes, the Cooper Rubber Stamp Crew's collection of sycophants, oddballs and ne'er do-wells, with their grand sense of entitlement, who, in order to prove their worth to their heroes, almost routinely engage in the most juvenile and almost laughable stunts imaginable, of which stealing others' campaign signs is but, I suppose, the most basic of initiations.

For a few of them who are just barely tethered to reality, though, that also includes making phony phone calls to the Police Dept. in order to try to embarrass and frame people they hate.

(I'll get to that in a few days.)

That so many elected officials who have so very much to be publicly held accountable for, as well as their flunkies, drive around town and act above the law, would be laughable if it weren't so damn objectionable and obvious.

I described it here in detail as recently as Wednesday, and I suggest you go back to that post if you don't get the full picture of what things are like.

And now, finally, here's Csaba Kulin with the latest news on this pension matter: 

I have researched Management Pension Plan for two years. I have all the documents made available to me by the city. I did not find anywhere the City Commission-approved the prior year of service before the pension plan actually started.

The plan started in 2001 and R J Intindola should be receiving 13 months plus 4 years of time purchased. That is a bit over 5 years, not almost 25 years. R J Intindola should receive his 401K retirement, which is a lot less generous, prior to 2001 years of service.

I have been looking for two years for the authorization to give credit for “back service” years.
I was not able to find it for one reason. There is none.

The City Commission approved the plan but NOT the “prior service years”. I have no proof YET but I suspect it was approved, without City Commission’s OK, by the then City Manager R J Intindola. As far as know, R J Intindola was the first beneficiary of his decision.

This is not the end of the story. Will Hallandale Beach try to “claw back” and stop paying out ill-gotten pension payments? Will the Broward Inspector General look at the issue? Will the Hallandale Beach City Commission just say “let us forget about the past and concentrate on the mistakes we will make in the future” or we are going to get to the bottom of this. I will tell you after November 6, 2012
Here is the “smoking gun” from the current City Manager.

Hello Mr. Kulin,

I apologize for the delayed response but I wanted to be 100% sure that this information as correct. The city does not have an item that speaks directly to the credit of back time. I have attached for you all the documentation associated with formal actions adopting the management pension plan for your review.

Renee C. Crichton
City Manager
City of Hallandale Beach

-----

So I ask you, in a City Manager-style form of government like Hallandale Beach has had, who do you suppose made that crucial and expensive decision years ago regarding back time?

Teaser Alert -it wasn't the cute blonde beach lifeguard from Ft. Wayne.

Think much, much higher on the food chain.

Yes, just more reasons to vote for Keith London for mayor and Csaba Kulin and Michele Lazarow for city commission instead of the faces of unethical behavior and inadequate oversight and financial accountability, who desperately want to be on the dais a month from now -Cooper, Sanders and Julian.

http://kulin2012.com/

http://michelelazarow.com/

http://keithlondon.com/

The City of Hallandale Beach's rules are clear -NO political activity on city property. But Josh Brown, Jr. doesn't care about our rules. He wants what HE wants, and our rules don't scare him...; @SandersHB

Below is a copy of an email that I sent to Hallandale Beach City Manager Renee Crichton and some other city officials around 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.

It's one that I felt was necessary after receiving a  disturbing phone call Tuesday morning about YET ANOTHER outrageous attempt by one of the more outlandish characters in this city with connections to HB City Hall, trying to get away with truly egregious behavior and intentionally trying to usurp the city's own rules, this time, in order to help their political friends. 

(If I told you that the friends are people NOT interested in genuine reform or financial accountability at HB City Hall, does that help narrow it down for you?)

I sent it to about 125 people, including bcc's to other elected officials in Broward County, some folks up in Tallahassee and a cc to the Broward Inspector General's office.
If I receive a response from City Manager Crichton I will print it here for you to peruse yourself.

FYI: The email references to DBS are in fact ones to yours truly, HBB.


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

Tuesday October 22, 2012 

Dear City Manager Crichton:

In my opinion, it's hardly surprising that someone with as checkered a public past as Josh Brown, Jr. would try to stretch and then break clear-cut City of Hallandale Beach administrative rules and ordinances designed to prevent people from taking advantage of city taxpayers.
No political activity on city property.

As you can read at the bottom of this email, the facts are pretty clear about what Brown has done in the past, the sort of unethical practices and fraud he has attempted in the past to take advantage of others, all in order to gain something of value to which he was not legally entitled to.
In the case cited below, trying to open a checking account under false pretenses, in order to solicit funds under the name of a political group to which he was NOT legally authorized to represent.
Keep that phrase in mind as you read this email -intentional misrepresentation.

Even though it's perfectly common sense on its own terms, it's no surprise to anyone that the city has rules that specifically forbid political campaigning by candidates or their representatives on city property for reasons that we can all understand and appreciate.

So, given these facts, what is surprising to me is NOT that Josh Brown, Jr. would think that he is too clever to get caught in attempting to break those rules and get away with engaging in political campaigning at city facilities, in order to directly assist his friend, Comm. Anthony A. Sanders, who votes on whether the non-profit group Brown  is a Director of receives city taxpayer funds or CRA funds.

(At a property owned by the city at 501 N.W. First Avenue. A property formerly owned by Comm. Sanders and his wife, and purchased by  the city without, as I have lamented, a legitimate plan. Plus, thanks to a motion made by then-Comm. Bill Julian in 2009, inexplicably, it allows former owner and current Comm. Sanders to use the parcel he already sold for FREE until the building is leveled. © 2012 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved)

No, Brown and Comm. Sanders are clearly more than ships passing in the night,  so what IS surprising to me is that Brown honestly thinks that other citizens of this city, especially pro-reform citizens like myself and many of my friends who want this community to be MUCH more than it is now, would simply stand aside and let him succeed in perpetrating this fraud  he is currently planning for Wednesday night.

To wit, using the pretext of his reserving space at the city's new Foster Park facility -without paying for it himself!- for "voter education" as a ruse for Brown to conveniently have Comm. Sanders and Bill Julian come over for a bit and use that space to campaign with voters.

As I understand it, Brown then called what he was trying to do a "debate," something that was NOT mentioned in his formal request to use the facility according to a conversation I had with HB Parks & Rec. Director Cathie Schanz, when I called her about this matter Monday morning, to let her know what was really going on.

Frankly, I didn't think that it was right for Brown to not only get away with intentionally trying to break the rules and get away with something that is impermissible, and I also didn't like the idea of this sort of thing, after-the-fact, reflecting poorly on her Dept., solely because Brown was so confident that he could pull this off, including lying about what he was doing if need be.

Well, this email to you today is proof that he failed to carry out his misrepresentation and deception.

Besides, for something to be a real "debate," don't you actually have to have ALL of the candidates present to argue their various points and policies?

Of course, but that notion of basic fairness is NOT what Josh Brown, Jr. had in mind for Wednesday night.

No, instead, he wanted to take advantage of the city's taxpayers and ignore the city's own rules and play kingmaker, inviting people he liked to use city facilities to speak to voters -to campaign.

Period.

Despite all the people he knows in this city and who perhaps owe him favors, Brown does NOT get to write his own rules and laws in this city. 
Nor does he get to use the city's facilities, taxpayer facilities, as his personal or political clubhouse and hangout for himself and his pals.

It seems to me that it is long past time for Josh Brown, Jr. to accept that society and this city have rules and laws, and he is NOT above them.

From the public record we already know that Josh Brown, Jr. doesn't much care what others think about what he says and does, otherwise, he would never have been allowed to engage in his politically partisan remarks at the Foster Park opening ceremonies a few weeks ago.

Plain and simple, Brown and his friends will keep pushing the boundaries of right and wrong until he is finally stopped.

Owing to the importance of the city's rules actually being followed and fairly enforced, I'm sending copies of this letter to others in the community with a strong interest in that, with no "special rules for special people," as has been common practice here for years.

The most recent example of this attitude of entitlement is that on the property of the very city-owned building that Josh Brown Jr. spends so much time at, the one formerly owned by Comm. Sanders, is also where where political campaign yard signs for Comm. Sanders, Bill Julian and Mayor Joy Cooper were erected and allowed to stay.

For weeks.

Above, October 3rd, 2012 © 2012 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved

And the three of them still have political yard signs on church property.

Specifically, the S.W. corner of Chuch of Christ at Hallandale Beach, and the  intersection of First Avenue and S.W. 3rd Street, a well-traveled east-west secondary road.

I don't know you that well, Ms. Crichton, but I suspect that I don't have to tell you why the idea of political signs on church property isn't a good one, and is actually illegal, or what can happen to non-profits like churches if they engage in political activity.
The IRS is very clear about this point.

Above and below, October 3rd, 2012.

© 2012 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved

© 2012 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved

People who should know better, actual adults who already know the rules, have once again tried to seek an advantage by intentionally breaking rules and laws that we all have to follow.

No, they are NOT exactly role models for the very kids they say they are attempting to educate and influence.

Please make whatever arrangements you deem necessary with the assistance of the City Attorney, the Police Dept. and, perhaps, Code Compliance to ensure that they have the resources they need Wednesday night to prevent one well-known person with connections in this town from abusing the rules that everyone in this city is supposed to follow.

IF you don't stop this sort of effort now, it will only grow increasingly worse over the coming years.

Sincerely,

DBS, Nine-year resident of Hallandale Beach

http://www.hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/HallandaleBeachBlog

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: InspectorGeneral

Date: Thu, Oct 4, 2012 at 10:31 AM

Subject: RE: re unscrupulous Josh Brown, Jr., Director of non-profit in Hallandale Beach that receives city funds - Why wasn't he prosecuted?

To: "DBS"

Your email  has been received by the Broward Office of the Inspector General.  Your information will be reviewed to determine what action will be taken.

Sincerely,

Broward Office of the Inspector General

------ 

Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2012 2:41 PM

To: Timothy Donnelly

Cc: InspectorGeneral; Attorney General Pam Bondi

Subject: re unscrupulous Josh Brown, Jr., Director of non-profit in Hallandale Beach that receives city funds - Why wasn't he prosecuted?

October 3rd, 2012

Below my email to you today is a self-explanatory email I sent to South Florida

Times reporter Elgin Jones almost a month ago.

In it, I asked Mr. Jones if he had any more information about the well-documented 

activities and behavior of Josh Brown, Jr. of Hallandale Beach, a state-registered 

Director of a non-profit in Hallandale Beach called Palms Center for the Arts, Inc., 

which is run by his sister, Dr. Deborah Brown, who is its President.

Activities that Mr. Jones documented in his columns and on YouTube with a victim 

of Mr. Brown's activities, which I have links to on that email to Mr. Jones.

This organization has received tens of thousands of city dollars for many years

and operates out of a city-owned building that saw many thousands of dollars

poured into it before they moved-in, for which they pay Hallandale Beach taxpayers

the rather princely sum of $10 a year in rent for a building that the city itself claimed

was legally appraised for $235,000. Quite a deal! 

For them, not Hallandale Beach taxpayers

To say the least, the known behavior of Mr. Brown could at best, charitably, be

described as unscrupulous, to say nothing if not mendacious, fraudulent and

likely criminal.

In fact, that's exactly what it looks like, Mr. Donnelly.

Even in Broward County, intentionally misrepresenting yourself and your position 

within a non-profit, the Broward Democratic Black Caucus, to bank officials for the

purposes of opening a bank account so that you can illegally solicit funds throughout 

Broward County for an organization that you are NOT legally authorized to represent,

is NOT kosher.

Or legal.

And then there's that lingering questions about how it came to be that the Internet

is absolutely chock-full of information that show that at some point in the recent 

past, after the Palms Center for the Arts moved-in, Josh Brown, Jr. used the address

of this non-profit on city-owned property as the address for a personal political 

effort of his. Really. 

As if that was the most natural thing in the world to do.

It certainly gives me and many other concerned Hallandale Beach residents some

useful insight into Brown's willingness to do whatever he wants, and to laugh at the

rules, protocol or laws that everyone else has to follow.

Given his status as a Director at the Palms Center for the Arts, Inc., which continues

to receive city funds, my two questions for you, Mr. Donnelly are simple ones.

1.) How can Hallandale Beach taxpayers have any confidence in an organization

that has, as a Director, a man that has already tried to commit fraud to help himself

to money destined for a non-profit that he was not legally entitled to? 

Why must Hallandale Beach taxpayers have to wonder when the next shoe is going

to drop?

2.) Why was Josh Brown, Jr. not prosecuted by the SAO for his documented illegal

actions?

In the past few years, when I have written you and your office fact-filled emails about

highly-questionable ethical or illegal behavior/activities about the City of Hallandale

Beach that I have personally seen or have knowledge of, or been the victim of,

your office have chosen NOT to respond in any way to my queries. 

As a consequence of that track record of indifference, Mr. Donnelly, I'm sending 

copies of this email to roughly about 150 people or so in South Florida.

That not only includes Hallandale Beach's most well-informed and concerned citizens,

but also certain print/TV reporters, columnists, producers and station management

as well as local area elected officials, and others.

People who have more than a passing interest in Hallandale Beach being free of corruption

and criminal activity or influence.

And just as importantly, city tax dollars or CRA funds NOT going down the drain 

or being absconded with, due to the chronic lack of appropriate oversight by the 

Hallandale Beach City Commission, or timely and thorough auditing, due to their

longstanding love of crony capitalism with CRA and tax dollars.

Perhaps I'll hear from you at some point, perhaps not.

Given the lack of response from the SAO office in the past, you'll certainly understand 

that I'm not exactly holding my breath.

Sincerely yours,

DBS

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From:"DBS"
Date: Fri, Sep 7, 2012 at 9:35 AM
Subject: re Your 2009 article, BROWARD DEMOCRATIC BLACK CAUCUS ELECTION VOIDED re Josh Brown
To: "Jones, Elgin"
Cc: "DBS"

September 7, 2012

Dear Mr. Jones:

re your 2009 article, BROWARD DEMOCRATIC BLACK CAUCUS ELECTION VOIDED

http://www.sfltimes.com/index.php?Itemid=1&id=2939&option=com_content&task=view

Have you ever heard or been given a reasonable explanation for why Dr. Deborah R. Brown's

brother, Josh Brown, Jr., whom you reference in your article, and a Director at the Palms Center

for the Arts, Inc. that she is President of, which, according to documents they themselves provided

to the City of Hallandale Beach last year,

http://www.cohb.org/files/2011-07-1402/Item%205A/SUPP_DOCS/Documents/Doc7.pdf

is NOT a 501(c)3 as most people assume

http://www.sunbiz.org/pdf/36204184.pdf 

http://www.browardbulldog.org/2012/06/details-emerge-about-broward-igs-hallandale-probe-payments-to-commissioners-wife-eyed/#commentlist

was, apparently, never prosecuted by the Broward State's Attorney for his leading role in attempting

to commit a fraud against the Broward Democratic Black Caucus in 2009, by engaging in a coup

against a legally-chartered political organization, including as you wrote at the time of your interview

above, Josh Brown Jr. setting-up a bank account in their name and then later soliciting funds under

false pretenses?

While I appreciate that historically, misrepresentation is often hard to prove in court, per se, this sounds

pretty clear-cut to me.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/crm01350.htm

Also, have you ever heard any sort of plausible explanation given for why Brown was apparently

allowed to illegally use the address of his sister's organization on City of Hallandale Beach-owned

land as an office address for a political campaign or organization of his?

Not a Post Office box he rented or one at a nearby Mailbox Etc. but the actual physical address of

property owned by taxpayers, 501 N.W. 1st Street.

It's this building, where at 0:56 of this July Channel 10 video, hey, what do you know, there's Director 

Josh Brown: http://youtu.be/XlOgkrL9CWI

How has he been able to apparently skate on all these things?

If you have any information or update on these matters that you'd be willing to share, I'd greatly

appreciate hearing from you.

Sincerely,

DBS
http://www.hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/

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

http://www.democraticblackcaucusfl.org/about/chapters

http://youtu.be/wZYdVdBOfLE

http://youtu.be/pSkIx0o6BSk 

Csaba Kulin on Monday night's citizen 'blackout' at Hallandale Beach City Hall re first of two meetings re 2013 budget, courtesy of the Usual Suspects -Joy Cooper's Rubber Stamp Crew; Today's meeting is at 4 p.m.

Before reading what Csaba wrote and sent around town around Noon, I remind you of the earlier email I received from Hallandale Beach Comm. Keith London about the two 2013 budget meetings -the first of which was last night, the second of which starts at 4 p.m. today- since it concerns the obstacles being deliberately placed in residents way to attend these meetings, placed there by people at HB City Hall whose salaries you pay for:

Your Tax Dollars at Work

Hallandale's $100 Million Budget Discussion Held Upstairs in Room 257 instead of Commission Chambers

Weeks after posting the agenda that Budget Workshops will be held in Commission Chambers, staff moved the meeting to room 257, upstairs and difficult for the public to access.

City Hall closes its doors at 5:00 PM.

In order to attend the meeting, if you arrive after 5pm, you must go through the Police Department and be escorted upstairs.

To make access to the public easier:

• Commissioner London motioned to hold the second budget meeting in Commission Chambers, on Tuesday August 14, 2012
• These meetings are two of the most important meetings of the year. They should be in Commission Chambers
• Commissioner London was not informed prior to the meeting
• Commissioner Lewy seconded the motion for discussion
• Commissioner Lewy stated "comfort of staff is not his priority"
• Mayor Cooper stated "this is ridiculous and political and total BS" but also "the budget meeting worked fine last year in city commission chambers"
• So which one is it Mayor Cooper? "BS" or "access and ease for the public"

The final vote was 3:2 London and Lewy for the public ease of access.

Cooper, Sanders, and Ross to hide upstairs away from those pesky members of the public.

Regards,

Keith
Commissioner Keith S. London

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August 14, 2012

Dear Residents of Hallandale Beach,

A couple of days ago I sent you a three page narrative about most important meetings of the year for residents of Hallandale Beach. The meeting was supposed to take place August 13 and 14, 2012 at 4:00 P.M. in the City Commission Chambers. At the last moment it was moved to room 257 of City Hall. City Hall closes at 5:00 P.M. and you can only enter trough the police station with an escort. I do NOT know how many of you tried but only one or two residents braved to come upstairs to room 257. Commissioners London and Lewy tried to move today’s meeting but Mayor Cooper, VM Sanders and Commissioner Ross voted to have today’s meeting upstairs away from those pesky residents. So much for encouraging public attendance.  

I was very disappointed that I did not see more of you at the meeting. The City is going to spend a $100 million of your dollars, 11.4% more than last year, hire 53 additional employees and issue bonds of $56.7 million dollars for a number of projects. You have to pay for 20-30 years the bonds and have millions of other increases to operate these projects. I hope you will find the time to come to today’s meeting and speak up.

There were about 5-6 topics the City Manager presented and the Commissioners discussed. I spent many, many hours to prepare myself to ask questions. After each topic the residents were supposed to be able ask questions prior to moving on to the next item. The Mayor did not ask the residents, there were only 2 or 3 of us, if we had any questions.

I was able to ask one question after the item was passed and everyone stood up started to go to have dinner. The Mayor did NOT ask if “anyone in the audience have questions?”
Do I have to whistle or knock a chair over to make some noise to be recognized? The person in charge of the meeting has to ask the audience. How difficult is that?

I did not have a chance to ask the City Manager a number of very important questions.

·         Why did she skip over the Staffing Changes on page 47? The City is adding 53 FTE additional employees costing $3.4 million dollars.

·         Why did the General Fund expenses increase $5.9 million dollars or 11.4%?

·         Why did personnel expense increase $6.4 million dollars or 15.4%?

·         Why did our personnel expenses increase 81.83% in the last 10 years? The rate of inflation was only 24.86%.

·         Why does it cost the City an average of $104,861 dollars per employee?

·         Why does the City want to issue $56.7 million bonds when about $10.0 million is already funded by the City or paid by a developer?

I had many other questions, more than most commissioners, but the Mayor did not want to hear them or just “forgot” to ask for them.

The question asked “why we NOT have more public participation?” The reason is, it is not encouraged by the Mayor. Sitting there for six (6) hours listening to obvious misstatements and omissions and not being able say a word?
Commissioner Lewy told me after the meeting “candidates are there to learn not to ask questions”. It may be so, but I was there as a resident, not a candidate. What are the residents at the meeting, potted flowers or decorations, seen but not heard?

I am not going tell you about the decisions made by the City Commission for a few days but I can tell you last night was a very discouraging evening for me.
I will try to gather enough strength to expose myself to another night of frustration.

I hope you will be there tonight at 4:00 P.M. and speak up.
It is your CITY and YOUR money, spend it the way you like to.

Sincerely,

Csaba Kulin