More troubling news re the Hallandale Beach CRA scandal and the curious conduct of Mayor Joy Cooper re FL's Sunshine Laws and public records, which further makes the case for why we need the Florida Joint Legislative Auditing Committee (JLAC) to get involved and perform a thorough audit of the HB CRA ASAP

Above and below, looking north on south-bound U.S.-1/South Federal Highway towards Hallandale Beach City Hall, July 10, 2013 photo by South Beach Hoosier. © 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved.

Taken within the context of a sweltering South Florida summer -above via a heat map photo- that's often robbed us of our desire to live in South Florida full-time, or at least get into our car any time after its been sitting in a parking lot under a brutal and unforgiving sun for hours on end, for fear of our skin melting, and literally having the life sucked out of us after opening the door, today is a real red letter day at the blog.

The reason for that is that we have some genuine positive news to share with you all courtesy of Tom Lauder that actually advances the narrative that is the continuing drip-drip-drip scandal of the Hallandale Beach CRA, and what has gone on in this city the past ten years.

Not just the public policy scandal of all the wasted time and squandered opportunities to actually do the right thing in this city to actually eliminate blight and improve the area economically in a way that's actually tangible, which is a scandal of sorts, of course, but the larger financial one that directly led to millions of dollars going out the door with near-zero scrutiny and oversight by the very people at Hallandale Beach City Hall who were supposed to provide it on behalf of the citizens, taxpayers and small business owners of this city.
But who didn't.
Year-after-year.

I sent the following out as an email this afternoon because it helps to tie together more information about those mysterious text messages between Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper, HB City Manager Renee C. Miller and the mayor's pal and Broward lobbyist, Judy Stern, and their attempts to prevent an audit of the HB CRA from taking place via County Auditor Evan Lukic's office.
It also helps connects-the-dots more on how the city's elected officials and administrators handle public record requests that get a little too close for comfort.

Rather than name every official I sent it to like I have sometimes in the past, let's just say that this time I've sent it to a wider variety of people than usual here and up in Tallahassee -and points-in-between- as well as some of the leaders of the Florida State Senate and members of the Florida Joint Legislative Auditing Committee, the latter of whom many of us in this city are counting on to get us the truth we've long been denied.
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My comments are after this very timely article by Tom Lauder.

Media Trackers Florida
Hallandale Beach Mayor Fails to Report Texts to Lobbyist During Meeting
By Tom Lauder
July 31, 2013

Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper exchanged multiple text messages with controversial lobbyist Judy Stern during a June 4 government meeting but did not log the messages on a lobbyist contact report as required by state law.

Earlier this spring, Hallandale Beach residents asked the Broward County Commission for assistance after a Broward County Office of the Inspector General (OIG) investigation “identified numerous instances of gross mismanagement that stemmed from institutional deficiencies in the establishment, organization and function of the CRA [Community Redevelopment Agency].” Some of the residents raising concerns included Hallandale Beach Commissioner Michele Lazarow and former Hallandale Beach Commissioner Keith London.

Read the rest of the post at:
http://mediatrackers.org/florida/2013/07/31/hallandale-beach-mayor-fails-to-report-texts-to-lobbyist-during-meeting

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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 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.

Keith London writes re "Concerned Citizens of Hallandale" request JLAC to order a CRA Audit and seek an AG opinion; Hallandale Beach citizens wonder if the Florida Joint Legislative Auditing Committee (JLAC) will come to the rescue of Hallandale Beach's beleaguered taxpayers after the "gross mismanagement" of millions of CRA dollars by Mayor Joy Cooper and her Rubber Stamp Crew, or will they punt?

"Concerned Citizens of Hallandale" request JLAC to order a CRA Audit and seek an AG opinion

Csaba Kulin's spot-on email about the Hallandale Beach CRA scandal to HB Comm. Anthony A. Sanders re Sanders' refusal to vote (twice!) to do the right thing for HB taxpayers and small business owners, and instead, vote to help Mayor Joy Cooper and Comm. Alexander Lewy in their desperate attempt to avoid a full public accounting for where ALL the millions of CRA dollars really went

Above, civic activist Csaba Kulin on his balcony, shortly before we recorded some videos that you will soon start seeing here on the blog. The binders on the table are full of City of Hallandale Beach documents and research information csaba has spent many months putting together regarding the city's VERY, VERY CURIOUS pension plan that pays (will pay) a select group of former and current top employees, including the past three City Managers -R.J. Intindola, Mike Good & Mark A. Antonio- for their past service at a MUCH-HIGHER rate than what they actually earned it at. That very crucial and very expensive decision will cost HB taxpayers millions of dollars MORE than it should, and yet even today, years after-the-fact, the City of Hallandale Beach STILL can't or won't say publicly who made the decision and produce the documentation. No, Csaba and I haven't forgotten about that pension scandal one bit. March 22, 2013 photo by South Beach Hoosier. © 2014 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved.

My friend and fellow Hallandale Beach and Broward County civic activist Csaba Kulin wrote a short and spot-on email last week that I wanted to share with you today that's a continuation of the pro-reform thoughts of this community in blog posts I've written recently about the Hallandale Beach CRA scandal.

A scandal that will not be brushed away like HB Mayor Joy Cooper desperately wants, so she doesn't have to be personally accountable to the public for what has happened here for years with her in charge all the while.
Mayor Cooper is in heavy-duty 'spin' mode, and I haven't even told you yet anout her new PR gambit, which will be the subject of a future post here.

Csaba's email was sent to Hallandale Beach Comm. Anthony A. Sanders re Sanders' abject refusal to vote (twice!) to do the right thing for HB taxpayers and small business owners, and finally get them some long-overdue accountability on the HB CRA that has wasted millions of dollars, most of it in NW HB, including voting AGAINST an audit of the HB CRA by the Florida Joint Legislative Auditing Committee, JLAC.

But instead of doing the right thing, Sanders twice voted the wrong way and actually had the gall to preen up on the dais and mock residents at last wednesday night's CRA Board meeting for more of them not speaking that night.

Typical cynical and Sanders attitude showing not only his stupidity, but his continuing lack of respect for the citizens of this community that he's supposed to work for, NOT that Sanders has ever shown a strong work ethic in the past or even worked very hard at being properly prepared for meetings, since he often appears confused about what's happening -and it's no act, no matter how much he tries to make it seem like he's just lying in wait, being impatient. 

No, it's nothing of the sort, it's just sheer laziness and a lack of resolve and backbone to do the sort of responsible job anyone in his position is expected to do -provide oversight and hold people accountable
It's NOT exactly Breaking News that Comm. Anthony A. Sanders doesn't want to do either one of these, he just wants to go around town being a commissioner, like it's a ceremonial position or something.

It's typical of Sanders lack of attention to detail that the simple fact is that HB citizens were NOT allowed to speak after they'd heard the staff or CRA Directors talk about the two matters on the CRA Board agenda or even what they wanted to do, only BEFORE anything was ever said or publicly presented.

So in this respect, Sanders' disrespectful remarks to the public at large as well as the ones in the room sitting before him was entirely in keeping with the bad reputation he's earned over six years for NOT being smart, prepared or attentive to detail at meetings, but rather oblivious and inarticulate, and that's putting it mildly.

NOT that the South Florida news media ever publicly mentions this self-evident fact about Sanders when they show up -if they show up.

Yes, after witnessing the stunts Sanders pulled at last week's CRA meeting, you seriously wonder how in the world he ever fooled so many people into voting for him when you see how truly clueless he is, and unwilling to accept personal responsibility for his own actions and words.

So clueless, that when actually presented with a golden opportunity for two easy lay-ups, Sanders balks and plays defense for Mayor Cooper and Comm. Alexander Lewy, neither of whom want a full public accounting for where all those HB CRA dollars went while they -and Sanders- were the majority of the City Commission, and playing Santa Claus.

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Commissioner Sanders,

I am very disappointed in the outcome of Wednesday night’s HB/HBCRA Board of Directors meeting. There were two very reasonable, common sense changes to the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee (JLAC) response and both failed due to the lack of your support. Comm. Julian and Lazarow not only talked the talk, they walked the walk. They needed your support to succeed but they did not get it.     

The first one was to request JLAC to perform a complete audit of the HBCRA and return any money improperly spent to the CRA Trust Fund.

It is in the best interest of every resident of the CRA district. You would want every penny put back into the CRA Trust Fund which was improperly spent by anyone. How can you NOT support that?

Knocking on doors last fall, when I asked, hundreds of residents could not name any significant results of the 70 million spent by the CRA in the last 15 years. Apparently you do NOT want to know and you do NOT want anyone else in the CRA district to know where all the money went. Can you explain to why?

The second item you did NOT support was to ask the Florida Attorney General for an opinion as to the proper type of expenditures a CRA can make using CRA funds according to Chapter 163 of the Florida Statutes.

The question is, do you want the CRA to function as a Community Redevelopment Agency or something the Mayor or City Manager decides to function as? You do not support the motion to reduce the City Manager’s spending authority of 25 or 50 thousand dollars. Detailed financial reports are not on the City’s web site. We do not know most of the details what is going on at City Hall. We find out most details by chance.

Do want the CRA to function as the Mayor’s “cookie jar”? If she likes you, if you go along with her, you get a few cookies. If she does not like you, you get nothing with a dose of abuse. The anger and the poisonous venom coming from her voice over the phone last night is telling of her and her management style. Maybe you did not want to face that music?     

If I was in your shoes, I listen to what the Florida Attorney General has to say, not only the “hired guns” of the Mayor. Remember, AG’s opinion is free and carries a lot of weight.

I do not have to tell you that the battle for better government does not stop here. There are just too many good people working very hard to make the long needed changes in Hallandale Beach. I am sorry to see that you do not seem to one of them.

I do not want to sound overly harsh or accusatory toward you but you must understand the frustration I feel about the way our city’s leadership is treating us and handling our affairs.

Sincerely,

Csaba Kulin 

"High Noon" in Hallandale Beach on Wednesday night? After so many months of HB City Hall intentionally stonewalling the public, the city's long-running CRA scandal and the Broward IG's damning report of the HB CRA Board, alleging "gross mismanagement" of millions of dollars, will FINALLY get a public airing on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at HB City Hall; Is the Florida Joint Legislative Auditing Comm. poised to come to the rescue of long-suffering HB residents who've longed for a complete audit of the entire CRA for many years, and want to see some punishment after years of ZERO accountability and little tangible to show for the MILLIONS that went out the door?

Above, looking north on U.S.-1/S. Federal Highway at the scene of so much of the toxic public policy problems in our small ocean-side city the past ten years, where logic, reason and integrity rarely if ever intersected, with residents, taxpayers and small business owners always taking it on the chin and the powers-that-be doing whatever they wanted with no fear of punishment: the Hallandale Beach Municipal complex, 400 S. Federal Highway. January 29, 2013 photo by South Beach Hoosier. ©  2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved

"High Noon" in Hallandale Beach on Wednesday night? After so many months of HB City Hall intentionally stonewalling the public, the city's long-running CRA scandal and the Broward IG's damning report of the HB CRA Board, alleging "gross mismanagement" of millions of dollars, will FINALLY get a public airing on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at HB City Hall; Is the Florida Joint Legislative Auditing Comm. poised to come to the rescue of long-suffering HB residents who've longed for a complete audit of the entire CRA for many years, and want to see some punishment after years of ZERO accountability and little tangible to show for the MILLIONS that went out the door?

Today's important blog post consists of two parts. The first is a group email that I sent out this morning around 8:45 a.m. to a much larger than usual number of people in South Florida and around the state, after having noticed a new and interesting post over at Broward Bulldog regarding the never-ending scandal that is the Hallandale Beach CRA, and the efforts of the powers-that-be at HB City Hall to cover-up all the financial facts for as long as possible and avoid a thorough audit by credible third-parties. It's pretty self-explanatory.

I also have something from somebody for you to peruse the insightful email that was sent out last week by former HB Commissioner Keith London regarding Wednesday night's important HB CRA Board of Director's meeting at City Hall, the very first opportunity the public has had to discuss this matter, despite the Broward Inspector General's report on the city's "gross mismanagement" having come out months ago.

Besides the usual assortment of well-informed Hallandale Beach, Hollywood and Broward residents, activists and bloggers, and the handful of reliable news media members I trust, I also sent it to Florida Governor Rick Scott, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi,  Florida CFO Jeff Atwater, Florida state Senators Don Gaetz, Jack Latvala, Joseph Abruzzo and Jeremy Ring, state Rep.Lake Ray, Broward Inspector General John W. Scott and Broward County Commissioners Sue Gunzburger and Barbara Sharief, both of whom represent parts of Hallandale Beach in their district.

Sen. Gaetz is the Florida Senate President, Sen. Latvala is the Chairman of the Ethics and Elections Comm., while Rep. Ray and Sen. Abruzzo are the Co-chairmen of the important Joint Legislative Auditing Committee, which Sen. Ring is a member of.

Sen. Ring is the only state legislator receiving my email today who is actually from Broward County. 

You more regular readers of the blog who pay attention and who connect-the-dots quicker than the news media know perfectly well why contacting state Senator Eleanor Sobel and or state Rep. Joe Gibbons would've been a waste of time, reasons which I explained in a recent post about this matter.

I have previously discussed the work of the JLAC a few times before here on the blog and the important role they might have if the Broward County Commission didn't do anything last month, which is exactly what happened

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/cgi-bin/View_Page.pl?Directory=committees/joint/Jcla/&File=index_css.html&Tab=committees

Local10 video: Hallandale Beach CRA accused of misspending $2.1 Million
Broward County Commission takes no action on audit request.
Reported by investigative reporter Bob Norman
Published On: Jun 04 2013 07:11:25 PM EDT, Updated On: Jun 05 2013 11:01:19 AM EDT
http://www.local10.com/news/cra-accused-of-misspending-21m/-/1717324/20425002/-/3mpae4z/-/index.html

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Broward Bulldog

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

By William Gjebre, BrowardBulldog.org 

July 9, 2013 AT 5:56 AM

Hallandale Beach city commissioners on Wednesday will consider asking the Florida Attorney General for a ruling on how community redevelopment funds can be spent, a decision that could have a far-reaching impact.

“This is an opinion that would affect every CRA in the state of Florida,” Hallandale Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) attorney Steven Zelkowitz cautioned city commissioners at a recent meeting.

Read the rest of the post at:

http://www.browardbulldog.org/2013/07/hallandale-may-seek-attorney-general-opinion-on-cra-spending-wide-impact-seen/

Until I saw this article an hour ago, I was planning on sending out an email later this afternoon that I thought you'd find of great interest 

In it I'd cordially invite everyone to attend this "High Noon in Hallandale Beach" re the HB CRA scandal on Wednesday at 6 pm at HB City Hall, and come watch in awe as the city once again tried their best to obfuscate, lie and spin its way out of a hornet's nest while denying any culpability at all.

http://cohb.org/files/2013-07-10/Exported%20OV%20Docs/Agenda%20Outline%20for%202013-07-10%2018-00.htm

http://cohb.org/files/2013-07-10/Additional%20Information-%20Abruzzo-Ray%20Response%20Letter%20FINAL.pdf

And, of course, I'd have implores you of the great importance in attending this meeting so that you, too, can bear witness to what some of us concerned HB residents have been watching in plain sight for years while responsible parties did nothing but avert their eyes.

I call it "High Noon in HB" because of what's truly at stake tomorrow night:

HB City Hall's longstanding lack of ethical integrity and the CRA Board's desire to "Win friends and influence people" thru old-fashioned crony capitalism  and dollars not their own, with little-to-no public accountability, despite  lots of high-paid staff that never inspired confidence among the public and who never evinced much-if-any concern with such picayune matters as laws, norms and ethics, to say nothing of the community's long-term best interests.

Those of you who think you will hear an even semi-plausible or reasonable explanation from Mayor Joy Cooper, Comm. Alexander Lewy and City Manager Renee Miller for why they have fought so hard to prevent a public meeting on the facts of this matter of great public importance, down to them publicly haranguing members of the public -and publicly haranguing other members the elected City Commission- who DID want to talk publicly

and candidly about it, and the millions of CRA dollars that have flown out the door with so little tangible to show for it, are, I'm afraid, in for a great deal of disappointment.

This is not Japan, so they will NOT apologize for their longstanding stonewalling, nor will they oblige you in trying to explain their stealthy actions and words of the past several months, just as they believe they never needed to publicly explain to you why they have fought so hard and for so long to prevent a public audit of the entire HB CRA from ever taking place.

And no, to answer another question I anticipate, you will also NOT hear any reasonable explanation tomorrow night, years-after-the-fact, for why Comm. Lewy, after midnight at a HB CRA meeting with few if any residents still in attendance, tried to funnel over $200,000 in CRA funds to a group controlled entirely by Comm. Anthony A. Sanders  and his wife, Jessica.

And to do so without ever mentioning the actual name of the group publicly, but instead, by erroneously referring to their so-called stellar track record.
A "track record" that the facts show is anything but stellar and a non-profit group which is and has been anything but transparent and accountable to the public for the money they've received for so many years from the city.

In other words, don't hold your breath waiting for battlefield conversions.

Below is the simple and common sense email from Keith London that he sent out last week to give the area an idea of what was really going on, and which I forwarded to many of you here in South Florida and around the state who are not on his email distribution list.

By the way, as of this morning, I've still NOT received all the public documents I formally requested weeks ago via a Public Records Request about Mayor Cooper, City Manager Miller and lobbyist Judy Stern and their intense lobbying efforts to prevent the Broward County Commission from voting for an audit of the HB CRA via the Broward County Auditor's office.

Surprise!!!

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NOT in my email but posted here on the blog for your information and education:

The reference above to Comm. Lewy refers to his actions and words at the public meeting of July 19, 2011, mentioned in my blog post of August 1, 2011

While you were sleeping: Comm. Alexander Lewy's budget chicanery & Liberal Guilt just cost you another $200,000-plus. For what and for whom, exactly?

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/while-you-were-sleeping-comm-alexander.html

See also:

FRIDAY, MAY 3, 2013

Csaba Kulin asks Hallandale Beach City Attorney Whitfield THE question HB citizens have long wondered, esp. as the Broward IG's Office has been busy investigating the city and turning-up mountains of incriminating and jaw-dropping evidence: Who at HB City Hall is supposed to make sure that applicable laws, ordinances and rules, especially those regarding ethics and conflicts of interest, are followed and enforced fairly? Teaser Alert: You won't like her answer

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.ca/2013/05/csaba-kulin-asks-hallandale-beach-city.html

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

From: Keith London
Date: Tue, Jul 2, 2013 at 10:30 AM
Subject: Finally- Hallandale's First Public Meeting to Discuss the Response to the OIG Report

Share

Everyone, This is a reminder there is a meeting scheduled for next Wednesday, July 10, 2013 at 6:00PM of the City Commission in conjunction with the Hallandale Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (HBCRA) Board of Directors to review and discuss the City's/HBCRA's Final Draft Response to the Broward County Office of the Inspector General's Investigative Report. The response to the OIG and Florida Legislature is due on 7-16-13, two weeks from today. There is NO back up material at this time. This meeting would not be taking place if not for Commissioner Lazarow making a motion seconded by Commissioner Julian and majority voted by Commissioner Sanders. Copper and Lewy voted NO to a public meeting and would still like everyone to believe nothing happened. The following are the links to the documents from the Broward OIGs office for your review: Broward County Office of the Inspector General, “Regarding Gross Mismanagement of Public Funds by the City of Hallandale Beach and the Hallandale Beach Community Redevelopment Agency: The Inspector General made various recommendations on report page 56 related to ensuring the independence of the CRA and requested a status report by July 16, 2013. We are interested in the policies and procedures that City and CRA management intend to implement to ensure compliance with the requirements of Chapter 163, Part III, F.S. Letter from the Florida Legislature Joint Legislative Auditing Committee requesting the following: Please provide documentation to support how the initial amount was determined. If any estimates were used in determining this amount, please provide an explanation of the basis for using such estimate and how the estimated amount was calculated. Also, please provide the detailed spreadsheet that Ms. Ladolcetta references in her response.   Please provide the specific authority upon which the City relied to use CRA monies for the above-noted expenditures. Absent specific authority to support the use of CRA monies for expenditures not authorized by Chapter 163, Part III, F.S., or not included in the CRA Plan, it appears that the CRA monies should be restored to the CRA Fund. In addition, to resolve the disagreement, we request that the City Council, sitting as the governing board of the CRA, request an opinion from the Attorney General regarding the specific expenditures in question. The City Council should ask the Attorney General the following question(s): (1) Is the use of the CRA funds for such expenditures allowable under Ch. 163, F.S.? and (2) if not, should the City restore the funds to the CRA? In addition, we suggest that the City Council agree to abide by the Attorney General’s Opinion. Please provide a copy of the status report to the Committee at the time it is sent to the Inspector General. Hallandale’s Staff Response to the preliminary OIG report. This is referred to as “staff’s response” because the meeting next week is the first time the OIG report is an official agenda item. To date, there has never been an official motion, resolution, vote or action by the city commission or CRA board of directors related to this important issue. The lack response and oversight of this issue by Cooper has cost the taxpayers an additional $40,000 for the CRA attorney because of the additional work necessary to appropriately respond to the OIG Report and the Joint Legislative Committee Letter. In Cooper’s and Lewy’s opinion, this issue is being appropriately handled by the City and CRA attorneys and requires no further discussion or explanation to the public; hence no transparency.  Please clickhere to listen and watch the June 17, 2013 CRA meeting: But Cooper and Lewy refuse to respect the opinion of The State of Florida Attorney General the highest attorney in the great State of Florida. Please read the opinion here. Please plan on attending this meeting and supporting open transparent government. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need additional material. Regards, Keith Keith S. London   Cell: 954-494-3182 email: keith@keithlondon.comwww.keithlondon.com

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