Broward County officials are traveling on your dime
Conventions are only miles from home, but South Florida officials bill taxpayers for luxury hotels and chauffeured rides
- By Jennifer Gollan
- January 11, 2009
Although the national mayors convention was only 34 miles from his home, Lauderhill Mayor Richard Kaplan decided it would be too difficult to commute. So he billed taxpayers $995 to stay five nights in June at the four-star InterContinental Miami hotel.
"I would have to get up at 3 or 4 in the morning to miss the rush-hour traffic," Kaplan said. "It gets to be very time-consuming."
Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper also attended that convention. Instead of making the 20-mile trip, she charged taxpayers $796 for four nights at the hotel.
Pembroke Pines Mayor Frank Ortis, with a commute of 25 miles, billed taxpayers $889.48 for four nights.
When asked about it six months later, Ortis said "it doesn't make any sense to stay overnight in Miami," and reimbursed the city for his hotel bill.
Indeed, while not expressly prohibited under their formal policies, Pembroke Pines, Hallandale Beach and Lauderhill generally bar employees from staying overnight in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties. Cooper, however, declined to repay the city for her stay, saying it was a business-related expense.
"I am not there fluffing my own feathers," she said. "Rather than dragging through traffic it was just easier to stay overnight. ... Why would I reimburse the city for part of my job?"
A Sun Sentinel review of expense records filed by taxing district board members and elected officials representing Broward County and its 31 municipalities since January 2007 also found charges for some spouses and children to attend conference functions.
Taxpayers also footed the bill for chauffeured rides to the airport, in some cases paying almost double what it would have cost had the officials driven themselves and parked at the airport's most expensive lot. Such expenses are small in relation to the city budgets.
But they add up and raise questions, especially amid a recession that has governments cutting spending and public services.
"Local officials are obligated to avoid abusing or exploiting opportunities for self-indulgence on the public dime," said Anthony Alfieri, director of the Center for Ethics and Public Service at the University of Miami School of Law.
"That means engaging in cost-saving conduct, such as commuting rather than incurring hotel bills" for local meetings. Some officials disagree,saying the sums in question are small, and perks of the job. For example, five Central Broward Water Control District officials billed taxpayers $380 so their spouses and children could join them at two parties in Key West and Key Largo during two conferences in 2007 and 2008.
Commissioners and staff also spent $538.11 so they, their spouses and children — a total party of 10 — could dine at a restaurant in Key West on July 12, 2007.
District Board Chairman Cris Fardelmann said he didn't see why he should cover his wife's expense. "I definitely don't think there's any abuse here," said Fardelmann, who is paid $4,800 per year to maintain secondary canals in six cities. "I'm not going to leave [my wife] sitting in the hotel room while we go to dinner. I do not make a lot of money at this job, and having your spouse along makes it much more possible to go."
The district does not have a formal policy prohibiting commissioners from billing taxpayers for expenses incurred by their spouses and children. State law allows local governments to set their own travel polices and decide who can travel on public business.
"State law seems to authorize travel by someone beyond the elected official or officer, but trying to define exactly who fits within that other category is where the cities must make their own decision," said Eric Hartwell, assistant general counsel for the Florida League of Cities.
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- Palm Beach County officals billing taxpayers for luxury hotels and chauffeured rides
- Conventions are only miles from home, but officials bill taxpayers for luxury hotels and chauffeured rides.
- By Jennifer Golla
- January 11, 2009
- It was only an 80-minute drive each way, but Palm Beach County Commission Chairman Jeff Koons said it was crucial that he and three other commissioners stay at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa for a statewide conference in June.
"I know people might think it's not good to send a group, but it was a very good investment," Koons said, adding that they weren't there for the spa and other amenities. "People expect us to be knowledgeable, and that's the purpose of these trips."
Koons and commissioners Addie Greene, Karen Marcus and former commissioner Mary McCarty billed taxpayers a total of $1,350.70 to stay at the four-star resort during the Florida Association of Counties conference.
McCarty stayed one night for $130.
Marcus and Greene billed taxpayers $390 each for three nights. Koons' three-night stay cost a bit more, $440.70, because he paid the hotel bill and tax before being reimbursed by the county, missing out on tax exemptions granted when a government pays bills directly.
Because each commissioner serves on the association's board, Koons said it would have been impractical to send one commissioner to represent the others. Further, Koons said he and the other commissioners didn't discuss any county matters as required under the Sunshine law, which bars two or more officials on the same board from talking about pending public business outside a publicly noticed meeting.
A Sun Sentinel review of expense records filed by South Florida elected officials and taxing district board members since January 2007 also found taxpayers footing the bill for hotels as close as 20 miles away. In other cases, they paid for spouses and children to attend and dine at conference functions.
Such expenses are small in relation to the city budgets. But they add up and raise questions, especially amid a recession that has governments cutting spending and public services.
"Local officials are obligated to avoid abusing or exploiting opportunities for self indulgence on the public dime," said Anthony Alfieri, director of the Center for Ethics and Public Service at the University of Miami School of Law. "That means engaging in cost-saving conduct such as commuting rather than incurring hotel bills" for local meetings.
Some officials disagree,saying the sums in question are small, and perks of the job.
When the Florida League of Cities held an awards banquet in Orlando in November 2007, Delray Beach sent Mayor Rita Ellis and Vice Mayor Woodie McDuffie, Commissioner Fred Fetzer and former commissioner Brenda Montague.
McDuffie and Montague stayed overnight at the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport Hotel, costing taxpayers a total of $286. Ellis and Fetzer went for the day only.
The overnight stay in Orlando was not unreasonable given the distance. But did Delray need to send four elected officials as well as the city manager? "Our city was nominated for the Florida City of Excellence award," Fetzer said. "It was quite an honor for the city, and the Florida League of Cities asked us to have as many representatives there as we could. We felt it was an important enough event for the city that we wanted to be well represented."
McDuffie said he also participated in meetings on pending legislation on tax reform.
"The sole purpose of the meeting was not the awards banquet," said McDuffie, noting that, at the time, he sat on the league's Fiscal Stewardship Council. His council meeting ran from 10 a.m. to noon on Nov. 8 and the conference ended about noon on Nov. 9, just before the awards banquet.
Taxpayers also paid $1,641.96 for Fetzer, McDuffie and Montague to stay two nights at the Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel in Washington, D.C., April 30-May 2, 2008. They were there for the so-called Washington Fly In, where local elected leaders meet with lawmakers in Washington.
Sending three commissioners made sense, McDuffie said, because they split up, which afforded them more time for meetings.
"One person can't cover every legislator in the time that we're up there," McDuffie said.
But Fetzer said he had a "very productive" trip when he traveled alone to Washington on the same trip in 2006 [the trip has traditionally taken place every other year]. He returned to share the highlights of his trip with the commission, which he said "sparked some interest," from other commissioners to join him in 2008.
Delray commissioners last fall decided to forgo out-of-state travel this fiscal year.
While they don't tend to travel in groups, other officials in South Florida cities and taxing districts have billed taxpayers for travel closer to home, and other questionable expenses.
Although the national mayors convention was only 34 miles from his home, Lauderhill Mayor Richard Kaplan decided it would be too difficult to commute. So he billed taxpayers $995 to stay five nights in June at the four-star InterContinental Miami hotel.
"I would have to get up at 3 or 4 in the morning to miss the rush-hour traffic," said Kaplan. "It gets to be very time consuming."
Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper also attended that convention. Instead of making the 20-mile trip, she charged taxpayers $796 for four nights at the hotel. And Pembroke Pines Mayor Frank Ortis, with a commute of 25 miles, billed taxpayers $889.48 for four nights. When asked about it six months later, Ortis said "it doesn't make any sense to stay overnight in Miami," and reimbursed the city for his hotel bill. Indeed, while not expressly prohibited under their formal policies, Pembroke Pines, Hallandale Beach and Lauderhill generally bar employees from staying overnight in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.
Cooper, however, declined to repay the city for her stay, saying it was a business-related expense.
"I am not there fluffing my own feathers," she said. "Rather than dragging through traffic it was just easier to stay overnight ... Why would I reimburse the city for part of my job?"
Some officials charged taxpayers so their spouses and children could attend conference functions. For example, five Central Broward Water Control District officials billed taxpayers $380 so their spouses and children could join them at two parties in Key West and Key Largo during two conferences in 2007 and 2008. Commissioners and staff also spent $538.11 so they, their spouses and children — a total party of 10 — could dine at a restaurant in Key West on July 12, 2007.
"I definitely don't think there's any abuse here," said District Board Chairman Cris Fardelmann, who is paid $4,800 per year to maintain secondary canals in six cities. "I'm not going to leave [my wife] sitting in the hotel room while we go to dinner. I do not make a lot of money at this job, and having your spouse along makes it much more possible to go."
District policy does not prohibit officials from billing taxpayers for expenses for their spouses and children.
State law allows local governments to set their own travel polices and decide who can travel on public business.
"State law seems to authorize travel by someone beyond the elected official or officer, but trying to define exactly who fits within that other category is where the cities must make their own decision," said Eric Hartwell, assistant general counsel for the Florida League of Cities.
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Corruption in Broward, Palm Beach counties: Same behavior, different results
By Michael Mayo, News Columnist
January 11, 2009
In Palm Beach County, commissioner Mary McCarty voted on bond deals that benefited her husband's firm. She resigned last week, indicating she will soon plead guilty to a federal charge of honest services fraud. In her resignation letter, McCarty called her bond votes "criminal acts" and wrote that she expected to serve "a significant term of incarceration."
Similar behavior. Far different results.
Confused?
"It's not simply bewildering from a civics standpoint," said Anthony Alfieri, director of the University of Miami Center for Ethics and Public Service. "It's also corrosive to the public; it undermines their faith in government."
Best I can tell, the big difference between the two cases — and for that matter, Broward and Palm Beach County politics — is federal scrutiny.
The FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office have spent the last few years digging to our north, and they've unturned enough unsavory business to topple three county commissioners and two West Palm Beach city commissioners. All four convicted officials have gone to federal prison.
Makes you wonder what would happen if the feds fixed a keen eye here.
"There's a number of people who fit into the behavioral pattern of the McCartys [in Broward]," said County Commissioner John Rodstrom. "The problem is there's a big difference between state and federal law, and elected officials haven't been well trained on the federal law."
Thanks to Florida's weak corruption laws and long tradition of almost anything goes, some public servants think day is night and wrong is right.
Or as McCarty wrote in her letter, "I allowed myself to interpret ethics codes and statutory responsibilities in the light most favorable to the outcome I desired."
That seems to be a common malady among local politicians.
In Broward, commissioner Josephus Eggelletion once voted on a county contract involving a trash company while he was a paid lobbyist for the company. Commissioner Ilene Lieberman uses one name when she's sitting on the dais and another (Ilene Michelson) when she has appeared before other elected bodies as an attorney. Lieberman, Wasserman-Rubin and commissioner Stacy Ritter have husbands who do (or have done) legal, grant-writing and lobbying work involving local municipalities and the county.
Wasserman-Rubin's 2003 votes on the Southwest Ranches grants, which helped her husband get a raise and a $15,000 bonus, are being investigated by the Broward State Attorney. "Our office is still looking at it," spokesman Ron Ishoy said.
Wasserman-Rubin said she didn't know her votes would benefit her husband, who no longer writes grants for the town. She said she has not spoken to state or federal investigators.
"I've learned a lesson, and I'm trying to move forward," she said Saturday. "It would be a concern to me if they go backwards and go over things that the ethics commission has already gone over. My family has suffered enough."
If the feds were digging here, or if these commissioners served in Palm Beach County, would they find themselves in trouble?
Alfieri, a law professor, said: "Because of Florida's history of under-regulation and neglect in ethics, state and local systems are replete with conflicts of interest. The culture is dominated by self-dealing and self-enrichment."
Part of the blame belongs to politicians who should know better. As in, if you vote or push for something and you or a family member has a stake in the outcome, you probably shouldn't be voting or pushing for it.
And part of the blame belongs to the Legislature, which needs to bring state corruption statutes in line with stricter federal law.
As it stands, Florida law has huge wiggle room when it comes to public corruption. State prosecutors must prove "corrupt intent" to get criminal convictions for official misconduct. That's a high bar to clear.
And state ethics law is laughably vague and toothless. Ethics violations are not necessarily crimes and punishment is usually a token fine, capped at $10,000 per offense.
Once the Feds take aim, it's a different story. The broad "honest services fraud" provision and a host of tax and mail laws can snag politicians who thought they were doing no wrong. Things that might have been brushed off by state investigators or settled with a fine can bring lengthy prison terms.
So far, federal investigators have focused on Palm Beach County, with the exception of former Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne, who pleaded guilty to federal mail and tax charges after a lengthy probe.
You have to wonder if Broward's day is coming.
Michael Mayo's column runs Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
By Jennifer Gollan
January 18, 2009
Officials in Lauderhill, Pembroke Pines and Tamarac said they are considering stricter limits on travel, after a Sun Sentinel review found some elected officials billed taxpayers for stays at nearby hotels and for their families to attend conference functions.
While travel expenses account for a relatively small part of municipal budgets, their cumulative cost raises questions of propriety.
"At a time when staff are being laid off and programs are being cut, it is incumbent upon all of us to do all we can to minimize the expense to taxpayers," said Pembroke Pines Commissioner Angelo Castillo.
In Lauderhill, where Mayor Richard Kaplan billed taxpayers $995 in June for five nights at the InterContinental Miami hotel, commissioners on Jan. 26 will consider nearly halving their travel budget to $35,188, down from $66,100.
"I'm in favor of reducing the budget to whatever level is necessary," Kaplan said.
Along with trimming overtime costs and shedding up to 10 vacant positions, the travel cut is intended to plug a $1.4 million budget hole.
Tamarac also may impose more stringent travel restrictions, with spending cuts and comprehensive reforms.
For her part, Mayor Beth Flansbaum-Talabisco said she is now having her husband drive her to the airport instead of hiring a chauffeur. She spent $584.46 on eight chauffeured rides of about 16 miles each to or from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport since January 2007. The same trips would have cost about $336 by taxi, or if she had driven herself, about $280.21.
"I can save the city some money," she said. "As an issue, travel will be looked at, not because anything has been done incorrectly, but because we are being fiscally responsible."
Pembroke Pines also likely will review commission travel expenses, Castillo said.
He stopped short of suggesting a ban on overnights in local hotels, such as Pembroke Pines Mayor Frank Ortis's four-night stay at the InterContinental Miami that cost taxpayers $889.48. Ortis reimbursed the city when questioned by the Sun Sentinel.
In Margate, Commissioner Pam Donovan said she expects her fellow commissioners to show more restraint. Both David McLean and Joseph Varsallone stayed extraneous nights in hotels.
"I don't think they'll do that again," said Donovan. "They saw that it didn't look good."
Neither McLean or Varsallone could be reached for comment despite two messages each at their offices.
However, officials in some cities and taxing districts brushed off any notion of reform.
"We're not in the same category as city employees," said Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper, who charged taxpayers $796 for a four-night stay at the InterContinental Miami in June. "We are already extremely frugal on our travel. I don't perceive us changing it."
Neither will Coral Springs Commissioner Claudette Bruck, whose 13 chauffeured rides to or from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport cost $908. Bruck could have driven herself and parked for $400, or caught taxis for $717.
Still, Bruck stood her ground: "The city probably is about as tight on that as they can be."
Central Broward Water Control District Director Mike Crowley also dismissed policy reforms or cuts as unnecessary. Five district officials billed taxpayers $380 to register their spouses and children for two conferences in Key West and Key Largo. Commissioners and staff also rang up a tab for $538.11 dining with their spouses and children — a party of 10 — at a Key West restaurant.
"I have no intention of reimbursing [the district]," Crowley said.
She's right that she's not in the same category: When I took in-service training a few before my retirement, I had to add three hours to my work day, for travel time, because the city refsed to pay the hotel tab when the course was being held. What a hypocrite for a city official she is.
Costly overnights can be wasteful
OUR OPINION: Broward County officials' expensive hotel stays a mistake
In ordinary times a mayor's hotel bill for $995 for attending a national convention wouldn't raise eyebrows at City Hall. But these aren't ordinary times. A deepening recession is forcing cities to tighten their belts during a long period of low revenue.
Mayors of some Broward cities should have considered this when booking Miami hotel rooms to attend the U.S. Conference of Mayors convention in Miami last June.
Budget cuts coming
In a review of expense records filed by Broward taxing-district board members and elected officials, the Sun Sentinel found that Lauderhill Mayor Richard Kaplan didn't want to make the daily commute from central Broward to downtown Miami, figuring rush-hour traffic would keep him from getting to events on time. So he took a room at the four-star InterContinental Hotel for a total cost of $995.
For the same reason Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper and Pembroke Pines Mayor Frank Ortis billed their cities' taxpayers $796 and $889.48 respectively for Miami hotel stays.
Knowing that their cities are facing budget cuts, the notion that the mayors rejected driving 20 or 30 miles in favor of costly overnights in Miami is troubling. Usually when such meetings are held in South Florida, local public officials drive to them. Gas prices were higher in June, but the cost of driving wouldn't have been as high as those hotel tabs. The mayors could even have commuted by Tri-Rail and Metrorail to the convention.
Next time, the mayors should be more sensitive to economic conditions when deciding how to attend a locally held convention.
Family expenses
The newspaper also found charges to taxpayers for officials' spouses and families at out-of-town events. For example, five Central Broward Water Control District officials billed taxpayers $380 for their spouses' and childrens' stays at two conferences in Key West and Key largo in 2007 and '08.
While bringing along the family at taxpayer expense to official functions may seem a justifiable perk for officials with modest salaries, the practice should be adopted or rejected as official policy by governing bodies only after a hearing during which the taxpaying public can weigh in on how to spend its money.
Hallandale Beach is conveniently located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami, next to Aventura with access to the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood and Miami International airports, Port Everglades, Port of Miami, and I-95.
