Agenda and Draft of Ethics Bill to be heard Tuesday at 2 p.m. by Broward Legislative Delegation

I'll be posting some comments tomorrow on the
blog about the Broward County Legislative
Delegation -that is, the ones who bother to
show-up- which will incorporate some of what
I wrote over the weekend but never posted.

I may also have some new information about
behind-the-scenes efforts to kill the Ethics
Reform baby in the crib.

I will be at Tuesday's meeting, taking photos
and shooting some video so that anyone in
South Florida who's curious, can see what's
what and 'Who's Who's' in the audience.

At that Broward County Ethics Commission
meeting I attended in early December, I was
the only citizen there for most of the meeting,
and the only one there from beginning-to-end.
Believe me, it's not much to brag about.

Frankly, it doesn't look to me like many people
in authority in Broward are exactly rushing the
dais to be known as a Profile in Courage.

At that Ethics Commission meeting I attended,
George Morgan of the Broward Workshop
was the only citizen to speak.

He's consistently working to make this area better
for citizens and businesses alike, but what does
it say about the chronic apathy and fecklessness
of this community that he's so often, seemingly,
alone on an island?

Now there's a question deserving a lengthy
newspaper series!

The silence of so many well-known lobbyists in
the recent Miami Herald series on corruption,
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/story/1417658.html
doesn't bode well for their willingness to turn over
a new leaf and meekly accept Broward citizens' desire
for a change in the political and social culture here.

Their friends, embedded in high-places (and low),
will no doubt act accordingly when they are given
their cues to either go into full sabotage strategy
or purposeful mis-direction to draw the media's
attention elsewhere at the appropriate time.

Which may just be for the best because then we
can finally see who's on what side of the debate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsXY8oaABoA


http://www.youtube.com/user/BrowardPolitics

It seems to me that if you have logical, easily
understood ethical standards that cover both
county employees and commissioners, leaving
no room for misunderstanding, and create an
expectation that the standard WILL be followed
or else, you increase self-policing because regular
county employees in a position to see something
nefarious will be less hesitant to drop a dime if
they know that the failure to report what you
see will also be punished.

I know that some people don't agree with me on
that very last point, even people I usually agree
with, but consider this.

If I were to see the sort of rules I approve of
enacted, covering ALL county employees and
with at-will investigations by an IG, what should
be the legal responsibility of a Broward County
employee who knows something?

Should they be punished for not coming forward?

I say yes, just as is the case with students at some
well-known colleges with honor codes, like UVA,
the University of Virginia
http://www.virginia.edu/uvatours/shorthistory/code.html
and Washington & Lee,
http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/pubsres/academe/2002/JF/Feat/mcca.htm
the latter being where my eldest niece goes to school,
as well as the Service Academies

Why should government officials and employees
in Broward County be held to a lesser standard
than college students?

Personally, I would even say that contractors who
are later found to have participated in or condoned
unethical behavior involving county employees.
would be banned from bidding for five years.
This would apply to lawyer/lobbyists individually,
too.
No exceptions.

That honor code I spoke of actually attracts
ambitious kids who want to be around other
smart and high-caliber people.

Meanwhile, on Andrews Avenue, using the low
standards they have, wink-wink, they wonder
why well-informed Broward citizens perceive
them the way we do...

Or in Commissioner Stacy Ritter's case,
fundamentally mis-read the political tea leaves
and publicly say that we should just trust them.
Nej tack!

Broward Legislative Delegation meeting

2-4 p.m.,Broward College,

12th Floor Boardroom

111 E. Las Olas Boulevard

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

Map: http://www.broward.edu/maps/whcmap.jsp

The information below is courtesy of Sandy Harris,
the Executive Director of the Broward Legislative
Delegation.
She was very friendly and helpful to me last week
in explaining their part of the process to me.

--------

BROWARD LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION

Local Bill Public Hearing

January 26, 2010 – 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Broward College

111 East Las Olas Boulevard

12^th Floor Boardroom

Fort Lauderdale, FL.

AGENDA

I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER

II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

III. ROLL CALL

IV. LOCAL BILLS

a. Lauderhill Annexation

Sponsored by Senator Chris Smith

b. Broward County Inspector General Bill

Sponsored by Representative Ellyn Bogdanoff

V. ADJOURNMENT

--------

DRAFT

January 22, 2010

A bill to be entitled

An Act relating to Broward County creating the office of Inspector General of Broward County, providing for definitions, functions, authority and powers of the Broward County Inspector General; providing for qualifications, selection, contract, facilities and staff; providing for reporting and budgeting; providing for removal; providing for powers of state attorney; providing for a referendum; providing for an effective date.

Whereas, various public officials throughout South Florida have recently been charged with public corruption and the misuse of office; and

Whereas, misconduct involving abuse, corruption, fraud, and mismanagement by elected and appointed local government officials and employees in Broward County agencies and instrumentalities, contractors, and other parties doing business with Broward County and/or receiving local government funds, undermines public confidence in local government and prevents the local government in Broward County from operating honestly, efficiently and effectively; and

Whereas, it is critically important that local government elected and appointed officials and employees within Broward County discharge their duties and responsibilities in a lawful and ethical manner and be held accountable for their misconduct, inefficiency and ineffectiveness; and

Whereas, imposing the duty on all elected and appointed local government officials and employees to cooperate with and report misconduct to the Inspector General will broaden and strengthen the Inspector General’s ability to detect, investigate, eliminate, and deter misconduct by Broward County officials and employees, vendors and government funded entities and promote integrity, honesty and efficiency in government; now therefore;

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

Section 1. Title

This act shall be entitled “The Broward County Office of Inspector General Act”

Section 2. Definitions

A. “County” shall mean the Charter Government of Broward County.

B. “Board” shall mean the Board of County Commissioners of Broward County.

C. “State Attorney” shall mean the State Attorney of the 17^th Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County or any elected or appointed successor or interim officers or special prosecutors acting in State Attorney’s stead.

D. “Inspector General” shall mean the Broward County office of Inspector General created pursuant to this act.

E. “Local Government” shall mean the Charter Government of Broward County and all dependent districts of Broward County, the School Board and School District of Broward County, the Constitutional Officers of Broward County, as provided in Article VIII, section 1 of the Florida Constitution, all independent districts operating solely within Broward County. The term “Local Government” shall not mean municipalities within Broward County or dependent districts of any municipality within Broward County.

Section 3. Broward County Office of Inspector General Created and Established

A. Created and Established. There is hereby established the Broward County Office of Inspector General which is created in order to detect misconduct involving abuse, corruption, fraud, waste, inefficiencies, and mismanagement by or violation of ordinances, State or Federal statutes or State or Federal Constitutions. The Inspector General shall have the power and responsibility to investigate elected and appointed County officials and employees, county Local Governments and all agencies and instrumentalities, contractors, and other parties doing business with the Charter Government of Broward County Local Governments and/or receiving Broward County Local Government funds. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the powers and responsibilities of the Inspector General of investigation shall not include violations of any law enforcement officer as defined in F.S. 112.531 and any firefighter as defined in F.S. 112.81. officers and employees of Broward County municipalities and dependent districts of said municipalities. The Inspector General shall head the Office of Inspector General. The organization and administration of the Office of Inspector General shall be independent to assure that no interference or influence external to the Office of Inspector General adversely affects the independence and objectivity of the Inspector General.

B. Functions, Authority and Powers.

(1) Upon receipt of a written signed complaint, the Inspector General shall make a determination within ten (10) working days whether or not said complaint demonstrates probable cause of misconduct involving abuse, corruption, fraud, or violation of ordinances, State or Federal statutes or State or Federal Constitutions. Said determination shall be contained in a document signed by the Inspector General. Once probable cause has been found, the Inspector General shall inform the individual or individuals who may be the subject of an investigation that they have fifteen (15) working days to respond to the findings of the Inspector General. After receipt of a response or fifteen (15) working days, the Inspector General shall fully investigate the complaint in which probable cause has been found. The Inspector General shall complete any investigation within 180 days of the Inspector General’s finding of probable cause.

(2) Upon finding of probable cause as provided in (1) above, the Inspector General shall have the authority to: (a) make undertake investigations of County Local Government officers, employees and other Local Government matters, publish the results of such investigations; and (b) review and audit past, present and proposed county Local Government programs, accounts, records, contracts, change orders and transactions.; and (c) prepare reports and recommendations to the Board based on such investigations. All elected and appointed County Local Government officials and employees, County Local Government agencies and instrumentalities, contractors and other parties doing business with the County Local Government and/or receiving county Local Government funds shall fully cooperate with the Inspector General.

(3) Pursuant to an investigation where there has been a finding of probable cause, Tthe Inspector General shall have the power to conduct audits of, require reports from, and receive full and unrestricted access to the records of the Board, County Administrator Local Government, all elected and appointed county Local Government officials and employees, county Local Government departments, divisions, agencies and instrumentalities, contractors and other persons and entities doing business with the County Local Government and/or receiving County Local Government funds regarding any such contracts or transactions with the County Local Government. The Inspector General’s jurisdiction includes but shall not be limited to all projects, programs, contracts or transactions that are funded in whole or in part by the County Local Government. The Inspector General may contract with outside entities deemed necessary to perform the functions of said office. This subsection shall not apply to collective bargaining agreements.

(4) In the case of a refusal to obey a request by the Inspector General for documents or for an interview, the Inspector General shall have the power to subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, and require the production of records. Seventy-two hours prior to serving a subpoena, the Inspector General shall provide written notice to the State Attorney and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. The Inspector General shall not interfere with any ongoing criminal investigation or prosecution of the State Attorney or U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. When the State Attorney or U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida has explicitly notified the Inspector General in writing that the Inspector General’s investigation is interfering with an ongoing criminal investigation or prosecution, the Inspector General shall suspend service of subpoena, examination of witnesses, or other investigative activities as set forth in the notice. In the case of a refusal to obey a subpoena served to any person, the Inspector General may make application to any circuit court of this State which shall have jurisdiction to order the witness to appear before the Inspector General and to produce evidence if so ordered, or to give testimony touching on the matter in question.

(5) The costs of reviews, audits, inspections and investigations by the Inspector General shall be defrayed in part by imposition of a fee which shall be equal to one quarter of one percent (0.25%) of the contract price (hereinafter “IG contract fee”) added to each county contract. The IG contract fee shall not apply to the following county contracts:

1. Contracts for legal services;
2. Auditing contracts;
3. Federal, state and local government-funded grants; and
4. Interlocal agreements.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board may authorize the inclusion of the IG contract fee in any contract. Nothing contained in this subsection shall in any way limit the power of the Inspector General provided for in this act to perform audits, inspections, reviews and investigations on all County contracts including, but not limited to, those contracts specifically exempted from the IG contract fee.

(5) Where after a finding of probable cause and the Inspector General finds probable cause believes in good faith that there is a or suspects a possible violation of any state, federal or local law, or rule, regulation or policy, he or she shall notify the appropriate civil, criminal or administrative agencies charged with enforcement of said violation. In the case of a possible violation of a rule, regulation or policy governing a County Local Government employee, the Inspector General shall notify the County Administrator and the head of the Department for which the employee works Chief Executive Officer of the Local Government. After referring the matter to the appropriate entity for fact-finding, the Inspector General may assist the entity in conducting the investigation.

(6) In order to investigate misconduct involving abuse, corruption, fraud, or violation of ordinances, State or Federal statutes or State or Federal Constitutions, the Inspector General shall have the power without limitation to audit, investigate, monitor, inspect and review the operations, activities, performance and procurement processes of Local Government including, but not limited to, actives of contractors, its officers, agents and employees, lobbyists and Local Government staff and officials.

(7) The Inspector General shall have the power to receive, review and investigate any complaints regarding County-funded projects, programs, contracts or transactions. The Inspector General shall establish a “hotline” and website to receive complaints, from either anonymous or identified persons.

(8) The Inspector General may exercise any of the powers contained in this act upon his or her own initiative.

(9) The Inspector General shall be notified in writing prior to any meeting of a selection committee where any matter relating to the procurement of goods or services by the County is to be discussed. The notice required by this subsection shall be given to the Inspector General as soon as possible after a meeting has been scheduled, but in no event later than one business day prior to the scheduled meeting. The Inspector General may, at his or her discretion, attend all duly noticed County meetings relating to the procurement of goods or services as provided herein, and may pose questions and raise concerns consistent with the functions, authority and powers of the Inspector General.

(10) It is anticipated that Broward County Constitutional Officers and the School Board of Broward County, municipalities, special districts, and other public officials and entities within Broward County, will recognize and desire to benefit from the services of the Office of Inspector General. The Inspector General may negotiate agreements or memoranda of understanding with other public entities within Broward County which would authorize the Inspector General to exercise any and all authority, function and powers set forth in this act for the benefit of such public entities. The memorandum of understanding or agreement shall include a provision for fees to be paid to the Inspector General from the public entity in exchange for such benefits. Such fee shall be based on a rate established by the Inspector General and shall include, but not be limited to, the IG contract fee. Any such agreement or memorandum of understanding shall be scheduled for a public hearing before the Broward County Board of County Commissioners before said agreement is effective.

(8) The Inspector General’s records related to active investigations shall be and are confidential and exempt from disclosure, as provided by F.S. 112.3188(2).

(9) The Inspector General is considered shall be deemed “an appropriate local official” of the County and any Broward Local Government that contracts with the Inspector General and Board of County Commissioners for purposes of whistleblower protection provided by F.S. 112.3188(1).

(10) The Inspector General may recommend remedial actions and may provide prevention and training services to County officials, employees, and any other persons covered by this act to Local Government. The Inspector General may follow up to determine whether recommended remedial actions have been taken.

(11) The Inspector General shall establish policies and procedures and monitor the costs of investigations undertaken. The Inspector General shall cooperate with all governmental agencies to recover costs from all entities involved in willful misconduct in regard to Local Government funds.

(12) Nothing herein shall abridge employees’ constitutional right to collective bargaining.

C. Minimum Qualifications, Selection and Term of Office

(1) Minimum qualifications. The Inspector General shall be a person who:

1. Has at least ten (10) seven (7) years of experience in any one or a combination of the following fields:
1. as a federal, state or local law enforcement officer/official;
2. as a federal or state court judge;
3. as a federal, state, or local government attorney or private attorney with expertise experience in investigating fraud, mismanagement and corruption and violations of law.
4. as an inspector general, certified public accountant, or internal auditor;
5. as a person with progressive supervisory and managerial experience in an investigative public agency similar to an inspector general’s office;
2. Has managed and completed complex investigations involving allegations of fraud, theft, deception or conspiracy;
3. Has demonstrated the ability to work with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and the judiciary;
4. Has a four-year degree from an accredited institution of higher learning;
5. Has not been employed by Broward County or any other governmental entity subject to the authority of the Inspector General Office during the two-year period immediately prior to selection;
6. Highly qualified candidates will also have audit-related skills and/or hold one or more of the following professional certifications at the time of selection: certified inspector general (CIG), certified inspector general investigator (CIGI), certified inspector general auditor (CIGA), certified public accountant (CPA), certified internal auditor (CIA), or certified fraud examiner (CFE).
7. A candidate, besides having background in subsection a through f above, shall also have experience in the management of private business or of a public entity or subdivision therein.

(2) Selection. Responsibility for selecting the Inspector General shall be vested solely with the Inspector General Selection Committee (“Selection Committee”). The Selection Committee shall be comprised of: (a) one person chosen by the Chief Judge of the 17^th Judicial Circuit, (b) one person chosen by the Chair of the Broward Legislative Delegation, (c) the Mayor of Broward County, (d) the State Attorney for the 17^th Judicial Circuit, (e) the Public Defender for the 17^th Judicial Circuit, (f) the President of the Broward County Police Chief’s Association. The persons chosen pursuant to (a) and (b) above shall not meet the definition of lobbyist either by county ordinance nor state law for two years prior to their selection. No member of the Selection Committee shall be an elected or appointed official or employee of any local government within Broward County at the time of selection. The chairperson of the Selection Committee shall be selected by the members of the Selection Committee and the Selection Committee shall determine their own rules of procedure. After thoroughly reviewing qualifications, background information, and personal and professional referrals, the Selection Committee shall notify the Broward County Attorney of its selection. The County Attorney shall assist the selected Inspector General as set forth in Section 3D.

1. Initial Selection. Within thirty (30) days of the effective date of this act, the Human Resources Division of the County shall solicit qualified candidates. Within one hundred and twenty (120) days of the effective date of this act, the Selection Committee shall in good faith endeavor to select the Inspector General.

(3) Staffing of Selection Committee. The Human Resources Division of Broward County shall provide staff to the Selection Committee and as necessary shall advertise the acceptance of resumes for the position of Inspector General. All resumes received by the Human Resources Division will be forwarded to the Selection Committee for consideration. The Human Resources Division shall contract with an appropriate entity to ensure that background checks are conducted on the candidates selected for interview by the Selection Committee. The results of the background checks shall be provided to the Selection Committee prior to the interview of candidates. Following the initial selection of the Inspector General, the Selection Committee, for future selection processes as described in subsection C(2) above, may continue to employ the services of the Human Resources Division or may utilize its own staff to solicit candidates for Inspector General. All advertisements for the acceptance of resumes for Inspector General shall include a salary range commensurate with public officials of like experience and expertise.

(4) Term. The Inspector General shall serve for a term of four (4) years. At least six (6) months prior to the end of each contract term, the Selection Committee will determine whether or not to renew the contract for an additional term of four (4) years, and shall promptly notify the Inspector General of its decision. In the event the Selection Committee elects not to renew the contract, the Selection Committee shall promptly convene as necessary to solicit candidates for the selection of a new Inspector General in the same manner as described in subsection C(2) above. The incumbent Inspector General may submit his or her name as a candidate to be considered for selection. The incumbent Inspector General shall serve until a successor is selected and assumes office.

(5) Vacancy. In case of a vacancy in the position of Inspector General, the chair of the Selection Committee may appoint a member of the Inspector General’s Office as interim Inspector General within ten (10) days of vacancy occurring, until such time as a successor Inspector General is selected and assumes office. A successor Inspector General shall be selected in the same manner as described in subsection C(2) above, except for the following specific time constraints: (a) solicitation for qualified candidates for selection should be published within twenty (20) days, but no later than forty (40) days of the date the vacancy occurs; and (b) the Selection Committee must in good faith endeavor to convene and select an Inspector General within ninety (90) days of the date the vacancy occurs.

D. Contract. The Selection Committee, with the assistance of the County Attorney of Broward County shall negotiate a contract of employment with the Inspector General substantially consistent with the terms included in contracts of other contractual employees of Broward County. The Inspector General shall be paid at a rate commensurate with public officials of like experience and expertise. Before the Selection Committee approves a contract for the Inspector General, a public hearing for same shall be scheduled by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners. The contract will cover the four-year term subject to the removal provisions in subsection J of this act. The contract shall include a provision requiring the Selection Committee to provide notice of its decision to renew or not to renew the contract at least six (6) months prior to the termination of the contract. The contract shall provide that the Inspector General may not represent a political party or be on any executive committee thereof, or seek public office during his or her term of service or for four (4) years thereafter. The foregoing limitation does not include seeking selection as Inspector General for a subsequent term. The contract shall further provide that the Inspector General may not be a lobbyist, as defined in Broward County ordinances or Florida law for two years after term of service.

E. Physical Facilities and Staff.

(1) The County shall provide the Office of Inspector General with appropriately located office space and sufficient physical facilities together with necessary office supplies, equipment and furnishings to enable the Inspector General to perform his or her functions.

(2) The Inspector General shall have the power to appoint, employ, and remove such assistants, employees and personnel, and establish personnel procedures as deemed necessary for the efficient and effective administration of the activities of the Office of Inspector General.

F. Procedure for Finalization of Investigation, Reports and Recommendations which make findings as to the person or entity being reviewed or inspected. The Inspector General shall publish and deliver finalized reports and recommendations to the Broward County Board of County Commissioners all Local Governments and the offices represented on the Selection Committee referenced in this act. Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, whenever the Inspector General determines that it is appropriate to publish and deliver a report or recommendation which contains findings as to the person or entity being reported on or who is the subject of the recommendation, the Inspector General shall provide the affected person or entity a copy of the report or recommendation. Such person or entity shall have fifteen (15) working days to submit a written explanation or rebuttal of the findings before the report or recommendation is finalized. Such timely submitted written explanation or rebuttal shall be attached to the finalized report or recommendation. The requirements of this subsection shall not apply when the Inspector General, in conjunction with the State Attorney or U.S. Attorney, determines that supplying the affected person or entity with such report will jeopardize a pending criminal investigation.

A complaint received by the Office of Inspector General shall be held in abeyance; where the complaint is received against a person who is running for Local Government office and the complaint is received within sixty (60) days of the date of the election. The complaint shall be abated until the last election for that Local Government office has been determined.

G. Notwithstanding anything contained in the general law to the contrary, the State Attorney may in his discretion prosecute ordinance violations relating to ethics which have been enacted by Broward County without an agreement between his office and Broward County.

H. Reporting. The Inspector General shall annually prepare and publish a written report concerning the work and activities of the Office of Inspector General including, but not limited to, statistical information regarding the disposition of closed investigations, audits and other reviews. The annual report of the Inspector General shall be posted promptly on Broward County’s public website.

I. Financial Support and Budgeting. Each Local Government covered by this act shall be responsible for the funding of the Broward County Office of Inspector General. Pursuant to its annual budget process, the Broward County Board of County Commissioners shall provide sufficient financial support for the Inspector General’s Office to fulfill its duties as set forth in this act. In order to ensure adequate funding for the prompt establishment of the Inspector General, the Board of County Commissioners of Broward County shall approve an amount equal to $200,000.00 to fund all Inspector General related operations for the remainder of the 2010 – 2011 fiscal year. The Inspector General shall timely deliver to the Board of County Commissioners a budget including a reasonable estimate of operating and capital expenditures of the Inspector General’s Office and shall include revenues, including, but not limited to, projected IG contract fee revenue to be collected from the County and any other participating local governments and public agencies. The Inspector General’s budget shall not be implemented until a public hearing is held by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners. The Inspector General shall establish a fiscal year which coincides with that of Broward County. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to prohibit the Inspector General from transmitting to the Broward County Board of County Commissioners supplemental budget requests, which shall be scheduled for a public hearing and if approved by the Commission, shall constitute amendments to the county budget.

The amount of each Local Government within Broward County shall be added for a total amount. The percentage that each Local Government’s budget represents to the total budget amount shall be the percentage for which each Local Government shall be responsible to fund the Office of Inspector General. The Charter Government of Broward County provides a procedure in which each Local Government shall remit a Local Government’s share to Broward County in order to fund the Office of Inspector General. Full payment from each Local Government shall be made to Broward County within ninety (90) days of the enactment of the budget of Broward County or any amendment to the budget of Broward County representing funding for the Office of Inspector General.

J. Removal. The Inspector General may be removed only for cause based upon specified charges of the following: neglect of duty, abuse of power or authority, discrimination, or ethical misconduct. The removal process shall be initiated at a duly noticed public hearing of the Selection Committee. An affirmative vote of three members of the Selection Committee shall be required to present the Inspector General with the charges and to proceed to final public hearings. The Selection Committee shall transmit a copy of the charges to the Inspector General at least sixty (60) days prior to all final public hearings which shall be convened by the Selection Committee. The Inspector General shall have an opportunity to be heard in person and by counsel at the final public hearings prior to the votes being taken on his or her removal. The Inspector General may only be removed upon the affirmative vote of all members of the Selection Committee. A record of the proceedings, together with the charges and findings thereon, shall be filed with the County Administrator of Broward County. The Inspector General shall be removed without a public hearing in the event the Inspector General is convicted of or enters a guilty plea or nolo contendere plea to a state or federal felony.

K. Both the Office of Inspector General and the Selection Committee created by this act shall be deemed a part of the Charter government of Broward County and expect as provided herein shall be subject to all regularly enacted ordinances, rules, regulations, policies and procedures of Broward County.

Section 4. The Broward County Board of County Commissioners shall schedule a special referendum election on the date of the general election of 2016 in accordance with the terms of the laws pertaining to elections. The item that shall appear on the ballot shall be the question that is provided in section 5 of this act. This act shall expire and be of no force and effect on the date after the general election of November 2016 unless a ballot question placed on said ballot as provided herein has been approved by voters, voting in said election.

Section 5. The Broward County Board of County Commissioners shall schedule a special referendum election on the date of the general election of 2010 in accordance with the terms of the laws pertaining to elections. The item that shall appear on the ballot shall be as follows:

Creation of the Broward County Office of Inspector General

Shall there be created the Broward County Office of Inspector General, appointed by an independent committee and funded by Broward County Local Governments? The Inspector General shall detect misconduct involving abuse, corruption, fraud, or violation of ordinances, State or Federal statutes or State or Federal Constitutions by elected and appointed officers and , employees and contractors of Broward County Charter Government Broward County, the School District, the Constitutional Officers and, all independent districts operating solely within Broward County.

___ yes

___ no

Section 6. This act shall take effect upon approval by a majority vote of those qualified electors of Broward County voting in the referendum provided for in this act on November 2, 2010, except that this section and Section 45 shall take effect upon becoming a law.

1

Tuesday's meeting re Ethics of Broward County officials/employees and IG proposal; Stacy Ritter's lack of character

Above, Broward Commissioner Stacy Ritter's photo on Broward County website

On Saturday, I wrote and sent around a pithy
email and then posted it here about this week's
votes and meetings on the Broward County
Ethics process, along with revealing excerpts
of Broward Commissioner Stacy Ritter's
all-too-predictably self-serving comments to the
Broward Ethics Commission from Jan. 13th,
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/broward-county-commissioner-stacy.html

Maybe Stacy Ritter doesn't know it yet,
but becoming known around the state as the
poster-child and apologist-in-chief for rampant
public corruption in Broward County and its
existing wink-wink attitude, is not exactly the
message voters want to hear in the year 2010.

If you missed seeing those creepy and intemperate
comments of Ritter's, which only shows her
rather obvious lack of character and scruples
-not that it's news to me or many of you, I know-
go to Bob Norman's Daily Pulp post today
to see his thoughts on the matter.
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2010/01/monday_quick_takes.php

For more on Ritter's husband, lawyer/lobbyist
Russ Klenet, see
http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/search/?keywords=Klenet&x=23&y=14

After I posted that, I also emailed a copy of it
over to Broward Beat's Buddy Nevins, too.
That was the first time I've ever sent anything
to Nevins, even though I've often linked to
or referred to his stories before in emails and
blog posts, and have had Broward Beat on
my blog roll for many months.
(See his most recent post at bottom.)

Since I was pretty much able to buy the
Miami Herald whenever I wanted at my
favorite D.C. news stand, on the corner of
Connecticut Ave. & K Street, when I worked
for 15 years in the D.C. area, but not the
Sun-Sentinel, Nevins was a complete
unknown to me until I returned to South
Florida.

I wrote him in part because to the extent that
I've been following his posts, it doesn't seem
to me that he's ever really written about the
specific process involved here in getting an
independent IG, per se.

Perhaps he didn't find that aspect of the story
very interesting, but I've found that seeing
the machinations in person, and hearing from
some well-informed people about what some
in the county are trying to do behind-the-scenes
to derail the ethics train, very interesting.
Interesting but shocking.

But then the unethical crowd in Broward County
government, the Broward School system and
myriad City Halls -especially Hallandale Beach,
Deerfield Beach, Sunrise- have a lot to lose
if the curtain is pulled back and their true
personas and dirty laundry is exposed,
don't they?

My thinking in sending Nevins that email
was that actually seeing Ritter's politically
tone-deaf comments in black-and-white for
himself might induce him to actually show-up
in person.

Perhaps the same way it may also induce
several other local reporters to attend,
some of whom have already indicated to me
via email that they have a stronger desire
to attend and get caught up to speed,
now that they've seen this side of Ritter.
We'll see.

Per the Inspector General, see this
video of Bill Scherer from the Broward
Politics YouTube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/BrowardPolitics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsXY8oaABoA

On the other hand, since the Herald and
Sun-Sentinel -and all local Miami TV stations-
have utterly failed to mention tomorrow
afternoon's Broward Legislative Delegation
meeting at 2 p.m., and its import in the larger
scheme of things, I'll believe it when I see it.
Reporters actually showing-up is the
first step, oui?

Unfortunately, 4 pm Tuesday is also when
the City of Miami City Commission is scheduled
to have a meeting that will include a vote
on an interim replacement for Michelle
Spence-Jones.
http://www.bloggingblackmiami.com/2010/01/open-letter-to-city-of-miami-commission-from-concerned-citizens-of-district-five-poll.html

I also plan to be at Tuesday morning's Broward
County Commission meeting.

My plan as of now is to get some lunch after
the County Commission morning meeting and
then head over to Broward College around
1:15, along with my camcorder and tri-pod,
to scout around and find a good line of sight
in the room from which to record the meeting
and avoid extraneous bodies and heads in the
shot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHV3pfkOBFY

One of the few positive advantages of the
regular meetings of the Broward County
Ethics Commission getting so few people
there -five counting me last Wednesday,
including Patti Lynn from the Broward
Coalition and Kareen Boutros of the
Broward Workshop- is that I can just pop
my tri-pod on the back table, zoom-in and
sit down.

My original thought had been to write
something and posting and/or sending it
out tonight, but now, I'm just going to wait
until afterwards and see how the Delegation
actually votes, after hearing public comments.

Will be interesting to see if any well-known
lobbyists show-up for the meeting.
IF they do, I'll capture the Kodak Moment
for you.

Hope some of you can make it to the meeting
and let your voice be heard so that self-evident
red herrings aren't allowed to derail this
important process.

-----

Broward County Commission meeting

10 a.m., Public Hearings begin at 2 p.m.

Governmental Center, 115 South Andrews Avenue,

Room 422,Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301

Tuesday's County Commission agenda is at:

http://205.166.161.204/agenda_publish.cfm?mt=ALL&get_month=1&get_year=2010&dsp=ag&seq=158#ReturnTo0

Broward Legislative Delegation meeting

2-4 p.m.,Broward College,

12th Floor Boardroom

111 E. Las Olas Boulevard

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

Map: http://www.broward.edu/maps/whcmap.jsp

-------
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/story/1444198.html
Miami Herald
Editorial
January 25, 2010
Chasing corruption out of Broward

Voters who approved the Broward Ethics Task Force in 2008 to develop a code of conduct for county commissioners must have been prescient.

In 2009, Broward was rocked by FBI arrests of County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion, Broward School Board member Beverly Gallagher and former Miramar commissioner Fitzroy Salesman. Eggelletion pleaded guilty in December to federal money-laundering charges. He's also accused of accepting a $3,200 golf membership to vote in favor of a developer's project.

The task force must have had the golf gift in mind last week when it proposed tighter rules for gifts county commissioners can accept.

It's long overdue.

State law bans gifts meant to influence an official's vote but allows gifts worth up to $100 from lobbyists and their employers. That's a lot of freebies.

The task force wants to ban gifts, period, from lobbyists and contractors and limit gifts from anyone else to $50 or less.

That's a start -- although why public officials should be allowed to accept any gifts other than honorary plaques is anybody's guess. A sense of entitlement, perhaps, that comes with holding public office?

The task force must set new ethics rules to help the County Commission avoid the appearance of impropriety. Besides gifts, the panel is looking at rules that would limit commissioners' outside employment to avoid conflicts and their control over county contract awards. It also wants to create an ethics czar -- the equivalent of Miami-Dade County's Inspector General, who investigates county agencies.

Task force members are conflicted over whether the ethics czar should be able to launch investigations independently, without first receiving a complaint.

That's a no-brainer.

The state's Ethics Commission must wait for a complaint, as does the Miami-Dade Ethics Commission -- which ties their hands and protects powerful politicians feared by would-be whistle blowers. Both state and Miami-Dade ethics commissioners are seeking authority to conduct independent investigations.

Broward should get ahead of the curve and give its ethics boss independence to begin probes.

The County Commission can either approve the new ethics rules or put them to voters in November. Broward County Mayor Ken Keechl rightly wants to ask voters to expand the task force's ethics rules to other government officials -- the sheriff, property appraiser, supervisor of elections, clerk of courts and elected city officials. The School Board should be included, too.

Broward residents have seen their share of public corruption in recent years, and it's clear they've had enough abuse. The task force should develop a tough, but workable, set of ethics rules that apply to public officials countywide.

Readers comments at:
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/story/1444198.html?commentSort=TimeStampAscending&pageNum=1

-------

Rothenberg Political Report
"Can Candidates Accept Text Contributions?"
By Nathan L. Gonzales
January 25, 2010

Americans are donating to the Haiti relief effort at unprecedented levels through text messaging, but can congressional candidates use them same technology to solicit contributions? For now, the answer appears to be “no.”

Read the rest of the story at:
http://rothenbergpoliticalreport.blogspot.com/2010/01/can-candidates-accept-text.html

--------

Broward Beat
Who’s Next After Wasserstrom?
By Buddy Nevins
http://www.browardbeat.com/whos-next-after-wasserstrom/#comments

South Beach Hoosier Time Machine: Revisiting Tim Padgett's "Revenge of the Hoosiers"

Given the chance that the world and our small
part of it in South Florida could be firmly and
fatally knocked-off its axis at the possibility of
the New York Jets actually making it to a
Super Bowl being played in South Florida
two weeks hence, and the Jets even using
the Dolphins training facility in Davie as
their practice facility if they beat the Colts
later this afternoon -to the apparent delight
of the smug, not-so-bright marketing
geniuses dumb enough to be quoted by name
here, in the perfectly predictable Herald
pre-Super Bowl puff piece full of cliches
http://www.miamiherald.com/614/story/1442833.html?commentSort=TimeStampAscending&pageNum=1 -
I wanted to bring up a heretofore unmentioned
yet positive reason to root against the Jets:
civility.

Not that another is really needed for the most
devout South Florida sports fans, who continually
despair of continually seeing a certain crowd
who loves to flaunt their so-called 'individuality'
by their wearing of a New York Yankees or
Mets caps, like lemmings.

This is always grating, but most galling when
observed among young kids or adults who
never actually lived there when anyone named
Seaver or Mattingly were playing.

Their much-older counterpart are equally
known to us, droning on incessantly about
stick ball really being... blah, blah, blah...

Sorry, I've already tuned you out.
This isn't 1947 and you aren't some skinny
Italian nine-year old kid in Brooklyn, capisce?

You also aren't Pele wrapping string and tape
together in your poor neighborhood in Brazil
in the early '50's to make a ball because you
are so jaw-droppingly poor.

You're from the largest city in this country,
and yet you are continually crowing and
bragging about things that have nothing
at all to do with anything you or your family
ever did or said.

And need I remind you, you are
living here, too, no?
End of diatribe, sort of.

Well, except to remind you that when the
Jets beat the Colts, Nixon still hadn't been
sworn in.

That reason to bear the Jets animus maximus
is the possible infusion into rude and antagonistic
South Florida of some well-needed Midwestern
friendliness, or if you will, some Hoosier
hospitality.

The nice welcoming cool breeze to wash away
the unrelenting torpor of humid heat and
smugness that so often pervades this place.

Sort of like what we had regularly around the
holidays in the '70's and early '80's when the
Big 12 Conference Champ always played in
the Orange Bowl Game, and tons of
well-mannered alums from Nebraska,
Oklahoma and even Colorado were all over
Miami spending money and enjoying
themselves, sometimes even saying how
much they envied us living down here
with the weather and the water.

The very same ones that grew fed-up with
bad service, high prices and non-English
speaking personnel -esp. in hotel
parking garages- and the ever-present
threat of crime near downtown Miami
and the OMNI when that was actually
something and not just an
embarrassing eyesore.

And they were chased away, too, based on
my conversations with those fans, here and
in other towns where I met them years later.
They felt unappreciated.

If the Colts win as I expect and hope, do you
really think you'll run into quite so many
people playing know-it-all smart aleck
over at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino
in Hollywood, over at The Clevelander
on South Beach or eating somewhere on
A1A in Hollywood, talking far too loudly
about real estate, and how they speculated
in South Florida real estate for years
-hello Radius and Duo!- but were
smart enough to get out in the nick of time,
as we would if the Jets are here?

Let me answer my own rhetorical question:
No, you won't.

Before you watch today's AFC Championship
Game between the Colts and Jets, be sure
to read this almost three-years old piece by
TIME's Miami Bureau Chief Tim Padgett,
a proud and brilliant grad of Wabash College
by way of Carmel, Indiana, and, as it happens,
one of the most prescient Latin America
political reporters in the country.

And I'm not just saying that because he's a
Hoosier.

In Tim's case, a Hoosier-by-birth, as
opposed to my sister and I, who were
Hoosiers-by-choice, as she followed me
from North Miami Beach HS to Bloomington
three years later, in 1982, even staying in
Briscoe Quad, the same dorm near
Assembly Hall and Memorial Stadium
where I lived for my first two years there.

Why does that name Padgett sound so
familiar?

Yes, because in September, as you read here,
Tim wrote the definitive analysis piece on
South Florida in the 21st Century.

His piece was an Internet sensation nationally
precisely because it resonated with everyone
who knows anything about this area, whether
they live here or just visit.

See my original Sept. 6, 2009 post about his
article, which I titled,
Dear Florida, California, Michigan & Illinois:
It's over. See ya in the rear view mirror!
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/dear-florida-california-michigan.html

TIME
Florida Exodus: Rising Taxes Drive Out Residents

By TIM PADGETT/MIAMI

There are many things public officials probably shouldn't do during a severe recession, but no one seems to have told the leaders in Florida about them. One thing, for instance, would be giving a dozen top aides hefty raises while urging a rise in property taxes, as the mayor of Miami-Dade County recently did. Or jacking up already exorbitant hurricane-insurance premiums, as Florida's government-run property insurer just did. Or sending an army of highly paid lobbyists to push for a steep hike in electricity rates, as South Florida's public utility is doing.

And you wonder why the Sunshine State is experiencing its first net emigration of people since World War II.

See the rest of Behind Florida's Exodus: Rising Taxes, Political Ineptitude at
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1919916,00.html?xid=rss-mostpopular

A short amusing TIME piece by Tim on
his hometown of Carmel, north of Indy,
and their seeming love affair with roundabouts
or traffic circles, was here:

You Want a Revolution
By TIM PADGETT
September 4, 2008
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1838753,00.html

Carmel in the early '80's was sort of like...
well, for our purposes here, like Miami Lakes
in the late '70's when that was almost like
Dolphin City, with so many coaches and
players living there.

Except Indy had no NFL team then, as that
was Bears and Bengals territory, and we got
all their telecasts on CBS and NBC on the
Indy stations.

Carmel was very affluent, well-educated,
and had lots of smart kids, just like HML
back when they were also the dominant
South Florida high school in sports, even
having lights on their HS field, which meant
the baseball team could play at night when
more people could watch and that their
elite football team could practice in
something other than 94 degree sunshine.

(My senior year, the HML valedictorian
famously ripped the school's emphasis
on competition and sports at their graduation
ceremony, which everyone heard about
as there were both School Board members
and Channel 4 TV cameras present.)

When I was at IU, Carmel meant Mark
Hermann, the Purdue QB, who'd been
a HS star for the Greyhounds.
Carmel bad, Purdue bad!

A Purdue QB from Carmel?
Well, as it was explained to me, not unlike
what Richard Lewis would say about his
dating: two wrongs don't make a right!

IU students from Carmel, like people who
went to Harvard, were always quick to let
you know it.
Didn't mean they were bad, just perhaps
a little too quick to pat themselves on their
back for something that had nothing to do
with them personally.

Hey, that's just like that class of former
New Yorkers in South Florida I was just
impugning a few minutes ago!

By the way, while I was at IU, the NCAA's
HQ was located in Kansas City, and didn't
move to Indy until a few years after I'd said
au revoir, http://www.ncaa.org/

If any of you are interested in the job,
nominations for people interested in becoming
the NCAA President must be received by
March 10th.
See: http://www.ncaa.org/wps/portal/ncaahome?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/ncaa/ncaa/ncaa+news/ncaa+news+online/2010/association-wide/ncaa_president_description

Revenge of the Hoosiers By Tim Padgett
February 5, 2007
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1585951,00.html



"In the Heart of a Great Country, Beats the Soul of Hoosier Nation." -South Beach Hoosier, 2007

C'est moi!

Broward County Commissioner Stacy Ritter Unplugged on Ethics, January 2010

Below are the verbatim comments of Broward
County Commissioner Stacy Ritter as recorded
before the Broward County Ethics Commission
meeting of January 13th, 2010.

I think they speak for themselves, and what
they say to me is that for all of her tough talk
and PR spin over the past few months,
Stacy Ritter DOESN'T want meaningful
pro-active ethical accountability in Broward
County government, and prefers that she
and her colleagues continue their stealthy
and unethical behavior behind games of
semantics in public, while playing puppeteers
behind-the-scenes.
Or are THEY the puppets, as some insist?

On Sunday I will have info and news for you
here about the Ethics Committee and the
Broward Legislative Delegation, both
of whom have VERY IMPORTANT public
meetings and votes coming in the next few
days.

The Delegation will be voting next Tuesday,
Jan. 26th, on their Draft of an Ethics bill from
2-4 p.m. at the downtown Broward College
campus on E. Las Olas Avenue, up on the
12th floor boardroom.
There have to be ten members for a quorum,
and at least one member must be a State Senator.

The next meeting of the Broward Ethics
Commission is two days later, Thursday
the 28th, from 5-8:30 p.m., where they will
react to what the Broward Delegation says.

I'll have agendas, bill drafts and links here
for you to peruse and try to bring you up
to speed on what's happening, good and bad,
as well as detail efforts to derail the focus
of the Ethics Committee so that it will be
weaker than it ought to be.

----------

http://www.cityethics.org/print/991
Broward County Legislators Drag the County's Ethics Feet
By Robert Wechsler
Created 2010-01-14 17:13

Also see www.sunshinereview.org
and http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Florida

----------

MAYOR (sic) RITTER: Well, thanks. I didn't ask to be on the agenda, so I appreciate you giving me a couple of minutes.

I have spent some time -- good morning everybody. Thank you for your service. I have spent some time going through the minutes of the past several meetings, and have been quite frankly disturbed at some of the comments that have been coming from this Committee and feel there are some assumptions that have been made here that

9 Ethics Commission 1-13-10 BS

are, quite frankly, wrong. I have seen it in other Commissions and Committees where you are asked to do things and you may not know exactly what the Commission does, so you are asking for changes to stuff that you're really not sure what we do. I’ve see it with the Management and Efficiency Study Committee, on which I sit. There are lots of decisions and conversations being said about things we already do, that people don't know we do or things we have tried to do that haven't worked. And there is not a whole lot of knowledge of the process, and I found that true in some of the comments that have come from this Commission. Just having received your draft, which is skeletal, it's going to be hard for me to make any comments on that specifically, but I'm concerned that there appears to be a perception from this group that the County Commission is full of corrupt elected officials who want nothing better than to line their pockets, and to date, we have had, since I have been on the Commission, in November 2006, one County Commissioner who has pled guilty to an offense that had nothing to do with his office and has been charged with an offense that has something to do with land use, not procurement, yet you have chosen to focus on procurement, and I haven't received a single e-mail from anybody in this county, either way, that focuses on procurement. There has never been a hint of scandal, as it relates to Broward County's procurement process, and yet, you wish to change a system that is quite frankly not broken. And I was most disturbed by my colleague Commissioner Wexler's comments as it relates to procurement, and what she perceives to be an issue, which I quite frankly don't see. You had all discussed with her, and this is the meeting she attended and I have lots of tabs that made me scratch my head, but she -- the Commissioner who sits on the most selection committees and who actually raised her hand three times yesterday to sit on

10 Ethics Commission 1-13-10 BS

the three selection committees that were on the agenda, seems to feel that Commissioners don't belong on the selection committee. Well, I like to lead by example, so if I don't think something should happen, I don't participate in the process. And so I scratch my head when one of my colleagues comes and says we should change something that she participates in quite freely, and gleefully, I might add.

When the conversation came to sand bagging, lots of people come to the table with agendas. I dare say that some of you have come with agendas too, which may not be what you are putting down on the public comment, but that doesn't make it illegal and it certainly doesn't make it unethical. If I'm sitting in a selection committee and I think company A is the best company, but company B is the stiffest competition, I may well choose to rank company B lower because I think company A should win. There is nothing wrong with that. There is nothing illegal or unethical in that, and if you want to know the reasons why we vote, all you have to do is ask us. Sometimes you will get the right answer and sometimes you will get the couched answer, but that is politics. I don't think the selection committee is broken.

Commissioner Wexler talked about intimidation of staff. The County Commission doesn't hire and fire staff, so they shouldn't be intimidated by us because we're not their bosses. The County Administrator is their bosses. And if they have issues with the County Administrator, they should take it up with her, not with us because we don't hire and fire the people that are sitting at the table with you.

There was a comment that not a lot of questions are asked by staff at selection committees because of the intimidation. I don't ask a lot of questions at selection committees, and I can promise you, I'm not intimidated by a single one of my

11 Ethics Commission 1-13-10 BS

colleagues. That is not the reason I don't ask questions. I don't ask questions because I read the proposals, which are thorough, and I listen and watch the presentations, which are equally thorough, and I make up my mind based on the proposals and the presentations. There is no intimidation there. I get my questions answered either beforehand or in the proposal and the presentation.

I think that your Inspector General local bill has some problems with it. You are allowing somebody who basically does what the auditor does. We're already paying for somebody to do much of what the Inspector General does, and I don't think the county needs an Inspector General and an auditor to overlap each other, and I think the County Commission, by the way -- I would certainly be willing to put an ordinance on the agenda to talk about an Inspector General. It's funny you want the Legislature to meddle in this, because in 2000, Mr. Scherer, you and I were on the same side of a strong mayor, to try to curtail the Legislators attempt to meddle into county business by putting a strong mayor on the ballot. We were at the same table to kill it, and our argument was, the Legislature shouldn't meddle in county business. They should take care of their own house and let the County Commission take care of its own house, but 10 years later, I know times change, people change and issues change, but I don't think the Legislature should meddle.

I think that there are, by the way, Legislatures who have been accused of things. Legislatures who have gone to jail, but I don't see you talking about them. There are Legislatures who actually work for businesses that have business in front of the Legislature, and vote on their issues, but I don't see you talk about their conflicts. I don't see you talk about the conflicts in Congress. I see you talk about selection committees,

12 Ethics Commission 1-13-10 BS

that Congress doesn't sit on selection committees; that the Legislature doesn't sit on selection committees. But the Legislature doesn't sit as the executive branch, which the County Commission does. The Legislature doesn't sit as the judicial branch, which the County Commission sometimes does, and we always sit as the Legislative branch. So really you can't compare -- and by the way, I have experience. I can speak from both angles. I was a Legislature. I know what is going on up there that nobody seems to care about. All you seem to care about is one of us is going to jail for something that had nothing to do with what he did here at the county, and I do not mean to diminish the offense. It was horrendous and no elected official should ever betray the public confidence, but you're going to allow an Inspector General to investigate anonymous complaints. Now as someone who has been the subject of anonymous attackers on the web, I can tell you that is really harmful. I believe also I have a constitutional amendment to confront my accuser. Now with an anonymous complaint, I lose that. How can you do that? How can you not let me, if I'm accused of something, defend myself to the person who is the accuser. I could go on. I have lots of notes and tabs.

I notice that last week you had Charlotte Greenbar come to speak to you. She notoriously hates the County Commission. She notoriously hates the School Board. She made some comments about School Board members shouldn't sit on selection committees either, but I don't see anybody talking about that either, and I recognize that your purview is the County Commission, yet you have on occasion, gone outside of that and discussed things that are not within the quote purview of the Ethics Commission. If you want to, and we all want to make sure that our elected officials are trustworthy, and by the way, I'm not sure you could ever make 100 percent of the public believe that that

13 Ethics Commission 1-13-10 BS

is true. Those people who think we're dirty will always think we're dirty, no matter what we do or say, and those people who think we aren't will always think that. Then you might want to broaden it. You might want to broaden your local bill and say you know, it applies it Legislatures too, and it applies to municipal officials and it applies to the School Board and it applies to the Hospital District Commissioners and it applies to every Water Control Board supervisor in this county, to every single special district supervisor in this county, which there are 97, because quite frankly to single out the County Commissioner for something is wrong. If you want to talk about elected officials and corruption, let's talk about elected officials and corruption, but to paint us all on this County Commission with a broad brush, when I have seen members do nothing illegal or unethical –have seen members do things for their own reasons, which I may not agree with, but they are elected to do that, and if the public doesn't

like the job we're doing, then the public knows how to get rid of us.

MAYOR RITTER: If I may conclude.

COMMISSIONER DE JESUS: If you could close, because the Mayor is here for his appointed time.

MAYOR RITTER: Thank you.

And this isn't personal, Bill. You and I have a personal relationship that completely transcends this, and I hope that you would know that. We're disagreeing on an issue, but we're not disagreeable. I still count you as a friend and I still hope that you count me as one at the end of the day.

MR. SCHERER: I do. 16 Ethics Commission 1-13-10 BS

MAYOR RITTER: I think that perception of lobbyists is also misunderstood. And lobbyists purvey the system anyway. Politics and lobbyists, just like politics and sex sort of go hand-in-hand, sometimes in my house they are one and the same, but we just had a major procurement on the court house. Construction manager on the court house, the winner had no lobbyist, knocked on everyone of our doors all by himself.

MR. SCHERER: That is why I fired mine.

MAYOR RITTER: Well, good for you.

But the point is that yes, sometimes it happens that way and sometimes it doesn't. We just did the financial services. Now the winner did have representation. The person I voted for had no representation. It happens. It's not always the fact that the lobbyist client wins, but it is sometimes the fact. That is just true in life. Lawyers represent clients. We want our clients to win, just like the lobbyists want our clients to win. And by the way, I told my appointment, Ken Fink, that he is free to do -- not told me. He can do whatever he wants. He is a grown man. But I have put no pressure on him --

MR. FINK: Thank you.

MAYOR RITTER: -- and he and I have argued like cats and dogs on this. We have screamed at each other, but at the end of the day he is going to do what he thinks is right and I'm going to tell him he is wrong, but I think if you are moving towards a, Miami Dade system, which is what looks like is happening, is a big mistake. The last major project in Broward County was the rental car center at the airport. Before my time, Commissioners sat on the selection committee. It came in under budget and on time. The last major project in Miami Dade was the airport, which came in a billion 17 Ethics Commission 1-13-10 BS

dollars over budget and did not come in on time, and the only people that you can complain to are the staff, not the elected officials, and I mean no disrespect to the staff, but the staff controlled the process in Miami Dade and staff spoke to the staff, not to the elected officials.

So at the end of the day, if you are looking for accountability and transparency, in my opinion, and with all due respect to this Committee and the intelligence of this Committee, I think you're heading down the wrong path. You will not find accountability or transparency if you hand this over to the non-elected officials. Thank you.

COMMISSIONER DE JESUS: Thanks for your time.

MAYOR RITTER: Thanks for letting me speak. I didn't -- I came to monitor, but a politician with a microphone. Good luck.

COMMISSIONER DE JESUS: Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Why it doesn't pay to play paparazzo to a Capercaillie -they go for the jugular!

Meanwhile, back in Sverige... Jenny Modin
of Expressen reports on a bird that's on the
prowl, and which has it's eye -and beak-
firmly on usually mild-mannered Ola Petersson.

Jenny gets Ola to describe how, while hunting,
he literally walked into a hornet's nest
-of feathers!- when he innocently pulled-out
his cell phone to snap a shot of a capercaillie
perched up in front of him on a stone,
along a snowy forest road.

When the bird got closer to him, Ola quickly
switched to film mode.

Fortunately for us, despite Ola's obvious chagrin
at what happened to him, he's a very good sport
and gives us a play-by-play of his embarrassing
fowl run-in, and has shared his video with the
world to tell the tale!

Proving Mark Twain's maxim true once again:
"It's not the size of the dog in the fight,
it's the size of the fight in the dog."

It's almost like one of those awful Canadian-made
Sci-Fi films that the SyFy Channel is always
foisting upon us at 2 a.m. on Saturday mornings,
usually featuring lots of snow and bored city
teenagers at an isolated cabin.
But Ola is a better cinematographer!

Här går tjädern till attack
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZMvCqX7CTU



See also:
http://www.expressen.tv/
http://www.youtube.com/ExpressenTV
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/c/capercaillie/index.aspx
http://www.expressen.se/

Transportation news you missed last week while you were freezing, but is it a real improvement?

Not saying whether or not I think this particular
news about Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood's
apparent change in policy is good or bad,
true or false, as it relates to what will happen
in Florida, esp. High-Speed Rail or commuter
rail funding, et al, but I thought I'd share it with
you all after I found it while looking for something
else this morning.
For a partisan website, it's actually put together quite well.

----------

Some great news slipped under the radar last week
by desmoinesdem,
Tue Jan 19, 2010 at 12:57:08 AM EST
http://mydd.com/2010/1/19/some-great-news-slipped-under-the-radar-last-week

------

Another look at the same issues.

National Journal Experts Blog
Transportation
Are New Transit Guidelines An Improvement?
January 19, 2010

Last week Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood proposed new livability-based funding guidelines for major transit projects and rescinded Bush administration requirements that based funding decisions on how much a project shortened commute times compared to its cost. The criteria determine which projects get funded under the Federal Transit Administration's New Starts and Small Starts programs.

Read the rest of the posting at:
http://transportation.nationaljournal.com/2010/01/are-new-livability-guidelines.php

Their blog homepage is:
http://transportation.nationaljournal.com/