Broward County Comm. Ilene Lieberman is the creepy anti-ethics monster that just won't die. She's the 'Mummy' of Broward County!

2008 Royal Mail stamp of Hammer Films' The Mummy, 1959.
"Its evil look brings madness! Its evil spell enslaves!"

In my opinion, based on what Buddy Nevins has forthrightly described in his Wednesday BrowardBeat column, below, Broward County Commissioner Ilene Lieberman won't stop selling her office's influence to the highest bidder 'till she's in prison shackles.

Sadly, it's that simple, and it's about time the statute of limitations ended for all of her many apologists in the South Florida community, including certain media members, who, for reasons that nobody can honestly explain, still keep giving her the benefit of the doubt.
Enough with the excuses already!

Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar, and Lieberman is exactly what she looks like: an unrepentant offender of the community's ethos, which is really saying something for how low we actually are now -and how much lower she will go.

If we were Amish, perhaps we could simply shame Lieberman or shun her or banish her, but... well, we're not Amish.

I am SO going to be in the front row of the Commission Chamber for that meeting!

And so are dozens of South Florida civic activists and bloggers. But will South Florida's news media actually leave their air-conditioned offices and show-up?

Or what about lawyer/lobbyist Steve Geller, who'd per$onally benefit from what Ilene Liberman's trying to do?
Hmm-m-m... now that's a question!

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BrowardBeat

Outrage: Commissioners To Debate Gutting Ethics Reform
By Buddy Nevins
August 4, 2010

Can the ethically challenged Broward County Commission sink any lower?

Commissioners will consider next week a set of amendments to gut proposed ethics reform.

The amendments are supposedly authored by the county attorney’s office. I see the hand of Commissioner Ilene Lieberman in this.

Lieberman has consistently argued against ethics reform. She has been accused in the past of using the county attorney’s office to further her aims of derailing any new ethics laws.

To read the rest of the post:
http://www.browardbeat.com/outrage-commissioners-to-debate-gutting-ethics-reform/

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See also:
http://www.royalmail.com/portal/stamps/content1?catId=32300674&mediaId=76000716
http://www.hammerfilms.com/news/uk-cult-classics-celebrated-on-royal-mail-stamps

While Russia tries to stop govt. corruption, Broward Comm. Ilene Lieberman wants to water down the new Ethics rules. Shocker!

Below, some facinating comments by Russia Today correspondent Jacob Greaves informing the Prime Time Russia studio crew in Moscow about the Duma capping ALL govt. officials and civil servants personal spending at 120% of total income to prevent corruption.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's government wants to go after the "big fish" to make examples out of them, before going after the minnows, and towards that end, using power he was given earlier this year, sacked a high-ranking general at the Ministry of Defense for failing to comply with the income declaration requirements.

You might recall that old chestnut about actions having consequences. Well, in most of the world, even in Russia, that still remains true, for both good and ill.

Meanwhile, here in Broward County, some "people" already in a position of power want to start nibbling away at the new County Ethics rules so that they can play belle-of-the-ball.

And by some "people" I specifically mean Broward County Commissioner Ilene Lieberman, whom we have discussed previously in this space 'till we're blue in the face for her brazen oleaginous ways.

Lieberman has proven herself to be no friend of genuine reform in this county, nor of meaningful ethics legislation with predictable dire consequences for contemptuous offenders -like that general in Russia- or even financial accountability or prescience, and the sooner she is gone from the passing scene in Broward, the better your future suddenly becomes.

If Lieberman really were the redoubtable legal eagle she imagines herself to be, echoed by so many pliant sycophants in the South Florida press, she'd have long since run for judge.
She hasn't.

Instead, she has remained and participated up to her elbows in the county's tarnished way of transacting business with a wink, a nod and a campaign check from lobbyists.
She has proven to be a mere puppet-master, not a voice that made a positive tangible difference for Broward's citizen taxpayers.
It's too late for her.

Even here, as bad as things are and have been, they DON'T actually build statues to people like her, since it would necessarily have to include the caption, "friend to the lobbyists, thru thick and thin."
No doubt the pigeons would have great fun with that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RX2sgsiizo



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South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Broward Politics blog
Broward's new Code of Ethics might get its first amendment soon

By Brittany Wallman
September 29, 2010 08:00 AM

Commissioner Ilene Lieberman wants her colleagues to soften the gift ban in the new ethics code.

Broward commissioners argued Tuesday and then postponed making a decision on whether to do it. It would be the first change of any kind to the brand new Code of Ethics.

The new ethics code says commissioners cannot accept a gift from a lobbyist or a vendor who does business with the county. It also says that commissioners can take a gift from someone else, but only if it's not worth more than $50. Lieberman is president of the Florida Association of Counties, and argues that she should be able to accept food, travel and lodging from that organization when she goes to its events and conferences.

Read the rest of the post at:
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2010/09/browards_new_code_of_ethics_to_1.html

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http://rt.com/

Prime Time Russia — the first TV show for an English-speaking audience in Russia. Weekdays from 8-9 p.m. msk on RT (Russia Today) channel and online
at http://rt.com/prime-time.html

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

Will Lady Dracula, Ilene Lieberman, successfully suck the life out of Broward County's ethics/IG proposal for the benefit of her family and cronies?

2008 Royal Mail stamp of Hammer Films' Dracula, 1958.

This is a follow-up to my post of last Thursday, August 5, 2010
Broward County Comm. Ilene Lieberman is the creepy anti-ethics monster that just won't die. She's the 'Mummy' of Broward County!
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/broward-county-comm-ilene-lieberman-is.html

You know what they say, if a horror mask fits...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDTxHg7wyP0




After all the insider talk for a week about what's going to happen Tuesday afternoon on Andrews Avenue at the Broward County Commission meeting at 2 p.m., it's finally time for everyone who's anyone to stand up and be counted and be held publicly accountable.

If it was up to me, of course, I'd love to see a few local high-profile folks in particular show up and say what they personally think about the proposals, so that it's all out there for voters to see, since South Florida pols are notorious for ducking high-profile showdowns on issues like this, even the reformist candidates.

I'll leave it to you readers to figure out why I'd like to see them, but if you are a fairly regular visitor to this space, you probably already have a pretty good hunch why: Chris Smith, Steve Geller, Dan Gelber, Dave Aronberg, Kelly Skidmore, Ellyn Bogdanoff, Ari Porth.

Will any Hispanic or African-American Broward residents speak during public comments, whether high-profile or not? Hmm-m-m... that's a very good question.
Sadly, probably not.

Hey, isn't THAT a news story?
Yes, in other parts of the country, but here in polyglot South Florida, such politically and socially uncomfortable stories like THAT usually never see the light of day.

The afternoon agenda and back up documents are here:
http://205.166.161.204/agenda_publish.cfm?mt=ALL&get_month=8&get_year=2010&dsp=ag&seq=191#ReturnTo0

For those of you unable to get away to downtown Fort Lauderdale to watch the rhetoric and metaphors fly at the three-ring circus, you can watch it LIVE via the Internet but you must use Internet Explorer, as I learned the hard way last year, to my chagrin when using Firefox, with predictable results.
Why IE, I can't say, but that's the deal.
http://www.broward.org/video/

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http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/07/1766485/villains-of-ethics-reform-in-broward.html

Miami Herald
Villains of ethics reform in Broward dream up new strategy
By Fred Grimm
August 8, 2010

You've got to appreciate the brazen hand behind this latest attempt to eviscerate ethics reform in Broward County. Same way you watch, with perverse fascination, horror movie villains creeping back from oblivion to wreak more mayhem.

In June, a mighty burst of public outrage cowed the sinister forces behind a contrivance to kill reform. Rather than vote an ethics package up or down, the novel strategy would have shipped the proposed ordinance off to the black hole of judicial review, leaving it to languish until after the fall elections.

The notion dripped with contempt for public sentiment. As if commissioners could ignore the county's spate of scandals and indictments and guilty pleas. Or the federal and state investigators bumping into one another around county hall.

Just a few days before County Attorney Jeff Newton (on behalf of ethically conflicted Commissioner Ilene Lieberman) offered up the subterfuge, ousted commissioner Josephus Eggelletion was in state court to face sentencing on a bribery conviction. (Added atop his federal prison term.)

Such a howl went up across the county that Newton's proposal quickly disappeared, leaving the commission with a deadline and -- everyone assumed -- only two options. Either adopt the ordinance created by the Broward County Reform Commission, word for word, or the measure automatically would be placed on the fall ballot.

Not in this movie. Newton and the unseen hand (AKA Lieberman) have dreamed up yet another strategy to undo reform. Newton would have commissioners adopt the reform ordinance at Tuesday's meeting, keeping it away from the angry voters. Then commissioners would adopt a series of amendments designed to exempt the commissioners and their family members and county staffers from most of the new reforms.

Commissioner Suzanne Gunzburger characterized Newton's amendments as a "thinly veiled political attempt to kill ethics reform.''

Newton's so-called "glitch'' ordinance would allow commissioners to keep their seats on bid selection committees. They could still lobby other local governments. Their family members and staffers will not, after all, face strict limits on lobbying. The restrictions on lobbyists' gifts for family members would be gutted. And sitting commissioners would be exempt from certain ethical rules that would be applied to new, incoming commissioners.

"I was absolutely appalled, disgusted, fed up,'' said Broward Ethics Commissioner Robert Wolfe Jr, suffering from an unhappy sense of déjà vu. "We just went through this a couple months ago.''

The ethics commission had spent a year hammering out a package. Not as tough as some wanted. But adopted unanimously. All the while, Wolfe said, certain county politicians, some with profound conflicts of interest, worked behind the scenes to dilute the effort. Now comes this so-called glitch amendment. (Hardly more than a week after Broward Commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin was formally charged with seven counts of unlawful compensation.) "There's a culture here that just doesn't get it,'' said the frustrated Wolfe.

It's the sequel to Nightmare on Andrews Avenue. The same scary, sneaky creatures back from the murk, still determined to kill reform.

Reader comments at:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/07/1766485/villains-of-ethics-reform-in-broward.html?commentSort=TimeStampAscending&pageNum=1

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Robert Weschler picks up the ethics baton and carries it forward at his excellent blog at www.cityethics.org

Yet Another Underhanded Attempt to Water Down the Broward County Ethics Commission's New Ethics Code Fri, 2010-08-06 14:36
http://www.cityethics.org/content/yet-another-underhanded-attempt-water-down-broward-county-ethics-commissions-new-ethics-code

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South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Broward Politics blog
Broward County Attorney Newton denies effort to thwart ethics reform
By Brittany Wallman August 9, 2010 09:34 PM

Broward County Attorney Jeff Newton wrote a letter Monday defending his latest proposed changes to the Code of Ethics county commissioners will vote on Tuesday.

Read the rest of the post at:
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2010/08/broward_county_attorney_newton.html

Broward County Attorney Jeffrey J. Newton's letter to Miami Herald re Fred Grimm column here:
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/BdCCResponsetoFredGrimmColumn080910.pdf

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This was the 2009 Broward Politics video interview with Bill Scherer on ethics in Broward County that I had on the blog for quite some time.
His comments still ring true!

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





See also:
http://www.royalmail.com/portal/stamps/content1?catId=32300674&mediaId=76000716
http://www.hammerfilms.com/news/uk-cult-classics-celebrated-on-royal-mail-stamps

To see the Royal Mail stamps commemorating the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games:
http://www.royalmail.com/portal/stamps/content1?catId=123500769&mediaId=126000848

South Florida news media ignores Broward Courthouse Taskforce shenanigans planned for Tuesday by Usual Suspects, not taxpayers; Judge Victor Tobin enlists legal eagles to come to rescue

So, did you hear about the Broward County Commission meeting on Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. where the future of the Broward Courthouse will be discussed?
Hundreds of millions of dollars are involved.

If not, don't worry, that's the way the Broward County Commission wants it.
In that regard, they rely heavily on the apathetic South Florida news media, who'll no doubt make
excuses, after-the-fact, for why they haven't mentioned this topic AT ALL before the meeting
actually happens.

Meet the New Media, Same as the Old Media!

Here's how it looks on tomorrow's agenda, but I have it printed out in full at the bottom.

15.				MOTION TO DISCUSS and determine the method of financing for the new courthouse complex.
Attachments
	Exhibit 1 - Final Report 2009
	Exhibit 2 - Master Plan Phases 1 - 3
	Exhibit 3 - New Courthouse - Conceptual Footprint
	Exhibit 4 - Summary of Borrowing Options
	Exhibit 5 - Comparison of Voted & Non-Voted Debt

Consider this.
This is what Comm. Ken Keechl said exactly a year ago about the Courthouse.
Sounds pretty realistic.
http://www.broward.org/kenkeechl/02_09_newsletter.pdf

But that was before the rigged Broward Courthouse Task Force, under Comm. Ilene Lieberman,
had time to really work in earnest to figure-out some way that they could legally evade the referendum that would be required if the Commission voted to make this a bond issue, with voters getting the ultimate thumbs up or down.
And we know that would be a heavy thumbs down, don't we?


Broward County Courthouse, with jail north of it, to the left. With delightful river-views!

You can be excused for wondering why you haven't heard anything about Tuesday morning's Commission meeting that will discuss the Courthouse.
It's not your fault.
Really.

Neither the Herald or the Sun-Sentinel have mentioned this subject in print or online since last September, when the Guest Op-Ed below, purported to have been written by Comm. Stacy Ritter, was published in the Sun-Sentinel.
Whether she actually wrote this or just signed it is not the point.
The real point is that once again, on something very important, South Florida's news media has shown they were sleeping on the job.

Not that anyone in local TV has anything to brag about in this.
Are you kidding?

Did you EVER see anything last year on TV about the ties that the members of the Lieberman-led Taskforce had to the Broward legal establishment here, who desperately want a brand new pony?
Preferably, with a brand-new barn and a lifetime supply of feed.
On your dime.

Nope.
There never was one

Did you ever read in the newspaper or see anything on local TV about how Comm. Lieberman put herself on the committee, and thus ends up with two votes on this matter?

Ever read or hear anything about why Comm. Stacy Ritter appointed Bruce Rogow to the Courthouse Task Force after she'd earlier appointed him to the Charter Review Commission, which
just ended in 2008?

Is there really such a complete lack of qualified people in Broward County -or genuine fear of diversity of opinions?- that the same old faces have to appear, over-and-over?

Bruce Rogow, really?
The same guy who continually made ridiculous alibis and excuses for Broward's elected officials, over-and-over, in the Charter Review Committee meetings?

The same Bruce Rogow who was recently making $375 an hour off of Hallandale Beach taxpayers for reasons that most of the HB City Commission still can't logically explain?
Yes.

In case you forgot, that's the same Lieberman I continually wrote about last year on my blog
that didn't follow basic aspects of the state's Sunshine Laws, and instead, tried to fool
the public by arranging for the agenda and assorted public docs for the last meeting, which should've been online days before, to be placed online HOURS AFTER the
last meeting was over.
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/search?q=Ilene+Lieberman

Really.
Not that they actually had the final public meeting listed online days before the meeting, since they didn't, and which I wrote about at the time.
And Lieberman was the one in charge -the Chair.

The answer to that long-winded question is also a big fat NOPE.
There never was one story about any of those aspects of the Task Force
Now you know the truth.

There you have it, a snapshot of South Florida's not so gung-ho news media, circa February 2010
-asleep at the wheel.

The Jordana Mishory article from the Daily Business Review last week that I link to below features one of the most gallingquotes you'll ever see.
In case you've been under a rock, Judge Victor Tobin is the genius in charge of the statewide task force investigating corruption.

Mishory writes: "He also encouraged the lawyers to run for state Legislature, saying nonlawyers in Tallahassee don’t understand the justice system and the separation
of powers."

So now you know what citizen taxpayers are really up against.
I'll be at the meeting tomorrow afternoon for the public session that starts ar 2 p.m., filming the drama surrounding Agenda item 15.
Should be pretty interesting to watch the Broward Commissioners engage in verbal gymnastics to do
what they always wanted to do, despite Broward citizens being unalterably opposed by large margins.

But the reality is this -the Commissioners have contributor friends who need the contracting work,
so don't be surprised to hear some pretty crazy news emerge from Andrews Avenue tomorrow.


South Florida Sun-Sentinel
BROWARD COURTHOUSE NEEDS REPLACING NOW

September 30, 2009

When I became Broward County's mayor almost a year ago, I made rebuilding our courthouse a priority.

We are one hurricane away from not having a courthouse. Engineers say that the roof could blow off in a moderate hurricane, leaving us with no place to handle trials. In that case, we would be forced to replace the courthouse during an emergency at whatever cost is charged.

Almost everybody who steps into the aging building, from witnesses to the Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board, has repeatedly said a new courthouse is needed.

Why? The courthouse is the lynchpin of Broward's public safety, where everything from divorces to traffic tickets is decided. If you get robbed, or are hurt in a traffic accident, justice is found at the courthouse. The problems with the 60-year-old building are myriad and threaten public safety.

Because of overcrowding, criminal defendants are in close contact with the public. There are rats, roaches and corroding pipes, which leak sewer water. Bathrooms are often out of order. The aging elevators sometimes require two dozen service calls a week. The overloaded electrical system dates back to the 1950s.

In 2006, voters turned down a $500 million-plus courthouse plan. Voters believed it was too big and too expensive. Since then, the courthouse has gotten worse - closed at least three times because of burst pipes. The flooding caused ceilings to collapse, electrical equipment to fail and required extra deputies to transport prisoners to makeshift courtrooms.

To keep patching the building together is costly and wasteful. With this in mind, I appointed a task force under County Commissioner Ilene Lieberman to tackle this decades-long problem. To insure the public that those on the task force would not benefit financially, no one doing business with the county was a member. After multiple public hearings and hours of expert testimony, the task force developed a sensible plan:

Smaller and less expensive than the 2006 rejected proposal, it would cost $328 million, down from more than $500 million. It will be 17 stories rather than 25 stories, and 675,000 square feet, rather than 893,000 square feet.

It is doable. The County Commission approved the plan in early August. We already have $120 million set aside to pay for the building. As time passes, the need for a new courthouse only increases, and will just get more expensive the longer we wait. We need it now.

Stacy Ritter is mayor of Broward County.

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FYI: Jordana Mishory is a Medill grad.
Daily Business Review
Broward Courthouse
Chief judge considers legal remedies if county rejects bond
By Jordana Mishory
January 22, 2010

Broward Chief Circuit Judge Victor Tobin is recruiting lawyers to attend a Broward County Commission meeting on a bond issue for courthouse construction and is considering legal remedies to ensure the county provides a safe and adequate building, he said Thursday in his state of the circuit speech.

Tobin said drastic matters may be needed to deal with the decrepit wing of the downtown Fort Lauderdale courthouse, but he stopped short of threatening a lawsuit.

Read the rest of the story at:
http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/news.html?news_id=60007

See other DBR stories on the Broward Courthouse at:
http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/related_news.html?cluster_id=980


http://205.166.161.204/agenda_publish.cfm?mt=ALL&get_month=2&get_year=2010&dsp=agm&seq=4651&rev=0&ag=165&ln=27918&nseq=&nrev=&pseq=4696&prev=0#ReturnTo27918

AI-4651			Item #: 15.
Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Date: 02/02/2010 Director's Name: Pete Corwin Department: County Administration
Information
Requested Action
MOTION TO DISCUSS and determine the method of financing for the new courthouse complex.
Why Action is Necessary
Board direction is required to determine how to fund the new courthouse complex.
What Action Accomplishes
Provides staff direction to take the necessary steps to finance a new courthouse.
Is this Action Goal Related
Previous Action Taken
Summary Explanation/ Background
Background On August 5th, the Board approved the Courthouse Task Force’s final report (Exhibit 1). The Board agreed that a new courthouse should be constructed on County owned land at the corner of SE 6th Street and SE 1st Avenue; which is the site of the 400 space Judicial Garage. The Board also amended the agreement with Spillis Candela, Heery, Cartaya Joint Venture to design the new courthouse. The Board discussed the Task Force recommendation to fund the courthouse utilizing non-voted debt and discussed the advantages and disadvantages of voted and non-voted debt; however, the Board postponed a decision on financing the courthouse. The Mayor directed staff to bring the issue to the Board for determination. Project Status The consultant team has completed the architectural program totaling 674,000 sq ft to meet the space needs of the courthouse agencies plus one shell floor (34,000 sq ft) to provide for future expansion. The team also developed a master plan (Exhibit 2), consistent with the recommendations of the Task Force. The master plan provides for a judicial campus on County owned property that will meet the space needs of the courts for well over thirty years. The consultant team also developed over 30 design schemes for the courthouse footprint, which were reviewed by County staff with input from the courts. After detailed analysis using selection criteria which included site constraints, building and functional efficiency, natural lighting, way-finding, best practices, and cost , the team selected an “L” shape footprint (Exhibit 3) as the preferred conceptual configuration for the building. The 20 story structure will include 74 litigation spaces for judges and general masters; provide secure separation of the public, judges, inmates and juvenile detainees; centralize Court Administrator functions; include space for Clerk of Court and State Attorney functions; and will be an environmentally friendly and energy efficient building designed to achieve LEED certification. The consultant team has initiated the schematic design phase of the project during which they will complete architectural massing and elevation studies to represent the preferred design solution for the building. Conceptual floor plans will be developed for each level during this phase, responding to the architectural program requirements. Preliminary project descriptions, with a narrative of engineering systems and material selections, will be provided so that a more detailed project cost can be prepared. Schematic design will be completed in mid-March and will be followed by the design development and construction document phase to produce the design drawings used to bid the project. Since these drawings must conform to the most current building codes, staff does not recommend proceeding with design development until a financing plan is in place. If the project is delayed pending financing, the design development drawings would likely require significant and potentially costly modifications. Project Costs The following provides a summary of the $328 million projected project costs: • Courthouse, Demolition, Landscaping, Connectors and 120 Secure Parking Spaces ($281.5 million) • 1,380 Parking Spaces ($34.5 million) • Remodel Midrise ($4 million) • Additional North Regional Parking ($8 million) Staff and the consultant team is committed to designing the project within the project budget including the prospect of bidding the project next year at a time when the construction market is expected to remain “soft”. In addition, the project estimate does not include a separate allocation for public art since the consultant team will integrate art into the design of the new courthouse. The cost to add parking to the North Regional Courthouse may be less than projected if we can add capacity within the existing structure. As the project has taken shape over the past several months, several items have been indentified that will have to be taken into consideration when designing the courthouse and developing the detailed project budget. The initial project budget did not contemplate any remodeling in the East or North Wings. As the consultant completed the space program, it became clear that several State Attorney units that support judges in the North Wing (felony courts) should be located in the East or North Wings. By consolidating Court Administration and the administrative functions of the Clerk of Courts in the new courthouse, space can be freed up in the East and North Wings for the State Attorney. The team also identified additional work necessary to make the East Wing functional after the old courthouse is demolished. With the assistance of our construction project manager (Weitz), staff and the consultant team will design the courthouse so that the project is completed at or under the project budget. Financing the New Courthouse The County has $60 million in the budget for courthouse capital projects plus $60 million for a new jail which is not needed due to reductions in the inmate population. If additional jail capacity is needed in the future, the 700 bed Stockade can be reopened. By utilizing $120 million in cash, the County can reduce the amount of borrowed funds needed for the projects to approximately $208 million. The key policy questions for the Board to address are: • What is the best time and method to borrow the $208 million to finance the project? • What funds will be used to pay the annual debt service on the bonds? • What is the impact of the annual debt service payments on the millage rate and taxpayers? The County’s Financial Advisor prepared a summary of several borrowing options (Exhibit 4). While there are several options available to the County for financing the courthouse project, the fundamental choice is between voted and non-voted debt. There are pros and cons of each method. Voted debt (General Obligation bonds) has several advantages. Debt service is paid with property taxes that are not included in the County’s General Fund and operating millage rate; interest rates are lower than non voted debt; and no debt service reserve is required. The key advantage to non-voted debt is that financing can proceed immediately allowing the County to take advantage of a very soft construction market; take advantage of historically low interest rates; and utilize Build America Bonds before they expire December 31, 2010. Non-voted debt service payments are paid with general revenues and the millage required to fund debt service is included in the General Fund under the 10 mill cap limitation. The total debt service on $208 million ranges from $12 to $14 million per year. The Court Facilities Fee can be used to pay $5 million per year of the debt service on the bonds ($1million/year from rent savings plus $4 million/year from increase in the fee). Therefore, by utilizing $5 million/year in courthouse facilities fees, the amount of property taxes needed to support the bonds is reduced to approximately $7 to $9 million per year. A key variable in the annual debt service payments is whether the County issues Recovery Zone and Build America Bonds (BABs), which can significantly lower borrowing costs, but must be issued by December 31, 2010. The County has been allocated $40 million in Recovery Zone Bonds which provide a 45% credit towards interest payments. There is no limit on the amount of Build America Bonds that can be issued and they provide a 35% credit towards interest payments. The reduction in interest payments are based upon the Federal Government providing “rebates” and carry the risk that the Federal Government will suspend or eliminate the “rebates”. As shown in Exhibit 5, the annual rebate averages approximately $3 million per year. The Federal program is available for both voted and non-voted debt; the bonds are taxable; and bonds must be issued no later than December 31, 2010 unless the program is extended by Congress. The County’s Financial Advisor compared four borrowing scenarios based upon current market conditions: • Voted Debt with Build America Bonds • Non-Voted Debt with Build America Bonds • Voted Debt without Build America Bonds • Non-Voted Debt without Build America Bonds Based on current market conditions, Exhibit 5 calculates the total amount borrowed (including issuance, underwriters costs, and revenues); total average annual debt service; tax supported annual debt service (netting out the Courthouse Facility Fee and Federal interest “rebate”); the “all in” interest rate (TIC); and total debt service. The following chart summarizes the annual debt service and “all in” interest rate for each alternative: OPTION ANNUAL DEBT SERVICE TIC • Voted Debt with BAB’s $6.9 million 3.85% • Non Voted Debt with BAB’s $7.5 million 4.11% • Voted Debt w/o BAB’s $8.1 million 4.68% • Non Voted Debt w/o BAB’s $9.3 million 5.34% Based on current market conditions, the lowest cost option would be voted debt utilizing Build America Bonds; however, a non-voted issue utilizing Build America Bonds is more attractive than a GO issue without Build America Bonds. Policy Questions Given the information presented above: 1. What is the best time and method to borrow the $208 million to finance the project? Voted debt offers lower borrowing costs, but if the Board elects to finance the project with voted debt and voters do not approve the bond issue, the County could miss historically low interest rates, BAB rebates from the Federal Government and a soft construction market. 2. What funds will be used to pay the annual debt service on the bonds? The total debt service payments on $208 million will be approximately $12 to $14 million per year. Courthouse Facilities Fees will provide approximately $5 million per year. If voted debt is utilized, the difference will come directly from property taxes. If non-voted debt is utilized, general revenues will be pledged to make up the difference which ultimately impacts the general fund tax rate. If the debt is incurred in the next 3 years, the increase in debt service payments can be offset by a $36.4 million per year decrease in voted debt service payments. In FY 10, total annual debt service taxes are $74.4 million and in FY 14 they will decrease to $38 million. These scheduled decreases in payments will occur as follows: • FY11 $17.3 million • FY12 $11.3 million • FY13 $7.8 million Total $36.4 million 3. What is the impact of the annual debt service payments on the millage rate and taxpayers? No matter which method of borrowing (voted or non-voted debt) is used, there will be an increase in debt service payments. If the debt is “voted”, the additional $7 to $9 million will be offset by the programmed $36.4 million decrease in existing voted debt service payments and likely result in a decrease in the “voted” millage rate depending on the tax roll for that year. If the debt is “non-voted”, the impact on the County operating budget and millage rate cannot be determined at this time, given the number of variables such as the tax roll, other increases/decreases in revenues and expenses, and the Board’s tax policy. The impact of the additional $7 to $9 million on the budget by itself would not require a supermajority vote since the County has developed ample capacity under the State-mandated maximum millage calculation by significantly reducing the County’s ad valorem tax levy each year for three years. The following summarizes the impact on the average taxpayer based on the current combined millage rate (voted and non-voted) and current average taxable values: • Current millage rate 5.3889 (4.889 operating plus .5 mills debt service) • Less .25 mills decrease in voted debt service payments ($36.4 million/year) • Plus .05 to .06 mills for new courthouse debt service payments ($7 to $9 million/year) • Total millage rate – 5.1889 to 5.0789 (3.5% to 3.7% decrease) • The impact of the $7 to $9 million debt service payment on the average homeowner would be $8 per year, which would be offset by the reduction of $37 per year in voted debt service payments over three fiscal years. The Courthouse Task Force met on January 22nd and voted to reaffirm their recommendation that the Board utilize non-voted debt.
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary:
Total cost of courthouse projects is $328 million. There is $120 million available in the Capital Program in the courthouse and jail projects. The balance ($208 million) will be financed and supported by revenues generated in the Courthouse Facilities Fund and general operating revenues.
Attachments
Exhibit 1 - Final Report 2009
Exhibit 2 - Master Plan Phases 1 - 3
Exhibit 3 - New Courthouse - Conceptual Footprint
Exhibit 4 - Summary of Borrowing Options
Exhibit 5 - Comparison of Voted & Non-Voted Debt

Charlotte Greenbarg sounds the alarm about Broward back-scratching in action: Bob Norman: Lieberman in China; Looks, walks & quacks like a duck? Duck!

Thought you'd find this of interest, though some of you may've already received Broward Coalition president Charlotte Geenbarg's email.

At the bottom, I've added Charlotte's spot-on email to the Broward County Commission yesterday, plus the copy of the amendment Comm. Lieberman wants to have heard on the 14th, after her trip to China, which I sent many of you on Monday.

I've seen ducks up close before -this ethics amendment of her's looks like a duck to me.

Perhaps we should all get a t-shirt printed-up reading: "One of my commissioners went to China but all I got was much-weaker ethics laws."

By the way, for those of you who don't know your Texas geography, Tarrant County includes Fort Worth, and it's county pop. is 1.7 million, says the guy whose family first moved to the Hill Country of Texas in 1855.


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Charlotte Greenbarg
Date: Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 12:59 PM
Subject: Bob Norman: Lieberman in China
To: Charlotte Greenbarg

This probably isn't the best time to visit China;
all travel should be on hold until the County gets it act together, ethically and fiscally.

Personal note: When we were in business late 70s, 80s and until 1993 when we sold and retired, the Chinese government offered to provide at no cost to us for 2 years all the labor we needed to manufacture our orthopedic soft goods and the famous black belt w/suspenders that my late husband perfected. We said no thanks. First, we'd have to lay off the factory full of people who supported families, many single moms, and second, we knew that once they made our goods, they'd go back to China and undercut us, probably with inferior products.

Charlotte

-------

BrowardPalmBeach NewTimes

Daily Pulp blog
Lieberman In China
By Bob Norman, Tue., Aug. 31 2010 @ 10:43AM

While the Chaitgate corruption investigation rages on, Broward County Commissioner Ilene Lieberman won't be at today's commission meeting. She's gone to China.

Lieberman's office confirmed she left for Beijing yesterday as part of a delegation representing the National Association of Counties. She will be there for ten days to "promote econcomic development."

​The commissioner, who has come under intense scrutiny in the State Attorney's Office investigation of the dealings of dirty developers Bruce and Shawn Chait, is currently the president of the Florida Association of Counties, which is affiliated with the national group.

Read the rest of the column at:
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2010/08/lieberman_in_china.php

Reader comments at:
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2010/08/lieberman_in_china.php#comments

------
Charlotte's email to the Broward County Commission last night at 7:50 p.m.:

Ladies & Gentlemen:

You've just had (5 p.m. today) an item added to tomorrow's agenda, dealing with the selection of an insurance provider. Staff tied on the selection (Commissioners are no longer on selection committees now that the Ethics ordinance has passed) between Coventry and Aetna.

Problem is that the Florida Assoc. of Counties (FAC), President of which is Comm. Ilene Lieberman, contacted each Commissioner re: this selection. Turns out that the FAC would get $2/month for each enrolled employee if Aetna gets the contract. This is a statewide "arrangment" that FAC has with Aetna.There's nothing wrong per se with the company Aetna; but the "arrangment" waddles and quacks.

Furthermore, FAC Pres. Lieberman is presently in China representing FAC.

So how is this connected to Item 51? Well, we need an open record of who gets and gives what to whom. We wanted
full public disclosure when we demanded an Ethics ordinance. When FAC has an event (and the National Assoc. of Counties and others likewise), there are sponsors for the open bars, for example, and those sponsors are often law firms and lobbyists that do business with counties or have clients who do. But we don't know that, do we? It's not easily available information. And there's the rub.

You need to let the Ethics Ordinance continue to take effect before you begin to make any changes, and Item 51 is a very large change.

I am copying my members on this communication, and know from many, many meetings, emails and conversations that they totally agree with this position.

Sincerely,

Charlotte Greenbarg

President

The Broward Coalition, Inc.

-------

Wendy Murray's cc of her email to the Broward County Commission

Thank you, Wendy!

Charlotte

----- Original Message -----

Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 8:03 AM

Subject: Re: Poster Child for why Item 51 should not be passed

Dear Commissioners,

I agree with both Charlotte and Don.

Please inject ethics and integrity into the Broward County Commission by acting openly and with the avoidance of perceived mischief.

Being an elected official is an honor bestowed upon you by the votes of the residents you serve. Public service should be discerning and in the best interest of the residents. It should not be self-seeking nor give the appearance of such.

Truly, I thank you for your service and hopefully, I observe your actions to avoid all perceived mischief while embracing the arms of integrity and character.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Wendy Murray

P.S. Please forgive any typos as sending from phone. Thank you.

Wendy Murray, FEMV, CMCA, LCAM
Director of Business Development
Association Services of Florida
10112 USA Today Way
Miramar, FL 33025
www.associaflorida.com
954-922-3514

----------

Per my email yesterday

http://www.broward.org/commission/Pages/Meetings.aspx

Meeting Agendas

AI-6294		Item #: 51.
Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Date: 08/31/2010 Director's Name: Jeffrey Newton Department: County Attorney
Information
Requested Action
MOTION TO ADOPT Resolution directing the County Administrator to publish Notice of Public Hearing to be held on Tuesday, September 14, 2010, at 2:00 p.m., in Room 422 of the Governmental Center to consider enactment of a proposed Ordinance, the title of which is as follows: AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, RELATING TO THE CODE OF ETHICS; AMENDING SUBSECTION 1-19(b)(1) OF THE BROWARD COUNTY CODE OF ORDINANCES, TO ALLOW COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TO ACCEPT ACCOMMODATIONS PROVIDED FOR OR ARRANGED BY PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS NACo AND FAC TO ATTEND OR PARTICIPATE IN OFFICIAL FUNCTIONS OR EVENTS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE CODE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (Sponsored by Commissioner Ilene Lieberman)
Why Action is Necessary
The proposed Ordinance was prepared by the Office of the County Attorney at the direction of the Board of County Commissioners at its Commission meeting of August 17, 2010.
What Action Accomplishes
The proposed Ordinance amends the Code of Ethics to provide an exception to the gifts restriction and prohibition, allowing County Commissioners to accept accommodations to attend official events and functions that are provided for, or arranged by, state, regional, national, and international organizations, including the National Association of Counties (NACo) and the Florida Association of Counties (FAC), which promote the exchange of information or the professional development of elected public officials, thereby saving Broward County the cost or potential cost of such attendance.
Is this Action Goal Related
Previous Action Taken
Summary Explanation/ Background
The proposed ordinance amends the Code of Ethics to provide an exception to the gifts restriction and prohibition, allowing County Commissioners to accept accommodations to attend official events and functions that are provided for, or arranged by, state, regional, national, and international organizations, including the National Association of Counties (NACo) and the Florida Association of Counties (FAC), which promote the exchange of information or the professional development of elected public officials, thereby saving Broward County the cost or potential cost of such attendance.
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary:
Fiscal Impact Statement by Office of Management and Budget attached as Exhibit 3.

------
See also: http://205.166.161.204/adv_search_results.cfm?fp=ADVSRCH
for the Motion to Direct and Motion to Adopt requested by Comm. Lieberman and County Attorney Jeffrey Newton.

------

In case the link to Bob Norman's column of last Monday above -which mentioned Hallandale Beach mayor Joy Cooper- doesn't work for you:

Our Politicians at the Trough
By Bob Norman, Mon., Aug. 23 2010 @ 3:23PM

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2010/08/florida_league_of_cities_dinner.php

------

Speaking of ducks, if only South Florida news reporters would start paying closer attention and boning-up on the context and backstory of these sorts of stories, maybe even showing-up en masse to the County Commission meetings just to humor citizens like myself, and started channeling Le Canard enchaîné.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Canard_encha%C3%AEn%C3%A9

Of course, the Chained Duck intentionally has very limited info on le Internet, which they explain away thusly at http://www.lecanardenchaine.fr/:

"Mais notre métier, c'est d'informer et de distraire nos lecteurs, avec du papier journal et de l'encre. C'est un beau métier qui suffit à occuper notre équipe."
But our job is to inform and entertain our readers, with newsprint and ink. It is a wonderful profession that's sufficient to occupy our team.

If only the Sun-Sentinel and Herald were both like-minded and high-minded, and focused their energies on the very large task before them in Broward County, a target-rich environment for corruption with a Capital "C" rather than waste their resources. But no.

Miami TV news reporters have no such excuses.
Instead, the latter do "news stories" on eyelash operations, or get sucked into doing stories on bus shelter advertising signs bought by Hollywood film studios to promote an upcoming film with the word "virgin" in it, which got on the air last night on Channel 4 at 11:11 p.m.
http://cbs4.com/watercooler/Still.A.Virgin.2.1887590.html

Which only makes me ask: If a dog chases its own tail, is that news?
As we all know from personal viewing experience, in South Florida TV circles, dogs that chase their own tails are golden!

Only in Broward: Courthouse security apprehends man with gun at entrance, but judges overreact, want armed cop in EVERY courtroom. In a word: NO!

Only in Broward County: Courthouse security catches man with gun at entrance, but judges overreact oh-so predictably, demanding an armed cop in EVERY courtroom.

As if on cue, Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti said he wants $17.2 million for more deputies in courthouses.

In a word: NO!

How can I put this in a way that you will understand -the courthouse security we already have WORKED.

Whether that is because the security that day -Wednesday- was Sherlock Holmes-like or because the person apprehended was stupid enough to put a gun in a gym bag thru a magnetometer at a place that warns you in advance, you be the.. yes, judge.

Here's the line from the Sun-Sentinel article below that tells you everything you need to know:

Though armed deputies roam the courthouses, there are none working in any Broward courtroom unless a judge asks for one or there's a murder trial.

Exactly.

Because an armed deputy is NOT required for every single courtroom.

In any case, what would all these armed cops do on Fridays after lunch?

Hasn't Broward legal blogger JAABLOG already proven time and again that on Fridays, many of the courtrooms in the Main Courthouse in downtown Ft. Lauderdale are empty?

Yes, he has proven it to a fair-thee-well.

Guess they could provide security and walk along the largely tourist-free FTL riverfront and count the number of graffiti 'tags' on the bridge and the poles and the signs...

Is it impossible for even one legitimate Miami-based TV/print reporter in the year 2011 to do a story on the Broward County Courthouse, and for just once, just for the hell of it, actually describe in detail what things are like there on Fridays?

I know that this is expecting a lot since they could NEVER manage to do even ONE story on the financial, historical and political context behind the "fix" that was the Broward County Courthouse Task Force under Chair -and downtown FTL property-owner?- Ilene Lieberman, and the predictable decisions that were made, despite the fact that that story was practically given to them on a silver platter.

And still they blanched...

"It's not a question of 'Do we need a courthouse?' We need it and we need to get it done," said Commissioner Ilene Lieberman who headed the task force.

(See more on that so-called Task Force below, which once included Scott Rothstein.)

It's really NOT that hard to do.

But you have to want to actually do it.

To NOT keep making excuses for avoiding the story and knowing that you will rattle some powerful and well-connected Broward cages in doing so.

To stop procrastinating.

Here in South Florida, the local news media doesn't want to.

Other than Bob Norman.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

After second gunman this year enters a Broward courthouse, sheriff seeks security funding

By Linda Trischitta and Danielle A. Alvarez, Sun Sentinel

8:48 PM EDT, September 28, 2011

FORT LAUDERDALE

After a second incident this year when an armed man entered a Broward County courthouse, the chief judge and the sheriff called for county funding to increase security.

No one was hurt before Francois V. Brown, 39, of Miramar, was arrested Tuesday at the county's south regional courthouse on Hollywood Boulevard.

On Wednesday, Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti said he wants $17.2 million from the Broward County Commission to hire and arm deputies in four Broward courthouses and family court.

Read the rest of the article at:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/crime/fl-broward-courthouse-weapons-20110928,0,7833370.story

See also: http://jaablog.jaablaw.com/2011/09/28/bso-press-conference.aspx

To quote myself from JAABLOG's February 2, 2010 post titled Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on me ...

Posted by JAABLOG at 2/2/2010 9:29 PM

2/3/2010 1:40 AM Hallandale Beach Blog wrote:

First, some facts about Tuesday's vote on financing a new Broward County Courthouse, a story that only the Daily Business Review, JAABLOG and I wrote about. Not asking for plaudits, just noting it for historical context.

For those courthouse denizens who animate this blog with their constant contempt of Broward taxpayers thru your comments here, who think that a new Broward County Courthouse is very important, guess what?

The South Florida news media could hardly care less about you. You barely register on their horizon. You are insignificant.

In the days and weeks before the vote, the two daily South Florida newspapers and the four network TV stations sat on their hands and reported nothing about this issue. Neither the Herald or the Sun-Sentinel have mentioned this subject in print or online since last September, when a Guest Op-Ed purported to have been written by Comm. Stacy Ritter was published in the Sun-Sentinel.

Once again, on something very important, South Florida's news media has shown they were sleeping on the job, and let the people down.

Did you EVER see anything last year on TV about the ties that the members of the Lieberman-led Task Force had to the Broward legal establishment, who desperately want a brand new pony?

Preferably, with a brand-new barn and a lifetime supply of feed. On the taxpayer's dime. Nope. There never was one

Watching the coverage Tuesday night at 11 p.m., actually thinking there'd be some interviews -with somebody!- this point was drive home all over again.

At 11:16 p.m. CBS-4's Antonio Mora did a 15-second read without any visuals and said the vote happened "last night," which as we know, is incorrect.

At 11:27 p.m., Local10's Laurie Jennings also did a 15-second read

with archived visuals of yellow tape and leaking ceilings.

There's the press coverage of your shiny new pony.

And why is it that so few usually well-informed people actually know how poorly Lieberman handled the rigged Task Force last year?

I wrote last year on my blog how she and the county administrators didn't follow basic aspects of the state's Sunshine Laws, and instead, tried to fool the public by arranging for the agenda and assorted relevant public docs for the last meeting, which should've been online before the meeting, to be placed online HOURS AFTER the last meeting was already over.

Not that they actually had the final public meeting listed online days before the meeting, since they didn't. Lieberman was the one in charge -the Chair. But the media didn't care -just like now.

Keep up the great work, JAABLOG!

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

In case you forget how that vote for taxpayers paying for a new Broward Courthouse went, voting in favor: Ken Keechl, Stacy Ritter, Ilene Lieberman, Al Jones and Diana Wasserman-Rubin.

Voting against: Sue Gunzberger, Lois Wexler and John Rodstrom.