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 Corporate or commercial network operators can use GOOG-411 to provide 411 services to their employees and customers under the certain conditions. First, users should be directed to 1-425-296-4774 instead of 1-800-466-4411 and no additional charge may be levied for using this service. Also, Google reserves the right to suspend or terminate access to the service at any time, provides the service “as is” and does not guarantee service availability. Corporate or commercial network operators are responsible for insuring that their users are aware of GOOG-411’s privacy practices.
 For those of you whose fear of identity theft borders on paranoia, Google adheres to the US Safe Harbor privacy principles. To operate and audit their service, Google collects and stores the phone number, along with the time and duration of your call and the options you select each time you use the GOOG-411 service. Google also claims to use your phone number to distinguish you from other users, and ultimately, to better personalize the service. To improve the voice recognition capabilities of the service, they collect and store a copy of any voice commands you make. Google doesn’t directly link the stored copy of your voice commands with your caller ID and these are automatically rendered anonymous after six months. While they seem to guard against privacy abuse, they operate GOOG-411 using certain third party services. They admit to sharing your data with these third parties only if necessary to operate the service.
 Upon connecting to a business through the GOOG-411 service, your caller ID information will become visible to that business. Although Google maintains that they will not share your information with anyone except in the limited circumstances as outlined in their privacy policy, there are a couple of ways you can control the way they collect and store information from your calls. First, to delete any information they’ve associated with your phone number in the past, press the star (*) key at the beginning of your next call to GOOG-411. When presented with the privacy menu, press 9 to delete past information associated with your phone number. To confirm the requested deletion, enter the given confirmation code when prompted. You can also press star (*) to cancel and return to your search. After you’ve called GOOG-411 several times, you’ll stop hearing the introduction to enter the privacy menu. However, you’ll still be able to press the star (*) key to access the privacy menu.
 To avoid having any information associated with your telephone number, you can block your caller ID before you call. With many phone services, you can do this by dialing *67 prior to dialing the phone number. In most cases, you can also block your number through the menus on your mobile phone. For specific details on how to block your caller ID, contact your service provider.
 In summary, you don’t have to pay for standard directory assistance anymore. 411 is on the house, at least in the US and Canada. Given Google’s predisposition for global outreach, it is reasonable to assume that this service will ultimately extend to the rest of the planet. For additional information and a box of other free services, you can access the Google Mobile Help Center, the Google Mobile Help Forum or the Google Mobile Blog. Give this free service a try by programming the number into your cell and/or home phones. By the way, some goofball on the blog explained that when his outgoing phone service is suspended due to late payments, he places all of his calls through GOOG-411. Hmmm...
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New Gas Finds Zap need for Foreign Imports
 | COMPARATIVE VIEW FROM THE BEACH OF CRUISE SHIP AND
LNG TANKER AT DWP LOCATION (7 MILES OUT) |
January 14, 2009 - The foreign-owned company seeking an additional outlet for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) has contracted with an army of lobbyists and public relations firms. GDF-Suez, the French parent of the Calypso project hired the lobbyists to influence Governor Crist, the only person empowered to veto the 18-story gasworks planned for installation off the Galt Mile beach. Since the Governor has repeatedly demonstrated sympathy for the plight of Florida communities facing the type of fiscal, civic and corporeal threats posed by the Calypso gas plant, they announced in early 2008 their plan to mold public opinion to promote their agenda.
 | 3 WEEKLY LNG CONVOYS THAT WILL COST
BROWARD TAXPAYERS $250,000 APIECE |
The multi-million dollar ad campaign created by Bill Rubin’s high end RBB Public Relations firm spewed dozens of full page newspaper advertisements featuring glossy pictures of hypnotically serene oceanscapes suggesting that a fire-belching natural gas plant would naturally complement any thriving marine ecosystem. While claims of compatibility with the surrounding marine environment were superimposed on the pictures, conspicuously absent were tri-weekly convoys of diesel guzzling LNG tankers surrounded by 8 to 10 support vessels plowing through the prime spawning and nursery area for sailfish, marlin, swordfish, dolphin, baby sea turtles, and dozens of other important marine species. After Calypso turns their spawning grounds into a maritime superhighway, visitors will still be able to purchase picture post cards of those species or view monuments to modern taxidermy in the International Game Fishing Association Museum.
 The Suez PR spin also contended that LNG plant catastrophes wherein hundreds died from 2000 BTU fireballs were “statistically insignificant”, fines levied by the U.S. Office of Pipeline Safety for a litany of security violations in the company’s only other U.S. LNG plant (Distrigas in Everett, Massachusetts) were “misunderstandings” and residents should take comfort in knowing that the Coast Guard is charged with protecting the French company’s assets - despite sworn Congressional testimony by Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen that the Coast Guard lacks the resources to protect LNG facilities. After learning that Broward taxpayers would be forced to finance the $millions required to protect the assets of the French GDF-Suez conglomerate, Senate President Jeffrey Atwater disparaged Calypso’s parent for not revealing the unfunded mandate on his constituents, exclaiming, “That’s why I recommended to the Governor that he veto this dangerous project.”
 | | STAGNANT SABINE PASS LNG FACILITY |
Major aspects of the Suez PR campaign are summarized on the Suez Calypso web site. It says, “More LNG imports will reduce the impact that rising energy prices are having on American industry and the American consumer.” Their claim that LNG imports will reduce energy prices is patently untrue. A similar $1.4 billion LNG facility built by Cheniere Energy in Cameron Parish, Louisiana in 2007 sat stagnant during its first year of operation. American buyers on the spot market refused to purchase the outrageously expensive LNG imports. When asked whether the LNG handled at the Calypso Deepwater Port would fiscally benefit Broward residents, Suez official Tom Allen answered “It would not,” admitting instead, “It would go to the highest bidder.”
 | | LNG TANKER |
The LNG industry’s sudden proliferation resulted from a unique marriage of economic, political and technological factors. For years, natural gas was considered an oil industry waste product. It was either burned off at the refinery or pumped into the ground to help pressure more productive retrieval from existing oil reserves. When the technology was developed to freeze the gas to -260 degrees F and reduce its volume by a factor of 600, the liquefied product became economically viable to transport and store. After initially enjoying the fiscal and environmental benefits of this suddenly exploitable source of energy, exporting countries began imposing OPEC-like price controls to maximize their finite reserves.
 Simultaneously, domestic sources were drying up. Importing countries faced with energy shortages had to buy LNG despite skyrocketing prices. In 2007, when Japan lost several nuclear plants to earthquakes and Spain lost utilization of its extensive hydroelectric power to a drought, they were forced to replace those resources with high priced LNG imports. Prices soared from less than $2 per thousand cubic feet in 1999 to more than $13 as recently as last July. The United States, facing diminishing domestic energy reserves, had to decide between exploiting reserves in environmentally sensitive areas and bringing in overpriced LNG. Serious consideration was being given to drilling in historically protected ecosystems such as the Florida coast, Rocky Mountain preserves and pristine Alaskan tundra.
 As expressed by Statehouse Representative Ellyn Bogdanoff in her June 2008 Newsletter, tax dollars would be better spent developing alternative energy technologies than either financing weapons stockpiles for oil and gas exporting countries expounding policies hostile to the United States or funding protective umbrellas for foreign-owned LNG fleets and facilities. Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Mayor Roseann Minnet said, “If we continue down this path, we will see increased harm to our environment and rising energy costs. Wind, solar and ocean energy are plentiful in our area. Florida’s future is energy self-sufficiency, not continued dependence on foreign fossil fuels.” Referring to concerns expressed by the General Accountability Office (GAO), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Pentagon that Calypso would be of primary interest to organizations like Al-Qaeda, Minnet continued, “Wind turbines and solar panels are not attractive targets for terrorists.” Clean energy proponents first had to resolve a demotivating dilemma. Since energy analysts agree that these green vehicles are a decade from large scale economic viability, what acceptable interim energy alternative would keep our big screen televisions pumping out 600 channels?
 Again, technology came to the rescue! American natural gas production is rising at a clip not seen in decades, depressing natural gas prices and reversing conventional wisdom that U.S. gas fields were in irreversible decline. What’s more, this is being accomplished without invading irreplaceable natural resources. The new drilling boom uses advanced technology to release gas trapped in huge shale beds found throughout North America - gas believed just a decade ago to be out of reach.
 This energy panacea resulted from widespread application of horizontal directional drilling (HDD) and hydraulic fracturing techniques to access previously irretrievable gas deposits locked in the shale beds. Horizontal drilling, or slant drilling, allows producers to drill laterally beneath cities and neighborhoods. An excellent vehicle for accessing moderate yield reserves spread over hundreds of square miles, horizontal well drillers extract natural gas from vertical fractures in the shale, through the shale pores in which natural gas is trapped, and through absorbed minerals and grains in the shale. Large amounts of water and sand are blasted at the shale, inducing a fracture which provides access to the gas when the water is pumped back out. Extracting gas from shale beds is far more productive and less damaging to the environment than the elusive, costly process of crushing shale rock to produce a form of crude oil.
 | | BLACK AND BROWN MARCELLUS SHALE |
The trend has significant short and long-range implications for U.S. consumers and businesses. A sustained increase in gas supplies would slow the rise of utility bills, obviate the need for gas imports (including liquefied natural gas delivered in tankers), and make energy-intensive industries more competitive. Energy companies are locked in serious competition for access rights to these abundant new gas reserves, setting off the current sharp increase in leasing and drilling activity.
 | | THE MARCELLUS SHALE IN THE APPALACHIAN BASIN |
Black or brown shales are types of sedimentary rock, high in organic matter, found beneath millions of acres in the United States. These gas-holding shale beds often span several states. The rock has been known for more than a century to contain gas, but it was considered virtually worthless until a decade ago because standard vertical wells would produce gas for a brief period before dying out. The Barnett shale bed - with reserves of 2.5 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas, and as much as 30 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas resources (as per the U.S. Geological Survey) - was the first shale field to undergo major development using the new technologies. Its output has increased tenfold since 2001 and currently produces 7% of the nation’s gas supply. Anaerobic bacteria that feed on the former organic inhabitants of what used to be a shallow inland ocean in the Fort Worth basin excrete methane - the primary component of natural gas. It’s just one of at least 24 shale beds in North America. Major shale oil beds in the U.S. include the Chattanooga Shale on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee, the Fayetteville Shale of northcentral Arkansas, the Bakken Formation in the U.S. portion of the Williston Basin of Montana and North Dakota, the Woodford in eastern Oklahoma, the Green River Piceance basin in Colorado as well as Utica, Antrim and more than a dozen others. At least two other shale formations, the Haynesville in Louisiana and Texas and the Marcellus in the Appalachian Basin stretching from New York through West Virginia in the Eastern United States, are even larger, classified as super giant fields.
 | CHESAPEAKE ENERGY CORP
CEO AUBREY K. McCLENDON |
“It’s almost divine intervention,” quipped chairman and chief executive Aubrey K. McClendon of the Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK). “Right at the time oil prices are skyrocketing, we’re struggling with the economy, we’re concerned about global warming, and national security threats remain intense, we wake up and we’ve got this abundance of natural gas around us.” Chris Ruppel, an analyst at the institutional brokerage firm Execution, said “Shale is the most significant domestic natural gas find in 50 years, which means the United States will become gas independent, and more industrially competitive versus Europe for gas-intensive industries such as chemicals, fertilizer, smelting iron and aluminum.”
 More than half of U.S. homes use natural gas for heating purposes and the cost of oil is substantially higher than it was a year ago. In recent months, however, increased natural gas production - spurred by the addition of shale sources - has actually caused gas prices to decouple from oil. Natural gas prices have plummeted 40% since July of 2008, while the price of crude is down slightly more than 18%.
 | | SHANNON NOME |
“Production is clearly growing, and the growth is sustainable,” said Michael Zenker, a natural gas analyst at Barclays Capital. A Deutsche Bank report, by the analyst Shannon Nome, recently estimated that production from the eight largest shale fields was likely to hit 6.6 billion cubic feet (Bcf) a day this year, or 11.8 percent of national gas production, and then rise to 14.5 billion cubic feet a day by 2011 — almost a quarter of domestic production. These statistical objectives are within reach right now, and the surface has barely been scratched for domestic shale gas resources. “It’s hard for me to believe we will have more domestic gas production in six years than we have now,” said Chip Johnson, president and chief executive of Carrizo Oil and Gas, a Houston company involved in several of the shale fields.
  Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NCI) is an independent specialty consulting firm that provides professional services to government agencies, legal counsel and large companies facing the challenges of uncertainty, risk, distress and significant change. According to a recent report by Navigant Consulting entitled “A New North American Ocean of Natural Gas”, there could be as much as 842 trillion cubic feet of retrievable gas in shales around the country, enough to supply about 40 years’ worth of natural gas, at today’s consumption rate or 118 years’ worth at today’s production rate. Paid for by a foundation allied with the gas industry (cleverly spun as The American Clean Skies Foundation - ACSF), the report is a summary of an acclaimed 89-page benchmark Navigant study also funded by ACSF entitled “North American Natural Gas Supply Assessment”. On point, there is more than enough available domestic natural gas to bridge the gap between production and demand until alternative fuels become economically feasible - even if it takes decades.
 Since the pipeline to transport this domestic natural gas already exists, we are faced with a simple decision. Until green energy becomes a viable alternative, do we want to purchase overpriced natural gas from Trinidad, Algeria, Iran, Libya and Oman, molest Fort Lauderdale’s maritime resources (the single largest contributor to the municipal tax base), pay $millions in additional taxes to protect the assets of a French company and live with the daily threat of catastrophic conflagration? Alternatively, should we buy domestic energy that isn’t price-controlled by the OPEC-like Gas Exporting Countries Forum that was formed in Teheran in 2001 and last met in Moscow on December 23, 2008? Hmmm… this is a tough one!
 | | SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI |
Senior Democrats in Congress are getting behind domestic natural gas, portraying it as an alternative fuel for transportation that can serve as a stopgap until renewable sources of energy, like solar and wind power, become economical on a broad scale. During an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, House speaker Nancy Pelosi of California clarified a Wall Street Journal allegation that her investment in a company producing natural gas for automobiles was not a conflict of interests. She stated, “You can have a transition with natural gas that is cheap, abundant and clean. I’m investing in something I believe in.” Curiously, the Wall Street Journal was not particularly troubled by Dick Cheney’s blind trust packed with enough shares of Halliburton to sink a ship while he cleared the way for corporate contract extensions.
 The greatest threat to the advancement of alternative energy resources comes from vested political interests that benefit from high oil and gas prices and irresponsible consumption, bordering on abuse. Preventing the passage of another decade marked by little or no developmental progress will require the rerouting of support and resources traditionally earmarked for the fossil fuel industry. On the bright side, improved prospects for a comprehensive housecleaning at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) could pave the way for cheap, clean, abundant energy – a springboard to economic recovery.
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Anti-Calypso Letters and Resolutions
Resolutions
- Click Here to read the City of Fort Lauderdale’s Resolution opposing Calypso (Adobe PDF File)
- Click Here to read the City of Pompano Beach Resolution opposing Calypso (Adobe PDF File)
- Click Here to read the Central Beach Alliance Resolution opposing Calypso - Template (Word Document)
 .
- Click Here to read the Galt Ocean Club Condo Association Resolution opposing Calypso - Template (Word Document) .
- Click Here to read the Playa del Mar Condo Association Resolution opposing Calypso - Template (Word Document) .
- Click Here to read the Plaza South Condo Association Resolution opposing Calypso (Adobe PDF File)
- Click Here to read the Las Olas Beach Club Condo Association Resolution opposing Calypso - Click on "View", then "Rotate View", then "Counterclockwise" (Adobe PDF File)
- Click Here to Download a Condo Association Resolution Template opposing Calypso - Download and/or Print and Complete (Word Document) .
Letters
- Click Here to read the Galt Mile Community Association’s letter to Governor Crist requesting that he veto Calypso - Template (Word Document) .
- Click Here to read the Central Beach Alliance’s letter to Governor Crist requesting that he veto Calypso - Template (Word Document) .
- Click Here to read City Commissioner Christine Teel’s letter to constituents condemning Calypso (Adobe PDF File)
- Click Here to read Broward Commissioner Ken Keechl’s letter to Governor Charlie Crist condemning Calypso (Adobe PDF File)
- Click Here to read Statehouse Representative Ellyn Bogdanoff's letter to Governor Crist requesting that he veto Calypso (Adobe PDF File)
- Click Here to read State Senator Jeffrey Atwater's letter to Governor Crist requesting that he veto Calypso (Adobe PDF File)
- Click Here to read State Senator Jeffrey Atwater's 2nd letter to Governor Crist requesting that he veto Calypso (Adobe PDF File)
- Click Here to read State Senator Jeffrey Atwater's letter to SUEZ Dan McGinnis disparaging his last minute venue change to Dania (Word Document) .
- Click Here to read Congressman Ron Klein's letter to constituents opposing Calypso (2007 Word Document) .
- Click Here to read Oakland Park Commissioner Suzanne Boisvenue's letter to constituents opposing Calypso (Word Document) .
Critical Data
- Click Here to read the No Calypso! White Paper - Comprehensive Compilation of Critically Important Calypso Information (Word Document) .
- Click Here to access all the Background Information and Official Government Documents relevant to the Calypso Deepwater Port Project and Pipeline
- Click Here to the Stop Calypso! web site
ALSO
 Click Here
to Extensive list of Additional Pertinent LNG Links
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COOPERATIVE FEEDING PROGRAM
Galt Ocean Mile
2009 Food Drive
 | | NICK’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT |
January 20, 2009 - On January 15th, early in the morning, Cooperative Feeding Program Executive Director Scott Woodburn met Fort Lauderdale Real Estate proprietor Domenic Faro and headed to Nick’s Italian Restaurant. They weren’t hungry. The food Scott was thinking about wasn’t on the menu. When they arrived, they navigated to the back of the well-known eatery, where Domenic greeted about thirty of his friends and neighbors scattered about the room. However, Scott and Dominic were there on business. They then greeted City Manager George Gretsas, Assistant City Manager David Hébert, City Commissioner Christine Teel and Property Appraiser Media Director Bob Wolfe, who were also there on business. At 11 AM, everyone took their seats as GMCA President Pio Ieraci convened the neighborhood association’s monthly Advisory Board meeting. Pio called on Scott to address representatives from the member associations on the Advisory Board.
 | | DOMENIC FARO |
Scott and Domenic represent Broward County’s lead agency in the provision of services to the hungry and homeless. For 23 years, the Cooperative Feeding Program has provided counseling and support to help economically besieged families out of the throes of difficult times. In November, as Thanksgiving ritually encourages Americans to appreciate their families and reminds us how good it feels to share blessings, we look forward to extending that warm feeling through the Holiday Season. The Cooperative Feeding Program has institutionalized a methodology for accomplishing that. Last Thanksgiving, the CFP fed more than 4,200 families, distributing turkeys, hams, or gift cards. In keeping with modern delivery systems, they implemented a “Drive Through” to efficiently expand outreach. As the economy increasingly victimizes families, lines at The CFP wind further down the sidewalk, often into the street. Close to 200 showers per week are being provided. More than 350 hot meals are distributed each day, along with another 150 sandwiches for lunch.
 | | FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH |
The program was launched in 1982 when Pastor Luther Anderson of the First Lutheran Church in downtown Fort Lauderdale turned donations from Church members into a small pantry with food for the needy. The neighbors took umbrage when homeless and hungry people pleading for something to eat filled the street. As the service proportionally grew with demand, it had to undergo several relocations and otherwise adapt. Its initial 1987 501(c)(3) certification as a not-for-profit organization was later restructured as a 501(c)(3) Nondenominational, passing both control and outreach from Lutherans to anyone in need - also enabling eligibility for FEMA resources.
 | COMMISSIONER TEEL & DOMENIC FARO AWARD
TROPHY TO ANNEMARIE ADAMS & EDGEWATER ARMS
*** CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER VIEW *** |
From the humble beginnings of distributing a few peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the homeless, to today’s provision of 1.2 million meals a year, the agency’s dramatic development has reflected both the growing numbers and the growing needs of the poor in our community. Operating solely on the funds and gifts generated by socially conscious individuals, businesses and organizations like the Galt Mile Community Association, the Cooperative Feeding Program doesn’t abide corporate conveniences. A remarkably pork-free 8% administrative overhead - audited - means resources are smoothly expedited from donors to hungry families. Rents were paid and move-in costs were provided to help families facing the tragic national disgrace of homelessness. The CFP has entered into formal collaborative service agreements with about 100 agencies, entitling them to prescreen clients for emergency services.
 | | SCOTT WOODBURN |
Reading from a letter previously sent to each association, Woodburn requested participation in the upcoming 2009 food drive. To compensate for the economic downturn’s impact on families struggling to survive, he suggested that a special effort be made to surpass last year’s record collections. To help stir the formulaic competition meant to incentivize increased contributions, Woodburn reminded the assemblage that little Edgewater Arms, the smallest member of the neighborhood association, handily won last year’s trophy, both for total and per unit contributions. Domenic Faro, a L'Hermitage resident and local business owner who serves as Vice President of the CFP Board of Directors, introduced the program to the Galt Mile neighborhood two years ago. Partnering with the GMCA imparted legs to the annual local event, creating the competitive framework that yielded two consecutive successful food drives. Scott’s address was as follows:
A request for you toB e an important part of the 3rd Annual GALT OCEAN MILEC ampaign to reduce hunger in Broward County...
 | | 6 TONS OF GALT MILE FOOD FILLS VAN |
Our 2008 Galt Food Drive, which included 21 Galt Condo Associations, was a huge success. Over 11,000 lbs of food and money donated and the Edgewater Arms was crowned Champion Condo Association.
 Once again we are poised to initiate the 3rd Annual Galt Ocean Mile Food Drive. CFP Director and Committee Chair Domenic Faro, of L’Hermitage invites the entire Galt Ocean Mile Condo Association to join our campaign and participate in another exciting Galt Ocean Mile Food Drive.
 The month of March has been designated the 2009 GALT Ocean Mile Food Drive month. A special “Walk against Hunger” will kick off the month long Food Drive.
 | | GALT MILERS START 5K WALK AT WINN DIXIE LAST YEAR |
We have the food collection boxes, posters, mail box stuffers and flyers to help you announce the walk and food drive to your residents and provide a description of what types of non-perishable items are needed.
 We will also work with each Condo Association to advise you on organizing the food drive, promotional considerations, food collection and handling pick up and delivery to the Cooperative Feeding Program.
 Please take a moment to fill out and fax to us the attached form ASAP. We also would appreciate an opportunity to meet with you and make a presentation to your Condo Association at your next meeting. Please RSVP and confirm the date of our appearance before your Board.
 Hunger remains a real problem in Broward County as 1 out of 4 goes to bed hungry every night. With your help, fighting it will be as easy as A-B-C!
Scott A. Woodburn
CFP Development
954-629-7381
scott@feedingbroward.org
Team Leaders
(last years Grand Champion)
- Edgewater Arms: Annemarie Adams, Captain
GMCA
Team Members
- Coral Ridge Tower Original: Bonnie Leavitt, Captain
- Coral Ridge Tower South: Dave Jenkins, Captain
- Coral Ridge Tower East: James Rainey, Captain
- Fountainhead, Jennifer Donnelly, Captain
- Galt Towers: Cyndi Songer, Captain
- L’Hermitage: Domenic Faro, Captain
- Ocean Summit: Lee Lowenthal, Captain
- Playa del Sol: Marcella Santiago, Captain
- Regency South: Isabela Schita, Captain
- Regency Tower: Michael DeBoury, Captain
- Ocean Riviera: Ellen O'Neil Captain
- Southpoint: Rebecca Olshan, Captain
- Playa del Mar: Rosie Bowers, Captain
- Ocean Club: Janet Bolt, Captain
- The Galleon: Darlene Seachrist, Captain
- Galt Ocean Club: Ramon Camarena, Captain
- Caribe: Chuck Swinghammer, Captain
- The Commodore: Ted Rogers, Captain
- Plaza South: Charles Baldwin, Captain
- Plaza East: David Beswick, Captain
- Royal Ambassador: Marty Weinstein & Glen DeAlmo, Captains
Remember this FOOD DRIVE is for the month of MARCH. The food drive begins with the "5K Walk Against Hunger", Sunday, March 1st. An awards party will be scheduled for the first part of April, TBA! The first official food drive pick up will be Friday, March 13th and the last will be Tuesday, March 31st. If your food box is overflowing prior to the pick up dates please call (954-629-7381) for a special pick up.
This year Checks payable to the Cooperative Feeding Program will also be accepted. Please segregate checks until pick up, when each Captain will disburse the collected checks. Each dollar converts to 1 pound of food toward the Association's total.
At each pick up, the pick up total will be weighed. A half time report and a final report will be published so progress can be compared to the rest of the team. The Cooperative Feeding Program distributes over 6,000 lbs of emergency food per day to over 300 families. Last year the Galt Mile Food Drive brought in over 12,000 lbs. With 22 members this year, the 2009 goal is at least 15,000 lbs.
GOOD LUCK, have a great time, feel proud, be blessed as you are doing God's work.
 The Cooperative Feeding Program is headquartered at NW 33rd Terrace in Fort Lauderdale (on the N. W. corner of Broward Blvd. and NW 33rd Terrace). Call them at (954) 792-2328, fax them at (954) 792-9982 or click here to send an email. Office and Emergency Pantry hours are Monday through Friday, 9 AM - 4 PM. The Community Kitchen serves from 9 AM through 11 AM, Monday through Saturday and Sundays from 11 AM through 12:30 PM.
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Commissioner Ken Keechl’s Corner
January 2009 Newsletter
 | | BROWARD COUNTY JUDICIAL COMPLEX |
January 26, 2009 - * At the December Galt Mile Community Association Advisory Board meeting, Broward County Vice Mayor and District 4 Commissioner Ken Keechl reviewed several county issues that impact local residents. Immediately following a discussion about frustrating beach renourishment delays, our newly named Vice Mayor segued to a description of the County Courthouse. “The 50 year-old structure is falling apart. Pipes are bursting on a regular basis, the elevators continuously break down and the building is rife with mold.” Fresh in his mind was the most recent implosion.
 | | CLERK OF COURTS DAMAGED FILES |
On Sunday night, November 30th, a 2-inch break in a water main sent gallons of pressurized water shooting into the Clerk of Courts Howard Forman's office, flooding the first and second floors of the Broward County Judicial Complex in downtown Fort Lauderdale and forcing the cancellation of all proceedings except for emergency bond hearings and filing restraining order petitions. In addition to damaging computers and the phone system, reports and files in the traffic misdemeanor division, administration division and human resources division as well as confidential pleadings were soaked by the flood. Forman said that since none of the files were scanned into the system, unrestorable documents would have to be pieced together from information in other copies or requested from various attorneys. Vice Mayor Keechl told Advisory Board members that the County Commission faces a dilemma. They must decide whether to replace or rehabilitate the deteriorating structure.
 | JUDICIAL COMPLEX
CLOSED AFTER FLOODING |
Last February, the courthouse closed when a sewer pipe backed up on the third floor, costing the county about $1.2 million. The courthouse also was shuttered for about two weeks when Hurricane Wilma tore through in 2005, shattering about 175 windows and bursting water pipes as rain inundated judges’ chambers, court offices and the jury pool room. The newer north wing was covered by an inch of water. Recently, former state Senator Skip Campbell, has written county commissioners threatening to sue for negligence and violations of state building standards on behalf of judicial aides Patti Buchholtz and Sue Rentel, who claim mold-related symptomatic suffering from breathing impairment and frequent colds.
 | | WILMA BLOWS OUT COURTHOUSE WINDOWS |
In 2006, voters overwhelmingly rejected a $450 million courthouse bond issue allocating $339 million for a new courthouse and the balance to build 10 more courtrooms and make other improvements - both downtown and in the county’s satellite courthouses. Assistant County Administrator Pete Corwin estimated that a 700,000-square-foot courthouse would cost about $280 million today, with another $25 million needed to add a 1,000-car parking garage. He said, “$60 million has already been already set aside for courthouse construction projects and the garage cost would be offset by increased parking revenues.”
 Commissioner Keechl detailed the problems he has with replacing the courthouse. “Broward voters have already told us that they don't want it - and neither do I.” Keechl explained “In 2006, residents ridiculed the notion of spending money to make criminals and lawyers more comfortable. Make no mistake, that is not the issue. We need a courthouse and this one is falling apart. Although replacing it may make sense financially, doing so while so many people can't make their mortgage payments or feed their families is inappropriate.” Resorting to an analogy, Keechl said that if any of us couldn’t afford to replace a badly leaking roof, we would fix it until our fiscal situation improved. “That is what I think we should do,” said Keechl, “make the necessary repairs and when the economy recovers, build a new one.”
 The Vice Mayor’s January Newsletter summarizes the controversy and reviews the County Commission’s current intentions. Amid arguments to place another $350 million Courthouse bond issue on the March ballot (despite the economic environment’s considerable erosion since the failed 2006 attempt), on December 8th, the Commission passed Mayor Stacy Ritter’s Resolution No. 2008, creating the “Courthouse Task Force Advisory Committee” to review the alternatives. Chaired by Commissioner Ilene Lieberman, the committee serves from January 1st through June 30th and will include one or more 17th Judicial Circuit Court judges, representatives of the State Attorney, the Public Defender, the County Clerk, the Office of Court Administration, one or more local attorneys, a resident from the business community and a municipal official.
 While the resolution functionally dispensed with proposals by Commissioners Josephus Eggletion and John Rodstrom to place the bond issue on the March ballot, the controversy will be revisited this summer, when the Committee’s report illuminates the comparative costs of repairing or replacing the Court facilities. Given the current fiscal dynamic, the recommendations will likely envision scaled back versions of the ambitious construction projects previously considered. Since new tax dollars will likely be required to fund virtually any of the alternatives, Commissioner Keechl is polishing up his magnifying glass, stocking extra batteries for his calculator and ordering reserves of fingerprint powder to deter excessive access to the County coffers. - [editor]*
“Broward’s Courthouse Problem:
More Taxes Aren’t the Solution”
by Broward County Commissioner & Vice Mayor
Ken Keechl, District 4
 | | COMMISSIONER KEN KEECHL |
Two years ago I decided I wanted to be your County Commissioner. Why? First and foremost, I felt that the residents of Broward County were being overtaxed. Additionally, I felt that the Broward County Commission needed a new focus. More accurately, I felt that the Commission needed to actually have a focus. In my opinion, too many important issues weren’t being adequately addressed.
 I have previously written about a few of these issues: the need to expand the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport; the need to reorganize and downsize Broward County’s governmental bureaucracy; and the need for an amendment to Broward’s land use regulations to promote the protection of our dwindling green spaces.
 | | 2009 BROWARD BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS |
In the past two years since Mayor Ritter and I were elected, the Broward County Commission has finally addressed each of these issues. Many additional issues have yet to be addressed, but will be over the next two years. For example, we are finally addressing another pressing issue that has been ignored for far too long: our outdated courthouse in downtown Ft. Lauderdale.
 Each of the nine Broward County Commissioners agrees that our downtown courthouse is antiquated and in a serious state of disrepair. We have a mold problem. We have bursting water pipes. We have elevators that constantly break down. We have a parking problem. We all agree that action is necessary. However, we don’t all agree on the same course of action.
 | | BROWARD COUNTY JUDICIAL COMPLEX |
A few of my colleagues believe we should build a new downtown courthouse and ask the voters to pay for it by allowing the County to increase their tax bill. I strongly disagree. I believe we should renovate the existing downtown courthouse, and pay for it with existing funds. In fact, I successfully argued against placing a courthouse bond issue on your March 2009 ballot. I was absolutely convinced that asking Broward’s residents to increase their tax bills was a mistake. And to add insult to injury, it would have cost us $3,500,000.00 in property tax dollars to put it on the ballot.
 Fortunately, sane minds prevailed and the bond issue will not appear on your ballot anytime soon.
 | COMMITTEE CHAIR
ILENE LIEBERMAN |
Instead, we all agreed to support Mayor Ritter’s proposal to form a Courthouse Task Force. This Task Force will be given wide latitude to investigate and consider every possibility to remedy our downtown courthouse problem. This Task Force will be headed by Broward County Commissioner Ilene Lieberman and will be comprised of those stakeholders who are involved in the judicial system, along with representatives from within Broward’s business community. The Task Force must present its finding and recommendations to the Broward County Commission within 6 months.
 I have said it before and I will say it again: I will never vote to increase your taxes. In these trying economic times, we must learn to do more with less. My philosophy has prevailed on the Broward County Commission for the last two years. And I will keep advocating my philosophy for the remaining two years of my first term.
My best to you and your families,
Broward County Commissioner and Vice Mayor Ken Keechl
 Click Here to access Broward County Commissioner Ken Keechl’s official web site, call his office at (954) 357-7004 and/or Click Here to send him an email.
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SOE Dr. Snipes Warns:
Act before the  Book Closes
 | | SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS DR. BRENDA SNIPES |
February 2, 2009 - On January 23rd, Broward Supervisor of Elections Dr. Brenda C. Snipes issued a press release alerting Broward voters to a rapidly approaching critical deadline. The statement opens with “On Tuesday, February 10, 2009, there will be two cities holding Municipal Primary Elections and one city will hold a Special Election. All voters living in Dania Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Wilton Manors, who were registered (within the state of Florida) on or before Tuesday, January 12, 2009, may vote in the scheduled Election on February 10.”
 | | FORT LAUDERDALE MAYORAL CANDIDATES |
She clarifies that while Wilton Manors is preparing for a Special Election to fill the Commission seat vacated by Gary Resnick when elected Wilton Manors Mayor last November, Fort Lauderdale and Dania Beach will hold Primary Elections. The elections most impactive to Galt Mile residents are the contest to determine who will represent District 1 on the City Commission and the Mayoral race. Currently held by incumbent Christine Teel, the District 1 Commission seat is also being sought by former Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Bruce Roberts and Attorney Inger Garcia. A covey of candidates hope to replace departing Mayor Jim Naugle. The heated four-way race includes former Statehouse icon Jack Seiler, former City Commissioner Dean Trantalis, local businessman Earl Rynerson and Attorney Steve Rossi, whose citywide bus bench advertisements were painfully folded into a campaign slogan – “Sit on my Face.”
 | | DISTRICT 1 COMMISSION CANDIDATES |
The special significance that Municipal Primaries hold for nervous aspiring candidates is reminiscent of a reaction often associated with “Groundhog Day”. On February 2nd, if the Groundhog perceives a shadow upon exiting the home burrow, it portends six more weeks of winter. Similarly, if a candidate wins less than 50% (+ 1 vote) of the February 10th Primary vote, it portends four more weeks of campaign anxiety. However, if any of these seven local political aspirants knocks one out of the park by cornering half the votes (plus 1) in the February 10th Primary, they win the seat and send the competition packing. There would be no need to endure an increasingly malicious endgame en route to the March 10th Municipal Elections. Probability Theory presumes that the three-candidate Commission race is statistically more apt to generate a Primary knockout than the four-way split facing the Mayoral hopefuls.
 | | MARCH MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS IN BROWARD COUNTY |
After affirming that 11 Broward cities will hold Municipal Elections on Tuesday, March 10, 2009, Dr. Snipes explained that “The voter registration books will close at midnight Monday, February 9 for these upcoming elections. Anyone turning in an application to register to vote the first time in Florida after Monday, February 9 will not be eligible to vote on March 10 and will not receive a voter information card until after the election.” Of course, Fort Lauderdale is listed among the 11 Broward cities facing Municipal elections on Tuesday, March 10, 2009. SOE (Supervisor of Elections) Snipes also dropped a caveat, stating “Please note that Florida law does not permit the SOE to process party changes after the books are closed.”
 | | GEORGE BERNARD SHAW |
Although application requests will still be accepted after the books are closed on February 9th, they will not be processed until after the March 10th Election, leaving tardy applicants without a voter identification card and ineligible to participate. While first time Florida voting registrants and residents seeking to change their party affiliation must do so before February 9th to participate in the March 10th contests, requests for address changes (within the county), name changes, replacement cards, etc. will continue to be processed even after the books close. Given the gravity of current bone-crushing fiscal pressures, filling the Commission and mayoral seats with the best available prospects assumes heightened importance. The results of this election could determine whether the City survives this uncharted economic environment or slowly unravels, carrying us down with it.
Elections presuppose that people are conversant with their best interests and will use their vote to insure that those interests are served. When enfeebled by voter apathy, they bear out George Bernard Shaw’s contention that “Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.” If you enjoy a functional survival instinct, please vote - for all our sakes.
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Commissioner Teel  New Year Update
 | | BEACH COMMUNITY CENTER |
February 8, 2009 -  In her February 2009 Newsletter, City Commissioner Christine Teel addresses three issues, the wide range of activities available at the Beach Community Center, the timely rescue of the Galt Mile Sun Trolley and a testament to a Galt Mile resident who grabbed the bureaucratic bull by the horns. From the opening days of the Beach Community Center, every room was claimed and put to good use by locals with a wide range of ideas and agendas. Responsive to these varied interests, the city sponsored a host of activities in three categories, Health & Wellness, Arts & Culture and Fun & Games.
 Galt Mile residents are usually surprised when initially confronted by the literally dozens of classes in Yoga, Pilates, Line and Ballroom Dance, Water Color Painting, Computers, Ping Pong, Bingo, Mahjongg, Bridge and Planned Day Trips to everywhere! Among the dozens of specialized functions, the Property Appraiser holds seasonal Homestead and Senior exemption advisory sessions, AARP conducts Driver Safety Classes and the Commissioner holds bi-weekly Pre-Agenda constituency meetings in preparation for the following day’s City Commission meetings.
 | | GALT MILE SUN TROLLEY |
Last year, Broward County was charged with finding $100 million in budget cuts to accommodate the mandated statutory tax cut. Placed on the block were any local bus venues wherein utilization didn’t justify continued operation. The Galt Mile Sun Trolley fell into that category. While the utilization rates were statistically inadequate, those local residents that did use the trolley proclaimed its necessity for their well being. Activities ranging from doctor visits at Holy Cross Hospital to food and pharmaceutical shopping were wholly dependent on the inexpensive public transportation. Commissioners Keechl and Teel lobbied their respective County and City peers, ultimately staying the planned service termination. As a result, the Sun Trolley continued to operate without interruption.
 | STRAPPED AND
STAKED SAPLING |
During 2008, Galt Mile residents sent emails and letters to the Galt Mile Community Association commenting on adverse aspects of the landscaping along Galt Ocean Drive. Several asked why the trees that replaced those decapitated by Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma were dying within one or two years of having been planted. Others questioned the quality of upkeep, focusing on erratically maintained sidewalk beds wherein wood chips surround browning vegetation. Several actually witnessed strollers inadvertently collide with untrimmed tree branches that were low enough to endanger temporarily distracted pedestrians and unsuspecting bicycle enthusiasts.
 One complainant, a Commodore resident named José “Chepo” Vega, volunteered to do whatever was necessary to fix the problem. Following the December GMCA Advisory Board meeting, wherein Chepo was appointed as liaison between the Parks personnel assigned to the Galt Mile area and the Neighborhood Association, Commissioner Teel offered to assist with this endeavor. The Commissioner introduced him to the relevant Parks Department officials, several of whom he subsequently escorted on a January 14th guided tour of the block’s landscaping deficiencies. Through his efforts, the problems are currently being resolved. Chepo is representative of the rich diversity of passionate and competent volunteers working together to improve our lives, arguably our neighborhood’s most valuable asset. – [editor]
From The Desk of
Commissioner Teel
 | DISTRICT 1 COMMISSIONER
CHRISTINE TEEL |
We’re only a few weeks into 2009 and already time seems to be flying by. I hope our full and part-time residents are taking advantage of the many activities scheduled at the Beach Community Center. They offer a full calendar with activities for residents of all ages. Several people who take advantage of this resource have mentioned that they appreciate the opportunity to meet new friends in the community outside of their own condominium. If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to stop by to talk with the staff and look at the monthly events calendar.
 A few months ago I received a disturbing call from one of the residents on the Galt Ocean Mile who was distraught to learn that the TMA trolley was abruptly stopped. The residents, who rely on the trolley for their doctor visits and trips to the mall at Oakland and Federal, had no prior notice that their only means of transportation would cease. I shared the frustration and disappointment with the Galt residents and worked diligently to get Broward County to resume running the trolley the next regularly scheduled day of operation. Funding was restored by Broward County and I will continue to work with the appropriate officials to keep the trolley running for the Galt Mile residents. If you haven’t taken a ride on the trolley I encourage you to try it. Saving on gas and not having to find a parking space are certainly advantages, but it’s also a fun way to get around town.
 | | JOSÉ "CHEPO" VEGA |
I would like to thank Jose “Chepo” Vega, a resident at The Commodore, for his commitment to the Galt Ocean Mile community. Jose contacted my office, concerned that the landscaping on the Galt Mile was not being properly pruned and maintained. Branches on the trees were too low, causing a hazard for pedestrians. I contacted the director of our Parks and Recreation Department, requesting that he meet with Jose on the Galt Mile to evaluate his concerns. The result was that Jose’s concerns were valid and his input invaluable. Jose is now assisting our staff to ensure that the landscaping on the Galt Ocean Mile is maintained in a manner that enhances its beauty and longevity.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or suggestions. I can be reached at city hall at (954) 828-5004 or by e-mail at cteel@fortlauderdale.gov.
Christine Teel
 To access additional information about the Sun Trolley, the Galt Mile Route and schedule, Click Here. To access the Sun Trolley web site, Click Here. - editor
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Grips Florida Condos
 | NAR PRESIDENT
CHARLES MCMILLAN |
February 16, 2009 - On January 2, 2009, President Charles McMillan of the National Realtors Association (NAR) wrote a letter to James B. Lockhart III, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The correspondence expressed NAR concerns about why Lockhart had seemingly abandoned his obligation to promote affordable homeownership. McMillan was referring to Fannie Mae Announcement 08-38 “Updated Flow Business Pricing Requirements”, released on December 29, 2008, increasing fees for mortgages purchased or securitized on or after April 1, 2009. Director Lockhart is the federal conservator and regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two government sponsored enterprises (GSEs).
 Rather than accusing the federal bureaucrat of abdicating his responsibility or undermining the Florida real estate market’s recently optimistic recovery indicators, he questioned the Agency’s inexplicable policy contradictions. He first reminded Lockhart about his stated policy, explaining “In your prepared statement on September 7, 2008, in connection with announcing the conservatorship, you expressed concern about the negative impact of higher fees being imposed by the government sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) to raise capital. At the same time, Secretary Paulson stated that the primary mission of the GSEs under the conservatorship would be to increase mortgage affordability.”
 | FHFA DIRECTOR
JAMES B. LOCKHART III |
McMillan then contrasted Lockhart’s statements with his actions, saying, “With that as background, we were completely surprised that Fannie Mae has decided to raise fees, especially so significantly. If we are interpreting the announcement correctly, a borrower with a credit score of 670 making a 20% down payment for a condominium would have the fee increased from 150 basis points to 350 basis points—more than double.”
 Packing his objection into a query, McMillan asked, “What is the need for these fee increases? What alternatives were considered? Is the purpose of increasing fees to shift higher risk borrowers to the FHA mortgage insurance program? What will the impact of such a move be in terms of risk and cost to the government and the taxpayer? Why did Fannie Mae decide to raise fees on borrowers, reducing affordability and counter-acting the positive impact of recent reductions in mortgage interest rates, instead of relying on other sources of liquidity announced by the Treasury Department on September 7 and the Federal Reserve Board on November 25?” After framing his complaint as a plea for clarity, the NAR President requested justification for the Agency’s enigmatic decision, intimating a suspicious lack of transparency.
 | | FANNIE MAE WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS |
Fannie Mae is the 600 pound gorilla of the mortgage business. Established by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal in 1938 to provide a secondary market for post-Depression Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured mortgages, the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) replenished the supply of lendable money. In 1968, Congress amended its Charter, recreating Fannie Mae as a stockholder-owned, privately managed corporation. To rectify its questionably legal status as a shareholder-owned monopoly, in 1970, Congress chartered another government sponsored enterprise (GSE), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). Although they don’t directly loan money to homeowners, they ensure that mortgage lenders and brokers are adequately flush with cash to service the home buying public.
 As GSEs, Fannie and Freddie received substantial benefits. They were endowed with access to an astronomical line of credit from the U.S. Treasury (currently $200 billion); exemption from state and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registration requirements; exemption from all state and local taxes (except property taxes); and a “gold star” demand for their securities, since the Government gives those securities the same preferred investment status as Treasury debt.
 More importantly, the GSEs benefitted from an illusion. Being perceived as having federal backing for their debt – although they do not – has allowed Fannie and Freddie to borrow at near-Treasury rates and sell their securities at better rates than those of purely commercial firms.
 In return for the GSEs’ competitive advantages, Congress demanded that they undertake certain public purpose activities, notably promoting access to mortgages via HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) in underserved urban and rural communities, in minority communities, and to low- and moderate-income families. The GSEs were also expected to help end discrimination in the lending industry.
 In 1992, Congress enacted the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act (FHEFSSA). This Act further separated HUD’s regulation of the GSEs’ public purposes activities from their safety and soundness components by revising the role of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, an independent financial regulator within HUD. It also established a set of interim regulations for the GSEs.
 FHEFSSA, often referred to as the GSE Act, was motivated by concerns over safety and soundness of the GSEs’ financial underpinnings, rather than affordable housing. Nevertheless, due to pressure from housing advocates, the interim regulations did prescribe certain affordable housing standards for the GSEs. The Act requires the Secretary of HUD to assure that the GSEs meet their housing goals and fair lending obligations. It also expanded HUD’s authority to do so. The Secretary was directed to evaluate the interim regulations Congress had crafted and develop new regulations governing the GSEs.
 On February 16, 1995, HUD released its proposed regulations for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The regulations identified regulatory goals for low-and moderate income home purchases; altered the definition of underserved areas, focusing more on neighborhoods in need; and redefined special affordable housing goals. The Act directed HUD to annually examine these goals and the assumptions upon which they are based and thereafter develop new goals consonant with the current economic environment.
 Saddled with two mandates that were empirically incompatible – practicing fiscal responsibility while underwriting high risk loans – the stage was now set for a decade of seemingly schizophrenic lending policies. Further inflamed by unrelenting pressure to generate shareholder profits, the GSEs’ loan portfolios became top-heavy with lucrative sub-prime or “toxic” loans. Free from SEC reporting requirements, Fannie and Freddie purchased ordinarily ineligible “nonconforming” high risk instruments bundled with traditional debt, thereby disguising the degree that toxicity burdened their portfolios. Since Fannie Mae-backed loans typically have the best rates and lowest down payments for borrowers, their policies exert a tremendous impact on the lending industry. Perceiving the GSEs’ liberalized portfolio complexion as an unofficial license to print money, commercial lenders further loosened lending requirements, dispensing with traditional and time-tested risk management formulas.
 | LONG-TERM
CAPITAL MANAGEMENT |
When the current real estate recession spread across the country, Federal banking authorities timidly admitted that negligible federal oversight was not the panacea they marketed to the borrowing public. Tripping over themselves to finance properties, mortgage bankers emulsified eligibility standards, requiring only that borrowers demonstrate proficiency in finding their advertised telephone number. Entrenched in a euphoric trance-like state, the industry felt justified in ignoring decades-old lessons learned when hedge funds like Long Term Capital Management decomposed – what goes up, must come down.
 When tens of thousands of “no money down”, “deferred interest”, and “negative amortization” mortgages simultaneously imploded, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were diagnosed as terminal. Just as the government sponsored entities were going down for the third time, Congress threw them a life preserver, exclaiming the importance of reestablishing real estate stability. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 targeted lenders and investors at the top of the credit crunch meltdown, declaring that “the nation’s economic turnaround hinges on a healthy housing market and affordable home ownership.” $700 billion was pumped into the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) to purchase distressed assets, especially mortgage-backed securities, and make capital injections into banks.
 | TREASURY SECRETARY HENRY PAULSON, FED CHAIRMAN
BEN BERNANKE, SEC CHAIRMAN CHRISTOPHER COX, AND
FHFA DIRECTOR JAMES LOCKHART TESTIFY IN CONGRESS |
Despite September endorsements by Paulson, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, S.E.C. Chairman Christopher Cox, both presidential candidates and the lame duck Administration, Republicans called the Paulson Plan “Financial Socialism” and Democrats likened it to “buying smog on credit.” When asked how Paulson decided that the Treasury should buy $700 billion of bad debt, a treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com “It’s not based on any particular data point. We just wanted to choose a really large number.”
 Paulson’s impending return to the private sector spurred suspicions that he was fatally conflicted. While acknowledging that the crisis was ultimately driven by the falling housing market, instead of trying to modify mortgage debt and stabilize the housing market with loans to homeowners facing foreclosure, the former Goldman Sachs CEO provided bailouts for Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, institutions that borrowed huge amounts to invest recklessly in the securities and derivatives based on those mortgages. By ignoring the cause (the failing housing market) in favor of the symptom (the crisis among investment banks), Paulson also insured the health of his blind trust – predominantly comprised of Goldman holdings (including his last $38 million compensation package). In addition to having hired Goldman executives as plan advisors, Paulson charged treasury staffer Neel Kashkari, a former vice-president at Goldman Sachs, with administering the bailout funds. By the time that Obama’s Treasury Secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, grabbed the reins, Paulson had already spent half the money.
 | TREASURY SECRETARY
TIMOTHY F. GEITHNER |
Instead of using the funds to facilitate lending as mandated, TARP recipients have treated the program as a no-strings-attached windfall that could be used to pay down debt, acquire other businesses or invest for the future. The Congressional Review Panel created to oversee the TARP concluded on January 9, 2009: “In particular, the Panel sees no evidence that the U.S. Treasury has used TARP funds to support the housing market by avoiding preventable foreclosures.” The panel also concluded that “Although half the money has not yet been received by the banks, hundreds of billions of dollars have been injected into the marketplace with no demonstrable effects on lending.” Not surprisingly, banks that received $295 billion in bailout money spent $114 million on lobbying and campaign contributions during 2008.
 On July 30, 2008 – in preparation for the financial bailout – the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 created the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) by morphing the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB), and the GSE mission office at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In addition to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks fell under the regulatory and supervisory oversight of the new agency. As of June 2008, the combined debt and obligations of these GSEs totaled $6.6 trillion, exceeding the total publicly held debt of the USA by $1.3 trillion.
 After seizing control of Fannie and Freddie last September, the Federal Housing Finance Agency enacted regulations enabling troubled homeowners to renegotiate hundreds of thousands of delinquent loans held by the two GSEs. In November, they offered a plan that emulated measures already instituted by commercial lending giants plagued with self-inflicted loan portfolio losses. Citigroup had already halted foreclosures for borrowers who live in their own homes, have decent incomes and stand a good chance of making lowered mortgage payments. JP Morgan Chase & Co. expanded its mortgage modification program to an estimated $70 billion in loans and Bank of America later loosened repayment terms for the 400,000 loans held by newly acquired Countrywide Financial Corporation.
 Since Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac own or guarantee nearly 31 million U.S. mortgages, or nearly six of 10 loans, the scale of their relief program dwarfed those of their commercial counterparts. It was accessible to borrowers who were at least three months in arrears, owed 90% or more of their home’s current value, lived in the home and hadn’t filed for bankruptcy protection. Several options were made available for payment relief. For example, interest rates could be adjusted to insure that no more than 38 percent of a borrower’s income addressed mortgage expense. Another option extended loans from 30 years to 40 years with interest-free principal deferments.
 | | FDIC CHAIR SHEILA BAIR |
Since more than 4 million American homeowners, or 9 percent of mortgage borrowers, were either behind on their payments or in foreclosure, Agency Director Lockhart justified the program’s intent, exclaiming in November “Foreclosures hurt families, their neighbors, whole communities and the overall housing market. We need to stop this downward spiral.” Critics included Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chair Sheila Bair, who characterized the plan as “a step in the right direction but falls short of what is needed.” Financial analysts asserted that it could unintentionally aggravate the problem, postulating that mortgage owners may deliberately withhold payments for three months in order to qualify for relief.
 Three weeks after Lockhart’s Federal Housing Finance Agency sent fees skyward, the other shoe dropped. In announcing an unprecedented set of tough new mortgage requirements, Fannie Mae stunned local Associations by limiting the stringent measures to condominium buyers in one state - Florida. South Florida real estate pundits characterized the policy as a highly prejudicial overreaction to decades of capricious mortgage bank practices across the country. Despite nationwide abuses spanning the full spectrum of property ownership, Fannie’s targeting of Florida condos spurred accusations that Lockhart was creating a sacrificial straw dog. The new requirements intentionally intensify sales pressure on Condo Associations already starved for residents and struggling financially.
These new rules fly in the face of the recently reconstituted Congressional mandate, despite a cursory statement by Fannie Mae officials rationalizing why they singled out Florida and, more specifically, condo borrowers. An Agency spokesperson declared that after reviewing their mortgage loans, they discovered record-high default and foreclosure rates among condo owners. They also cited the excessive number of condos listed for sale, which has driven down prices. Since this is also true for almost every other class of homeownership in dozens of areas around the country (especially in certain West Coast regional jurisdictions verging on bankruptcy), their explanation for exclusively targeting Florida condos strains credibility. The new conditions include:
 No more than 15 percent of an association’s unit owners can be 30 days or more past due on association fees.
For new condo buildings and condo conversions, at least 70 percent of units must have been sold or put under contract. That’s up from 49 percent previously.
Fannie Mae will now have in-house underwriting teams extensively review a condominium’s building, its finances and local market conditions. This review will be at the lender’s expense which will make such loans less attractive. (Previously, Fannie relied on lenders to perform these reviews and the lenders controlled the costs); and
Higher equity will be required up front from non-occupant investor owners (15% down) and those purchasing a Florida condominium unit as a second home (10% down).
 These requirements are arguably oblivious to the difficulties already facing Florida condo mortgage applicants. Over the past two years, many banks have dramatically raised the bar for condo loans, requiring down payments of up to 40 percent in new buildings. Citing a high risk of price declines and defaults, some lenders have blacklisted certain condo buildings while others declared blanket moratoria on condo loans.
 | REAL ESTATE
ANALYST JACK MCCABE |
Much of the property glut left by overextended speculators was absorbed during the past year. Applying these heavily restrictive standards just as real estate is again showing signs of recovery is strategically counterproductive to the Agency’s proclaimed objective of “rescuing the housing market.” Fannie Mae’s timing “couldn’t be worse,” said Jack McCabe, a Deerfield Beach real estate analyst who believes the region is mired in a housing recession. “This is effectively going to make it much more difficult to qualify.” McCabe estimates as much as 25 percent of the market in the tri-county area will be shut out of Fannie-funded financing. A litany of industry officials agree, predicting that this policy will worsen the condition it portends to ameliorate. While Fannie Mae is not the only funding source for lenders who want to make condo loans, No. 2 mortgage guarantor Freddie Mac typically follows Fannie Mae’s lead. On January 30th, Freddie Mac issued a “Sellers Guide Bulletin” increasing fees for cash-out refinancings, interest-only adjustable rate mortgages, and condominium unit mortgages (75 basis points for condominium unit mortgages with loan to value ratios greater than 75%).
 | CHARLES FOSCHINI
CB RICHARD ELLIS |
Certain others claim that this is just what the doctor ordered - a cold turkey fiscal High Colonic of sorts. Vice chairman of debt and equity finance Charles Foschini of CB Richard Ellis, a Miami Real Estate firm, said “In a climate of increased risk, Fannie Mae’s primary responsibility is to protect investors, borrowers and taxpayers.” Foschini’s contention is that borrowers benefit from knowing they are moving into a well-funded condo association awash in reserves, implying assessment stability. He is unconcerned, however, that his buyer’s peace-of-mind comes at the risk of bankrupting thousands of existing associations struggling to survive.
 His perceived protection for taxpayers took the form of a sound bite, “The quicker we can instill sounder underwriting practices for mortgages for Fannie or anyone else the more confidence we’ll have in the market.” While true, it fails to clarify how this action shelters taxpayers. Adequately collateralizing loans is widely considered central to effective risk management and the Congressional Fannie Mae bailout stipulated the revival of sound underwriting practices for mortgages. However, more than doubling the fees and setting significantly tougher credit requirements for only one class of homeowner in only one state is hardly a credible confidence builder.
 Spinning the new rules as a boon to investors borders on Burlesque. The action will admittedly precipitate further price declines and more foreclosures. This translates into additional losses for the GSE - and its investors. Perhaps Foschini conjures a secret Fannie Mae shareholder cult based in an abandoned Northwest Pacific logging camp that aspires to personal growth via diminishing equity.
 | | BROKER GRANT STERN |
Industry experts agree on who will ultimately benefit from this policy direction. The “Fannie-less” finance vacuum will create a garage sale for cash-rich buyers. Well funded investment predators will be able to command unprecedented discounts. Grant Stern, principal broker of Miami-based Morningside Mortgage, explained, “Fannie Mae declared Christmas for hedge funds who want to buy bulk in these buildings, but it’s leaving everyday investors and people who want to buy for their own personal use in the dust.” Asserting that the restrictions exemplified the self-fulfilling, cyclical nature of the credit crisis, Stern hypothesized “Fear provokes a knee-jerk reaction that inflames the problem, causing more fear.”
 Since the Country is currently navigating uncharted economic waters, Agency officials are understandably having difficulty distinguishing between hopefully productive actions and regressive fear-based reactions. Palm Beach housing investment consultant Shirley Evans waxed metaphorically, “When they realize that they shot themselves in the foot, they will either take aim at their other foot or lower the gun. The GSEs are experimenting and the Florida condo market is the Guinea Pig!”
 On the bright side, the Federal Housing Finance Agency has been in a state of perpetual flux since the Congressional GSE rescue. Congress is currently crunching legislation to provide executive agencies with clearer policy objectives. Housing guidance is anticipated from broad recovery bills such as the American Recovery Act of 2009 and dozens of targeted vehicles dedicated to averting imminent foreclosures through debt restructuring, promoting bank liquidity and strengthening regulatory and supervisory oversight of the housing finance system.
 | | FINANCE CHAIR BARNEY FRANK |
For example, Chairman Barney Frank’s House Financial Services Committee just introduced H.R. 703 and H.R. 787, legislation designed to ease loan modifications and improve refinancing options for troubled homeowners by revamping the HOPE for Homeowners program. While HOPE for Homeowners (H4H) was enacted to help families refinance into safer, more affordable mortgages and avoid foreclosure, program constraints deterred lender participation. Frank’s “adjustment” bills are expected to make the program more lender-friendly while limiting risks to the FHA fund and the American taxpayer. Since President Obama’s challenge will be to artfully weave dozens of such program initiatives into a cohesive recovery policy, we can reasonably expect more agency “experimentation” as new legislation is incorporated into the Obama Administration’s “Financial Stability Plan”. As intimated by Ms. Evans, if we survive the experiments, we may survive the recession!
Stopping Foreclosure Links
 HOPE for Homeowners (H4H) - Effective from October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2011, the HOPE for Homeowners (H4H) program was created by Congress to help those at risk of default and foreclosure refinance into more affordable, sustainable loans. H4H is an additional mortgage option designed to keep borrowers in their homes. If you are having trouble making your mortgage payments, HOPE for Homeowners may be able to help you, by refinancing your loan into a new 30-year or 40-year fixed-rate loan with lower payments.
NOTE: Homeowners, contact your existing lender and/or a new lender to discuss how you may qualify for the H4H program.
Hope Now - HOPE NOW is an alliance between counselors, servicers, investors, and other mortgage market participants. This alliance maximizes outreach efforts to homeowners in distress to help them stay in their homes. Its purpose is to reach and support as many homeowners as possible. The members of this alliance recognize that by working together, they will be more effective than by working independently.
Are you having trouble paying your mortgage? Call the Homeowner’s HOPE™ Hotline: 1.888.995.HOPE (1-888-995-4673) or go to their website at www.hopenow.com. Do it today!
 Homeownership Preservation Foundation - The Homeownership Preservation Foundation, which operates the 888-995-HOPE™ hotline mentioned above, has a single mission: to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. They are an independent nonprofit that provides FREE HUD-approved counselors dedicated to helping homeowners.
On this site, you can arrange an online consultation.
HUD Guide to Avoiding Foreclosure - Whether you're in foreclosure now or worried about it in the future, they have information that can help. Foreclosure doesn't happen overnight. They offer solutions for dealing with every stage of the process.
HUD Help for Homeowners Facing the Loss of Their Home - If you have been laid off or are facing unemployment, you can keep your home - - if you know the right steps to take. The Department of Housing and Urban Development/Federal Housing Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Labor and the mortgage industry have worked together to produce important basic information - - and key links to local groups and organizations - - that can help you get through difficult times without losing your home.
 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) - Mortgage Payment Dilemmas - Regardless of the reason for your mortgage anxiety, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, wants you to know how to help save your home, and how to recognize and avoid foreclosure scams.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) - Foreclosure Rescue Scams - Fraudulent foreclosure “rescue” professionals use half truths and outright lies to sell services that promise relief and then fail to deliver. Their goal is to make a quick profit through fees or mortgage payments they collect from you, but do not pass on to the lender. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, wants you to know how to recognize a foreclosure rescue scam.
 Federal Reserve Mortgage Foreclosure Resources - If you are having difficulty making your mortgage payment, one of the most important things you can do is seek assistance. These resources provide information and links to agencies and organizations that may be able to help you. The Federal Reserve Banks have also established Foreclosure Resource Centers to help address local and regional challenges in their mortgage markets and local communities.
 IRS - Home Foreclosure and Debt Cancellation - The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 generally allows taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualify for this relief.
 Freddie Mac - Avoiding Foreclosure - No one expects to lose their house to foreclosure, but by understanding the foreclosure process and what may lead up to it, you can be in a better position to recognize and address potential problems that may impact your ability to make every mortgage payment on time.
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"How Can We Support That? Its Gone!"
Galt Mile Guts Gallic Goliath
 | | GOVERNOR CRIST ZAPS CALYPSO |
February 24, 2009 - On February 18, 2009, residents along the Barrier Island shared a rare mass ebullience. When Florida Governor Charlie Crist announced that local inhabitants no longer had to fear a potentially dangerous gas plant marring their eastern horizon, most of the population was understandably immersed in relief and gratitude. Not surprisingly, Galt Mile residents were also rightfully proud of themselves and their neighborhood. Absent funds and through sheer determination, they defeated a $110 billion corporate goliath with an intimidating history of international depredations. They also thwarted a regulatory bear trap designed to involuntarily force facilities like these down the throats of communities targeted by paying members of the industry “club”. Ironically, most of the “club members” represented by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) – like Suez – aren’t U.S. corporations.
 Right now, Suez lobbyists in Washington and Tallahassee are railing at selected lawmakers, questioning whether their “campaign contributions” should be redirected to officials more capable of and willing to “whip the locals into shape.” Others are roaming the offices of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), exclaiming the need to remove the single remaining opportunity available to objecting jurisdictions - the gubernatorial veto. When energy industry lobbyists tied the fortunes of LNG to the industry-friendly Natural Gas Policy Act, they overlooked a provision in “Title 33, U.S. Code” that provides the Governor of the adjacent state with a small window during which a veto can be exercised. Someone’s neck will stretch for neglecting to neutralize that last democratic remnant from the pre-Bush Administration energy laws!
Awakening to a Nightmare
 | | COMM. TEEL WARNS GMCA ABOUT CALYPSO |
During the December 3, 2007 Galt Mile Community Association Presidents Council Meeting, Commissioner Christine Teel casually remarked that a French conglomerate called Suez planned to build a gas plant off the Galt Mile beach. Suez was finalizing the federal licensing process required to construct an 18-story Deepwater Port where seawater will be used to “regasify” or return hypercooled liquefied natural gas to a gaseous state. Surprised, members asked GMCA officials to investigate the ramifications of this project.
 | | CORPSES EVACUATED AFTER SKIKDA LNG CATASTROPHE |
Preliminary review of the history of liquefied natural gas (LNG) revealed its potential for catastrophe. Disasters in Cleveland, Skikda (Algeria), Lusby (Maryland), Staten Island and other locations from 1944 through 2006 raised concerns about the efficacy of project safety measures. A massive compendium of documentation from Federal agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, the Government Accountability Office and the Congressional Research Service established that LNG Deepwater Ports were high value terrorist targets. Additionally, evidence of adverse impacts to the surrounding marine environment spurred concern for the health of adjacent beaches.
 On request, City Manager George Gretsas, Commissioner Teel and City Engineer Al Carbone invited Suez representatives to meet with GMCA officials Pio Ieraci and Eric Berkowitz in City Hall. The Suez officials, in turn, were invited to make a presentation about the Calypso project to the member associations of the Galt Mile community. They were informed that after their presentation, each association would independently evaluate project benefits and liabilities. A subsequent vote by the membership would determine the GMCA’s official position.
 At the April 7, 2008 Presidents Council Meeting, Representatives of SUEZ Energy North America, Inc. or SENA, a Suez subsidiary and immediate corporate parent of the “Calypso” project, explained the project variables and responded to questions raised by concerned community participants. After explaining how the Calypso facility could help satisfy Florida’s growing demand for gas-fired electricity generation, the Suez North America representatives were asked about planned safety and security measures for the project, how they would prevent terrorist attacks, whether the facilities would be visible from the beach, the environmental drawbacks and what would happen if the gas ignited.
 When Suez’ Brad Cooley said that the Coast Guard would protect the facility, he was asked to explain a December 2007 congressional report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) exhorting that “the Coast Guard - the lead federal agency for Maritime Security - has insufficient resources to meet its own self-imposed security standards.” Admitting ignorance about safety and security plan details, the Suez officials marginalized the issues as “statistically insignificant.” Disappointed by the Suez officials’ inability to adequately allay community concerns, attending members voted to aggressively oppose the project. In response, the GMCA Advisory Board appointed a committee to develop strategies for implementing the Presidents Council’s decision.
Birth of the No Calypso! Committee
 The initial No Calypso! Committee meeting was attended by GMCA President Pio Ieraci and Vice President Eric Berkowitz, Senator Jeffrey Atwater and legislative aide Melissa Francisco, City Commissioner Christine Teel, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Mayor Roseann Minnet, Bill &Terry Claire and Dr. Dave & Barbara Marshall from Plaza South, Playa del Mar’s Fred Nesbitt, a contingent from L’Hermitage I including President Diane Bergheim, manager Patricia Quintero, residents Frances Konstance, Jean Miller, Marilyn Leeds and Ivan Itkin, Irelands Inn proprietor Andy Mitchell, Essex House President Eve Bazar and Ocean Manor President Frank Talerico. Also attending was By The Sea Future publisher Mark Brown. Within weeks, membership swelled to include Representative Ellyn Bogdanoff and legislative aide Aaron Nevins, Central Beach Alliance President Steve Glassman, Oakland Park Commissioner Suzanne Boisvenue, Fort Lauderdale mayoral candidates Jack Seiler and Dean Trantalis, Statehouse candidate Chris Chiari, GMCA Secretary Fern McBride, Playa del Mar’s Linda Eidinger, Lauderdale Beach Homeowners Association President Joe Amorosino and President Brian Donaldson of the Birch Park Finger Streets Homeowners Association.
 | | MIT LNG EXPERT DR. JAMES FAY |
Over the next nine months, the No Calypso! Committee enlisted the support of public officials and civic leaders, compiled relevant information, and instituted a campaign of sharing whatever they learned with neighboring communities and local officials. Statements made by Suez representatives during meetings in Dania Beach and the Beach Community Center revealed that security costs would fall to Broward taxpayers. Scrutiny of the Suez Environmental Impact Statement uncovered alarming contradictions between their safety claims and scientific studies by Sandia National Laboratories, Dr. James Fay of M.I.T., Dr. Jerry Havens at the University of Arkansas and other LNG hazard pundits.
 | | SENATOR JEFFREY ATWATER |
Prior to an August 11, 2008 Calypso Workshop convened by the Broward Legislative Delegation at the Beach Community Center, five months of collected information was compiled into a fully annotated and referenced White Paper summarizing the project’s safety and security pitfalls. Guided by the White Paper, Broward legislators questioned a Suez official about these unaddressed issues. When Calypso representative Brad Cooley said that “Suez doesn’t consider safety and security as relevant issues,” the lawmakers adamantly disagreed. When Cooley refused to explain Suez’ security plan or how it would be funded, Senator Jeffrey Atwater announced “I sent a letter to Governor Crist expressing my opposition to this poorly planned project. It was a mistake to locate this type of facility adjacent to heavily populated neighborhoods.” Statehouse Representative and Majority Whip Ellyn Bogdanoff made a similar announcement during a prior meeting in Dania Beach.
 The Committee transmitted whatever they learned to the Governor’s office to offset unrelenting pressure by an army of Suez lobbyists. Among materials sent to the Governor was the White Paper; anti-Calypso Resolutions by the City of Fort Lauderdale, the City of Pompano Beach, the Town of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and a host of Civic organizations; as well as letters condemning Calypso from Federal, State, County and Municipal officials representing the Galt Mile neighborhood and surrounding communities. The Committee also requested an audience with the Governor (or his staffers), either here or in Tallahassee.
 Between August 2008 and January 2009, the committee collected evidence that contradicted Calypso claims of a “negligible environmental impact” and compiled a corporate history that identified Suez with worldwide economic depredations marked by bribery, breach of contract, extortion, pollution (toxic), safety violations and fraud.
The committee also learned that new slant drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies provided access to previously irretrievable gas deposits locked in 24 huge North American shale beds. Responsible for the precipitous 40% mid-2008 price drop for natural gas, the Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook forecast that imported natural gas, while accounting for 16% of 2007 U.S. consumption, will drop to 3% - primarily from Canadian and Mexican pipelines. The 842 trillion cubic feet of retrievable gas in domestic shale reserves portends 50 years of energy self-sufficiency at current consumption rates, obviating the need for expensive foreign LNG imports. This also explains why Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass LNG facility, which straddles the Texas – Louisiana Gulf border, only received 3 LNG deliveries since opening in April 2008, instead of the weekly deliveries anticipated in the company’s prospectus.
 | | MAUREEN JAEGER |
On February 4th, the Fort Lauderdale Special Assistant to Governor Crist, Maureen Jaeger, contacted GMCA President Pio Ieraci to express the Governor’s interest in conducting a traditional “Town Hall” meeting in the Galt Mile neighborhood. To accommodate the Governor’s tight schedule, Ieraci remained “on call”, awaiting confirmation of the visit.
| | BEACH COMMUNITY CENTER |
A few days later, Jaeger told Ieraci that the event would take place in the Beach Community Center on February 18th. Since Crist would arrive at 12:30 PM, attendees interested in posing a question during the meeting would have to register within an hour of the Governor’s arrival, about 11:30 AM. With the Governor’s consent, Ieraci notified the member Galt Mile associations and the No Calypso! Committee about the impending gubernatorial visit. Ieraci also asked each association to post an accompanying hastily improvised notice in some common area venue. A similar announcement was posted on the Galt Mile Community Association web site.
 | | PIO IERACI INTROS JACK SEILER |
Quickly mobilizing, the committee met to ensure that the Governor was apprised of community concerns about the Gasworks. A package was prepared for delivery to the Governor. It contained documented substantiation of the dangers posed by Calypso to beachfront communities, the deliberately undisclosed funding requirement for Broward taxpayers and unavoidable devastation of the local marine environment. A more modest package was prepared for the media and hundreds of Fact Sheets were made ready for general distribution.
 | | COMMITTEE AWAITS GOVERNOR'S ARRIVAL |
After agreeing on a strategy that maximized furtherance of their objectives, committee members volunteered to assume responsibility for either collecting and/or creating informational materials, developing relevant talking points, distributing buttons and fact sheets at the meeting, communicating with public officials and coordinating with other stakeholders. In consultation with Director Stephanie Smith of the Governor’s External Affairs office, Ieraci was tagged to introduce Fort Lauderdale Mayor-elect Jack Seiler who would, in turn, introduce the Governor.
Showdown at the Beach Community Center
 | | FRANCES KONSTANCE AND JEAN MILLER SETTING UP |
L’Hermitage I manager Patricia Quintero delivered boxes of No Calypso Fact Sheets to the Community Center while Playa del Mar’s Fred Nesbitt brought the buttons. With the help of Central Beach Alliance President Steve Glassman and Plaza South residents Bill & Terry Claire, L’Hermitage I activists Jean Miller and Frances Konstance managed their distribution, responding to non-stop resident requests - especially for buttons and “Stop Calypso” tee shirts. While holding a large sign opposing the project, Miller told reporters “I’m here because of my serious concerns about Calypso. I hope that the governor will hear the serious concerns of the people. We want him to know we don’t want something in our community which is potentially dangerous, subject to terrorist attack, potentially going to damage not only our beaches and waters but our homes. If there is an explosion we will be annihilated.”
 | | PLAZA SOUTH'S TERRY CLAIRE |
While delivering a box filled with anti-Calypso petitions containing thousands of signatures and hundreds of letters she collected throughout the neighborhood, Terry Claire outlined her motives, exclaiming “It is a safety issue. In a nutshell, it is a weapon for terrorists, and a terrorist threat. It is further dependence on foreign fuel from a foreign country.” Husband Bill Claire added “We have a lot of faith in this governor.” Referring to the petitions, the “White Paper”, condemning emails and documents from Environmentalists, and dozens of other items assembled for the Governor, he said “I think he will receive all the real documentation and do the right thing.”
 The Community Center swelled to capacity as three hundred people filed into the main hall and an adjacent anteroom served by a video feed. Residents and public officials wore “Stop Calypso” buttons and each room was awash in “No Calypso” posters and signage.
 | MAYOR-ELECT JACK SEILER
INTRODUCES GOVERNOR CRIST |
Local public officials populating the first row included Congressman Ron Klein, Mayor Jim Naugle, City Commissioners Christine Teel and Charlotte Rodstrom, City Manager George Gretsas, Allyson Love, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Mayor Roseann Minnet and Sea Ranch Lakes Mayor Denise Bryan, School Board member Maureen Dinnen, Sunrise Mayor Roger Wishner, Lighthouse Point City Commissioner and Republican Party Chairman Chip LaMarca, and national secretary Sharon Day of the Republican National Committee.
 | | CONGRESSMAN RON KLEIN |
Opening with, “This individual is special. This is a leader who crosses party lines,” Jack Seiler introduced Governor Charlie Crist as “the People’s Governor.” Crist visually skimmed the audience, fixing his eyes on Ron Klein. The Governor praised the first term Congressional Democrat “for his hard work” on the federal stimulus package. Risking some Republican political capital by supporting President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan, Crist could receive as much as $12.2 billion over 2½ years for road construction, child care, unemployment checks, job training and Medicaid costs. The $700 million incremental budget abyss that Florida legislators are currently staring into could be handily mitigated when the first $3.2 billion in Federal money hits Tallahassee over the next four months. Turning to Klein, he said, “I’m enormously grateful that it passed, and I know it’s going to help our fellow Floridians in a substantial way. It could not have come at a better time.”
 | | MARGARET GOWER |
Instead of adhering to his staff’s planned Q & A format, Crist spontaneously extended the floor to a recently downsized Weston resident who explained “I’m 50 years old I’m well educated. I have an advanced degree from an Ivy League school. Yet I’m having difficulty finding a job.” Crist told Margaret Gower that he’d visited unemployment offices throughout the state “to learn more about this issue and how Florida can help.” Harkening back to the federal stimulus package, Crist told her, “For every $1 billion spent on road construction, 28,000 jobs are created. I’m not suggesting you want to work on a road crew, Margaret.”
The Hammer Drops
 | | FRED NESBITT DESCRIBES CALYPSO CONCERNS |
The stage was now set for the hammer to fall. Crist called on GMCA Advisory Board member Fred Nesbitt, who also serves on the No Calypso! Committee. The Playa del Mar resident was charged with expressing the neighborhood’s concern about the French gasworks. After steadying the microphone, Nesbitt took a deep breath and let fly, “Suez Corporation wants to build liquefied natural gas ports right off of our beach. If you could look straight ahead where they’re building there, you could actually see the liquefied natural gas ports... and the tankers will come to the ports and the gas would come through a pipeline into Port Everglades.” Perusing handheld notes, Nesbitt continued, “Many of us in this room, including myself, believe that this is not a good idea. We’re concerned about the safety of our coastal residents, we’re concerned about terrorist attacks, we’re concerned about our beaches, our environment and certainly the tourist industry here in Fort Lauderdale, as well as Florida.” Seeking to actualize the Governor’s experience, Nesbitt added, “All of us in this room would be vaporized. And I’m sorry to say if you were here you wouldn’t be the governor of Florida.”
 | GOV CRIST ON SUEZ LNG TANKERS:
HOW CAN WE SUPPORT THAT? |
The room fell silent. Crist smiled and turned back to Nesbitt after a dramatic pause, “I have been studying this and I have been briefed on it a number of times and I don’t think the people who want to do it aren’t well-intentioned, I’m sure they probably are.” A full face smile betrayed any prospect for further heightening the tension. Having absolved the Suez proponents of hypothetical culpability in Nesbitt’s figmental disaster scenario, the Governor delivered the anxiously awaited message “If you think about one of these huge tankers being off the coast of so many of my friends, and so close by, how can we support that?”
 | | AUDIENCE REGALES GOVERNOR CRIST WITH STANDING OVATION |
As if simultaneously freed of a 14-month sciatic nerve dysfunction, the audience convulsed, blending cheers with animated expressions of gratitude. Residents rose from their seats in sections, ultimately confronting the Governor with a full house standing ovation. Despite having been briefed about the community’s passionate opposition to this project, Crist was clearly surprised by the magnitude and unanimity of the crowd’s response. Succumbing to the extended applause, Crist patiently soaked up the adulation. Nevertheless, some residents didn’t fully fathom Crist’s answer. Evidently preoccupied with posing her version of the same question, a Fountainhead resident asked if Crist would “put Calypso to bed.” He answered politely, “I think it's already in bed. It's gone.”
 | | NESBITT ADMITS SURPRISE |
Galt Mile Community Association president Pio Ieraci told reporters, “We’re exuberant. We’re exceedingly happy. We couldn’t be happier.” Nesbitt claimed to be pleasantly surprised, “I was very pleased to hear him say it. Sort of surprised because most politicians sort of dance around and say ‘well, when it comes to my desk I’ll look at it. I’ll think about it.’ But the governor was very firm and very positive today, and we’re counting on him sticking to his word on this issue. If the governor says it’s dead; it’s dead because he has the power to kill it.”
 | | FIRST ROW POLS APPLAUD GOVERNOR CRIST |
Public officials in the first row turned to face No Calypso! Committee members seated in the second row, trading expressions of mutual kudos for having pursued this exasperating effort to fruition. Congressman Ron Klein and City Manager George Gretsas thanked Eric Berkowitz and Fern McBride from Regency Tower and Regency South’s Leah Glickfield for their work on this project. Although Senator Atwater was precluded from attending by his responsibilities as Florida Senate President, legislative aide Melissa Francisco - who attended Committee meetings whenever the Senator was in Tallahassee - hugged Ocean Club’s Rose Guttman.
 | | DR. DAVE AND BARBARA MARSHALL |
Committee members also embraced Commissioner Christine Teel, who organized transportation to the critical Dania Beach Calypso meeting, solicited the City’s anti-Calypso Resolution and played an integral part in every step of the successful campaign. Not surprised by Crist’s announcement, Mayor Jim Naugle disparaged the Suez decision to locate the gasworks near a heavily populated area. He told the Miami Herald’s Beth Reinhard, “I would have thought that the fact that he had his town hall meeting here, he must have reached that conclusion. It’s good news for the Galt and residents up here. I think having a natural gas facility is a positive thing for Florida but it was the dumbest site.” Committee members L-B-T-S Mayor Roseann Minnet, Bill & Terry Claire and their Plaza South neighbors Dr. Dave & Barbara Marshall shared collective expressions of deep satisfaction.
 | | SEILER PRAISES GOVERNOR'S DECISION |
Although the Governor hosted objections to Calypso by Senator Atwater and Representative Bogdanoff months earlier and his staffers were previously sent supporting documentation by the Galt Mile Community Association, Jack Seiler explained that he also briefed the Governor, exclaiming to reporters “I think it was the right decision. I made clear [to Crist] the concerns of the residents of Fort Lauderdale and the beach area. His comments today put a lot of people in this community at rest.” Crist confirmed Seiler’s input when asked by Reinhard if he selected the Galt Mile venue to announce his views on Calypso, stating, “No, I really didn’t but I was briefed that it might come up.”
As the prolonged demonstration of community approval quelled, the Governor again took control of the meeting. Perceiving the need to ensure that his decision would not be misinterpreted as capricious, the Governor reinforced his answer, “I try to apply common sense when making any decision; whether it’s appointing a judge, vetoing a bill, or saying no to a project. I kind of think about it from a common sense point of view – how can you support that? So I don’t; I don’t support that.”
 | | GOVERNOR CRIST ANSWERS PAT QUINTERO |
With Calypso no longer an issue, the Governor called on L’Hermitage I Manager Patricia Quintero, who complained about delays to the planned beach renourishment and the additional financial burden placed on condo owners when maintenance liabilities from foreclosed units are incrementally assessed to the other owners. Clearly confused, the Governor asked Quintero “Are you asking if the beach renourishment will affect foreclosures?” When Quintero apologetically explained that the two issues were unrelated, Crist turned the microphone over to Mayor-elect Seiler, who characterized the renourishment obstacles as county issues. While acknowledging that incremental assessments resulting from a belabored foreclosure process were inherently “unfair”, Crist opined that keeping people in their homes was a greater priority. Crist referred to a new federal program that will deter foreclosures by forcing banks to modify onerous mortgage terms, explaining, “It will ask banks to wait a little bit longer before they go ahead and create a foreclosure on somebody and encourage them – encourage them very strongly through statutory changes – to renegotiate the mortgage terms so that those of us who are struggling have a better opportunity to be able to meet those terms on a monthly basis.”
 | | CRIST ANSWERS CORAL REEF ADVOCATE |
After a few more questions, Crist announced that he would take one more, pointing to a woman near the stage. When she complained that a contractor who worked on the south county beach renourishment failed to adequately respect a coral reef, the Governor evidently recognized the questioner. During a May 2003 cabinet hearing to authorize the now completed South Broward segment of the beach renourishment, she participated in staging a demonstration for the cabinet, which included then Attorney General Crist. After shaking up a jar of water and sand, the cabinet was warned that “since this would happen to the beach,” they should reject the project. Unimpressed with the demonstration, then Governor Bush and the Cabinet issued the requested permit. Following his sojourn down memory lane, the Governor smiled and answered, “I guess we will just have to get a better contractor!”
 | | GOVERNOR CRIST SPEAKS WITH SUPPORTERS |
Following a town hall meeting, the Governor ordinarily poses for a photo op before hitting the road. After the Q & A, Crist remained and spoke with anyone interested in meeting the popular Governor. He spent the afternoon taking pictures with some 180 residents and officials who refused to leave. Sunrise Mayor Roger Wishner pleaded with Crist to replicate a sequel out west. GMCA Board member Rose Guttman arranged refreshments for the event. Unable to pass up this opportunity to administer a lesson in civic economics to the Governor, she announced “I just fed 300 people for less than a thousand dollars, that’s pretty good, don’t you think?”
Miracle on a Shoestring
 | ALAN SILVA ON FALL
RIVER LNG PLANT |
Scores of communities across the country are waging similar campaigns against LNG facilities for many of the same reasons that motivated Barrier Island residents.  | | FALL RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS |
Former Fort Lauderdale interim City Manager Alan Silva recently returned from Fall River, Massachusetts, where he served as City Administrator until his November 2008 retirement for health reasons. While awaiting the Governor’s arrival at the Beach Community Center, Alan explained that Weaver’s Cove Energy, LLC, a subsidiary of Amerada Hess Corporation, proposed building a LNG facility in a densely populated Fall River neighborhood on the Taunton River (almost 10,000 people live within a one-mile radius of the proposed site). Silva noted “This is the only LNG facility ever built in an inner city.” Local politicians and citizens, notably Richard Clarke, the former White House terrorism chief serving Presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, have been trying to stop the project for years. Silva said “The city spent $millions to rid itself of this nightmare.” Resisting unrelenting pressure from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) officials, Captain Ray Nash, the New England Coast Guard Southcoast Commander, notified FERC in October 2007 that the Weaver’s Cove LNG facility should not be constructed, citing problems with navigating large tankers through and around the Brightman Street Bridge. Incredibly, despite local protests and the Coast Guard recommendation to NOT build the facility, the plan was subsequently approved by FERC.
 The Galt Mile LNG White Paper enumerates the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s proclivity for ignoring their own regulations and rubber stamping license approvals for virtually any applicant. Court records document their manipulating data in “Independent Risk Assessments” and basing license decisions on discredited studies. When caught endorsing plans that endanger life and property, their governing legislation - the Bush Administration’s Energy Policy Act of 2005 - recognizes them as the sole appellant authority. FERC is autonomously empowered to decide if and when FERC breaks the law!
 LNG projects are threatening communities in Ventura County, California; Long Beach, New York; Bradwood Landing, Oregon; Gloucester, Massachusetts, the Long Island Sound between New York State and Connecticut, Pleasant Point, Maine, a half dozen Gulf Coast facilities in Texas and Louisiana, Silva’s Fall River LNG plant, Baltimore, Maryland; Boston and Everett, Massachusetts. These, and dozens of other densely populated communities, have literally spent hundreds of $millions to thwart these plans.
 The Galt Mile neighborhood accomplished this on a shoestring. By thoroughly investigating claims made by Suez and the documentation they created to underwrite those claims, GMCA was able to accurately refute Suez statements marginalizing threats to nearby neighborhoods, the environment, our property as well as our lives. It also revealed the company’s predatory history and the hidden costs to Broward taxpayers. Since the uncovered data is fully documented, Suez response has been limited to characterizing Galt Mile residents as “paranoid” and “naive.” Notwithstanding, on February 18, 2009, the paranoid Galt Mile neighborhood demonstrated that its naive residents are neither “gullible” nor “pushovers”, two attributes that Suez was counting on. As admonished by several “paranoid” members of the No Calypso! Committee, until Suez notifies its stockholders that their resources would be more profitably spent experimenting on some unsuspecting community’s water supply, the Galt Mile Community Association will monitor Calypso, Suez, FERC and the Calypso license application.
  Our beachfront communities have earned the deep breath they took at the Beach Community Center. The No Calypso! Committee and its parent neighborhood associations – who’ve achieved so much with so little – purchased a truckload of self-respect for every Barrier Island resident. The unquestionably corny prospect of substituting passion for funding, truth for media hype and elbow grease for paid lobbyists is laughable. What made this community campaign unique is that, for once, it worked!
  
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Vice Mayor Ken Keechl’s Corner
March 2009 Newsletter
 March 2, 2009 - * The Broward County Beach Renourishment Project has been underway for almost a decade. Countless studies were performed from 1998 through 2002 to save Broward's 21 miles of critically eroded beaches. When the project encountered political opposition in 2002, hundreds of Galt Mile residents boarded buses to the Hollywood Beach Community Center in support of the Army Corps of Engineers renourishment plan. In April of 2005, the one year renourishment of south county beaches (Segment III) commenced, initiating rehabilitation of the devastated coast from the Broward/Dade County line north to John U. Lloyd State Park. As agreed in the permit approved by the Florida Cabinet on May 13, 2003, the Segment III renourishment would be followed by an 18-month "monitoring period" to review any impacts to the hardbottom environment and use the data to refine permit requirements for the Segment II renourishment. Compiling their observations from March of 2006 to September, 2007, the monitors from Nova Southeast University Oceanographic Center and a coalition of marine engineering firms submitted their evaluation to the County and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).
 | | STEVE HIGGINS |
Broward Beach Administrator Stephen Higgins determined that the issues uncovered by the monitors were eminently addressable. He estimated that the Fort Lauderdale beaches (Segment II) would begin to see new sand by fall of 2008. Lamenting a dearth of available sand for the project, last year Higgins revised the projected start date to the fall of 2009. When asked to investigate the suspicious delays, Commissioner Ken Keechl met with Higgins and a representative from the County Administrator's office. Commissioner Keechl's March newsletter confirms that the new start date is estimated for 2010. Following the February 19, 2009 Advisory Board meeting wherein the membership expressed dissatisfaction with the reasons given for the delays, a decision was made to extend the investigation to Tallahassee. More to come... - [editor]*
“Broward’s Shrinking Coastline: Monitoring Broward’s Beach Nourishment Project”
by Broward County Commissioner Ken Keechl, District 4
| | VICE MAYOR KEN KEECHL |
As many of you know, my Broward County Commission district includes most of Broward County’s coastline. In fact, it stretches from North Deerfield Beach and goes south to Dania Beach. As your County Commissioner, I remain extremely concerned about our precious coastline’s constant erosion.
 | FORT LAUDERDALE'S RAPIDLY
SHRINKING RIBBON OF BEACH |
Broward County has been working on a continuous “Beach Nourishment Project” for years. Broward County has already completed the first segment of the Project south of Dania Beach.
Segment II, which stretches from the Hillsboro Inlet south to Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades, is next. When Segment II is completed, the rest of our district (from the north County line south to the Hillsboro Inlet) will follow shortly thereafter.
 Unfortunately, Segment II was put on hold by federal and state regulatory agencies until they could conclude a period of monitoring Segments II’s effects on our marine environment. Fortunately, the required monitoring is now completed. As a result, and at my constant urging, Broward County is once again aggressively pursuing the nourishment of our county district’s coastline.
 | BROWARD COUNTY SHORE PROTECTION PROJECT
SEGMENTS II & III BEACH FILL LIMITS |
I will continue to follow this project closely and I have been assured by staff that permit applications for Segment II will be submitted this year, likely summer or early fall. However, even with a smooth and uneventful state and federal permit review process--and with no challenges to the permit--Broward County does not anticipate permit issuance before the fall of 2010. Once permits are received, commencement of actual construction can begin one to three months thereafter.
One additional fact of interest; The original Segment II Project proposed to widen Fort Lauderdale’s beaches approximately from the pier at Commercial Boulevard to a point just south of the Bonnet House. Given the length of time that has passed since design of the original Segment II project in 2001, staff will reevaluate the coastline in this area, and, if warranted, expand the area slated to receive sand.
 Lastly, staff is currently conducting an analysis of potential sand sources that could be used in the nourishment of our district’s coastline. Upon completion of this sand search in spring of this year, engineering work and permitting activities for the project will resume.
 Again, it is important for you to know that the Beach Nourishment Project is a high priority of mine. I am actively working with your elected officials in Tallahassee and Washington D.C. to keep the grant funding coming to Broward for this Project.
And, of course, as this Project continues, I will keep you up to date.
My best to you and your families.
Broward County Vice Mayor Ken Keechl
Click Here to access Broward County Commissioner Ken Keechl’s official web site, call his office at (954) 357-7004 and/or Click Here to send him an email.
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José “Chepo” Vega
Lays  some
Groundwork!
 | COMMODORE RESIDENT
JOSÉ “CHEPO” VEGA |
March 12, 2009 - In early November, Commodore resident José “Chepo” Vega emailed a complaint to the Galt Mile Community Association about the “precarious” state of landscaping along Galt Ocean Drive. A few days later, he followed it up with a call to GMCA Vice President Eric Berkowitz, exclaiming “While I was walking in front of my building, I saw someone walk into a low hanging tree limb. It could have blinded him. Why doesn’t the City pay attention to the landscaping on our block?” Chepo argued that if he knew who to contact about addressing this issue, he would gladly volunteer his time and horticultural acumen. He was invited to apprise Advisory Board members and Commissioner Christine Teel about his concerns at the next Presidents Council meeting.
| | GMCA PRESIDENTS COUNCIL MEETING |
At the December 1st meeting, while participants discussed the Calypso Project, Beach Renourishment, monkey business in the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, the impact of deliberately dilatory foreclosures on Association budgets, recent successes realized by the Galt Mile Security Patrol and other agenda items, Chepo cornered Commissioner Teel, detailing his concerns. Offering to contact the Parks Department and investigate the problem, she requested that he contact her office the following day.
 | | POORLY STAKED LEANING TREES |
The next evening, Chepo emailed GMCA officials Pio Ieraci and Eric Berkowitz, reporting his previous evening’s discussion with Commissioner Teel and another earlier that day. Excited about the prospect of finally making headway, he wrote “I spoke briefly to Commissioner Teel at the Monday meeting then called her subsequently at her suggestion. In our conversation I mentioned our concerns about the problems we are having with the sidewalk trees. I told her that the trees are growing bent due to the strong ocean winds and the use of the wrong stakes to prop the trees. I mentioned to her that somebody can injure their eyes with the low branches, etc. I volunteered to meet with anybody from the city that can help solve this problem. Teel told me that she is going to call the persons in charge of the planting and if I did not hear from them in a week, to call her and let her know.”
 | CITY MANAGER
GEORGE GRETSAS |
As directed by Commissioner Teel, commission assistant Eve Bazar sent an email to Julie Richards, assistant to City Manager George Gretsas, explaining, “José Vega resides at the Commodore condo on the Galt. He feels that the trees on the Galt aren’t being pruned properly, and in some cases may cause harm to people since the branches are too low. Mr. Vega talked with the commissioner and would like to meet with someone from P&R (sic - Parks and Recreation) who is responsible for the trees so he can alert them to the problems. Would you please have someone from P&R contact Mr. Vega to discuss this matter. Thanks.”
 | PARKS OPERATIONS
CHIEF BRIAN HOPPER |
A week later, Parks Department Operations Superintendent Brian Hopper met with Chepo. On December 13th, shortly after their meeting, Hopper notified Assistant Director Terry Rynard of Parks and Recreation, “I have met with Mr. Vega and we have began trimming and restaking the trees. We will continue this work over the next week or two. Mr. Vega is pleased with our response thus far and was very complimentary of staff. I will follow up when work is 100 prct complete.”
To recruit additional support from the 27 member associations, Chepo attended the December 18th GMCA Advisory Board meeting at Nick’s Italian Restaurant. Following reports by Broward Commissioner Ken Keechl and City Commissioner Teel, members worked through the packed meeting agenda. Under “Other Business,” President Pio Ieraci reported, “A walk-through of the Galt Mile with city representatives was conducted to review the condition of trash cans, benches and the general aesthetics of our beachscape.”
 | GMCA PRESIDENT
PIO IERACI |
Explaining that a full report detailing their findings and potential resolutions would be forthcoming by February, Ieraci turned to Chepo, thanking him for following his original complaint with active pursuit of redress. After announcing, “Chepo is working with the City to address the landscaping problems along Galt Ocean Drive,” he proposed that Chepo be officially vested to represent the Neighborhood Association in this effort. A quick vote affirmed Chepo’s status. After indicating that she would notify the Parks Department about the Advisory Board’s action, Commissioner Teel said that Chepo would “probably hear from them after the Holidays.”
 | | POORLY STAKED LEANING TREES |
Over the next few weeks, Parks personnel completed trimming the trees and the Department ordered 10 new trash cans. Anxious to participate in the improvements, Chepo fired off an email to Eric Berkowitz on January 3rd, stating, “Eric, I have been waiting for somebody from the city to get in touch with me. I am calling the Parks supervisor on Monday now that the Holidays are over. I would like to share with you some new pictures of the Galt landscape that I feel must be tackled too. The sooner the better. Any chance that we can meet for few minutes tomorrow or Monday?”
 | | CHEPO RESTAKES TREES |
Itching to get rolling, on January 7th Chepo emailed GMCA officials “I called Brian Hopper, Parks Operation Superintendent and he will be in touch with me in two weeks. They are very busy finishing the new South Side Park which is due soon and they are a little behind schedule. I will keep you guys posted.” A week later, a relieved Chepo announced, “The City Tree People showed up by surprise. I spent time with them and have pictures. I have some information about the landscape. Let me know if you can use it for the newsletter.” An optimistic Chepo ran up the block and hand delivered pictures detailing the improvements.
 | | JOSÉ AND BRIAN HOPPER DISCUSS LANDSCAPING |
Chepo buckled down to work with Brian Hopper. In the first report he prepared for the neighborhood association, Chepo summarized the two week project. Following a walk-through with Hopper and landscaping personnel, crews assigned to the project trimmed more than three dozen trees, cutting branches deemed dangerous to marginally attentive pedestrians and passing bicycle enthusiasts. Sizing stakes were installed to better control future growth and broken metal grates framing the block’s trees were repaired and/or properly reinstalled.
 | | CHEPO AND PARKS STAFFER DEVISE REPAIR STRATEGY |
The trees planted along Galt Ocean Drive have two strikes against them. When Urban Forester Gene Dempsey addressed a 2005 Presidents Council meeting, he explained that a newly hired city horticulturist would supervise the planting of all new “environmentally compatible” flora along the block. The plan went awry in 2007 when Parks personnel discovered that the Green Buttonwoods planted years earlier grew Olympian root systems, irreversibly entangling cables, utility lines, telephone lines and drainage elements. Were they simply torn out, residents in the adjacent buildings would taste life in the 17th century. Having failed to pry out the roots, cut them away or selectively poison certain offshoots, Parks Department Assistant Director Terry Rynard explained that the plans were in trouble. They would have to try rooting smaller trees in areas filled with irretrievable root balls.
 | | JOSÉ PLANTS SIDEWALK BEDS |
During a June 2007 landscaping walk through with Rynard and Parks Foreman Tim Southby, GMCA President Pio Ieraci learned why hurricane-damaged trees were deliberately replaced with undersized trees suffering from multi-week life spans. “The silver buttonwoods that we have planted on the walkway were chosen for their size for many reasons,” exclaimed Southby. “The openings in the sidewalk are only so big. Many of the old root systems are still in the ground from the old trees and from other trees along the sidewalk. Electrical and irrigation for these trees runs through these openings, causing us to use smaller and not as mature specimens as we would like to have used.” Southby elaborated, “For this reason we have had to stake and strap the trees in ways we normally would not like to have to use. We know that it isn’t the most attractive method but it is working.”
 | GREEN
BUTTONWOOD |
In 2007, city officials had to find a way to plant new trees without first having to remove the stifling remnant root balls. Initially, unsupported trees were planted in whatever space was available amid the overcrowded root remnants. As often as not, they died. If they could have somehow sustained the trees following their initial implantation, the replacements’ chances for survival would have increased substantially. Tim Southby explained steps taken by the Parks Department to accomplish this objective, “We are also currently topping off most of the buttonwoods to stop adding more stress to the lower trunk and the root system. This will allow the trunk to thicken up and give it the strength that we need to allow the strapping to come off and make the sidewalk area more appealing.”
 | | BRACED SILVER BUTTONWOODS AND COCONUT PALMS |
By initially keeping the trees small, their growth resources would be directed towards bulking up their trunks, enhancing their prospects for survival. Southby theorized that this strategy, in combination with concentrating scheduled fertilization, would shorten the period that the trees appeared undersized. Ieraci asked Southby how long the small silver buttonwoods would have to remain staked and strapped. “We hope by June of 2008 the strapping will come off most of the trees except for the ones that we have had to replace in the last few weeks,” predicted Southby. Unfortunately, things didn’t transpire as planned.
 | | CRACKED AGGREGATE SIDEWALK |
At the time, Assistant Parks Director Rynard agreed with Southby’s assessment, exclaiming “You won’t have to wait ten years to see substantial growth. We’re making the best out of a bad situation. We plan to intensively fertilize the new trees. Once they are firmly rooted, we should see some rapid growth.” Southby also blamed the old root balls for some of the damage sustained by the aggregate sidewalks originally installed as part of the Galt Mile Improvement Project. He explained “The root systems spread under the entire area. We found them wrapped around the tree cover grates and they dislodged sidewalks.”
 | | TREES PROPERLY STAKED AND PRUNED |
To successfully fulfill the City’s contractual obligation to maintain the block “in a Disney like fashion,” Parks personnel should have meticulously micromanaged the immature plantings through their initial growth period. They didn’t. Of the staked trees that ultimately survived, many were severely gnarled – strangely reminiscent of the contorted tree gracing the Addams family household’s front yard. Notwithstanding, any trees that lived did so in defiance of a terminally poor prognosis by the Department.
 | PARKS DIRECTOR
PHIL THORNBURG |
On the bright side, nature is reliably unpredictable. With timely trimming and extraordinary oversight, future years may serendipitously bring unforeseen improvement. Admittedly, the key factor is intensive nurturing. Perhaps Chepo is just what the doctor ordered - a committed landscaping advocate. If his efforts insure an ongoing Parks Department policy of properly managing the immature trees, the block may yet achieve the vision shared by a community driven to put a “Smile on the Mile.”
 Chepo recognized the larger benefit inherent in this cooperative effort, topping off his report with, “This cooperation is a positive sign for completion of future projects, like replacing our deteriorating benches, palm tree pruning and the filling of bald spots of ground cover between the sidewalk and the street.” Expressing gratitude to Commissioner Teel while extending an olive branch to Parks and Recreation Director Phil Thornburg’s minions, Chepo added “With the support of our government officials and dedicated Parks employees, the Galt Mile Association and its residents can look forward to a productive partnership to keep the Galt Ocean Drive safe and beautiful.”
 | CHEPO - MADE
A DIFFERENCE |
While Chepo’s work will produce a palpable benefit for every Galt Mile resident, of far greater significance is Chepo himself. Galt Mile Community Association officials have long acknowledged that the neighborhood’s greatest asset is the diversity of its residents. The neighborhood association simply provides a vehicle for these residents to define and achieve shared objectives – a forum to focus on improving their lives. It is fueled by self-motivated people willing to work for these improvements. Without José “Chepo” Vega, and the dozens of other volunteers working together on beach renourishment, neighborhood security, block maintenance, insurance dilemmas, community association operations, beneficial legislation, fiscal efficiencies and a dozen other challenges, the Galt Mile would experience the deterioration suffered by any voiceless community.
As long as our neighborhood’s squeaky wheels meet twice monthly to proactively insure its continued good health, Galt Mile residents will continue shaping their own destiny. No need to take my word for it - just ask Chepo!
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City Manager 2009 Update
George Gretsas Reviews State of the City
 | CITY MANAGER
GEORGE GRETSAS |
March 21, 2009 - On January 15, 2009, City Manager George Gretsas attended a meeting of the Galt Mile Community Association Advisory Board. Board members traditionally inquire about the City’s fiscal health when afforded this opportunity. As such, Mr. Gretsas created a comprehensive presentation summarizing Fort Lauderdale’s transition from a 2003 poster child for fiscal ineptitude to a thriving metropolis in 2009. Since the ambitious steps taken by the City Manager to rescue the City from the brink of disaster were surprisingly successful, the PowerPoint presentation blended humor with facts surrounding the City’s financial recovery.
| | BEACH COMMUNITY CENTER |
Longtime members of the Advisory Board who’ve witnessed the City’s remarkable reincarnation as well as Gretsas’ annual updates are acutely aware of the City Manager’s positive impact on Fort Lauderdale’s budgetary health. Newer participants received an education about overcoming adversity. Some of the Board’s association representatives recognized aspects of the presentation, having previously attended a similar event six months earlier, when Gretsas made a July 14th conferral of his “Goals and Objectives – 2008” exposition at the Beach Community Center.
 | | FLOYD JOHNSON |
Understanding the City’s current fiscal dynamic requires perspective. To facilitate questionable City Commission spending habits, former City Manager Floyd Johnson formulated budget policies in 1998 and 1999 that addressed the past year’s expenses with the following year’s anticipated resources, somewhat akin to a household that survives by kiting checks. This fragile strategy presupposes guaranteed annual growth. From 2000 through 2003, the nationwide economic downturn exposed a fiscal house of cards assembled to obfuscate the fact that City Government was living beyond its means.
 | INTERIM CITY
MANAGER ALAN SILVA |
When the illusion collapsed, city officials frenetically sought protection from the political fallout, predominantly by claiming ignorance. Admitting failure to adequately fulfill their oversight responsibilities was infinitely preferable to sharing guilt for City Manager Johnson’s budgetary mirages. To stop the bleeding and distance themselves from ambient culpability, they empowered interim City Manager Alan Silva to confront the various departmental fiefdoms that historically operated in virtual autonomy. To enact a more permanent solution, the Commission simultaneously launched a full scale City Manager search.
 | CITY COMMISSION
SELECTS GRETSAS |
Digressing from traditional search parameters to address criteria consistent with the “Condition Red” state of the City, newly elected City Commissioner Christine Teel teamed with commission peers Hutchinson, Trantalis and Naugle in supporting the selection of Gretsas over stereotypically more accomplished candidates. Instead of the classic sycophant, the City needed a work-a-holic organizer capable of holding together a departmental confederacy while reconfiguring its dysfunctional underpinnings.
 | FORMER ASSISTANT POLICE
CHIEF STEPHEN ROBITAILLE |
The Commission’s overzealous pursuit of a municipal consolidation policy aimed at achieving a modest financial benefit instead produced gross inefficiencies. Gretsas reversed the policy, expanding the 9 City Departments into 16. After relieving the effects of overconsolidation, he imbued the heads of the reconstituted Departments with some clear and non-negotiable responsibilities. Having elicited a detailed list of goals and objectives from each department head, Gretsas based their advancement (or dismissal) on their success (or failure) in attaining those goals.
 | FORMER POLICE
CHIEF BRUCE ROBERTS |
Debilitating contract disputes were also settled by refocusing the criteria for advancement from longevity to merit. Instead of tolerating budget busting expenditures for Police and Fire-rescue overtime, Gretsas commissioned studies that addressed chronic staffing shortfalls with administrative efficiencies. Assistant Police Chief Stephen Robitaille told Advisory Board members that he credited implementation of “Safir Rosetti” recommendations (a study commissioned by Gretsas to enhance police efficiency) with reversing the burgeoning city-wide crime rate. At a subsequent Advisory Board meeting, Commissioner and former Police Chief Bruce Roberts confirmed Robataille’s assessment, crediting weekly COMPSTAT meetings and implementation of a Tactical Impact Unit (to better focus on current crime trends) – both Safir-Rosetti recommendations – for the improved crime stats.
 | | OUTSOURCED - WASTE MANAGEMENT |
Gretsas reviewed the economic viability of every municipal department. By outsourcing 60% of the city’s trash collection responsibilities to Waste Management in 2004, the City Manager saved the taxpayers another $890,393 annually. Inclusion of outside engineers in a fast track effort to expedite building permits helped unclog the longstanding log-jam in the Building Department.
With a close-knit management team blended from imports like David Hébert and Kathleen Gunn and budget crisis survivors like Steve Scott, Valerie Bohlander and Kate McCaffrey minding the municipal machinery, Gretsas enabled Commissioners to concentrate on stretching and allocating the City’s resources while negotiating the daunting five-year rebuilding period. Cooperating top level officials in Fire-Rescue, Police, Parks and other city departments were rewarded with a return of those resources previously lost to budgetary constraints. With Gretsas’ team managing daily operations, the City Commission could concentrate on fleshing out depleted departments, restoring shaken employee morale and recapturing the City’s future.
 | | GRETSAS WORKS WITH CITY COMMISSION |
Gretsas’ high octane management ethic cleared the way for the City’s return to solvency years ahead of schedule. Although Gretsas’ relationship with the previous City Commission was one of mutual respect, he harbors no illusions about his position in the municipal food chain. Exclaiming, “I don’t believe the bureaucracy is in a position to set policy, and that includes me. Its way inappropriate,” Gretsas acknowledges that he operates at the discretion of the City Commission.
In summary, the presentation follows the City’s fiscal fortunes from the 2003 Budget crises through 2009. Reminding onlookers of the City’s desperate financial straits in 2003, Gretsas stated, “the city had negligible reserves, a $21 million insurance deficit, festering labor disputes, a building department drowning in chaos, ineffective service delivery on multiple levels and rock-bottom employee morale.” Each in turn, he addressed how these challenges were met.
 In 2003, Gretsas determined that “a reasonable target for the City’s reserves would be 7%... minimum.” He also established criteria governing the use of reserve resources, such as “their unavailability for use when addressing recurrent expenses.” Gretsas anticipated achieving this goal by 2007. The nearly invisible $875,000 in 2003 grew to $9.3 million in 2004 (just under 5%) and $30 million in 2005. Bingo - and two years ahead of schedule. In 2006, reserves grew to $43 million, $67 million in 2007 and last year reached a record $78 million - the largest fund balance in City history.
 The $20.6 million insurance deficit of 2003 shrank to $13 million in 2004, zero in 2005 and rounded out to a healthy $4 million fully reserved surplus in 2006. The surplus grew to $8 million in 2007 and $10 million in 2008. In response to Fort Lauderdale’s revived fiscal credibility, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s ratings for the city’s general obligation bonds turned from negative to positive in 2005. By 2008, Moody’s conferred a strong “Aa2” rating on the City’s bonds while Standard & Poor’s rated them a solid “AA”.
 Commenting on Fort Lauderdale’s tax environment, he pointed out that 22 of the County’s 31 municipalities had higher millage rates than Broward’s most populated City. The tax rate was cut three years running with record 10-year lows in 2005 and 2007. Of the 31 municipal water and sewer rates in Broward County, Fort Lauderdale is number 27, the fourth lowest in Broward. Of the County’s 27 different municipal Fire Assessment Fees, Fort Lauderdale's is number 15 - safely in the lower half of represented cities and towns.
 While his Goals and Objectives presentation is primarily designed to educate residents about the City’s progress in realizing their vision and apprise them of potential obstacles, it also serves as a stern reminder that straying from fiscal responsibility is a recipe for disaster. Now that the City’s financial playing field is once again level, it faces new dangers. One embodies the adage that “those that forget history are doomed to repeat it.” New residents and some newly elected public officials armed only with an anecdotal perspective of the budget crises have naively marginalized the warning inherent in his presentation, characterizing Gretsas’ militant commitment to fiscal prudence as a paranoid overreaction or intimating some nefariously camouflaged hidden agenda. Residents and officials that lived through the crises know better. When Gretsas is attacked for safeguarding the City’s coffers, an investigation into the detractor’s motives usually reveals a self-serving political and/or financial agenda that often includes a haircut for taxpayers.
One such flashpoint is inherent in Gretsas’ stated concern about the City’s healthcare and pension benefit expenses. Municipal employees belong to either the General Employees’ Retirement System (GERS) or the Fort Lauderdale Police & Fire Pension. Since the taxpayers ultimately guarantee the viability of these Plans, Gretsas has persistently warned the City Commission that an economic downturn would force taxpayers to make up the funds’ market losses. Additionally, he exhorted that since the funds’ rate of growth far outstrips the City’s anticipated resources, taxpayers would again be left holding the bag.
The City Manager is responsible for negotiating contracts with the city employees that work for us. As our spokesperson at the negotiating table, he must balance the needs of the employees with the needs of the taxpayers. Before reporting impacts of the recently concluded labor agreements, he added fiscal perspective to the issues facing the city.
 Prior to the contract negotiations, employees participating in the General Employees’ Retirement System received 3% of their salary toward their pension for every year they worked for the City. After 20 years, they were entitled to 60% of salary for the rest of their lives. To fund this pension system, the city must pay 23.43% of an employee’s salary. The new agreement mandates that new hires belonging to GERS will see 5% increases for each year of a three year contract. This will cap pension expenses at only 9% of base salary instead of the current 23%. Over a 30 year period, the city will realize a minimum savings of $100 million.
 After 20 years on the job, employees belonging to the Fort Lauderdale Police & Fire Pension annually realize approximately 67% of their salaries for life. 24 years on the job translates to an annual lifetime benefit equal to 81% of their pay. Given a multiplier of 3.38%, the cost to the city had escalated to 49% of base pay. According to the new contract, new Police and Fire-Rescue hires will see 5% increases for each year of the two-year deal in return for a minor pension restructuring. The new arrangement will cost the city 36% of base salary instead of the 49% that it formerly funded. The first year savings alone is anticipated to be about $2.6 million.
 The Police and Fire-Rescue pension agreements portend a significant burden for taxpayers in the immediate future. In 2001, the $4.4 million paid by the City in Police and Fire-Rescue pension costs represented 10.5% of their payrolls. By 2008, the $21.3 million city contribution represented almost 50% of their payrolls, an increase of 384%. In addition to the incremental 50% on payroll costs, the taxpayers have to make up for any market losses sustained by the fund. Since the fund value sunk from $491 million on January 1, 2008 to $378 million on November 30, 2008, taxpayers must cough up the lost $113 million.
 An alternative retirement strategy available to Police and Fire-Rescue employees is known as the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP). Up to 5 years before retirement, a police officer or firefighter can collect their full pension while still working for the city and collecting their full salary. The money is placed in a special account where it accumulates with interest and is tax deferred. When the employee finally leaves city employment, the money is distributed in a lump sum payment.
 To demonstrate the plan’s actual impact on retirees, Gretsas presented the packages given to the last 3 retired Assistant Chiefs. In 2007, an Assistant Chief received a lump sum cash payment of $469,683.22 and an annual pension payment of $78,097.20. He did a tad better than a colleague that also retired in 2007 with a lump sum cash payment of $449,929.36 augmented by annual pension payments of $74,812.80. When a third colleague retired in 2008, the $461,189.33 lump sum abetted an $82,279.32 annual distribution.
 | | FIRE-RESCUE STATIONS |
The presentation documented the 2003 to 2009 timeline improvements to the crime rate, Fire-Rescue response times, proactive code enforcement, response times for the removal of graffiti and cleanup of illegal dump sites. New ordinance amendments governing noise and newspaper boxes are being enforced to better balance residential and commercial needs. While the City’s beaches and parks already get high marks from residents and visitors, infrastructure improvements are proceeding apace for the Waterworks, Fire-Rescue and Police stations, roadways and City Hall. Economic development must secure the City’s reputation as an international boating capital and tourism Mecca as well as fuel growing high technology, global trade, financial services and biotech industries.
 | | FORT LAUDERDALE RIVERWALK |
Community redevelopment for each neighborhood is planned around the vision of its residents. Dynamic enhancements are planned for critical residential and commercial corridors such as the Galt Mile, North Federal Highway, the Central Beach area, Davie Boulevard, South Andrews Avenue and Sistrunk Boulevard. Major objectives include creation of a world class downtown urban center, turning the New River into a waterside showplace destination, energizing the Riverwalk and establishing a cutting edge rail system.
 | | NEW CITY COMMISSION GETS DOWN TO BUSINESS |
Just how closely the City Commission was listening to the City Manager’s admonitions is no longer relevant. A new lineup of rookie commissioners (save one) with a mixed bag of skills is charged with making city services affordable and effective. Aside from our new mayor’s sterling credentials as a consensus builder with a reliable political rudder, the City of Fort Lauderdale has become a political science classroom. Insurance adjuster Bobby DuBose and attorney Romney Rogers will hopefully benefit from Jack Seiler’s experience and leadership.
 | | COMMISSIONER BRUCE ROBERTS' NEW CHALLENGE |
While he brings a unique perspective to the table, once Bruce Roberts fathoms that accountability to tens of thousands of bewildered constituents is significantly more exasperating than umpiring a bureaucratic conflict between the City Manager and the police union, his street-tested moral compass should give rise to a surprisingly competent City Commissioner.
 | CITY COMMISSIONER
CHARLOTTE RODSTROM |
Given her District 2 election mandate, Charlotte Rodstrom will likely spend another three years on the short end of countless 4 to 1 commission votes while painting George Gretsas as an obstacle to consensus. Since declining property values have washed out the City’s magic hat of windfall tax rabbits, residents have grown increasingly leery of losing a cornerstone of the city’s fiscal stability. Anticipating that Gretsas will adapt his style to befit the new commission, Mayor Seiler applauded the substance of his contributions and admitted needing his help with the budget.
 | FISCAL DISCIPLINARIAN &
BUDGET WHIZ GEORGE GRETSAS |
As exclaimed by the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Commissioner Rodstrom’s criticism “unfairly puts much of the blame on his (Gretsas’) shoulders.” She has repeatedly pointed out that other candidates for the 2003 City Manager position scored higher on tests administered by Management & Personnel Systems Inc. of Walnut Creek, California, a professional search firm retained by the City. Finalist George Kolb, who was the City/County Manager of Augusta, Georgia, a Harvard graduate and scored a stellar 90% on the test went on to Wichita City, Kansas, where he was forced out of his job under pressure from the City Council. Michael K. West, the Johnson City, Tennessee City Manager and a legacy from Fort Lauderdale’s budget office who scored a healthy 77.7% on his test went to a small town in Alabama called Dothan. Applicant Thomas Hoover, the former City Manager of Worcester, Massachusetts who scratched out an average 59.3% on the test went to Royal Oak, Michigan where he unsuccessfully applied for jobs in the Florida communities of Venice, Ocala and Deltona while getting the boot from Royal Oak. Test scores notwithstanding, it appears that Fort Lauderdale copped the biggest "bang" for its "City Manager buck".
 George Gretsas has done everything the City Commission has asked of him, from hard-nosed negotiations with the city's unions to infusing each municipal department with accountability. While he will have to make adjustments to accommodate the requirements of the new commission members, they will discover that he is an invaluable resource. The Commissioners will soon realize that absent Gretsas, they would be forced to take the heat he eats for breakfast. Of course, they could replace him with a commission puppet and turn the budget into a pork buffet. After all, what happened in 2003 could never happen again – right?
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COOPERATIVE FEEDING PROGRAM
Galt Ocean Mile
2009 Food Drive
Halfway There
| | SCOTT WOODBURN |
March 27, 2009 - Scott Woodburn, the Cooperative Feeding Program sparkplug that pulled together the Galt Mile food drive during the past three years, has again undertaken to sharpen competitive instincts and stimulate collections. At a January 15th meeting of the Galt Mile Community Association’s Advisory Board, Woodburn notified participants that the economic downturn had exploded the program’s client ranks, burning through food stores at an unprecedented rate. The program’s Executive Director is passionately committed to restocking the endeavor’s severely depleted resources. To enhance perspective of the strain burdening the besieged feeding program, Woodburn exhorted, “Hunger remains a real problem in Broward County as 1 out of 4 goes to bed hungry every night.”
 On March 23rd, Woodburn sent an email to the Galt Mile associations participating in the current food drive. Emulating a race caller at the Belmont Stakes, Woodburn gave an engaging play by play describing the state of affairs as the Galt Mile donors rounded the halfway mark.
 Reviewing the relative success that competing associations realized halfway through the drive, Woodburn opined that “The final place standings should be very close this year.” Following a reminder that cash is now accepted toward an association’s point total at the rate of $1 per pound, Woodburn returned focus to the real motivation for donating foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and money, explaining “Your donations will change lives. Your donations will save lives.” Point taken! Please read his email followed by a summary of the first half stats:
The 2009 Galt Ocean Mile first half results.
 | | CRT SOUTH - CAPTAIN: DAVID JENKINS |
As you can see from the results of our first food collection not only have we set new records from food and cash donations but there is an exciting race for total points. Just 12.5 points separate Coral Ridge South and Edgewater Arms, or Third and fourth just 28 pts separate Southpoint and Coral Ridge Towers Original and for fifth and sixth place just 39 pts separate Playa De Mar and Regency South. Right down the line the separation between Condo Associations is just a few pts. The final place standings should be very close this year.
 | EDGEWATER ARMS - ANNEMARIE
ADAMS - 2008 GRAND CHAMPION |
Remember there are two Championships Awarded: Total Points and Points per Unit, plus every Condo Association will receive a food drive certificate of appreciation.
 Very close and exciting - as we are seeing new associations getting excited about the drive. If everyone will continue with the effort just think how much of a difference we will make this year. Good Luck everyone, keep up the great effort, check out the deals at WINN DIXIE, just two weeks left!
 You all will remember that we added the option to donate money to the drive. That's because The Cooperative Feeding Program can leverage that cash donation and purchase food at .19 cents per pound. For the purpose of the drive totals every dollar donated equates to 1 pound of food and the donated food and cash adds up to total points.
Thank you for a great start to the Food Drive. Your efforts and donations will make a difference. Your donations will change lives. Your donations will save lives. What a great gift to your neighbors and community.
| | TONS OF GALT MILE FOOD FILLS VAN |
The final food pick up is scheduled for Tuesday, March 31. Our “after the food drive celebration and awards ceremony” will be in April. Arrangements will be announced.
Keep up the great work! Imagine the difference we can make working together to make this year’s food drive a record success.
Scott A. Woodburn
CFP Development
954-629-7381
scott@feedingbroward.org
Halfway Point Collection Results
(21 Participating Associations)
|
| | Associations | Total lbs | Total Dollars | Lbs and Money |
| |
| 1. CRT South | 688.5 pounds | $638 | 1326.5 pts |
| 2. Edgewater Arms | 244.0 pounds | $1070 | 1314.0 pts |
| 3. Southpoint | 672.0 pounds | | 672.0 pts |
| 4. CRT ”Original” | 466.0 pounds | $175 | 644.0 pts |
| 5. Playa del Mar | 434.5 pounds | $10 | 444.5 pts |
| 6. Regency South | 405.5 pounds | | 405.5 pts |
| 7. CRT East | 329.0 pounds | $25 | 354.5 pts |
| 8. Ocean Riviera | 365.5 pounds | | 365.5 pts |
| 9. Plaza South | 339.0 pounds | | 339.0 pts |
| 10. Ocean Club | 224.0 pounds | $100 | 324.0 pts |
| 11. Fountainhead | 297.5 pounds | | 297.5 pts |
| 12. Galt Towers | 286.5 pounds | | 286.5 pts |
| 13. The Galleon | 244.5 pounds | | 244.5 pts |
| 14. Royal Ambassador | 96.0 pounds | $100 | 196.0 pts |
| 15. Playa del Sol | 178.0 pounds | $6 | 184.0 pts |
| 16. Ocean Summit | 156.0 pounds | | 156.0 pts |
| 17. Galt Ocean Club | 140.0 pounds | | 140.0 pts |
| 18. Plaza East | 111.5 pounds | | 111.5 pts |
| 19. Regency Tower | 97.0 pounds | $10 | 107.0 pts |
| 20. Caribé | 80.5 pounds | | 80.5 pts |
| 21. Commodore | 30.5 pounds | | 30.5 pts |
| | | | |
| Totals | 5886.0 pounds | $2134 | 8020 pts |
 Remember, the Galt Mile Food Drive ends on March 31st. Drop off the bags, bars and boxes of stuff in your kitchen that are just taking up space. The can of grape leaves that Aunt Martha gave you. The can of ravioli behind the jar of Prego. Come on. What about that can of spam you bought on sale in Sam's Club. Give it up!.
By the way, Click Here to see the Team Captains for each association.
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Commissioner Ken Keechl’s Corner
April 2009 Newsletter
 April 2, 2009 - * "Who is this guy?" As a rule, Broward residents occasionally notice whether their elected representatives are faithful to campaign promises. If they percieve a fifty to sixty percent batting average, they are more than satisfied. District 4 Commissioner Ken Keechl has built his Commission career on disappointing political cynics. He is the exception that proves the rule. Keechl refuses to compromise on his promises to constituents.
 | | KEECHL ADDRESSES BUDGET ISSUES |
When he spouted the typical campaign drivel about lowering taxes without eviscerating services, safeguarding the County's natural resources and shrinking County government, constituents gave him high marks for playing the right music. With the possible exception of friends and colleagues, few realized that Keechl is fanatically committed to every representation he makes - before, during and after the campaign. He also promised to keep his constituents abreast of County affairs, fiscal issues and impending problems. Like clockwork, Keechl grinds out a monthly Newsletter targeting that commitment.
 With the new County budget on the table, Commissioner Keechl's April Newsletter opens with a review of his contributions to the County Commission's successful budget-cutting efforts in 2007 and 2008. Tracking the dollars saved as if they were frequent flyer miles, Keechl reminds us that $90 million was cut from the 2007 budget and another $87 million was clipped from last year's product. With the two-year running total up to $177 million, he then fast-forwards to the current budget.
 Given the economic downturn, Keechl explains that the accompanying drop in property values has prompted some commissioners to limit budget surgery to a millage rate increase that will yield the same amount of taxes collected last year. The millage rate required to match the previous year's collections is known as the "rolled-back" rate. While this would cut the equivalent of a respectable $45 million from the FY 2010 budget, our budget hawk isn't happy. Characterizing the millage rate hike as a tax increase, Keechl is lobbying his Commission peers to retain last year's millage rate.
 | | JIM SCOTT |
He admonishes that if "we keep the County millage rate at last year’s rate of 4.888, the County’s FY 2010 budget would shrink by an additional $135 million dollars." He is quick to point out that this would result in "a combined three year cumulative and recurring budget decrease of $312 million dollars." Straight up, when Keechl promised to squeeze the bloated County budget, did anyone realize that we elected the most effective tax-cutter in District 4 history? Keep in mind that Keechl predecessor Jim Scott had a state-wide reputation for fiscal conservatism. Sorry Jim, its time for you to move over! - [editor]*
“Lowering Broward County Property Taxes
Again in FY 2010”
by Broward County Commissioner & Vice Mayor
Ken Keechl, District 4
| | COMMISSIONER KEN KEECHL |
When I campaigned to be your Broward County Commissioner, I promised that I would never vote to increase your property taxes. I have kept that promise for the last two years. I intend to keep it for the next two years as well.
 For Fiscal Year 2008, I voted to lower property taxes and shrink the County’s budget by approximately $90 million dollars per year. My colleagues agreed by a 9-0 vote.
For Fiscal Year 2009, I voted to lower property taxes and shrink the budget by approximately $87 million dollars per year. My colleagues agreed by a 7-2 vote.
Since these are recurring, yearly savings, the result of these two votes was to shrink the Broward County budget by almost $177 million dollars per year.
 How did we do this? We instituted a hiring freeze, which reduced operating expenses drastically. We reduced capital projects by prioritizing and funding “needs” while postponing or eliminating “wants”. We paid off certain debt (to lower yearly interest costs) and we minimally raised certain fees (which hadn’t been reviewed or raised in more than 13 years!)
 On February 17, 2009, the County Commission had its first Fiscal Year 2010 budget workshop. The good news: the majority of my colleagues agreed to lower property taxes for a third consecutive year. The bad news: we couldn’t agree on how much to cut from the FY 2010 budget.
 Due to the decrease in property values county-wide, some of my colleagues want to raise the property tax (millage) rate applied to all taxable real property in Broward to a certain rate known as the “rolled-back” rate. Technically, this is not considered a “tax increase” because it will bring in the same amount of property taxes as last year. If 5 or more of my colleagues agree, the FY 2010 budget would decrease by approximately $45 million dollars (for a combined three year cumulative and recurring budget decrease of $222 million dollars.) Not bad.
Nevertheless, while I believe the County Commission has made real progress over the last two years, and while I believe that $45 million dollars is a real reduction, I don’t believe it is good enough.
 In order to keep my promise to you and your families, I believe I cannot, in good faith, vote to raise the County’s millage rate on the assessed value of any real property you own in Broward County. To me, an increase in the millage rate equates to a tax increase. If 4 or more of my colleagues agree with me and we keep the County millage rate at last year’s rate of 4.888, the County’s FY 2010 budget would shrink by an additional $135 million dollars (for a combined three year cumulative and recurring budget decrease of $312 million dollars.)
| | 2009 BROWARD BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS |
My colleagues and I will continue to discuss the FY 2010 budget for the next several months. I will, of course, continue to fight to lower your property taxes as much as possible. And based on the first budget workshop, I am confident that the majority of the Broward County Commission will eventually vote to once again lower your property tax burden by decreasing the size of Broward’s budget by at least $45 million, and possibly by as much as $135 million. I will keep you apprized of our discussions.
My best to you and your families.
Broward County Commissioner and Vice Mayor Ken Keechl
Click Here to access Broward County Commissioner Ken Keechl’s official web site, call his office at (954) 357-7004 and/or Click Here to send him an email.
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Chief  Commissioner
Bruce Roberts Clears the Air
 April 8, 2009 - Contract negotiations are, by definition, largely adversarial. When completed, the parties ordinarily acknowledge that each side was simply doing its job as they cordially agree to reconvene upon expiration of their current work product. Strangely enough, after the City’s contract negotiations, a huge billboard suddenly appeared off Sunrise Boulevard just west of Interstate 95 exclaiming, “Your Fort Lauderdale Police Officers want to thank you for your support” followed by “Paid for by the Lowest Paid Police Officers in Broward County.” Needless to say, they aren’t.
 | CITY MANAGER GEORGE
GRETSAS & CHIEF ADDERLEY |
Instead of leaving understandable residual animosity at the negotiating table, police union officials decided to exercise a post-negotiation political agenda. Newspaper reports confirmed that union officials were mounting a campaign to dismiss their contractual adversary, the city manager. Following the engineered removal of Gretsas, his “rookie” replacement will be motivated to uncommon generosity during the next round of contract negotiations in just over a year, ignoring taxpayer concerns about exorbitant pension benefits. The elimination of Gretsas would yield an additional benefit. The alliances made en route to accomplishing their objective would provide them extraordinary input into municipal operations - as if they were elected by the City’s residents.
 | | JOHN & CHARLOTTE RODSTROM |
Although the City Commission is responsible for insuring that maneuvers like these are unsuccessful, commissioners are often beset by contradictory incentives. While fighting on behalf of taxpayers to protect a besieged budget, Commissioners are also expected to elicit incremental allocations for district constituents. However, knocking off the City Manager to green light a raid on the City’s coffers will require enough reconstructive spin to sink a ship.
 | | LOBBYIST JUDY STERN |
The recently conducted municipal elections were deconstructed into a political battlefield for control of the city treasury. Seeking an anti-Gretsas ally, Charlotte Rodstrom supported Commissioner Bruce Roberts’ successful candidacy against Christine Teel, hoping his primary objective would not be to represent the interests of his constituents, but those of the City’s police union. When husband John Rodstrom was asked by former Sun Sentinel political writer Buddy Nevins about claims that he was pressuring lobbyists to donate to Roberts’ campaign, Rodstrom said, “I’m not going to comment on that. Charlotte is not involved in any way. She wants to fire City Manager George Gretsas and so does Roberts.”
 | | GMCA DIRECTOR ROSE GUTTMAN |
While attending another City Manager presentation at the Downtown Business District, Commissioner Charlotte Rodstrom and her campaign muse - lobbyist Judy Stern - cast aspersions on Gretsas’ fiscal management - an opinion not shared by Fort Lauderdale’s attending business community. When GMCA director Rose Guttman asked Rodstrom and Stern to explain their non-specific criticisms, Rodstrom said, “I know things that you don’t about Gretsas.” Guttman pointed out that Rodstrom didn’t answer her question and wailed away, “If you have some information to support your accusations, present it. If not, you should be ashamed of yourself for deliberately misrepresenting the truth.”
 | | BRUCE ROBERTS AT GALT MILE SECURITY PATROL KICKOFF |
Since Bruce Roberts eked out his 2511 - 2442 commission seat victory by a 69-vote hair, he faces governing without a mandate. In his favor, Roberts’ tenure as Police Chief - during periods of rising and receding crime rates - was marked by integrity. While attending GMCA Advisory Board meetings, Roberts was responsive to neighborhood concerns. He initiated the A1A Traffic & Noise Control program to stop unrestrained motorcycle and drag racing between Commercial Boulevard and Oakland Park Boulevard. He also supported the Galt Mile Security Patrol, acknowledging that it was the only way to address the “Quality of Life” crimes afflicting the neighborhood. At several Advisory Board meetings, Roberts explained that Law Enforcement resources in every major municipality are of necessity allocated to areas afflicted by the highest crime rates and the most serious Part 1 crimes. While attending the June 2007 Security Patrol kickoff event at Galt Ocean Club, Roberts said “The Security Patrol will finally address the area’s specific security needs. Staffing the patrol with Fort Lauderdale officers will make it professional and effective.”
 | FOP PRESIDENT
JACK LOKEINSKY |
However, many residents have expressed reservations about Roberts’ commitment to serving the community. During the election, dozens of Galt Mile residents complained about having received unsolicited telephone calls from persons identifying themselves as police officers, whose message forewarned that the city was facing an unparalleled crime wave unless Roberts is elected. As Chief, Roberts had a spotty relationship with the union, wavering between goat and golden boy. Suddenly, after abruptly quitting the force and announcing his candidacy for the City Commission, the mercurial union leadership steeped him with unqualified support. Union President Jack Lokeinsky and union attorney George Tucker (and wife Phyllis) punctuated their endorsement with September 7th contributions to Roberts’ campaign. Tendered one day after the police contract was finalized; Roberts’ rancorous letter of resignation clarified his sympathies with elements of the union’s agenda.
 | | LT. AL LEWERS JR. |
This isn’t the first time the police union sought to assume control of an organization with which it was at odds. At Town Meetings convened by the local NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) in 2006, more than 80 residents testified about personal experiences with racial profiling and police misconduct. Lt. Alfred Lewers Jr., coordinator of FLPD’s Recruiting, Background Investigations and Training Unit, undertook to polish the police image in communities where it hasn’t always been positive and bring more minority officers on to the force. Lewers sent an e-mail to officers suggesting they join the NAACP as a means of increasing understanding and easing tensions.
 | BROWARD NAACP PRESIDENT
MARSHA ELLISON |
In a response that outraged civil rights proponents, FOP president Jack Lokeinsky sent a memo to membership outlining a strategy to depose the current NAACP President, Marsha Ellison. Expressing disdain for the NAACP’s stance on racial profiling, discrimination and police misconduct, he asked FOP members to join the NAACP for the express purpose of ousting Ellison. Appending Lewers' positive memo, Lokeinsky wrote, “The FOP is tired of the current position of the President of the Broward Branch of the NAACP. In an effort to vote out the President and her views of the police, I support the membership drive. A one-year membership allows you to make the change and get rid of this us against them attitude.”
 | FLORIDA NAACP PRES
ADORA OBI NWEZE |
Not surprisingly, Florida NAACP president Adora Obi Nweze said at a press conference outside the Fort Lauderdale Police Department “The NAACP’s national headquarters will scrutinize all new membership applications in Florida to counter attempts by the Fort Lauderdale Fraternal Order of Police to join the civil rights group and vote local president Marsha Ellison out of office. The national office will not accept the memberships of anyone who doesn't support the organization.”
 | | MAJOR ANTHONY WILLIAMS |
Caught in the middle, the 50-member Fort Lauderdale Black Police Association President Anthony Williams said “This by no means reflects the thoughts of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. I would like to see it resolved and both parties come to the table to discuss solutions.”
| CITY MANAGER
GEORGE GRETSAS |
Whether or not the residents of District 1 support the City Manager or the police union concerning the adequacy and/or affordability of the City’s pension obligations, they are absolutely united in expecting their Commissioner to give their concerns priority. At several candidate forums, when Roberts was asked if he intends to fire the City Manager if elected, his response evolved as the campaign progressed. Whereas he initially equivocated, as he realized that the question actually probed his motivation for running, his answer became more conciliatory - albeit with a caveat. He told the Sun Sentinel that he could work with Gretsas with the condition that he “change his management style.” Roberts found himself expending significant political capital denying that his candidacy was part of the Police union agenda of blowing off Gretsas and his opposition to pension parachutes.
 | | CHIEF ADDERLEY AND COMMISSIONER ROBERTS |
Roberts is aware that his first order of business is to dispel constituent concerns that he is a “one trick pony” whose elective goals end with a questionable midnight contract revision. Local residents are otherwise delighted with Roberts stated intention to reinvigorate a residents’ vision for city neighborhoods, promote balanced redevelopment, renourish the beach, squeeze the budget, achieve consensus and lay the groundwork for a Galt Mile Master Plan. He picked up a truckload of credibility upon calling for changes to the police and fire pension funds and exclaiming his willingness to trade on his rank and file support to address their ballooning threat to the City’s financial stability.
 | | SEILER AND ROBERTS |
His opening salvos at City Commission meetings were also encouraging as Roberts lined up with Mayor Jack Seiler to freeze spending until the Commission had an opportunity to separate the budgetary chaff from the wheat. On March 31st, Roberts met with GMCA officials to discuss the prerequisites for a Galt Mile Master Plan. Following the meeting, Roberts again confirmed that his relationship with the City Manager will depend on the substance of his contributions and his ability to adapt to the revamped Commission’s vision for the city. He was also enthusiastically anticipating upcoming opportunities to actualize District 1 campaign commitments.
 To this end, Roberts will issue regular newsletters to keep constituents abreast of his progress and continue to hold pre-agenda meetings similar to those popularized by predecessor Christine Teel. He also intends to use neighborhood association meetings as a forum for inclusion. Roberts is playing all the right music. Barring some gross blunder, he will soon earn the community support barely evident during the March 10th election. Commissioner Roberts built a sterling public service career on trust. He is smart enough to stick with what works. The Commissioner will attend the upcoming April 16th Advisory Board meeting - as good a place as any to start clearing the air!
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Vice Mayor Ken Keechl’s Corner
May 2009 Newsletter
 April 18, 2009 - * In his latest newsletter, Broward Commissioner Ken Keechl confronts an issue often neglected by many of his peers... Ethics. Given the relative ease with which many elected officials break faith with commitments, “Government Ethics” is widely considered little more than a cynical oxymoron hovering between “Commercial Art” and “Military Intelligence”. To Commissioner Keechl, however, Ethics is serious business. It is also meaningful to the 57% of Broward voters who last November supported the creation of a “Broward County Ethics Commission” to formulate a Code of Ethics against which actions of Broward Commissioners can be measured.
 Keechl also reminds us that he characterizes himself as a Moderate Democrat. He further explains something that anyone who has worked with the commissioner already knows - that his conscience, not his political affiliations, anchors his moral compass. Since he uncompromisingly makes decisions based on what is best for the County and its residents, he has been remarkably successful at achieving consensus among a politically diverse constituency comprised of Democrats, Republicans, Independents and others.
| | 2009 BROWARD BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS |
Currently, Broward County Commissioners are governed primarily by state law which requires that commissioners abstain from voting on issues from which they, their families or their businesses could profit. They also must file annual financial disclosure statements and reject gifts offered in exchange for their votes or to promulgate nepotism. Skeptics point to the conflict inherent in the Broward Commission selecting 9 of the 11 appointees.
 | UM LAW PROFESSOR
ANTHONY V. ALFIERI |
University of Miami Law Professor Anthony V. Alfieri disparaged the Commission’s lack of a continuing enforcement mechanism. Director of the Law School’s Center for Ethics & Public Service, Alfieri noted that no resources were allocated to investigate violations. The Broward Commission has repeatedly suffered humiliating ethics breaches. In 2005, Josephus Eggelletion was fined $2500 for voting to award a trash-hauling contract to a company he had lobbied for in Miramar in 2001. Commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin was fined $15,000 last year for voting to approve grant applications for Southwest Ranches that were written by her husband. And the hits just keep on coming!
 | | BOB WOLFE |
Since the Broward Commission’s 9 Democrats are charged with choosing the majority of the Ethics Commission, Commissioner Keechl sought ideological balance by reaching across party lines and appointing Bob Wolfe, the Republican Media & Government Relations Director for the Broward County Property Appraiser’s office. Bob has personally helped thousands of Galt Mile residents contend with exemption dilemmas, valuation disagreements and petitions of every stripe. The well-known and widely respected Wolfe wheels from one venue to another, attending neighborhood advisory board meetings and conducting outreach clinics that help homeowners wade through mounds of exemption and portability paperwork. Keechl closes with a request. He would appreciate our input relevant to the new body, hopefully before he addresses the Ethics Commission on June 10, 2009. - [editor]*
“Ethics Reform Should Be a Non-Partisan Issue”
by Broward County Commissioner Ken Keechl, District 4
| | VICE MAYOR KEN KEECHL |
Everywhere you go, you hear it: another elected official has been accused of unethical behavior. It’s really a shame. As Henry Kissinger once said, “90% of the politicians give the other 10 % a bad reputation.” He may have been exaggerating, but not by much.
Fortunately, the people have had enough. In November 2008, the residents of Broward County voted overwhelmingly to establish a “Broward County Ethics Commission” whose “sole purpose shall be to establish a Code of Ethics for the Broward County Commission.” I supported the establishment of an Ethics Commission then, and I support it now.
 The Broward County Ethics Commission will be made up of 11 members: each of the nine County Commissioners will appoint one member from his or her district, and the remaining two members will be appointed by the Broward League of Cities. The Ethics Commission will propose a Code of Ethics to the entire Broward County Commission by March 2010. If the Commission fails to adopt it within 6 months, the proposed Code of Ethics will be presented to the voters for acceptance or rejection on the November 2010 ballot.
 I am often asked to characterize my political philosophy. I respond by labeling myself as a moderate Democrat—one who is simultaneously environmentally sensitive, business friendly, and fiscally conservative. But, more importantly, I have always said that, as your County Commissioner, I represent everyone in District Four—Democrat, Republican, Independent or otherwise.
 My voting record and my numerous appointments to various County Boards over the last two ½ years demonstrate my philosophy, including my recent appointment to the Broward County Ethics Commission. After much reflection, I selected Robert Wolfe, a well known, active, and widely respected Republican, as my appointee. I did so because I believe that Bob will bring a different (and important) perspective to the Ethics Commission. Bob and I have discussed (and will continue to discuss) how together we can strengthen Broward’s ethical standards.
 In the meantime, I welcome your input. I will speak before the Broward County Ethics Commission in June. If you have any ideas about ethics reform in Broward, I would like to hear them. Feel free to email me at KKeechl@Broward.org.
My best to you and your families.
Broward County Vice Mayor Ken Keechl
Click Here to access Broward County Commissioner Ken Keechl’s official web site, call his office at (954) 357-7004 and/or Click Here to send him an email.
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Commissioner Roberts Thanks to Voters
| | NEW CITY COMMISSION GETS DOWN TO BUSINESS |
April 30, 2009 - In his first Newsletter to District 1 constituents, City Commissioner Bruce G. Roberts expresses appreciation for his seat on the Fort Lauderdale City Commission. Acknowledging that 4 of the 5 municipal representatives are neophytes, he observes that the Commission's new complexion signifies that the voters were exclaiming their predisposition for change. In a refreshing declaration, Commissioner Roberts admits that while he may not be able to expeditiously answer certain concerns expressed by constituents, he intends to explore these issues with District 1 residents in hopes of arriving at a mutually acceptable resolution.
| THE CHIEF OR THE
CITY COMMISSIONER? |
Focusing on his thirty-five years of public service, our new commissioner identifies citizen participation as the catalyst for progress. Drawing on his extensive experience with safety and security issues cultivated during his long and distinguished career as a local law enforcement icon, Roberts characterizes Public Safety as the cornerstone of civilization. He correctly points out that human communities initially coalesced to more effectively protect themselves. After promising to exploit his law enforcement experience for the benefit of the entire city, he targets the City's greatest challenge, how to make one dollar pay for two dollars worth of services.
| CITY MANAGER
GEORGE GRETSAS |
Cutting to the chase, Roberts explains that the Commission's first meeting directed "the City Manager to freeze current fiscal year expenditures, except for public safety, with the goal to carry forward savings into next year’s budget." This directive will allow the new Mayor Jack Seiler adequate time to institute his plan for a zero-based budgeting policy. It also was the first official interaction between Commissioner Roberts and City Manager George Gretsas since Roberts' election.
 During his campaign, Roberts promised to work productively with Gretsas with the understanding that Gretsas would address the new commission’s priorities. Since the election, both City officials have agreed to bury any residual controversy and wrestle through tough budget issues together. Many Galt Mile residents initially expressed concern about candidate Roberts' motives for aspiring to the District 1 Commission seat. Upon hearing of Roberts' post-election public commitment, they were relieved to learn that Roberts was willing to sacrifice his alleged personal agenda in favor of steering the District - and the city - through the ongoing economic crunch. – [editor]
From The Desk of
Commissioner Bruce G. Roberts
 | DISTRICT 1 COMMISSIONER
BRUCE G. ROBERTS |
I would like to extend my thanks to all of the 4,953 voters from District I who participated in the March 10, 2009 municipal election. It is obvious, citywide, that people do want a change and now is the best time for that to happen. With three new Commissioners and a new Mayor we will move forward with a renewed energy for positive change. I stated in my campaign that I would bring back your voice to City government, and I mean just that. I have an open door policy, and if you contact me I promise to respond quickly. I may not have immediate answers, but you will receive a reply right away. I will engage residents and businesses in District 1 and throughout the City to help find creative solutions to the issues we face.
 | | ROBERTS' NEW SQUAD |
As your new Commissioner, I am employed by you and will listen to you and work for you; revitalizing community involvement in political decisions by keeping everyone informed. Early in my thirty-five years of service to the community, I realized that the most successful government achievements came when citizen participation was incorporated into those efforts. Public safety is and always has been one of the few very basic services citizens demand from their government; indeed, it is the primary historic reason people have banded together to form governments. A stable community fosters economic development, which, in turn, opens the door for a safe community. A safe community nurtures a better quality of life for its citizens who can then take full advantage of all this community has to offer. By bringing back community policing, our citizens will be directly participating in a partnership to solve their neighborhoods’ problems. By bringing back training, our public safety professionals will be better equipped with the skills and tools needed to better address the chronic problems associated with homelessness and crisis intervention scenarios. By bringing back a focused technology with practical applications, resources will be deployed to improve response times, reduce crime, increase visibility and control budgets. At our first commission meeting, we directed the City Manager to freeze current fiscal year expenditures, except for public safety, with the goal to carry forward savings into next year’s budget.
 District 1 residents will now have the opportunity to meet with me at Pre-Agenda Meetings on the Monday before a Commission Meeting which are usually the first and third Tuesdays of the month. The meetings will be at 6:00 p.m. at Cardinal Gibbons High School, Media Room (2900 NE 47th Street) and are for the purpose of reviewing and discussing the upcoming City Commission Agenda. I encourage you to take part in these informal and open meetings.
Please contact me to become involved in your community; we need your input, ideas and your commitment to make Fort Lauderdale the best it can be.
If further information is needed, please feel free to contact my assistant Robbi Uptegrove at 954-828-5033 or by e-mail at RUptegrove@fortlauderdale.gov.
Bruce G. Roberts
To access the City Commission Meeting Agendas and Minutes, Click Here. To actually watch the meetings recorded and archived on the Commission Meetings Video Webcast and Archives web site, Click Here. - editor
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COOPERATIVE FEEDING PROGRAM
Galt Ocean Mile
2009 Food Drive
Final Results
| | SCOTT WOODBURN |
May 11, 2009 - The 2009 Galt Mile Food Drive was over. In keeping with tradition, Cooperative Feeding Program Executive Director Scott Woodburn sent emails to the participants. The CFP sparkplug notified team captains, Association volunteers and other local program supporters that the recent drive was an unqualified success. Initially concerned about the economic downturn's impact on donations, Woodburn seemed relieved by the final results.
 The email opened “Thanks to all, for your efforts in producing a records setting Food Drive. Not too many folks showed up to celebrate the successful food drive competition.” Turning the focus to the event's competitive underpinnings, he continued, “Congratulations once again to our repeat Grand Champions the Edgewater Arms. I have attached the final results, please share with your board and president.”
 He explained why the annual effort was being shifted to a different - hopefully more productive - month, “Considering the results, I think we will keep the month of March as our Official Galt Ocean Mile Food Drive Month. Thanks again and we'll see you again next year.” The email carried two attachments, a letter entitled, “The Final Note” and an Excel spreadsheet compilation of the final statistical summary - “Final Results”. The letter, fueled by hope and infused with enthusiasm, is as follows:
The Galt Ocean Mile Food Drive Final Note
| | CRT SOUTH - CAPTAIN: DAVID JENKINS |
WOW, who would have thought, a record setting year for the 2009 Galt Ocean Mile Food Drive. We set a goal of 15,000 lbs and for all intent and purpose we did it! Super congratulations to all our condo participants for a wonderful record setting effort in our 2009 Food Drive.
| EDGEWATER ARMS - ANNEMARIE
ADAMS - 2008 GRAND CHAMPION |
Our 2009 Galt Ocean Mile GRAND CHAMPIONS for the second year in a row is the Edgewater Condo Association ([sic] - Coop Association). What can you say about that wonderful group at the Edgewater Condo Association ([sic] - Coop Association)? The smallest among us, with just 86 condo units ([sic] - coop units), the Edgewater just blew away the competition again this year with an astounding effort accumulating 3,658 total points and averaging a magnificent 43 points per unit.
 Congratulations to Annemarie Adams, the condo campaign Captain, the Condo Association Board, and the residents who made the fight against hunger in their community a personal campaign. ([sic] - Edgewater Arms is a Cooperative Association)
| | CRT SOUTH - CAPTAIN: DAVID JENKINS |
Congratulations to the Coral Ridge Group. Coral Ridge South hung in there second in total points followed by Coral Ridge Towers Original who was in a fight with up-comer South Point under first time leader Rebecca Olshan. She sure made Bonnie sweat it out.
 | | CRT EAST - JIM RAINEY |
Jim Rainey’s, Coral Ridge East group was solid again followed by our second smallest association the Fountainhead under Jennifer Donnelly. You have got to watch out for those smaller Associations. They stay under the radar but in the end can make a huge impact. Jennifer got a big increase out of her residents and place 6th overall in total points and second in points per unit with 5.1. She also gets my high five for her food collection box decorations.
 | FOUNTAINHEAD - 2nd PLACE - LBS PER UNIT
LED BY JENNIFER DONNELLY |
Following the Fountain Head was Cyndi Songer’s Galt Towers and Rosie Bowers and her Playa del Mar Group separated by just 11 lbs. and then the Rivera, Galleon, Plaza South and Ocean Club, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th & 13th place who were separated by just 50 lbs.
 | | SOUTHPOINT - REBECCA OLSHAN |
In the per unit category, no one could touch the 43 points per unit from the Edgewater but the Fountainhead followed in second with 5.1. Coral Ridge South’s 4.5 and Bonnie Leavitt's Original 3.2 were third and fourth. Things started to tighten up with South Point and the Rivera at 2.4 tied at fifth, then Coral Ridge East at 2.3 at 6th, the Galt Towers, seventh at 2.2 and a bunch at 2.1 points per unit.
 | | PLAYA DEL MAR - ROSIE BOWERS |
Thank you for a great effort in making this Food Drive the best yet. Your efforts and donations will make a difference. Your donations will change lives. Your donations will save lives. What a great gift to your neighbors and community.
 Imagine the difference we can make when we work together. We can work magic. Thanks for making this years food drive a record success.
Remember on this Tuesday, April 7 at the St Lawrence Gallery 5:30 to 7PM will be our Food Drive celebration and we will crown our 2009 Grand Champion Edgewater plus every Condo Association will receive a food drive certificate of appreciation.
Scott A. Woodburn
CFP Development
954-629-7381
scott@feedingbroward.org
Collection Results
(21 Participating Associations)
|
| | Total Lbs & $$$ (Points) | Lbs & $$$ per Unit |
| |
| Association | Total Points | Association | Points/Unit |
| |
 Edgewater Arms | 3658.0 points | Edgewater Arms | 43.0 points/unit |
| CRT South | 1529.0 points | Fountainhead | 5.1 points/unit |
| CRT ”Original” | 1089.0 points | CRT South | 4.5 points/unit |
| Southpoint | 970.5 points | CRT ”Original” | 3.2 points/unit |
| CRT East | 761.5 points | Southpoint | 2.4 points/unit |
| Fountainhead | 648.5 points | Ocean Riviera | 2.4 points/unit |
| Galt Towers | 565.0 points | CRT East | 2.3 points/unit |
| Playa del Mar | 554.0 points | Galt Towers | 2.2 points/unit |
| Ocean Riviera | 480.5 points | Regency South | 2.1 points/unit |
| The Galleon | 450.0 points | Ocean Club | 2.1 points/unit |
| Plaza South | 448.0 points | The Galleon | 2.1 points/unit |
| Ocean Club | 435.0 points | Caribé | 2.1 points/unit |
| Regency South | 430.0 points | Royal Ambassador | 1.9 points/unit |
| Playa del Sol | 416.5 points | Playa Del Mar | 1.5 points/unit |
| Royal Ambassador | 406.0 points | Plaza East | 1.4 points/unit |
| Plaza East | 385.0 points | Regency Tower | 1.4 points/unit |
| Caribé | 313.0 points | Plaza South | 1.3 points/unit |
| Regency Tower | 283.0 points | Playa del Sol | 1.1 points/unit |
| Ocean Summit | 262.0 points | Ocean Summit | 1.1 points/unit |
| Galt Ocean Club | 140.0 points | Galt Ocean Club | 0.7 points/unit |
| Commodore | 78.0 points | Commodore | 0.4 points/unit |
| |  | | |
| Total Lbs Collected | 14,316.0 points | | |
| | | | |
GRAND CHAMPION
 That’s right! Our community contributed more than 7 tons of food and sundries to local families that are suffering through a tough time. The formula used as a comparative basis assigns one point for each pound of food and/or sundries donated as well as one point for each dollar contributed. Your anonymous contributions will be held up as an example to other Broward neighborhoods, hopefully engendering an epidemic of generosity. Well... perhaps a small epidemic... we’ve earned the right to dream!
The Cooperative Feeding Program is headquartered at NW 33rd Terrace in Fort Lauderdale (on the N. W. corner of Broward Blvd. and NW 33rd Terrace). Call them at (954) 792-2328, fax them at (954) 792-9982 or click here to send an email. Office and Emergency Pantry hours are Monday through Friday, 9 AM - 4 PM. The Community Kitchen serves from 9 AM through 11 AM, Monday through Saturday and Sundays from 11 AM through 12:30 PM.
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 | | PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA |
May 28, 2009 - Last year, the “Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008” provided for a first-time homebuyer tax credit of $7,500. Since the terms required repayment, the tax credit was essentially an interest-free 15-year loan. In February of 2009, congress passed President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package, increasing the tax credit to $8,000 and building in an incentive for making the first 36 mortgage payments. If beneficiaries of the $8,000 tax credit hang on to their new homes for at least three years, they need not repay the tax credit.
 Also known as the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009”, about 35% of the stimulus package is earmarked for tax cuts and 65% is dedicated to government spending, the Laurel and Hardy of economic recovery. Half of the new spending will target infrastructure like roads, highways and renewable energy. The other half will be disbursed to states for economic stabilization and stemming unemployment. While fueling local employment will help insure that working homeowners are equipped to meet their mortgage obligations, the Federal Government hopes to simultaneously massage the housing market by stimulating new homeownership.
Where will the $787 Billion Go?
* Tax Relief - includes $15 B for Infrastructure and Science, $61 B for Protecting the Vulnerable, $25 B for Education and Training and $22 B for Energy, so total funds are $126 B for Infrastructure and Science, $142 B for Protecting the Vulnerable, $78 B for Education and Training, and $65 B for Energy.
As often occurs with lawmakers’ work product, the term “first-time homebuyer” is a misnomer. In fact, the legislation embraces anyone who hasn’t owned a primary residence for at least 3 years before purchasing a qualifying home. For married couples, if either husband or wife maintained an ownership interest in a primary residence during the 3 years prior to the new purchase, they are ineligible for the tax credit. Qualifying is also conditional on purchasing the home after April 8, 2008, and before December 1, 2009.
 Ownership of a primary residence in the United States is the eligibility threshold. Recent ownership of a vacation home, rental home, or any residence outside the United States will not trigger disqualification. The tax credit could benefit anyone currently relocating their primary residence to the Galt Mile neighborhood from Canada or anywhere outside the United States. Although homeowners officially residing in Boston, New York, Chicago and other parts of the country are ineligible, their tax-paying non-homeowner children may qualify! Homeowners victimized by Wilma or Katrina are eligible if they haven’t used their property as a primary residence for three years prior to the new home purchase.
 The credit is calculated by taking 10 percent of the home’s value - up to a maximum of $8,000. It is reduced or eliminated for higher-income taxpayers. To receive the full $8,000, a single applicant’s yearly modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) cannot exceed $75,000 while married couples can earn up to $150,000 annually. The phase-out range for a married couple filing a joint return is $150,000 to $170,000 and $75,000 to $95,000 for single taxpayers. If two or more taxpayers who are not married purchase a principal residence and otherwise satisfy the requirements, IRS Notice 2009-12 provides that they can divide the credit in proportion to their purchase price contributions, according to their ownership interest or in any manner deemed “reasonable” since they are both technically eligible for the entire credit.
 Since a tax credit (such as the one described in the original 2008 legislation) is ordinarily applied against one’s tax liability, a taxpayer owing less than $8,000 wouldn’t realize the full amount. To avoid the politically unpopular perception that the resource is regressive, the 2009 bill regenerated the benefit as a “refundable tax credit.” In other words, while there are maximum income limits for qualifying first-time homebuyers, there are no minimum income criteria. After applying the credit to any taxes owed, any remainder is sent by check as a refund from the IRS.
 If you made an eligible purchase in 2008, you must claim the first-time homebuyer credit on your 2008 tax return. For eligible purchases in 2009, the credit can be claimed on the 2008 or 2009 income tax return. To claim the tax credit, you must file form IRS 5405 “First-Time Homebuyer Credit” along with your amended 2008 return (assuming you've already filed for 2008) or your 2009 return.
Exceeding the income phase-out range ($95,000 or $170,000 for joint filing married couples) or owning a primary residence in the U.S. within 3 years of purchase aren’t the only eligibility obstacles. You are also precluded from participating if you are a nonresident alien, if you sell the home before the end of the year or if you purchased the home from a close relative (spouse, parent, grandparent, child or grandchild - although homes purchased from step relatives are acceptable). Those of you who were about $8,000 shy of owning your home can now cut the deal. If you could only remember the number for that 2 bedroom overlooking the pool and beach...
Stimulus Package Tax Credit Links
Click Here for details about the “Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008”, the legislation that underwrites the 2008 tax credit
Click Here for details about the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009”, the legislation that underwrites the 2009 tax credit
Click Here for an explanation of the “$8,000 First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit”
Click Here for the actual text of the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009” (H.R. 1), A.K.A. - the “Stimulus Package”
Click Here for an explanation of the “Stimulus Package”
Click Here for an Executive Summary of the “Stimulus Package”
Click Here for form IRS 5405 to claim the tax credit
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Neighborhood Fight Ramps Up for
Galt Ocean Mile  Reading Center
 | | GALT OCEAN MILE READING CENTER |
June 2, 2009 - The Galt Ocean Mile Reading Center serves as a portal to the world for literally thousands of local residents. Broward County’s Herculean budget deficit has placed the tiny storefront branch of the huge Broward County Library System on the chopping block. In a frenetic marathon to offset the Property Appraiser’s projected 15% drop in the County’s tax base, County Commissioners are gouging away at libraries, parks, animal shelters and other “non-critical” services loosely characterized as “quality of life” expenses. County budget director Kayla Olsen projected the shortfall between $135 million and $160 million.
 | NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
ALVIN SHERMAN LIBRARY |
Along with the Galt Ocean Mile Reading Center in Fort Lauderdale, libraries scheduled for execution are the Beach Branch in Pompano Beach, the Hollywood Beach Library, the Riverland Library in Fort Lauderdale, the Pembroke Pines Library, the Century Plaza Library in Deerfield Beach and the Lauderhill Mall Library. The branch library on Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale (not the ArtServe Section) is also on deck for last rites. Operations at the County’s 11 largest libraries that were cut from 70 to 58 hours a week last year will be further reduced to 48 hours a week this year. Special programs organized for all libraries are mere months away from the big sleep. The county plans to incrementally save $5.7 million by breaking its decade-old 40-year contract with Nova Southeastern University to build and operate its Alvin Sherman Library.
 Fueled by highly competitive commission districts perpetually pressing for parity, Broward’s Library Division mirrors the county’s big government spending environment. Its 37 libraries occupy 1.5 million square feet of space and cost the county $64 million last year. It’s the nation’s largest library system and number 84 in terms of volumes held.
Budget Bites Broward
| BROWARD COMMISSIONER
KEN KEECHL |
In April, District 4 Commissioner Ken Keechl extolled the Broward Commission for trimming $90 million from the 2008 budget and $87 million from the 2009 budget, shrinking the County’s annual intake by $177 million. He also complained that his colleagues were considering an adjustment to the Millage rate that would produce the same revenue as last year - characterized as the “rolled-back” rate. Given the smaller tax base, the millage would have to be increased to yield the same intake. While he acknowledged that the strategy would cut another $45 million from the Budget and increase the cumulative 3-year recurring tax savings to $222 million, he expressed a preference for matching last year’s millage rate, thereby dropping the County into a $135 million black hole. The cumulative 3-year recurring tax savings would jump to $312 million.
 The problem is this. Cuts made over the past two years targeted many questionable projects and irresponsible spending strategies, the absence of which often went predictably unnoticed. Programs that were underutilized, ineffective or otherwise unjustifiable were expunged. Programs created to address issues that were no longer relevant were gratefully terminated. Projects that owed their survival to an inherent automatic annual refunding process withered when finally scrutinized. Simultaneously, the County Administration consolidated overlapping services and streamlined delivery to enhance fiscal efficiency. As such, many of the cuts were absorbed in stride.
In his Budget newsletter, Keechl summarized how the County underwrote the Budget cuts, stating, “We instituted a hiring freeze, which reduced operating expenses drastically. We reduced capital projects by prioritizing and funding ‘needs’ while postponing or eliminating ‘wants’. We paid off certain debt (to lower yearly interest costs) and we minimally raised certain fees (which hadn’t been reviewed or raised in more than 13 years!)”
 With the pork mostly eviscerated during the previous reductions, cuts are starting to hit bone. When that happens, Commissioners must meticulously negotiate and then carefully explain lost services to their constituents, remitting assurances that the pain is being equitably shared. Since there is no reasonable standard for comparing resources received by a district’s inhabitants versus their contributions, determining whether their losses compare favorably with those of residents in other districts is tantamount to catching smoke.
Galt Mile Reading Room Becomes Target
 Loss of the Galt Ocean Mile Reading Center would represent a gross injustice. In exchange for making huge annual contributions to the County tax coffers, Galt Mile residents receive almost nothing in return. Half the County budget funds the Broward Sheriff’s Office. While we are very grateful for Sheriff Al Lamberti’s vocal opposition to the threat posed by Calypso, virtually no BSO resources protect the Galt Mile neighborhood. Since we pay the City of Fort Lauderdale for providing our Police and Fire Protection, our county tax contributions actually subsidize neighboring jurisdictions that use BSO services. We enjoy no local county parks or recreational resources and even fund our own beach maintenance and security. Other than four or five annual Property Appraiser outreach opportunities at the Beach Community Center, the County spends almost nothing for our slice of the Barrier Island.
Of course, we are awaiting the long-delayed Broward Beach Renourishment. This significant neighborhood improvement will directly benefit every Galt Mile resident. Notwithstanding, since the beach is one of the County’s primary financial engines, it will also benefit every Broward resident. There is one County enterprise, however, that was organized uniquely to enrich life in our community - the tiny Galt Ocean Mile Reading Center.
 | | RESIDENTS ENJOY READING CENTER |
While the beach is the heart of our neighborhood, this mini-library is certainly its soul. Arguably the most popular local resource on Galt Ocean Drive, it has provided battalions of mostly elderly residents with a convenient location to research almost anything, meet with friends or simply log in some quiet time. Most of the locals are on a first name basis with every staffer, including temporaries and substitutes. Five regular staffers help the 2,390 residents that visit the Center each week locate “New York Times” best-sellers, DVDs of foreign films, health-related audio books or search Google for exotic recipes. Often unable to finish enjoying their selected resource by closing time, library clientele check out 1,695 items each week.
 | | GALT READING CENTER COMPUTERS |
Whether enrolled in a Senior Self Defense class or Introduction to Computers, Galt Milers that perceive the mini-library as their community center keep the sidewalk planter in front of the Reading Room filled with fresh flora. Visiting authors review their works, local poets recite their creations and culture groups celebrate their unique ethnicities. Despite its modest designation as a “Reading Room”, since the library is networked into the massive Broward library system, it is a doorway to the planet.
 The thousands of previously technophobic local residents who were first introduced to the internet in Reading Room classes keep the six free online computers busy through lockup. Facilitated by the “Galt Ocean Mile Friends of the Library,” a local 12-member chapter of the umbrella “Friends of Broward County Libraries,” integration of the Reading Center into community life was swift and spontaneous. Many of the individual condos and co-ops along the Galt Mile post library events and information on their bulletin boards and newsletters, functionally treating the resource as an association amenity. Almost every Galt Mile family holds one of the 5,338 library cards registered by the Galt Ocean Mile branch. Given the influx of younger families into the neighborhood over the past decade as well as visiting grandchildren, the 126 cards registered to kids unlock a well-rounded children’s section.
 The Reading Center provides a unique example of government serendipitously “getting it right”. The facility’s sterling utilization statistics clearly confirm its status as an unqualified success. Ironically, its overwhelming popularity blossomed despite a series of County bloopers that might have ordinarily undermined any other institution. By 2005, the explosive demand on the Reading Center prompted the County to authorize an expansion. In the years that followed, the popular improvement project was repeatedly victimized by ineptitude and administrative blunders. When Broward County leasing specialists rented space adjacent to the Reading Room to accommodate the expansion, they forgot to check the premises. The floor and one of the two ceilings were loaded with asbestos! If disturbed, the toxic cocktail would precipitate a virtual mesothelioma epidemic among Reading Center fans.
 | BROWARD LIBRARY
DIRECTOR BOB CANNON |
From 2006 through last year, Broward Library Director Bob Cannon intermittently promised a patchwork of remedies to the quandary when pressed by the Galt Mile Friends group. Other than occasionally closing the doors for assorted toxicity tests and engineering options, little was accomplished. An angry Commissioner Ken Keechl agreed to help expedite a reasonable resolution to the dilemma. When he announced last year that the Reading Room might fall prey to ambitious County budget cuts, he promised to help insure its survival. Although enraged and discouraged by three years of county double-talk, local Friends President Herman Gardner frantically sought to keep the parties communicating. On October 30, 2008, Cannon wrote to Gardner, outlining the division’s most recent progress, apologizing for the indefensible delays and thanking him for his patience and support.
 | GMCA PRESIDENT
PIO IERACI |
After reading recent media releases confirming that the tiny Reading Room was part of a multi-branch burnt offering to county bean counters, Gardner received hundreds of phone calls from angry residents offering to wage war on virtually anyone threatening to close their library. He contacted District 4 County Commissioner Ken Keechl and Galt Mile Community Association President Pio Ieraci, seeking to verify the reports. The Commissioner admitted that county staff recommended closing library branches, targeting primarily those housed in locations leased by the county. To help assuage Gardner and a rapidly growing constituency that expected Keechl to keep the doors open, the Commissioner explained that the reports were describing preliminary events considered at Budget Workshops. He said that the final verdict wouldn’t be cast until the September Budget Meetings.
Galt Mile Prepares Defense
 | | GALT OCEAN MILE READING CENTER |
Gardner, a Galleon resident, decided that it was time to act. After enlisting the assistance of GMCA President Pio Ieraci to help organize neighborhood support for the Reading Room, he convened a May 2nd Saturday meeting at the Library. Having learned about the meeting by word of mouth, some fifty mostly elderly attendees squeezed into the little meeting room intermittently used for Election Day polling purposes. Expressing sentiments ranging from indignant anger to glum futility, each described how the library anchored their lives.
 | BROWARD MAYOR
STACY RITTER |
Southpoint octogenarian Sally Sober (AKA Sara) announced that she communicated with Broward Mayor Stacy Ritter’s office to inform her about the meeting. Convinced that Ritter would soon arrive, Sober rehearsed her defense of the Library. “The truth is it keeps me alive. It is a part of my life that can’t be replaced. It is as important as food and water. ” When it became evident that Ritter wouldn’t show, the feisty Sober admonished, “We have to let Ms. Ritter and Mr. Keechl know that if we lose our Library, they will lose their jobs.” Following a round of applause, several residents that participated in defeating the Calypso Gasworks months earlier offered to help organize opposition using similar strategies. Tasks assigned to various volunteers included distributing petitions to every association, creating fact sheets summarizing the issues and more effectively alerting local residents to the impending threat.
 Scores of residents attended a second organizational meeting two weeks later – too many for the modest meeting room. Dozens of worried elderly patrons testified about the Center’s stabilizing impact on their lives. In addition to detailing their participation in various events, the renderings shared a common theme – the library patrons were able to come and go “under their own steam.” A Royal Ambassador resident clarified, “Each year, my world gets smaller – but I can still get across the street on my own. I don’t need to ask anyone for a lift and I don’t have to cut into my food budget. The Library helps me feel self-sufficient and independent. I can still enjoy life’s gifts without asking for permission or help.” Looking around the room, he added, “We all feel that way.” Instead of the usual nods and expressions of passive assent, the room burst into applause. His statement touched a nerve. As his increasing infirmities narrowed access to long-held interests and activities, his appreciation for the Library’s offerings grew exponentially. The Center’s convenient access empowers elderly and disabled patrons with a degree of control lost to them in other areas of their lives.
 Friends President Herman Gardner was invited to attend the May 21st GMCA Advisory Board meeting. After apprising association representatives about the Reading Center’s prospective demise, the board voted unanimously to vest Gardner with the authority to represent the neighborhood with respect to saving the Library. Several Advisory Board members volunteered to take a direct part in any rescue strategy. Although Commissioner Keechl is the community’s voice on the County Commission, Ieraci agreed to help elicit active participation by other local public officials.
| | TERRY CLAIRE |
Engineered by Plaza South resident Terry Claire, within a month, thousands of petition signatures were collected at 26 participating associations. A “resolution of support” template was created and distributed to the member associations for approval by their respective Boards and a letter writing campaign was initiated. The third organizational meeting was held on May 30th.
At that meeting, Bob Evans from Galt Towers lamented that the county didn’t understand the neighborhood’s relationship with the Library. He explained, “There is more here than just books. Thousands of us come here to share cultural experiences and attend classes. This little storefront connects us to the world. Walking across the street opens the door to theater, poetry and literature. Losing this center would be a disaster for hundreds of my friends and neighbors.” Almost one third of the average 2,390 patrons hosted by the center each week attend classes, poetry recitals, book and theatre reviews, and various cultural events co-tailored over years by residents and staff. “Sending us off to the Imperial Point branch to take out a book resolves nothing.”
In the Same Boat
 | | CENTURY PLAZA BRANCH LIBRARY |
Since 7 small branch libraries are threatened with closure, members weighed the pros and cons of coordinating survival campaigns with some or all of them. Some closely mirror our reasons for requesting special dispensation from the County Commission. The Beach Branch in Pompano and the Century Plaza Branch in Deerfield Beach are frequented by large numbers of elderly residents who also view their facilities as lifelines to the world. Like the Galt Mile Reading Center, they provide social opportunity, emotional sustenance and intellectual stimulation – “Quality of Life” necessities often lost to relocated retirees. While the Galt Mile Center and Beach branch in Pompano pull double duty as local polling places, the Century Plaza branch does not.
 | DEERFIELD COMMISSIONER
MARTY POPELSKY - OOPs |
Neighborhoods surrounding some of the 6 other leased libraries are equally adamant about saving their branches as the Galt Mile. A recent newspaper article reported that Deerfield Beach Commissioner Marty Popelsky, seeking to align support for the endangered Century Plaza Branch, said at a City Commission meeting, “Please contact the County Commission; fax your county commissioners. There are 12,000 people per week using it versus 3,000 people at Percy White (Library).” In fact, they are both only frequented by roughly the same number of weekly patrons as the Galt Mile branch – about 2500. However, Popelsky’s misstated exuberance was matched by County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs, who vowed to “fight to the death” to keep the Century Plaza library afloat.
 | COUNTY COMMISSIONER
KRISTIN JACOBS |
One group, Friends of the Broward County Library, has taken up the gauntlet for every threatened branch. On May 11th, they sponsored a writing campaign to County Commissioners using pre-printed post cards distributed to all 37 Broward branch libraries. When questioned about the campaign’s efficacy, Broward Friends President Evelyn Grooms reinforced the importance of pressuring the County Commissioners.
 | | BEACH BRANCH IN POMPANO BEACH |
After considering potential alignments, the Galt Mile residents focused on rationales unique to their neighborhood. While these neighboring facilities share similarly impressive utilization statistics, their clientele represents about a third to a half of the surrounding neighborhood. The Galt Mile Branch is regularly used by about 80 percent of the surrounding community. The residents finally agreed to adopt a hybrid approach. Although community activists would limit their struggle to rescuing the Galt Ocean Mile Reading Center, they would encourage Commissioner Keechl to work with Commissioners representing other districts with branches leased by the County. In addition to Kristin Jacobs, Keechl might approach Sue Gunzburger, whose Hollywood Beach Library is at risk, and Josephus Eggelletion, the Commissioner representing the endangered Lauderhill Mall branch.
 | | IMPERIAL POINT BRANCH LIBRARY |
Another understanding arose from the May 30th strategy meeting. The residents agreed that they needed to demonstrate a balance between the County’s prospective savings versus damage done to the community. If the Galt Mile branch is closed, county staffers expect its nearly 6000 cardholding registrants and thousands of cardless patrons (family members and visitors) to find their way to the Imperial Point Library on Federal Highway. Instead of pushing a walker across the street, disabled residents without access to a vehicle will have to plan their daily visits around public transportation and pay their way to and from a facility that is miles away on the mainland. To the library’s disproportionately large complement of fixed income patrons plagued with mobility issues, the Imperial Point branch may as well be on the moon.
A County Dog and Pony Show?
 How will the County benefit from the closing the library? The facility’s stated operating budget is $378,381 ($233,213 in salaries and $145,168 in operational costs). Of the $145,168 in operational costs, $114,000 was earmarked for rent and $31,168 paid utilities, custodial expenses, equipment, books, supplies, etc. However, since the rent included $44,000 for the unused adjacent toxic space wherein the lease recently expired, the net rent is actually $70,000. That reduces the annual operational expenses to $334,381.
 Galt Mile Librarian Marlene Barnes explained that the terms of their union contract (Local 1591 of the Amalgamated Transit Union) will dictate the fate of the unit’s 5 staffers (and their $233,213 in salaries). Barnes said, “Director Cannon told us that some of the 750 library employees may or may not be at risk. Since the contract requires the county to rotate employees to other county positions based on seniority, we should all be transferred to other county jobs if the Center closes.” Since the Reading Center staff will continue to draw their salaries, albeit from other Broward branches or agencies, the net savings drops to $101,168. Since the county’s net cost to service the Center’s 124,280 annual resident visits and 88,140 items checked out each year costs less than 82¢ (82 cents) per visitor, no other county service remotely approaches the inherent cost benefit. If scrutiny supports that the other 6 ill-fated branches yield the negligible prospective savings realized by closing the Galt Mile branch, it would recast the staff recommendation to close the facility as a dog and pony show. Not surprisingly, several residents noted that “By canning one big shot, we can pay for the library for the next two or three years.” The question is... which big shot?
What Can I Do?
 The final decision about whether the libraries become extinct will be made by the Broward County Commission at the September Budget Meetings. Prior to making decisions about budget issues, the County convenes a series of Budget Workshops. They are held at the Broward County Government Center (Room 422) at 115 South Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, 33301. The remaining meetings are scheduled from 1 PM to 5 PM on Thursday, June 4th, Tuesday, June 16th and Tuesday, August 18th. We understand that the Library cutbacks will be considered at the June 16th Budget Workshop. The two Budget Meetings are scheduled for September 10th and September 22nd at 5:01 PM. We understand that the final verdict regarding the Libraries will be considered at the September 22nd Budget Meeting.
 Therefore, residents that oppose closing the Galt Mile Reading Center can do so at the June 16th Budget Workshop and the September 22nd Budget Meeting. For additional Information, please call County Administration at (954) 357-7350. You can also contact District 4 County Commissioner Ken Keechl at (954) 357-7004. To address the Commission at any of these events, call County Administration to learn about any required preliminary procedures. In the interim, Please contact the County Commissioners to ask that they rescue the Galt Ocean Mile Reading Center.
Address correspondences to the individual Commissioner at the Broward County Government Center, 115 S. Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale 33301. Insert their respective room numbers as indicated below. Click on the Commissioner's name to view his/her Broward County web page. Click on their email links to send emails. DO IT TODAY!
District 1 Commissioner Ilene Lieberman: Room # 417, (954) 357-7001, email: ilieberman@broward.org
District 2 Commissioner Kristin Jacobs: Room # 421, (954) 357-7002, email: kjacobs@broward.org
District 3 Commissioner and Mayor Stacy Ritter: Room # 413, (954) 357-7003, email: sritter@broward.org
District 4 Commissioner and Vice Mayor Ken Keechl: Room # 412, (954) 357-7004, email: kkeechl@broward.org
District 5 Commissioner Lois Wexler: Room # 414, (954) 357-7005, email: lwexler@broward.org
District 6 Commissioner Sue Gunzburger: Room # 421, (954) 357-7006, email: sgunzburger@broward.org
District 7 Commissioner John E. Rodstrom Jr.: Room # 416, (954) 357-7007, email: jrodstrom@broward.org
District 8 Commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin: Room # 410, (954) 357-7008, email: dwassermanrubin@broward.org
District 9 Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion, Jr.: Room # 413, (954) 357-7009, email: jeggelletion@broward.org
To send one email to all nine County Commissioners, Click Here
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Commissioner Ken Keechl’s Corner
June 2009 Newsletter
| | BROWARD COUNTY JUDICIAL COMPLEX |
June 23, 2009 - * Commissioner Ken Keechl’s January Newsletter addressed the quandary posed by Broward's deteriorating Courthouse. Characterizing the mold-ridden structure as “antiquated and in a serious state of disrepair,” Keechl advocated a cost efficient renovation instead of funding new construction. His words echoed recommendations made to the Galt Mile Community Association Advisory Board at their December 18, 2008 meeting.
Intimately familiar with courthouse functionality, our fiscally conservative District 4 Commissioner acknowledged the need to thoroughly investigate the issues surrounding this important and expensive undertaking. As such, he supported Mayor Stacy Ritter’s December 8, 2008, resolution creating the “Courthouse Task Force Advisory Committee.” True to his policy of documenting our tax dollars’ planned itinerary, Commissioner Keechl’s June Newsletter sheds light on the Task Force’s findings to date.
 Chaired by Broward Commissioner Ilene Lieberman, the committee officially became the “Broward County Courthouse Task Force” and included Broward County Public Defender Howard Finkelstein, Clerk of Courts Howard Forman, Lauderhill Commissioner (and former Broward League of Cities President) Margaret Bates, Chief Assistant State Attorney Chuck Morton, Broward County Court Administrator Carol Lee Ortman, 17th Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Vic Tobin, Circuit Court Judge Peter Weinstein and other representatives from the legal and business communities. During their January 1, 2009 through June 30, 2009 operational term, the task force met on January 23rd, February 27th, April 3rd and concluded business on June 19th.
 | | JUDICIAL COMPLEX GARAGE IS NEW COUTHOUSE SITE |
In “Part 1” of his Courthouse Recommendations update, Commissioner Keechl enumerates the alternatives considered by the Task Force, including a renovation of the existing structures, adapting some reasonably proximal commercial space and decentralizing functionality to satellite courthouses. Ultimately, they recommended building a new scaled-down courthouse for approximately $328 million. After narrowing potential locations to a site on the New River and the site currently occupied by the judicial garage, they opted for the garage site, citing its superior accessibility and connectivity. The new structure will accommodate expansion and the West and Central Wings of the existing complex will be demolished. New technology and innovative courtroom design will diminish space and parking requirements.
 The Task Force developed some extremely creative financing options that doubtless appeal to our “Blue Dog” Commissioner. Inasmuch, Commissioner Keechl wraps up his Newsletter with a tickler, advising us to tune in next month (for Part II) to learn how the Courthouse can be built without increasing property taxes (... you’re going to love this!) Squelch that “glass eye” expression... Keechl has a habit of delivering on his promises. - [editor]*
“Broward County Courthouse Task Force Recommendations, Part 1”
by Broward County Commissioner & Vice Mayor
Ken Keechl, District 4
| | COMMISSIONER KEN KEECHL |
In previous articles, I have discussed the continuing problems plaguing our Broward County courthouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale. As a result of bursting pipes, increasing mold, broken elevators, security issues, and a chronic shortage of courtrooms and parking, judges, jurors, litigants, and employees are suffering. In fact, the County has recently been sued by several court employees alleging that the courthouse is dangerous and unfit for occupancy.
 Recognizing that the current situation is unacceptable, last December the Broward County Commission established a Broward County Courthouse Task Force (“Task Force”) to make recommendations to the County Commission “regarding alternatives for financing, development, construction, improvement and other matters” relating to the downtown courthouse. The Task Force recently submitted its Report to the County Commission. I would like to devote this month’s article to summarizing its findings regarding the need to build a new Courthouse. And I would like to devote next month’s article to discussing financing issues.
| | WILMA BLOWS OUT COURTHOUSE WINDOWS |
Not surprisingly, the Task Force concluded that the current courthouse is in critical condition. All building systems have exceeded their useful lives and in the event of a Hurricane Category 2 or above, the structure will sustain significant damages, if not total destruction. Moreover, the current layout of the building is not conducive to a modern courthouse; there is not enough space for all judicial and court-related activities; and there is no room for expansion.
In contrast to building an entirely new structure, the Task Force considered a renovation of the current courthouse. The Task Force concluded that renovation would not be cost effective. If the County Commission decided to renovate the downtown courthouse instead of building a new structure, the Task Force and its experts believe that the courthouse would need to be totally gutted and the structure would have to be hurricane hardened. Moreover, renovation would inevitably require that the entire building be brought up to the current building code. Lastly, the County would incur additional costs to lease space for employees displaced during the renovations. Obviously, these costs would not be incurred with new construction.
 | | 110 TOWER |
The Task Force also evaluated the possibility of acquiring and remodeling an existing office building, such as the 110 Tower. The Task Force and its experts concluded that it would be difficult to achieve courtroom height requirements in a standard office building and it would also be very difficult to achieve adequate separation of the public, inmates, and judges.
 | | BROWARD COUNTY MAIN JAIL |
The Task Force also looked at the feasibility of moving functions off-site and how to maximize the use of our satellite courthouses. The possibility of moving the downtown courthouse to another location in Broward County was also considered. In the end, the Task Force recommended keeping the main courthouse downtown due to the proximity to the Main Jail; the County’s investment in the salvageable East and North Wings of the current downtown courthouse; and the need to continue to provide all judicial services in one location. Moreover, due to land and parking limitations, the West and South satellite courthouses could not be expanded.
 In the end, the Task Force recommended that a new scaled-down courthouse should be constructed on the site of the current judicial garage. By building on County-owned land, the overall cost of the project would be lessened. In the past, the County Commission had suggested building a new courthouse at a cost of approximately $510 million; the Task Force’s new scaled down courthouse would cost approximately $328 million. Similarly, previous County Commissions envisioned a new courthouse comprising nearly 900,000 square feet; the Task Force’s new scaled down courthouse would comprise approximately 675,000 square feet. The Task Force also recommended additional parking to meet existing and future courthouse needs.
 Lastly, and importantly, the Task Force also recognized that the funding for any new courthouse should avoid an increase in the property tax burden on Broward’s residents.
 I have previously acknowledged the need for a new or renovated courthouse. However, I have made it clear that I will not vote to increase the property tax burden on you in the process. Next month’s article will look at the feasibility of building a new courthouse without increasing your property taxes. As always, the devil is in the details.
Until then, my best to you and your families.
Broward County Commissioner and Vice Mayor Ken Keechl
Click Here to access Broward County Commissioner Ken Keechl’s official web site, call his office at (954) 357-7004 and/or Click Here to send him an email.
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Chepo Moves Galt Mile
Landscaping into High Gear
| COMMODORE RESIDENT
JOSÉ “CHEPO” VEGA |
July 1, 2009 - Late last year, the Galt Mile Community Association Advisory Board charged Commodore resident José “Chepo” Vega with overseeing the city’s landscaping activities along the Galt Mile, a project for which he expressed both aptitude and a passionate interest. Congruent with an understanding brokered by former Commissioner Christine Teel between the Parks and Recreation Administration and the GMCA, Parks Director Phil Thornburg assigned a Parks official to hammer out an improvement plan and timetable with Chepo. In mid-December, Chepo began working with Park Operations Superintendent Brian Hopper, his counterpart in City government. Over the next few months, City crews under Hopper began staking unstable trees, trimming low-hanging branches that posed a threat to inattentive pedestrians and rehabilitating the grates that frame trees along the sidewalk. The successful project kickoff served to mold Chepo and Hopper into a productive team.
| | VICE MAYOR BRUCE ROBERTS |
During the April 6th Presidents Council meeting, Chepo was introduced to newly elected District 1 Commissioner Bruce Roberts, who agreed to seamlessly step into his predecessor’s shoes and move the project along. Five days later, Chepo sent Roberts a courtesy email explaining “It was a pleasure meeting you at the Galt Ocean Mile meeting last Monday. I am sure that with you and the many hard working people on your team, we can look forward to a continuous and productive time during your administration. As promised, I will keep you posted about the Galt Mile safety and landscape project I have been working on for the last few months. I appreciate your interest in them.”
| PARKS DIRECTOR
PHIL THORNBURG |
To adequately coordinate the next step, the principals planned a diagnostic tour of the target area for May 14th. On May 8th, Commissioner Roberts’ assistant Robbi Uptegrove notified Parks Director Phil Thornburg that Roberts - who was recently seated as Vice Mayor by the City Commission - would be unavailable until after June 12th and requested an alternate date for the walk-through. By contacting each of the participants, Uptegrove was able to organize the event for Monday, June 22nd at 10 AM.
 | | GREEK ISLANDS TAVERNA |
Early that morning, the Vice Mayor accompanied Chepo, Hopper, GMCA President Pio Ieraci, Beach Foreman Mark Almy and Commodore residents Jack Friedman and Bill Fleckenstein on an area tour to identify landscaping deficiencies and prepare a realistic performance schedule. Starting at the Greek Islands Taverna Restaurant, the group worked their way north. In addition to documenting the requisite rehabilitation and ascertaining which City Department was best adapted to address each task, they noted problems specific to certain associations and vendors - for which they may carry some liability.
 | | MARK ALMY, PIO IERACI, CHEPO, BRUCE ROBERTS AND BRIAN HOPPER |
| | CHEPO AND MARIA TORRES DISCUSS STRATEGY |
The next day, a flurry of correspondences between the principals defined how they would proceed. Not surprisingly, Chepo got the ball rolling, asking Brian Hopper when he would “have the schedule for the bald spot planting, pruning and any other work to be done.” Hopper answered “I’ll write up a punch list of the things we discussed. Included in that will be to do an assessment of gaps (or bald spots) in the landscaping that will list how many and what type of plants we would need to obtain. You should receive that this week. Once I get approval to buy the plants I will have Maria contact you to say when the work will be done.” Maria Torres is a Parks employee whose longtime assignment to the Galt Mile has endeared her to countless Galt Mile residents.
| | PIO IERACI |
Since the project will draw on resources from several municipal departments, Hopper sent Julie Richards (Assistant to the City Manager) a version of the walk-through “punch list” that sorted the various responsibilities by department. He asked that the information be appropriately routed and promised to keep her apprised of progress made by his Parks personnel. Copies of Hopper’s punch list were also sent to Vice Mayor Roberts and GMCA President Pio Ieraci. In turn, Ieraci forwarded copies to Chepo and GMCA Vice President Eric Berkowitz. Hopper’s summary is as follows:
 | | PIO POINTS OUT PROBLEM TO BRUCE ROBERTS, CHEPO AND BRIAN HOPPER |
Brian Hopper's Walk-Through Punch List Summary
Per our walk-through of the Galt with Commissioner Roberts yesterday (6/22), the following items will be addressed:
Parks Division Responsibilities:
| | JOSÉ AND BRIAN HOPPER DISCUSS LANDSCAPING |
1. Allow groundcover and hedge plant materials to grow in to the edge of sidewalk
2. Broken irrigation head on east side of road, across from Sly Fox
3. Indian Hawthorn (shrub) replacement to fill in gaps in all areas of Galt, most were on South end
4. Remove smaller branches sprouting from base of Seagrape tree near the Greek restaurant
5. Remove Sabal Palm growing amongst the Seagrape tree (sabal in poor condition)
6. Remove remnants of palm-like tree near Greek restaurant; consider replanting of a palm in its place
 | | TREE GRATE PACKED WITH MULCH |
7. Inspect all tree grates for stability (mulch was underneath some, causing them to see-saw just a tiny bit)
8. Directional prune all Silver Buttonwood trees to allow for greater pedestrian clearance
9. Confirm that Winn Dixie owns seagrape trees to the rear of store, if so; ask them to lift the trees to eliminate hiding spot
10. Place soil and rat bait station at one silver buttonwood tree grate
 I will let you know when the above items are addressed. However, some of them (like pruning issues) will be a gradual process.
Public Services:
 | | CONCRETE DEFECT BY TREE GRATE |
11. Section of sidewalk higher than curb, suggest shaving down sidewalk to avoid edge/trip hazard. On east side of road, across from Wachovia and Amtrust banks.
12. Minor breaks in concrete on edge of tree grate, near Playa Del Mar
13. Regrade section of raised sidewalk that was previously graded, needs more gradual slope. (exact location will be sent)
HOA:
Contact AT&T regarding abandoned utility boxes
Obtain info on entryway landscaping at sign (part of development agreement)
 | | JOSÉ “CHEPO” VEGA REVIEWS LIST WITH PIO IERACI, SUPERINTENDENT BRIAN HOPPER AND FOREMAN MARK ALMY |
 | | CHEPO WORKS WITH PARKS EMPLOYEES |
True to his word, Hopper loosed his minions on the Galt Mile sidewalk beds a few days later. Pleased with the expeditious progress, Chepo dashed off emails to Pio Ieraci and Eric Berkowitz, stating “I must say that I am flying high with the landscape progress! The palm trees are being trimmed, the Winn Dixie Sea grape trees have been pruned, the sprinklers heads are being taken care of, etc. I just spent over an hour with the tree trimmers at the Greek Isle restaurant and the pruning result is just fantastic. Everything looks clean and inviting. The palm trees that were being strangled by the sea grape trees are free and can see the day light again. Will keep you posted.”
Given Chepo’s propensity for detail, he contacted Hopper and enumerated some of the punch list’s shortcomings. Although delighted with the impressive results, Chepo asked that the following items abet Hopper’s work product:
1. Fill in hedge areas with Silver Buttonwood as needed.
2. Sly Fox Sabal Palm pruning.
 | | GALT MILE PORTAL MONUMENT |
3. New planting is needed on 34th Street next to the synagogue and next to Nick’s restaurant. Nothing has been planted there for a few years.
4. New planting in front of the Galt monuments on 34th & 35th Streets.
5. Finish planting area in front of public parking, next to Bank Atlantic.
6. Extend grass around all palm trees and trees close to the Galt Monument and the Greek Isle restaurant area to eliminate so much mulch around them.
 | | CHEPO AND PARKS DEPARTMENT CREW |
While summarizing his observations in an email to Hopper, Chepo demonstrated a penchant for diplomacy. To officially recognize the Parks personnel actualizing the plan he developed with Hopper, Chepo credited them by name, adding “The work being done by Mauricio Sisterna, Larry Mathews and Ernesto Campisi is outstanding. I even learned new things about tree pruning today.”
| PARK OPERATIONS
CHIEF BRIAN HOPPER |
The list composed by Hopper distinguished the City’s responsibilities from those of the neighborhood association. For instance, a sizable number of utility boxes suffering an advanced state of deterioration were located in front of several buildings. Thought to have been originally installed by BellSouth to service association residents, the neglected boxes appear to be abandoned. GMCA agreed to contact AT&T, further investigate their necessity and, if appropriate, arrange for their removal.
In addition to the official data collected to define the city’s scope of work, the group documented problems attributable to individual associations and local vendors. Since the alleged perpetrators are members of the Galt Mile Community Association or the Galt Merchants Association, the City agreed to allow the neighborhood association to address these violations in a discreet manner. To protect four member associations and one vendor from embarrassing and potentially expensive violation notices, they will be contacted and informally asked to correct their respective problems. Since some of these “indiscretions” violate municipal ordinances, if an association or the vendor refuses to comply, the City can pursue legal alternatives, including fines and/or other penalties.
When you hit the street, check out Chepo’s handiwork. He promised to document future progress with pictures and a comprehensive report. Thanks, Chepo, we are all in your debt – big time!
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Broward Budget Battle
County Commission Cuts Costs
  | | BROWARD COUNTY COMMISSIONER KEN KEECHL |
July 7, 2009 - In his April 2009 Newsletter, Commissioner Ken Keechl said, “For Fiscal Year 2008, I voted to lower property taxes and shrink the County’s budget by approximately $90 million dollars per year. My colleagues agreed by a 9-0 vote. For Fiscal Year 2009, I voted to lower property taxes and shrink the budget by approximately $87 million dollars per year. My colleagues agreed by a 7-2 vote. Since these are recurring, yearly savings, the result of these two votes was to shrink the Broward County budget by almost $177 million dollars per year.”
 Over the past two years, the cuts targeted questionable projects and irresponsible spending strategies, expunging programs that were underutilized, ineffective or otherwise unjustifiable. Programs that somehow survived obsolescence were terminated and projects imbued with an automatic annual refunding process were reviewed and squelched.
Simultaneously, the County Administration consolidated overlapping services, froze hiring, reduced capital projects, paid down debt and selectively raised fees to levels currently comparable with similar jurisdictions. While the cuts raised concerns among certain constituencies, they went predictably unnoticed by the greater public.
 Fast forwarding to the current budget, Keechl said, “On February 17, 2009, the County Commission had its first Fiscal Year 2010 budget workshop. The good news: the majority of my colleagues agreed to lower property taxes for a third consecutive year. The bad news: we couldn’t agree on how much to cut from the FY 2010 budget.” Characterizing this as a major hurdle for the Commission, Keechl proceeded to diagnose the disagreement.
 | | BROWARD BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS |
Some of Keechl’s colleagues were considering an adjustment to the millage rate that would produce the same revenue as last year - characterized as the “rolled-back” rate. Since the Property Appraiser’s 11% valuation decline reflects a significantly lower tax base, only raising the millage would yield the same intake. While Keechl acknowledged that the strategy would cut another $45 million from the Budget and increase the cumulative 3-year recurring tax savings to $222 million, he expressed a preference for matching last year’s millage rate, thereby creating a deficit of $135 million. The cumulative 3-year recurring tax savings would jump to $312 million.
Having already trimmed away the high-visibility pork, the Commission’s remaining budget reduction targets are fitted with political price tags. Pumping out politically correct sound bites in February and March, every commissioner openly advocated “making the tough decisions” and “living within our means.” As described by County Administrator Bertha Henry, “The low-hanging fruit has been plucked, and this will be a very tough year.” However, when confronted with raising the millage rate or cutting services, Commissioners began waffling - testing the merits of compromise and exhorting against “throwing out the baby with the bathwater.”
 | BROWARD COMMISSIONER
JOHN RODSTROM |
At the early Budget Workshops, Budget and Management staff made cost-cutting recommendations ranging from the obvious to the ridiculous. Certain items were placed on the table for reasons other than saving money. Commissioner John Rodstrom has long wanted to repeal a law requiring county contractors to pay more than the minimum wage to workers. Including it in a cost cutting recommendation buys him a shot at wiping it from the books. He’s also against building a new addiction recovery center in a location anathematic to constituents. Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion has questioned if the county is duplicating children services with other agencies. Many of these items are admittedly on the block for primarily political purposes. By cynically identifying them as money saving opportunities, commissioners can potentially revise the outcome of appropriations battles that were previously lost.
| BROWARD COMMISSIONER
KRISTIN JACOBS |
While Keechl has consistently advocated spending cuts to balance the budget, Wexler, Eggelletion, Rodstrom and Jacobs hinted empathy with a compromise. In late April, Jacobs insisted that a tax hike “isn’t off the table,” stating “We are bare bones now. We’re talking about the quality of life.” Citing improved cost projections for fuel, utilities, insurance and payroll, County Budget Director Kayla Olsen revised the shortfall from $129 million to $108.3 million before the June 4th Budget Workshop. Following that event, Kristin Jacobs asked “Where does the public set its values? Is it willing to lose all these services or is it willing to pay a little more this year?” In mid-May, Josephus Eggelletion insisted that he wouldn’t vote for any budget that lays off a county employee. Commissioners had to measure the anticipated backlash from deep service cuts versus raising taxes during a recession.
 To protect certain governmental agencies from direct exposure to unhealthy political influence, Constitutional officers are afforded virtual independence from Commission fiscal control. The Supervisor of Elections, the Public Defender, the Broward State Attorney, our Legislative Delegation, the Property Appraiser, the Sheriff’s Office, the Clerk of the Courts, etc. are constitutionally immunized to the County Commission’s budgetary machinations. While the Property Appraiser and the Supervisor of Elections split about $30 million, or about 4% of the overall budget, the Broward County Sheriff gets about 50 cents of every dollar collected by the County.
 | | BROWARD SHERIFF AL LAMBERTI REFUSES ADDITIONAL CUTS |
Asked to proportionately shoulder half the $108 million deficit, Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti offered to lay off 177 employees, close the old stockade jail and end an inmate drug rehabilitation program. While the gesture initially appeared to confirm Lamberti’s intention to cooperate, the sheriff’s concessions were seeded with poison pills that actually increased costs. The $722.1 million budget plan submitted by Lamberti exceeds last year’s budget. Of the 177 positions Lamberti offered to cut, nearly 77 of them are currently vacant, or filled by secretarial staff, administrative personnel or inexperienced trainees. Since redistributing roughly 430 inmates to Broward’s four other facilities will create a state of severe overcrowding, Lamberti expects the Commission to decline his offer to close the 1950s-era, low-security stockade. The resulting unsafe conditions could provoke Federal fines and/or a mandate to build additional facilities - functionally cancelling the $9.4 million savings. Circuit Court Judge Marcia Beach, who heads the Drug Court Program, called Lamberti’s offer to discontinue jailhouse drug treatment “penny wise and pound foolish.” Since drug treatment reduces recidivism, it reduces the Sheriff’s greatest expense – the size of the inmate population.
 | DRUG COURT JUDGE
MARCIA BEACH |
Following the June 4th Budget Workshop, Lamberti made clear that he would rather have the money than the Commission’s respect. To mollify a vociferous “pro-spending cuts” constituency, Lamberti played his “public safety” card, equating unsafe streets and fires burning out of control with any adulteration of his budget. Dispelling misconceptions about his willingness to play hardball, Lamberti openly engaged in a war of nerves with the all-Democrat Broward Commission, complete with a planned partisan endgame in Republican Tallahassee.
| BROWARD COMMISSIONER
ILENE LIEBERMAN |
The first stage of Lamberti’s strategy was to completely circumvent every commissioner by appealing directly to their constituents and democratic political organizations. Playing verbal ping pong in the media, when Commissioner Ilene Leiberman said, “I would hope he’d understand we’re all in this together and that in this time of financial crisis, we all have the same obligation to limit the burden on the taxpayer,” the sheriff retorted “Just when people want to feel more safe, the commission’s asking me to make them feel less safe.” After spreading his message at a June 7th event sponsored by the gay political club Dolphin Democrats, on June 8th, Lamberti attended a community forum sponsored by the Democratic Party’s Black Caucus of Broward County, where he admonished the County Commission to tap some of the county’s $232 million in reserves. “They say it’s the rainy day fund. Well guess what? It’s raining outside,” said Lamberti.
 Simultaneously, The Sun-Sentinel investigated Commission allegations that the Sheriff doled out 12% raises in a union contract and huge overtime allocations to BSO employees. The newspaper reported that Lamberti spent $28.7 million last year on overtime and 800 BSO employees - about 15 percent of the 5,664 total - received at least $10,000 in overtime in 2008. Only 332 of the 7,305 county employees answerable to the County Commission broke $10,000.
 | | BROWARD SHERIFF AL LAMBERTI FUMBLES WAR OF RECORDS |
Launching a retaliatory strike, Lamberti requested records demonstrating overtime statistics in Commission administered county agencies. Compared with Lamberti’s $28.7 million 2008 overtime expenditure, county government paid $11.9 million for overtime even though the county has almost 1,700 more employees. The average employee working for County Commission-controlled agencies earned $1,632 in overtime while the average Sheriff's Office employee earned $5,072. Realizing that his overtime stats reflected poorly on his administrative skills, the Sheriff blamed the disproportionate overtime on the Fire-Rescue unit he inherited from the Commission, who previously froze hiring and promotions for 10 years.
 | BROWARD COMMISSIONER
SUZANNE GUNZBURGER |
As the June 16th Budget Workshop approached, the Commissioners leaned toward supporting the $108 million spending reduction. On June 13th, Commissioner Suzanne Gunzburger said, “People are hurting because times are tough and we need to live within our means just like families must do.” 7 of 9 commissioners declared that they were not prepared to raise taxes. Four of the nine commissioners that are up for re-election next year are actively dodging a potential backlash over raising tax rates.
 | COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
BERTHA HENRY |
To force a decision from Commissioners whose stated public and private preferences were contradictory, County Administrator Bertha Henry formulated an experiment. At the June 16th Budget Workshop, she offered a compromise that entailed raising the millage rate from last year’s $4.89 per $1,000 in property value to $5.43 per $1,000 in value (just shy of the $5.53 rolled-back rate), cutting $28.1 million and laying off 81 county employees. Henry’s proposal would avoid shutting down libraries and parks as well as substantial reductions to bus routes and social services. The plan went over like a lead balloon.
 | BROWARD COMMISSIONER
JOSEPHUS EGGELLETION |
After warning that the Sheriff may successfully dodge the $55 million in departmental cuts by soliciting support in Republican Tallahassee, John Rodstrom demanded that Mayor Stacy Ritter adjourn the agenda and summon Lamberti to the Budget Workshop to discuss cuts. Rodstrom summed up, “We have a sheriff refusing to be here, refusing to negotiate with us and we are put in a really bad position.” Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion added “This is not a place for the faint-hearted. If you believe we’re doomed, then we are.” When Mayor Stacy Ritter sent for Lamberti, he declined, exclaiming, “What they (county commissioners) want me to do is to negotiate in front of the cameras and I’m not about to do that.”
| BROWARD MAYOR
STACY RITTER |
The 4-hour Workshop ended as it started, with a $55 million donut hole in the county budget. Visibly angry at having been shunned by Lamberti, Mayor Stacy Ritter said “The sheriff has drawn a line in the sand and he has dared us to cut his budget. He will appeal to the governor and I say go ahead and let him go. He will not like the amount of money we give him and he will appeal to the governor and the Cabinet.” Refuting the Sheriff's contention that cutting his budget would cripple public safety, Ritter argued “We have some ideas on how to cut that budget without cutting public safety.” She asked why his budget funds an office of recruitment since the sheriff is laying off people and not hiring. To fill the Sheriff's budget entry for a “general purpose message board” costing $24,000 for law enforcement management, Ritter offered to go to Office Depot to buy a cork board for $10. She reminds the Sheriff that spending $28.7 million on overtime is not a prerequisite for public safety.
 | | BROWARD SHERIFF AL LAMBERTI DENIES HEATED CONFLICT |
Following Ritter’s post-June 16th Budget Workshop observation that “The discourse with the sheriff has gotten pretty heated, and probably will get more heated as we go through the budget process,” Lamberti responded “I disagree that it’s gotten heated. I have never disrespected them. I have always been respectful toward them and yet they have called me names.”
 Broward residents are becoming disgusted with the political burlesque staged daily by their public officials. The Budget process has been supplanted with Schoolyard Theater, with both sides postulating feverishly to undermine the other’s credibility. While admittedly fearful of alienating voters, the players seem to share the opinion that budget decisions are too important to be left to the public.
 | | GOVERNOR AND THE FLORIDA CABINET |
Since the Sheriff can appeal any Commission decision to the Governor and the Florida Cabinet if it affects his budget, the issue will be decided in Tallahassee if the Sheriff so chooses. Given that three of the four Cabinet members are Republicans and three of the four are also candidates for statewide office, it will be a longshot for the nine-Democrat Broward Commission to salvage an apolitical non-partisan decision when pitted against a Republican Sheriff spinning public safety. We recently witnessed how Crist’s handlers advise the Governor regarding Public Safety issues when he vetoed the Sprinkler Retrofit Extension Bill (SB 714) - despite its near unanimous passage by the legislature.
 The constitutional protections available to the Sheriff were designed to insulate elected county officials from partisan politics. They weren’t conceived to disenfranchise the county’s residents. Whether provoked by perceived slurs or part of a cleverly devised and executed political plan, the Sheriff’s Tallahassee option will deprive Broward taxpayers of input into their own fiscal future. By exporting the decision to the State Capitol, Lamberti can ignore the County Commission, override the preference for spending cuts expressed by the people of Broward County and force a tax increase.
 Whatever the outcome, Sheriff Lamberti has convincingly shed that component of his public persona reminiscent of Andy of Mayberry. Broward’s top law enforcement official has proven politically equal to high-powered BSO predecessors and the Broward Board of County Commissioners. With the cat out of the bag, Lamberti can no longer rely on the element of surprise as the process heads into the summer months. Commissioners will never again display that “Deer caught in the headlights” expression adorning countless early June news videos.
 The next official venue for undertaking budget issues will be the 1st of two budget meetings, scheduled for 5:01 PM on September 10th in Room 422 at the Broward Governmental Center (115 S. Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale, Florida). The 2nd budget meeting will take place on September 22nd at the same time and location. The new budget’s effective date is October 1, 2009.
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New Budget is on the Money
George Gretsas Drafts Fiscal Road Map
| CITY MANAGER GEORGE
GRETSAS DRAFTS BUDGET |
July 21, 2009 - A few months ago, City Manager George Gretsas was considering life in other cities. As a rule, City Managers don’t experience long and prosperous careers in one location. They bounce from town to town, where they are usually presented with the mess created by the previous City Manager. If they enjoy some success in correcting the problem that was likely responsible for their predecessor’s demise – while publicly crediting the ruling junta for their achievement – they buy a few more years. If not, they pack and move to the next town. There are, however, exceptions that prove the rule. Not surprisingly, those cities and towns that suffer the least turnover are among the nation’s most stable, well run communities – a fate that most of us envision for the “Venice of America.”
| | COMMISSION SELECTED GRETSAS |
In 2004, George Demetrios Gretsas was going about his business as the Mayor of White Plains’ strong right arm when a colleague handed him an advertisement taken from the New York Times. The “ad” described a nightmare employment opportunity in Fort Lauderdale - the City Manager position. “Come to sunny South Florida – Fort Lauderdale verges on bankruptcy – low employee morale – contract disputes – budget crisis – scapegoats welcome...etc.” He immediately applied for the job for which he was ultimately chosen. This anecdote, although simplistic and steeped in prosaic license, illustrates the City Commission’s rationale for selecting Mr. Gretsas over candidates that were academically and experientially more qualified. Gretsas thrives on challenges. Nonetheless, it didn’t disappoint the Commission when he remarked that his primary loyalty would be to “the elected officials” as opposed to any particular constituency or city staff. Despite his lack of hard credentials as a City Manager, the City Commission’s gamble on what former Mayor Naugle characterized as “the fire in his belly” is still paying off.
The City’s journey from the brink of bankruptcy in 2003 to glowing fiscal health today is largely the handiwork of Gretsas and an evolving management team that he has continuously populated with talented and motivated personnel. A review of the City’s fiscal statistics offers a mini-portrait of Fort Lauderdale’s remarkable recovery during the past 6 years. The 2003 $21 million insurance deficit metamorphosed into a $10 million surplus. The 2003 reserves were funded with a meager $875,122 (it would have been $86,330 if hiring and expenditures weren't frozen). Last year, the City featured a $78 million reserve fund, the largest in City history. Fort Lauderdale’s water & sewage rates are the fourth lowest of the 31 Broward municipalities. Of the County’s 27 different municipal Fire Assessment Fees, Fort Lauderdale’s is number 15 - safely in the lower half of represented cities and towns. The municipal tax rate was cut during each of the past three years with record 10-year lows in 2005 and 2007. To draw a comparative perspective, 22 of the County’s 31 municipalities had higher millage rates than Broward’s most populated City. Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s ratings for the city’s general obligation bonds, which were unceremoniously interred in Boot Hill in 2003, turned from negative to positive in 2005. By 2008, Moody’s conferred a strong “Aa2” rating on the City’s bonds while Standard & Poor’s rated them a solid “AA”.
It is nearly impossible to engineer the kind of changes required to ameliorate the City’s dysfunctional 2003 fiscal pathology without disaffecting some ambitious political interests and alienating long-ensconced bureaucrats. For five years, Gretsas closely followed directions handed down by the City Commission. Since his arrival, curious residents viewing channel 38 and later channel 78 watched Commissioners describe visions for certain neighborhoods or voice concerns about departmental deficiencies and charge the City Manager with finding a viable resolution. After witnessing an annual parade of municipal improvements and successful outcomes, they came to appreciate his no-nonsense management style. Prior to the March 10th election, the vast majority of Commission criticism was limited to one source and lacked specificity. Commenting on Commissioner Charlotte Rodstrom’s repeated attempts to fault Gretsas for fiscal problems fostered by the economic downturn, the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board exclaimed that Commissioner Rodstrom’s criticism “unfairly puts much of the blame on his (Gretsas’) shoulders.”
 | | VICE MAYOR BRUCE G. ROBERTS |
In 2008, when voters replaced 4 of the 5 City Commissioners, Gretsas’ critics mounted a campaign to oust the work-a-holic City Manager. When former Sun Sentinel political writer Buddy Nevins asked Broward County Commissioner John Rodstrom if he was backing then candidate Bruce Roberts in hopes of supporting his wife’s efforts to replace Gretsas, Rodstrom said, “She wants to fire City Manager George Gretsas and so does Roberts.” However, once elected, her new peers appropriately stated that they would each judge for themselves whether Gretsas is a liability or an asset. Newly elected Mayor Jack Seiler and Vice Mayor Bruce Roberts both acknowledged Gretsas’ manifold municipal contributions and extraordinary fiscal skills, clarifying that their concerns were “with his style, not his substance.” Seiler and Roberts also characterized as “non-negotiable” the need for Gretsas to adapt his management style to better address the new commission’s priorities. At a GMCA Advisory Board meeting, Seiler said, “It’s up to George. If he can change his style to fit the new commission’s needs, we will all benefit from his contributions.” During separate interviews, rookie Commissioners Bobby B. DuBose and Romney Rogers expressed their intentions to base any judgment of Gretsas on his future performance.
| | NEW CITY COMMISSION |
When asked about the new Commissioners’ expectations, Gretsas exclaimed, “They’re right! It’s incumbent on any City Manager to adjust to a new administration. It’s my job to help them realize their vision for the City, not mine.” The City Manager explained that he did the same thing for the previous administration. “The improvements I helped deliver were either conceived or approved by the City Commission. Since the City Manager is a high profile position in Fort Lauderdale’s form of Government, I would often mistakenly receive the credit for successful policies or the blame for those that failed.” Gretsas explained that his success or failure is more accurately measured by how effectively the Commission’s policies are implemented. As to his budgetary marching orders, five priorities required by the new City Commission are enumerated in his “Budget Message”. They are (1) no property tax increase; (2) no increase in fire assessment fee; (3) maintenance of adequate reserve funds; (4) no reductions in vital City services; and (5) no layoffs. While this is a tough bill to fill, Gretsas has repeatedly demonstrated a special talent for budget challenges. The Budget staff’s handiwork regularly snags a Government Finance Officers Association (GOFA) “Distinguished Budget Presentation Award” for the City.
| | BROWARD SHERIFF AL lAMBERTI CONFRONTS BROWARD COMMISSION |
Since March, Fort Lauderdale residents have been following the Broward County budget process with an understandable degree of apprehension. Attempts to close the budget gap created when the Broward Commission decided to freeze last year’s millage rate precipitated a civil war within County government. The Broward Sheriff is locked into a political iron man contest with the nine county commissioners over spending cuts. Threats to close local libraries created a state of perpetual apoplectic rage in the affected communities. Bus routes will be closed, children’s and senior’s programs will be defunded, Tri-Rail funding would shrink, parks will be open fewer days each week, classes and cultural programs will be cancelled, hospital support programs will be terminated, animal shelters will be closed, every single county employee will be force furloughed and hundreds more will get the boot. However the conflict between the County Commission and the Sheriff plays out, certain jail facilities will be closed and the hit law enforcement will take prompted Sheriff Lamberti to red flag a public safety crisis. Anxious Fort Lauderdale residents, fearing a micro-replay of county events, have been nervously awaiting the new city budget. Would the City raise taxes to stabilize services? If not, would they be forced to close parks or community centers? How many employees would receive pink slips?
 On July 17, 2009, when the City Manager released a first draft of the new city budget, city residents who missed the 2003 budget crisis learned why their neighbors who lived through it hold the City Manager in high esteem. The answers to the above concerns are “NO, NO and NONE”. Property Taxes will not be increased. In summary, taxpayers will see an average savings of $162.78 with homestead exemption and $276.24 without homestead exemption on the City portion of their tax bills. A condominium with homestead exemption would pay an average $213.10 less in FY 2010 compared to a non-homesteaded condominium, which would pay $262.60 less on average. However, some homesteaded single-family homeowners will see a $2 or $3 tax increase due to a “recapture” provision in the “Save Our Homes” constitutional amendment.  The Parks and Community centers will remain open. While the Fire Assessment Fee will be frozen, the average monthly water and sewer bill will increase by $11.79 ($6.70 a month for sewer, and $5.09 a month for water). Remarkably, not one city employee will lose their job or suffer unpaid furlough days. In fact, general employees will receive $2,985,216 for their 5% COLA raises and $2,029,903 for their 7.5% merit raises – as negotiated in last year’s contract. Since the Police and Fire-Rescue contract will expire on October 1st, any inflationary impact derived of their upcoming contract negotiations could require some manner of accommodation.
 The difference between the FY2009 millage revenues of $123.4 million and the $112.1 million projected for the new budget is $11.3 million or a 9.2% drop in property tax revenues. The City will also lose $2 million in sales tax and half cent tax revenues, $2.1 million in permit fees, $600,000 in State shared revenue and $1.8 million in lost interest income. Fort Lauderdale will suffer a $17.5 million loss of key General Fund Revenues. Subtracting the $288.7 million in anticipated expenses from the $258.7 million in projected revenue yields a net shortfall of $30 million.
 To offset this gaping deficit, Gretsas’ budget team first assembled a cost cutting package amounting to $20 million. They saved $3.9 million by freezing 68 already vacant positions, $500,000 in reduced part-time funding and $2.6 million in reduced payroll funding (63 new vacancies that won’t be filled). By pressing one more year of service from 71 of the city fleet’s vehicles, a reduced Vehicle Purchase Plan (106 instead of 177) will serve up a savings of $3.3 million. They saved $300,000 by eliminating non-mandatory travel and conferences, $3.6 million by retiring debt, $2.9 million from Pension Reserve draw down (2nd Payment) and $3.6 million in other operating expenses. The remaining $10 million budget gap will be plugged from reserves. The budget also assumes receipt of certain other resources. Cameras installed at key intersections will record red light violations for which the vehicle owner will be ticketed by mail, prospectively adding $1.8 million to city coffers. The bottom line should also be padded with $900,000 in fleet auction revenues and $165,000 from confiscation related litigation.
 Fort Lauderdale’s FY2009 millage rate was 4.1193 ($4.1193 for every $1000 in property valuation), a 23-year record low. The millage applied to finance city operations (excluding debt service) in the FY2010 budget is also 4.1193. The millage for operating and debt purposes is 4.2536. The millage freeze featured in this budget is not a “technical” tax manipulation as permitted by statute, but the real deal. State law holds that if a jurisdiction collects the same amount of tax revenues as the previous year, they technically did not increase taxes. Of course, if the taxpayer base decreases or property valuations hit the skids, each taxpayer has to pay a higher tax rate – called the rolled-back rate – in order to match the previous year’s collected revenues. Using this magical language, a jurisdiction can send every property owner a higher tax bill while cheerfully announcing that they didn’t raise taxes! God bless Florida! Incidentally, the new “rolled-back” rate – which was NOT APPLIED – is 4.5995.
 While the budget draft is good news for City residents, it represents only 22% of the total tax bill. The other taxing authorities account for almost 80% of the whole nut. The School Board cuts a 38.4% slice and Broward County gets 25.3%. The North Broward Hospital District gobbles 8.8%, the South Florida Water Management District gets 3.2%, Children’s Services sees 1.9% and the Florida Inland Navigation District is in for .2%.
The City Manager has traditionally convened annual “Goals and Objectives” presentations to help deliver fiscal updates to the Commissioners, neighborhood associations, civic groups and business associations. The well organized PowerPoint audio-visual extravaganza reviews the City’s fiscal and operational evolution from historical and statistical perspectives. Nested in the fiscal history is a plate demonstrating how the City’s Reserve Fund evolved since just prior to his arrival. Gretsas’ accompanying narrative elucidates “The national standard for a healthy reserve is roughly 5% to 15% of the annual expense budget.” The City’s Reserve Fund grew from a handful of marbles in 2003 to $78 million in 2008.
 In a testament to irony, a small yet vocal cadre of critics repeatedly reproached the City Manager throughout 2008 for locking away this money, demanding instead that it be used to address certain politically inconvenient operational shortfalls. One critic indignantly proclaimed “The money belongs to the City, not the City Manager,” reasoning that Commissioners should be able to use those funds to help out their neighborhoods or pay salaries. Notwithstanding, Gretsas held his ground and repeated what became a mantra “It’s inappropriate to use reserve funds for operating expenses, they are emergency funds that are socked away for a rainy day.” Because the City Manager weathered the misguided rebukes and stuck to his guns, the City is now able to peel off the $10 million needed to plug the shortfall and still feature a Reserve Fund that exceeds national standards. When Mayor Jack Seiler was asked about using the Reserve Fund to spare residents a tax increase, he quipped “With this current economic crisis, it’s certainly raining.”
 While Gretsas’ budget denizens (Office of Management and Budget staffers) performed much of the heavy lifting in developing the budget, the groundwork had previously been laid by the City Commission. During their first meetings following the March 10th elections, the City Commission froze existing vacancies and current year fiscal expenditures. In early April, Vice Mayor Bruce Roberts explained to the GMCA Advisory Board that the new Commission wouldn’t exclude legacy expenses from scrutiny. He said “The current recessionary environment demands that every project and program be reviewed and prioritized. Except for items impacting public safety, everything must be placed on the table.” When Mayor Seiler addressed the board, he exclaimed “The key to managing the City’s resources in this tough economy is ‘Zero-based Budgeting’. By dispensing with any preconceived fiscal assumptions, no expense can be approved without first being justified.” He diplomatically added “With all due respect, we can only use budget decisions made by the previous administration as a general guide; we will not approve anything that we don’t consider necessary.” By first sifting through the voluminous list of prospective expenses and applying a needs-based standard, the Mayor and Commissioners eliminated capricious disbursements, obsolete programs and pork-laden projects before the City Manager began surgically dissecting the remaining liabilities.
 Although Broward County and Fort Lauderdale share the objective of freezing the millage rate for the third consecutive year, the County is so enmeshed in conflict that Governor Crist specifically warned the parties against bringing their bloodletting to the State Capitol! While Broward County Government Center has deteriorated into a budget battlefield, in Fort Lauderdale, some municipal wheels will turn at a marginally slower pace and 71 city employees will have to tough out one more year before upgrading to new city vehicles. Despite Mayor Seiler’s admonition that residents would “feel these cuts,” this budget draft will gratefully be a poor stimulus for local sales of aspirin, Mylanta or Valium.
| | NEW CITY COMMISSION FREEZES SPENDING |
This is the first draft of the municipal budget. It will be squashed, stretched, seasoned and tenderized over the summer. The City Commission will likely use their September Regular Meeting venue – the first and third Tuesday at the 1st floor Commission Chambers of City Hall (100 N. Andrews Avenue) – to invite public input, criticism and/or accolades. Unless the Public Meeting dates are altered, those of us nursing relevant contributions must wait until September 1st and September 15th at 6 PM. Bring a snack… and perhaps some Tylenol.
 ATTENTION: On August 2nd, the FY 2009/2010 Budget Public Hearing date was changed from September 1st to September 9th at 7:00 PM. Check back in case they CHANGE IT AGAIN!
 Although we clearly owe a debt of gratitude to Mayor Seiler, Vice Mayor Roberts and the other Commissioners, without Gretsas’ five-year rehabilitation of the city’s fiscal underpinnings, this proposed budget would be a fairy tale and City Hall would be consumed in the same controversy plaguing its Broward counterpart. Inasmuch – thanks, George!
Fort Lauderdale Budget Links
- Click Here to read the first draft of the new FY2010 Budget Proposal
- Click Here to review the FY2010 City Commission Budget Discussion Presentation
- Click Here to view the FY2009 / FY2010 Annual Operating Budget Presentation
- Click Here to read the Adopted FY2008 / FY2009 Annual Operating Budget
- Click Here to access the past decade of Fort Lauderdale Annual Operating Budgets
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Property Apprasier Extends Office Hours for Trim Season
BCPA Offices also to open for 3 Saturdays to help working families.
 | | Bob Wolfe |
August 13, 2009 - On August 6th, Bob Wolfe from the Broward County Property Appraiser’s office sent this information to Galt Mile residents considering requesting assistance from the Property Appraiser to understand components of their TRIM notices. The basis for upcoming assessments, the TRIM notice is often the key to successfully adjusting potential tax indebtedness. READ ON! – [Editor]
Fort Lauderdale - Broward County Property Appraiser Lori Parrish announced special office hours to assist taxpayers during the “Truth-in-Millage” (TRIM) season of August and September.
 | | SAMPLE TRIM NOTICE |
“Our office is mailing over 823,000 notices of proposed taxes and to better accommodate the schedules of working families, our offices will be open additional hours to assist taxpayers,” said Parrish. The Main Office located in Room 111 of the Broward County Governmental Center, 115 South Andrews Avenue, is always open weekdays (M - F) from 7:00 AM until 6:00 PM. - but we are extending hours and will stay open until 7:00 PM on weekdays during September 8 - 18, 2009.
The Main Office and the Plantation Office will be open for special weekend hours of 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM on three Saturdays: August 22, August 29, and September 12. All commercial and tangible personal property valuation questions must be directed to the Main Office. Residential and condominium appraisers are assigned to both offices during this period.
The West Broward Branch Office is located in Suite 111-A at 1 North University Drive in Plantation and is open weekdays from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM.
 The TRIM or proposed property tax notice is designed to inform taxpayers of their 2009 property assessments, exemptions and proposed tax rates for e
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Please Note - Many of the links included in these articles from the past are no longer active.
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