What does the Proposed Budget do?

The 6 “C”’s of leadership are; Character, Commitment, Competence, Confidence, Conviction and Courage. The essence of good Government is that they are prepared to make difficult decisions to achieve long-term prosperity. What we have is a government that is out of control regarding the recent expenditures of taxpayer dollars, especially in the legal department, not to mention the lack of response by the city commission and the county to residents regarding the Palm Avenue project.  

Believe me when I tell you that all of us have heard just how poorly these issues have been managed, and how poorly the Mayor and the city attorney conducted themselves in the last few meetings. Their bizarre behavior is not associated with proper leadership and ethical, open government actions.

As far as our upcoming budget, (public workshops of which have already taken place as you read this) a 'balanced budget' is simply not my idea of true prosperity. Costs of Police & Fire are up, along with costs associated with our utilities infrastructure and employee benefits.

We must make deep cuts regarding waste and unnecessary spending in the proposed upcoming budget in order to put even more tax dollars back into the pockets of our families and businesses. We must drastically reduce the extreme operating costs of our local government and substantially increase its level of customer service.

I feel that our city must change their ‘spend it or lose it’ attitude and must immediately tighten their belt like all of us have had to do in the recent past. The question that all of us should be asking is “What does this proposed budget specifically do?” We just don’t know. There is a severe lack of backup material, in addition to a lack of real discussion and fiscal responsibility in the process.

 

As I see it, there are two steps that need to be taken regarding our commission. It is imperative that public officials be independent, impartial and that public office not be used for personal or political gain. As public officials, we are in a position of Public Trust and as such, we have a duty to provide transparent and honest services while in office and to do our absolute best to assure absolute public confidence in the government. This simply has not been the case in our city. The public’s trust is imperative and is determined by civic values such as open government, integrity and professionalism.

No one person or party can claim to have all of the answers. In the end we all must work together, residents and this administration alike, and the people must get what they have long demanded government to do. At the end of the day what we're doing is simply our job...public service. In this process, we've got to ensure that our tax dollars are spent very wisely and only on the bare necessities.

As long as we remember that we serve The People, and we work together to do what is right, not just talk about it, putting aside our petty personal and political differences, all of these goals that all of us share and dream of can be achieved as a house divided cannot stand. In public service it is always important to remember that we serve our boss, “We The People”.

Cooper City faces many challenges, and just as I have always maintained, my primary focus remains on reducing the burden of government on you and on small businesses, fighting the fraud and waste at all levels of government that waste your taxpayer dollars, continuing to lead our city in a positive direction, and to grow the entrepreneurial spirit that will improve our local economy which in turn, will create more local jobs. If there is anything I can help with or if you have any issues that need resolved, please feel free to contact me, your ‘Go To’ commissioner at 954-445-6997.