Cooper City - Seniors vs. Crime

SENIORS VS. CRIME

By Noreen S. Gilman, Volunteer Seniors vs. Crime

Many residents are not aware that there is an organization devoted to assisting Floridians of ALL ages who believe they have been victimized by improper practices, scams or other economic crimes. It is called “Seniors vs. Crime” and it is a Special Project of the Florida Attorney General. Our organization is non-profit, and we never charge a fee for our services. Our mission is to assist the Florida Attorney General in preventing crimes against the elderly, to educate and to alert seniors about consumer frauds, con games, scams, identity theft and other criminal acts that target senior citizens. There are several offices around the state including North Miami Beach, Delray Beach, and the newest office in Cooper City.

Earlier this year many of our residents were defrauded from the theft of thousands of dollars of refunds due them from the IRS. Seniors vs. Crime assisted several of these victims to file the necessary forms to recover their money. Now that we are in the middle of hurricane season, we are prepared to assist residents in roofing problems, flooding, as well as other storm damage received during a Tropical Storm or Hurricane. We regularly receive alerts concerning possible storm damage and the repair of homes after a storm by fly-by-night contractors.

As part of our outreach to the community, we have also established a Speakers Bureau which has qualified individuals who will offer a presentation, without charge, on a variety of topics such as identity theft, the current scams and many more subjects of interest. To arrange for a speaker for your organization or group, or for more information if you feel you are a victim of an economic crime,  please call our office in Cooper City at 954.441.8339. 

Also, be aware...As an FYI - the city received two phone calls this afternoon from residents in Summertime Isles who advised that a person knocked on their door (one last night at 8:00 pm and the other today) and told the residents that they were from the City and needed to speak to them.  When the resident refused to open the door last night, the person became aggressive and frightened the resident.

In both cases, the residents were told to call BSO immediately to relay this information. PLEASE, take NOTHING for granted and call BSO and 911 if you see ANYTHING suspicious...

Keeping you informed,

John

Commissioner John Sims

Municipal Officials Code of Ethics Ordinance - Cooper City

The final adopted Broward County Municipal Officials Code of Ethics Ordinance and a press release from the County have been released. This is long overdue, as it was your city commissioners and Mayor who would not support my (no less than) three attempts at implementing a local ethics law in our great city of Cooper City in the past 4 years. The Mayor and Commissioner’s stonewalled, avoided discussion, fought using personal attacks toward me and resorted to numerous ‘politricks’ to quash several attempts by me to have a code of ethics at the municipal level that would ensure the integrity of the actions of everyone, going beyond the County Ethics Code requirements. If you know of any improprieties and/or want to lodge a valid ethics complaint, visit the Inspector General’s website at http://www.broward.org/InspectorGeneral/Pages/Default.aspx

Davie/Cooper City New Red-Light Camera

Be careful when travelling westbound on Griffin Road at University Drive. There is a new Red-Light Camera there, just waiting for you to break the law...

2011-12 Broward School Boundaries (Concurrency Service Areas) in Cooper City

February 24, 2011

This correspondence is transmitted to you within the 45 days required under section 8.9 (b) of the Interlocal Agreement for Public School Facility Planning.

Yesterday on February 23, 2011 the School Board of Broward County finalized all school boundary attendance zones (AKA Concurrency Service Areas) for the upcoming 2011-2012 school year reflecting no changes for next year.

The 2011-2012 school boundary attendance zones can be directly accessed from the Web links below:

Elementary
http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/schoolboundaries/Maps/SchoolMaps1112/1112Elementary.shtml

Middle
http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/schoolboundaries/Maps/SchoolMaps1112/1112Middle.shtml

High
http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/schoolboundaries/Maps/SchoolMaps1112/1112High.shtml

For further information related to Broward County School Concurrency please contact Chris Akagbosu, Director, Growth Management at (754) 321-2160.

For questions concerning Broward County Public School attendance zones, please contact myself or School Boundaries Department staff.

Jill Young, Director
School Boundaries Department
Broward County Public Schools
(754) 321-2480

Cooper City Emergency Notice

Subject: Emergency Notice

Effective immediately until further notice.

An alert has been issued by Pembroke Pines Police Department and the Broward County School Board of a threat to shoot into a school facility or government building. All schools in Pembroke Pines and Cooper City are on “lock down“ until further notice. Cooper City government buildings are also on 'lock down'. Please take precautions at your facility by locking your front doors and only let in people that are known to you. If there are any problems please call 911.

###

The statement below is from Superintendent of Schools Jim Notter:

Broward County Public Schools will remain on districtwide lockdown, code red until such time that police authorities communicate that it is no longer necessary. Pembroke Pines police are working in unison with SIU, BSO, as well as other police authorities at their command center in Pembroke Pines. There has been an email indicating a generalized threat that something big was going to happen at a government facility, post office, or school.

The police will dictate the status and continuation of the lockdown, and will communicate with the Distrtict when the lockdown is lifted. As of this moment, we are continuing lockdown and code red at all schools and district facilities in the county.

The District's rumor control hotline has been activated (754.321.0321) and information will be updated as it becomes available.

Charles Webster
Coordinator
Public Relations & Governmental Affairs
Broward County Public Schools
754.321.2300

Cooper City Commissioner Neal de Jesus Resigns!

Just to keep everyone updated on the political events of Cooper City…if you have not heard yet, let me advise you that Commissioner de Jesus has apparently tendered his resignation effective November 2nd. Of course, I have not seen an official letter of resignation, and many rumors are flying as to the reason(s) for it. I believe that the basis for his resignation is simple, a better opportunity and future for himself and his family, which I fully admire and support. While many are speculating that there may be some ulterior motive or unscrupulous cause(s), I for one will not accept that as a valid reason.

Commissioner de Jesus and I have not always agreed on all items regarding city business, and we have agreed on some very important issues on your behalf, but I have found him to be straight forward and true in his motives for moving Cooper City in a positive direction, even on some occasions in direct conflict with the Mayor. As such, I commend Commissioner de Jesus for his contribution to our city and its shareholders, and know that he will continue to help move our city in a positive direction. I also wish him the best and Godspeed in whatever endeavor he chooses to pursue.

Because of this, and the opening of the District 3 commission seat, I am asking each and every one of you to look about and see if, in your friends and acquaintances, there exists someone that you would believe can represent you and could continue to move the city in the direction that you want for the city? Asking the question “would they be an effective leader and a true representative of the values and desires you have for our great city?”

If you can answer that question, then I urge you to speak to them now and over this holiday weekend, as the period of qualifying will unfortunately only be limited to this coming Tuesday and Wednesday, ending September 8th at noon. The reasons for this short timeframe are not totally clear, but these are the circumstances we are faced with.

Contact them today and ask them if they would be willing to represent you as a city commissioner. Naturally, they must reside in the areas of District 3, which are essentially Rock Creek, Flamingo Gardens and Country Glen. (Further description can be found on the City Website for District 3.)

Please take this communication as a call to action, so that the unscrupulous forces that are sometimes present in circumstances such as these do not win out and extinguish the desires of the residents, local businesses and taxpayers as to their wants and desires.

The place we call home, and a place that many refer to as 'Someplace Special', is in need of a true leader such as Commissioner de Jesus, not a follower, and I urge you to take action today! Don’t wait another minute. It is your city, it is your hometown and to a larger degree it is your responsibility to act.

Enjoy your weekend and have a safe holiday!

Cowards in Cooper City...

"Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing; 'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands. But he that filches from me my good name robs me of that which enriches him not and makes me poor indeed." Shakespeare’s Othello, Act 3, Scene 3

I considered keeping my thoughts to myself, but reflecting on the commission meeting last Tuesday night and the free speech issue s that ensued therein, I thought about what the current Cooper City commission has become in destroying the rights and freedoms of Cooper City residents, and especially what has been taking place since the last election on free speech issues. You can also watch this clip of the citizen’s concerns portion of the meeting.

Recently, events in my own family life have reminded me of the essential truths that we all should live by…Peace, Love and the pursuit of Happiness being a few. Those essential truths are not diminished by the rants and tantrums of a petty tyrant. Mayor Debby Eisinger’s latest outburst and misuse of parliamentary privilege brings into a stark reality, the disconnect between her, the majority of the Cooper City Commission and the people from whom the power to govern is granted. My thoughts on the responsibility and accountability of government to the electors are well known to those who follow my blog posts. Cooper City is supposed to be a city close to the heart of democracy. Last Tuesday night, once again, the public servants of Cooper City forgot their place and turned on those whose trust they hold in the execution of their public office.

Now, the good people of Cooper City have again been completely embarrassed by their elected representatives. Our City is again in the news, much to the delight of the negative media, due to the posturing egos of our ‘illustrious leaders’. The ‘politricks’, outright misrepresentations and deceptions emanating from the Cooper City Commission dais on a regular basis, are indeed the stuff of Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’, only large and in real life for all to ‘read all about’. This article is just one example, and is mild compared to others (that I will not now embarrass the reader with a full accounting), and the comments are disturbing to anyone who takes pride in our municipality. As if this was not enough, now we are again embarrassed by commentary from citizens and a follow-up article from the same news medium.

Regarding the colloquy at last Tuesday evening’s commission meeting on Item 14, Mrs. Gladys Wilson’s comments were factually and linguistically correct. On May 11th, Mayor Eisinger did say that Governor Charlie Crist had signed the ‘Red-Light Camera Bill’, a full 2 days before the actual signing, an undeniable fact. Maybe the Mayor chose to mislead the commission into believing that the Bill was signed since she so desperately needed their majority support for her revenue generation scheme, but maybe the Mayor had simply confused the actions whereby the Florida Legislature had passed the Bill and it simply awaited the Governor’s signature, or possible veto. I can assume that it may have been an honest mistake, but this Mayor should know the difference between legislative passage and signatory execution, and I prefer to believe that she was so impatient to ‘get her hands on the money’ – your money – that a 48 hour discrepancy was a negligible detail, as a child pestering her parents to open a Christmas present early, knowing full well that that was against the rules. I contacted Governor Crist‘s office (850-488-5394) and verified that HB325 was actually signed on 05/13/2010 and the ceremonial signing was on 05/18/2010.

Regardless of what was said, Mrs. Wilson was not, and is not guilty of “slander” as Mayor Eisinger and a fellow commissioner have so vociferously asserted. In my humble opinion, that term is loosely used simply to intimidate constituents. The Mayor has a tendency to berate anyone who disagrees with her view or who has the chutzpah to point out her shortcomings with such words as a form of intimidation or, worse, to ‘put them in their place’. According to Black’s Law Dictionary, certain words deemed slanderous are in themselves actionable, because the natural consequence of what they impute to the party is damage, as if they import a charge that the party has been guilty of a criminal offence involving moral turpitude, or that the party is infected with a contagious distemper, or if they are prejudicial in a pecuniary sense to a person in office or to a person engaged as a livelihood in a profession or trade; but in all other cases the party who brings an action for words must show the damage he or she has suffered by the false speaking of the other party. Perhaps by reining in her emotions and paying more attention to the factual content of our collective discourse with concerned citizens, our Mayor would be better placed to serve our community and hear the criticisms of its residents in a more open, decorous and graceful frame of mind.

The common law protects every person from harm to their reputation by false and derogatory remarks about their person, known as defamation. Defamation must be a direct attack on an actual reputation, not an alleged reputation that a ‘victim’ believes they deserve. There are a number of special defenses available against defamation; the "defamatory" remark was basically accurate, and a special privilege exists for remarks made in certain venues such as in a court room or in a legislative or commission assembly or one of its committees. George Washington once said "To persevere in one's duty and be silent is the best answer to calumny." It is the duty of the Commission to hear criticism and take heart to that which is actionable.

If Ms. Wilson wants to ‘rant’, as some allude to, she is entitled to rant even if what she says is impertinent, inaccurate, or otherwise, as delineated by the Commission Rules. I did not view Ms. Wilson’s remarks as a rant or lacking in common courtesy. Every word that every person says is subject to interpretation. The Mayor should have just let Mrs. Wilson have her say, noted her comments, then allowed her to sit down and proceed on to further business. But no…the Mayor chose to take an overbearing, churlish, unprofessional, and even childish approach. Of course, Mrs. Wilson has the ability to convey her thoughts in a less truculent manner, but she is free to choose her words as she sees fit. It is not incumbent upon anyone to judge her choice of verbiage, truthfulness notwithstanding.

It is my understanding that Mrs. Wilson has been verbally, emotionally and psychologically abused by some of my fellow commission members for several years. I can attest to the fact that she is a highly educated community pillar and knows how to express herself in an appropriate manner. It appears that she has been pushed just a little too hard by our elected officials, as have many of us.

When an active concerned citizen such as Mrs. Wilson goes to the trouble of attending a commission meeting to speak the truth, is this how unprofessional, immature and inaccurate this embarrassment of a Mayor and the other commission members are meant to treat residents? Instead of being about what the resident (our employer) says or requires, the issue becomes about individual commissioner(s) and their political success or self-image.

The attack on Mrs. Wilson was, in my opinion, Elder Abuse. It was cowardly, childish, and unbecoming of a Mayor who simply cannot control her emotions, acting like an undisciplined 3-year-old child, not the responsible adult one would expect to find in her position of public trust and responsibility, with absolutely no regard to the leadership skills and common sense she was elected to bring to the commission. The Mayor’s demeanor was that she can’t handle the issue, so she’s going to angrily violate the rules and now we are all going home. Gee, that was helpful. At that point, the Mayor picked up her gavel and effectively said she doesn’t want to play anymore and she’s going home and taking her playmates with her…

In addition to her nefarious actions and Elder Abuse, there may have been possible Sunshine Law violations and Robert’s Rules violations regarding Recess, in my opinion. The Mayor’s angry outburst at Ms. Wilson was immature, stupid, and improper on a number of levels, including the fact that she tried to shut down the meeting in violation of the rules, and stormed out of the room. Her competence and fitness for office has been seriously in question in the past, like when she was caught drinking in a bar on the taxpayers' dime before commission meetings among other issues, and as far as I'm concerned it is in question again. Maybe a recall effort would help to bring our mayor’s head down from whatever cloud she inhabits! At least it wouldn’t be a frivolous attempt.

I did happen to speak to Ms. Wilson earlier today and offered my apologies on behalf of the commission. She told me that she spoke to the Boy Scouts after the meeting adjourned, who were in the audience and witnessed the Mayor’s childish outburst, and asked them; “If you lie to Mommy & Daddy, don’t you get into trouble?” they all looked at her and agreed and exclaimed; Yes!, We would have been in a lot more trouble than that!

I too have been the victim of a baseless smear campaign by Debby Eisinger and her cronies to publicly humiliate me and damage my reputation and it seems that it’s OK to do so on the dais. In fact, I was again attacked without any validity on May 11th at the commission meeting, in violation of the rules which the Mayor so strenuously ignored last Tuesday evening, when I simply conveyed the facts and data I obtained regarding red-light cameras. I submitted the data as backup material for the benefit of the commission, in opposition to this egregious money grab, rather than herald laws that were, at the time, unsigned by the Governor. My mistake; I promise to repeat it as many times as it takes to carry the message that red light cameras have little or nothing to do with traffic safety, and everything to do with padding the city budget.

I guess that the “Tasteless, Inappropriate, Malicious, Slanderous…” previous blog post about red-light cameras posted herein is mild compared to this one (See this link @ 2H:52M:20S Mayor-“I find the information posted on your blog quite tasteless, Inappropriate…” and @ 3H:17M:30S “ Slanderous, Malicious blog postings that are tasteless…”. You can hear my reply at 3H:21M:00S to :30S). You just can’t kick someone in the teeth and expect them to smile Mayor!

In this clip recorded on May11th, Commissioner De Jesus joins the fray and says “It makes good news, Enquirer type news because it’s not accurate…and I continue to try to send a message to the community, don’t believe the hype, don’t buy the twist, some people would be better DJ’s because they are spin masters than elected officials (Maybe he was talking about Mayor Eisinger?), Um, we’ve got to stop misleading the community…” As the Chair of the Broward County Ethics Commission, I wonder if the topic of misleading statements by a public official were addressed by the commission, and if not, why not? I wonder, as the Chair of the County Ethics Commission, how Commissioner De Jesus can condone this, much less his participation in unethical behavior at times, and condone the continued unethical behavior and ‘politricks’ by his beloved Mayor?

The Mayor misleading the public was exactly what happened, yet it was OK for her to mislead all of us, violate Roberts Rules and possibly our State’s Sunshine Laws; but again, I guess it’s allowed because she is the Mayor, and I guess Commissioner De Jesus condones her behavior regardless of it being disrespectful, rude and belligerent because he was the first to get up and walk out on all of us. Our city is our Mayor’s ivory tower (unless and until she builds a new city hall) and we are supposed to wait patiently for her next edict from above and worship every word. What hubris! There have even been residents who have not only been attacked by the Mayor and Commissioner De Jesus, but by the City Attorney as well, likely under their direction (You can see the Nov 3rd video-click on item 9 on the left window below the video).



When the Mayor recessed the meeting on her own, which is not allowed under Roberts Rules, the other Commissioners got up and walked off of the dais. At that point I said to Commissioner Curran “sit back down, listen to what she has to say and have some respect.” He walked out into the audience and sat down awaiting return of the Mayor. Many of you adore Commissioner Curran, and I do as well, but many of you have conveyed to me your frustration of him being lead around by a bully Mayor. All I can say is let’s keep praying for him.

Then we must address Commissioner Lisa Mallozzi who said during the recess; this is exactly how ‘it’s supposed to work’. Commissioner Mallozzi…that is exactly how it is supposed to work! It’s called ‘Political Dissent’ and is the most protected form of Free Speech that there is in America, and with that, you can’t hide behind the Boy Scouts. You were self-touted as the ‘champion’ of such free speech when Resolution 09-2-3 was enacted, but now you take a totally different view. I guess my question to ask is, ‘I wonder which way the wind was blowing last Tuesday evening.’

The commission majority then returned to the dais after a possible deliberation to vote to adjourn the meeting. After the vote and the meeting adjourned, I spoke to Commissioner De Jesus who said that we are ‘going backwards’. Maybe we are seemingly ‘going backwards’ at times Commissioner, but Mrs. Wilson still had the right to say what she wanted to say without interruption, since it was indeed factual, and not slanderous.

With all of that said, I agree that the Mayor's reaction toward 78 year old Mrs. Gladys Wilson was “absurd and unprofessional. Public comments are supposed to be an exercise in free speech, by the informed and uninformed, the polite and the rude, the calm and the hysterical, the thoughtful and the unbalanced. A mayor who believes she is immune from inaccurate insults is a fool, and one who believes she can stifle them is a tyrant. I agree, the boy scouts should be able to handle watching a control freak Mayor” as one person stated here. What else would you expect from a seasoned civic leader? Mrs. Gladys Wilson has given up a heck of alot for your rights and the betterment of our local government, and should be respected as all previous commissioners have been, without regard to her rights being violated or her opinion being discounted.

This entire issue may not be about the First Amendment…It may very well be about not listening to residents and affording them the right to their input. The Boy Scouts, invited to the commission meeting by the Mayor, saw exactly how it is supposed to work, up until the part where the Mayor started her unprofessional tirade. To cloak an obvious move to squelch speech the Mayor didn't like by invoking ‘the children’ was indeed pitiful.

Again, the government may not silence speakers on the basis of their viewpoint or the content of their speech regardless of what our city attorney says. It’s just that simple. Speakers can be silenced if they are disruptive, and disruption has been defined to include far more than noisiness and interference, yet disruption does not include disagreements on the subject matter. Sometimes government officials need to silence disruptive citizens or prohibit endless repetition. However, other times Cooper City Commissioner’s have squelched citizen speech because they want to suppress the message. I’ve been attacked many times by my colleagues, citizens and by the Mayor, and it happens to me at almost every commission meeting, but quite frankly, I wasn’t misleading or being deceitful toward anyone.

Unfortunately, many situations have arisen in which citizens have been silenced because of the content of their speech, or because they have disagreed previously with a city elected official. This raises the specter of censorship and is highly improper. The law is clear that government officials may not silence speech because it criticizes them. They may not open a “public comment” period up to other topics and then carefully pick and choose which topics they want to hear or what dissent they want to squelch, such as has happened recently by our Mayor and Commission.

Government may not even silence someone because they consider him or her a ‘gadfly’ or a ‘troublemaker’. Laws, rules or regulations that prohibit criticism or personal attacks against government officials have also been found to be illegal. A federal district court has recently struck down a commission rule that prohibited personal attacks during public comments at meetings, as reprehensible as that practice may be.

When a government decides to offer a “public comment” period at an open meeting, it provides that citizens may fully and freely exercise their First Amendment rights. When government creates a public comment forum, they have created a public forum in which greater free speech protections apply. Again, the government may not silence speakers on the basis of their viewpoint or the content of their speech, regardless. It’s just that simple.

It is equally clear that the commission’s concerns and interests in proscribing public commentary cannot outweigh the public fundamental right to engage in robust public discourse on any issue whatsoever. There previously has been a reckless disregard of the need for civil discourse in the city commission chambers that has consisted of untrue and defamatory statements about citizens, including myself, with knowledge that said statements were false, defamatory, slanderous or with a reckless disregard for whether it was false or not, on both sides of the dais. It was quite alright for the Mayor for that kind of nonsense to happen when it was directed at me, wasn’t it? Simply put, when you hear no political discourse, you know you are living in a dictatorship. That is exactly what is happening here in our ‘special’ city…All members of the commission should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves!

The Prime Minister of Israel put it this way, “The test of a Republic is freedom to criticize”. Voltaire said “I may disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” This city commission has recently made great strides in avoiding controversy at least to a certain point, and sometimes has done so to its severe detriment. This is no way to run a city.

The Commission, more particularly the Chair, must have the backbone, courage and moral character to take a stand and do what’s right for The People of Cooper City, not for their own political self interests, image and personal agendas.

It is an affront to any civilized society that any speech whatsoever should be denied. The First Amendment guarantees the right to freely speak, but does not guarantee the speaker a public, government hosted forum. On the other hand, criticism by the electorate is needed to insure that elected officials understand what the voters and taxpayers, our employers, approve or disapprove, particularly in these trying and difficult economic times. In essence, your Cooper City Government must live up to its sacred oath of office and uphold the values embodied in the First Amendment.

I will say this in closing…my First Amendment rights start right here on this blog. If the Mayor and the others on the commission think that it is “Tasteless, Inappropriate, Slanderous and Malicious”, so be it, then maybe they should go back and re-read, and subsequently re-commit to their Oath of Office, courage and fortitude notwithstanding.

Today's Headlines in Cooper City Newspapers

Today's headline -- "Broward exploring hike in property tax rates, Officials question ability to cope with another major budget deficit". Why doesn't it read "Budget shortfall forces Broward County Government to make long delayed cuts to useless, unneeded services"?

Also in today's headline was the comment that "The Federal Reserve expects unemployment will stay high over the next two years because recession-scarred Americans are likely to stay cautious, making for only a moderate-paced economic recovery."

Against that backdrop, the Fed said that it expects the economy will grow between 2.8 percent and 3.5 percent this year. They also believe that growth will pick up to between 3.4 percent and 4.5 percent next year and have similar growth in 2012. Analysts say the economy would need to grow by at least 5 percent a year to make a dent in the unemployment rate.

I’m a deficit watcher and I hope you’re one too. Somehow though, I have my reservations since only two people showed up at this year's Cooper City budget hearing to officially protest a 24% tax assessment increase by your city officials. But, if you are, it means you want to see our gargantuan government put on a strict diet. I believe that the government belt needs to be tightened by more than just a few notches, just like you and I have had to do.

We all want to force government at all levels to live within its means rather than borrow trillions of dollars, or to irresponsibly use your hard earned tax dollars that you are forced to give up. It is irresponsible for all levels of government to spend your money on ‘feel good’ items and unnecessary special interest programs that we don’t want or need, rather than using those dollars to supplement health, safety and welfare of the public (government’s sole purpose under the Constitution) or to take care of your own family’s needs.

What about all of the years of boom surplus revenues? Nothing is apparently left in reserve for times like these, which is astounding! My property is still assessed higher than the current market value and Broward County wants to raise taxes which seems like it may be based on their mismanagement and lack of foresight, not to mention the new courthouse debacle. It seems to me that lack of proper management and maintenance created the problem, and a new building is not the current economic solution.

Some blame the budget deficits on Amendment One or Save Our Homes which really have nothing to do with this current budget problem. The responsibility squarely rests with the public servants, who after years of unprecedented, sky high tax revenues, now cry poor mouth because they simply can't seem to manage your money.

The article continues to characterize the real "shortfalls" which are government health insurance and pension programs. These scams, or ponzi schemes if you will, are whereby the government worker is somehow 'entitled' to better benefits than you are. Yet, the real intent seems to work to mask the cost of big government and a growing union public employee base from your average voter while benefitting only the patrons of the political class.

I wonder if someone in the county manager's office has proposed an across the board ten percent cut of all salaries and spending, which would probably take Broward County out of the deficit? It seems like a reasonable and shared sacrifice in these tough times. In Cooper City alone, our Police and fire costs are sixty percent of our total budget. Another thirty to thirty five percent is employee salary, wages, benefits and operating costs. The rest is left to hopefully provide quality ‘services’ to the resident.

Of course when Cooper City recently cried 'poor mouth' and I proposed the same percentage of cuts across the board, no viable discussion or executive summary was put on the table other than the ‘we will have to lay off employees rather than submit to cutting discretionary expenditures’ mantra. When I also proposed a ‘zero-based budget’ and the method of going over the budget line by line, yet again I was completely ignored by the majority on the commission. How irresponsible! Only one department had a budget reduction, and that was parks and recreation to the tune of about five percent.

It’s no secret that government employees receive generous pensions and benefit packages that many private employees do not. Some in our city even receive benefits who are not entitled to them! Yet, our city’s General Employee’s Pension Fund is about six million dollars in the red. And, we are ‘on the hook’ for every dime, yet the pension funds have been contractually guaranteed an eight percent return in the future, regardless of our severely depressed economy.

The fact is, a major part of the Broward County Government expenses is Wages and Benefits, so you can't "save" money by closing Parks and Libraries, and reducing services. Additionally the County must go forward to dictate to the public employees and their unions, health care and retirement benefits that are affordable to the taxpayer. Public employee salaries, retirement and health care are far, far in excess of what is standard in the private sector and this is a financial time bomb that must be addressed now.

The "budget cuts" don't have to be "devastating" at all. They simply need to be properly managed, logical and approached with the objective of benefiting the Taxpayer, not the government employee. As always, the politicians in charge (i.e., majority vote) always threaten to cut services that The People actually use. Never is there a mention of the droves of useless bureaucrats and wasted tax dollars behind the scenes and the plan to cut those wasted tax dollars.

Difficult times always seem to lead to difficult measures. Public officials need to start leading by example and stop playing with our tax dollars that are meant to strengthen the valid municipal purpose doctrine. Unfortunately, the Municipal Home Rule Powers Act (Ch. 166, F. S.) grants broad home rule powers and authority to counties and municipalities. The law states that they shall have the governmental, corporate, and proprietary powers to enable them to conduct municipal government, perform municipal functions, and render municipal services, and may exercise any power for municipal purposes, except when expressly prohibited by law. This includes spending your tax dollars however the majority on the commission dais sees fit.

Historically, politicians and bureaucrats only know how to operate with ever increasing tax revenues. My government experience regarding a yearly budget called for spending every dime, and even included ‘making up things to spend money on’ in order to get the same amount of funding, or more, for the following year’s budget. Trust me when I say that this practice is alive and well in every county and city government in America.

How many elected officials are actually business oriented? I can tell you that there aren’t enough. I have also said many times, and have promised, that I will never vote to raise taxes or lay off employees as long as I am a public servant as it simply isn’t necessary. Until government at all levels realizes that the 'spend it or lose it' attitude will no longer suffice, ‘We the People’ will continue to suffer at the hands of politicians, not public servants, and from the mismanagement of government services and our hard earned tax dollars.

When speaking of government, I am referring to all facets of government. Local and government in our small town all the way to the White House. Quite frankly, I am surprised at the lack of attendance at our twice a month commission meetings since most elected officials make decisions and vote for their best political interests.

At first it was upsetting to me, and then it dawned on me, why would my fellow commission members vote for something to benefit the people that elected them if they could vote to further their political career. You see, not all are cut from the same cloth, and with that being said we need you to help watch over spending habits. I question myself as to how many of the residents really know what that guy or gal on the commission with the big smile and great personality is doing to better the city and the residents' services when no one is looking.

I ask each and every person reading this article to attend future commission meetings. Residents must show their elected officials at all levels that their irresponsible spending behavior will no longer be tolerated! There are several ways that you can find out the dates and times of the commission meetings.

The city holds two commission meetings per month and can be seen on Comcast cable channel 78 during the meetings or can be viewed via the internet, at the Cooper City website under the archived agendas and meetings link. I can not stress enough how important it is to have the physical attendance at the meeting to help keep your taxes down and the City budget in check.

I will do what I can to keep the costs and waste of your local governemnt reduced, but those of you reading this may want to consider that your support at commission meetings is absolutely vital. The elected officials that are pushing through “feel good items”, supporting, or pertaining to their own political gain need know that you care!

I welcome all comments and suggestions for a better run city and government. I am only one person and vote on the commission dais, so I will need your support! Contact me at 954-445-6997 or E-mail me at johnsims@bellsouth.net. Thank you.

Cooper City webcasting, garage conversion grace period & more...

It was great to see all of you at this years 'Light Up Cooper City' event earlier this evening. The Cooper City Kiwanis Club was there collecting canned goods for the needy, along with the Scouts and the American Legion fundraisers performing their volunteer efforts to better our society.

Cooper City residents are now able to watch local City Commission meetings broadcast live on the Internet. Users can also instantly replay all or part of those meetings at their convenience through a link on their City’s web site (www.coopercityfl.org and click on the link titled “Archived Mtg Videos”).

The City will officially launch the new webcasting technology at the December 8, 2009 City Commission meeting enhancing the accessibility of Commission Meetings to citizens who may not have access to Comcast Channel 78.

Currently the City televises the regular City Commission meetings on Comcast Channel 78. These meetings can be accessed live at their regularly scheduled time.

“The City is very excited about this new technology as a way to outreach to a greater number of residents and members of the community,” said Bruce Loucks, City Manager. “This is one of the Website enhancements that the City has been working on and looking forward to for the past year.”

At our last meeting, the Cooper City Commission has approved a Building Department Garage Enclosure Initiative. This allows for any Cooper City resident, who has received a Notice of Violation for an 'illegal' or un-permitted garage enclosure (constructed without the proper building permits before November 10th, 2009), to obtain the required building permits.

This will ensure that the garage enclosure meets the Life Safety Requirements of the 2007 Florida Building Code for the proposed use of the space. This initiative also applies to any resident who suspects that they may have an illegal garage enclosure constructed without permits, possibly installed without their knowledge. The deadline to obtain compliance, within this initiative period is March 1st, 2010. Please contact the Building Department for further information at 954-434-4300, ext. 230.

As many of you are well aware, the Broward County School Board is considering potential school boundary changes that would require some students of Pioneer Middle School to be transferred to other middle schools outside the City limits.

At the October 29th meeting of the Broward County "Staff Working Group" a recommendation was made to amend the Interlocal Agreement for Public School Facility Planning (ILA) to continue use of a 110% permanent capacity level of service standard, but changing to 8 concurrency service areas. A significant reduction in the number currently used. In essence, this recommendation will allow the School Board to hold off the need for action on the proposed Pioneer Middle School boundary change and the subsequent "domino" effect this change will cause throughout the County.

Procedurally, the "Staff Working Group", which is comprised of staff representation from the School Board, the County and the Municipalities will forward their proposal to the County Oversight Committee for further review.

The recommendation of the County Oversight Committee is subsequently forwarded to the Broward County School Board, County and Municipalities for approval. In order for the ILA to be amended, the County, the School Board and at least 75% of the Municipalities, which includes at least 50% of the population within Broward County, must vote for approval.

While the amendment process will likely not occur prior to the School Board vote on the "Superintendent's Boundary Recommendations", the recommendations brought forth by the ILA committees should be helpful in providing alternatives to the proposed boundary changes. As of this writing, the process has been delayed possibly up to a year.

Please contact your Broward County School Board Member to learn more. All Cooper City residents are encouraged to attend upcoming Broward County School Board meetings to make sure that your opinion is heard on this controversial issue. You can learn more at http://www.BrowardSchools.com. All I request is that we keep politics out of this issue. It is about our kids, not an issue to be utilized for personal or political gain.

SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO COOPER CITY! -- In keeping with an old holiday tradition, BSO Fire Rescue Station #28 firefighters will help rollout Cooper City’s Annual Holiday Santa Program by escorting Saint Nick onboard a Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue truck as he delivers gifts to hundreds of local kids.

This year's Santa visits are: Saturday, December 19th & Sunday, December 20th
Registration: Monday, November 30th through Friday, December 11th 10:00 am - 7:00 pm, Monday through Friday ONLY
Cost: $30.00 per stop
Checks payable to: City of Cooper City

We hope to provide a wonderful visit with Santa for everyone so anxiously awaiting.
Santa will begin his route at approximately 6:00 PM each night and will end when all stops have been visited. Please be patient with Santa's arrival, as 911 emergencies take priority.

Please Note: Firefighters are unable to predict Santa's arrival, so please DO NOT call the fire station. Please label gifts clearly.

Please have gifts secured outside your home, clearly labeled so that Santa's elves may easily find them or have someone meet us out front with the gifts when you hear the sirens.

On behalf of the Broward Sheriff's Office, Department of Fire Rescue & Emergency Services, we thank you and wish everyone a wonderful holiday season. You can call Santa's Hotline Number at (954) 436-7310 for more information!

I hope all of you had a Happy Thanksgiving, and I certainly want to wish all of you a Happy and Joyous Christmas and Holiday Season. I hope that 'Santa' is good to everyone as we all have alot to be thankful for. Also, let's not forget our men in blue, our military members and our veterans for their faithful and dedicated service, and let's especially not forget those who paid the ultimate sacrifice to keep our counrty free and safe. Think of them and their families this holiday season...and have a great weekend!

Cooper City Budget Comments and More...

The People are suffering in Cooper City. As of this month, there are over 360 properties either already foreclosed, or being foreclosed on. A Cooper City real estate agent recently reported in e-Foreclosure magazine that all the homes she has sold so far were either foreclosed or distressed. There are also numerous businesses being foreclosed on. The unemployment rate has also skyrocketed in our city, contrary to the belief of a few in city hall.

We’ve now adopted an increased budget and spending rather than a decreased budget and reduced spending. My proposal(s) to cut unnecessary and discretionary spending were either ignored by the staff and other members of the commission, or responded to with threats of proposed layoffs which may have created a crisis situation. I've never known of a city commission that didn't want to know the implications of their actions, until the new commission was seated. I simply attempted to lay a foundation and the groundwork for our city which needs to continue to move aggressively into the future at an affordable cost to our residents and business owners without raising taxes.

The adoption of a 23.2% increase in the fire assessment tax only illustrates the current governing body's inability to do the real work that is needed to bring Cooper City’s budget into reality mode. Absolutely no-one on the commission or staff did their due diligence and homework on the issue.

Also, the mayor is obviously not willing to lead the city into prosperity, nor is she willing to lead the way in cutting expenditures and has her head firmly planted in the sand. Being in a state of denial regarding the city and our residents is absurd, reckless and misguided. Cutting expenses more aggressively will leave a cushion of future reserves as well. This is not rocket science and as the old saying goes, “If you feed the beast, it grows. If you starve it, it will shrink.”

We are looking at several more years of extremely challenged times because of the unpredictable nature of the ad valorem tax base. Thank goodness there is one commissioner who places the city's residents and business owners as a priority.

Regarding the recent federal arrests of Broward politicians, public servants and civic leaders are supposed to hold the bar high on themselves before holding the bar high on others. A leader’s example is supposed to inspire and serve others. In my eyes, these public officials that were recently charged with public corruption sold us out for a pittance. Issues like this tarnish everybody who is in public service, even the employees. Sort of like the same way people generally think about lawyers. Thank goodness the FBI prosecuted them under the honest services fraud laws and then said "We are not done".

So what exactly is honest-services fraud? The typical case of honest services fraud is that the public is not getting what it deserves: honest, faithful, disinterested service from a public official. Honest Services Fraud is very broadly defined and encompasses any scheme to defraud citizens of an intangible right to honest government from public officials. A scheme to defraud is defined as "a departure from community standards of fair play and candid dealings” and/or “a willful act with intent to deceive or cheat."

I will also include that it is considered a deprivation of honest services as anything that encompasses the misuse of public office. Intent is all that is required to be found guilty. Concrete parameters outlining the duty of honest services should not be necessary in order for a person to be charged with violating this duty. The prosecution simply must show that the scheme would have deprived an individual of interests protected under the law. It all boils down to trust and betrayal.

A public official has a duty to disclose information regarding any personal interest that may affect his or her judgment and therefore undisclosed, biased decision making, regardless of tangible loss to the public, which constitutes a deprivation of honest services. How many times have we seen this violated in our own city business dealings? Not only are we required to disclose who we have spoke with on business matters, we are required to explain the substance of our communication, which is rarely, if ever done.

Public officials do not have to receive personal gain from their scheme. In general, courts have held that "The prosecution need not prove that the scheme was successful or that the intended victim suffered a loss, or that the defendant secured a gain. The gist of the offense is a scheme to defraud.” Need a summary? Here it is: "The loss of good faith services alone establishes the breach."

The city's sole role, according to the charter, is to protect the health, welfare and safety of The People and safety should be number one in my eyes. Our city government does not exist to promote business, economic development, or the welfare of selected public officials and their friends. In the terms of our own charter, the city government is supposed to be honorable.
Simple honestly is the core value of any system of government and ethics. The profound truth is that you cannot legislate truthfulness, fidelity, ethics or dedication. A public official is either honest or dishonest. If he or she is not completely honest in his or her dealings and decisions on behalf of The People, he or she will not be any more honest the day after a code of ethics is enacted than the day before.

Our residents and business owners want honorable, efficient and responsive local government. As such, I urge each and every person in our city to report to the proper authorities, any and all information regarding any personal interest that may affect the judgment of anyone on the commission, a staff member, an advisory board member, or vendor/contractor including any and all appearances of impropriety, no matter how small or insignificant, and whether in the past, present or future. Our government can only be ‘cleaned up’ and made completely honest with the help of The People that we are privileged to serve.

Cooper City wins at Community Involvement Awards

On April 30th, Cooper City was honored to be selected for numerous awards at the Broward School Board's Community Involvement Awards ceremony held at the Broward County Convention Center.

The Florida Department of Education recognized the following Cooper City schools for their Five Star award which shows committment to students' success through involvement in the community:
Embassy Creek Elementary (14th year), Pioneer Middle (8th year), and Cooper City High (1st year).

A "Five Star" school must demonstrate 100% achievement in the areas of community and business partnerships, family involvement, volunteers, student community service, and school advisory councils.

Left to right: Commissioner James C. Curran, Wendy Doll (Principal - Cooper City High), Cynthia Novotny (Principal - Griffin Elem.) Commissioner Neal de Jesus', Angie Moodliyar (Assistant Principal - Griffin Elem.), Robert Becker (Principal - Embassy Creek Elem.), Mayor Debbie Eisinger, Commissioner John Sims, Gail Silig ( Assistant Principal - Cooper City Elem.), Commissioner Lisa Mallozzi, Linda Arnold ( Principal - Pioneer Middle), Nadine Weltman Laham.

The outstanding adult volunteer awards went to Stephanie Ferrara of Cooper City Elementary, Elizabeth Gainsburg of Embassy Creek Elementary, Sandra Gerstle of Cooper City High, and Susan Safra of Cooper City High.

The Outstanding Volunteer Program Organizer awards went to Mayor Eisinger, Elissa Elias (Embassy Creek Elementary), Ginette Hartmen (Cooper City Elementary) and Vito Scotello (Cooper City High).

The Outstanding Senior Volunteer awards went to James Hood (Cooper City Elementary), and Steven Schultze (Embassy Creek Elementary).

Alina Freeman (Embassy Creek lementary) and Diana Morales (Cooper City Elementary) recieved a Five-year VAST pin and award for 200 hours of service and the Ten-year award went to Mary Edinger of Cooper City High.

Cooper City was recognized with a 'School Based Partnership of the Year' award, and Cooper City High was nominated at the High School level.

You can learn more about this program HERE, and HERE .

CONGRATULATIONS to our 2007/2008 recipients!

Easter Festivities in Cooper City

The Easter weekend in East Cooper City got off to a great start with the Country Address Easter Egg Hunt this afternoon. Many residents and their children arrived and were greeted by the Easter Bunny, along with lot's of games and festivities planned by the Country Address homeowners.

There were lot's of prizes, two egg hunts and many fun filled games.
The kids as well as the adults had a great time!

Again, Sherri was the MC and as always, managed to run a great event! I think she had more fun than the kids! Every one who attended fully enjoyed the comeraderie along with the beautiful weather, and the neighbors were very happy for the kids and the fact that it was such a beautiful day!

Somewhere in all of those eggs is the "Grand Prize"...

We hope to see all of you agin next year at the Easter Egg hunt in Country Address! Have a great Easter everyone!

COOPER CITY ATTENDS BROWARD DAYS IN TALLAHASSEE

Issues that matter...

I recently attended ‘Broward Days’ at the state capitol in Tallahassee, along with the entire Commission and the City Manager, which provides a venue for the citizenry and focuses on issues that matter and directly affect all of us at the state legislature. Broward Days hosts monthly meetings and promotes receptions and workshops dealing with appropriations, Sunshine Law, and advocacy in Broward County, and also publishes a magazine distributed throughout Tallahassee and Broward. Broward Days also coordinates the annual two-day state legislative issues forum at the state capitol at Tallahassee, Florida. With less and less tax money coming to the state for supporting health, safety and welfare issues, it's not going to be easy getting anything out of the Florida Legislature this year, especially if it involves any substantial sums of tax dollars.

Broward Days has become a voice to be reckoned with in Tallahassee with teams posturing on positions regarding various legislative issues. Broward Days is the local county organization that melds residents from the business world with those in government and politics, and attempts to present united, bipartisan leadership. Broward Days is one of the largest, most diverse and focused organizations of its kind, with over 600 actively involved participants and sponsors serving as a voice for your valued concerns in Broward County.

Here is the meeting itinerary that I had planned out, and what I accomplished while attending Broward Days this year in Tallahassee...

I arrived on Monday afternoon and after checking in, I greeted Governor Charlie Crist while he was at the Florida Hospital Association press conference, then I took a quick tour of the old Capitol building before they closed.

On Tuesday (3/10), at 10:45 a.m. I met with Joslyn Wilson, Director of Opinions, at Attorney General Bill McCollum’s office regarding public records and open government issues. We had a very lengthy and productive meeting, and clear direction was given to me regarding some of my constituents concerns regarding public records and requests.

At 11:15 a.m. I met with Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink regarding the Cooper City Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFR) and Monterra Community Development District Annual Reports. We also had a very productive meeting and clear direction was given to me regarding some of my constituents concerns regarding the CAFR and Monterra financials and issues to address.
At 12:30 p.m. I attended the Buffet Luncheon & Welcome at the Governors Club and was able to privately speak at length with Hon. Senator Jeremy Ring, District 32, State Senate, and Chair of the Broward Legislative Delegation. We then listened to Hon. Bill McCollum, Attorney General of the State of Florida, give a synopsis of the plan of action regarding his fight against child pornography and internet child predators. Attorney General McCollum also highlighted his plan of action on other priorities including developing a statewide gang reduction strategy; consumer protection; combating Medicaid fraud; improving the state’s security against terrorist threats, and fighting crimes against the elderly, especially identity theft.

At 2:00 p.m. I was able to privately speak to Attorney General McCollum at length regarding public records, public records requests, open government initiatives and issues along with his direction on my constituents concerns regarding these issues. I certainly let him know that he has my full and unwavering support on these issues, and his initiatives, particularly the street gang reduction issue, consumer protection and child safety initiatives that he espouses.

At 2:30 p.m. I attended the Panel at the Governors Club on Florida's Economic Recovery. They provided their current assessment & future proposals. In attendance were Karen Woodall, Florida's Center on Fiscal & Economic Policy, Deborah Wilkinson, Broward County Office of Economic Development and Florida Economic Development Council, Mark Wilson, CEO, Florida Chamber of Commerce and Harvey Bennett of Florida Tax Watch. Afterwards, I asked lots of questions and received lots of great answers from these individuals regarding your concerns.

At 3:45 p.m. I attended the Panel at the Governors Club on Florida’s Open Government. I was able to subsequently speak at great length to JoAnn Carrin, Director, Office of Open Government, Barbara Petersen, President, First Amendment Foundation and Pat Gleason, Director of Cabinet Affairs & Special Counsel on Open Government. Our discussions were about promoting open government and transparent dealings with all government entities. Also in attendance were Jo Moskowitz (Broward Days Immediate Past Chair) and Stella Tokar (Chair).

At 6:00 p.m. I attended the evening reception featuring Alex Sink, Chief Financial Officer, State of Florida. She discussed the state of the economy and how Florida and it's local and county governments can be fiscally responsible and successful through these tough economic times.

On Wednesday (3/11) I attended the 7:30 a.m. Leadership Breakfast, featuring Governor Charlie Crist at the top floor of the Capitol building. Other speakers and attendees were Lieutenant Governor Jeff Kottcamp, Hon. Max Osceola, Seminole Tribe Councilman, Stella Tokar, Jo Moskowitz, Tim Rodriguez, Calvin Giordano, Hon. Franklin Sands, Florida House of Representatives, Dist 98, and Hon. Jeremy Ring, Florida Senate, Dist 32, Sen. Howard Forman, the Executive Director of the Broward League of Cities, Rhonda Calhoun along with the entire Cooper City Commission and Cooper City Manager.

The featured speaker was Hon. Charlie Crist, Governor of the State of Florida. The Governor spoke at length and was very enlightening on issues facing the State of Florida and it's counties regarding the budget. The Governor also spoke on the three 'E's', the Environment, Education and Ethics. I let him know that he has my full support on these initatives.

At 9:30 a.m. I briefly attended the Education Panel on 22nd floor of the Capitol. In attendance were Maggie Zalamea, Director of Government Relations for Broward County Public Schools, Shane Strum, Deputy Chief of Staff for Governor Charlie Crist, Alan Stonecipher, Florida's Center for Fiscal & Economic Policy, Joy Frank, General Counsel and Legislative Director for the Florida Association of School District Superintendents and Ruth Melton, Director of Legislative Affairs for the Florida School Boards Association.

At 9:45 I attended the Senate Governmental Affairs Policy Commitee hearing, which concentrated on balancing the budget, fostering economic growth and job creation, lowering the tax burden on families and businesses, restraining or reducing the growth of government, promoting public safety and educational accountability and protecting Florida's natural beauty and resources. The committee also spent a great deal of time discussing government employee's pension plans, retirement benefits and budgeting. The committee also discussed the Open Government Sunset Review Act which requires the Legislature to review every 5 years, each public rcord and meeting exemption for re-enactment. The commettee also talked about the issue of secret ballots when exercising the right to vote.

At 11:00 I attended the presentation SB 2018 by Senator Mike Fasano & Secretary George H. Sheldon of the Department of Children and Family Services, which creates the community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment and Crime Reduction Act. The Act provides goals for the community mental health and substance abuse forensic treatment system and requires the DCFS, in consultation with the AHCA, to develop and implement such forensic treatment system.

At 11:30 a.m. I went to a sponsored Luncheon at Clyde’s & Costello’s, and discussed Secretary Sheldon's initiatives along with other local issues such as Transportation, Technology and Pre K-12 matters with local elected officials from various parts of Broward County and Florida.

From 3:30 to 6:00 p.m. the Senate Select Committee on Economic Recovery had a hearing mostly on repealing tax exemptions. Rather than attend that hearing since other members of the Cooper City Commission attended, I elected to meet with privately with House of Representatives members Joe Gibbons, Ari Porth, Gwendolyn Clarke-Reed, Hazelle Rogers, Evan Jenne and Martin Kiar, Jim Waldman, Ellen Bogdanoff and Sen. Nan Rich between 1:30 and 5 PM. The issues I discussed with them were the Transportation, Technology and Pre K-12 Education initiatives that the Broward Days committees were instrumental in developing.

As a member of the Metropolitan Planning Organization Board, I supported the Transportation team's mission which is to seek legislative solutions to provide the residents and businesses of Broward County, and more importantly the South Florida Tri-County region, with a viable funding source for smart regional transportation facilities. These smart regional transportation facilities will improve the quality of life for the flourishing urbanized South Florida community in a current time of increased Traffic Congestion on the existing transportation facilities.

The mission of the Technology team is to educate Members of the Florida State Legislature on issues of importance to the high-tech industry, and demonstrate the critical role that the high tech industry plays in the health and diversification of Florida's economy. The mission of the Pre-K-12 Education Team is to raise public awareness about the lack of adequate funding for Pre-K-12 public education in the State of Florida and to provide holistic solutions to key policymakers, such as the Governor and State Legislature.

also spent a good deal of time between meetings in the afternoon voicing my opposition to SB 0074 (regarding the use of the Term ‘Illegal Alien’, which prohibits the term's use by a state agency or official in an official document of the state) and meeting with Sen. Lawson, Rep. Coley, Rep. Zapata and Sen. Storms staff voicing my opposition to SB 1488, SB 2292, HB 817 and HB 1477.

All in all, I had a great and safe trip, and I accomplished and learned alot on behalf of the People of the great City of Cooper City, and Broward County. If you have any questions of would like to convey issues to me or your Senate or House Representatives during the current Legislative Session, please let me know.