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.

Cooper City Red Light Cameras, and more...

On this coming Tuesday's commission agenda, your Mayor has placed on the agenda the issue of Red Light Camera's in Cooper City. The issue was previously raised by Lisa Mallozzi, and at that time it was apparently a 'done deal' with a full presentation by ATS, a well known vendor who is not thought of to be an 'above the board' vendor. The issue is a discussion regarding "Implementation of Red Light Camera Program (please read the attached information in the previous link) in compliance with recently adopted State Law". Unfortunately, the state law has not been made law and implemented, and may even be possibly veto'd by the Governor. I hope so!

This issue is one of the worst issues that could be thrust upon our residents and business owners. Many other cities have placed a halt on the red light camera issue based upon many factors, includint the fact that the red light cameras are a severe detriment to the safety of the public at large, the very core of what government is implemented to protect! There are many issues regarding this item, that we must address before even thinking about implementing this program, but five minutes won't allow us to address it in a clear, concise and detailed manner. I believe that the 'deal' has already been done.

Other cities decided to hold off because of questions about how their plans correspond with legislation approved last week by state lawmakers. Cities will now receive less money than planned because the Legislature requires that fines be divided with the state. The Legislature also bars cities from sharing revenue with camera vendors in exchange for using their equipment.

This is the very reason why the Legislature and our Mayor want to implement this program...money. Your hard earned money. Let's be very clear...this issue has absoultely nothing to do with safety, and if anyone tries to tell you differently, they are being dishonest with you. There are no studies that show red light cameras as being effective in increasing safety. In fact, every study available shows exactly the opposite. They are a detriment to the safety of motorists.

In fact, a Miami-Dade County judge ruled that one city couldn't use red-light cameras to issue fines without a police officer present. Again, let me emphasise, all studies on the issue show that red light camera's don't work. In fact, they increase the amount of crashes and injuries as driver's attempt to abruptly stop at camera spying intersections. As one report stated "Running a red light can cause severe traffic crashes especially when one vehicle runs into the side of another. Red light cameras photograph violators who are sent traffic tickets by mail. Intuitively, cameras appear to be a good idea. However, comprehensive studies conclude cameras actually increase crashes and injuries, providing a safety argument not to install them."

"This paper explains red light running trends in Florida; effective solutions to reduce red light running; findings from major camera evaluations; examples of flawed evaluations; the automobile insurance financial interest in cameras; and the increased likelihood of even higher crash and injury rates if cameras are used in Florida due to the high percent of elderly drivers and passengers. The theory behind red light cameras as potentially effective is that they rely on deterring red light running primarily through punishment of a specific driving behavior and secondarily by changing drivers’ experience. Because the rigorous and robust studies conclude that cameras are associated with increased crashes and costs, any economic analysis of cameras should include these newly generated costs to the public.

Indirect costs to the public are usually not considered in the calculation of total revenues and profits generated from red light cameras. Florida should be cautious in using traffic safety information from the automobile insurance industry. Insurance financial goals are to increase their revenues and profits, which do not necessarily include reducing traffic crashes, injuries or fatalities. Also, public policy should avoid conflicts of interest that enhance revenues for government and private interests at the risk of public safety." (Florida Public Health Review, 2008; 5: 1-7)

The National Motorists Association (NMA) represents driver interests and opposes cameras. In addition to concluding cameras do not improve safety, the NMA is concerned that local governments will not use effective methods to reduce red light running when earning money from cameras. For example, lengthening yellow light timings at traffic signals is effective in reducing red light running (NMA, 2008). theNewspaper.com, 2006). The majority of the red light running safety issue can be resolved through inexpensive engineering remedies that address the timing of yellow lights. In Cooper City, the average yelow light is three seconds or less.

Increases in crashes can raise the risk rating of drivers in a community, which can lead to disproportionately higher automobile insurance premiums, and, subsequently, rising profits for insurers. The Greensboro evaluation was conducted by the Urban Transit Institute at the North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University using 57 months of data (Burkey & Obeng, 2004). The study concluded that in many ways “the evidence points toward the installation of RLCs [red light cameras] as a detriment to safety.” Cameras were associated with:
• A significant increase (40%) in accident rates;
• A significant increase (40-50%) in possible injury crashes;
• No decrease in severe crashes.

The Virginia Transportation Research Council (Garber, Miller, Abel, Eslambolchi & Korukonda, 2007) analyzed camera programs in five jurisdictions using seven years of data. The study concluded their findings “cannot be used to justify the widespread installation of cameras because they are not universally effective.” They used a comprehensive statistical method of analysis (i.e., Empirical Bayes) that found cameras were associated with:
• A significant increase (29%) in total crashes;
• A significant increase (20%) in angle crashes;
• A significant increase (42%) in rear-end crashes, which did not decrease over time;
• A significant increase in injury crashes (18%), with the impact on injury severity
reported as “too close to call”;
• Increases in crash costs.

A study conducted for the Ministry of Transportation in Ontario by Synectics
Transportation Consultants (2003) evaluated two interventions (cameras and stepped-up police enforcement) in six jurisdictions following a public information campaign. Camera intersections had a:
• 16% increase in crashes, compared to an 8% increase at comparison intersections;
• 2% increase in injury or fatal crashes, compared to 10% and 12% decreases
respectively at stepped-up police enforcement and comparison intersections.

The public health policy implications using red light cameras are shocking. Automobile insurance companies can profit if camera tickets are moving violations that add points to a driver’s license. Moving violation tickets allow insurers to charge higher premiums while incurring no additional cost.

Cameras could create an even larger increase in crashes and injuries in Florida since the state has the highest percent of elderly population in the U.S. The elderly have slower average reaction times and may be less likely to stop abruptly as other drivers do so at camera intersections.

The theory behind red light cameras as potentially effective is that they rely on deterring red light running primarily through punishment of a specific driving behavior and secondarily by changing drivers’ experience. There are already laws on the books addressing this issue. By definition, the punishable behavior and resulting potentially harmful action will already have taken place when a ticket is issued. In other words, the crash, injury, and mortality risks do not change immediately, if at all.

In contrast, the engineering solutions such as lengthening yellow lights show immediate reductions in red light running and potential crashes. Thus, even if red light cameras could be effective in the long run, which is debatable, they are associated with an added cost, consisting of fines, crashes and injuries that could have been avoided by using traffic engineering solutions, which are effective in both the short term and the long run.

Further, red light cameras are an inefficient means to raise revenue for local and state governments and can disadvantage the state’s economy. This occurs from the significant amount of funds, paid by local drivers, that ultimately accrues to private special interests from camera use.

Cooper City should be very cautious in using traffic safety information from the automobile insurance industry. Insurance financial goals are to increase their revenues and profits, which do not necessarily include reducing traffic crashes, injuries or fatalities. Also, public policy should avoid conflicts of interest that are a detriment to the safety of the public.

The problem herein is, we all know it's not about your safety, it's about revenues, and the city making more money at all costs...more than likely to pay for a new city hall, and pay for a high priced lawyer to prosectute red light runners, although we have plenty of money in the bank to already pay for that new city hall that Commissioner's Neal De Jesus, Jamie Curran and mayor Debby Eisinger so desperately want!

Please come to the commission meeting on Tueday and voice your objection to this detriment of your safety. One more thought...George Orwell was right.

Cooper City's 51st Founder's Day Events

COOPER CITY'S 51st FOUNDER’S DAY PARADE and FESTIVITIES

SATURDAY, APRIL 24th

MORNING EVENTS held at the Community Center, 9000 SW 50th Place, 954-434-4300 x 233 7:30-10:30 a.m.

Boy Scout Pancake Breakfast - Tickets on sale at the door. 8:00 a.m.

One Mile 90th Ave Family Fun Run, Walk, Stroll 9:30 AM, Cost: $7.00 per person includes commemorative T-shirt. Register at the Community Center or Pool & Tennis Center.

Kiddie Show - Held on the Community Center front lawn. 10:00 a.m.

PARADE - Travels one mile along SW 90th Avenue from Cooper City Community Center to Cooper City High School beginning at 10:00 a.m.. Parade entry forms available at the Community Center, the Pool & Tennis Center or online at www.CooperCityFL.org.

AFTERNOON EVENTS held at Brian Piccolo County Park, 9501 Sheridan Street, 954.437.2600

1:00-5:00 p.m. Car Show, Call 954.434.1047 for entry information.
1:30 p.m. Optimist All-Star Baseball Games
3:00-6:00 p.m. Community Stage Presentations
3:00-8:00 p.m. Arts and Crafts Show - A variety of vendors to visit!
3:00-9:00 p.m. Food Booths - Support our local youth organizations.
3:30 p.m. Fun Bingo Held under the big tent. All ages!
4:00-8:00 p.m. Children’s Games and Activities - local clubs and organizations providing fun activities for children!
4:00-7:00 p.m. BSO Expo - Fingerprinting, helicopter landing, K-9 Presentation, Fire trucks and more!
4:30-5:30 p.m. Youth Free Throw Contest, K-12th grades.
6:30-9:00 p.m. CONCERT IN THE PARK - Bring your lawn chairs and picnic blanket!
9:00 p.m. FIREWORKS - Brian Piccolo County Park weekend gate entrance fee is $1.50 per person. Children 5 and under are free.

SUNDAY, APRIL 25th

ANNUAL FOUNDER’S DAY GOLF CLASSIC - hosted by the Cooper City Optimist Club. For registration & additional information call 305.970.4818

JOIN IN ON THE CELEBRATION! Individuals, groups, and organizations wishing to participate in Cooper City’s 51st

Founder’s Parade and Festivities are asked to please stop by the Community Center or call the Recreation Department at 954-434-4300 x 233 for details.

I'll see you there!

Crime Prevention Tips for Cooper City Residents...

Last evening I was invited to the Home Owner's Association meeting at Estada in Monterra. Commander (Acting Chief) Stoner and his Deputies were in attendance, and gave some very enlightening facts regarding crime and burglaries in our neighborhoods. Acting Chief Stoner gave some outstanding insights and tips on how to avoid crime and burglaries in our community.

Here is an extension of what NOT to do, and are real tips from convicted burglars...

1. Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator..

2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard yesterday. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier and less noticed.

3. I love those flowers. They tell me you have taste, and taste means there are nice things inside of your home. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have.

4. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer on your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it.

5. If it snows while you're out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house. Virgin snow drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway.

6. If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don't let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it's set or not. That makes it too easy.

7. A good security company alarms the window over the sink, and the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom, and your jewelry. It's not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there too.

8. It's raining, you're fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door; understandable. But understand this...I don't take a day off because of bad weather.

9. I always knock first. If you answer, I'll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. Don't take me up on it.

10. Do you really think I won't look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet. Oh and I don't forget to look under the matress. I've found some nice handguns under them.

11. Helpful hint: I almost never go into kid's rooms.

12. You're right: I won't have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your valuables. But if it's not bolted down, I'll take it with me.

13. A loud TV or radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system. If you're reluctant to leave your TV on while you're out of town, you can buy a $35 device that works on a timer and simulates the flickering glow of a real television.

14. Sometimes, I carry a clipboard. Sometimes, I dress like a lawn guy and carry a rake. Sometimes I look like a friend or a neighbor. I do my best to never, ever look like a crook.

15. The two things I hate most: loud dogs and nosey neighbors.

16. I'll break a window to get in, even if it makes a little noise. If your neighbor hears one loud sound, he or she might stop what they're doing and wait to hear it again. If they don't hear it again, they'll ignore it and just go back to what they was doing. It's human nature.

17. I'm not complaining, but why would you pay all that money for a fancy alarm system and leave, or enter your house without setting it, even for a few minutes?

18. I love looking in your windows. I'm looking for signs that you're home, and for flat screen TVs, paintings or gaming systems I'd like to steal. I'll drive or walk through your neighborhood at night, before you close the blinds, just to pick my targets.

19. Avoid announcing your vacation on your Facebook page. It's easier than you think to look up your address. I already have more than what I need from your FaceBook or MySpace profile.

20. To you, leaving that window or garage door open just a crack during the day, or at night, is a way to let in a little fresh air. To me, it's an open invitation.

21. If you don't answer when I knock, I'll try the door. More than occasionally, I hit the jackpot and walk right in.

Protection for you and your home:

If you don't have a gun, here's a more humane way to wreck someone's evil plans for you...Wasp Spray. When asked by a concerned person about using pepper spray, the local police department recommended that you get a can of wasp spray instead.

The wasp spray can shoot up to twenty feet away and is more accurate, while with the pepper spray, an attacker has to get too close and could overpower you. The wasp spray temporarily blinds an attacker until they get to the hospital for an antidote.

More on Wasp and Hornet Spray - On the heels of a break in and beating in Toledo , self defense experts have a tip that could save your life. A teacher in the art of self-defense has told his students for decades to keep a can of wasp and hornet spray near their door or bed. "This is better than anything I can teach them." It is inexpensive, easy to find, and more effective than mace or pepper spray. The cans typically shoot 20 to 30 feet; so if someone tries to break into your home, "spray the culprit in the eyes". "That's going to give you a chance to call the police; maybe get out." Maybe even save your life. Please share this with all the people in your life.

Sources: Convicted burglars in North Carolina, Oregon, California, Kentucky, security consultant Chris McGoey and Richard T. Wright, a criminology professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, who interviewed 105 burglars for his book 'Burglars on the Job'.

Cooper City Sign Relief Proposal, Peacocks and more...

What great weather we have been having! I hope everyone enjoyed the city’s many garage sales that were held this past month. Lots of you attended the Country Address Garage Sale in addition to the Cooper City Annual Garage Sale, and it was great! Good stuff and wares were bought, sold and traded. This annual event proves the old adage that one man or woman’s junk is another man’s or woman’s treasure.

I have received numerous calls about signs. There has been controversy regarding signs, including ‘snipe’ signs in Cooper City. There have been issues regarding ‘open’ signs in business establishments, there are issues regarding ‘garage sale’ signs in our neighborhoods, there are issues of ‘open house’ signs utilized by Realtors used to help direct potential buyers to a home for sale, there are issues regarding temporary signs for houses of worship, and there are issues regarding selective enforcement, or non-enforcement.

A recent attempt at a sign code change was not recommended by the Planning and Zoning Board and supported by the Business Advisory Board. I agree with that recommendation, for now. The majority of the commission’s agenda regarding the sign issue is clear: We want to enhance revenues and opportunities for our local business owners and residents without detracting from the established aesthetics requirements of our beautiful city. The problem has been how to create a balance without being inconsistent, biased or selective in the enforcement process.

In an effort to support local businesses feeling the strain of our declining economy, I propose a temporary ‘Sign Relief Program’. The program may be a way to give businesses more opportunities to reach their customers. Banners, vehicle signs, inflatables and menu boards may be permitted as part of this program, giving businesses additional, relatively inexpensive promotional tools for advertising.

The process is simple. Businesses must apply for a temporary sign permit. Applicants will be required to enter into an agreement with the city acknowledging certain restrictions and limitations of the program. As part of the process, businesses would submit a description of their sign including location, dimensions and wording. With an application turnaround time of 48 hours or less, and no fee to apply for the program, business owners’ only concern will be the cost of the new signage.

Please contact me with your comments, concerns or ideas on how we can address this sign issue and do it in an unbiased, fair manner while being consistent in our efforts to promote our city’s shareholders. I have been contacted by many residents and business owners on this issue so far, but only one Realtor who chose to not offer an alternative solution. Your input and participation in commission meetings is vital!

I am glad to have sponsored the issue of addressing the Peacocks in our neighborhoods. The issue has been finally addressed, hopefully to the satisfaction of my constituents, yet there are some additional steps to be taken. They will be resolved forthwith, and I promise that there will not be any further issues and property damage from these unfortunately destructive and territorial, yet beautiful birds.

Remember, Cooper City residents are now able to watch our City Commission meetings live on the Internet at http://www.coopercityfl.org. Residents can instantly replay all or part of the meetings at their convenience through a link on the City’s web site.

It is my great pleasure to serve as your local city government representative. I am open to your comments and concerns and would like to continue to help resolve your problems regarding city issues. As such, you can contact me as usual at 954.445.6997 or E-mail me at Commissioner_Sims@Cooper-CityFL.org.

Cooper City News, Events and More!

Wow, what great weather we are having! I hope everyone enjoyed the city’s many garage sales that were held this weekend. A lot of you attended the Country Address garage sale in addition to the Cooper City Annual Garage Sale at Brian piccolo Park, and it was great! Lot’s of good stuff and wares were bought, sold and traded. Yesterday proved the old adage that one man’s (woman’s) junk is another man’s (or woman’s) treasure…

I have received numerous calls about signs this weekend. Many residents had their garage sale signs removed, while the city was allowed to have numerous signs. There has been much controversy about signs, including ‘snipe’ signs, in Cooper City as of late. There has also been a good bit of misinformation conveyed to some residents by specific person(s) wanting to make this issue an controversy where there is none.

There have been previous issues regarding ‘open’ signs in business establishments, there are issues regarding ‘garage sale’ signs in our neighborhoods, there are issues of ‘open house’ signs utilized by Realtors used to help direct potential buyers to a home for sale, there are issues regarding temporary signs for houses of worship, and there are issues regarding selective enforcement, or non-enforcement by code enforcement personnel. 

A recent attempt at a code change was not recommended by the Planning and Zoning Board and supported by the Business Advisory Board, and I agree with that recommendation, for now. The Commission’s agenda regarding the sign issue is clear; we want to do what it takes to enhance revenues and opportunities for our local business owners and residents without detracting from the established aesthetics requirements of our beautiful city. The problem has been how to create a balance without being biased, or selective in the enforcement process. Please contact me with your comments, concerns or ideas on how we can address this sign issue and do it in an unbiased, fair manner while being consistent in our efforts to promote our city’s shareholders.

In my last post, I discussed Amendment 4 and my concerns on it. My issue now is this…why in the world is it on our agenda for Tuesday, and why are we getting only part, or shall I say ‘one side’ of the information as back-up material to review? I am completely dismayed at the waste of public funds, staff time and the politics on this issue.

Those who say that the Amendment 4 issue will cost jobs, create lawsuits, and ruin our economy are simply not getting, nor conveying all of the facts. The ‘anti 4 crowd’ are only giving ‘one side’ of the story. Some have even used St. Pete Beach as an example, which is a flawed comparison. It’s worth taking a hard look at St. Pete Beach to understand the irrelevancy of the comparison.

The St. Pete Beach litigation was all about developers who wanted to build 15-story hotels on the waterfront and triple the population density of their small island community.  Many residents strongly opposed this.  The litigation that resulted dealt with the developers’ attempt to submit their own comprehensive land-use plan to the voters without complying with the Florida Growth Management Act.  It had nothing to do with Hometown Democracy.

Also, no jobs will be lost! I’ve read all of the studies and information. Amendment 4 is not about zoning issues, it is about quality of life issues. When an amendment to our state Constitution can help protect our quality of life, it deserves the support of all Floridians. Amendment 4 is such an amendment. It finally gives Floridians a say in how their community will develop and for that reason should be approved by the voters on November 2. 

On one hand, our Mayor, according to her support of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, “Strives to meet or beat the Kyoto Protocol targets in [their] own communities, through actions ranging from anti-sprawl land-use policies to urban forest restoration projects to public information campaigns”. On the other hand, does the Mayor support Amendment 4 which is a position contrary to her aforesaid statement? Public information campaigns are now ‘illegal’ regarding the use of public funds to initiate such positional campaigns by a government agency.

I have to agree with the great philosopher Plato who said “it makes no sense that we should proceed to put people in charge who have shaky, or, worse yet, no philosophical positions. A "democratic" system turns up people to govern on the basis of what the majority of the voters say, a majority which when compared to the number of citizens (non-voting included) is likely in fact to be a minority of people who have no plans, no answers other than that necessary to get themselves elected.”

He continued to say “Now, I think most would agree, a stable and efficient society is important; but one should wonder about a society that will use legislation to make the individual give in to the desires of those who have set themselves as knowing what is best for everyone.”

In relation to Plato’s way of thinking, Peter Landry states “Those who subscribe to the theory that we should be ruled by those who really know best, subscribe, whether they know it or not, to Plato's theory of man. It is this theory upon which, in these times, our society rests. The theory, - so attractive in its statement - is that the community is to permit government to use persuasion and force with a view to unite all citizens and make them share together the benefits which each individually can confer on the community for the benefit of the community; it is a false theory.”

“When, in its legislation, in its use of force, government suppresses the welfare of the individual; when its efforts are aimed to foster the attitude that one should not proceed to please oneself, government commits a fatal error in the achievement of its laudable object, the betterment of the whole. The essential problem in proceeding in this manner is that individuals cannot contribute to the whole, indeed will be a drain on the whole, unless they are allowed to be free and productive, that is to say allowed to suit themselves.”

I will give the city the benefit of the doubt on issue, and expect that they give both sides of the Amendment 4 issue before taking a political stance while using your very hard earned tax dollars to do so.

Remember, Cooper City residents are now able to watch our City Commission meetings live on the Internet here. Residents can instantly replay all or part of the meetings at their convenience through a link
on the City’s web site.

It is a pleasure to serve as your local representative. I am open to your comments and concerns and would like to continue to help resolve your problems regarding city issues and requirements. As such, you can contact me as usual at 954.445.6997 or E-mail me at Commissioner_Sims@CooperCityFL.org.

Technorati Tags: John Sims,Debby Eisinger,Lisa Mallozzi,James Curran,Neal De Jesus,Bruce Loucks,Cooper City,Weiss Serota,David Wolpin

More of your rights being taken away in Cooper City, News, March Calendar and more...

Cooper City, FL – An attempt to take away more of your rights regarding oversight of ‘government’ is on the next agenda for Cooper City’s Commission. The Florida Hometown Democracy Land Use Initiative will appear as Amendment 4 on the November 2010 ballot.

Amendment 4 will give you, the voter and taxpayer, a vote on growth in your community. The amendment proposes to require voter approval of all changes to local comprehensive land-use plans, in order to give voters more say over development. In order to pass, the amendment needs at least 60% of the total votes.

Each of us has a huge stake in growth decisions that can drastically alter our community's future for generations to come. Each community has adopted its own comprehensive plan: a long-term master plan for sensible growth. Currently, elected city and county commissioners have exclusive power to make changes to the plan. Rising taxes, falling home values, gridlocked roads, dwindling water supplies and Florida's disappearing beauty are just some of the devastating consequences of Florida politicians' habit of rubberstamping speculative plan changes.

Hometown Democracy Amendment 4 changes all that by giving voters veto power over these changes to your community's master plan for growth. Florida’s Legislators have pretty much given free rein to developers to continue building; quality of life and the state's natural resources be damned, even though there are currently 300,000 homes in Florida sitting empty. Public participation in local government comprehensive land use planning benefits the conservation and protection of Florida’s natural resources and scenic beauty, and the long-term quality of life of Floridians. Direct democracy on land use changes may be the only way to promote smart growth in Florida.

As Richard Creedon said “Amendment 4 should be approved. Why? It's so simple. We ordinary citizens have found that, with some notable exceptions, our elected representatives seem to forget about us as soon as they are elected. They start remembering us again when it is time for re-election. It's like clockwork. Just follow the money. Amendment 4 will give power back to the people, finally. Changing and toughening growth-management laws will not work because soon the politicians will gut them all over again. The [Sentinel] is naive to think that government can be trusted. History shows us that, sadly, has not usually been the case. Why should we expect the future to be different? Rather, trust the wisdom of the people and vote for Amendment 4 in November. Florida can be protected only if Amendment 4 is in the Florida Constitution. It's so simple. Whom do you trust more, The People or the politicians?”

For those who understand the hidden costs to society and the resulting increased tax liability, this is the last straw. In South Florida, paving over paradise, by dredge and fill destruction of wetlands, has reduced our watersheds. This takes the cost of water supply for Florida residents in the opposite direction taken by New York. As the Everglades watershed has diminished, the effect is a local call for deeper drilling in the Floridian aquifer, reverse osmosis and desalination, all at a very high cost.

What development has done is to transform a natural asset to societal liability, with significant reduction of quality of life for all Floridians. As a recent editorial noted, "Unchecked growth is an unsustainable extreme."

In the quest for an approach to nearly unconstrained development at great cost to the taxpayers, Amendment 4 is the unintended consequence. Consider another externality: The developers' cost of political contributions to keep this tax debt spiral going.

With Amendment 4, your power to vote on growth will enable you to preserve your neighborhood and your community and protect the value of your home. Can you say taxation without representation? With "4" there is a chance of representation and restoring the process of democracy. Without "4," past history and current events tell us nothing will change for the better.

Don’t let your Cooper City bureaucrats vote to help take away your oversight of your land! Be at the next Cooper City Commission meeting and strenuously oppose this power grab by big (and small) government! Read more at http://www.floridahometowndemocracy.com

BSO wants you to be aware of Census related scams. The Census is very important and all citizens should participate. Our agency's goal is to ensure your safety.

Recently law enforcement agencies across the region, including the Broward Sheriff’s Office have become aware of scams involving individuals claiming to be affiliated with the upcoming Census. In an effort to safeguard our residents and business owners visit www.sheriff.org/census for more information.

Cooper City Multi-Family GARAGE SALE is Saturday, March 6th from 7:00 am 'til noon At the Cooper City Sports Complex. Whether you are selling or buying, this is the place to be for deals galore! Held on the grounds of the Cooper City Sports Complex at the corner of 100th Avenue & Stirling Road, this twice a year event is open to all residents.

The Country Address Homeowner’s Association will be having their community garage sale on March 6th and 7th at 8 AM. There are over 300 homes in Country Address and Country Address Encore. Entrance to the community can be found off of Stirling Road and on Pine Island Road.

My next Town Hall Meeting will be on March 8th at 7 PM at City Hall. Please come and voice your concerns!. Also, be sure to tune into my Blog Talk Radio broadcast ‘Sims’ City News’ at 6 PM on March 8th. You can listen and call in at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/johnsims The Call-in Number is (347) 215-8968.

The MINI-FLOW mobile (Florida Licensing On Wheels) will be in Cooper City on March 9th to offer drivers license renewals, replacement of lost licenses, address changes, ID Cards, car tags, and handicapped placards inside the Community Center from 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM on the second Tuesday of each month. Please call the Community Center at 954-434-4300 x 233 to verify.

The Community Book Swap is Friday, March 12th 6:00 - 7:30 PM at the Community Center. Drop off your slightly used books in good condition beginning Monday, March 8th through Thursday, March 11th. A ticket is issued for each donated book. On Friday, March 12th, parents and their children may come to the Community Center from 6:00 - 7:30 PM to exchange tickets for books. If you have a question, please call 954-434-4300 x233.

The Jim Richardson 5K Run & 1 or 2 Mile Family Fitness Run/Walk is Sunday, March 14th at the Cooper City Sports Complex.

The Broward Schools Integrity ethics panel will have a public hearing on Monday, March 15th, 2010, from 6 pm to 8 pm at the Cooper City High School Auditorium. The high school is located at 9401 Stirling Road, Cooper City, FL 33328. The public’s attendance is strongly encouraged to provide much needed input on the workings of the Broward County School District and its School Board. Parking for the event is located in the northeast corner of the high school campus. Cooper City High School is located at 9401 Stirling Road, Cooper City. For more information, please call (954) 604-3117 or go to www.browardschoolsintegrity.org

St Patrick's Day Luncheon. Wear your green for an afternoon of fun, lunch, music...Wednesday, March 17th, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM. Cost $3.00 plus a side dish or dessert. By reservation only! Held at the Community Center. Call Kathy at (954)434-4300 x255 for reservations and more information.

Family "Ceramics Night Out" with Gail. Enjoy creating a special ceramics piece with your child, then taking it home that night! Held at the Community Center. Children must be in first grade and up. Must pre-register at the Community Center. Call 954-434-4300 x 233 for more information. Cost is $10.00 per family, plus $10.00 per child for project materials. Friday Nights: 6:30 - 8:30PM. March 19th "Springtime Project”. Come at 6:00 and join the "Pizza Crowd"... reserve a space for you and your kids by phoning ahead at 954-434-4300 x233 and feeding your whole family pizza for $6.00!

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 Relay for Life and more...

Relay for Life Davie-Cooper City

36 Days Left Until Relay! Teams:26 Dollars Raised: $12,852.72 Participants:221

One in three people will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. The American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life^® is a life-changing event that brings together more than 3.5 million people across the country each year to celebrate the lives of those who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost and to fight back against a disease that takes too much, and we all pray that it will eventually be curable.

Cancer will overtake heart disease as the world's top killer by 2010, which is part of a trend that should more than double global cancer cases and deaths by 2030. If we take action now, we can keep the numbers from going where they would otherwise go, says the cancer society's chief executive officer.

This year marks the celebration of over 11 years of Relay For Life^® for the Davie-Cooper City Relay for Life teams!

This year’s event will be held on March 20, 2010 at Western High School. Sign up or donate today, and join Relay for Life to mark this milestone and the successes that they have achieved.

Please do your part, if possible, and follow the lead of the Cooper City Commission to support Relay for Life with your generous donation.

Please join us on Friday, February 12th, from 6pm until 8pm at the Cooper City Community Center as Relay for Life hosts the official Launch Party for the Davie/Cooper City 2010 Relay for Life event. It will be a fun filled night, with dinner included, as we start the countdown leading up to the Relay. I hope to see you there.

For more information or to know how you can participate, please contact Diane Sori, Davie/Cooper City 2010 Relay for Life Publicity Chair at gabootica@aol.com. Thank you!

Real Estate Assessed Values

‘The People’ are suffering in Cooper City. The decrease in assessed value of real estate in our city was recently reported to be just at -6%, yet as of last 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.

We are looking at several more years of extremely challenged times because of the unpredictable nature of the economy and the ad valorem tax base. Desperate times sometimes call for desperate measures and I hope and pray that our city does not succumb to the economical pressures placed upon our county, state and nation, and attempt to raise taxes.

I will continue to attempt 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.

We need to reduce inefficiencies and mistakes, reduce taxes, reduce the influence of government and its negative influence on The People’s daily lives.

As such, I will continue to vote no on any and all tax increases, no on increased spending, and I will continue to look to reduce inefficiencies and eliminate any mismanagement of your tax dollars at city hall. Please help to do your part…

Broward Days in Tallahassee

There is no place like Tallahassee for the Legislative Session, and a few simple ways are available that will keep your taxes low and government services intact.

Broward Days will take place this year on March 17^th & 18^th and I will be representing your concerns on Education, Advocacy, Sustainability, Environmental, Economic, Leadership, Census, Political Endorsement, Finance and Technology issues while attending this year’s conference.

If you would allow me the honor of representing your issues and concerns at this year’s Legislative Session at The Capitol, please contact me.

Again, I will go to Tallahassee with your issues in mind and will fight for your issues and your rights. You can read all of my issues that I will be representing and more, on my blog athttp://johnsims3.blogspot.com

Happy Valentine’s Day & Ash Wednesday

I would like to wish each and every one of you and your family in Cooper City a Happy Valentine’s Day. If you practice Lent, I would also like to say that I join in your prayers, as we all have faults.

This is a time of repentance, joy and love, so go and do something nice with your family and loved ones and please do what you can to help others. Be safe, and have a great weekend!

Thank You!

It is an honor to serve you as Commissioner of District 1 on the Cooper City Commission. As always, I remain dedicated to Accountability and Excellence in Government.

I am dedicated to The People of Cooper City, and will continue to provide Leadership and ensure Honesty, Transparency and Integrity in City Hall.

As a Public Servant I am committed to the highest standards, actions of integrity, decisions made responsibly and honestly, and will stress the importance of everyone adhering to uncompromising integrity & ethics rules.

Rules alone can’t guarantee ethical conduct. Only people can do that, but we indeed have a responsibility to uphold the code of ethics for public officials in everything we do. It starts at the top.

If there is ever anything I can do to help you, please don’t hesitate to email me at johnsims@bellsouth.net or call me directly at 954-445-6997. You can also feel free to visit me on the internet at http://www.johnbsims.com

Let's Talk Cooper City!

Let's talk Cooper City! Join me at Sims' Cooper City Radio Talk Show tonight at 6:00 PM.

As a person who cares deeply about Cooper City, we can talk about your city and your issues, or...let's talk about Politics, 'Politricks', Taxes, Commissioners & Staff, Local News, Health, Safety, Community Events, Business and whatever you think is a great topic for great City of Cooper City.

Tune-in to my new Blog Talk Radio Show at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/johnsims which starts at 6:00 PM on the second Monday of the month, just before my town hall meetings (which are at 7 PM at city hall on the second Monday of the month), or to the shows you missed at the above link. Just click on 'download' and you can hear them at any time. Radio shows are available 24/7.

If you would like to advertise your local business free of charge, let me know. I will be happy to accommodate you. If you have any local event’s you would like to freely advertise, let me know also.

I’ll see you on my YouTube channel or you can join me on Facebook and Twitter via the links on the site above or click on the icons to your right.

Let's Talk Cooper City!

Let's talk Cooper City! Join me at Sims' Cooper City Radio Talk Show debut tonight at 6:30 PM.

As a person who cares deeply about Cooper City, we can talk about your city and your issues, or...let's talk about Politics, 'Politricks', Taxes, Commissioners & Staff, Local News, Health, Safety, Community Events, Business and whatever you think is a great topic for great City of Cooper City.

Tune-in to my new Blog Talk Radio Show at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/johnsims which starts at 6:00 PM on the second Monday of the month, just before my town hall meetings (which are at 7 PM at city hall on the second Monday of the month), or to the shows you missed at the above link. Just click on 'download' and you can hear them at any time. Radio shows are available 24/7.

You can also hear me from last week on BlogTalkRadio's Hour of Power with Matthew Brower, HERE.

If you would like to advertise your local business free of charge, let me know. I will be happy to accommodate you. If you have any local event’s you would like to freely advertise, let me know also.

I’ll see you on my YouTube channel or you can join me on Facebook and Twitter via the links on the site above or click on the icons to your right.

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 Residential Burglary Alert!

Cooper City Residential Burglary Alert!
We have had an increase in residential burglaries on weekdays when homeowners are at work. Burglars pick empty driveways, knock on front doors to see if anyone is home then smash rear sliders to enter the home. Witnesses observed a dark compact vehicle and a tall, thin African-American male at two scenes. If you observe suspicious persons or vehicles in your neighborhood, please dial 911 immediately. Activate your alarm system and be extra watchful for vehicles or people that look out of place.

The more information you have the safer you can be. Registering for BSO's CyberVisor will enable you to receive e-mail or text messages from the Broward Sheriff's Office with information on criminal activity, traffic, events or other security concerns arising in your business or residential neighborhood. You may also sign up to receive important messages from Sheriff Al Lamberti or breaking news from our Media Relations staff. To get started, simply enter the required information below and choose one or more of the BSO-patrolled cities from which you would like to receive information. Once signed up you will need to confirm your e-mail address, so please keep your e-mail application open. You can register for BSO's CyberVisor HERE

The 'Kingdom' in Cooper City

A long time ago, a King had a boulder placed in the middle of a roadway that was ancient Cooper City. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone from the town would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest residents and merchants came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the giant stone obstacle out of the way. Then, a mere peasant came along, who lived in the town for a long time, while carrying a load of fresh vegetables to market.

Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his heavy burden of trying to make a living, and attempted repeatedly to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a small, tied up leather sack lying in the road underneath where the boulder had been. The leather sack contained many, many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold riches were for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. There was also a prayer from the King that he would become the most respected person in the city. The peasant immediately learned what many of us, especially those in politics, never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our immediate condition. The obstacle now in 'our path' is the cost of running your local government and the fact that ‘Together We Can’ does not apply any more to all of the residents and representatives that you elected, but only to a choice few who’s agenda is not that of the will of The People.

We need to move that levity approach to the ‘togetherness’ obstacle out of the way in order to improve the condition of our stakeholders; our residents and business owners! The only way for that to occur is if we work together to move the political and personal obstacles initiated on the commission dais out of our cumulative path toward success. I ask everyone to join together and help me in removing any and all obstacles in city hall that hamper your future success here in Cooper City.

Cooper City in the News...Again

Cooper City in the news…again

As you may or may not be aware, Cooper City has been recently battling a drug problem in our town. More particularly, we have been battling a certain pharmacy at the corner of Stirling Road and Palm Avenue that is sometimes labeled as a ‘pain clinic’. The Commission recently passed a law to deal with these types of pain clinics and illegal drug issues, along with the Florida Legislature. Kudos to both entities for strengthening our local drug laws!

Why am I blogging this? Because of this Sun-Sentinel newspaper article. This week I received an e-mail from our city manager regarding a previous newspaper article posted on the Sun-Sentinel website regarding a drug bust on July 23rd. The e-mail was forwarded to me by the city manager which emanated from the BSO public relations office.

Not knowing about, or being informed as to what the issue was, I searched the online version of the newspaper and found nothing. I subsequently asked the city manager what newspaper article he was referring to, which is when I was told that the article was promptly removed from the Sun-Sentinel website. Nothing further was thought about regarding this incident. It was simply an incident and drug bust between two Cooper City residents and BSO police officers in my opinion.

Let me give you a bit of additional information on this case. Last week, this story was on the Sun-Sentinel website for about 10 or 15 minutes before it was taken off. You may ask, why was it removed from the website? Apparently, because the complaint was originally made by the public defender’s office against a BSO deputy and not the alleged criminal.

The only problem was that the alleged criminal had not yet made any complaint to anyone other than the public defender’s office, and BSO had no knowledge of the issue before it went to press, therefore not having the opportunity to comment before the story was hastily posted on the Sun-Sentinel website. I have no idea if the complaint is legitimate or not, but I thought it was interesting that the Sun Sentinel would name someone as a drug dealer suspect without any hard evidence, or at that time, even a complaint.

I discussed this issue with Chief Hale on the phone this week in detail, and again at our budget meeting on Monday evening. I initially asked Chief Hale what the issue was all about and he informed me that it was about a drug bust, and that “the father” (allegedly Mr. Ronald Dwayne Sigers Sr., 40, of Cooper City) allegedly drove his 16 year old son to a drug deal and was subsequently arrested. I was also informed that the entire issue was based on the fact that that the suspect, Mr. Sigers, subsequently complained that the BSO officer grabbed him by the crotch. The Chief also informed me that originally, there was no mention of this incident or any complaint lodged by the alleged suspect; Mr. Sigers, until last Thursday.

Whenever the police arrest and subsequently frisk someone, they have to check their crotch, as this is the first place that drugs and weapons are hidden by criminals. It's not a pleasant thing to do, but it is an absolute necessity of police work and it is absolutely necessary in order for police officers to save their own lives. With that said, most of you would not even want to get near or even touch the alleged criminals that the police sometimes encounter, much less check their pants for dope and guns.

The formal complaint came apparently after the news of another BSO Deputy being charged with sexual assault was reported in the Sun-Sentinel, and hit the airwaves on CBS 4. Mr. Sigers filed a complaint of the un-named deputy ‘fondling’ Mr. Sigers and grabbing his crotch. I see a new trend…Getting arrested for a crime and subsequently claiming to be groped in the crotch by the police in the hopes of getting the charges dismissed.

Chief Hale also told me that someone from the state attorney's office contacted the Sun-Sentinel, not only discussing this incident with them, but giving the newspaper much more detail than was necessary on this matter before BSO was even aware of the incident.

My first question is why wasn’t the complaint filed immediately upon booking, and secondly, why did the state attorney contact the newspaper and give them information on this case, and thirdly, why did the state attorney say anything about this case to anyone outside of the immediate investigation team in the first place? The state attorney involved in this matter should be reprimanded for interfering with a criminal investigation at best.

"Because Mr. Sigers wrote a letter to the State Attorney, and the [Sun-] Sentinel forwarded a copy to us, Sheriff [Al] Lamberti felt that we should initiate an internal investigation to bring out all the facts," BSO said. "Since that process has started we are now prohibited from further discussing the matter." According to the Sun-Sentinel, Mr. Sigers stated in his letter to the State Attorney that "This experience left me horrified…"

I am not prohibited from discussing this matter, and what I have to say is this…

Mr. Sigers, your alleged drug deal in our beautiful city leaves me and many, many other parents, residents, business owners and children horrified!

A complete lack of discretion, and respect for our city and the law has again tarnished our good name. Now we have to apparently witness a deliberate and apparently frivolous attempt to tarnish the reputation of our fine police officers. Police officers who routinely risk their lives fighting gun toting drug dealers, who are simply doing their job, who are simply protecting their very lives and that of our children and families against criminals, drug dealers and possible carriers of weapons when they make an arrest. As such, in Cooper City, we have zero-tolerance for drug dealers. I hope that if anyone dealing drugs in Cooper City is ever found guilty and convicted, they throw away the key…