Politics, Growth and Public Ethics in Deerfield Beach, Florida
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 Proposed Cove Entrance


THE COVE PROJECT, BACK ON TRACK

» Who Gets the Credit? - 09/01/10

  • NEW: Madness at City Hall - 08/29/10
  • Rick Scott Still "Stinks" - 08/27/10
  • Citizens, Beware! - 08/18/10

    » Amendment 4 Articles:
  • Why I'm For Amendment 4
  • Amendment 4 Remix: K.I.S.S.

    » OLDER ARTICLES

  • The system may not always work, but it does take its revenge. ~ Charles Krauthammer


    Who Gets the Credit? - 09/01/10

    f city commissioners expect applause for finally moving the Cove Center project, they may get it. But not from this website. The fact is that city commissioners (acting in their role of CRA Board) obstructed, frustrated, and delayed the project nearly out of existence. The fact is that some commissioners were more interested in serving their gal pals, Kiwanis buds, and campaign contributors than they were the people they supposedly represent.

    It was more than obvious that these commissioners were acting all along in the interest of a few individuals who did not want this project to happen.

    They might have been more deserving of praise if they had said, in the beginning, "We're not going to do this," and had good reasons. Instead, they strung the residents along with a series of excuses. They told us, "We'll do this next year," when, in fact, they had no intention of doing it at all. It is also a fact that if they had moved the Cove Center project when they came into office, it would be well on its way to completion by this time.

    Perhaps in March 2011 and March 2013, voters will remember who worked more for the privileged friends and special interests, than their constituents, with respect to the Cove project.

    I'm happy, of course, that the project is finally on track. It won't make the Cove Shopping Center the Seventh Wonder of the World, but it will be a quantum improvement over what's there now. It may start in as little as a couple of weeks.

    A lot of people worked on the Cove plan. The people who probably deserve the most credit for saving it are the citizens who got in the face of some of our public officials and told them, start listening to us, not your friends. Public officials have no friends who are more important than constituents.

    It's hard to know exactly what the public sentiment is on the Cove project; there was never a vote. But it was a grass-roots effort. The plan was carved out in numerous public meetings and charettes in which anyone could participate. And many did. The loudest complainers did not. It's ironic that the only major public works project in Deerfield Beach in recent history, crafted by the residents themselves, should encounter so much resistance.

    As one of the speakers at the CRA meeting said, "You can't finish something, if you don't start something." It's not profound, but it's certainly right.

    Conclusion: The commission/CRA finally did the right thing with the Cove project. But they don't deserve high praise for the way they handled it.



    Madness at City Hall - 08/29/10

    oday's topics: Insanity at City Hall, Midnight Madness. Yes, it's that time again, when Island Water Sports holds its annual midnight sales bash. Madness goes back as far as I can remember, and I've lived on the beach for 25 years. This year, they've teamed up with the Island Partnership; wait till you see what they want to do.

    It's budget time at City Hall, also. The city fired over 100 city workers to help balance the budget. This is just one of many cuts in the budget plan. Among other things, City Manager Hanson eliminated donations to some private non-profits and cut funding for the street festivals.

    It's still not enough. They're talking about increasing ad valorem tax rates and various fees. They may increase the fire assessment fee by $36. They want churches and other non-profits to pay the fire fee just like businesses and homeowners. They may double the price of the beach parking sticker for residents. To top it off, the commission is thinking about a utility tax, which voters have twice rejected. (But they say they can do it anyway.)

    It all looks pretty harsh, a far departure from the days when the city thought nothing of spending hundreds of thousands on boat races and other events that were supposed to make the city look good. But now, some commissioners want to reinstate the city's numerous contributions to non-profits, which Hanson eliminated. This includes Little League and youth football. This is not sewer pipes, fresh water, or public safety we're talking about -- this is taking money out of your pocket and giving it to private causes favored by the city commissioners. And it could mean as much as $65,000 out of your pocket.

    I wonder, how we can always seem to find tens of thousands of dollars to spend on forensic audits and charitable donations, but we can't seem to come up with the money to replace the deteriorating sewer line under the Intracoastal, which city officials say is a disaster waiting to happen.

    Is funding for Mango also a talking point?

    If that's not insanity, the plan for this year's Midnight Madness may well be. In the past, Madness was just a minor annoyance for nearby residents for one evening each year. It seems this year, Island Water Sports, in conjunction with the Island Partnership, is proposing to close off A1A on the S-curve for the event and to make room for street vendors. The state (FDOT) would have to OK the street closure, which is set to take place on October 15th. It will be an all-day affair.

    But that's not all. Some of the street vendors would like to sell alcoholic beverages. First consider, Deerfield Beach has an open container law. Second consider, Midnight Madness is mostly aimed at kids under legal drinking age.

    What are they thinking? This is how the proposal is described in an e-mail from the city:

    Their preliminary proposed plans include closure of A1A between the S-curve, live music, and food vendors. Attendance at last year's event was estimated at 3,000. They have a sponsorship and revenue plan to that they estimate will cover the event related expenses, but the cost estimates are preliminary. A plan for rerouting A1A traffic that FDOT would approve appears to be the highest hurdle before their anticipated application could be presented for City Commission consideration.

    The plan has been discussed with the BSO, Fire, Parks, Risk, and CRA staff.

    In a separate phone call with Keven Klopp, CRA director, I asked about alcoholic beverage sales. I heard from one of the merchants in the beach shopping district that part of the plan was -- I'm more or less quoting -- for the city to suspend the open container laws for the event. Mr. Klopp stated some individual vendors may want to sell alcohol, but that the sponsoring organizations were "strongly advised" not to request alcohol sales as part of their proposal to the city commission.

    Seems like good advice to me. It is true, we relax enforcement of the alcohol laws during some beach events. In this case -- not such a good idea.

    So let's recap: All day Friday, October 15th, when most people are (supposed to be) in school or at work, A1A will be closed for a Midnight Madness-related street fair. From 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., A1A traffic will be rerouted through residential neighborhoods. Word of open alcohol sales on the street will go viral throughout area schools. Sounds like a plan, doesn't it?

    Conclusion: It must be a full moon.



    Rick Scott Still "Stinks" - 08/27/10

    ill McCollum may be a sore loser for refusing to endorse Rick Scott, after his loss to Scott in the GOP primary on Tuesday. It's protocol for losing primary candidates to endorse the winner, letting bygones be bygones, for the sake of party unity.

    But he's right. There are serious questions about Scott's integrity because of his involvement with the Columbia/HCA scandal. Scott won the GOP nomination for governor, but he still smells to high heaven.

    It's equally true, Scott was not charged or convicted of any crime. What's not as clear, is if Scott went free because there was no evidence that he knew or participated in his company's medicare fraud scheme, or whether the evidence was just too flimsy to support prosecution. White collar crime investigations can be complex and sometimes produce muddled results. Such investigations can taint people who are innocent of any wrongdoing. They may leave the guilty unscathed.

    Rick Scott, of course, maintains his innocence, but also tends to dance around the subject.

    A Sun-Sentinel blogger suggested that Scott's victory was the result of the party rank-and-file's discontent over the Republican establishment. McCollum was supported by Governor Bush and by much of the top GOP leadership. Low turn-outs in South Florida, where McCollum was supposedly stronger, may have been a factor.

    Scott had an effective no-brainer message which resonated with many people fed up with current Washington policies. The polls indicate that a majority of Florida voters do not like the health care reform and support measures like Arizona's controversial immigration law. Scott's campaign ("Let's get to work"), backed by immense financial resources, was the clincher.

    There's probably no question that the GOP establishment is not thrilled with Scott's win. He is viewed as an outsider and apparently is capable of bringing home the bacon without their help. Scott doesn't owe the top GOP officials anything, at this point, and, from their viewpoint, that's not good.

    Quite honestly, the establishment could use a good shake up. The "Peter Principle of Politics" is that the scum rises to the top. Scott's victory in November portends changes upstairs.

    Still, I doubt the party leadership was a major factor in the primary. Consider the fact that Scott did not run away with the nomination -- it was a relatively close vote, and even last-minute opinion polls showed McCollum ahead. It could be argued that if 50% of Republican voters voted against the establishment, then almost 50% did not, or didn't care.

    I suspect that most of the rank-and-file don't care about who the so-called party leaders are, or even know who they are. Ordinary voters of both parties are more interested in who's governor or U.S. senator.

    In the final analysis though, Scott can't completely escape the uneasy feeling many Republicans and many Democrats have about his closeness to the Columbia/HCA medicare fraud, whether or not he was directly involved. This seems to be Bill McCollum's view.

    McCollum indicated he may support Scott later. It will be interesting to see what other prominent Republicans who supported McCollum, like Jeb Bush, will do. It would be astounding if they were to throw their support to the Democrat.

    Despite all this, as the primary clearly showed, many voters like Scott's message. Given the conservative mood-swing of Florida voters right now, that makes him a formidable candidate. In fact, according to the first post-primary poll conducted by Rasmussen, Scott leads Alex Sink, the Democrat's nominee. (Detailed numbers can be found in the Rasmussen Poll feature in the right panel of this website.)

    I won't deign to tell Democrats how to run their campaign, but I believe it would be a mistake to dwell on Rick Scott's character too much. By this time, everybody knows about the baggage, so let voters use their own judgment. Democrats need to advance positions that may win over moderates and conservatives who also don't feel comfortable with Mr. Scott.

    Conclusion: Rick Scott has a solid conservative message at a time when liberal policies are falling out of favor in Florida. He could be the next governor. The Democrats will have to "get to work" and come up with fiscally conservative policies to Sink him.



    Citizens, Beware! - 08/18/10

    hree issues to discuss this week: Burgess Hanson, the utility tax, SMDs.

    The latter refers to single-member districts. At one time, a time long ago, in a galaxy we hoped was still far, far away, Deerfield Beach city commissioners were elected at-large. That means that your District 1 commissioner was elected by the folks who lived in Century Village. Political bosses like Amadeo Trinchitella, who controlled Century Village, loved this system; it meant they could run city government by controlling large, make-or-break voting blocs. Voters created SMDs to break up Trinchi's power hold.

    Why bring this bit of ancient history up now? Because Sylvia "Always Has a Better Idea" Poitier would like to restore at-large elections.

    The city commission voted on Tuesday to hire Hanson as the permanent city manager, a position he's filled on an interim basis since Mike Mahaney was fired. Commissioners will vote on a contract next month. The main concern about Hanson is that he was mentored by LRD, you know, Larry R. Deetjen, the expert on stealth politics. The worry is that Deetjen taught his young assistant too well about secrecy and backroom deals as the way to run local government.

    Some of us romantics hope that this city has moved beyond city government à la LRD -- that the past is not prologue with Mr. Hanson.

    The Buffalo Law Review described one of my law professors as the foremost Marxist legal philosopher in the English-speaking world. Plato taught Aristotle. Students don't necessarily emulate their teachers. I'm not a Marxist by any stretch, and Aristotle was not a Platonist. We can cross our fingers that this is the case with Mr. Hanson, and that the city has in fact moved beyond the Deetjen era.

    Still, almost every day we see the Deetjen legacy at City Hall. Keep in mind, that Noland was a part of LRD's Dream Team. Legacies don't die easily.

    Hanson has made some bold moves already when it comes to the financial affairs of the city. He laid off city workers and has now raised the hot button issue of a utility tax as a new revenue source. A utility tax is technically known as a municipal public service tax. It can apply to electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, and water. If such a tax were levied in Deerfield, officials estimate that the average person would pay around $80 per year.

    The final amount depends on the rates (10% is proposed; it could be less) and which of the above services are taxed. For example, only about half of the 27 cities in Broward which levy a utilities tax apply it to water service. Deerfield is the only "major" city in Broward that does not tax either electricity or water.

    How will this go over with residents? Nobody wants new taxes. They especially don't want new taxes or higher tax rates if the money is squandered or wasted or is not matched by good faith efforts to reduce spending. Hanson's reduction of city staff is evidence that he is trying to get a handle on spending. But commissioners control the purse strings.

    Ganz said he will not support a utilities tax unless it offsets the ad valorem -- the tax property owners pay on the assessed value of their land. But Noland was blathering on about how we need more money for parks. So this new revenue, if approved, could be an excuse for the city to spend more rather than cut back. Given the state of the economy and the personal economy of so many residents, this is not the time to look for new ways to spend the public monies.

    The operating philosophy behind the utilities tax -- as explained -- is flawed, also. The idea seems to be that renters don't pay taxes because they don't own property. Because renters usually pay for electricity, the theory goes, they would pay some of their fair share instead of freeloading off their landlords.

    This is utter nonsense. Even the dumbest person (except city officials, apparently) understands that the rent renters pay pays the ad valorem and other expenses related to the property; then the landlord gets to deduct it on his income tax. So what's going to happen is that the renters will continue to support the ad valorem and pay the additional utility tax. In the real world, landlords are not going to pass an ad valorem tax break back to their tenants even if they get one. Another name for the municipal public service tax could be the landlord relief tax.

    The bottom line is that renters already stressed financially will have to pay more; homeowners may pay less if there is ad valorem relief.

    This may be a stark view, but it seems to me this is the time to cut back to the bone before we start to raise taxes on people who can't afford them, or think up new ways to spend money out of the public trough. Maybe if we had been a little starker years back, we wouldn't be in so deep today. I'd rather try to make sure Deerfield residents (including renters) don't pay a dime more in taxes and fees than they need to before a single penny goes to Little League. City officials need to set priorities and say no to non-essential expenditures.

    There is another wrinkle in the utility tax proposal. Deerfield Beach once had a tax. Voters nixed it some 31 years ago.

    The city attorney says that the city can still impose the tax because of the construct of the state law which authorizes the tax. Still, I expect there could be litigation challenging a move to restore the utility tax.

    Sylvia Poitier has asked the city attorney to draft a ballot issue for March that would create two additional at-large commissioners to the city commission. Here we go again.

    Ordinary citizens fought hard to get SMDs (single-member districts) in the city charter. If voters approved additional at-large commissioners, they would be screwing themselves. It is costly to run a city-wide campaign; this means two more commissioners on the board (in addition to the mayor) financed by developers and deep-pocketed city contractors.

    Why not just hand city government over to a consortium of the politically-connected elite?

    It's a stupid idea, but it has appeal. Some argue that the SMDs breed parochial behavior -- which apparently is a bad thing. I'd like to see some examples.

    If district commissioners represent parochial interests, it's their friends, the favored gift givers, and campaign contributors, not the ordinary citizens of their communities over-and-above what's best for the city as a whole. This would not change with at-large commissioners, only get worse.

    I wonder Poitier's motive bringing this subject back up at this time. Maybe readers have some ideas that have escaped me.

    A new city manager, a proposed new tax, and Sylvia Poitier, taken together, could only lead to one conclusion: Citizens, beware!



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    Tropical Weather | Gazette | Public Meetings | Polls | Skip



    TROPICAL WEATHER

    Deerfield Beach: 26° 18' 59" N 80° 4' 31.35" W


    WUNDERBLOG (09/02/10) (6:00p) -- NHC has declared Gaston dead. It succumbed to dry air, but could regenerate. Meanwhile, a large and well-organized tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa last night, and this wave has the potential to follow the pattern set by Danielle, Earl, Fiona, and Gaston.

    Five Day Forecast Map for TS Gaston as of 11:00 a.m., Sept. 2d (click image for larger view):

    5 Day Forecast Gaston
    Legend

    Source: Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog

    GAZETTE

    » This icon signifies a meeting report.

    Reps Make Gains in Aug., Polls Find - 09/01/10

    The number of Republicans in the United States grew in Aug., while the number of Democrats slipped. The gap between the parties fell to the smallest advantage for Democrats in five years, according to the recent Rasmussen Report on party affiliation.

    In Aug., 35.0% of American adults identified themselves as Democrats. That’s down nearly half a percentage point from a month ago and is the smallest percentage of Democrats ever recorded in nearly eight years of monthly tracking. At the same time, the number of Republicans grew to 33.8%. The gap is currently 1.2 percentage points. That’s the closest the Republicans have been to parity in more than five years, since July 2005.

    It’s also the smallest gap between the parties heading into any of the recent campaign seasons. In Aug. 2004, the Democrats had a 2.6 percentage point advantage. In Aug. 2006, they enjoyed a 5.4 percentage point advantage. In Aug. 2008, the gap was 5.7 percentage points. Since Dec. 2008, the number of Republicans has only grown by a single percentage point, but the number of Democrats has fallen by nearly seven points.

    The number not affiliated with either major party is now at 31.1%. That’s the lowest level measured this year.

    Meeting Report CRA Board Awards Cove Contract to West Construction - 08/31/10

    The CRA Board approved the FY 2011 budget, which authorizes expenditures of $13.5 million. The Board also was briefed on the draft FY 2011-2015 Capital Improvement Plan which will be presented next year. CIP projects approved in this year's budget include:

    • Fire hydrant upgrades

    • Improvements to the Cove Shopping Center alley way

    • Cove Gardens drainage improvements

    • ADA sidewalk compliance

    • Lighting enhancements in the beach area

    • Sullivan Park improvements

    • Improved beach benches and trash cans

    The Board awarded the The Cove Shopping Center Parking Lot Improvements Project Contract to West Construction. West was the low bidder coming in at $2,167,113.13.

    Meeting Report County Commission Ethics Recap - 08/26/10

    At its Aug. 10th meeting the county commission finally adopted a code of ethics and rejected a so-called "glitch" ordinance which would have made a number of technical corrections and substantive amendments to the code. The commission adopted a related ordinance providing that advisory board and other board members are prohibited from lobbying the divisions or departments related to the board during their term of service and for two years thereafter, on penalty of removal from the board.

    The commission approved the following ethics-related measures to be placed on the Nov. ballot:

    » Amendment to the county charter to allow the newly adopted Code of Ethics to prevail over conflicting municipal ordinances which apply to city officials and employees.

    » Amendment to the county charter creating an independent Office of Inspector General and consolidating the Office of the County Auditor into the Office of Inspector General.

    » Amendment to the county charter to make constitutional officers (sheriff, etc.) subject to the Code of Ethics.

    The county commission also directed the county attorney to draft an ordinance prohibiting members of the county commission, their immediate family members, aides and office staff from doing business with Broward County.

    At a subsequent meeting on the 17th, the commission voted 6-2 to revise the previously approved IG amendment ballot issue. Keechl and Gunzburger were the dissenting votes. The revised ballot measure requires that ethics complaints be filed under oath and provides penalties for malicious complaints. The law would also allow the IG to initiate an investigation without a formal complaint.

    Rubio Stretches Lead in Post-Primary Polls - 08/26/10

    The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Florida shows Marco Rubio attracting 40% of the vote, while Charlie Crist picks up 30% in the race to become the state’s next U.S. senator. The new Democratic nominee Kendrick Meek earns 21% support.

    This is the first poll of the race following Tuesday’s primary. Four percent (4%) prefer some other candidate, and five percent (5%) are undecided.

    With the results of this new survey, Florida’s Senate race moves from Toss-Up to Leans Republican in the Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 Balance of Power summary.

    Seventy-six percent (76%) of Rubio supporters say they are certain of how they will vote and that they won’t change their mind before Election Day. Just 48% of Meek’s voters say the same, while 45% of Crist supporters are that certain. This suggests that the race could follow the typical pattern of three-way races with either Meek or Crist slipping out of contention and watching their support drift to the other.

    Meek supporters who might switch their vote are overwhelmingly considering Crist as their option. Among Crist supporters, most would consider changing to Meek. However, more than a third say they might switch to Rubio. This is not surprising given that 37% of current Crist supporters disapprove of the way President Obama is doing his job.

    GOP Voters More Loyal, Polls Show - 08/24/10

    According to a new Rasmussen survey, Republicans are more loyal to their party in congressional races than Democrats. Some 84% of Republicans back the Republican candidate, while 76% of Democrats support the candidate of their party. This year, the generic congressional poll shows that independents prefer Republicans by a 48% to 25% margin.

    How will party loyalty play out in the upcoming Senatorial race in Florida, where the newly independent, former Republican Charlie Crist is running against Republican Marco Rubio and likely Democrat-nominee Kendrick Meek?

    Racial politics could be a factor in the Florida election. The Rasmussen poll finds that white voters are about evenly split (53% of white voters favor Republican candidates for Congress), but 71% of African-Americans are more likely to vote Democrat.

    The most recent Rasmussen poll shows that Rubio has a slight edge in the Senatorial race, if Meek, who is black, is the Democrat.

    Meeting Report City Commission Appoints Hanson as Permanent Manager - 08/17/10

    The city commission agreed to hire Burgess Hanson as city manager. Hanson has been serving as interim city manager since the departure of Mike Mahaney.

    The commission was briefed and discussed imposing a municipal public service tax on the purchase of electricity, metered natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, manufactured gas, fuel oil, and water service. Deerfield Beach is the only major city in Broward County that does not levy a utility tax as authorized by Fla. Stat. § 195.207.

    In theory, revenues generated by a utility tax would off-set possible increases in ad valorem taxes, which are currently the largest source of revenue for the city.

    Is the Pendulum Swinging to the Right? - 08/17/10

    Nobody is predicting the GOP will regain control of Congress in this year's election, but new polls released this week suggest this possibility is not as far-fetched as it once seemed.

    Republican candidates have jumped out to a record-setting 12-point lead over Dems on the Rasmussen Reports Generic Congressional Ballot for the week ending Aug. 15th. This is the biggest lead the GOP has held in over a decade of Rasmussen surveying.

    The new Rasmussen national telephone survey found that 48% of likely voters would vote for their district's Republican congressional candidate this Nov.

    Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball out of the University of Virginia, which forecasts elections based on combined polling data, predicts the GOP will gain seven Senate seats, 32 House seats, and up to seven governors. Reps currently control 23 statehouses. There are also 6,115 seats in the state legislatures of 46 states up for grabs in Nov. Applying the congressional election prediction model developed by Crystal Ball Senior Columnist Alan Abramowitz to the state legislatures, Republicans could gain control of eight to ten chambers and 250-400 net seats in all the states combined.

    CALENDAR

    Florida v. Gonot - 09/22/10, 9:00 a.m.

    Ex-commissioner Steve Gonot is charged with grand theft in the 3d degree, official misconduct, and falsifying public records. A calendar call is scheduled before Judge Rodriguez on this date. This is not a trial date.

    Florida v. Capellini (Case Filed 03/16/10) - 10/01/10, 9:00 a.m.

    Ex-mayor Al Capellini is charged with receiving unlawful compensation. A calendar call is scheduled before Judge Rebollo on this date. This is not a trial date.






    RASMUSSEN™ POLLS

    Presidential Tracking Poll - 08/28/10

    Approval Index: -14. Last week: -19.

    Range: +30 to -22 (05/26/10)

    Approve: 47%. Strongly approve: 27%. Lowest approval rating: 41% (06/18/10)

    Disapprove: 52%. Strongly disapprove: 41%.

    Generic Congressional Ballot - 08/29/10

    R's: 45%. D's: 39%.

    Among independents:

    R's: 44%. D's: 23%.

    Party Affiliation - 09/01/10

    Party affiliation numbers for Aug. 2010:

    D's: 35.0%. R's: 33.8%. I's: 31.1%.

    The poll surveys all adults, not actual voters.

    Florida Governor's Race - 08/27/10

    Scott: 41%. Sink: 36%. Chiles: 8%. Other: 5%. Undecided: 9%.

    The Florida race is rated a Toss-Up in the Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 Gubernatorial Scorecard.

    Note: Chiles is no longer a candidate.

    Florida U.S. Senate Race - 08/26/10

    Rubio: 40%. Crist: 30%. Meek: 21%. Other: 4%. Undecided: 5%.

    Rubio gets 73% of the R vote, and Crist draws 19% support from his old party. Meek earns 41% support in his own party, while Crist picks up 36% of the D vote. However, Crist has a nine point lead among independents over Rubio.

    Source: Rasmussen Reports

    These numbers rain on your parade? Compare polls at RealClearPolitics.com.





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    LINKS


    The Black Perspective

    Blog by Bett

    City Ethics.org

    Broward County Ethics Commission

    The Original Save Our Beach
    (Official Website)

    Cove Charette Master Plan

    Request for Proposals for Temporary Operation of the Pier Restaurant

    Request for Qualifications to Design and Administer Construction of Renovations to the Pier Entranceway





    AMENDMENT 4

  • The controversial Hometown Demo-
    cracy Amendment (Amendment 4) to the Florida constitution will be on the November 2010 ballot. It provides that changes to local comprehensive plans must be approved by voters.

  • What are the pros and cons?


    Why I'm For Amendment 4

    Amendment 4 Remix: K.I.S.S.

    Florida Hometown Democracy(Official Website)

    Why the lies about Florida Hometown Democracy?

    Floridians for Smarter Growth

    The Saint Index© — The Annual Measure of the Politics of Land Development





    POLITICAL ACTION GUIDE AND RESOURCES

    Our Citizen's Political Action Guide is a concise outline for local political action with resources.

    Citizen's Political Action Guide

    Print Version

    City Election Results, 1993-2009

    Ocean Park Vote Results, 2000

    Attorney General's Government in the Sunshine Manual

    Florida Public Records Guide

    Florida State Ethics Guide

    Deerfield Beach Code of Ethics

    Deerfield Beach Lobbyist Ordinance

    Draft Broward County Code of Ethics





  • SaveOurBeach.com was Named #1 Political Site of the Day November 1st, 2000 This Web Site's Creator a Mystery at City Hall. Deerfield Beach redevelopment plans are under constant scrutiny by wary residents. Local Rag Editorializes about this Web Site

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