City of Deerfield Beach: What's Going On?????

The below email was sent to the City of Deerfield Beach Commissioners and City Manager on November 16, 2011 at 8:55AM, after I reviewed the Commission meeting video from November 15, 2011.  It has become blatantly obvious that the current regime of Commissioners, City Manager, and City Staff seem to feel that they have Carte blanche to do whatever they want and we the residents just have to deal with it.  It is time "we the people" stand up for ourselves and begin demanding accountability at City Hall.  They have gotten away with their schemes and plots for far to long!!!

City Officials,

At last nights meeting long-time resident Laurie Dickens of District 2 approached the Commission regarding creating safer streets in her residential neighborhood by re-stripping and making it clear the two directional sections of the road.  She humbly asked if the City could do something so she, a taxpayer, could continue to drive at night without fear that someone would run into her because they don't know which side of the street to drive on because it is not clearly marked.

The City Manager, Burgess Hanson basically advised her that he understood her concern, but because the County disbanded road re-stripping 4 years ago there is nothing the City could do to protect the District 2 residents like Ms. Dickens.  He continued on to say that the City did not have any funds available to put toward this safety and precautionary measure to protect the lives of the City residents who traversed these haphazard roads.  Hanson half-heartily and almost sarcastically agreed with Ms. Dickens when she stated "it's Sad!" regarding the long-time conditions of the roads in question.  

Burgess, I can only assume that after repeatedly saying you understand and that it's sad and seeing that Ms. Dickens was not satisifed with your response that you came up with the whole utilizing CDBG funding to re-surface the roads in the target area, which would require another re-scheduling of funds from the housing rehab or outreach to go toward the re-surfacing that the CIty already took $250,000 from in the last two years and yet from the comments by Ms. Dickens, D2 and the "target area" are still unsafe for motorist.   

What is going on?  The City has a road and bridge fund that I assume can be used to make such needed repairs and improvements to the neighborhood streets in question, why should the residents of District 2 have to wait and hope that there is no accident or just not drive those many streets that are in the condition Ms. Dickens discussed until such a re-scheduling of funds take place.

At the October 18, 2011 City Commission meeting D2 Commissioner, Ben Preston, discussed my email asking the Commission to research putting reflective pavers at the corner of MLK and Hillsboro and other D2 areas which need some form of pedestrian safety measure put in place as they are not well lit and are a potential for disaster, the Commission, well namely Ben Preston, stated that they would look into it.  Three emails later and I have not heard anything back from any of you on this situation.  Now, Ms. Dickens ask basically the same situation asking the City to provide protection for the motorist residents the City tells her "there is nothing that can be done".  Then the Mayor attempts to put blame on the County by stating "it's not us it's the County".  

Wow!!!

I recently posted concerns about the raises given to upper management, like Mike Milanowski who received a $20,000.00 raise, whiel the City is crying broke.  This is a prime example of the City Management and Commission having it's priorities mixed up.  It has become very clear that the City ad the Commission's main priority is not a concern for the many residents of Deerfield Beach.  The actions taken since the removal of Sylvia Poitier clearly demonstrate this.  From the imposition of the 10% utility tax, the employee negotiations, the selling of the Fire department to BSO, the many many raises handed out to management, the underhanded and nefarious tactics, schemes, plots and manuevers implored against residents who show any dissension against the City, namely the anti-utility tax petition drive, and all other actions the City has taken clearly demonstrate to all residents of Deerfield Beach, Broward County, and the world how the Noland/Ganz/Hanson regime show concern and care for the people, PEOPLE they have sworn to protect.

Not to mention at the very same meeting the City, who has indicated that it has no money to make improvements on it's streets that would protect the lives and well-being of Deerfield Beach's residents, voted on a resolution that would memorialize SW 10th Ct into Bethelehem Court and waived all the fees.  Where is the money coming from to pay for the signage change and other incidentals concerning this change?  Ms. Tanner, who addressed the Commission regarding this matter brought up a very good point as to why this was pushed through without a vote by the Memorial Committee and why the City broke its own rules and allowed this old application to be put through, even though the City had clearly advised the public that all outstanding request would have to be re-submitted under the new guidelines, which public record clearly shows that.

We as concerned citizens of Deerfield Beach have to wonder about the priorities of our elected officials, especially in this small town which has had so much corruption and scandal involving elected officials and mismanagement by the City's past management staff.  We have to be cautious and it would seem that we are dealing with a runaway Commission, who does not have the best interest of the citizenry in mind when they make decisions that affect all of us. 
I have said it before and I will say it again it is time to have a full investigation of the City of Deerfield Beach...an accounting of all funds, expenditures and allocations.  

Please consider thsi request and respond, as all of you so frequently comment on the dais that you respond, but I have several emails still awaiting responses from some of you.  
I am a citizen and resident of Deerfield Beach who deserves a response from my City's elected officials ...you work for me and the rest of the residents not the other way around...read the Charter!!!

All I can say after viewing last nights meeting was WOW!!!

Suffice it to say that after all of my emails to the City, my breaking the story about the City's attempt to cove-up the fact that Deerfield was audited by HomeSec OIG related to FEMA funding, and the subsequent complaints that I filed against the City Manager (October 8, 2011) for blatantly lying to the public to cover up the whole Homeland Security OIG FEMA fiasco, and many others (all of which he is aware of) I received an email from the City Clerks office November 16, 2011 at 4:58pm indicating that the City Manager had instructed their office to deny my request for public records. 


Now, if that ain't a retaliatory action, I don't know what is.  


So, I promptly fired off a complaint to the State Attorney's office and the Broward Inspector General regarding this matter because it is a violation of Sunshine Law for the custodian of records to do anything to hamper or interfere or circumvent a citizens right to access of public records.


The post is soon to come detailing this incident so look out for it.

Twilight: Breaking Dawn part 1...

I usually don’t utilize this blog to discuss movies, but since I saw Twilight: Breaking Dawn part 1 last night and it has not come out yet I figured I would take this time to tell everyone to go out and check it out.   With my own prior knowledge of the franchise itself, I can say with all certainty be prepared for the future previews of Breaking Dawn part 2 and the conclusion of the series.

I attended last night’s premier in Boynton at the Muvico in City Place and I must say that it was everything that I thought it would be.  I have read all the books and seen all the previous movies and have been eagerly anticipating this movie.  I was originally disappointed when I found out that the studio would separate the film into two parts, as was done with the Harry Potter final book film adaptation, but after seeing HPATDH part 1 I was pleasantly surprised.  Basically, because after reading the books and knowing the endings and suspense-filled moments that I could expect I was wondering how they would capture that with a separation and make someone who hadn’t read the books or seen the previous movies want to come back for part 2.  I must say that the Harry Potter people did an excellent job with the cliff-hanger ending because it performed its function well; it made you want to see part 2.  However, I must admit that Breaking Dawn part 1 did not have the same impact and if I hadn’t read the books and know what’s coming I would probably pass on the 2^nd part until maybe they came out with some previews, but the ending did not make me immediately want to see part 2, as it was with the HPATDH two part final film adaptation.

Thankfully, I have read the books and know what to expect so I will definitely be in the theatre for Part 2.

The rest of the movie was typical Twilight.  Boy loves girl, girl loves boy to death…the fact that he is a vampire is actually not a major player in this movie until towards the end.  Overall, it’s a good movie for teenage females and those that are the romantic and sappy of our species.   

At last nights screening, the theatre was filled with people of all ages, mainly 25 and overs, though.  There was a littering of males in the room, but mostly it seemed that they were there as reluctant participants, but I could be wrong.  I did notice the young man (who could have been about 20-22) who was sitting next to me with his girlfriend had fallen asleep before all the conflict of the movie had begun.  I guess he was not interested in the romantic build-up, but he could have also been tired.  When he awoke he complained and kept talking so neither his girlfriend nor anyone around him enjoyed the movie in peace.

So, I would recommend this movie to all my female friends and my guy friends that have been bitten by the Twilight bug...but ladies if your guy isn't one of them you may want to leave him at home.

All in all it was a good movie and I personally can't wait until part 2 is released, but again that's based on my knowledge of the books, not the ending of Part 1.

Sylvia Poitier Trial: A Miscarriage of Justice...

Yesterday in room 465 of the Broward County Courthouse I witnessed a horrible miscarriage of justice.  An all-white jury voted and found the embattled ex-City of Deerfield Beach Commissioner Sylvia Poitier guilty on all 4 counts of falsifying a document.

Sylvia was charged with falsifying a document because she did not indicate that on the legal form 8B that her brother Lionel was a debtor of the WDBA when matters came before the City Commission.

Somehow, the jury found that as a matter of fact that Sylvia should have completed the form 8B’s and publically declared that she had a conflict of interest b/c her brother was a debtor of the group.  I have previously stated that this whole case was based on if Sylvia had a legal obligation to declare that Lionel Ferguson was a debtor.  The law clearly states that she would have to declare only if she knew that a vote on a matter before the Commission would result in her brother receiving a direct and immediate special private gain. 

I guess David Schulson, Assistant State Attorney, proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Lionel would have received a direct and immediate special private gain from the 4 measures in question and therefore the jury passed down a unanimous verdict of guilty on all 4 counts.

However, I am still waiting to see or to hear what special private gain Lionel would receive from any of the measures that was before the Deerfield Beach City Commission concerning the WDBA, as all of the States witnesses, exhibits, and testimonies clearly indicated that Lionel Ferguson did not stand to gain anything from any of the measures presented before the Deerfield Beach City Commission that were in question in this case. 

Sylvia’s lawyer, Johnny McCray indicated that he would be filing a new motion and appeal.

Sylvia herself stated that she would not shed a tear today because she knows that she did not falsify any documents and that she did not and still does not believe that she or her brother had a conflict of interest according to the law.

I personally have stated my beliefs, but I was not on that jury.  I am sure that Peggy Noland, Bill Ganz, And Chaz Stevens have been celebrating since about 1pm today as that is when the verdict came in.  However, it may be too soon to celebrate as the past has shown us that many of the African-American politicians who were originally found guilty have had their verdicts overturned on appeal.  Will that be the case here, I don’t know only time will tell.

Hopefully, everyone goes out and get the facts of this case and do not listen to the rumor, conjecture and innuendo that has been circulating in te media for quite some time.  It would seem, at least to me that Sylvia Poitier was not convicted today on any merits of this court case but she was convicted today on past perceptions and the fact that we as people want to believe that all politicians are innately corrupt. 

Are they??? Well, yes many are.  That is the nature of politics.

I am sure that we would all be hard pressed to find one that isn’t, but in this particular case this politician, Sylvia Poitier, was wrongly convicted and I am sure that this conviction will be overturned on appeal, as the law is clear and once that fact is clearly and accurately presented Sylvia will be cleared of all charges and returned to her seat as the District 2 City Commissioner of Deerfield Beach.  

Sylvia Poitier Trial Day 2: 1 Charge Down and 4 To Go...

One count down and four to go!!!

Today, Judge Melinda Brown dismissed the 5^th charge against embattled Ex-City of Deerfield Beach Commissioner Sylvia Poitier.

The State charged Poitier with causing a public record to be falsified when she announced from the dais in October 2010 that she had advised the City of her relationship to Lionel Ferguson, who is her brother and one of the many, many debtors of the WDBA.  After a brilliant maneuver by Poitier’s attorney, Johnny McCray, who basically indicated that Poitiers statements at that meeting had no material bearing on the public meeting and therefore did not cause any public record to be falsified.  McCray and Assistant State Attorney, David Schulson, both indicated that the October 2010 meeting was not a hearing or a fact-finding session to determine Poitiers knowledge or guilt regarding not divulging the relationship; however, Chaz Stevens, Bill Ganz, Peggy Noland along with others insisted that this posed an “ETHICAL” conflict of interest based on Florida’s Sunshine Laws for Poitier which she should have announced while the Commission was determining if the WDBA should receive City grant funds to repay the utility bill owed to the City.  Obviously, Judge Brown agreed with Poitier and McCray and so she dismissed the 5^th charge.

I think it is important to note that the funds in question had already been proposed and discussions were held between the City and the WDBA that those funds would be going to pay the groups City of Deerfield Beach water utility bills for the low-income housing they were in charge of within the City.  All of the States witnesses testified to this fact and the public records clearly showed the intent of the fund request and need for the allocation to the group.  From all the information, exhibits, evidence, and  testimonies presented by the State that I heard and saw nothing appeared to have established any attempts to conclude that Poitier conspired with anyone to hide the relationship between her, Lionel, and the loan in an attempt to secure the City’s funds to make a payment to her brother and thereby given him a “special gain”.  Poitier herself testified today that she has never considered this a conflict and therefore had no reason or thought to mention it.  The mere fact that Lionel is her brother does not constitute a declarable conflict under the law. 

In a previous post entitled:

 “Suspended Deerfield Beach City Commissioner, Sylvia Poitier: 4 of 5 Charges Possibly Meritless”

Which can be read here. 

I provided my readers with my opinion of the State’s case and why I felt that it was meritless and I provided my own laymen’s legal opinion of why I felt as such.  Like, I previously stated the mere fact that Lionel is her brother is not sufficient to make Sylvia legally responsible to declare the information.  She would have had to have knowledge that Lionel would receive a “special gain” from the transaction being presented to the Commission.  So far, the State has only insisted that Poitier would have done anything to ensure that the WDBA would survive so that they could repay the loan to her brother.  The States case is based solely on this assertion, which all of the States witnesses have testified was never a priority or even considered by the group.  Poitier herself has even testified that it was never a consideration and Lionel Ferguson testified and the State has confirmed that there has never been an attempt made to collect the debt.  The WDBA witnesses have all indicated that their sole reasoning for requesting the funds was to cure the arrears on their utility bills which they owed directly to the City of Deerfield Beach and the mortgages to Suntrust and Wells Fargo.  At no point, has the State indicated or proved that the group, Sylvia, or Lionel or anyone else for that matter attempted to utilize the funds or the transactions in question to repay the loan to Sylvia’s brother, Lionel.  So, I still feel as I did back in April 2011 when I originally wrote that post and I have not heard any argument presented by the State that has changed my mind on that.   My only hope is that the jurors see that as well and do not convict Poitier based on unfounded conjecture and rumor that as Broward County residents we have been inundated with since she left the County back in 1998 and for years before that.   The State has proved that Sylvia Poitier, unlike many other politicians especially those in Deerfield Beach, cared enough for the low income residents of her district to fight tooth and nail to ensure that they had a roof over their heads and the basic necessities of life…Water. 

The jurors and many others now have to ask themselves should that be a punishable crime…???

We shall find out tomorrow what they have decided.

The Sylvia Poitier Trial...What Can One Say???

I could talk about how pathetic the State Attorney’s, David Schulson, case is...

I could talk about the dirty and disapproving glances Schulson kept directing at Chaz Stevens...

I could talk about the outfit Chaz Stevens had on...

Or I could talk about the fact that Chaz Stevens was wearing “press pass” credentials??? 

I thought only members of an accredited media source had access to “press passes”, but I guess I was mistaken…I blog too, where is my press pass!

…but I won’t comment on those things.

After listening to the testimonies and hearing the State present its case…all I could think is “Damn, this is what they got…Sylvia asking her brother to loan the WDBA money , a loan that has never been paid back and has never attempted to be paid back, to save properties to avoid putting the elderly and low income residents who resided in the property out on the streets. 


The money in this case that the City and the State Attorney's office is fretting about was used to pay the City for water bills and yet the City is making a fuss when they knew what the money was for and that they did indeed get the money right back.  So, instead of caring more for their low-income and elderly neighbors the City would have rather seen those residents out on the street...tsk, tsk, City Hall.

The State’s witnesses painted the picture of a politician trying to avoid putting the less fortunate of her district out on the street.  A politician who cared enough for her constituents and  to take action to avoid their eminent eviction and get nothing in return.   Unfortunately, we don’t hear many stories about politicians giving an actual damn about the well-being of their constituents and actually taken the necessary steps to actually help those in needs.  The State, the media, the City of Deerfield Beach Elected officials and the City Manager have done a great job with lumping this case with the numerous other cases of corrupt politicians concocting their own nefarious plans to the benefit of themselves and to the detriment of the people they were sworn to protect, but if anyone actually cares to read the charges in this case and actually put all the political, racist, and past bull aside they will see that this case, this particular case is unique and I for one and the many people who through Sylvia Poitier’s actions staved off eviction and homelessness for a little longer thank GOD that she is not the typical politician. 

Unfortunately, there are many people who, for whatever reason, who would disagree with us, but those people, are probably the same selfish bunch who would have sought the eviction of those who Sylvia unselfishly sought to protect…the low-income and elderly residents of her district.  That is why so many people still support Sylvia Poitier.  It is not just because of the color of her skin.  It is because the people of her district, even some who would and did sell her out, know if they need something she would bend over backwards to make sure that they got it even if she had to pay out of her own pocket.  That’s the thing about Sylvia, she was and is the “Peoples Politician”.  That is why she is so hated among many of her local colleagues because they wish they could command the level of loyalty, respect, and commitment amongst their constituents that Sylvia has commanded for over 40 years.  Even, when they tried dividing the minority district she still garnered support and won, when they tossed allegations she still garnered support and won, through this trial she stills garners support, and even in 2012 when those same politicians who are more likely than not guilty themselves of real corruption will come up for re-election and the people will have their say we will remember these days and hopefully “We the People” along with Sylvia Poitier will finally get a new crop of politicians that will care for their constituents even a fraction as much as Sylvia has cared for those of her district over the years.


Then and only then will the people of Broward County and Deerfield Beach begin to see the needed improvements and be truly served, instead of just the developers, real estate moguls, unions, and special interest groups that currently hold our elected officials in their pockets.

How Much Local News is in the Local News???

Have you ever wondered why things you've seen or heard and thought would be on the news or at the very least be worth a mentioning in the paper or other news media source never materialized?


Well, me too.


Since I started this blog and have been working on the outside/inside track of the local political scene, I have noticed that a lot of information that would concern many residents and citizens never made it into the newspapers, Sun-sentinel, David Eller's Observer, Pompano Pelican, or other.


So when the last straw dropped I set out to ask these so-called "news reporters" why are they not reporting the "news"...


Well the answers will astound you...


Many of you have already guessed that the main reason is money...the residents don't have it so the papers play to their advertisers and main contributing sources...


I'll leave it at that and let you stew for a bit on what's next...

Protest Broward Ordinance Requiring a "Free Speech Permit".

I received the below and thought that everyone should know that this is going on.  It seems that this current crop of politicians don't really want to hear what the people have to say, especially when it is not convenient for their means.  They want to have control, and that is exactly what this new proposed permitting system would give them, control over who says what and where...at least on county property that is.

I know first hand that the in my little very corrupt town of Deerfield Beach me and a fellow petition circulator were thrown off of the City's property at North East Focal Point a few weeks ago, with BSO Deputy Engle citing it is illegal to gather petitions City property so we had to move out to the sidewalk (which is also City property...go figure).  He didn't do this nicely either.  As I had just walked up and heard the last of the conversation and advised my partner to let us just leave...while walking pass a group of people, I asked them had they heard about the 10% tax and Deputy Engle actually yelled at me telling me "I am not gonna tell you again."  To which I promptly replied "First, this is your first time speaking to me and I am not circulating a petition, I am talking is that illegal too, now!!"  To which he responded, "Well, now this is my second time and I am not going to ask again".  Please keep in mind all of this was being done while we were in the process of walking off of NE Focal Point property towards Eller Street.

Well since, we have learned that it is not illegal, per City Attorney Andy Maurodis, but if the City asked him to make a case against it he could if we had been obstructing traffic or some other hindrance or nuisance to the participants or employees, which I assure we were not.  It was obvious what happened there that day with the Mayor, Peggy Noland, and Bill Ganz both being aware that Caryl Berner and myself (two of the City's most hated activist) were outside gathering signatures against their tax, we all know why Deputy Engle came out there and illegally removed two City of Deerfield Beach residents from their City's property.  Suffice it to say that we did not file a compliant with BSO (what would be the point in that, Peggy and Bill had achieved their goal of silencing us from that event), but we did notify the City Attorney and get clarification on the matter.

So, now with this new proposed permitting process at the County level, how long would it be before the City attempted the same to ensure that they too would have control over any individual, group, or entity that would want to reasonably exercise their Constitutional rights.  We can not allow this to happen!  

Hell, we can not allow any more degradation and erosion of our individual Constitutional rights by this new wave of politicians.  Who at every turn seek to destroy the very fabric that our country was built on, in favor of Corporate America and those that heavily finance Campaign Accounts.

Don't wait until the County or your City's boots are on your neck before you get involved, because by then it will be too late.  

Look at Deerfield Beach...

 

Protest Proposed Broward Ordinance to Require Free Speech Permit

Tuesday, November 8, 2011, 10:00 AM

SELECTED BY: MARK PILLING

Broward Government Center

115 S. Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL (map)

SELECTED BY: MARK PILLING

The Broward County Commission is meeting November 8th to discuss a proposal from the County Administrator, Bertha Henry, to start requiring a permit in order to engage in free speech on County property. Under the proposed restrictions, in order to engage in speech on Broward County property you will have to obtain a permit 3 days in advance. You may not engage in more than 5 days of continuous activity. No tents or sound amplification devices. So far no specific time has been announced for when the commissioners will vote on enacting the permit requirement for free speech. We need people to show up for the hearing so that this does not become a law.

 

Remember how we gathered petitions for fair districting and registered voters at court houses and libraries ? Now Broward County wants to make these restricted activities !