Early Voting In Broward County- General Election

October 27 – November 3  2012, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily 

• North Regional Library

1100 Coconut Creek Blvd., Coconut Creek

•  Supervisor of Elections Office inside  E.Pat Larkins in Pompano Beach

520 Martin Luther King Dr., Pompano Beach

• Pompano Beach City Hall

100 West Atlantic Blvd.  Pompano Beach

———————————–

In the sample ballot published in the October 25^th edition of “The Observer,” we inadvertently omitted our recommendation in the race between Ellyn Bogdanoff and Maria Sachs. We regret this omission and we strongly urge our readers to vote for the reelection of  Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff.

Pictures by : Jim Wilson/ www-.416.1100.com

Fight Against Breast Cancer Fundraiser

Now through Sunday – Oct. 14

Tijuana Flats 278 S. Federal Hwy., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

Tijuana Flats is partnering with Estée Lauder by donating $3 of $5 purchase of “Tijuana Flats Just in Queso Foundation Charity Hot Sauce” to Breast Cancer Research Foundation. www.justinqueso.org.

Lighthouse Tour

Saturday, Oct. 13 – 8:45 a.m.

Sands Harbor Hotel 125 N. Riverside Dr., Pompano Beach, FL 33062

First boat leaves hotel at 9 a.m., last boat departs 2:30 p.m. – returns at 4 p.m. Visitors must wear closed-toe shoes, rubber soles, no sandals, flip-flops or heels. Children must be min. of 4 ft. tall and accompanied by adult to climb tower. No pets. Info: 954-782-3313.

“Echoes Of Joy” Chamber Music Concert

Sunday, Oct. 14 – 2 p.m.

Pompano Beach High School Gymnasium 600 NE 13 Ave., Pompano Beach, FL 33060

Presented by New Presbyterian Church. No tickets needed, offering will be taken. Call Dr. John Wilson 954-448-5083 or go to www.newpres.org.

Former U.S. Congressman Robert Wexler speaks

Sunday, Oct. 14 – 3 p.m.

Century Village, Le Club 3501 W Dr., Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Discussion regarding Israel and the administration. Open to the public. Refreshments served.

DB Hadassah meets

Monday, Oct. 15 – noon

Century Village, Le Club, Rm. B 3501 W. Dr., Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Refreshments, speaker from League of Women Voters. 954-428-6265.

Zonta Club of Greater Deerfield Beach

Tuesday, Oct. 16

11:15 to 11:45 – Social networking

Noon – Lunch and business

Deerfield Country Club 50 Fairway Dr., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

Guest Speaker: Karen Alleyne-Means, Editor-in-Chief & Publisher of HERLIFE Magazine. $15. RSVP by Oct. 12: 561-392-2223.

U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Coastal Navigation Course

Tuesday, Oct. 16 – 6:45 p.m.

Emma Lou Olson Pompano Beach Civic Center 1801 NE 6 St., Pompano Beach, FL 33060

Cost: $50 per person, includes “Weekend Navigator” text by Bob Sweet and training chart. 954-941-5781.

Medicare & Medicaid Annual Enrollment Period Kick-Off Event

Thursday, Oct. 11 – 1 p.m.

NE Focal Point Senior Center 227 NW 2 St., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

Q & A for seniors. Medicare Annual Election Period: Oct. 15 – Dec. 7. 954-480-4449.

2012 Presidential Debate

Tuesday, Oct. 16 – 8:30 p.m.

Living Room Theaters, FAU Boca campus 777 Glades Rd., Boca Raton, FL 33431

Complimentary, RSVP required. Email names of guests to debates2012@livingroomtheaters.com.

History at High Noon

Wednesday, Oct. 17 – noon to 1 p.m.

The Butler House 380 E Hillsboro Blvd., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

The Deerfield Beach Historical Society hosts an informative and fun historical lecture open to the community. Guest speaker: Paul “Cowbone” Buster sharing Seminole culture and history. Bring a bag lunch; drinks and dessert provided. Event is FREE, donations welcome. 954-429-0378.

2013 Relay for Life Kickoff Party

Wednesday, Oct. 17 7 to 9p.m.

DB Hilton 100 Fairway Dr. Deerfield Beach FL 33441

Learn how to get involved with “Relay for Life” for DB, LHP and Hillsboro Beach. Info: www.relayforlife.org/ dblpfl.

It’s Pawty Time

Wednesday, Oct. 17 6 to 8 p.m.

Anthony’s Runway 330 State Rd.84 Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33315

Fun, food and raffle prizes to help continue rescue efforts in saving the lives of homeless and unwanted pets. www.dogsrulerescue.org.

If I were to talk to either of my brothers, it would not surprise me to find that they have purchased a new article of clothing for the Jewish New Year. It might be a suit, or a tie, or a shirt, but they will both have something new to wear.

And yet, the same time, they, and I, will be wearing something old. We might wear something that was from one of our parents of blessed memory – a tie, a ring, a watch, a tallit, a skull cap (better known as a kippah or a yarmulke).

You see, we maintain some of our parent’s traditions with some of what we wear, especially in regard to religious articles, but we also realize the importance of having something new, not just new clothes, but something new in our approach to Judaism.

Keeping some of the old and adding some new is not such a bad thing. In fact, it just might be a great way to enter the New Year with a new outlook.

Today, I would like to approach this focusing on one article that easily identifies one as Jewish. Let me introduce it with a story from a cartoon that appeared in an Israeli paper many years ago during a visit from the Pope in which the caption read, “The Pope is the one with the Yarmulke.”

Yarmulkes or, Kippot (in Hebrew), have come a long way from my zaide’s time. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes – silk, knitted, crocheted, leather. They come with the logos of your favorite sports team. They come with pictures of super heroes, almost any design you can imagine can be put on a kippah now.

Some wear them all the time. Some only wear them in the Synagogue. Some wear them at work and some only at home. In Israel, you can actually tell someone’s religious leanings by the size and color of their Yarmulke, and, with the elections coming up here in America, don’t be surprised to see some of our people in blue and some in red, instead of the traditional white for the High Holy Days.

If you are walking out on the street, or going into a store, or heading into a meeting and you want people to know that you are Jewish, all you have to do is wear a Kippah … and, sadly, in many cases, you will be looked on with hate and scorn.

Back in Nazi Germany, wearing a Yarmulke could be a death sentence – a one-way ticket to the gas chambers. Well, let me tell you how things have stayed the same in the world and also how things have changed as we approach the New Year 5773. Rabbi Alter was wearing a Yarmulke walking down the streets in Vienna a few weeks ago and a group of antisemites beat him to a pulp.

As I said, some things haven’t changed. Some things remain the same and that is not always such a good thing. But, things have also changed and, sometimes, that is a very good thing, such as, after the attack, several residents of Berlin decided to show their support for the Rabbi and for the Jewish people by donning yarmulkes on their keppes… now that’s what I call using your noggin (using your head).

If non-Jews in Berlin can openly show solidarity with us by wearing Kippot, perhaps, in the year ahead, we will come to show more solidarity with each other and, if so, what a wonderful year this could be.

Shalom my friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains and serves in this capacity in a number of Health Care settings in the area including Advocate Home Care Services and L’Chayim Jewish Hospice in Partnership with Catholic Hospice of Broward County.

“The season” in South Florida means two very different times of year. Most prevalent is the season when cold winds blow up north and winter residents and vacationers stream south in search of paradise.

A second season is when hot winds blow down south. We watch the Weather Channel during this season, at the ready to put up shutters, gather supplies, hunker-down or flee in search of safety and security.

Every four years, along with the rest of our great nation, we have another season. It is “the season” of presidential politics. This season combines many of the characteristics and objectives of the first two! I will leave it to you to draw your own parallels!

I recently watched portions of both national political conventions. Carefully-crafted speeches by two accomplished and genuinely brilliant men, President Obama and Governor Romney, bore true two themes found in the letter of James, brother of Jesus.

“All of us make mistakes” and “No one can completely tame the tongue.” [James 3] These eternal truths amazingly presuppose speech writers and teleprompters.

Imagine how inspiring, how compelling both conventions could have been had every speaker and speech from the podium commenced with and then followed the instruction of the 19th Psalm. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer!”

I realize to always give highest and top priority to pleasing God is a challenge for all of us. And, my nose might begin to grow if I were to suggest pleasing God is the strategic aim of a national political convention. Most would agree a convention’s goals are more, shall we say, “down to Earth.” But hope springs eternal …

I grew up being attentive and engaged in politics and I still believe politics and governing are enormously important. I encourage anyone who believes otherwise to read the 13th chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans. A careful reading of these verses may drive you to the polls!

Theologian John Calvin’s take on Paul’s writings on government is that civil power originates with the sovereign God. In other words, God is the foundation, not the footnote; the farm, not the farmer. God is source and supplier, not client or customer. Surely people of every political bent can agree we did not build ourselves!

I think the outcome of every election is important, and this year’s presidential election is no exception, but I believe the fate of our nation is always and forever in the hands of God, who is the author of the liberty we champion. What I recommend for every season is that we not look to government for paradise or even for lasting safety and security. These things, much like all God’s seasons, are things of God, not men.

An important endnote from Calvin’s writings on “Religion in the Public Square” is not surprisingly his focus on the church itself.

Calvin did not see church and state merged into a theocratic monster. He called instead for the church to energize distinctly under the leadership of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit to be the world-changing community. May this be “the season” for that! And may God bless America in all her seasons!

Cross the bridge and join us this weekend: Saturday evening at 6 p.m. or Sunday morning at 8:30 or 11 a.m. www.communitych.org.

This Weekend’s Message is “The Season.”

Reverend Dr. Dennis Andrews is Minister at Community Presbyterian Church of Deerfield Beach (Steeple on the Beach) located five blocks south of Hillsboro on AIA.

Cove Neighborhood Watch Meeting

Thursday, August 23 – 7 p.m.

DB Chamber of Commerce Building 1601 E. Hillsboro Blvd., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

For more information or to be put on distribution list, email DFBCove@gmail.com.

Closing Reception “Hot Fun in the Summertime”

Thursday, August 23 – 7-10 p.m.

D’Larosa-Lurie Gallery 302 S. Federal Hwy., Boca Raton, FL 33432

Featuring Andy Warhol as “The Model Boy.” Captured for eternity by renowned photographer David Siqueiros more than 25 years ago, these are limited edition photographs never before seen! Also featuring: sculptors – Michel Hernadez, Harriet Fuld, Stanley Goodman and Peggy Greenfield. Featured Artists: P. Cherry, Mark Cherry, Anne Deon, Rosanne Saccoccio and Sinuhe Vega. 561-843-9291.

Women’s Equality Day Celebration

Friday, August 24 – 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Florida Atlantic University, Engineering Bldg. 777 Glades Rd., Boca Raton, FL 33431

Free event Commemorating the 92nd anniversary of women’s voting rights. Theme: ‘Voting is Power.’ Keynote speaker: Susan Bucher, the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections, and other panelists, including Pam Goodman, former vice president of the League of Women Voters; Josephine Beoku-Betts, director of FAU Center for Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies; Candace Britt, FAU Honors Student in the Center for Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies; and Thomas Burns of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. Attendees are encouraged to dress in white and purple as did the suffragists. For more information, call 561-297-3865.

Remembering Andrew Admission Special: Zoo Miami

Friday, August 24 – 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Zoo Miami 12400 SW 152 St., Miami, FL 33177

Buy one admission, get one admission FREE of equal or lesser value – in honor of Hurricane Andrew’s 20th Anniversary! General admission: $15.95 plus tax/adult; $11.95 plus tax/child 3-12. Parking free. For more information, visit www.zoomiami.org or call 305-251-0400.

D.B. McDonald’s grand reopening

Saturday, August 25 – 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

McDonald’s 3901 W. Hillsboro Blvd., Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Visit by Ronald McDonald, free children’s activities with a bounce house, face painting, balloon artist. Popcorn sales benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities. Through Sept. 3, Happy Meals are $1.99.

Shop for a Cause Fundraiser

Saturday, August 25

Macy’s – Various locations

Macy’s shoppers can save 25 percent on most items and enter to win $500 gift card. Fundraiser for Pompano Beach resident Torryn Battle, who was hit by a car and is paralyzed from the neck down and ventilatordependent. Proceeds will help fund a customized power wheelchair and device that allows him to communicate with his eyes, as well as an automated voice to help with communication. Contact LeAnne Kerr at 954-589-9991 or www.HelpHopeLive.org and search Torryn Battle’s page to donate.

Singing & Swinging in the Pines

Saturday, August 25 – 6 to 9 p.m.

Boca Raton Children’s Museum 498 Crawford Blvd., Boca Raton, FL 33432

Fundraiser benefits Boca Raton Children’s Museum. Food, fun, music, dance. Cost: $35 in advance/$50 at door. 561-368-6875 or www.cmboca.org.

City of D.B. Fall Baseball Registration

Monday, August 27 – Friday, August 31 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Middle School Athletic Complex 501 SE 6 Ave., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

Coach Pitch/T-ball – ages 6 to 8 yrs old. Cost-$50 DB residents/ $60 for non-residents. Fall Ball – ages 9-11 and 12-15. Cost-$65 DB residents/$ 75 non-residents. Volunteer coaches and sponsors also needed. 954-426-4426.

“Feed the Children” Volunteers Needed

Wednesday, Aug. 29 – 8 a.m. to 2-3 p.m.

Westside Park 445 SW 2 St., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

Volunteers needed to unload boxes of food and personal care items to distribute to 400 pre-selected families for event hosted by Gateway Community Outreach. 954- 725-8434.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Ten years ago, Sam Raimi wrote and directed Spider- Man, with Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, which became the No. 1 Box Office Champion for 2002.

Five years ago, the same team produced Spider-Man 3, which disappointed many.

So there was little enthusiasm when Columbia Pictures announced The Amazing Spider- Man, a reboot of the comic book myth.

While we could have avoided another origin story involving the shooting of Uncle Ben (this time, Martin Sheen), The Amazing Spider- Man does work as a comic book recreation with a vivid color palette. Director Marc Webb’s palette is film noir, much influenced by the Dark Knight Returns and Sin City short story collections.

In the pre-credit sequence, we learn a little why a young Peter Parker came under the care of Uncle Ben and Aunt May (Sally Field). In High School, Peter (Andrew Garfield) falls under the spell of Gwen Stacy (Emma “The Help” Stone), the daughter of tough Police Commissioner Stacy (Denis Leary).

Gwen works for Dr. Connors (Rhys Ifans), an amputee with a connection to the disappearance of Peter Parker’s parents. As Peter investigates this link, he is bitten by a spider and undergoes a transformation. In his zeal to re-grow his amputated arm, Dr. Connors injects himself with an untested serum and terrorizes Manhattan as the notorious Lizard.

While most of the action scenes occur at night, Director Webb manages to create vivid battles between Spider- Man and the Lizard. It is special effects whiz bang, but manages to capture the smart aleck wit of Stan Lee’s original creation. (Lee’s cameo brought forth a round of applause at the Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Discovery IMAX Theater).

With last weekend’s record-breaking box office gross, Columbia Pictures has announced that The Amazing Spider-Man is the first of a planned trilogy that should conclude during the 2016 Presidential election season.

The Amazing Spider-Man is a complete story within itself, a visual treat and very entertaining. The opening narrative grabs you from the very beginning. What more can you ask from a big budget summer blockbuster?

David Royse, with the News Service of Florida, reported over this past weekend that the Florida Division of Elections plans to verify the eligibility of nearly 180,000 registered voters in the state. Earlier last week, state election officials forwarded the names of about 2,600 registered voters whose citizenship is questionable to local supervisors of elections for further scrutiny.

Whenever a foreign citizen who is a resident in Florida applies for a driver’s license, they are automatically asked if they wish to register to vote. No attempt is made to confirm that the person is a U.S. citizen and many of them respond in the affirmative – without understanding the question – and suddenly become registered voters. When election time rolls around, they receive a ballot to vote by mail and if they do not know any better, they may then vote illegally.

I recently attended a party at a neighbor’s home and I met a young man originally from Nicaragua who has an application for U.S. citizenship pending. Somehow we got on the subject of politics and he told me that he was once sent a ballot to vote, even though he was not yet a citizen. He knew better and, therefore, did not cast the ballot. He wondered out loud how many other noncitizens may have received the same ballot and ended up voting.

Over 30 percent of the residents in Broward County have come here from a foreign country. Many have become citizens and many have not. Our democracy is in jeopardy whenever a non-citizen casts a ballot in one of our elections. This is potentially a big problem that needs to be fixed immediately.

If you agree and love this country, you need to get involved. Tomorrow may be too late.

David Eller

Publisher

RE: DB Commission responds to citizen comment

Dear Editor:

In a recent [Letter, 4-12-12, Observer] by the  , they claimed they do not routinely respond to comments made by a resident during a commission meeting.

A resident? They were referring to the former Mayor JeanRobb, and they claimed that her comments were so outrageousthat they had to respond. Yet, there are much moreimportant issues that have been brought before the commission that have yet to see the light of day:

A) A resident was the victim of a hit-and-run at anintersection where the lighting is inadequate. The CRArecently purchased a [circuit board] in The Cove ShoppingCenter to light up a Christmas tree. Isn’t it more importantto light the area where the young person was killed, especiallywhen the cost for such a project would be $3,000 to$5,000?

B) Ignoring the savings of $50,000 by refusing to movethe municipal election to November 2012 from March 2013.Are they afraid of a bigger turnout that just might cost themtheir seats? The commission has refused to put it on theagenda for a vote, so the voters can see just which commissionersdon’t care about saving the taxpayers money.

C) And who on the commission wrote the full-page letter?And which of the commissioners were part of this retaliatoryaction? Was their getting together to put the letter togetheran obvious violation of the Sunshine law? Time will tell when the state attorney is made aware of the circumstancessurrounding the creation of this full-page letter.

Steve Krevoy

Deerfield Beach

Dear Editor:

A recent letter from the Deerfield commission referred to citizen comment. Those comments were made by me, former mayor Jean M. Robb.

The commission chose to dismiss my claim that Carl Pete rhad been brought to Deerfield Beach by former manager Larry Deetjen and was supposed to retire at age 62 after five years. I verified the accuracy of that statement with a call to Larry Deetjen. He knew Carl from Grand Rapids, Michigan and had encouraged him to come to Deerfield for five years.Former mayor Al Capellini disclosed his conversation with Mike Mahaney over the hiring of Charles DaBrusco as anAsst. Engineer in 2007. Capellini was told that Carl was soon to retire and DaBrusco would become the Chief Engineer.

When the city lost the mediation after the firing of 106workers, my question was: ‘why didn’t the Human Services person follow the Employees’ Rules and Regulation Handbook?’The city’s reply was he was only onboard for two weeks prior to the mass firing. Wasn’t that enough time for him to read the book? Instead of being terminated, the person responsible for the debacle was given a $40,000raise.My assertion was that the CRA director who was hired should ethically not have taken another position with the same municipality.

My assertion was based on conversations with the CRA directors in a number of counties.

I also stated that in the 13 years I served as mayor, I had four different city managers, none of whom had assistants.The city claims Deerfield was smaller then. Yes, we had40,000 compared to the present 75,000, but we did not have50 percent of our budget being handled by BSO. So why do we need a manager, an assistant city manager, an executive to the city manager and an administrative support specialist?

The city’s reply is that the city manager is still responsible for overseeing law enforcement and fire-rescue operations.I thought that is what Sheriff Lamberti, Chief De Jesus and Chief Sudler were being paid to do.

The city claims that the article [which appeared in another local newspaper] stating that the city wanted to squeeze more money from city employees was inaccurate and incomplete.The commission [also] said that without economic concessions, the city could not have been able to reduce the millage rate by 1 mill. Wasn’t that the reasoning they gave us behind the passage of the utility tax? Which is it?

It is difficult to keep track of all the information this commission has fed us. We were told that the city would save $2 million with the BSO merger. They have now changed that figure to $1.5 million.

The city was doing the merger to get out of the pension business. Yet 100 firefighters chose to stay with Deerfield’s system so the city will be out of the pension business in the next 60 to 70 years.

As to why the BSO merger had to take place so fast,without public input, it was because six firefighters who were in the DROP plan would have had to retire. With the BSO merger, those six could remain and eventually dip into the BSO plan.

The commission seems to think I no longer support the merger. That is simply not true, but the contract does have some stipulations that should have been more thoroughly debated before passage, in particular, the DROP plan recipient.

Permit me to comment on the vice mayor’s performance at the public hearing of the PMSA appeal. It was like watching someone pull the wings off a fly, and no one on the dais had the good sense to say “Enough is Enough.”

It disturbs me that whoever wrote the recently-published city response did not have the courtesy to refer to me as the former mayor, not just as the resident. It is a title I earned after 13 years of service, and not using it shows a real lack of class.

Jean Robb

Deerfield Beach

RE: DB Commission responds to citizen comment

Dear Editor:

The City Commission does not routinely issue a formal public
response to citizen input made during Commission meetings. However,
there are times when such input is so outrageous that the
Commission has no choice but to respond.
At the Commission meeting on Tuesday, March 20, a former city
elected official made remarks that necessitate a formal response. We
will respond to the defamatory allegations, outright misinformation,
and flawed conclusions in the order they were presented.
Input 1
“At the Feb.21 meeting, the Commission made quite a fuss over
the retirement of Carl Peter. The truth is, he should have retired
three years ago. When Larry Deetjen brought Carl from Michigan,
it was with the understanding that Carl would retire after five
years at age 62. Deetjen wasn’t here when Carl reached 62. I called
the agreement to the attention of the powers that be, and was told
that since the agreement was not in writing, it held no water…How
come Burgess Hanson, who was Deetjen’s assistant at the time,
didn’t know? Peter wanted to stay until he was 65 so the City could
continue paying his health insurance. Although his position and
duties were vastly diminished, during those last three years, his
salary was not. Whatever happened to honor among thieves?”
RESPONSE:
The recruitment and selection process for Carl Peter, P.E., was
spearheaded by a former City Human Resources Director and the
Assistant to the City Manager. There were candidates from Illinois,
Massachusetts, Florida, etc. An interview panel of department directors
and other high-level senior managers recommended Mr. Peter as
the best-qualified applicant for the position of Director of Public
Works and Environmental Services.
As to the allegation that Mr. Peter was to retire at age 62, there is
simply no evidence of any such agreement either orally or in writing.
Mr. Peter recalled no conversation about an expected retirement date,
much less an oral or written agreement. Neither does current City
Manager Burgess Hanson, who assisted in the competitive recruitment
and selection process.
Mr. Peter’s duties changed considerably throughout his service to
the City, but they did not decrease until he helped orchestrate the
disestablishment of the Public Works Department as part of the 2011-
12 budget. Mr. Peter’s retirement was a known and expected result of
this organizational change. Mr. Peter served the City as a dedicated
public servant, and does not deserve to be impugned by baseless and
unsupported allegations.
Input 2
“The City lost the mediation over the firing of 106 City employees
without regard to the rules and regulations as outlined in the
employee’s handbook. Now the City has to rehire and pay back.
Instead of being terminated, the employee responsible for this
financial debacle was given a $40,000 raise in salary?”
RESPONSE:
Mike Milanowski, the City’s current Director of Human Resources,
had been onboard only two weeks when he reviewed and analyzed the
City’s plans for conducting the 2010 layoffs of 80 part-time and 26
full-time City employees. Mr. Milanowski then closely monitored the
effectuation of those layoffs.
The arbitration brought by the International Union of Painters and
Allied Trades (IUPAT) concluded with an arbitrator’s decision and
award that upheld the City’s reasoning for the layoffs, upheld the
layoff of the 80 part-time employees in their entirety, and upheld the
layoff of 25 of the 26 full-time employees who were laid off.
Rather than continue the arbitration process and incur considerable
additional costs to defend the belief that the City had followed all
applicable rules in the layoff of the single employee identified by the
arbitrator, City Management opted to return that employee without
further objection.
Input 3
“$40,000 increases in salary seem to be the favorite number.
Keven Klopp was hired by Mahaney, as CRA Director, with a
salary of $80,000. He got an increase of $40,000 when he became
the Assistant City Manager. As CRA Director, he also has an
Assistant CRA Director, and a Project Manager. And yet other
CRA Directors will tell you that it is unethical to take any job with
the same municipality that you serve as the CRA Director?”
RESPONSE:
Mr. Klopp was not given a $40,000 increase for assuming the duties
of Assistant City Manager. He was hired as the City’s CRA Director/
Economic Development Manager with a salary of $86,000, and
received an increase of $14,499 upon accepting the position of Acting
Assistant City Manager. When the position transitioned to a permanent
status, he received a final competitive salary of $120,000. His
salary in a tri-capacity position is lower than the salaries of many
single-capacity Assistant City Managers in similarly-sized cities in
South Florida and is $52,000 lower than the salary of the previous
Assistant City Manager under the former City Manager.
The accusation that Mr. Klopp engaged in unethical and unprofessional
behavior in accepting this role is absurd, and is a biased and
pathetic effort to defame both Mr. Klopp and the City. Multi-capacity
positions are a common practice among local governments. The City
Attorney and external auditors have carefully scrutinized Mr. Klopp’s
position, and have found no legal, professional or ethical basis on
which to discontinue a practice that benefits the city.
Input 4
“In the 13 years that I served as Mayor, I had four City
Managers, none of whom had an assistant. Although our population
was smaller, we had our own police and fire departments
most of the time. Now, 50 percent of our budget is handled by BSO.
So why do we have a Manager, an Assistant City Manager, an
Assistant to the City Manager, an Executive Assistant to the City
Manager, and an Administrative Support Specialist?”
RESPONSE:
In the 1980s, when this resident served as Mayor, the City’s
population was less than half of what it is today. Today, local
government operations have become exponentially much more complicated.
Regardless of whether the services are provided internally or
by the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO), the City Manager is still
responsible for overseeing the law enforcement and fire-rescue service
operations for a city of 76,000 residents. The staff of the City
Manager’s office is also essential to ensuring that all aspects of city
operations run smoothly.
During this City Manager’s tenure, several department directors
and other senior-level managers either retired or left City service.
Those positions were filled at much lower salaries, amounting to a
savings in excess of $240,000 per year. One position has been
eliminated entirely in the City Manager’s office.
In addition, all City employees whose pay exceeded the maximum
of their salary grade were reduced back to the appropriate salary range.
In at least one instance, this resulted in a Department Director’s pay
being reduced by more than $16,000. Non-unionized City employees
have not received merit or cost-of-living increases since 2008.
Input 5
“According to an article [which ran in a local newspaper] (not
the Observer), the City wants to squeeze some money from the City
employees since the City did not get all of the $1.2 million they
originally budgeted, and they plan to hire an attorney to sue the
employees. Why?”
RESPONSE:
The City Budget for Fiscal Year 2011-12 was predicated on the fact
that the pay of all City employees would be reduced by 5 percent and
that every City employee would be required to pay 10 percent of the
cost of his/her individual health insurance coverage. Without these
economic concessions, the City would not have been able to reduce the
millage rate by the 1 mill it was reduced, effective Oct. 1, 2011.
However, because of collective bargaining that was deliberately
stalled by the 29 employees represented by a newly formed union of
mid-level managers and supervisors, and due to the disavowal of an
affirmative ratification vote on a labor agreement, the above-detailed
economic concessions could not be implemented on Oct. 1, 2011.
The article to which this resident referred was an inaccurate and
incomplete report on a hearing before a Special Magistrate, who was
appointed to provide his recommendations regarding the impasse in
collective bargaining between the union and the City. There is no truth
to the assertion that the City plans to hire an attorney to sue the
employees represented by this union.
Input 6
“We were told that the main reason for the merger with BSO was
so the City could get out of the pension business. Yet, over a hundred
of the firefighters chose to stay in the City’s defined pension plan.
The City will eventually be out of the pension business, but it might
take 60 or 70 years to do it. And just why did the merger with BSO
have to take place so fast and without public input?”
RESPONSE:
There were a number of important reasons for the transition of fire/
rescue services to the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO). Interestingly
enough, this resident was actually very supportive of the merger until
the IAFF Union President, a close family friend, was removed by the
Union.
While not the only reason, the closure of the Deerfield Beach
Firefighters’ Pension Plan was one of the main reasons in support of
the transition to BSO. Nearly half of the Fire-Rescue Department’s
workforce had the potential to retire within the next five years. If the
plan had remained open, all of the personnel hired to replace the
retiring employees would have been in the City Firefighters’ Pension
Plan, meaning that the City would have to continue funding the
Pension Plan much further into the future than the time it will now take
for the Pension Plan to expire.
The City was advised both by our labor counsel and by attorneys
specializing in public-sector pension plans to close the Pension Plan
as soon as possible, thereby limiting entry by new employees into the
Pension Plan.
Florida law requires that existing employees in the Pension Plan
(even after their transition to the BSO) be allowed to remain in the
City’s Pension Plan until their retirement. The very best the City could
do in controlling the cost of the Firefighters’ Pension Plan was to close
the Pension Plan to new employees, benefit from the favorable
actuarial assumptions that would apply to a “closed” vs. “open”
Pension Plan and, in the course of time, eventually have the Pension
Plan expire.
The resident alleges that the transition to the BSO was to save more
than $2 million. A more accurate account of savings would be close
to $1.5 million in the first year of the contract. While not actually
reflected in the City’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2011-12, the cash
savings were earmarked by a consensus of the City Commission to be
used either to replenish the City’s Fund Balance or hire more BSO
deputies.
Still another $1.5 million in cost avoidance was produced by the
transition to BSO in fully staffing one existing fire station, opening a
new fire station along South Powerline Road, and avoiding the
purchase of telecommunications equipment that was over 25 years old
in the City’s former Dispatch Communications Center.
Conclusion
We trust that the information and responses to this resident’s input
will provide a much more accurate and true understanding of the
professionalism, responsiveness, efficiency and effectiveness with
which the City is run by the Deerfield Beach City Commission and City
Management.
Deerfield Beach City Commission