attorney - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-28T14:58:24Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/attorneyBoca Raton: Beach & Park District, Koski sever their working relationshiphttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-beach-park-district-koski-sever-their-working-relation2019-10-30T13:56:36.000Z2019-10-30T13:56:36.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong><br /> <br />Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District commissioners parted ways — at least temporarily — with Art Koski, their former longtime lawyer and executive director, but said they would negotiate a new contract to keep him on as a consultant.<br />“I don’t see how we can just not have someone to fall back on like Mr. Koski,” District Chair Susan Vogelgesang said.<br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960909290,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960909290,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-left" alt="7960909290?profile=original" /></a>The 5-0 vote Oct. 21 to end Koski’s contract came five weeks after commissioners elevated facilities manager Melissa Dawson to be their “owner’s representative” on the planned Boca National golf course. <br /> It’s the first time since 1978 that Koski has not held a job at the district. Koski, who shed his role as legal counsel in June 2018 and as executive director in January, was under contract to be project manager and construction manager of the golf course. He was paid $10,000 a month, the same amount he earned as executive director.<br /> After several months of the arrangement, and after negotiations with the city on the golf course bogged down, District Vice Chair Erin Wright complained she wanted more information on how Koski spent his time.<br /> At a July 15 meeting she opposed paying his invoice. “Sorry, I still haven’t, I haven’t received any kind of follow-up from Mr. Koski for the payment of his bill,” she said.<br /> “It was emailed this morning at 6,” Koski responded.<br /> Following a July 25 meeting the two had “an altercation” in the hallway, Executive Director Briann Harms said at the Oct. 21 meeting, offering no further details. Afterward she said “upsetting conversation” was a better description.<br /> Wright made it clear her working relationship with Koski is over.<br /> “I made the motion [to terminate his contract] because I don’t feel comfortable personally hiring Mr. Koski on as a consultant,” Wright said. <br /> Commissioners told attorneys Sam Goren and Jacob Horowitz to draft a new agreement to make Koski a consultant and investigate what would constitute proper pay.<br /> Horowitz said he, Harms, Wright and Koski met on Aug. 30 for an “open” and “candid” discussion of Koski’s role and relationship with the district. They all agreed at that point that Koski would give accounting time sheets for his work.<br /> The new consulting contract will include a similar requirement.<br /> Dawson’s designation as owner’s representative also came as a result of City Council pressure to have someone else oversee the golf course project. Commissioners said the terms of Koski’s new contract should dictate he reports to Harms.<br /> “I think where the city has a problem, to be perfectly honest, is in dealing directly with Mr. Koski. And if we define his responsibilities so that he’s dealing only with us then I think we eliminate that problem,” Commissioner Steve Engel said.<br /> Koski said the work he has done with the district “is just part of me.”<br /> “I feel good as a lawyer that my opposition in the city of Boca Raton doesn’t like me. I think that I’ve done my job as we push back on a lot of things that have simply been unfair. And I hope that in the future you continue to do that, and vote your conscience, not vote for politics of the community,” he said.<br /> Koski was paid $150,000 a year as the district’s lawyer. For a time he was lawyer, executive director and construction administrator for the De Hoernle Park sports fields, making $330,000 a year.<br /> But because he was an outside contractor, he received no pension or health benefits. He also paid for his downtown law office and staff from his own pocket.</p></div>Boca Raton: Beach-park director may drop job as its lawyerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-beach-park-director-may-drop-job-as-its-lawyer2018-05-30T15:30:00.000Z2018-05-30T15:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>By Steve Plunkett</b></span></p>
<p class="p2">Arthur Koski, the executive director of the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District, is ready to shed his duties as its legal adviser and focus on the Ocean Breeze golf course.</p>
<p class="p3"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960793471,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960793471,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="98" class="align-left" alt="7960793471?profile=original" /></a>“What I’m looking for is that golf course to be finished, we have an opening, someday when my grandsons come down and visit, they can say my granddad had something to do with it,” Koski told commissioners May 21.</p>
<p class="p3">In discussing Koski’s job duties over several meetings, commissioners decided it is time to begin looking for his successor as executive director, but to keep him onboard for at least two years to shepherd the transformation of Ocean Breeze into “a public golf course with a private course atmosphere.”</p>
<p class="p3">They also gave him the choice of keeping his title and primary duties as either director or attorney. Koski said he plans to cut back on his private caseload after spending a week in New York City trying a case unrelated to the district.</p>
<p class="p3">“I’ve had enough of the travel,” Koski told them. “I’ve had enough of the time and effort that goes into it, what it takes out of you.”</p>
<p class="p3">He’ll continue legal work on the golf course.</p>
<p class="p3">Koski is paid $120,000 a year as the district’s executive director and $150,000 annually for legal services. He also billed the district $120,000 in February for extra legal work he performed in the $24 million acquisition of Ocean Breeze.</p>
<p class="p3">The bill prompted a letter from the city questioning whether the payment passed ethics guidelines and state law. The district’s outside bond counsel assured officials that Koski’s fees were proper. Koski also drew flak from Boca Raton in 2016 when then-City Council member Robert Weinroth demanded that the district replace him with a full-time executive director. </p>
<p class="p3">Koski became the district’s legal counsel in 1978, four years after the district was created. Commissioners value his institutional knowledge as much as his management and legal skills.</p>
<p class="p3">“I appreciate everything that you’ve done,” District Vice Chairman Steve Engel said. “At some point we need to turn the page, and I guess that’s what we’re in the process of doing now.”</p>
<p class="p3">Commissioners will get an outside human resources specialist to create a job description of the executive director and to guide their search for Koski’s replacement. They hope to advertise the position by Jan. 1.</p></div>South Palm Beach: Town attorney resigns, citing conflict with councilhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/south-palm-beach-town-attorney-resigns-citing-conflict-with-counc2017-10-04T16:53:43.000Z2017-10-04T16:53:43.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong><br /><br /> Brad Biggs’ 11-year relationship with South Palm Beach ended abruptly Sept. 25 when the town attorney submitted his resignation, saying he had lost the support of some council members.<br /> “Some council persons now do not believe that I am the person they would desire to provide legal services for the town and they are unwilling or unable to accept such counsel from me,” Biggs wrote in a resignation letter. “I believe that ultimately, the only thing an attorney really can offer is wise and considered legal counsel.”<br /> Biggs said he needed the “full backing of every council member” to do his job, and without it, the only choice was resignation.<br /> “He’s been with us through thick and thin for 11 years,” said Vice Mayor Robert Gottlieb. “That was a real shocker.”<br /> Actually, it wasn’t that much of a shocker.<br /> Biggs had been pleading with the council for two years to approve a new contract for his services, and the council repeatedly ignored the request or postponed considering it. The attorney had been working on what was little more than a month-to-month handshake agreement since 2015.<br /> Meanwhile, Councilwoman Stella Gaddy Jordan emerged as Biggs’ harshest critic on the council, faulting him for not advocating strongly enough for the town on the 3550 S. Ocean project at the old Palm Beach Oceanfront Inn site. <br /> Jordan also criticized Biggs for not being accessible enough and not ensuring council meetings were run in an orderly manner.<br /> “I honestly have no idea what she’s talking about,” Biggs said at one point during the dispute. He told the council: “I very much feel kind of bullied.”<br /> The attorney offered to work out of Town Hall to improve accessibility and agreed to run a workshop on Robert’s Rules of Order to educate the council on meeting protocols. Neither action materialized, and instead Jordan encouraged the council to advertise for legal services and consider replacing Biggs.<br /> Last spring, the attorney lost his staunchest supporter on the council with the sudden death of then Vice Mayor Joe Flagello, who had described Biggs’ job performance as “outstanding.”<br /> Mayor Bonnie Fischer said the council will move quickly to find an interim replacement for Biggs and then fill the position permanently. <br /> It has been a stormy period for relations with high-level staff.<br /> In late 2014, the town hired Jim Pascale of Princeton, N.J., to fill the town manager opening. Six months later he resigned after philosophical disputes with the council that included whether South Palm Beach should continue to exist as an incorporated municipality.<br /> The town went about six months without a manager until Bob Vitas, a former Key West city manager, was hired in November 2015. Vitas, 60, has complained repeatedly in recent months that the town’s charter requires that the council review his contract and performance each year — consideration that includes possible merit raises, benefits and perks such as car allowance. But that hasn’t happened, so Vitas is working under a contract the town may have breached.<br /> Vitas’ relationship with the town may be sealed at the council’s Oct. 24 meeting. On Sept. 28, council members approved a budget for 2018 — but excluded dealing with the manager’s pay issues. The council plans to take that up at the October meeting, and Jordan says she wants to settle her difference of opinions over compensation with Vitas then “once and for all.”<br /> Kevin Hill, a resident of Palmsea condominiums, told council members he was concerned about losing experienced employees the town needs to oversee big projects that might be coming, including the possible renovation of the Town Hall, the 3550 S. Ocean development and beach stabilization.<br /> “I think you guys really need to pay attention to what you’re doing,” Hill said. “If you have a mass exodus of employees, the town could be in trouble. I don’t know what’s going on, but you need to take care of these people.”</p></div>Ocean Ridge: Jury to decide if former vice mayor battered police officerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/ocean-ridge-jury-to-decide-if-former-vice-mayor-battered-police-o2017-02-01T16:00:00.000Z2017-02-01T16:00:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960697875,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960697875,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960697875?profile=original" /></a><em>Attorney Marc Shiner, former Vice Mayor Richard Lucibella and his girlfriend, Barbara Ceuleers,</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>make their way to Circuit Judge Charles Burton’s courtroom.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</strong></p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Related stories: Commission sets meeting to <a href="http://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/ocean-ridge-commission-sets-meeting-to-hear-appeal-from-fired-lie">hear appeal</a> from fired lieutenant | Town will <a href="http://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/ocean-ridge-town-will-wait-until-election-to-replace-lucibella">wait</a> until election to replace Lucibella</strong></p>
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<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Steve Plunkett<br /> <br /></strong> A jury will decide whether former Vice Mayor Richard Lucibella is guilty of felony battery on an Ocean Ridge police officer and resisting the officer with violence.<br /> Circuit Judge Charles Burton scheduled the trial to begin at 9:30 a.m. April 10. Lucibella also faces a misdemeanor count of using a firearm while under the influence of alcohol. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.<br /> “You’ll see this case develop into a lot more,” Lucibella’s attorney, Marc Shiner, said after a Jan. 10 hearing. “There’s a lot of interesting small-town politics in this.”<br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960698501,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960698501,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-left" width="104" alt="7960698501?profile=original" /></a>Town police arrived at Lucibella’s oceanfront home Oct. 22 after neighbors complained of hearing gunshots. Officers said they found the vice mayor and one of their supervisors, Lt. Steven Wohlfiel, “obviously intoxicated” on the patio. Officers say they confiscated a .40-caliber Glock handgun and found five spent shell casings on the patio. Police also took a semiautomatic pistol they said Lucibella had in his back pocket.<br /> According to police reports, when officers Richard Ermeri and Nubia Plesnik tried to block Lucibella, 63, from entering his house, he resisted. The officers wrestled him to the paver-covered ground and handcuffed him. Lucibella needed treatment for facial injuries, and Ermeri and Plesnik also required medical attention, according to the reports.<br /> Through Shiner, Lucibella has claimed that he is the victim of police overreaction. He maintains officers should not have entered his back yard in the first place, and then that they used excessive force, cracking three of his ribs. Lucibella said outside the courtroom that he has not fully recovered.<br /> “They’re healing,” he said of the ribs.<br /> Lucibella resigned his position as vice mayor and town commissioner Dec. 7, the same day the State Attorney’s Office filed formal charges against him.<br /> Wohlfiel was put on administrative duty after the incident and fired Jan. 4 after an internal affairs report concluded the Glock was his personal weapon, not Lucibella’s, and that two witnesses said Wohlfiel admitted he was the one who shot it. He is appealing his dismissal to the Town Commission.<br /> Shiner said the internal affairs report undercuts the charge that Lucibella fired the weapon and shows that Ermeri and Plesnik recognized the Glock as belonging to Wohlfiel. “They knew right away,” Shiner said.<br /> “For some reason,” he said, Town Manager Jamie Titcomb was called to the police station. Titcomb and Lucibella had publicly skirmished over the town budget just one month before, Shiner said.<br /> And Wohlfiel was not the only off-duty officer drinking that Saturday night, he said. “The chief was intoxicated,” Shiner said. “It’s all left out of the report.”<br /> Chief Hal Hutchins said earlier his wife drove him to police headquarters that night because he had some wine with dinner.<br /> Shiner also said Plesnik’s lawyer learned Lucibella has a $10 million insurance policy and notified him that Plesnik plans to sue for neck injuries. In her report, Plesnik said she went to an urgent care center afterward to have her left shoulder, arm, wrist, leg and foot examined but did not mention having any neck pain.<br /> Shiner said in-house video at the Police Department captures Plesnik cautioning Ermeri to watch his temper. “You’re on tape,” he said the video shows her reminding Ermeri, though Shiner pointed out the audio is hard to hear.<strong><br /></strong></p></div>South Palm Beach: Council members clash over town attorneyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/south-palm-beach-council-members-clash-over-town-attorney2016-08-31T15:57:01.000Z2016-08-31T15:57:01.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong><br /><br /> Despite agreeing on terms for a new working relationship with Town Attorney Brad Biggs three months ago, South Palm Beach council members remain divided over whether he should keep his job.<br /> Councilwoman Stella Gaddy Jordan sharply criticized Biggs’ performance during a stormy Aug. 23 town meeting and said the council should open his position and interview applicants.<br /> Jordan said that, during the town’s recent negotiations with developer Gary Cohen over plans for the old Palm Beach Oceanfront Inn site, Biggs was not a strong advocate for the town’s interests.<br /> “Brad didn’t support the council enough,” Jordan said, complaining that he appeared to side with the developer’s lawyers.<br /> “When people come up and ask me whose attorney is this guy — that’s embarrassing,” Jordan said.<br /> She also criticized Biggs for not helping the council maintain order and follow parliamentary procedures during meetings. Jordan also has said Biggs has been slow to respond to officials’ questions.<br /> Vice Mayor Joseph Flagello vehemently disagrees: “Brad has done a great job.” Flagello said the town should have no complaints about how Biggs has done his job, arguing the attorney has been consistently attentive to the council’s needs.<br /> “If you said you don’t like the guy, all right, that’s fair enough,” Flagello said. “But from a performance standpoint, I don’t see that his performance has been anything but great. We’re not going to be totally happy with anyone who sits in that seat.”<br /> Councilman Woody Gorbach said he supports advertising the position because the town might be better served by a larger firm. Biggs is a sole practitioner.<br /> “Nothing against our attorney, but I’d like to have a firm with six or eight practitioners,” Gorbach said. “A single practitioner can’t handle it.”<br /> Councilman Robert Gottlieb said the council should schedule Biggs for a performance review and then decide: “[A review] is something we haven’t done.”<br /> Mayor Bonnie Fischer said the continuing dispute over Biggs has taken a toll on the council.<br /> “I don’t want to sit here on the council when there’s dissension about you or anybody else,” she told Biggs. “It’s uncomfortable for me as a mayor because I feel like I’m in the middle of this and I don’t like it.”<br /> Fischer said the Town Council would schedule a workshop meeting to discuss what services the town should expect from its attorney. She said she hoped to hold the workshop in September — at a date to be determined — and then reach a consensus among council members about Biggs’ fate.<br /> For his part, Biggs said he was “blindsided” when Jordan first voiced her complaints during a meeting in May. “It was a very, very unusual circumstance, and I don’t think it was appropriate,” he said.<br /> Biggs, who has been the town’s attorney for 10 years, said he doesn’t want discussion about his future to continue coming up and would participate in the workshop. He said he thought the complaints were resolved in June when he agreed on a new contract based on a retainer payment, rather than hourly fees. Biggs agreed then to spend more time in Town Hall to improve his accessibility.<br /> “I felt personally attacked the last time this occurred,” he said. “I very much feel kind of bullied at this point.”</p></div>Boca Raton: District’s $330,000 Manhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-district-s-330-000-man2016-08-31T14:00:00.000Z2016-08-31T14:00:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-4" style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Beach and Park lawyer outearns city manager</span></p>
<p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong><br /> <br /> The Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District’s longtime attorney has almost tripled his district pay by taking on additional jobs there, earning a cumulative $1.5 million in five years.<br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960669490,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960669490,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="101" alt="7960669490?profile=original" /></a> In all, Arthur Koski wears three part-time hats: lawyer, the district’s contract administrator and its executive director.<br /> “It’s very difficult because I do have other clients,” he said. “It’s a seven-day job now.”<br /> Koski is paid $11,000 a month for his legal advice, or $132,000 a year — more when he is involved in litigation. He also maintains a private law practice downtown specializing in municipal litigation.<br /> In mid-2010 he recommended that district commissioners hire him as the contract administrator to build four sports fields at the city’s DeHoernle Park after the original project engineer relocated to Jacksonville. Commissioners hired him on the spot. He’s paid $9,000 a month, or $108,000 a year, for those duties.<br /> The DeHoernle project, originally estimated to cost $23 million, was completed on time for $15 million. Koski, who has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering as well as a law degree, now oversees a $2.7 million project at the district’s Swim and Racquet Center on St. Andrews Boulevard.<br /> In July 2012 district commissioners tapped Koski as their interim executive director when Robert Langford retired. He started out at $5,000 a month and was given a raise in 2013 to $7,500 a month. As executive director he manages a budget that will top $50 million in the coming year.<br /> Langford was paid $160,000 annually plus benefits. But Koski is considered an independent contractor, so none of his three jobs at the district comes with benefits.<br /> Commissioners say Koski earns every penny.<br /> “I think everyone is pleased with Art’s service,” District Chairman Robert Rollins said. “He knows the history of what we have done. He’s very helpful.”<br /> Koski began giving the district legal advice in 1978, four years after the district was created. Commissioners value his institutional knowledge as much as his legal expertise.<br /> “He’s got almost 40 years’ experience with the district in one capacity or another,” said Commissioner Steve Engel. “I think Art has been an asset.”<br /> Commissioners say they compared salaries of comparable positions when deciding what to pay Koski. <br /> “If you break that [total compensation] down into its component parts, he’s actually at or below scale for each of the duties that he performs,” Commissioner Earl Starkoff said.<br /> In the Aug. 30 district election, candidate Craig Ehrnst complained that an auditor’s report showed Koski earned $432,000 in fiscal 2014 alone.<br /> “There’s no interviewing for anyone. There should be a process to interview people,” Ehrnst, a corporate treasurer, said at a candidate debate Aug. 11.<br /> But Koski said later the auditor mistakenly added contract administration fees from the previous year to the total and quickly asked for a clarification.<br /> “Based on our audit, the total paid to the Interim Executive Director for services rendered during the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2014, was $330,000,” auditor Racquel McIntosh, of Grau and Associates, wrote in an Aug. 18 letter to commissioners. “Reference to total compensation of $432,000 … was for services rendered … over a period of time and not one fiscal year.” <br /> By way of comparison, Boca Raton City Manager Leif Ahnell’s salary is $240,418 plus pension contributions and other benefits. City Attorney Diana Grub Frieser gets $235,383 plus.<br /> Not all the Beach and Park District candidates were concerned about Koski’s paychecks.<br /> Starkoff said Koski is paid “a lot less than what he’s worth.”<br /> Political newcomer John Costello, a CPA, said, “Just because someone makes a lot of money doesn’t mean they didn’t earn it.”<br /> Koski has been a lightning rod for complaints from city officials, culminating in City Council member Robert Weinroth’s demand in March that he be replaced with a full-time executive director. <br /> In May, Koski said he would step aside as interim director on Oct. 1, the start of the new budget year, but was persuaded to stay until January, when commissioners choose their chairman for the calendar year. <br /> Though Koski’s earnings will drop $90,000 a year when he quits the interim job, he said he will be “very happy” when Briann Harms, his assistant director, takes over those duties. He hopes commissioners keep him as contract administrator.<br /> “It’s something that I enjoy very much,” Koski said.</p>
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<p><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;"><strong>Three jobs, three paychecks</strong></span><br /> <em>Arthur Koski receives different amounts for being the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District’s attorney, executive director and contract administrator.</em></p>
<p> 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016<br /> Legal services $93,000 $144,750 $132,000 $132,000 $132,000<br /> Exec director $15,000 $71,250 $90,000 $90,000 $90,000<br /> Contract admin $108,000 $108,000 $108,000 $108,000 $108,000<br /> Totals $216,000 $324,000 $330,000 $330,000 $330,000</p></div>Paws Up for Pets: Trust can direct portion of estate to caring for pethttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/paws-up-for-pets-trust-can-direct-portion-of-estate-to-caring-for2014-07-02T15:30:00.000Z2014-07-02T15:30:00.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960516292,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960516292,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="527" alt="7960516292?profile=original" /></a><em>Judith and Stephen Beiner created a trust to care for Max in the event they died before the dog.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></p>
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<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Arden Moore</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"> For more than three decades, attorney Stephen Beiner has specialized in family and matrimonial law, but lately, his expertise is now happily going to the dogs — and cats, parrots and other pets.<br /> As a name partner with Beiner, Inkeles, Horvitz based in Boca Raton, Beiner credits Max, a Shih-Tzu-poodle mix he adopted from a Broward County shelter, with inspiring him to expand his legal practice to fill a needed void in Palm Beach County: pet trusts.<br /> “In my file cabinets at our law offices, there must be more than 1,000 wills and trusts I’ve prepared for my clients,” notes Beiner. “I interview each client in depth, asking about their children, grandchildren and any special children or individuals they want included in their trusts. But it never occurred to me to ask about pets until my wife, Judith, and I adopted Max.”<br /> Three years ago, Max, now 5, unleashed his canine charm on Beiner at the shelter. When Beiner picked up Max out of the cage to hug him, Max delivered a friendly dog kiss to his cheek. That’s all it took for Beiner to be smitten and since that day, their friendship has only grown stronger. <br /> “Max gives me abundant, continual love every day and I have a responsibility to Max to keep my promise that if, God forbid, my wife and I should die before him that Max won’t be abandoned again and won’t end up in a shelter again.”<br /> In Florida and the other states, pets are still considered chattel (personal property) in the eyes of the legal system. As such, a person cannot legally leave any or all of his estate directly to a pet. <br /> “You can’t leave money to a dog, just like you can’t leave money to your living room sofa,” <b id="yui_3_16_0_1_1404313196876_28933"></b>he says.<br /> However, the immeasurable value of pets as cherished members of families is shifting legal sentiment. In recent years, legislators in Florida and 32 other states enacted laws that allow for the creation of care trusts for surviving pets whose owners become hospitalized, incapacitated or die.<br /> Without legal instructions spelling out the fate of pets who outlive their owners, far too many become abandoned or surrendered to shelters where, if not adopted, they are euthanized to make way for new arrivals. <br /> Beiner did not want this to happen to Max. So, he drew up a legally binding pet trust that spells out specific care instructions for Max, including his meals (featuring organic ground beef and grain-free commercial dog food), his five daily walks and much more. He set aside funds, named a primary pet guardian, two back up guardians and a trustee.<br /> “The trustee is in charge of managing the funds, investing the funds and supervising the pet guardian to make sure Max is walked and fed as promised,” he says. “I have found that I have a lot of clients who feel about their dogs and other pets as my wife and I do about Max.”<br /> Word about Beiner’s “legal beagle” pet trust expertise is spreading. His typical pet trust document numbers about 40 pages and includes identifying the pet’s veterinarian. He is attracting clients from other law firms that do not yet offer pet trusts.<br /> “I even had one person who heard about me and the pet trusts tell me that she doesn’t have a pet, but said she felt I sounded like a person with a heart because of how much I care about Max and she said that I was the type of person she wanted to have as her attorney,” says Beiner.<br /> The bottom line: Pet care trusts give pet lovers peace of mind in knowing that provisions will be made to provide a quality life for their surviving pets.<br /> “With a pet trust, what you are conveying to your pet is that ‘I will protect you. I will always be there for you and if I can’t, I will make sure that someone will be there for you and you will never be abandoned,’ ” says Beiner.<br /> And, yes, his pet trusts even cover species whose life spans can easily exceed 40 years: horses and parrots.<br /> Learn more: According to the ASPCA, more than a half-million pets are euthanized annually because their owners died or were transferred to nursing care facilities and did not leave any legal-binding care instructions for their pets. <br /></p>
<p id="yui_3_16_0_1_1404313196876_28398" class="yiv7789062690MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1404313196876_28399" style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;"> Learn more about pet trusts by contacting Beiner at his law office at</span> <a id="yui_3_16_0_1_1404313196876_28943" target="_blank" href="http://www.beinerlaw.com" name="yui_3_16_0_1_1404313196876_28943"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1404313196876_28942" style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;">www.beinerlaw.com</span></a> <span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1404313196876_28941" style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;">or (561) 750-1800.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong><br /> <br /></strong> <em> Arden Moore, founder of FourLeggedLife.com, is an animal behavior consultant, editor, author, professional speaker and master certified pet first aid instructor. Each week, she hosts the popular Oh Behave! show on PetLifeRadio.com. Learn more by visiting <a href="http://www.fourleggedlife.com">www.fourleggedlife.com</a>.</em></p></div>Ocean Ridge: Town attorney to keep hand in lawsuit against countyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/ocean-ridge-town-attorney-to-keep-hand-in-lawsuit-against-county2013-10-02T16:29:12.000Z2013-10-02T16:29:12.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Tim O’Meilia</strong><br /><br /> Despite their unhappiness with spending far more than other coastal cities in a two-year dispute over funding the Palm Beach County Inspector General’s Office, Ocean Ridge commissioners decided to retain their town attorney to handle the case.<br /> “At this point, with a couple of more months to go, it’s probably worth retaining you to go forward,” Commissioner Zoanne Hennigan told Town Attorney Ken Spillias at the Sept. 10 Town Commission meeting.<br /> The other commissioners agreed, although no formal vote was taken.<br /> In August, commissioners questioned why Ocean Ridge had paid $16,510 in legal fees through April in the legal battle with Palm Beach County, three times more than any other South County municipality in the suit. <br /> Fourteen county municipalities sued in 2011, claiming they are being double-taxed if the inspector general’s budget is paid by both Palm Beach County and the cities. <br /> The commission considered withdrawing from the suit or hiring the law firm of Corbett, White & Davis to handle the suit. Corbett, White represents five other towns in the dispute. <br /> “We’re not going to walk away from it at this point. We’re in it,” Commissioner Lynn Allison said of the suit. “On the other hand, we don’t want to continue spending all that money.”<br /> “It seems like we’re doing all the heavy lifting financially,” Commissioner Ed Brookes said. “(Trela White) did some of the work pro bono.”<br /> Spillias said White’s firm charges $190 per hour, compared with his $205. “In terms of raw numbers it was more,” he said. “In terms of legal services provided, I suggest you were not out of whack.”<br /> Most of the pretrial work in the case has been completed, Spillias said. The dispute is set to go to trial, although another request for a summary judgment may be filed first. <br />Spillias said his firm, Lewis, Longman & Walker, would not be part of the <br />trial, but would continue to review filings. <br /> <strong> In other business</strong>, commissioners:<br /> • Released a lien on the Delray Beach property of imprisoned businessman Joseph Romano so the sale of his oceanfront home at 6011 N. Ocean Blvd. in Ocean Ridge could be completed. Romano is serving 15 years in New York on a business conspiracy conviction. More than $50,000 remains in escrow for two liens for building code violations on the Ocean Boulevard property. Romano was cited in 2009 for not having a pool barrier and in 2010 for erecting columns without a permit. The new owners are expected to ask for a reduction in the liens. <br /> • Adopted a public participation policy to meet state law. The policy, similar to the town’s current rules and modeled after those of Manalapan, limits speakers to three minutes, forbids yelling and “boisterous” activity, forbids speaking directly to individual commissioners and requires cellphones to be silenced.<br /> • Tentatively agreed to give right-of-way varying from 15 to 40 feet along Old Ocean Boulevard, just south of Beachway Drive, to the four property owners along the stretch. Town officials say the town does not need the land and said it would be expensive to maintain. The owners have agreed to take the swath of land, some of it overgrown, and provide easements to the town. Town officials will research the best method of transferring the land.<br /> • Decided not to give retiring police Sgt. Eve Eubanks a $1,000 bonus because it violates policy approved last year that allows only 20-year employees to get the bonus. Eubanks worked 15 years. The commission approved the bonus in June, but had to reconsider it since it was not in the form of a resolution.</p></div>Ocean Ridge: Story evolved into two-part novel for Spilliashttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/ocean-ridge-story-evolved-into-two-part-novel-for-spillias2013-04-03T19:28:50.000Z2013-04-03T19:28:50.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960439474,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960439474,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="188" alt="7960439474?profile=original" /></a>Ocean Ridge town attorney Kenneth Spillias has departed from his daily genre of resolutions and ordinances to pen a newly published novel, <em>Widow’s Walk, Part I: The Precipice</em>.<br />The self-published book is set in South Florida and tells the tale of character Jim Donovan in his lifelong struggle between good and evil. Donovan achieves great heights as an evangelist in South Florida and later falls in a scandal that drives him and his wife to Africa, according to the Amazon.com description.<br /> Amazon.com prices Widow’s Walk at $27.35 in hardcover, $13.13 in paperback and $6.99 for the Kindle edition.<br />The book started as a short story, evolving into a two-part novel, Spillias said recently. Spillias said of authoring the novel, “It was not a chore.” He had heard authors tell how their books write themselves, but was surprised to experience it. “It took over for me,” he said.<br /> The second book will be <em>Widow’s Walk, Part 2: The Reckoning</em>.<br /><em>— Margie Plunkett</em><br /><br /></p></div>Manalapan: Process of public information requests stands unchangedhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/manalapan-process-of-public-information-requests-stands-unchanged2012-11-29T14:49:13.000Z2012-11-29T14:49:13.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Tim O’Meilia</strong><br /><strong> </strong><br />Manalapan town commissioners verbally skirmished over police criminal statistics, police dispatch services and whether residents and commissioners were burdening the town staff with too many requests. <br /> In the end — nearly four hours later — nothing changed. <br /> Commissioners did not follow up on Mayor Basil Diamond’s proposal that commission approval be required for requests by residents and commissioners to the town staff and consultants for research beyond basic public records searches.<br /> “You are trying to stop any commissioner from getting information required to make an intelligent decision,” Commissioner Howard Roder told the mayor. <br /> Town Manager Linda Stumpf said the staff had fielded numerous requests when the commission was considering shifting police services to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.<br /> “It’s time-consuming,” Stumpf said. “Ninety-nine percent was related to public safety, and it is more than just copies — it’s analyzing data, compiling logs.”<br /> Town Attorney Trela White said she had few requests to her office.<br /> Commissioner Donald Brennan said that crime statistics released by town officials were not shown as misleading until deeper analysis showed otherwise. <br /> Police Chief Carmen Mattox said people misinterpreted statistics noted as “incidents” as criminal activity.<br /> “I almost fell off the dais when I learned that incidents were far exaggerated in terms of their importance,” Brennan said. “The information provided early on turned out to be wrong, and I feel pretty stupid.” <br /> “I almost fell off the dais when I heard there were only one or two [911] dispatch calls a month,” he added. <br /> After making numerous requests to town officials, resident Kersen DeJong provided many of the statistics Brennan referred to. He said he has never requested research and spoke to the town attorney twice. He praised Town Clerk Lisa Petersen for timely responses. <br /> Commissioner David Cheifetz said there was no need to solve a problem where none existed.<br /> <strong> In other business:</strong> Commissioners set workshops for early next year to deal with the town’s election process and with the budget.<br /> In January, the commission will discuss Brennan’s proposal to reduce the number of commissioners from seven to five, requiring two from the oceanfront, two from the point and the mayor alternating every few years. <br /> There is too little time to place any potential charter change on the March ballot.<br /> In February, the commission will discuss accelerating the annual budget process and dealing with its overall approach. <br /> This year the commission compressed several workshops into the last few weeks before the budget deadline required by state law. Several commissioners suggested beginning budget hearings at least in July. <br /> Commissioners also will consider zero-based budgeting, justifying every line item. </p></div>Highland Beach: Town attorney resignshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/highland-beach-town-attorney-resigns-12011-11-02T17:30:00.000Z2011-11-02T17:30:00.000ZDeborah Hartz-Seeleyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/DeborahHartzSeeley<div><p> </p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960356266,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960356266,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="248" alt="7960356266?profile=original" /></a>Town Attorney Tom Sliney</p>
<p><span> </span><span><b>Former Town Manager Dale Sugerman sues town, <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/highland-beach-suspended-manager-sues-town-following-email-flap">click here.</a></b></span></p>
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<p><span><b>By Steve Plunkett</b></span></p>
<p>Has the town been paying too much or too little for the services of longtime Town Attorney Tom Sliney?</p>
<p>It will find out this month when competing law firms answer a “request for qualifications” prompted by Town Commissioner Dennis Sheridan’s review of Sliney’s retainer agreement. </p>
<p>Sliney resigned Oct. 17, two weeks after commissioners agreed to shop for prices.</p>
<p>“I have decided it is time for a transition for both myself and the town,” Sliney said in his resignation letter, which takes effect Dec. 31.</p>
<p>Sliney began representing Highland Beach 38 years ago. </p>
<p>“I was a teenager when I started,” he joked when Sheridan brought up the retainer agreement in late September. Sheridan said the agreement had not been examined since 2009. </p>
<p>“I have nothing against Tom whatsoever,’’ Sheridan said. “It’s just the case that this original contract was done in 1973 and I think that it’s time to look and see what’s out there, and by all means, let Tom’s law firm bid accordingly and we’ll go from there.” </p>
<p>Vice Mayor Miriam Zwick objected to putting the agreement out to bid.</p>
<p>“It’s not a contract to put in new piping, it’s not a contract to do re-roofing,” Zwick said. “It’s a contract to protect the town with knowledge and accessibility, and not only that but a history with the town and I think this is personified by Mr. Sliney.”</p>
<p>Sliney said he and then-Mayor Jim Newill reviewed the economic and non-economic terms of his retainer agreement two years ago and said this time Sheridan could be designated to negotiate with him. </p>
<p>But commissioners voted 5-0 to follow Sheridan’s recommendation.</p>
<p>Under the agreement, Sliney has received a monthly retainer of $9,000 plus costs for general legal services and $185 an hour for litigation services. The fees are billed through his law firm, Buckingham, Doolittle and Burroughs LLP.</p>
<p>By comparison, Gulf Stream pays its attorney, John ‘’Skip’’ Randolph, $235 an hour. Randolph, who has represented Gulf Stream since 1971, billed the town a total of $2,855 in September for phone consultations, legal correspondence and preparing for and attending two town meetings. His fee has not changed since 2008.</p>
<p>Randolph also represents the towns of Palm Beach and Jupiter Island.</p>
<p>Ocean Ridge pays Town Attorney Ken Spillias a $6,000-a-month retainer and $195 an hour for all “non-routine” matters. Spillias was chosen town attorney in 1999.</p>
<p> In Briny Breezes, Town Attorney Jerome Skrandel also charges $185 an hour. Attorney Trela White bills Manalapan $165 an hour for general representation and $185 for litigation. Her September bill totaled $5,568.75. Her firm, Corbett and White PA, bills Lantana a slightly lower fees for the services of Max Lohman — $150 for regular hours, $175 for litigation — because the town pays White’s health insurance premiums, she said. White is also the attorney for the Palm Beach County League of Cities.</p>
<p>South Palm Beach pays its attorney, Brad Biggs of Corbett and White, $170 an hour an hour for general representation, $195 for litigation.</p>
<p>“Every city is a little different,” White said.</p>
<p>Boca Raton and Delray Beach have full-time city attorneys. </p>
<p>Back in Highland Beach, Sliney had a busy calendar in September, attending the Town Commission’s regular meeting and workshop session as well as two public hearings on the budget and meetings of the Planning Board and the Board of Adjustment and Appeals.</p>
<p>“He’s been a terrific help to me and a help to the town. He pulled us out of some pretty tight spots,” said Harold Hagelmann, the town’s mayor from 2005 to 2008 and a member of the Planning Board for eight years before that. “I just hate to see Tom go.” <span> </span></p>
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