florida league of cities - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-28T16:44:36Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/florida+league+of+citiesBoca Raton: Three from city named as Home Rule Heroeshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-three-from-city-named-as-home-rule-heroes2023-05-31T15:41:55.000Z2023-05-31T15:41:55.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p>The Florida League of Cities has named Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer, City Council member Yvette Drucker and Deputy City Manager George Brown as 2023 Home Rule Heroes for their work to protect the ability of city leaders to make decisions for their communities.</p>
<p>Boca Raton was the only city in Palm Beach County to have three leaders so designated. Lake Worth Beach and Lake Clarke Shores each had two. No other city leaders in southeastern Palm Beach County were recognized.</p>
<p>“Home Rule Heroes are some of our biggest advocates in protecting local decision-making,” the league said in announcing those recognized. “… This year’s Home Rule Heroes continuously advocated for their communities throughout the 2023 legislative session.”</p>
<p>Drucker noted the difficulty of the task.</p>
<p>“Now more than ever, local communities are having to fight even harder to make local decisions in the face of new pressure from Washington and Tallahassee,” she said.<br />For many years, the state Legislature has gathered more power by chipping away at the authority of city leaders. Legislators were particularly aggressive in usurping local control during the 2023 session.</p>
<p style="text-align:right;"><em>— Mary Hladky</em></p></div>Boca Raton: ‘StoryWalk’ combines nature with a good bookhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-storywalk-combines-nature-with-a-good-book2021-09-29T15:00:00.000Z2021-09-29T15:00:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9624195074,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9624195074,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="9624195074?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></strong><em>BELOW: The Pondhawk Natural Area’s StoryWalk path featured ‘Little Skink’s Tail,’ by Janet Halfmann, in late August. The library changes the book every two months. </em><em>ABOVE: The Mayes family from Boca Raton follows the story and the trail next to the Spanish River Library. The walk combines a reading activity with exercise for young children and families. </em><strong>Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></p>
<p><strong>By Mary Hladky<a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9624196460,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9624196460,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="300" alt="9624196460?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></a></strong></p>
<p>As they walked along a trail in Pondhawk Natural Area, Kyle Mayes and his four children declared themselves fans of the Boca Raton Public Library’s StoryWalk program.<br /> “I like StoryWalk,” said one of his sons.<br /> “It is out in nature,” said a daughter. “I recommend it for something more nature-y.”<br /> The program places enlarged pages of children’s books in weatherproof enclosures mounted on posts along walking trails, allowing children and their parents to read the books as they walk by. <br /> The Florida League of Cities recently awarded Boca Raton its top City Spirit municipal achievement award for the effort, launched last year as the coronavirus pandemic kept kids cooped up indoors. The program gave them a reading activity that could be done safely outside.<br /> Ellen Randolph, manager of library services, said she and her staff decided in 2019 that they wanted to launch StoryWalk. But they soon accelerated their plans.<br /> “The pandemic made it obvious we needed to get this done,” she said.<br /> The public reaction has been very positive, Randolph said. <br /> “Everyone who has seen it is blown away with how nice it is. It helps families get kids outside and walking around,” she said. “It’s really been a hit all the way around.”<br /> Mayes agrees. “It is an amazing idea,” he said.<br /> Pondhawk, a county nature area, was selected for the first StoryWalk because it is located next to the city’s Spanish River Library at 1501 Spanish River Blvd. and has walking paths. Books displayed there are aimed at children about 4 to 6 years old.<br /> Library staff collaborated with the Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management, the city’s Department of Recreation Services and Friends of the Boca Raton Public Library, which helped fund the initiative.<br /> They later opened a StoryWalk at the city’s Serenoa Glade Preserve, a nature area at 1101 NW 15th St. in George Snow Park, next to a popular playground. It focuses on books for toddlers and children in strollers.<br /> Librarians select the books. For older children, they pick those with a good story to hold interest, illustrated with bright colors and likely not already familiar. Books are changed every two months.<br /> When the Mayes family visited in late August, the featured book was <em>Little Skink’s Tail</em>, by Janet Halfmann.<br /> Little Skink, a small lizard with a bright blue tail, was happily eating a breakfast of ants when she was attacked by a crow. Fearing for her life, she snapped off her blue tail to distract the crow and hid under a log.<br /> When the danger passed, she began looking at other animals’ tails, pondering if she would prefer one of them. But the rabbit’s tail was “too puffy-fluffy,” the squirrel’s “much too bushy,” and the skunk’s “stinky.”<br /> All ends well when one day she sees that her tail, the best one for her, has regenerated.<br /> Besides telling a story, the displays provided information on what skinks are, their habits and food preferences, which parents can share with their children who do not yet read.<br /> They also suggested questions to keep children engaged as they walk to the next page, such as “what should Little Skink do now?” Parents also could share with their kids information on how some lizards can regrow their tails and why animals have tails.<br /> For now, Randolph does not expect to add more StoryWalks, although she might offer pop-ups at city-sponsored events.<br /> StoryWalk is not unique to Boca Raton. It was developed in 2007 by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont, in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library.<br /> The idea really took off when the pandemic hit, as a way to help kids keep up their reading skills and engage in physical activity. StoryWalks exist now in 50 states and 13 countries.<br /> The League of Cities loved the program and hopes other communities will adopt it. <br /> “The city of Boca Raton’s nomination was excellent and your effort in engaging citizens was extraordinary,” Shwanda Barnette, the league’s membership relations ambassador, said in a July 26 award ceremony at a city meeting.<br /> The league recognized that, though not unique, Boca’s was the right program at the right time and can be done at low cost, Randolph said. <br />“And it shows there can be a good outcome of seeing a need and reacting to it and being the right solution for the time.” </p></div>Boca Raton: Singer named Home Rule Hero againhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-singer-named-home-rule-hero-again2021-06-02T15:18:39.000Z2021-06-02T15:18:39.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p>The Florida League of Cities has honored Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer as a 2021 Home Rule Hero for his work and advocacy efforts during the 2021 legislative session. <br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9025776484,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9025776484,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" width="103" alt="9025776484?profile=RESIZE_180x180" /></a>“Singer worked tirelessly throughout the session to promote local voices making local choices, protect the home rule powers of Florida’s municipalities and advance the League’s legislative agenda,” the League said in a May 26 release.<br />During the recently completed legislative session, lawmakers continued efforts they have made in previous years to strip cities and counties of governing powers enshrined in the state constitution and known as “home rule.”<br />“I am honored to work with local elected leaders across the state to defend the principle that cities should be able to decide local matters without undue interference from Washington or Tallahassee,” Singer said. <br />Singer, who was elected mayor in 2018 and re-elected in 2020, was also named a Home Rule Hero in 2018 and 2020.</p>
<p style="text-align:right;"><em>— Mary Hladky</em></p></div>Local Voices: Careful public records safeguards neededhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/local-voices-careful-public-records-safeguards-needed2016-03-30T15:50:38.000Z2016-03-30T15:50:38.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p> Two days after the Florida Legislature completed the 2016 session, a Sun Sentinel editorial headlined “Open government under attack,” indirectly referred to a failed bill that attempted to address abuse of the Public Records Act by a cottage industry of scam artists who have conspired to fleece Florida taxpayers of many millions of dollars.<br /> With some irony, the Florida Press Association had worked with bill sponsors to craft language to assure that only abusers of open government laws were targeted, and not the press or ordinary citizens. Perhaps someone missed the memo.<br /> The alleged public records “scheme” is virtually foolproof. It starts with the Sunshine Law that grants citizens and the press unfettered access to the inner workings of taxpayer-funded public agencies (municipalities, school boards, law enforcement, etc.) When requested records are not produced in a timely fashion, the requestor has a right to sue the agency. If the court finds that the request was actually denied, attorney fees must be awarded to the plaintiff. <br /> Sounds reasonable. Except that hustlers have figured out how to game the system, either by overwhelming the agency with excessive requests, or by rigging the requests in a manner that makes it impossible to comply.<br /> Quick money is made by threatening or actually filing a lawsuit, then offering a settlement for a fraction of trial costs. The victim is in a lose/lose situation. Most settle, and the taxpayer foots the bill. <br /> The Florida League of Cities, representing all 410 state municipalities, got wind of the scam several years ago. In establishing priorities for the 2016 legislative session, confronting abuse of the Public Records Act was the top choice of League policy makers. As a FLOC committee delegate from Gulf Stream, I was in the unenviable position of defining the problem that legislation needed to solve.<br /> Our tiny town endured 2,500 public records requests in 18 months, overwhelming a four-person administrative staff. Over 40 compliance lawsuits have been filed, some within hours of receipt of the request. Town annual legal costs escalated from $25,000 to $1 million. Almost 5,000 annual staff hours were spent processing records requests. <br /> Sadly, the Gulf Stream situation was neither unique nor more repulsive than the experience of similar agencies throughout the state. One mayor said, “We are facing an epidemic.”<br /> Rep. Greg Steube and Sen. Rene Garcia agreed to sponsor public records reform bills. It was a daunting task, involving: the mechanics of crafting bill language; assigning and coordinating six required committee reviews; educating and motivating 160 legislators; appearing at hearings and amending language as needed.<br /> League lobbyists coordinated the effort, and elected officials throughout the state personally testified in support of conscientious efforts to give courts discretion to withhold attorney fees from frivolous litigants.<br /> Florida Tax Watch, a respected watchdog whose research on government waste is based upon access to public records, filed a report asking Legislators to support sensible reform.<br /> The proposed bills passed all committee hearings almost unanimously. During testimony, the most ardent defenders of the Public Records Act acknowledged the damage caused by abusive practice, calling the perpetrators “cockroaches” and “gotcha guys.” <br /> The Florida Press Association and First Amendment Foundation worked with Garcia to amend bill language to not impose a chilling effect on legitimate exercise of open government rights. <br /> Apparently, one influential member of the House (who is a public records attorney), was not convinced. Rather than put SB 1220 to a vote on the House floor where it was certain to pass, the bill was buried.<br /> However, the genie is now out of the bottle. We’ll be back in 2017.<br /><br /><em>Robert W. Ganger</em><br /><em>Vice Mayor, Gulf Stream</em><br /><br /><em>Robert W. Ganger is a Florida League of Cities committee delegate and a longtime Gulf Stream resident and commissioner.</em></p></div>Highland Beach: Leaders to check out library management companyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/highland-beach-leaders-to-check-out-library-management-company2015-09-02T18:38:25.000Z2015-09-02T18:38:25.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p><strong>By Rich Pollack</strong><br /><br /> With their library in transition following the departure of its longtime director, Highland Beach town leaders hope to find out more about a private company that manages libraries for communities across the country. <br /> During a Florida League of Cities conference in Orlando last month, several Highland Beach commissioners met briefly with a representative of Library Systems and Services Inc., which manages about 80 libraries nationwide. <br /> Vice Mayor Bill Weitz and Commissioner Lou Stern told other members of the commission that they would be in favor of inviting LSSI to visit Highland Beach so they could find out more about what the company offers. “We know very little about this company but when we have options, we should look at all the data,” Weitz said. “Right now we’re just in the data collection mode.” <br /> Tim Buckley, a spokesman for LSSI, said the Maryland-based company was founded by experienced librarians in 1997 to help government agencies operate their libraries efficiently and effectively.<br /> “They saw there was a better way of doing it,” Buckley said. <br /> Because LSSI operates several libraries, Buckley said, the firm can save money on books, software and other expenses through economies of scale. He added that the firm also has experienced library managers who can use their knowledge to help libraries best meet the needs of their residents. <br /> While LSSI runs the day-to-day operation of the libraries it manages, Buckley said key decisions continue to be made at the local government level. <br /> He said that any discussions with Highland Beach officials would also be an opportunity for LSSI to determine if working with the town would make sense for the company.<br /> “It needs to be the right fit,” he said.<br /> Weitz said that should the town see potential in partnering with LSSI, he would then seek input from library users and other residents. <br /> Both Weitz and Stern said they’re pleased with the job interim Library Director Suzi Hayes is doing. <br /> Since taking over the position in June, Hayes has instituted a new electronic cataloging system for new books and is preparing a survey to determine what programs and services residents would like to see at the library.<br /> Hayes, along with Town Manager Beverly Brown and Town Attorney Glen Torcivia, also is working on crafting a policy to address outside vendors who offer classes at the library.<br /> Vendors offering programs, such as yoga classes, had been paid directly by class members. The town is looking into liability issues and into the possibility of a more structured system.</p></div>