home rule - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-28T09:06:06Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/home+ruleAlong the Coast: Government leaders preparing to meet in person againhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-government-leaders-preparing-to-meet-in-person-ag2020-10-28T18:16:44.000Z2020-10-28T18:16:44.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming<div><p><strong>By Rich Pollack</strong></p>
<p>After months of meeting virtually, municipal government leaders throughout south Palm Beach County are about to take their seats on a dais — but they won’t be getting too close. <br />Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to end an order that allowed virtual meetings means that towns and cities that had virtually gathered elected officials are scrambling to come up with safe ways to hold meetings in person again. <br />Some towns and cities are moving to larger spaces to make social distancing easier during the coronavirus pandemic, while others will require visitors to get temperature checks before they can sit down in the council chambers. <br />“Everybody is taking a different level of precaution, but everyone is doing something,” said attorney Glen Torcivia, whose firm represents several coastal communities, including South Palm Beach, Ocean Ridge and Highland Beach. <br />With a deadline of Nov. 1, some communities were still finalizing preparations in late October, but one precaution that seems most common is the installation of plexiglass partitions between elected officials. All are also requiring face coverings, and most are providing hand sanitizer for those who attend in person. <br />Highland Beach officials plan to have commissioners and a limited number of residents attend meetings in person due to CDC guidelines and the capacity of the commission chambers. People wishing to attend will have a chance to register a day in advance and will be admitted on a first-come, first-served basis. <br />Residents and visitors will still be able to view and participate in meetings virtually, Town Manager Marshall Labadie said. <br />“We’re moving closer to how it used to be, but with CDC guidelines it could be a little tricky,” Labadie said. <br />To help ensure the safety of those attending a meeting in person, the town will conduct temperature checks and require masks and social distancing.<br />Delray Beach has crafted a detailed protocol for visitors that is explained in a video posted on Facebook. Those wishing to attend a commission meeting will first see a sign outside City Hall with reminders on social distancing and mask wearing. Once inside, they will answer a series of screening questions to determine if they have been exposed to the coronavirus. They will then have their temperatures scanned before entering the commission chambers, where they will find many seats blocked off to ensure social distancing. <br />To handle an overflow, Delray will let people watch on television in the Civic Center. <br />Like many communities, Delray Beach will continue to make it possible to view the meetings online. <br />One exception is Gulf Stream, which recently discontinued online access and now offers only in-person attendance. For several months, the town offered hybrid meetings combining virtual access with in-person attendance.<br />Ocean Ridge has also been holding in-person meetings all along while still offering virtual access to the public. One commissioner, who has a summer home out of state, was attending remotely but that is likely to change, Town Manager Tracey Stevens said. <br />Ocean Ridge will also require actual attendance by residents wishing to comment. <br />“We will still provide live audio feed for people to listen to the meeting, but no public participation will be available unless it is in person,” Stevens said. <br />Lantana has also offered in-person meetings since the beginning of the pandemic but will now require all elected and appointed officials to be at Town Hall. The town will continue to broadcast meetings live via telephone and, like Ocean Ridge, make audio recordings available the day after the meeting. <br />Manalapan officials plan to hold in-person meetings and will arrange chairs to be socially distanced. Masks will be required, and hand sanitizer stations will be set up. <br />Although the state will require elected officials to attend meetings in person, Torcivia said there are exceptions and he believes commissioners or council members with health issues should be OK attending virtually. <br />That could be good news for elected officials in South Palm Beach and Briny Breezes who don’t want to chance contracting the virus.<br />In South Palm Beach, which is adapting the small Town Hall auditorium to accommodate social distancing, some council members could be attending the meetings by phone. <br />In Briny Breezes, where some council members have similar health concerns, virtual meetings have been held since the spring. The town plans to hold in-person meetings but will move them from the tiny Town Hall auditorium to the corporate community center, where it is much easier to social distance.<br />Boca Raton City Manager Leif Ahnell invoked home rule authority on Oct. 27 to disregard the governor’s order and continue virtual City Council meetings. <br />In Boynton Beach, where a hybrid system is used with the mayor at a government building but commissioners accessing remotely, an emergency ordinance passed unanimously on Sept. 30 giving commissioners an opportunity to invoke home rule and continue holding virtual meetings until December. City leaders have yet to decide if they will meet in person before the end of the year. Ú</p></div>Editor’s Note: A summer snowstorm in South Palm Beachhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/editor-s-note-a-summer-snowstorm-in-south-palm-beach2019-07-03T17:00:00.000Z2019-07-03T17:00:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><span style="font-size:24pt;">W</span>ho says it doesn’t snow in June? At South Palm Beach’s June 18 workshop meeting, I watched a town get snowed under so deep that resident “snowbirds” will see Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office cars and uniforms patrolling their 5/8ths of a mile stretch of A1A when they return next winter — and for the next 10 years.<br /> The “this isn’t a sales pitch” sales pitch from PBSO created a paralyzing white-out for both residents and the Town Council. How could anyone shovel against the desires of their beloved police officers, the dazzling benefits of PBSO and potential budget savings? The drifts were so high that no one asked hard questions, and by the end of the evening even anti-big-government residents were embracing big government. <br /> It’s possible council members asked difficult questions while touring PBSO’s state-of-the-art communications center earlier in the month. But, at the June workshop no one questioned the impassioned pleas of South Palm Beach officers for the better pay and benefits package it seems only PBSO can offer. No one asked the officers why they hadn’t already interviewed and been hired by PBSO if these were their dream jobs.<br /> With so many officers added for school district security since the Parkland murders, there’s no shortage of law enforcement jobs in the area — but these are competitive. <br /> The promise of “the same officers just in different uniforms” may fall apart once all officers are required to meet PBSO hiring standards for road patrol positions. Time will tell. <br /> At the workshop, the blizzard conditions increased with the razzle-dazzle of all the amazing resources the PBSO has to offer. <br /> Has no one paid attention to their county tax bill? Forty-seven percent of the county’s general fund budget goes to the sheriff’s office. It’s a number that seems to increase each year as the PBSO absorbs more police departments. <br /> Taxpayers in South Palm Beach are already paying for homicide investigators, marine patrols and helicopters. The PBSO has always responded when needed in South Palm Beach. The investigation into the fatal car accident on A1A in January is in the hands of PBSO’s traffic homicide division. If you haven’t seen a marine patrol boat lately it’s likely because PBSO moved its marine patrol headquarters out of the Boynton Inlet several years ago. But if a boat filled with drugs or refugees washes up, trust me, marine patrol will arrive and there will be helicopters.<br /> PBSO deputies are some of the very best and I have no doubt that every officer working in South Palm Beach will continue to protect and serve. But when the majority of a town’s personnel are assigned to an outside agency, it’s hard to imagine there won’t be an erosion of home rule. If a town’s law enforcement team no longer needs to ask management and elected officials for resources each budget season and no longer needs to stay in their good graces to remain employed, you’ve simply traded home rule for a big contract with an outside agency — one with its own rules, procedures and hiring and firing protocols. The days of council members having their favorite sources within the Police Department will end when it’s the sheriff who is providing their salaries, equipment and benefits. <br /> Each of our coastal municipalities is facing budget concerns about liability insurance costs, pension plan expenditures and ongoing maintenance of equipment. But with home sales back at pre-bust highs, and new construction and tax revenues on the rise, let’s hope these other cities and towns are able to push back against any unexpected snowstorms for a very long time.</p>
<p><em>— Mary Kate Leming, Editor</em></p></div>Editor’s Note: What’s a hometown without home rule?https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/editor-s-note-what-s-a-hometown-without-home-rule2019-05-01T17:29:53.000Z2019-05-01T17:29:53.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p>Ah, April. Chamber of Commerce weather, fledgling screech owls in the yard and lingering twilights to enjoy with our neighbors — before the auto transports and seasonal residents bolt for the summer.<br /> By now, most of them have returned to their northern homes and those of us who remain are charged with keeping a protective eye on our coastal paradise. <br /> That means budget hearings! Yes, we need to drag ourselves to commission chambers and engage with issues that promise to affect our cities and towns for years to come. <br /> And this summer, there is much to talk about. <br /> Foremost is home rule — our municipalities’ ability to remain sovereign governing bodies with control over our future. The challenges to home rule are coming at us from all directions. The federal government is talking oil drilling off our coast, and the state legislature has tried to limit local control over vacation rental properties — among other things. <br /> With hired lobbyists and organizations like the Florida League of Cities, we are able to track and fight myriad legislative efforts intending to erode our independence.<br />But there is a subtler threat that must be monitored: our own ignorance. <br /> Did you know there is talk in our coastal towns about converting private septic systems to sewer? Did you know that commissioners in some towns have bought into the larger-city sales pitch concerning cost savings if they’ll just turn over all those aging water pipes to them? If we want to pursue our governmental independence, why would we ever do that?<br /> If all of our infrastructure is owned by the larger city next door, why not just annex? Our small towns already contract for fire-rescue — and are held to their response times and annual cost increases. <br /> We know the bigger cities would like to have our tax base, so it’s not hard to imagine, say, Boynton Beach’s height and density guidelines implemented on the barrier island in the future. That should keep you awake at night.<br /> Some of our small towns are even talking about trading their local police forces for larger public safety organizations that say they can provide services for less money. Don’t be fooled. There is always a cost.<br /> The largest portion of that cost is the lack of local control. Have you ever tried to get information from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office? Good luck. Hope you have an attorney. Or how about depending on Boynton Beach to get the sewer lift stations operating when the power goes out after a storm? Think our island homes are going to be a priority with thousands of people in dark towers just across the bridge? I doubt it. <br /> Same goes for police protection. Large agencies are going to respond where there is the greatest need after a storm — and that’s not likely to be our coastal towns.<br /> There are other big-ticket items to be discussed over the summer concerning rising waters and infrastructure. Not sexy stuff, but if you want to continue living in communities with some semblance of home rule, I’d suggest you attend town meetings. <br />We’ll be there. Hope to see you.</p>
<p><em>Mary Kate Leming,</em> <br /><em>Editor</em></p></div>Along the Coast: Cities at odds with state on controlling vacation rentals’ growthhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-cities-at-odds-with-state-on-controlling-vacation2018-02-28T20:30:00.000Z2018-02-28T20:30:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>Steve Homrich watched with growing unease over three nights as young people arriving for parties at his neighbor’s home left rubber on the road while doing doughnuts on his street. <br /> Then Friday night rolled around.<br /> “My wife said, ‘Oh my God, look out the window,’ ” he said. “Groups of 10 and 20 kids were walking down the street to the house. They kept coming. My wife stopped counting at 300.”<br /> That night’s party in June was big — with about 500 guests — and loud, complete with a DJ.<br /> When police arrived, the kids scattered, with some jumping over the fence into Homrich’s yard.<br /> Homrich learned that his neighbor, Thierry Chevrier, had rented out his Boynton Beach waterfront home on Northeast 15th Place through the vacation rental company HomeAway.<br /> Chevrier, who could not be reached for comment, told Homrich he thought he was renting to an 84-year-old writer.<br /> The actual renter secured the reservation with a stolen credit card. Chevrier’s house was trashed and some of his property stolen.<br /> “It is going to become a bigger and bigger issue,” Homrich said of vacation rentals. “You feel you are living in a desirable area, and then you very well may end up with a rental property next to you. To me, it changes the character of the neighborhood completely.”<br /> The vacation rental business is growing rapidly. Pegged as a $30 billion industry in the U.S. two years ago, it is forecast to top $36 billion this year. <br /> As the industry has grown, so have complaints from neighbors about vacation renters partying into the early morning hours, jamming streets with cars and disrupting the quality of life in once-quiet residential neighborhoods.</p>
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<p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>State wants to set rules</strong></span><br /> Yet the state Legislature has been hostile to allowing local governments to set the rules for vacation rentals. In 2011, lawmakers prohibited cities from regulating short-term vacation rentals. The legislation, though, allowed cities that had put regulations in place before 2011 to continue to enforce them.<br /> In 2014, the Legislature relented a bit, allowing local governments to adopt vacation rental ordinances that addressed issues such as noise and parking. But cities still could not prohibit short-term rentals or regulate their length or frequency.<br /> This year, bills have been introduced in the state House and Senate that would take away control from local governments.<br /> A Senate bill, introduced by Sen. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, would prohibit local governments from setting rules for short-term rentals and give that power to the state. Vacation rental companies support the bill.<br /> It originally would not allow cities to enforce rules they set before 2011, but that has since been removed.<br /> A House bill, introduced by Rep. Mike LaRosa, R-St. Cloud, prohibits cities and towns from adopting ordinances specific to vacation rentals.<br /> “I think it is horrible,” Homrich said of the proposed legislation. “That just seems to go against what local cities are all about. They are about making sure single-family neighborhoods stay single-family neighborhoods.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Vacation rentals surge</strong></span><br /> Meanwhile, the vacation rental business keeps getting bigger in Florida.<br /> Airbnb, one of the best-known companies, posted 75 percent year-over-year growth in the number of Florida guests in 2017, with 40,000 hosts in the state renting their properties to 2.7 million guests and earning $450 million. In 2016, 32,000 Florida hosts rented to 1.5 million guests and earned $273 million.<br /> Airbnb now has 2,300 hosts in Palm Beach County, up from 950 in 2015. Airbnb rented to 72,500 people last year and earned $17.1 million, up from $9.5 million in 2016, according to the company.<br /> For years, vacation rental companies billed themselves as giving regular people a way to earn extra income by renting out a spare bedroom. At the same time, the companies offered a far less expensive and potentially more interesting alternative to hotels.<br /> Indeed, many media reports told of hosts earning relatively modest amounts, but enough to stave off foreclosure during the Great Recession or to take a vacation.<br /> But over time, the nature of the business began to shift.<br /> Investors snapped up properties for the purpose of turning them into full-time rentals. The hotel industry, feeling the heat from vacation rentals and going on the offensive, released a report last year that said vacation rentals had become big business, with many hosts renting out entire homes. Hosts listing multiple homes for rent are the fastest growing segment of Airbnb’s business, the report by the American Hotel & Lodging Association said. Airbnb disputed the findings.<br /> The vacation rental bills are among a flurry of proposed legislation that city officials say is attempting to strip them of governing powers that are enshrined in the state constitution and known as “home rule.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Cities try to defeat bills</strong></span><br /> The effort so concerns the Florida League of Cities and Florida Association of Counties that they have made defeating the bills a top priority.<br /> “We have dealt with this for many years, but this is the year it is the most pervasive,” said Richard Radcliffe, executive director of the Palm Beach County League of Cities. “We have had statements from legislative leadership that they feel they know better what is good for cities and people than we on the local level do.<br /> “The bottom line is you can’t legislate a neighborhood from Tallahassee. That is what we do.”<br /> Ocean Ridge Town Manager Jamie Titcomb agreed that the effort to strip cities and towns of the ability to regulate has intensified this year.<br /> “There is a full-court press to preempt local government from matters we deal with on a daily basis. It is more ramped up than I have seen in the past,” he said.<br /> “We aren’t worried about a person renting out a room,” added Titcomb, whose town prohibited rentals of fewer than 30 days before 2011. “We are concerned about the preemption of local codes, zoning and quality of life regulatory matters that impact our residents.”<br /> With the Feb. 14 massacre of 17 students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland consuming much of the oxygen in Tallahassee, the fate of the vacation rental legislation was not clear at the end of February.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Cities’ rules vary</strong></span><br /> Delray Beach has pre-2011 rules that do not allow a turnover in home occupancy more than three times a year and require a property owner who rents to get a landlord permit that costs $75 a year, said Michael Coleman, director of community improvement.<br /> Boynton Beach has no regulations on short-term rentals. Boca Raton’s pre-2011 rules do not permit short-term rentals for less than six months. First-time violators can be fined up to $1,000 per day and repeat violators up to $5,000 per day.<br /> Delray Beach Mayor Cary Glickstein said his city’s regulations, enacted before vacation rentals were widespread, fall short of what is needed to monitor and control the rentals. As things stand now, state law severely limits the ability of his city and others to do more.<br /> “What we do have is inadequate to protect single-family and multifamily properties from de facto hotel uses,” he said in an email. “Private property rights should not supersede the reasonable expectations people have for the quiet and peaceful enjoyment of their homes, and cities should be able to regulate and restrict … abuses of zoning laws.”<br /> The proposed legislation, he said, “is irresponsible, reflecting ill-advised views of legislators, many of whom live in rural areas that have no appreciation for why well-run cities don’t need Tallahassee to impose their will or tell us what’s best for our citizens.”<br /> Boca Raton’s code would appear to have strong enough teeth to keep people from renting through vacation rental companies.<br /> But a look at Airbnb’s Boca Raton listings shows that quite a few are, apparently because they don’t know the rules or don’t care. The company declined to say how many hosts it has in Boca Raton or other south Palm Beach County cities and towns. <br /> Rentals available in mid-February ran the gamut: a spare bedroom, a detached guesthouse and even an entire waterfront mansion.<br /> Airbnb has similar listings for properties in all of southern Palm Beach County’s cities and towns. Listings for its competitors such as HomeAway and VRBO add to the tally.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Complaints alert cities</strong></span><br /> Boca Raton spokeswoman Chrissy Gibson said the city has not received many complaints from neighbors — the chief way Boca Raton and other cities learn of problem vacation rentals.<br /> City records show one vacation rental code violation in 2014, 16 violations in 2015 and seven in 2016. Total fines levied were $105.<br /> If cities want to be proactive, they can do some sleuthing on their own by looking at the rentals listed online by vacation rental companies.<br /> But Marc Woods, rental housing inspector for Delray Beach, said “it is difficult at best” to get information this way that would allow the city to take action.<br /> Airbnb, for example, does not list the exact address of its rentals or the property owner, making it very hard to figure out if the owner is in violation of city or county regulations. <br /> Delray Beach does not keep statistics, but Woods said he investigates 35 to 40 complaints about vacation rentals a year, and additional investigations are handled by code enforcement officers.<br /> “A lot of vacation rentals are not a problem,” Woods said. “Some of them are a terrible problem.”<br /> Complaints, he said, often arise from large parties on patios or pool decks, and the size of the problem “seems to be proportionate to the size of their pool deck.”<br /> While cities and towns battle noise and crowd complaints, county and state officials have other concerns.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Some taxes shirked</strong></span><br /> Many hosts do not pay the tourist development tax, or bed tax, and sales tax due on rentals, because they are unaware that they should or just don’t want to. The vacation rental companies have not done so on their behalf.<br /> Palm Beach County Tax Collector Anne Gannon has sued the companies twice. In 2012, companies including Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline and Travelocity agreed to pay the county $1.9 million.<br /> She sued again in 2014, alleging Airbnb, HomeAway, TripAdvisor and CouchSurfing International failed to register as rental dealers and did not pay the bed tax of 6 cents per dollar owed on short-term rentals. A trial date will be set in May.<br /> “We are going to trial,” Gannon said. “We are not looking to settle.”<br /> Her office also is doing outreach to homeowners to educate them on their obligation to pay the tax, which has improved compliance. Beginning in May, vacation rental owners will be able to register their properties and pay bed taxes online.<br /> Counties have long been frustrated that bed tax money was going uncollected. But Airbnb’s tough stance against helping began to soften in 2015. In April, both the Miami-Dade and Broward counties’ commissions approved deals with Airbnb under which the company will collect the 6 percent Miami-Dade tax and the 5 percent Broward tax from its hosts and remit the money to the counties every month. <br /> The tax deals were expected to bring in at least $6 million annually to Miami-Dade and $1 million to Broward. Both counties plan to seek similar deals with other home-sharing platforms.<br /> The agreements don’t require Airbnb to release any information about hosts or their addresses and don’t require payment of previous uncollected taxes.<br /> Thirty-seven other counties in Florida also have such deals, but not Palm Beach County. In an op-ed to <em>The Palm Beach Post</em> in May, Tom Martinelli, policy director for Airbnb Florida, pressed Gannon to follow suit, saying it would ease the county’s burden of collecting the taxes.<br /> In response, Gannon said she is “willing, even eager” to do so, but could not agree to keep host and property location information confidential. That, she said, gives Airbnb a competitive advantage over its rivals. More important, without that information, she can’t check to see if Airbnb is paying all it owes.<br /> Airbnb also reached an agreement in 2015 with the state Department of Revenue in which the company collects the state sales tax from its Florida hosts.<br /> In 2017, Airbnb turned over $33 million in sales tax revenue to the DOR and $12.7 million in bed tax revenues to the 39 counties, the company said.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Outside help</strong></span> <span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>boosts compliance</strong></span><br /> For cities and counties at a loss on how to get hosts to comply with vacation rental regulations, private industry is offering solutions.<br /> Delray Beach is considering contracting with Host Compliance, a Silicon Valley company founded in 2015. Gannon has used Host Compliance and two other similar companies but does not have contracts with them.<br /> Host Compliance says it can identify which properties are being used as vacation rentals, ensure that renters and hosts comply with local ordinances, can increase vacation rental tax collections and free up city and town staff for other priorities.<br /> The company uses big data and algorithms to gather information, although humans check the results.<br /> Its clients in Florida include Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pompano Beach, Hallandale Beach and Monroe County, but none so far in Palm Beach County.<br /> A May memo drafted by Jamael Stewart, Delray Beach’s assistant director of community improvement, said Host Compliance would charge the city about $18,000 a year.<br /> Host Compliance founder and CEO Ulrik Binzer said cities and counties get back five to 10 times what they spend to hire his company through increased collection of sales and bed taxes and fees for permits.<br /> “Cities that wait for the phone to ring [with a complaint] are not having a lot of luck with compliance,” Binzer said. “Cities and counties that have decided they want to do something about it will actually make money.”</p></div>Along the Coast: Home rule: Locals fret about state bills’ reachhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-home-rule-locals-fret-about-state-bills-reach2018-01-03T19:03:04.000Z2018-01-03T19:03:04.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><span><b>By Rich Pollack </b></span></p>
<p></p>
<p>When the state Legislature begins its 60-day regular session this month, lawmakers will consider a wide range of proposed bills, many of which have already drawn the attention of concerned local government leaders. </p>
<p>Among the bills proposed so far is one that would prevent a local government from prohibiting back-in parking in parking garages. </p>
<p>Another bill would require local governments to respond to public questions at their meetings or provide written responses within 10 days as well as to incorporate the responses into the meeting minutes. Yet another would limit local governments’ ability to regulate tree trimming on private property.</p>
<p>Two bills already introduced, one in the Florida House of Representatives and another in the Senate, could place the authority to create Community Redevelopment Agencies in the hands of the Legislature rather than local government and prevent CRAs from providing funding to nonprofit organizations. </p>
<p>While the bills have different degrees of impact, each is seen by local government leaders as eroding their ability to govern their communities. </p>
<p>It is, they say, an erosion of the concept of home rule, where elected officials on the local level make policies that affect the people they represent. These new bills, they say, are a continuation of a trend that has many in Palm Beach County concerned.</p>
<p>“We’ve seen this go in cycles before, but nothing like this,” said Richard Radcliffe, executive director of the Palm Beach County League of Cities. “This is unprecedented.” </p>
<p></p>
<p><span><b>Overcorrecting for problems </b></span></p>
<p>What has many on the local front worried is what they believe is an overreach by state legislators, who introduce bills that address specific problems but have statewide implications. </p>
<p>“When there’s a problem, you go after correcting the specific problem at hand,” says Ocean Ridge Town Manager Jamie Titcomb, who is also vice chairman of the Florida City & County Management Association’s legislative subcommittee. “You don’t use a saber to correct a problem when a small scalpel will do.” </p>
<p>The bills aimed at restricting actions of community redevelopment agencies are the perfect case in point, say those hoping to stem the flow of what they call preemptive bills by state lawmakers. </p>
<p>Under a bill proposed in the Senate, new community redevelopment agencies could be created only by a special act of the Legislature, while existing CRAs would have to be recertified by a supermajority of the bodies that created them or otherwise be phased out. </p>
<p>Under a bill in the House, administrative spending would be capped at 18 percent and an agency would be prohibited from spending money on festivals, street parties, grants to promote tourism, and grants to socially beneficial programs. </p>
<p>That could have a negative ripple effect on nonprofit and cultural organizations such as the Delray Beach Public Library, Old School Square, the Spady Museum and the Arts Garage in Delray Beach, all of which receive CRA funding. </p>
<p>Delray Beach CRA Executive Director Jeff Costello said the provision in the Senate bill to cap administrative spending could hinder his agency’s ability to support the community. </p>
<p>“The imposition of the 18 percent limitation unduly micromanages and restricts the CRA in its ability to be responsive to the needs of the community, businesses and CRA partners,” he said. </p>
<p>The proposed CRA legislation, according to David Cruz, assistant general counsel for the Florida League of Cities, came about at least partially as a result of problems some CRAs experienced. </p>
<p>“We’ve seen a number of reports that saw deficiencies in accountability and transparency,” he said. </p>
<p>Those concerned about the erosion of home rule admit that there have been problems but they argue that a one-size-fits-all solution is not the answer.</p>
<p>“Are there abuses?” the Palm Beach County League’s Radcliffe asks rhetorically. “Without a doubt, but you don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” </p>
<p>What concerns many about what they see as a trend toward the state Legislature eroding home rule is that decisions are being made for local municipalities by legislators who are not accountable to the people who live in those communities. In some cases, the legislation is the result of lobbying of elected officials on behalf of special industries or special interests.</p>
<p>Todd Bonlarron, an assistant Palm Beach County administrator and former legislative affairs director, says that because Florida is so diverse and what works in one county may not work in another, many decisions should be left to local governments. </p>
<p>“When you’re dealing with governments closest to the people, you’re ensuring the greatest number of voices are heard and taken into consideration,” he said. </p>
<p>Bonlarron said that preemptive legislation often frustrates local elected officials who want to address a resident’s concerns but cannot because their hands are tied. </p>
<p>“You go to your elected official and they say, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t help you because I’m not allowed to,’ ” he said.</p>
<p>State Rep. and former Boca Raton Councilman Bill Hager, whose district includes much of Palm Beach County’s coastal communities, has largely been supportive of home rule but says he looks at each bill individually before casting a vote.</p>
<p>“For the most part, the legislation that we consider at the state level passes the test of good public policy,” he said. “Every now and then, I see proposed legislation that is adverse and hostile to local government. As in the past, when such legislation arises, I will work to either amend it for the good, or will vote against it if that’s not possible.”</p>
<p>Hager points to a proposed bill that would prohibit local governments from creating ordinances regulating vacation rentals as an instance where he believes decisions should be left up to local governments.</p>
<p>“I believe each local government, as to issues that can be resolved in ways that make imminent sense for that particular community, should be granted that right,” he said.</p>
<p></p>
<p><span><b>‘Unfunded mandates’ </b></span></p>
<p>While many of the bills being introduced this year, including the one concerning vacation rentals, are aimed at reducing regulation, there are others that have financial implications. </p>
<p>Several are what are referred to as unfunded mandates, bills that require local governments to spend money that is not reimbursed. Couple that with bills that reduce revenues for a municipality, and that can put local governments in a bind. </p>
<p>Proposed this year is legislation that would, for example, require municipalities to provide two copies of all meeting materials at public meetings for inspection by residents. Also proposed is legislation that would require local governments to post property tax and voting-record information on their websites. </p>
<p>While fulfilling those obligations might be easy for a large city, it could be a challenge for small towns with small staffs, which might have to bring in additional help to meet the mandate. </p>
<p>At the same time, municipalities could see their tax revenue shrink if voters approve an increase in the property tax homestead exemption from $50,000 in assessed value to $75,000 for homes assessed at over $100,000. The issue will come before voters in November and is of deep concern to many local elected officials, who fear significant decline in property tax revenue. </p>
<p>“Our revenues are being challenged by the state,” Titcomb said. </p>
<p>While organizations such as the state and county leagues of cities are working through lobbying efforts in Tallahassee to defeat bills they see as pre-emptive, there is also an effort afoot to make residents aware of the impact the erosion of home rule could have on them. </p>
<p>“We have the ability to get citizens behind us,” said the county League of Cities’ Radcliffe. “We’re encouraging our people to get out and educate their residents that there’s an assault on their way of life.” </p></div>Boca Raton: Brown honored for Home Rule advocacyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-brown-honored-for-home-rule-advocacy2012-08-02T14:17:16.000Z2012-08-02T14:17:16.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong><br /> <br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960401261,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960401261,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="360" alt="7960401261?profile=original" /></a>Deputy Boca Raton Manager George Brown is a “Home Rule Hero” to cities across the county and across the state for helping derail a proposed Florida law on sober houses.<br />Richard Radcliffe, executive director of the county League of Cities, gave Brown a plaque on behalf of the state league at the City Council’s July 10 meeting. <br />He said he learned how hard Brown works during this year’s legislative session.<br /> “I would call him and he says, ‘Oh, I’m at a health fair,’ and I would call him somewhere else and he would say, ‘Oh, I’m at the library working on this.’ … He just seemed to do every job in the world,” Radcliffe said.<br /> The plaque cites Brown’s “outstanding legislative advocacy in 2012 in the fight for municipal home rule.”<br /> “As most of you know, it [home rule] is a passion of mine,” Brown said. “Each city is different. Each city has its own unique character that derives from its home rule actions.”<br /> The exercise of home rule powers “has made Boca Raton a beautiful, successful city, and it sustains us as a premier community,” Brown said.<br /> Mayor Susan Whelchel said everyone on the dais considered every day a George Brown Day. “We’re thrilled to be here with you while you receive this award,” she said.<br /> A bill that would have “exempted certain licensed facilities in a way that negated the required adherence to local occupancy standards” died in committee last spring, the state league notes in its legislative final report.<br /> Delray Beach also opposed the sober house bill.<br /> Radcliffe said the state league and even the county league had not taken a stand on the bill until Brown became involved. “I saw it firsthand,” Radcliffe said. “The man worked some wonders.”</p></div>