Thank you for your support Cooper City!

Thank you for your support Cooper City!

By Commissioner John Sims 

Let me begin by saying THANK YOU to all of the residents and business owners of Cooper City who have supported me for the last twelve plus years! I especially want to thank all of my supporters and the voters who have trusted in me, becoming close friends and neighbors and for allowing me the great opportunity to fill this leadership role for the past twelve years and for standing by me especially through all of the trials, tribulations and successes. I also want to profusely thank all of my closest friends who are too many to mention here along with my wife Janet and my family members for the support and mentorship that they have provided to me over the years. It’s been a fun, and rough ride but worth every second of it!

I am especially proud to have been associated with some of the pillars of our community, the late Gladys Wilson and Walt Jolliff, and many, many others who have stood by my side on the residents’ behalf. They were great mentors and professionals and cared very deeply for our community. I cherish the lasting friendships that I have made both with the residents and with the city’s vendors, and let’s not forget other local elected officials, both currently elected and soon to be elected, many of whom I revere and look forward to for their continued leadership.

Over my tenure on the dais, I have sponsored and supported hundreds of initiatives and local laws that have only supported our residents and business owners. I remember everyone whom I’ve met and everything that I wanted to mention for this article, but unfortunately space doesn’t allow that. I certainly have enjoyed working with so many residents over the years, all of whom have helped me in campaigning, creating literature, websites, blogs, social media pages and supporting me financially. My gratitude and love for all of you will forever be a part of my life, and I will never, ever forget your generosity and dedication! Thank you for your belief in me and your friendship.

We've been involved in some outstanding projects together! I'll always cherish our Senior out-reach program and its extraordinary success.  The drastic increases in feel good spending and tax increases in Cooper City has been a vast financial burden to everyone, especially business owners and fixed income residents. Also, the degradation of truth and the extreme partisan politics in a non-partisan environment in Cooper City politics has produced so much division within our small community. Some in Cooper City politics have even eviscerated the policies and procedures originally designed to protect everyone; minorities, seniors and kids among other vulnerable groups of residents. This must cease immediately and we must move forward and unite together for the betterment of our entire community. But, we can all work hard, hope and pray that tomorrow will be a better day for Cooper City residents and businesses.

As such, I offer a strong apology to my friends, my colleagues on the dais both past and present, the residents and others that I may have offended over the years with my ultra-strong personality and strong stance on certain political and personal issues. I’ve always stood my ground on behalf of the residents, and I’ve certainly said things over the past twelve years that I regret, and I think it’s worthwhile for me to step up and say that I have made mistakes, or that I wish I would have done this or that differently, but what has happened in the past was meant to be.  We have all done things we regret and the lessons learned will be forever engrained in my soul, but I would never change the past for anything.

As I leave the Cooper City dais, I feel like our elected officials have not yet completely lost the war on truth, honesty, camaraderie and doing what’s right on behalf of the residents. It’s never been about right or left with me, it’s always been about right and wrong! In today’s society it's all too easy to lose sight of the most important element in any organization – the person, the people. Us. You and me, as individuals with hearts, minds, and feelings. My future hopes and wishes for Cooper City are simply this: I implore our elected representatives to ignore their personal agendas and always do what is right for the residents of our great city in addition to listening more and paying attention to the residents!

I feel truly honored and grateful to have served on your behalf as a city commissioner for one of the best cities in the USA! Always remember, it’s not too late to alter course for the betterment of our city, Someplace Special! And yes, I’ll be watching very, very closely…

Cooper City Budget and City Manager

The upcoming budget will be a very challenging experience and it will test the commission as to where they are heading on serious issues. Are they going to massively raise your taxes again? Our Budget Workshops are upcoming to set millage rates, debt levy, adoption of initial assessment resolutions and to set times and dates for public budget hearings, all at city hall. Visit CooperCitFL.org for dates and times.

The decisions made during this upcoming budget process are going to be difficult and will affect all residents in an adverse way, and I am doing everything possible to avoid that on your behalf. It’s past time to address the issue of solutions in order to reduce costs, not continuing to promote unnecessary feel good services while continuing to neglect and not improve core services instead of select favorite programs. The likelihood is that your commission majority will massively raise taxes again because this isn’t a primary election year.

One reason I see that the city is such a mess financially is that most career politicians on the dais care far more about keeping their political jobs than about helping you keep yours. My recent challenge to my fellow commissioners is “what’s the tough choice in 2018 that you’re going to make in order to make Cooper City better, more efficient and less costly to run?” You guessed it…no responses by anyone on the commission. Just the typical rhetoric regarding the budget process which doesn’t put more money in your pocket.

I recently motioned to terminate the city manager due to this continuing fiscal incompetence, lack of providing detailed information on agenda items, lack of providing information to residents and appointed board members. You guessed it, no support on your behalf from the political alliance. How unfortunate that those who run the city seem to not care a wit about those who pay their salary.

The city faces immediate tough choices in order to make this next fiscal year a priority to increase services, reduce taxes and improve customer service. My first priority after public safety is creating local jobs and lowering your taxes. Jobs are created here in our city by local business owners, not in Tallahassee or in Washington. This is why we need to elect like-minded residents, so they can save money and create more jobs.

One final note, there are candidates running for Districts 1 and 2 in November 2018, and I'm sure there are more to come. Hopefully you will make the right decision to seat commissioners in Districts 1 and 2 who will always look out for your best interests, not the interests of themselves and their political future or those who are political hacks of those on the commission.

To those of you that are concerned about what this commission wants to do regarding this upcoming budget process, please forward your concerns to me. I will voice them but I can assure you, they may be ignored if it puts money in your pocket.

The proposed Cooper City Charter Amendments….

Many have asked the question, what are these changes all about?

Well the answer might be. 

First and foremost one must recognize that the charter is liken to the constitution of that of our country in that it sets up the basic structure of the city government. In the case of Cooper City it says that the manner which the city will operate is by an elected commission specifying all the rules associated with that process and  providing  policies and ordinances by which the city manager will operate the city. As one would assume this involves many activities and much of the charter deals with many but not all of these rules. The key here is that these guidelines or rules are treated as the primary laws for the operation of the city. They range from election procedures to many of the other activities necessary for the process of the function of the city needs to perform its’ obligations.   

Do the proposed changes add or take away from the existing charter?

In most cases the proposed changes do materially alter the fundamental structure that has been in place for the last 35 years or so and has been only previously changed in very minor ways. Keep in mind that these types of changes can only occur every four years and absolutely require the voters to approve them. An examination of the proposed changes does raise several questions. The primary one is we the voter are neither familiar with city procedures nor do we wish to become lost in the weeds of this type of detail.  

Rather than provide a lengthy microscopic view a summary will provide a better guide. The changes start with the suggested need for an absentee rules for members of the commission. Seems somewhat childish as most of the commission members are of a character that such a stringent law is  hardly a necessity. Then there are several rather administrative type changes that seem totally out of place in the charter as opposed to simply directives to be given to the city manager as to how the commission wants the city to perform. The reason for a commission is to have them decide what is essential for the process of the city functions and to direct the city manager to implement them. 

Two major concerns arises upon viewing the requested changes.

(1) Is there an hidden agenda underlying the changes?

(2) Do we want to have the commissioners to become immersed in the details of the  running of the functions of the city ?

(3) Why has the current status of the city manager, highly skilled in the process of the city governance and well paid for his/her skill level now being reduced to one of simply a clerk following the direction of members of the commission, who in most cases have had very little if any substantial training or education in governmental management?

 Thus, it is fair to conclude that why are all of these seemingly minor (one could also call them trivial) changes be placed before the voters as being needed to be changed when that is what the city commissioners are elected to do when necessary after through and thoughtful debate? Several persons with whom I have spoken, knowledgeable in the workings of city governance,  have reached the pretty much the same conclusion which is, why is it necessary that these be put before the voters?

Rather than delve into what could require many pages of discussion, they have all agreed to the following statement, an old adage my father often said to me,
“If It Is Not Broken, Then Don’t Attempt to Fix It”.

Therefore it is urged that the residents of Cooper City cast a straight down the line the ballot, NO, to all of the proposed these changes, thereby putting the task of the commissioners to make the necessary changes when a need is required.

Be informed when you vote in November!

Everyone who votes this November should clearly know what your City Commissioner, Jamie Curran, is up to and how he misrepresents his constituents in Cooper City. Below are excerpts taken from Mr. Curran's statements under oath  which clearly indicate that Jamie does not perform any or very little “due diligence” to inform himself on city issues before he casts a vote.

If you are a concerned voter, attached is Mr. Curran’s deposition where in you can see for YOURSELF that he has, under oath, admitted that he does not often do any research, read or study the resolutions that he votes on.  He simply relies on staff to fill his head with information of their choosing rather than do his own research.

Contrary to his campaign slogan "Curran Works", Mr. Curran does NOT work for the resident/taxpayers, rather he lets others do the work that we assume he should be doing himself. Mr. Curran skates by on the shoulders of the city staff. While that might appear to be ok for some people, Commissioner Curran lets others do the work that he has been elected to do. Over the recent years it has been obvious Mr. Curran by his testimony shows that he does NOT have a basic working knowledge of the city budget!

I hope that you will take a few minutes to read the following lines from Mr. Curran's deposition. It is a real eye opener.  
 Your vote can and will have an impact the future of our Cooper City!!!

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Excerpts from the  Deposition of James C. Curran, Commissioner Cooper City Dist.4

THE WITNESS:  I wouldn't know how to answer that question only for one reason.

BY MR. FRANKEL:

Q.    What is that?

A. I rely heavily on staff, Horacio and the City manager for their advice on this. I'm not an expert in it.

Q. As a commissioner, do you think you have a responsibility to become fully informed or are you entitled to just rely on what your City staff says?

A.    I rely on my staff.

Q.    Do you do any kind of research yourself? Do you read the resolutions?

A. Some.                                                                            

Q.    There are times when you may be voting on something that you haven't read fully?

 A.    On some resolutions.

Q.    How about on the resolutions for 2008 and 2009 which you voted on?   

 A.    I wouldn't remember.  I can't recall.

Q. If you have a concern that maybe the information you are getting from one source isn't completely accurate, would you go to any place else to get better information?

 A.    No.

 Q.    You wouldn't?     

A.    I would not leave this office over the City manager for anything.        

Q.    So you're completely reliant upon --       

A.    Completely.       

Q.    When you say City manager, do you mean the entire staff?       

A.    Yes    

Q.    That includes Mr. Montes de Oca?       

A.    Yes.       

Q.    And the City's attorneys?       

A.    Yes.

Q. When you voted for the resolution in the year 2008, other than what you have told us, did you go back to inform yourself about what the resolution was based on?

A.    Once again, I relied on the City manager, the finance manager and the staff.  

A.    I relied on the staff for all my information when I met with staff.

BY MR. FRANKEL(attorney for the Plaintiff) Q.    All right.  But by voting for this, do you agree that you agreed that the resolution constitutes the Final Assessment Resolution as defined in Ordinance No. 99-7-1?

MR. MANDEL:  Object to form.

THE WITNESS:  No.

BY MR. FRANKEL:  

Q.    You don't agree with that?      

 A.    No.      

 Q.    Even though it's in here, you don't agree with that?

 A.    Just leave it at no.Q. Can I ask you honestly, if you had known any of what was discussed here in the last few minutes at the time, would you have still voted for it?           

 MR. MANDEL:  Object to form.           

 THE WITNESS:  Yes.

Q.    Would it be a fair statement to say that you really don't understand the intricacies of the City's budget?

A.    Sure.       

Q.    That's a fair statement?       

A.    Yes

[No further excerpts are shown.]
*******

Attention Seniors

As the political season is now reaching a more visible point much can be said and many are vocal quite about it. As to Cooper City there are really just a few  but very important issues to consider.

They range from the election of a commissioner from the 4^th district to changes of some significance to the city charter to the Florida ballot of Amendments. I will be writing on all of these issues.

There is a very important one, Amendment 5. Is says “an amendment to the State Constitution to revise the homestead tax exemption that may be granted by counties or municipalities for property with just value less than $250,000 owned by certain senior, low-income, long-term residents to specify that just value is determined in the first tax year the owner applies and is eligible for the exemption. The amendment takes effect January 1, 2017, and applies retroactively to exemptions granted before January 1, 2017.”

Cooper City currently offers that exemption as previous enacted by law. What is really the important points are two fold, one the exemption automatically applies to those who currently are exempted and secondly, the dollar exemption (value of the property) is set such that it remains in place regardless of any future increases.

What this means to many seniors is that they will be protected and able to enjoy their homes for many, many years to come without the fear of the raising property taxes that all of us know will surely happen.

I wrote this as I received an email from Amy Rosen with the request that I present it to all of the many readers of the Cooper City Blog. I encourage all to vote for this important issue to the ever growing segment of the citizens of Cooper City.

Cooper City's "Blow Me" Commissioner Strikes Again!

As reported by Bob Norman on WPLG last week, Cooper City's "Blow Me" commissioner has struck again! Commissioner Lisa Mallozzi (We like to call her Ma Lousy) attached commissioner John Sims' 'manhood', saying he needed 'a apair of Tweezers' to 'find it'... This happened when Mallozzi made statements on the dais using innuendo demeaning Sims' private parts.

The remark created a big yelling match between Ma Lousy and Mayor Greg Ross . Banging his gavel, Ross told Mallozzi to stop talking and calling for adjournment. Of course, she ignored him.

"Dammit," "I've never had to do this. I have never used this and I don't intend to. I won't accept it from the commission. I won't accept it from anyone out there." said Ross. "It's just another whack-job attack from her," Sims said.

This is not the first time Mallozzi has said outrageous things on the dais. In 2013, she made a suggestion that was caught on video to Gladys Wilson who was in the audience. That suggestion was for Gladys Wilson to perform oral sex on Ma Lousy, who said "Blow Me" to her during a commission meeting. 

The other commissioners responded with both support and fake disgust. Commissioner Jamie Curran stated "I'm totally embarrassed for everybody in this room," "I'm sorry to see this, especially for the young people [who] are here." Well commish, we are sorry embarrassed that you've stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from #CooperCity!

Ross said "I will not tolerate it from anyone," "This has to stop and it stops now." I guess Ross simply needs a bigger gavel to shut that sailor mouth of Commissioner Lisa Mallozzi.

Maybe a Recall is in order. If not, a Motion for Censure at the very least...

Cooper City Officials caught in secret meeting-steal thousands from taxpayers!

I guess they just don't learn. The Ex-mayor and city attorney are liars. Based on this meeting, the city got away with stealing tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars in cash, in "plain white envelopes".... and the State Attorney will do absolutely nothing. Corruption prevails in Broward!
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/cooper-city/fl-cooper-city-investigation-20150407-story.html