Odds and Ends

     Two items on Tuesday’s City Commission meeting of interest!


     1.) Extending terms for the elected officials ?

                     


     The Charter Review Board is recommending that each term of office for Mayor and City Commissioners be extended from 3 to 4 years.
 
     Currently, the terms are three years long, and the Mayor and Commissioners can serve for up to three terms ( nine years total). The Advisory Board ( I’ll get to their make – up in a minute), says the City Charter should make the terms 4 years long ( which will give Mayor/Commissioners a possible total of up to 12 years).

  Also, the Board says the current Commission’s term should be extended 20 additional months, so that their terms will go to the next Presidential election in 2016, instead of expiring in March of 2015 as it says now.

     Now changing the elections to November is a good idea, there will be a much larger turn out of voters, but making the elected officials terms longer is a very bad idea. 

     Fort Lauderdale finally enacted term limits in 2000. Before that, Mayor/Commissioners could serve forever ( and some did!). Nine years of service on the City Commission is plenty. As the saying goes –  

     Politicians are like diapers, and need to be changed often for the same reason!

     The Board recommending these changes had only 4 members – here are three of them  ….

                               
                                  Clay Shaw – former politician


                                   
                                Alain Jean – works for politicians



                                   
                                            Judy Stern !            
     
                                           (need I say more ? )

     2.) Red Light Cameras


     The Red Light Cameras are back on the City Commission agenda to add a whole bunch more of the little bastards!

                                    

     There are about 8 of them now, and I got snagged at the one just east of I95 on Sunrise Boulevard..  I ( just barely) cruised through that red light, costing me about $150.

     The stats on the cameras are troubling.

     Although it’s called the Red Light Safety Program, accidents at the Red Light Camera locations have actually gone up!

     And the financials are ridiculous. The cameras grossed $1,062,000, but after the State gets its share, the company gets its share, and the costs for the program are taken out, the City only netted $74,000 so far.

     If we are going to keep them – and get more – at least drive a better bargain!