Posts by: ScottB

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Commissioner Fisher End of Year Newsletter

Commissioner Lamar Fisher provides a year-end review of happenings in Broward County.  The first item is the New River Crossing update. The Broward County Commission and the City of Fort Lauderdale held a joint workshop meeting to discuss the New River Crossing for the Broward Commuter Rail Project on December 5, 2023. After much discussion, many of the Commissioners agreed that while we all prefer a tunnel under the New River, we must make a choice now of the most fiscally responsible option while keeping in mind timelines, environmental impacts and much more. His newsletter contains a cost comparison chart of the options.

Broward County Commission also held a workshop to discuss the County’s Affordable Housing 10-Year Plan.  Since its inception in 2018, the funds placed in the trust helped increase the affordable housing units by 2,668 units with about $123.1M in gap financing and 4,870 total units with other funding sources.

Click here to read the full newsletter and read about other projects and activities taking place in Broward County.


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Rep LaMarca Update on Legislative Session

Rep Chip LaMarca’s newsletter provides an update on the recent legislative session in Tallahassee.
The special session was focused on a handful of specific issues extremely important to me and our fellow Floridians. I am also very pleased to see the My Safe Florida Home was a part of the special session because I was proud to sponsor this piece of legislation earlier this year and it is good to see so many people taking advantage of this program that assists Floridians in hardening their homes for storm protection.

I was also proud to the Co-Sponsor of HR-11 Support for Israel and condemning Hamas with my fellow Representatives.

To read the full newsletter, click here. 

 

 

 

 

 


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Have Homestead Questions?

In his latest newsletter, Broward Property Appraiser Marty Kiar answers key questions about the homestead exemption.

Does it automatically renew?  What if there is a change of ownership?  Do I have to reverify my homestead exemption?  What if there are no changes?  What happens in case of death of one owner?  What happened to my portability savings?

If after reading the newsletter, you still have questions, contact Marty’s office for assistance.

Click here to read the full newsletter.


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Light Up The Galt – Huge Success on a Beautiful Night

The 2023 Light Up The Galt event was attended by hundreds of neighbors and guests who enjoyed fantastic weather, holiday activities, and the restaurants and bars on the Galt Mile.  The evening began with the reopening of Fire Station 54, followed by the lighting of the holiday tree and holiday festivities.  Pictures in front of the beautiful tree are (l-r) Commissioner John Herbst, Commissioner Steve Glassman, Mayor Trantalis, Commissioner Pamela Beasley-Pittman, State Representative Chip LaMarca, Fred Nesbitt – President of the Galt Mile Community Association, and County Commissioner Lamar Fisher.

We also welcomed our new Chief of Police, Bill Schultz, and Fire Chief Stephen Gollan.  They were joined by several police officers and the firefighter. We also want to thank the tremendous efforts of the Fort Lauderdale Parks and Rec Department – who staged the entire event and we welcome the new Director, Carl Williams.  Oh by the way, Santa Claus was there too.


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Commissioner Fisher Completes Term as Mayor

Commissioner Lamar Fisher has completed his one-year term as Mayor of Broward County.  We thank him for his great service to Broward County and say how proud we are of him for the excellent job he did as mayor.  He now returns to his regular Commission 4 duties.  As mayor his focus was on his 3 C’s Plan: Communication, Collaboration and Community. He was able to visit all 31 municipalities to ensure that each community is aware that the County is here to help as we work together on many regional issues.

Other items covered in his newsletter include the Disney Cruise Lines at Port Everglades,

Broward County’s new government center update, and record sea turtle season this year.

Click here to read the full newsletter.



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How to Avoid Current Internet and Phone Scams

Presentation by Salena Coler, Community Library Manager of the Galt Ocean Mile Reading Room

Every day, cyber criminals are developing new ways to commit fraud, access sensitive personal information, and steal people’s identities and money. This presentation will provide information about some of the current Internet and phone scams that have taken place within the last year.  Learn how to avoid commons scams and what you should do if you are scammed.

Click here to see the full presentation.


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Getting Ready for 2024 Homestead Exemption

In his latest newsletter, Property Appraiser Marty Kiar discusses the steps and timeline to apply for your 2024 Homestead Exemption if you do not currently have an exemption or you are a new property owner.  If you acquired the property as your permanent residence in 2023 and have not applied for Homestead Exemption, you can apply for 2024 exemptions at any time – there is no need to wait until 2024 to file your exemption application. You can easily apply online at

The timely deadline to file for all 2024 exemptions is March 1, 2024. The late filing deadline for all 2024 exemptions is September 18, 2024.

Your Homestead Exemption automatically renews each year provided there is no change in the ownership or use of the property.  If you have any questions about Homestead Exemption or any other exemptions, please call 954.357.6830 or email me at [email protected].

To read the full newsletter, click here.


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State Legislative Session Begins January 9

The Florida State Legislature will convene for their 60-day session on January 9, with adjournment on March 8. A number of bills have already been introduced that deal with associations.  The legislative tracking chart shows this information:   bill topic, bill number (with link), description, sponsor (link), text of bill (link), status, and our position (support, oppose, no position).

The first two bills – SB278 and HB979, would prohibit associations from charging for estoppel certificates – making them free to owners.  This bill will fully shift the financial responsibility for the estoppel from the buyer or seller right on over to the association. “The issuer of the estoppel could end being financially responsible for the shortage, and they could be subject to, among others, Federal Fair Debt Collection Practice Act claims due to a mistake,” stated attorney Jeffrey Rembaum (Kaye Bender Rembaum).  Rembaum concludes, “This legislation will fully shift the responsibility for the estoppel fees, from that of the requesting party, to all the owners that already live in the association’s community and who have nothing to do with the transaction at all.”

There is already a cap on how much associations can charge for estoppel letters.  If enacted, this would flood the association offices with requests (anything free is always in demand) and then the association would have to absorb the full costs or pay someone else (perhaps a management company or lawyer) to generate the letters.  I could see a unit up for sale and there could be many requests for estoppel letters – all adding costs to the associations.

We need to let all state legislators know we are opposed to these two bills:  SB278 (contact senators) and HB979 (contact representatives).

Click here for the state legislative chart dated 1/01/2024

 


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Report from our City Commissioner

Commissioner John Herbst shared a wealth of information about Fort Lauderdale in his latest newsletter for residents in District 1 (that’s us).  He shares with us his concerns about the impact of SB-4D on all condo/coop residents. This legislation mandates that associations conduct structural integrity reserve studies every ten years. Undoubtedly, this requirement comes at a significant cost to condo owners.

In light of this, I took it upon myself to introduce a resolution aimed at addressing the severe impact of this bill on our seniors. The City Commission and I will work on resolution language that urges the Florida Legislature to establish a grant or low-interest loan program specifically for full-time residents facing these substantial repair bills. It is my firm belief that the state, which created the legislation driving this issue, should step in to assist our community members. The state possesses the resources and abilities that localities like ours do not. In addition, I was able to include this as an item on our legislative agenda for our lobbyists to work on in the upcoming session. I encourage you to reach out to state House Representative Chip LaMarca and state Senator Jason Pizzo. Together, we can make our voices heard and work toward a solution that supports our community in this challenging time.

City of Fort Lauderdale residents can apply online for our Resident Parking Rate Program. This program is designed to provide a special rate for neighbors while parking in City parking lots, garages, and on-street spaces using PayByPhone.

I look forward to seeing everyone on November 30 at Light Up The Galt.

To read the full newsletter, please click here.