The new ordinance requires association boards (condo and coop) to develop and post a plan that tells its residents exactly how it will handle an outage.  “If they don’t post a plan on day one, they can be fined $250. On day two, the fine is $500. And it is $500 a day until the plan is posted,” said County Mayor Mark Bogen.

The new rules passed June 9 and went into effect June 23. 

Brogen said, “People who live in condos have reported to us they’ve been stuck on their floor, could be weeks, months because the condo doesn’t fix it,” Bogen said. “They say they have a service contractor and they’re waiting for a part. We say, call another company that has the part!”  

If it was only that simple.  This new law was passed without any input from association, nor any factual information about associations and elevators.  Some facts for our commissioners to consider.  

We have contracts for repairs and maintenance of elevators with specific vendors- so going outside that contract doubles the costs. When the vendor says the parts are on back order, or not immediately available, or in the case of elevators installed in the 1960s and 1970s, sometimes the part has to be manufactured (one of a kind), that means they have done a search for the part.  Other companies don’t have the parts, for if they did, our vendor could get the parts.  Someone said, “then just replace the elevator.”  Replacing an elevator takes a minimum 6 months, and, more likely 12-18 months.  It’s not like replacing your washer or dryer. A new vendor will promise you the world – and once you sign the contract, they suddenly become less interested or available. The typical elevator contract for our buildings runs between $30,000 – $60,000 per year – for maintenance and repairs.  Parts are in addition to that cost. 

The new law provides: “If an elevator is out of service for more than twenty-four (24) hours, and the current elevator service company cannot restore service within that timeframe, the building owner or condominium association must seek an alternate registered elevator company to perform the required repairs as quickly as possible, unless prohibited by an existing service maintenance contract.​”  In the notice to residents, the notice must include “contact information for the registered elevator company responsible for servicing the elevator or elevators.”  Do you really want residents giving directives to the elevator company?  I would guess if an elevator company receives hundreds of nasty calls – it might be easier to just void the contract and walk away – rather than take all the undeserved abuse.  The vendor didn’t break the elevator – and they can’t get the parts to repair it.

On June 22, the NIST investigative team released its findings: “The team has concluded that the collapse began in early June 2021, when two connections between garage columns and the pool deck failed. These initial column failures caused cracks to grow and loads to redistribute in the pool deck over the next three weeks, resulting in the transfer of their loads to adjacent slab-column connections that were not strong enough to support them. This led to the larger catastrophic collapse on June 24.” 

“The low margins against failure were primarily caused by two factors. First, severe and widespread deviations in the building’s original structural design from the codes and standards of the day, but also some limitations in those codes and standards. And second, deviations in the building’s construction from the design drawings.”  Loads added to the structure over its lifetime — including pool deck modifications further diminished the margins against failure, as did long-term degradation from corrosion.

The report contains two videos that help explain the NIST findings.  

The loss of 98 lives, along with others losing their homes when the condo had to be torn down, was certainly tragic. 

Sadly, the state legislature passed four condo laws in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 to “ensure there will never be another Champlain Towers collapse in Florida.”  However, all the legislation was based on assumptions versus factual information on why the tower collapsed, and none of the regulations and added costs to associations would have prevented this collapse.  All the legislature did was attack and encumber associations with unjustified requirements.  And the vote on the four bills was unanimous – in both the state house and state senate.  All Republicans and Democrats voting yes. 

None of the new laws addressed the cause:  not built per the architect’s specifics and standards.  Who built the building?  Who issued the permits?  Who inspected the work and signed off on the permits?  Who gave their final approval for occupancy of the building? 

Everyone seems to pretend no one knows. 

This is the final funding needed for the project.  Over the past legislative sessions, Chip has worked and sponsored funding for this project and now with this latest addition, the funding coming from the state totals $2.25 million – half of the costs.

The Galt Ocean Drive Safety Improvements project includes repaving the street, new sidewalks, new street lighting, landscaping, and safety features at the intersections and crosswalks.  The last time Galt Ocean Drive was renovated was 1996 – and the full costs were paid by residents (assessment of all owners) and businesses.  This time – the costs are fully funded by the state and Fort Lauderdale.  The bidding process is underway and we anticipate work starting in the fall of 2026. 

We would be remiss if we did not publicly thank Fort Lauderdale Commissioner John Herbst for his support, and City Manager Rickelle Williams for her support from the city staff.

One final thanks to former Fort Lauderdale city commissioner Heather Moraitis, who put together the funding plan to finance this project, getting commitments for funding from the state and the city of Fort Lauderdale.  Her support at this crucial stage meant the project would go forward, and the residents of the Galt Mile would net be assessed for the costs. 

CONGRATUALTIONS to Commissioner Fisher on his reelection to four more years on the County Commission.  He filed for reelection and no one ran against him – which means he is automatically elected. We definitely look forward to working with Lamar for another four years and his continuing support of the Galt Mile Community.  We are happy to have him as our county commissioner. 

This summer is coming in hot! As temperatures continue to rise, residents and visitors are encouraged to take precautions to protect themselves from heat-related illnesses. High temperatures combined with high humidity can increase the risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, especially for older adults, young children, outdoor workers, and individuals with chronic medical conditions.

Broward County’s 911 system is getting a major upgrade as the Board recently awarded a multi-year agreement to Motorola Solutions Connectivity, Inc. to serve as the County’s Next Generation 911 (NG911), which replaces legacy analog systems with a fully digital, broadband-based platform. The transition will enable Public Safety Answering Points to receive voice, text, images, video, and data, while also improving accuracy, reliability, and regional coordination.

Port Everglades generates approximately $48.3 billion in economic activity and supports nearly 300,000 jobs throughout Florida.  In total, economic impact increased by 72% and supported 44% more jobs statewide over the previous report for Fiscal Year 2024. That includes approximately 13,139 jobs that are directly dependent on the port’s business activity, a more than 7% increase over the previous fiscal year.

2026 Hurricane Preparedness Information:

• Website – Broward.org/hurricane – comprehensive preparedness and response information for residents
• Hurricane Preparedness Guide – Official Broward County Hurricane Preparedness Guide – Comprehensive 24-page guide is available digitally
• Website for vulnerable residents – Broward.org/atrisk – This includes those with disabilities, elderly, homeless, special needs, shelters and Vulnerable Population Registry.
• See my May2026 Newsletter for further hurricane preparedness information.

Click here to read the full details of these articles and many more in Commissioner Fisher’s newsletter.

Florida Statutes require our office to use January 1 as the date of assessment each year.  The 2026 Just/Market Values are based on the market data from 2025 with January 1, 2026 as the date of assessment.  The Property Appraiser’s Office does not set or collect property taxes.  If you have questions about the proposed tax rates, the contact information and public hearing dates for the individual taxing authorities are listed to the right of each agency name on the TRIM Notice.

Here are some questions that you may be asking.

I Recently Applied for Homestead Exemption – Why Is It Not Showing? I Had Homestead Exemption Last Year – Where Did My Exemptions Go? I Am a Senior Citizen – Why Isn’t the Senior Exemption Showing?

To review all the tax-saving exemptions available to qualified applicants and to apply for these online, please visit our website at web.bcpa.net and click on “Exemptions & Classifications.” 

The absolute deadline to apply for any 2026 exemption is September 18, 2026. Click here to read the answers to the questions and all the information in the August newsletter.

We have been awaiting the final report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on the reasons for the collapse of the Champlain Towers on June 24, 2021, resulting in the death of 98 individuals. The technical findings are now available on the NIST website – the link below provides access to the report and two videos detailing the report’s findings.   

NIST Releases Technical Findings on What Caused the 2021 Partial Collapse of Champlain Towers South | NIST

From the report: “The low margins against failure were primarily caused by two factors. First, severe and widespread deviations in the building’s original structural design from the codes and standards of the day, but also some limitations in those codes and standards. And second, deviations in the building’s construction from the design drawings.  Loads added to the structure over its lifetime — including pool deck modifications described in a previous investigation update — further diminished the margins against failure, as did long-term degradation from corrosion.”

“Factors that the investigation has ruled out as contributing to the failure, including vibrations from nearby construction; foundation failure, sinkholes or settling; hurricane and storm surge effects; impulsive loads (e.g., weight dropped from a crane or explosion); and accidental overloads caused by a roof project underway at the time of the collapse.” 

The Miami Herald had a full story on the findings:  NIST findings about what caused the Surfside condo collapse | Miami Herald

Champlain Towers was the first, and only building, in the United States to collapse without explanation.  We now have the technical findings as to the reasons why. 

QUESTION:  Did the four condo bills passed by the state legislature really address this issue?  The legislators claim that the condo bills will prevent another such collapse.  A bold statement to make before knowing why the building collapsed.  “In true legislative fashion, this a perfect example of what happens when elected officials feel obligated to take action without knowing what the actual problem is. Ready fire aim.”   And now, knowing why the building collapsed, will the four condo bills really prevent this in the future or will these bills simply destroy condo living?  You decide.