Sailfish City - Stuart Florida Community Site

The City commission of North Lauderdale is spearheading a push to separate the state of Florida into two separate, individual states.  There complaint is that South Florida, consisting of Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties contribute much more in tax money to the state than they receive back for their areas from the state government.  Below is the offical resolution being sent to the President Bush and the United States Congress as well as the Governor of Florida.

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A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF NORTH LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA, URGING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS AND THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA TO CONSIDER DIVIDING THE STATE OF FLORIDA INTO TWO SEPARATE AND DISTINCT STATES PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY AS SET FORTH IN ARTICLE IV, SECTION 3 OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION; DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, ALL MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS, THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA, AND ALL MEMBERS OF THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE, AS WELL AS ALL MUNICIPALITIES LOCATED WITHIN BROWARD COUNTY AND THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS FOR BROWARD COUNTY, ALL MUNICIPALITIES LOCATED WITHIN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, ALL MUNICIPALITIES LOCATED WITH PALM BEACH COUNTY AND ANY OTHER INTERESTED MUNICIPALITIES; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

            WHEREAS, Dr. Benjamin Franklin said that “without continual growth and progress, such words as ‘achievement,’ ‘improvement’ and ‘success’ have no meaning”; and

            WHEREAS, in recent years the Legislature of the State of Florida (the “State”) has considered a number of proposals that have had a significant adverse impact on local governments’ ability to generate revenue and effectively perform their essential municipal functions; and

            WHEREAS, many of these initiatives have resulted in a local government regression whereby as a direct result of legislative action certain counties and municipalities are becoming increasingly unable to perform essential public services; and

            WHEREAS, on January 29, 2008, the electors of the State adopted Amendment 1 to the Florida Constitution, a legislative proposal that, while providing some minimal tax relief to citizens and residents of the State, also required municipalities to roll back their tax rates and imposed certain limitations on municipal revenue generating options;  and

            WHEREAS, in its current session, the Florida Legislature is considering a number of proposals which will further limit or recommend limitations on the amount of ad valorem taxes that may be collected by counties, municipalities, school districts and special districts; and

            WHEREAS, House Joint Resolution 949 and Senate Joint Resolution 2190 specifically recommend an amendment to the State Constitution which would limit the amount of ad valorem taxes collected by counties, municipalities, school districts and special districts to an amount not to exceed 1.35% of the parcel’s highest taxable value; and

            WHEREAS, House Bill 715, House Joint Resolution 7125 and other proposals provide further requirements for and restrictions on local governments’ ability levy crucial taxes and impose necessary assessments in order for such governments to successfully operate and perform the duties expected and required by their citizens and residents; and

            WHEREAS, included among the recently adopted and considered action by the State Legislature were proposals which may reallocate funds raised by more populous parts of the State to those areas which are less populated and less able to generate comparable revenue; and

            WHEREAS, this reallocation will have a particularly negative impact on South Florida; and

            WHEREAS, during the recent Broward Days lobbying session, at which time many elected officials from Broward County appeared in Tallahassee to conduct a meaningful dialogue with the State Legislature in favor of and in opposition to certain proposals, a number of State Legislators either refused or failed to meet with Broward’s elected officials to discuss their concerns regarding some of the action recently taken by the Legislature; and

            WHEREAS, a number of these rejections and discourtesies occurred despite previously scheduled meetings between certain State Legislators and certain elected officials from Broward County; and

            WHEREAS, as a result of the recent action taken and considered by the State Legislature, the City Commission of the City of North Lauderdale (the “City”) has concluded that overall the State Legislature has no appreciation for the actual impact of its decisions and no true understanding for how its decisions adversely impact the ability of municipalities to function and perform essential municipal and public services; and

            WHEREAS, the City Commission further has no confidence in the State Legislature’s ability to recognize the practical impact of its decisions or how its decisions demonstrably affect municipalities that directly provide essential public services to the citizens and residents of the State; and

            WHEREAS, the action recently taken and considered by the State Legislature has had an adverse and arguably destructive impact on certain municipalities in the State, particularly in South Florida; and

            WHEREAS, the Declaration of Independence of the United States provides that when any form of government becomes destructive to the extent that it no longer has the consent of the people governed, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish said government and institute a new government based on the foundation in which the people seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness; and

            WHEREAS, given the size of the State and the great differences in needs and priorities between the southern portion of the State and the northern portion of the State, the City Commission has determined that it is in the best interests of the citizens and residents of the State to divide the State into two separate and distinct governing entities; and

            WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 3 of the United States Constitution expressly provides that “new states may be admitted by the Congress into this union; but no new states shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other state … without the consent of the legislatures of the states concerned as well as of the Congress”; and

            WHEREAS, pursuant to this Section, Congress, subject to the consent of the State Legislature, has the Constitutional authority to divide the State into two separate entities; and

            WHEREAS, Dr. Franklin further stated that “the best public measures are … seldom adopted from previous wisdom, but forced by the occasion”; and

            WHEREAS, recent action taken and considered by the State Legislature has forced certain municipalities to consider alternate ways to control the manner in which they are able to generate the revenue needed to continue to provide essential municipal services; and

            WHEREAS, the City Commission deems a division of the State to be in the best interests of the citizens and residents of the State, and urges Congress and the State Legislature to seriously consider all action legally necessary to effectuate such a result.

             NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF NORTH LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA THAT:

            Section 1.     The foregoing “WHEREAS” clauses are hereby ratified and confirmed as being true and correct and are hereby made a specific part of this Resolution.

            Section 2.     The City Commission of the City of North Lauderdale hereby urges the United States Congress and the Legislature of the State of Florida to consider dividing the State of Florida into two separate and distinct states pursuant to the authority as set forth in Article IV, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution.

            Section 3.     The City Clerk is hereby directed to provide a certified copy of this Resolution to the President of the United States, all members of the United States Congress, the Governor of the State of Florida, all members of the Florida Legislature, as well as all municipalities in Broward County, the Board of County Commissioners for Broward County, all municipalities located in Miami-Dade County, all municipalities located in Palm Beach County, and any other interested municipalities.

            Section 4.     All resolutions or parts of resolutions on in conflict herewith be, and the same are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict.

            Section 5.     If any clause, section, other part or application of this Resolution is held by any court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or invalid, in part or application, it shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions or applications of this Resolution.

            Section 6.     This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its passage and adoption.

PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF NORTH LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA, THIS _____ DAY OF __________________, 2008.

                                                                                                                                                                                                            _______________________________

                                                                        MAYOR JACK BRADY

                                                                        _______________________________

                                                                        VICE MAYOR JOHN CANGEMI

ATTEST:

___________________________________

PATRICIA VANCHERI, Acting City Clerk

APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM

BY CITY ATTORNEY:

_____________________________

SAMUEL S. GOREN, ESQUIRE

Stuart, FL  – With Stuart looking beautiful after mammoth efforts by Stuart in Bloom, Stuart Main Street, the Downtown Business Association and the City of Stuart, the 11th Craft Show in historic downtown Stuart will be the perfect event to attend in May.  Saturday May 17 and Sunday May 18, Stuart Main Street and American Crafters will host over 100 craftsmen and artisans for the 11th Annual Craft Show.

Up and down Osceola Street from St. Lucie Avenue to Colorado Avenue will become a pedestrian mall lined with crafters from all over the state of Florida along with some local artists.  The craft show opens to the public at 10 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. each day. Restaurants and downtown merchants will remain open according to their regular hours of operation for those people who want to spend the evening downtown. This free event will also host a number of food vendors and live music. 

Stuart MainStreet, a 501 C3 is a not for profit organization that is dedicated to improve the appearance and economic stability of historic downtown Stuart.  Their mission is to create and market a positive image of the downtown through special events, retails sales, effective advertising and public relations often working with the  public, private sector and community leaders to develop and coordinate resources to downtown Stuart’s success.

For more information regarding this event or Stuart MainStreet, please contact Bernie Malone, Main Street Manager at 772-286-2848

Stuart Fl - On June 1, 2008 the city of Stuart will begin adding fluoride to the city water supply.  Back in January, a referendum vote was held to decide the issue of fluoride and the city water supply.  The big stink is that not everyone who uses city water was permitted to vote, thus not getting a choice in the matter.  That in and of itself is enough to make you angry. 

David Peters, assistant director of city public works stated that the their is an ordinance in place that if Stuart provides water service to an area the resident is required to use it as their primary water supply.  This means that upwards of 5,000 people who live outside the city in connecting areas of the county don’t have a choice on fluoride.  They could not vote on the matter and cannot use an alternate source of water such as well water.  There is just something fundamentally wrong with that. 

The phrase just keeps ringing over and over again in my head, ‘no taxation without representation’.  I know we aren’t talking taxes here, but for a government body to force citizens into using something they don’t want, in this case a form of medication, without giving that citizen a voice in the matter is wrong.  There needs to be a re-vote with all people affected having a voice whether they live in the city limits or not.  If that isn’t an option, than people who don’t want to take fluoride should be allowed to use their well water systems.

I’m not going to side one way or the other on whether fluoride is good or bad for you in the water supply.  I’ll be honest, I don’t know enough about it.  I’m no doctor and I’m no scientist.  But I am an American voter and I don’t want to see my rights or my fellow Americans rights trampled on by anyone.