City Commission - Regular Meeting

The City of Pembroke Pines City Commission meeting today is Wednesday, September 16th, 2026. And today we have our second and final budget hearing, followed by a regular Commission meeting when that budget hearing is completed. Mr. Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Thank you very much. And before we get started, allow us once again to congratulate Maria, Commissioner Maria Rodriguez on the birth of her son, who She's taken care of today. She and Jeremy have a baby boy. Commissioner, congratulations.

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Congratulations. And I know it's a new adjustment, but you The day will come very soon where you can't even remember what it was like not to have children. And it is a blessing in every way. And we congratulate you. Similarly, I'd like to congratulate you.

Thank you. Similarly, I'd like to congratulate my wife, Lisa Castillo. Today is our 37th wedding anniversary. And it's a credit to her that she allows me to celebrate this occasion here with all of you. And so in light of Commissioner Rodriguez's new duties and my occasion, I'm hopeful that we can get today's business done very, very quickly. And with your cooperation, we will be able to do that.

OK. Mr. Dodge, I think that we cannot DISPENSE WITH THE READING OF THE BUDGET ANOTHER TIME BECAUSE WE HAVE A SPEAKER THAT IS SIGNED UP. BUT BEFORE WE DO THAT, COMMISSIONER GOOD, IF YOU WOULD PLEASE JOIN ME AT THE PODIUM. Commissioners, ladies and gentlemen, such is our respect for our residents that even the budget of the city of Pembroke Pines will be interrupted in honor of a very, very special occasion. And so this is a proclamation of the city of Pembroke Pines, Florida, honoring Gloria Thornhill. on her 100th anniversary, her 100th birthday. 100 years, wow. Wow. Commissioner, will you ple

And congratulations. We are so fortunate to have you with us today, and we are so fortunate to be there at that point in our lives as well. So on this occasion of your 100th birthday, whereas Gloria Thornhill was born on September 12, 1926 in Midway, Georgia to parents of Jamaican heritage and is the youngest, the youngest of three children. And whereas Ms. Thornhill pursued her education at Gillespie Sheldon Institute in Cordell, Georgia, Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia, and New York State University Hunter College Graduate School in New York, New York. And whereas Ms. Thornhill dedi

Now, therefore, I, Angelo Castillo, Mayor of the City of Pembroke Pines, along with the City Commission, hereby recognize and honor Ms. Gloria Thornhill on the joyous occasion of her 100th birthday. And we celebrate this remarkable milestone and extend our warmest congratulations and best wishes to you for your continued happiness and good health, and on a personal level. I just want to tell you something. The year you retired from HRA in New York, I was named a deputy commissioner there. And you and I worked in the same, we didn't get to work together because you had retired. I don't know why

Well, God bless you, God bless you. You know, they asked us to do this last year when you were 99, but I said, nope, she's gotta make it to 100. She's gotta do her part, and you did.

And you're all welcome to stay, but we're gonna do the budget now. Could you do me a favor? Could you find a way to send me some of these photos too? Because our photographer isn't here yet. Thank you so much. Yes, perfect. She is amazing. Okay, and we thank you for your indulgence. And as they make their way back, Mr. Dodge, if you would please offer the presentation. Yes, Mayor.

Thank you very much. So my first speaker from the public today is Nancy Batista. If you could come forward and your name and address for the record. There's a button there that says speak, and if you'll press that button, please. You're on.

Well, I think he just explained that. I understand.

Can I ask a question? Ms. Batista, thank you for your question. Mr. Dodge, I don't believe she was asking about contractual. I think she was asking about the executive management team. Well, it's my impression, since she asked me the question about the executive management team and the 10.2, if you can address that for her, please.

And I can tell you that as the only one here who was here during the recession, when we fall into a state of financial urgency or financial difficulty, and we are forced, as happened during the Great Recession, to take cuts, everyone takes the same cut. That's the way Pembroke Pines operates. The salaries here are adjusted based on competitive negotiation and salary comparisons. And when times are bad, we all take the same cut. This is one team, and there's no There's no distinction between executive or frontline person when it comes to taking cuts or getting salary increases. I can tell you,

We're very much in line with cities of our size and complexity. And like I started this, I said- This is going to have to be your last question because we have to get to other speakers. But go right ahead.

The union contracts don't negotiate on the basis of what the Social Security COLA is. They negotiate on the basis of what the comparable salaries are for the positions that they represent.

Is that the one in the administration budget?

Show of hands if anyone else wants to speak. OK, thank you. OK, we'll call you. Anybody else? Just those two? OK. While you're looking that up. That's all right. I don't need to answer. We'll get you the answer. Shauna? Your name and address for the record, please.

Now you know, of course, because we've talked about this before, come January 1 of 2027, the rules with respect to what we can use public dollars for change and it's my intention because of the new law not long after we're done with this budget to begin holding meetings workshops amongst ourselves to begin thinking about how to conform to the law and still stay true to the traditions of our city And that will mean some changes in how we present things. It may mean some more ticketed events rather than free events. It may mean some more sponsored events. rather than subsidized events. I don't k

But there will be others that we will have to look at.

And I want to thank you for your advocacy, and I want to thank Commissioner Good for his advocacy, because you ended up getting that money into the budget, and I'm thrilled to hear it. Okay?

Ulysses, your name and your address for the record, please.

We have a procurement ordinance that governs that. The RFP for building services has been widely used reviewed by this commission, probably in greater depth than ever before. It is currently now on the street.

It depends on the procurement, but I think it's every five years, and then there could be renewals.

they don't they represent the city right okay so i i believe that they should uh be scrutinized well as i say that that rfp is on the street uh oh it's already out yes yes oh it's on the street right now oh and uh yeah and uh we uh we uh uh have a procurement ordinance that governs that and uh That's how it works.

Mayor, if I could jump in, because we have spoken about it outside of the dais. And I do think it's important, incredibly important, as you state, Routinely have competitive bidding you don't know if you're having the best price best efficient most efficient service without going to a competitive bid I joked about I was raised a Catholic and now I'm Anglican But ultimately I'm of the religion of competitive bidding just because I believe that's exactly how a city should So and I know others on the dais were advocates of that particular contract being sent out to, when they say the street, that

Thank you very much. Good job. Thank you. OK. Anyone else want to be heard on this? OK. We will close the public hearing. And we will have, do we need another roll call, Mr. City Attorney?

Yeah, my question was, it says roll call here. Do we need another roll call?

Thank you very much. Can I have a motion, please? Moved by the vice mayor. Is there a second? Moved by the Vice Mayor, is there a second? Second. Second by Commissioner Rodriguez. Any discussion on the item?

OK. Thank you. So I want to first thank City Manager Dodge, but also, in particular, our Assistant City Manager, Lisa Chong, and her team, which they're not sitting up there, but I see them. And I appreciate everything you all do, especially responding to our questions. Oftentimes, whether it's a resident or others that may not have worked with municipal or county government, they ask you that one time you vote on the budget. But the reality is that having experience working in Miami-Dade County government for that mayor and that budget, the final budget that I worked on before I left to the p

Thank you very much vice mayor Commissioner good Yes, thank you.

Mr.. Mayor, so you know this is Probably one of the most difficult budget processes have experienced since being elected nearly nine years ago. So a lot of competing priorities are surrounding us. Makes it really very, very difficult. Our country is experiencing things that we don't don't normally experience. And it's putting a lot of pressure on government, as well as private businesses. And it's putting a lot of pressure on the households that have to maintain their living, their lifestyles, their ability to afford things. I do have a number of comments. I do want to probably make those comm

Commissioner Schwartz. Thank you, Mayor. I want to first thank the administration and finance. Lisa Chung and your staff have done an excellent job putting together a document that the public has had an opportunity to digest. Ms. Bautista, who spoke earlier tonight, I want to acknowledge, just for the moment, the decorum and the exchange of professionalism and respect that she was given today. But Ms. Bautista and others in social media land haven't gotten the same type of interaction online. And it's quite disappointing. And I'm hoping that going forward, that our residents who ask tough ques

Dodge, thank you. Commissioner, I'm going to give you some leeway, but we're on the millage. The budget is the next item, but go right ahead.

Well, so here's the thing, Mayor. I need to have these...

answered so i can decide whether or not miss city attorney yes what is the sequence we are commanded by state law to follow let me respond mayor i asked this very question jay i asked this very question what is the sequence that we are commanded to follow under the state statute governing the approval of millage the statute refers to millage as the first item in the in the delivery and the second of which would be the budget as well and it's been that way since Ever, right? Since Chapter 200 was adopted. You've been here? 15 of them now. Okay. I've been here 23, almost 24. Yeah. It's been this

Yeah. So if you have questions on the budget, we need to save it for when we're on the budget. Right now we're on the millage.

Okay. So in order to get to what we're going to ask our taxpayers to fund, We need to figure out how much reserves we're using, right? I asked the city administration to come back after first reading on what potential frontline reductions, what reductions could be made that would not impact frontline services. So may I highlight those, Mayor?

Those are budget questions, sir. We are on the millage.

OK, so the administration says that there's $3.885 million in reserve draw that does not support recurring operations. But the administration also indicates that there's no separate breakdown identifying what the $3.885 million actually funds. So how can the commission independently verify and vote on the millage if none of those funds, if none of those reserves support recurring expenditures? I don't know how else to say it.

Those are budget questions, Commissioner. And I'm trying to give you as much leeway as I can and make sure that we adhere to state law at a time when things are very litigious. So I have to ask you, and I have to ask you, please, last time, please, we are on the millage. Your budget questions will be acknowledged, will be addressed, will be answered. That is the next item. All right. We are on the millage.

We're going to have to move the question then now.

OK. Is there anything else on this? All right. Mr. City Clerk, please call the roll.

I'd like to have a minute more, Mr. Mayor. All right. Keep going.

I'd like to wait for Commissioner Goode.

We're going to take a five-minute recess, and then we'll start from scratch. Thank you very, very much. The motion to establish the millage rate has been read. It's been moved and seconded. Mr. Clerk, will you start from scratch on the vote?

Again, Mr. Mayor, I just want to reiterate the difficulty in this question and having to weigh all the issues that are before us, whether it be the city, whether it be residents, businesses, other agencies, and things like that. I do recognize that we have a lot of very important issues that we have to address this year. I'm going to make my vote a yes, sir. Thank you.

I ask the city attorney, would it be lawful to recess this portion without taking any action and move to the second reading of the budget without any voting, and then come back to this so we can have a more robust and informed conversation. The city attorney said it was lawful. Is that correct, city attorney?

I don't understand that answer. The question was in the sequencing, which I had asked you before. Must we pass a millage before we entertain the budget? And I was told that the order in which this is presented is how the state statute commands us to proceed. Commissioner Schwartz's question is... must we pass a millage rate before we can have a discussion?

I didn't get an answer to that question. I don't believe that I misstated your question. The question before us is what is the sequencing, correct?

Right. But my inquiry during our five-minute break was without taking any vote, without taking any vote, can we recess this portion to have a conversation about the budget without taking a vote and then come back and then vote? I find that out of order. Well, this is the city attorney. Can you please advise the chair?

I can't, based on the city attorney's advice, commissioner, violate the state law. The city attorney has said that the state law is clear. And we have a particularly, how shall I say, picky, Stay right now with respect to procedure and process. And it's my job to make sure that we comply. If the city attorney has said that we must pass a millage rate first and then entertain the budget. And so it's your turn to vote.

Yes. And by your vote, the millage rate is established for the next year. It will be the 12th year, correct, Ms. Chong, that the 12th consecutive year that we lower the millage rate. Is that correct?

Okay. So it's the 11th year. I don't know of very many cities that can say the same. Not many at all. And I'm very proud of the... Administration for putting this budget together. This is a difficult time. It's not an easy vote for me. It's not been an easy vote for any of us because of the times that we live in. But we have produced a budget that will continue to support, as Vice Mayor said, the work plan that is necessary in order to produce one of the finest cities, not just, Vice Mayor, in the state of Florida, in the United States. Pembroke Pines is one of the finest places in the United

Yes. I also want to say that I happen to agree with the sentiment that several have expressed here that the state law is reverse in how it should be done. It is very, very difficult for us to follow a state law on establishing a millage rate without having second reading on the budget first as one drives the other. And it just seems to me that the state's law places the cart before the horse. Be that as it may, my opinion does not trump the law. The law is what the law says. And we are following the state's laws because we must. And actions will be taken if we don't. And I'm very clear about t

The move by the Vice Mayor. Is there a second? Is there a second? Second. Seconded by Commissioner Rodriguez. Commissioners, with your indulgence, because we have a student who has to get to school tomorrow, I would ask you all, please, to rise for the Pledge of Allegiance, which will be led today by Ella Marsala, who is a Pembroke Pines Charter High School sophomore. She's 16 years old, and she lives in the city of Pembroke Pines. And Ella, when you are ready, please lead us in the pledge, and then we will continue standing for the national anthem.

Thank you, Ella. Beautifully done. Thank you very much. And we have today two presentations. One of them is the Natalie Belmonte Award. Miguel and Selenia Colon, are you here today? Do you need to leave right away? OK, could you do me a favor? And with your indulgence, you're going to enjoy our discussion on the budget. And then we're going to give you this beautiful award. And please don't leave, because there's a $50 Home Depot certificate there. I don't want to. I know that. Money is being offered for people to hang around these days. But this is a real certificate. And also, I know that Dr

Well, so you know the story, and we thank you for that. Since 1981, the Feeding South Florida has worked to address hunger and food insecurity in the city of Pembroke Heights by providing our community with immediate access to nutritious foods and other vital resources and supports, and whereas hunger does not discriminate, it knows no race, religion, age in South Florida, affecting approximately one million individuals facing hunger Food should never be impossible choice for the community of the City of Pembroke Pines and whereas Feeding South Florida leads hunger and poverty advocacy efforts

We're proud of you, and we thank you. Thank you.

Motion on the budget has been made and seconded. Vice Mayor.

I don't have additional comments other than what I already have stated for the record. I did make the motion. I believe Commissioner Rodriguez seconded it, so I turn it over to you, Mayor, and our colleagues. Thank you very much. Commissioner Goode.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor. So just a quick question to the city manager. Aside from the events line item, is there any other changes that have been made to the budget?

OK. And thank you for that then. So at our first budget hearing, I did a lot of commenting on how I felt about the budget. And since that meeting, I have asked for additional information. I've had conversation with several staff members. I'm still absent some information. It was very, very important to me. And some of the questions or the responses that were made to me, I don't know that I'm in full agreement with... with the responses, because I certainly have additional questions on the responses that were given to me that I've yet been able to get additional responses to. So those items, of

The other thing I- Commissioner Good, or maybe to you and the city attorney, I don't know, whoever wants to jump in. But from the dais, we have the ability tonight to, say, fund the position of, what would we call it, solid waste director?

Just a solid waste manager, just somebody who's the authority within the city that has very, very good understanding of the industry, an industry expert.

Okay. So to Mr. Gorin, we have that ability from the dais as a commission.

Commissioner Good, I'm just stating on the record, if you are to make that motion as part of another motion, I'm going to be supportive, but I wanted to just put on record that we have the ability, the five of us up here, well, four of us here, and Commissioner Rodriguez on the phone, to make that adjustment to the budget. So I'll be supportive.

We do. And if I can just clarify, my view was informed by the manager's view. He and I had a discussion because we had this discussion on the dais. And his view is that until and unless the city commission authorizes us to go into the ventures that would force us for good reason not to join the solid waste authority, that in that instance, it would make sense to have this position. Right now, we have Mr. Gomes, who has been doing as good a job as anyone could in guiding us together with the city manager, who I think is pretty good at this topic. Certainly, if we were to open a venture, city ma

So the other thing is, in order to fund that position, which in the instance of us agreeing to go down that particular road makes total sense, it would need to be paid for out of trash fees. So we would have to amend the trash fees upward in order to include the position. And so the manager convinced me, based on his experience, that this was something that we should not do now. That doesn't keep this commission from choosing to do it anyway. But I think that what the manager is saying is at least sensible enough to consider. And so I wanted to say, because you mentioned that it was me, my opi

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So everything that you said was certainly in the conversation that I had with the manager, and I have the right to have a different opinion to that. And the only additional thing that I would add, other than what I've already said about why I believe that this position is very important, is that even if we do go into the Solid Waste Authority, we're still going to need a position that ensures that we continue to remain in compliance with the many rules and regulations that they're about ready to throw onto all the membership that's in the Solid Waste Authority. So, I mean

And that's an amendment. Before there's a second, I have a... Commissioner Goode, you've been in industry for over 20 years. I don't want to box this in for a compensation package. Can you give a general range of what today's compensation package, how much that would actually cost?

I actually have my next issue is going to talk about that, about compensation. But for right now, I can't. I can tell you, though, that certainly that the fair compensation for this is not going to be any kind of substantial impact to the budget in any way shape or form so Commissioner good.

Yeah, and I again I Respect you we have 38,000 Accounts That we that we collect for the trash disposal so whatever that compensation package is it's divided by 38,000 and

Okay. So generally, City Manager Dodge, how many business accounts do we have? Roughly. I don't need a...

I know it's not equal. Would you say $50,000 for the purposes of that?

He doesn't have the number, Commissioner. We can bring it back to you, give staff a chance. They were prepared for this question.

I think the staff may have been prepared, because I know Commissioner Good asked the question ahead of time.

Well, if they were prepared, they'd have answered. He's saying he doesn't know.

Well, perhaps the manager doesn't have the answer, but someone from staff might. Now, I'd like to know, what is our total? Mr. Dodge, does anybody here know? Because it's a simple math equation.

OK, can we now pull up the account and see how much we collect every year? Do we really have to go to that point and divide by 12? Can we find out how many accounts we have? I don't want to be combative. I don't want to be argumentative. But Commissioner Good has a valid point. And the mayor raises the point that fees are going to go up. So I'd like to be able to do a simple math equation And we can go with $38,000. If we don't know the commercial, then we know at least it's going to actually go down. Can we start with 38? We can agree to that. So if the compensation package was, let's say, $3

Commissioner, let's not dramatize this. No one said the sky is falling. No one said anything. We simply said that it would have to be paid for by trash fees.

Great. And if we can say that it's going to go up $0.25 a bill per month, to make sure that we're not getting hosed by industry.

Again, no one's talking about getting hosed.

Commissioner Good wants to protect the public by having a consultant who is in industry, who is well-versed in industry, to protect the interests of our residents. He wants a compliance person familiar with the

familiar with the industry on board. We have an assistant city manager, and we also have Rose, who deals with the residential pickup all the time. The manager has recommended against it. Commissioner Good is making a recommendation to include it in the budget. The item has been seconded. You have asked for detail the staff do not have.

None of that other stuff is on the table.

OK. So Commissioner Good, are you looking at making a budget adjustment, or are you looking to add this to the current expenditure line? Are you looking to pull something out in order to make this work?

Before we get into this discussion, we have a second, right? You seconded it?

I moved it. I believe Commissioner Rodriguez seconded it. She did. No, no, no, no.

I'm talking about the amendment. The amendment. Well, I haven't been able to. Put a position. Right, right. Commissioner Schwartz. So before we get into the discussion on the substance, we need to have a second. I'm seconding Commissioner. So Vice Mayor has seconded. Commissioner Schwartz.

All right, I didn't realize we didn't have a second on the table. My apologies. We have $3.88 million in reserves that we're funding. I asked the administration to find cost reductions. I have a list that they've proposed. We have new positions that have been created. There's a proposed cost for that. I question Commissioner Good. Are you looking at leaving the expenditure line the same? Are you looking to increase our reserve contribution in order to fund this proposed position?

So I would, if you put me in that circumstances, I mean, I believe that I would leave that to the city manager to make the determination on that. If it had to be, it could be an increase in the reserve fund of a few dollars that probably would never be spent because, again, I believe that this position will create the additional revenue to support their own salary. If I may. Personally, honestly, and professionally, I've seen that.

Okay. And I don't disagree that we leave it up to the manager. But this budget has $4.2 million in vacancies. position vacancies that were identified in April that have not been updated for this budget hearing. So for the last five months, there hasn't been an adjustment for $4.2 million in budgeted vacancy. We're using $3.88 million in reserve for a vacancy. OK. Mr. Dodge, is that correct?

I didn't make the list, sir. You provided it to me. All right.

Mr. Dodge, in this year's budget, there's $5 million of estimated budget savings in this year's budget. Correct. But yet, the last two years, The previous two years, it was approximately $11.2 and $13.3 million. Correct. We have a budget savings of more than half in this year's budget than we had in the previous two.

We are straying now from, it's a relevant question to the budget, but we are straying now from the motion. Your question had to do with how Commissioner Good saw his motion passed. He's responded to that, that the city manager would have to come back to us with his plan.

Well, my motion is that we add the position using the surplus funds, whatever that would be.

And then the manager would come back to us with his plan for how to fund it. Are there any more questions on the amendment?

The vice mayor has seconded your item. Okay. Any from the public? On the amendment, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Anyone says no? Motion passes unanimously. Commissioner Good.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor. So my next item was dealing with was employee compensations. And again, I have additional questions. I know that we voted on a collective bargaining agreement for our general employees. I know that when we took that up, there was a reference to it being a 5% increase to the employees. But there is another item that was added to that, which is some annual increase that gets added that I was not even aware of. So when we took that item up, I was only believing that we were giving And generous 5% to everybody, but it turned out to be a bit more. And then it's not applie

He can make a note, but I'm going to bring it to you myself. This is an issue that I'd like to bring forward and talk a little bit more about how we can put policies and some guide rails and how some of these things are going so that, you know, there's not an unexpected, you know, compensation that we otherwise wouldn't expect.

Yeah, and the other thing was, again, was the FCS. I mean, I did get some information from the FCS, you know, you know, the staffing and things like that. And I will tell you that just brought more questions to me. FCS, again, of course, is the employment contractor that we use. And again, I just, you know, I got a single year. I didn't get the multiple years like I was looking for in regards to, you know, seeing how the positions are changing or, you know, the staffing levels, what the compensations are, you know, I don't even know what some of the job descriptions are on some of these positi

Do you want to bring this item back soon?

Sure. That's clearly on my agenda for things.

Yeah, to have more conversation as we move forward. Yes, sir. And then, again, too, I asked for information regarding a projection of what we anticipate to be for rollovers, what kind of things are in the capital. You know, and when we talked First budget hearing, I kept making reference, Mr. Manager, and I apologize to you. I was saying we need to have a capital budget, a capital budget. It's not a capital budget. I misspoke. We need to have a capital fund, a separate fund specifically for capital that has to get approved every year just as we approved You know the operating fund the general

OK. Again, it would be helpful for me to recognize if I'm making a decision on capital projects today, what capital projects have been left over in the past that still hasn't been completed yet. So I mean, it's very important for me to make a decision on that. But again, I'm just going to reemphasize the capital fund. We should be really thinking about putting one together. So Mr. Mayor, for right now, that's all I have. I appreciate it.

Very good points, Commissioner. And I want to thank you very, very much for your attentiveness to this. And we look forward to your item. Commissioner Rodriguez. We'll come back to Commissioner Rodriguez. Commissioner Schwartz.

Thank you. And Commissioner Good, I think it's a good idea to have that fun discussion. It's just easier to digest everything. All right. So I want to try to be as brief as I possibly can. The expenditures from first reading to second reading. There's now a $250,000 flock reduction. There's $147,000 for media FCS reduction. There's a revised election expenditure incorporated. Has that been changed, Mr. Dodge, in the final number for the expenditures?

And what's our total expenditure reduction from first reading to second reading?

Ms. Chung, you mentioned parks. You meant the recreation side. Recreation, okay. Mr. Dodge, you had mentioned that we have $2.5 million in contingency that has been budgeted on first reading.

Why would we not just take it out of contingency?

I had asked between first and second reading for a five-year history of those contingency expenditures. I don't recall. I may have missed seeing it, but I don't recall seeing the breakdown of what the contingencies were.

OK. Which goes to the next point. Administration identified approximately $1 million in contingency and another $2 to $3 million of general capital that could potentially be reduced or deferred. So why use the $3.885 million of reserves before evaluating those expenditures?

It's an assumption. That's all. It's an assumption. Reserve policy. After the final changes were made in first reading, where does the projected unassigned general fund balance stand relative to both the city's 10% policy and the 25% benchmark presented in your response?

OK, I'm just trying to get on the record. What's our current funding percentage for that?

About 30%. And Mayor, I recall, before I even got to the commission, I think the height may have been 40% at some point. And it was a good thing we had that, because we had Hurricane Oblivion come through here. We had a lot of cleanup, and we had to wait several years before we got reimbursed. It was like over $4 million or something like that, if I'm not mistaken, on the cleanup costs that the city had put away. But there was a discussion. I mean, this was... This was a while ago. This was probably 2008 or 2009 range, where the city commission pressed the administration to kind of pull back t

You're talking about the hurricane cleanup fund?

No, not the fund itself. Just the overall reserve policy. I mean, it's probably been 20 years since it's been discussed. And I just don't know in today's dollars.

Do you have enough money in the hurricane cleanup fund?

OK. All right, so going back to Ms. Bautista, she had emailed me specific line items. I emailed that information to the administration. I just need, on the record, for some clarification. Just for the executive team, only the executive members of management, the proposed increases, is that salary only, or is that total loaded compensation?

Yeah. The salaries that are budgeted for executive team members, city manager, assistant city managers, is that salary only or is that total compensation as far as the increase?

All right, moving on. Okay. Mr. Dodge, he addressed the vacancies earlier, so I will miss that one. Okay, the media communications expansion. What measurable service deficiency is this communications expansion intended to correct? What is the purpose of this? We dropped the, I think, $147,000 out of communications. The remaining balance, what are we going to be doing with that new position that's under your... That's within the senior manager budget. Your line item.

What I'm trying to say is we're going to prioritize city needs.

OK. So I believe communication is important. I also believe not overpaying for social media posts, personnel. I think we have the loss of independent media. All of our media now is paywall. You can't see anything unless you pay a subscription to First Amendment journalists who are supposed to be covering the city. You can't even read this stuff anymore. We have Instagram. We have Twitter. We have Facebook. We have ad buys. We need to be able to measure the return on investment of those efforts. I think we would get more bang for our buck administration were to reconsider who can actually post.

No, it's not just us. I mean, Microsoft is- Well, you said this one city. Well, I'm saying this one being us. I mean, the amount of money that we are paying Microsoft, it is mind-blowing. We may need an act of Congress to break up monopolies, because it's to the point now where we're beholden to big tech. I appreciate Carla and her team for the amazing work that you're doing to bring the Pembroke Pines administration together working in one unison. The investments that we're making in this year's budget is a testament to the outcomes of this current fiscal year and since you've been here. And

I'm sorry, Commissioner. Which fund do you refer to?

The building fund. The building fund. The building fund, yeah. It's something I will get with staff. This is going to be a follow-up item. I just want to state on the record that I think some of this, because we have it out on the street, may get resolved at some future point. So I'm just putting a pause on that.

Yeah, just a few more. The utilities... I want to thank Tim Welch and his team. The confidence that you have given our community on water safety is profound. People are confident in their drinking water. They are confident when there's a water main break that we have immediate response. We certainly have challenges. And the recent write-up about where we've come with our pilot project gives me great confidence that we are going to be a leader in this sector of how we deal with PFAS. I know it's a tough task. I know it's a tough order. And I know we don't have all the answers yet. But thank you

We have a charter school system. Excuse me. I was asking you. You can wrap up. We have one more commissioner that wishes to speak. Absolutely. Please continue.

We have a charter school that will run $0.65 on the dollar. And we're outperforming many, many systems throughout the state of Florida on $0.65. I challenge this commission to do the same for our general fund. I think it could be done. I'm prepared to do that. I'm prepared. When they say this is all you're going to get, I'm prepared to make that decision. Pembroke Pines is a beautiful city. It's been my home now 37 years. I would live nowhere else. You know when you miss Pembroke Pines? When you go travel somewhere. You know, it's like, it's good to be home. And I agree. We may not agree on ev

Mr. Dodge, is there a prohibition to staff posting about their events? I see it all the time. Francine does it.

OK. I'm going to be very, very brief, and then we're going to vote and move on with the meeting. We are in and possibly headed toward difficult times financially. Every city, every county in Florida is proceeding with eyes wide open. It is more important now than ever before if we're going to talk about things like tax reductions, budget reductions, that these be brought up early, not late. late is not helpful. This is a large and complex organization, and the things that we do have to be done thoughtfully, even when our other partners in government may not choose to do things in a thoughtful

Yes. And by your vote, this budget is adopted. And I want to thank everyone for their comments, their participation. And the thing about budgets is the minute one is finished, the next one begins. So I know that the finance office will be working on that. Now that we have, while your thoughts are fresh on the 2028, is that the next one? Budget. Let's get those in. Let's start now. Let's not bring it up last minute. And I think that things will go along much, much better. Vice Mayor, I have a presentation to make. If you will join me at the podium.

What a beautiful, beautiful home. Turn around this way because we're on TV. So what you see?

Thank you for keeping District 4 beautiful. I do have to ask, you don't have to say the subdivision, but which community are you in? So Grand Palms is a beautiful community. For those who don't know, right off the 75, just west of the 75, they have a beautiful golf course, and they have a Whole Foods in front of it. We're working on the traffic. But thank you for keeping the community beautiful, because when you keep your home beautiful, the entire community benefits, your neighbors and everyone outside of your community. Thank you.

Well, thank you, Vice Mayor. And in keeping with tradition here, I present you, sir, with the Natalie Belmonte Great Yards Award. And I present you, ma'am, with the Home Depot $50 gift certificate. And our code compliance people are the city of

Thank you very much. Dr. Jennifer Jurado is the recognized expert in Broward County on sustainability. and all things good for the environment, water management, and the future sustainability of our county. Dr. Rado, we're honored to have you with us. If you would please come forward and offer your presentation. There's a button there that says Speak. If you can press that.

It's not on my screen for some reason. Oh, no. Here it is.

Thank you so very, very much, and for everything that you do. to keep us high and dry. And much, much appreciated. Mr. Dodge, I know that you and your staff will have some familiarity with this or will want to figure it out. This is very much needed. It's a lot of money. And when you need something right away that's very much needed and it's a lot of money, in the environment that we're in, to me, it involves leveraging funds. And I don't know what the flexibility of your grants are, but these are capital improvement projects, and they should be bonded. All capital improvement projects, just a

Yeah, I just want to take a point of personal privilege. I've worked with Dr. Jurado probably for, could be over 20 years now. I remember back in the days when you were first working with Broward County and working with David Lee, who was a well-known and respected professional in his own rights. And I know that he was a very important person to you. And what's really very encouraging to see is how you've just expanded beyond the things that David did back in his time to be one of the foremost leaders in water and natural resources planning and policymaking. And for you and the role that you p

I didn't know what Commissioner Good was going to say, but I was basically going to say the same thing. Thank you for coming, and thank you for partnering with our city. I lived that experience way before I entered elected office. I think Mr. Landry probably lived that experience too, Tropical Storm Etta. We couldn't get out of our neighborhood for four days. And I know that state representative Robin Bartleman worked with the state to state government also to bring some massive pumps out here to try to get that. That was a once in 100 year storm. That was the one. And it really was damaging.

Anyone else? Thank you so very much, Dr. Arato. OK, I see no. Thank you. I see no items at the request of the public. Is that correct? I see no commission order item or appeals to the Board of Adjustment or announcements of committee appointments. No items have been pulled from the agenda, Mr. Clerk. Oh, there is an item.

Would you like to wait until that item is brought up so that Your comments can be made then?

Thank you very much. Thank you very, very much. OK. Commissioners, consent items consist of 1 through 11. I see none of the items listed on the Monday night memo. What is your pleasure?

I will move to approve the consent agenda.

The motion has been moved for 1 through 11. Is there a second? Seconded by Commissioner Good. Any discussion? Hearing none. Seeing none from the public. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Show passes unanimously. City Attorney Number 12.

Thank you. I will need a motion. Thank you. That's moved by the vice mayor. A second, please? Second. A second by Commissioner Good. Any discussion on the dais? Any from the public? The clerk will call. This is first reading. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Show passes unanimously. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Yes, sir. Thank you very much.

Move by Commissioner Good, seconded by the Vice Mayor. Any discussion on this resolution? Any from the public? All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, show passes unanimously.

Thank you. This is the LHAP plan. Moved by Commissioner Good. Second. Seconded by the Vice Mayor. Any discussion? Seeing none. Any from the public? Seeing none. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Show passes unanimously.

Let's move for the vice mayor. Seconded by Commissioner Good. Thank you very much. Is there any discussion on item 15?

To the city attorney, is there any voting conflict for me to vote on this item, city attorney? May I respond, Mr. Mayor? Yes.

Anyone else? Any from the public? All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Show passes unanimously. REGULAR AGENDA. REPORTS OF THE LEAGUE AND MPO REPRESENTATIVES. COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ.

Okay. Anything else? Thank you so very much.

Thank you so very much. MPO? Yes, Mr. Mayor, thank you. So we had a meeting, a lot of routine stuff that was taken care of, but probably the most important thing was The Broward MPO does annual federal and legislative priorities. One of the items that I did bring up, ask for an amendment, and it did get unanimous support, was to include in the legislative priorities for guidance on the development of uniform policies regarding those micro-ability devices. So at least we were able to get that on their priority list. So we're hopeful that at this next legislative session that they will also lend

Anything else? That's it, sir. OK, reports of the city manager. Reports of the city manager?

Thank you very much. Commissioner Schwartz, you are recognized for item 16.

Thank you, Mayor. I'll be quick so you can go home and celebrate your anniversary. Congratulations on that. So discussion of possible action to have the city of Pembroke Pines participate in the first North Prairie Airport 5K, the participation level would provide up to 100 city sponsored registration fees at the discretion of the city manager. I was made aware of this event through Broward County Commissioner Alexandra Davis, who led the charge when she first got into office. Her goal was to get more community involvement within the airport. She's worked with Broward County Aviation Departmen

Well, before you make your motion, we have someone from the public, and then I'll turn it to you.

Please. Mr. Corrin? On the five-key specific. That's what he has on his sheet, Commissioner.

Your name and address for the record, please.

Thank you. Anyone else from the public wish to be heard? Commissioner Schwartz, for your motion.

Okay, I make a motion to support the commission of our county commissioner, Alexander Davis, and have the city of Pembroke Pines participate in the first North Prairie Airport 5K. Participation level would provide up to 100 city sponsored registration fees at the discretion of the city manager.

Is there a second to that motion? Is there a second to that motion? That motion dies for lack of a second. Thank you very much. Is there anything further, Mr. Dodge, Mr. Gorin, for the good of the whole? No, sir. Thank you very much. And Commissioner Rodriguez, all my very best and all our very best. And thank you for participating. And good night, folks. This meeting is adjourned.