Remarks by Steven Glassman
66 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 2 of 3
- Play at 22:47
“And then something that I find myself explaining to a lot of people when they think of their taxing situation every year, and again, I know the answers to this, but maybe if you could just explain to folks, when they get their tax bill, how many taxing agencies, like 8, 10?”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 23:16
“When people get their trim notice, we're one portion of how many taxing agencies? Eight or ten?”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 23:28
“And actually, out of the eight or ten taxing agencies... I'm glad you get that answer.”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 23:59
“Right. So the number one is the school board, correct? Correct. And they've been exempt from the ballot proposal in terms of Amendment 3, even though they are the largest chunk of tax that folks will see on their bill, correct?”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 24:15
“And then second is Broward County. And then third is the city of Fort Lauderdale. And roughly we are 24%, you said, of the overall tax bill. Correct. Okay, thank you.”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 26:36
“Well, if I might ask the question, what efficiencies should we be looking at or what are the ways? I always like to have solutions, not just point out issues, but what would be the solutions for us to cut in terms of fire or any other place in the budget? What should we be looking at that we have not looked at?”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 27:28
“Well, again, I would assume that that was the exercise that the Budget Advisory Board went through after a whole year of meeting with every department chair and every department head and every person in the city that had something to do with the budget, correct me if I'm wrong, but what they proposed to us, and I know that you mentioned one of the Budget Advisory Board members, but that was in a, he's way in the minority on that Budget Advisory Board in terms of his approach and in terms of his suggestions and in terms of his looking at the budget, so That was not the consensus of the Budget…”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 28:43
“Commissioner Glossman? Yes, although we did hear from the fire chief who I think is very important, especially in terms of talking about public safety. Why don't we close public hearing and then we can ask him that question. He's not a member of the public, that's right.”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 29:07
“I do. I'd like to hear from the fire chief because this is very important and I want to make sure that anyone's questions are answered. I also want to make sure that people feel confident. AND UNDERSTAND WHY THE FIRE ASSESSMENT FEE IS INCREASING $41 A YEAR OVER LAST YEAR. AND WHERE HAS, PERHAPS...”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 29:26
“WELL, I WANT TO HEAR FROM THE CHIEF, IF YOU DON'T MIND. THAT'S OKAY. I JUST WANT TO HEAR FROM THE CHIEF, BECAUSE HE DEALS WITH THE NITTY-GRITTY MAYBE MORE THAN LAURA ON A DAILY BASIS. AND I'D LIKE TO KNOW, BECAUSE WE ARE BUILDING MORE FACILITIES, that doesn't come free. And I just want people to feel that these efficiencies have been looked at and that what is the reason for the increase in the fee?”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 31:42
“Thank you for that. I will tell you one question that I do get a lot. My district, I represent many condominium associations in District 2, and each one of those units gets that exact assessment that a single-family home is assessed, correct?”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 31:58
“So you might have 150, 200 apartments in a building footprint that really might not even be that much larger of a footprint than a single family home. But yet when you do the math and you multiply 150 times, well, now $441, that's a lot of money coming out of one building. Any thought or is that typical in terms of how those are assessed? Are there other municipalities or other agencies where you would find that a building would not be assessed per unit to come up with an unbelievable number of what you're paying when probably the visits to a building are not that much in terms of how many…”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 33:01
“Okay, I guess what I'm just trying to say is that many people always wonder why, in a building, why each individual unit owner is assessed the same rate as a single-family home. I guess because of the fact that, again, you look at the footprint of the building, you look at the footprint of a single-family home, the money that's coming out of, let's say, one condominium with, let's just say, 100 units, 200 units, you multiply that 200 times 441, it's a very high number that's coming out of one place. I'm not sure, I know, but I'm just making that point. I get asked that question a lot.”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 34:18
“I'm not understanding the logic. I understand. I'm not saying that it would be the same assessment. Like, I wouldn't say one building, $441, but I'm saying that there must be some sort of middle ground between $441 versus... Half a million dollars. That's all. I'm just saying, I was just wondering if other places have different rates for apartments versus single family homes. That's all.”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 36:09
“THANK YOU FOR THAT INFORMATION. I APPRECIATE THAT. IT WILL BE HELPFUL FOR ME WHEN I GET TO ASK THAT QUESTION TO EXPLAIN THAT. SO THEN JUST THE LAST QUESTION. SO IS IT TRUE THAT EVERY YEAR OR NOT TRUE THAT YOU ACTUALLY DO AN EXERCISE WHEREBY YOU ARE LOOKING FOR EFFICIENCIES BEFORE THAT FIRE ASSESSMENT FEE IS CONCLUDED?”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 36:47
“And has new equipment been purchased this year or anticipated in the next fiscal budget, which we're working on right now?”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 37:47
“Thank you. And you attribute some of this also to the fact that the city is growing in population and therefore there are more demands in our services, especially when it comes to public safety.”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 38:11
“Excellent. Thank you for the answers. I appreciate it.”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 43:38
“Thank you. Chief, just one more. I'm sorry. It's important, though. I think people really look for the education. I'd like to know, what is the total personnel this year number of how many people in the fire rescue? It's at 485.”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 44:07
“520. And where does that stack up in terms of the city our size? Obviously, not just the residential population, but also how we balloon during season. I mean, a lot more people are here. How does that compare to, if you know that, to other municipalities of our size or especially a city that's known for tourism where those numbers just swell like crazy during season?”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 45:09
“Would you say, though, if you had to guesstimate that we are somewhere on the high end or in the middle or low in terms of numbers of personnel versus the population that's being served, including the visitors?”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 45:32
“Okay. But safe to say you don't feel that we're overstaffed.”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 47:15
“Thank you. I really appreciate that information, and I think you guys are doing an amazing job. Thank you to you for your work. Thank you for the entire fire rescue team. as well as police, I think our first responders are outstanding. And I think that you do actually look for efficiencies. And I think that I don't see any bloat there at all. So thank you.”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 51:15
“YES, AND I WANT TO THANK THE DIRECTORS OF THAT NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT FOR THE INCREDIBLE WORK THEY DO ON A VOLUNTEER BASIS. JUST TO SAY THANK YOU. YES.”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 1:11:18
“Mayor, if I could, first of all, I want to congratulate you on your viewpoint article that was published in the Sun Sentinel recently. I thought it was excellent. So thank you for that. And I just want to say one thing, because some of the things that you said, I'm not quite sure ring true for me. I represent Flagler Village. And when I go to the meetings there, or when I even just go to events in that part of our district, I do see an influx of young people. When I go downtown and I'm along the Riverwalk, I see an influx of young people with baby strollers and their pets. And maybe I'm not…”
City Commission · Sep 14, 2026