Commission Highlights
The City Commission has been focused on two big issues: the Downtown and the annual budget.
I continue to believe that the current Downtown proposal — to simply build a new City Hall and parking garage across the street from the existing facility — is uninspired and lacks both long-term vision and meaningful community input. That’s why I’ve called for a public workshop with the developer and insisted on a genuine community engagement process — a listening campaign, not another marketing campaign. Gathering this data and feedback is the minimum requirement before we’re asked to vote on funding the project. Any binding vote right now would be premature, as we’re not even close to having a palatable plan for the civic buildings. Major areas of disagreement remain, including strong and conflicting opinions about what to do with the E. Pat Larkins Center, whether we truly need a new City Hall, and what a meaningful anchor for our downtown should look like. We have much more work to do before a vote is appropriate.
On the budget, we're holding workshops to review the city's annual plan and set this year's property tax millage rate. One major increase is the proposed nearly 30% jump in the Broward Sheriff’s Office contract. We're also considering hiring a consultant to explore creating an independent Pompano Beach Police Department.
Lastly, thank you to residents who continue to voice concerns about road conditions. I recently toured our neighborhoods with the Assistant City Manager and Public Works Director to show them the issues. Over the past two years, I've pushed for more funding to speed up road resurfacing. I’m committed to improving this essential infrastructure for our community.
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