Those with long memories will recall Police Chief Wagner back in 2008 announcing a plan to curb crime by installing emergency phones with zoom/tilt cameras in the downtown/Parkside area. The City subsequently purchased ten of these phones which have been in storage ever since. For a variety of reasons this project has repeatedly stalled, but now we’re told the emergency phone/camera project will be on the CRA Board’s March 7 agenda. An additional ten phones will be discussed for the beach.
There’s been both controversy and lack of clarity about this project for at least three reasons: (1) the cost, (2) technological complications related primarily to the cameras, and (3) whether the phones will function more as an attractive nuisance than a crime deterrent. And finally, with the proliferation of sophisticated cell/camera phones now in the hands of so many private citizens, the question has to be asked (and not just dismissed) as to whether the emergency phones are a project more appropriate to yesterday.
1. The Cost
After the Sun-Sentinel reported the ten downtown phones with camera attachments would cost $450,000 ($45,000 per phone), many reacted with shock. How could the City afford such a costly project? What we’ve learned is that the City’s cash-strapped General Fund will not be tapped for this project. Instead the CRA has committed $100,000 and the rest is to come from LEAF funds (Law Enforcement Assistance Funds). These latter funds can be spent only on police-related projects.
While the phones have already been purchased, the cameras have not. The projected cost breakdown we’ve received from Bryan Cahen, CRA Finance Manager, is as follows:
Phones – purchase price $47,111.75
*Cameras and wireless network $239,753.10
*Poles for video $8,244,10
**Installation/electrical $150,000
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* Wireless network and poles are required for cameras, not for phones
**Installation costs would be reduced if camera component is not purchased
2. Cameras
A wireless video network must be set up for the camera component of this project. In other words, wi-fi. The Police Department, which has taken the lead in promoting the emergency phones, defers to John Barletta in the City’s IT unit when questions are raised about the feasibility of such a network in the downtown, given potential interference from tree cover and tall buildings. (The Beach is another story, because the broadwalk is a more open environment.) Given Mr. Barletta’s role in the failed city-wide wi-fi venture, we are uneasy at the thought of deferring to him on yet another wi-fi project.
Assuming the network could be made to work reliably, the video feed would be transmitted to the City’s 911 Communications Center. How monitoring this feed would complicate the already-complex 911 staff work has not been explained, to the best of our knowledge. One city staffer told us the cameras would be live 24/7 and continuously monitored by the Police Dept. But one elected official told us the cameras would come live only if someone made a call on the emergency phone. What is the plan for the cameras?
3. Attractive Nuisance
Is video surveillance a significant crime deterrent, greater than the phones, as some have advocated? Or is it unworkable downtown, or too costly? And if so, will the emergency phones without video be more likely to attract pranksters and vandals? These are open questions.
Conclusion
Everyone can have an opinion on the questions this project raises, but opinions without sufficient back-up facts are not helpful in the difficult decision-making process required to make our community as safe as possible. We look forward to a clear, reliable presentation and discussion of both emergency phones and the video component — both pros and cons — at the March 7 CRA Board meeting.
The schedule is now set for meeting and interviewing the finalists for Hollywood City Manager. All six finalists will be in Hollywood on Thursday and Friday this week, Jan. 5-6. Executive staff will meet the candidates first, accompanying them on a tour of the City and lunch on Thursday morning . Thursday afternoon and Friday morning will be devoted to commissioner interviews. Each candidate will interview individually with Vice Mayor Asseff, Commissioner Blattner, Commissioner O’Sheehan, Commissioner Russo, and Commissioner Sherwood on Thursday afternoon, and with Commissioner Furr and Mayor Bober on Friday morning.
The public’s opportunity to meet the candidates will occur at a “Meet and Greet” on Thursday evening, from 6-7:30 PM, at the Art and Culture Center. At this event, the Mayor will introduce each candidate and each one will give a brief two-minute self introduction.
On Friday at 2 PM, a special commission meeting open to the public will be held, at which time the entire Commission will conduct formal interviews with each candidate and then decide on what step to take next.
The City Commission is now considering the top applicants for the position of city manager. The executive search firm, Affion Public, received 60 applications for the position and selected six finalists to describe to the City Commission at a workshop earlier this week. Based on the head hunter’s presentation, the Commission voted to interview all six.
You can see a photo of each candidate and assess their qualifications at this link on the City website. Hiring a new manager is one of the most important decisions this Commission will make. Because it will affect all of us, Hollywood citizens must become knowledgeable about the candidates and make their wishes known to the City Commission as the selection process continues.
The finalists will be in Hollywood January 5-6, 2012. On the 5th, an evening meet-and-greet event with the public will be held at the Hollywood Art and Culture Center. The following day, the City Commission will hold a public meeting to interview the candidates. Mark your calendars now.
Hollywood’s Great Neighborhoods Challenge
Our City’s economic decline is visible everywhere. City staff has pondered how we can accomplish dramatic and positive change, given the City’s very limited financial resources. That’s where the Great Neighborhoods Challenge comes in — a 120 day city-wide property improvement contest, with cash prizes, that begins December 1, 2011.
It’s a collaborative effort among the City, residents, business owners, and organizations with an interest in working together to make all Hollywood neighborhoods better. For purposes of this contest, Hollywood is divided into 15 geographic areas that cover the entire city. The Challenge has both a private and a public property component.
Private Property Challenge
The City has launched this four-month Challenge to inspire property owners to take a fresh look at their home or business to see what exterior improvements would spruce up the property. Not only individual homes, but also condos and other multifamily buildings as well as businesses are eligible to enter the Challenge. Tenants, also, may participate, provided their landlord agrees. Perhaps a fresh coat of paint is in order, or the landscaping needs attention. What about cleaning out that carport, or removing that broken-down fence? What can you do to add some curb appeal to your property? Only exterior improvements visible from the public right of way are eligible.
Enter the contest, make the improvements between December 1, 2011 and April 1, 2012, and you may win a prize. Thirteen prizes will be awarded to the winners in each participating geographic area that submits a minimum of 25 improved properties ($2500, $1000, and $500 as first, second, and third prize, plus $100 gift cards for ten honorable mention winners). The prize money is coming from the City’s Tree Fund (or from the CRA if a winner’s property lies within CRA boundaries). As a Challenge participant you’ll get to know your neighbors, improve the look of your neighborhood, and help raise its property values, as well as having a shot at the prize money.
Prior to December 1, each of the 15 areas will be organizing a Neighborhood Action Committee (NAC) to coordinate the Challenge and line up at least the 25 participants the NAC needs to enter the contest. Hopefully more than the minimum will participate in order to achieve a greater impact in the neighborhood. Until the NACs are organized, you can express your interest in participating and/or get more information about the Great Neighborhoods Challenge by calling the City of Hollywood’s Community Development Department at 954-921-3381 or visiting its website.
Public Property Challenge
Each NAC that achieves the minimum 25 improved privately owned properties is also eligible to submit a design for improvements to a publicly owned space in its neighborhood. The Public Space Challenge has three or four winners city-wide. The City will do the work on the winning designs.
The rules for the Great Neighborhoods Challenge and much more information about the contest is available on the Department of Community Development’s website.
Why does downtown look so bleak?
The obvious answer is “Way too many boarded up stores.” But there are secondary problems as well. Too much litter, graffiti and shabbiness, panhandling and loitering are all concerns that create an uninviting environment. The CRA is betting that addressing the secondary problems will make it easier to recruit new business to the empty stores. We’ll see.
One of the strategies the former city manager used to balance the budget was to divert as much CRA money as possible into the over-spent General Fund. As part of this project, the Downtown CRA has been paying the City’s General Fund some $187,000 annually and supposedly getting in return “enhanced services” to clean up downtown. Despite these enhanced services, downtown remains essentially shabby. The once lush landscaping is littered with cigarette butts, crumpled papers, and bits of plastic. Earlier this month, the CRA made the decision to restructure its “enhanced services,” since the annual $187,000 wasn’t working. Enter Block By Block, a national company active in 39 cities across the country.
In a word, it’s privatization. We’re skeptical, as are many of you, about turning over city functions to private concerns. At the same time, if a city is not able to perform satisfactorily, other approaches must be explored. Fortunately, in this case, there will be no pink slips for city employees. Chuck Ellis, the City’s Parks Director has informed us: “There are no layoffs due to the Block by Block services. Our staff will continue to pick up the trash and oversee the median maintenance.”
Instead of paying the City $187,000, the CRA will pay $153,000 to Block by Block to pick up litter, clean out tree wells, paint, mulch, power-wash sidewalks, and perform other maintenance tasks. In addition, Block by Block will assist with “quality of life” issues like panhandling and loitering. Its mode of operation is to coordinate its work closely with a city’s regular services so as to augment but not replace them. This is a new approach for Hollywood. If it doesn’t work, the CRA can terminate the contract.
With this company, the CRA expects to get the full-time services of four workers to be hired and supervised by Block By Block. CRA staff has informed us that qualified Hollywood residents will receive priority in hiring. To start, these workers will be scheduled from 7 AM – 3 PM, but their hours may be changed as needed. They will wear a uniform that identifies them as “Hollywood Ambassadors.”
We’re supposed to get a cleaner, snappier downtown. No more cigarette butts in the tree planters. No more plastic bottles in the gutters. No more graffiti and dirty sidewalks. And above all, a more welcoming environment for new business as well as residents and visitors. Let’s hope so! Time will tell.
State Senator Sobel – who in 2009 sought and was granted a $30,000 interest-free, non-recourse loan from the City of Hollywood to renovate 5,000 square feet of office space for her use – has suddenly expressed great concern with the City’s finances. She’s requested that the State of Florida audit Hollywood’s finances and her request has been granted.
“Sobel appeared at a meeting of the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee in the Capitol to ask for the audit, citing the city’s declaration of a state of “financial urgency,” a recent 11 percent property tax increase, lucrative pension and health benefits for city employees and overly optimistic revenue projections.
Sobel questioned the work of Munilytics, an Illinois-based financial consulting firm hired by the city. She also questioned the city’s administrative set up, which she said separates the city’s budget and finance departments, resulting in accountability problems.” excerpt from Miami Herald, Oct. 3, 2011
Senator Sobel appears not to have understood the Munilytics report she questions. She states as one of her concerns a problem the City corrected months ago after Munilytics raised it — the need to separate budget from finance functions. Since the Munilytics report was issued in mid-June, the City has gone to great lengths to put its financial house in order.
It will be interesting to see what State oversight can bring to Hollywood’s financial situation. Let’s hope it will be helpful. We suggest the State auditors begin by reviewing the 2009 loan made to Sen. Sobel herself for office renovations — an expenditure category that does not appear to be allowed State Senators for their district offices. The solution reached was to categorize her loan payments as “rent.”
Despite this fiction, the bottom line here is that the City has allowed the Senator to repay the $30,000 renovation loan over time, while excusing her from paying any rent for the use of City office space. The rent forgone could have provided a City employee salary.
We opposed this transaction back in 2009. In part we wrote:
We think it is fiscally irresponsible for the City Commission to commit $30,000 taxpayer dollars for office renovation in these harsh economic times. Many Hollywood residents have lost their jobs, and even their homes. Which of them would not welcome a four-year no-interest $30,000 loan from the city?
Link to full Balance Sheet 2009 post.
