Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Do you Need a SIGN??????

Do you need a SIGN for Election Day?   Download them here.

PUBLIC SAFETY Comes First Yard Sign 


Keep PBSO Letter Size Sign 

Keep PBSO Orignial Yard Sign 


SIGN, SIGN, Everywhere a Sign

Do you need a SIGN?  

Do you want to KEEP the PBSO in Lake Worth?

Yes we have made it through the commission vote. BUT the city still has till June 30th to get a letter to the PBSO saying we do not want to continue the contract.  

Let's not let this happen.  We MUST remain vigilant.  

    - Sign the Petition if you haven't done so

    - Leave your Keep the PBSO yard signs displayed


As of June 7th, 548 people have signed the Keep the PBSO petition.  We are still collecting signatures, so keep on sending them in!




They can be sent to: 


KeepPBSO@gmail.com


Fax: (888) 774-6757

Precinct Locations

Don't forget to VOTE! The Precincts are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. tomorrow. 


Remember the FACTS........PUBLIC SAFETY Comes First!

Don't forget to VOTE! The Precincts are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. tomorrow. 
 
 
 

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Update on the PBSO & PBC FIRE RESCUE – Saturday, June 18th, 4 p.m. @ Brogues

This meeting will be providing information about the current status of the PBSO and the Palm Beach County FIRE RESCUE in Lake Worth. 


        - Please leave up your PBSO signs


The law enforcement issue is far from over.  June 30th is the final day to notify the Sheriff that we will not be continuing with their services.  ANYTHING could happen. 


        - City Commission Meeting Tuesday, 21 June @ 6 p.m.


The contract has not been signed, but Sheriff Bradshaw has been assured that it will be on the agenda for June 21st.  That is when the vote will most likely take place.  It is critical that we get PBSO supporters to this meeting.



Please join us at Brogues this Saturday at 4 p.m.



Thursday, June 9, 2011

Secure Lake Worth's PUBLIC SAFETY

This is about our PUBLIC SAFETY. The law enforcement issue is far from over; the contract is not signed and we have until June 30th to notify the Sheriff that we will not be continuing with their services.


The PBSO is under no illusion that this is the end of it. They KNOW this will be coming back again next year, despite the two year contract. After all, the City of Lake Worth breaks contracts all the time.


The dais is now turning their focus on the Palm Beach County Fire Rescue. Once again, we are throwing good money after bad, paying the Willdan group $35,000 for a study we don’t need. Just like the PBSO, the PBC Fire Rescue has cost us less than the LW Fire Dept. Similarly as with the PBSO, the contract for the study was done without an RFP and the consultants have a financial interest in recommending the termination of the PBC Fire Rescue contract.

The pension issues are a tool the City Manager and 3 of the commissioners are using to fool the public. Both pensions are now closed plans. No one can enter them. Reconstituting the LWFD or the LWPD, will not change this. The money owed to those in the pension will still have to be paid. If either the LW Fire or Police Departments were to be reformed, NEW pension plans would be started. The existing ones would not be affected.



No Contract finalized yet by PBSO

As of today, no word on the contract being finalized. The Commission will still have to vote to accept the contract and then ABIDE by their decision. Nothing is set in concrete until after June 30th, the final day to give the Sheriff notice the City of Lake Worth will not be retaining PBSO.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Will they OR Won't they?

The Agenda for the June 7th City Commission Meeting is posted on the cities' web site.  This is the meeting that the moderators of the "Voice in the Choice Meeting" requested to be put on at the Tuesday, May 17th regular commission meeting.

At that meeting, Scott Maxwell asked the City Clerk Pam Lopez to put us on.  Karri followed the procedure outlined on the web site for agenda requests and sent a formal request to the City Manager as directed on May 20th.

Initially, Karri was informed by Susan Stanton that the request had to be send to Commissioner Suzanne Mulvehill.. After a weekend of e-mails between Stanton and Karri with a litany of discouragement from Stanton and Karri reiterating over and over WHY the moderators should be allowed to give the presentation; Mulvehill chimed in on Monday, May 23rd and informed us she would get back to us in a day or two.  I guess she had to check with her advisors.

Now keep in mind, Scott Maxwell had already put in a request for us to be on the June 7th agenda on May 17th.  He did this in front of the entire commission and a room full of people.  On Tuesday, May 24th, we received an e-mail denying the request from Mulvehill.

Both Stanton and Mulvehill kept on saying they had heard enough about the Willdan Study.  Karri kept responding back that the presentation was about more than the Willdan Study; it was about increasing revunes and cutting costs.  The couple hundred people that attended the public meeting broke into 8 groups and only 1 of them discussed the Willdan Study.

This attempt to explain to Stanton and Mulvehill was like beating one's head against a wall and trying to get blood from a turnip.  Here is the link to the e-mails are exchanged:


 Request for Presentation on June 7th, 2011 Agenda from Moderators of Public Meeting


On Wednesday, May 24th, Bob and Karri (two of the three moderators) attended the joint CRA and Commission meeting at Compass.  At this point things got really interesting.  As one blogger put it, you just had to be there.  It was like a tennis match; one minute the presentation was on, one minute it was off and the volley continued.

The final decision on the possibllity of the presentation being permitted on Tuesday the 7th of June - is that the commissioners will VOTE on whether this will happen or not ON the DAY of the PRESENTATION.  Yes, you read correctly.

Before this could be posted, City Mangager Susan Stanon put in her Weekly Report that the negotiations were nearing completion with Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.  The negotiations are expected to be complete on Wednesday, June 8th.  This is the day AFTER the day of the presentation  we requested to make.

In this CM report, Stanton requests us NOT to contact City Hall or the PBSO in order that negotiations can close smoothly.  Apparently the new caveat for NOT going with the PBSO will fall on our shoulders now.

It's hours to countdown now.......... Will they or Won't they?  Only the "3" know for sure.

Important City Commission Meeting TONIGHT!

“VOICE in the CHOICE” Presentation tonight at City Hall






Tuesday, June 7th City Commission Meeting  at 6 p.m.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Keep the PBSO Meeting this Saturday, June 4th

This Saturday, June 4th, there is a meeting at Brogues regarding Keeping the PBSO.  The meeting starts at 4 p.m. and will be 1 hour.  Please join us and participate, as we put into action the plan to spread the word to the entire community about the attempt by the city manager and the majority of the commission, to get rid of the PBSO.




Thursday, June 2, 2011

Another attempt to JEOPARDIZE our Public Safety

The City of Lake Worth has hired the Willdan Group, the same group that did the study in which it states "the City of Lake Worth has made a conscious decision to move forward with establishing the Lake worth Police Department" on page 47.

From the Palm Beach Post:

"Lake Worth to study reestablishing its own fire department "


Click on Link below for article 

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/lake-worth-to-study-reestablishing-its-own-fire-1500989.html

2011 MAYORAL SPECIAL ELECTION Candidates Debate

Go to  www.lwnapc.org to submit questions you would like asked at the debate.  

 

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Yard Sign Update

UPDATE – the Signs are at the Pickup locations.  If you indicated you wanted one, you should have received the e-mail with the locations.  If not – KeepPBSO@gmail.com  is our address.  Send us a message and we will send you the locations.

Also, do you know anyone that owns a lot on Dixie or Federal Hwy. that we can put a sign on?

Keep PBSO Yard Signs are in!

The Keep PBSO Yard Signs are in.  So far we have 2 pick up sites; one in the North end and one in the South end.  You can leave a comment here, send us an e-mail at KeepPBSO@gmail.com or send a Fax to (888) 774-6757 for where to pick them up.

Joint Commission & CRA Meeting

There will be a joint meeting of the City Commission and the CRA TONIGHT at 6 p.m. at  City Hall. There is no agenda for this meeting on the city website. The only place it is noted is on the City's Meetings and Events calendar for May.

This special Commission meeting is to approve a resolution setting the Special Election ballot.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Future City Staff Positions to be filled with Volunteers?

That's right folks....... we will be volunteering at the library in the morning, the fire department in the afternoon & the police dept. at night if the majority of this commission and the city manager get their way.

They want to see these departments with a substantial staff of volunteers. We will be required to give up our jobs to fufill our volunteer positions and consequently lose our homes.

Does this make sense to you?

Our Public Safety at Risk with the PBC Fire and Rescue Department now

Once again the majority of the city commission has approved another study by the Willdan Group.  That's right, the same group that delivered the 161 page study for the dissolution of the PBSO in Lake Worth and recreating the Lake Worth Police Dept.

That's what the study said the intent was (see Page 47).  NOW, the majority of the commission and the city manager are claiming "We want the PBSO".   According to them, it is ALL up to the PBSO to negotiate down to our terms.  It won't be the cities fault if we lose the PBSO, because the city "wants the PBSO".


So once again we the citizens, residents and business owners are paying for yet another study that has a predetermined outcome. 


From the Staff Report on the Agenda for the Special Meeting held on Thursday, May 26, 2011:



Department with a budget not to exceed 6 million dollars that ensures the safety of its
community and identifies options of contracting out of specific services to be identified;
Create a model organization for the establishment of a new Lake Worth Fire and Rescue

Click on this link for the Palm Beach Post article:



http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/lake-worth-to-study-reestablishing-its-own-fire-1500989.html

Comments about the Joint Finance Advisory Board & City Commission Joint Meeting Wed. May 25th

Jack Simons

Karri Casper was a threat to Mulvehill's attempt to keep the 200-250 people who met on May 14 from making a 10 minute Presentation of their meeting's conclusions on a myriad of subjects in the June 7 City Commission meeting.  




Mulvehill was trying to use the Commission majority vote she knew she had to prevent Commissioner Maxwell's proposed Agenda item for the Presentation at the June 7 meeting. Mulvehill was representing that the Presentation would only cover areas of the Willdan PBSO Study that had already been covered. Mulvehill said she knew this because of email communication she had with a May 14 organizer. Karri Casper identified herself as the originator of that communication and stated that Mulvehill was misrepresenting the communication. That was when Mulvehill told her to leave the meeting and because Karri didn't, Mulvehill recessed the meeting and called PBSO.

After the recess, the City Manager opined that the presentation would hinder her negotiations with PBSO. Then the City Attorney and the City Clerk said that instead of voting on the Maxwell Agenda item at this time, it was more appropriate to vote at the June 7 meeting as to whether or not to Amend, Reorder or Delete an individual agenda item.


Karri Casper

Gee, since I was outside the room on the phone with Channel 12, I wasn't aware of this decision or more appropriately the lack of one.

So let me get this straight, the moderators will come to the meeting with their presentation and at that time the 3 anarchist commissioners will vote from their throne NOT to allow the presentation. Now that folks, is transparency.

Request for Presentation on June 7th, 2011 Agenda from Moderators of Public Meeting

May 20, 2011 Original Request from Karri

From: Karri Casper [karricasper@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, May 20, 2011 10:09 AM
To: Susan Stanton
Cc: Robert Lepa; Wes Blackman; Pam Lopez
Subject: Request for being on the June 7th agenda

Susan,
Wes, Bob and I would like to be put on the June 7th agenda to present a report on the public input regarding the Willdan report which states the city wants to reconstitute the Lake Worth police force. We do realize that the current thinking on the commission is to renegotiate the contract with the PBSO, but the public input is still applicable.
I remind you that there was no opportunity for public comment until this Tuesday when we were limited to two minutes. There were about 300 people at this meeting and obviously they were not all present on Tuesday. The input has been consolidated for this presentation.

Karri Casper

May 20, 2011 Stanton reply to Karri

From: Susan Stanton [sstanton@LakeWorth.org]
Sent: Friday, May 20, 2011 6:20 PM
To: Karri Casper
Cc: Suzanne Mulvehill
Subject: RE: Request for being on the June 7th agenda

Karri …..you need to direct this to the Vice Mayor. But, what is the point? The City Commission knows everyone wants to keep PBSO? Do we really need to take any more time to discuss this preference? Was there doubt in your mind that the City wants to keep them as well?


We have all seen the e - mails, accepted phone calls and talked with people in the community. But, if the Vice Mayor wants to devote more time to have additional time to receive your report on public comments ………… ..which itself would then be opened for more public comments on the Public Comment Report …she can place it on the agenda. It is not that public impute is not valued. Its was. We are trying to keep PBSO.
I have copied her with your request.

Susan A. Stanton, ICMA -- CM
City Manager 7 N Dixie Highway
Lake Worth, FL 33460
561.586.1689
sstanton@lakeworth.org


May 21, 2011 Karri to Suzanne & Stanton

 From: Karri Casper [karricasper@gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2011 10:31 AM
To: Susan Stanton; Suzanne Mulvehill
Cc: Wes Blackman; Robert Lepa
Subject: RE: Request for being on the June 7th agenda
Suzanne,
Would you please put us on the agenda for June 7th? The specifics are below. (the preceding E-mail)
Ladies, since the city or Willdan did not put together a meeting for public input, it was left up to the citizens. We have invested a lot of TIME and EFFORT for the meeting and compiling the results.
We did not know if public input would be allowed Wednesday. Additionally, the 2 minutes we are permitted to speak is hardly sufficient to illuminate you on the facts.
2 hours of PUBLIC INPUT where 8 different topics were discussed by 8 different groups of almost 300 people has been condensed to one presentation.
Regardless of your current stance of wanting the sheriff, most of you on the dais are misinterpreting a lot of the information in the report.
Please allow us the opportunity to speak.

Karri Casper


May 21, 2011 Stanton reply to Karri
From: Susan Stanton [sstanton@LakeWorth.org]
Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2011 7:52 PM
To: Karri Casper
Cc: Suzanne Mulvehill
Subject: Re: Request for being on the June 7th agenda
Karri....
I am going to recommend we not have another meeting on this topic until we conclude our meetings with PBSO. I do wish you had your extended public meeting after hearing from the consultant. This very premise of your Saturday meeting was inaccurate..... The purpose of the City Commission work session was NOT to vote to cancel the contract which most people were told by those organizing your meeting. The purpose of the meeting on Wednesday night was to receive the report, hear from the consultant and begin discussions with the SO.


Sent from my iPad
Sat. P.M. May 21 Karri's Response to Stanton
From: Karri Casper [karricasper@gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2011 10:07 PM
To: Susan Stanton
Cc: Suzanne Mulvehill; Wes Blackman; Robert Lepa
Subject: Re: Request for being on the June 7th agenda
At no time did anyone indicate or state that you would be voting to cancel the contract on Wed. As one of the organizers, I can unequivocally vouch for this.
However, if you refer to page 47, it clearly states that the intent is for the city to reconstitute the LWPD.
It does appear that you and the 3 commissioners that had been for the LWPD, are now claiming to want the PBSO. We are glad the citizens have gotten their point across.
The report had been received some time ago. Those of us who have read it (and there are more than a few) strongly disagree with much of the report. Hearing from the Willdan people did nothing to change our minds.
The inaccuracies in the report, suggestions for budget trimming and alternative sources of revenue are what we want to present.
If you are sincere about wanting to achieve this mutual goal, we will be put on the schedule.

Karri Casper

May 22, 2011 Wes to Stanton & Suzanne
From: Wes Blackman [wesblackman@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2011 10:17 AM
To: Susan Stanton; Suzanne Mulvehill
Cc: Bob Lepa; Karri Casper
Subject: Fwd: RE: Request for being on the June 7th agenda
We are asking for time under the "Presentations" part of the agenda. If you read a typical City Commission agenda, you will notice that there is no public comment allowed on presentations. Susan, the information we gathered at the meeting is much more than people just saying that they want to keep PBSO - there are ideas for increased revenue generation and other factors that may help in your negotiations.
I would suggest that the act of winning an election does not confer on one a supreme intelligence where you know all of the answers. It's time that we use our residents as the valuable resource they are and not just people to court and cajole around elect ion time.
Wes

May 22, 2011 - Stanton to Karri
From: Susan Stanton [sstanton@LakeWorth.org]
Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2011 11:49 AM
To: karricasper@gmail.com
Subject: Re: Request for being on the June 7th agenda
We see the world very differently.
Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint!

May 22 Karri's reply to Stanton
From: Karri Casper [karricasper@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2011 12:14 PM
To: Susan Stanton
Cc: Suzanne Mulvehill; Robert Lepa; Wes Blackman
Subject: Re: Request for being on the June 7th agenda
Susan,
That may well be the case, but I do respect your position as city manager. As you said to me when we started this dialogue back in Jan., you consider me an intelligent woman. You asked me to find solutions. That is what we have done.
Please allow us to present them to you on the 7th.

Karri Casper

May 23, 2011 Suzanne to Moderators
From: Suzanne Mulvehill [smulvehill@LakeWorth.org]
Sent: Monday, May 23, 2011 10:01 AM
To: Karri Casper; Susan Stanton
Cc: Robert Lepa; Wes Blackman
Subject: RE: Request for being on the June 7th agenda
Dear Karri and Wes,
I am reviewing your request and the email exchanges I received over the weekend and will get back with you in the next day or two.

Thank you,
Suzanne
Suzanne Mulvehill, MBA
Vice Mayor
City of Lake Worth, Florida
www.lakeworth.org
561 - 586- 1734
561 -267- 9829 cell
Sign up for Commissioner Mulvehill's updates
by sending an email to smulvehill@lakeworth.org
and writing "Subscribe" in the subject line.

May 24, 2011 Suzanne's Decision
From: Suzanne Mulvehill [smulvehill@LakeWorth.org]
Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2011 1:59 PM
To: Karri Casper; wesblackman@gmail.com
Cc: Robert Lepa; Susan Stanton
Subject: RE: Request for being on the June 7th agenda
Karri and Wes,
I respect that you have information you want to present to the commission. At the next city commission meeting on June 7, I will request that the commission join me in hosting a revenue generation community meeting. I would encourage you, as well as anyone else in your group, to share your ideas with the commission and the community. Being that the City Commission has already addressed the Willdan Study, taken extensive public comment and directed the city manager to begin negotiating the contract, I believe it is in the best interest of the city that we allow the negotiations to proceed without taking any additional actions regarding the Willdan Homeland Solutions Study.
Thank you,
Suzanne
Suzanne Mulvehill
Vice Mayor
Lake Worth, Florida
561 - 586- 1734
561 - 267- 9829 (c)
smulvehill@lakeworth.org
www.lakeworth.org

May 25, 2011 Karri's reply to Suzanne
From: Karri Casper [karricasper@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 5:39 PM
To: Suzanne Mulvehill
Cc: Robert Lepa; Susan Stanton; wesblackman@gmail.com
Subject: RE: Request for being on the June 7th agenda
Suzanne,
I am distressed that you are NOT interested in hearing solutions for the city's financial state. Perhaps it does not matter to you, but I can assure you, it is IMPORTANT to the residents.
It doesn't seem to me that you have any respect for us, despite your verbiage.
Your "revenue generation" proposed meeting will likely take place after the PBSO vote, which will be ignoring the solutions that were devised specifically to keep the sheriff. This is NOT in the best interests of the city.
2 minutes per person of public input with people voicing they want to keep the PBSO is not extensive, nor does it address ways to do this in a concise revenue oriented manner.
If you honestly have the best interest of the city and it's citizens, you will put us on the agenda.

Karri Casper



Tuesday, May 24, 2011

SPECIAL City Commission Meeting - THURSDAY, May 26

This meeting will be held from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. at City Hall..  Click on Agenda for details.

Agenda from the City of Lake Worth

Joint Finance Board and Commission Meeting

Agenda for MeetingThere will be a joint Finance Board and Commission meeting Wednesday, May 25 at  5:30 p.m..  Please note this meeting will be held at  COMPASS located at 201 N. Dixie Hwy.  Click on Agenda for Meeting for details.

Agenda for Meeting


Help the "Voice in the Choice" meeting moderators get on the June 7th City Commission agenda

If you are on Facebook, please got to the "Keep PBSO in Lake Worth" page and click the "like" button if you wish to be included among those who respectfully request that the moderators of the "Voice in the Choice" meeting, Wes Blackman, Karri Casper and Bob Lepa, be placed on the June 7th City Commission agenda under "Presentations" - to allow the opportunity to present to the City Commission the input gathered at the community meeting held on Saturday, May 14th.  Cllick on the link below and you will be taken to the page.

Facebook page for Help the "Voice in the Choice" meeting moderators get on the June 7th City Commission agenda

Thursday, May 19, 2011

2010 Crime Statistics for Lake Worth

Crime statistics for 2010 showed a significant improvement.  Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Captain Rolando Silva said there is much to celebrate. 

From 2009, murder is down 66 percent, rape is down 52 percent and burglary rates dropped 34 percent.

"We have a lot of cars on the streets and, obviously, that deters a lot of criminal activity," said Silva.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Voice in the Choice Meeting

On Saturday, May 14th 2011 - Over 200 Lake Worth residents and business owners gathered together at Compass to learn more about the police feasibility study that was conducted by Willdan Homeland Solutions at the request of the Lake Worth City Commission. Additionally, attendees broke out into groups and came up with their suggestions, concerns and ideas on the impact of reconstituting the Lake Worth Police Department.

Welcome!

This blog was created as a way to centralize all of the information related to keeping the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office in Lake Worth. Our goal is to present FACTS in a clear and concise matter, and to dispel any rumors or misinformation you may have heard. Please check back frequently!