Ralf Brookes, Attorney

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About Ralf Brookes, attorney for Respectful Planning Pac member, Laurel Decker:

Mr. Brookes takes on cases that he believes in. It's not the money but the validity and the principle.  Ralf Brookes Attorney is Board Certified in City, County, Local Government Law by The Florida Bar representing public interest groups; not-for-profits organizations; homeowners organizations; sustainable, green businesses and development clients with community vision; public and private sector clients; and local governments.

Even though everyone is deserving of a fair trial and legal representation, I have always had issues with attorneys for taking on cases solely for the money and not the truth. Mr. Brookes obviously has integrity and for that reason alone, I am extremely happy with the choice of lawyer handling this heights charter amendment for Ms. Decker and the YES voters who want to keep our downtown no more than 4 stories. 

Click here to read a little on Mr. Brookes. To find out even more about him, just Google.

Scott Maxwell Revisited

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And we can't forget--LAWSUITS!
The Vice Mayor hates people who won't allow
themselves to be jerked around..

Expect to hear his rant tonight as he kisses

Rick Scott's feet on HB537. (Perhaps it should be the

city attorney's feet!)

I have the power!

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Commission overstepped its authority to get its way

The commission will approve our new zoning code tonight, Aug 6th, with 65' heights in the downtown area east of Federal. These heights are in violation of our election results of March 2013 that the City Clerk failed to move forward to Tallahassee.

The commission has decided that new state legislation (HB 537 signed by Rick Scott on June 5, 12 weeks and 1 day after the election) gives them the authority to nullify the legal and state certified March election results. We  are confident that they 1) have purposely misinterpreted the intent and scope of the legislation and 2) are using it to exert authority they do not have. HB537 does not have to do with electors changing their charter for heights in their downtown.

According to our Charter, if a majority of the qualified electors voting on a proposed initiative ordinance vote in its favor, it shall be considered adopted upon certification of the election results. Instead, this commission held up the results in order to see if Rick Scott would sign this law that they say knocks the vote out of the water.  We totally disagree with 1) their devious tactics 2) their opinion and 3) we object to their hiding behind a law that is not relative to the charter amendment.

State law does not allow a local governing body to nullify a legal election.

Elections are decided by those who show up at the polls

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When you are talking about the results of the charter amendment vote, it was 55.86% of the voters (because we like to be accurate) not 52% or 53%.

There has been a commenter on this blog who continues to insist and believe that--

55.86% of the 2,311 “people who went out to vote in March 2013 DOES NOT REPRESENT WHAT THE MAJORITY OF THE RESIDENTS OF THIS CITY WANTS.”

I guess the poster also must believe (unless the poster is a hypocrite), that--

0% of the people who went out to vote in November 2012 for SZERDI “does not represent what the majority of the residents of this city wants.”

52.66% of the people who went out to vote in November 2011 for TRIOLO “does not represent what the majority of the residents of this city wants.”

59.67% of the people who went out to vote in November 2011 for AMOROSO “does not represent what the majority of the residents of this city wants.”

0% of the people who went out to vote in November 2011 for MAXWELL “does not represent what the majority of the residents of this city wants.”

And as you can see from the spreadsheet created from the certified election results posted on the PBCSOE website, under our American form of Democracy, Christopher McVoy represents more residents than the other four combined.

The ballot results validate the desire of the public as expressed during the $1M+ Master Plan process when the majority of those expressing an opinion regarding heights wanted four (4) stories or less vs. those expressing an opinion regarding height who wanted six (6) stories or more. Or perhaps the poster doesn’t believe in Democracy. Because here in America, elections are decided NOT by the number of people affected by the vote, NOT by the number of people eligible to vote, NOT by the number of people registered to vote, but by the number of people who VOTE.

Vote for 1
		Percent	Votes
YES		55.86%	1,291
NO		44.14%	1,020
			2,311

A little more trivia:  Obama  nationally won 65.9 million votes -- or 51.1 percent of the vote. There are 207,643,594 eligible voters in the U.S. The census bureau estimates, as of July, that the US total population is  303,824,640. So, does 51.1%  not represent what the majority of the country wanted?”

Another Creep in Lake Worth

Already arrested three times this year, convicted criminal on North G Street escapes while in the custody of the PBSO.
Read about it...

"It's sickening!" "It's scandalous!"

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so says former commission Nadine Burns, the very same commissioner who was seated on the dais when all the money went missing, when the internal auditor recommended prosecution for our finance director. Now that's sickening and scandalous. In a Palm Beach post article today, she was talking about the Writ that was given to the City of Lake Worth yesterday and complaining that the YES people to "do this over 20 feet is sickening."

What IS sickening in this city is
all the crime
all the slum and blight
all the poverty
all the illegal aliens
all the children who are struggling and who are illiterate
all our property values in the tank
convicted criminals expanding a business in our downtown
and a Palm Beach Post reporter writing such an article on "heights," a subject that is so important to all those who voted, all 55.86% who won the election.

And of course what is sickening and scandalous is

the arrogance of this city commission not honoring the results of the vote of March 12, 2013.

An oldie but goodie - Ronald Reagan

Abuse of Power by the Lake Worth City Commission

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Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people.
~Oscar Wilde

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any.
~ Alice Walker

The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting.
~ Charles Bukowski

The Writ served to Lake Worth

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This is the copy of the initial first few pages--There are 26 pages in all.

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA

LAUREL DECKER, as an individual and member of “Respectful Planning Lake Worth” a petitioners’ committee for a citizen’s ballot initiative regarding the City of Lake Worth Charter Amendment

Petitioner
v. Case No:

CITY OF LAKE WORTH, a Florida municipality

Respondent

PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS
Petitioner, LAUREL DECKER, a citizen of Lake Worth, Florida, on behalf of herself and the petitioners’ committee for a citizen’s ballot initiative called “Respectful Planning Lake Worth” regarding the City of Lake Worth Charter Amendment ("COMMITTEE"), files this Petition for Writ of Mandamus under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.630 (extraordinary writs) seeking a writ of mandamus ordering the CITY OF LAKE WORTH to perform a ministerial act. As prima facie grounds in support of this action:

1. Petitioner seeks an order compelling the City clerk to perform the ministerial act of transmitting the charter amendment approved by the electorate on March 12, 2013 to the State of Florida Department of State pursuant to Florida Statute Section 166.031 (Charter Amendments) (2012).

2. On March 12, 2013, the electors at a referendum approved an amendment to the City Charter Article IV, Section 11 contained in Ordinance 2012-30, Exhibit A, which resulted from a citizen’s initiative to amend the City Charter which met all requirements under the procedures set forth in Florida Statute Section 166.031 and the City of Lake Worth Charter. Exh B-E.

3. The City refused to incorporate the language of the Amendment to the City Charter approved by the voters and transmit the amended charter to the Department of State as required by Florida Statute Section 166.031(2): 166.031 Charter amendments.— (1) The governing body of a municipality may, by ordinance, or the electors of a municipality may, by petition signed by 10 percent of the registered electors as of the last preceding municipal general election, submit to the electors of said municipality a proposed amendment to its charter, which amendment may be to any part or to all of said charter except that part describing the boundaries of such municipality. The governing body of the municipality shall place the proposed amendment contained in the ordinance or petition to a vote of the electors at the next general election held within the municipality or at a special election called for such purpose. (2) Upon adoption of an amendment to the charter of a municipality by a majority of the electors voting in a referendum upon such amendment, the governing body of said municipality shall have the amendment incorporated into the charter and shall file the revised charter with the Department of State. All such amendments are effective on the date specified therein or as otherwise provided in the charter. (3) A municipality may amend its charter pursuant to this section notwithstanding any charter provisions to the contrary. This section shall be supplemental to the provisions of all other laws relating to the amendment of municipal charters and is not intended to diminish any substantive or procedural power vested in any municipality by present law....

4. Mandamus is available to compel a ministerial act by a public body where performance is directed by law, including processing citizens’ initiative amendments to City Codes and Charters. City of Boca Raton v. Siml, 96 So.3d 1140 (Fla. 4th DCA, 2012).

5. The City Clerk is required by ministerial act to transmit the complete text of the City Charter as approved and amended by the voters to the State of Florida Department of State pursuant to Florida Statute Section 166.031.

6. The failure to transmit the complete text of the City Charter as approved and amended by the voters to the State of Florida Department of State pursuant to Florida Statute Section 166.031 is ripe for adjudication.

WHEREFORE, Petitioner seeks a writ of mandamus compelling the City to transmit the complete text of the City Charter as amended by the voters to the State of Florida Department of State as required by Florida Statute Section 166.031.

Respectfully submitted, /s/ Ralf Brookes, Esq. RALF BROOKES ATTORNEY Florida Bar No. 0778362 Attorney for Petitioner 1217 E Cape Coral Parkway #107 Cape Coral, Florida 33904 Telephone (239) 910-5464 Facsimile (866) 341-6086 Ralf@RalfBrookesAttorney.com

Writ of Mandamus served on the City of Lake Worth

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mandamus

(man-dame-us) n. Latin for "we order," a writ (more modernly called a "writ of mandate") which orders a public agency or governmental body to perform an act required by law when it has neglected or refused to do so.

Examples: After petitions were filed with sufficient valid signatures to qualify a proposition for the ballot, the city refuses to call the election, claiming it has a legal opinion that the proposal is unconstitutional. The backers of the proposition file a petition for a writ ordering the city to hold the election. The court will order a hearing on the writ and afterwards either issue the writ or deny the petition. Or a state agency refuses to release public information, a school district charges fees to a student in violation of state law, or a judge will not permit reporters entry at a public trial. Or a city clerk refuses to move the results of an election forward to the State for codification. All of these can be subject to a writ of mandamus.

This morning, a Writ of Mandamus was served on the City of Lake Worth for failure to move the election results forward on Ordinance 2012-30.

Petitioner seeks an order compelling the City clerk to perform the ministerial act of transmitting the charter amendment approved by the electorate on March 12, 2013 to the State of Florida Department of State pursuant to Florida Statute Section 166.031 (Charter Amendments) (2012).

Second Public Hearing Tuesday in Lake Worth on Land Development Regulations

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This is the only message that the city commission approved--

illegal at that.

Well, we call it a public hearing but it really doesn't matter if the public speaks to this issue. We already spoke when we voted in March limiting the downtown to buildings 45 feet tall. The Commission could care less if you utter one word about this unless, of course, you side with them. They are not listening to you!

The city has taken the position and says that it has a "clear" legal opinion from their city attorney (who is hired by the Commission) and 4 other members of his staff that the citizens referendum is null and void because of HB 537 and that law being signed three months after the election.  The former members of Respectful Planning Political Action Committee say "that isn't the case at all...this legal opinion by the city staff  is not relative to the Charter amendment referendum."  The election results were purposely not moved forward for codification, an egregious violation. Opinions are what they are and that is why so many disputes end up in a court of law.

On the agenda Tuesday for Second Public Hearing-- Ordinance No. 2013-34  

First Public Hearing
To adopt the revised Land Development Regulations and schedule the second public hearing date for August 6, 2013.
Action:  Motion made by Commissioner Szerdi (the commissioner who says he is confused by the petition language) and seconded by Commissioner Amoroso (the one who we suppose wants taller buildings in our downtown for more foot traffic to his downtown business?) to approve Ordinance No. 2013-34.

Motion approved, 4 - 0 (all three commissioners plus the mayor ignored the results of the vote) with McVoy absent.

Sell or not to sell - Lake Worth Electric Utility

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There is a vocal segment of people in our city (a lot of the developer crowd) who continue to push the sale of Lake Worth Utilities. On August 6th at 6pm, there will  be a joint  meeting with the City Commission and the Electric Utility Advisory Board whose chair, Lisa Maxwell, is eager to sell our utilities. She ran on that platform a few years ago for District 4 and lost. Others have run on the same platform and lost like Tom Ramiccio and Jim Stafford.

They have invited Vero Beach City Manager to the city commission meeting tomorrow night at 6pm in order to get information regarding Vero's sale of its electric utility system and the facts and process surrounding that sale to Florida Power & Light.

The sale negotiations had been taking place for almost two years in Vero, a city of little over 15,000 people, and the city council approved a purchase and sale agreement earlier this year. The vote was 2,335 in favor and 1,328 opposed. You won't be seeing "sell to FPL" advocates questioning the turnout numbers at the polls regarding this vote because of how many showed up at the polls.

**FPL bid on Lake Worth Electric Utility in 1994 for $60 million. Who knows what it's worth today but we do know that we have a humongous unfunded liability and massive debt of $484,392,433 over 30 years, according to our finance director.  With the potential revenue over the same time period, it would bring the amount needed from a sale to $373, 891,173. to replace income streams...a pipe dream.**

Vero Beach has the same problem as Lake Worth regarding their utility and using profits to help with the general fund. Vero will have to find a way to make due without the approximately $7.3 million the utility system provides to fund other operations.  Lake Worth has several millions more to worry about that goes into its general fund. Vero says that some of this shortfall can be made up from money the city makes off the sale, cuts in expenses and implementation of a franchise fee as well as a utility tax on city electric users.

Instead of a few citizens talking about selling and a volunteer board doing the same and putting all of their energy into a possible sale of our valuable utility because they feel our rates are too high, perhaps they should be putting the same amount into making it the best little utility around, with Lake Worth producing its own energy.

In the back-up there is a good article from Florida Trend that gives the pros and cons of owning your own utility versus its sale. Click here to read the article.

Tonight's sky

In spite of the heavy rain and winds, we managed to have an interesting sky at 7:30.

Mobil home catches fire in Lake Worth

Mobil home fire on 12th Avenue south.

Glenn Beck on the Anatomy of a Racist

1) They don’t see people as individuals. They see people as groups only.

2) They are unable to judge a situation fairly or objectively.

3) They seek power by creating conflict and dividing people for personal gain.

4) Racists usually hate the Jews, whether they’re black or white, they’ll unite on their hatred for the Jews.

Beck said the recent emphasis on race, including the president’s Trayvon Martin "could’ve been me” speech, indicates that “we are regressing.” Read more... at Opposing Views.

Lake Worth Alumni Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser

Annual Lake Worth High School Alumni and Dollars for Scholars

Spaghetti Dinner

Sunday August 25th

 3:00 – 6:00 P.M.

$15.00 per ticket

This is one of our events to raise money for scholarships, and we would like to invite everyone. Many people work VERY hard to make this event a success. There will be 50/50 ticket sales, raffles, and a silent auction.

Tickets can be obtained by contacting Doris Dorsey  at Hogfish123@aol.com. The alumni volunteers are asking businesses for donations of money or gift cards and if you need a letter proving 501c3, or letter asking for donations. Call Doris at 964-4722.

What's Obama smoking? - Jobs

According to Townhall Finance, overall the numbers add up to Obama being the worst jobs president in the history of the world, even if he is a “peacemaker” (HA! That’s just the kind of thing you get when you allow Norwegians to award peace prizes on behalf of Sweden. The joke’s on you Sweden).

And the jokes on us too, but it’s no laughing matter.

That’s because Obama treats jobs like he did brain cells when he was a teenager. It kind of makes you wonder what he’s smoking now, besides the cigarettes he likely puffs in the Oval Office.

Read more... on Obama math and what John Ransom has to say.

Quote of the Day - Rep Mike Kelly

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"If I can stop this great country from unraveling, then I want to be an obstructionist. If I'm going to be held accountable for holding this government accountable, amen."

 ~Rep. Mike Kelly,

Pennsylvania congressman speaking to finalizing the national budget. Obama wants to print more money; Republicans want to lower the debt.

Today's Sunrise

We haven't seen much light in the sky lately.

A little trivia on rain--

Precipitation Average
Annual Precipitation
Lake Worth, FL--58.43 inches.  We have a 40% chance of rain today!
Florida--54.73 inches
U.S.--38.67 inches

South Florida Water Management's Rain stats