RPB ZONERS APPROVE TD BANK BRANCH SEE STORY, PAGE 7
AUTHOR STUART WOODS AT RPB LIBRARY SEE STORY, PAGE 18
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TOWN-CRIER WELLINGTON • ROYAL PALM BEACH • LOXAHATCHEE • THE ACREAGE
Your Community Newspaper
INSIDE School District Seeks Voter OK To Continue .25-Mill Added Tax
Volume 31, Number 40 October 1 - October 7, 2010
ST. RITA CHURCH HOSTS FESTIVAL
The School District of Palm Beach County will ask voters next month to allow it to continue levying an extra quartermill property tax for four years to help pay for teachers as well as arts, music, physical education, career and academic programs. Page 3
Visions Salon To Host Celebrity Stylist Nick Arrojo On Oct. 11
Visions Salon in Wellington will get a taste of celebrity hairstyling when famed hair stylist Nick Arrojo comes to town Monday, Oct. 11. Arrojo, best known for his life-changing makeovers on TLC’s What Not to Wear, will be on hand from 1 to 3 p.m. for an open-house style reception with clients, to provide consultations and also to perform a makeover on one lucky winner. Page 7
‘Pink Champagne’ At Brighton Collectibles
Members of Your Bosom Buddies II took part in a “pink champagne” fundraiser Tuesday, Sept. 28 to kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month at Brighton Collectibles in the Mall at Wellington Green. Page 18
Opinion Town-Crier Issues Endorsements On Ballot Questions
This week, we begin our endorsement series leading up to the Nov. 2 general election. In this issue, we offer opinions on the county, school district and Village of Wellington ballot questions. Page 4
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St. Rita Catholic Church in Wellington held its church festival Sept. 24-26 at the parish center. The event featured a food court, face painting, a dunk tank, a petting zoo and pony rides, vendors, bingo, a bake sale, beer/wine tasting, music and more. Shown above, Jaclyn Weber, Miranda Holt and Emily Newsome create spin art. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 9 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
County Referendum Lets Voters Enshrine Ethics Rules In Charter By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report Palm Beach County will ask voters in November if they want to change the county charter to require it to take the steps it has already taken to re-establish trust in government after a slew of county officials have found themselves on the wrong side of the law. The yes-no question is worded as follows: “Shall the Palm Beach County Charter be amended to require the Board of County Commissioners to establish by ordinances applicable to Palm Beach County and all municipalities approving this amendment: a code of ethics, an independent commission on ethics funded by the county commission, and an independent inspector general funded by the county commission and all other governmental entities subject to the authority of the inspector general?” If voters approve, the Palm Beach County Commission would be prevented from doing away with the ethics initiatives and the
inspector general without approval from residents. Further, municipalities and other governmental agencies could be brought under the ordinance as well. “Once the referendum is voted on, if it passes, then the county commission cannot remove the offices of inspector general or the commission on ethics without voter approval,” Commission on Ethics Executive Director Alan Johnson explained. “That is the underlying reason why it’s on the ballot, so this becomes the will of the people and not just an ordinance.” Furthermore, any municipality where residents vote a majority in favor of the referendum automatically places that local government under the purview of the countywide ethics rules. Boynton Beach and Lantana already have adopted ordinances voluntarily submitting to the policies of the commission on ethics, Johnson said. Both of those municipalities approved interlocal agreements to come under the ethics jurisdiction. The agreements
will be ratified by the county commission in October. “I’ll go out and train their employees and they will be under our jurisdiction at that point,” Johnson said. A similar training process will likely take place in municipalities that join the program by referendum. Ordinances covering the code of ethics, the commission on ethics and the inspector general will require minor revisions to be made applicable to the respective municipalities if voters approve the question, Johnson said. “There are logistical problems that need to be resolved,” he said. A committee, called the Initial Drafting Ordinance Committee, will be created that will include representatives from the Palm Beach County League of Cities, the county, and either Johnson or Inspector General Sheryl Steckler, depending on the ordinance under consideration. “The committee will adopt an ordinance that will be countywide, See ETHICS, page 18
Wellington Council Members Question Insurance Bid Process By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report The Wellington Village Council awarded a contract for property, casualty and workers’ compensation insurance Monday to the Florida Municipal Insurance Trust despite concerns about its policy coming at a higher cost. Although the item was originally on the consent agenda, Vice Mayor Matt Willhite asked it be removed due to concerns of cost. “Every time staff has come before us and made a recommendation after putting out a request for proposals, it has typically been for the lowest bidder,” he said. “And here, we’re not seeing that.” Willhite also worried that the current policy is expiring Sept. 30, giving council little room to decide on the issue. Mayor Pro Tem Dr. Carmine
Priore noted that often insurance policies are negotiated down to deadline for the best deal for both parties. “In this particular case, these negotiations have been going on, and I don’t think that there was an attempt in any way to bring this for a decision at the last minute,” he said. The village put out a request for insurance coverage quotes on Aug. 5. The village received proposals from the Florida League of Cities’ Florida Municipal Insurance Trust (FMIT) and Public Risk Insurance Agency’s Preferred Governmental Insurance Trust (PRIA). Based on pricing, services and coverage, village staff awarded the contract to FMIT, Director of Financial Management & Budget Mireya McIlveen said.
McIlveen noted that FMIT’s policy is approximately $18,000 higher, but it includes different coverage than that of PRIA. “The two policies aren’t exact,” she said. “There are a couple of smaller things in terms of deductibles, in terms of different kinds of coverage. You can’t just go by saying, ‘Hey, it’s $18,000.’ They’re not exactly the same policies.” Additionally, she noted that part of that $18,000 included two policies that PRIA did not submit a quote for: the conditional liability policy and a storage tank policy, which combined account for approximately $13,500 of the difference. “If you’re just talking about actual coverage, between the two policies it’s about a $5,000 difference,” McIlveen said. She also noted that FMIT has See INSURANCE, page 18
Serving Palms West Since 1980
Wellington Voters To Decide Four Ballot Questions On Nov. 2 By Lauren Miró Town-Crier Staff Report Wellington voters will get the chance to decide the fate of future Wellington elections by voting on four proposed charter amendments Nov. 2. Voters will decide whether to increase the mayor’s term from two to four years and whether to eliminate runoff elections under certain circumstances. Voters will also be asked to clarify term limit provisions and whether to expand the amount of time allowed for vacancies in the mayor’s office. The four questions, as they will appear on the ballot, are as follows: 1. Term Of Office For Mayor — “Shall Wellington’s municipal charter be amended to provide that the mayor shall be elected to a four-year term, thus making the mayor’s term equal in length to that of the other council members and providing the four-year term would begin with the election of the mayor during the 2012 municipal elections?” 2. Clarification Of Term Limit Provisions — “Shall Wellington’s municipal charter be amended to clarify that the prohibition against serving more than two consecutive terms of office should not include time in office spent as a result of a mayor or a council member having either been appointed to or elected to a partial term to fill a vacancy that existed in the office of mayor or council member?” 3. Elimination Of Runoff Elections — “Shall Wellington’s municipal charter be amended to provide that runoff elections shall not be necessary if the candidate with the highest number of votes for any office during the first election gets 35 percent or more of the votes cast for that office?” 4. Filling A Vacancy In The Mayor’s Office — “Shall Wellington’s municipal charter be amended to provide that in the event of a vacancy in the office of mayor, the vice mayor may serve as the mayor for up to 180 days and that if there is more than 180 days remaining in the term of the mayor, then a special election shall be held in 90 to 180 days to fill such a vacancy?” MAYOR’S TERM Currently, the mayor serves a two-year term and may serve up to eight years total — four two-
year terms. The first ballot measure would change a mayor’s term to two four-year terms instead. Council members believe that the change would create a more stable government with the majority of seats up for election every four years instead of every two. The change would go into effect for the 2012 election. “Originally, when the village was set up, the village decided to go with four-year terms rather than two years because they wanted stability with regard to the people in office,” Village Attorney Jeff Kurtz said. “When Wellington changed from a selected mayor to an elected mayor, they cut the mayor’s term to two years.” Because of this, Kurtz said, each election year, three out of five officials must focus on their campaign from late December through March. “I think that this council felt it was worth going back out to the electorate and letting them decide that issue,” he said. “The electorate wasn’t given a choice whether to modify the terms before that.” Mayor Darell Bowen would not get a longer term if he chose to run again and won, Kurtz noted, because he would serve two twoyear terms followed by one fouryear term. TERM LIMITS Another election issue that the village has struggled with is whether appointed time on the council counts toward the eightyear term limit. The charter is not specific on the point. If a council member steps down for any reason short of his or her four years in office, the council must appoint a replacement. An appointed council member could serve several years before facing the electorate. In the second ballot question, the village will ask voters to decide whether that time as an appointed member should count toward that council member’s term limit. There’s no clear answer on whether it counts, Kurtz said. “There’s no case law out there that directs you one way or another,” he said. Previously, the council has relied on the opinion of the village attorney on a case-by-case basis, but that does not count as law, See QUESTIONS, page 18
RELAY FOR LIFE PARTY
The Acreage/Loxahatchee Relay for Life held its early bird kickoff Sunday, Sept. 26 at Acreage Community Park. Teams who signed up early joined together for food provided by Red’s Backwood BBQ and to raise money for the fight against cancer. Shown above are Sydney Ward (center) with Rachel and Nicole Hage. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 2 PHOTO BY LAUREN MIRÓ/TOWN-CRIER
County Finalizes $3.5 Billion Budget Without More Cuts By Ron Bukley Town-Crier Staff Report The Palm Beach County Commission approved a tax rate of 4.75 mills at its final public hearing Tuesday to pay for a $3.5 billion budget for fiscal year 2011. Although the rate is higher than last year’s rate of 4.344 mills, the budget represents a $50 million cut from 2010. Many property owners will pay less, according to county officials. The commission voted 4-2 in favor of the higher tax rate with commissioners Steven Abrams and Jess Santamaria opposed. The commissioners debated cutting another $4 million through
proposals from County Administrator Robert Weisman. Suggested cuts that would have reduced the tax rate to about 4.717 mills included transferring $1 million out of the water utilities reserve, $250,000 from the roads and bridges capital maintenance, $800,000 from manatee protection, $500,000 from natural areas land management, $700,000 from community revitalization programs, $250,000 from information services and $200,000 from computer upgrades. Commission Chairman Burt Aaronson favored sticking with the original plan given preliminary approval Sept. 14.
“I believe that the 4.75 millage is necessary so we will not have to cut back on all these things like environmental protection, manatee protection and many other things,” Aaronson said. “But the fact is, Mr. Weisman did prepare a sheet for us, which shows that we can reduce it $4 million. That would be a suggestion. If we could get the county commission to agree on this today, to bring it down to that point, maybe we could put this to bed.” Weisman said reducing the budget another $4 million would save property owners $6.11 each based on a $191,000 property value, which Aaronson said he felt was
insignificant to taxpayers. “Do we want to cut down these programs to save the owner of a $191,000 home six dollars and change, or do you want to keep it at 4.75 and still be able to give all of these things so that we don’t have to cut roads, which will make more potholes, which will have people’s cars going out of line, and we will be getting called up here, ‘Why are you not fixing the roadways?’ I’m in favor of the 4.75.” Abrams said the proposed cuts did not go to the heart of the problem. “We need to make a bigger dent in order to make a difference,” Abrams said, explaining that he
would have preferred to look at other cuts that would have been much deeper, but would have provided money to taxpayers that he said could help lead to economic recovery. “I think it’s well known that higher taxes prolong recession and more money in people’s pockets gets us out quicker.” Abrams suggested outsourcing as one method of cutting the budget and rolling more money into private hands. Commissioner Priscilla Taylor said she did not favor cutting the rate further. “Do we really want to cut out jobs, roads and bridges, which means anything can hapSee BUDGET, page 18