The State of Hallandale Beach

I must note this does not encompass every issue we are addressing. Please know that I along with the Commission and our entire Staff have been working hard to ensure our City is providing the vital services you depend on. I hope you continue reading my articles which are focused on important Commission actions that impact your daily lives.

I want to give a special thanks to all of today’s sponsors as well as the Madame President and the Board of Directors of our Hallandale Beach Chamber of Commerce.

You all are part of a tradition that started back in the 1600 hundreds in Marseille, France and was brought to the U.S. in 1915.

The rich tradition is based on the knowledge that main street businesses are the lifeblood in our nation’s economy. Thank you for taking your time out of your daily lives and your professions to hear about our wonderful City.

So how is the State of our City? Just look at some recent headlines.

Today, I am here to share; where we were, where we are and our plans for the future.

So, I figure I will be here for a few hours.

Only joking.

Our City has been extremely busy! Municipal government must provide services that are vital to the quality of life of our residents. We do not get to choose. We are not based on profit but on uniting human capital and resources to deliver life sustaining services to our residents.

My duty as Mayor is to be a spokesperson for our City. As the Chair of our Board of Directors, our Commission is responsible for providing the vision and oversight to ensure these services are delivered efficiently and effectively.

While we do not run day-to-day operations we certainly will be and are held accountable for everything that happens in these four-square miles.

I often get asked why you do what you do. The short answer is I genuinely enjoy helping people. I also enjoy learning from the everyday problem solving for our residents and stakeholders I serve. Frankly, I would not want it any other way. In short, I am the head of the customer's complaint department.

Let's face it, nothing goes as planned. But we are the government, and we are here to help. And I am not joking.

While we can study plans and execute them there are many things that can impact the outcome. Even when things go as planned, great leaders know that we need to continue to reevaluate. How can we do it even better, faster and with less cost?

I am grateful for the hard work, experience and integrity of our City Manager Dr. Jeremey Earle and our entire Staff whose efforts are showing dividends.

Five years ago, some of you may recall our budget was in critical condition.

Without aggressive austerity measures we would have been faced with fiscal insolvency.

I want to start with what I called the “new beginning” when I can honestly say there was and remains civility within the commission. In today’s political climate it is a rare thing.

In August 2020, Dr. Earle agreed to be acting City Manager. In hindsight his plan was very strategic. While he had a knowledge of the City and CRA he did not know just how bad things were -- or did he?

In the scheme of things, the budget that year would be the budget he adopted after years of dysfunction. Down 20 police officers, All departments had vacancies. There was not one large scale capital project done. The GO Bond Parks were delayed.

The Major Southwest Flooding Project has still not been completed. A $6-Million-Dollar Water Plant Expansion had been funded but never started. The ship was sinking and was being plugged in with one-time fixes. Dr. Earle was tasked with righting the ship.

He could have bailed but instead he started bailing.

He charted a way forward.

I hope you continue to follow my speech in next week’s column.

I can be reached at: jcooper@cohb.org Or: joycooper@aol.com or Facebook Mayor Joy Cooper. You can always call me on my office number at: (954) 457-1318. Or Call/Text me at: (954) 632-5700 Working for you! Always have! Always will!