The Ritter Report – July/August 2011

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In this Issue

Broward County has its first ever Inspector General (IG). John W. Scott comes to us from the Miami-Dade County Office of Inspector General where he was assistant legal counsel. He also worked for nearly 20 years as a U.S. Department of Justice prosecutor investigating and prosecuting fraud and public corruption cases.

Scott was selected to serve as Inspector General by the five member Inspector General Selection/Oversight Committee, not by the County Commission. He is totally independent and was picked from 98 potential candidates for the position. His selection was unanimous.

The Inspector General's Office has authority over all elected and appointed County and city officials, employees and those who do business with Broward County and its 31 cities. Scott will provide oversight for misconduct involving waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement, corruption and the violation of any laws. The Inspector General’s Web Site is www.browardig.org.

The Commission has already called on the IG, asking Scott’s opinion about ethics regulations for all cities in Broward County. Last November, voters approved new rules that must be drafted and passed by the County Commission.

I hope that with General Scott at the helm, public confidence will be restored and we can once again focus on the business of moving Broward County forward.

Be prepared! Broward County and the cities in district 3 are ready to help you make informed preparations. Find information about how to prepare in advance for a hurricane by going to the following sites:

Broward County - www.broward.org/hurricane

Parkland - www.cityofparkland.org (Click on Emergency Management)

Coral Springs - www.coralsprings.org/hurricane

Tamarac - www.tamarac.org

Sunrise - www.sunrisefl.gov

Coral Springs, Sunrise, Tamarac and Parkland all use a service called CodeRED. It’s an automated phone alert system that will send notifications about weather conditions, boil water alerts, evacuation orders and more. It can be done by voice or text. You can sign up for the service from each of the city’s Web Sites.

Subscribe to Broward County hurricane update emails at bcegov3.broward.org/notify and receive information about hurricane watches and warnings, evacuation orders, recommended protective actions to take and other related public safety information. You can also go to www.twitter.com and follow us on twitter@ReadyBroward and receive public safety alerts.

Have you been to Port Everglades recently? Maybe you took a cruise. There is a good chance that a product you’ve purchased recently came through Port Everglades.

Learn more about Broward County’s Port and the Master/Vision Plan by watching this great video. Go to www.PortEvergladesMasterPlan.com and click on “VIDEO: New Master/Vision Plan” under Resources.

You can also see other great Broward County videos by going to Video Central from www.broward.org.

Don’t forget to check out my “Coffee with Stacy” video series. You can see them at www.broward.org/StacyRitter or www.YouTube.com/StacyRitter3

The Broward County Commission has initiated the process for preparing a new Broward County Commission district map based upon the recently released 2010 Census data.

The County is divided into nine single member districts and redistricting is required by the County Charter to balance the populations. This way, residents are assured equal representation on the County Commission.

Several map options will be prepared for the Commission to consider. Each option will be prepared using “Fair Districting” principles for Federal congressional and State legislative districts, which were added to the Florida Constitution by voter referendum in the November 2010 election.

Thanks to technology, you too can directly participate in the County’s redistricting process. Go to www.floridaredistricting.net, click on “My District Builder” and design a new district map for Broward County. Once you design your own map, you can submit it to my office. Call 954-357-7003 or email me at sritter@broward.org

From time to time, appointments become available on various boards and committees in Broward County. The County is always looking for concerned citizens to donate their time and talent to improve our community. The following vacancies are available right now:

·         Homeless Initiative Partnership Advisory Board

·         Library Advisory Board

·         Substance Abuse Advisory Board

·         Human Rights Board (My appointment to this board must be someone who represents an employee organization)

You can find what each of these boards do and when they meet by going to the www.broward.org/Intergovernmental website and clicking on “Boards and Committees.” Contact my office for details about any position. 954-357-7003 or email me at sritter@broward.org

April marked the 20th consecutive month of positive growth in total passenger traffic at Fort Lauderdale- Hollywood International Airport (www.broward.org/airport). April 2011 was up over 9 percent from April 2010. Commercial traffic was also up over last year by over 4 percent. Airports Council International (ACI) ranked FLL 1st among major United States airports in traffic growth. Broward based Spirit Airlines is still the airport’s largest passenger carrier, moving nearly 1.6 million passengers in and out of FLL between January and April.