 LAUDERDALE LAKES – Earlier this year, Lauderdale Lakes Commissioner Hazelle Rogers sent an email through a city staff member, soliciting funds for the Broward Black Elected Officials organization, a group in which she is a member.
 “We need your assistance with ad sales and ticket sales from family members and friends,’’ states the Jan. 29 email about an annual gala the organization held on Feb. 25. “Tickets are $100.”
That email and dozens of others from fellow Lauderdale Lakes Commissioner Lev-oyd Williams to city staff members demonstrates that the BBEO, a private organization run by elected public servants, has used Lauderdale Lakes city employees – at taxpayers’ expense – to help run its operations, a possible violation of the city’s charter and state law.
At the direction of Williams, who is president of the BBEO, city staff members have also raised funds for the group, organized the group’s meetings, and planned the annual galas from their city hall offices, records show.
The Mayor and Commission Room 124 inside Lauderdale Lakes city hall is designated for administrative city support staff. However, the room has actually been used as the hub of BBEO operations as well as for city business.
Tax dollars also paid for the group’s mailings from city hall, including those sent to some of the area’s biggest lobbyists and well-connected corporations that gave money to the group. They include United Homes International, Inc, the firm that was awarded a contract to build the city’s new $150 million Town Center project that is now under construction; Becker & Poliakoff, PA, which has a lobbying contract with the city; and Stephenson Construction, which has been awarded a contract to build the city’s new public library.
Some solicitations from the BBEO even requested sponsorships for the group’s website and its annual gala, which run as high $30,000 each. The gala featured a singing performance by Patti LaBelle.
The relationship between the BBEO and the city of Lauderdale Lakes may violate the state constitutional ban on using public resources to support private organizations.
"Neither the state nor any county, school district, municipality, special district, or agency of any of them, shall become a joint owner with, or stockholder of, or give, lend or use its taxing power or credit to aid any corporation, association, partnership or person," then Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist wrote in a March 2006 legal opinion in another case, citing the Florida Constitution.
“However, if the expenditure primarily or substantially serves a public purpose, the fact that the expenditure may also incidentally benefit private individuals does not violate Article VII, section 10, Florida Constitution,” Crist, who is now the governor, opined.
It remains unclear whether there has been any return value to the public on the organization’s use of public resources.
According to the BBEO’s by-laws, the group dis-tributes its funds entirely or substantially for “charit-able, religious scientific, literary or educational purposes.”
Williams, the BBEO president, has told the Broward Times that last year the group gave $10,000 to the United Negro College Fund, and plans to give $25,000 more to UNCF. Otherwise it is unclear exactly how the organization’s resources are being used.
DIRECTING CITY STAFF PROHIBITED
City Manager Anita Fain-Taylor and Commissioner David Shomers acknow-ledged that city staff have done work for BBEO.
“I have not, but others have,” Fain-Taylor said when asked if she and city staff have performed work in city hall for the BBEO.
She denied that BBEO operations are stationed in Lauderdale Lakes city hall, and did not respond to questions seeking confirmation on exactly who authorized any work city staff does for the group.
Williams supported Fain-Taylor’s contentions, and profusely denied any notion that the group he leads has used staff to do anything other than incidental tasks at city hall.
“The only work they do is because I am an elected official. They may open mail, or put a League of Cities event on my calendar, like the work I do on the National League of Cities ITC (information technology committee),” Williams explained. “I have never, and no elected official would ever, ask staff to do anything because the charter does not allow it.”
Yet stacks of emails and dozens of other internal city documents Williams sent to city staff, directing them to do work on behalf of BBEO, contradict his statements.
The documents show that Williams regularly gave directions to city staff to do work on behalf of the BBEO, including fundraising and soliciting money for the group.
Other records tell how Williams directed city employees to prepare and mail letters requesting money for tickets to their annual gala and the purchase of tables at BBEO events.
At his direction, city employees spent time scheduling BBEO meetings, creating agendas, and organizing its functions, all from city hall, using public equipment on city time, dating as far back as January 2005, records show.
“Please forward this to all the Black Elected Officials. Ask them to RSVP by this afternoon. Let me know by 4 p.m. who has not responded so I can contact them by phone,” Williams wrote in a Jan. 27, 2006 email to a city employee who was organizing the BBEO annual fundraiser and ball for that year.
“Tickets will be $100 per person and tables will sell to the general public for $1,000 and to corporations for $2,500,” reads one fundraising letter Williams directed city staff to distribute to donors and members of the group on Dec. 28, 2006.
In some of the documents, Williams even directed city employees to complete IRS tax return forms that were required for donations the group took in.
The staffers who work in the Lauderdale Lakes city commission office are under the city manager’s direction.
“The city commission or its members shall direct all requests for service and all orders to city employees who are within the city manager's span of control, through the city manager,” reads Section 4 of the Lauderdale Lakes charter, titled Commission/City Manager Interface.
Under the Lauderdale Lakes city charter, only the city manager is authorized to assign work to employees. Elected officials are expressly prohibited from directing staff to perform work or carry out tasks. The penalty for anyone convicted of willingly violating the city charter may include forfeiture of office and a $500 fine for each incident.
Williams denied any wrongdoing.
“Anything that has to do with me being on the League of cities, then they may do some scheduling,’’ Williams said. “For example, I’m on the 100 Black Men, so they don’t do any work for me on that, Leadership Broward, the NAACP, or what have you, because this would be improper. We never have been run out of city hall, meaning we don’t get checks there or do any work out of city hall,” he said.
Even though some checks made out to the group are addressed to Lauderdale Lakes city hall, in care of Williams, he remains adamant that the BBEO has its own location for operations.
“We have never been stationed in city hall. I mean someone may have sent a letter or two there, but we have our own office space and city hall is not our official location,” Williams said, but did not disclose the location of the BBEO offices.
State records show that the BBEO’s official place of business and mailing address from June 6, 2005 to Aug. 27 of this year was city hall, located at 4300 NW 36th St.
But shortly after the Broward Times asked city officials about the fact that the BBEO was being run out of city hall at taxpayers’ expense, Williams on Aug. 28 changed the address in state corporate records to reflect that BBEO’s official place of business and mailing address had been relocated out of city hall, to another location.
A Broward Times investigation revealed that the new BBEO address listed with The Florida Division of Corporations turns out to be Williams’ home address.
Still, the group’s stationery, mailing materials and mailing lists of hundreds of donors and potential contributors were seen in plain view on shelves in the mayor and commissioners room 124 office when the Broward Times made an unannounced visit this week.
A check of city occupational license records shows that neither the BBEO nor the real estate investment firm named N-Vest-It, LLC, which Williams also operates out of his home, are licensed with the city to function there. These possible code violations could result in citations and fines from the city.
City building officials said non-profit organizations generally are not charged fees, but they still must get permission from the city or a certificate of use.
CITY GIVES REDEVELOPMENT MONEY TO BBEO
The BBEO has received more than $11,000 from the city of Lauderdale Lakes since 2006, including $5,000 that originally came from the Lauderdale Lakes Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA). That money was paid to the city, which then wrote a check to the BBEO.
“There is no inconsistency with the CRA Plan or the Florida Statutes in such sponsorships as they have been accepted as being beneficial to the community at-large,” Lauderdale Lakes CRA director Gary Rogers said.
Gary Rogers never explained exactly how CRA money that ultimately went to the BBEO benefits the city’s redevelopment efforts or the public.
Williams said he would only allow the by-laws to be “looked at,” but not copied. The group’s treasurer said requests to examine financial records would be discussed at their next meeting.
“The BBEO will be happy to reply to your questions once the board has had an appropriate amount of time to review and discuss them,” BBEO treasurer and Wilton Manors commissioner Joe Angelo said.
That meeting is not scheduled to take place until October.
NEWS FLASH: White commissioner accepted into black elected officials group. See full coverage in the Metro section of the website.
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Photos by Elgin Jones/BT Staff:
Top photo: BBEO president and Lauderdale Lakes City Commissioner Levoyd Williams, above, directed city staff to solicit funds for the private group, on city time.
Second photo: The Mayor and Commission Room 124 inside Lauderdale Lakes city hall.
To see a video of Patti LaBelle at the BBEO gala, log onto http://blip.tv/file/157057/. Video courtesy of Joan Cartwright.
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