Happy Birthday To Me, Here’s Your Parking Ticket!
Updated 5/26/2022 @ 10:00am Received a response from James campaign with a request to make a correction to the story. Appears the birthday card was paid for by Keith James for mayor campaign and taxpayer dollars were not used.
The card came in the mail, and I can’t recall ever receiving a card from the City before. The front of the card included a quote from Maya Angelou “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away”
The front of the card reads: Happy Birthday from Keith James, Mayor of West Palm Beach. The opposite side has Keith James name 4 times and includes his business address on Okeechobee Blvd.
This bother’s me on many fronts and raises questions which I will never receive an answer.
How does the City know when my birthday is? Why did James decide to send greetings to residents? I have a theory and it concerns his bid for re-election.
My birthday card:
Question: Who paid for the printing, postage and labor to send the cards? Did James mean it when the card said “I believe the people– like you– are what makes West Palm Beach such a special place to live. On your special day, I’d like to wish you a wonderful birthday. Yours in service” I was having a good day until the mailman arrived, and I started to think.
Mayoral Town Hall Meetings:
I attended 2 of these meetings and James spent the time telling residents what a great job he was doing in the City. The last 15 minutes was spent on residents concerns. James never answered a question but instructed staff to gather their information and it would be followed up. Residents were invited to the buffet table where a nice selection of food and drink was offered.
Question: Who paid for the event, taxpayers or James campaign fund? He did meet with residents so I’m betting taxpayers money paid for all the re-election events held.
As I’m writing this story I’m listening to channel 12 news when they report on the new parking rate increases in WPB.
Reporter Kara Duffy interviewed Jay Brown a downtown resident, who was “shocked” by a recent development. Hear the interview below.
Below are excerpts from the City Minutes, and the entire document can be read below. My comments in Italic, and underlined to draw readers attention.
3/21/2022 City Commission meeting: Item # 8.4 Resolution No. 88-22 amending existing parking rates and hours of operation for the City Parking System.
“Edward Davis, Parking Systems Administrator, discussed the downtown parking rate structure as follows: introduction-impact of parking rates being too low, reason for parking fees; metered parking-Clematis improvement impacts; current on street parking rates comparisons; current off street (garage parking) rates; off street (garage parking); on street parking rate re-structure; future upgrade/maintenance; citation fines (current); WPB proposes citation fines; and proposed monthly parking permit rates.”
“Mayor James asked Mr. Davis to explain about the benefits of making these changes so people will know that it is not about making money. He said that this is about changing behavior as we have been working on this for two years and it is time to implement it”
James was sworn in as Mayor on April 4,2019, nearly 3 years in office, so it was his idea to dig deeper into small business and residents pockets. Of course it’s about making money, every dime collected on parking fines goes to the City, and they will offer a reason why it is needed.
“Mr. Davis said that by changing these rates they are trying to create an atmosphere of compliance”
Compliance? James is forcing people to bypass WPB to dine and have a few drinks with friends for a nearby city that doesn’t rob them with obscene parking rates, or a two hour time frame. Imagine sitting with friends having dinner and you jump up and leave the restaurant because your two hours are up at the meter. You can’t feed the meter, you have to move your car, find another space. Where are you dining next time? I bet not in the downtown City of WPB.
In my opinion, James is destroying a city he claims to love, and will destroy most small businesses in the area. There is a parking problem downtown, a problem he created with the streetscape design in 2019 when there were 121 parking meters on Clematis St. and now there are 49 meters and in his wisdom he removed many handicapped parking spaces.
Tickets for overtime parking currently is $27.50 they’re proposing $37.50 for the first offense second offense within six months it’ll cost you $75.00 and if you get three in one year it’ll be $150.00.
The deck is stacked against residents and especially small business, and the hospitality workers who depend on your business. Read the minutes below:
Mr. Davis making the presentation to the City Commissioners for their approval of the new parking rates named three cities and their hourly parking rate.
“Delray Beach two dollars, Fort Lauderdale 3 to 4 dollars, Boca Raton 2 to 3 dollars and West Palm Beach new rate will be $2.50 per hour”
His information was easily verified by googling the cities, which I did.
Delray Beach: On-Street Parking is available for $2/hour for up to 3 hours between 12 p.m. and 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 12 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Beach Parking — Street parking is $1.50/hour for up to 3 hours seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Beachside public lots are also $1.50 per hour seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Public Parking Garages are free if you arrive prior to 4 p.m. and thereafter a $5 flat fee from 4 p.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday. Parking is free in public garages on Sundays.
Fort Lauderdale: The city’s rates currently run from $.50 to $2 an hour on the barrier island, $1 to $1.75 an hour downtown, and $.50 to $1.25 an hour in other parts of the city. Residents would be charged $1.50 an hour for the beach and downtown areas and $1 an hour in other sections of the city under the new proposal.
Boca Raton: Be ready to pay the next time you park your car in downtown Boca Raton. The city is phasing in parking meters for street-side parking.
It will cost you $1 per hour during the day and $2 an hour overnight. A city spokesperson said the goal is to create turnover downtown and bring more customers to businesses. But some business owners worry meters will scare customers away.
Mr. Davis neglected to mention downtown Lake Worth parking was free, but did mention there are three parking meter’s on the 200 block of Clematis Street.
Commissioners please do your homework and stop accepting what staff presents as the whole truth. Population of WPB is 114,646 that’s the people who’s interest you are supposed to protect.
Common sense goes a long way. Bottom line poor planning poor management, City Commissioners voting on issues with not enough information.
The end!
Parking Rates Recap
March 21, 2022—City Commission Meeting:
Ordinance/Resolution: “RESOLUTION NO. 88-22: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA, ESTABLISHING NEW RATES, FINES AND HOURS OF OPERATION FOR THE CITY PARKING SYSTEM”
Staff member, Parking Administrator Edward Davis and Assistant City Administrator, Amando Fana along with Mayor James had the job of selling the new rates to the Commissions and they did a good job. Two residents spoke against 88-22 and one resident requesting the rates not be changed and another asked the commission to table it until Commissioner Fox was in attendance and also mentioned he didn’t hear about the meeting until 3:21 that afternoon. The City Commissioners passed it unanimously and the new rates went into effect May 1, 2022.
May 4, 2022— West Palm Beach Merchant Group Meeting: Led by Rodney Mayo.
Meeting was held with the West Palm Beach Merchant Group concerning the new parking rates and the 5 City Commissioners were invited to attend and hear the problems the group anticipated with the parking rate increase.
Of the five invited Commissioners Fox, Lambert, Peduzzi, Ward and Warren only Fox attended. Not invited, but attended was Edward Davis, Parking Administrator and Amando Fana, Assistant City Manager.
May 9, 2022— Recap Merchant Meeting Wednesday May 4th written by Rodney Mayo reads in part:
(1) “The parking department referred to a study of unlimited hours for street parking and the negative impact it had on businesses. Could we please get a copy of that study along with any updated parking studies that may have followed the study dated September 2017?
(2) City Staff referred to a study regarding Sunday parking fees and the net result of decreasing problems with brunch customers downtown. Could we please get a copy of that study?
Parking department was looking into how many spaces will be available for employee parking downtown at the discounted rate of $50. We were told there is some jumbling around of spaces and an accurate number was not available last week at our meeting. With an estimated 2,500 hospitality workers along the Clematis corridor it seems imperative we have a number of spaces available for our staff. Even if it is somewhat of a rough estimate we need to know if this number is 100, 500, 1,000, 2,000 etc. The Merchant group has expressed strong concern over this issue as businesses are already experiencing employee complaints of not being able to afford to work downtown with $20 parking rates for a full shift currently. Hospitality employees are bearing the cost of these new rates now and we would hope city staff would have this figured out and the structure in place prior to enacting the rate increase”
Dear Mr. Mayo,
Hopefully, but I doubt you received the 2 studies mentioned above. Let me share with readers my PRR sent to the City, and their reply.
May 11, 2022— RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of May 11, 2022, Reference # R031390-051122
The City of West Palm Beach received a public records request from you on May 11, 2022.
Your request mentioned:
“How many spaces will be available for hospitality workers, employee parking in the five garages listed below ? Please list parking spaces available for each garage.
What will be the cost of parking in a City Garage for an 8 hour shift?
How many hospitality workers, employee’s have requested their name be placed on a waiting list to secure a parking spot in the 5 listed parking garages?
Banyan Garage at Banyan Blvd & Olive Ave, City Center Garage, Clematis St. Garage at Clematis & Quadrille, Evernia Garage at Evernia St. & Dixie Hwy; Police Garage on Clematis Street”
May 13, 2022 1:46 pm— City’s response to my PRR:
“The City does not answer questions in response to a public records request; however, there are no documents in response to any of the questions.”— “This email is to notify you that no records exist. Your request has been closed.”
May 13, 2022 3:39 pm— “This is the response added in the system. I have attached the City’s public records policy regarding responding to questions.” “No files exists for the questions, Daniel Giust” Who is Mr. Giust?
Public_Records_Request_policy_05012020
Double click to enlarge pic.
Parking Meter No more free parking on Sunday, Holiday’s and between the hours of 7:00 PM til 7:00AM.
New Rates:
Effective May 1, 2022
Meters Enforced 24/7
2 Hour Max. 6 AM to Midnight
Vehicle must be moved After 2 Hours
Overnight Parking
Midnight to 6 AM
Paid by ParkMobile Only
We Accept
Discover MasterCard Visa
Dollar coins, Quarters and ParkMobile
Meter Malfunction Please Call (822) 1500
Handicapped Parking:
If you have a Handicap Placard you are allowed to park where a handicap sign is located, or park at a parking meter for four (4) hours at no cost. Clematis St; one city block between Quadrille and Dixie there were three (3) handicapped spots. Now there are Two (2). Roxy’s on Clematis has the handicapped sign stenciled on the street, but no sign on a pole. Please fix it or someone will park, and receive a $250.00 fine.
Paid by ParkMobile Only:
Millions of people have a smart phone, millions more do not. You can’t use ParkMobile with a dumb phone. Older residents would have a problem downloading the app. Remember we didn’t grow up with computers!
Dear Commissioners,
When the Ordinance/Resolution was passed on March 21, 2022 Commissioner Shoaf represented District 1, and the reins were turned over to Commissioner Ward. Common Sense would dictate this was not going to be popular with business owners, employees and residents.
As mentioned above 2 residents spoke against the new rates. It appears no one was surprised the Commission Chamber was empty, so once again you were told one side of the story— Mayor James and City Administrator side. Empty chamber should have been a heads up.
If you haven’t signed the petition to help our down town businesses and hospitality workers who depend on the generosity of patrons to enable them to pay rent and put food on the table and not into a parking meter here is one more opportunity.
https://www.change.org/p/city-of-west-palm-beach-increased-parking-rate-repeal/u/30506895
The end.
City of West Palm Beach Increased Parking Rate Repeal.
Below was written by Rodney Mayo in an attempt to keep residents apprised of the major change to the parking rate increase that will effect every resident who owns an automobile. There is more to the story and I ask readers to take the time to read the entire piece.
Also included is a petition that will be presented to the City Commission in the hopes they will not approve the new parking rates.
The City’s motto “We Want To Hear From You” please take them at their word and sign the petition. If not you——who?
Residents who have signed the petition (Reason for Signing) have left comments on why they have signed and interesting points were made.
“The City of West Palm Beach passed a sweeping parking rate increase, the largest in the history of our city at the commission meeting on March 23, 2022. Despite the parking department showing an annual profit of 2.5 million dollars last year, the adopted increases include 24/7 enforced parking, flat rate weekend parking, added rates on Sunday, increased event rates, increased monthly rates, increased penalties and a 300% increase in metered parking rates. The one benefit the City claims of the new program is 50% discounted hospitality employee parking. Unfortunately, they do not disclose there are no spaces available at this rate in most all the garages.
The City Commission adopted these new rates after giving less than 48 hours’ notice to the public. The merchants and residents were not given the opportunity to participate in the discussion. The City references a zoom meeting on March 3 of 2021, over one year prior, as sufficient notice and opportunity for merchants and residents to be a part of the process. That zoom meeting comprised of 5 city employees and no merchants or residents.
These new parking rates will hurt the already struggling businesses who are finally rebounding after 2 years of the pandemic. Residents who do not have assigned parking spaces will bear an additional cost of $300 per month in a time of skyrocketing rental rates and inflation. These new parking rates will make the City of West Palm Beach the costliest city to park in all of South East Florida, less a few special districts in South Beach”
https://www.change.org/p/city-of-west-palm-beach-increased-parking-rate-repeal
The end!
POLICE INTERNAL AFFAIRS AUDIT AUD20-
This report is the third and final report received from the IA (Internal Audit) Dept. concerning the WPB Police Dept; The report consist of 24 numbered pages and I urge readers to read the entire report to fully understand the duties of the WPB Police Internal Affairs Dept. I gave readers a synopsis of the audit below, and the Internal Auditor report goes into detail, and can be found at the end of the story.
Executive Summary
OVERVIEW
“The Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) is a division of the City’s Police Department (PD) that serves as a mechanism for internal accountability. The goal of the IAU is to ensure all citizen and internal complaints of improper conduct against sworn members of the PD are systematically, objectively, and impartially investigated. • Internal complaints of a serious nature are typically investigated by the IAU. The IAU is composed of one IA Commander and three investigators, including one Lieutenant and two Sergeants. Investigations are classified as Citizen Complaints, Administrative Departmental Investigations, Internal Affairs Investigations, and Critical Incident Team Investigations. The Internal Affairs Unit uses the IAPro system to store pertinent information necessary to manage, oversee, and control the receipt, processing, and investigation of complaints. The IAU also uses the Blueteam program, which interfaces with IAPro, and was designed to facilitate electronic filing of incidents while in the field.”
Background
“The Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) is a division of the City’s Police Department (PD) that serves as a mechanism for internal accountability. The goal of the IAU is to ensure all citizen and internal complaints of improper conduct against sworn members of the PD are systematically, objectively, and impartially investigated.
Complaints of inappropriate PD member behavior can be filed anonymously, in person, by telephone, letter, or online. Citizen complaints are typically investigated by field supervisors. However, depending on the nature of the complaint the Chief of Police assigns the IAU to conduct the investigation. Internal complaints of a serious nature are typically investigated by the IAU. The IAU is composed of one IA Commander and three investigators, including one Lieutenant and two Sergeants. Investigations are classified into four types: 1. Citizen Complaints, 2. Administrative Departmental Investigations, 3. Internal Affairs Investigations, 4. Critical Incident Team Investigations.
During the audit period, there were a total of 291 investigations as shown in the table below, broken down by type.” Please read page 1 for the table.
Internal Affairs Employee Survey
“We conducted a survey of all PD members to capture views and opinions on various aspects of the internal affairs function. A total of 104 surveys were received of 338 surveys distributed (31% responded).” Please read page 2 for survey results.
Statement of Scope “The scope of the audit included all investigation types during the audit period, which was from January 2018 to October 2020.
Statement of Objectives,
The objectives of this audit were to:
Statement of Methodology
We utilized several audit methodologies to gather evidence and achieve the objectives. These techniques included, but were not limited to:
Statement of Auditing Standards
We conducted this audit in accordance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.” Please read page 3
Audit Conclusions and Summary of Findings
Our assessment of the internal affairs function, including the internal controls, indicated that the PD would benefit from implementing measures to address areas of improvement as follows: Data collection, review, and analysis, Policy compliance, Community engagement and community outreach.
Noteworthy Accomplishments
In November 2019, the PD created an independent Use of Force Review Board (the Board) in an effort to build transparency and hold officers accountable. The Board discusses new laws and updates training practices. At the discretion of the Police Chief, the Board also reviews use of force incidents within the department. Please read page 4.
Police Department Organization Chart. Please read page 5
Opportunities for Improvement
“Complete and Accurate Data Condition There is no formal policy that states when and how the data in IAPro should be entered and reviewed to ensure uniformity, consistency, and completeness. Data analytics1 performed of Internal Affairs case information stored in IAPro disclosed issues related to the completeness and accuracy of the data in the following three areas: 1. Complainant Racial Data, 2. Investigation Turnaround Time, 3. Officer Years Of Experience.”
Criteria
“Collecting, tracking, and reporting accurate and complete data is a necessity for law enforcement agencies in today’s environment. When utilized at their full capability, data systems like IAPro can be used to enhance public safety, improve officer performance and transform organizational culture.”
Cause
“IAPro is used as a repository of case data, not as a tool to proactively and continually analyze the data to identify opportunities to improve the process or officer performance.”
Effect
“Incomplete and inaccurate data hinders the department’s ability to conduct in-depth analyses and make data driven decisions regarding officer performance.” Internal Auditor made four recommendations Recommendation 1a, Recommendation 1b, Recommendation 1c, Recommendation 1d,” and can be read in it’s entirety on pages 6-8
2. Policy Compliance
“Condition Internal and external complaints are not always processed in compliance with key requirements of the Internal Affairs policy (SOP IV-22). An in-depth review of 109 (48%) of the 225 cases in our sample showed a total of 122 (9%) instances of noncompliance with policy requirements”
Result of Policy Compliance Analysis, Criteria and Cause, along with Recommendation 2 (A&B), Management Response 2 A&B. Can be read on pages 9-11
3. Quality Review of Investigations
Condition
“We performed a quality review of a judgmental sample of 15 completed Internal Affairs investigations from the 109 cases that we evaluated for policy compliance (see Finding 2). The cases were selected based on complexity and the seriousness of the circumstances. The quality review focused on the investigation process and included related deviations from policies and procedures. As a result, we identified opportunities to improve the quality of investigations in 13 of the 15 selected cases. Examples of areas of concern included:” Criteria, Cause and Effect, Recommendation 3, A&B, Management Response 3 A&B, Can be read on page 12&13.
4. Monitoring Use of Force Incidents
Condition
Background: “All incidents involving the use of force are investigated at the platoon level (Shift Commander) whether or not any misconduct occurred. All results of the investigations are submitted to the Police Chief to determine whether the incident a. warrants an additional investigation by Internal Affairs, b. if the incident is justified, or c. if it is a minor violation. The documentation is stored within software that is managed and controlled by Internal Affairs.”
Empty Data Fields, Total Use of Force Incidents and Other Violations, Criteria, Cause, Effect, Recommendation 4 A, B & C,
Management Response 4 A, B & C Can be read on page 14-16
5. Undocumented Key Control Procedures and Training
Condition
“An evaluation of key elements of the Internal Affairs function indicated that improvements can be made within the processes to communicate and interact with citizens and the community:”
Complaint intake, Complainant communication throughout investigations, Citizen outreach program, Criteria, Cause, Effect, Recommendation 5 a,b,c,d,e & f, Management Response 5 “The Police Department Management agrees with the recommendation.” Can be read on page 17 & 18.
6. Administrative Departmental Investigations
Condition
“We found that a procedure for investigations conducted by line supervisors, known as Administrative Departmental investigations (AD investigations), is not specifically documented as a department procedure.”
Criteria, Cause, Effect, Recommendation 6 a,b,&c, Management Response 6 “The Police Department Management agrees with recommendation.” Can be read on page 19
Exhibit A – Quality Review Case Summaries
“To ensure the quality and accuracy of our assessment, we reviewed our results with management. However, it should be noted that according to applicable laws and regulations, the following cases do not appear eligible to be reopened. Therefore, the findings from this review should be used for training purposes and to strengthen officer and department performance.” There are a total of 15 case samples and can be read on pages 20-24.
Below is the WPB Internal Audit Report report on the WPB Police Internal Affairs Dept.
Police Internal Affairs Audit Report AUD20-05(1)
On a personal note:
The school board has approved a new chief for the district police force and her name is Sara Mooney, former WPB Police Chief. Chief Mooney has always been about the kids and I watched her for years interact with them on our monthly Peace Walk. She wanted to reach the kids before the gangs did. I wish her well in her new position.
“Downtown Merchant Meeting, May 4th at 5pm O’Shea’s Pub 531 Clematis St. on the Patio. Please circulate flyer to any business owners, managers or property owners. Our goal is to keep you informed and give you an opportunity to ask questions and voice your opinions. The Downtown Merchant Group is an independent organization of business and property owners.” Hope to see you there.
The end