Keith James has Another Committee
October 18, 2020
What you are about to read is (almost) ancient history. The City Commission is about to vote (10/19/2020) on another James committee namely “Task Force on Racial and Ethnic Equality”. Let’s look at the committee’s James has formed in the past.
Mayoral Candidate and City Commissioner Keith James Launches Neighborhoods First Initiative January 31, 2019
Keith James for Mayor
Keith James, city commissioner and mayoral candidate of West Palm Beach (WPB), today launches the Neighborhoods First Initiative.
“I am proud to announce my Neighborhoods First Initiative. It’s a plan to ensure each and every West Palm Beach neighborhood is listened to, their ideas are taken into consideration and that we are all working together to make our community a great place to live, work and raise a family,” James stated. “Our neighborhoods are the jewels that define our city and as Mayor, I am going to work to make sure neighborhood issues and projects are prioritized and getting done sooner. The advisory groups that are formed out of my Neighborhoods First Initiative will provide valuable feedback and ideas to help shape policy and direction.”
Media Contact: Jonathan Cooper Keith James Campaign
Read the entire press release below.
This sounded good for a man running for Mayor of WPB. Once elected the Neighborhood First Initiative went away, never to be heard from again, but was replaced with the “Transition Team”
“First order of business for new West Palm Beach mayor: Create a transition team to evaluate policies.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — During his first weeks of Mayor of West Palm Beach, former city commissioner Keith James wants to take a close look at policies and procedures within the city, by creating a transition team that will examine several departments.
“Between 40 and 50 representatives of neighborhoods of businesses of nonprofits who are going to help us look at various policy issues and make some specific recommendations,” said Mayor James.
“We are already putting into place, me hiring what I call my public safety liaison, somebody who is going to report directly to me and help me as I begin assessing the performance and policies in our public safety operations that means police as well as fire, said James.”
First order of business was remove Police Chief Sara Mooney as Chief of Police and hire new Police Chief Frank Adderley and Deputy Chief Rick Morris. I never realized it took 2 men to replace 1 woman. Read the story below.
Well the Transition Team sounded good too. Unfortunately the 40-50 folks who volunteered their time and effort to assist the mayor walked away disappointed because none of their suggestions were used. These good folks should have suspected something was amiss when James asked them to sign non-disclosure agreements.
African American Advisory Council
The African American Advisory Council’s purpose is to keep the Commission and staff informed about the needs and concerns of African Americans in the City of Hollywood Fl. The council is dedicated to promoting fairness and equality in economic, employment, housing, education and cultural opportunities.
If you are questioning why I included Hollywood Fl. in this story it’s because James disbanded the Council in WPB after attempting to campaign with African Americans the council suggested he ignored African American’s as a City Commissioner, what could they expect from him as mayor? Possibly the Mayor’s Task Force on Racial and Ethnic Equity is meant to replace the African American Advisory Council.
Aug 11, 2020 “During a press conference at West Palm Beach City Hall, Mayor Keith James announced the appointment of the Task Force on Racial and Ethnic Equality. The establishment of the Task Force comes on the heels of calls for both local and national change in the wake of recent incidents that ignited outrage, exposed deeply entrenched systemic racism in our country, and challenged the public’s confidence and trust in our system of policing and criminal justice.” Read the story below:
https://www.wpb.org/our-city/mayor-s-office/mayor-s-task-force-on-racial-and-ethic-equality
Mayor Muoio hired retired Captain 25 year veteran of the Police Dept; named Wendy Morse as Director of the office of Public Life. James later changed the name to Community Outreach. Ms. Morse responsibility was to work with the police force and residents to challenged the public’s confidence and trust in our system of policing and criminal justice, and insure the community had a say in how public space was used. What I’m told is Ms. Morse was doing a hell of a job, before James “laid her off” soon after he was sworn in.
City Commissioners Heads Up!
City Commission meeting to be held 10/19/2020 CONSENT CALENDAR (1-7) Consent Calendar is where the city passes item’s without much notice or comment. I ask readers please pay attention to item # 6, 10 &11. I have posted sections of the agenda #6, 10 & 11 and the entire agenda can be read here.
https://www.wpb.org/home/showdocument?id=2619
# 6 Resolution No. 284-20 establishing and appointing members to a nine (9) member Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, establishing the term of office and waiving conflicts of interest.
Staff Recommended Motion: Approve Resolution No. 284-20.
Background: The City of West Palm Beach receives annual allocations of State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) Program funds from the State of Florida for the creation and/or preservation of affordable housing. As a condition of receiving the funds and in accordance with Florida Statutes, the governing board of the city is required to establish an Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (AHAC)
The entire list of 9 names can be read in the agenda, but the 3 named below have business relationships with the City and may have a conflict of interest, which commissioners will be asked to waive.
They are:
a. Thais R. Sullivan: The First Vice President of Valley National Bank is presently doing business with the City as a partner assisting with the City’s COVID-19 Business Loan Program;
b .Jeremy Morse: The Executive Director of Mental Health America presently doing business with the City as a social service provider and recipient of federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds assisting with on-street mental health services;
c. Terri Murray: The Executive Director of Neighborhood Renaissance Inc. presently doing business with the City as a non-profit developer receiving federal funds for the development of affordable housing.
The term of the committee is three (3) years, and each member will serve for the three-year period.
Norman Ostrau, the City’s Ethics Official, has advised that both state and county law provide that no member or their outside employer can sell goods or services to the city or have any employment or contractual relationship with any business entity doing business or regulated with the city or any contractual or employment relationship that will be a continuing or frequently recurring conflict between their private interest and public duty or impede their public duties. He is of the opinion that the relationships described above violate this law thereby creating a conflict of interest. He further advises, however, that both state and county law provide that the conflict can be waived by the city commission at a public hearing where the proposed member disclose the conflict and the commission waives the conflict by a vote of a majority plus one. Ms. Sullivan, Mr. Morse, and Ms. Murray have made the disclosure on the required state ethics commission form 4A, and the commission is requested to waive the conflicts by approving Resolution No. 284-20. 6″
Commissioners when in doubt—-Don’t wave conflicts of interest. They are in place for a reason, and if they can be waived so easily why have it in the first place? Norman Ostrau, the City’s Ethics Official is the guy who told Commissioner Lambert she could vote in favor of her husbands company WGI, who has multiple contracts with the city.
# 10. Waiver of conflict for two advisory board members of the Mayor’s Task Force on Racial and Ethnic Equity.
Background:
On July 7, 2020, the Mayor executed Executive Order 2020-13, establishing the Mayor’s Task Force on Racial and Ethnic Equity and has appointed its members. Mr. Bradley Alexander Hurbert who is also the President of The Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin County, (Community Foundation), and Ms. Julie Fisher Cummings who is the Community Foundation’s Board Chair are two of the Mayor’s appointees.
#11 Public Hearing of Resolution No. 149-20 authorizing acceptance of federal entitlement grants approving and authorizing submission of the City’s Five-Year Consolidated Plan (2020-2024), the One-Year Action Plan for Fiscal Year 2020-2021, and the Citizen Participation Plan and authorizing execution of all related documents.
Background:
As an entitlement community receiving U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) formula program funds, the City of West Palm Beach is required to submit a Five-Year Consolidated Plan that serves as the planning tool outlining the jurisdiction’s housing and community development needs. The Consolidated Plan is carried out through annual Action Plans which provide a concise summary of the actions, activities, and specific federal and non-federal resources that will be used each year to develop strong, sustainable, and inclusive communities. The City has established a Citizen Participation Plan to provide opportunities for citizen involvement in the process of developing and implementing the HUD-assisted programs. For Fiscal Year (FY) 2020-21, the City anticipates receiving a total of $4,707,736.
Previously the city had problems with HUD.
“A federal agency says it wants nearly $3 million back from West Palm Beach because of how poorly the city managed low-income housing grants. The Department of Housing and Urban Development says the city missed deadlines, kept poor records and lacked procedures to oversee the spending of federal money it distributed to an arm of the Redemptive Life Fellowship church. The city had hired the organization to build houses as part of a major effort to revitalize one of West Palm’s most down trodden neighborhoods, Coleman Park” Want to read more? Google Redemptive Life. James was their attorney.
Read the story here: