Tamarac leaders agree to get more money for discretionary spending. Mayor slams it as ‘poor public policy.’

Lisa J. Huriash, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
·5 min read

Tamarac’s elected officials — who in past years have drawn public criticism over their spending — have once again agreed to give themselves thousands of additional taxpayer dollars to use at their discretion, this time more than tripling the pot of money.

The lone elected official against the plan was Mayor Michelle Gomez, who told the South Florida Sun Sentinel the latest increase is “poor public policy, yet again.”

Gomez called it a sign that commissioners weren’t sticking to what they’ve already budgeted.

Until now, city commissioners each had $6,000 for their “initiative” account spending, for a total of $30,000. This week, commissioners signed off on a plan to give themselves $20,000 each and $25,000 for the mayor, increasing the pot to $105,000.

Those who agreed in favor were Vice Mayor Marlon Bolton, and commissioners Morey Wright Jr., Elvin Villalobos and Kicia Daniel. The spending increase allowance will take place immediately, but the formal vote on the budget amendment will be months from now.

Villalobos said after the meeting he has used some of his allocated money to host a “citizenship drive” for immigrants who need free legal help, and a hygiene product drive for low-income high school girls. Both events attracted people throughout Broward, Villalobos said.

“The city can’t facilitate all of these events,” he said, since there aren’t enough staff to accommodate all of the elected officials’ ideas. “We’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing.”

The latest decision comes more than a month after commissioners had signed off on a city budget that capped their discretionary spending using taxpayer dollars.

The city’s spending

The intent of the initiative money “was to have outreach to our community and pay for little things,” Gomez said. “The intention wasn’t we have foods trucks going out, bounce houses. We aren’t the Parks and Rec department.”

In an April 2022 report that blasted travel spending, the Office of Inspector General noted the city’s $25,000 “initiative” account spending rose by $19,000 in one year alone. Commissioners started off with $1,500 each in 2019, then raised it to $6,000 in 2020, before upping it to $25,000 for fiscal year 2021.

The City Commission quickly made changes after that report.

For the 2022-2023 fiscal year budget that started Oct 1, 2022, the discretionary pot was lowered to $6,000 for each commissioner. That same amount was approved again for the 2023-2024 fiscal budget. But more than a month after the current budget was approved, that now will go back to $20,000 for each commissioner, and $25,000 for the mayor.

“There needs to be a public purpose to conduct these activities,” said City Manager Levent Sucuoglu.

“We see a need for this to be more than $6,000,” Sucuoglu said. “We have an active and engaged commission. $6,000 doesn’t go a whole lot of distance.”

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What can be bought?

There is no specific definition of what is a “public purpose.” One elected official was criticized in 2017 for using some of his pot of cash for furniture and fixtures, such as a solar butterfly, black globe, bulldog and silver artichoke to decorate his City Hall office, making it look more inviting for the public.

“It’s your conviction, it boils down to conviction,” Villalobos told the Sun Sentinel of how the money gets spent.

Gomez said it wasn’t the right thing to do. She said other leaders had overbudgeted their events, which was the reason for the increase.

“All of a sudden now we need to back end that which we didn’t put in through the front door and asking for an increase in these funds,” she said at this week’s public meeting. “I think that is poor public policy, yet again.” She stayed within budget, she said, such as spending money on T-shirts when she hosted the Move With The Mayor event.

“We have not been a commission that has learned how to actually stick to a budget,” Gomez complained. “It’s embarrassing.”

Vice Mayor Bolton suggested any leader who votes against the initiative money not use it. “I would think that’s the proper way to do it,” he said. “That, to me, is hypocritical.”

The final decision is lower than what the manager initially proposed. He suggested each elected official get $25,000 to spend, for a pot of $125,000.

“Are you kidding?” Gomez asked at the meeting. “Do you not remember all the residents upset with us?”

“Is our memory that short and skewed?”

Villalobos said he remembers the grumbling on social media. This time, it is different, he said. Although the rules haven’t changed, the commission signed off on a policy in 2022 that enforces rules already in place, such as needing advance permission before an event.

Previously, “it was like a free-for-all,” Villalobos said.

Kate Johnson, a Tamarac resident reached by the Sun Sentinel, said she feels the city should have been upfront about its plans, rather than making the increase after the 2023-2024 budget had already been passed in September and went into effect Oct. 1.

“I think the whole thing is outrageous,” she said. “It is ripe for misuse and abuse. There’s no consequences if they go over budget.”

Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash