A SMALL CITY WITH A BIG MESS
Most people in Broward County could not find West Park on a map. It's a small city wedged between Hollywood and Pembroke Park with about 15,000 residents. Normally, it barely registers on the county's political radar.
Right now, though, West Park City Hall has become one of the most dysfunctional local governments in South Florida. The chaos unfolding there makes the recent 3-3 stalemate at the Pompano Beach City Commission look like child's play.
The Triumvirate
At the center of the conflict are Mayor Felicia Brunson, City Manager Ajibola Balogun and City Attorney Burnadette Norris-Weeks. A majority of the commission says the three have effectively concentrated control of the city's operations into what amounts to an unelected triumvirate, while the elected commission is left fighting simply to conduct basic legislative business.
The pattern has become familiar to anyone who watches the meetings. When agenda items begin moving toward investigations or votes the triumvirate opposes, the meeting suddenly ends. The mayor adjourns and walks out.
Once that happens, the commission cannot vote.
Follow the Money
The conflict intensified when a majority of commissioners began pushing for deeper scrutiny of city finances. Commissioner Katrina Touchstone requested itemized expense accounts and city credit card records covering roughly ten years of spending by senior staff and elected officials. Under Florida law those records are public.
Instead of producing them, the city staff issued a cost estimate of $20,475 to retrieve the files. That number immediately raised suspicions among commissioners who believe the administration is resisting oversight of how city funds have been used.
Another dispute erupted when a commission majority approved a resolution asking Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier to review the legal guidance being provided to the city. The city attorney declined to transmit the resolution to Tallahassee. Touchstone ultimately sent the document herself.
At one point, commissioners asked the city attorney's office to draft a resolution suspending City Manager Balogun and pausing his $192,000 salary while questions about city finances were reviewed. The suspension language never appeared in the draft circulated to the commission.
Taken together, critics say the mayor, city manager and city attorney have formed a governing bloc that is effectively blocking the commission from exercising its authority.
It's time for state scrutiny.
There is so much smoke coming from West Park that state lawmakers should start asking questions. Local legislators such as State Sen. Shevrin Jones or Rep. Hillary Cassel should ask the Florida Joint Legislative Auditing Committee to request a review by the Florida Auditor General. The suspiciously high price tag given to an elected official trying to review public records is reason enough to look under the hood.
In ancient Rome, triumvirates rarely ended peacefully. Rivalries, elections and shifting alliances eventually broke them apart.
West Park's version may not last much longer either.
The triumvirate has repeatedly relied on a charter provision that requires 4 votes of the 5-member commission to hire or fire the city attorney or the city manager. With the commission currently split 3-2, the supermajority requirement has effectively insulated both officials from removal.
For now, one vote stands between the triumvirate and the door.
If Mayor Brunson's last ally survives in November, the stalemate will likely continue. If that seat flips, the commission will suddenly have the fourth vote needed to remake City Hall from top to bottom.
And in a city where meetings end before the voting begins, the next real vote that matters may not happen at the dais.
It could happen in the voting booth.