Broward County Surtax Appointing Authority Meeting – September 18, 2024
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Broward County Surtax Appointing Authority Meeting – September 18, 2024
The Surtax Appointing Authority met on Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 3:09 PM to welcome a new general counsel, hear public comments, and appoint a new resident consumer of public transportation to the Transportation Surtax Oversight Board. After multiple rounds of voting, Raymond McElroy was selected.
Consent Calendar
- No consent calendar items were presented.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Raymond McElroy introduced himself as an applicant for the resident consumer position. He described his advocacy for sidewalks and pedestrian safety, including efforts to amend state law and work with FDOT on safety improvements. He expressed his desire to serve on the oversight board.
- Elijah Manley also spoke as an applicant. He shared his daily use of public transit and bicycling, recounted a non‑injury accident while biking, and expressed support for 24‑hour mass transit, more rail, and better pedestrian/bike infrastructure. He noted his service on the Downtown Fort Lauderdale Civic Association board and his interest in the position.
Discussion Items
- Welcome of New General Counsel: Nathaniel Clintzburg was introduced as the new transportation surtax general counsel. He has 24 years of legal experience, has worked for Broward County since 2018, and joined the surtax group in December 2023. Board members welcomed him and praised his qualifications.
- Appointment of Resident Consumer of Public Transportation: The board discussed the seven applicants vetted for the open position. Members commended staff for the high number and quality of applicants. The prior appointee resigned due to a new job; he was active with Better Streets Broward. Four applicants were nominated: Raymond McElroy (nominated by Sydney Callaway, seconded), James Joseph (nominated by Philippe Pinstrong, seconded), Bailey Bender (nominated by Dan Limble, seconded), and Elijah Manley (nominated by Sydney Callaway, seconded). Each nomination was affirmed by voice vote.
- Voting Process: After nominations closed, the board conducted a secret ballot. The first round produced a three‑way tie: Raymond McElroy (3 votes), Bailey Bender (2), Elijah Manley (2), and James Joseph (1). James Joseph was eliminated. A second round gave McElroy 3 votes, Bender 2, Manley 2 – still short of a majority (4). Dan Limble then announced he would switch his vote from Bender to McElroy to break the tie. A third round resulted in a unanimous 7‑0 vote for Raymond McElroy.
- Outreach and Communications: Board member Jack Seiler asked about social media and video updates on transportation projects. Staff reported a 2,000% increase in social media following, an animated annual report, and award‑winning video outreach. The marketing team also uses augmented/virtual reality tools.
- Future Meeting: The board agreed to hold a meeting on January 29, 2025 at 3:00 PM to discuss potential attendance issues and vacancies on the oversight board.
Key Outcomes
- Approval of Minutes: The minutes from April 24, 2023 were approved unanimously without objection.
- Appointment of Raymond McElroy: After three rounds of voting, Raymond McElroy was appointed as the new resident consumer of public transportation to the Transportation Surtax Oversight Board. The final vote was 7‑0.
- Future Meeting Scheduled: A meeting was set for January 29, 2025 at 3:00 PM, to be confirmed later if needed.
- Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 3:57 PM.
Meeting Transcript
It is three oh nine, Wednesday, September eighteenth. We'll call the meeting to order. Roy, if you would not mind with the roll call vote, please. No problem, thank you. I was saying. Sydney Callaway. Thank you. Dan Limble. Here. Thank you. Doctor Collin Polski. Here. Jack Silver. Here. Yep. Thank you, sir. Looking good, Philippe. Good to see you. Hey. Good to see you too. Okay, first item to discuss here on the non-action agenda is to welcome Nathaniel Clintzburg. And he's our new transportation surtax general counsel. So just welcome to the team. Maybe you could tell us a I know we've had a chance to visit personally, but with the rest of the group here, maybe you can tell us a little bit about yourself. Okay, thank you. And uh I appreciate being here with you all today. Uh again, my name's Nathaniel Clitzberg. I've been an attorney in Florida for the past 24 and a half years. I've been working for Broward County since the summer of 2018. Started out representing the uh Broward County Supervisor of Elections, so it was a very easy transition into uh government here in Broward County. Uh then representing our convention visitors bureau, parks and recreation division, uh a number of uh different agencies within the county and uh have been with the transportation surtex group since this past December. Uh and it's been I can't believe it's been almost a year at this point. Uh it's been a very eventful year, and looking forward to uh continuing to work with Gretchen Map administration, county administration and the uh Oversight Board. So thanks very much. Great, thank you. Um I know all the feedback I've received has been very positive. We're really happy to have you on the team, and uh you've got a great group here that if you need anything, don't hesitate to reach out. I appreciate it. Well, let me just weigh in for one second. I have known Nate for a number of years, both in the private side and the public side, and I just think he's outstanding, so I'll leave it at that. Okay, thank you, Jack. Uh next, we have general public participation on non-agenda items. We have two speakers that have signed up. I'm just gonna read this briefly. Public participation at the September 18th, 2024 meeting of the appointing authority is welcomed. Members of the public may address the appointing authority on any topic not on the agenda that relates to the activities of the surtax appointing authority for two minutes by pre-registering, which they've done. Uh groups of individuals groups of individuals wishing to speak on the same topic may be requested by the chair to limit the remarks to one minute each. No audio visual presentations are permitted, um, but maybe scheduled with prior approval. And uh I think that's it. So, first up, I have Raymond McElroy.
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