Broward County Commission Organizational Meeting and State of the County - November 19, 2024
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Broward County Commission Organizational Meeting and State of the County - November 19, 2024
The Broward County Commission met on November 19, 2024, in a session that convened at 10:22 AM, recessed at 12:00 PM, reconvened at 12:25 PM, and adjourned at 12:28 PM. The meeting included the swearing-in of commissioners, the State of the County address, the election of the Mayor and Vice-Mayor, approval of the consent agenda, and non-agenda items.
Consent Calendar
- Items 1–5 Approved Unanimously: The consent agenda, consisting of items 1 through 5, was approved by a 9-0 vote. These included: (1) Board appointments (none); (2–4) Authorization for the County Administrator to execute amendments and change orders for three bridge scour protection grant agreements (SE 3rd Avenue Bridge, Andrews Avenue Bridge, SW 7th Avenue Bridge) with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, with no additional financial obligation; (5) Approval of the 2025 meeting schedule for the Board of County Commissioners.
- Supplemental Item 8 Transferred to Consent: At the request of the Mayor, Supplemental Item 8 (motion to amend the December meeting calendar) was transferred to the consent agenda and approved 9-0.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments or testimony were recorded during this meeting.
Discussion Items
- Swearing-In Ceremony (T-10:58 AM): Commissioners Mark Bogen, Alexandra Davis, Lamar Fisher, Steve Geller, Robert McKinzie, Nan Rich, Hazelle Rogers, and Michael Udine were sworn in for their terms. Alexandra Davis (District 7) was sworn in as a new commissioner, while the others were returning incumbents. The ceremony was conducted by various family members and officials.
- State of the County Message (T-10:33 AM): Outgoing Mayor Nan Rich delivered the State of the County address, highlighting key accomplishments:
- Affordable Housing: Since the 2018 creation of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, $140 million has been invested to build over 6,000 affordable rental units. In FY2025, $25 million was allocated to the fund. A recent award of $28.4 million in gap financing will create 591 affordable units, and $3 million was awarded for a 92-unit senior housing project. The "Housing Broward" 10-year master plan (the first countywide in Florida) was passed in February.
- Homelessness: Expanded eviction prevention funding; 555 families (including 320 children) were prevented from eviction. Project Home Again recruited over 350 landlords. A pallet shelter program seed money was set aside.
- Economic Indicators: Broward County holds a AAA bond rating from S&P, Moody's, and Fitch. The FY2025 budget is $7.7 billion with no millage rate increase. Port Everglades welcomed a record 3.8 million passengers; the port's total economic activity was $26.5 billion, supporting 11,000 direct jobs and 192,000 Florida jobs. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport saw a 3.3% increase in passenger traffic, with 35.8 million travelers expected by year-end. A $228 million Terminal Connector Project was awarded.
- Other Achievements: The new Supervisor of Elections Office was completed on time and on budget ($103 million). Central Regional Park cricket stadium upgrades ($11 million) hosted ICC Men's T20 World Cup games. Broward County Libraries celebrated 50th anniversary, with program attendance up 20% (340,000 served) and circulation exceeding 8.5 million. The county committed $5 million to a resiliency study for the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control Project. Broward became the first county to join the Resilient Cities Network.
- Commission Election of Mayor (T-11:32 AM): Commissioner Beam Furr was nominated by Commissioner Bogen and seconded by multiple commissioners. He was elected Mayor of Broward County for a one-year term by a 9-0 vote. Furr's brother Luke Furr administered the oath. In his acceptance speech, Furr outlined priorities for the coming year: approving a solid waste master plan, finalizing a commuter shuttle partnership with Brightline, completing the CSNF study for federal funding, and advancing biosolids treatment recommendations. He also noted the need to revisit the parks master plan, vulnerability assessment, and airport/port master plans.
- Commission Election of Vice-Mayor (T-11:47 AM): Commissioner Mark Bogen was nominated by Commissioner Fisher and seconded. Commissioner Udine nominated Senator Steve Geller. The vote was 5-4 in favor of Bogen, but the commission subsequently made the vote unanimous. Bogen was sworn in by Luke Furr. Bogen thanked the board and expressed his commitment to the role.
- County Administrator's Report (T-12:28 PM): County Administrator Monica Cepero congratulated Mayor Furr, Vice-Mayor Bogen, the four returning commissioners, and the newly elected commissioner.
- Non-Agenda Items:
- Board Appointments (Mayor Furr): Mayor Furr solicited board appointment requests for approval at the next commission meeting.
- Holiday Greetings (County Auditor): County Auditor Bob Melton congratulated commissioners and wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.
Key Outcomes
- Votes:
- Consent Agenda (Items 1–5, plus Supplemental Item 8): Approved 9-0.
- Election of Mayor: Beam Furr elected 9-0.
- Election of Vice-Mayor: Mark Bogen elected initially 5-4, then made unanimous 9-0.
- Directives:
- The County Administrator is authorized to execute amendments and change orders for three bridge scour protection grants (subject to legal review and no additional financial obligation).
- The 2025 meeting schedule was approved.
- The December meeting calendar will be amended per the approved supplemental item.
- Board appointment requests are to be submitted for the next commission meeting.
- Next Steps:
- The new Mayor and Vice-Mayor will serve one-year terms.
- Mayor Furr's identified priorities (solid waste, Brightline, CSNF, biosolids) will be pursued.
- The County Administrator will continue implementation of the approved actions.
Meeting Transcript
The meeting of the Broward County Commission is about to begin. Will all audience members please silence your cell phones? For those viewing from home or on mobile devices, thank you for watching. To stay informed about Broward County government, please visit Broward. County Commission meetings are open to the public. Ladies and gentlemen. You're getting good at it. Yeah, right. There we go. We got the last thing. Yeah. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Good morning, madam mayor. Thank you. Thank you. The seat, as you can see, for District 7 on this dais uh is vacant, and the commissioner elect for this district is seated in our audience, right in the front row, and we will be swearing her in shortly. I'd like to ask everyone to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, and I'd like to ask my three aides, Harrison, Virginia, and Sabrina to come up and lead us in the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. I'd like uh to ask everyone to remain standing, please. It is customary, thank you. It is customary that we observe a moment of silence in honor of notable persons from our community who have recently passed. Colleagues, does anyone have someone you wish to remember during this moment of silence? I'll start with uh Commissioner Bogan. Yeah, I'd like to take a minute and uh recognize someone I've known for 30 years. Uh his name is Bob Love. Uh Bob has been an inspiration to so many people. Uh most people knew him as one of the leading scorers in the history of the Chicago Bulls before Michael Jordan. And uh, however, Bob was an inspiration to people with a speech impediment. Um, as the leading scorer of an NBA team, he was rarely interviewed. Actually, practically never interviewed, and it's because people thought he couldn't speak. And he had such a bad speech impediment. He left the NBA to go work for Nordstrom's, everyone knows the stores Nordstrom's. He went to work at the headquarters in Seattle. And that's where the owners, the Nordstrom brothers, taught him uh with the speech pathologist how to speak. After learning to speak, he came back to Chicago and spoke a hundred speeches a year for the Chicago Bulls, and um then came to Florida. He visited here many times. Some of you got to meet him and know him, and all he did was volunteer his time to help people. He lived up to his last name, love, because he loved everybody. And so I'd like to extend my condolences to his family and his wife Emily, and he'll be missed. Thank you. Thank you. No. Okay. Let us also honor all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in our armed forces, both here and abroad, and thank them for their service. We'll pause for a moment of silence. Thank you. You may be seated. Um actually, before I um introduce special guests in the audience, uh, I will um I would like to have a special presentation, and I would like to ask uh our county administrator and our vice mayor to uh come on to the president. Just wanted to say we neglected one certificate of appreciation last week.
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