Tamarac officials question city commissioner’s use of discretionary account

The debate over how elected officials should spend taxpayer money is again roiling Tamarac City Hall.

First city commissioners accrued one of the biggest overall travel bills of any South Florida city — about $64,000 in taxpayer funds — by taking dozens of trips across Florida and beyond this past year. With some surprised by the cost, they pledged to rein in their future travel.

Now, they’re scrutinizing the proper way one commissioner should be using another pot of taxpayer money, known as the city’s discretionary funds.

Similar to some other cities, Tamarac allows elected officials to spend money at their discretion for expenses such as special events, parking at conferences, and meals with constituents. In Tamarac, the commission’s five members each are eligible to get $1,500 annually, in all costing taxpayers up to $7,500.

At a public meeting this month, Commissioner Marlon Bolton was scolded by fellow commissioners and accused of misspending his share. Commissioners told him he shouldn’t be using discretionary funds to present an upcoming awards dinner, where he’d be selling tickets to amass more money.

In an email Bolton had written to the city manager, he asked whether he could sell tickets to raise funds to “benefit my initiative account,” among other ideas, city records show. The latest proposal came after city staff proposed earlier this year that each commissioner’s $1,500 spending limit be raised to $5,000. Bolton spoke in favor of raising the amount, but no one else did.

Mayor Harry Dressler told Bolton the awards dinner seemed to be a way for him to shore up his discretionary fund, and told him to shut the event down. “You have to get this one straight, commissioner: You have $1,500 to spend,” Dressler told him. “All of this has become intolerable.”

Commissioner Michelle Gomez also opposed the plan. “No, that isn’t the way we work,” she said.

Bolton insists he did nothing wrong in using the money for his first “civic and community leaders award dinner.” It was scheduled for Nov. 4 to honor presidents of condos and homeowner associations, as well as property managers in his district, situated on the eastern end of the city.

Bolton spent $400 from his $1,500 discretionary fund on the catering deposit and said he got the idea from Vice Mayor Debra Placko, who spent almost $172 to take a dozen community volunteers to lunch.

There are little to no questions asked by the city on how discretionary funds are spent, except for commissioners having to file receipts.

The commissioners’ discretionary spending recently piqued the interest of the county’s top government watchdog, whose mission includes investigating allegations of government misconduct.

Last month, the Broward Office of the Inspector General asked the city for copies of all the travel requests and itineraries of each city commissioner, in addition to seeking details of how they’re using their discretionary funds, records show. The office declined to tell the Sun Sentinel why it made its public-records request to the city.

Discretionary spending isn’t allowed in all cities. More than a dozen municipalities in Broward and Palm Beach counties don’t permit it, including Boca Raton, Coral Springs, Parkland, Weston and Pompano Beach. But some cities do offer it:

In Boynton Beach, four commissioners get a $6,582 expense account and the mayor has $7,117.

In Lauderhill, the mayor and four commissioners are allotted $4,700 each to spend on discretionary expenses “and must be used for legitimate expenses in connection with the elected official’s public office,” according to documents.

In North Lauderdale, four commissioners and the mayor get $350 a month, or $4,200, for a discretionary expense, such as gas, advertising and refreshments for meetings.

Tamarac commissioners have spent their discretionary money on all sorts of things, records show.

Bolton spent $1,512.79 last fiscal year, slightly going past his $1,500 limit. A $113 receipt he submitted from shopping at Ross for furniture and fixtures list items such as a solar butterfly, black globe, bulldog and silver artichoke. He said he used the items to decorate his City Hall office, making it look more inviting for the public.

He was reimbursed for items such as $51 in IKEA decor; $77 at Michaels, including for a $30 wall mirror; and $150 at The Creative Lady, in part to assemble $42 worth of candy and loot bags, receipts show.

Records from the past two fiscal years show all other commissioners stayed within budget, including former Commissioner Diane Glasser, who spent just $39 on toner cartridge at Staples in 2016.

That same year Dressler was reimbursed $857.62 to have an AT&T fax line at his home. Other expenses went toward meals with constituents and charitable donations. This past year he spent $855, which included dues to the Kiwanis, an iPhone purchase and meals with constituents at restaurants.

“You have to understand what that $1,500 is for. It’s not for buying stuff,” Dressler said. It’s for reimbursing elected officials “for expenses incurred for a public purpose,” he said.

Placko, Gomez and Commissioner Julie Fishman’s expenses ranged between $947 and $1,180 last year. They went toward paying costs either related to their phones, galas, chamber events or printer ink.

Fishman said she’d be open to the city adding “more guidelines” so others don’t misuse the money. Gomez said the discretionary fund has merit “when it’s used wisely.” She said, “I believe in personal responsibility.”

At the recent city meeting, Dressler in his role as mayor forbid Bolton — for the next six months at public meetings — from broaching the subject of planning such events.

Still, Bolton told the Sun Sentinel he won’t give up trying to host the awards dinner. “Postponement possible, cancellation, not a chance!” he said in a text message.