Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Some city workers can accept gifts, ethics commission says
A board that represents Boca Raton’s police and firefighters can accept travel money for attending a conference without violating Palm Beach County’s ethics code, according to a ruling set to be approved Thursday.
The code bans any gift over $100 in a year from people and businesses who work as vendors or lobbyists for a public worker’s employer.
The code also bans reimbursement for travel expenses from city vendors or bidders. But the panel said trustees of the Boca Raton Police and Firefighters' Retirement System can be paid back for a conference they attended that was sponsored by their investment adviser, who did not fit into the category of lobbyist or other service provider.
The police and firefighters’ board consists of four city residents and four city employees who distribute pensions and death and disability benefits to the city’s current and retired rescuers. They are required by Florida law to attend continuing education seminars and conferences.
The opinion came from the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics, which enforces the county’s ethical code. The code forbids public employees from using their government work for private gain. A grand jury recommended its creation in 2009 after several
full ban would be in effect. Anyone addicted to straw use would have to tote one to a restaurant.
Lest someone be unclear what a straw is, the city law describes that it is “for the purpose of transferring a beverage from its container to the mouth of the drinker by suction.”
The sole vote against the new law came from Commissioner Robert McKinzie, who said restaurants already have taken cues from the public, and offer paper straws or require customers to ask.
“And I hate putting my lips on the glass,” he complained.
McKinzie called the law a waste of time and of enforcement resources. He noted that a McDonald’s customer in St. Petersburg last week attacked a worker when he sought a straw and was told the city outlawed them and that he’d have to request one.
“He should bring his own straw,” Commissioner Steve Glassman said.
“Do you really want to go on record as being against?” Mayor Dean Trantalis asked.
“Oh yes I do,” McKinzie responded. “I’m serious about this.”
The law will help “reduce litter and pollutants on the lands and in the surrounding waters of the city in order to continue to protect the wildlife,” a city memo says.
City officials would rather see sippers using environmentally friendly straws that disintegrate, like those made from seaweed, paper or hay. For those turned off by that, reusable straws made of steel or glass also are preferable to plastic, city officials said.
A Boca Raton businesswoman, Terry Lehmann, said her company, True Green Enterprises, makes straws from sugar cane or bamboo.
Already, some other seaside Broward cities regulate plastic straw sales or distribution: Deerfield Beach, Dania Beach, Hollywood and Hallandale. Elsewhere in Florida, the cities of Fort Myers, Marco Island, Sanibel, Miami Beach and Surfside have anti-straw laws on the books.
Fort Lauderdale’s law doesn’t apply to public hospitals, medical or dental facilities, prepackaged beverages with straws, reusable plastic straws, straws on property of the school board, county, state or federal government, or those used by disabled people who depend on them.
A first time offender would receive a warning. Subsequent offenses in the same year would result in fines of $100, then $200, then $500.