Lauderdale Lakes To Request Help From Broward Amid $9M Budget Deficit

LAUDERDALE LAKES (CBS4)- In an effort to deal with its budget crisis, Lauderdale Lakes said it plans to seek help from Broward County.

The move comes a week after Lauderdale Lakes' city manager was voted out of office at a city commission meeting last Tuesday night. City commissioners voted unanimously to terminate Anita Fain Taylor on the grounds of lack of confidence.

Officials are scheduled to meet with Broward County on June 7 to seek help, such as a loan.

Both the loan request and the removal of Taylor are a product of the city's mounting $9 million budget deficit.

But the city does not have a firm plan on how it will pay what it owes by year's end.

Commissioner Gloria Lewis initiated the motion to terminate the manager's contract, citing the manager's inability to balance the budget and resolve contractual obligations between the city and Broward Sheriff's Office as some of her reasons, according to the Sun Sentinel.

"Right about now, a three-legged blind dog can come here and run this city," a sarcastic Commissioner Gloria Lewis said at last week's meeting.

A look at the city's Web site  shows that assistant city manager Jonathan Allen was named the interim city manager. Allen has been serving as the interim director of the public works and engineering services department.

On the Web site, Allen says, "The City of Lauderdale Lakes is in a transformation process that is being realized through outstanding teamwork. With these values as our foundation, the City is continuing its transformation on a path of significant progress."

But Vice Mayor Levoyd Williams said while he supported the lack of confidence vote, city commissioners were also to blame for the city's current financial situation.

"The commission has failed to give proper direction,'' said Williams."I feel we're all at fault.''

There are even suggestions the city will be taken over by a neighboring city like Lauderhill

Business owner Sergio Dennis says if that happens it will mean higher rent and fewer customers.

"It will cause a lot of damage," said Dennis who operates a tax preparing office located on State Road 7.

The city is in debt to the Broward Sheriff's Office for law enforcement and fire services to the tune of nearly $6 million, CBS4's Carey Codd reported. An unpaid bill to BSO is a hole the county's taxpayers might have to fill.

Lauderdale Lakes officials have said that the city has been greatly affected by the state's tax reform and declining property values. Some city commissioners said they should have been made aware of the city's financial state earlier.

Just last week, Taylor responded to questions from the Governor's Office about the city's crisis.

The city manager of Lauderdale Lakes answered some tough questions from the state Inspector General in the Governor's Office regarding the city's financial crisis.

In a letter from Taylor to Kim Mills, Director of Auditing for the Office of the Chief Inspector General, Taylor laid out the reasons the city owes nearly $6 million to the Broward Sheriff's Office for law enforcement and fire services along with other financial problems.

Taylor writes that the city is not requesting state assistance to deal with its' budget crisis but acknowledges that the city will be in a state of financial emergency because it cannot pay BSO.

The letter says one of the ways the city is considering raising revenue is to tax residents for law enforcement services, Codd reported.

There are several reasons for the city's financial troubles, writes Taylor. She says the city experienced a significant drop in property values which led to fewer tax dollars and an over-projection of revenues.

She also says the city shelled out more money for operating costs, like, the price of gasoline along with a rise in the costs of city contracts.

To deal with the budget issues, the city laid off dozens of employees and cut back on salaries and benefits of other workers. The city also discontinued building projects

Taylor said that the city hopes to repay BSO this year.

Taylor, 49, was hired as City Manager in Lauderdale Lakes since 2002. She earned a salary of about $150,000 annually.

She came to the city from North Miami, where she had been a deputy city manager.

Taylor thanked the city commissioners for their patience Tuesday night after the vote, saying the last few months had been difficult for everyone.

"Even though I'm leaving on less than a favorable note... a lot of positive things have happened," she said. "That is something I will always take with me and remember fondly.''

For more on the Lauderdale Lakes budget crisis, click here.

(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4's Carey Codd and The Sun Sentinel contributed material for this report)