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Our Cities in Action

Jan-12-2012 NBC 6 Miami
City Encourages Residents to "Believe" in Miami
“We want people to focus on the positive. There’s a lot of great things happening in the city of Miami,” Miami Commission Chairman Francis Suarez said at the unveiling of the City of Miami’s “Believe...
Jan-09-2012 Daytona Beach News-Journal
Daytona ready to break ground on multi-use center in Derbyshire area
The 19,650-square-foot building will be located on the eastern edge of Derbyshire Park, and offer everything from a gym to a library to an amphitheater, city officials say.
Jan-03-2012 Daytona Beach News-Journal
Daytona sets up free Wi-Fi downtown in Beach Street area
Daytona Beach has just created a three-block stretch where people can Internet surf and read Kindles to their hearts' content.
Dec-30-2011 St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg's efforts on homelessness pay off, poll finds
St. Petersburg and Tampa both have problems with the homeless, but St. Petersburg has worked on the issue longer, and residents say it shows.
Dec-27-2011 Daytona Beach News-Journal
New Smyrna Beach eyes partnerships to accomplish goals
As Southeast Volusia moves toward the future, the challenge and key to success rests in working together through a tough economy, a strategy that has helped rejuvenate New Smyrna Beach's...
Dec-18-2011 Palm Beach Post
Lake Worth eager to turn Park of Commerce into jobs hub
LAKE WORTH — Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell wants the city commission to get serious about developing the Lake Worth Park of Commerce.
Dec-18-2011 Suncoast News
Pinellas cities team up to help residents
North Pinellas County cities have formed a recreation cooperative that allows residents of one city to enjoy programs of another municipality without paying nonresident fees.
Dec-15-2011 Daytona Beach News-Journal
Daytona commissioners plan to dress up vacant buildings with art
DAYTONA BEACH -- Walk down Main Street some afternoon and count the empty storefronts. The number runs deeper into double digits than a lot of people might realize.
Nov-18-2011 Winter Haven News Chief
Citizens must participate in decision making
Winter Haven city commissioners are implementing a plan that should bring rational, thoughtful, public participation to the replacement of the public facilities at the Chain of Lakes Complex.
Nov-16-2011 St. Petersburg Times
Four North Pinellas mayors discuss ways to share resources
Mayors of four North Pinellas cities are talking about sharing resources, and at least one of the topics they've broached is provocative.
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They're At it Again

Feb-01-2012 Winter Haven News Chief
Leave local taxes to local officials
Apparently members of the Legislature are so determined to cut taxes -- even those imposed by counties on themselves -- that they are willing to cut the legs out from underneath economic development to do it.
Dec-17-2011 Longboat Key News
Town fights to keep, control biz tax
The Longboat Key Town Commission agreed to oppose by resolution Florida House Bill 4025 and Florida Senate Bill 760, which would eliminate the town’s business tax that collects about $165,000 annually.
Dec-10-2011 Naples Daily News
State proposal to eliminate business tax draws protest from local governments
A tax used by local governments to boost revenues could be on the chopping block during the 2012 legislative session.
Nov-29-2011 Orlando Sentinel
Give cities the power to shore up pensions
Earlier this year, Florida legislators started making state employees contribute to their pensions. That strengthened the state's biggest public pension plan, and made it fairer for the taxpayers who subsidize pensions.
Nov-12-2011 Walton Sun
Tax proposal worries PCB officials
PANAMA CITY BEACH — An anti-tax proposal up for consideration during next year’s state legislative session has Panama City Beach officials worried.
Nov-09-2011 News Serice of Florida
Rep. Weinstein Bill Aims to Limit Impact Fees on Development
Cities and counties would be barred from enacting transportation or school impact fees until mid-2015 under a measure filed Tuesday by a Jacksonville Republican.
Oct-25-2011 St. Petersburg Times
Florida tax incentive programs creating 1 out of every 3 jobs promised
Florida has given tax breaks and other cash incentives to some of the world's biggest companies in return for creating jobs...But only about one-third of those jobs have been filled while the state has paid out 43 percent of the contracts.
Oct-04-2011 The Current
Senate committee takes step toward defining unfunded mandates on cities, counties
A Senate committee agreed Tuesday to introduce a bill to address the thorny issue of unfunded mandates on local governments.
Sep-10-2011 New York Times
Florida Forces Cities to Pull Local Laws Restricting Guns
The signs — “No Guns Allowed” — are being stripped from many Florida government buildings, libraries and airports. And local ordinances that bar people from shooting weapons in their yards, firing up into the air (think New Year’s Eve) or taking...
Aug-01-2011 The Miami Herald
New State Law: Cities Can't Ban Guns in Parks, Town Hall
Under a new law that takes effect Oct. 1, all of the state’s cities and counties must repeal local rules limiting gun ownership. Although the state has claimed sole right to regulate firearms since 1987, this year’s new law adds fines for local...
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Jan-31-2012 Seminole Beacon
Seminole supports fire pension changes
SEMINOLE – The city of Seminole has joined an increasing effort by the Florida League of Cities to send a nonbinding message to the Florida Legislature concerning firefighter pension reforms.
Jan-17-2012 Seminole Beacon
Pension resolution discussed
SEMINOLE – City leaders are crafting a resolution in support of the Florida League of Cities’ efforts to lobby state legislators on the return of local control for firefighter pension plans.
Jan-09-2012 Palm Beach Post
Ballooning pension costs spur Greenacres to join statewide movement to reform laws
GREENACRES — The city council urged Florida legislators tonight to reform pension laws to correct "unfunded mandates" that have more than doubled the city's costs for police and firefighter pensions during the past three years.
Dec-17-2011 Panama City News Herald
City opposes state ban on fees
House Bill 4025 and Senate Bill 760 would prevent the city from collecting the merchant license fee, which charges merchants 1 percent of the total amount charged to customers. It is often passed on to customers and can be seen printed on some...
Dec-10-2011 Associated Press
Public retirement ages come under greater scrutiny
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — After nearly 40 years in public education, Patrick Godwin spends his retirement days running a horse farm east of Sacramento, Calif., with his daughter. His departure from the workaday world is likely to be long and relatively...
Dec-06-2011 Flagler Live
Don’t Restrict Our Ability to Levy Taxes, Wishful Cities Tell Florida Lawmakers
The Florida League of Cities on Monday outlined a list of legislative priorities, urging Senate Community Affairs Committee members to avoid the temptation to restrict the ability of local officials to levy taxes.
Nov-29-2011 St. Petersburg Times
Lawmakers keep trying to amend Florida Constitution
It's not easy to amend the Florida Constitution, but that never stops the Legislature from trying.
Nov-17-2011 Orlando Sentinel
Give local governments right to protect their citizens' health
Florida law pre-empts the regulation of smoking to the state government, tying the hands of cities and counties that wish to enact stricter smoking policies. Shouldn't our locally elected officials be able to respond to their constituents...
Nov-07-2011 Minneapolis Star Tribune
Cities weigh services that don't pay their way
Some cash-strapped cities have started pulling money from funds intended to sustain these amenities to pay for other city needs, causing a cash crunch when a golf course or ice arena needs updating. Making matters worse, many of the amenities that...
Oct-28-2011 Governing
Mayors Opt For Balanced Response To Occupy Protests
Since the Occupy Wall Street protesters took up residence in Manhattan in September, mayors in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, Oakland and Washigton, D.C., have been forced to walk a thin line in their responses. Generally, they have opted...
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