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Dear Governor Charlie Crist, Dear Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Dear Senators and State Representatives,
in order to cover up for their backroom dealings trying to protect licensees who violated the Florida statutes the Department of Business and Professional Regulation has been lying to Florida's citizens. In form-letters and e-mails they were laying the blame for the lack of enforcement and total inefficiency on the Regulatory Council of Community Association Managers (RCCAM) -- a Council of appointed citizens that has absolutely nothing to do with enforcement and punishment of violators. But it sure sounds better if you tell a citizen whose complaint went nowhere that a Council made this decision than a DBPR employee behind closed doors!
And when called upon it Tim Vaccaro,
Director of the Division of Professions, was trying to explain it as
being an innocent mistake. It may have been until the DBPR was
informed in writing about their obvious mistake. But nobody cared
about letters written to them -- just some dumb citizen who doesn't
know what he is talking about anyway -- and continued with their
practice of lying to Florida's citizens.
Please read the whole story -- with
documents attached -- at:
It is
just amazing how our government agencies are allowed to deceive the
citizens without our elected officials taking the necessary steps to
stop these deceptive practices. OPPAGA has written endless
reports about the failure of the DBPR to do the job as required by law
-- nothing ever happened. DBPR continues to do business as usual -- to
the detriment of Florida's citizens. Our elected officials prove over
and over again that they absolutely don't care about the welfare of
their constituents. We should think twice before casting our vote for
them ever again. They are really responsible for the failure of the
DBPR to regulate professions and businesses and to protect
THE SOLUTION TO STOP THESE DBPR SHENANIGANS: Make the Regulatory Council of Community Association Managers a full-fledged BOARD. That will surely stop the weird decisions made by DBPR employees behind closed doors! Florida's citizens have the right to TRANSPARENCY of the system, especially when the system is financed by their tax dollars!
Regards,
Jan
Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc. Dear Governor Charlie Crist, Dear Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Dear Senators and State Representatives,
Every time the DBPR doesn't like a statute or feels that the legislators passed something they don't like, they resort to RULE MAKING. The new rule they create fits their ideas, but often collides with the wording of the statutes and the legislative intent!
Many of us still remember the attempt by the DBPR to render the Condo Election Monitor Program moot. The DBPR didn't like the word "CONDUCT" in the statutes and wanted to replace it with "OBSERVE"! A HUGE DIFFERENCE!
Here is the detailed story of that attempt: DBPR RULEMAKING USURPS FLORIDA STATUTES at: http://www.ccfj.net/CCFJfairelect.htm
Now they are at it again. They are trying to change the legislative provision that set a fixed rate of $200 for HOA Recall and Election Arbitration. Please read the detailed explanation here: http://www.ccfj.net/DBPRextrachargesHOA.htm
It gives these arbitrators more or less the power to charge whatever they like, especially since they love to make lengthy arbitration proceedings out of cases that have very simple solutions -- if they would just use the wording of the statutes instead of creating their own rules and interpretations.
Most likely the parties would be better served going to a real court of law where they face a judge who goes by the wording of the statutes and not face some incompetent arbitrator whose ruling is often plainly ridiculous! You find many examples of weird Final Rulings on our website under: DYSFUNCTIONAL DBPR
With the way the Division arbitrators treat recall and election cases, homeowners instead should get a refund on the $200 filing fee they are forced to pay! Some of these cases last more than 6 months; others are declared moot because the next annual election is already on the way. And the rulings these owners have to wait for so long? Don't ask -- some plainly don't make sense!
Regards, Jan
Bergemann, President Dear Governor Charlie Crist, Dear Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Dear Senators and State Representatives,
Since many, many months we hear ongoing complaints about the job performance of the DBPR. Many letters have been written to the Governor and many legislators by constituents -- with absolutely no reaction. The DBPR employees ignore the statutes, lie to citizens, deceive them about procedures and invent interpretations to the Florida statutes that clearly contradict the legislative intent. With other words: They are doing what they want -- and none of our elected officials is willing to do anything about it! To me it seems that Secretary Charles Drago must have given this kind of directive to the DBPR employees -- or something similar. Otherwise I can't understand why the DBPR is so blatantly ignoring the statutes and rules -- even the FAC -- the rules written by DBPR employees.
"As
the Secretary of the DBPR I would like to advise you that you should
consider the
Please
don't be afraid if the complaints against our Department are piling up
-- we have the full backing of Governor Charlie Crist, whose mind is
anyway already in Washington. As you can see, the Governor's office is
already forwarding the many complaints about our "services" to
us for response, showing clearly that the Governor's office is clearly
not interested in all the bad stuff
A DISMAL SECRETARY -- CHARLES W. DRAGO
at: http://www.ccfj.net/DBPRmain.htm
Is
any of our elected officials willing to put a stop to this
dysfunctional state agency that eats our taxes and causes more damage
than doing good?
Regards,
Jan Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc. Dear Governor Charlie Crist, Dear Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Dear Senators and State Representatives,
in tough economic times citizens count even more on regulatory government agencies to do their job. That makes the failure of the DBPR even more significant!
Read
the letter below a desperate owner filed after being notified that she
should pay legal fees for a recall arbitration case that normally
doesn't trigger legal fees paid to the prevailing party, 271
days (the time limit is [according to FAC 61B-45.043(1)]
45 days!)after the final ruling in the case. Petitioner relied on FAC:
61B-50.1405
Motions for Attorney’s Fees and Costs. No
party shall be entitled to recover its costs and attorney’s fees in
a recall proceeding initiated pursuant to Section 718.112(2)(j) or
719.106(1)(f), Florida Statutes. But the arbitrator argues that this case is not really a recall but an election dispute, because only a minority of the board was recalled. Oh my...!
It's just amazing that our elected officials allow these government workers to change the laws that these legislators enacted!
Regards,
SEE
WHOLE STORY AT:
Dear Governor Charlie Crist, Dear Lt.
Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Dear Senators and State Representatives,
We see a steady increase of complaints
about scams and embezzlement in our community associations. In some
cases justice is swift -- like in Collier County. Time span between
discovery of embezzlement and conviction: About 6 month! Good going!
See: Embezzler gets 10 years in
prison, 20 years probation at: http://www.ccfj.net/condo$100,000jail.html
In Charlotte County the owners of the
Charlotte Square Condominium are celebrating the 1. Anniversary of the
discovery that more than $1,2 million are missing from their
association accounts (http://www.ccfj.net/CCFJCHSQupdate.htm).
The police arrested the CAM multiple times for DUI, but the
investigation about the embezzled money seems to be going nowhere! The
CAM enjoys the money embezzled from the mostly elderly residents --
and the management firm that failed to supervise their employee is
still licensed and in business. Courtesy of the DBPR.
This case and many others show that our
normal law enforcement agencies are ill-equipped to deal with these
cases that are causing multi-million dollar losses to owners living in
community associations.
But State Representative Julio
Robaina's bill (H1397) to create a special investigation task
force -- paid for by the condo owners -- to put an end to this serious
problem failed due to lack of interest of our legislators. Seems the
majority of our legislators is not very interested in stopping
financial crimes in our community associations.
And just in case the president of your
condo works as a paid manager of your association -- but without a
license -- please think twice before filing a complaint. The DBPR will
be only too happy to supply him with the needed license -- so he can
violate Florida statutes as a board president, now officially armed
with a CAM license. And if this board president with a CAM license
blatantly violates the Florida statutes, please think twice before
complaining about it! The DBPR will fine the association -- meaning
you -- for the violations -- and the fine will be paid from your
money! It so happened in HERITAGE CIRCLE CONDOMINIUM
ASSOCIATION, INC. in Pompano Beach and it's called FLORIDA
DBPR JUSTICE!
See: DBPR ACTIONS COSTLY FOR CONDO
OWNERS! (http://www.ccfj.net/CCFJHCCAMBrondo.htm)
Regards,
Jan
Bergemann, President
Dear Governor Charlie Crist, Dear Lt.
Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Dear Senators and State Representatives,
Friday's telephone conference of the Regulatory Council of Community Association Managers was just a farce, conducted by the DBPR. In order to comply with Governor Charlie Crist's program: Accelerate Florida. The DBPR called this meeting without giving the council members a real agenda with explanations. And it was pretty obvious that the people in charge were not really interested in actual proposals. Every member was allowed to make his/her proposal -- but then no comparing of notes, no discussions -- not even any attempt was made to find out which proposals the council members liked. Listen to the meeting that lasted just 51 minutes at: http://www.ccfj.net/DBPRRCCAMtelconf73109.htm -- a meeting that achieved very little!
Even when council members asked to get copies of the legislative proposals the DBPR wants to make, the DBPR employees got very defensive and "were not sure if that could be done."
We all know that CAM regulations are a joke. Read here my opinion -- and a few interesting cases: COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION MANAGERS Ŕ LA FLORI-DUH at: http://www.ccfj.net/CCFJCAMalaFloriduh.htm It's obvious that the DBPR thinks that not responding to letters and complaints makes the problem go away! What a joke!
INCREASE
EFFICIENCY?
My suggestion to the DBPR for more efficiency: Follow the statutes as enacted by the legislature! Stop finding all kinds of weird interpretations that prolong the process. Florida's citizens need community association managers that are properly licensed -- and punished if they violate the laws. And this process shouldn't take years!
Regards,
Jan
Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.
Dear Governor Charlie Crist, Dear Lt.
Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Dear Senators and State Representatives,
I was always under the impression that our
elected government officials and legislators are running the show in
Tallahassee. But I was obviously mistaken all the time. If it comes to
Professional Regulation and/or enforcing association law the Secretary
and the employees of the DBPR are doing whatever they want. Statutes
are fine, but it's pretty obvious that these folks in the DBPR think
that legislators don't know what they are doing and need the
"help" of the DBPR folks to "get it right!"
In my opinion the DBPR is clearly
overstepping its authority and in many cases destroy the
legislative intent of the Florida statutes. It's not the first time
that they are trying to change the laws -- enacted by the legislature
and signed into law by the Governor. The DBPR's little
trick: They circumvent the laws by creating rules for the Florida
Administrative Code, which change the legislative intent of the
statutes. Here is one obvious case from 2006: DBPR
RULEMAKING IS DESTROYING LEGISLATIVE INTENT! The
attempt was quickly dropped after lawmakers were alerted.
But I guess in 2006 not so many of
our elected government officials were busy collecting campaign funds
to run for higher office?
In the moment it's the Arbitration Section
of the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes
under Chief Arbitrator James Earl that creates havoc with the
provisions to Recall the Board of Directors on FS 718 and FS 720.
Some of their rulings are outright
outrageous, ignoring the wording of the Florida statutes and come up
with interpretations that can't even be found "between" the
lines of the statutes.
Within about two years Chief Arbitrator
James Earl has more or less succeeded in destroying a well functioning
system that created a fair procedure as intended by our Florida law
makers. This well-functioning procedure has turned into a crap shoot
-- courtesy of James Earl and his fellow arbitrators.
Please read my opinion under the headline:
DIVISION ARBITRATION SECTION DESTROYED RECALL PROVISIONS
at: http://www.ccfj.net/CCFJrecalldestroyed.htm Read
some of the examples of rulings that turned former case law upside
down.
The question: Why do we have a
legislature and/or even a Governor if some lowly employees of the DBPR
are allowed to enforce their own rules and ignore the existing
statutes?
Regards,
Jan
Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.
Dear
Governor Charlie
Crist, Dear Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Dear Senators, Dear State
Representatives, Friends and Members,
when
Charles W. Drago was appointed Secretary of the Department of Business
and Professional Regulation many of Florida's citizens hoped that he
would bring the much needed changes everybody was hoping for. Rumor
had it that his background "law enforcement" would help him
bring this department back on the right track. But hope quickly turned
into utter disappointment when Florida's citizens had to realize that
he was just another bureaucrat, whose main interest was to keep
business as usual, ignoring the many problems Florida's citizens are
facing when dealing with this useless state agency.
Please
read my opinion about this "disastrous" agency:
"On
the Road to Better Business" turned out to be just a
joke, a waste of money and resources. Example: A condo
owner went to see Secretary Drago, but was warned by an investigator
not to complain about him or he would ignore the filed complaint. The
condo owner complained anyway, the Secretary made some empty promises
he never followed up on and the investigator made his
"promise" true.
Quite a few
citizens complained about the DBPR staff -- others couldn't because
all appointment slots were already filled. But Secretary Drago ignored
these complaints of his "customers" anyway -- and added
insult to injury when he wrote in his newsletter about the great
changes that came about when listening to Florida's citizens (quote):
"It takes great people to affect change, and we’re
fortunate to have a wonderful team."
Secretary Charles
W. Drago is just another DBPR Secretary living in a dream world!
Florida's citizens can only hope that Governor Charlie Crist will
quickly take action and appoint a DBPR Secretary willing to do the
job. Florida's citizens already suffer from a bad economy and a
non-existing real estate market. We don't need a dysfunctional
government agency like the DBPR!
NO WONDER
THIS STATE IS CONSIDERED IN THE NATION AS "FRAUD FRIENDLY
FLORIDA!"
HAPPY NEW YEAR
2009!
Jan Bergemann,
President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.
Dear
Governor Charlie
Crist, Dear Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Dear Senate President Jeff
Atwater, Dear Speaker Ray Sansom, Dear Attorney General Bill McCollum,
Dear Secretary Chuck Drago, Dear Senators, Dear State
Representatives, Friends and Members,
I was always under the impression that the Sunshine Law is supposed to create SUNSHINE in our government -- and not to censor people. The Governor appointed members to the Regulatory Council of Community Association Managers in order to improve CAM Regulation and Education. But if these council members are not allowed to speak up and make their suggestions known -- then why do we have these councils in the first place? Please read my take on the events of the recent meeting of the RCCAM in Tampa: This is a very inefficient process we are engaging here!
A council member wanted to present his ideas to improve the flawed system. He asked Executive Director Tony Spivey -- timely -- to add an item to the agenda to allow him to make his presentation titled:
PROPOSALS
FOR RESTORING TRUST IN CAM LICENSES
His request was plainly ignored, Read and listen to what happened at the meeting. They argued for nearly thirty minutes not to allow a presentation to be made that would have taken 5 minutes to read into record! As much as I can understand that the Department employees are trying to protect the flawed system, bureaucrats should not be allowed to use the SUNSHINE LAW to censor council members trying to make positive suggestions. Isn't that the reason why Governor Crist appointed these members? Trying to improve the system?
Warm Regards,
Jan Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.
Dear
Governor Charlie
Crist, Dear Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Dear Senators, Dear State
Representatives, Friends and Members,
In recent years Florida's legislators passed good, owner-friendly condo bills that should help to solve many of the problems we hear about on a daily basis. This year -- sponsored by Senator Alex Villalobos and State Representative Julio Robaina -- House bill H 995 passed the legislature with flying colors. Governor Charlie Crist signed the bill in a special ceremony before the session even ended. Thank you!
It seemed everybody was happy, especially many condo owners, until Chief Michael Cochran and his Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes got their hands on the bill provisions. It seems like they are trying to destroy the legislative intent of the bill that was supposed to help condo owners to reduce the many legal problems in their communities. Cochran's interpretations only add more havoc and confusion and do absolutely nothing to help as intended! With a few of his "opinions" he destroys the good work of Florida's legislature. The "weird" interpretations of quite a few provisions of this bill published by the Division are clearly not what Florida's legislature intended when passing this bill. Please read some of the "interpretations" published by the Division and my opinion about the actions of Michael Cochran. http://www.ccfj.net/CCFJMCOCHRAN.htm In my opinion it is just unbelievable that a Division Chief is allowed to destroy the good work of Florida's legislators. When
will our elected government officials take the necessary steps to remove
a Division Chief and some of his executives from office and stop
them from wasting condo owners' money? Florida's condo owners have enough problems already! They don't need more added by a Division that is financed with their money -- the so-called CONDO TRUST FUND.
Warm Regards,
Jan Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.
Dear
Governor Charlie Crist, Dear Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Dear
Senators, Dear State Representatives, Friends and Members,
The Condo Act contained provisions to recall directors by written petition for many years. Worked fine! In 2004, as suggested by Governor Jeb Bush's HOA Task Force, the exact same provisions were added to the HOA statutes -- FS 720.303 (10). It worked great in HOAs in order to remove "unwanted" board members, especially since real election regulations are totally missing in FS 720 -- until the DIVISION Arbitration Section started to create its own rules, often not even supported by the wording of the statutes. The legislative intent to create fast solutions at very low expense was killed by these arbitrators, who are now using their own rules that create a bureaucratic and complicated system that allows recalled boards to fight the recall -- at the owners' expense -- until the next election makes the recall moot. It is absolutely unacceptable if it takes the DBPR arbitrators five or six month to come up with what should be a simple ruling! Please read my opinion about this problem at: http://www.ccfj.net/CCFJRECALLRIGHTS.htm
Read
the story of the QUAIL HOLLOW
CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC. What good is it if the Florida statutes FS 720.303(10)(f) clearly say: "If the board fails to duly notice and hold a board meeting within 5 full business days after service of an agreement in writing or within 5 full business days after the adjournment of the member recall meeting, the recall shall be deemed effective and the board directors so recalled shall immediately turn over to the board all records and property of the association. and the board directors so recalled shall immediately turn over to the board all records and property of the association." How much clearer can the statutes be written? It
doesn't help Florida's association members if the legislators enact
good laws, if the agency supposed to enforce these laws has problems
understanding the wording and makes its own rules.
Warm Regards,
Jan Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc. Dear
Governor Charlie Crist, Dear Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Dear Senators
and State Representatives, A s
already stated in many complaints, the Community Association Manager
(CAM) Regulation Division of the DBPR is more or less useless for
Florida's citizens. It seems like the executives of this S ection
are making it their task to protect the bad apples. See below the
letter of a disgusted homeowner. Her complaint was filed in
2002 against CAM Robert Dugger -- and still no hearing after
the third postponement. Reason for postponement? Hurricane Ike ! Funny
enough: All the witnesses that are willing to testify against Dugger
were not invited to the hearing in the first place. Guess the DBPR
executives didn't want the complaining citizens present at the
hearing? Too many witnesses listening to the incompetence of the
Department? WHAT
A JOKE! To
Whom It May Concern: Let
me tell you: Don’t waste your time filing a complaint with the
Department of Business and Professional Regulation in Ever since 2002 I have spent a lot of my time and money trying to help my neighbors and myself. We live in Miramar Gardens Townhouse Homeowners Association, Inc. where a Community Association Manager Robert Dugger and his wife Rachel Dugger have continued to make our lives miserable. We have suffered a great many abuses, because the DBPR failed to perform any of its duties to stop the abuses. For example: ·
What
would you do if you are a homeowner who lives in a depressed community
where a revived homeowners' association was supposed to put new life
into it, but all residents got were foreclosure threats and potholes? ·
What
would you do if you are a homeowner who got a favorable ruling from a
judge stating (quote): "Finally,
it is clear that the Association is merely a sham which does not
exercise any authority and acts solely at the behest of the management
company. Accordingly, Plaintiff has unclean hands in this
lawsuit." ·
What
would you do if you are a homeowner who knows that the deed
restrictions of the community have expired quite a while ago, but you
still see liens filed against your neighbors' homes and families
losing their homes to foreclosure for unpaid dues? The Department of
Community Affairs confirms that attorney Maritza Betancourt attempted
to revitalize the deed restrictions on request of the community
association manager without success, because the necessary documents
couldn't be produced and that another attempt to revitalize was never
made. Wonder why?
·
What
would you do if you are a homeowner who sees election announcements
only mailed out to the neighbors who might vote favorably for the ·
What
would you do if you are a homeowner who lives in a community that has
been promised fair elections monitored by Dade County Commissioner
Barbara Jordan, who makes big promises but is nowhere to be seen
when it counts? ·
What
would you do if you are a homeowner who lives in such a community
where a Then
something happened last week that made me very angry. After
traveling hundreds of miles and working hard to sort through thousands
of pages, I was scheduled to be deposed in But
the worst part of all is that this
was the third time the hearing in front of administrative judge had
been postponed! Nobody from DBPR cared about how much this cost
me to try to fit these postponed dates into my busy work schedule.
You can see why I was so angry when I received the messages that my
testimony would not be needed. Many
homeowners do not have the money or the time for lawsuits. Many
homeowners just want their lives, homes and communities to be peaceful
and quiet. Homeowners should have a government agency that will
help them when they need help. That
is what the DBPR is paid to do, but it fails to do it. Thank
you. TAIMIRA
PEREZ Phone:
(678) 598-7625 Dear Governor Charlie Crist, Dear Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Dear Legislators, Friends and Members,
I sometimes wonder why legislators still bother to enact new statutes which are supposed to be enforced by the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes under the "leadership" of Division Chief Michael Cochran and his "merry men" in the Bureaus of Compliance. It seems they plainly ignore provisions created in new laws or get to it whenever they feel like it. Plainly, they are making their own rules! Their "warning" and "guidance" letters have made a laughing stock out of Florida's condo statutes!
Latest
example? Condo bill H 995 created the requirement of a certification
form provided by the division to be mailed out to all unit
owners 60 days before the date of the board election.
FS
118.112(2)(d)3.
Not less than 60 days before a scheduled
election, the association shall mail, deliver, or electronically
transmit, whether by separate association mailing or included in
another association mailing, delivery, or transmission, including
regularly published newsletters, to each unit owner entitled to a
vote, a first notice of the date of the election along with a
certification form provided by the division attesting that he or she
has read and understands, to the best of his or her ability, the
governing documents of the association and the provisions of this
chapter and any applicable rules.
Guess
what? The required form isn't ready and Cochran hides behind legal
excuses like "retroactive." It's as simple as this.
Elections held after October 1, 2008 have to follow the new election
provisions enacted by H 995. Governor Charlie Crist signed the bill on
May 1, 2008, giving the Division ample time to get the form ready --
60 days before the election to be held. That was beginning of August
for elections in early October. Today is August 18 -- STILL
NOTHING! Is Cochran doing it to spite the
legislators? There is really no other explanation. How long
can it take to create such a form?
But
the Division under the leadership of Chief Michael Cochran had time to
create this "MEMO" (see
below) sent to the members of the Condo Advisory
Council on 7-15-2008.
While
it seems that the Division has enough time on its hands to create such
a "MEMO" they neglect their duty of creating the
certification form in a timely manner. Not only is Cochran's
"interpretation" more than ridiculous, but the idea behind
this "MEMO" makes people with common sense wonder: "Who
did Cochran want to please with this weird interpretation?"
Cochran was well aware about the legislative intent of creating a new
Council -- with newly appointed members.
As
usual, the Division was wasting resources instead of doing the things
these "executives" are getting paid for!
And
it looks like DBPR Secretary Chuck Drago is wearing the same blinders
as his predecessors in office: Ignoring the incompetence of the
DIVISION to deal with the many problems in Florida's condos.
Maybe that is the reason why a DBPR Secretary only has a life(office)
expectancy of 12-15 month?
Why
is it necessary for the media to create screaming headlines
before action is taken -- and before we read newspaper articles like: State's
top mortgage regulator, Don Saxon, resigns. The top
executives should take the necessary action before headlines like that
make a laughing stock out of Florida -- and remove government
executives from office who have proven to be useless, before these
scandals rock the system -- and make
Florida's citizens wonder: Who is in charge in Tallahassee?
Warm
Regards,
Jan
Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc. To:
Condominium Advisory Council Members From:
Michael T. Cochran, Director Re:
Amendment to section 718.50151, Fla. Stat.
The
council has asked the division to review section 23 of House Bill
995 (now codified at ch. 2008-28, s.25, Laws of Florida) and
provide guidance to the council as to whether the incumbent
members continue in office until their successors qualify (new
members appointed) or whether immediate vacancies exist on October
1, 2008, to be filled with new appointees as provided by this same
section. Said
another way, is the current council abolished and a brand new
council created with vacant seats or is the council renamed with
the present members continuing in office until their successors
qualify by appointment or reappointment. Additionally,
the council has asked for guidance on how it should spend the
remainder of its time and resources. At
the outset, it should be pointed out that the division’s opinion
on the legal issue is not controlling, but is offered in an
attempt to be helpful to the council within the context of the
discussions at its May 5, 2008 meeting.
Accordingly, the council may want to consider requesting an
opinion from the Attorney General. Hereafter,
for the sake of brevity, both the chapter law cited above and HB
995 will be simply referred to as the bill. House
Bill 995 The
relevant provision of the bill provides: 718.50151
Community Association Living Study
(1) There is
created the Community Association Living Study Fla.
HR 995, § 23 (2008) (enrolled). The
title to the bill provides that s. 718.50151; F.S. is amended: “redesignating
the Advisory Council on Condominiums as the ‘Community
Association Living Study Council’; providing for the creation of
the council; revising legislative intent with respect to the
appointment of council members….” Discussion Although
the purpose of a bill’s title is to convey notice of a bill’s
contents, courts may examine a title for evidence of legislative
intent. Carlile
v. Game and Fresh Water Fish Com’n, 354 So.2d 362, at 365 ( Here,
it appears from a plain reading of the amendments text coupled
with the bill’s title, the Legislature intended to rename (“redesignate”)
the present council, which they did.
Next, the Legislature created (one might say recreated) the
council beginning October 1, 2008 and provided for new terms of
office for the members of 6 months duration, coinciding with the
lifespan of the renamed council.
Next, express language related to legislative intent was
amended to provide that “the Legislature intends that “council
membership include a cross section of persons interested in
‘community association’ issues,” not just condominium
issues. There is no
similar expression of Legislative intent with respect to the fate
of the incumbent council members whose terms were truncated six
months with respect to their present 2 year terms. This
reading is at least somewhat supported by the bill’s staff
analysis which also refers to a name change and change in terms of
office providing: …the
bill changed the name of the council to the “Community
Association Living Study Council” and changed the term limits of
the members requiring that the council
be created every five
years beginning October 1, 2008. Thus,
in “redesignating” the council, the Legislature did not
abolish the present advisory council, the office of advisory
council member, create new offices, or divest the incumbents of
title to their respective offices.
The
legislature may abolish an office it creates. The
incumbent council members were appointed for fixed 2 year terms
and there are no vacancies. The
general rule is that a vacancy occurs by death, resignation,
creation of a new office, or removal. If a term expires and the
appointing authority has not named a successor, there is a pending
vacancy to be sure, but the incumbent continues or holds over in
office until his or her successor qualifies, in the present case
appointed or reappointed as provided in the bill.
See generally, Fla. Jur. 2d §§ 65-68 Civil Servants
(1997). Therefore
and in conclusion, it is our view that the current advisory
council is not abolished, but renamed and the incumbent member’s
terms truncated 6 months. The
office of advisory council member held by a current appointee does
not automatically become vacant on October 1, 2008.
If no appointments have been made to the council as of
October 1, 2008, an incumbent would continue to hold over in
office until their successors are appointed as provided in the
bill. Interim
Work of the Council The
Advisory Council can be justifiably proud of the work it has
accomplished since its inception in 2004.
Consistent with its statutory mandate, the council
conducted numerous public hearings throughout the State, receiving
testimony from citizens, professionals, public officials, and
Legislators. This is
well documented in the annual reports issued by the council. This
year, the Legislature enacted many reforms to the law which the
council was either directly or indirectly responsible for
(insurance, termination, mediation and division jurisdiction to
name a few) and the division is indebted to your service. As
for the immediate future, perhaps a good beginning point might be
the legislation which becomes law on the heels of this past
session. For example,
as this is written HB 601 ER has not been presented to the
Governor, nor has HB679 which dealt with home owner associations.
Although council member Pete Dunbar presented a good
legislative summary at our May 5, 2008 meeting, a more in depth
review and forecast may be worthwhile. The
division believes that insurance will continue to be hot topic,
especially as we go through this hurricane season and we gain
claims experience with the new law. Depending
on economic conditions, terminations and development (or lack
thereof), i.e., the availability of affordable housing could be
problematic. At
a larger level, I know from participating in the House Select
Committee meetings chaired by Representative Robaina, the work of
the council should go beyond the traditional topics of condominium
and HOA. This
is one reason the council was renamed using the broader term
“Community Association Living Study Council.”
How well is this thing we call community association living
or governance working? Do
we need more regulation or less?
As suggested by the amendments to the Condominium Act in
the bill, once elections, financial matters, and records are
secured for the residents, what should the State be involved in
other than offering alternative dispute resolution? Again,
the economy may subdue some issues, but with the proliferation of
special purpose units of local government – Special Districts,
should the council be concerned with this continuing horizontal
expansion of government and the millage that goes along with it?
Perhaps recognized experts in the field should be invited
to present to the council with expenses paid if necessary.
Dear Governor Charlie
Crist, Dear Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Dear Secretary Holly Benson, Dear
Legislators, Friends and Members,
If your
association contracts with Miami Management, Inc. you better beware.
You might find yourself on the wrong end of a recall petition --
organized by the CAMs of your management company. And they have the
absolute power in the community -- as it seems -- and it
obviously doesn't matter if they follow the guidelines and rules of FS
718.112(2)(j) and Florida Administrative Code 61B-23.0026 –
61B-23.0028. They just say you're recalled, have a majority of board
members, who obviously rely on the judgment of so-called
professionals, certify the recall and then even deny you to look at
these "valid petitions".
Please read the
whole story at: http://www.ccfj.net/CCFJCAMrecallsdirector.htm
And to add insult
to injury the DBPR arbitrator Bruce A. Campbell takes 13 days to send
you an "ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE WHY CASE SHOULD NOT BE
DISMISSED" in response to your timely filed recall arbitration
petition, claiming it's only two month until the upcoming election.
Considering that it takes an arbitrator 13 days to mail out a simple form
letter it might be advisable to write in the guidelines that recall
arbitration petitions are only accepted if filed minimum 5 month
before the next annual election. After looking at the filed petition
and seeing how defective this whole recall was, the arbitrator
should have -- within three days considering the short time until the
next election as clearly acknowledged by him -- sent an ORDER TO
RESPOND to the association as Respondents and then declared the
whole recall process void, considering all the violated guidelines.
But who cares if board and "professionals" violate the
rules? Obviously not the DIVISION executives!
But it seems to be
more and more a pattern by DIVISION executives to postpone decisions
(See: http://www.ccfj.net/CCFJDBPREARL.htm)
and hope the problems will go way, avoiding their responsibility to
enforce rules and statutes.
I'm aware that DIVISION arbitrators are not making stellar salaries, but even with the salary paid condo-owners should minimum get a solid performance from these folks being paid from the Condo Trust Fund!
Honestly, the response to our action to collect
funds to "FIGHT
THE DIVISION"
shows how FLORIDA'S
condo-owners feel about the DIVISION. We are making rapidly progress to
reach the goal for our fundraiser. In a time where money is scarce it
shows how disappointed many owners are with the performance of the
DIVISION Executives.
It seems that
DIVISION executives are making "legislative intent" a word
stricken from their dictionary. Leaving condo-owners asking: Who is
running the show in Tallahassee? Our elected officials or the DIVISION
employees?
Warm Regards,
Jan Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.
Dear Governor Charlie
Crist, Dear Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Dear Secretary Holly Benson, Dear
Legislators, Friends and Members,
Since years condo
owners are complaining about the top executives of the DIVISION OF
FLORIDA LAND SALES, CONDOMINIUMS, AND MOBILE HOMES being incompetent
-- and are doing more harm than good for the owners, because they
clearly fail to enforce the Florida laws as intended by the
legislature! Don't forget, the Office of the Condo Ombudsman was
created in 2004 because legislators were flooded with requests
for help due to the failure of the DIVISION to do their job. We saw
new DBPR Secretaries come and go, but the top executives of the
DIVISION, who really caused the complaints, stayed on -- and are
still causing the complaints!
How do you want to ask folks to comply with the rules if you fail to comply with the rules yourself? Bureau Chief John Topa failed to pay for renewal of his law license and is -- according to the Florida BAR -- not eligible to practice law in Florida. Please read: BUREAU OF COMPLIANCE -- BUT NOBODY COMPLIES? at http://www.ccfj.net/CCFJDBPRcompliance.htm
Many of us
wonder why decisions from the Arbitration Section are not
forthcoming and it seems to last forever before a final ruling
is issued? Please read some of the reasons why in this article: DBPR
ARBITRATOR JAMES EARL -- PROCRASTINATOR PAR EXCELLENCE! at:
http://www.ccfj.net/CCFJDBPREARL.htm In
my estimates the rulings of this arbitrator -- or the lack thereof
-- has cost Florida's owners more money than the annual budget of
the condo ombudsman. Just read some of the rulings -- and you stop
wondering why we see all this havoc in our associations!
But these
DIVISION executives are defending their turf -- no matter what! We
saw their actions when they felt threatened by Florida's first condo
ombudsman Dr. Virgil Rizzo. For more facts please read: Top
DBPR Officials
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008! MAY IT BE A
BETTER YEAR FOR FLORIDA'S CITIZENS!
Jan Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc. Dear Governor Charlie Crist, Dear Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Dear Secretary Benson, Dear Legislators, Friends and Members,
It's a shame if citizens have to sue a government agency for not doing the job they get paid for -- but the performance of the DIVISION OF FLORIDA LAND SALES, CONDOMINIUMS AND MOBILE HOMES is plainly disgusting! We owners can't just sit idle and see how they are wasting the money from the Condo Trust fund and leave the owners to fight for themselves. Their incompetence and their unwillingness to do the job as intended by the legislature leaves us no other way out!
We still have
hopes that some cool heads in Tallahassee will come to the conclusion
that a lawsuit filed by citizens against a government agency for
failing to do the job isn't in the best interest of our government
leaders. But if need be, we are prepared to go all the way!
We have been patient enough -- long enough! Something has to happen, owners are left with no other choice! It's high time to act! And we feel we have sufficient proof to make our points!
Enjoy the week and
get ready for the holidays!
Warm Regards,
Jan Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.
Dear Governor, Dear
Legislators, Friends and Members,
The annual Condo Ombudsman's Round-up
on Saturday showed again what's wrong with the system: A DIVISION that
fails to do the job. The presentations of many owners showed clearly
that the major flaw is located in the lack of enforcement by the DBPR
Division of Florida Land Sales, Condominiums and Mobile Homes. 73
owners could make presentations -- many more couldn't because after 5
hours they ran out of time! The general tenor: Thank you,
Condo Ombudsman -- Shame on you, Mike Cochran and the DIVISION! You
fail to do your job and add to our problems!
Since years we see the same game
played: We get a new DBPR Secretary about every 2 years, but the
people who are really causing the problems stay in their job. Let's
just face it: As long as the top executives of the DIVISION stay in
their offices we will not see the changes necessary to solve the
many problems Florida's condo owners are facing daily in their
communities.
What the DIVISION calls "Bureaus of Compliance" is actually nothing else than a joke wasting condo owners money! The recent statistics -- called improvements -- are mainly based on the fact that complaints are quickly closed, without being investigated. And the executives of the DIVISION are vigorously defending their cushy jobs. They are not even afraid to ambush the leader of another agency they consider a danger to their pay checks. They seem to hate the office of the Condo Ombudsman, which shows how good things can be achieved with little resources. They helped to remove Dr. Virgil Rizzo from the office, when he showed them what needs to be done to stop the abuse of condo owners. With plain lies they convinced Governor Bush to fire him. The actual reason: He did too well for the condo owners and made the DIVISION look really bad.
Read here the report written by Val Lucier, Dr. Rizzo's Chief Election Monitor, who was in the middle of the events and saw what nasty games were played to get Dr. Rizzo fired!
Top
DBPR Officials Lied To The Governor And To The Media
The report -- with supporting
documents -- is an eye-opener and shows what's all wrong with the
system! Top executives covering up their incompetence by having
somebody fired who showed that problems can be solved!
So, what is it? A new
Secretary next year -- or a radical change in the leadership of the
DIVISION -- a DIVISION that is doing more harm than good for Florida's
condo owners?
Warm Regards,
Jan Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc. Dear Homeowners and Condo-Owners, Friends and Members,
In the latest weekly newsletter of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation Secretary Holly Benson is quoted as follows: "We are also thankful for the great team we have built here and the tremendous progress we have made over the last year. There are some truly exceptional people in this Department."
But instead of filling up my e-mail Inbox here is the place to go now and file a complaint against the Division and it's employees:
Please only file complaints for the real serious issues, the ones that really hurt us and the welfare of our families.
I get permanently complaints that the Division fails to investigate complaints, files are being closed before being really opened, failure to follow up on violations of state statutes -- and finding excuses not to get involved. Or they are just writing another one of the "warning letters" the violators are just laughing about.
Let's file these complaints, because the ineffectiveness of the DIVISION is costing all of us lots of money! Some of these Division employees have to learn that they are not getting paid to protect the folks violating the statutes but to enforce the laws and protect the welfare of the owners.
We will see if the DBPR really means business and follows up on these complaints -- or if it is just another feel-good gimmick! If you file a complaint -- it's free of charge -- I would be really interested in the outcome. Please keep me informed so we know how serious the DBPR really is -- or if it is just another attempt to blow smoke to cover up the incompetence!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Warm
Regards,
Jan Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.
Dear Governor Charlie Crist, Dear Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Dear Secretary Holly Benson, Dear Legislators, Friends and Members,
Here is another chapter in the Sad Saga of the Playa Del Mar Condo in Ft. Lauderdale. The condo is in uproar since last year when attorney and manager stopped the officially appointed election monitors from doing their job. Now add a board president convicted for violations of the RICO ACT (Organized Crime) and you have all the ingredients for a disaster in progress.
For
the latest chapter please go to:
It's
just amazing!
The DBPR has jurisdiction and the responsibility to follow up on complaints filed by unit-owners. NO QUESTION! FS 718.112(d) 1. A person who has been convicted of any felony by any court of record in the United States and who has not had his or her right to vote restored pursuant to law in the jurisdiction of his or her residence is not eligible for board membership. Since there is absolutely no doubt about the conviction (it's all over the Internet) it's the responsibility of the convicted felon to prove that his rights are restored, and definitely not the responsibility of the unit-owners to prove that his rights are not restored. One simple letter written by the DBPR- Bureau of Compliance to Robert Boffa demanding proof of rights being restored would have been sufficient. Proof
provided: Case closed! But, as usual, Harold Hyman from the DBPR Bureau of Compliance in Ft. Lauderdale found ten(?) excuses for not doing anything and in a way created the mess these unit-owners are facing now! A little advice for some DBPR executives: Problems really don't go away by ignoring them! Why do we pay for a Bureau of Compliance if nobody complies? Just for having them sent out a myriad of warning letters nobody takes serious in the first place? The best statutes are only good if they are being enforced. And the DBPR is clearly failing to do the job as intended!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Warm
Regards,
Jan Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.
Dear Governor
Charlie Crist, Dear Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Dear Secretary Holly
Benson,
It becomes more
and more obvious that the REGULATION supposedly done by the DBPR is
useless and creates more problems than it helps. We had hoped that a
change of leadership would create the necessary changes, but so far
the problems for consumers clearly continue -- or are getting worse?.
How can it be that the DBPR is issuing a CAM license to people who have an obvious disregard for the law? Newspaper and a judge had a lot to say about the people behind this management company. But a complaint filed in 2002 is still open and other complaints are still "under investigation". And you can't find "sufficient evidence" if you're not really looking.
Please read a more
detailed description of the case with documentation at: http://www.ccfj.net/CCFJCAMregulationDBPR.htm
I was
always under the impression that the legislative intent behind the
creation of the DBPR was the protection of consumers against
abuse by businesses and professions. I have said it before and I say
it again -- until we consumers see serious improvement -- that the
DBPR should be renamed the DBPP (Department of Business
and Professional Protection) -- because that is exactly
what these folks are doing with our tax-money: Protecting
the folks they should be regulating!
CAMs
can create financial havoc on communities -- especially if they are
ruthless and greedy. We have seen many bad examples, but it's
obvious that the people who are supposed to sort out the bad
apples fail to do their job!
See as
well: DYSFUNCTIONAL
DBPR!
We are
discussing property tax and property insurance issues that are
pricing families out of their homes. Admittedly not an easy task to
solve.
But
here we have an easy opportunity to stop mismanagement and waste of
serious money and to protect our consumers: Take away the licenses
of proven bad apples. Don't issue new licenses to people who have
already a long list of violations.
IN
SHORT: THROW THE BUMS OUT!
Warm
Regards,
Jan Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc. |
For comments please send e-mail to:
[email protected]
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