Page 9 - Boca Exposure - July '20
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Boca Exposure, Page 9
Mayor’s Update:
Unity In Boca Raton And Pride In Our Public Safety
Scott Singer is the 35th senior staff, the entire city council, and many resident had already implemented all of them long before recent
Mayor of Boca Raton. A advocates all marching together in opposition to bigotry tragic events, as part of an ongoing commitment to best
South Florida native, and hate. Hundreds of residents, representatives, and practices. Our department has earned full accreditation
attorney, mediator and small public safety officers all stood together against racism from national and standard boards, and continually
business owner, Scott and his and wrongful force. reviews its policies and procedures to ensure the best
wife, Bella, live in Broken Thanks to many, including Pastor Ronald Brown service to our community.
Sound with their two young of Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church and Minister As part of the accreditation processes, our public
children. Charles Cocklin of Breaking Chains, for organizing the safety officers receive enhanced training far above
The nation was outraged meaningful event. It was only the beginning of what we state requirements. Our enhanced public safety training
by the senseless and brutal will do in our city to foster greater understanding and includes the areas of mental health, PTSD, autism,
killing of George Floyd. action to ensure that the promise of America is realized for protection orders, and fair and impartial policing. We have
As a few cities saw great all residents. We all are listening and committed to greater a fully staffed Community Outreach Unit, with officers
conflict between some residents and their police forces, dialogue, partnership, and action. Our shared value of the dealing with neighborhoods, homeless outreach, college
we are fortunate to have seen the opposite in Boca promise of this nation means a greater commitment to liaisons, and crime prevention. In addition, we have 27
Raton. So many residents continue to be proud of our ensuring that promise for all people. certified crisis intervention officers to ensure people with
Boca Raton Police Services Department. Our officers As of this writing in late June, many peaceful protests mental health issues get the assistance they need.
are brave, caring, and respectful and the opposite of what have taken place in Boca Raton in recent weeks, and With Boca’s first responders, we are fortunate to have
happened with Floyd’s death. Our brave men and women thankfully, without violence, injury, or arrests. The the safety we need, the high standards we deserve, and
in uniform are an important part of the community and peaceful nature is a good sign of the respect our residents the community partnership we want from professionals
how we continue to progress as a safer, more livable city. have for each other. we can trust. Together, may we all rise to the challenges
On June 6, Boca Raton was the site of a powerful Unity Nationally, a movement emerged this month to our nation faces with greater understanding, empathy,
Walk, which included our Pearl City community leaders establish a set of policies on the use of force called communication, partnership and kindness.
and residents, interfaith clergy, our police department’s #8CantWait. I am pleased to share that Boca Police
Council Corner: Working To Help You During COVID-19
B y B oca Rat on Ci t y Given these realities, here are some ways in which Summer Camps. As Florida slowly began its
Councilman Andy Thomson, my office has been working to help those in need: reopening process, many folks began returning to work.
who was first elected during COVID-19 Testing. Early on in the pandemic, there For some, this was a welcomed change. But for working
the special city council was no public COVID-19 testing site in South Palm parents with young children, another problem arose: the
election in 2018, and re- Beach County. This absence was especially concerning unavailability of safe child care. Normally parents could
elected without opposition to given our area’s large elderly population and proximity rely on summer camps, but many camps were canceled
the council. to Broward County. As a result, Representative Emily this summer, and those that were opened had limited
The CO V ID -19 Slosberg and I pushed for a public testing site at the South capacity due to limited space and the need for social
pandemic has had an County Civic Center, which Palm Beach County and the distancing. I worked with local summer camps to find
enormous impact on governor approved and opened in early April. Another additional space (like available office space) so that more
everybody. The human toll public testing site was opened at FAU in May. parents could return to work knowing that their kids were
has been terrible, with over Small Business Relief. In March, Congress passed in a safe (and socially distant) camp setting.
100,000 Floridians becoming infected and over 3,000 and the president signed the CARES Act, which provided Local Government Reimbursement. The COVID-19
passing away from the virus. From the outset, the city of much-needed relief to the U.S. economy. One portion of pandemic has had a significant impact on municipal
Boca Raton was quick to take steps to stop the spread. the CARES Act disbursed billions of dollars to state and governments, which have been at the forefront of the
Early on, we declared a state of emergency and ordered large local governments. Palm Beach County, as one of response effort. The city of Boca Raton has so far spent
the closing of places where large gatherings are likely. those large local governments, received $261 million in over $2 million of our tax dollars on such necessary
Palm Beach County and the state of Florida followed suit CARES Act funding in early May. I advocated for a swift COVID-related items as safety supplies, personal
several days later. We will continue to work with our state allocation and deployment of those relief funds, particularly protective equipment, overtime and sick leave. As noted
and county partners to protect the safety of our residents, in the area of small business relief. The Palm Beach County above, Palm Beach County received $261 million in
which is our highest priority. Commission agreed, ultimately allocating $60 million relief from Congress under the CARES Act, and Congress
The economic toll has likewise been staggering. (and eventually more) to help businesses impacted by intended for counties (like Palm Beach County) to
Over 800,000 Floridians lost their jobs. Thousands of COVID-19. The City of Boca Raton established its own reimburse the municipalities within their jurisdiction (like
businesses closed, never to reopen, while many continue small business relief program and has been providing Boca Raton) for COVID-related expenditures. Governor
to struggle to survive. forgivable loans to Boca-based businesses. DeSantis confirmed this expectation in an announcement
on June 10. However, Palm Beach County has thus far not
reimbursed Boca Raton for these expenses. I organized
our members of Congress and other municipal elected
officials to push Palm Beach County to begin these
reimbursements as directed by the Governor and intended
by Congress, which will save our residents millions in
tax dollars.
I recognize that times are tough and folks are
Stylish Modern Atmosphere Make Reservations happy hour struggling. If you need anything, please let me know. I
am here to help.
every Day 3 - 6 pm I pray that you all stay safe and healthy.
athomson@myboca.us
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