Page 9 - Boca Club News - May '21

Boca Club News, Page 9

Memo from County Tax Collector from page 8

an email at clientadvocate@pbctax.com Self-Serve Kiosk locations: If it has been more than a year since completing the safety
and let us know your thoughts on your • Promenade Shopping Plaza, 9900 FL A1A Alt., Palm course, then motorcycle riders will be required to pass a Rider
experience in using this convenient new Beach Gardens; Skills Test before the motorcycle endorsement can be added
technology to process your vehicle • Greenwood Shopping Center, 1700 S. Congress Ave., to the license. To set up a Rider Skills Test and for more
registration. While we currently have Palm Springs; information about the test, please contact the Florida Rider
these kiosks in operation at five area • Boynton Lakes Plaza, 4770 N. Congress Ave., Boynton Training Program at (850) 617-2528.
Publix stores, our plan is to expand Beach; Visit our website at www.pbctax.com/appointments to
and launch several more throughout • Addison Centre, 16130 Jog Rd., Delray Beach; make an appointment for your motorcycle endorsement.
the county and bring this convenience • Garden Shops at Boca, 7060 W. Palmetto Park Rd., Boca Important Dates and Deadlines:
to more of our clients. Raton. May Motorcycle Safety Month
If you plan to visit one of the Publix Motorcycle Safety Month. Did you know that May is May 1 Tourist Development Tax Due*
locations listed below, I encourage you Motorcycle Safety Month, and that our offices can assist May 9 Mother’s Day
to use one of the kiosks to process your with the issuance of a motorcycle endorsement? Once you May 31 Memorial Day – Tax Collector Offices Closed
vehicle registration and avoid having complete the Motorcycle Safety Course, within a year make an
to make an appointment at one of our appointment to bring proof that you have completed the safety *Payment deadlines falling on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday
office locations. The kiosks are quick course to one of our offices. Our office staff will then confirm are extended to the next business day by 5:00 p.m. or online
and easy and will provide you with your completion of the course and issue you a motorcycle by 11:59 p.m., EDT.
your vehicle registration and sticker right then and there. endorsement, which will be added to your driver license.
From the Desk of Palm Beach County

Vice Mayor Robert S. Weinroth:

Smart Tips About Vaccines, Bike Safety and Hurricanes.

Robert Weinroth, a former member Also, don’t laminate the card; future booster shots may need tree removal sooner rather than later. Some important tips
of the Boca Raton City Council, was to be recorded. are:
elected as a Palm Beach County For more information on COVID-19 vaccine locations • Arrange to cut back all trees and weak branches that could
Commissioner to replace Steven and other resources, visit https://discover.pbcgov.org/ contact buildings.
Abrams, who retired due to term limits coronavirus/Pages/default.aspx. • Have your foliage thinned so wind can flow freely through
requirements. Skip the roads, ride a trail. Bicyclists and pedestrians branches, decreasing the chance that trees/plants will be
Palm Beach County continues to make up only two percent of the roadway users in Palm uprooted.
receive a robust flow of Moderna and Beach County, but they accounted for 30 percent of all • Clean your yard of any items that could pose a danger to
Pfizer shipments, and approximately transportation-related fatalities between 2018 and 2020. you or your neighbors in hurricane-force winds, such as old
5,500 people are receiving vaccinations daily. To date, over Unfortunately, what should be an activity that supports lumber, broken lawn furniture, etc. and place curbside on
50 percent of the county’s population ages 50 plus and 80 well-being and health has too often resulted in injury or your bulk waste collection day.
percent of seniors (65 plus) have been vaccinated. In order death. One of the beautiful things about our county is that it Emergency officials advise that residents should be
to eradicate the virus, over 80 percent of the population offers more than 200 miles of designated bicycling facilities prepared to survive on their own for at least 72 hours.
needs to be vaccinated. where you won’t have to fret about cars on the roadways. Supplies sell out fast once a storm has been forecast, so it
Currently, the primary focus is vaccinating everyone Skip the roads and take a ride at one of these parks that is imperative to be prepared, especially for a power outage.
between the ages of 18- to 44-year-olds, since this group offer miles of bicycle paths: There are multiple emergency/hurricane resources, such
has the highest percentage of positive COVID-19 cases • Pondhawk Natural Area; as:
and is transmitting it to others. The majority of COVID-19 • Burt Aaronson South County Regional Park; • PBC DART (App) - provides vital hurricane awareness
hospitalizations are people between the ages of 25 to 34. • El Rio Trail; information.
Moreover, medical experts are reporting individuals in • American Homes Park. • ALERTPBC - Sign up to receive emergency notifications
this age group are experiencing serious debilitating long- For more information on safe places to cycle visit https:// via phone calls, text messaging, and email.
term effects of the virus. Consequently, in order to end this discover.pbcgov.org/parks/Amenities/Bicycling.aspx • Know Your Zone – to look up your hurricane evacuation
virus and avoid dangerous long-term side effects, young Start preparing now for hurricane season. We urge zone
adults are urged to get the vaccination. everyone to take hurricane season seriously, secure your To download the PBC Dart app or access the other
What to do with your vaccination card. When you homes, and make sure you have the necessary supplies. All hurricane resources shown above, visit the county’s
receive your COVID-19 vaccine card, take a picture of both major cutting of vegetation (i.e., tree removal) should be Emergency Management website at https://discover.pbcgov.
sides to have a record of it. Don’t take a selfie with your completed long before June 1st, the beginning of hurricane org/publicsafety/dem/Pages/Hurricane.aspx.
card and post it online, since it could result in identify theft. season. We strongly recommend you do all major cutting/
County Clerk’s Office Guardianship

Investigations Making a Difference Statewide

By Joseph Abruzzo, Clerk of the Circuit people under guardianship in our community. throughout Florida and the country. Our Deputy Inspector
Court & Comptroller, Palm Beach Our office’s Division of Inspector General is responsible for General and Chief Guardianship Investigator, Anthony
County. Clerk Abruzzo serves as the conducting audits and investigations of guardianship cases filed Palmieri, also serves as the president-elect for the National
county’s protector of public records in the 15th Judicial Circuit, and works in conjunction with our Guardianship Association and is a board member for the
and public funds. He was elected Court Operations team to ensure reports are submitted timely, Florida State Guardianship Association.
in November 2020 and sworn into completely and accurately. Should any “red flags” appear Movies like Framing Britney Spears and I Care A Lot can
office on January 5th, 2021. Prior to during those reviews, it triggers a more extensive review of bring important issues like guardianship into focus for a short
his election, Clerk Abruzzo served in the case by the IG. time, but our team’s vital work in preventing guardianship
the Florida Legislature for a decade, These reviews by our IG team can mean a world of fraud, waste and abuse will continue long after these movies
serving in both the Florida House of Representatives and the difference for the victims of fraud. Consider the case of Lynrod are forgotten. They also will shine a light on the good work
Florida Senate. He proudly served in the United States Coast Douglas, who has six separate felony cases pending in Palm being done by guardians in Palm Beach County and statewide.
Guard Reserves as a Port Security Specialist from 2005 to Beach County, with the most recent arrest in February. This September, our IG team will celebrate the 10-year
2013 and is the recipient of numerous awards, medals and The arrest reports in four of those six felony cases anniversary of the office’s Guardianship Integrity Assurance
outstanding performance citations. specifically credit our IG team for discovering a total of Hotline. I look forward to building on this success for years
Guardianship has made national headlines in recent weeks, $79,210.07 that Mr. Douglas allegedly stole from his clients. to come.
thanks to two movies – one documentary, one fictional – that Thanks to our IG team, Mr. Douglas is no longer registered Learn more about the Clerk’s guardianship fraud
place court-appointed guardianship squarely in the spotlight. in Florida as a professional guardian. investigations at www.mypalmbeachclerk.com/fraud.
Both the documentary, Framing Britney Spears, about The investigators from our IG team also play a key role in
pop star Britney Spears, and the fictional film, I Care A Lot, investigating guardianship fraud throughout Florida, as part
examine court-appointed guardianships and the issues that can of the Statewide Investigation Alliance. This partnership with
arise in those cases. the Florida Department of Elder Affairs’ Office of Public &
At the Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller in Palm Professional Guardians (OPPG) allows accredited IG divisions
Beach County, our work on guardianship has made headlines within Clerk’s offices to investigate legally sufficient complaints
for years, thanks to our investigations into allegations of fraud, about the conduct of professional guardians statewide.
waste and abuse by court-appointed guardians and anyone This partnership took full effect in 2017, and has resulted
willing to exploit vulnerable people. in high-profile arrests of professional guardians throughout
The Clerk’s office has a proud history of leadership on Florida.
guardianship issues. In my tenure as Clerk, I plan to shine a Our team also serves as subject-matter experts, providing
bright spotlight on the guardianship expertise we have here in testimony on best practices in guardianship fraud investigations
Palm Beach County, and the work our office does to protect and giving presentations on prevention of guardianship fraud