Closed door meetings are still a staple of Cooper City Government

Last Monday, March 9th, a closed door meeting (what?..there are no closed door meetings in Cooper City according to our mayor!) was attended by the city manager, the assistant city manager, our purchasing agent (whomever that might be), our police chief, one city commissioner, and several representatives of companies vying for the ‘red-light camera’ contract. It was a hastily arranged meeting, proposed the previous Friday afternoon, and set-up for that Monday morning. This meeting was done at the insistence of several residents who expressed great concern how unfair it was that only one ‘red-light’ company, American Traffic Solutions (ATS), was making a presentation of their product. Several residents who were very interested asked to be present at this meeting, only to learn more about the ‘red-light’ camera process itself, but also to monitor the fairness of the playing field between all the vendors. Unfortunately they were NOT allowed to be present, secrets being what they are and all.

Our sources (hey, we’ve got a mole...better watch your step!) tell us that the one commissioner present was very closed minded to all vendors except the one she (whoops, we don’t want to give it away now do we?) had a preference for. Our sources and the other vendors tell us that this commissioner was argumentative and just plain rude to all except ATS, her favored company. Thankfully, at the time this was going on, up in Tallahassee the whole criteria of ‘red-light’ cameras, RLC, their legalities and such, was being drafted into Florida law, so this Cooper City ordinance had to be tabled for the time being.

While we are not weighing in at this time about how we feel about this whole ‘red-light’ camera project, (article being developed) we will tell you that we are absolutely appalled how this process was handled. First, where was the competitive bidding process in all this? Unfortunately and unfairly, it was nowhere to be found. One commissioner took it upon herself (slipped again didn’t we!) to pick the company she wanted, at the exclusion of all other vendors with the same, if not possibly a better product. One commissioner personally decided what is best for Cooper City without the input of her fellow commissioners or much less the public. Hey, remember us, the residents, the ones who will be directly affected by this! The public was not even allowed to hear the presentations by the companies because this was a closed door meeting...public keep out! This is how our city is being run! I guess this says it all.

During the election several candidates ran on platforms of open government, only to be told by the mayor that “closed door meetings do not take place in Cooper City“. Well, we can tell you they do, this being a perfect case in point. ALL, and we mean ALL, significant city contracts should be handled during a competitive bidding process in the OPEN at commission meetings or workshops, where the PUBLIC is allowed to give their input and opinions, and where each company can have their products presented in an open and fair manner. One commissioner should not have the right to choose and push through a company of her own choosing without all interested parties being allowed to present their company’s product. This is a democracy for heaven’s sake, not the personal playground of a selected few.