2011 has been an amazing year for me. Personally, I continue enjoying being an empty nester although I find talking with my kids on a regular basis not quite as satisfying as cooking them dinner every night. The house is a bit cleaner, though!
Professionally, it was a challenging year. It was very hard sitting on the dais at the Broward County Governmental Center hearing people ask us not to make cuts to things like libraries and social services when we knew, as a Commission, we had to make some very tough choices. I’m very happy this year that we were able to re-establish several services that we cut last year.
Broward County Parks are now open nearly every day, reopening on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Those were days we had to cut last year because of budgets. The “Park Closed” signs were replaced with “Growing Not Mowing” as the County allows more areas to return to their natural habitat. Broward’s regional libraries are reopening on Sundays and while the smaller libraries around the County are still closed 2 days each week, the larger libraries are now available every day. We still offer some of the best social services programs in the country, despite all the cuts that every department was forced to make in past years.
The County is also creating jobs with projects that include a new County Courthouse, a south runway at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport and several other smaller projects.
Your tax bill will be a bit of a mixed bag. The Broward County tax rate has stayed the same from 2011 to 2012 and, although that’s good news, if your home value went up, so will your taxes. If your taxes go down, it also means your home is not worth what it was a year ago – something that most people really don’t want to see. We’ve all suffered huge losses in our property values.
Even in these difficult times, I am very proud to be serving on the Broward County Commission. We have approved some very positive new measures including a strict ethics code to help restore your confidence in local government and elected officials throughout all of Broward County.
If we have not met yet, let me tell you a little about me. I’m a wife, a mom and a homemaker. I have lived in Broward County nearly my entire life. I went to school right here in Broward, graduating from Piper High School in Sunrise and NOVA Southeastern University law school for my law degree. I am also a former State Representative, serving eight years in Tallahassee. My favorite position has been my work on the Broward County Commission. I love local government because local government impacts our lives on a daily basis, unlike the state or federal government. I hope you can get to know me better by meeting me at one of my many public events, reading my newsletters and watching my YouTube videos.
District 3 is located in the far northwestern portion of Broward County and includes portions of Parkland, Coral Springs, Tamarac and Sunrise. District 3 can boast two County Library branches, 19 elementary schools, 6 middle schools, 4 high schools and 10 public charter schools, along with 3 hospitals.
In 2009, I was honored by my colleagues to serve a one year term as Mayor of Broward County. That year, we opened a new terminal in Port Everglades that can accommodate the world’s largest cruise ships. We also started work on approving a new Broward County Courthouse, which is now in the beginning stages of construction.
I believe it is a privilege to be one of the nine people who are chosen by you, the voter, to govern this large urban County where we live, work and raise our families. As always, I will do my best to make decisions that will help the people of District 3 and all residents of Broward. I appreciate any constructive and creative suggestions that you have as we move forward together. Please contact me with your questions, concerns, and requests at 954-357-7003, or email me at sritter@broward.org.
Thank you again for your overwhelming support!
Sincerely,
Stacy Ritter
Broward County Commissioner
District 3