Political advertisement paid for and approved by Bruce Roberts for Fort Lauderdale City Commission, District 1, Nonpartisan.

broberts@fortlauderdale.gov • 954-547-9029

Effective and Efficient Public Safety, and Reduce Crime Again

Public safety is and always has been one of the few very basic services citizens demand from their government; indeed, it is the primary historic reason people have banded together to form governments.  A stable community fosters economic development, which, in turn, opens the door for a safe community. A safe community nurtures a better quality of life for its citizens who can then take full advantage of all this community has to offer. I know this to be true, because when I was Police Chief, the City of Fort Lauderdale enjoyed the two lowest crime rates in the history of the city since 1974.

While voicing support for public safety, the current commission has not put its money where its mouth is. For the past ten years, the operating budget for the police department alone has decreased from 36% to 26% of the General Fund. Most of that drop has occurred over the past five years. Salaries and benefits make up approximately 81% of these budgets. In the meantime, the population of Fort Lauderdale has increased by 12%, Downtown has developed, tourism is active, and Southeast Florida’s overall population has increased. The stark reality of this situation is that public safety is falling behind in its ability to deliver what the community rightly deserves.

I plan to reverse this downward spiral. By bringing back community policing, our citizens will be directly participating in a partnership to solve their neighborhoods’ problems. By bringing back training, our public safety professionals will be better equipped with the skills and tools needed to better address the chronic problems associated with homelessness and crisis intervention scenarios. By bringing back a focused technology with practical applications, resources will be deployed to improve response times, reduce crime, increase visibility, and control budgets. By bringing back leadership to the commission, we will eliminate the embarrassingly destructive public rancor, ensure that we can hire and retain personnel, and establish the mutual respect once enjoyed by our community.

Citizen Participation in Government Decisions

Collegial Leadership to the City Commission

Balanced Development That Will Protect Our Neighborhoods and Greenspace