District Asks City for Forfeiture Funds for Redevelopment Plan

By: Sharon Aron Baron

The City has money to spare that is sitting in a trust fund, earmarked for neighborhood districts like ours.  However, if it wasn’t for former Broward County Commissioner Ilene Lieberman who attends our Woodlands Neighborhood Improvement District meetings (WNID), we’d never know about it.

The WNID needed to fund a study by a professional who could provide a Redevelopment Plan for the Woodlands.  Problem was, we didn’t have the $30,000 and the city of Tamarac wasn’t going to fund it.  Lieberman suggested that the board use Law Enforcement Trust Funds (LETF) to pay for it.

According to The Florida Statute Chapter 932.701-706,  the cash or proceeds from a sale of seized contraband that have been used in the commissions of felonies go into the Law Enforcement Trust Funds account for use by the law enforcement agency.   Tamarac has $318,929.00 in State and Federal dollars currently in it. 

The funds must be dispersed via a written request, which must be voted and approved by the city commission, and can only be used for the following purposes:

• School resource officer
• Crime prevention
• Safe neighborhood (that’s us)
• Drug abuse education and prevention programs

Randy Scott, Chairman of the WNID wrote a letter to Captain Neal Glassman with Tamarac BSO requesting some of the LETF money on February 10, and the reasons our community needs the funds.  (See attached letter).

Once the City Commission puts it on their agenda for a vote and passes the request, then the funds will be made available to the WNID.

 I’ll keep you posted.

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