Pembroke Pines commissioners spar over format and timing of Feb. 25 town hall

Commissioner Jay Schwartz announced a Feb. 25 town hall he described as a district-level meeting on parks, utilities and other items and said he would present material already in the public record. City Manager Jacob Dodge told the commission he had received emails indicating large staff requests (video, curtains, staging) and asked whether the meeting could be moved to March to avoid the appearance of a political event so close to the March 10 election.

Why it matters: The exchange raised procedural and ethics concerns about how elected officials use city facilities and staff for outreach near election dates. Mayor Angelo Castillo and other commissioners argued that town halls should be staff-presented, transparent and, if citywide, coordinated; they asked staff to draft formal town-hall protocols.

The disagreement: Dodge said staff had received multiple department requests tied to the Feb. 25 event and that he had asked Schwartz if the date could move to March; Schwartz said he had informed staff his event needed minimal support, denied excluding staff or other commissioners and insisted residents had asked for the meeting. Mayor Castillo warned that a single-person, heavily staged event 13 days before an election carries political appearance risks: "A town hall meeting isn't where an elected official is the only one that speaks," he said.

Outcome and next steps: Commissioners discussed a possible postponement until after the election and asked staff to draft a town-hall policy. There was no formal, binding vote to change the town-hall date during the meeting; the chair closed the discussion and adjourned the meeting. The commission directed the city manager and clerk to work on clear procedures for future town halls.