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Lighthouse Point approves $150 administrative fee for code-enforcement final orders after extended debate
Summary
After an extended debate about fairness and collection practicality, the Lighthouse Point City Commission on Sept. 24 amended the fee schedule to add a $150 administrative fee when an order assessing fines is entered, plus a $350 lien-settlement application fee and existing $1,500 partial-release fees.
The Lighthouse Point City Commission voted unanimously Sept. 24 to amend the municipal fee schedule to impose a $150 administrative charge tied to code-enforcement cases in which an order assessing fines is entered, along with a $350 lien-settlement application fee and an established $1,500 fee for partial releases or releases of foreclosed liens.
City Attorney Mike Cerullo explained the legal framing for the change, telling commissioners the statute "prohibits us from using funds to do a political advertisement or to send any other communication sent to electors regarding an issue or referendum," and that posting factual information on the city website and holding public forums remains permissible. On the code-enforcement item he said the proposed fees were intended to help recover staff time and costs associated with bringing cases to a hearing.
Tony Palmeri, the city's code-enforcement supervisor, described the operational process for enforcement: officers issue a notice of violation, send a mailed notice if needed, and only if the property owner fails to comply is a hearing noticed. Palmeri said the administrative fee is assessed after a final order is entered and that, in some cities, the fee attaches at order entry.
Several commissioners pressed for a narrower trigger to avoid creating short-lived liens for small, quickly remedied violations. One commissioner said, "I could not vote for that" if the fee attached automatically upon a first order because it could place a $150 lien on a homeowner who corrects the problem within the compliance period. Another commissioner advocated assessing the fee only when fines are certified or a lien becomes necessary—language the commission ultimately adopted.
Under the amended language approved by the commission, the $150 administrative fee will be imposed "in any case before the special magistrate or code enforcement board in which an order assessing fines has been entered," with staff clarifying that the fee would be payable with the fine once the magistrate has assessed it. Commissioners also left in place the $350 application fee for lien-settlement requests and the long-standing $1,500 fee for partial lien releases or releases of foreclosed liens.
Supporters said the fee helps recover real administrative costs—mailing, staff time, drafting hearing packages—while opponents warned it could be seen as punitive and difficult to collect in many cases. Commissioners directed staff to track how much is assessed and collected after the fee goes into effect.
The motion to approve the resolution as amended carried 5-0.
What happens next: The resolution language will be incorporated into the fee schedule and applied per the amended trigger described above; staff will report back on implementation and collection figures as requested by commissioners.
