Newsletter: October 25, 2024

Weird Traffic Incident

In the middle of this week local media followed a somewhat curious, somewhat humorous tale of Delray’s mayor, Tom Carney. Although local residents were left scratching their heads over the strange tale, there are some significant Issues to be examined subsequent to this escapade

The news stories related how the mayor happened upon a traffic incident in Delray.  The Mayor strode upon the scene, and was immediately but respectfully challenged by a young policeman. The Mayor announced who he was (I am the Mayor) and that he was a “friend of Mager”, Delray’s police chief. He then addressed the officer with regards to his concern about staffing at the incident, “too many responders”.

There are four matters that are of concern regarding this incident.  The first is that by City Charter Delray has a “weak Mayoral system”. In other words, by law the Mayor is not the chief executive officer.  His is primarily an administerial position, alongside the other four Commissions. He is neither superior nor subordinate to the other Commissions but has comparable powers and responsibilities.  The City Manager is the CEO of the City and the Commission is the “corporate board”.  All employees except the City Attorney and the City Auditor answer to the City Manager.

So the Mayor was operating outside the boundaries of the Charter by interrupting a police and fire call and addressing his comments to the young policeman. It is arguable as to whether a “weak” mayoral system is better or worse than a “strong” mayoral system. But until such time as the voters decide to change the system via Charter Amendment, the Mayor must abide by the law.

The second problem revealed by this incident is that City officials are not following the chain of command. In any high functioning, efficient organization public or private, a clear chain of command is required for efficiency and cost effectiveness. By saying he was a “friend of Mager”, the Mayor was undercutting the authority of both the City Manager and the Police chief.  Since police are paramilitary organizations, undercutting both the Chief and the City Manager has deleterious consequences on the efficient operation of the City. It raises questions as to who is in charge and who should the employees look to with regard to guidance.

The third issue is one concerning policies and procedures.  The City has a complex structure of Comprehensive Plan, Land Development Regulations, Ordinances, Policies and Procedures. Although onerous and voluminous they have been worked out and modified over the years by staff, consultants, committees and elected officials. Nowhere is this more true than in public safety where adherence to policies could be a matter of life or death.  Probably many of these policies and procedures should be updated particularly with regard to advancing technology and budgetary constraints.  But they shouldn’t be revised on a whim or in the midst of an accident.

Fourth question is staffing, If you were having an heart attack or injured in an accident would you rather have too many professionals show up on the scene for too few?  That question answers itself. When the alarm goes out from the dispatcher to the men and women on duty, there are seldom enough facts to determine in an instant what the scale, matter or danger of the event. Is there a gun involved, or have drugs been discovered, or whether bodily harm has been inflicted? Without this information, Police and Fire err on the side of having too many rather than too few respond.

As an elected official (or candidate for office), each individual should do a “ride-along” with both Police and Fire to see the issues they face every day. If you are on a nighttime ride along you see the decisions and challenges they face all the time.  When an incident occurs and the resources deployed, the chain of command assesses the situation to determine if more resources are needed or excess resources can be returned to their routes and posts.

So let’s have our chuckle over this event, laugh at the memes on Facebook and Instagram but then get down to the serious business of governing.  We might want to consider whether a strong mayoral system is justified by Delray’s growth and complexity. Reviewing policies and procedures might prove to be appropriate. We should analyze proper staffing levels, determine dispatching and supervision revision need to be revised or new technologies deployed  (drones for dispatchers?)

Click on Link to Randy Schultz, City Watch in Boca Magazine article and see body cam video.
https://bocamag.com/a-bizarre-interaction-between-mayor-tom-carney-and-delray-police/