Furious at what they call no respect from state leaders when it comes to collecting and spending their own money, the North Lauderdale City Commission passed a resolution requesting that Florida be divided into two states: North Florida and South Florida with the boundary line from Palm Beach County down through Monroe County.
The North Lauderdale Commission has sent out 306 resolutions asking other municipalities and counties to join in the effort.
On Wednesday night, the city of Margate takes up the same issue.
The April 29th North Lauderdale resolution states that "the City Commission... has no confidence in the State Legislature's ability to recognize the practical impact of its decisions or how its decisions demonstrably affect municipalities that directly provide essential public services to the citizens and residents of the State; and the City Commission deems a division of the State to be in the best interests of the citizens and residents of the State."
North Lauderdale Commissioner Rich Moyle said Tuesday he knows darned well it won't happen. But he said it's the principle and "to stir something up."
"It's based out of frustration with the state Legislature ignoring the cities in South Florida," he said. "They don't really care too much what happens with South Florida with the cities and being able to survive. It's just a statement I believe, doing something this huge, it would take a long time."
The city of Margate's resolution states that "local governments representing the citizens within the counties of Miami Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach earnestly feel that the government of the State of Florida has, as in the past, but more so today, ignored the requirements of the citizens which comprise the three most populous counties of southeast Florida both for funding from the of the State government of Florida and for laws and regulations which are needed to secure the quality of life, benefits of liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
It also calls for "its citizens to sever the ties that said citizens have with the State of Florida and formulate and establish their own state of the Federal Union of the United States."
Said Margate Commissioner Art Bross: "We're sick and tired of it, of Tallahassee sending down unfunded mandates without sending the money and on top of it, then telling us we can't collect the money from our residents. I'm irritated. I really feel this way. I understand their problems up there with the bad times we're having now, I can understand, but we've had recessions before and if you use your head you come out of it."
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North and South Florida are two completely different places. If you have never lived in Florida, then you should know that North Florida is more country while South Florida is more cosmopolitan and we generate most of the money that is used by the state. I think that if we can create a state and keep the money we generate for us, we would have less monetary problems. Of course, the Florida legislature won't allow this to pass, ever!!!
