Water and Taxes on the Beach in Florida

00:00:00:01 – 00:00:03:21
David Martin
This is the good government show.

00:00:03:26 – 00:00:42:11
Joy Cooper
I love my job. I think it’s the most interesting, rewarding job in the world. I really value listening to people and understanding their perspective. Property taxes are vital resource to local government. So don’t be fooled. The services that you pay for today might be gone tomorrow. I was raised with the mantra A service and giving back. And if you see a problem, go to your elected officials here.

00:00:42:11 – 00:01:09:43
Joy Cooper
Who’s responsible and ask them and let them know about it. They shouldn’t let the whole barrel of apples get thrown out for one bad one. And what you’re hearing in the soundbites isn’t the whole picture. Democracy is fragile. It takes hard work, and it takes interaction.

00:01:09:48 – 00:01:26:46
David Martin
For over 26 years. Joy Cooper has been the mayor of Hallandale Beach, Florida. She says she meets and talks with everyone. Want proof? Listen closely. She’s about to give you her number. Welcome to the Good Government show. I’m Dave Martin. First, to help us share the message of good government by liking us and showing us where we are on social media.

00:01:26:51 – 00:01:46:48
David Martin
Make sure to review us and send our show everywhere. We all need to talk more about good government. My conversation with Mayor Cooper focused on two areas. Infrastructure and listening. She said last year was the year of the shovel. She says this year’s city’s mantra is dig, baby, dig. Is there to talk about projects and how a city in South Florida deals with climate change and the weather.

00:01:47:03 – 00:02:14:14
David Martin
Hint it’s complicated and we talk taxes. She says good communication, explaining what taxes are about that helps citizens understand what they’re getting for their tax dollar. And she hopes so anyway. But that’s part of the conversation when she talks about infrastructure. She had a real simple explanation. She said she’s just doing it. Mayors can do. So coming up, mayor Joy Cooper of Hallandale Beach, Florida, on doing what a mayor does.

00:02:14:19 – 00:02:40:54
David Martin
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00:02:41:07 – 00:03:05:27
David Martin
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00:03:05:32 – 00:03:27:14
David Martin
Let Hello Nation lift you up and lead the conversation. Visit Hello nation.com to learn more. Once you wrap up this episode of The Good Government Show, give a listen to our friends over at Good News for lefties. This daily podcast highlights news stories that show there’s more good news out there. Other people in government are really trying to do the right thing.

00:03:27:27 – 00:03:42:55
David Martin
That’s good news for lefties. Listen, we’re listening now. Welcome to the Good Government show. I’m happy to have with me mayor Joy Cooper of Hallandale Beach, Florida. One of my favorite spots, being an old Miami resident. Welcome to the show.

00:03:42:58 – 00:03:46:31
Joy Cooper
Thank you. It’s great to be with you this afternoon or today.

00:03:46:33 – 00:03:54:25
David Martin
It’s great to be with you today. As always. Always. So I haven’t been to Hallandale Beach, a while. I used to spend a lot of time there. What’s going on in Howell Beach?

00:03:54:27 – 00:04:02:35
Joy Cooper
Wow. A lot is going on in Hallandale Beach. Actually, we’re still really, the home Mecca of two casinos.

00:04:02:40 – 00:04:03:20
David Martin
Okay.

00:04:03:24 – 00:04:13:33
Joy Cooper
We still have Gulfstream Park, and we actually have now what is called the Big Easy, formerly Hollywood greyhound track. So the casinos are kind of,

00:04:13:38 – 00:04:14:35
David Martin
Lots to do in heading.

00:04:14:35 – 00:04:28:35
Joy Cooper
In that direction. Tourism is is there still. And as a city, we’re, you know, we’re really just focus now on infrastructure, roadways or public realm. What I like to say, what mayors can control in their city.

00:04:28:48 – 00:04:30:19
David Martin
And you’ve been mayor for how long now?

00:04:30:21 – 00:04:34:22
Joy Cooper
24 years I’ve been mayor. I’ve been elected to office for 26.

00:04:34:22 – 00:04:42:22
David Martin
26 years as mayor. Elected as mayor? Yeah. You’ve. I’m sure, had many ups and many downs over 26 years. How’s it going?

00:04:42:24 – 00:04:55:50
Joy Cooper
Great. I love my job. I think it’s the most interesting, rewarding job in the world. I love helping people. I love getting results. And that’s what mayors do. And we see our results.

00:04:55:55 – 00:05:00:03
David Martin
And how do you balance two of the good with the bad? Over 26 years.

00:05:00:05 – 00:05:02:14
Joy Cooper
I wake up every day with a smile on my face.

00:05:02:19 – 00:05:03:56
David Martin

00:05:04:00 – 00:05:26:30
Joy Cooper
No. I actually have a motto that I keep on my desk, and it’s like we see things as we are, not as they are. So I really value listening to people and understanding their perspective because their view is their view and it’s right by them. And if they need to know more facts, I like to share them. And in open communication.

00:05:26:35 – 00:05:32:45
David Martin
You talked a little bit about before we turned on the microphones about a program I think you said was safe Neighborhoods. Can you explain that in some sense.

00:05:32:50 – 00:06:05:56
Joy Cooper
Neighborhoods are special districts that we were allowed to establish by Florida state law. And what it is, is an area can establish within their boundaries a district that is solely focused on safety. For example, they have guard arms. We can go in and out. Now, streets are public, so we cannot deny access, but we can put a layer of security cameras, license plate readers, guard arms to slow down traffic and say hi, you know, so it’s a deterrent.

00:06:06:03 – 00:06:15:30
Joy Cooper
Okay. Increased lighting, that type of thing. And it’s a special taxing district that actually goes on a person’s tax bill annually.

00:06:15:33 – 00:06:22:28
David Martin
And I understand that you had a little brush back when you announced this. How do you explain to people you got to spend more money if you’re going to get a tax.

00:06:22:32 – 00:06:23:38
Joy Cooper
That’s a different.

00:06:23:40 – 00:06:24:57
David Martin
Nobody wants to be taxed.

00:06:24:57 – 00:06:46:21
Joy Cooper
Absolutely nobody wants to pay taxes. And a lot of people really, truly don’t understand what they pay for when it comes to our communities. In this case, a lot of people didn’t even know that they were paying this tax on their tax bill already. And obviously, we made an assessment that was going to be $200 a year for five years.

00:06:46:21 – 00:06:57:28
Joy Cooper
And it turned out if you wanted to pay it upfront, like $809. But we had to explain to them, this is what you’re getting that is different than what we do throughout the community. You know.

00:06:57:30 – 00:06:58:48
David Martin
They had a hard sell.

00:06:58:53 – 00:07:09:51
Joy Cooper
Yes or no. There’s always well, there’s like you said, the questions point on a lot of people don’t want to pay extra. It’s like I’m already paying so much in taxes. But when you roll and.

00:07:09:51 – 00:07:25:39
David Martin
Let’s, let’s paint a picture for Hallandale Beach. This is a this is a waterfront, oceanfront town. Yeah. It is wedged between Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Correct. It is beautiful. There’s huge white sand beaches. Yeah, big hotels on the beach. Big condos. Yeah. This is a great spot.

00:07:25:41 – 00:07:32:26
Joy Cooper
Yeah, well, we’re for we’re 4.4mi², but we’re 40,000 people. Okay, that’s per census, but.

00:07:32:31 – 00:07:34:37
David Martin
That is that is oceanfront property.

00:07:34:42 – 00:07:57:27
Joy Cooper
Yeah. Right. We actually, have beautiful beaches that have, you know, that are that are there and we have our condos. And in Florida, they’re facing so many insurance issues, condo issues, assessment issues, sadly, because a lot of condo boards and residents themselves didn’t want to pay for them, and now they have to pay for them front.

00:07:57:32 – 00:08:38:18
Joy Cooper
So long story short, I like to say, you know, in a city you pay police, fire, EMS services, water, wastewater, storm water, park services, roads services. So that goes on the tax bill. 60% of your tax bill actually goes pretty much through public safety. So when you think about it in the value of what you’re getting compared to maybe your iPhone, that you spent $1,200 for an exorbitant, you know, monthly fee, plus all the apps just, you know, that thousand dollars compared to maybe 2 to $3000 in taxes.

00:08:38:32 – 00:09:01:31
Joy Cooper
You’re getting full time safety, you’re getting full time on call health services, you’re getting beautiful parks to recreate free but not free. Your tax dollars are paying for it, right? So education is key. And that’s what I like to explain. And, you know, let people inform them what municipal government pays for.

00:09:01:35 – 00:09:10:14
David Martin
Are you out of the, are you out on the street every day? Are you do you go to the local public setting the course I write in here, there’s a course. I go, hey, Mayor Cooper, I got a question.

00:09:10:16 – 00:09:35:39
Joy Cooper
Yeah, well, everybody. And, you know, like I’ve been elected mayor for over 24 years, and like, I, I give out my cell phone number. If people have questions and concerns, I say, call me. Let me know. I’m here to answer your question, address your concern, and listen to your ideas on how to make things better. And I believe, people have entrusted me with this office because they know I’m the real deal.

00:09:35:48 – 00:09:45:14
Joy Cooper
I don’t blow smoke, I don’t. I return your calls, I return your emails, I return your instant messages, and I people want to be heard.

00:09:45:18 – 00:10:04:15
David Martin
One of the issues that I continue to hear from folks in South Florida is flooding, especially, sewer systems and water systems that are backed up with heavy rains. This is a big problem. It requires I think you mentioned, pumping systems. Are you having to upgrade? I mean, how is this infrastructure issue being met with? And Hallandale Beach.

00:10:04:17 – 00:10:29:31
Joy Cooper
Our city is actually going to celebrate their centennial in two years. We’re actually preparing for it. So we have pipes that some are over 50 years old. Flooding. Obviously, we’ve had unprecedented storms that we’ve never seen. I’m not just talking hurricanes now we’re talking in those micro floods. Right. You know, dump. So, for the past couple of years, I fought and put in a major pumping system.

00:10:29:42 – 00:10:57:33
Joy Cooper
That pumping system alone with three pumps, one in a critical of low lying area and one that’s in, the northeast portion of our city cost well over $20 million. Big price tags. Yes. So we’re continuing to make those investments. But what we have done, replacing pipes, replacing what we call lift stations, we’re making them resilient with new technology.

00:10:57:37 – 00:11:23:19
Joy Cooper
But with that said, we had to increase our water fees, our wastewater fees and our stormwater fees. So to educate people, South Florida, it’s going to cost a lot of money and not just in our city. Every city, we’ve actually have over $300 million of needs, not once in infrastructure. This last year we did $65 million and lift stations.

00:11:23:24 – 00:11:56:33
Joy Cooper
This year we’re doing $70 million. So we’re really investing and, I like to joke, as a female mayor, I gave up Vogue, and now I’m reading like, underground infrastructure and water works magazines. But, it’s critical to our resiliency. Our residents need to know, we have on the governor’s table now a $2 million investment to expand those pumping stations that we put in and implement in other one in the most low lying area.

00:11:56:38 – 00:12:00:58
David Martin
Is a successful in terms of the perception of the citizens there.

00:12:01:02 – 00:12:20:00
Joy Cooper
Yes. And there’s always fear. And I like to tell and set the stage for expectations due to the unprecedented types of storms we’re seeing, we will never engineer our way out of 25in of rain in 24 hours.

00:12:20:01 – 00:12:20:35
David Martin
No.

00:12:20:40 – 00:12:47:35
Joy Cooper
So people need to understand they have to do their part to secure their private properties. And I mean, not just homes, their businesses. There’s programs with FEMA. Hopefully they’ll stay in FEMA, right to, rebuild homes or elevate homes. There’s new technologies to waterproof your homes. So we’re trying to educate people that you need to be a partner with us.

00:12:47:48 – 00:12:50:01
Joy Cooper
We can’t do everything.

00:12:50:06 – 00:13:05:50
David Martin
And how do you deal with the challenge of living in a city? Running a city, being mayor of a city that is, there’s a large percentage of part time residents of winter residents who aren’t there year round. Who? Yeah, I don’t really need that. I’m only here for a part of the time.

00:13:05:50 – 00:13:26:01
Joy Cooper
Right. You know, with these times, you live in the community. Just like water fees. You have to pay a base fee because just because you use the water or you use the police part time or EMS part time, we have to pay for that year round. So this is a shared adventure if you want.

00:13:26:13 – 00:13:27:48
David Martin
Adventure is a good word. Yes, if.

00:13:27:48 – 00:13:36:14
Joy Cooper
You own property, we’re in it together. So we need to move forward together and understand it’s even like. But is that.

00:13:36:14 – 00:13:37:34
David Martin
A problem though? I mean you but there.

00:13:37:40 – 00:13:38:36
Joy Cooper
Don’t believe.

00:13:38:43 – 00:13:40:23
David Martin
Okay. Because you have part time.

00:13:40:23 – 00:13:48:34
Joy Cooper
Residency and I need to talk about this briefly, especially with tariffs, especially with South Florida. We have a large Canadian population.

00:13:48:45 – 00:13:49:34
David Martin
Yes you do.

00:13:49:39 – 00:14:27:28
Joy Cooper
And a lot of them are, you know, they’re they’re retired now maybe, you know, bought their condo 20 years ago that now have to make critical decisions if that part time home works with them, you know, with insurance which increased assessments which are necessary. We want to have safe buildings. People want to be safe to really that decision, I think, is going to be a watershed moment, I think, in all of South Florida to see if they will keep those condos or they’ll sell them, you know, and that’s going to be an interesting reality.

00:14:27:30 – 00:14:29:19
David Martin
How do you prepare for the worst?

00:14:29:24 – 00:14:58:33
Joy Cooper
I looking at it that, you know, there’s two sides to the coin, it may actually free up some housing that may be affordable for a young couple. Maybe I can buy that content for $300,000 that now has two bedrooms, two baths, now safe because law is requiring it. So, Florida’s always been reached. You know, we’ve gone through our bubbles in South Florida with real estate.

00:14:58:48 – 00:15:08:28
Joy Cooper
Yes. So, you know, it’s Paradise. People love living in Paradise, I do, I’ve lived there for 34 years. I got out of the cold and right there.

00:15:08:28 – 00:15:30:25
David Martin
No, it’s it has incredible weather in South Florida. Yes. All right. Well, that was the easy part coming up. We’re going to get the hard part okay. The Good Government show is sponsored by our. That’s. Oh you are for our community. Get involved. We hear that all the time from government leaders. Our co-branded with your governments name and logo.

00:15:30:30 – 00:16:00:46
David Martin
Your staff and the people you serve are connected and part of your community. From any device your members provide reliable data and meaningful feedback. Ask a question like, do we want more parkland or better homeless services? More engaged conversations come through the our app. Visit our Co that’s who you are echo.com and book a demonstration. After you get done with this episode, hear more good government stories with our friends at How to Really Run a City for mayors.

00:16:00:46 – 00:16:25:08
David Martin
Kasim Reed of Atlanta and Michael Nutter of Philadelphia, and their co-host, journalist and author Larry Platt talk with guests and other mayors about how to really get stuff done in cities around the nation. Check them out where you’re listening now or through their nonprofit news site, The Philadelphia Citizen. Dot org slash podcasts. So we have a good government show questionnaire.

00:16:25:08 – 00:16:30:41
David Martin
We’re going to get to the heart of your thoughts on government. Okay. 26 years as mayor. Define good governance.

00:16:30:46 – 00:16:35:24
Joy Cooper
Transparency, accessibility and accountability.

00:16:35:29 – 00:16:36:01
David Martin
To all those.

00:16:36:12 – 00:16:37:56
Joy Cooper
Yes, I believe so.

00:16:38:00 – 00:16:41:25
David Martin
Okay. And how do you how do you do that?

00:16:41:30 – 00:16:49:52
Joy Cooper
Answer calls. Make sure I’m accessible. I mean literally my cell phone numbers (954) 632-5700.

00:16:49:59 – 00:16:50:47
David Martin
You heard it here folks.

00:16:50:47 – 00:17:12:08
Joy Cooper
Yes you do, I use it and call it email me. I grew up with an a work ethic from my parents. My dad encouraged me to go into business. I work for the Division of Taxation in New Jersey. No matter what happens, by the end of the day, no matter how busy you are, if you received a phone call, you call them back.

00:17:12:13 – 00:17:20:23
Joy Cooper
And I’ve stayed true to that lesson since I’ve been 18 years old and working gallons, they would say.

00:17:20:28 – 00:17:24:54
David Martin
If people are frustrated with government, if they don’t like what you’re doing, what should they do.

00:17:24:59 – 00:17:28:26
Joy Cooper
With new technology? Now, first of all, call me. Obviously you’ve.

00:17:28:26 – 00:17:28:57
David Martin
Got your number.

00:17:29:10 – 00:17:49:03
Joy Cooper
Created. We have amazing website. Now that we’ve updated. We have good AI, we have a chat box. You can ask that question. We have landing pages that will tell you if you have a code enforcement issue, not only what it is, but how to resolve it within the city. If you have a building question, we have a landing page now.

00:17:49:03 – 00:18:08:33
Joy Cooper
It’ll tell you what you can build where you can build it. How do you apply for a permit? You can do everything online. So we really try to make our government accessible. Yeah. A question about a budget. We have an interactive landing page where you can actually tweak our budget. If you have an idea to say, well, I did this, so it works.

00:18:08:37 – 00:18:12:44
David Martin
What drew you to public service? What got you involved in deciding to run for office?

00:18:12:46 – 00:18:34:53
Joy Cooper
Well, like I said, in school, I was like, you know, the class president of Congress and president of the French club. Okay. I worked my way through through college, but what I did it, I worked, I got a job for the state. I was raised with the mantra a service I’m giving back. And if you see a problem, go to your elected officials here.

00:18:34:53 – 00:18:42:43
Joy Cooper
Who’s responsible, and ask them and let them know about it. We don’t know unless you reach out to us. And I’ve always live that way.

00:18:42:47 – 00:18:48:31
David Martin
You said you were president of your Friday club, I think. Did you imagine yourself running for office? Always?

00:18:48:36 – 00:18:59:25
Joy Cooper
Never, never. And it’s interesting. I wanted back in a day, I would say how old I was. I really wanted to be an engineer, believe it or not. And I actually.

00:18:59:25 – 00:19:00:27
David Martin
What seems like there are.

00:19:00:32 – 00:19:27:45
Joy Cooper
Six kids and the only way to go to college was try back in a day. I applied to General Motors on a work co-op program. I was the only woman sitting in a room of, like, 25 applicants. Right? I was and accepted that, the golden story is now at US Conference of Mayors this fall, I met a young lady that was in the same program ten years ago.

00:19:27:52 – 00:19:28:21
David Martin
Really?

00:19:28:28 – 00:19:29:04
Joy Cooper
Yes.

00:19:29:04 – 00:19:29:42
David Martin
She got accepted.

00:19:29:42 – 00:19:35:25
Joy Cooper
So women have come a long, long way. And that’s why I went into business and accounting.

00:19:35:32 – 00:19:43:16
David Martin
Okay. All right. What would you like people to know about government? 26 years as mayor? I mean, you’re a government insider. What should people know about government? They don’t know.

00:19:43:23 – 00:20:09:21
Joy Cooper
That it’s rewarding. But all in all, they shouldn’t let the whole barrel of apples get thrown out for one bad one. And what you’re hearing in the soundbites isn’t the whole picture. This year, at my state of the city, especially with all the soundbites and the new instant, you know, messaging, it’s do not trust, verify, do your research.

00:20:09:22 – 00:20:21:04
Joy Cooper
Okay, look at every news station, go online, do your research. Because what you’re hearing, not necessarily. It’s just maybe the tip of the iceberg. Get to the truth. And if you’re not. But the truth.

00:20:21:04 – 00:20:22:18
David Martin
Is sometimes hard to find.

00:20:22:23 – 00:20:42:46
Joy Cooper
Yeah. But you have to. People are going to have to start working. They’re going to start have to doing that and not rely just on those soundbites anymore. If they’re not, we’re going to have a very bad democracy here. Oh, democracy is fragile. Yep. It takes hard work and it takes interaction.

00:20:42:51 – 00:20:44:56
David Martin
What’s the best part of your job?

00:20:45:00 – 00:21:08:38
Joy Cooper
Oh, God. Helping people, helping, you know, people in need. Putting them in the right direction. The struggling senior that might need food. I have the way to get those resources to them. And every day everything’s something new. Helping those people with their homes flooded recently, going in, helping them clean up, bring in the Red cross, get the teams in there to help.

00:21:08:43 – 00:21:16:20
Joy Cooper
So every day it’s something new and to see the results, see my beautiful parks walk on my beautiful beach. It’s it’s fun.

00:21:16:25 – 00:21:18:01
David Martin
What’s your biggest concern as mayor?

00:21:18:06 – 00:21:23:06
Joy Cooper
Oh, God. In the state of Florida, the awesome. And you touched on it.

00:21:23:06 – 00:21:26:11
David Martin
I too I just wanted the city. You went to the whole state, right?

00:21:26:15 – 00:21:57:25
Joy Cooper
We are faced with a critical dilemma. We have a governor and state legislators that want to rid get rid of property taxes or lower them. Our state is the fourth lowest tax burden state. We do not have an income tax. We the state does not collect property tax. They collect sales tax. If they try to do this to me, it is going to be the Defund Pay Public Safety Act.

00:21:57:30 – 00:22:23:16
Joy Cooper
And people need to understand when you get in that ballot box, if you’re going to vote for something, yeah, you’re going to have a longer response time. You are going to maybe not have as many EMS vehicles on the road. So property taxes are vital resource to local government. So don’t be fooled. The services that you pay for today might be gone tomorrow.

00:22:23:20 – 00:22:24:34
Joy Cooper
That’s my biggest worry.

00:22:24:43 – 00:22:39:36
David Martin
That’s a concern. I’ve certainly been to Hallandale Beach. I it’s been a while. If I’m going to meet up with you, where are you going? To take me. Where where is the where is what is the quintessential Hallandale Beach, lunch. Dinner? And where are we going?

00:22:39:40 – 00:22:42:10
Joy Cooper
Lunch. Dinner? Yes. Can I do all three?

00:22:42:15 – 00:22:43:18
David Martin
Or you can do everything.

00:22:43:18 – 00:22:49:12
Joy Cooper
Obviously, stage bagels isn’t there now, but we have Moe’s. We also have Mitch’s bagels, which is great.

00:22:49:15 – 00:22:50:21
David Martin
A couple bagel.

00:22:50:26 – 00:23:08:51
Joy Cooper
Place. We have a new place called Atlantic Village. They have amazing restaurants. They’re amazing. Obviously, Gulfstream still, a true we have one of the few beachside, literally on the beach dining experiences that is from Miami.

00:23:08:55 – 00:23:10:06
David Martin
Okay.

00:23:10:11 – 00:23:23:02
Joy Cooper
Yeah. Great tavern, of course. Upper deck to go have a beer, watch your favorite game. Okay, so, yeah, we we have a lot of great restaurants, so come on down. All right. I’ll buy you a cup of coffee, or we can have a.

00:23:23:02 – 00:23:25:08
David Martin
Beer and watch the beach side beer.

00:23:25:08 – 00:23:28:44
Joy Cooper
Panthers won. So you know, they have to wait till next year.

00:23:28:44 – 00:23:35:15
David Martin
Okay. So, do you get out of the water or are you, some boater? Fisher? Boater? I’m a boater. What do you. What’s your boat?

00:23:35:20 – 00:23:37:55
Joy Cooper
We have a concha.

00:23:38:00 – 00:23:39:10
David Martin
So. Okay.

00:23:39:15 – 00:23:47:54
Joy Cooper
That, is really nice. I don’t get out there enough quite often, but, we have a,

00:23:47:58 – 00:23:49:58
David Martin
You zip up coastal right to the bottom.

00:23:50:02 – 00:23:50:38
Joy Cooper
A little bit.

00:23:50:38 – 00:23:51:46
David Martin
Yeah.

00:23:51:50 – 00:24:22:00
Joy Cooper
A little bit. And now what you need. We just opened. We have the one of the top golf clubs in the world. Shelby. Yes. That opened. Okay. Now I know we’re sitting while we’re talking. The membership is $1 million, but it is listed as one of the top ten golf courses in the world. The Mondrian Hotel is opening this week, and Auberge is opening there.

00:24:22:05 – 00:24:26:08
Joy Cooper
It’s a condo hotel. New stuff. They’re great.

00:24:26:08 – 00:24:28:22
David Martin
Stuff. All right, $1 million. Yeah. I’ll think. Yeah, I.

00:24:28:22 – 00:24:28:46
Joy Cooper
Don’t think.

00:24:28:46 – 00:24:37:11
David Martin
So. So this is the good government show. We always try to bring it back to good government. Give me an example of some good government that you’ve been able to implement in the last 26 years.

00:24:37:22 – 00:25:02:35
Joy Cooper
Oh, wow. Passed a park spawn, redid every single park in our community. They’re all state of the art. We’ve invested in public safety. I just got word that not only are we an accredited police department with the fastest response times audited, verified. Okay, in the nation. Yep. We just are nominated for the Excalibur award for our police department.

00:25:02:40 – 00:25:17:53
Joy Cooper
Public safety is paramount, and we take an oath. And that is the biggest thing that we do to protect and care for our residents. So what else are we doing? Infrastructure. Infrastructure. I like to say this is the year of the shovel. Now it’s dig, baby. Dig.

00:25:18:06 – 00:25:21:47
David Martin
All right. This is the year of the shovel. Was last year the other shovel to shovel.

00:25:21:47 – 00:25:23:02
Joy Cooper
This is dig, baby. Dig.

00:25:23:04 – 00:25:34:15
David Martin
All right. Good to get out there for the for the. Oh, God. So the old buddy. Yes. Yeah. With the shovel. The whole thing. Joy Cooper, the mayor of Hallandale Beach, Florida. Thank you for coming. Great to talk to you. Great to meet you.

00:25:34:20 – 00:25:38:25
Joy Cooper
Great to meet you too. Thank you for the opportunity to educate people about government.

00:25:38:30 – 00:25:58:42
David Martin
All right. Thank you. We will see you again next I want to hear more about good government. Check out another show I host leading Iowa Good Government in Iowa’s Cities. I host the show with Brad Cavanaugh, mayor of Dubuque, Iowa, and the immediate past president of the Iowa League of Cities. Together, we talk to leaders in Iowa cities.

00:25:58:53 – 00:26:10:58
David Martin
We talk about what works and what good government looks like in Iowa. Joining us right here. We listening now that’s leading Iowa. Good government in Iowa. Cities.

00:26:11:03 – 00:26:29:07
David Martin
Here are a few things that really stood out for me. Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper said. What do you hear in the soundbites? Isn’t the whole picture that goes back to having open communication? She presented a good way to think about paying taxes. She said some 60% of your taxes go to public safety and might make you feel a little bit better about paying your fair share.

00:26:29:22 – 00:26:49:20
David Martin
And I said, Mike, one of the things I hear a lot from mayors is the on the job training they get. She said she swapped fashion magazines for engineering magazines. Well, this is the year of dig, baby. Dig a bad for the former French club president. Well, that’s my conversation with Hallandale Beach, Florida mayor Joy Cooper. She’s the real deal now about those beachside beers.

00:26:49:25 – 00:27:10:10
David Martin
Well, that’s our show. Thanks for listening. Please like us and share this with your friends and review us right here. We’re listening. And check out our website. Good government show.com for extras. Help us keep telling stories of good government and action everywhere. Join us again for another episode right here. I’m Dave Martin and this is the Good Government show.

00:27:10:14 – 00:27:31:51
David Martin
The Good Government show is a Valley Park production. Jim Ludlow, Dave Martin, that’s me and David Snyder are the executive producers. Our show is edited and produced by Jason Stershic. Please subscribe then share and like us and reviews. That’s the best way to make sure we’re able to keep telling these stories of our government working for all of us.

00:27:32:04 – 00:27:47:16
David Martin
Then listen to the next episode of The Good Government Show.

00:27:47:21 – 00:27:50:54
Narrator
This podcast is part of the democracy Group.

**This transcription was created using digital tools and has not been edited by a live person. We apologize for any discrepancies or errors.