Coral Springs â¢ Spring 2008 - City of Coral Springs

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features Building our business community For the past 15 years, the Coral Springs Economic Development Foundation, Inc., has pursued its mission of attracting business enterprises to the City to better diversify the tax base. Since then, this “unsung hero” of the business community has helped more than 117 corporations locate to the Coral Springs, raising the non-residential tax base to $1.5 billion for Fiscal Year 2007. “Commercial development is important because it generates a positive fiscal impact upon the City’s budget,” EDF Executive Director Paul Cawley said. The EDF’s efforts allow the City to keep residential property taxes the lowest in Broward County for full-service cities with more than 70,000 people by bolstering the commercial tax base with each new business in the community. In fact, the City hasn’t raised its operating millage rate since the EDF began 15 years ago. “The more successful we are in economic development, the less we need to rely upon our residential community to foot the bill for the rising cost of providing City services,” City Manager Michael S. Levinson said. The Foundation is a private, non-profit company working in conjunction with the City. When Cawley isn’t recruiting companies to Coral Springs, he acts as a liaison between businesses and the City, helping the companies navigate the development and permitting processes, “because time is money,” Cawley said. “The involvement never stops,” Cawley said, adding that he maintains relationships with the businesses even after they’re Broward League of Cities honors Coral Springs The Broward League of Cities recently recognized the City of Coral Springs for receiving the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Past and present members of the City commission accepted the honor in front of a large group of elected officials representing many Broward cities. Present were (from left) former Commissioner Bill Stradling, former Commissioner Rhonda Calhoun, Commissioner Ted Mena, City Manager Michael S. Levinson, Commissioner Roy Gold, former Commissioner Maureen Berk, and Vice Mayor Vincent M. Boccard. settled, offering guidance on ways to get involved in the community. Cawley has a knack for attracting large companies to Coral Springs. As a leading provider of electronic commerce and payment solutions for businesses worldwide, First Data operates on a sprawling campus in the Corporate Park, and Alliance Entertainment is the world’s largest independent distributor of music and music-related products. Both companies call Coral Springs home. The EDF caters to companies of all sizes and does more than attract businesses to Coral Springs. The Foundation had a hand in the development of the Heron Bay Golf Club. They also facilitate the Coral Springs College and University Partnership, a unique program offering college and continuing education courses at several locations throughout the City. Businesses can also take advantage of a service offering on-site classes so employees can learn during lunch. There also is the Charter School Academic and Career Excellence Academy, better known as ACE. This program offers students executive internships and a chance to put their classroom skills to work in the business world. Another groundbreaking project is the Business Needs Assessment, a survey distributed to businesses of all sizes in Coral Springs to help the City better understand what they really need. Once results are in, the City will launch the Academy for Best Business Practices to offer specialized training for businesses to improve their bottom line performance and customer satisfaction. Right now, the EDF is working on redevelopment in the Corporate Park and assisting the Community Redevelopment Agency and The Amera Corporation in attracting top-notch companies to Downtown Coral Springs. Looking toward the future, the EDF intends to capitalize on the City’s receipt of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award when recruiting new businesses to Coral Springs. “Companies want to be associated with a community that runs like a high-performing business,” Cawley said. For more information, visit coralspringsedf.com. 4 • Coral Springs • Spring 2008 Visit coralsprings.org
Only one call away Police Communications Center receives national accreditation features On a visit to the Coral Springs Police Department’s Communications Center, the phone rarely stops buzzing. Big screens monitor different sectors of the City. The activity never ends. But callers can rest assured that they are in capable hands when calling 911 or needing non-emergency help from the police department. That’s because on November 17, the Communications Center became the first in the state and only fourth municipality in the country to receive national accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. In other words, the Center follows firmly established industry standards to deliver premier customer service to all callers, officers and firefighters. “We’re excited to be the first local agency in Florida to have its Communications Center receive national accreditation,” Police Chief Duncan Foster said. “The accreditation process allows us to systemically review and internally assess our operations and procedures in our ongoing quest for performance excellence.” Thirty-eight staff members work different shifts in the Communications Center around the clock. In 2007, they fielded 170,000 non-emergency calls and 70,000 911 calls. Maria Marcoux, a communications shift supervisor, led the initial application process, which began almost two years ago. The Communications Center had to meet more than 215 criteria toward CALEA certification, which encompasses six broad areas: organization; direction and supervision; human resources; recruitment, selection and promotion; training; operations; and critical incidents, special operations, and homeland security. To create the best strategic plan for the Center, staff not only aligned it with the City’s overall Strategic Plan, but benchmarked from other accredited communications centers throughout the nation, taking best practices and incorporating them into their operations. Once the application was submitted, the Center underwent a comprehensive review from third-party CALEA examiners, who inspected more than 145 files during their five-day stay last year. The examiners’ findings stated the Center is one with “a true customer focus whose mission is to deliver the vital link between the community and emergency services while maintaining professionalism and quality.” The Police Department as a whole has been CALEA accredited since 1988, and Communications Administrator Joann Brown, said her division applied because they “felt that it was time for our Communications Center personnel to be recognized as the professionals that they truly are.” Fire Academy named best training center in Florida If you’re looking to train to become a firefighter in Florida, Coral Springs is definitely the place to be. The Florida Fire Training Directors Association named the Coral Springs Fire Academy as “Fire Training Center of the Year” in Florida for 2007. The competition for this annual award is always intense. This is quite an accomplishment for the Coral Springs Fire Department, which began its own Fire and EMT academy a few years ago. The selection committee chose the Coral Springs Fire Academy for its outstanding performance in training future firefighters of this state, as well as its contributions to the development of innovative training programs and procedures that have become new standards for the training of firefighters across the state. “This award showcases the importance of operating an academy that is built on a Commitment to Excellence, the Academy motto,” Chief of Training Robert Bertone said. This recognition closely follows the City’s recent receipt of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. “Our academy has had some of the highest passing rates in the state for several years now, and this award confirms our commitment to the quality of our graduates,” Bertone added. The Academy has trained more than 1,000 career firefighters in Flashover Awareness in the last two years and continues to serve as a major training resource for 12 local fire departments and four local law enforcement agencies. “The award validates our commitment to excellence in preparing firefighters for the challenges associated with this most demanding and dangerous profession,” City Manager Michael S. Levinson said. “The beneficiaries of this award are the people we serve.” Watch CityTV Channel 25 Spring 2008 • Coral Springs • 5
Page 2 and 3: Your Coral Springs City Commission
Page 4 and 5: features A Day in Life the City for
Page 8 and 9: city Building workshops to be offer
Page 10 and 11: city Crocheting with a cause Stitch
Page 12 and 13: community City Hall in the Mall off
Page 14 and 15: environment Maintaining our canals
Page 16 and 17: ecreation Road to Stardom Thriving
Page 18 and 19: ecreation Make a pledge to keep you
Page 20: Spend the summer at the Center for

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Coral Springs â¢ Spring 2008 - City of Coral Springs