PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – In a report released Thursday, Broward County’s watchdog agency concluded that Pembroke Park Commissioner Geoffrey Jacobs, while serving as mayor, engaged in “misconduct” when he “unlawfully” spent more than $10,000 in taxpayer money on a yacht charter for town officials and employees. His attorney is blasting the report as “petty and stupid.”
Jacobs, 49, has had a controversial tenure on the dais in the small town of about 6,000 people, serving as both a commissioner and its mayor.
The investigation, concluding in a 121-page report, stems from the use of a yacht during the town’s annual holiday party on Dec. 21, 2022.
A news release from the Broward Office of the Inspector General states that its investigators determined that Jacobs first put a nonrefundable $3,950 deposit on the town credit card to charter the Sun Dream yacht for three hours for a total of $10,575. The town also paid a DJ $675.
“This amounted to misconduct, as only the Town Manager or his or her designee could legally contract on behalf of the Town, and the Town Manager had not delegated that authority to Mayor Jacobs,” the OIG report states “Mayor Jacobs also committed misconduct when he failed to ensure that the Town Commission itself selected a vendor from among written proposals from at least three (3) different sources, as required by the Town’s Procurement Code.”
The town’s finance and budget director, Roy Brown, would later play a role in the “improper” purchase by authorizing a $6,625 wire transfer to pay the rest of the bill, the release states. According to the town’s procurement code, purchases over $10,000 are supposed to involve the town commission and town manager.
Twenty-four guests attended the party, making the charter bill roughly $440 per person, according to the OIG.
“It is not the prerogative of any local government official or staff to knowingly use taxpayer funds to make a purchase that does not fully comply with the law,” the report states. “Each individual who has the power to expend public money must exercise that power with due care.”
Acting Town Manager Chandler Williamson, responding to a preliminary version of the report, told the OIG’s office that while its report “admittedly revealed a number of procedural deficiencies related to the procurement of the Town’s 2022 annual holiday party, there was no evidence or indication that any Town commission member or Town employee, current or former, sought to enrich themselves or others as a result of that procurement.”
“Furthermore, since 2022, the Town has taken significant action to strengthen its procurement procedures and to better ensure compliance with all applicable local, state and federal rules, policies and regulations,” he said. “While some of this effort was initiated as a result of OIG findings and recommendations, the undersigned Acting Town Manager and the Town Attorney’s Office have also made independent recommendations to Town Commission related to best procurement practices and other steps to safeguard the expenditure of public funds.”
He concluded by saying that town leaders remain “committed to continuing to improve its procurement procedures and to ensure that the Town is an accountable steward of the public’s trust.”
In a statement to Local 10 News, Jacobs’ attorney, Michael Pizzi, said the report was politically-motivated and said his client committed no wrongdoing.
“This is just another frivolous and petty attack on Commissioner Jacobs by his political opponents. This was a Holiday party held with City approval and for the benefit of the City. There has never been any suggestion that Commissioner Jacobs used one penny of City money for his personal benefit,” Pizzi said. “Mr. Jacobs followed any procedures that were in place at the time and obtained the appropriate approvals. He did nothing other than arrange for a Holiday party for the sole benefit of the City. He is now being attacked for assisting in a Christmas party that he got no benefit from. This is petty and stupid.”
Following the publication of this story, Mayor Ashira Mohammed told Local 10 News in an email, “The findings of the OIG investigation are unfortunately unsurprising. Commissioner Jacobs abusing his office at taxpayer expense is nothing new. It’s long past time for him to resign and allow our town to move forward from his pattern of abusive and illegal behavior.”
Local 10 News has also contacted other town commissioners seeking comment.
Read the full report: