WPBN: Beginning on Thursday, a person or corporation has the ability to file a lawsuit against a town for breaking the new rule that prohibits homeless camping throughout the state.
The status quo is no longer acceptable, according to John Herbst, who is the Commissioner of the City of Fort Lauderdale. In the population of people who are homeless, things are growing difficult, and they are going to get even more difficult in the future.
The towns ranging from Miami-Dade County to Broward County have been preparing for this event for several months.
In order to comply with a new state law that went into effect in October and prohibits homeless people from camping on public streets, sidewalks, and parks, local governments are drafting their own rules to ensure compliance with the law.
The Mayor of Broward County, Nan Rich, stated that the ordinance that would be enacted will contain what is known as a civil citation.
Herbst made the following statement: “The state legislation creates an opportunity for individuals to sue the municipality if we do not deal with the problems.”
If an individual believes that a municipality is not adequately maintaining the law, the Act allows them to file a lawsuit against the municipality.
In the first place, they are required to notify the local government by delivering a written notice of the alleged code infringement. In order to fix the issue, the municipality will have five working days.
“The cities are going to be a very difficult position,” former state attorney David Winker stated. “So basically, cities are going to be in a position where a judge is going to be making the decision that would normally be a legislative decision and part of that legislation is what are we the taxpayers willing to pay?”
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“Florida will not allow homeless encampments to intrude on its citizens or undermine their quality of life like we see in states like New York and California,” declared Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a statement that was released in March of last year.
Winker stated that: “I see it along the lines of so much of what is coming out of Tallahassee is taking away local power. This is really taxpayers, be it business owners or residents, suing themselves because all the fees, attorney’s fees, are going to be paid through our taxpayer dollars.”
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In spite of the fact that the new law prohibiting unauthorized camping and public sleeping in the state instructs the Department of Children and Families to authorize temporary campsites that are equipped with restrooms, running water, and treatment for mental health and substance abuse, it does not provide municipalities with the funding necessary to cover the total cost of the associated capital, programming, supplies, and labor costs.
Within the restrictions of their present budgets, it is not obvious how towns would be able to provide funding for the construction of temporary shelters, the provision of sanitation services, and the provision of treatment for substance addiction and mental health issues.
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