BOARD HEAD FINALLY PAYS HIS $500 FINE
RANDYE HODER, Staff WriterSUN-SENTINEL
FORT LAUDERDALE -- After 2 1/2 years, Code Enforcement Board Chairman Peter Feldman has paid the $500 fine he owed for a code violation.
"I paid the fine because I don't need to embarrass myself or the City Commission," Feldman said. "It was an indiscretion on my part not to settle it earlier."
Feldman said that if he paid his fine, other code violators might pay their fines as well.
"I think it's important to lead by example," Feldman said. "Who knows, maybe people who also owe money will pay. They will understand that there are methods to clean up your disputes with the city."
Feldman was cited in May 1985 for parking a construction trailer illegally. The board gave him 15 days to move the trailer or be fined $100 a day. The trailer was moved after five days, said Allyn Berg, clerk for the board.
The Code Enforcement Board is charged with enforcing the city's zoning and community appearance laws.
Feldman, who has been chairman of the Code Enforcement Board for a year, said he did not pay or contest the fine earlier because he didn't know about it.
But Berg said that a certified letter was sent to Feldman and that Feldman was reminded several times that he owed the city money.
"I'm relieved that he paid," City Commissioner John Rodstrom Jr. said. "I think Pete Feldman has been a good member of the Code Enforcement Board. If he had not paid the fine, the city would have had to think twice about whether he could continue to serve."