Name: Anthony Segrich
Campaign website: segrich4lwb.com
Date, place of birth: 08/24/1977 – New Jersey, USA
Florida’s auditor general says the city has not complied with a law requiring audited financial statements since about 2022, and has failed to provide final or audited statements on municipal bonds, which prompted Moody’s rating service to withdraw any rating from the city’s $88 million utility bond issue from 2020. How will you address this failure to adhere to state law and the accompanying lapse in sound financial reporting?
It is not surprising to me that it took an article in the Sun Sentinel to shed light upon this issue. The City of Lake Worth Beach has an accountability problem. It is my understanding that according to staff, high staff turnover and the fact that the audit firm hired by our city had put Lake Worth Beach last in line (typical occurrence) is why we did not meet our obligation to the Florida Auditor General.
A quick public records request revealed that the $88M utility bond project has not had any presentations or updates for the Commission since 2022 (according to the City Clerk). For those months that did have the bonds on the agenda, it fell under the consent agenda and did not have a presentation for the public to see. Clearly staff does not feel beholden to the scrutiny of the Commission and clearly the Commission has not scrutinized staff enough.
I will work with my other Commissioners to reverse this culture of mediocrity and establish clear standards for accountability. Whether or not you hire a subcontractor to do a job, or have internal staff perform that function, as a department director, ultimately the responsibility and accountability rests on your shoulders. The city has nine (9) months from the end of the fiscal year to deliver the audit. This is ample time to complete an audit as well as to course correct if the audit firm has not produced at least an initial draft within 2 months.
I would push for updates from our Finance director on a quarterly basis where they would have to show progress on these audits and an up-to-date completion date.
If this happens again, people must be terminated.
A recent shooting at a Lake Worth Beach bar left two people dead and two others wounded. Dangerous street racing incidents have resulted in multiple arrests. How serious is the crime problem in the city and what additional measures should be taken?
Unfortunately, the tragic shooting deaths that occurred at the Rock Irish Pub sadly may have been preventable. Speaking with many neighboring businesses, they see and report drug deals, fights, and other illegal activity occurring there with a high degree of regularity. A common theme when speaking to residents and business owners is that calls for service often do not result in arrest or removal of the offender.
Although crime is far better than it was a few years ago, we 100% have a crime problem in Lake Worth Beach. As Commissioner, I plan to work with PBSO to address issues in our city by better aligning Lake Worth Beach policies with those of PBSO. Many of our brave officers are hampered by policy incongruence that many times lead to inaction.
For example, our Lake Worth Beach noise ordinances cannot be enforced by PBSO because our city ordinance only allows officers to issue notices to appear before a judge, if the person accused fails to appear, it results in a bench warrant being issued which is considered overly burdensome on both the accused and our county’s justice system.
To address this specific issue as Commissioner, I would adjust our city noise ordinance to either levy fines or allow officers other means of enforcement. We also need more proactive community-policing because small crimes usually lead to big crimes but ultimately, it all starts with policy.
The city has settled a lawsuit challenging its anti-panhandling ordinance filed by Southern Legal Counsel on behalf of several homeless individuals. Do you support this ordinance, and why is it good public policy?
The ordinance that we have implemented does not stand up to critical legal review and therefore I believe it is a poor policy. This is another example of our City Commission making policy decisions in a vacuum instead of working with neighboring municipalities and relying on legal experts to implement a policy that can stand the test of time. Delray Beach has an anti-panhandling ordinance that includes critical nuance allowing it to be upheld under current state and federal constitutional oversight. As Commissioner, I would work with staff and my colleagues to revisit our policy on this and revise it so that we are not needlessly wasting tax payer funds on avoidable lawsuits and instead implementing policy that is legal and enforceable under the law.
Is the city too pro-development, or too anti-development, or does it strike the right balance between growth and preservation?
If you ask City staff, their answer would be that they are pro-development and pro-business. Ask residents, business owners, and developers … they will tell you that the City is anti-development and anti-business (unless you are an ultra-low-income development).
Our CRA does an amazing job with what they have. They have done amazing things for existing businesses and to attract new development but the real issues come into play when community sustainability gets involved (building & zoning and code). Our municipal code is purposely vague where it counts and goes into extraordinary detail on the mundane and ancillary. The application of the code is arbitrary at best.
As a city, we have weaponized our municipal code and land development regulations causing many new investors to shy away and existing developers and investors to sell their portfolios and move on. Examples are everywhere:
- The Not So Bizarre Café – Business license withheld for 3 months
- New dry goods distributor in the park of commerce – Business license withheld for over 8 months
- The Gulfstream
- The Benny’s on the Beach lease
- Oceana delayed and cited for artificial turf
- People red tagged for the color of their planters
- Unrealistic low-income development parking incentives
There are hundreds more. We need to do a complete overhaul of our code and approach to enforcement. The Supreme Court has long upheld that a municipal code should be clear and not ambiguous, and in the event of ambiguity, be interpreted in favor of the property owner. Lake Worth Beach takes the complete opposite approach and dares people to sue the City. Once that is fixed, the Commission should work with developers and the CRA to attract new development that will preserve the charm and uniqueness of our City and bring prosperity to our downtown and cultural centers.
Uncertainty kills good investment and development. We must do better!
What distinguishes you most from your opponent(s)?
I stand here today between two very different opponents.
Reinaldo Diaz’s record: He feels it is the government’s job to tell residents what to do in their own back yard; He wants to find ways to prevent people from moving here and rehabilitating homes because he feels that it increases their value beyond where he can personally afford to buy them; He was a no call no show to the local elementary school that prepared entire months’ worth of civics lessons in expectation of a day with him; He is known for not showing up as a board liaison; He vilified local businesses for their prosperity (i.e. Benny’s on the Beach). His record is one of disappointment, overreach, and not being prepared.
I believe in people’s property rights and personal freedoms. I believe in the free-market economy and celebrate innovation and hard work by small businesses. I also pledge to be there for my constituents; answer their calls, hear their concerns, and be their voice.
Greg Richter generally has his heart in the right place for Lake Worth Beach. There are two areas of contrast: Temperament and work ethic. There are clear examples at city commission meetings, neighborhood meetings, and personal confrontations with neighbors of Greg losing his cool and bullying those that do not agree with him or support him. I believe in seeing all sides of an issue from an objective lens.
As an entrepreneur I believe in doing the homework and research; persuade people with facts. I comb through months of meeting minutes & backup, years of code changes, and public information requests to formulate my positions. I believe the commission needs someone to outwork staff and get to the bottom of issues. I will outwork my opponents and I will build consensus through information not intimidation.
List in reverse chronological order, starting with most recent, colleges and universities attended with years of attendance and degrees held.
1995 to 1999 – Boston College – Bachelor’s in Computer Science
List in reverse chronological order your work history for the past 15 years.
G.K.C. Tobias: CEO & Founder – Hurricane Disaster Relief – Water Mitigation and Mold Remdiation (2024 – present)
Valeo Resources: Executive Recruiter – Behavioral Health Recruiting (2024 – present)
H&B Commercial: Agent – Commercial and Residential Real Estate (2022-present)
Patriot Disaster Specialist: Hurricane Disaster Relief (2020-2024)
Shark Bite SEO – CEO & Founder (2011-2020)
Forclosure.com – VP Agent Services (2009-2011)
Have you ever been a party to a lawsuit, including bankruptcy or foreclosure? If so, provide details and disposition.
No
Have you ever been charged or convicted of a misdemeanor or felony, including an adjudication of guilt withheld? If so, provide charges, dates and terms of sentence.
Aug 13, 2010
Palm Beach County, Carrying Concealed Fire Arm – Disposition: Down filed
Refiled as misdemeanor – Disposition: Nolle Prosse
No terms of sentence
Background: I unknowingly brought a powerhead (protection from shark attacks for a spear gun) with me to the airport. The judge ultimately decided to drop the case.
08/10/2010
Palm Beach County, Possession of undersized lobster – Disposition: Adjudication Withheld
No terms of sentence
Background: I was on a commercial lobstering trip and upon inspection 1 lobster out of 250 were undersized by 1/8”
03/09/1998
Broward County, Disorderly Conduct – Disposition: Adjudication Withheld
No terms of sentence
