PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. — A new and highly unusual proposal is set to take center stage in Pembroke Park.
At a special commission meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Clerk Commissioner Bill Hodgkins is sponsoring a motion that would cancel most public meetings of the town commission until a court resolves the ongoing legal fight over whether Mayor Geoffrey Jacobs legally qualifies to hold office.
The proposal appears at the very top of the meeting agenda.
According to the official agenda item, the motion seeks to:
“Cancel all public meetings of the town commission until the resolution of the pending litigation between Mayor Jacobs and the Town pertaining to Mayor Geoffrey Jacobs’ status as a member of the town commission, with the exception of regular meetings required by Sec. 2-36 of the town code; and direction to town staff not to attend any public meetings of the town commission unless such meetings are called by a majority of the town commission.”
In simple terms, the proposal would pause most commission meetings. Only the regular meetings that are required by town law would continue.
The issue centers on where Jacobs actually lives.
In a 1998 voter referendum, more than 85% of Pembroke Park voters approved a measure requiring that elected officials live within town limits, underscoring how strongly residents felt about local leaders actually residing in the community they represent.
Elected officials must live in the district they represent. Questions about Jacobs’ residency began after Local 10 Investigates uncovered records in St. Lucie County connected to a property in Fort Pierce.
Those records showed Jacobs was receiving homestead and other property tax exemptions tied to that Fort Pierce home. A homestead exemption is a tax benefit given to someone’s primary residence, meaning the place they claim as their main home.
One of the exemptions tied to the Fort Pierce property totaled about $535,000. After the Local 10 investigation into Jacobs’ residence, that exemption was removed.
The discovery raised a basic but serious question: if Jacobs was claiming a primary residence in Fort Pierce for tax purposes, how could he also legally serve as mayor of Pembroke Park, which requires living within town limits?
Jacobs is registered to vote in Broward County and claims he lives in a mobile home in the town.
At one point, an emergency motion was filed asking a judge to step in quickly and address whether Jacobs should continue serving while the case is pending. The judge did not remove him from office at that time, and he remains mayor while the lawsuit moves forward.
However, the court has not yet ruled on whether he legally meets the residency requirement.
Hodgkins argues that if the court later decides Jacobs was not legally qualified to serve, decisions made during this time could potentially be challenged.
In other words, votes taken while Jacobs participates as mayor might have to be revisited if a judge rules he was not legally eligible to hold office.
Hodgkins’ proposal would limit meetings to only those required under Section 2-36 of the town code. That likely includes regularly scheduled commission meetings that must happen for the town to function legally.
If the proposal passes, most special meetings and workshops would stop until the court case is resolved. Regular required meetings would still be held.
That could slow down some town business, including approvals, contracts, and other decisions that normally come before the commission.
The special commission meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Pembroke Park Town Hall.
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