PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. — A Local 10 News investigation appears to have played a key role in the suspension of Pembroke Park Town Manager David Lynch, as commissioners laid out a series of concerns ranging from financial issues to alleged retaliation and dysfunction inside Town Hall.

“Then we get a report and I will thank Channel 10’s Mr. Weinsier for bringing to light an internal financial issue, because that just led more to it,” Mayor Geoffrey Jacobs said.

At the center of the controversy is an interest-free loan paid out using taxpayer funds.

A payroll summary obtained by Local 10 News shows Commissioner William Hodgkins, who earns about $70,400 annually, received a “loan” of $64,461, nearly equal to his yearly salary.

The loan was approved by Lynch.

In an email dated April 21, 2025, to the town’s financial director, Lynch extended the practice, writing that it was a “blanket approval for commissioners” and that “future advances to commissioners are no longer needed.”

Commissioner Ashira Mohammed reacted to the findings revealed by Local 10.

“This is not a standard practice,” she said. “This has never been a standard practice.”

Mohammed also made clear the commission was not aware of the loan ahead of time.

“The fact this was never brought before the commission is another issue. This was not a budgeted item,” she said. “We have so much mismanagement of the town’s finances that it doesn’t make any sense and we are responsible for this.”

Jacobs pointed to additional financial concerns.

“Now we have a zero-interest loan out there and this stems from the town manager’s office,” Jacobss said. “Not the commissioners; not the dais.”

Commissioners say the concerns go far beyond a single loan.

They accuse Lynch of financial mismanagement, failing to bring key decisions before the commission, and creating what some described as dysfunction inside Town Hall.

Mohammed also raised concerns about how employees are treated.

She said, “You have retaliation on employees that are coming forward trying to tell us, ‘Hey, there is a problem.’”

“There are so many things that need to be investigated, but we have to right this ship and it is not being done with the current person in that chair, that should be the one doing these controls,” Mohammed said.

She cited what she called a broader pattern of failures.

“This is the pattern of multiple failures on the part of the town manager and we need to rectify this situation,” Mohammed said.

Mohammed also described a specific example involving a terminated employee.

“We have an employee that was terminated and he was allowed to keep a city vehicle for 30 days and he purchased a plane ticket that we did not get the money back for,” she said.

Commissioners further alleged that Lynch interfered with government processes, including influencing whether some commissioners attended meetings and failing to properly bring issues before the board.

Four formal complaints have been filed against Lynch, along with one Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint tied to workplace concerns.

Despite the allegations, Hodgkins, who received the loan, defended the town manager.

“You are striving for perfection,” Hodgkins said. “People are human. People make mistakes. If you are not willing to forget or overlook an error of judgement, I don’t know where the town will wind up if you keep looking for perfection in a town manager.

“I just think you are looking for perfection and you are not going to find that.”

Mohammed pushed back.

“I’m not looking for perfection,” she said. “I’m looking for people who are responsible and willing to come to work and actually do their job and not use this as their own personal playground.”

She also warned of potentially serious consequences.

“There are investigations going on that we could actually lose our city,” she said. “The OIG (Broward Office of the Inspector General) can come in here and handle oversight for us where we won’t even be able to buy a roll of toilet paper.”

In the end, commissioners voted to suspend Lynch with pay and move forward with terminating him for cause, triggering a process outlined in his contract.

As he left the meeting, Lynch declined to respond to the accusations.

“I do not have any comments. No comments whatsoever,” Lynch told Local 10 News Investigator Jeff Weinsier.

Under his contract, Lynch must be notified in writing and is entitled to a public hearing within the next 60 days, where he can present evidence as to why he should not be terminated.

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