A Broward Circuit Court judge has temporarily blocked efforts to remove the mayor of Pembroke Park, halting a special town commission meeting that was scheduled to take place Tuesday.

The judge approved a temporary injunction preventing the commission from holding a meeting aimed at ousting Mayor Geoffrey Jacobs from office. 

Town commissioners say they planned the special meeting amid concerns that Mayor Jacobs no longer lives within town limits, a requirement under the town charter to hold office. Jacobs’ attorney says the mayor is currently in Alaska for work.

As a result of the injunction, commission chambers at Pembroke Park Town Hall sat empty Tuesday afternoon.

“Mayor Geoffrey Jacobs is going to remain as mayor of Pembroke Park. They cannot remove him,” attorney Michael Pizzi, who represents Jacobs, said.

Commissioners argue the mayor moved out of town more than a year ago without notifying officials.

“As far as I’m concerned and from what I can see, Mr. Jacobs moved out of town a year ago without anyone being informed of the fact,” Commissioner Bill Hodgkins, who represents District 2, said.

What property records show about Mayor Jacobs’ living situation

According to the St. Lucie County Property Appraiser’s website, Mayor Jacobs and his wife hold multiple homestead exemptions on a home in Fort Pierce, exemptions typically tied to permanent residence.

Records also show the mayor, and his wife signed loan documents for that same home on December 6, 2024. The agreement states the borrower must occupy the property as a principal residence within 60 days of the loan’s execution and remain there for at least one year, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the lender.

Pizzi maintains the mayor still lives in Pembroke Park.

“He absolutely, 100% lives in Pembroke Park,” Pizzi said.

When asked multiple times about the homestead exemption, Pizzi did not directly answer, instead saying the mayor’s wife and children live in St. Lucie County due to safety concerns.

“That’s their family business, with all due respect,” Pizzi said.

Why Pembroke Park commissioners wish to remove him 

Under the Pembroke Park town charter, elected officials must reside within town limits. Commissioners say if Jacobs is found to be living elsewhere, they have the authority to remove him.

“One of the last lines in the charter says we may discipline our own,” Hodgkins said. “It is in a different language, but that’s basically what it says.”

A hearing must now be held within the next 10 days, where a judge will determine the next steps in the case.

Meanwhile, the Miami Herald reports the St. Lucie County Property Appraiser’s Office has opened a fraud investigation involving Mayor Jacobs and his wife. 

CBS News Miami has also reached out to the property appraiser’s office and is awaiting a response.

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