Broward   MIAMI HERALD

When it comes to snaring a sister city, popularity isn't everything.

Consider Fort Lauderdale, the self-proclaimed ''Venice of America,'' endowed with lovely beaches, an internationally renowned boat show and 15 sister cities. But, alas, no match with fair Venezia, its canal-lined Italian ideal.

Sigh.

''Venice would be a fantastic catch,'' said David Bartholomey, who once lived in Italy and heads Fort Lauderdale's sister city committee for its other Italian pairing, Rimini, on the Adriatic coast.

Venice needs a careful seduction. Yet Bartholomey said that Venice -- already choked with more tourists than natives -- is intrigued by Fort Lauderdale's film festival and boat show.

Cities the world over have paired off in relationships praised for fostering cultural exchanges and economic development -- or derided as junkets on the taxpayers' dime.

Whatever the lure, cities in Broward and Miami-Dade are among the most sought after in America, with more than 91 pairings sanctioned by the nonprofit Sister Cities International. The organization will bring its annual conference to Fort Lauderdale in July.

But gold-diggers, be forewarned. Miami-Dade County decided long ago to set high standards, said Tony Ojeda, executive director of the county's trade office.

''Miami-Dade [tries] to look at cities with similar populations, demographics, similar economic backgrounds,'' Ojeda said. ``Because otherwise, we got a request for little cities becoming sister cities with us, and they would come here and ask for things, like used trucks.''

GHANA GOODWILL

Looks, wealth and culture aren't everything. Fort Lauderdale's interests in some cities, such as the remote West African village of Agogo, Ghana, are purely philanthropic.

The partnership developed after a village leader contacted Citrix Systems about a fish farm the company had started near Pompano Beach. That led to a ''cyber city'' relationship with Agogo.

The village now has 25 computers in a technology center. Citrix is helping Agogo replant teak forests. And the villagers are exporting organic honey that is sold by students in Junior Achievement in Fort Lauderdale.

A fish farm is also underway, but instead of using a bulldozer, the organization overseeing the excavation is paying villagers $3 a day to move dirt. It's part of an effort to employ women and infuse some cash into the community, said Jo Moskowitz, who heads community and governmental relations for Citrix.

''We're not just going in there and handing out stuff,'' Moskowitz said. ``What we can do is give them the tools to get them cranking, so they're able to do it on their own.''

Not every relationship is a love match.

Sunrise recently ended a contract with its private sister city committee after Commissioner Sheila Alu objected to it being headed by a lobbyist who sought a Sunrise garbage contract. While the trash deal was being debated, the mayor and a city commissioner went to visit sister cities in England and Israel, Alu said.

The committee wouldn't divulge whose donations paid for the trip.

''If you're going to be involved in a sister cities program, the residents should know who sent you abroad,'' Alu said. ``Are they people who lobbied you, who had a contract with the city? There should be total transparency when you're dealing with public officials.''

Alu said she didn't think the relationships offered much. ''Show me what we get from going to Europe and London and Italy,'' Alu said. ``Show me the benefit to the taxpayers, and I would support it.''

It's not just a local problem. An Irish newspaper in 2005 grumbled over the Killarney Town Council's annual 21,000-euro budget (about $28,000) for foreign travel. One of its sister cities: Cooper City.

IN COOPER CITY

''The regular monthly meeting of Killarney Town Council this week had to be postponed largely because two sitting councillors, two former councillors and the town manager were in Concord, N.C. And just two weeks ago, a council delegation visited Cooper City in Florida,'' wrote the Irish Independent.

It's no different in Fort Lauderdale's sister city, Gold Coast, Australia. There, city leaders sniped over 8,500 Australian dollars (about $6,950) spent on one city commissioner's air fare to Fort Lauderdale during the boat show.

''Here we go for another junket,'' one commissioner complained to The Gold Coast Sun.

Snipe and grumble away, said Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle.

''I pay for my own trips, so I don't have to read about a snide remark in the newspaper,'' Naugle said. ``They always think this is a way to get a free vacation or to travel. But I think that elected officials become much better elected officials by seeing the world.''

NAUGLE'S VISIT

Naugle helped re-establish Fort Lauderdale's languished relationship with its original sister city, Medellín, Colombia. He visited when now-President Alvaro Uribe served as the governor of the state of Antioquia.

Uribe had also been mayor of Medellín, Naugle pointed out.

''Later on, he became president of the country, and I'm still mayor,'' he joked.

In August 2001, Naugle hosted the mayor of Haifa, Israel, who went ahead with a scheduled U.S. visit despite a recent suicide bombing in his own city.

The Haifa mayor told Naugle, ' `One of the things about terrorism is that you have to remember to go on with your life.' ''

A month later, on Sept. 11., Naugle took the lesson from Haifa to heart, by keeping city offices open.

For many cities, the sister city relationship develops into a never-ending love affair.

''It just builds understanding,'' said Ojeda, ``and in the kind of world we live in, I think that helps."