Miami-Dade considers too many big things at once

Miami-Dade considers too many big things at once
  • Sumo

It seems like a shock and awe campaign.

This week alone, Miami-Dade Commissioners considered giving away the last waterfront property to a Cuban exile museum analysisproject, finding a way to break the lease with the Dade County Youth Fair to make room for Florida International University’s expansion on 80-some acres of county land (do I smell a stadium anyone?) and the county budget and tax rate.

Oh, which included the consideration of library and police and fire services cuts.

Originally, it was all supposed to happen on the same day. But Tuesday’s meeting ran long and both the exile museum and FIU’s dream, which is just another land grab even if it’s for better reasons (more on that later), were carried over to Thursday.

These big ticket items come on the heels of not one, but two stadium deals — tourist tax dollars for the Miami Dolphins SunLife improvements (“At last,” says Steve Ross) and a sweetheart deal for the Miami Heat opcommission meeting budgeterators of the AmericanAirlines Arena, who have been robbing the county blind for years — a water and sewer bid that became controversial because the procurement process may have been compromised and the failed bid to get a soccer stadium placed where the Cuban exile museum now wants to hurry up and be before the commission changes their mind.

Doesn’t it seem to anybody else that this is an intentional barrage of important measures that are not getting the individual attention that they deserve? Maybe the politicians — or the lobbyists, most likely — learned from the Miami Marlins deal: It takes too long to get what you want if you don’t distract your opposition and the media with several big issues at once. Keeps us busy pissing out fires so that they can’t stand back and look at the damage from a wider perspective or for too long.

When you are busy catching up on so much, it’s hard to pay attention to anything for very long.

Consider some of the other things the commission did this week that went completely under the radar:

  • Directed the mayor to speak to the chief judge about their needs, which is the possible construction or inclusion of a new civil court building in the All Aboard project (more on that later).
  • Authorized the spending of $16.5 million via five companies that get $3.3 million each as part of the water and sewer improvements mandated in the consent decree, for “design services related to the implementation of a pump station improvement plan.”
  • Spent another $10 on geographical information services related to the consent decree.
  • Recaptured and reallocated (say what?) more than $9 million from the community action plan for things like an energy solutions grant program and “home investment partnerships,” whatever those are.
  • Authorized an administrative boundary change on an Enterprise Zone, whatever that means.

Because that’s is the point. If you’re head is spinning like Ladra’s, please realize that is the whole idea. There’s so much going on at once that it’s difficult for anyone to catch everything. And like anyone who has siblings knows, the best time to get away with something is when the spotlight is on your brother or sister.

So what is the county getting away with?

Ladra doesn’t know. Too busy catching up. And there’s no time to anyway. The FIU subject is coming up again by the first week of September — when we’re in the full throes of the budget process — because, of course, there is an effort to railroad this onto the ballot in November.

Shock and awe.

10 Responses to "Miami-Dade considers too many big things at once"

  1. Excellent answers Mayor…um, Commissioner Suarez. I will indeed contact Joanne, when it becomes public that you are looking for volunteers for your “run”.

  2. One other point on the airport and seaport.
    Your reader makes an excellent point that both of these are cash cows and should not only have balanced budgets but produce substantial “profits” for the county.
    These entities are natural monopolies with no real competition. (I don’t buy the idea that Ft. Lauderdale airport and Port Everglades constitute serious competition….)
    They have cost enormous amounts to build and maintain; they can easily contribute to the general fund, so as to reduce taxes and/or increase services for the residents.
    It is embarrassing that our Port’s bonds were recently down-rated, when that facility was the beneficiary of $42 million in state funds to dredge and presumably make it attractive to Panamax ships and continues being the world’s no. 1 port for cruise passangers.
    Furthermore, caution that bureaucrats in charge of such natural monopolies-cum-cash-cows are constantly trying to “expand” commercial activities to “improve the profitability thereof.”
    Such bureaucrats are empire-builders, who think their own compensation should be based on the amount of economic activity they supervise instead of the degree of difficulty (minimal, for something that hardly changes from year to year) and profitability (none, despite the lack of competition).
    xs

  3. Mention the words “smoke and mirrors” and watch the Mayor turn purple and rock in his chair. All of the items thrown at the BCC – how easy it is to conceal details while obfuscating who are the real players and how are they connected.

    This is an on point piece and so far Commissioner Suarez, along with Commissioner Jordan, seen to do their best sparring with the Mayor when he verbalized vague details. For example, the “improved” reduced medical plan that saves 15% from the personnel budget is nowhere to be reviewed, yet it’s the key to the rest of his balanced for FIVE year budget.

  4. Commissioner Suarez, I respect the manner in which you responded to “Titi”…successfully not addressing the issue of the constant bait and switch by you and the Commision. We(citizens) need simple explanations that we don’t need a degree to understand. For instance: How is it that the Airport and Seaport are always operating in the black(making a profit), but that profit is not counted in the General fund? They are Miami-Dade County departments aren’t they? I am also impressed by the villifying of Mayor Gimenez, when in fact he operates at the ‘pleasure of the Commision’. I don’t agree with many of his public tactics, but he could not do any of this without commission approval. I am a County employee, and I don’t agree with many of the financial decisions made over the past four years. What have you accomplished? What is your plan for the future? Will you ever put forth a budget plan that seems “Planned”?

    • Good questions all, though slightly mischaracterized.
      To your points:
      1. The commission ultimately does approve the budget, but the mayor controls the process from start to finish. He has vast resources in terms of substantive staff, negotiates in private with unions, and has the ability to lobby commissioners directly without violating the Sunshine Law.
      2. It is true that the various enterprise funds, including the pure ones (seaport, airport, water and sewer) and the mixed ones (e.g.,solid waste)are treated separately. But because employee benefits are fairly standard across the board (except for the pension multipliers), they are susceptible to combined analysis.
      3. I have previously proposed my own plan of reform, and can provide you copies by calling my office and asking Joanne for it. Right now, the one submitted to the Commission chairman two years ago is available; an updated one will be available before the end of August.
      And, of course, I will be happy to discuss in person if you make an appointment with Joanne.
      Xs

  5. Mr. Suarez it seems that you are a hypocrite, you like all your political alias have one thing in mine! And its not for the well being of the citizens of Miami Dade County!

    • So what is it? We want to know! You wouldn’t just spout a bunch of BS would you?? Not on the INTERNET!

    • Perhaps you should state your name and also work on your grammar and spelling a bit. More importantly, you should not use adjectives like “hypocrite” unless you back up the allegation with some fact(s).
      I do admire your willingness to participate in the “Great Debate” of politics and am inclined, if you will shed your veil of anonymity, to invite you to visit me at county hall; I schedule constituents early on commission meeting days.
      Call Joanne at 305 375-5680.
      XS
      PS “Titi” in my household was the nickname of one of my kids…

  6. I was making the same point in a Bloomberg Report interview, in relation to the Heat and Dolphins deals, crafted and negotiated in hundreds of pages, with complex formulas and multiple scenarios, sinking funds and variable returns on our subsidies. In the meantime, we gave scant attention to the anticipated budget deficit and even less attention to the top-heavy bureaucracy, which stands at 4.9 to 1 span-of-control (Internal Auditor’s figures)), meaning one supervisor for less than five field employees.
    That is roughly twice as much management as the average in the private sector, where sophisticated professionals and supervisors are needed to do R&D, client development and (in regulated industries) government relations.
    We don’t need any of those manager-level/professional positions. We have scant innovation, no competition and no need to lobby government, since we are government.
    And here I thought we came in as part of a reform movement, after the most massive municipal recall in the nation’s history.
    Xavier Suarez

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