Miguel Gabela slashes Bayfront Trust head's salary for 'fiscal responsibility'

Miami commissioner still has a lot of ‘splainin’ to do

Well, look who suddenly discovered fiscal responsibility.

After months of defending an eye-popping salary increase for Bayfront Park Management Trust Executive Director Raúl Miró, Commissioner Miguel Gabela announced Wednesday that Miró’s pay will be cut from $255,000 to $175,000.

The reason?

According to Gabela, it’s not because the salary was excessive. It’s not because the public questioned it. It’s not because taxpayers were outraged. It’s not because Political Cortadito, Billy Corben and others spent months pointing out that the 70% raise was absurd because Miró seemed glaringly unqualified.

No, no. Por supuesto que no.

It’s because of potential property tax reforms being discussed in Tallahassee. Apparently, the same $255,000 salary that was perfectly reasonable yesterday became fiscally irresponsible today.

What timing.

Gabela, who openly admitted at a Trust board meeting that Miró got the job because of his political ties, insists the pay cut has nothing to do with performance.

“Raúl Miró has done an outstanding job helping bring accountability, structure, and transparency to the Bayfront Park Management Trust,” Gabela said in a statement posted to his Instagram account.

That’s good because performance was never really the issue. The issue was always the exorbitant salary, a 70% increase from $150,000 to $255,000. Benefits are another issue altogether that aren’t addressed in the statement. And Ladra can’t help but wonder if those increased. Like tit for tat. We’ll trim a little off your salary, bro, but here’s more car allowance.

Neither Miró nor the commissioner responded to calls and texts. They have not returned one call or one text since the questions started being asked weeks ago. Instead Gabela had an attorney send Ladra a cease and desist letter demanding a retraction because she wrote facts about his district and Bayfront Park expenses, comparing him to prior commissioners and bringing up some obviously questionable costs (see below).

When Miró was elevated into the position, critics immediately questioned why the Bayfront Park Trust suddenly needed to pay a quarter-million dollars a year for an executive director position that historically paid substantially less. Especially for someone who didn’t have any experience running a public park. What he has experience in is political consulting, for which he got $30,000 from Gabela’s political action committees.

The explanations never quite landed. The numbers never quite made sense. And now, apparently, they still don’t.

Because if $255,000 was justified based on the responsibilities of the job, then what changed besides the political optics? Either the position was worth the new salary or it wasn’t.

If it was, why cut it? If it wasn’t, why approve it?

Those are fair questions. Nobody is available to answer them.

“This is about responsibility, not controversy,” Gabela said in his social media statement, assuring everyone that his district office operates with “fiscal restraint.”

“Our residents deserve strong services, well managed parks and a government that treats every public dollar with respect,” he wrote.

Speaking of fiscal responsibility and respect to the public dollar, then, Ladra has a few more queries that seem like they’re hanging in the air.

If we’re suddenly tightening belts, what happens to the six-figure spending on consultants? What about the vanity magazine project? What about the public-relations contracts? What about the branding exercises? The multiple logos? The banners? The wrapped vehicles? The promotional spending? The galas? The events? The app that reportedly costs $6,000 every month run out of a townhouse in Doral?

Will fiscal responsibility be visiting those line items too, or is it only making appearances when there’s a controversial salary attached?

Because that’s the part that’s hard to ignore.

For months, Ladra and other critics argued that the Bayfront Park Trust seemed more interested in marketing itself than managing a public park. That a one-time slush fund for former Commissioner Joe Carollo had simply changed hands, not changed tactics.

Now we’re told austerity has arrived. Conveniently, it arrives right after the salary became politically impossible to defend.

Even “Cover Boy” Gabela’s own statement contains the contradiction.

Miró is doing an exceptional job. Miró has improved accountability. Miró has improved transparency. Miró has improved administration. Miró has improved oversight.

Wonderful.

Then why slash his salary by $75,000?

Either he’s worth it or he isn’t.

The explanation being offered requires residents to believe two things simultaneously: First, that the original $255,000 salary was completely justified. Second, that reducing it by 30% is also completely justified.

That’s some impressive municipal mathematics.

Meanwhile, questions continue to swirl around the Trust’s finances, spending priorities and transparency practices. Critics continue to demand a full accounting of expenditures. Public records continue to be sought. Litigation continues. Just last week, the city was found in default over a lawsuit filed by Gabela’s former consultant, Emiliano Antuñez, for not turning over public records. Not one of the city’s 29 lawyers in the city attorney’s office could be bothered to show up (more on that later).

And taxpayers continue to wonder how an organization responsible for maintaining one of Miami’s most iconic public spaces managed to become a recurring source of controversy.

The funniest part may be the justification itself.

Property tax reform has not passed. No revenue has been lost. No budget crisis has materialized. No emergency exists.

Yet somehow the first visible act of fiscal responsibility is correcting a salary that many people argued should never have been approved in the first place.

That’s not budget planning. That’s political damage control wearing a green eyeshade and pretending to be budget planning.

Fiscal responsibility didn’t suddenly arrive at Bayfront Park this week. Fiscal responsibility was standing outside the building months ago, knocking on the door.

Looks like somebody finally answered.

This kind of independent, government watchdog reporting is crucial to transparency and democracy. And more so every day. Help shine a light on the darker corners of our community with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Click here. Ladra thanks you for your support.

Miguel Gabela v. Political Cortadito – Cease and Desist Retraction Letter by Political Cortadito

Miguel Gabela slashes Bayfront Trust head’s salary for ‘fiscal responsibility’ added by Ladra on June 11, 2026
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