Union leaders asked the city of Miami to reopen contract negotiations Thursday, one day after the city’s budget team announced it had discovered a surprise $45 million surplus.
“You told us to dig into our pockets and we did — for four consecutive years,” Fraternal Order of Police Vice President Javier Ortiz told the city commission, noting that the unions had agreed to millions in employee concessions because the city was projecting a $40 million budget shortfall.
“Now that apparently times are good and we have $45 million, direct the manager to meet with us and reopen our contracts,” Ortiz said.
Mayor Tomás Regalado said he wants City Manager Johnny Martinez to sit down with the unions after Thanksgiving.
“Maybe we can use a little of the money to buy new uniforms or police cars or fire trucks,” Regalado said. “But to say that we are going to restore every concession, to me, that would be irresponsible.”
City administrators are recommending that the bulk of the surplus be stashed in reserves, which remain below the $93 million balance required by a city ordinance.
“Most of this [surplus] money is not recurring,” Regalado said. “If we were to use that money for raises and benefit, we will fall into the same downward spiral that the city was in many years ago.”
While commissioners said they were pleased to have more money than was projected, they did not give the administration a pass for dramatically underestimating the final balance for the past fiscal year. Budget Director Danny Alfonso had initially forecast a budget surplus of $8.5 million.
“I feel like I’ve been played,” Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones said. “How do you all of a sudden find $45 million?”
Spence-Jones said budget and finance officials should have said something over the summer when city leaders were negotiating employee concessions to balance the budget. She stormed off the dais after making her comments.
Alfonso took responsibility for the change in numbers, saying he had been too conservative with his revenue and expense projections.
“In my heart, there was no attempt to deceive anyone,” he told the commission.
Alfonso said the budget surplus was more likely to be around $37 million after several final transactions posted.
Martinez, the city manager, conceded that the administration “could have managed expectations a little better.”
“There was no plot,” he said. “Maybe we were not at our best with our projections, but there was no attempt to defraud or mislead anybody.”
Regalado said he did not expect anyone to be fired for the mistake.
“I stand 100 percent behind Danny Alfonso and the way that he runs his department,” he said. “I stand behind the manager. He is doing the right thing.”
The surplus will likely come up again later in the meeting, when the commission discusses a proposed $45 million bond issue. The money is needed to pay off a short-term loan that financed Miami’s share of the PortMiami tunnel dig.
Commissioner Frank Carollo said he wants to know how the surplus will affect the bond offering.
In other business, the commission extended the agreement that allows Scotty’s Landing restaurant and Grove Key Marina to operate on city-owned property in Coconut Grove.
The 35-year lease for the eatery and marina expired earlier this year, and the city sought proposals from businesses interested in taking over. But administrators halted the bid process in July, citing procedural irregularities.
“The reason why we’re here is because there was a disastrous process that ensued,” Commission Chairman Francis Suarez said.
Director of Public Facilities Henry Torre said he plans to get started on a new bid process later this month. Because the property sits on the waterfront, any new contract must be approved by public referendum.
Until then, Scotty’s Landing and Grove Key Marina will be able to operate under an agreement that can be revoked for any reason with 30 days notice.
The commission approved the agreement 4-1, with Carollo voting in opposition.
Vice Chairman Marc Sarnoff, whose district includes the Grove, urged city administrators to move forward with the new bid process as quickly as possible.
“I can foresee no set of circumstances, unless it is Hurricane Sandy reemerging, for me to kick this can down the road, and I am going to hold this administration responsible,” Sarnoff said. “Now it’s time to get this done.”
The deal has been particularly controversial because $2.5 million in back property taxes are owed on the site. Both Scotty’s Landing and the city of Miami have refused to pay. The business owner says his lease exempts him from property taxes.
The Miami-Dade tax collector had initially planned to go after the restaurant and marina. But the collector is now asking a judge to decide if the city or the restaurant is responsible.
