[Music] Good morning. Is that better? Okay. I think there's an echo. Perfect. Good morning. I'd like to welcome everybody
to the Tuesday, May 6, 2025 special commission meeting at 9:00 a.m. I'd like to ask Commissioner Lada to please lead us in the pledge of allegiance. United States of America to the republic for which it stands. One nation under
God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Mr. Clerk, you have a statement that you'd like to place on the public record. participate. Despite the seriousness of my condition, I've made a formal request
to postpone this meeting by just a few days, enough time to recover and attend in person. That request was denied by the mayor even though this meeting was not part of our originally scheduled calendar and there is no real urgency that justified moving forward without
full commission participation. My first responsibility is to safeguard my health so I can continue serving this community effectively. But it is equally important that the residents who elected me have their voice at the table. By proceeding
today, this body is depriving Coral Gables of a complete discussion and the balanced deliberation our constituents deserve. Every decision I make is guided by what is in the best in the city's best interest. Preventing an elected commissioner from attending does the
opposite. Mayor Lago, I hope this statement serves as a reminder that transparency, respect, and inclusion are not optical optional. They are the foundation of good governance. I remain committed to returning as soon as I'm medically able and to ensuring that the
people of Coral Gables are represented with integrity and vigor in every decision that affects their lives. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. I'd like to send our best wishes to the commissioner, but also remind her the same situation
happened in August of 2024 when I requested to move a meeting that was not on our schedule, which was a budget additional budget hearing that was required. I was out of town. I made a request. This commission did not grant me the ability to be here. The first time I had missed a meeting in 12 years
moving forward. Thank you very much. Godspeed. I wish her health and we look forward to having her back. If I if I may, if I may, if I may, if I may, let me just continue with the meeting and then we'll address the issue. Point of order has to be addressed first. Correct.
So, um, the August meeting, the reason that there was no time to move it is we had a deadline that we had to set a ceiling for the military. The change request came in at the last minute. Um, and it was a meeting that you had asked to put on the calendar. It wasn't a meeting that anybody else in the
commission had asked for. You had asked to schedule that meeting. uh members of staff had been asked to change their schedules, cancel their family trips in order to be present for that meeting and that was the reason that at that point there weren't additional dates available
to change that meeting date. Um, that being said, uh, I would make a motion to recess this meeting until Commissioner Castro is available so that the voice of every resident can be heard
on all these important topics that I agree with you should be addressed. Uh, I would just ask for a recess until Commissioner Castro is not under a knife uh in an operating room uh and is available to be here uh in person uh
voicing the resident's concerns. Do we have a second? The motion dies. Now, I'd like to respond. We had multiple days and opportunities where that meeting could have been changed that I requested.
Again, the change was not granted to ensure that I would not be at the meeting because that would force me to relinquish the gavvel and not be at the meeting. Even though I did attend the meeting via Zoom, it was a difficult difficult situation. Moving on, for the
record, welcome. I'd like to thank everyone for being here and welcome Commissioner Lada for being at his first commission meeting. I'm going to ask everyone before we commence in regards to public comment who come up to state their name and
address for the record. You will have three minutes to share your thoughts with the commission and this community. As a reminder, these comments are limited to those items on the agenda or within the scope of the city's commission's jurisdiction. If you wish
to speak on an item that is on the agenda right now, please remember that you will not be given an additional opportunity to speak again once the item is called. All comments should be directed to the commission as a
whole. It's a key. All comments should be directed to the commission as a whole, not to an individual commissioner or staff member. When the three minutes is up, the timer will beep. I will ask you to please wrap up your sentence and leave the podium when you're done
speaking. Mr. Clerk. Yes, Mr. Mayor. Let's commence to public comment. First speaker is Jackson Rip Holmes. Mr. Holmes. Good morning. Good morning. Can you load the slides, please? Uh, Mr. Holmes, I received an email from you with something to share.
That's what I have from Is that what you're referring to? Correct. The Yes, the the pictures in the email. Yes. Cable TV could put up my screen. Just confirming that's what you're referring to.
Uh, yes it is. Yeah. Um, so firstly, can you please state your name and address, sir? Can you please state your name and address for the record? Uh, Jackson Palms, 35 Sidonia Avenue, Coral Gables, Florida. Uh I join uh Commissioner Fernandez in
objecting to the timing of this meeting. These votes are critical. I I uh took the opportunity to say to new Commissioner Laura today that he will be the swing vote. Guess what? Because you would not let Commissioner uh Castro
attend. He he can't be a swing vote because you're not letting her cast a vote. All right, moving on. Uh you give me three minutes. uh we have a recession coming unless we all try to stop it. Mr. Holmes, if I may, and this is within the
purview of the commission because the commission can can pass resolutions supporting uh and resisting a recession. True or false? True or false? The commission can pass resolutions and can direct the city attorney or other staff
to explore uh joining cause with other cities that are resisting certain let's say the Trump tariffs true or false. Please engage in conversation with the commission as a whole not one item of not one person on the commission and
make sure that it's on items that are we're facing today on the agenda not what not outside of the scope please. It's within the scope. It's within the jurisdiction to use your own words about public comments. The the city commission has jurisdiction to pass resolutions uh
to try to resist a a Trump recession, Trump tariff recession. Now, the proof that we're we're facing a recession or even a depression uh is in this, if you can kind of scroll down as we go. Uh um so we got the Canada tariffs. It's
it's absolute baloney. Canada. Donald Trump has driven Canada into the arms of our enemy, China. Canada has done a a trade deal uh for oil to China. That's completely counterproductive. The idea that tariffs can be used to coers Canada
to become the 51st state is absolute lunacy. Uh moving down, we're also uh President Trump is tariffing our friends and we're alienating people. as if we're embargoing these other we're these are our allies. Keep keep going
please. Uh this is very important point I want to make here. Uh this is eroding. It's as if Donald Trump is trying to destroy the United States economy with the various measures he's taking. Uh bricks is the alternative to the dollar
in the monetary system. He is catapulting that into prominence. He's driving people to support the alternative currency of bricks and that's going to hit the bond market. People are going to stop investing our economy. We cannot print our way out of a recession the way we did in 2008
because we no longer have people propping up our position at the top to be able to print money and get away with it. Keep going, please. Uh Donald Trump is hurting the developers. It's unbelievable. It's his own profession. He's he's wants to
privatize Fanny May and Freddy Mack, which he knows because he's a developer. You don't do developments without loans. And he's saying we're tanking the loans. If we privatize Fanny May and Freddy Mack, no one will be able to rely on
their mortgage because the US Treasury won't stand behind it. This could throw us alone into a depression. Um, Mr. Holmes, please finish your sentence. Thank you. You have 10 seconds. The city has an interest in this. The city depends on a lot of grants that are
given. I I think you would affirm that people that have been here and and these grants are now all in doubt because of this. The city needs to get to protect us from a recession. Thank you very much. Next speaker,
please. Mrs. Mary Cruz. By the way, what was stated before about uh Commissioner Melissa being out is not the same as going on vacation as to having surgery. There's a big
difference. Mrs. Maria Cruz 1447 Miller Road since 1976. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Thank
you, Mr. Mayor, for using this same song during your swearing in. Today is not a good day for the city of Corables. That day the mayor spoke about not only words but actions. We heard a priest and a
rabbi. Even the elected speak about respect, collegiality, civility, extending your hands and working for the common good. And here we are to discuss the mayor's actions. His continued
bullying, harassing, humiliating, and disrespecting of women. Yes, his actions speak louder than his words. In our city, we have many women in all levels of government from the top to the
bottom. And many have witnessed your reprehensible behavior, but are afraid to speak up. All of you, young and old, know that what he is doing is wrong. But choose mostly out of fear for your jobs
to let it be and accept accept it as the way it is. When you do that, you allow it to continue. Please don't. Madam City Attorney, think of your mothers, sisters, daughters, even yourselves. know that you're not alone and that all
of us together can and will put an end to this. Enough is enough. Let's make it happen. Let today be the first day in our quest to bring back respect, civility, collegibility, and goodwill to all
especially to those who are seen as weak and vulnerable are women. And I'm going to close with a quote from, forgive me if I misspel his last name, Martin Neimler. This was a German that spoke
during the Holocaust. And this is what it says. First they came for the socialist and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionist and I did not speak out because
I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me. Ladies that work for the city of Corables, think about it. You
could be next. Before we move on to the next item, the next speaker, remember there are rules of procedure. Address the commission as a whole. Do not address one individual on the commission. Mr. Clerko, good morning.
Good morning and mayor logo commissioners and fellow residents. For the record, my name is Claudia Miro. I've had the honor of running for office in this city twice. And while I did not win, I had the privilege of knocking on thousands of
doors and firsthand speaking to thousands of neighbors across Coral Gables. What I heard time and time again was outrage. Outrage over the raises that this body voted to give itself and a
deep concern over the erosion of transparency and trust in our local government. Let me be clear. Just because you can do something with a three-fifths majority does not mean you should. That is still true today. Power
used without principle is an abuse. And that is exactly how many in our community viewed the decision to increase commission salaries done not through public input or careful deliberation, but through a rushed and self-serving vote. That action and others like it, including the lack of
process in hiring and firing a city manager and the increasing disregard for Robert's rules of order even today, have damaged public confidence. Any action that erodess public trust is by definition bad
governance. The voters made their voices heard. Mayor Logo was reelected with nearly 56% of the vote. Vice Mayor Anderson with nearly 59% of the vote. and then Commissioner Lara with nearly 56% of the vote. As a woman, I'm proud
that you received the most amount of votes. Uh Vice Mayor, these numbers are not close. They are a clear mandate, a message from the people demanding accountability, civility, and a return to order. And let
me tell you what else I heard from residents. They're tired. Tired of infighting. Tired of leaders playing the victim. tired of cheap shots and political theater. People don't want drama. They want dignified leadership. They want results.
And that's why I stand here today hopeful. Hopeful that under Mayor Lago's leadership, this commission will course correct. Hopeful that new voices will learn quickly from past mistakes where they're made from inexperience or misplaced ambition, and that we can
focus on restoring integrity to this chamber. Just last night, I received an email from the Coral Gables Neighborhood Association, CGNA, titled, "Let the games begin." Let me be clear. Returning
salaries to prior levels is not a game. It is not a punishment. It is a necessary step to correct a decision made in disregard of the public will. Reducing salaries to $1 is a just measure because commissioners have already consumed in just two years the
full salary or close to it amount that they would have expected over a four-year term. That is a salary they signed up for when they chose to run. And anything more violates the trust of the electorate. Labeling a game is exactly the kind of divisiveness the city finish your sentence, please. Yes.
Thank you. Labeling a game is exactly the kind of divisiveness our city does not need. And the voters are watching. They've already spoken once and they will do it again and anyone who speaks who chooses discord division and diverges from the will of the people will be held accountable at the polls. And lastly, as budget season approaches,
I look forward to seeing what this commission and hopefully a new responsible majority will do to bring Coral Gables back on track. Please, let's move forward with civility, integrity, and inclusion. Thank you very much, Mr. Clerk. That's it, Mr. Mayor. Thank you very much.
Moving on uh to the first item at hand. Madam city attorney, please read the title. Thank you, mayor. Item B1 is an ordinance of the city commission amending section one creation, composition, election terms, vacancies, qualifications in section 1.1 runoff
election of article 1, city commission and mayor of the city charter to change the date of the general election from April 13, 2027 to November 3rd, 2026, and to change the date of all subsequent elections, providing for a fourmonth reduction of existing terms of office, moving the runoff election to four weeks
after the general election, and moving the swearing in date to 5 weeks after the general election. section amending section three election to office commission as judge of qualifications requirements ballots canvasing and qualifying periods amending the qualifying period adopting such charter amendments pursuant to section
100.3605 101.75 and 166.0214 Florida statutes providing for a repeater provision severability clause codification and providing for an effective date the deputy city attorney can present thank you madam city attorney thank you Mr. Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of the commission, Stephanie Throckmorton, deputy city
attorney. As the city attorney mentioned in that very long title, this is an item that changes the date of our election and would change the April 13, 2027 election to November 3rd, 2026. As we've discussed previously, our charter calls for elections in April. However, state
law allows that that date can be changed via ordinance, and that's what this ordinance is before you today. It would um reduce the existing terms of three of the five current members and then the additional two in two additional years by four months as the swearing in would
then occur in December of 2026 rather than April of 2027. It adjusts the runoff date from two weeks to four weeks. This is to comply with what we've heard from Miami date county elections that given the Thanksgiving holiday and the larger November election, it would be to be a larger runoff period. And it
also amends the um qualification day to earlier in the summer to qualify um in time for the ballot for November. Um I would note that this is an item we've discussed previously. I'm happy to go into the details of the um of the changes to the charter, but you can see them all in the ordinance. And as I
mentioned before, this is one area of the law where the state has allowed us to amend our charter via ordinance. So happy to answer any questions. No, fine. Before we move on to the commission, Mr. Mr. Cler, do we have any public comment? Yes, Mr. Mayor. First speaker, Mrs. Mary
Cruz. Remember, please state your name and address for the record. As a reminder, there is a three-minute time limit. Once the time beeps, I will ask you to finish your sentence and be seated. If you spoke during the public comment period on this agenda item, I will remind you that you will not be given an opportunity to speak again.
Please address all comments to the commission as a whole, not an individual. Mrs. Maria Cruz, 1447 Miller Road. And let let it be known that every time I speak, I give my
name and address. I never hide. This is very interesting because there was a petition circulated in this city asking the residents to
um change to sign that they wanted to change the elections. This petition was started January 1st, 2024. As of April 2425, a year and three
months, they collected 4,983 uh signatures. Only 1461 were valid and 3,522 were not. How do I know? because the
elections department produces a status report and the status report dated April 24, 2025 lists those numbers. So here we are trying to do
what the residents what the taxpayers did not choose to do. Once again, it's what I, the emperor, wants, not necessarily what the people want. And before, before somebody brings up the
recall petition, we I I was the head of the recall petition. I was the figure head. And we had one month, one month, not a year and three months, one month. We
collected 1,719 petitions out of which 1,533 were valid. So 1,500 residents in this city wanted to recall the mayor and
only 186 were not valid. So compare that to the previous numbers. If you don't believe him, I can forward you the email where their status report is. And I'm sure that I did not use my three minutes, but have a wonderful day.
Again, if I may, I'd like to remind you, please stick to items on the agenda. Failed recall efforts are not on the agenda. Let's address the issues on the agenda today. We will follow our rules
and procedures. Mr. Clerk, Jackson Holmes, Okay. Um, first of all, I think we should have not had this meeting rushed. Uh, there's this is a very important item and, uh, people have not even really gotten
full notice nor the ability to study the items, myself included, uh, as to, um, the, um, issue of when is the election. Uh people can deny this all they want, but
the real motive uh that was behind switching this from April to November is to let money, developer money control the outcome. Uh and so the developers in a November election know that people are
not going to be paying that close of attention. They're going to be paying attention to who they vote for for president, for senator, for governor. and uh the votes in the city races will be an afterthought heavily influenced by how much they've seen the name recognition generated by developers as
opposed to local candidates knocking on doors. So that's what this whole thing is about. It's de developers buying city hall. Um I haven't had a chance to fully ex study the the legal ramifications. I
think Maria Cruz's comments were right. If if this is so legal to do it this way instead of by petition, instead of requiring a vote of the voters, then how come you sought a vote of uh you circulated a petition to begin with? The
petition is relevant because it shows that that there's a a competing interpretation of the law. And given the consequence of this, I will support litigation if it's appropriate. I haven't had time to thoroughly study it
uh to to to stop this effort, this item. Thank you. Thank you. Clauddio. Morning. Good morning again, Cladio. Uh residing at 343 Majora Avenue, um 33134 Cro Gables. Um, I did want to wasn't planning on speaking on this issue, but
you know, I think that it's important because um, as someone who worked in Tallahassee for so many years, you know that it takes years to get a bill passed. You know, here we have the we enjoy the instant sat gratification of getting, you know, things passed uh, right away. But in Tallahassee, it takes
one year after another. And um, I don't think this is an issue that we're should continue to discuss and fight over at a city level because it's being addressed at the state level. Um there is a a bill in Tallahassee and it's Senate Bill 1416. It did not make it, as you know, session has ended, but it will be back
again next year. And the way that it works is that it gets further along in the process, one committee to the next until it finally passes. It gets further along every year. It takes on amendments and then finally it passes. So, you know, I see us all there's arguments, good arguments to be made on both sides
of this issue to have them in April, to have them in November. But right now there is a movement in Tallahassee and as I believe uh the staff person who talked about this, this is an area where the state can come and tell us how they want things done. So that's exactly what they're doing right now. There is a
movement across the entire state of Florida that it expands much further than our city of Coral Gables to move all municipal elections for to November. So, I just kind of wanted to say that because I think there's a lot of people who really don't know that this is going on and us, you know, titting and tatting
about it all about it when it's going to happen anyway and it's in the process of happening right now. So, I just wanted to kind of bring that uh to the public forefront and thank you very much for entertaining my comments. Thank you very much, Mr. Clerk. That's it, Mr. Mayor. All right. I I'll entertain a motion.
I'll move this and thank you, Mayor. I'd like to make some comments when the time is appropriate. If we have a second, we can proceed to comment. Is there a second? Second. Now is the time for uh discussion amongst the commission. You want to Mr. Chair, I just wanted to clarify one item. I neglected to mention
earlier that this does have a whereas clauses that should this ordinance be adopted by the city commission, the city also wishes to send a question to the electors of the city for affirmation of this change during a special election to be held at a later date as determined by the city commission. And I apologize for not mentioning that. We can talk about that during the discussion. Madam vice
mayor, and I want to thank you, mayor, for bringing this item back. This is something I brought um approximately two years ago and during this past election, it was one of my uh platform issues to move the elections to November to increase voter turnout, increase voter
participation so that we make it easier for people to vote and don't do what uh has some been done in some municipalities and that is try to reduce voter turnout in order to make sure that incumbents get reelected. Um this is something that our state representative
felt very strongly about. I think the voters has spoken by choosing the individuals that they have reelected and elected in Mr. uh Commissioner Laura into the seat that this consistent issue amongst all three of us. So um I also
brought this issue before the the Florida League of Cities to try to have consensus among all cities in the state of Florida. Not all cities are the same. This is a large city where we have a lot of people involved. We're not a snowbird city anymore. And some of those tiny
towns in the middle of the state of Florida do have snowbird type cities where it's better to have the elections dur other times a year other than in November. So uh we're not uh burdened by that uh aspect of it. And if you look
historically at the political uh divide on when elections are and it's typically incumbents who want to have these offseason elections again to ensure that they get reelected by the same pool of people elected them in the first place. I think the voters have spoken loudly in
this election and support this idea this measure to move the elections to November. Thank you madam vice mayor Mr. Commissioner Commissioner. Thank you. um auspicious moment. It's my first time speaking at the uh commission meeting, so thank you for giving me the privilege
to speak at this point. Um echoing the vice mayor's uh comments, as everybody knows who participated in this last election, this was a platform um point for me. It was one of the tenants of why I ran and uh for the thousands of homes
that I knocked on over the last year and a half. Um, this was not only a point that I made perfectly clear, uh, but the residents also made perfectly clear back to me that they wanted to have greater voice, greater representation. I I think it's, um, an argument, uh, that can be
made on two sides, but I think that the the right side of the argument is the one that we have before us today. So, uh, at the risk of being redundant, vice mayor, uh, want to repeat, you know, as we all know, the the electorate, uh, will typically in a good year during
an April odd year election appear with anywhere between 17 to 20% of the registered voters actually voting. I do not believe and I don't subscribe to the view that Coral Gables does not vote because in a November even year, you're going to look at numbers that exceed 80%
of the electorate turning out to vote. So rather than seek a continued um position which uh in some view can be described as being voter suppression which is in my view an April oddyear election. We should try and be inclusive
and make it easier for people to vote rather than make it more difficult for them to vote. I know that this most recent election underscores what I'm saying because not only do we have a large turnout for the general election, my runoff election was the largest in
the history of Coral Gables. And I think that when they come out in those numbers, it matches up exactly with what I heard when I was knocking on the doors. And that's the residents wanted a change. And that is one of the promises and the commitments that I made. And that will be one of the promises and
commitments today that I will deliver. So, not only are we giving what the people deserve and ask for, which is a greater voice at the at the ballot box, we'll also be saving some money by moving this to November, and not an insignificant amount. I'm not saying
that's the driving voice or the driving point, but it is certainly an additional benefit for why uh I'm supportive of this initiative, this item agenda put forth by the mayor. Um so with that, mayor, I turn it back to you. Thank you,
Commissioner. Commissioner Fernandez. So, um I agree. I did I do think that we saw a desire of residents to chime in on the November election. Um, but I think Miss Barau pointed it out perfectly. Just because we
have an ability to do so in state law to change the election unilaterally, I think it is something that should be left up to voters to decide. Um, Miss Cruz's point on the referendum is something that I was looking into over
the last few days. in a year and a half there wasn't even the ability to collect enough signatures to get this item on the ballot. So the question is whether residents really want to make the change. Miss Ro also brought up another very good point which is the state of Florida is currently considering
legislation. The uh state's legislation would actually save the city more money than a change the change that is being proposed today. Uh that change would move the general election to August with a runoff in November which would allow
for the city to only spend $20,000 or 25,000. Is that the new number, Mr. Clerk, that you sent in the memo? That sounds about right. Um on each of the two elections, but I think this is a decision that should be left up to the residents of the city of Coral Gables. I don't think that seeing the election
results would tell us exactly where they felt on this one issue. I think they felt these were the candidates that they wanted up here. These are the the elected officials that they wanted representing them. Um, but my opinion and my support is to to place this item on the ballot for residents to make the
decision. Thank you. U, I'm going to be very brief. I echo the sentiments of uh the vice mayor and commissioner Lada. They're well taken. Uh, they're well placed. I want to be clear. Uh, there was a comment that was made uh quality versus quantity. Every vote is quality
and we should always remember that. Uh to the point of the vice mayor and also commissioner lot, if you look at the numbers from 2025, the runoff numbers were the largest runoff numbers in the history of the city of Port Gables, they were larger than commissioner
Fernandez's general election in 2023. That's a statement in itself. In that election, you had 20.9% people come out to vote. In the runup, we had 23.14. Significant. This was almost as large as
my first general election in 2021, where we had almost 10,500 people vote. In this election, we had 10,126. I walked thousands of homes in this community, as I've done in the past. The statement was very clear. They
won a November election. I pulled this through a professional pollster. Over 72% of individuals that were pulled viewed this as a no-brainer, saving the city money and ensuring
transparency. So today, we move forward. And the great part about this as a sponsor of this item is I'm not benefiting myself. I'm shaving four months from my term to ensure that we offer transparency. You will not hear that from the blogs. You will not hear that
from the Heralds, but that is what we were hopefully doing today and it's the right thing to do. You should never ever be afraid to go before more voters and have them be the judge in regards to whether you have done a good job for the city. Like Commissioner Fernandez just
stated, the residents have spoken. It's clear. The mandate is larger than ever. Let's move forward and deliver what the residents want. We have a motion and a second. Mr. Clerk, I call a question. Vice Mayor Anderson? Yes. Commissioner
Fernandez, for the reason stated, no. Commissioner Lara, yes. Mayor Lago, yes. I also like to put on the record, as our city attorney mentioned, this will go to the voters also to ensure that this is again the correct thing to do on behalf
of the representation of the residents of the city. Beautiful. Thank you very much. Moving on to item B2. B2 is an ordinance of the city commission amending city code chapter 2 administration article 3 boards commissions committee section 2-79 order of business to clarify and
amend public comment and commission sponsorship procedures providing for severability clause repeat provision and providing for an effective date. Mr. Clerk, do you have any public comment? Yes, Mr. Mayor. Let's proceed. Miss Mary Cruz, I'm sorry. You first. I apologize.
Excuse me. That's all right. Thank you, mayor, vice mayor, commissioners. Again, Stephanie Throckmorton, deputy city attorney. Just to quickly summarize what this ordinance does. It amends section 2-79 of the city code to clarify a few procedures related to sponsorship of items and to expedite the work of the
city and the commission by clarifying that public comment shall only be received during the open public comment portion of the agenda, which we had earlier today, during scheduled public hearings like this one, and in any when whenever else required by law. The city code currently does not outline any procedures for sponsorship of agenda
items. This revision would um note that the commissioner who initially requests the placement of an item on the agenda will be identified as the sponsoring commissioner and then during the public meeting when that item is considered the sponsoring commissioner may add co-sponsors. Thank you very much. Thank
you, Mr. Clerk. Merry Cruz. Once again, Mrs. Maria Cruz, 1447 Miller Road. This is almost deja vu because when I read
this, I remember vividly how this came about. And at the point this came about. There was only one person sitting in the commission who pushed for the ability to residents to speak whenever they wanted
to speak. That was what was requested. That's what went through. And it's interesting because it was done uh for transparency because we wanted to hear what the people had to say. And now
what some people are calling the Maria Cruz uh resolution or ordinance or whatever you call it is to keep the people from saying what they think and only apply what the law requires. So if the law doesn't require it, the
residents would not be able to speak. Good job, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Clerk, Jackson Holmes. Uh, thank you. Um, uh, you know, it's it's, uh, I'm going to use the term mayor
generically. Uh, it's it's really unfortunate that our mayor uh, spearheaded uh, robust public comment and advanced the cause of democracy. And yet I think the the mayor
is sponsoring this limitation of public comment. Um which is um I I really actually don't understand it. Now uh there is a 3-2 majority. By the way, I think the 3-2 majority I I I
I don't was bought. Okay. It was bought with uh you uh some of you are lawyers. Uh, Citizens United was a cit was what enabled developers essentially to buy city hall. The it's been proven by
ProPublica and by Senator Sheldon White House. See his YouTube channel that the the US Supreme Court was bribed, criminally bribed by the Federalist Society. So the and and they bribed their way into the Citizens United
decision. the very guy who bribed those Supreme Court justices won the Citizens United decision. So this idea that we just had a fair election that was a voice of the people is wrong. Uh it was a product of uh criminal bribery of the
US Supreme Court in the Citizens United decision. uh and yes so so the election was bought uh by developers and uh that's why we had the election outcome that we had. Thank you, Mr. Clerk.
Claudia Mido, good morning. I'm sure you're tired of seeing my face right now, but I have a lot to say this morning, it seems. And so, as someone who ran for office here just recently and knocked on doors, again, my vote was not bought, nor was any of those votes
that of the folks that voted for me or voted for any of you. Um, again, I am happy that this is happening because I'm sick and tired as a resident for the last couple of years that our meetings have become the butt of all jokes because of the lack of civility and the
lack of order, lack of Robert's rules of order, and everybody doing whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. So, I think this is a step in the direction of having order while still allowing people to speak just at a certain time. Just get everything you have to say out so that I don't have to keep coming up here
three and four times to speak on everything. Um, and I'm glad that today it's that way so that I'm able to say the things that I want to say. So, I thank you for moving uh this item so that we can have peace and order and more civility just brought back now. We need that. We need to have that restored
as a city. We need it for our city uh reputation so that we can continue to have the respect that we've always had as the city beautiful. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. That's it, Mr. Mayor. I'll entertain a motion. I'll move it. I'll take a second. Second,
Madam Vice Mayor. Um, mayor, thank you again for bringing this item. I think that we do need to restore order in our commission meetings. Uh that was a resounding comment from so many residents that I knocked doors of that
why can't we control the meetings and then after spending some time with them about this override procedure and why don't we stick to Robert's rules of order we can get a lot more good business done if we stick to the issues
and control the comment period. I've referenced this as much many times as running like a federal court because I'm used to the federal court structure. You're limited on amount of time that you can speak. You focus on the salient points and you deliver your message. So,
thank you, Mayor. Commissioner Lada. Yes. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak on this. This is yet another one of those um tenets um underlying principle for why I ran. Um you know uh two years ago
almost exactly I witnessed what was a decidedly um material change in the course in which this body governed and decidedly in the wrong direction. You know, I I'm not one taken to be a person who speaks
in stridident tones or tries to grandstand, but um I believe that we have been experiencing in the last two years exigent circumstances in terms of how this dis conducted itself and I believe it lost its way. I made this as
a point when I decided to run uh to the residents. I took it to the to the people directly and more resoundingly than any other single issue, this is the one that came back with an emphasis from the residents. They want their coral
gables back to put it as simply as that. And it starts with the way it governs itself. This sacred, disrespected body needs to find its way back. And so um I I I took it upon myself to support each
and every one of us here on the dis. I believe Mr. mayor that this particular item agenda is a major step in the right direction to try and ensure that we not only give the residents an opportunity to be heard because
certainly that is not what is going on here to curtail or limit the ability for the public to express its commentary but rather to do so in an orderly a respectful efficient manner so that we can go about the business of the
residents at the bas. So, as uh the vice mayor noted, uh she's been forged in the kiln of litigation as so have I as a lawyer for over 25 years litigating and we've been trained, right, that in order to get our message across, we need to be
uh supported with facts. We need to make the issues clear and we need to state it within the time that the rules allow. And it has worked brilliantly uh for a time in memorial. So, I don't think it's even close to being a controversial item
today. I uh will end by saying this is yet another one of those promises on the campaign that I made and this will be another one that I deliver. Commissioner Fernandez, thank you. Um so, I think there's two parts to this. Um, the clerk had actually spoken to me about the
sponsorship of items uh several times uh and his concern about co-sponsoring of items and how that could be seen as a violation of of the sunshine law because then we're sponsoring items that we technically haven't gotten information on. Um, so I have no absolutely no issues with that portion of this
legislation. Um, I do believe that silencing residents or not allowing public comment uh on items of importance um is not a direction that I can support. Uh last commission about two years ago now. uh
we worked on uh legislation to allow that public comment with the vice mayor uh to ensure that residents had the opportunity to speak and that if members of the commission were bringing up an item that they believed public comment should be allowed for uh it would be allowed um by the sponsor of that item.
Um I also believe you're absolutely correct Commissioner Lara and and Vice Mayor I think time uh constraints are important to keep. uh we have had public comments that have gone on for 17 minutes, 10 minutes uh and that definitely should not be taking place.
But I think we should also consider going forward time constraints also on the time that we as members of the commission speak on these issues because a lot of times you go back and watch commission meetings. We are just going over and rehashing the same points over and over and over again. uh
municipalities like the city that the town of Miami Lakes have a threeminut limit on the sponsor of an item uh two minutes for each uh member of the council and then one minute of rebuttal for the sponsor. That way the meetings flow. One of the biggest complaints that
we've heard from residents and we've heard it here at commission meetings, we've heard it out on the campaign trail is I have an item on the agenda and I'm watching the meeting for five, six, eight hours waiting for my agenda item to come up. So that's something that
that we should also consider. So again, I I'm 100% supportive of the sponsorship of items on the agenda, but I cannot support anything that would uh hinder the ability of residents to voice their opinions during commission meetings. Thank you. Uh madame city attorney, as
our attorney, are we chilling uh public comment? Are we doing anything different than the city of Miami, Miami date county, Deral, Miami Beach, and other municipalities in Miami date county which employ the same exact rules and procedures. Mayor, um the the open
public comment period remains and so a anyone who wishes to speak on any item on the agenda can do so during the public comment period at the beginning of each each meeting. Um and so that is always um that opportunity to speak and be heard is always there. We need to be very thoughtful and moving forward we
will be in one form or another uh to stop the spread of misinformation. What I've heard from people walking door to door is they come to meetings and they have not been able to speak as a result of the pontification that continues by certain members of the commission and the
community. We will not show speech. We will be thorough and to the point. All other cities in Miami Day County employ the same rules. This should be done to ensure collegiality and respect for the body. When we talk about issues in
regards to, for example, that the elections were bought, there's no place for that in this body. Whether it's in April or November, that has been used as an excuse. The residents have spoken. They
came out in droves. And this is one of the items that they told me was critically important for them. Mr. Clerk, I call a question. Commissioner Fernandez, for the reasons stated, no. Commissioner Lara, yes. Vice
Mayor Anderson, yes. Mayor Log, yes. Thank you very much. Moving on to item B3 A. Mayor, um, just for a a point of like organization, do you want to consider 3A and 3B together? Perfectly fine. So we read them both
into the record and we can consolidate for purposes of the public hearing. Yes, ma'am. Okay. So item B3A is an ordinance of the city commission amending city code chapter 2 administration article 2 city commission section 2-29 compensation of mayor commissioners
travel allowance to adjust the compensation and expense allowance of the mayor and commissioners providing for severability clause repeated provision and providing for an effective date. Item B-3B is an ordinance of the city commission amending city code chapter 2 administration article 2 city commission section 2-29 compensation of
mayor commissioners travel allowance to adjust the compensation and expense allowance of the mayor and commissioners to $1 annually providing for severability clause repeater provision and providing for an effective date as noted on the agenda both of these um ordinance cannot be adopted only one can be adopted by the commission madam city
attorney thank you again for the record Stephanie Throck Martin deputy city attorney I'll go over um 3A first if that's all right with you, Mr. Mayor. So 3A adjusts the compensation back to that level at the end of the 2022 2023 fiscal year with those included CPI increases
that are set forth in the current code provision. So the amounts are detailed in the ordinance itself. It also adjusts the expense allowance back to that amount at the end of the 2022 2023 fiscal year and it eliminates the car allowance which was added in the 2023
2024 fiscal year. So that's item 3 A. Item 3B, as the city attorney mentioned in the title, adjusts the compensation to $1 annually um until October 1st, 2026 will when it will revert to that fiscal
year 2223 amount with any CPI increases is set forth in the ordinance. It reduces the expense allowance to $1 annually and then it eliminates the car same car allowance that was added in 2023. that expense allowance will also go back to the 2022 2023 levels um in
2026. So, apologies for all those numbers, but I'm happy to answer any questions about those two items. Mr. Clerk, uh yes, Mr. Mayor, I have members of the public requesting to speak on this item. First speaker, Mrs. Maria Cruz. Good
morning. Thank you, Madam City Attorney. Mrs. Maria Cruz, 1447 Miller Road. I thought it was required to um say your name and address every time you spoke. So, I guess I was wrong.
Maybe it's only need to be done once because not everybody's following the order as uh established. Um, this is very interesting. And once again, I'm going to put on the record that we did have a referendum petition
and we did have um signatures collected for over a year, actually almost a year and a half. They collected 7,718 signatures. Only 2,13 were valid.
thrown out for not being valid. 5,615. So, here we go again. And I'm I'm dealing with B3 and B uh B2, what is 3 A and 3B because it's important for people to know that we're pushing
what the people did not sign for. We're doing what we what we some of the people sitting on the dis think is important even though they've been collecting the money even though they said that they were going to give it to charity but
they cannot produce the that information when requested. So some hypocrisy here. Thank you. Again I remind everyone please provide your name and your address. Do not insult anyone on the
dis. We will be professional. We will conduct ourselves like the city of Pearl Gables. Mr. Clerk, Jackson Holmes. Good morning. Good morning. Um, reverting back to the
last thing. Um what what I uh didn't say well but what I was trying to communicate about buying elections is that uh the money uh provided by developers to their favorite candidates
uh paid for the communications which ended up controlling what information voters got because the people who were not financed by developers did not have the to get their word out. Now, fortunately,
the Coral Gables Gazette has reactivated. So far, they've shown the courage to stay active and we can get what we my side considers the truth out as opposed to the message which won the election because there was no Coral Gables Gazette to set the record
straight. Um, money does influence elections. It influenced the last election. Uh so anyways uh on on this item again I think we get back into the influence of money. The reason that these uh salaries
were raised to be begin with was to make commissioners independent of uh money from developers. It's the same principle as publicly financed elections. when when people can get taxpayer money to if
they reach a certain threshold to to run their campaigns, then they're free of influence by lobbyists. And uh I I don't understand why this vindictive thing to just give a dollar for the next year and
a half uh is being undertaken. It's it's beneath uh the uh the the the proponent. The mayor is has a pretty good reputation. He may run for higher office. Why poison the water? Why uh invite Joe Coroyo politics
into this? We should be doing things in in a highbrow way. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. That's it, Mr. Mayor. All right, Madame Vice Mayor. I would like to move 3A, but have an
opportunity to speak on 3B. Um After we have a second on the motion, I'll second. Commissioner Lada, I'll second. But would like comment on 3B.
Was there a motion in a second? I seconded. We got two seconds. Commissioner Ariel Fernandez. Would you like to speak? No. No. The vice mayor was just waiting for the second. Yeah, I was just waiting for the second. So, I did read Robert. Let's
make sure that we speak through the M. Madam Vice Mayor, so um I already indicated I'm supportive of 3A, but on 3B, mayor, you bring a very valid point and um because this body had received um
without transparent means and this is one of those election issues that residents were upset with how it was done. lack of transparency, a doubling of salaries and receipt of expense monies without the requirement of keeping any receipts
whatsoever. Okay. Or and uh a car allowance that was not required to be used for a vehicle. 3B I think is a very valid point to bring to the voters. Should our salaries be a dollar or should they be at another level? This
is something I think that we need to continue to have a discussion about. and uh determine whether or not we should put this item to the voters in November. Thank you, Commissioner Fernandez. Um so I I put out a statement uh a couple of
weeks ago regarding this issue. Um I too have heard from residents over the last uh year about this issue. Um when this issue first came up, there were only two residents who spoke out against it. We had numerous residents who came into this chamber, spoke on Zoom in favor of
the compensation changes. Um, one of the main issues that was brought up was it opened up the opportunity for more members of the public, regular residents to participate in the in the process and be part of this commission. Um, the
concern that others have brought to my attention since then is a lower compensation provides an opening for deals that members of the commission would have to do in order to receive compensation. Um, and that has been a
concern that has brought been brought up for numerous months. I do believe like the vice mayor that the issue should be put up to voters and for residents to have a say on what compensation should be going forward. Uh that was one of the proposals that I was bringing up at the
May 20th uh commission meeting was to have an item on the agenda, I'm sorry, on the ballot for residents to decide for a process for for compensation. I I think that bringing the compensation down to a
dollar is a measure that although novel, I don't think it brings about the change that residents are asking for and residents on both sides of the issue.
whether supportive of the compensation or not have voiced their concerns about that change. So I am supportive of 3A uh madame vice mayor and I look forward to working with you in the coming months on a potential ballot measure that we can
put forward uh so that residents can decide what adequate compensation is. Right. So let's I'll try to be clear and to provide some context. Uh as I see um the impetus for this agenda item. As
those may recall, two years ago, um, a majority of the commission at that time, Commissioner Fernandez, Commissioner Castro, and former Commissioner Kirk Mendez, uh, voted for themselves, uh, overall a doubling of their total compensation, including the addition of
a prior uh, uh, unawwarded and now awarded car allowance to conduct business in the city of Coral Gables of almost $9,000 a year. So this was um outrageous in my view because um there
was no meaningful discussion with the public. There was no separate item agenda to be able to have meaningful public discussion, take questions, town hall meetings, anything of the sort. Let's not forget that these three
commissioners, with all respect, ran knowing exactly what the salary was when they sought elected office. They did not run on a campaign promise of doubling their pay. And yet that's what they did. And
I'll quote one of my colleagues here that simply because it's something that can be done doesn't make it the right thing to do. That's my view. And that happened to be the overwhelming view of the residents of the thousands of doors that I knocked on over the last year and
a half. So, in my view, what this all is in a simple way is a reset. I'm not here to determine what a commissioner should make. I believe that should ultimately be what the residents decide because the
residents are the bosses of the commissioners, not the body in and of itself when it comes to compensation. what the salary was during the 2022 2023 period is what uh I believe uh ethically
and morally and also what the people believe it should be. Um and whatever it is that the people would want in terms of a change to compensation whether to increase it, keep it the same, the lower it should be put I believe to
referendum. In the meantime, I believe that this should be brought back to what it was before the commission majority at that time decided to uh double it. Uh with respect to item 3B, I think I
understand the rationale behind that. Um, it is not a dollar, if I understand it correctly, in perpetuity, but rather a dollar for a two-year period where it would then mean that at the conclusion of a 4-year period, the commissioners
that doubled for themselves their compensation would have a true up to be what it was if they in fact had kept to the same compensation package uh that was in place at the time that they ran for elected office. So I don't see it as
punitive. I, you know, arguably it would be punitive to me as I wasn't elected two years ago. But I want to be clear that on 3B, it's perfectly fine with me if it's a dollar. It's perfectly fine for me if it goes back to what it was in
2223. But in an interest of moving forward, in the interest of trying to dissuade anyone of the thought that what we're doing here at the dis is something that would be punitive or politically motivated uh which it decidedly uh
should not be. I am supportive of of 3A uh for those reasons. Thank you, Commissioner. Um try I will try to be as concise and quick as possible. I am in favor of 3A. The reason why I
brought forward 3B is because we're under the sunshine and we have to put forward all our ideas in an effort to ensure that the residents get what they deserve, which as as we knock on thousands of doors, what I heard over and over and over again was
restitution and that this was egregious and disrespectful. I was forced along with the vice mayor to vote no on the budget because this was tucked in on the budget. This was hidden in the budget. I pleaded and begged to have this excluded
and and heard at a commission meeting. Commissioner Fernandez, Commissioner Castro, and then Commissioner Kirk Menendez emphatically said no. I requested this be brought before the voters in a referendum.
The answer was no. And for further backup, Mr. Clerk, will you please roll the tape? My point is simple. During the budget hearing, if you remember, I requested for transparency. I asked who on the
dis had requested this be placed on the agenda, placed in the budget. Both the vice mayor and myself stated unequivocally it was not us at that point. Then city manager stated that he had received three requests from three
commissioners. I'm in favor of 3A and again I will reiterate those three commissioners were Ariel Fernandez, Kirk Menendez and Melissa Castro. You can walk this back whatever way you want, but that shows a lack of sensibility towards the residents and a
true understanding and respect for taxpayer dollars. Moving forward, I would like to move forward with 3A and I will be requesting on second reading, Madam City Attorney, that any further discussion or
consideration of salary increases be put forth via referendum for the residents. This is something you and I have been discussing for time. And if we are going to increase salaries or let it go before the residents for consideration and approval. So we can
bring a resolution at the next meeting when this one's considered. If it is adopted, it would be a resolution um approving ballot language. So a question is put forth to the voters for a charter amendment so that changes to compensation must be approved by the voters. We can work on that. Sir, Mr.
Clerk, with that amendment, I I call the question on 3A. Yes, Vice Mayor Anderson. Yes, Commissioner Fernandez. Yes, Mayor Lago. Yes. I apologize for my eyesight. Moving to
B4. Thank you. B4 is an ordinance of the city commission amending the city of Corable's code by creating chapter 2 administration article 7 finance division 1 generally section 2-352 fund balance and reserve policy to codify the fund balance and reserve policy
established pursuant to resolution number 2016-34 and to require a forfeits vote of the city commission prior to spending general fund reserves except during a declared state of emergency and to provide that the policy may be amended by ordinance approved by a forfeits vote of the city commission providing for repeater provision severability clause
codification and providing for an effective date. Madam city attorney good morning again mayor vice mayor commissioners this item as the city attorney mentioned in the title codifies resolution 201634 which is the city of Coral Gable's fund balance and reserve policy which was adopted by this body um
nine years ago. That fund balance is generally the 25% reserve requirement along with a a whole host of other details which would be included in the code. This ordinance provides that um use of the reserves would require a forfe vote via resolution unless there's
a um stated emergency and requires that any changes to this ordinance also require a fourfist vote. Thank you, Madam City Attorney. Mr. Mrs. Maria Cruz, 1447 Miller Road. Once again, this is very
interesting. petition was opened January 1st, 2024. As of 4:2425, 5,884 signatures were collected. The only valid signatures were 796. So there was 300
3,522 that were not certifiable. We talk about people speaking. I think it's clearly here that the people spoke 796 out of 5,884. We
only talk about people speaking when it's convenient. We uh assume that people um spoke because of whatever, but they had an opportunity over a year to speak and
they chose not to. So once again, what the emperor wants, the emperor gets. Mr. Clerk. I entertain a motion. I'll move it. I do have some alternative ballot language uh
for discussion purposes. Um, again, this is something that we tried to do previously and had to fight back from spending our reserves. It was definitely an item I discussed with thousands of people when I knocked the doors that
they don't want our reserves, which are for special emergency um matters when uh when we have hurricanes to be able to do a cleanup to be used for other purposes that we need to balance our budget. Can I get a second? Second. Now, let's have discussion.
Anything further, madam vice mayor. Um, actually, it's on the inspector general. I got the no worries. You have anything you'd like to mention here on this item? No. No. Just Commissioner L. I'll be brief. I I think it's a no-brainer. You know,
we we have to pro protect our reserves. It would require exit circumstances and a supermajority. I think that that makes all the sense of Commissioner Fernandez. So, um I think the reserves are something
that has been solid for this city for many years. Um in the past we considered very briefly during our first um budget in 2023 uh the possibility of doing what other
municipalities have been doing uh which is instead of basically keeping taxpayer dollars in the bank account putting those taxpayer dollars to work while we take out a line of credit. So it's the bank's money that's in the bank versus um the taxpayer dollars.
Um I believe that a four-fifths majority vote um to remove money from the reserves takes the power away from the residents. So I would not be supportive of that. Um and I I think
that the money in the reserves should be maintained in the reserves. Uh I agree with that policy. uh unless we're able to find a way like other municipalities have in order to put that money to use on capital projects that have been uh failing for years uh and to address the
needs of residents. How did we get here? Mr. Clerk, can you roll it the clip? I will ask cable TV to please share my screens and if they can turn up the volume. Let's start again.
Please. They don't seem to be playing loud enough. But it's essentially Commissioner Fernandez saying what he just said, which is about tapping into the reserves at 20% and uh going for adequate line of credit.
Correct. So, let me advise you how reckless this is as a business owner in the private sector, which my colleague, Commissioner Fernandez, is not. We have, since I've worked as your commissioner, as your vice mayor and as your mayor for 12 years, we have doubled our
reserves. When I started, we had a double double rated city. With the leadership of my colleagues on the commission through Mayor Kasein, Mayor Valdis Fley, and my fellow colleagues in the commission, we were able to get a triple triple bond rating. One of three
cities in the state of Florida. What does that allow us to do? That allows us to borrow at a much cheaper rate when we're doing projects. Case in point, the public safety building, parking garages, renovations, that is the point of having
a triple zero bond rating. Speak to any finance professional, they will tell you if you tap into the reserves, it shows financial weakness and it puts us at risk. Number one. Number two, Commissioner Fernandez also
mentioned in the past, I was hoping we'd be able to see it all, that we should stop underfunding the pension the way we've been over the way we've been funding it. When I started, our pension was funded to the tune of 51%. Now we're almost at 80%. that has taken
significant belt tightening and putting a 13 check of over $9 million last year, which we could buy a lot of projects and a lot of goodwill with, but the appropriate thing and the fiduciary in me and the responsible business person
in me requires that we do what's right by our employees and by our residents. Let me also remind you, which I did on the record when Commissioner Fernandez spoke about this on our last hurricane, why were we the first ones to be cleaned
up? Why were we the first ones out of the starting blocks in the position that we're in? We use money from our reserves. We did not have to go to the banks and get a credit line. We waited six to seven years, as our finance director will tell you, to get paid back from the state of Florida.
These are facts. You can't spin the money. Can't spin it. Okay. Getting a line of credit and spending the reserves is one of the most foolishly ridiculous things I've ever heard in my
life. Understand that right now, as a result of the money that we have in our reserves, we're making close to $3 million a year. If you were to spend that money on capital projects, which I've always said is you should budget for capital projects over four or five year period.
You shouldn't you should not under any circumstances feel the need to spend this money that is in reserves. Just budget for projects. And if you can't do a project, then figure out a way to do it next
year. But you should never ever spend your reserves. Never. The three million2 and a half to3 million dollars that we make a year is money that we use for capital projects that money is on interest on our
reserves. If we were to use our reserves and go to the credit markets right now, our interest rates would be 7 to 8%. Think about how much money we would be spending. So, this is the type of reckless behavior why I'm bringing forward this piece of legislation. We need to protect our
city. We need to do things the right way. This was never even brought up, even considered in my first 10 years in public office. This should never ever be brought up. We should have pride in being fiduciaries. We should take
careful consideration when talking about the taxpayers's money, the voters's money, the residents money. Mr. Clerk, I call a question. Vice Mayor Anderson? Yes. Commissioner Fernandez, no. Commissioner Lara, yes.
Mayor Lago, yes. Moving on to item B5. B5 is a resolution of the city commission calling a special election on the proposed ballot question and city charter amendment to be held on November 3rd, 2026, providing for submission to the electors for approval or disapproval of a ballot question
asking whether the city charter should be amended to require the convening of a charter review committee every 10 years and outlining the composition of that committee, providing for notice, providing for inclusion in the city charter, providing for related matters, providing for an effective date. Madam city attorney, the floor is yours. Hello again, mayor, vice mayor, commissioners.
So, this resolution calls for a special election to be held in November 3rd, 2026, putting forth a question to the voter regarding the voters regarding the charter review committee. I think just summarizing the ballot question will be um instructive. So, should the city charter be amended to require that the
city commission convene a charter review committee every 10 years beginning in 2035 to review the city charter and provide recommendations to the city commission on potential amendments? That charter review committee shall consist of seven members. The commissioner and city manager will each appoint one member who is a resident of the city and
the city attorney's appointee shall be a current or former municipal or county attorney. Um, this would be set forth to the voters in November of 2026. If adopted by a majority of the voters, it would be included in our charter going forward. Thank you, Mr. I'll entertain a motion. I'll move
it. I'll second. We have public comment first. I apologize. Mr. Clerk, first speaker, Mr. Mayor, Mrs. Cruz, Mrs. Maria Cruz, 1447 Miller Road. I my understanding was that we do have a
charter uh committee working a charter review committee working on this item and I'm a little concerned about we keep hearing saving money but now we're asking for special election which costs
money so I don't understand how we want to save money on one hand and we're gonna spend money on the other one and um the charter review committee has been meeting and is supposed to be reporting
back. So I'm as I always say I'm a little confused but nothing nothing should confuse me anymore because we are we seem to be already in the campaign trail. Thank you Mr. Clerk. Jackson
Holmes. Um, let me see if I can make some of you laugh. Uh, this is an uplifting uh statement. Going back, if you'll allow me, to the question of um uh public comment,
um what I would what I had planned to do with public comment, if I felt that there was enough time, uh is to Excuse me. Say what I'm about, Mr. Holmes, if I may. I'm sorry to interrupt you. What I'd like for you to please is respect the rules and procedures and what we're
speaking about right now is issues to pertaining to the charter review. We're not talking about issues that we've already talked about in the past. Okay. Um, thank you. Well, it's not really what I wanted to communicate. Um, so
forgive me if I'm speaking out of turn. I support uh the mobility hub and I'm afraid that the recession is going to hit us. I'd like this to squeeze that in and get it built before a possible recession hits us. Back to this
question. Um the um I don't know enough about the subject. I would have liked more time to study it. Thank you. Thank you. That's it, Mr. Mayor. May I have a motion? You do. And we have a second. Second. I apologize, Madam Vice Mayor.
Um thank you, mayor, for bringing this. This brings us back to the procedures that historically were followed and now we'll have it codified uh once the voters speak uh and have it in our charter for future generations of
commissions. Thank you, Commissioner. Uh Mr. Mayor, I echo the vice mayor's u sentiments in an effort to be concise. I I agree with her and and I think there's much to be gained by having this codified. I I believe that without that
it is the charter review committee may be um utilized in a way that it wasn't intended. Whether it's bringing it back earlier than it typically is uh convened
um and at least to remove any air of impropriety uh codifying it will certainly um be a big step in the right direction. Commissioner Fernandez, I do have one question for the city attorney. Um, are
we setting a date for when it's to begin? Yes. 2035. Coming in 20 2035 would be the just open-ended. Correct. Shouldn't we set a date? Because Commissioner Lara brings up a good point. You know, there should it's too
open-ended. I think if you're just sending it in 2035 should really have a date whether it's April which is the the centennial uh or something you know that that gives us a concrete start date for for the charter review committee to to be
enacted. So um deputy city attorney could we amend the ballot language? So we have to be very careful with the ballot language. We have a word limit. Yeah. And so we'd have to tweak it to see if we can carefully I think we have the flexibility to add um a a month. We could say beginning annually or
beginning every 10 years, beginning in 25 every we could say whatever month if the commission has a suggestion and you know to the extent that it requires deletion or addition of a few words, if it's all right with you, we can modify the final version of the ballot language if the sponsor is amendable to that
amendment. Thank you very much. Are you amendable to the uh the amendment? No. Please finish your comments. All right. Um so I think that that would be the most important change because if we're talking about setting a date, we should really set a date. Uh not leave
it open-ended. It could be January of 2035 or it could be December of 2035. And and Mr. Chair, with your permission, just to clarify your comment, would you mean the end of the charter review committee or the convening of it? convening because we're talking about convening, correct? We're talking about
convening every 10 years. Uh we should be really be setting a date for convening it. Uh regardless, I'm supportive of this measure on on first reading. Thank you very much. So, there's only one reading for this item. Just to clarify, it's a resolution. Thank you.
How did we get here? The charter review, the last three charter reviews have been held every 10 years. There has been seven positions in the charter review. Each commissioner and the mayor
had a member on the charter review and then the city attorney and city clerk had a member. Commissioner Lada was too nice. He didn't want to use the word weaponized. The charter review was weaponized. Commissioner Fernandez removed the city
attorney and city clerks, excuse me, city attorney, city managers um appointments for the first time that I'm aware of. The charter was five individuals that was discussed myself and if I may, vice mayor, correct me if I'm wrong, we
oppose that. Correct. And the charter review was called instead of in 10 years, it was called in eight years in an effort to bring significant change to the city charter that in my opinion would have been detrimental. I would not have
spoken for the people. What we're doing today is redirecting course but correcting that course to what it's always been should have never happened. So we can try to confuse the
voters by stating the dates and the months. The charter review should happen every 10 years. There should be seven appointments to the charter review. Bringing before the voters is the correct thing to do in response to the resident that spoke before. Another
effort to confuse. Remember this is a national election. The election's happening anyways. Doesn't matter how many items you had on the ballot. Let's stop making a concerted effort to confuse people.
I call a question. Mr. Clerk. Commissioner Fernandez. Yes. Commissioner L. Yes. Vice Mayor Anderson? Yes. Mayor Log? Yes. B6. B6 is a resolution of the city commission calling a special election on the proposed ballot question and city
charter amendment to be held on November 3rd, 2026, providing sub for submission to the electors for approval or disapproval of a ballot question asking whether the city charter should be amended to require an inspector general with certain powers including the power to subpoena witnesses either by the Miami date county inspector general or other city appointed inspector general
provided that such offices appointment term functions and powers shall be further established by ordinance providing for requisite ballot language providing for procedures for balloting providing for notice is providing for inclusion in the city charter, providing for related matters, providing for an effective date. Madam city attorney,
thank you again, Mr. Mayor, vice mayor, commissioners. This also calls for a special election question to be put forward to the voters on November 3rd, 2026. This is the same language that we um have previously considered, this body has previously considered, and I think it may be helpful if I just read the ballot question, but this resolution
itself does call for all the details of the notice, etc. for the special um election. So the question would be shall the chart city charter be amended to require a contract with Miami date county inspector general to provide inspector general services to the city or appointment of a city inspector
general to investigate audit and oversee municipal matters in order to identify efficiencies and investigate and prevent fraud, waste, mismanagement and abuse of power and who can subpoena witnesses and require production of documents and whose appointment term functions and powers shall be established by ordinance. As you can see from that
language, the question itself is rather broad. Um, an ordinance would be required to set forth all the details of a city inspector general's appointment, term, budget, etc. Thank you very much, Mr. Clerk. Public comment. Yes, Mr. Mayor. First speaker, Miss Maria
Cruz. Mrs. Maria Cruz, 1447 Miller Road. Uh, actually, I have a question because we keep talking about uh special elections in November 3rd,
2026 because that's the general election, I would assume, for um representatives, senators, etc. So we think that we're going to have a lot of people going to
vote but on the other hand we also are trying to move the election of the commissioners for that date. So my question is if the changing the commission elections to that date doesn't go through when the referendum
or whatever the vote is put up. Are we still going to do this on that date? That's the question. Please complete your Please complete your statement. Well, I need an answer before I can tell you. There is no back and forth between the commission and the speaker. Okay. Not even the attorney can
answer what it means. You can have that conversation after with the attorney. Please keep going. Okay. So, once again, once again, um let's try to confuse the the voters. Let's keep talking about
101% and let's try to make sure that all the packs can put out misinformation so you can get it through. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Jackson Holmes. Um, I apologize for speaking so much
today. I I do want to explain that I'm trying to be a substitute for Melissa Castro who's unavailable. She and I have been fairly close recently. Please don't uh think that I'm trying to make people
mad. Um I do support this item. This is u this is great. Uh and um uh we need this. We we've made it for a time and and I like the idea of um having um the
Miami date county inspector general if need be uh take up the reigns. Uh but but we need it and uh so it's great. Best things happen today. That's it. Mr. Mayor get a motion. I'll
move it and I did pass out to you possible um language for your consideration. Let me get a second and we'll go through second. All right, madam vice mayor, the floor is yours. Okay, the um apologize for I was counting words earlier on my proposed language and so I'm sorry my brain was
in inspector general mode because we are limited to 75 words exactly on a ballot language. Um and this is 70 words. I tried to fit three options into the prior language so that if we wanted to
utilize and bring down costs by using a private entity as opposed to having a permanent position within the city um you know that that that the voters could choose that or we would have the flexibility for doing that. I couldn't fit it in 75 words. So here's another
possibility. Essentially what it does, you have the same powers for the um inspector general and it allows uh a contract with Miami date county or a private entity to provide an inspector general services as needed so that we're
not having a constant budgetary draw for this item. Uh we can discuss more in the future. Um my thoughts on you know how we engage an inspector general because we we have um processes like this even in the
Florida bar, you know, where a complaint is just not somebody's rumor, it's a sworn affidavit under oath with penalties of perjury, things of that nature, because we don't want to be um forced to chase things that are non-existent. So, that's the nature of
the language. I'd like to hear you all's comments. Um sorry I didn't, you know, have this a little earlier for you, but that's the best we could do. Um, I think if if you're talking about the language that you just passed out to your colleagues, I think it'd be helpful if you could read it into the record so that the public knows what your proposed
revision is. Happy to do that. Shall the city charter be amended to authorize a contract with Miami date county or a private entity to provide inspector general services as needed to the city to investigate, audit and oversee
municipal matters to identify efficiencies and investigate and prevent fraud, waste, mismanagement and abuse of power. and who can subpoena witnesses and require u production of documents
and whose appointment term functions and powers shall be established by ordinance. Uh the material changes in this are the city attorney added the word authorized in the first line. Um, after the words Miami date county, I
added for private entity to provide inspector general services as needed. And I deleted the uh the language dealing with having a uh permanent um office within the city of Port Gables to address the cost concerns. Commissioner.
Right. So, thank you very much, Mr. Mayor, for bringing this item and uh vice mayor as amended. And I'd like my comments to be focused on your amendment as well. Um I think it's important for the residents, you know, to to understand if I can be given just a
moment, Mr. Mayor, context, right? Um, you know, I believe this discussion regarding the inspector general all comes from a uh baseless theatrical,
bombastic comment made during a commission meeting by former commissioner Kirk Mendez when he said, and I'll try and quote by memory, that the city of Coral Gable's commission is a drift and assessed pool of corruption
and that um he uh Mr. Mendez was going to lead his beloved city out of the muck into safe harbor. When I heard that statement made, I um couldn't believe my ears because there was uh no context for why
it was made, no identification of a particular item or instance of corruption, let alone that the city is a drift in a cesspool of corruption. And it put both this uh commission, the city, and if I may say the mayor
unfairly in uh a negative light. And as the vice mayor will know very well, it's a decidedly unfair place to be to try and prove a negative. So this put us into um the commission into a difficult place because then to me that seemed at best
it was a political grandstanding. At worst, it appeared to me to be a prepared political statement read to provide some sort of basis for the hiring uh immediately afterwards uh of a city manager that had never undergone a
formal interview with this body, had no identifiable prior experience in public works administration, indeed had been retired for almost a decade, and whose prior background was in law enforcement. Hence my concern that the statement was
made for political expedient purposes which does not have a place on this vaunted body. So now we are two years on and this question arises of whether it should be put to the referendum
process. Uh, and I'm very pleased, Vice Mayor, that your amendment reads the way that it does because what it does is it provides the city with the mechanism, if this is passed, right, to immediately, and of course, it depends on the
ordinance language, uh, make use of an inspector general, whether with the city of Miami or or a private entity, to be able to quickly address any such serious allegations that are well supported. not
mere allegation or innuendo but something that would be substantiated by way of affidavit for example. This is important not only to actually root out and address any actual corruption but also to maintain um transparency and maintain the public
trust in the commission to have this power available to us. In any event, I um I believe it's also a very good we way of maintaining uh a handle on the cost that otherwise would have been associated if for example an
office a permanent office of inspector general were to be uh pursued for a city of our size. I think in my view, and I've only been on the job for a week, we have a superior legal team, police team,
finance team, third party auditors, human resources team, and I have never heard before the need for an inspector general or a scenario where one would be needed
before commi former commissioner Menendez's statement was made. nor have I heard of any pursuit by him or any other commission uh member of um there being anything behind that statement in
the ensuing uh year or so including the uh campaign that he ran where among other things he said that the city has never been in better shape. So, with that long- winded, but I think it's important for the citizens, you know, the residents of Port Gables to
understand a bit of the history. Um, I'm uh I'm I'm quite supportive of the uh of the agenda item as amended. Commissioner Fernandez, I agree. I think the amendment uh makes it a lot cleaner.
Um the original language is a little more difficult to understand, I think, for residents. Um, I agree with Commissioner Lara. I think this also the number one concern that I've heard over the last couple of years about an office of Inspector General is the associated
cost that would bring the city if one was created internally. Um, I think your um, amended language does address that point. Um, so that it is not an issue going forward. Um, that's why I'm
supporting this measure. Thank you. How did we get here? Why are we here today? I have to admit that the vice mayor and commissioner Lada's comments are dead on. Beautiful, eloquent, and to the
point. But I'm going to give you some background. And I always welcome people coming to their senses, but I want to give you some background. Legisar file number 247740. 247740. Commissioner France is well aware of that because that was when the
vice mayor and myself presented an office of the inspector general. Whether it be an actual office or we have an outside consultant. The only two votes in favor was myself and the vice mayor.
Commissioner Fernandez, Commissioner Castro, and then Commissioner Mendez voted against. I proceeded to have our city attorney who was here had a conversation to see if we can borrow use the county
the county inspector general to reduce cost. That was also not approved. Okay. This is political grand standing at its finest. is an effort to destroy my reputation. I
knocked on doors and people accused me of corruption as a result of this. No matter how much I explained Commissioner Fernandez efforts to stop the Inspector General by the vote, certain people did not believe it. As a
professional, as a person with a lot of employees that depend on me, these are the type of situations that cost me business. and at the end of the day hurt my family. I wholeheartly agree with the cost in an effort just like we moving to the elections will save a few
hundred,000. I agree with the vice mayor's amendment. We can't speak as a result of sunshine. That's why we use this moment. I made a very clear statement and I said you cannot place a cost on rooting out
corruption. No cost. But you're fighting ghost when somebody says that you're corrupt. Let us always remember and the people were clear when they voted and people say that people are not
educated and we knocked on doors. They said November elections inspector general and stop the politics. We need a voice of reason on the commission and we need to return to civility. So, I'm
excited that Commissioner Fernandez is stopping the politics. But let us never forget who ran Commissioner Menendez's campaign, which smeared my family and smeared employees. Call the question. Point of order. Call the
question. Point of order. I Excuse me. You're You're making an accusation that's basis. I did not run Commissioner Mendes's campaign. City attorney. So, that isn't a point of order. The point of order is a procedural issue. And so there is a procedural. I call the question. Mr. Clerk.
Commissioner Lara. Yes, as amended. Vice Mayor Anderson. Yes, as amended. Commissioner Fernandez, yes, as amended. Mayor L. Yes. Moving on to item B7. Thank you very much, Mayor. Just to clarify that
there will be a small change to the exhibit one of the resolution with the amended language. So, I just want to clarify that the city attorney um will amend that proposed charter language to comport with the approved amended language. Madam vice mayor, yes. Thank you.
B7, mayor. Yes, ma'am. B7 is a resolution of the city commission amending resolution number 2023-267 as amended to expand the existing charter review committee to include two additional members with one member chosen by the city manager and one chosen by the city attorney. Thank you very much, madam. City Attorney.
Hello. Again, as previously discussed, in 2023, the current charter review committee was convened with five members. The committee has been meeting and has held various um public town halls and public meetings to review the existing charter. This resolution expands the existing charter review committee by adding two additional
members with the city attorney and city manager, each appointing one new member. The city manager's appointee shall be a resident, and the city attorney's appointee shall be a current or former municipal or county attorney. Thank you very much, Mr. Clerk. Uh, one speaker, Mr. Mayor, Miss Maria
Cruz. Mrs. Maria Cruz, 1447 Miller Road. I kind of agree with this um item except that it could be used to pack and to
control the child review. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Jackson Holmes. Uh thank you again. And I apologize for being so loquacious today. And the reason uh that I'm doing it is to try to
get uh Melissa Castro's voice out since she's uh literally presumably in surgery at this moment. U please accept my apology on this item. Um I wish that we had more time. I I don't re, you know,
to it could be good, could be bad. Uh I share u Maria Cruz's concern. Uh you know, maybe this could allow packing of the um charter review committee. We don't have time. Why is this rushed?
Thank you. Thank you, sir. I'll move it. I have a second. Second, madam vice mayor, I'm fully supportive. This should have never happened to where we had to bring this item uh to the voters here. But now
I'd like to make sure that we have this going forward uh not only for the voters but have this solidified in our charter going forward. Thank you, Commissioner Lada. I'm fully supportive for the reasons stated by the vice mayor and I actually I believe that this
actually um will serve ultimately to depoliticize to the extent there was any of such things with respect to the charter review committee by having two non-elected officials selecting a a representative to um support
Fernandez. I am not supportive of this measure. Uh, as I stated in the past, uh, I believe that the charter review committee should be appointed by representatives of the residents. The, uh, city attorney and city manager, all due respect to both.
Um, work for the city. Um, they are not appointed by the residents. Um, and for that reason, I am not supportive. Uh, I am supportive of the measure we're sending to residents on the ballot so that residents can decide if that's a direction they want to move in. Uh but as to this measure, I am not deported.
How did we get here today? We got here today once again by decision that was made by Commissioner Fernandez, Commissioner Castro, and Commissioner Kirk Menendez. Previously, on multiple occasions, the charter review always had seven members. Always had seven members.
The intent of bringing it to five was to, like Mr. Rip Holmes just said, was to have control of the charter review. In my opinion, the more voices the better, the more engagement the better, the more professionals the better. It's
worked perfectly fine in the past and that's why we're I'm presenting it to the voters to make a decision. I call the question. Vice Mayor Anderson? Yes. Commissioner Fernandez? No. Commissioner Lara? Yes.
Mayor Logo? Yes. Moving on to our final item before discussion. B8. B8 is a resolution of the city commission amending resolution number 2021-225 which amended the policy adopted pursuant to resolution number 2019-55 for city commissioner expense
accounts/off budgets and directing city staff to reduce the amount from $10,000 to $5,000 in the proposed fiscal year 2025 to 2026 budget. Hello again. As you all know, um, each commissioner is allotted an office budget pursuant to section 2-32
of the city code, and the amount is set in each year's, um, budget. The current amount is $10,000. We've had various resolutions, resolution 201955, 2019 34, and 21225, which is the latest version of
that policy that sets forth the policy for providing that the expense account and office budget of each commissioner may be used for certain purposes. Those purposes are outlined in that resolution. This resolution would would amend the amount of that money back to $5,000 starting in the October 1st, 2026
budget. Um, and then also provides for some strikethroughs to the existing policy. It removes the fees for mass mailing. It removes the design, production, and printing costs for flyers, palm cards, or other advertisements for town hall or community meetings and community enhancement events hosted by an elected
official. It removes the purchase of tickets to events held in the city where the elected official is attending. in his or her official capacity where tickets have not otherwise been procured and it removes the um ability to use the funds for donations for a public benefit to a public school in the city or a charitable organization based in Coral
Gables. So again, this um reduces the amount in the next budget cycle to 5,000 and strikes those um current approved uses. Mr. Clerk, first speaker, Mr. Mayor, Miss Mary Cruz. This is Maria Cruz,
1447 Miller Road. Once again, this is just another we're talking about grandstanding, another grandstanding move because whatever the commissioners do not have in their in their expense
account and they want to do for the city, all they would have to do is ask the city manager for their support like has been done before. And hopefully the commissioners will not talk among themselves and to put uh their money
together to be able to do things that shouldn't be uh done. So, this is just another attempt to look good, to be uh good, to have um let people think that boy oh boy, now
we have a king in our midst. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Jackson Holmes. So, um, because I, um, have lucked out, I'm I I speak regularly with, um, our commissioner, Melissa Castro, and she
voiced her distress over this item. Uh, since she's unable to be here today because she's in surgery, um, I pass that along to you. uh what she said specifically is that she gets out welcome packages to new
residents which seems to me to be a good function right uh and now this is going to cut her ability significantly to do that um uh I think that um other officials
may one in particular may have made in runs around uh using city funs funds for promoting causes. Uh she prefers to do it the right way, but now that option is being taken away. Thank you. Thank you
very much, Mr. Clerk. That's it, Mr. Mayor. We have a motion. I'll move it. You have a second. Second, madam vice mayor. Um mayor, thank you for bringing this item. I think this is uh as we are stewards of t taxpayer dollars that we have to spend the dollars wisely on what
the residents want. uh welcome packages for new residents in a paper format is something that you know may have been relevant 10 20 years ago. Uh but with the amount of information we have available easy access on our city
website uh and electronic newsletters and so forth, we can save a lot of trees and we can avoid u creating a lot of paper waste in our community when we all we need to do is redirect new um owners
who all go to a closing attorney that can provide them the information that's available on the city website in a more efficient manner. And again, it's goes back to our stewardship. Um, knocking thousands of doors, the the loss of
welcome packages or the existence of welcome packages is not something that the taxpayers were concerned about, but they are concerned about our management of the budget. And this is one key thing where we can put the dollars back into to the budget to do the things that the
residents are asking for the most. Thank you, Commissioner Alan. Excuse me. Yes. Um, couple of things. Again, I echo the vice mayor's sentiments and her her bases for supporting this item agenda. Um, and and and we should we should take
stock of what we're doing here today, right? as stewards of the taxpayers money. One of the things that I campaigned on as well on the thousands of homes that I that I knocked on and the residents that I spoke with, right? So whether it's undoing uh the pay
increases, car allowances, travel spend um that occurred two years ago. Bringing bringing some order to the manner and um means by which we utilize the taxpayers's money is exactly why we
are sitting here among other reasons because we are the representatives of the residents and I believe that um it is uh incorrect to say that this is some sort of uh attempted censorship or any of the commissioner's ability to get
information out because on any worthwhile and supported bases. You could ask for funds to be allocated um in the budget or going directly to the city manager. Um but there's one more thing that I
think bears mentioning, right? I I uh heard too many times today and most recently on the public commentary for this particular item that uh there there's a king uh sitting here in the dis. There there is no king
sitting here in the dis. There's no queen sitting here in the das. There's no dictator sitting here on the dis. We are a collegial body. We are a respected body. We serve at the pleasure of the
residents. We are entrusted with their sacred sacred trust. I um ran and have been in fact implored by the residents to do this if elected. That is why I received support. That is why my colleagues were
overwhelmingly elected, reelected to position in a record- setting uh election because people don't come out in droves like this because they want more of the same. They wanted real change for the positive. I held my
tongue, but I got to say I reject those comments. They are false and they would lead us back into a course that we are deciding today to correct.
Commissioner Fernandez. Um I understand the concerns brought up by the members of the public. Um but personally I have not uh exhausted the funds that have been in these accounts. have returned it to the
city and to the taxpayers uh every year. Um so I I'm I'm supportive of this measure uh if that is a direction we would like to take. Um I think uh accountability is important when it comes to these things
and um I think it's a path forward. Okay. How did we get here? And I'm happy to see that Commissioner Fernandez is coming on board. This item was placed by three members of the commission in the budget. Just like the
salary increases, just like the car allowances, it was neither myself or the vice mayor. We do not need a welcome package to residents. We already provide a welcome package. It's been done before. What that is, it's a campaign ad at taxpayer
expense. We can do better. The raising of it from 5,000 to 10,000. We're going back to the original amount. And I'm adding what I have always done and requiring my colleagues to do
the same. Every year at the end of the year, I produce a memo and detail every expense and whatever is left over, I send it back to the budget. But that memo gets produced and
gets uploaded to the internet to our website so that people can see what did the mayor spend his $5,000 or 3500 or 4,000 or 2,000 and where did the rest of the money go. I've been doing that for probably I can six
seven eight years can't remember how long and that will be now as per this legislation requirement that is transparency that is being a fiduciary on behalf of residents the idea you're sending a welcome package why do you need a welcome
package the vice mayor said it very clearly I mean seriously how much mail do we get that we just toss out how many catalogs how many magazines means how much you know advertisement that we don't even want anymore. Send it in an email. It's an
it's an environmentally friendly vehicle and it saves the residents money on postage. This is the will of the voters. This is what they've told me. I had multiple people show me this package at their front door that they received. New
residents. Why am I receiving this? So that is why I put this forward. It's simple. It's transparent and it continues our effort. But please do not be fooled. Just like the raises, this was also put in the budget that the vice
mayor and myself voted against. There will be a campaign in the next few months to try to confuse to garner that other people were in support of these measures. The vice
mayor and myself and now Commissioner Lada have fought for these measures. This is what the will of the people. These are what the residents want. This is what people deserve. The residents spoke. They were very clear and that's why
we're moving forward. I call the question, Mr. Clerk. Commissioner Fernandez, yes. Commissioner Lara, yes. Vice Mayor Anderson, yes. Mayor Log, yes. Moving on
to C1, the last item on the agenda. Madame City attorney. Um, yes, Mr. Mayor. So, we have a pocket item related to the city manager. Copies have been provided to each of you and the city clerk has extra copies as well. I will read the item into the record. Um it's a
resolution of the city commission accepting the resignation of the city manager providing for transition and approving a cooperation resignation and severance agreement. It provides that whereas city manager Alberto and Parhus entered his resignation effective May 22nd, 2025. Whereas the terms and
conditions of Mr. Paroose's employment were set forth in resolution number 2025-16. And whereas it is in the best interest of the city to ensure a smooth transition through agreement with Mr. Parhoose for his cooperation, knowledge and operational expertise. And whereas at the city commission meeting of May 6, 2025, the city commission accepted Mr.
Paroose's resignation, provided for transition, and approved a cooperation, resignation, and severance agreement substantially in the form attached as exhibit A, which has also been provided to each of you. Um, and now therefore, be it resolved by the city commission that the city commission accepts the resignation of city manager Alberto and
Parhus effective May 22nd, 2025. approves a cooperation resignation and severance agreement and substantially the form attached as exhibit A with such modifications as may be approved by the city attorney consistent with the commission's intent that the deputy city manager Joe El Gomez shall serve as acting city manager effective May 7,
2025 that the city attorney is authorized to interpret and implement this resolution and the cooperation resignation and service agreement that will ensure an orderly transition. Thank you very much madam city attorney. Mr. Manager, the floor is yours. Thank you Mr. Distinguished member of this commission
vice mayor may measure um I just standed my resignation. You have a copy of it. Um I would like to have a minute to read some statements on the record. Serving this community, the city beautiful, has been among the greatest experience of my professional
life. Over the past three years, and especially during my three months tenure as a city manager, I have had the privilege to work alongside a team of talented, dedicated professionals who embody the highest standard of public
service. During this time, I am proud of the progress we made together to improve the quality of life for our residents and make our government service efficient. We advance operational transparency, implemented modern project
management systems, and introduced performance indicators and evidence-based evaluation tools to support better decision making. We enhanced financial and budget reports to make them clear and more
accessible and launched the city asset review program to ensure the responsibility stewardship of city owned property. I am proud of this significant investment made in community assets and services.
This include improvement to the Cora Gables Golf and Country Club, the ongoing restoration of the Venetian pool, enhanced code enforcement effort, the installation of temporary speed tables to increase safety, and several projects to elevate the city's safety,
aesthetic, and public spaces. Additionally, we initiated a detailed assessment of the building permitting process to include customers feedback. This decision was not made lightly. I am confident the city is well
positioned for continued success thanks to its leadership and the commitment of its workforce. I live with immense gratitude for the opportunity to serve this remarkable city and the trust you place in me. Thank you for allowing me to
contribute to the legacy and future of Kora Gates. Mr. manager. It's been an honor to serve with you. We've worked on many projects. I want to thank you for always being incredibly responsive and most importantly being a
general. You leave here with your hel your head held high, having served this community, and we're grateful for your hard work and your integrity. Thank you, sir. Vice Mayor, I I will echo the the mayor's comments
and thank you for your service. I know someone needs to move this. I will move it and godspeed. Second. Thank you. And although I haven't had the pleasure of working with you very long, I I do have the distinct honor of knowing that
your reputation uh as a resident, as serving as assistant city manager, as a city manager, and in all of your work all this time has um preceded you, and that I echo the mayor's sentiments that you um are appreciated for what you've done, and you leave here with your head
held very high with the gratitude of the residents. Thank you. Mr. City Manager, you have uh served this city with distinction for several years now. Uh first as assistant city manager, then deputy city manager,
interim city manager, and city manager. Um you have elevated our budget process to a new position where we now can understand better what has been spent in the past in certain areas and what is
being spent now. we get our quarterly reports that are as you said more understandable for the average resident to go through them. Um the data that you have been providing us on a weekly basis on all different
aspects of public works, police, fire, um letting us know exactly what our city is currently doing, what we are working on and what is being addressed if residents needs uh have elevated your position.
Um, I seconded this item reluctantly and I support your decision uh today as I have supported you every step of the way. As you know, you've always been my first choice as a city manager. Um, you
and I share a bond that goes back many years. Uh, you worked with my father many years ago. Um, and I often heard about you and and uh the work that you did not just in Coral Gables but Miami date county, city of Miami. Um, the
moment you were appointed city manager, I had former city managers of other municipalities and folks you worked with in the county call and say what a great choice you were to lead our city. So, I appreciate what you have done for us and don't be a stranger. Thank you, Commissioner. Mr.
Clerk, Mr. Mayor, uh, would you entertain public hearing? Public entertain public hearing as long as you stick to three minutes per person, please. First speaker, Mrs. Maria Cruz, Mrs. Maria Cruz, 1447 Miller Road. Obviously, this was not a
surprise. It was expected. And um I find it again very hypocritical. We campaign on the fact that there were three
managers in one year. Now this will make it four managers in one year. So I guess it's not what good was good for the goose is not good for the kender. You know whoever is on top can do whatever he wants. And um once again, the king is
in. Let's see how long he stays in. Mr. Clerk Jackson Holmes. So, thank you. Uh you've been quintessential gentlemen throughout this process. I'm actually I'm
disappointed. I'm surprised that you never having people encourage you to stay. Uh I'll miss you, but um I just am lucky that I have the chance to thank you for your courage,
your integrity, and your knowledge. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. That's it, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Manager, thank you. I want to apologize for Miss Cruz's statement. There's no place for that right now,
especially when we're honoring your service. So, thank you for that. Moving forward, before we adjourn, is there anything else that we need to speak about? Madam City Attorney, we do need a vote on this item. Yes, I do. We have a motion, a second. Mr. Clerk,
Commissioner Fernandez, yes. Commissioner Lara, yes. Vice Mayor Anderson, yes. Mayor Log, yes. Thank you. Moving forward, anything for the good of the order, Madam Vice Mayor? Uh just a
reminder for residents that we are having the subject to sewer meetings and basin by basin bas uh bases and that uh it's a general information meeting at this point and I hope you all have a wonderful week.
Mr. Mayor, yes sir. I want to remind everyone about the picnic, the employees picnic that is going to take place uh this is it this Saturday or when Thank you, sir. Commissioner Lada, no comments. You want to tell people about your open office hours? Maybe I
don't mean to talk for you, but I think it's an opportunity for people to get to know you. Well, I um got to throw it out there. Thought I maybe spoke a bit more than I thought I would in this first day. Um, but yes, um, I'll I'll I'll say that that I do hold office hours from
8:30 to 11:30 every Monday morning here in city hall on the second floor by appointment. So, please uh, get a hold of my office, let everybody know you would like to come by, have a cup of coffee, and talk a little bit about city business or whatever you'd like.
Commissioner Fernandez, there's nothing wrong with speaking more than you thought you were because your opinion is valued. So, we appreciate that. Uh I just want to thank residents for for being here today. Uh I see a lot of fresh faces in the room, folks who haven't been here in a while. Thank you for being here. Uh we all feel the
support that you give our community and our commission. Uh to my colleagues, I look forward to continuing to serve uh with all of you in the coming uh months and uh have a great day. Mr. Mayor. Yes, sir. If I can just add a little
cautisole there, the back of my comments, I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, um it has been uh an extraordinary journey. Um from when I appeared before this body in February of
2024 to announce that I was running to finding myself now sitting here on the dis. It is with eternal thanks and gratitude to the residents who have supported me and uh to my fellow colleagues on the commission. I pledge
to you that I will do my very best to always put forth with great energy and strength um the the will and the and the and the and the end game of having tranquil transparency, civility, respect
and above all else collegiality uh reign and rule over this dis as we do the work of the people. Thank you. So before we adjourn, three points. Number one, I
welcome Commissioner Lada once again. It's a breath of fresh air. I welcome our vice mayor back. Thank you for running again. The city made a very clear statement in your election. Thank you for running. Number
two, this is the way meetings will run from now on. It is 11:15. We're finishing a meeting. We tackled many important issues that the vice mayor and I along with commissioner LA have been talking about for the last two years and they've come to fruition. The
will of the people. And number three, as you can attest, city hall is safe. Every meeting moving forward will be held here at city hall. As we had with two licensed structural
engineers, city hall has always been safe. The politics are over. The grand standing has come to an end. The city belongs to the residents and to the business community and we move forward. God bless
you. God bless the city of Coral Gables and God bless the United States of America. See you May 20th. Thank you.