Employee fines at Miami-Dade - a new revenue stream?

Nobody thinks that the single, unimportant mathematical error made by the county when advertising the budget hearings on page 6B of the Miami Herald is that big a deal. To err is human.

And while nobody expects that we should just immediately forgive and forget, either, the punishment should fit the crime for those who were responsible for the mistake — and all of those who were responsible, not just a selected fall girl.

Most veteran County Hall observers cannot believe that Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos “Cry Wolf” Gimenez has thrown Budget Director Jennifer Moon to the wolves, and is making her pay for the new ad in the Herald, which could cost up to $12,000.

Here is a woman who has been a loyal subject of King Carlos II. A woman who has made him look good by finding monies and getting creative to address budget shortfalls that are, in part, created by the mayor’s favors to friends and family. A woman who accompanied the mayor to each of the six town hall meetings on the budget and answered the same boring questions from people without complaining. A woman who has never uttered a negative word about him, on or off the record. A woman who has saved a staggering amount of money for taxpayers over the years. A woman who is a consummate professional.

A woman who has the balls the mayor does not have and is willing to take responsibility for something that happened under her watch. In fact, several sources have said that “Jennifer took the bullet” for others, including Deputy Budget Director Hector Salazar, Budget Coordinator Barbara Galvez and even Deputy Mayor Ed Marquez, who oversees her department and has escaped any disciplinary action. Maybe he was on vacation again. Two credible sources close to Moon said that Gimenez wanted someone fired for the error and that he levied the fine when Moon refused.

Terry Murphy, a former chief of staff to former Commissioner Natacha Seijas, said folks in the community were questioning the fairness of the punishment.

“The mayor could have taken responsibility,” Murphy said Thursday morning on the Gray Zone radio show on 880 AM The Biz. He echoed what Ladra had been hearing since Wednesday evening — that the budget blunder isn’t as big a deal as the mayor’s reaction.

“It raises not an issue of revisiting the budget, but revisiting the charter to reinstate some of the appeals process for individuals who report to the county mayor,” Murphy said.

Mike Hernandez, the mayor’s spokesman, said that his boss did not just have a knee-jerk reaction to the news that they would have to have another budget hearing to validate the budget or possibly lose their share of state sales tax dollars. “Mayor Gimenez took a look at the facts, this was two and a half weeks ago. And after reviewing the facts, after meeting with Jennifer and after meeting with her superior, Ed Marquez, who is like the chief financial officer of the county, the mayor determined it was the right course to take.”

Hernandez later told Ladra that Gimenez first made sure that he was within his legal right to take that action. But that’s not the point.

The point is that either Moon — who is really the one behind the budget fixes that saved 400 police jobs and closed the gap — is being singled out to cover his political backside or this could set a very bad precedent for county employees who do not have the protection of the unions.

But, hey, let’s look on the bright side. Think of the additional revenue the county could get if every time one of the mayor’s purview employees makes a minor mistake we make them pay a penalty! Could employee fines be used to shore up the budget when future shortfalls come around?

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Carlos Gimenez, Miami-Dade budget

Employee fines at Miami-Dade — a new revenue stream? added by Ladra on November 21, 2014
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