Good news makes for more Miami-Dade budget town halls

You know how they say good news travels fast. Well, it also travels more.

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced a series of budget town hall meetings, starting next week, where residents will have the opportunity to ask questions and provide input on his proposed 2015-16 county budget. And there are a whole 10 of them — eight at libraries and municipal buildings from Aventura to Florida City and two “social media” town halls online at Facebook and Twitter.

Last year there were only six. Ditto for 2013. But those were austere years. Last year it was all gloom and doom — at one point he threatened to fire 700 employees — and this year it’s all “we’ve turned a corner” with a $120 million in additional property tax funds from increased real estate values and new construction. The mayor already announced his vision for how to spend those funds and allocate the rest of the budget last month. It’s such good news, however, it’s worth saying again and again and again.

But Ladra suspects that, as usual, it’s what he doesn’t say that needs to be discussed.

He’s going to extend library hours (but only about a third of the ones he cut last year) and hire more police officers (but not as many as the county needs) and cut the grass more (which will still not be enough because this is Florida).

The Pinecrest branch is one of 16 libraries closed on Fridays.

Still, while there might still be a few die hard library advocates urging for full restoration of those services and relentless animal lovers demanding that the mayor and commission honor the 2012 vote that established a dedicated fund for animal services and a no-kill shelter, these meetings are likely to go a lot smoother than last year. That’s why Ladra doesn’t expect him to just send staff but actually go to most, if not all of them.

He could use the face time with the people.

“Mayor Gimenez requested to have time set aside for eight town hall meetings throughout Miami-Dade County and two social media discussions so he could have more opportunities to speak with our residents,” mayoral spokesman and county communications director Michael Hernandez wrote to Ladra in a text.

“Like last year, Mayor Gimenez plans on attending each town hall meeting, responding to Facebook questions and Tweeting back to residents,” Hernandez said.

The town halls start at 6 p.m. each beginning next Monday. Here are the dates and locations:

Monday, Aug. 10 at Florida City City Hall, 404 West Palm Dr.
Tuesday, Aug. 11 at West Kendall Regional Library, 10201 Hammocks Blvd.
Wednesday, Aug. 12 at Village of Palmetto Bay Commission Chambers, 9705 East Hibiscus St.
Thursday, Aug. 13 at City of Aventura Commission Chambers, 19200 West Country Club Dr.
Tuesday, Aug. 18 at Milander Center for Arts and Entertainment, 4800 Palm Ave., in Hialeah
Thursday, Aug. 20 at Arcola Lakes Branch Library, 8240 NW 7 Ave.
Tuesday, Aug. 25 at Miami Gardens City Hall, 18605 NW 27 Avenue, Miami Gardens
Thursday, Aug. 27 at West Dade Regional Library, 9445 Coral Way

The social media town halls are Aug. 20 and begin at noon on Facebook followed by a Twitter chat at 2 p.m., but Ladra suspects that at least some of the town hall meetings will be Periscoped, since the mayor (read: his “Mouthpiece” Hernandez) has used that relatively new platform before.

The increasingly virtual mayor also started his town hall meetings online last year, with Hernandez fielding questions (read: acting like a filter).

Because these dog and pony shows are just that, a rehearsed show where the mayor — or, mostly, his staff, will repeat carefully constructed messages with very little detail or substance. During the unveiling of the budget, he said the county was going to cut the grass more — three times.

So here’s an idea. Let’s throw him off script. Because while the news might be brighter, there are still some legitimate questions that could be asked of the mayor at these rare and momentous opportunities to turn what is mostly a promotional event into a real conversation.

Ladra would ask if he’s thinking about floating a transit tax referendum — like the one they passed in Denver, where he is this week, to help fund the public private partnerships he hopes to attract to address our transportation needs and issues here, like they did there. What else did he bring back with him from the Denver trip? Knowledge, I mean, not souvenirs.

Other questions I might ask if I get the chance (so feel free to take one for yourself):

After restoring the six-day week to ten libraries, is there any thought to restoring hours cut by your administration to any of the other 20-some libraries affected?
Of the 100 additional police officers you say will be on the street by next September, how many of those are current officers that will be pulled from other duties?
What steps are being taken to hire the other 300-500 officers needed to not only address the shortage but restore our levels of coverage?
How many millions of dollars will go to companies for “economic incentives” this year?
How many millions will the county spend on grants to ineligible organizations that later have to be repaid to the federal government?
What specific businesses or commerce has been brought here by your three trips to Paris, France?
Are there still 400 new vehicles parked in a garage somewhere?
How do you plan to address the issue with the value adjustment board and the millions of dollars lost through that flawed system?
How many people living in special taxing districts were overcharged to cover costs for other taxpayers that were underpaying for years?
Why can’t we have a dedicated fund for the animal services like the voters who approved the Pet’s Trust initiative want?
Why can’t the Vizcaya Museum board do everything you and they want to do without changing the structure to a non-profit and putting our county asset in their hands?
What are you going to do if the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says no to your proposal of paying the $13 mil we owe them in lieu of future grants? Where would that money come from?

Maybe some of you readers have some questions of your own to add to this list. Feel free to take one or leave one.

After all, we’re going to get ten bites of the apple.

budget cuts, Carlos Gimenez, Miami-Dade budget

Good news makes for more Miami-Dade budget town halls added by Ladra on August 5, 2015
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