The first city of Miami budget hearing on Saturday was dominated by a plea from the community to increase police patrols, especially in the Downtown Miami area and marine officers on the Miami River. But the discussion on the dais was dominated by the growing tension between District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo and commissioners Miguel Gabela and Joe Carollo, who seem to have formed an alliance.
Ew.
Gabela, who has been holding the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency — of which Pardo is the chairman — hostage in an extortion attempt to attach Allapattah to its boundaries and take practically it’s entire budget, after you remove the debt service for the tunnel and the Adrienne Arsht Center. Miami-Dade has approved an extension of life, so that the Omni CRA can continue doing the work it’s already begun. But the city’s vote has been delayed twice by Gabela’s outrageous demand.
The Omni CRA will come for a vote again at Thursday’s commission meeting. On Saturday, it nearly lost what is typically a perfunctory vote to approve its budget for next year. It was 3-2 and anyone can guess who voted against it for no reason (hint: the new bros).
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For Carollo, it just seems like more hate toward Pardo and District 2, after forcing his improperly permitted outdoor gym at Maurice Ferre Park through a misleading ballot question. Crazy Joe will also bing an item Thursday that will have the commission reconsider an appeal it has already ruled on.
For his part, Pardo has an item on the agenda that would change the makeup of the Bayfront Park Trust board so that it would include each of the commissioners and two other members elected by him. This is also a result of what many would consider Carollo’s abuse as chair of the trust to install the $1 million dog and cat sculpture was and the outdoor gym that went in without going through the proper process.
Last month, voters across the city voted to keep the already installed gym equipment at the park, but they were not provided with any of the information about the permit and the votes by the planning and zoning board and the city commission against it. They wording on the ballot was biased, argues an attorney for a group of downtown residents who have sued to make the referendum invalid.
The budget hearing laid bare, again, the disdain that Carollo has for the District 2 residents. He complained about getting a 29% increasingly in his property taxes that brought him to $36,000 a year for his mansion in Coconut Grove.
“So when one of my colleagues here wants to talk about that certain areas are priveleged, they deserve to have a park for themselves because they pay high taxes,” Carollo said, “I’d like to see which of those people pay more than I do.”
Carollo said his taxes could go up to $45,000 this year. “Who the heck can afford to live in Miami anymore if you’re not part of the rich and famous?”
Ask anybody in your district how they do it, and not in a million dollar mansion.
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“I’m going to be looking to see how much we can lower the taxes,” Carollo said, adding that he would vote against all tax increases. “We have to come down to Earth, get away from Mt. Olympus, and look at the realities of how our people are living. It’s not sustainable to have year after year these huge increases in property taxes.”
He went on and on about a statewide referendum on a property tax cap and even proposed redistricting — remember how well that went — and cutting the city up “sideways so everyone has a piece of the waterfront.” Because, he said, “that’s where the money is.”
He called Brickell City Center “City Place” several times, like he was still in Doral — where he was once city manager until he was ousted — and blasted downtown restaurants that “charge the kind of monies for a dinner that the majority of Miami’s cannot afford.”
You know, a whole “man of the people” tirade.
“Every part of this city, I don’t care what you go to, has a huge need. Every area, not jut the Omni CRA area. You want to look at a wealthy area, go to that whole Omni CRA area and you’ll see it,” Carollo said Saturday. “You want to see poor parts, go through the area commissioner King serves, go through Allapattah. Commissioners change but Allapattah stays the same.”
Whoa. Was that a dig at his new BF?
“That’s actually changing with me,” Gabela said, adding how he had been out with police Friday night arresting homeless people, even before the law says you have to. Making his mama proud. And setting up Carollo, who also hates the homeless, for the Omni CRA support.
“This is why I am going to support any effort that you want to do in Allapattah, economically.” Carollo told him. “Because I feel that your heart is in the right place. You deserve the opportunity to be there. Your’e not out there giving orders. You are out there doing what you’re supposed to do.”
Read related: Damian Pardo again tells Joe Carollo to resign in exchange for bank documents
Gabela has that “man of the people” schtick down. He sounds more and more like former Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla — the former Omni CRA chairman who was arrested on bribery and money laundering charges that stem from a different CRA deal and who designed the CRA expansion into Allapattah.
One might think that Gabela is just trying to represent his constituents, but he’s just lazy. He doesn’t want to do the work of creating his own CRA — which would last decades longer because the Omni CRA, if extended, will only last through 2047 — because, well, it’s a lot of work.
Pardo and the executive director of the Omni CRA have offered to help him. Pardo says he will help Gabela find millions in seed money until they can start getting the earmarked taxes in. He toured Allapattah recently with the CRA director. He says the Allapattah CRA will be able to leverage future revenue for present-day funds. He knows what he’s talking about. He’s a financial planner by day.
“I don’t think we should be pitting people with more resources against people with less resources. I believe a rising tide lifts all boats. and I believe we have the financial ability to look for capacity and other solutions so that all of our districts are well managed without having to divide the different communities.
“We need all of us.”
Fight over Omni CRA causes new rifts, alliances on Miami City Commission added by Ladra on
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