Cleanup Time Is Here

“Our Housing, Water & Sewer and Corrections Departments are undergoing top-to-bottom reviews and reorganization.”

The quiet period is about to end, and none too soon.

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez is flexing his newfound political muscle. He has announced that County Manager George Burgess will be his “point-man” on the County Commission. This is all to be expected. Following a recent special election, Alvarez is now the “strong mayor,” the county manager’s direct boss, after all, with the power to hire and fire department heads.

But Alvarez won’t just be looking at résumés. In his Jan. 30 memo to the commission, Alvarez announced that “all Department Directors have been directed to develop plans of action and realistic timelines for implementation of specific objectives. … Meaningful — and tangible — results are needed with an emphasis on providing better and more efficient service to our customers — the residents of Miami-Dade County.”

Even more important is his proclamation in the same memo that he is focusing on the county’s three most troubled and, dare we say, corrupt agencies. “Our Housing, Water & Sewer and Corrections Departments are undergoing top-to-bottom reviews and reorganization. New management is at the helm of all three departments and tasked with uncovering problems and correcting them,” he stated.

Burgess, with Alvarez’s backing, has demanded that the nonprofit Miami-Dade Housing Authority Development Corporation return $7.5 million and dozens of vacant lots where affordable housing was promised, according to a Feb. 3 Miami Herald article. If the agency refuses, the county promises to litigate. The manager also has required the agency to oust its current board of directors if it wants to continue with two ongoing projects.

But the MDHA Development Corporation lied to us and Alvarez should recognize that to even consider continuing to do business with them, no matter who is named to its board of directors, is a mistake.

Alvarez says he plans to restructure the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department (the recent cell phone scandal is just the tip-of-the-iceberg), but he has not announced how he plans to recover $4.7 million in impact fees owed by developers building condominiums and hotels in Miami Beach.

Developers are charged these connection fees to offset the cost of installing and maintaining the very infrastructure that allows those living in a new development to flush their toilets or take showers. Without these fees, Miami-Dade taxpayers will bear the brunt of installing new plumbing in the form of higher water bills. Considering the profit margins most developers have made, paying the impact fees is the least they can do.

Instead the county has settled with one of the developers for a smaller amount and is holding the city of Miami Beach accountable for the rest. The city of Miami Beach, in turn, feels no obligation to pay these fees. There may be more “settlements” in the future.

Our feeling: The mayor should veto the settlement and launch an investigation as to why these fees were never collected. The city of Miami Beach should also cooperate with this inquiry. While not responsible for collecting the fees, that city’s building department still handed out permits to developers who didn’t pay. Why did this happen in both County and City Hall? Was it incompetence? Or did someone purporting to be a developer’s representative encourage these fees to be forgotten?

Finally, the allegations against the Miami-Dade Corrections Department that have surfaced in the media are far too numerous to print in this editorial. Suffice it to say that something has to be done to reform a county agency responsible for those awaiting trial — lest Amnesty International cite the county for human rights violations.

So, clean house, Mr. Mayor. Make those county residents who did vote for the strong-mayor initiative proud. Don’t make them regret granting you the near-absolute power of running county government’s affairs.