Zero-Sum Game

County ethics commission lets some Miami Beach registered lobbyists off the hook

Magda Abdo-Gomez

By Angie Hargot

On Wednesday, the Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust allowed 10 lobbyists to squirm out of roughly $8,000 in penalties for failing to file financial expenditure forms with the city of Miami Beach.

But it’s OK — they weren’t real lobbyists, according to a majority of commission members.

The lobbyists in question, mostly architects and other contractors to development projects, were told by project attorneys that they had to register with the city as lobbyists because they might be called upon to offer testimony during commission meetings.

But the 10 lobbyists argued on appeal that they were not told that in Miami Beach, all lobbyists also must file a form that discloses expenditures made in the process of that lobbying. The city fines those who fail to file the disclosures $50 per day. The fines have been racking up since the forms were due on Oct.1, 2007.

The 10 appellants included attorneys, architects, an employee of AEG Live (the company that once bid to lease the Jackie Gleason), employees of developers, an employee of the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, an employee of PR Racing, which produces the Miami Marathon, and others.

Trust Advocate Michael Murawski and staff recommended that the ethics commission allow the so-called lobbyists out of paying the fines. He said ethics commission staff found that many who were notified that they were late in filing a disclosure form contacted the city and were erroneously told by a Miami Beach city clerk that all they had to do was file the form late.

Murawski also said the general expenditure filing requirement is a toothless measure anyway. He said he had conversations with Jean Olin, Miami Beach deputy city attorney, about doing away with the requirement, since “99.9 percent of lobbyists report no expenditures. It’s a big administrative nightmare,” he said.

But ethics commission member Magda Abdo-Gomez wasn’t satisfied. The lone nay vote to granting the appeals, she argued the spirit of the requirement and “consistency” were paramount.

“I thought we said ‘one bite of the apple,’” Abdo-Gomez said, referring to previous ethics commission decisions to stop giving lobbyists second chances. In recent years the commission has gotten tougher on individuals who fail to register in the first place, or commit other lobbying infringements. Assistant Advocate Miriam Ramos said she researches appeals to verify that the individuals are not repeat offenders. Ramos does see the same companies coming up again and again, but it is symptomatic of the problem — it’s possible that those who neglect to file their forms aren’t getting the notifications because the companies, also under scrutiny, aren’t forwarding the letters once they leave the project.

Although Executive Director Robert Meyers agreed that it would “be great to see how much money lobbyists are spending wining and dining” to forward their agendas, he still saw the need to alter the practice in some way because lobbyists don’t report expenditures anyway.

“If they [report] ‘zero’ [dollars spent], there should be some investigation,” Abdo-Gomez said, likening the practice to an income tax return. “Can I just put ‘zero’ on the form?” She added that the form could be useful in future investigations. “There was a time when lobbyists had free rein,” ethics commissioner and former Miami Beach Mayor Seymour Gelber said. “And an effort was made to do away with that.… Rather than weaken the city’s efforts, we should exercise restraint in enforcing it.” Gelber added that many of the ethics commission’s penalties carry a maximum fine of $250, a far cry from the thousands levied on Wednesday’s group.

Ultimately, the appellants were granted a pardon. The issue of the disclosure requirement itself is now under scrutiny. Commission members suggested possibly changing the ordinance for cities and the county to require filing only if expenditures occur.

Last year, Miami Beach voters overwhelmingly passed a measure that would require that any changes to the city’s ethics ordinances be decided by voters via a referendum.

“Lobbyists manipulating the system aren’t going to be here” for not filing, Gelber said. “They have other ways than to completely ignore the requirement.”

Comments? E-mail Angie@miamisunpost.com