SWIMMERS MAY SOON FIND THEMSELVES WITH FEWER LIFEGUARDS WATCHING OVER THEM. FILE PHOTO BY RICHARD M. BROOKS

Penny Pinching
With Nothing Much Left to Slash, City Officials Try Trimming the Budget

By Lee Molloy

It was on Tuesday, July 6, that a dozen or so department heads and City of Miami Beach employees found themselves wasting nearly two hours of their time in an uncomfortably cold City Manager’s conference room. They were waiting for a late-starting meeting to discuss the efficiencies needed to trim more than $30 million to reach the city’s roughly $225 million budget.

Once again, home values have tumbled in Miami Beach, wiping almost $14 million in property tax revenue off the books. Increases in pension costs for employees also have added around $14 million to expenses. With a further few million in insurance cost increases and other expenses, the City faces a gap of $32 million to fill. After four years of hefty budget cuts, it seems there are few good choices left to make.
“Believe me, if there was an easy cut I’d give it to you,” City Manager Jorge Gonzalez told city commissioners.

Expenses

Salaries and benefits of city employees account for a significant chunk of the budget making it, according to Commissioner Deede Weithorn, necessary to ask the police, fire, and other unions to share the burden of cutting costs. Weithorn explained to The Lead that the city went to the unions and told them “you command a part of the problem so we want you to be part of the solution.”

The unions, for the most part, stepped up and agreed to cuts in pay and benefits, and changes to their respective pension plan to the tune of almost $8 million dollars this year, and a similar number next year. However, one union, the Communications Workers of America, which includes the city lifeguards in their number, is holding out.

“What are you willing to give the City?” Mayor Matti Bower angrily asked local CWA union President, Richard McKinnon during the Tuesday meeting. After accusing the mayor of “grandstanding,” McKinnon said that what the city asked of his members was “unreasonable.” He did agree to sit down again with officials and the mayor to see what could be done. If the CWA does not ‘play ball’ the City may have to consider some extremely drastic cuts, including the elimination of up to 17 lifeguard towers, 75 percent of the code compliance staff, and the closure of all city-owned swimming pools for three months during the winter — cuts that everyone agreed they don’t want to see.

Even if the CWA comes around, commissioners have to consider some tough departmental cuts. For example, within the police department, roughly $40,000 could be saved by eliminating the officer assigned to the Police Athletic League (P.A.L) and more than $180,000 could be saved by eliminating five contracted School Liaison Officers.

“I would rather see this program go than the P.A.L. officer,” Fraternal Order of Police President, Alex Bello said. “They are basically hall monitors with polo shirts and police radios.”

Other cuts in the police department under consideration include eliminating the position of a specialist dedicated to reviewing security camera tapes from crime scenes, saving around $52,000. Officials are also considering cutting another $92,000 by eliminating one domestic violence coordinator/victims advocate position, meaning that each year around 400 advocacy cases, including cases of rape and violence towards women, would not be handled.

At this stage none of these cuts have been explicitly ruled out by commissioners.

Revenues

Last year the city raised nearly $133 million from property taxes, however, to maintain that level of income with declining property values, the city would have to raise the millage rate by 0.76 to stay even — a rise that would increase taxes on an average $280,000 property by around $212 per year.

Furthermore, according to Gonzalez, if the elected officials approve the hike, increases in property tax will be less than $300 for 88 percent of Miami Beach’s homesteaded properties and 41 percent will see no increase, or a reduction, in taxes.

The city will also raise certain fees for services.

For example, if the fire department has to take a resident to the hospital the basic fee will rise from $358.67 to $500. This is expected to add around $190,000 per year to city coffers. Commissioners also agreed to reinstate the $3 fee for adult residents to swim in public pools, and to increase the rates for non-Miami Beach residents, changes which will bring in around $181,000.

Businesses will also have to pay their share. Restaurants and bars with sidewalk cafes will see the rent they pay to the city increase from $15 to $20 per square foot for use of the public areas on Lincoln Road and Ocean Drive.

“Those businesses make a lot of money,” Commissioner Jerry Libbin said. “It’s not unreasonable to increase a fee.”

The hike in this fee will take place over two years, and is expected to add $350,000 to the city’s income.
The administration has been developing some more creative ways to increase revenue. One requires a city code amendment — provisionally approved by commissioners, the idea is to sell advertising banner spots on 300 light poles around the city, which is expected to raise around $324,000. Selling advertising space at the bus shelter at the Fifth Street and Alton Road garage should bring in close to $50,000.

The city is also in negotiations with Nautica swimwear to sponsor Miami Beach lifeguard uniforms, a move anticipated to generate at least $100,000 per year.

Ultimately, even if the CWA accepts the deal offered to the unions, and even with all the savings and revenue raising ideas accepted by the commission, the city manager will still have to find almost $3 million to plug the remainder of the hole in the budget during the next couple of months. However, officials feel serious progress has been made.

“We should all be walking out of here feeling really good today,” Commissioner Deede Weithorn said.

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