Three months after City Manager Kelvin Baker broke up with the City of Opa-locka, the Mayor and Commissioners are facing yet another crisis of their own making.

On September 4, 2015, the commission hired Steve Shiver, the former mayor of Homestead and former Miami-Dade County Manager, at a salary of $150,000.00 a year, with the expectation that he would solve all their financial problems.

Instead of fixing anything, Shiver quickly created even more troubles for a city that certainly doesn’t need any more bad publicity.

Opa-locka’s newest city manager is being accused of demanding a kickback for the Mayor from a contractor in order to get paid by the city for work done on the city’s pump station for the sewer system.

As the Miami Herald pointed out on October 22, 2015, both Shiver and the contractor, George Howard, have a history of troubles.

According to the article, “Adding to the intrigue in a city infamous for financial and political chicanery: Court records show the accuser has a checkered financial and legal history himself. Howard, who lives in Pembroke Pines, has been sued several times since South Florida’s real estate market collapsed — leading to judgments against him for failing to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars in mortgage loans, failing to pay rent as a tenant in two Miami-Dade office buildings and passing a bad check to an insurance company.”

On top of that, “Miami-Dade County government has been pursuing a foreclosure action against one of Howard’s companies, Opa Lakes Development, and other parties for their failure to repay a $2.52 million low-interest loan that was meant for the renovation of the complex at 2491 NW 135th St., near the pump station.”

As dire as they seem, the contractor’s problems pale in comparison to those of City Manager Steve Shiver.

During his tenure on the Homestead city council from 1993 to 2001 (the last four as mayor), and through 2008 the city received a total of $30 million in tax dollars generated by a community development agency (CRA) created in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew.  After Shiver left Homestead, he did a two year stint as the manager of Miami-Dade County before becoming “a developer’s representative and property owner who went before the Homestead council with land deals,” according to a Herald article published on September 2, 2015.  A county audit in 2010 “tore into the city’s dealings with Shiver, who played an active role in multiple ill-fated ventures.”

The audit revealed that “Shiver convinced the Homestead CRA to pay a company affiliated with him $1.9 million for 4.2 acres of depressed real estate known as the “shotgun property.” The name stemmed from the small, rundown “shotgun-style” homes on the property. The audit found the price of the homes was above market value, the houses were demolished and the land was never developed.”

Shiver then took off for North Carolina to invest in yet another venture that ended up in bankruptcy with a $13 million dollar debt.

His luck apparently changed when he was chosen from a field of nine candidates to run the City of Opa-locka.

If you’re shaking your head in disbelief, you’re not alone.

In a city not known for fiscal prudence – or any prudence, for that matter – Steve Shiver seems to be an even better fit than Kelvin Baker, who took off for the somewhat greener pastures of Lauderdale Lakes.

And $15,000.00 more a year.

Living up to its reputation as the most dysfunctional city in Miami-Dade County, the commissioners held a special meeting earlier this evening to decide whether or not Steve Shiver should be fired.

Chosen as the city manager by a 3-2 vote, Steve Shiver was supported by Mayor Myra Taylor, Commissioner Luis Santiago and Commissioner Terence Pinder.  Vice Mayor Timothy Holmes and Commissioner Joseph Kelley voted against hiring him.

Less than two months into Shiver’s gig, Commissioner Kelley appears to be coming around.  Commissioner Santiago, on the other hand, is having buyer’s remorse.

It was Santiago who sponsored the legislation to fire Shiver tonight, according to a Herald article published this morning, Opa-locka may oust City Manager Steve Shiver at special meeting Tuesday.

Reporter Katie Lepri was tweeting during the meeting which began at 6:00 PM and ended 45 minutes later.  She noted that Santiago made the motion to terminate Shiver’s contract, and Commissioner Kelley seconded it for discussion purposes.

I’m not supporting this, but i want to make a statement. It’s embarrassing, Kelley said.

— Katie Lepri (@katielepri) October 27, 2015

We’ve got a lot of issues we got to deal with, Kelley said. Please let’s not waste any more time with these meetings.

— Katie Lepri (@katielepri) October 27, 2015

Kelley said City Manager Steve Shiver’s severance is over $84K if they fire him.

— Katie Lepri (@katielepri) October 27, 2015

Let’s try to work together, to move this city forward, Kelley said. — Katie Lepri (@katielepri) October 27, 2015

Taylor calls the vote. The commission does not pass the motion 4-1. Commissioner Santiago is the only one to vote yes. — Katie Lepri (@katielepri) October 27, 2015

Meeting is adjourned. — Katie Lepri (@katielepri) October 27, 2015

Steve Shiver gets to keep his job.

Kelvin Baker was unavailable for comment.

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”