After the latest breaking news out of Opa-locka, the Lauderdale Lakes commissioners might want to consider a forensic audit of its entire city.

As hard as it is to believe, things in Opa-locka just got worse.  The Miami Herald reported this morning in City raided customer deposits — $1.7 million belonging to residents, businesses,  that “Opa-locka officials quietly tapped into the security deposits belonging to thousands of water customers — $1.7 million —wiping out nearly all of the funds and depriving local residents of their lawful money for years to come.”

The Herald also noted that “in just four months” beginning in August of 2014, “the city drained the bank account of deposits that range from $170 for homeowners to thousands for commercial users.  The amount left: $16,267.“

Florida law mandates that utility deposits are to be held in an interest bearing account separate from all other municipal funds.   According to Florida Administrative Rule 25-6.097(3) Refund of Deposits, “After a customer has established a satisfactory payment record and has had continuous service for a period of 23 months, the utility shall refund the residential customer’s deposits…”

When Opa-locka utility customers asked for their deposits back, however, they were told that the money was gone!

The Herald article notes, “Opa-locka officials not only failed to safeguard the funds that belonged to residents and business owners in the impoverished city, but never revealed the withdrawals to the public.”

All of this took place right smack in the middle of Kelvin Baker’s tenure as city manager, who ran Opa-locka for three years from July 3, 2012 until July 22, 2015.

According to the Herald article, “as early as August 2014, the city began drawing down on the money in discreet transfers that continued through November without even a promise to pay back the funds, according to interviews and records obtained by the Herald.”

Kelvin Baker, the one time (and fired) North Miami Beach city manager, and who recently resigned as the Lauderdale Lakes city manager, did not respond to calls by the Herald reporter.

Nor did his fellow Traveling Circus performer, Susan Gooding-Liburd, who followed him from North Miami Beach to Opa-locka to eventually assume the position of Financial Services Director of the Lakes.

While serving as the finance director of Opa-locka, Ms. Gooding-Liburd had apparently perfected the Kelvin Baker Magic Budget Balancing Act.  This circus trick involves the depletion of other funding sources, such as reserve accounts, in order to present a “balanced” budget to city officials.

“The first breach was in August 2014, when city officials took $200,000, transferring the money into the general fund. The next month, they took another $834,000. They followed with two more transfers in October and November for $100,000 each.

The moves allowed city officials to show a balanced budget without divulging their actions to the public, according to confidential sources.”

Even more incriminating, the Herald exposed that it was Susan Gooding-Liburd who “ordered the withdrawals” from the utilities deposit account.

Kelvin should be very proud of his protégé!

Tapping into utility deposits, however, is more than just a sleight of hand magic trick.  It’s outright illegal!

As the Herald reported, “withdrawals of the customer water deposits represents a far different level of wrongdoing that has yet to be examined by federal and state agents probing the city.”

Furthermore:

“Unlike other transfers from restricted funds to fill budget gaps, the city’s taking of the deposits presents a far more egregious use of the public’s money, said Merrett Stierheim, a deputized inspector general who is helping the state oversee the city’s troubled finances.

“If that was a lawyer handling an escrow account, he would have been disbarred,” said Stierheim, a former Miami-Dade County manager.

That’s fraud. I would be calling the local district attorney. That’s not their money to take. Dennis Dycus, certified public accountant and recognized expert on government spending practices.”

Opa-locka Vice Mayor Timothy Holmes and former Mayor Joseph Kelley both expressed outrage over this newly revealed scandal.

Not surprisingly, however, Mayor Myra Taylor and Commissioner Luis Santiago, both of whom are implicated in alleged  illegal activities currently under investigation, “did not respond to interview requests” by the Herald.

The real mystery is how this theft of the utility deposits escaped the eye of the city’s independent auditor, accountant Roderick Harvey, the following year “when when he released his annual audit.”  According to the Herald, “It was clear from bank records at the time that the deposits were nearly drained.”

All of which begs the question of whether or not Kelvin Baker somehow exerted pressure on the auditor to “overlook” the discrepancies.

Just saying.

And, of course, just like the rest of the usual Opa-locka suspects, Mr. Harvey did not respond to an interview request from the Herald.

In the ongoing federal investigation of Opa-locka, each week more and more city officials are being implicated in criminal activity.

It was only a matter of time before Kelvin Baker’s role in this scandal would come to light.

(And, yeah.  I hate to say I told you so, but…)

Now we all just have to wait patiently for justice to be served.

I’m thinking that Kelvin won’t be needing that job in North Miami after all.

Stephanie