George Vallejo’s decision to run for Mayor of North Miami Beach was not an easy one to make.  After 17 years of raising a young family in quiet enjoyment, he was well aware that by entering the the political forum, he would be throwing himself into the lion’s den.  Vallejo was under no illusion about the privacy he would relinquish by serving his community in a very public way.  And yet, despite the personal sacrifices he was about to make, this highly principled and greatly respected husband, father and Little League coach chose to steer his ship directly into the eye of the storm.

If you ask him why, his response is always, “For the greater good.”

Unlike many aspiring and career politicians, George Vallejo’s desire to serve the City of North Miami Beach was not a vanity project.  He was simply compelled to give back to the community in which he raised his family in order to make it a sustainable one for future generations.

Mayor Vallejo ran on the promise of transparency, accountability and economic growth.  In less than eight years under his leadership, as well as the leadership of his equally visionary colleagues on the dais, Commissioners Anthony DiFillipo, Barbara Kramer, Marlen Martell and Beth Spiegel, the City of North Miami Beach has gone from a mere junction between I-95 and Aventura to a destination in its own right.

Most importantly, the members of this administration take their jobs as stewards of the public coffers very, very seriously.  With an unyielding eye toward protecting their constituents’ hard earned tax dollars, while at the same time improving their services, the North Miami Beach Mayor and Commission have made tough choices under tremendous pressure.

In 2015, as reported by the Miami Herald, “after two years of strategic planning sessions, public town hall meetings and at times explosive debates, North Miami Beach’s mayor and council unanimously approved on second reading a major overhaul of the city’s comprehensive planning and zoning codes.”

In another controversial move later that year, they voted to outsource the sanitation department in order to save taxpayers $2.5 million a year.  Six months later, several employees who initially protested against the change, came before the council to tell them how grateful and excited they were to be working for their new employer, Waste Management.

Mayor George Vallejo advised that the privatization savings “paid for the creation of the 21-person ‘NMB Teams’ in 6 zones keeping the city clean and beautiful.  These teams are responsible for maintaining the city’s sprinkler systems, medians, foliage, street sweeping, pressure washing, shopping cart removal, etc., etc., etc.”

After a long and contentious battle with both the employees’ and police unions, the Mayor and Commission overhauled the pension plans, saving taxpayers millions of dollars in future payouts.

Mayor Vallejo explained, “Savings started this year and grow over time.  We ended up making the impacts of the changes smaller to currently vested employees, a little larger to current workers not-vested, and most significant to new employees coming aboard.  This way we were able to keep faith with current employees and have the larger changes apply to employees who would be joining up with full knowledge that the pension plans were less generous than before.”

He went on to explain his goals, “Remember that we also have cut the head count by hundreds.  This cuts untold millions from the “off balance sheet” (hidden) liabilities for “OPEB”- “other post-employment benefits”.  This is big, yet hard to quantify because the reality is that, unlike pensions, the City does not need to set aside any money for OPEB liabilities.  In my opinion, this is a big problem facing the country.  Regardless, by us outsourcing trash and utilities, we’ve essentially stopped the red ink on that from accruing for those workers who are no longer on the city payroll.”

Last year, city officials updated their 15-year Strategic Plan and Action Agenda, affirming their mission to provide “excellent municipal services in a financially responsible and environmentally conscious manner, while engaging our residents.”

As a result of the current administration’s diligent efforts, North Miami Beach homeowners have also enjoyed a decrease in millage rates from 6.6036 in 2011 to 6.4000 in 2017.  In addition, according to the latest Biscayne Times article, “Show Them Up,” the city’s tax base of $2.8 billion reflects an increase of 47% since 2013.

In a side by side comparison of North Miami Beach and its “neighbor to the south,” North Miami, reporter Mark Sell wrote, “North Miami Beach is pulling ahead, both in financial metrics and in restoring civic trust.”  He also pointed out that North Miami City Manager Larry Spring “has had to grapple with the police department, Chinatown, MOCA, and the bond issue,” while his counterpart in NMB, Ana Garcia, “dived right into the city’s strategic plan.”

Mayor Vallejo proudly told us that his city has “numerous new modern, attractive housing options” on the horizon to replace “the old, decaying buildings” that proliferated throughout the city for over half a century.

Even more telling, due to the North Miami Beach Mayor and Commission’s commitment to economic growth, as reflected by its “growing array of developments,” the city’s “reserves are well above $20 million* and continually rising, double from five years ago, thanks to financial stewardship.”  Or, as Mayor Vallejo quipped, “Our financial reserves have grown to an almost embarrassingly high level.”

*UPDATE:  City Manager Ana Garcia just advised us that after the Biscayne Times article was published, an audit just confirmed that the city’s unrestricted reserves are officially at $25 million.  [Editor’s comment:  “OMG!  That’s some serious coinage!”]

At the same time, “North Miami’s are half that, up from zero – thanks entirely to [its only development thus far] SoLeMia.”

Despite decades of non-action on the property formerly (and jokingly) known as “Biscayne Landfill,” and despite the $22 million the city received from its most recent sale of land to developers, the City of North Miami is still apparently strapped for cash.

In fact, the city council just passed a resolution approving a special election (at a minimum cost of $100,000.00) to be held on May 1, 2018 for citizens to vote on a $120 million bond for “various capital improvement projects,” none of which appears slated for the replacement of its aging and severely compromised water and sewer pipes.  If approved, North Miami residents can expect to pay significantly higher property taxes for the next thirty years, and then hope that this and future administrations won’t spend it all on frivolous parties, travel and the hiring of even more unnecessary employees under the North Miami Friends & Family Plan.

The progress, or lack thereof, in these two neighboring cities is a direct reflection of the quality of leadership and management.

Plainly, there is no comparison.

As we’ve already mentioned, the North Miami Beach Mayor and Commission had a clear vision when they decided to move the city in a brand new direction.

While previous administrations were notorious for squandering taxpayer money on unnecessary and very expensive perks, Mayor Vallejo and his colleagues set out on a path of austerity … beginning with their own office.  They pared their own staff down to one administrative assistant, cut their own bloated expense allowances, and put a stop to all unnecessary travel.

The new Mayor and Commission embraced their roles as public servants, accountable to those who entrusted them to be their representatives at City Hall.  They put a stop to the extravagant, self-congratulatory events and galas at the taxpayer expense, the myriad of national and international trips by elected officials that served no official public purpose, and severely curtailed their own padded expense accounts to the bare minimum.

According to the Fiscal Year 2018 Adopted Budget, this year the Mayor and Commission reduced their total office budget for seven elected officials nearly in half from last year’s $1,050,892 down to $590,455, or an average of $84,350 per commissioner.

By contrast, for this fiscal year the North Miami Mayor and Council increased  its total budget for its five member body from $852,011 to $1,140,546 – a whopping $228,109 per council member.

As you can plainly see, when it comes to fiscal responsibility, there is no substitute for quality leadership and management.

At the direction of her bosses, North Miami Beach City Manager Ana Garcia began her tenure by analyzing each and every department of the city in order to improve efficiency and eliminate government waste.  She streamlined staff by eliminating non-essential positions and demanding that all employees commit to the highest professional standards.

Those professional standards are especially crucial when it comes to public safety.  We repeat our oft said mantra that a city is only as good as its police department.

By far, Ms. Garcia’s most important – and irrefutably her most successful – appointment was North Miami Beach Police Chief William Hernandez, a 28-year veteran with an impressive background in law enforcement.

Hernandez was first hired as Deputy Chief by former Police Chief J. Scott Dennis, who was appointed by Ana Garcia in 2013.  Chief Dennis retired in 2015, and on January 5, 2016, Ms. Garcia appointed Deputy Chief Hernandez as the permanent Chief of the North Miami Beach Police Department.

Under Chief Hernandez’ no-nonsense, professional leadership, the already distinguished Police Department was awarded “EXCELSIOR” status for the second time in a row by the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement, Inc. (CFA).

In addition to being the first law enforcement agency in Miami-Dade County to ever achieve “EXCELSIOR” status, the North Miami Beach Police Department was the first law enforcement agency in Miami-Dade County to become accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) in 1991, and it has maintained its professional accreditation status ever since.

As much as Chief Hernandez deserves kudos and credit for the excellence of his agency, it certainly helps that the North Miami Beach Police Department is scandal-free.

To the best of our knowledge, no North Miami Beach Police Officer has ever:

• Extorted a quarter million dollars from the city by whining to the EEOC over name calling.
• Shot an unarmed black man with his hands up, begging cops to hold fire.
• Framed another officer for the shooter’s screw-up.
• Been hired after being arrested for shoplifting.
• Been retained by the department after serially stalking women.
• Resorted to filing a bogus discrimination lawsuit in order to extort a promotion.
• Been repeatedly accused of harassment by female subordinates.
• Stolen the car and property of an arrested subject, and then kidnapped his children.

Most importantly, however, the North Miami Beach Police Department has never lost its accreditation.

Clearly, none of this corruption ever happened under the watch of then-Deputy Chief William Hernandez or Ana Garcia would never have even considering giving him the top job.

Especially  if he had direct involvement in one or more of the aforementioned scandals.

Just saying.

Incredibly, Chief Hernandez is such an effective leader that there’s no need for the North Miami Beach Police Department to pay a part time “police consultant” an outrageous salary of $110,300.00 a year to advise the Chief how to do his job.

Imagine that!

Then again, City Manager Ana Garcia makes her hiring decisions based on the qualifications of the applicant, and not by succumbing to pressure by outside influencers such as lobbyists and county commissioners.

We once again reiterate that there is no substitute for quality leadership and management.

The City of North Miami Beach lacks neither.

Biscayne Times reporter Mark Sell was on the money when he wrote that when it comes to progress “North Miami Beach pulls ahead of its neighbor to the south.”  We certainly take no issue with that assessment.

North Miami Beach residents are so fortunate to live in such an awesome city.

North Miami residents, on the other hand, deserve so much better.

Stephanie