In their mad rush to get their $120 million General Obligation Bond passed on May 1, 2018, the North Miami Mayor and Council’s Department of Propaganda continues to promote its hype over the airwaves.

During the month of March alone, the City of North Miami spent over $38,000.00 on radio spots.  Of that amount, $35,500.00 was spent directly on promoting their GO Bond.

But, hey, who cares?  It’s not their  money!

Not surprisingly, this expense was not included in the “GO Bond Educational Budget” discussed at the last North Miami City Council meeting on April 10, 2018 during Deputy City Manager Arthur “Duke” Sorey’s presentation.

If the cost of radio advertising wasn’t disclosed in the alleged “GO Bond Educational Budget,” what else has been kept hidden from North Miami residents by city officials?  It appears this expense is just the the tip of the iceberg.

Take the North Miami Police Department, for example.  With 168 full-time employees, of which 136 are law enforcement officers and 32 are non-law enforcement civilians, this is the city’s largest department.  According to the Fiscal Year 2018 Adopted Budget, its budget for the current fiscal year is $27,204,349.00.

Keep in mind that this massive budget is now being controlled by the same cop who conned a former city manager into a settlement worth over a QUARTER MILLION DOLLARS of taxpayer money, yet would have you to believe he’ll manage the department’s checkbook responsibly.

But, hey, who cares?  It’s not their  money!

The police department’s full-time civilian employees, all of which have a specific job description, earn between $33,425.60 (Clerical Technician) and $85,987.20 (police administrator), or a total of $1,589,764.80 per year.

According to the list of non-law enforcement civilians on the NMPD payroll, which was obtained by a public records request, Jorge L. Manresa is the department’s Police Administrator.  His official job description is “This is highly responsible professional, administrative and supervisory work within the Police.”  Mr. Manresa is a former City of Miami police officer with a bit of a checkered past, to say the least.

In addition to the exorbitant salary he receives for his ambiguous “professional, administrative and supervisory work,” Mr. Manresa also has a $23,248.25 take home 2014 Ford Explorer SUV, fully police-equipped, for his “professional” and personal use.

In addition those 168 full-time employees, this department has on staff 30 part-time (29 hours per week) “Contract Employees,” which “do not have job descriptions.”  The annual salaries of these employees range from $15,864.16 ($10.52 per hour) to $42,224.00 ($28.00 per hour).

The total annual cost of these Contract Employees with “no job description“ is $596,564.12.

Several of the Contract Employees are former full-time employees who are retired and collecting their retirement benefits, yet managed to stay on the payroll as part-time “independent contractors.”

One of them is former NMPD police officer Dale D. Briganti, whose official title is “Accreditation Manager.”  As we previously reported, Ms. Briganti “is charged with the monitoring, assessing, and reviewing all departmental standard operating policies and procedures in order to ensure that the department is within accreditation standards.”

As we all know, she didn’t do a very good job.  The North Miami Police Department lost its accreditation two years ago this month.  Somehow she’s still on the payroll.

Another former NMPD cop, Jerry D. Leep, is also a “Contract Employee” even though he was fired in 2004 for “Driving Under the Influence of Liquor,” according to the Herald-Tribune’s Florida police database.

Also on the “Contract Employee” payroll is Noel A. Rojas, who retired from the Miami Police Department in 2003, spent a year as a Surfside cop from 2004 to 2005, and is currently back at the City of Miami as a part-time cop while simultaneously working for the NMPD.  Nothing like a little double dipping to get through “retirement,” eh?

On March 26, 2018, we requested from the Clerk’s office more information.  We wrote, “I understand that there is no job description for the thirty (30) contract employees. However, there must be someone at the police department who can advise what these thirty employees actually do. I’d appreciate your assistance.”

We have yet to receive a response.

But, hey, who cares?  It’s not their  money!

If Larry Juriga’s North Miami Police Department doesn’t spend enough of your money with absolutely no accountability whatsoever, city officials want you to throw TWO MILLION MORE DOLLARS at him for “Technology Improvements.”

Which will give Juriga & Co. plenty of taxpayer money to take even more “working” vacations to Haiti.

On January 19, 2017, Larry Juriga traveled to Port-au-Prince, Haiti for the stated purpose of “Sister Cities Archaie, Haiti” at a total cost of $1,164.11.  On this particular four day trip, Juriga traveled with Deputy City Manager Arthur “Duke” Sorey (cost: $1,139.11), Marc Jeudy of the Office of Mayor and Council (cost $1,122.96), and Constituent Services Aide Luckar Ferdinand (cost $1,275.31).

No explanation was provided as to what was accomplished during this trip, what its public purpose was, or how it benefited the residents of North Miami.

Larry Juriga traveled again to Haiti on December 3, 2017 for four days for the stated purpose of providing “training and assistance to the police officers of our Sister City in Archaie, Haiti,” at a cost of $1,346.89.  Juriga was accompanied on that trip by then-Major Franzia Brea (cost $1,317.05), Officer Stephane Hyppolite (cost $1,159.16) and Officer Duhamel Jeanite (cost $1,216.95).

In addition to a $200.00 “ticket change” charge per passenger, or a total of $800.00, all four NMPD officers were “roughing it” at the Royal Decameron Índigo Beach Resort & Spa in Arcadins Coast, Montrouis – Haiti.

We imagine they had plenty of time to provide “training and assistance” to police officers 20 miles away in Archaie, Haiti, while staying at this all-inclusive luxury resort, which includes “buffet-style breakfast, lunch and dinner with unlimited consumption,” and for which they all received per-diem reimbursements for meals that they didn’t actually have to pay for.

The four of them spent their last night at the Occidental Royal Oasis near Port-au-Prince, where they had to make do at a tremendous personal sacrifice.

All for the benefit of North Miami residents, of course.

But, hey, who cares?  It’s not their  money!

Fortunately, they didn’t have to tough it out alone.

Traveling with four of North Miami’s finest were Deputy Manager “Duke” Sorey (cost $1,139.11) and Constituent Services Aide Luckar Ferdinand (cost $1,062.97)

We’re not entirely clear how “Sister Cities” actually benefit the taxpaying residents of North Miami … but whatever.

More importantly, we can’t help but wonder about the value of “training and assistance” for police officers in Archaie, Haiti by two of the most corrupt cops in South Florida – Larry Juriga and Franzia Brea.  But again … whatever.

North Miami cops weren’t the only public employees to score free trips to Haiti last year.

In addition to his trips in January and December, the “Duke” took two more “working” vacations to Haiti in 2017.

On May 17, 2017, Deputy City Manager Arthur Sorey took a four day trip to Archaie to attend the Sister City Cultural Exchange (cost $1,021.61), which really benefited North Miami residents since absolutely no one here knows anything about Haitian culture. 😕

On August 14, 2017, Arthur Sorey again traveled to Archaie for three days at a cost of $2,153.51, accompanied by his longtime buddy, Parks & Recreation Director Derrick Corker (cost $1,140.24), Public Works Director Wisler Pierre-Louis (cost $1,076.67), Public Works Assistant Director Thomas Positano (cost $1,076.67), and Public Works Electrician Jacques Dominique (cost $1,076.67).  The five employees spent the first three nights at the at the Royal Indigo Decameron Indigo Beach Resort and Spa and their last night on the town at the Occidental Royal Oasis.

The official purpose of this trip was “Sister Cities Archaie, Haiti.”  No further explanation given.

But, hey, who cares?  It’s not their  money!

If one Sister City is good, two’s even better!

On August 23, 2017, City Manager Larry Spring accompanied Mayor Smith Joseph, Chief of Staff Natasha Colebrook-Williams, and Senior Executive Assistant Paulmarie Elie, to Port-au-Prince for a Signing Ceremony for North Miami’s new Sister City, Saint-Louis-Du-Nord.

Larry Spring’s and PaulMarie Elie’s trip cost $1,662.92 each.  We have no idea what North Miami residents shelled out for the Mayor or his Chief of Staff for this trip since those documents were not provided in response to our public records request.  We figure their tab was at least another three or four thousand dollars.

But, hey, who cares?  It’s not their  money!

But the Mayor and Council need more money, so you just gotta vote for their bond!

Besides, the SoLē Mia developers, a/k/a the billionaire LeFrak and Soffer families, are counting on your FIVE MILLION DOLLARS.

For a park.

Or something.

BUT, HEY, WHO FREAKING CARES?  IT’S NOT THEIR MONEY!

IT’S YOURS!

North Miami residents, save the date.

On May 1, 2018 …

To be continued…

Stephanie