STOP THE PRESSES!

We intended to post this final election blog by last night.

However, we learned late in the evening that North Miami City Manager Larry Spring finally released the city’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFR) for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019 – a full eight and a half months after the close of the year.

While this report was not a game changer in terms of our election recommendations, we are certainly curious about the timing of its release.

According to the Government Finance Officers Association’s (GOFA) Best Practices, “financial reports should be published as soon as possible after the end of the reporting period.”  While GOFA takes into account certain “unforeseen circumstances,” which could take time to definitely resolve, “the inherent uncertainty should not unduly delay the financial report preparation process and the independent audit.  Accordingly, it often is better to proceed with the issuance of the financial statements based upon estimates, rather than to delay their issuance.”

And yet, Larry Spring didn’t release this report until the night before a City Council mayoral election – after at least half of North Miami voters have already cast a ballot!

This move could only be interpreted as a last ditch effort to save his job before new leadership could be elected.

After all, timing is everything.

You will recall that former Assistant Budget Director Terry Henley tried desperately to warn city officials that Larry Spring and Deputy City Manager Arthur “Duke” Sorey pushed through “what looks like a $70 million balanced budget, but one that really conceals $7 million to $20 million in deficits.”

Well guess what?  He was right!

On page 32 of the section entitled Basic Financial Statements, you can clearly see that North Miami ended its 2017-2018 fiscal year over $9.7 million in the hole.

Unfortunately for Terry Henley, he was fired for telling the truth.

Which should surprise no one since North Miami city officials have a habit of firing anyone who blows the whistle on corruption.

That being said, if you haven’t yet voted, today is your last chance to save North Miami from corruption and financial disaster by electing new leadership at City Hall.

VotersOpinion has already officially endorsed Mac-kinley Lauriston for mayor and Michael Etienne for councilman of District 3, but we have yet to weigh in on our recommendations for Districts 1 and 4, and for the position of City Clerk.  Since today is election day, we figured we’d post some final comments about what’s at stake.

If ever there is a theme for this election season, it would be “Fiscal Responsibility.”  Under the current leadership and administration, North Miami is literally bleeding money.

This pie chart says it all:

A picture truly is worth a thousand words.

Or, in North Miami’s case, twenty million words.

According to the city’s own website, more than halfway through this fiscal year, North Miami is already in the red for more than TWENTY MILLION DOLLARS!

The Mayor and Council approved a budget that projected revenue of $188,027,756.  As of May 13, 2019 – eight and one half months into the twelve month fiscal year – the city has received only $68,803,019, or 36.69%, of that amount.  Keep in mind that this amount already includes the 2018 ad valorem (property tax) revenue of $20,299,298, which makes up a quarter of the city’s revenue.  City officials will be hard pressed to make up the difference of $119,224.737 in the remaining three and one half months of the 2018-19 fiscal year.

Furthermore, city officials already spent $89,049,129 of the budget’s projected expenses of $186,497,255, and they’re not done yet.  They will still need to spend an additional $97,448,126 by September 30, 2019 to keep the city running.

In other words, they’re screwed.

If North Miami residents are serious about taking their city back by demanding accountability of their tax dollars, they need to get serious about electing leaders who will deliver fiscal responsibility.

The choice for Mayor should be a no-brainer.

North Miami residents need to ask themselves if they want to vote for Philippe Bien-Aime, a recycled politician who has already had six years as a councilman to stop the bleeding.  He has done anything but.  Aside from his personal financial problems, which include a bankruptcy, a foreclosure, and over $100,000 in court judgments and federal tax liens, he treats the city’s coffers like his own personal piggy bank.  In the last two years and four months alone, he has overspent his annual $7,000 discretionary fund by a whopping $178,168!

And let’s not forget that Councilman Bien-Aime voted to approve the very same fraudulent budget that, as you can clearly see above, is headed for financial disaster.

Face it, a vote for Philippe Bien-Aime is a vote for more of the same.

Mac-kinley Lauriston, on the other hand, is a 16 year veteran as the Financial Analyst and Senior Accountant for Ryder System, Inc., a Fortune 500 corporation.  He also has a master’s degree in Public Administration.

It’s a pretty good bet he understands finances and will never approve a budget that doesn’t pass muster.

Plus, Mac-kinley has the seal of approval from Fireman Bill!

Who could argue with that?

Ditto for Michael Etienne, who has consistently run his City Clerk department under budget since he was first elected in 2011.  He has always ended the fiscal year with a surplus, and so far this year, he has spent less than 50% of his annual budget with less than 30% of the year to go.

Michael was also a vocal opponent of last year’s failed $120,000,000 General Obligation Bond that city officials tried to shove down the throats of North Miami residents.  He knew that handing $120,000,000 to spendthrift city officials would have been a disaster of epic proportions.

More importantly, Michael has the seal of approval of Laura Hill – District 3 resident, civic activist, and the smartest person in North Miami.

Who could argue with that?

The only responsible choices for Mayor and District 3 are Mc-kinley Lauriston and Michael Etienne!

Scott Galvin will most likely retain his seat as Councilman for District 1.  We reached out through Facebook to his opponent, Vanessa Pierre, but she never responded.

Ms. Pierre appears to be an impressive individual, who would serve the city well.  The Miami Times reported that she “serves on the North Miami Quality Education Advisory Board and Parks and Recreation Commission.  She was a nominee for Forbes “30 Under 30” list.”  However, after serving his district for 20 years, and earning the trust of his constituents, it will be nearly impossible for Ms. Pierre to unseat him.  If re-elected, this will be Galvin’s last term anyway.  Ms. Pierre’s patience will be rewarded if she continues working hard to prove herself for the next election.

The only issue we have with Mr. Galvin is his reluctance to follow through on his promise to fight corruption at City Hall.  While he initially comes out swinging as a champion of transparency on behalf of the residents of North Miami, he has sometimes fallen short of accomplishing that goal.  Should he win again, we urge Scott Galvin to work with his colleagues on the dais to curtail the outrageous spending and the city’s nepotistic hiring practices, a/k/a the Friends & Family Plan, taking place under the current administration.

As for District 4, it’s no secret that we love Alix Desulme!

In our opinion, of the three candidates in the race, Alix is the only choice for Councilman of District 4.  For the last four years, Mr. Desulme has done everything in his power to respond to the needs of the residents in his district.  In addition to his many accomplishments, which he lists on his campaign website, we also know that Mr. Desulme literally pours his heart and soul into serving the public.

Our only concern is that Alix needs to cut back on his spending of taxpayer money, both on travel and on special events.  North Miami residents are understandably unhappy with the horrific state of the city’s finances, and the District 4 Councilman needs to respond accordingly.

If Desulme is re-elected, this will be his last term.

The other two candidates are simply not qualified for the job.

Nacivre “Charlie” Charles was indicted in 1999 on charges of conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine and heroin, has a history of being associated with absentee ballot fraud, and is a convicted criminal who served probation for two counts of campaign violations.  Imagine the possibilities if he’s elected.

While Mr. Desulme’s other opponent, Claude Rivette, seems to have stayed out of trouble and has no skeletons in his closet, he is simply an unknown quantity.  Mr. Rivette has never been active in North Miami government, either as a volunteer or a candidate for office.  If he is serious about a seat on the council, Mr. Rivette should spend the next four years getting involved by serving on a board or committee, and proving his dedication to the city’s residents.

And finally, there are three candidates for the office of City Clerk – Elizabeth Jeanty, Vanessa Joseph, and Jessica Tracy Wolland.  We here at VotersOpinion have no recommendation for this position because we are not familiar with any of the candidates.  We also strongly believe that the position of municipal clerk should be appointed and not elected, an issue which is currently being considered by the newly established Charter Board.  Hopefully, this item will be included once a charter change referendum is scheduled.

With all that being said, this is our last word on today’s election.  If you haven’t already done so, please do your civic duty and VOTE TO SAVE YOUR CITY!

North Miami residents deserve better!

Stephanie