Larry Spring’s gig as North Miami City Manager is finally coming to an end.

His last day is January 31, 2020.

In a 4-1 vote, the Mayor and Council approved a proposed separation agreement that allowed Larry to walk away without being fired for cause, as well as grab some sweet swag on the way out.

In order to leave quietly, Larry’s lawyer, Joseph R. Gosz of The Gosz Professional Limited Company, submitted a “Terms of Severance” (Item 10, TAB K, on the Agenda).  On behalf of his client, Mr. Gosz asked for the following:

• Twelve weeks of his current salary pursuant to Section 18 of the City Charter.
• Twenty weeks of his current salary pursuant to Section 5 of his Employment Agreement.
• The cash value of unused accrued leave and sick pay pursuant to Section 12 of his Employment Agreement.
• The ability to remain on the city’s insurance plans until December 31, 2020, with Larry paying the premiums.
• The city-owned, $49,000 SUV he’s been using at no cost to Larry.
• The city-owned Apple iPad and peripherals he’s been using, also at no cost to Larry.

Considering that Florida Statute 215.425(4)(a)(1) “permits a local government to adopt a personnel policy providing severance pay to employees terminated without cause or who submit a resignation,” but “limits such severance pay to 20 weeks,” we’re hard pressed to see how Larry can demand an additional 12 weeks on top of the state maximum of 20 weeks.  City Attorney Jeff Cazeau, however, didn’t raise an objection, so it must be legal.

We also take issue with Larry being handed a “free” SUV (as did Councilman Alix Desulme, who voted against the package solely for that reason), but that’s hardly surprising since the Mayor and Council love to be generous with taxpayer money.

The fact is that Larry Spring has given the elected officials plenty of reasons to terminate him with cause, including but not limited to:

• His shady, unethical, and possible criminal history while employed at the City of Miami.
• His immediate rush to judgment to falsely blame and condone the framing of Commander Emile Hollant for the 2016 shooting of Charles Kinsey.
• His desperate attempt to conceal a whistleblowing memo from the public about the shooting and public shaming the whistleblower for his own poor judgment.
• His complicity with Deputy Manager Arthur “Duke” Sorey in passing a fraudulent budget and once again, scapegoating the whistleblower.
• His getting caught lying about balancing the budget with the $2 million received from Costco despite a specific directive not to do so; and
• Most importantly, his uncanny knack for deficit budgeting.

Larry’s attorney also attached a list of “accomplishments,” most of which he had little or nothing to do with.  But since his departure is a done deal, there’s no sense harping on them now.

Even so, the mysterious circumstances surrounding Larry Spring’s sudden departure are certainly worth exploring.

After nearly four years on the job, Larry Spring has finally started putting the kibosh on the outrageous demands of the spoiled brats on the Council.

Unfortunately for him, Mayor Philippe Bien-Aime, who acts as if he’s the King of North Miami instead of just one of five elected officials, doesn’t like being told he can’t have what he wants.  Apparently, Larry has incurred the Mayor’s wrath by saying “no” to him one time too many, which practically insured his being shown the door.  It’s too bad for Larry that he didn’t grow a pair until it was too late.

Not that we’re complaining, though.

While we have absolutely no problem saying adios to Spring…

…We’re just as concerned about who is being hand-picked by Philippe Bien-Aime to take his place.

We’ve also heard rumors that this individual is not only demanding a starting salary of $400,000, but also insisting that the position not be advertised to other potential candidates.

But, we here at VotersOpinion don’t deal in rumors, we deal in facts.

So, for the time being, we’ll leave you with these facts.

In January, 2018, the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust published the Compensation of Elected Officials in Miami-Dade County, including the managers’ salaries of of the county as well as its 34 municipalities.  In the two years since this study was done, some of these salaries may have increased somewhat, but this list is still a fair indication of what the managers are earning.  Note that in seven of these cities, there is a Strong Mayor form of government, which means that the Mayor also acts as the City Manager, and is compensated accordingly.

Keep in mind that Miami-Dade County’s budget for FY 2019-20 is $8.9 billion, and yet the Strong Mayor’s salary is only $150,000.  The population for Miami-Dade County is estimated to be 2,744,878.

The current budget for Miami, the county’s largest city with a population of 470,914, is $1.13 billion, and it’s manager earns $231,402.

In the City of Hialeah, the county’s second largest municipality with a population of 238,942, the current budget of $327.8 million, yet the Strong Mayor earns only $150,000.

Meanwhile, the City of North Miami, the county’s sixth largest with a population of 62,996, has a current budget of $179.5 million, yet its City Manager earns $240,000 – the third highest salary of all 35 municipal managers in the county.

Even though North Miami’s population is only 2.29%, and its budget is only 2.02% of the county’s, the budget for the City Manager’s office in North Miami is $3,149,181, or $77,181 more than the $3,072,000 budgeted for the Manager’s office in the City of Miami.

Just one of the many, many reasons that Larry Spring had to go!

Also keep in mind that according to Paragraph 5(C) of City Attorney Jeff Cazeau’s Employment Agreement with the City of North Miami, “the CITY ATTORNEY’S salary and benefits shall never be less than that of the City Manager’s.  In the event the increases in the City Manager’s salary and benefits, either as the result of a new hire or as a raise or adjustment, the CITY ATTORNEY’S salary and benefits shall automatically be raised to match.

Notwithstanding the fact that Jeff Cazeau deserves to be paid top dollar, if this Mayor and Council decide to hire a city manager at twice Larry’s salary, they’ll have to do the same for the City Attorney.  We’re hoping against hope that they won’t do something stupid.

Yeah, we know.  That’s hoping a lot.

We’re also hoping that the Mayor and Council advertise for a new City Manager nationally, as suggested by Councilwoman Carol Keys near the end of the meeting.

It was very telling that Mayor Philippe Bien-Aime jumped down her throat for daring to make such a sensible suggestion.

It’s even more telling the way Philippe vigorously argued against appointing an acting City Manager until a permanent one could be hired.

He lost both arguments, and Deputy City Manager Arthur “Duke” Sorey will become the interim on February 1, 2020 after Larry departs.

It will certainly be interesting to see what Philippe has up his sleeve in the next few weeks.

Councilwoman Mary Estimé-Irvin, as usual, had nothing intelligent to add to the discussion, but she was only too happy to give away the farm to Larry Spring.

After all, it’s not her money.

In the meantime, let’s all give the soon-to-be-former City Manager Larry Spring the send off he rightly deserves.

UPDATE:  Miami Herald reporter Aaron Leibowitz reported yesterday, North Miami to fire its city manager. He gets 32 weeks’ pay and a $45,000 SUV.  He then updated his story by tweeting:

Update: The car is a 2020 GMC Yukon SLT. https://t.co/HoCp4kp5JQ

— Aaron Leibowitz (@aaron_leib) January 15, 2020

$45K is what the manager said it’s worth now.

— Aaron Leibowitz (@aaron_leib) January 15, 2020

Of course he did!

According to Kelly Blue Book, however, this vehicle’s Fair Market price range is between $55,737 and $60,636.

Courtesy of North Miami Taxpayers, of course.

Stephanie