The ink is barely dry on Arthur “Duke” Sorey’s April 20, 2021 Employment Contract, and he’s already asking for a raise.

The original deal, worth $240,000 a year for a guaranteed four years, was already unheard of for a city the size of North Miami Beach (pop. 43,891).

Nevertheless, he’s grabbing even more!

In fact, according to the 2018 Compensation of Elected Officials in Miami-Dade County published by the Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust, Duke’s salary is tied with the City of North Miami (pop. 62,139) as the third highest in the County, bested only by the wealthy cities of Aventura (pop. 37,724), which pays its City Manager $252,000, and Miami Beach (pop. 91,917), which pays its City Manager $282,535.

Even the top administrator of Miami-Dade County (pop. 2,456,378) earns only $150,000 a year.  The Managers of much larger cities than North Miami Beach, such as Hialeah (pop. 236,387), Homestead (pop. 67,996), Miami (pop. 453,579), and Miami Gardens (pop. 113,058) make nowhere near Duke’s astronomical salary.

And yet, it’s still not enough for the most unqualified, most incompetent Manager the City has ever had, with the possible exception of Kelvin Baker.

And even that’s debatable.

On the Agenda for the June 15, 2021 Commission Meeting, among other disastrous items, is Resolution No. R2021-65 Amendment to the City Manager’s Employment Contract (Arthur H. Sorey III, City Manager), in which he is asking for even more money than he’s already entitled to.

Even though he’s completely unqualified to be the City Manager in North Miami Beach, Duke Sorey already upped his North Miami salary by $30,056.00 when he walked in the front door of City Hall.

We analyzed both his current 4-year Contract and the proposed Amendment to the Contract, and prepared a spreadsheet detailing exactly how much of a raise Duke Sorey is asking for.  We calculated the cost and increase of his one year Contract, as well as the cost and increase over the life of the four years.

Under the terms of the April 20, 2021 Employment Contract, Duke Sorey’s total annual compensation package is approximately $377,537.

If Duke Sorey banks all of his accrued leave and sick time, his 4-year contract could potentially be worth a a grand total of $1,298,258.

But, that’s not nearly enough for the man who single-handedly plunged the City of North Miami into a $14,697,136 deficit.

Under the terms of this proposed First Amendment to Duke Sorey’s Employment Contract, his new annual compensation package will be approximately $405,037, or AN ADDITIONAL $27,500 A YEAR!

Duke’s salary increase alone is $4,269 more than the 2019 per capita income of North Miami Beach, where nearly one-fifth of residents are living in poverty, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

But, hey!  GREED IS GOOD!

Worse, if Duke doesn’t use any of his accrued leave and sick time, his 4-year contract will be potentially worth a grand total of $1,439,449, or AN ADDITIONAL $147,691 OVER THE LIFE OF HIS 4-YEAR CONTRACT!

Not bad for someone who isn’t even qualified for the job!

As for his accrued annual leave and sick time, keep in mind that when he resigned as Deputy City Manager in North Miami, he was paid for 1,078 hours of “unused” vacation time and 343.50 of “unused” sick time.  At his then-hourly rate of $100.93, he received a total of $143,472.00 just for those bankable hours.  After taxes and other deductions, Duke Sorey left North Miami with a payout check of $87,065.09 in hand.

We’re told that the “unused” hours he racked up in North Miami were inflated because he was constantly “out of the office” without clocking in or out, and without charging those hours against his banked time, essentially stealing money from the taxpayers.

We’re also told he’s doing the same in North Miami Beach.

Raise your hand if you’ve dropped in to the 4th floor, or called his office, only to be told he was “not in the building.”

Because Duke’s new hourly rate in North Miami Beach is $115.38, his eventual “unused” leave and sick time payout check will be much, much higher.

Keep in mind that all these numbers are based on his current salary.  Once he receives his annual CPI (Consumer Price Index) increases and unmerited raises, the final totals will be considerably higher.  For example, the current CPI increase from April 2020 to April 2021 is a healthy 4.2%, which is worth an additional $10,080 if he were eligible for an increase today.  If this trend continues, by next April, when he’s due for a CPI increase and raise, Duke’s salary will be obscene.

Nor do any these totals include the ridiculous 20-week severance package worth $92,307.69 he’ll get if he’s fired tomorrow.

Of course, there’s very little danger of his ever getting his paws on that money.  The four corrupt, fiscally irresponsible morons, a/k/a Team Apocalypse, conspired for months behind closed doors to hire him to do their bidding.  They won’t fire him no matter how much he screws up as long as he keeps signing those General Fund checks for them to cash and spend.

If you’re wondering how this nightmare could possibly have happened, wonder no more.  We compiled a North Miami Beach Hall of Shame made up of all the people responsible for the ongoing mess in your city:

• Michael Joseph, McKenzie Fleurimond, Paule Villard, and Daniela Jean, of course, for scraping Duke Sorey off the bottom of North Miami’s barrel and propping him up.
• Non-resident, Jewish activist Alan Sakowitz, who stupidly endorsed Michael Joseph and McKenzie Fleurimond instead of their opponents.
• Every eligible voter in North Miami Beach who deliberately voted for these clowns thinking they would improve the City.
• Every eligible voter who voted for Michael Joseph instead of his opponent, Antonio Ortega, just because they hate Mayor Anthony DeFillipo, who endorsed Antonio.  (That worked out well, huh?)
• Every eligible voter who literally sold their vote for a bag of groceries.
• Every eligible voter who voted for Team Apocalypse because of identity politics.
• Every non-resident who was recruited to register using a fraudulent address and was paid to vote.  (Yes, this happened!)

Dishonorable mentions go to:

1.  Eastern Shores resident Bruce Lamberto for constantly bitching that former City Manager Esmond Scott cost the City too much money.  Hey, Bruce, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

2.  Commissioner Fortuna Smukler for giving her blessing to the gouging of North Miami Beach taxpayers by “mysteriously” voting to hire Duke.  For someone who claims to be frugal, and who has spent hours on the dais arguing over the spending a few thousand dollars, this is certainly not a good look.  Hey, Fortuna, how’s that working out for you?

Believe it or not, Duke’s pay raise isn’t the only shocker on Tuesday night’s Agenda.

It’s chock full of Resolutions for the approval of unbudgeted expenses, and other ridiculous items.

Get that popcorn ready.

Stephanie