During Arthur “Duke” Sorey’s two-year reign of terror as North Miami Beach City Manager, Criminal Commissioner McKenzie Fleurimond was able to line his pockets with your money
McKenzie literally stole North Miami Beach taxpayer money for his personal benefit by:
- Finagling an illegal $6,500.00 raise without the required five-member vote on the dais, which was illegally approved by the corrupt ex-City “Attorney” Hans Ottinot.
- Charging a grand total of $39,110.12 on his taxpayer-funded Procurement Card (P Card), of which $26,149.56 had no public purpose.
- Abusing the Sergeant at Arms policy by using a North Miami Beach Police Officer as his personal chauffeur for approximately 55 hours at an average of $63 per hour for an approximate total of $3.465.00!
Not to mention all the “free” meals McKenzie gorged on at Duke’s many taxpayer-funded food orgies.
Not content with ripping off the residents of the City he was elected to serve, McKenzie then set his sights south toward North Miami, where “consultant” is just another word for nepotism, and grifting by elected officials has become an art form that perfects itself with each municipal election.
Actively seeking his next cash cow, McKenzie turned to the same North Miami “supporters” who infiltrated the North Miami Beach 2020 election to help get him elected.
On October 28, 2022, while the corrupt Philippe Bien-Amie was still occupying the North Miami mayoral seat, McKenzie submitted a “Proposal for Consulting Services” on behalf of his company, Urban Wiseman, LLC, to former North Miami City Manager Theresa Therilus, offering “to assist in developing a more holistic experience for the employee through understanding their needs.”
The hilariousness of his “Proposal” as “Founder and C.E.O.” is only topped by the name of the company he created, since we all know that McKenzie Fleurimond is neither Urban nor Wise.
McKenzie originally “founded” Urban Wiseman, LLC on October 27, 2014 when, at the tender age of 31, he and his wife of one year were still living under the roof of his mommy and daddy at 15221 NE 11 Court, North Miami Beach.
He managed to keep that pipe dream going long enough to file an Annual Report on May 1, 2015, until the company was administratively dissolved for the non-filing of the 2016 Annual Report.
On January 28, 2021, he again put on his imaginary Urban/Wise Man Hat, and “re-founded” Urban Wiseman, LLC., with its principal place of business at his parents’ home, but with a mailing address of the rental apartment he shared with his wife, 16651 NE 18 Avenue, #88, North Miami Beach.
So far he’s managed to file his 2022 and 2023 Annual Reports on the last possible filing date to avoid a reinstatement penalty, i.e., May 1st of each year.
By the time he filed in 2023, McKenzie listed his principal place of business as 1801 NE 123 Street, #314, North Miami, which is a virtual office he rents from Regus for the purpose of claiming Local Vendor Minority Business status in North Miami.
Virtual “office” or not, the only connection McKenzie actually has with the City of North Miami are his midnight snack runs to Steve’s Pizza after NMB Commission meetings.
Don’t try to deny it, McKenzie. There are videos.
According to his “Proposal for Consulting Services,” for the low price of $24,870.00, McKenzie “envisioned” that his company “will assist in ameliorating employee morale and confidence. This will contribute to improving retention of employees, thereby solidifying delivery of service by knowledgeable staff.”
And what did McKenzie promise to do for this generous gift from North Miami taxpayers?
In his “Proposal,” he submitted this “list of what the project would entail:”
- Peer review of benefits and employee wellness offerings
- Assessment through survey and focus groups
- Individual consulting for employees with industry professionals
- Employee wellness fair
- Detailed recommendations to administration
McKenzie signed Urban Wiseman, LLC’s Professional Services Agreement on November 17, 2022, a mere five days before Bien-Aime finally resigned as Mayor of North Miami after losing his bid for County Commissioner by a landslide. The agreement ran for a 90-day period from December 1, 2022 through March 2, 2023.
Of course, we had to find out exactly what North Miami residents received for their nearly $25K investment.
As expected, not much.
What we do know is that by the time his “Professional Services Agreement” expired on March 2, 2023, the only thing he had accomplished was the collection of his $24,870.00 fee.
On May 18, 2023, we made a public records request:
“With respect to the Professional Services Agreement (“Agreement”) between the City of North Miami (“City”) and Urban Wiseman, LLC (“Contractor”), please provide copies of: All printed material provided by Contractor; all email and hard copy communications by and between City, Contractor, and City staff; schedule of presentations, health fair, and other events promised in the Agreement; copies of all bids (RFP, RFQ, etc.) issued by the City for this venture and/or Bid Waivers; and list of any and all vendors associated with events, presentations, etc., provided by Contractor.”
What we got back was a copy of the executed Professional Services Agreement we had already received from a prior request, and two Outlook files containing approximately 300 emails, some of which attached documents, including this flyer:
While the QR code no longer works, you can still access the survey by clicking this link, which only requests the employee’s contact information: Registration Form
Also included in the treasure trove of emails was a 16-question Employee Survey, asking items of critical importance, such as:
If you get the feeling this “Survey” was meant to advertise Walgreens, you’re not alone.
There were several more questions regarding the employee’s understanding of the City’s insurance plan, if they like their jobs, co-workers, and supervisors, and their “overall experience” at the City of North Miami.
Even though McKenzie’s “Professional Services Agreement” began on December 1, 2022, on December 5, 2022 he emailed Rebekah Harvard, the Employment & Benefits Manager in the Personnel Department, that he was “out of the country until next week” (visiting the Venado Caves in Costa Rica).
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In fact, McKenzie didn’t even submit his Vendor Registration Form until January 10, 2023. He was apparently in no hurry to fulfill his duties under the contract.
He was, however, in a hurry to collect the payment for his first invoice in the amount of $12,435.00, as evidenced by his January 11, 2023 email to Ms. Harvard letting her know that he “will physically pick up the check when we do our event walk through next week.”
He apparently picked up his check in time to travel to Marrakesh, Morocco on or around January 22, 2022.
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On February 2, 2023, Personnel Director Lura Woodley emailed her assistant to “start contacting the various departments and/or divisions and find out their availability for a vendor to visit on next week,” signaling the start of McKenzie’s North Miami Talking Tour to justify his fee.
And as we all know, talking is McKenzie’s only talent.
In between all his world travels, McKenzie found time to to submit his second invoice for $6,218.00 on February 15, 2023.
Ms. Woodley then scheduled meetings for McKenzie to talk to the various City Departments beginning Wednesday, February 15, 2023, then had to reschedule them several times because McKenzie would suddenly become unavailable.
She was finally able to schedule meetings through Thursday, March 2, 2023, at which time McKenzie submitted his third and final invoice for $6,218.00.
On March 10, 2023, McKenzie emailed Ms. Woodley asking her for a digital copy of the City’s logo for his “materials and flyer.” She forwarded his email to the incoming City Manager, Rasha Cameau, who had no idea what this was about. Ms. Woodley responded to Ms. Cameau, advising her, “Urban Wiseman (McKenzie Fleurimond) is conducting an Employee Satisfaction Survey for the City and is preparing a flyer for distribution as he will not be able to meet every employee.”
She also added, “Mr. McKenzie has also committed to providing a Wellness Fair for City Employees this April 2023 so there will be a flyer for this event as well.”
April 2023 has come and gone without a Wellness Fair.
On May 4, 2023, Lura Woodley emailed McKenzie with proposed dates, adding in bold print:
In addition, please make sure to also provide the Sponsorship Letter for the city Manager’s Approval so we can start effectively planning the Wellness Day.
McKenzie responded the next day, advising Ms. Woodley that the Wellness Fair can be booked for June 7, 2023.
June 7, 2023 has come and gone without a Wellness Fair.
For the first time in his pathetic life, McKenzie must have realized he bit off more than he could chew. (No pun intended, of course.)
He apparently had a problem putting together the Wellness Fair that he promised. He even asked the City for help getting a sponsor, even though he had already been paid for the job but couldn’t deliver.
By May 25, 2023, nearly three months after McKenzie’s contract expired, Ms. Woodley emailed him for a “Status Update from Urban Wiseman’s Consulting Agreement,” regarding his contracted tasks:
- Peer review of benefits and employee wellness offerings
- Assessment through survey and focus groups
- Individual consulting for employees with industry professionals
- Employee wellness fair
- Detailed recommendations to administration
She also added in bold print:
“Ms. Cameau would like to know what tasks your firm has completed so far, what is outstanding and the timeline for completion.
Also, I am requesting that Urban Wiseman take the lead on ALL Planning Activities for the Wellness Fair as Personnel does not have the resources available to handle.”
On May 30, 2023, McKenzie finally sent his Status Report, in which he stated that the Wellness Fair would take place “in the beginning of July,” and that he would submit his “recommendations and observations by the first week of August.”
July has come and gone without a Wellness Fair.
We don’t yet know if McKenzie submitted his “recommendations and observations,” but we intend to find out.
We will keep you posted on the progress of McKenzie’s Great North Miami Ripoff.
Stephanie
Where is the State Attorney?????
HAHAHAHAHA!
Why do I get the feeling McKenzie Fleurimond is a fraud?
How is the questionaire going to ” assist in ameliorating employee morale and confidence”?
Who uses the word ameliorating in a contract? I had to look it up.
What are his credentials to contract with North Miami through Urban Wiseman “to assist in developing a more holistic experience for the employee through understanding their needs.”?
When did North Miami discover that their employees had needs that necessitated the attention of a consultant, let alone McKenzie Fluerimond?
When was that assesment done?
Where is the RFP to request such a service?
Where is the city’s insurance agent and who is the insurance company that they’ve contracted with, who would normally provide this same service?
If Urban Wiseman hasn’t fufilled his contract, why doesn’t the city get a refund?
It will be interesting to see this charade play out. I hope Voters Opinion will follow up with documents that prove the importance and neccessity of this contracted service for the employees of North Miami.
I have a lot more documents showing that McKenzie submitted additional questions for his “survey,” some of which were rejected by the new City Manager.
The City also submitted McKenzie’s and other invoices to Aetna, its insurance company, asking for reimbursement out of its CY 23 (Calendar Year 23) wellness dollars. I need to delve deeper into what that’s all about.
But, the most important thing to keep in mind is that all of this took place while Bien-Aime, another fraud, was still in office and the previous City Manager, Theresa Therilus, was still running North Miami. At the time the agreement was finalized, I don’t believe anyone knew that Ms. Therilus was planning on leaving.
Rasha Cameau is now in charge, and she takes absolutely no prisoners. I have no idea what she’ll do when McKenzie ends up breaching his contract, but I suspect it won’t be pretty.
In any event, I will stay on top of this matter and report back what I find.
And where is the former manager now? Another unsuspecting employee hire her?
Seems like they were in on the absurd contract to hire this unnecessary service.
I heard she went to work for Miami-Dade County in a Commissioner’s office.
McKenzie was given this “professional services” contract under the North Miami Friends & Family Plan. I suspect Bien-Aime had something to do with it, but it could have been any one in the NoMi Circle of Corruption. Maybe Andre Pierre? Who knows? All I know is that corruptcrats take care of their own.
If any of this was billed to the Cities Health Insurance company, then the human fraud may be introduced to the legal system for insurance fraud…
This was such a scam. It might raise to the level of insurance fraud. I’ll look into it.
What happened to Theresa Therilus? She was just hired.
She was there about a year and a half, then got a job with the county.
It’s always the way. The good ones get poached. Thanks for the update.
Not sure how good she was, but down here it’s all about who you know, not what you know.
I forwarded this to Raisa Habersham, Municipal Reporter of the Miami Herald…Like it would do any good.
It won’t. She won’t report on real criminal activity.
I completed that employee survey last year. Morale was very low at the City for the past few years, many employees were leaving, and we thought that Finally someone was going to do something about our grievances… but nothing ever transpired. We had zero support from HR, even after that animal, Joe R., left Personnel, nothing really changed. The department I worked for was small, yet 19 people left, (fired or resigned), in a 4 year period under the now, former director, and no one seemed to care. Having it confirmed that the survey was just “garbage” is disheartening, but I made the choice to leave like many of my co workers. I worked for the City for a long time, so even though I’m retired, I still care about what happens. I have nothing but Very Good things to say about Rasha Cameau, she’s brilliant and she’s no push- over, she’s exactly what the City needs now.
I’m so sorry you had to go through such crap. I stopped blogging and caring about North Miami after the May 2021 election, the outcome of which was determined by voter fraud. The qualified candidates didn’t have a chance against the criminal ring running the City, engaging in ADA “Assistance” fraud (which is finally being investigated by the Florida Election Integrity Unit), the usual votes-for-pay scheme, and voter intimidation by North Miami employees like Keren Frederick and her ilk. The same grifter-policians “won” their seats back, and the corruption continued. I gave up trying to educate residents who either didn’t care, or were just dejected and simply gave up trying to fix their City.
I can’t say enough good things about Rasha Cameau, who has a tough job ahead. If anyone can do the job, it’s her. I only hope she doesn’t get burned out and walk before she can make any dent in the problems she has to solve.
McKenzie is nothing but a fraud an an opportunist, as you can see. He’d be a perfect politician in North Miami if he lived there. Maybe he’ll pack up and go there after he’s out of office in NMB. After all, he only rents so there’s nothing keeping him from leaving. Good riddance!
Is Rasha the former director of NMB’S CRA? I remember working with her when I was Chairperson of the Beautification Committee. She has the knowledge and attitude not to accept corruption. Hopefully, North Miami will turn around now that she is the City Manager.
Yes, Rasha was the CRA Director in North Miami Beach, and then North Miami, before she took a position in the County overseeing all the municipal CRAs. When Theresa Therilus announced she was leaving, Rasha applied for the City Manager’s position and got it. This was a no-brainer! Rasha is probably the only qualified City Manager since Lee Feldman, and that was more than twenty years ago, which explains why North Miami has gone to seed. If Rasha can’t fix the mess, no one can.
Thanks for the update on North Miami. Miss the blogs about this place I think. And of course there had to be a connection to this crap from the city next door. More employees like Archie should come forward. And the city manager needs to report this and get that money back
I’m sorry that I haven’t blogged about North Miami, but it’s just so disheartening to see what’s happened to that City. Everyone I know, including my family members and employees, have left. Your only hope is that Rasha can fix the mess she inherited. Fingers crossed.
Do you see the size of McKenzie? That big tub of goo doesn’t miss a meal.
Now, that’s fat shaming.
But, you’re not wrong.
Imagine him preaching to an entire City workforce about health and wellness.
Now, that’s hilarious!