#152 Alejandro Fernandez 04/27/2021 I ao,
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FORM 8B MEMORANDUM OF VOTING CONFLICT FOR
COUNTY, MUNICIPAL, AND OTHER LOCAL PUBLIC OFFICERS
LAST NAME—FIRST NAME—MIDDLE NAME NAME OF BOARD,COUNCIL,COMMISSION,AUTHORITY,OR COMMITTEE
Fernandez, Alejandro City of Miami Beach Planning Board
MAILING ADDRESS THE BOARD,COUNCIL,COMMISSION,AUTHORITY OR COMMITTEE ON
3200 Chase Avenue WHICH I SERVE ISAUNITOF:
CITY COUNTY Cid CITY ❑COUNTY ❑OTHER LOCALAGENCY
Miami Beach Miami-Dade Count NAME OF POLITICAL SUBDIVISION:
DATE ON WHICH VOTE OCCURRED y City of Miami Beach
MY POSITION IS:
Tuesday, April 27, 2021 ❑ ELECTIVE Ef APPOINTIVE
WHO MUST FILE FORM 8B
This form is for use by any person serving at the county, city,or other local level of government on an appointed or elected board,council,
commission, authority, or committee. It applies to members of advisory and non-advisory bodies who are presented with a voting conflict of
interest under Section 112.3143, Florida Statutes.
Your responsibilities under the law when faced with voting on a measure in which you have a conflict of interest will vary greatly depending
on whether you hold an elective or appointive position. For this reason, please pay close attention to the instructions on this form before
completing and filing the form.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 112.3143, FLORIDA STATUTES
A person holding elective or appointive county, municipal, or other local public office MUST ABSTAIN from voting on a measure which
would inure to his or her special private gain or loss. Each elected or appointed local officer also MUST ABSTAIN from knowingly voting on
a measure which would inure to the special gain or loss of a principal (other than a government agency) by whom he or she is retained
(including the parent, subsidiary,or sibling organization of a principal by which he or she is retained);to the special private gain or loss of a
relative; or to the special private gain or loss of a business associate. Commissioners of community redevelopment agencies(CRAs)under
Sec. 163.356 or 163.357, F.S., and officers of independent special tax districts elected on a one-acre, one-vote basis are not prohibited
from voting in that capacity.
For purposes of this law, a "relative" includes only the officer's father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, brother, sister, father-in-law,
mother-in-law, son-in-law, and daughter-in-law.A"business associate" means any person or entity engaged in or carrying on a business
enterprise with the officer as a partner,joint venturer, coowner of property, or corporate shareholder(where the shares of the corporation
are not listed on any national or regional stock exchange).
ELECTED OFFICERS:
In addition to abstaining from voting in the situations described above,you must disclose the conflict:
PRIOR TO THE VOTE BEING TAKEN by publicly stating to the assembly the nature of your interest in the measure on which you are
abstaining from voting;and
WITHIN 15 DAYS AFTER THE VOTE OCCURS by completing and filing this form with the person responsible for recording the
minutes of the meeting,who should incorporate the form in the minutes.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
APPOINTED OFFICERS:
Although you must abstain from voting in the situations described above, you are not prohibited by Section 112.3143 from otherwise
participating in these matters. However, you must disclose the nature of the conflict before making any attempt to influence the decision, •
whether orally or in writing and whether made by you or at your direction.
IF YOU INTEND TO MAKE ANY ATTEMPT TO INFLUENCE THE DECISION PRIOR TO THE MEETING AT WHICH THE VOTE WILL BE •
TAKEN:
You must complete and file this form(before making any attempt to influence the decision)with the person responsible for recording the
minutes of the meeting,who will incorporate the form in the minutes. (Continued on page 2)
CE FORM 86-EFF.11/2013 PAGE 1
Adopted by reference in Rule 34-7.010(1)(f),F.A.C.
Ii
APPOINTED OFFICERS (continued)
• A copy of the form must be provided immediately to the other members of the agency.
• The form must be read publicly at the next meeting after the form is filed.
IF YOU MAKE NO ATTEMPT TO INFLUENCE THE DECISION EXCEPT BY DISCUSSION AT THE MEETING:
• You must disclose orally the nature of your conflict in the measure before participating.
• You must complete the form and file it within 15 days after the vote occurs with the person responsible for recording the minutes of the
meeting,who must incorporate the form in the minutes.A copy of the form must be provided immediately to the other members of the
agency,and the form must be read publicly at the next meeting after the form is filed.
DISCLOSURE OF LOCAL OFFICER'S INTEREST
I,Alejandro Fernandez ,hereby disclose that on April 27 ,20 21
(a)A measure came or will come before my agency which(check one or more)—21 ) ei/ ae edi-Ge-i •
inured to my special private gain or loss;
inured to the special gain or loss of my business associate,
inured to the special gain or loss of my relative,
inured to the special gain or loss of ,by
whom I am retained;or
inured to the special gain or loss of ,which
is the parent subsidiary,or sibling organization or subsidiary of a principal which has retained me.
(b)The measure before my agency and the nature of my conflicting interest in the measure is as follows:
I did not have a conflict of interest per se, per the opinion of the Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and
Public Trust on New Application PB21-0434. North Beach CRA, per INQ 2021-71 dated April 26, 2021. However,
my recusal from the vote was recommended in an abundance of caution due to my employment at the
Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners. Please see the accompanying opinion.
If disclosure of specific information would violate confidentiality or privilege pursuant to law or rules governing attorneys, a public officer,
who is also an attorney, may comply with the disclosure requirements of this section by disclosing the nature of the interest in such a way
as to provide the public with notice of the conflict.•
May 12, 2021 f c*7. (17.1r1)/
Date Filed Signature
NOTICE: UNDER PROVISIONS OF FLORIDA STATUTES §112.317, A FAILURE TO'MAKE ANY REQUIRED DISCLOSURE
CONSTITUTES GROUNDS FOR AND MAY BE PUNISHED BY ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING: IMPEACHMENT,
REMOVAL OR SUSPENSION FROM OFFICE OR EMPLOYMENT, DEMOTION, REDUCTION IN SALARY, REPRIMAND, OR A
CIVIL PENALTY NOT TO EXCEED$10,000.
CE FORM 8B-EFF.11/2013 PAGE 2
Adopted by reference in Rule 34-7.010(1)(f),F.A.C.
MIAMI-DADE COMMISSION ON ETHICS AND PUBLIC TRUST
COMMISSIONERSk{H�esgNO EXECUTIVE STAFF
Nelson C.Bellido Esq.,CHAIRy= i ` a�`' Jose J.Arrojo
Dr.Judith Bernier,VICE CHAIR f y EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
. ; i\
Judge Lawrence A.Schwartz o4,, = N
� Michael P.Murawski
Wifredo"Willy"Gort ADVOCATE
Charlton Copeland,Esq. �,q'�/oAo€coJ �.
Martha Diaz Perez
GENERAL COUNSEL
April 26,2021
Via email only to expedite delivery:
fernandezalexj@gmail.com
Alejandro J. Fernandez, Member
Miami Beach Planning Board
1700 Convention Center Drive
Miami Beach,Florida, 33139
Re: INQ 2021-71, Section 2-11.1(v),Voting Conflicts for Board Members
Dear Mr. Fernandez:
Thank you for contacting the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust and requesting
our guidance regarding a possible voting conflict of interest. The matter before you as a member
of the Miami Beach Planning Board concerns a proposed finding by the board that the North
Beach Community Redevelopment Agency's ("CRA") Redevelopment Plan is in Conformance
with the Miami Beach Comprehensive Plan.
Facts:
You are employed at the Office of Miami-Dade Commissioner Rebeca Sosa as a Senior
Communications/Legislative Aide. Your job duties include assisting the Commissioner and staff
with legislation and policy and generating communications work product. Miami Beach is not
included within County District 6.
You also serve as a member of the Miami Beach Planning Board ("Board"). The Board serves as
a local planning agency pursuant to the State and the Local Government Comprehensive Planning
and Land Development Regulations Act (F.S. ch. 163). The specific duties and powers of the
Board are detailed in Sections 118.51 to 118.53 of the Miami Beach Code. Notably, the Board
may consider applications pertaining to conditional use permits, amendments to these land
development regulations, change of zoning district boundaries and comprehensive plan
amendments and future land use map changes.
In July 2020, the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) voted to delegate to Miami Beach the
ability to create a CRA with the initial sole power to prepare and adopt a redevelopment plan for
701 Northwest 1St Court• 8th Floor• Miami,Florida 33136 • (305)579-2594 • ethics@miamidade.gov
the North Beach area. The adopted redevelopment plan will be submitted to County staff for
review and thereafter the plan will then be considered and voted upon by the BCC.
This week, the Board will be considering and voting upon a proposed finding that the CRA's
Redevelopment Plan is in conformance with the Miami Beach Comprehensive Plan. This vote is
a predicate to the plan's submission to the County and the BCC's ultimate consideration and vote
on the same.
Additionally, there will likely be additional items that will be considered and voted upon by the
BCC in order to effectuate the CRA, including legislation establishing the trust fund and an
interlocal cooperation agreement between the County, Miami Beach, and the CRA.
Issue:
Whether a conflict of interest exists regarding your consideration and vote on a proposed finding
that the North Beach CRA's Redevelopment Plan is in conformance with the Miami Beach
Comprehensive Plan when this finding is predicate to the BCC's future consideration and vote on
other aspects of the CRA.
Discussion:
Section 2-11.1(v) of the Ethics Code prohibits municipal board members from voting on matters
involving entities in which they have any of the following relationships: officer, director,partner,
of counsel, consultant, employee, fiduciary, beneficiary, stockholder, bondholder, debtor, or
creditor, if they would be directly affected by the vote.
You do not hold an enumerated relationship with the proposed North Beach CRA nor is there any
evidence that you will be directly affected by the vote. While you are a County employee, the
County is not appearing before the Board.
Accordingly, under Section 2-11.1(v) of the Ethics Code, you do not have a voting conflict as
regards a proposed finding that the North Beach CRA's Redevelopment Plan is in conformance
with the Miami Beach Comprehensive Plan.
In INQ 2021-01,you were advised that Section 2-11.1(j)of the Ethics Code,relating to conflicting
employment, did not prohibit a County Commission staff member from serving on a municipal
board. Nevertheless, because of your position on the staff of an elected County Commissioner, it
was recommended that you should not deal in your County position with any issue that could
foreseeably come before you as a member of the municipal board and vice versa. Because of the
nature of your employment as County Commission staff member, you were encouraged to be
cautious regarding Board votes on matters involving the County.
Arguably, the matter relating to the North Beach CRA's Redevelopment Plan that is predicate to
the BCC's future consideration and vote on other aspects of the CRA, could be characterized as
matter involving the County.
701 Northwest 1St Court• 8th Floor• Miami,Florida 33136 • (305)579-2594 • ethics@miamidade.gov
The Ethics Commission has previously cautioned elected officials when considering matters
where there is no per se voting conflict but where there may be a more general "appearance of
impropriety" that should govern conduct. In those instances, while opining that the elected
officials did not have voting conflicts pursuant to Section 2-11.1 (d) of the Ethics Code that
prohibited their consideration and vote,the Ethics Commission advised that:
The County's Conflict of Interest and Code of Ethics provides a minimum standard
of conduct for public officials. It does not directly address "appearance of
impropriety" issues that should guide the actions of all public servants, nor does it
address the subjective mindset of a public official who, for reasons outside of the
Code, does not feel capable of being fair or objective in a particular matter, due to
personal considerations or recent financial arrangements.Any public official under
such circumstances must use his or her own judgment in determining the proper
course of action when conducting public business.
Conclusion:
Applying the plain language of the Ethics Code and the rationale underlying the Ethics
Commission's conclusions in the opinions cited herein,you would not have aper se voting conflict
pursuant to Section 2-11.1 (v) of the Ethics Code that would prohibit your consideration and vote
on a proposed finding that the North Beach CRA's Redevelopment Plan is in conformance with
the Miami Beach Comprehensive Plan.
However, in abundance of caution, you are urged to abstain from voting on the matter and you
may wish to do the same on future matters involving the North Beach CRA, again, because the
CRA will be the subject of future consideration and votes by the BCC.
This opinion only construes the Miami-Dade Ethics Code, and it is based on the facts as you have
presented them to the Ethics Commission. Any comment regarding other state or local laws is
included for informational purposes only.
We hope that this opinion is of assistance and we remain available to discuss any matters addressed
in this letter, if necessary, at your convenience.
Sincerely,
Jose J. Arrojo
Executive Director
I See generally RQO 12-03; INQ 13-148; and INQ 2021-69 (Ethics Commission encouraged
elected officials to consider appearances of impropriety when voting on matters affecting parties
that the official had prior business relationships with, even though there was no per se voting
conflict).
701 Northwest 151 Court• 8th Floor• Miami,Florida 33136 • (305)579-2594 • ethics@miamidade.gov miamidade.gov
cc: Nick Kallergis,Esq., First Assistant City Attorney
All COE Attorneys
•
INQs are informal ethics opinions provided by the legal staff after being reviewed and
approved by the Executive Director. INQs deal with opinions previously addressed in public
session by the Ethics Commission or within the plain meaning of the County Ethics Code.
RQOs are opinions provided by the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust
when the subject matter is of great public importance or where there is insufficient precedent.
While these are informal opinions, covered parties that act contrary to the opinion may be
referred to the Advocate for preliminary review or investigation and may be subject to a
formal Complaint filed with the Commission on Ethics and Public Trust.
701 Northwest 151 Court• 8th Floor• Miami,Florida 33136 • (305)579-2594 • ethics@miamidade.gov