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Resolution 2023-32776Resolution No. 2023-32776 A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, RELATING TO THE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF THE CITY MANAGER; AND, IN CONSIDERATION AND RECOGNITION OF THE CITY MANAGER' S PERFORMANCE FROM APRIL 21, 2022 TO APRIL 20, 2023, AMENDING THE CITY MANAGER'S EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT BY: GRANTING A SALARY MERIT INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF THREE PERCENT (3%), EFFECTIVE AS OF AND RETROACTIVE TO APRIL 21, 2023; AND PROVIDING THAT THE CITY MANAGER'S DEFERRED COMPENSATION (CONSISTING OF THE ANNUAL 457(B) CONTRIBUTION AND IRA CONTRIBUTION) SHALL ACCRUE BI- WEEKLY AS OF THE CITY MANAGER'S ANNIVERSARY DATE OF APRIL 21, 2023, AND PAID IN INSTALLMENTS, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS RESOLUTION. WHEREAS, City Manager Hudak's engagement is reflected in an Employment Agreement dated as of April 21, 2021, and unanimously approved by the City Commission on May 12, 2021, pursuant to Resolution No. 2021-31703 (the "Employment Agreement"); and WHEREAS, the Employment Agreement provides for an annual performance review and evaluation of the City Manager, at which time the City Commission shall review the annual salary and/or other benefits of the City Manager, and shall adjust in such amounts and to such extent as the City Commission may determine it is desirable to do so; and WHEREAS, on September 14, 2022, via Resolution No. 2022-32325, the Mayor and City Commission approved certain amendments to the City Manager's employment agreement, based on the annual performance evaluation and salary/benefits review of the City Manager for the contract year ending April 20, 2022; and WHEREAS, in consideration and recognition of the City Manager's performance during the contract year from April 21, 2022 to April 20, 2023, the Mayor and City Commission hereby deem that it is in the best interest of the City to approve an amendment to the City Manager's Employment Agreement, all as further set forth below. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that, in consideration and recognition of the City Manager's exemplary performance for the contract year ending April 20, 2023, the Mayor and City Commission hereby approve the following amendments to the City Manager's Employment Agreement: 1. Merit Adiustment. As a merit increase, grant a salary increase in the amount of three percent (3%), effective as of and retroactive to April 21, 2023. 2. Terms Applicable to Deferred Compensation and IRA Benefits. On or about April 20, 2023, the City Manager was paid the maximum 457(b) deferred compensation and IRA contribution ("deferred compensation") for the 2023 tax year, per the terms of the Employment Agreement. Effective as of April 21, 2023, the deferred compensation payments shall accrue bi- weekly as of the anniversary date and shall be paid not later than quarterly. Accordingly, consistent with the foregoing City Commission intent, and in accordance with all applicable laws, the deferred compensation for the 2024 tax year, and each subsequent tax year thereafter, shall be paid as follows: (a) A payment in the first pay period in January consisting of the pro rata deferred compensation accrued from the anniversary date of April 21st through December 31st; and (b) From and after the January payment reflected in subsection 2(a) above for each year, the City Manager shall accrue the remaining deferred compensation payments for the applicable tax year on a bi-weekly basis; to the extent possible, such payments shall be made not later than quarterly, until the earlier of the City Manager's next anniversary date or such time as the maximum contribution limit for the applicable tax year is reached. (c) If the maximum IRS contribution limit for the applicable tax year is reached prior to the end of any tax year, all subsequent accrued and unpaid deferred compensation payments shall be due and payable to the City Manager as soon as possible in the following applicable tax year (i.e., in the first pay period in January, as provided in subsection 2(a) above). (d) In the event of termination or expiration of the Employment Agreement, all accrued and unpaid deferred compensation payments from and after the anniversary date until the termination or expiration of the Employment Agreement shall be due and payable to the City Manager as soon as possible, in accordance with applicable laws. 3. Ms. Hudak's engagement as City Manager shall continue under and pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Employment Agreement, as approved pursuant to Resolution No. 2021-31703; as further amended by Resolution No. 2022-32325 and this Resolution, until the same is modified, amended, or terminated by action of the Mayor and City Commission. This Resolution shall become effective upon adoption. E PASSED and ADOPTED this 13 day of 5Yk44'1 2023. ATTEST: SEP 2 6 2023 Rafael E. 6ranalo, City Clerk 3 Dan Gelber, Mayor INCO RPIOUT APPROVED AS TO FORM & LANGUAGE & FOR EXECUTION CityAttomey PAZ Date MIAMI BEACH COMMISSION MEMORANDUM TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission FROM: Mayor Dan Gelber DATE: September 13, 2023 SUBJECT:A COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING WILL BE HELD DURING THE NOON RECESS OF THE CITY COMMISSION MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2023, IN THE CITY MANAGER'S LARGE CONFERENCE ROOM, FOURTH FLOOR, CITY HALL, TO DISCUSS THE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER, CITY ATTORNEY, CITY CLERK, AND INSPECTOR GENERAL, AND POTENTIAL CONTRACT AMENDMENTS. ANALYSIS The following Memorandum is prepared in anticipation of the annual evaluation of the City's Charter officers, currently scheduled for the Committee of the Whole Meeting on September 13, 2023. Under the existing employment contracts for each of the Charter officers, the City Commission shall conduct an annual performance evaluation (including salary and benefits review) on an annual basis, within thirty (30) to forty-five (45) days of the anniversary date of the respective employee's contract. At such time, the City Commission shall review the annual salary and/or benefits of each employee and shall make adjustments in such amounts and to such extent as the City Commission may determine that it is desirable to do so. It is also the time when the Mayor and City Commission shall provide the respective constitutional officer with their individual input regarding their performance and allow for discussion of same between the City Commission and the employee/officer. Although each Charter officer has a different anniversary date (and corresponding date for their annual evaluation in their employment contracts), the City Commission has not had the opportunity to schedule the evaluations until now. Nevertheless, it is timely for the City Commission to conduct the evaluations at the conclusion of the fiscal year, to permit the City Commission to focus on each Charter officer's performance during the entire fiscal year. For Charter officers whose evaluations are past due, any salary adjustments, if any, would be retroactive to each Charter officer's respective anniversary date. Each Charter Officer has prepared an Annual Report, to assist the City Commission in its evaluation. Page 2340 of 2938 The City Manager's Annual Report is attached as Exhibit 1. The City Attorney's Annual Report is attached as Exhibit 2. The City Clerk's Annual Report is attached as Exhibit 3. The Inspector General's Annual Report is attached as Exhibit 4. The proposed Resolution for each Charter officer, with a summary of the adjustments or contract amendments, if any, approved for each Charter Officer, will be prepared as after -the -fact Resolutions, to reflect the final actions taken by the Mayor and City Commission. • 11*10 411 • • • a tl • 1 Legislative Tracking Mayor Dan Gelber M ATTACHMENTS: Description o Exhibit 1 - City Manager's Annual Report 0 Exfiibit 2 - City Attorney's Annual Report Exhibit 3 - City Clerk's Annual Report o Exhibit 4 - Inspector General's Annual Report Page 2341 of 2938 CIIy of Mianl Beath, 1700 Convertion Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139. wwN r- Q:n teaC� f'.aov OFFICE- OF THE CITY MANA-JER , Tel: �.)5 673.701C To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission FROM: Alina T. Hudak, City Manag DATE July 26, 2023 SUBJECTS Annual Performance Review and Evaluation I am pleased to highlight my performance achievements over the past year in accordance with the terms of my employment agreement. Managing the operations of this multifaceted organization has been both demanding and rewarding. I am proud of the many accomplishments our city team has collectively achieved on a multitude of priorities during my second full year as your City Manager. As always, I remain grateful for your continued guidance and support that make our successes possible and for the contributions of my colleagues, City Attorney Rafael Paz, City Clerk Ralph Granado and Inspector General Joe Centorino. I am delighted to report that the City is financially sound and that our reserves continue to be healthy. Both the General Fund and Resort Tax Fund reserves are fully funded, tourism has fully recovered, and our resort tax collections continue to be strong. Property values in the City spiked last year as the taxable values for the FY 2023 budget increased by 11.2%. Due to the prudent management of our reserves, the highest in the City's history, and the strategic budget balancing plans employed over the past several years, the City has been able to maintain its AA+ credit rating despite significant fiscal challenges. would like to share a number of the most significant accomplishments over the past year. Please note that none of these would have been possible without your individual and collective leadership. Budget We successfully balanced the FY 2023 Operating Budget, taking into consideration the resident feedback in last year's Community Survey that prioritized public safety and cleanliness. During the last year, we have faced urgent visitor -driven public safety issues in the Entertainment District. This budget made permanent 17 police officers previously added on a one-time basis to provide a higher level of service in the Entertainment District and added two more police officers from the Smith & Woilensky lease approved by voters in 2021 for a total of four to enhance security in South Beach. In response to the dramatic increase in boat traffic on our waterways, the FY 2023 Budget included additional staffing for the Marine Patrol unit to provide expanded coverage seven days a week. To improve emergency response times across the city, an additional Fire Rescue unit of 14 positions was added, which will also operate the new fire boat to provide proactive patrols of our waterways from a new location in Maurice Gibb Memorial Park This Page 2342 of 2938 budget included the conversion of 29 part-time Park Rangers to full-time status over three years to add coverage on Ocean Drive, the Beachwalk from 46 to 79 streets, and partial coverage for rovers in various neighborhood parks. This budget also made permanent six code officers previously added on a one-time basis for enhanced coverage in the Entertainment District and three more officers to address short-term rentals. In addition, the budget included a new Homeless Outreach after-hours team to provide much -needed services from 7 p.m to 3 a m. To help enhance cleanliness, we added Sanitation crews to increase the service levels in North Beach and along the Beachwalk. The FY 2023 budget also included significant funding for enhanced security and programming for spring break, funds to increase the frequency of trolley services from 30 to 20 minutes, and several economic development initiatives to spur economic growth. Grants Staff has continued to ambitiously pursue grants to support City projects. In the first half of FY 2023 alone, the City received over $12 million in additional grant funds Notable projects awarded include Citywide Gravity Sewer Mains Replacements, Dune Enhancements, South Beach Pedestrian Priority Zone, and Chase and 34 St. Shared -Use Path The City has also been notified of other grant awards, including a $10 million award for the West Ave. South neighborhood adaptation project, a $1 65 million award for the Alton Road Shared -Use Path project, and a $445,000 award for the Collins Park Rotunda project. More than 35 grant applications have been submitted since the start of the fiscal year, seeking funds for resilience, transportation, and public safety, as well as for parks and homeless outreach programming. Included in the 35+ grant submissions is a request for $48.9 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the North Beach Town Center project. If awarded this would be one of the largest single awards received in City history. The Building Resilient Infrastructure Communities (BRIG) grant program is one of many opportunities the City is aggressively pursuing that have been made available under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. Legislative Affairs Over the past year, the legislative affairs team has forged strategic partnerships with key stakeholders and proactively engaged with legislators to advocate our priorities. Through persistent efforts, effective communication, and the Commission's leadership — we together successfully influenced critical legislation with the following highlights. Successfully secured a State appropriation of $500,000 to fund the construction of resilient seawalls along Collins Ave. and received a favorable recommendation through the Federal Community Project process for approximately $10 million for the North Beach Living Shoreline Neighborhood Resilience Project. Defeated House Bill 1317 and Senate Bill 1346, which posed a significant threat to the preservation of historic buildings and districts in coastal areas throughout the state. By preventing the passage of these bills, we safeguarded the integrity of Miami Beach neighborhoods. Ensuring that local regulations and protections for historic properties Page 2343 of 2938 remain intact, we are preserving the heritage and architectural significance of our community. General Obligation Bonds The 2018 voter -approved General Obligation (GO-) Bond Program is in its fourth year and continues to advance in all three categories of parks, infrastructure, and public safety projects. Of the total 57 projects in this bond, 44 commenced in Tranche 1 (some of which span multiple tranches). As of June 2023, 98 percent of all Tranche 1 projects are completed or in active status (planning, design or construction). Many Tranche 1 projects are sub -divided into smaller "subprojects." Of the 88 total existing sub -projects, 43 have been completed and 41 others are considered "Active." Almost $100 million has been expended and/or encumbered thus far. Approximately $40 million worth of projects will be commencing construction in 2023. To date, $3.7 million in project funds have been saved, benefiting other projects with funding gaps. The City has also received nearly $56 million in grant funding for projects with matching funds in the G.O. Bond Program. More than $15 million of the grant funding has been awarded directly to G.O. Bond projects to subsidize their budgets. Adopted by voters on November 8, 2022, the G.O. Bond for Arts & Culture was shepherded by staff in concert with our cultural arts community and consists of 21 transformative capital projects. Since then, City staff has been working internally and with the cultural institutions to evaluate and refine roles and responsibilities, timing of funding needs, etc., while concurrently preparing the documents needed by bond counsel to evaluate the taxable versus tax-exempt status of each project. Closing of the bonds is expected by the end of July. I am pleased that we have been able to maintain our strong credit ratings with Standard & Poors (S&P) and Moody's for both of our general obligation bonds through our proactive efforts to reduce risk by investing in our aging infrastructure and adapting to climate change — as we strategically implement the best available science and knowledge. S&P Global Ratings has assigned its "AA+" long-term rating to the City's Arts & Culture bonds and affirmed its "AA+" long-term rating on the 2018 GO bonds outstanding. The "AA+" rating reflects "a very strong economy, strong budgetary performance, very strong management, very strong liquidity, and a very strong budgetary flexibility.* Moody's has assigned its "Aa2" long-term rating to the City's Arts & Culture bonds and affirmed its "Aa2" long-term rating on the City's 2018 G.O. bonds outstanding. The "Aa2" rating reflects "a strong financial position, very strong governance, an expanding economic base, strong and growing full value per capita, very strong finances, a strong tourism reliant economy, and conservative budgeting and formal policies. Infrastructure & Key Capital Projects We have made significant progress on a number of capital projects around the city, including the following: Page 2344 of 2938 Staff is managing the progress of 32 design and 12 construction water and wastewater critical needs projects totaling $168 million. Five construction projects were completed, including the replacement of the Dade Boulevard sewer force main from Belle Isle to Michigan Ave., the replacement of the water main under Collins Canal at Jefferson Ave., odor control improvements at various pump stations, pump station 18 rehabilitation, and valve replacement at pump station 28. The following construction projects are near completion. rehabilitation of pump station 31, replacement of water main and sewer force main between Belle Isle and Rivo Alto, and trenchless rehabilitation of gravity mains and manholes for I&l reduction at Park View, Star, Palm and Hibiscus Islands. • As part of our Seawall Prioritization Plan, 1.2 miles of seawall rehabilitation and raising was completed over the past year and 18 additional segments are currently in progress Three living shoreline seawall projects are currently in design. Citywide assessment of vehicular and pedestrian bridges and prioritization of rehabilitation needs was completed in 2022, as well as the design and permitting for the structural rehabilitation of three vehicular bridges 77 St. (876719) over Tatum Waterway, Henedon Ave. (876721) over Biscayne Point Canal, and 73 St. (876732) over Tatum Waterway. These are currently in construction procurement. The design and permitting for the rehabilitation of the Liberty Ave. Pedestrian Bridge was completed in March 2023. Construction is underway with completion expected in August 2023. Ongoing drainage water quality improvement projects: pump station 10 (Middle North Bay Road) is in permitting, pump station 24 (Lower North Say Road) is approaching design completion, and pump station 32 (West Ave. and 6 St.) is in construction procurement. Construction of the pilot bioswale project on North Bay Drive and 59 St. was completed. • The Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI) project to replace approximately 14,000 water meters citywide with advanced technology that allows customers to track their consumption in real-time. This project began in spring 2022 and is now over 90% completed. The project allows the City's infrastructure to be more efficient and provides for a more accurate billing of consumption. Brittany Bay Park — This completed project includes the creation of a living shoreline between the existing remaining seawall and the concrete retaining seawall, an ADA- accessibie overlook that allows park patrons to walk from the park to the existing seawall's edge. In addition, the project improved pathways, added site fumiture, new exercise equipment and pedestrian lighting to enhance the surrounding riparian and inter -tidal environment by creating a new habitat for aquatic and terrestrial species and improving water quality via filtration of upland runoff. Biscayne Beach Additional Parking — Different initiatives were identified and incorporated to create over 30 additional parking spaces in the neighborhood. The project entailed the conversion of the 79 St. traffic pattern from two-way to one-way circulation, changing the existing parallel parking with 45Aegree angle parking, conversion of Stillwater Drive southbound to a one-way street and conversion of 5 bus bays within the neighborhood into stop bulb outs. 4 Page 2345 of 2938 • Flamingo Park Handball Courts — The project renovated the Robert Haas and Joe Rubin Handball courts. • North Beach Oceanside Park Phase 1 (83 St. - 87 St.) — Park improvements now completed include expanded path networks, revitalized landscaping, new signage, cosmetic refurbishment of the existing restrooms, ornamental entrance gates, lighting and security camera infrastructure, new playground equipment, new beach showers, turtle -friendly lighting and refurbished picnic shelters. • North Beach Oceanside Park Beachwalk — Completed the final link in the Beachwaik from South Pointe to the northern boundary of the city by extending the Beachwaik from 79 St. to 87 St. • Surface Parking Lot at Biscayne Beach, 8100 Hawthorne Ave. (partial GO Bond funding) — development of a new surface parking lot in the Biscayne Beach neighborhood equipped with safety cameras and EV charging stations, and featuring a new raised seawall, and pervious pavement. • We have completed the following Parks & Recreation projects. o Scott Rakow Youth Center Gymnastics Flooring (G.O. #18) o Scott Rakow Youth Center Patio Flooring (G.O. #18) o Marjory Stoneman Douglas Playground Improvements (G.O. #9) o Flamingo Park LED Lighting Improvements at Football, Tennis, Pool, Basketball & Soccer (G.O. #52) o Flamingo Park Tennis Court Resurfacing o South Pointe Park Fishing Pier Railing Replacement o North Beach Parks Restroom Restoration (Allison, Stillwater & Fairway) o Citywide Court improvements • Conversion of 2 tennis courts to 6 pickleball courts at Miami Beach Golf Club • Resurfacing of courts of Polo Park to include 2 new pickleball courts • Resurfacing of Basketball Courts at Palo Parts o Replacement of Miami Beach Golf Course Range Netting o Lummus Paris — New Slack lines at Muscle Beach South Beach o Collins Paris — New Benito Juarez pedestal and Bust • We are nearing the completion on the following Parks & Recreation projects: o New Sports Lighting at Pickleball Courts, Miami Beach Goff Club o Allison Parts Shade Structure Addition 0 10 St Restrooms Improvements o Allison Park, New Dog Park Resilience Projects The City continues to integrate solutions to reduce the impacts of climate change risk to protect our residents and our environment while helping to future proof our infrastructure and assets. Planning for storms, sea level rise, and extreme heat is integrated into future projects such as offshore protection and green infrastructure and through development with our new Resilience Code. Here is some of the progress we made over the last year: 5 Page 2346 of 2938 • Construction is expected to be completed for the Indian Creek Drive seawall in July 2023. • The First St. and South Pointe Stormwater Improvements Project design is well underway, progressing to 60% design completion. Public meetings were held on June 7, 2022 and November 17, 2022, at the completion of conceptual and 30% design phases, respectively. • A $10 million grant agreement for the design of North Shore D, known as the North Beach Town Center, was executed and negotiations for the design task are underway. • The 2023 Citywide Stormwater Master Plan and Capital Improvement Plan is underway, with the goal of updating the prior outdated master plan, and guiding the stormwater program for the next 10 years and beyond_ • Launched the 2023 Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Plan to identify the impact of sea level rise on the City of Miami Beach considering 2040 and 2070 projections. The assessment is both quantitative and qualitative, including conducting hydrological modeling and evaluating the community's social vulnerability to guide adaptation strategies for critical assets. • Beach Renourishment: Locally supporting the Army Corps of Engineers $40 million beach renourishment project through multiagency and multidepartment coordination and communications. The project will protect our tourism economy and upland properties from storm surge and sea level nse. The project is expected to be completed in the summer of 2023 and upon completion will address erosional hotspots with 835,000 cubic yards of sand. Three dune restorations have been completed through Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), a multidisciplinary design approach. • Supported the ULink Coastal Resilience Team to launch hybrid offshore reef structures to test green and grey infrastructure through reef designs and corals to reduce wave action and support diverse marine habitat. Flood Insurance: Miami Beach is one of three Miami -Dade County municipalities that have achieved a favorable Class 5 flood insurance rating from the Federal Emergency Management Agency — collectively saving city policyholders some 25% in flood insurance premiums. The new certification discount amounts to $8.6 million a year in combined savings from insuring both city assets and private properties through the National Flood Insurance Program, Environment: With your leadership, the City has implemented ambitious environmental protection and climate adaptation ordinances, including seawall elevation and overtopping, dune protection and water quality protection through erosion control and one of the strongest ordinances in the State to reduce fertilizer use and preserve the health of Biscayne Bay. Through the proactive construction site inspection program, compliance with the Water Quality ordinance has increased from 12% to about 50% since 2022. N. Page 2347 of 2938 The City has reforested multiple neighborhoods through the G.O. Bond Program, including in North Beach and Mid Beach by planting more than 1,900 native and Florida - friendly trees, guided by the Urban Forestry Master Plan, as we seek to reach our goal to increase the tree canopy from 17% to 22% by 2040. The next planned reforestation project will be a three-phase Beachwalk reforestation to ensure our assets can be enjoyed by residents and tourists alike during all times of the day and every season. We anticipate planting 600 additional trees through this effort. Launched the We Heart Biscayne Bay Water Duality campaign at a community Yappy Hour event for water quality protection specifically focusing on `Don't Fertilize the Bay," "Don't Be Ruff on the Bay" and "Don't Be Trashy." As of mid -June, the campaign has garnered a combined 28,242,149 impressions and 225,551 website visits to the MB Rising Above website. As part of our efforts, we unveiled a temporary, mini lifeguard stand photo op at South Pointe Bark Paris, where parkgoers can snap a photo of their furry friends with an important water quality message. We have also wrapped pet waste stations throughout the city with campaign creative and a oR code linking back to the website. • In response to a recent environmental ordinance to reduce plastic pollution, we launched the #NoFilter campaign as a visual way to communicate to residents and visitors that filtered cigarettes are now banned in all our beaches and parks. Through promotion on our owned channels as well as media relations we have increased awareness in the community. • Held the first Turtle Fest, welcoming hundreds of residents to a family friendly event in North Beach to highlight these magnificent creatures and reinforce the importance of community action and fun, educational activities for environmental protection. • Resiliency Code and Land Development Regulations Update: Finalized the city's first major update of land development rules in more than 30 years. The revised regulations provide much -needed clarifications to zoning requirements and for the first time incorporate a new resiliency code aimed at better positioning our coastal community to overcome the challenges of rising sea levels. • Launched the Fight the Flood Private Property Adaptation program to incentivize resilience action, with 42 properties awarded the Phase 1 Assessment. • Negotiated and executed a 10-year pouring rights agreement with PepsiCo and a five- year pouring rights agreement with Red Bull North America. Both agreements are completely plastic free for the water, soda, and energy drink categories and were the first of their kind. The deal also includes vending rights, where both entities are given permission to sell products on city property and within city venues, with a commission being paid back to the City of Miami Beach. • Supported the Aspen Ideas: Climate Miami Beach Event from March 6-9 Led by the Mayor's Office, the City of Miami Beach joined forces with the Aspen Institute to host a dynamic and multisector event to focus on solutions for climate change. The event 7 Page 2348 of 2938 highlighted Miami Beach as a living laboratory for climate change and brought the city positive national and international press coverage. Multiple departments supported this effort by coordinating transportation logistics, creating programming, providing speakers for expert panels, coordinating with nonprofits and hosting Miami Beach Rising Above Resilience Tours. The City also led communications, photography, videography and social media. The event engaged local universities, nonprofits and municipalities with a series of free temporary public art installations and performances. The event will return next spring Public Safety Our public safety departments remain focused on providing the best services possible for the residents and visitors of Miami Beach. Here are some of the most notable accomplishments from the past year. • Violent crime experienced an unprecedent double digit decline based on the data submitted to the Unified Crime Reporting Program for 2022. Volent crime in the city was down by 17.9% from 2021 (though the data is not expected to be formally accepted until the fall). There were 1,024 violent crimes in 2021 in Miami Beach compared to 849 in 2022. The overall crime rate was about the same from 2021-22, Sexual offenses dropped from 125 to 109 incidents between 2021-22. That amounts to a 12.8% reduction while violent robberies fell 8% from 254 to 243 incidents Aggravated assaults fell from 632 to 492 incidents — a 22.2% decrease. We continued our South Beach comprehensive multidisciplinary approach and increased Police, Code Compliance, Paris Ranger, Fire, Homeless Outreach, Parking, Transportation and Facilities and Fleet presence in South Beach The Police Department added a Homeless Resource squad to provide afternoon and evening coverage to the overall efforts associated with homelessness. The combination of increased officer presence, productivity and data -driven policing initiatives led to the substantial reduction in the citywide Violent Crime Rate when so many major cities have experienced up to double-digit increases in Violent Cnme This approach continues to reduce the number of incidents within the area and has improved collaboration among our departments. The Fire Department obtained the annual recommendation for reaccreditation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence in February 2023 — only 116 agencies world-wide are both accredited and ISO Class #1. • The Public Safety Communications Division earned triple reaccreditation in Police, Fire and Medical Dispatch. There are only 14 accredited "Tn-ACE" agencies worldwide. Two new Ocean Rescue lifeguard towers with staffing were added at 55 St. and 62 St. Page 2349 of 2938 The State of Florida EMS Matching Grant Program awarded the Fire Department $24,936 to expand its pre -hospital EMS capability for the purchase of 18 automated external defibrillators (AEDs). • In addition to CARES Act funding received last year, we collected $23 million in funding under the American Rescue Plan Act and $1,194,130 from FEMA for COVID-19 related activities. The Division of Emergency Management is also working with FEMA to recoup expenditures from the Surfside Building Collapse and brought in $758,015 in additional reimbursement funds for Hurricane Irma this fiscal year. • Miami Beach continues to be a Storm Ready© Community, recognized by the National Weather Service as having reached a high level of severe weather preparedness. We continue to exercise our preparedness with all departments throughout the year_ • We have implemented an "advanced" Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program, offering additional public safety education in cooperation with the Police and Fire departments to our residents and businesses who are certified in the CERT program. This includes topics such as poison control, human trafficking awareness, extreme heat response, stop -the -bleed and much more. These additional classes keep our CERT members active and involved as volunteers. CERT classes are also now offered in Spanish. • Our Fire, Police and Facilities & Fleet departments deployed to Southwest Florida following Hurricane ian to provide assistance to our northern neighbors. After the floods in Broward County this April, our Public Works department also sent staff and equipment to help their community. Short -Term Rental Team Since the beginning of the fiscal year, Code Compliance's dedicated Short -Term Rental (STR) team of three officers, established in October 2021, have provided an additional 5,488 hours towards inspections/investigations of illegal STRs in the city. During the period of 04/01/2022 — 4/12/2023, this dedicated STR team investigated and pursued 1,480 calls for complaints of illegal short term/transient rentals. These investigations resulted in 887 violations during this period related to STR issues. In addition, 23 violations for commercial use of a single-family home and 13 violations for filming without a permit were issued during this period by the STR Team. They have also issued 69 violations for apartments, hotels, and condos that failed to renew their main use Business Tax Receipt. Spring Break 2023 I want to thank you for your leadership that authorized the funding and expanded programming during spring break. All our departments were involved in addressing the challenges of the six -week period that began Feb. 27 through April 2, 2023. Returning for a second year, we produced Miami Beach Live!, which presented more activations with a fitness focus for our residents' and visitors' enjoyment. Staff engaged 41 Page 2350 of 2938 large scale national and international events such as the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP), which celebrated their 401" Anniversary on our sands after years of being in Ft. Lauderdale, and hailing from the Netherlands, the King and Queen of the Courts international volleyball toumament celebrated its inaugural event in the U.S. in Miami Beach. We also engaged the long-standing local not -for -profit organization, Kiwanis of Little Havana, which created Art on the Drive as part of their Carnava{ Miami Experience events. Local business Crunch Fitness and the Nike Lincoln Road flagship store also programmed smaller ancillary events each weekend in March. The month wrapped with the Miami Beach Fitness Festival powered by Hyrox, hosting over 600 athletes competing in a series of high impact intervals. The Miami Beach Lived marketing campaign had a total of 43.5 million impressions. The city continued using its award -winning public safety campaign "Take Care of Our City' during the month of March," which highlighted local laws in a welcoming manner. It featured more than 30 local influencers and achieved over 5.7 million unique impressions. From a public safety perspective, there were 573 arrests made over the course of the six - week period (a decrease of 7% from the previous year) and 109 firearms were confiscated. Despite extensive police visibility throughout South Beach, which included support from outside agencies and extensive programming — we experienced two tragic fatalities as a result of gunfire on the weekend of March 18-20. Based on Commission direction, I look forward to implementing changes to next year's peak spring break period as we continue to evolve our plan and prioritize the safety of residents and visitors. Memorial Day Weekend 2023 We hosted thousands of visitors this past Memorial Day weekend as we successfully implemented a comprehensive and coordinated major events plan to ensure the safety and enjoyment of residents and visitors, which included the return of the popular Hyundai Air & Sea Show. North Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) In its inaugural budget year (FY 2023), the North Beach CRA saw tax increment growth of 11.6% over the base year The CRA has begun providing for enhanced community policing, code compliance and sanitation services. We are in the process of creating facade programs to promote residential and commercial beautification in the Normandy Fountain area. My administration also delivered on establishing the North Beach CRA office, introducing concierge services for district residents and businesses. Additionally, private development is underway in the North Beach Town Center area, which will serve to encourage additional development and enhance the tax increment in future years. Miami Beach Convention Center Hotel — Grand Hyatt Miami Beach The work associated with the Early Access Agreement with MB Mixed Use Investment, LLC commenced in June of 2022 and is targeted for completion in July 2023. The demolition of 10 Page 2351 of 2938 the annex building and Jackie Gleason Theater rehearsal room is complete and construction of the back of house improvements to the theater and other infrastructure is underway and nearing completion. The developer's loan closing, site possession and construction commencement of the hotel tower is anticipated in fall 2023. Workforce & Affordable Housing Fee Exemption Ordinance Housing affordability is an integral component of developing and maintaining a vibrant community and welcoming business climate. My team prepared legislation to exempt affordable and workforce housing projects from certain development -related fees. The Administration believes that the legislation will serve to support the growth of accessible housing options to benefit Miami Beach residents and workers. Collins Park Artist Workforce Housing Project On November 16, 2022, the City Commission authorized a revision to the Ground Lease with the developer to strengthen the financial viability and appeal of the Project to potential investors by committing a capital contribution of $2,85 million and $4 million from the Arts and Culture General Obligation Bond, With Miami City Ballet's sublease for the dormitory space already executed, the developer has worked to secure bond financing to fund project construction and pay all costs related to the building permit and County impact fees Note: The Project achieved financial closing on June 15, 2023 thanks to the leadership of the City Commission with approval of an additional $3 million contribution on May 17, 2023, which will enable this $42 million critical project to break ground. Transportation & Parking We continued to expand the availability of supplemental transportation services, looked for ways to ease congestion and improved parking services. Here are some of the highlights from the past year: • Enhanced the Mid Beach On -Demand Transit (Freebee) service with the introduction of two Tesla Model X vehicles replacing the golf -type vehicles. • Obtained FDOT approval of southbound dual right turn lanes at the intersection of Indian Creek Drive and 41 St. to improve traffic flow at this critical juncture. • Secured $320,000 under the grant program USDOT Safe Streets for All for the development of a Miami Beach Vision Zero Implementation Plan • Secured $1.25 million grant award under the FDOT Transit Service Development Program for the South Beach Trolley service. • Commenced build -out of a real-time Transportation Management Center (TMC) (co - located at the FDOT District Six SunGuide TMC) as part of the Intelligent Transportation System project construction_ 11 Page 2352 of 2938 • Completed design of a tactical urbanism project on Espariola Way East, Espahola Way West, and 14 Place alleyway as part of the South Beach Promenade project. • Completed design of the South of Fifth St. Neighborhood Traffic Calming (interim) project. • Initiated design of the Flamingo Park Neighborhood Slow Streets 2.0 pilot project. • Deployed a pilot project on the beachwalk to enhance pedestrian safety. • Executed the contract to install security cameras in all city garages — and have completed the 17 St. garage with the City Hall garage underway. We expect four additional garages to be completed this year • The citywide valet agreement was awarded and negotiated with greater financial terms for the city. • Launched a real-time parking dashboard that provides quick access to parking permit data and allows employee productivity to be tracked. • The Collins Park Garage, with its unique crossword puzzle design, was selected by the International Parking and Mobility Institute to receive the organization's award of excellence in mixed -use parking and mobility facility design. As the world's largest association of professionals in parking; transportation and mobility. IPMI deemed the Collins Park Garage to have achieved excellence through "creative, innovative and sustainable programming and design" that ultimately enhances the user experience. Facilities and fleet The Facilities' construction team completed over 75 capital renewal and other projects, including the installation of 14 new electric vehicle charging stations for city vehicles, in accordance with our city's Green Fleet Initiative. We were also recognized by the National Association of Fleet Administrators (NAFA) as one of the 100 Best Fleets in North America, ranking at #32 among 38,000 public fleets. Asset Management Division staff executed three new lease agreements (Taste Bakery Caf6, Open Vision One, LLC and Lime Tree Cafe, LLC) and renewed six lease agreements for city properties. In addition, Moonlighter FabLab opened in February 2023 at a city property, providing a local STEAM program and various public benefits to Miami Beach residents. The team has also worked closely with the Edens team (owner/developer) of the Fifth St. and Alton Road property to ensure the venue's cleanliness, day-to-day operations and presentation are reflective of our stringent standards. We engaged in similar meetings with the Suntex Marina to address the needed repairs and maintenance deficiencies observed to ensure a first-class marina standard. A new and much needed Asset Software package RFP was executed to streamline consistent and real-time leases, billings, receivables, insurance and other tracking. 12 Page 2353 of 2938 All vehicles in the Building Department fleet have been replaced with environmentally friendly hybrid and electric vehicles. Building The city has implemented new building recertification processes that are in line with recent State laws, including creating databases of buildings and sending advanced notification of impending recertification to over 2,000 Miami Beach buildings. 100% of the Building inspection staff have become safety damage assessment certified. We also created a building inspection log to help condominiums track repairs, comply with Grand Jury recommendations, and provide education on best practices for building maintenance. The Building Department hosted various trainings, informational meetings, and provided electronic information throughout the year to improve the public's understanding of the building permitting process. Procurement Over the last year, Procurement generated approximately $2 5 million in savings and cost avoidance through competition and negotiations. The department implemented a registry of small and disadvantaged businesses, as certified by Miami -Dade County and LGBT owned businesses, as certified by the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. The City's spend with small, disadvantaged and LGBT owned business during the last fiscal year was nearly $12 million Procurement is currently undergoing an accreditation review in hopes of achieving the National Institute of Governmental Procurement's (NIGP) Duality Public Procurement Departments Accreditation. This accreditation is awarded to public procurement departments that are incorporating best practices into its operations. The department hopes to be accredited by the end of 2023. Collective Bargaining The City's negotiation team bargained with all five unions (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1554; Communications Workers of America Local 3178; Fraternal Order of Police William Nichols Lodge No. 8; Govemment Supervisors Association of Florida; intemational Union Local 100; and International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1510) and successfully reached an agreement with each collective bargaining unit. Community Services We continue to offer a variety of housing and community development programs to address the specific needs of low- and moderate -income residents, including: 13 Page 2354 of 2938 • The Homeless Outreach Services Division expanded specialized outreach services for mental health and co-occurring disorders to 7 days a week from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. • The Community Services division prepared an estimated 380 tax retums for income - eligible residents, assisted one income -eligible household through the First -Time Homebuyer's Program to purchase a Miami Beach property, and assisted one household with homeowner rehabilitation. • The 2022 All -Stars Program Summer Camp successfully increased the enrollment of children with special abilities from 10% to 21.3%. • The city referred 50 households to Legal Services of Greater Miami for legal assistance for housing -related issues, such as evictions, rent increases, and substandard housing from Jan.- May 2023. • The city's Community Services division assisted over 200 households on a monthly basis with onsite Department of Children and Families Access Services, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit applications and recertifications. • The Community Services division started a partnership with Feeding South Florida in November 2022 Food has been distributed to over 1,250 (Nov.- May 2023) low-income residents experiencing food insecurity. Support of Miami Beach Education Supplemental education programs remain a top priority and we have achieved the following over the past year: • Expanded Pre-K Scholarship Program to 158 Miami Beach families for the 2023-24 school year and fully automated the application process to ensure ease of participation • Sustained dual -enrollment offerings at Miami Beach Senior High and Miami Beach Nautilus Middle through a partnership with Florida Intemational University (FIU), Miami Dade College and the University of Florida — saving Miami Beach families an estimated $2.81 million since program inception. • Partnered with multiple local universities and several Ivy League colleges to expand our paid internship program providing needed support to departments across the city. • Created a virtual tour for each Miami Beach public school to help market City developed and funded programs. • Developed and implemented the First to College Miami Beach Scholarship program that provided approximately $2,400 to 44 Miami Beach residents who are first generation college students through a partnership with FIU, Miami Beach Chamber Education Foundation, and the Miami Beach Police Athletic League, 14 Page 2355 of 2938 • Hosted youth and community job fairs in partnership with CareerSource South Florida to bring approximately 40 employers on -site to job seekers at Miami Beach Senior High and Miami Beach Adult & Community Education Center, Miami Beach Convention Center The past 12 months have been a major success for the Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC). In 2022, the MBCC, South Florida's premier convention center, hosted approximately 560,000 guests at 67 regional, national, and international events, creating significant economic impact for the City of Miami Beach and the region. Last year, the MBCC earned five prestigious industry recognitions: the "Silver Stella 2022' (Northstar Meetings Group), the "Centers of Excellence Award" (Exhibitor Magazine), "Smart Stars 2022" (Smart Meetings Magazine), "Prime Site Award" (Facilities & Destinations), and "Reader's Choice Award" (Convention South). MBCC has become the go -to venue for large- scale events in South Florida. In 2022. it hosted the first -ever ViVE conference, a combination tech/medical event that aims to facilitate business transformation in healthcare, followed by the world's largest Bitcoin event, Bitcoin 2022. Highlights of the 2023 calendar include the return of Art Basel Miami Beach, Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show, eMerge Americas, Bitcoin 2023, Expoverse, Swim Show 2023, America's Food & Beverage Show 2023, FIME 2023 (the largest medical device and equipment trade show in the Americas), Aspen Ideas: Climate, and the exciting opening of the Rum Room and Venu in the former Carl Fisher Clubhouse. In March 2023, Seatrade Cruise Global, the preeminent cruise industry conference, announced its return to the MBCC for 2024. Events, Trade Shows and Conferences Our team is leveraging partnerships and resources to cultivate relationships with and attract the technology and financial services industries to Miami Beach by attending and participating in events that offer opportunities for staff to showcase current programs, incentives and engage with business owners. The City participated in iConnections Global Alternative (Global Alts) Investments Conference, Money202O, SXSW, TheVentureCity, Tech Beach Retreat, eMerge Americas, Bitcoin, Florida International Medical Expo, as well as a host of local community events in partnership with Business Improvement Districts, GMCVB, Chambers, Beacon Council and neighborhood business associations. Business Attraction Marketing and Public Relations Campaign The Make A Bold Move campaign, launched in May 2022, focuses on small and medium sized businesses in the technology and financial services industries who are looking to adapt their business to the changing priorities of top -tier talent. The campaign was developed to entice business leaders and entrepreneurs to relocate to Miami Beach and/or expand their existing operations, with the goal of attracting technology and financial service businesses, creating high -skilled and high -wage jobs for new and existing residents, and filling vacant office spaces. 15 Page 2356 of 2938 The campaign showcases Miami Beach as a location like no other, highlighting the city's unique lifestyle assets including arts and culture, health and wellness, warm weather, and family friendly neighborhoods. Make A Bold Move is a call to companies to recognize that their teams want to live a full life outside of work, and companies that don't adapt their work culture and workplace will be left behind. In addition to realizing over 6 million unique impressions, the campaign was recognized by the American Marketing Association (AMA) of South Florida as best digital marketing campaign in 2022. Our new trade show booth was inspired by the campaign and was first unveiled at the eMerge Americas conference in April 2023. Business Assistance Programs The Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) funds provided $660,000 to assist 33 small businesses and microenterprises with up to $20,000 for reimbursement of eligible business expenses through the Emergency Small Business Reimbursement Grant Program. Financial services firms Starwood Capital, PennantPark Investment Advisers, Siebert Financial, and Pretium Partners participated in our Expedited Plan Review and Permitting Program focused on providing concierge services to targeted industries. 41 St. Business Improvement District Formation Our team worked with the 41 St. Business Improvement District (BID) Steering Committee to prepare the necessary documentation for authorization, by the City Commission, to conduct a special mail ballot election for summer 2023. The mission of the BID is to support the vitality of the corridor by augmenting and improving services and increasing the vibrancy and quality of outcomes of businesses, residents, and visitors. Prioritizing Arts, Heath 3 Wellness and Family Fun We produced 57 citywide family -friendly community events and initiatives through the Parks and Recreation Department with a total participation of 17,000, which included Winter Wonderland, Spring Eggstravaganza, Black History Night Celebration, Hispanic Heritage Festival and Pride at the Pool. We also funded the second season of Miami Beach OnStagel that was comprised of 59 culturally diverse performances across the city, which included music, dance, art and movies. Through these various events, free programming was provided to nearly 5,000 residents. Most recently, we partnered with the Miami Martins to program monthly community activations from May through December 2023 at the temporary "Sandy's Beach' in Lummus Park — commemorating Marlins' pitcher Sandy Alcantara's Cy Young Award win and creating a community gathering place. Over the past year, staff has overseen the donation and installation of Minna by Jaume Plensa, a monumental sculpture which opened in Pride Park during Art Week Miami Beach 2022. Through our Legacy Purchase Program, we acquired an installation by multi- disciplinary Afro-Cuban artist Juana Valdes, which was installed in the East Lobby of the Miami Beach Convention Center. We also presented a series of temporary public art installations, including 12 works for No Vacancy, Miami Beach and the 40-foot steel sculpture commission Starchild by the artist duo FdendsWithYou. Since the Sfarchild 16 Page 2357 of 2938 sculpture received such overwhelmingly positive feedback by the community, it is being added as a permanent piece to our city's Art in Public Places collection. In addition, Tobias Rehberger's "obstinate lighthouse (2011)" located in South Pointe Park underwent a major renovation. As a result of the success of the temporary art installation "Little Cloud Sky" created by FnendsWithYou, which enhanced the Espanola Way corridor and encouraged pedestrian connectivity to Ocean Drive, the program Elevate Espanola was launched this year as a dedicated art presentation site that commissions installations suspended above the historic Espanola Way corridor. Featuring two projects annually, Elevate Espanola plays an important role in bringing contemporary art to one of the most publicly visible areas of Miami Beach. In November 2022, Edouard Duval-CarriL& debuted the inaugural installation titled `Trapeze Contortionists" and in May 2023, Miami-bom artist Jillian Mayer presented "Very Moving," featuring a system of mobiles to create a kinetic sculpture and painting installation. In partnership with the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, we launched the city's first annual marketing campaign known as "Find Your Wave," which promotes Miami Beach across various verticals including tourism, health and wellness, arts and culture, business attraction and residents/community. The campaign is being promoted across multiple paid media channels including digital, social, responsive search ads, search engine optimization, print, targeted newsletters and out of home and will run through this fiscal year. The campaign's full promo video highlights various iconic locations across the city and was released at the Mayor's State of the City with much positivity and has been featured on CNN, Bravo, ESP, MTV and CNBC. As of May 2023, the campaign has realized 32 million impressions, with over 2.7 million impressions targeted to the business sector — being featured in media such as the Wall Street Journal, the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Shermans Travel and City & Shore magazine. We also installed a Miami Beach sign to act as a temporary photo installation in Lummus Park between 5 and 6 streets, with the intent of encouraging residents and visitors to snap a photo and share across their social channels. Since the signs installation, we have seen a steady stream of people posing with the structure and helping to amplify the Miami Beach brand. Expanded Community Engagement Transparency, clear information and access to govemment remains a top priority for me and it's what our community deserves. I am proud of the resource our Neighborhood Affairs Division (NAD) has become and view them as an extension of the City Managers office. The NAD team plays a critical role in fostering strong and vibrant relationships with our residents and stakeholders by encouraging dialogue with our community, sharing updated project information for a myriad of initiatives and participating in community activities across the city. NAD project webpages have been recently upgraded for a better user experience. Forty one residential committees are currently being supported through considerable staff efforts to increase community engagement and feedback. In addition, staff is requested to attend the meetings of approximately 35 existing homeowner and neighborhood associations to provide updates and gather additional input from residents. This spring. the Police Department's Community Affairs Unit (CAU) planned and executed a Mid Beach block party. Several departments participated, including Code, Economic 17 Page 2358 of 2938 Development, Fire's Emergency Management Division, Housing and Community Services, Capital Improvement Projects, Facilities and Fleet Management, Parks and Recreation and Public Works, The Police Department also participated in several outreach initiatives both locally and across Miami -Dade County to further enhance their relationship with the community. Innovative Technology The IT Department developed a new Resort Tax application that modernized the city's revenue system, which has provided a significantly better resident experience. The team has also developed an additional 115 dashboards to enhance city department's operational needs, as well as open data initiatives. An analytics program was created for the Fire Department, which led to an additional 34 dashboards for operations and accreditation. These critical additions have increased the city's analytics capacities and total library of dashboards to 166. The city website is undergoing a major overhaul, including updates to the homepage layout, design, content and imagery. The "Resident", Visitors" and "Business" tabs were updated with the same treatment to ensure consistency across the site and to offer users a seamless experience. The icons and their layout were designed based on back -end reporting, which indicated the most searched terms, clicked icons and visited webpages within the site. Various department pages have also been updated during this process and this effort will continue through the year. We also streamlined the "Events Calendar" on the homepage to include all meetings and events in one place with the ability to filter by topic (Arts & Culture, City Government, Parks & Recreation, etc.). Numerous citywide upgrades were implemented to continue to enhance features, security, and availability for critical systems. The city's financial, human resource, timekeeping, licensing, and permitting systems were all updated to provide internal efficiencies as well as improve the resident experience. The city's cybersecurity team continued to develop our robust security and compliance program. These changes allowed IT to defend against evolving and increasing threats to the city's assets and data. Enhanced staff training, phishing exercises, and proactive penetration testing complement our existing cyber systems and staff development. The Police Department continues working on expanding the CCTV network throughout the City and in City facilities. We currently have over 1,300 camera views in our system with many additional projects coming online. These cameras have proven their value in not only providing situational awareness to public safety departments, but also to investigators in solving crimes. The Police Department also initiated its Uncrewed Aviation System (UAS) drone program in January 2023, The Department operates its program under stringent guidelines established by the Federal Aviation Administration, Each pilot is dually certified by the Miami Beach Police Department and obtained their FAA Part 107 — Remote Pilot Certificate. Dual certification of each pilot holds our personnel to a higher level of proficiency and competency. The Miami Beach Police Department has 12 certified pilots and 7 State of Florida -approved aircrafts. 18 Page 2359 of 2938 This year, the Code Compliance field operations achieved moving to a completely paperless environment. From call for service inception, evidence gathering, report writing and photographic documentation, all case information is now paperless. This accomplishment reduced space allocation for physical office files and offsite storage costs for archived records. I appreciate the opportunity to provide you with a summary of accomplishments from the past year as your City Manager. Please note that this is not meant to be an exhaustive summary of our many day-to-day operational activities. Once again; I thank each of you for your leadership and continued support — and welcome your feedback. ATH 19 Page 2360 of 2938 MAM BEACH Clly of Miami Hach, 1700 Convention Center drive, Miami Beocn, Rondo 33139, www.rniomibeochfl.gov fiofoel A. POZ, City Attorney COMMISSION MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor Dan Gelber and Members of the City Commission FROM: Rafael A. Paz, City Attorney DATE: September 13, 2023 SUBJECT: Office of the City Attorney - Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Report I am pleased to provide you with this Annual Report, highlighting the work performed by the dedicated attorneys and staff of the City Attorney's Office (CAO) during FY 2023. On behalf of the entire Office, we thank you for the privilege of representing our City, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with the City Commission, City Manager, City Clerk, Inspector General and City staff, in furtherance of our shared mission of public service. The City Attomey's Office is involved in nearly all matters concerning the governance and operation of the City. Attorneys in the Office represent the City in all transactions and litigation involving the City, and research, draft, or review for legal sufficiency all ordinances and resolutions presented to the City Commission, The Office of the City Attomey Organizational Chart, listing our practice areas and individual attomey responsibilities, is attached hereto as Exhibit "1 ° for your convenience. Below is a brief overview of the work of the practice areas, as well as significant matters handled by the CAO during Fiscal Year 2023. • As of September 1, 2023, the City was served with 56 new cases during FY 2023. • The City is currently involved in 83 ongoing pending litigation cases and appeals (8 of the cases are police/civil rights cases, 38 are personal injury cases, and 37 include general commercial and land use -related cases). • Of the 83 active cases, the City has retained outside counsel on only 6 active cases' involving specialized subject matter expertise, expedited briefing or other work requiring additional resources not readily available in-house. • In addition to litigation, the CAO assisted in resolving hundreds of code violation matters brought before the Special Magistrate this year, and attended approximately 61 sessions before the Special Magistrate to date, including cases brought by inspectors of the Code Compliance, Building, Parking, Parks & Recreation, Police/Marine Patrol and Fire Departments, as well as short-term rental and red-light camera violations. ' Excluding police -related cases where outside counsel has been retained to represent police officers in their individual capacity while the City Attorney's Office handles the litigation on behalf of the City_ Page 2361 of 2938 Office of the City Attomey — FY 2023 Annual Report September 13, 2023 Page 2 • The Municipal Prosecution Team has handled 299 new criminal municipal ordinance violation cases thus far in FY 2023 (as of August 7, 2023), plus approximately 21 other pending matters. A detailed discussion of the Program is set forth below. • The CAO has continued to handle Historic Preservation Special Magistrate appeals in-house this year, matters which require full legal briefing, based on an extensive record before the HPB. A few of the CAO's major litigation accomplishments this year include: Emergencyjunction Proceedings 2:00 a.m. Alcohol Hours Case (Amnesia, aka Story Nightclub). Successful defense of the City in emergency injunction proceedings arising out of Story Nightclub's challenge to the 2:00 a.m. alcohol hours rollback in the South of Fifth neighborhood, adopted by the City Commission as part of the City's Land Development Regulations, following a 517ths vote. After a two-day evidentiary hearing, the Circuit Court entered an Order denying Story's request for an injunction and upholding the City's legislation. Story appealed and sought an emergency stay in the Third District Court of Appeal, which was also denied. The appeal is fully briefed and remains pending. Importantly, this was a significant win for the City, as this case is the first alcohol hours rollback affirmed by the courts in recent years. • Spring Break 2023 Gulf Liquors Case. Favorable ruling in emergency injunction proceeding in Gulf Liquors case, challenging the City's March 22, 2023 State of Emergency declaration, which limited hours of sale for package liquor stores in the area located south of 231" Street during Sprang Break 2023. The CAO removed the case to federal court, and the Court denied emergency relief and dismissed the case. Iniunction Against Nuisance Property in North Beach (1776 Bay Drive). Successful proactive nuisance lawsuit, filed by the CAO following an egregious record of repeated violations of the City Code by a tenant at 1776 Bay Drive. The case resulted in a consent injunction which ordered the property owner, his tenant, and his listing agent to immediately halt nuisance parties and illegal short-term rentals at the property, as well as payment to the City of approximately $390,000 in outstanding fines. Penrod/'Nikki Beach" Lawsuit Challenging a Competitive Procurement. Favorable dismissal of 14 count complaint filed by Penrod Brothers, Inc. ("Penrod's"), the current City tenant and concessionaire at 1 Ocean Drive, concerning the City Commission's competitive RFP process with regard to the future use of the property after the expiration of Penrod's agreements with the City. The complaint alleged, among other things, that the City purportedly breached its lease with Penrod's and violated various City Charter, City Code, and state statutory provisions in connection with the RFP. Following dismissal of the complaint in its entirety, Penrod's filed a bid protest, which the City granted in part and denied in part, and which Penrod's may appeal. Penrod subsequently filed a new Page 2362 of 2938 Office of the City Attorney — FY 2023 Annual Report September 13, 2023 Page 3 complaint in state court, which the CAO will respond to in due course. The RFP remains pending as of the date of this Memorandum. Sidewalk CaM Program Lawsuit. Favorable denial of plaintiffs' request for emergency preliminary injunction relating to the City Commission's 2022 restructuring of the City's Sidewalk Caf6 Program from a permit -based model to a concession agreement model, to ensure that the use of public property by any establishment for a business operation remains a revocable privilege and not a right. In the CAO's 2022 Annual Report, I noted that several operators challenged the City's new program in state court, and that although the case remained pending, we were confident that we structured the program for success. The Circuit Court agreed with the City, and the City successfully implemented the new contract -based framework in FY 2023. Constitutional Claims J Civil Rights Chakra 5. Inc. Lawsuit. Final ruling from the United States 11 "' Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of the City in the Chakra 5, Inc. case, affirming the district court's summary judgment in favor of the City after eight (8) years of hard-fought litigation. The lawsuit alleged - without any evidence -- that the City violated the Plaintiffs' constitutional rights by failing to identify and prevent bribery committed by rogue code enforcement officers and fire inspectors, all of whom were terminated from employment with the City following their arrests. Subsequent to the events that gave rise to this lawsuit, the City enacted even more comprehensive reforms that have prevented any further allegations of misconduct by code enforcement officers, such as the requirement that all inspectors use body-wom cameras in any interaction with the public, and GPS location tracking of code officers' vehicles, among other measures. Police Liability Cases. Successful defense of the City in many cases involving the high - risk operations of the Miami Beach Police Department. Attached as Exhibit 7' is a representative list of police liability cases that the CAO litigation team has vigorously litigated in FY 2023, either obtaining dismissals or otherwise successfully resolving each matter through settlements favorable to the City. Notably, this year, the list includes a favorable ruling from the United States 11 ", Circuit Court of Appeals in the Senko case, affirming the district court's summary judgment in favor of the City, a case alleging false arrest, excessive force and battery claims. In all matters involving the Police Department, the CAO is proud to represent MBPD and provide the legal support and guidance for our dedicated law enforcement officers to effectively carry out their duties and maintain law and order in the City. Land Use Appeals Seagull (Bulpari) Hotel. Favorable rulings in land use appeals challenging the redevelopment of the Seagull Hotel into the first Bulgari Hotel in the United States, including an Order of the Circuit Court, Appellate Division, upholding both the HPB's approval, and the Special Magistrate's affirmance, of a certificate of appropriateness for the project (Setar' Resort & Residences v. BHl Miami Limited Corp. and CMB). Litigation remains pending in related challenges. The Shore Club. Favorable ruling in land use appeal challenging the redevelopment of The Shore Club, with the City's Historic Preservation Special Magistrate affirming the HPB's issuance of a certificate of appropriateness for the project, which includes the Page 2363 of 2938 Office of the City Attorney - FY 2023 Annual Report September 13, 2023 Page 4 renovation of contributing historic buildings, new construction, and landscape and hardscape improvements (Setai Resort 8 Residences v. Shore Club Property Owner, LLC and CMB). An appeal is pending before the Circuit Court, Appellate Division. Settlements West Avenue Neighborhood Improvement Project (Ric -Man Case). In close collaboration with the Administration, the CAD negotiated a resolution of a multi -million - dollar construction litigation brought by a City contractor working on the West Avenue Neighborhood Improvement Project, alleging that delays by the City gave rise to a termination right. The case was successfully resolved by City Commission action in November 2022 and was subsequently dismissed in February 2023, allowing the project to proceed. Call Me Gaby Accident. The CAO, along with Risk Management, proactively handled pre - suit discussions and participated in a mediation which resulted in a global settlement in this matter involving negligence and wrongful death claims arising from an accident whereby a vehicle crashed into the Call Me Gaby outdoor dining area, causing one fatality and multiple injuries. As part of the settlement, the City was released from all claims by all claimants, without having to make any financial contribution. Public Records Disputes Grant Stem. Final ruling from the Third District Court of Appeal in favor of the City in the Grant Stem case, affirming the trial court's dismissal of a public records dispute seeking documents relating to former Mayor Levine's Twitter and Facebook accounts and his SiriusXM satellite radio show, affirming City's position that the records in question were personal documents and not public records under the Florida Public Records Act. The Florida Supreme Court also rejected Stem's request for review. • L Powers Case. Final ruling from the Third District Court of Appeal in favor of the City, affirming the trial court's dismissal of the case with prejudice. Code Enforcement / BTR Revocations / Bankruptcy and Collection Matters • Favorable rulings in two post -revocation hearings before the Special Magistrate, affirming the City Manager's orders revoking the Business Tax Receipt and Certificate of Use for two Lincoln Road businesses, following an MBPD undercover investigation into drug sales at these establishments. Recovered approximately $480,620.27 in various collections matters, including (1) recovery in the amount of $150,649.20, in connection with a hotel establishment's failure to timely file and remit resort taxes, (2) recovery in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding in the amount of $143,811.29, in connection with monies owed to the City by the debtor for resort taxes, special magistrate fines, licensing fees and permit fees, and (3) a recovery in the amount of $186,159.78, in connection a claim for a specific bequest in a probate matter. Page 2364 of 2938 Office of the City Attorney — FY 2023 Annual Report September 13, 2023 Page 5 FY 2023 was an extremely active legislative year. This year, the City Attorney's Office worked with the Administration and the Mayor and Commission on a wide variety of legislative and policy matters, including approximately 467 Resolutions and 89 Ordinances, a few of which are highlighted below. • Resiliency Code. For the first time since 1989, the City engaged in a complete review and re- write of the Land Development Regulations, now known as the Resiliency Code, legislation sponsored by Commissioner Arriola. The Office supported the Planning Department and the City's consultants by identifying legal issues, reviewing the new Code for consistency with the City Charter and State law, and assisting with the drafting of the new legislation. South of Fifth and West Avenue Alcohol Hours Rollbacks. For several years now, the CAO has regularly advised the City Commission extensively on legislative proposals relating to alcohol hours of sale. In close collaboration with Commissioner Dominguez, the sponsor of legislation for the benefit of the South of Fifth neighborhood, the City enacted a 2:00 a.m. termination time for the sale or service of alcohol in the South of Fifth neighborhood, except for smaller establishments with a maximum occupancy of less than 100 persons. The C4's trial court victory in the subsequent lawsuit filed by Amnesia (aka Story Nightclub) is discussed more fully above. Separately, the CAO worked with Commissioner Richardson, who sponsored legislation adopting a 2:00 a.m. outdoor termination time for the sale and service of alcohol, for the benefit of the West Avenue neighborhood. Regulation of Co -Owned Housing Vacation Units (the °Pacaso" Model). As sponsored by Commissioner Alex Fernandez, the CAO drafted business regulations to address the quality - of -life impacts of an emerging business model that facilitates the co -ownership and management of individual residential properties (including companies like Pacaso). The Ordinance requires a co -owned housing unit manager to obtain a BTR and register with the City, and includes property maintenance requirements (including landscaping, structural maintenance, paint, repair, and trash collection) and a code of conduct applicable to each owner. Co -owned homes are also required to comply with the City's short-term rental regulations (including the prohibition on short-term rentals in single-family and certain multifamily districts). Municipal Prosecutions. The CAO drafted legislation, requested by Commissioner Fernandez, to incorporate the state misdemeanor offense of disorderly conduct as a City municipal ordinance violation, and thereby provide the City Attorney's Office with the jurisdiction to prosecute these offenses directly. In addition, the CAO worked with Commissioner Meiner, who sponsored legislation to establish probation as a sentencing option for municipal ordinance cases. The program is discussed in greater detail below Charter vessels. Fallowing numerous complaints from residents regarding excessive noise and unruly behavior from charter vessels, the CAO and Administration worked with the Miami Beach Marina operator to establish new protocols for enhanced dockmaster coverage at the Marina and closer coordination between the Marina and code enforcement. The CAO also prepared legislation, sponsored by Commissioner Meiner, to establish operating hours from 7:00 a.m.to 9:00 p.m., for charter vessel activity at public marinas. Since the enactment of the ordinance and new measures at the Marina, there has been a significant decrease in complaints regarding charter activity at the Marina. Page 2365 of 2938 Office of the City Attorney — FY 2023 Annual Report September 13, 2023 Page 6 Campaign Finance Legislation. At the request of Mayor Gelber, the CAO prepared an amendment to the City's campaign finance laws, a key component of the City Commission's efforts to promote ethics and public confidence in elected officials and candidates for elected office. The legislation prohibits candidates for City elected office and members of the City Commission from soliciting City vendors, lobbyists, and real estate developers for contributions to electioneering communications organizations (ECOs) that expend funds related to candidates for City elected office, in the same manner as such solicitations are currently prohibited for political committees. Homeless and Domestic Violence Tax. Fallowing the Florida Legislature's authorization for imposition of a 1 % local option food and beverage tax (also known as the "Homeless and Domestic Violence Tax') in the City of Miami Beach, Commissioner Arriola requested that the CAO draft legislation to authorize Miami -Dade County to levy the Homeless and Domestic Tax within the municipal limits of the City. In addition, the CAO drafted the accompanying ballot measure for voter referendum approval of the Homeless and Domestic Violence Tax as part of the November 5, 2024 election, as required by the Florida Legislature in the authorizing statute. Legislative Efforts to Defeat State Historic Preservation Bill HB 1317 / SB 1346). The CAO supported the City s extensive legislative efforts to safeguard more than 2,600 historic buildings throughout our historic districts and individual historic sites, and uphold the City's Historic Preservation Ordinance, including the drafting of proposed amendments to the Bill, as well as talking points and other materials for use by the legislative team and interested stakeholders. Ultimately, HB 1317 / SB 1346, which would have preempted major provisions of the Historic Preservation Ordinance, failed in the State House. Creation of 41" Street Business Im2Mvement District. Starting in October 2022 and concluding this July 2023, the CAO provided legal advice, drafted legislation, and worked with the Steering Committee of 41 st Street property owners to complete the creation of the 41 st Street Business Improvement District, sponsored by Commissioner Steven Meiner. The 41" Street BID will generate special assessment revenue to fund promotion, management, marketing, and other similar services for the benefit of the 41 st Street retail business corridor. Charter Review Board. At the end of 2022, the City Commission created the Ad Hoc Charter Review and Revision Board to conduct a review of the Charter, which the City is required to engage in every ten years. The City Attorney's Office, in coordination with the City Clerk's Office, has taken the lead on identifying issues for the Board's review, conducting research, preparing memoranda, and attending all meetings of the Board. Based on the Board's final recommendations and direction from the City Commission, the Office will draft ballot questions and Charter amendments for consideration by the City's voters. The City Attomey's Office reviewed, drafted, negotiated and/or approved for legal sufficiency a minimum of 655 contracts this fiscal year, covering a wide variety of procurement, construction and real estate -related agreements, leases, easements, deeds, escrow agreements, development agreements, housing agreements, grant agreements, and many other matters involving the administration and general business affairs of the City, a few of which are highlighted below. Page 2366 of 2938 Office of the City Attorney — FY 2023 Annual Report September 13, 2023 Page 7 Issuance of $101.7 Million General Obligation Arts & Culture Bonds. The CAO worked closely with the Administration, the City's Fnancial Advisor and bond underwriters to successfully complete the issuance of the $101,700,000 general obligation bond offering released to investors on July 12, 2023. As a significant portion of the proceeds of the bonds will fund capital projects for facilities used by non -governmental cultural organizations, the transaction involved legal complexities relating to the taxability of the bonds and was structured carefully to satisfy all IRS tax-exempt bond requirements. Relatedly, the CAO also took a lead role in the drafting and negotiation of the grant agreements between the City and each of the cultural organizations receiving bond proceeds, in furtherance of this transformative voter -approved investment in the City's cultural institutions. • Collins Park Workforce Housing Project Financial Closing. In collaboration with the Administration, the CAO negotiated and finalized two lease amendments and legislation waiving certain land use fees, to facilitate the financial closing for this project, the City's first public -private partnership for workforce housing. The Project, which will include over 80 artist workforce housing units and dormitory housing for the Miami City Ballet, broke ground in late July 2023 and is finally under construction. • Collective Bargaining Agreements. The CAO provided legal support to the Administration with respect to the negotiation of new collective bargaining agreements with all five unions, and the drafting of the related implementing legislation. Agreements were successfully reached with each collective bargaining unit. • Lincoln Road 100-300 Block Improvements (on -going). In collaboration with the Administration and the sponsor, Commissioner Fernandez, the CAO negotiated a term sheet for a public -private partnership with the owners of the Ritz Carlton Hotel and Sagamore Hotel, for improvements intended to beautify and transform the eastern end of Lincoln Road, allow for a more convenient and safe public connection to the Beachwalk across the 100 Block of Lincoln Road, and provide additional enhancements. Among other terms, the agreement will require the developer to make a contribution to the City in the amount of $4 million toward project costs, pursue state grants at developer's sole cost and expense, and provide for maintenance of the 100 Block for a period of 15 years, also at developer's sole cost and expense. • MBCC Convention Hotel Construction. The CAO, working in partnership with the City Manager's Office, has met regularly with the Convention Hotel developer throughout the year to coordinate the City's deliverables with respect to Lease possession conditions, and to facilitate the on -going early access work and the financial closing of the construction loan for the project. It is anticipated that the Lease Possession Date will occur in December 2023, with the vertical construction of the Hotel Project to commence shortly thereafter. • Waste Hauler Franchises (Ongoing). Throughout the year, the CAO has worked with the Public Works Department and Commissioner Richardson, the Chairperson of the Finance and Economic Resilience Committee, with respect to the procurement of new franchise agreements for solid waste collection and recycling services in the City, a process that has involved benchmarking the various franchise delivery models utilized by municipalities throughout the State of Florida, and obtaining substantial resident and industry feedback. This effort is on -going, and it is anticipated that the City Commission will approve the issuance of a competitive solicitation for new solid waste franchises in September 2023. Page 2367 of 2938 Office of the City Attorney — FY 2023 Annual Report September 13, 2023 Page 8 • Community Health Center Development Agreement (Ongoing). Following voter referendum approval of a proposed FAR increase to accommodate the building of a new community health center and library, the CAO, along with the Administration, negotiated the terms of the proposed development agreement and related documents for the project. The proposed agreements are currently under consideration by the City Commission. Private Property Adaptation Program Agreements. In support of the City's resiliency goals, the CAO assisted the Administration in structuring the City's innovative Private Property Adaptation Program, and developed the agreement templates, which will incentivize private property owners to invest in and implement flood mitigation and resiliency infrastructure within their properties. Homeless Trust MOU. Working closely with the Administration, the CAO drafted and negotiated the terms for the MOU with the Homeless Trust relating to the City's contribution of $2 million for the acquisition and renovation of properties to support persons without viable permanent housing options. The City's contribution will make available 45 units at Blue Village (in Miami, Florida) and 10 beds for homeless persons age 65 and older at Mia Casa (in North Miami, Florida). The City's Municipal Prosecution Program was created in order to address municipal ordinance violations that impact residents' quality of life. This initiative forms part of the City's broader public safety strategy, in coordination with the Police Department and Homeless Outreach Team. Building on the expansion of the Municipal Prosecutor Program in 2022, during FY 2023, the City Commission provided funding for the City Attorney's Office to ensure coverage during weekend first appearance I bond hearings ("Bond Hearings"), so that the City can now cover all municipal ordinance Bond Hearings 7 days a week, 365 days a year. As it relates to the Bond Hearings, the City Attorney's Office also prepared and presented a training for members of the general public, outlining the ways in which any interested person can attend, and providing relevant information concerning the appropriate context, scope and purpose of Bond Hearings, in order to provide those in attendance with a better understanding of the court proceedings (and the inherent limitations thereof}. In addition, in FY 2023, the City Commission expanded the municipal prosecution program by enacting an ordinance, sponsored by Commissioner Fernandez, to specifically incorporate the state law misdemeanor offense of disorderly conduct as a municipal ordinance violation, under the jurisdiction of the City's municipal prosecution team. Most recently, at its June 28, 2023 meeting, the City Commission enacted a new ordinance, sponsored by Commissioner Meiner, to establish probation as an alternative plea or sentencing option for defendants found to be in violation of any City criminal ordinance, and thereby provide the City's prosecutors with another tool to potentially enhance their prosecutorial capabilities. First Assistant City Attorney Mark Fishman, who serves as the City's Chief Police Legal Advisor, has taken a lead role in the implementation of the expanded municipal prosecution program, in close collaboration with the Miami Beach Police Department, including with respect to all efforts to coordinate with our partners in the State Attorney's Office, the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, the Page 2368 of 2938 Office of the City Attorney — FY 2023 Annual Report September 13, 2023 Page 9 Clerk of the Courts, Court Options, Inc. (one of the two leading pre-trial diversion programs in Miami -Dade County), and others. The collective efforts of the municipal prosecution team, coupled with the initiatives recently adopted by the City Commission, have permitted the CAO to boast an impressive successful prosecution rate, which, for the period from August 1, 2022 through August 1, 2023, stands at approximately 86%. In addition to excellent quantitative results, the team has achieved qualitative results in their prosecutions, including, where appropriate, obtaining multiple stayaway orders during the pendency of court proceedings, and securing bench warrants for the arrest of criminal offenders who fail to appear in court for their case. Moreover, the municipal prosecution team has created and implemented a notification system to provide MBPD with daily notification(s) concerning any City criminal ordinance defendant(s) for whom bench warrants were issued, in order to ensure that MBPD officers have relevant, up-to-date information concerning criminal defendants whom they may subsequently encounter on the streets. Furthermore, pursuant to Resolution No. 2021-31956, which provided the Municipal Prosecution Team with a pre-trial diversion program to offer first-time and certain other qualifying City ordinance offenders, the Municipal Prosecution Team has had approximately 24 enrolled criminal defendants successfully complete the Court Options pre-trial diversion program from August 1, 2022 through August 1, 2023, and presently has approximately 32 defendants enrolled and participating in the program. In one case, involving a defendant having a significant criminal history and facing numerous charges, the Municipal Prosecution Team secured 32 days in jail as part of a plea deal to resolve the defendant's pending cases. In another case, the Municipal Prosecution Team, with the assistance of the Miami Beach Police Department, had a defendant who was charged with drinking in public (and who had been previously arrested for drinking in public several times) committed pursuant to Florida's Marchman Act. A commitment under the Marchman Act is intended to assist individuals in the evaluation and treatment of their alcohol and/or controlled substance abuse issues. By actively participating in his residential treatment at the Miami Rescue Mission, the defendant successfully completed the Marchman Act Program and, as a result, is no longer living on the streets and presently is voluntarily residing and working at the Rescue Mission. We hope this Annual Report provides helpful perspective on the work of the City Attorney's Office and what we, together with the City Commission and Administration, have collectively accomplished in FY 2023. These results are a reflection of how much we love what we do. We thank you for letting us do it. RAP/ag Page 2369 of 2938 OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY Robert F. Rosarrtaald Chlet Deputy Ctty Attorney ' LMGAT10N AND ENFORCEMENT Practice Areas Practice Areas ►oke and Coe. Entwwm k pM UepuoA l aYFm+a MU OChp+l ►--.,ton, wM Onl— n.wum of Inspacter c "Ordi C-pkmmrm la., Percu..l Iw}r►, Grnw.l E>,faaw+INrwl � i Mark A- Fishman Henry J. HunnM►M Fla A. brm 17h AM^w RnA A"WW l Otv Anwnn F I n/ Adm—, Code frforCr.M�t, FtdH l and St.lr lnk.tkx AP k,.tb , G-0 Ut4W kwVAppe.lti C—eftni—o and Ct w ElaMs man ers and Mtpector Genn.l Yoe Lopez FFddl Macktaat CYl1' Atwn.Tir Uba.Uon. Apo-ok nd CMI RyMs.."t" �,• .^�A�s7F51 '+`:Eris: �`� Woody IL ClarrFm A WbFa Benjamin Z. Braun A.uNt 1pal P.garWw AWRa/m OtY ArtoTtr -♦- Fedtr.l.rW Sutr littyi'nn, Appt.h Nahum R. Joseph — "J AoMtoM City Anwroy FAuoicipN Protacrtw RJordo J. Dopko Do" Ctty An —soy TRANSACTIONAL LAW Practice Areas F UP".uwE, Pests twuNwQ Gisela N. Torres UWAW A"W—t CaY Anwner T r..n.cnont, Re.l W.N. Ptacwernw t. P,blk Worts, .M General Gov.mmtnt.l SwMtr. I Oaren Hooper A.W~t aq Anw...T rrsnsa[tms. Prorur— ley' Adam. ' -� Nichotaa Kallergis Deputy City Attorney LEaI5uT10N AND LAND USE l Practice Ann Land U», Znrdry, laehl.tlon. CM<tloM Ethks. EnWa mnnm a UaLWnabat►, Spedal T..l'S OMVkb f�. Faroat Andnhava Stobr A.04C" Arun." ltpsl.tan, Emnonmtnt • Su.unabl.ry, ind General Ut1a.Uon/APpaak ter, Sbawn H. RtatltstelFt DOWtY City money REGULATORY AND COM MERC LAL Practice Areas Fh—, *Wk tnLfr►., Pulac Wwkk *-W M-Gfi—� P.a--Nnv.. Caetct — aN GtrnYlrwen.., aft. d l.or Gan w i 2 X W GO 0) lV O t7 I'- m N d im POLICE LIABILITY CASES Icm mw CASE MAIM 1. Agwonick Va"nt v. CMB et A 21-24143-CIV-RNS S-D Fla. 2. An Teman v. CMB et al 23-cv-21361-RNS ' Fla) 3. li Brandon Pruitl v. CMB, et al, 23 -21217-AMC 1 �S D Fla) 4. C.W. v. CMB at N! 2021-011445-CA-32 11 th Jud. Cir. Circuit Court 5. Carmaic Caflejas v CMB et al 21-23294-CIV-BB S D Pa 6. Cody Wade v. CMB at al 21-22619-CW-RNS (S D Fla )-42 U.S.0 1983 CASE TYPE I STATUS 42 J S C 1983Faise arrest, excessive City obtained successful force, etc. dismissal by the court. Civil rights - pro se plaintiff City obtained successful dismissal by the court Pro se prisoner - false arrest City obtained successful dismissal by the court False arrest, battery & malicious I In discovery phase 42 U.S.0 1993 excessive force, City obtained successful assaul battery, etc, dismissal b the court. Excessive force, etc. City obtained successful dismissal by the court Case against officers ' I (avrxahN settir�i 7. Danus Stephens v. MBPD st al 2022-23516 SP-05 Illegal search & seizure, false citation Chy obtained successful 11 th Jud. Ur. Coup Court dismissal by the court. 8. 1 David Wright v. CMB 22-23133-CIV-CMA Pro se 42 U S.C. 1%3 excessive City obtained successful S D Fla force, etc 1 dismissal b the court 9. E14*m Brown v. CMB et al. 21-25196-CIV-MGC Pro se 42 U.S.0 1983 false arrest, City obtained successful S D. Fla. ! etc dismissal by the court. 10. Ernesto Orsetb v. CMB et ai. 2021-022375-CA-31 Maiicious prosecution & abuse of City obtained successful 11th Jud. Cir. Circuit Court' pmcew I dismissal by the court False arrest In discovery phase 11. i Isaac Edouard v. CMB 2020-018109-CA-01 I 11th Jud. Dr. Circuit__Cou>h 2020-003163-CA-01 12. i Jamel Cobb v. Jossue False arrest, excessive force, asseuft In discovery phase Dominguez etc 11th Jud Cir Circuit Civil) & batlary A in one count 13. Khalid Vaughn & Sharif Cobb v. 22-21109-CIV-CMA 42 U S.0 1983, excessive force, etc. City obtained favorable global CMB et al. S.D. Fla settlement 14. Lamont Collins v. CMB at al 121-24489-CIV-KMW Pro se 42 U.S.C. 1983 Excessive _ City obtained successful S D. Fla. force, false arrest, etc. dismissal by the court 15. I Lowell Poitier v. Cl at al 22-23896-CV-KMM 42 U S C 1983 excessive force, false City obtained successful`1+ S D. Fla. arrest, etc. _ dismissal b the oaurt I 1b. i manyan Maple v. umb at ai. 17. Nathan Hackett v. Delgado et al- 18. ! Nicholas Cunningham & Osins Miami LLC v. MBPD and Carlos 19.' Nicholas Cunningham v. MBPD et al. 20. Osins Miami LLC v. MBPD 21, I Richard Johnson Y. CMB et al. 22. ! Ronald Saint-Vil v. CMB et al 23.; Senko, Jamie v. CMB 24.1 William Sarubbi v. CMB et al 11-1;59W-UV-88 Unconsbtubonaiity of Uty UJde 70-8, Gty obtained favorable global i (S.D. Fla.) false arrest, excessive force, etc. settlement 22-cv-21515-DPG 1983 force _ City obtained successful (S.D. Fla.} I dismissal by the court 2022-23195-SP-05 Police impounding cannabis products City obtained successful (11th Jud. Cu. County Court) causing business to lose $2000 in dismissai by the court sales 2022 009501-SP 05 Police seizure of marijuana(THC- (11th Jud. Dr. County Court) ; containing products 2022-023195-SP-05 (11th Poise seizure of marijuanafTHC- �Jud. Cir. Coun Court) containing products _ 18-23925-CIV-AHS 42 U.S C. 1983 battery, false arrest, �i [' Fla.) etc. 22-11990-BB Battery, negligent infliction of (S.D. Fla.) emotional distress, failure to train/supervise, etc. 22-11990-CA-11 1983 excessive force (U.S. Ct of Appeals for the 11th Cir) 2022.023501-CA-24 42 U.S.C. 1983 excessive force, false 11th Jud, Clr, Circuit Court) arrest, negligent retention, etc. City obtained successful dismissal by the court. City obtained successful dismissal by the court City obtained favorable global settlement City obtained successful dismissal by the court. Case against officers favorably seWed. City obtained Eleventh Circuit ruling affirming trial court _dismissal j Motions to dismiss pending Page 2371 of 2938 EXHIBIT 2 OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK DEPARTMENT MISSION STATEMENT We are dedicated to performing as the secretary and custodian of the City Seal, compiling official City Commission, Redevelopment Agency (RDA), and North Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (NBCRA) agendas and after-oction reports (minutes), providing quality print, copy and mail services, and serving as a facilitator in providing public records and information expeditiously to the City Commission, the public, City staff, and other governmental agencies. DEPARTMENT DESCRIPTION The Office of the City Clerk provides a high level of customer service professionally and courteously, making public information easily accessible using the latest technology, and making the experience a satisfying one. The Office of the City Clerk's responsibilities ore reflected in the attached Table of Organization. Central Services provides a high level of internal customer service professionally and courteously while performing the following tasks: sorting, processing, and distributing U.S. Mail and interoffice mail, delivery services, printing, copying, and binding services. The Clerks of the Special Magistrate serve as the official secretary to the Special Magistrates. The Special Magistrates issue orders having the force of ,ow commanding whatever steps are necessary to bring a violation into compliance. The Special Magistrates hear cases brought before them by the Building, Code Compliance, Parking, Parks and Recreation, Police/Marine Patrol, and Fire Departments. In addition, the Special Magistrates hear Historic ?reservation Boord Appeals, License Revocation Hearings, Short -Term Rentals, and Red. Light Camera Violations. FISCAL ENVIRONMENT The Office of the City Clerk is supported by the General Fund. The General Fund charges on administrative fee to Enterprise Fund departments, the Redevelopment Agency (RDA), the North Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (NBCRA), and the Resort Tax Fund to cover the cost of various administrative support functions provided by the General Fund. The following fees collected by the Office of the City Clerk also support the costs of the Office: lobbyist registration, domestic partnership, Special Magistrate revenues, public record requests and copying, and City candidate qualifying fees. Centro] Services is an internal service -funded division. Services provided ore charged to departments based on the specific services provided. Office of the Mayor and Commission City Clerk City Clerk special Central swVices SO Magisrotes Admkd*alion BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT The Office of the City Clerk and Special Magistrates have numerous responsibilities that are derived from the City Charter, City Code, or administratively. The Office interacts with other departments in the City and the public via face-to-face contact, telephone, email, virtually, and through our website. Central Services' customers are all City departments, and their goal is to provide excellent in-house services such as sorting and distributing U.S. Mail, copying, printing, binding, delivery, and inter- office mail processing. Central Services is the principal courier packoge•processing center for City departments. Central Services provides vehicle pool services for any department needing to use a City vehicle. Page 2372 of 2938 OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS City Clerk • The Office of the City Clerk ensured: 1) That all required legal postings were distributed in compliance with State law and City policy; 2) The accurate accumulation, accessibility, and preservation of official City documents; 3) The accurate and timely preparation of City Commission, Redevelopment Agency (RDA), and North Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (NBCRA) meeting after -actions (minutes); and 4) The compliance with the Florida Public Records Act, also known as F.S. 119. • To maximize public access and transparency, the Office of the City Clerk incorporated all meeting notices that ore legally required to be published in newspapers, on its publicly accessible website, providing a single point -of -access to this information for both internal and external users. 4606 Developed new elections web page to facilitate easy access to general election information, voter information, and ballot question information. sov Provided support to the Ciy Commission as they work to serve the residents of Miami Beoch: Every division within the Office of the City Clerk strives to support the Mayor and City Commission as they work to serve the residents of Miami Beach. One important way this was accomplished was by providing public access to information relating to the legislative process. Over the next year, the Deportment will continue to accomplish this goal by focusing on the implementation of o new agenda - automated system that will enhance the current level of service and information provided to the public. • ti • Successfully conducted the August 23, 2022 Special Election; November 8, 2022 Special Election to Fill Vacancy $ Special Election for Referendums; and the December 6, 2022 Run -Off Election to Fill Vacancy. • August 23, 2022. Special Election: The Office of the City Clerk assisted the Miami-Dode County Elections Department in preparing and running Early Voting at City Hall and the North Shore Branch Library locations. This Special Election included six City of Miami Beach referendum questions. SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS CONT'D November 8. 2022. Special Election to Fill Vacancy in Groug II 8, Special Election for Referendums On June 22, 2022, Commissioner Mark Samuelion passed away and left the City Commission with a vacant seat. This unexpected death had the City Commission make the difficult choice of either appointing someone to fill the seat until the next General Election in 2023 or calling for a Special Election to have the winner serve Commissioner Samuelion's remaining term. The City Commission chose to conduct a Special Election. The timing of this Special Election had the Office of the City Clerk and the Miami-Dode County Department of Elections work closely to see when an election could be held. The City of Miami Beach conducts its General Elections on odd years, so in a year when the Office of the City Clerk normally focuses on other services, it had an election as the central focus of services during the later port of the year. In addition, the election also included 8 ballot questions, which the Office of the City Clerk assisted in proofreading and translating into Spanish. During the Special Election to Fill the Vacancy the City Clerk served as the Qualifying Officer; provided updated information throughout the election period; provided coordination with the Supervisor of Elections; and provided onboording support for the newly elected official December 6. 2022 Run -Off Election to Fill Vaconc)L The short notice of the necessary November 8, 2022 Election left even less time and Election Department resources for a Run -Off Election. At the time it was not known whether a Run -Off Election would be needed although it had to be planned for. The difficulties in scheduling the Run -Off Election hod an unprecedented characteristic in that Early Voting would not be available. The Office of the City Clerk had to specify in ads and social media that there would not be Early Voting. This Office worked closely with the Office of Marketing and Communications to get the word out that the Run -Off Election could only accommodate Vot&by-Mail and Election Day voting. Produced a 2022 Candidate Information Handbook that was provided to all candidates for the City of Miami Beach elected office. The Handbook was designed to be a single source of answers to questions candidates and campaigns might have while running for office in Miami Beach, whether to reference relevant election laws or simply check filing deadlines. • The Office of the City Clerk engaged in outreach efforts with candidates and campaigns by sending periodic communications throughout the election cycle. These emaifs included status reports about early voting and turnout statistics, highlighted upcoming election deadlines, and provided reminders about relevant election laws. Page 2373 of 2938 • Drafted the Official Actions of the City Commission Relating to the August 23, 2022 and November 8, 2022 Special Elections, to provide election information and present residents with the ballot questions. Engaged in outreach efforts with Political Committees and Electioneering Communication Organizations interested in participating in the 2022 Miami Beach Special Elections and Special Election to Fill Vacancy, including reminders for the Campaign Finance Report due dates, answering questions regarding forms and submittals, and issuing fines to late submittals of reports. Designed a new webpage for the 2022 Special Elections to provide the public with access to information, including candidate election forms and financial reports. All elections - related documents, including candidate qualification papers, campaign finance reports, and certified election results were promptly made available for public access on the Elections webpage. • City Commission Agenda Prep4r t� Produced and posted City Commission agenda materials for 28 Commission meetings, retreats/special meetings, and workshops; oversaw the agenda preparation process and updated the City's webpage. • After -Actions: Accurately recorded, produced, transcribed, and preserved 28 detailed after -action reports (minutes) for Commission meetings, retreats, special meetings, and workshops. • Ordinance and Resolution Registry: Maintained a web - based Ordinance and Resolution registry to provide an easy research tool for the public. Processed 72 Ordinances and 485 Resolutions. The information is available at: httos: //www. m i a m i beoc hfl .00v/cit4o l i/citvclerk/nu bl is{ec ords- mil • City Code: Administered the electronic publication of the City of Miami Beach Code of Ordinance. The City Code is available at: https://Iibrary.municode.com/fl/miami beach/codes/code of ordinances • Public Records Requests: Responded to 134 public records requests (PRRs] directed at the Office of the City Clerk. The Office coordinated and monitored the response to 5,705 Citywide PRRs to ensure a prompt response. The Office of the City Clerk improved government transparency through a searchable database of the most frequently requested public records online and assisted staff with the research of official records. request Public Records have been especially pleased with the new system since they no longer have to pay by physical check or come to City Hall to pay with o credit card. Payments can be made electronically via the 1ustFOIA portal, improving security and providing daily transaction reports. • laserfiche/Scanning; Scanned, indexed, quality -controlled, and published all LTCs, lobbyists Affidavits, Ordinances, and Resolutions into laserfiche; giving the public web -based access to all these documents. Continued the digitizing of historical records. • Board and Committees: Coordinated all board and committee appointments by the City Commission, continued to maintain technology to make civic participation easier through the online application process, monitored attendance of all members, and updated the Board and Committee Handbook • Maintained records for 41 boards and committees with 345 members. Processed 140 new board and committee applications and 259 appointments. Posted on the Office of the City Clerk's webpage a searchable database of all boards and committees weekly. • Created and posted on the Office of the City Clerk's webpage a database of the current board and committee openings to assist residents wishing to become involved in City government. Produced the board and committee quarterly attendance reports and the board and committee biannual reports. Generated the board and committee minority report. •Lobbyists: Maintained kobbyistregistration information. Registered 267 (for profit and non -for -profit) lobbyists with 596 new issues. Generated lobbyist information for elected officials and the administration, collected annual registration fees and per -issue fees, and processed annual financial reports as mandated by the City Code. • Letter to Commission KTQ: The Office of the City Clerk processed, emailed, and digitized 535 Letters to Commission in 2022 • Annual Reports: Processed Outside Employment, Gift Disclosure, Financial Disclosures, and Lobbyist Expenditure Forms, as required by the State, the County, and the City • Public Notices: Ensured that legal noticing requirements were met. Completed and forwarded For newspaper publication the required legal notices within the statutory time requirements for public hearings. Published the following advertisements: 52 meeting notices, 159 public hearing notices, and 113 election information notices. • Saecicl Magistrate: Processed 535 Code Violation Appeals, 70 In coordination with the Information Technology Department, the Short Term Rental Appeals, 35 Noise Violation Appeals, 501 Office of the City Clerk implemented the JustFOIA web -based Building Violations, 505 Code Violations, 114 Code records request software. This initiative has been immensely Liens/Releases/Partial Releases, 302 Building popular with customers because of its ease of use and the fact liens/Releases/Portiol Releases, 2 Red Light Camera Hearings, that records can be produced electronically. and 5 Short Term Rental Liens/Releases/Partial Releases. P Y �4agel of 2938 Records Retention: Coordinated the records retention and destruction program for all City departments Reviewed and monitored retention schedules, and identified documents eligible for destruction Destroyed 836 cubic feet of records in FY 2022. Assisted the Following City departments/divisions with records destruction: City Clerk, Special Magistrate, Public Works, Procurement, Fire, Finance, Code Compliance, Central Services, and Building. • Meeting Calendar: Maintained electronic calendar of all public meetings. Posted electronically and in 5 City Hall bulletin boards records of all meeting notices. Web�ae: Enhanced communications with residents by improving and continuously updating the City Clerk's website content related to the Commission and Committee Meetings, Elections, Boards and Committees, Public Hearings, Public Records, and the City Calendar. • fi n� Participated in educational programs through the International Institute of Municipal Clerks and the Florida Association of City Clerks. Central Services Copier Eauiamenr Central Services Division operates high- speed, high -volume photocopiers, and a digital color duplicator that reproduces professional results. These machines not only copy but also collate and stople finished documents, achieving cost-effective digital reproduction of printed materials • Printing Production: Central Services Division received 1,250 print jobs in FY 2022 and produced 2,700,000 impressions (black and white/color), at an average of 225,000 impressions per month. These jobs included: Commission meeting agenda books, supplementals to the City Code, Commission Committees meeting agendas, proposed and final budget books, open enrollment books/insurance packages, maps, business cards, courtesy notices, meeting notices (Board of Adjustments, Planning Board, etc.), permit cards, work permits, unsafe stickers, surveys, vehicle safety logs, storage receipts, inspection handouts, daily reports, information logs, Code violation forms, retiree enrollment applications, door hangers, residential parking permit application, residential parking permit renewal, players/parents code of conduct, release of liability, rules and regulations, warning signs, off -duty applications, Police Department forms, meter parking forms, etc. CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS • Ensure cross-troining of staff. • Ensure departments respond promptly to public records requests. • Ensure all work order requests from departments have thorough and accurate information, as well as detailed instructions. • Enhance externoi/internal communications from and within the Office of the City Clerk_ • Ensure expenditures trends are sustainable over the long term. FUTURE OUTLOOK The Office of the City Clerk will continually seek ways to streamline processes, maintain exceptional service, and provide support to the City Commission, City Manager, City Attorney, City departments, and the public. Of course, there will be changes and challenges ahead. We will measure our progress and report on both accomplishments as well as our continued improvements on on annual basis. The annual reviews will provide a baseline against which we can evaluate our effectiveness in meeting and exceeding service expectations, achieving value for the investment of public dollars, and supporting civic transparency. The work of the Office of the City Clerk could not be achieved without the skills, knowledge, and dedication of its team. Page 2375 of 2938 OIG UPDATE 09/09/2022 — 09/13/2023 This memorandum summarizes OIG reports related to audits, investigations, or other selected activities issued between September 9, 2022 and September 13, 2023. MANAGEMENT INITIATIVES • Transition to Integrated Software for Conducting and Memorializing OIG Activities During the past year, the OIG embarked on an internal initiative to enhance and streamline its operations management software system. OIG staff closely evaluated several software systems to establish a mechanism for effectively overseeing and managing all tasks undertaken by both its audit and investigative divisions from inception to conclusion. The OIG opted for the acquisition of the K-10 Vision management software, which sets itself apart by leveraging cutting -edge development technologies and offering a high degree of adaptability that will enable the OIG to centralize its operations effectively. The OIG is actively configuring and deploying the K-10 Vision system, with the objective of achieving full operational integration by year's end. The introduction of this software will eliminate the need for redundant applications, optimize workflow efficiency, enhance notification processes, and seamlessly integrate all facets of the OIG's operations. • Initiation of Regular City Manager Briefings/Risk Assessments By mutual agreement, the Inspector General and the City Manager have begun monthly meetings to discuss ongoing and planned audits of selected vendors as well as City Departments and programs to promote greater sharing information about current issues and priorities in the operation of City government. These discussions have included sharing the OIG's Risk Assessment Analysis that classifies various City functions as High, Medium or Low Risk and is utilized in determining prioritized audits, inspections, or other reviews. This collaboration of the OIG with the Office of the City Manager should improve the focus and coordination of oversight exercised by both offices. TRAINING AND CERTIFICATIONS The OIG is a member of the Association of Inspectors General (AIG), a national organization that includes many inspector general offices from across the country at all levels of government. Located in Philadelphia, the AIG has established Principles and Standards for OIG investigations, audits, inspections, evaluations, and reviews. It annually offers certification courses and administers exams for inspectors general, auditors and investigators, as well as a recently -developed "evaluator/inspector" course and promotes training and professional development of OIG personnel in best practices, policies and ethics at its annual conferences and special programs. Page 1 of 11 Page 2376 of 2938 During past years, the Inspector General and all internal auditors and investigative staff have successfully obtained certification in their respective areas of expertise. During 2023, Inspector General Joseph Centorino, who holds a certification as an Inspector General from the AIG, has now obtained additional certification as an Inspector General Auditor: Chief Auditor Mark Coolidge and Investigators Jani Singer and Dylan Hughes obtained additional certifications as Inspector General Evaluators; and Sanitation Tax Auditor Juan Ospina obtained additional certification as an Inspector General Investigator. For the second year in a row, the Inspector General has been invited to be a featured speaker at the AIG Annual Conference, which will be held this year in New York City in October. He will provide a presentation to the entire conference titled, "Public Service Ethics: More Than the Minimum." He will also participate in a conference panel titled, "The Creation of New IG Offices: Lessons Learned," along with IGs from Atlanta, Dallas, and Baltimore. Mr. Centorino has also continued to appear regularly as a speaker at the City of Miami Beach orientation sessions held by the Human Resources Department for new City personnel in order to acquaint newly -hired employees with the OIG and to highlight important ethics policies. INTERNAL AUDIT • State Beachfront Management Agreement #3595 (Financial and Operational Reports) for the 2020/21 Fiscal Year The agreement requires the City of Miami Beach to remit 25% ("sand tax") to the State from monies collected from private concessionaires for the use of State-owned beachfront property. The OIG prepared a Financial report informing the State of the completeness and accuracy of the City's quarterly sand tax payments, as required by its agreement with the State, and an Operational report reviewing City procedures, internal controls and accuracy of transactions that is distributed to pertinent City staff. Examination of City records for the period of October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021 found both underpayments and overpayments of sand taxes, resulting in a net underpayment to the State of $160,927.55, due primarily to incorrect distribution of payments among the general ledger accounts, and failure to remit sand tax on remitted Wedding, Ceremony, and Team Building permit fees since the 2010/11 fiscal year. • Review of Selected BDO Audit Findings The OIG performs annual testing of City staffs compliance with recommendations selected randomly from the BDO audit conducted because of a $3.6 million fraud involving the City's Treasury and Automatic Clearing House disbursements discovered during the fall of 2016. This year's review focused on compliance with recommendations numbered 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 27, and 40. Although compliance continues to be achieved with most sampled recommendations, testing identified deficiencies in seven individual transactions during the 2021/22 fiscal year, totaling $4,430,972.22, and released for payment with Page 2 of 11 Page 2377 of 2938 only one department's approval. In four of the last five similar reviews, OIG staff identified 14 transactions, with a total amount exceeding $5.6 million, that were also released for payment with only one departmental approval due to an incorrect workflow configuration; and 14 other transactions exceeding $4.5 million approved twice by the same City official. Procurement Card Program Audit This audit was conducted to determine whether existing internal controls reasonably ensured that tested Procurement Card (P-Card) purchases were for authorized City purposes and in compliance with the Procedures Manual and Citywide Procedures, All P-Card transactions questioned by OIG staff were furnished to the City Administration for determination of their validity as well as corrective and/or disciplinary actions. The following deficiencies were identified: 1) The City made nine duplicate payments to vendors resulting in a $5,984.92 overpayment. 2) The segregation of duties principle, involving cardholders approving their own purchases, was violated in 208 P-Card transactions, totaling $75,374.31. 3) Florida Sales Tax was incorrectly paid by the City on 94 sampled P-Card transactions totaling $1,356.28, 4) Required supporting documentation, pursuant to the Procedures Manual, was not present in the Munis System in support of two sampled transactions, totaling $8,317.23. 5) P-Card expenditures, totaling $236,643.91, were paid by the City, despite being specifically disallowed in Section 1.16 of the Procedures Manual. 6) The Procedures Manual contains vague, incomplete, and undefined general terms likely to cause confusion regarding the validity of some P-Card transactions. 7) Additional P-Card expenditures totaling $23.581.99, although not expressly prohibited in the Procedures Manual, appear questionable due to the nature of the transactions. 8) 39 P-Card purchases, totaling $12,387.24, were made from disapproved merchant category codes that were not blocked in the City Banking System. Trolley Ridership Inspection At the request of a Miami Beach Commissioner, OIG staff performed testing to determine the accuracy of the trolley ridership figures reported monthly to the City by the trolley contractor, Limousines of South Florida (LSF). It was determined that each trolley is equipped with cameras that record its daily activities, including all passengers entering and exiting the vehicle. Video footage for various trolleys was requested by OIG, but very little was available due to a retention period of only two weeks because of technological issues. Daily footage received for seven trolleys related to nine days of activities was analyzed, leading the OIG to conclude, based on the limited sample, that the Automatic Passenger Counters (APCs), installed and maintained by a subcontractor, TSO Mobile, were not accurately counting riders. Widespread variances were noted, with actual ridership being understated or overstated depending on the trolley. Furthermore, manual counts compiled by trolley drivers were determined to be similarly inaccurate, leading to an OIG recommendation that a more reliable technology for the counting of ridership be sought by the City. Page 3 of 11 Page 2378 of 2938 Trolley Survey Methodology Review OIG staff was requested to review the draft scope of services for the Miami Beach Trolley Passenger Survey recently prepared by the ETC Institute, a company specializing in governmental surveys, to evaluate customer service satisfaction and the percentage of residents among those using trolley services. The recommendations made by the OIG were individually reviewed and evaluated by the City's Transportation Department, with several being adopted and explanations provided for those not adopted. • Public Service Tax Collection and Processing Audit (Gas Sellers) This audit was conducted of the City Finance Department's collection and processing of Public Service Tax returns received from gas sellers between October 1, 2016, and August 31, 2021, and contained recommendations for suggested City Code revisions to facilitate future compliance. Identified deficiencies found included: improper allowances for uncollectable accounts being deducted by Interconn Resources LLC; an allowance deduction repeatedly misused by Peoples Gas System, resulting in a $9,753.37 underpayment to the City; two undetected mathematical errors on filed Public Service Tax returns, resulting in an underpayment to the City; incorrect/incomplete supporting documentation attached to accounts receivables in the Munis system, thereby adversely affecting the audit trail. AmeriGas Propane, L.P. — Public Service (Gas) Tax Audit This audit of the Public Service Tax remitted by AmeriGas Propane, L.P. (AmeriGas) to the City between April 1, 2017, and August 31, 2021, found that the contractor did not remit $102,471.26 in Public Service Tax due to the City, including interest. AmeriGas also did not file the required semi-annual Reports of Deliveries for Resale to the City pursuant to City Code Section 102-156. City Department and Division Follow-up Self -Assessment of Selected OIG Audit Recommendations City staff performed self -assessments of recommendations on selected recent Internal Audits. Based on the responses received from City departments/divisions, the corrective actions implemented were evaluated and placed into one of the following defined categories: not implemented, partially implemented, fully implemented, will not implement, and no longer applicable. The OIG determined that 18 recommendations were fully implemented and only one was not implemented. The OIG will consider future testing to determine the effectiveness of the reported corrective actions. OIG Comment on Proposed Reassignment of Internal Audit Function In response to a proposal before the City Commission to reassign the City's Internal Audit Unit to the City Manager, the OIG issued a memorandum outlining its opposition to the proposal. Based on national, state and local trends, the OIG maintains that assignment of the Internal Audit function to the OIG is the best way to ensure that internal audits will be independent of management, and that both efficiency of audit operations and transparency of audit findings will be maximized to the benefit of the City government and the general public. Page 4 of 11 Page 2379 of 2938 SANITATION TAX AUDITS Medley Metal Recycling, LLC Roll -Off Fee Revenues Audit Testing determined that Medley Metal Recycling, LLC had 11 unsubstantiated Miami Beach transactions, which were subject to roll -off permit fees pursuant to the City Code, resulting in the contractor being assessed $1,308.50 in permit fees and $3,529.88 in related audit costs. Similarly, the contractor did not timely obtain its fiscal year business tax receipts related to roll -offs during the audit period and it was issued related Notices of Violation by the City Code Compliance Department. The OIG determined that the contractor did not timely remit required monthly recycling reports during the audit period pursuant to City Code and made the Finance Department aware that it had not charged the contractor penalties for not timely submitting its monthly reports. All County Waste, Inc. Rolf -Off Fee Revenues Audit Records furnished by the contractor showed that it did not report gross receipts generated from roll -off operations totaling $34,374.21 to the City during the audit period, resulting in unpaid permit fees, related penalties and interest, and audit costs totaling $11,883.23. It was also determined that the contractor did not timely obtain its 2019/20 fiscal year business tax receipt; that it performed roll -off services at twelve Miami Beach locations without obtaining the required permits contrary to City Code; and it did not timely submit its required lists of accounts to the City. Waste Plus, Inc. Roll -Off Fee Revenues Audit The roll -off contractor had not filed monthly returns to the Finance Department since December 2021, yet it continued to provide services to Miami Beach customers. OIG document examination showed the misclassification of 94 Miami Beach transactions, resulting in $4,691.53 in permit fees due to the City (including penalties and interest). The contractor remained non -responsive over a lengthy period to multiple requests for additional information despite the issuance of three subpoenas. The OIG Sanitation Tax Auditor then consulted with the Office of the City Attorney and assessed the contractor an additional $208,664.26 unsubstantiated Miami Beach transactions found on its General Ledger, plus $7,675.48 in audit costs pursuant to City Code. The OIG also determined that the contractor performed roll -off services at 26 Miami Beach locations without obtaining the permits required under City Code; did not timely obtain its 2018/19 and 2019/20 fiscal year business tax receipts; and did not remit $7,300 in previously issued Notices of Violations by the City Code Compliance Department Sanitation Tax Auditor Annual Activity Summary The OIG issued its first Sanitation Tax Auditor Annual Activity Summary report dated October 19, 2022 detailing the positive impact of its Sanitation Tax Auditor in relation to increases in the issuance of business tax receipts for roll -off services, more Notices of Violations issued by the Code Compliance Department due to non -compliant roll -off contractors, and the increase in roll -off permit fees (excluding audit and annual permit fee revenues) in comparison to the previous five fiscal years. Page 5 of 11 Page 2380 of 2938 AES Portable Sanitation, Inc. Roll -off Permit Fee Revenues Audit The OIG Auditor determined from business records provided by this contractor, which also owns and operates J&M Scaffolds of Flonda, Inc. (see below), that it did not remit to the City roll -off permit fees due of $28,070.37 (including penalties and interest), as a result of which audit costs of $1,949.85 were also levied. The company also did not obtain the required permits at 21 identified Miami Beach locations in which it provided roll -off services and did not timely obtain the related business tax receipts for fiscal years 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, and 2021/22. Audit of J & M Scaffolds of Florida, Inc. Roll -off Fee Revenues The contractor consistently filed monthly Roll -Off Permit Fee Returns during the audit period, but its records indicated that $364.96 in unpaid fees (including penalties and interest) and $1,687.89 in associated audit costs were due. Furthermore, its records indicated the performance of roll -off services at five Miami Beach locations without the required permits, and the contractor did not timely obtain its 2018/19 business tax receipt related to roll -offs. Lastly, the contractor was not charged penalties and interest for late filings to the Finance Department during the audit period and did not timely submit its required lists of accounts to the City Manager pursuant to City Code. Sanitation Field Observations Report The OIG Sanitation Tax Auditor performed unannounced field observations of various Miami Beach properties from June 6, 2022, through June 29, 2022, to determine whether roil -off contractors at those locations had obtained valid business tax receipts (BTRs), acquired the required Building and/or Roll -off permits, and filed Roll -off Permit Fee Returns with the City that included revenues derived from the observed properties. Noted deficiencies were forwarded to the Code Compliance Department for review and issuance of warranted Notices of Violations (NOVs), with the following results: 82 violations issued to non -compliant roll -off contractors ranging from $100 to $1,000, totaling $32,300. Eight of the roll -off contractors had not obtained the required business tax receipt for the 2021/22 fiscal year, and five of 43 addresses had not been issued Building permits required by the Florida Building Code. Three contractors did not obtain the required annual roll -off permits during the 2021/22 fiscal year and were cited by Code Compliance. The OIG made various recommendations related to roll -offs to improve the enforcement process and the City Code. Lopefra Corp. Permit Fee Revenues Audit After multiple meetings and discussions with staff from the City Administration, Office of the City Attorney, Sanitation Division, the contractor and its hired attorneys, a consensus was reached whereby unpaid permit fees of $66.72 were due and that other fees possibly owed to the City would not be collected due the necessity of clarifying the City Code provisions related to Sanitation and roll -offs. The contractor may also be assessed audit costs. The OIG auditor also found that the contractor did not submit its 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 annual statements of gross receipts certified by a C.P.A. pursuant to City Code, and did not submit its required lists of accounts during the audit period. Page 6 of 11 Page 2381 of 2938 • Superior Recycling & Waste Management Inc. Roll -Off Permit Fee Revenues Audit The contractor was uncooperative and provided limited documentation to the OIG Sanitation Tax Auditor despite multiple requests and the issuance of subpoenas over many months. Since, according to the Office of the City Attorney, the burden of proof is on the contractor to show it is exempt from sanitation taxes on roll -offs and the contractor is only known to use roll -off containers, all unsubstantiated Miami Beach transactions were deemed taxable. The following related deficiencies were noted: • The contractor was assessed $137,834.09 in roll -off permit fees. • Required permits were not obtained from the Sanitation Division for roil -off services performed at seven Miami Beach locations. • The contractor did not timely obtain its 2017/18 and 2018/19 fiscal year business tax receipts (BTRs) related to roll -offs. • $8,050.00 in Notices of Violations previously issued by the Code Compliance Department during the 2020/21 and 2021/22 fiscal year for not timely obtaining its required BTRs andior roll -off permits remained unpaid. • Its required lists of accounts were not timely submitted to the City Manager pursuant to City Code. RESORT TAX AUDITS Resort Tax Auditors completed 167 audits between October 1, 2022 and September 5, 2023 with net assessments of $2,342,490.45. Also, the OIG issued two semi-annual reports to the City Commission dated October 3, 2022, and April 3, 2023, to increase transparency of its resort tax audit process. INVESTIGATIONS, REVIEWS, AND INSPECTIONS • Review of Building Department Outside Employment Policy and Public Records Issue This matter was opened upon receipt of several allegations involving Building Department Management regarding staff complaints of mistreatment, alleged conflict of interest in the hiring of a private provider by the department, and complaints about the fairness of the department's outside employment policy. That review determined that the allegations were unsubstantiated but led to an OIG review of the department's outside employment policy and a related public records issue. The review centered on the department's policy concerning whether staff should be allowed to work as private licensed contractors or to own, be employed by construction companies. The OIG concluded that the written policy adopted by the Director was an appropriate method of making that determination, given the unique and legally sensitive operations of the department. However, it also found that the failure of the City to maintain copies of unapproved requests for outside employment could violate the State Public Records Act. The finding led to a City Administration decision to require retention and maintenance of all outside employment requests in all City departments regardless of approval status. Page 7 of 11 Page 2382 of 2938 • Investigation/Review of City Hiring Procedure and Outside Employment Conflict of Interest Re: Sanitation Division Director The OIG was provided with information anonymously received by an Assistant City Manager and by the OIG from other sources alleging improprieties in connection with the procedure in the hiring of the current Sanitation Division Director and a potential conflict of interest. The OIG conducted an extensive review of the Human Resources Department background investigation and administrative action leading to the hiring as well as the administration's approval of a request filed by the Division Director for outside employment as a consultant for a former employer working under a franchise agreement with the City of Miami Beach as a commercial waste hauler. Allegations that the background investigation failed to identify several terminations in the background of the candidate were determined to be unfounded. Two issues of importance were identified: 1) the former Human Resources (HR) Director had not approved the hiring based on his understanding that the hiring decision had already been made, which led to an OIG recommendation that no final hiring decision occur without the HR Director's input; and 2) a problematic conflict of interest in the consulting arrangement approved by the prior City Administration, that placed the Sanitation Director in a position to oversee the City of Miami Beach's franchise agreement with his former employer, should have been identified and the outside employment not approved. • Investigation of Unauthorized Outside Employment and Exploitation of Official Position by Public Works Employee This investigation was commenced following receipt by the OIG of allegations from an anonymous source that a Public Works Department Control Room Supervisor was operating private businesses on City time and utilizing a city computer in that activity. The investigation, conducted jointly with the Miami -Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust (COE), developed evidence leading to the fling of a complaint with the COE by the Commission Advocate for violations of Miami -Dade County Code Sections 2-11.1(k)(2) Prohibition on Outside Employment and 2-11.1(g) Exploitation of Official Position. The Final Order of the COE, uncontested by the employee, found that both violations had occurred, imposed a fine of $1,500.00, and directed that a letter of instruction be issued to the Subject employee. Prior to final action by the COE, the employee resigned from her City position. • Investigation of Complaint and Process Review Regarding Issuance of Certificate of Use and Business Tax Receipt for 1330 151' Street The OIG concluded an investigation and process review arising from a complaint by a property owner regarding the issuance of a Certificate of Use (CU) and Business Tax Receipt (BTR) for 1330 15th Street. The investigation determined that allegations of forgery on the application and misconduct by City employees were unsubstantiated. The OIG's review of the documents and procedures followed during the process, together with interviews of those involved with the application, found that miscommunication, misunderstanding, and/or misinterpretation of terminology related to types of accommodation establishments and insufficient quality control within the City's application processes has resulted in an appeal and possible legal action in connection with the Board of Adjustment decision on the issuance of the CU and BTR by the City. Page 8 of 11 Page 2383 of 2938 The OIG recommendations included steps to be taken by the City to clarify the definition of short-term rental in Land Development Regulations; improve instructions for applicants, ensuring that the CU application is fully completed; make the CU application consistent with that of the BTR application regarding the selection of available uses; and create a protocol for facilitating the identification of any individual making changes to the original application documents. • Investigation of LaGorce Island Security Gate Complaint The OIG received a complaint alleging that personnel at the LaGorce Island security guard house were improperly impeding public access to the island. The investigation revealed that the City received similar reports regarding efforts to restrict access to public roads on the island. In 2021, a Miami Beach police captain had advised the LaGorce Homeowner Association Manager that guards could neither require ID to enter the island nor attempt to limit access to the public roads. The OIG determined that the practice was ongoing, reminded the HOA Manager of the prior police instruction, and forwarded the problematic current Post Orders to a First Assistant City Attorney who opined that the practice was illegal. After sharing that opinion with a representative of the HOA, the OIG was advised that the LaGorce Island security guards were no longer requesting photo identification from visitors to the island. • Review of Complaints re: Golden Dreams Condominium Owners The OIG received numerous complaints from an individual alleging multiple building permit and code compliance violations by owners at the condominium located at 65 Washington Avenue. The complaints were referred to the City departments involved. The Building Department issued a violation for unpermitted work at one of the units and issued Building Access Notices for six others. Code Compliance discovered that the Condominium Association did not have a valid Business Tax Receipt and issued an initial violation and a second violation for continual non-compliance until the violation was remedied. • Investigation/Review of Indian Creek Stormwater Drainage Project The OIG completed an extensive investigation of the Indian Creek Stormwater Drainage Project and identified systemic weaknesses and lack of internal controls that led to significant mismanagement of the planning and construction of the project. The identified weaknesses included the failure to use the competitive bidding process; the repetitive use of emergency procurements to circumvent procurement procedures; the disregard of contractual terms that had been negotiated with the Florida Department of Transportation; permitting violations that caused the project to be stopped; and the bypassing of orderly administrative functions. These process failures contributed to an increase in the total budget from $25.4 million to $50.6 million and the delayed delivery of the final project for five years. The OIG recommended that the City Charter be amended to prohibit a single elected official or any member of a City advisory board from directing the City Manager or any employee of the City in an administrative function; to prevent any employee from responding to an order from the Mayor, Commission member or advisory board and to prohibit the City Manager from knowingly allowing the violation of this prohibition. This proposal is under consideration by the City's Ad Hoc Charter Review and Revision Board. Page 9 of 11 Page 2384 of 2938 CONTRACT OVERSIGHT • Miami Beach Watersports Center, Inc. Lease Agreement Contract Oversight Audit The OIG examined the performance of the Watersports Center with selected provisions of its Lease Agreement with the City related to operation and maintenance of the Ronald W. Shane Center and the oversight provided by the City Fleet and Facilities Management Department Asset Management Division. Testing determined that the Center was not fully compliant with certain contract insurance requirements in Section 9.2; hazardous materials were observed stored in an unlocked room during an unannounced site visit; and subleases were executed without the required advance approval of the City Manager. The OIG also suggested opportunities for improvement that should be addressed, related to the following: a faster amortization of an unsecured promissory note; the re -selling by the lessee of Parking Department hangtags at a significant markup that were provided at cost by the City; the escalation of maintenance and repair costs to the City as the facility ages while lessee pays minimum annual rent; the possibility that resort tax monies will go uncollected by the City from the sale of food and beverages at future special events on the premises. • Contract Oversight Audit of the Restaurant Lease and Concession Agreements between the City and the Smith & Wollensky Restaurant operated on City Property The OIG performed testing to evaluate the performance during the first year of the executed Agreements. The deficiencies noted included the following: • The contractor was not billed $38,147.57 in associated late charges plus $2,479.59 in Florida Sales Tax due to the City for late payments of Monthly Minimum Guarantee (MMG) payments. • Required monthly Statements of Gross Sales/Receipts were not submitted. • The Agreements needed to be revised based on an OIG finding of a lack of clarity regarding payment requirements. • The Percentage Gross payments during the first year were not remitted timely resulting in $43,248.08 in interest/late charges due to the City plus $2,811.13 in Florida Sales Tax. • Underbilled Florida Sales tax related to the July 2022 Concession Agreement MMG payment resulted in $1,950 due to the State. • Parking Impact fees were incorrectly billed resulting in a $27,143.01 contractor underpayment related to the 2021/22 and 2022/23 fiscal years. • G.O. Bond Oversight OIG Investigator Jani Singer has continued to attend the program's internal implementation team meetings, bi-weekly Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) and Procurement staff meetings, G.O. Bond Oversight Committee meetings, and has also met with the Program Director and CIP Director to discuss issues of concern such as Page 10 of 11 Page 2385 of 2938 the impact of the slowed spending on the prioritization of the projects and the likelihood of scope reduction and/or elimination of projects. The OIG has continued to document the slowing of expenditures and the changing projections due to rising inflation, construction cost escalation, and shifting timelines for project design and construction. Last year, the OIG collaborated with the Administration in creating an internal controls policy that included a requirement that any major design change in a construction project, i.e., a change to the scope that would require significant redesign or revision to any major design element or any change that could result in a project construction cost increase of more than 10%, should require the responsible City department to initiate, prepare and sign a Request for Major Modification to the Project's Scope to be submitted to the Project Directors and respective City managers. The OIG has determined that none of the G.O. Bond projects within the scope of the internal controls policy were in violation of the policy during the past year. The OIG utilized its Risk Assessment procedure to calculate and apply assessment scores to RFQ 2023-120-ND - 72ntl Street CMR Services and RFQ 2023-121-ND- A&E Services for 72nd Street Community Complex. These procurements were determined to be high risk, thereby helping the OIG to determine where to focus procurement and contracting oversight efforts. Page 11 of 11 Page 2386 of 2938