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LTC 257-2002 CITY OF MIAMI BEACH Office of the City Manager Letter to Commission No. ~5'7-~ m From: Honorable Mayor David Dermer and Members of the City Commission Jorge M. Gonzalez \ . i ~ City Manager ()f/V U State Legislative Priorities Date: November 4, 2002 To: Subject: The purpose of this LTC is to update the Mayor and City Commission on the preparations for the 2003 Session of the Florida Legislature. During the week of September 3, the City's State Lobbyists (Gary Rutledge, Fausto Gomez and Bob Levy) met with the Mayor and City Commission and the Administration to discuss the priorities for the 2003 Legislative Session. The list of priorities has been categorized into three areas: Legislative, Administrative and Funding. The list contains items that have appeared on previous legislative agendas as well as some new items. The City will continue to monitor items such as growth management, windstorm insurance, living wage, outdoor advertising and campaign finance reform. The City will also pursue the Convention Center Sales Tax Refund and the Entertainment Industry Incentives that did not pass the 2002 Legislature. Education and Beach Renourishment also remain on the City's list. Two administrative items, Altos Del Mar and access to Sales Tax information have already been accomplished. The sale ofthe remaining non-contiguous lots is scheduled to close at the end of November, at which time the State will complete the transfer of the contiguous lots to the City. The Department of Revenue has provided the City with the past five years' Sales Tax information, enabling the City to better monitor local economic conditions and provide enhanced market research. New additions to the agenda include: amendments to the Consultants' Competitive Negotiation Act, opposition to Senate Bill 28 which is a claims bill against the City, a Florida license plate that celebrates Miami Beach's historic districts, and funding for the City's Post Disaster Recovery and Reconstruction Plan. !he complete list of proposed legislative priorities and additional information on each one is attached for your review and input. Staff and the City's lobbyists will attend the Florida League of Cities Legislative Conference in Orlando on November 13-15, and will discuss the proposed priorities with representatives of other cities and legislators, and will also have the opportunity to learn of other issues that may be of interest to Miami Beach. A final list of priorities will be presented for City Commission approval at the December Commission meeting. If you have any comments/questions or need any additional information, please feel free to contact me. JMG\~KC c: Christina M. Cuervo, Assistant City Manager Kevin Crowder, Economic Development Division Director Attachment CITY OF MIAMI BEACH Preliminary Priorities for the State of Florida 2003 Legislative Session LEGISLATIVE ITEMS ~ Consultants' Competitive Negotiation Act ~ Convention Center Sales Tax Refund (2002 did not pass) ~ Entertainment Industry Incentives (2002 did not pass) ~ Claims Legislation (Senate Bill 28) ~ Level 2 RISE Access (pending application to Level 1) ~ Monitor (for further development) Convention Development Tax Windstorm Insurance Growth Management Transportation Outreach Program ~ Retain Local Authority: Living Wage Legislation Campaign Finance Reform Outdoor Advertising ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS ~ Altos Del Mar (Department of Environmental Protection) m ~ Approval of Beachfront Rules and Regulations (Department of Environmental Protection) ~ Access to Sales Tax Information (Department of Revenue) ~ Historic District License Plate FUNDING ITEMS ~ Post Disaster Recovery and Reconstruction Plan ~ Beach Renourishment and Erosion Control - Support Miaml~Dade County's Request > Education support Miami-Dade County's Operational and Capital Funding Request (Resolution 2002-24951) Workforce Development State allocations of pass-through funding School health professionals . District cost differential Charter and public school capital issues ~ Grants (Monitor and Report) Leaislative Aaenda Consultant's Competitive Neaotiation Act - Amend Section 287.055. Florida Statutes The selection criteria as outlined in Section 287.055(4)(b) states that "in determining whether a firm is qualified, the agency shall consider such factors as the ability of professional personnel; whether a firm is a certified minority business enterprise; past performantce; willingness to meet time and budget requirements; location; recent, current and projected workloads of the firms, and the volume of work previously awarded to each firm by the agency, with the object of effecting an equitable distribution of contracts among qualified firms, provided such distribution does not violate the principle of selection of the most highly qualified firms." The required criteria results in confusion and/or feedback from both committee members and participating Architectural and Engineering (AlE) firms as to the applicability or validity of the following factors: 1. Willingness to meet time and budget requirements. When AlEs find themselves in a competitive process, they all state on the record without any hesitation, that they are willing to meet time and budget requirements. It is recommended that this criterion be deleted. The true test should be the AlEs past performance in meeting time and budget requirements. 2. Recent, current and projected workloads of the firms. This very subjective criterion has resulted in confusion by the various evaluation committee members. If a firm has been successful, and as a result of said success has a long list of recent, current, and projected projects, should that be used to penalize the firm? Should committee members judge an AlE firm's ability to take on additional work? A firm's workload should not have any impact on whether the firm is capable of performing on the project. The firm's capabilities should be based on their experience, qualifications, knowledge, skills, abilities, and the knowledge, skills and abilities of their project team 3. Location. Most evaluation committees have agreed that this criterion should be allocated a low weight. On at least one occasion, there existed a very contentious protest by a local AlE firm who was a close second to an out-of-state AlE. Whether a firm receives points on their location should be a local policy decision made by the City Commission. 4. Certified Minority Business Enterprise. This City is race-neutral and ethnicity-neutral in the award of contracts. Based on advice from the City Attorney's Office, Miami Beach has not utilized a firms' ethnicity or race in determining any contract award. However, the statute as written requires the City to consider in its decision, whether a firm is certified as a minority business enterprise. The proposed change significantly reduces the City's exposure to lawsuits and/or protests. It provides local governments the authority to determine its best interest, and which factors should be considered in the selection of AlE firms. Convention Center Sales Tax Refund This program will return 50% of the revenues remitted to the State from taxes on sales and use at the Convention Center to the City for business recruitment and retention purposes. The prior proposal was for the recruitment of high-tech, research and development, manufacturing and tourism industries. The City of Miami Beach desires that this program be eligible for the recruitment of all industries listed on the targeted industry list of the State's QTI Tax Refund Program. Approval of this program will generate between 250-800 thousand dollars annually for the business recruitment and retention efforts of the City. Entertainment Industry Incentives Create a program under which certain producers of filmed entertainment and digital media effects, distribution, production and post production may be reimbursed for expenditures made in Florida. Maximum reimbursements are $2 million for a motion picture, $150,000 for a made for TV movie, $50,000 for a single TV series pilot or series, and $25,000 for a music video or commercial. This proposed legislation will increase Florida's competitiveness in the global film industry, directly enhancing Miami Beach's ability to attract additional motion picture, television, and music video production, contributing direct economic benefits to the local economy, with NO expenditure of local funds. Oooose Senate Bill 28 - An Act Related to the City of Miami Beach Senator Villalobos has filed Senate Bill 28, which provides for the relief of Jeffrey Akers, directing the City to compensate Mr. Akers for personal injuries suffered at the Convention Center due to the negligence of the City in the amount of $3,217,029.40. This amount is in addition to the $100,000 statutory cap on the City's liability. This legislation will be heard by a Special Master who may increase, decrease, maintain or dismiss the claim amount. The bill will then be referred to the Claims Committee of each chamber. It is unclear at this time what will happen to claims bills in the 2003 Legislature. If approved by the Legislature, the final amount will be paid by SMG's insurance company. The payment of a claim of such significant size may have an impact on future premiums, and therefore may represent additional costs to the City in the future. RISE Proaram LevelU Particioation for Munlcioalltles The State of Florida does not allow Miami Beach to participate in the Registration and Information Sharing Exchange (RISE) Level II Program. The City is permitted to participate in the RISE Levell program that allows the City to share registration information on businesses in the City so that a comparison can be made to ensure that these businesses are registered for the City's resort taxes. The City is currently submitting an application to the Levell program. The RISE Level II program allows the sharing of the results of audits so that an assessment can be made about unreported revenues discovered in the audits. The City may benefit in recovering resort taxes not reported to the City based on audits performed by the State. Conversely, the State may benefit from collecting tax based upon the City's audits. The City's Audit schedule can be coordinated based upon audits performed by the State. This will also be a benefit to the City's businesses in that they would not be burdened by audits performed by both the City and the State at the same time. Monitor Leaislatlon of Imoortance Every Legislative Session, issues arise that are of importance to the City. The Administration and its representatives monitor these issues as they develop in order to respond in the best interest of the City. For the 2003 Florida Legislative Session, the Administration has identified four (4) issues that will be monitored and responded to throughout the legislative year. These issues are Growth Management, Windstorm Insurance, Convention DevelopmentlSalesfTourist Tax Issues, and the Transportation Outreach Program. Retain Local Authoritv Every Legislative Session, issues arise that involve the authority of local govemments. The Administration and its representatives work with the Florida League of Cities to monitor these issues as they develop in order to respond in the best interest of the City. For the 2002 and 2003 Florida Legislative Sessions, the City Commission identified three (3) key local control issues of importance to the City, and the Administration will monitor and respond to developments throughout the legislative year. These issues are Campaign Finance Reform, Outdoor Advertising, and Living Wages. " Administrative Aaenda Altos Del Mar The Administration has worked for several years on the transfer of North Shore Open Space Park, the west side parking lots, and the 22 Altos Del Mar lots from the State to the City. The Park and the parking lots were transferred in 2000, but the State has only completed the sale of 1 of the 11 non-contiguous ADM lots, delaying the transfer of the contiguous lots to the City. The Administration expects the sale of the non- contiguous lots to be completed by the end of October 2003. However, unforeseen circumstances necessitate the inclusion of this item on the 2003 agenda so that the Administration is authorized to continue efforts to pursue this issue to its conclusion. This project will result in the sale of the 11 non-contiguous lots for the development of single-family homes and the transfer to the City of the 11 contiguous lots for the development of a park. Beachfront Rules and Reaulations The City's Beachfront Management Plan expires on February 5, 2003. The City is in the process of submitting an updated plan, and is evaluating the State's comments on the City's Rules and Regulations for Beach Concessions. Meetings will need to be held between the City and various State agencies to reach agreement on outstanding issues. Approval by the State of the Management Plan including the updated rules and regulations is necessary to continue providing beach concession service to the City's residents and visitors, and to ensure that the City remains in compliance with all State laws, rules and guidelines. Access to Sales Tax Information As part of the City's economic development efforts, Resort Sales are tracked every month in order to monitor the strength of the tourism economy and to provide market data to businesses and potential investors. The Administration desires access to the same type of data as it relates to retail sales that is collected by the Florida Department of Revenue. The City desires quarterly sales tax figures for South, Middle, and North Beach for various categories that will be determined through discussions with the Dept. of Revenue. This request will enhance the City's economic development efforts to attract quality, viable businesses to the City and to retain existing businesses and enhance the viability of the City's business districts. Historic District License Plate The Administration is exploring the process for the creation of a Florida license plate that celebrates the Art Deco District. This process will begin at the administrative level, and must have final approval by the Legislature. Based on a review of other specialty license plates, an Art Deco District plate has the potential to generate significant funds between newly issued plates and renewals. These funds could be programmed for historic preservation and cultural projects and activities in Miami Beach. Fundina Aaenda Miami Beach Post-Disaster Recovery and Reconstruction Plan Natural hazards affect every jurisdiction in the United States. The key ingredients necessary to transform natural hazards into natural disasters are inappropriately placed or poorly constructed development, both of which are prevalent throughout the country. During the twentieth century, many tourist coastal communities like Miami Beach grew and developed in relative ignorance of the presence of natural hazards. Infrastructure and economic systems were built on land exposed to coastal flooding, beach erosion, and other hazards. As a result, natural disasters continue to injure and kill citizens, destroy the built environment, and disrupt the businesses of these areas. The purpose of the recovery and reconstruction plan is to help community leaders, planners, engineers and public safety officials educate their constituents on how informed decisions and choices can affect the rebuilding process and yield a safer, more sustainable community. These emotional debates pit the often- overwhelming desire to perpetuate historic (and unsafe) development patterns and construction techniques against the desire to use disasters as opportunities to rethink these patterns and practices and to break away from the uninformed decisions of the past. Yet, balancing competing interest intelligently has always been the core of sound planning and engineering. This plan will better equip those departments and agencies involved in Miami Beach's post-disaster reconstruction issues at all levels of government with the tools needed to create (or recreate) a community that will withstand the most that Mother Nature throws at it. In the aftermath of a natural disaster or terrorist attack, property owners and local officials often make decisions to rebuild homes, businesses and public facilities in the same style, place and design as the originals. These early decisions can foreclose many opportunities to reshape the patterns of development in a community to make it better and safer by reducing vulnerability to future disasters and threats. The development of a detailed post-disaster recovery and reconstruction plan is critical to an urban coastal community like Miami Beach, which drive much of the South Florida economy and tourist industry. Education Mayor and City Commission Resolution 2002-24951 fully supports the efforts of the Miami-Dade Public Schools to obtain adequate funding for both its operational and capital outlay requirements in order for it to succeed in its mission to prepare students for graduation. The economic well being of Miami Beach depends on an educated, well-trained workforce; full funding of the Miami-Dade Public Schools is essential to this goal. Additional education priorities include workforce development, allocation of pass-through funding, health care, district cost differentials and capital issues for charter and public schools. Beach Renourishment and Erosion Control - Support Miami-Dade County's ReQuest Beaches are the City's most important resource. Beach maintenance and renourishment is performed by Miami-Dade County, and the City fully supports the County's efforts to obtain additional funding and the implementation of projects that use this funding in Miami Beach. Grants The City's representatives in Tallahassee are available to assist the City in the identification, pursuit, and acquisition of grants that are submitted for State funds.