Who is going to fill in for Miami City Manager Johnny Martinez while he is recovering from knee surgery in early February?

The honors will go to Assistant City Manager Luis Cabrera, according to a Friday afternoon memo from Mayor Tomás Regalado.

Under the city charter, the mayor is responsible for appointing an acting city manager. But the commission has the power to override Regalado’s pick.

“Anyone who is up in that chair needs to be ratified by this commission,” Commissioner Frank Carollo said at a meeting Thursday.

That could present a challenge. There are no commission meetings between now and Martinez’s surgery.

At Thursday’s meeting, Martinez said he had spoken to Regalado, and recommended rotating the job among Cabrera, Assistant City Manager Alice Bravo and Chief Financial Officer Janice Larned.

Regalado wasn’t in the commission chambers during the discussion.

Carollo, using the language in the city charter. raised questions about Regalado naming “a qualified officer” to the post.

“This is the city of Miami,” Carollo said, referencing criticism that high-level employees have been hired without meeting the minimum qualifications for the job.

City Attorney Julie O. Bru said commissioners could convene a special meeting if they had any qualms.

It wasn’t clear if any planned to raise objections.