In rush to spend $474 million from CARES, Miami-Dade cuts money for city COVID relief
Miami-Dade cities may sue for a larger share of a $474 million pool of federal COVID relief dollars that county commissioners have been racing to allocate to charities, businesses and residents across the county.
The administration of Mayor Carlos Gimenez this month slashed a planned $135 million allocation to cities to just $30 million, inflaming an already tense stand-off over how much of the federal CARES Act should be spent at the municipal level and how much should be distributed by Miami-Dade.
“This is going to be a class-action lawsuit,” Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said after addressing county commissioners during his allotted two minutes in Monday’s online meeting of the board with the authority to spend the federal dollars. Suarez called the county’s latest $30 million earmark for the county’s 34 cities “grossly unfair” and robbing municipalities of the ability to set spending priorities at the most local of levels.
“Maybe we think we need more economic stimulus,” Suarez said. “Maybe we think we need more business assistance.”
Passed in March, the CARES Act authorized about $2 trillion in stimulus and relief payments across the country, including about $150 billion to state and local governments. The legislation limited direct aid to governments representing at least 500,000 people. Since Miami-Dade’s largest city, Miami, has a population of less than 480,000, the county was the only recipient of CARES money in Miami-Dade.
Federal rules require the money be spent in 2020, and Gimenez told commissioners he doesn’t want to delay getting the dollars to residents, businesses and community groups by allowing 34 cities to decide how a larger chunk of it should be spent.
“Your constituents are my constituents,” Gimenez told the 13 commissioners. “All 34 municipalities — I represent them, too.”
While the Gimenez administration has been in talks with city leaders about the municipal share of the CARES award, Gimenez also supported a string of countywide allocations from the same pool of money.
That includes $20 million to help the needy through the United Way; $35 million to cover a portion of the more than 8 million senior home meals delivered since March; $20 million to veterans; $20 million for tenants and landlords; and $35 million for the restaurant industry.
The allocations continued Monday, even as some commissioners expressed alarm that cities felt they were being short-changed on CARES money and the county’s Budget Department said the federal dollars had been depleted. “What I’m hearing is we assume we know better than the municipalities on what the municipalities need,” said Commissioner Barbara Jordan, whose northern district includes Miami Gardens and Opa-locka.
The board approved another $10 million in assistance to county taxi and limousine drivers who saw business collapse during the pandemic, and another $10 million for struggling arts non-profits.
Unincorporated areas vs. cities
The rift over CARES funding highlights some of the gaps in how Miami-Dade is set up, with about 45% of the population living outside city limits and relying on the county for municipal services like trash pickup and police patrols.
Dennis Moss, a commissioner whose southern district overlaps with almost no city territory, said countywide relief is the only fair way to distribute CARES help. Otherwise, he said, city residents would have an option others wouldn’t. Residents in “your cities would have an advantage that my residents in unincorporated Miami-Dade do not have,” he told commissioners.
Esteban “Steve” Bovo, a commissioner running for Miami-Dade mayor, failed to win support for declaring a freeze on county CARES allocations. He said he wanted more time for the county to pursue a compromise with cities, and noted the day’s agenda was on track to deplete the relief pot even more. “I don’t think we’re doing a deep dive on the need to spend that money,” said Bovo, whose western district includes Hialeah and Miami Lakes. “That’s the fiscally responsible thing to do.”
Deputy Mayor Jennifer Moon, who oversees the county budget, said the $135 million city allocation included in the administration’s July 8 presentation on the “Coronavirus Relief Fund” strategy was a placeholder.
“The $135 million was a set-aside for municipalities. ... We were trying to give a quick summary of where we thought the whole $474 million discussion would be going,“ she said.
There was no mention of a change in plans for the municipal share during last week’s meeting to approve the $35 million for veterans, non-profits and laid-off restaurant workers.
On Monday, the administration warned commissioners all but $5 million of the CARES money would be spoken for if Bovo succeeded in reserving $135 million, leaving no relief for taxi drivers and arts groups.
“We’re dangerously close to over-allocating the total,” Moon said.
A rift between the county and cities
Behind the scenes, the CARES dispute was further fraying a rocky relationship between the Gimenez administration and city leaders, who had already objected to the county mayor’s not consulting them before emergency countywide orders tied to the pandemic.
In recent days, city leaders complained the Gimenez administration was sending mixed messages in talks with cities, while blaming municipal leaders for not delivering promised breakdowns of what COVID was costing their governments.
“Please know that the one thing I hate in life is liars,” Doral Mayor J.C. Bermudez wrote in a text message to Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz as Moon spoke during Monday’s meeting. “And that is what has occurred. She is lying. She is lying. She is lying. She is lying”
The Miami Herald obtained the text messages through a public records request, and Bermudez said they referred to Moon’s account of talks with municipal leaders.
He said mayors, through the League of Cities organization, asked for $203 million in CARES money based on the population within municipal limits. Rather than send back the promised counter offer, the Gimenez administration on Monday revealed a $135 million allocation for cities had dropped down to $30 million.
“I would have thought [the county] would have at least come back and said, ‘This is what we’re going to propose,’ ” Bermudez said. “It doesn’t appear that they consider us partners — only when they need us.”
Moon rejected Bermudez’s characterization, calling it unfair. “We never said we would come back with a counter,” she said.
Joseph Corradino, the mayor of Pinecrest and a League of Cities executive board member, said he expects the 34 municipalities to mount a “very aggressive response” that could include a lawsuit. The municipal mayors plan to discuss next steps on a call Tuesday morning.
Corradino said some feel the county’s lack of communication in recent days “was a purposeful delay tactic,” allowing the county to allocate additional money on COVID relief efforts as the cities’ proposed pot ran dry.
“A handful [of officials] would tell you this was always going to happen,” Corradino said. “The skepticism runs deep.”
With Miami-Dade still in the throes of a pandemic, Corradino said he wished the county and the municipalities could get on the same page.
“This is the wrong time to be fighting with one another as local leaders,” he said. “But hey, I guess we’re here now.”
