Miami-Dade’s new mayor cuts her pay by $50K. Senior deputies will earn more

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced a 20% pay cut Wednesday that will bring her annual salary down to $200,000, less than the $275,000 she’s paying two new hires to oversee county departments.

Her self-imposed $50,000 pay cut frees up money in her office’s $4.8 million payroll as she brings in a new layer of senior deputies earning low six-figure salaries.

Jimmy Morales, the outgoing Miami Beach city manager, is being paid $275,000 a year to be the county’s chief operating officer.

J.D. Patterson, the retired county police director, was granted the same salary to come back on the county payroll and oversee his former agency, along with the fire department and jails, as Levine Cava’s chief public safety officer. Patterson earns a county pension that amounted to $13,000 a month when he left Miami-Dade in 2016.

Compensation information released Wednesday by Levine Cava’s office showed the highest salary going to Ed Marquez, a veteran of county government whom the new mayor is retaining as chief financial officer. His salary is $290,000.

Morris Copeland, the current director of Juvenile Services being promoted to oversee all social service agencies, will earn a $235,000 salary. A spokeswoman said the figures do not include other cash compensation that may be offered as benefits, such as car stipends and expense allowances.

Johanna Cervone, so far the only woman named to the senior leadership team for Miami-Dade’s first female mayor, is earning $175,000 a year as Levine Cava’s chief of staff.

The new administration faced its first criticism over a hire this week when a leader of Miami-Dade’s NAACP chapter criticized the Morales appointment.

Daniella Pierre, president-elect of the group, cited past demands for Morales to lose his city post for overseeing a police department that “racially targeted” and harassed Black residents and tourists during Memorial Day weekend and other popular times for the Beach.

“Morales should not be celebrated, tolerated or promoted to lead any office in Miami-Dade County,” Pierre’s statement said.

In a statement, Levine Cava said she’s scheduling a meeting with Morales, Pierre and other NAACP leaders.

“I have always been a leader who works to uplift marginalized communities and communities of color. That is exactly how I will continue to lead as mayor,” she said. A spokeswoman said the Morales appointment is not being reconsidered.

Levine Cava’s pay extends the erratic graph of mayoral compensation in Miami-Dade.

In 2011, her predecessor, Carlos Gimenez, cut his own pay down to $150,000 from the $360,000 earned by his predecessor, Carlos Alvarez. In 2018, Gimenez submitted a budget that included a pay bump that brought his compensation back to $250,000. Commissioners approved the budget.

With a net worth of $6 million, Levine Cava is the wealthiest Miami-Dade mayor on record. She described her pay cut as an austerity measure as the county faces the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“At this time of economic hardship for our community, we need to make sure we are using all county resources wisely to keep Miami-Dade on a stable financial footing,” she said. “As chief administrator of the county, I’m doing my part to ensure we are putting resources where they are needed most.”