Where do the tax dollars go in Miami-Dade? Newly powerful clerk promises easy answers
Juan Fernandez-Barquin has been Miami-Dade’s county clerk since the summer of 2023 but never with the watchdog powers he inherited this week.
On Tuesday, the former Republican lawmaker assumed control of a newly empowered Clerk’s Office. Thanks to a change in the Florida Constitution, this week the Clerk’s Office took over the auditing and accounting staffs that previously were under the control of Miami-Dade’s Democratic mayor, Daniella Levine Cava.
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At his ceremonial swearing-in on Friday, Fernandez-Barquin promised to use his office’s expanded powers to give residents a clearer look at how the county government spends tax money.
“We will ensure greater transparency,” Fernandez-Barquin, a 41-year-old lawyer, told the crowd gathered for the ceremony in the chambers of the County Commission, where the clerk’s staff is responsible for paperwork and record-keeping.
The 1,100-person clerk staff also runs the court offices where residents access the legal system to pay parking tickets, file for divorce, record deeds and report for jury duty.
Fernandez-Barquin said his staff will be rolling out an online dashboard devoted to the county’s nearly $12 billion budget. He said the site would be “offering near real-time insights into how taxpayer dollars are utilized.”
Fernandez-Barquin became clerk in June 2023, appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the position left vacant by the death of Harvey Ruvin, who won his first election to the post in 1992. Ruvin’s widow, Risa, was given a front-row seat at Fernandez-Barquin’s ceremony, and the newly elected clerk praised his Democratic predecessor in the partisan office.
“When I stepped into this office, I stood in the shadow of the legendary Harvey Ruvin, who served this community for over 30 years,” Fernandez-Barquin said.
Before his appointment, Fernandez-Barquin was serving his third term in the Florida Legislature, representing a House district in Kendall. He went on to win a full four-year term as county clerk in November.
The clerk’s expanded powers come from a 2018 amendment to the Florida Constitution that required Miami-Dade to have the same slate of elected officers as the other counties in the state by 2025.
Changes included electing a sheriff, elections supervisor and tax collector — posts that previously were under Levine Cava’s authority as mayor. The terms for those offices, all held by Republicans who won their November elections, also began Tuesday.
The statewide change in local governmental power also required the clerk to also have the power of county comptroller — the post that brings with it Fernandez-Barquin’s new auditing and financial-management authority.
In his swearing-in speech and in an interview after, Fernandez-Barquin said he also plans to:
Use artificial-intelligence technology to speed up processing of civil filings so that they’ll show up quicker on the clerk’s website.
Hire a vendor to jumpstart the office’s lagging efforts to post images of criminal filings online.
Make it easier for people without credit cards or bank accounts to pay fines and filing fees.
Work with Miami-Dade’s school system to create a curriculum for high school students interested in starting a career in the clerk’s office after graduation.
Create an interactive portal that would allow residents to learn more about the budget that the mayor proposes each year and that is approved by the County Commission.
“I would like something that’s very robust — and something that is easy,” he said. “If the residents want to look at the budget of Miami-Dade County, they won’t have to look through three volumes that are about an inch-and-a-half thick. Something that’s searchable.”