Hialeah city council rejects promised homeowner relief for residents
A campaign pledge collapsed Tuesday amid political division in Hialeah.
A key campaign promise fell apart after the city council failed to approve a proposed $200 relief payment for homeowners, aid repeatedly touted to voters throughout the election cycle. Interim Mayor Jacqueline Garcia-Roves, who pledged to deliver the assistance, was unable to secure enough support during the measure’s final reading.
Garcia-Roves told the Miami Herald that the proposal’s failure was the result of council politics and the lack of a full roster of council members, not her leadership. “It wasn’t because of me,” she said, pointing instead to a divided council and incomplete attendance.
Councilman Jesus Tundidor, who campaigned on providing financial relief while running unsuccessfully for mayor, did not attend the meeting.
With only four of the seven council members present — two seats remain unsettled until the Dec. 9 runoff — the vote ended in a tie. The proposal, which carried a price tag of roughly $6.4 million from the city’s general fund, needed four votes for final approval after passing its first reading on Oct. 14.
Newly re-elected council members Luis Rodriguez and Carl Zogby voted not to postpone the item to wait for a full council to be in place in January. Melinda De La Vega, newly elected after serving as an interim council member, and Councilwoman Monica Perez voted yes, leaving the proposal short of the required majority.
De La Vega and Perez attempted to postpone the vote until Jan. 13, a day after the new mayor, Bryan Calvo, will be sworn in, and the council will have six council members instead of five, but the council refused to table the measure.
Zogby defended his vote by pointing to the city’s existing financial obligations. He noted that Hialeah is currently subsidizing $13 million in county-imposed water rate increases, costs already being covered by the general fund. “This $200 rebate would represent another $6 million coming from our general fund,” he said. “And it wouldn’t really represent significant relief of any sort.”
To cover the $200 payments for the 32,100 eligible homestead property owners, Hialeah would need to make cuts or delay work on at least 18 city projects.
De La Vega, who campaigned with Tundidor for an even larger relief package, argued that she was honoring her word to residents. “I made a promise,” she said. “People are hurting, and I support this relief.”
Mayor-elect Calvo, who was at City Hall during the vote, told reporters the council made the right decision, one he believes will allow him to revisit and reshape the relief plan once he takes office. He told the Herald that aside from the city’s approved budget, he has yet to receive detailed financial information from the outgoing administration, making it impossible to specify what form of aid he could ultimately offer. Still, he emphasized that any future relief should prioritize seniors over 65.
