State lawmakers want to make Opa-locka residents vote on dissolving the city
More than three years ago, former Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of financial emergency in Opa-locka and appointed a board to oversee the city’s spending. Now, with the board still in place and no end to the crisis in sight, some state lawmakers say it’s time for the city to shut itself down.
Only the residents of Opa-locka have the power to dissolve the city under Miami-Dade County’s home rule charter. But the state’s Joint Legislative Auditing Committee — which received a scathing report about Opa-locka from the Auditor General in June that cited 99 issues of fraud and mismanagement — is pushing for legislation that would force a vote on dissolution on residents of any municipality under certain circumstances.
In an Oct. 31 letter to the chairs of three other legislative committees, the auditing committee asked colleagues to draft a bill that would outline criteria to trigger a municipal vote on dissolution.
The committee, which consists of 12 members of the Florida Senate and House, said any such law would apply to all municipalities, not just Opa-locka. The letter also says there isn’t consensus among the committee’s members on whether Opa-locka, a majority African-American city founded in 1926, should dissolve and become an unincorporated part of Miami-Dade.
Still, the letter came in direct response to presentations the committee heard last month from the Auditor General’s office and members of the oversight board, detailing Opa-locka’s dire financial state and casting doubt on the city’s ability to avoid financial ruin.
“Several Committee members expressed concern for the City’s residents,” the letter says, noting that state legislators’ hands are somewhat tied because of the privileges afforded to municipalities in Miami-Dade County. “If the City was located in any other county, individual members could file legislation to dissolve it if they were so inclined.”
Opa-locka has tens of millions of dollars in urgent infrastructure needs and no current way to pay for it. Melinda Miguel, the state’s chief inspector general who leads the oversight board, told the auditing committee last month that the city has 186,000 feet of pipes that “could go at any moment”; that the city’s sewer pump stations “are doing what they can” to hold up; and that city roadways are “in horrific conditions.”
The auditing committee, which doesn’t have the authority to sponsor bills, voted at its Oct. 24 meeting to recommend legislation similar to what was later outlined in the Oct. 31 letter. Several members, including alternating chair Rep. Jason Fischer and Rep. Michael Caruso — Republicans who represent parts of Duval and Palm Beach counties, respectively — said the city’s financial crisis persists.
“What’s not said in the Auditor General’s report is that the city is currently not liquid,” said Caruso, who is advocating for dissolution of the city. “They don’t have enough cash to cover their expenditures on a current basis.”
Continuing under the current oversight board arrangement, in which the board monitors city spending and can veto payments but has little authority to control them, “is not going to resolve any of the current financial issues,” Caruso added.
A bill has not yet been filed related to municipal dissolution, and it’s not clear what criteria might be proposed to trigger a vote.
The chair of one committee that received the letter, Rep. Bobby Payne of the House Local, Federal & Veterans Affairs Subcommittee, told the Miami Herald he thinks the idea has merit but said he still needs to discuss it with his colleagues.
Resistance in Opa-locka
The idea of a forced referendum isn’t sitting well with some officials in Opa-locka who say they’re trying to correct course under new leadership.
Several of those officials, including first-term Mayor Matthew Pigatt and recently installed City Manager John Pate, traveled to Tallahassee for the audit committee’s Oct. 17 meeting. But time constraints at the end of the meeting meant the mayor had less than 10 minutes to speak.
City officials said that left a bitter taste in their mouths and a sense that the committee was more concerned with taking punitive measures than with hearing about positive steps. Last week, Pate wrote a letter to the committee asking that city officials be invited back to Tallahassee for a December meeting.
“We have to set the record straight,” Pigatt told the Miami Herald. “The new commission has worked with the county and internally to address these challenges. Much of what was discussed in Tallahassee reflects back on years ago, not now.”
The auditing committee’s push for legislation to potentially trigger a dissolution vote, the mayor added, is a “distraction” from the work that needs to be done.
“This is the simplest, easiest way to go about this: We address our own issues with the support of the county and the state,” Pigatt said. “This is the most challenging municipal government environment in the state of Florida. It’s gonna take time and persistence.”
Pigatt, 33, vacated his commission seat to run for mayor last November and defeated three longtime Opa-locka politicians. Three other newcomers also won commission seats.
The months since have marked a period of relative calm in the city. Between 2016 and 2018, seven people associated with the city’s government were convicted after an FBI-led corruption investigation. Among those who pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy charges were City Commissioner Luis Santiago, City Manager David Chiverton and lobbyist Dante Starks.
Pate recently negotiated with the city’s bank, City National Bank, to release $2 million in reserves out of $4 million the bank was withholding from the city.
But while city officials insist they’re turning a corner, some state officials have raised concerns about whether Pigatt is willing to defer to the oversight board and accept his limited role within a weak-mayor system.
At the Oct. 17 meeting, Miguel described an instance in which she tried to reject a $26,000 invoice for the city to hire a firm to oversee the hiring process for a city manager. She said Pigatt told her that if she didn’t approve the invoice, he would fire the acting city manager the next day, so she agreed to approve it.
Caruso, the state representative from Palm Beach County, repeated that anecdote at the Oct. 24 committee meeting as he questioned the strength of the city’s new leadership.
“To continue under this situation clearly is not gonna work,” Caruso said.
Pigatt said in an email Friday that Miguel’s comments were “inciting.”
“I do not have the power to terminate the city manager and anyone with an understanding of a council-manager form of government knows that,” Pigatt said. “On a call with the Inspector General, I relayed the sentiments of the commission, many of the concerns we had with the acting (temporary) city manager and the need for us to select a permanent city manager through a national search.”
Pigatt and the city’s new slate of leaders do have some state lawmakers in their corner, including the two who represent Opa-locka: Rep. James Bush III and Sen. Oscar Braynon II. Bush spoke at the Oct. 24 meeting and praised “a new group of young, energetic, intelligent” elected officials. He then urged his colleagues to let him and Braynon guide those officials into the city’s future.
“I guarantee you, with the help of those of us that are going to intervene, we are going to make this happen,” Bush said.
Braynon told the Miami Herald the auditing committee’s criticism of the city administration, coupled with the limited time it gave the mayor to speak on Oct. 17, was “completely unfair and completely biased.”
“I think the characterization that the current administration has issues is unfounded,” Braynon said.
The city has been working to catch up on its long-overdue internal audits, recently submitting one for the 2016-17 fiscal year and pledging to submit another for 2017-18 in the coming months. Once the audits are complete, Pigatt said, the city will be able to submit a revised five-year plan.
The oversight board rejected Opa-locka’s initial plan last August, which was already two years overdue. At its meeting Thursday, the auditing committee said it will withhold state funds from Opa-locka if the city doesn’t submit the plan by Feb. 1.
Implications for Miami-Dade
The committee’s push for a bill that could compel municipal elections in Miami-Dade County reflects an ongoing clash between state lawmakers and county officials over the scope of the county’s home rule charter.
The state and county are already sparring over control of the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority, with the county mounting a constitutional challenge against a law that would eliminate the county toll board. County officials are also bracing for state efforts to take control of Miami International Airport and PortMiami.
Home rule is an amendment in the Florida Constitution that gives Miami-Dade County and its municipalities certain powers to self-govern without state interference.
Braynon, the state senator, said he wasn’t sure that a state law mandating a municipal election in Miami-Dade County would even be legal under home rule.
Pigatt added that he sees the auditing committee’s letter as “a part of that movement for the state to take more power from municipalities.”
“This [potential] legislation isn’t just directed toward Opa-locka,” he said. “That’s an attack on local government that all of us need to be aware of.”
If Opa-locka did someday vote to dissolve, the county would need to take over its services, including police and public works. The county has already provided substantial assistance to the city, including by negotiating a plan to pay off debts for water and sewer services and helping it hire a consultant to replace faulty meters. Opa-locka’s water and sewer system has been plagued by corruption, overbilling and poor infrastructure.
Several county and state officials said the county would likely resist taking over the city’s operations entirely. Miguel, the chief inspector general, told the auditing committee the county might be willing to take over some additional services, but that it would be a “significant financial hit” to assume all operations.
More creative solutions might be needed, said Merrett Stierheim, a well-respected fixer of municipal conundrums in South Florida. Stierheim stepped away from an advisory role in Opa-locka in 2017, saying the situation there was the worst debacle he’s ever seen.
“I think you can make a hell of an argument” for dissolving the city or transferring more of its operations to the county, Stierheim told the Miami Herald on Thursday. But there could be less drastic, interim approaches, he said, such as having the county set up a capital fund to loan the city money to rebuild its sewer system.
Edward Marquez, a deputy mayor of Miami-Dade County who has worked with Opa-locka in recent years, said the devil would be in the details of any legislation to force a dissolution vote. Would a negative general fund balance, for example, automatically trigger a referendum?
For now, Marquez said, the city is “inching [its] way back to fiscal stability.”
“But it’s gonna take some time,” he said.
Miguel told the committee last month that she’s committed to Opa-locka’s survival.
“From what I’ve seen of the passion of the citizens and the dedication of Miami-Dade County and others ... I would like to believe and hope in their recovery,” she said. “If they can get the infrastructure and the finances right, they’re located and poised in such a marketable area. I believe there’s hope.”
Miami Herald staff writer David Ovalle contributed to this report.
This story was originally published November 18, 2019 at 6:15 AM.