North Miami Beach has picked a new city manager. He’ll make $240,000 per year
.jpg "Arthur “Duke” Sorey")
The North Miami Beach City Commission voted Tuesday night to hire Arthur “Duke” Sorey, the deputy city manager in neighboring North Miami, as the next city manager, handing him the reins of a city that has undergone substantial changes and weathered a tense political climate in recent months.
The vote was 5-2 in favor of offering Sorey a $240,000 annual base salary over four years, with Mayor Anthony DeFillipo and Commissioner Barbara Kramer opposed.
Sorey, who has worked for the city of North Miami since 2003 and as its deputy city manager since 2015, told the Miami Herald he plans to accept the offer.
“I’m humbled, really excited,” he said. “It’s just a great feeling to finally [achieve] what I’ve been working for my entire career.”
City staff had whittled a field of more than 60 applicants down to four finalists: Sorey, interim City Manager Horace McHugh, former Broward County public works director Thomas Hutka and West Palm Beach assistant city administrator Ricardo Mendez.
Elected officials conducted interviews with the finalists last week, some of which were broadcast to the public via Zoom.
Sorey’s selection has been anticipated since February, when former City Manager Esmond Scott resigned under pressure and Commissioner Michael Joseph proposed that the city bring in Sorey to replace him immediately, prompting cries for a more thorough process from some of Joseph’s colleagues.
After his selection Tuesday, Sorey acknowledged that he didn’t have universal support from city leaders.
“I know it was a 5-2 vote, but I’m gonna come in and work my hardest to get the confidence of everyone on the dais,” he said. “Change is difficult for everybody. I don’t hold any of that against anyone.”
City commissioners on Tuesday debated the terms of the new manager’s contract. McKenzie Fleurimond initially suggested the city offer Sorey $250,000 for four years, but others including DeFillipo suggested the amount should be lower and the term shorter.
Scott, the previous city manager, was making about $200,000 when he resigned. Sorey was making about $209,000 in his role in North Miami, while North Miami City Manager Theresa Therilus was hired last year at a base salary of $252,000.
Sorey had applied for the North Miami manager role last year but wasn’t selected. His father, who goes by the same name, was North Miami’s first African-American city council member in the late 1990s.
Sorey will take over operations in North Miami Beach following several big changes in the city, including the transition of its water utility back to city control and the approval of a $1.5 billion redevelopment of the Intracoastal Mall.
