##VIDEO ID:74K7E9sRj3I## he hey he he [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] please take your seats the meeting is about to begin remember to speak into the microphone as this meeting is being recorded for public record please stand by we are going on air in 5 4 3 2 1 good afternoon and Welcome to our special Commission meeting uh we have a several items all related to the county on the homeless 1% tax and we'll figure out how we're going to handle this turn to our city clerk see if we have any announcements good afternoon everyone during this hybrid commission meeting the city commission is physically present in the commission chamber Miami Beach City Hall 1700 Convention Center Drive third floor the public May attend a meeting virtually however members of the public who wish to attend the meeting or provide public comment in person may appear at the commission chamber to participate or provide comment virtually during the commission meeting the public may join the meeting by visiting the Zoom app on their smart device or on the web at zoom. us or by telephone at 35224 1968 again 305 2241 1968 the toll-free number number is 88847591 the webinar ID is 813 9285 7671 pound again the webinar ID is 813 9285 7671 pound members of the public wanting to speak virtually on an item during the meeting must click the raise hand icon if using the Zoom app or press Start nine on the phone to raise your hand thank you Ma great let's do the Pledge of Allegiance and actually I'd like to ask all of my colleagues on the de if we can do it together flag the United States of America stand so before I call the items I actually just wanted to tee this up and the reason why I asked all my colleagues to do the pledge together un uned is we really are united we we had a vote about taking the uh 1% homeless tax off the ballot it was a 4-3 vote but if you have seen what's happened I've been actually very impressed with all of you uh with all of us because it was a policy decision and it's that it's not personal um and I think we've shown a united front that we are looking out for the best interest of our residents in Miami Beach and we may have some differences of opinion sometimes on policy sometimes there were really close calls but uh I've been very impressed so just to te it up from where I stand and uh how this is going to go today just I want to give some of my views out front and uh then we'll call the items so one of the reason why I voted not to uh to continue with the 1% tax and I've been consistent on that vote for several years is that I do not believe that is the best use of Miami Beach residents and businesses monies it's simple as that and what I what I want to avoid and this is going to be consistent with my votes is a California esque type of treatment of how we handle the homeless situation we are such a compassionate City and we spend over $3 million in our homeless Outreach we spend $2 million in our police Outreach Services we are the only city in the county I'm gonna repeat this the only city in the county that has a comprehensive walk-in homeless Center where we offer a gamut of services so to listen to some of the outrageous comments being made out of the county that we are not a compassionate City and we don't spend money and effort is beyond Preposterous it was offensive it's false and um just have to correct that narrative but there is a difference in how we approach things our commission passed legislation which is now state law but we passed this late last year that if a homeless individual is sleeping on public property and they reject all services that we offer shelter or counseling they can be arrested the county literally just changed their law and said that Homeless individuals who are sleeping on County property property are exempt from the state law legislation I say this because you see we're going in opposite directions we see things very differently and that's ultimately the issue the homeless trust has a one as a perspective and they do good they do some good work I'm not taking that away but ultimately monies that go from our residents and our businesses to the homeless trust and unelected body that we have zero decision making over and do not have discretion over those funds so they they're gone and of course the headline would be if that 1% was implemented would be Miami Beach pays 10% in taxes think of that headline that will have an impact and it's not the hotels that would pay it because they're exempt by the way that I think is all you need to know about this voter referendum item hotels where tourists come are exempt so it's our local businesses and our residents who are visiting those local resident of businesses who would be most impacted so there's a policy Divergence on many fronts so that's why I wanted to tee that up but I just wanted to make a couple other quick points there was a lot of talk at the at the county about a deal that this voter referendum item which I voted against a couple years ago but it passed this former commission but there was some deal being made that the CRA funding and the North Beach CRA would be contingent on it being on a vter referendum well I'm the current mayor for almost a year and I never heard about this deal until the day after that vote I had people calling me and telling me mayor how could you do this there was a deal first of all I'm not even sure it has so many negative implications that there was some deal for this for that but I'll put that aside I didn't know about any deal nor it would have made a difference but I could tell you and I like to be uun and transparent I got phone the day after that vote that was so over the line that were offensive over every red line you know what it showed to me and I told this to the people who called me this is not about helping the homeless this is about big money this is about big business this is about politics because you don't get the F type of phone calls and rhetoric that I got if this is about helping people I spoke to Mayor Cava um you know I I think from an administrative standpoint I don't want to repeat word for word the conversations but I think from an administra administrative standpoint I do believe we have a friend in the county I do believe that and we'll try to work out today and I think we can make a uh make a meeting of the minds and we'll get to a to a good place so with that I'll call the first items I would ask and obviously we're all free to say what we want but um you know I haven't mentioned any individual names I know sometimes we may have to but I'm hoping that we don't make this anything personal that we just make the policy decisions in the best interest of our residents which is what we always do I'm going call first uh r9c Hey commissioner Suarez you kind of got us in this predicament so uh I'll I'll I'll call you first to see what ideas you have thank you Mr Mayor um colleagues today we need to set the record straight on why we decided to remove the 1% homeless tax from the ballot this decision wasn't made lightly it came after Ron book on the record over multiple years promised to make us whole by reimbursing the city of Miami Beach for its substantial investment in homeless Services he even committed to placing the reimbursement item on the homeless trust agenda and if his board didn't approve it he assured us he would return to the city Commission in these Chambers and advise us to take the measure off the ball that promise was broken no action was taken and Ron book failed to make good on his word the result was a voided commitment that left Miami Beach carrying the potential financial burden alone this lack of follow through from Mr book as a direct affront to the trust we place in his leadership we now face a request from the Miami date County commission for a $10 million contribution towards the homeless trust I understand why the county might seek These funds perhaps the County Commission wasn't fully informed about the numerous empty promises made by Mr book or the city's substantial ongoing contribution to homeless initiatives and our established support for Regional Housing needs yet our own County Commissioner Eileen Higgins Endor this request without presenting a full picture of our City's contributions it's a misrep representation that puts undue pressure on us especially as Miami Beach is the highest taxpaying city in the county and already contributes far more than it receives in return we want to be clear homelessness is a regional issue but we will not endorse a one-sided Arrangement or accept arbitrary figures without validation we have been under pressure from individuals like David Martin to agree to the County's terms as they currently stand to move forward with key initiatives like the convention center hotel but proceeding under these terms would leave us exposed and vulnerable especially when some Commissioners hold hostage such projects like the North Beach CRA and the Miami Beach RDA as bargaining chips when we first heard heard of this arbitrary $10 million figure I personally took the initiative to verify the numbers which were confirmed by our CFO the county initially projected that that a 1% homeless tax would generate $10 million annually however our research showed that the actual figure is $7.8 million not 10 this discrepancy underscores the importance of accuracy and transparency especially when taxpayer funds are at stake Miami Beach must have the facts on the table to make the best decisions for our residents and taxpayers although I initially considered putting the 1% tax back on the ballot today if interlocal agreements were formally signed I still will not be able to live with myself knowing that our most vulnerable small businesses which are already facing significant challenges including declines in tourism Revenue would be taxed at 10% the highest in the county so I'm formally withdrawing my T my item from today's agenda with that with that being said I fully support commissioner Magazine's proposal which I believe provides a more fair and balanced solution to what the count is looking for I understand that some of my colleagues initially preferred keeping the 1% tax on the ballot however with our updated perspective on the homeless trust broken promises and the financial reality of this tax impact on Miami Beach I believe commissioner magazine solution is more transparent and Equitable it offers a balanced responsible approach for Miami Beach and the county aligning with our shared commitment to addressing homelessness without compromising the welfare of our City's residents and businesses I am confident that the County's reasonable voices will recognize this as a fair balanced approach that ensures a productive partnership and a sustainable path forward Miami Beach is here to be a strong partner and we stand ready to work openly with the county on a Sol solution that address homelessness while protecting our City's interests thank you commissioner Suarez um I'm gonna actually take uh r7a commissioner Fernandez's item next um commissioner magazine I'll tea up that I I I like a lot of your item as well but commissioner Fernandez thank you Mr Mayor what do you have to introduce it yes sir so r7a is a joint item weend resolution 2024 33 346 agreement for $992,500 500 million to develop the Miami Beach Convention Center Hotel thank you Mr Mayor um you know I find it I I find it egregious um to force the hand of the city the way that that has been forced over a matter of legislative policy I don't have to agree with the with the position of the city commission but we adopt a formal position as a city commission and I don't think no legislative body should be retaliated against uh held uh for punitive action the way that our city was started with $10 million of surplus funds then another a second $10 million uh that was delineated yesterday in on emails so now we're up to $20 million in addition to uh giving up our por of a participation fee uh worth so we're up to $45 million in addition to a 2% transfer fee that is being demanded from us for our city commission exercising its legislative Authority one that we don't have to agree with individually as colleagues but once a city takes a position a policy decision we need to respect that the same way we don't like Tallahassee uh preempting us the county shouldn't be preempting us either and I truly find the the the actions of coming after us for for funds in this matter to be distasteful um I do agree that that that we need to address homelessness as a region it is a regional issue uh we have homeless individuals that come into our city from other parts of Miami dat County and homeless individuals from Miami Beach also do transit to to other parts of Miami day County so it truly is a regional issue wait we need to address so my message is this if Miami date County and certain members of the Border County Commissioners see the RDA as the funding source for $10 million to address homelessness in Miami day County well then let's also use the RDA to address what is the root cause of homelessness in Miami dat County which is the lack of affordable and work force housing Miami homes forall released a study not too long ago that indicates that Miami date county is short over a billion dollars to address homelessness to I'm sorry to address housing over a billion dollar short to address affordable and Workforce housing now we could redirect These funds to address that great need of Housing and thereby addressing the root cost of why we have homelessness in Miami dat County so this item is to is to redirect the funds part of this grant agreement redirect those funds to address the housing crisis that we have in Miami day County direct them towards affordable and Workforce housing so that we can holistically address the home h less issue in our community and really tackling it in the most serious way that we could and with that I move item r7a to allocate the 92.5 million away from the developer subsidy and instead towards addressing affordable and Workforce housing in Miami day County I'll speak um I have have to your item is literally brilliant I'm I'm not support it today but it it's actually brilliant because what I think I think your item changed the conversation in the county because you're right the comments being made it was it first of all we had 50 homeless individuals transferred from Miami's Camila's house to our city right after our vote then we're being threatened with removal of CRA funding with the convention center funding I it's almost like if I started a movie I'm not sure I would have believed it that it could that it could be true it was so obvious and what doesn't make sense is our residents would be impacted but our residents are their residents we're all one County and uh and and as commissioner Suarez uh alluded to but I'm I'm going to say it straight out we send 297 million if you can grant me 300 million I'll round up $300 million a year from our city of miam beach your property taxes go to the County we make up less than 3% of the County population 2.8% and we pay 12% of the property taxes so this notion that Miami Beach does not carry its weight or pay its fair share is not true we pull our weight and then some to help the county so uh getting back to your item it's brilliant because I think what I noticed after your item and I don't know if it's completely related but I think it might be that your your item called their Bluff I do believe that because they don't want to lose that Convention Center there's funding for them it's funding for them and they also know it's in the best interest of the county to have that Convention Center so that's where I I that's why I'm having uh difficulty getting there to support it because I just while you're helping the homeless Workforce housing all great ideas I just I'm not ready to give up on the convention center and what it could bring to the city of Miami Beach and helping us in in so many ways that we've outlined before I I I magazine I second your comments wholeheartedly I commend you commissioner Fernandez uh your opening there was maybe some of the best comments I've seen from this day in my long time following this city uh that you were able to take an item that you didn't first be agree with but come and recognize we all serve collectively as a body body as part of democracy and you stuck up for your city and your colleagues over what you were in the minority on but was the right thing to do for our Collective body and I commend you for that and those comments that you opened with were some of the best I've heard on the days for some time I won't take that personally he's a great poker player my item I don't know there's a second on my item yeah you know and I think partly is What's Happening Here Also is I think everyone's waiting for commissioner Magazine's item to see where we land so maybe if you want to defer it and see how that goes um I I think listen I I think just withdraw I I not I'm not going to withdraw the item I you know it I like for you to call the question uh if there's a second if there's not a second I guess the item dies on the table attorney um but I moved the item and you know I mov my item appears there's no second so uh the item the item fails but thank you commissioner vice mayor Fernandez we'll call r9a r9a is discuss take action proposed funding for Miami day County from RDA Surplus Revenue Miami Beach Convention Cent Hotel taxes commission magazine thank you Mr Mayor thank you to my colleagues um and I Echo the comments that have been made up here wholeheartedly about uh taking offense to the sayings that we don't pay our fair share because that that's just not borne by the uh realities and the economic data that is fact driven uh that being said a lot of raw motions a lot of finger pointing uh but I think from this moment we really think about how to move forward and look ahead realize that we are partners with the county we always will be and it B benefits our entire Community when even in times of disagreement we do so in a respectful fashion understanding that we need to have a collaborative partnership I've listened to every word discussed uh I've had more conversations than I ever imagined uh feasible um but I do believe that we have a solution in front of us that has Miami Beach stepping up as a partner in this Regional issue of addressing homelessness in our County actually going well well Above and Beyond in honoring a deal that was struck in 2021 and also providing safeguards to Miami Beach our taxpayers our County Partners and the homeless trust it's a quick bit of history in 2021 an agreement was made Miami Beach would place an item on the ballot that if passed would have raised likely just under $8 million to the homeless trust at that time the chairman of the homeless trust pledged Miami Beach would be made whole for the general fund spending we do on the homeless which is $5 million it was said an interlocal agreement would be signed prior to this going on the ballot and that never ever transpired which is a large reason why myself and colleagues voted to repeal the measure from the ballot as we lost any assurances we would be reimbursed that would have come directly at the expense of our taxpayers but the result would have been seen Miami Beach sending the county money homeless trust a net number of less than $3 million so where are we today it leaves Miami Beach collectively wanting to take our part in honor our agreement do what's right for a regional issue and get the county a net $3 million per year number that was originally agreed upon there's a proposal I'll lay it out in detail that essentially is not borne by our local businesses our small mom and pop businesses nor the residents that frequent them my proposal is once the convention center hotel is constructed in 2027 Miami B was set to receive a 4% hotel tax that in financial projections would total $4.5 million starting in 2027 and escalating as the performance of the hotel uh exceeds from there additionally Miami Beach will continue our general fund expenditures towards homeless Services we make within the city of Miami Beach so if we contribute to the county the 4% % hotel tax of roughly $4 million in escalating per year and we send that to the county as our stake in addressing this Regional issue of homelessness and we continue our general fund spending on homeless of over $7 million per year that makes Miami Beach's commitment over $10 million per year with this census of 132 homeless people in our city the amount of funding towards every homeless individual is well above and beyond what anybody could reasonably argue is our fair share additionally this measure it provides safeguards to all parties involved that there will not be the risk of a ballot measure failing the county takes no risk this fails at the ballot as we just saw happen in Bal Harbor also we enter into as a city a long-term bilateral agreement with the county so there is no risk of future commission could simply pass an ordinance that removes the 1% tax this will provide a 15year contract between our regional Partners it also removes the risk Miami Beach faced that we would send $10 million to the Trust In addition to the $10 million of annual spending we do within our own City and not get reimbursed this drastically simplifies the logistics of any deal but perhaps most importantly in my mind and the words I've heard from my colleagues it shifts the burden of who pays for this tax one of the biggest fundamental issues that I had long before I became a commissioner with the 1% homeless tax is that burden would have fallen to our citizens and small businesses large hotels were excluded if past that 1% homeless tax ballot measure would have hit our mom and pop businesses and our residents that frequent them this proposed structure shifts that burden entirely to to the Convention Center Hotel so this tax will be borne exclusively by conventioneers visiting our city additionally it was important to me that we found a revenue stream that did not create a gap in our existing budget given these are future revenues not in our existing budget there will be no gaps we need to scramble to fill so where do we essentially go right now until the convention center hotel is up and running the county would get over the next two years $10 million from the RDA Surplus then starting in 2027 the county gets the $4 million derived from the hotel tax on the convention center hotel that far exceeds the net number that would have been derived from the 1% hotel tax collected and Miami Beach re reimburse for our general fund homeless spending any shortfall under $4 million from the hotel tax would be made whole from the remaining RDA surplus funds so the county assumes little to no risk on the performance of the convention center hotel we enter into a 15-year bilateral contract with the county starting in 2025 taking any legislative risk off the table given conversations I've had as well as analyzing what every single County Commissioners stated I do believe that there will be support to pass this measure at the county I believe we adopt and pass rd2 which will ensure the Convention Center Hotel moves forward with their approval and obtainment of their financing and passed this proposed measure for our city staff to Iron Out Minor Details with County staff and put this further approval on the Wednesday agenda thank you well said commissioner Dominguez then commissioner Rosen Gonzalez uh thank you mayor I have a question on that so the voters had voted to have the convention center hotel and part of what they voted on was where that money was going to go and I remember um the late commissioner Mark saman had earmarked money for the private property adaptation there's a resolution where money would go to resiliency to help fund uh Mickey Steinberg had also at the time requested education and um there was another line item earmark from the convention center hotel with this particular proposal what would happen to all of those programs that were going to be funded that the voters voted on through the mayor um so Commission D excellent question uh the three items that I believe you're referring to voted on the ballot were adaptation education and transportation and those were to be allocated from the ground lease payments and so this proposal on the table would not impact those ground lease payments this would only impact the resort tax Hotel bed tax um that would be generated in the future once the hotel is complet complete right now it's an unrealized Revenue so it wouldn't have any impact would that Revenue have gone to the gmcvb is that taking away from um future marketing so ultimately you know our our Resort tax is something that is used for many different purposes all Resort and and tourism related a piece of our Resort tax today goes to the gmcvb I don't know maybe our CFO can can offer some additional Insight but I don't believe that this would have any negative impact on our ability to continue our relationship with the gmcvb thank you um I'm not opposed to this idea like this idea um What's the total proposed amount of these taxes that the hotel will generate the FNB on this hotel you're saying $4 million how much much is that property going to generate total like so I I think we had a proforma that was presented last month when we approved the amendment six to the RDA um the total dollars that we're talking about over the 99 years that would be attributable to the city would be approximately $3.6 billion with a net present value of 342 million could but annually for example we're giving up the $4 million what if it doesn't generate $4 million in the first year are you expecting that to generate yes but through the mayor uh yes and to account for that so this essentially uh removes the risk of the County uh depending on the performance of the convention center hotel if the tax revenue if the 4% hotel tax revenue uh comes in below $4 million uh there would be a cash sweep of the excess Surplus RDA funds my problem with that is is that here we are we're going to AB absorb um you know this very large building and the traffic and the dirt clean up that it requires and we're not going to have the money to remediate any of that I I suppose it's fine I I I know we have to pull it from someplace um and I'm going to vote for your item today um and the mayor hasn't called my item but I'm just going to talk about it anyway because I think that could I just respond that R the mayor um so Ju Just so we can be clear uh I believe and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong or Mr CFO looking at the cash projections uh so in total the city's total direct payments starting in 2027 through various measures the property taxes uh the various Resort taxes would total $24.6 million so we'd only be absorbing about $4 million that So 20% is going to go to the homeless that that's fine but I think we should have a say in how this money is allocated and you're saying why it was because I was observing um the entire situation with this linta in down south and I'd like to quote commissioner Danielle Higgins Cohen who was really fighting because she said the lint in was never on the market and it's not on the market day so the threat of it being pulled from the market the idea that there's a potential buyer that's willing to offer five million over the asking price is outrageous so here we are we're going to pull $4 million you know of of taxpayer dollars and these are the types of deals that the homeless trust is currently um do you understand that the homeless trust is overpaying for properties there are millions of dollars and we don't know where they're going wait commissioner magazine wait because I really want you to hear what I'm about to propose I think that if we're going to give this money we should have a say in how it is allocated we have gotten a lot of criticism from the county about arresting the homeless and sending them to the county jail I agree with them that criminalizing homelessness is not a good idea I also went to tour the lifeman center and I know that commissioner Dominguez and mayor Miner and I believe um our staff I I don't know if any commissioner Fernandes did you visit the okay it's a center for mental health and I want to talk a little bit about it because instead of arresting our homeless and sending them to the county jail which is producing a burden I would like this money to go to the county and go to this Mental Health Center and I want to talk to you a little bit about it um this Mental Health Center that is going to be open sometime in 2025 there's currently an RFP it's designed to solve the homeless problem it has a court inside of it so that people can be Baker acted and the doctors on call can actually make sure that people get the medicine that they need sometimes against their own will it has a dentist it has tattoo removal it has Education Services it has counselling it's all done in subdued lighting with different colors of light Woods when you enter the life m center the idea it's not going to be called the lifean center it's going to be called the center for mental health they are going to wash the homeless person's feet give them a meal treat them humanely and then say to them would you accept services will you accept medication I would like us to fund that I don't want to give our money to the homeless trust with a blank check knowing that possibly we could be paying overpaying $5 million for another lint in that is my big concern so while I would vote for this funding today I would like the caveat that at least half of this money that we stipulate in our agreement that half of this money get dedicated toward the mental Health Center that we all know is a solution in and and that way as we arrest or remove homeless people from Miami Beach we have a place to send them and we're helping fund it and this is a this is a solution that makes sense um I I don't want to vote for it if if the money is going to go to alakina and you know and and pay overpay five million now I know that there is probably support to support this Mental Health Center I spoke to the county mayor I explained how this money should be allocated I also spoke to commissioner regalato um and she was very excited about the idea of potentially half of this money uh being earmarked for um this Mental Health Center we need to be part of the solution we're being accused of being inhumane and the most Humane thing that we can do is contribute to this Mental Health Center so the four million is fine but I would like two million of it to go to operational or Capital cost to get this Mental Health Center up and running um commission um mayor CA told me today um on the phone that this that right now it is out for um an RFP that it's going to eventually be able to house 200 homeless and rehabilitate them um but that right now it only has the capacity for 100 so I would like to know how my colleagues feel about dedicating 50% of this to a solution so that we are not sending our homeless to jail and that we ensure that the that this Center is opened as soon as as possible commissioner Suarez thank you Mr Mayor I I'm going to be the first one to say that I think however the homeless trust is Managed IT is certainly not managed properly okay um and I cannot I cannot say that the the purchase of the linta Inn was done in good faith I I was not part of that it certainly seems odd that 5 million was paid or four or five million was paid over the appraisal value which which is surprising but what is interesting about the lint in is that that was that was built for homeless seniors the same seniors that are getting displaced out of Miami Beach so that they can find a home it's really easy for us to be up here and pick and choose where this money would go and you know I'll be the first to admit it of of who of who's responsible for directing that money but I don't know if it's necessarily appropriate to decide do homeless seniors get the money that are currently being displaced in Miami Beach as we speak or does it go to the lifeman center does it go to the Camila's house that are apparently they can't pay for beds and they're getting shipped to Miami Beach look I I think I think the right approach is to offer the county a willingness to to work together and a sign of good faith and say look we have many grievances about how the money is being spent homeless trust has I think $136 million annually we don't really know how that money is being spent I certainly don't have the time to to study that but it it is I I want to be careful from our body on where we think who needs it the most you know if it was if we were at the county we'd be making that decisions um especially on who who the homeless trust the chair should be to to be Distributing These funds but I want to be very careful on setting that sort of precedent and I certainly don't want to set us up at the county to for this deal to fail because of a small little caveat um I wanted to also say that I think commissioner Magazine's idea is excellent because as you said before the burden of this 1% tax would have fallen on our most struggling businesses when I did the math actually 80% of the businesses that this would have affected are making less than $5 million a year and they would have been taxed at the highest in in the county think about that if you're a restauranter why would you want to open up in Miami Beach if you're going to get tax 10% why would you want to do that it's going to discourage that kind of that kind of business so you know when I was getting these marketing materials every day in the mail you know one thing that was so disingenuous was that this is going to tax tourists tourists were going to pay for this the drunk it literally says the drunk tourists are going to pay for this but in reality you know I I was at I was at sville a couple weeks ago with my family and it's not part of a hotel it's not part of a motel they make more than $400,000 a year they're struggling and I look around me it's all residents that are here residents are the ones paying the bills in sville and you know I I I couldn't stand by and see that these little businesses are going to be the they're going to be struggling the the most across the county and if we go with what commissioner magazine is proposing actual tourists are going to be uh taxed for for for this portion of homeless Services it's it's if we're going to be intellectually honest with each other that's the right approach and so you know I want to commend you commissioner I think you know I should have thought of that um but you beat me to it and um I I think it's I think it's the right approach I I think that's that's a fair and Equitable thing and and you know the funny thing when you do the math you know we actually we Jason and I we sat down we did the math it came out to 7.8 um and the year before I think it was 8.2 and the year before that it was 7.1 it never got to 10 right so let's just assume it is 7.8 million dollars that the 1% would have generated uh for next year and we were promised $5.2 million reimbursement that comes from the taxpayers of Miami Beach the where we pay our property taxes that comes out of our general fund so the difference of that is $2.6 million that that if the ballot was was to stay that's what the Delta would have been to the homeless trust it's only 2.6 okay so the fact that you know until the hot commissioner magazine if correct me until the hotel is built some of the money is going to come from the RDA to pay and I think that was 5 million correct per year yes yeah per year and if you if you from the RDA the city pays 56% of uh receives 56% of the of the income and then the county receives 44% so if you do the math if it was 2.6 which is the Delta considering that we would have paid up for the 56% so 2.6 divided by 0.56 you know it comes out to 4.64 it's it's pretty much on the money in fact we give them a little cherry on top and that's what Fair that's what's fair to me you know so I I think uh the numbers certainly make sense it's fair everyone here understands what's going on the Press is here obviously um we there's not a there's not a half a million dollar pack behind this trying to pressure us trying to get us to to convince us to go with attacks that going to tax our most struggling businesses everything is honest and it is is clear so with that I'm going to Second your item commissioner magazine commissioner Rosen Gonzalez okay commissioner Suarez fine but would you consider just an urging spend to the Life Center okay or we don't have to call it the Life Center foral Health recovery the the whole point of this is that we have an honest conversation and an honest intellectual conversation with the county all our cards are on the table now and they're all facing up we all know what we have we know what they have okay the whole point about this is to move past a adverse relationship we can call the mayor a lot of you have good relationships with with mayor Cava and say hey look we would really appreciate if a portion of this would go to the lifean center we would really appreciate if a portion of this goes to the Camila house um you know and we we would really you know Camila house for how about the homeless people that were bus here from Miami uh a as as a political move you know so that they can go back home because believe it or not we were all there a lot of the homeles people that were dropped off on West Avenue they were given a one-hour notice to pack up their bags in a trash bag they had been living at the Camila's house anywhere from six months to a year they were given it they were given a trash bag to put all of their belonging belongings in and they didn't they weren't told where they were going these are people that worked for the for for the county they worked at the DDA they walked to work and all of a sudden their lives were upended and what appears to be a political move from the homeless trust you know that that seeing things like that and in hearing their stories it's infuriating it's infuriating and so you know we we the consequences that happen up here we want to make sure that we're all in agreement we want to make the best case for the county we want to extend the Olive Branch because certainly we don't want to uproot anyone else's lives at in the city of Miami and and and frankly the most vulnerable of our society so um I'm okay with urging uh to some to the lifean center in writing yeah obviously hand that got us into the situation that we're in right now so I mean with with in urging in the interlocal agreement and urging to spend this money on the center for mental health recovery I think that's something what its name is this is something that we're going to use it's something where we are going to send our homeless people it's what's going to give these homeless people a second chance I think one of the things that bothered me most of all when this happened was the sequence of events EV we voted to repeal this item on the ballot and then the entire item was spun we went to court and our legal team gave us our rights because we had the right to repeal to resend a resolution that we had put on the ballot we had never had this commission had never had a conversation never had a conversation about putting that tax on the ballot because we probably wouldn't have and if we hadn't put it on the ballot we would probably be in the way of B Harbor by the way B Harbor voted this tax Town their County Commissioner commissioner Steinberg would never take retaliatory action against one of her cities we are defending our constituents we get attacked by our representation attacked by the commissioner that represents our district I've never seen any kind of representation like that as a matter of fact when we were leaving the chambers I heard some somebody say can Miami Beach secede from commissioner Higgins district with representation like that then we got sued immediately and we went to court we won the court case and within two hours after winning this court case after our attorneys worked to represent our constituents rights and our right to resin something on a ballot um and they worked tirelessly and they won within a few hours homeless people were ripped from Camila's house where they were on the path to recovery they had jobs they were given their stuff was put in plastic baggies okay and they were dropped without any explanation whatsoever even the CEO of Camila house said he's never seen anything like that so this commissioner took retaliation against her own constituents in a city that she represents and I would say that we are being incredibly civil because those actions were a declaration of war on her own constituents and I will never ever be able to understand how you could get elected to represent your constituents and then weaponize human beings weaponize homeless make people suffer and and then extort and demand on top of it but that's fine I think that we are being overly civil in engaging in a negotiation because right now we don't have to do anything legally we don't have to do anything but granted um these are our colleagues at the county we want to get along we want to contribute to the homeless situation we want to find a Humane solution but up until now this weaponization of human beings I find so horrific and to weit and to accuse us of being inhumane for arresting homeless and putting them in jail I think it's worse to weaponize the homeless and rip them where they're thriving and dump them in a situation next to a bar with no curfew no rules and they said this is great but if you're next to a bar and you have no rules and you've been thriving at Camila's house where you have a curfew where you have rules where there is no alcohol allowed that is just cruel and I wasn't going to say all of this stuff because I bet you I've been I feel like upset now but I do feel that if we if you add in this urging to actually find a Humane solution then I will support this okay we have uh a motion in a second and then commissioner magazine wants to speak and then commissioner bot thank you commissioner Rosen Gonzalez I I not only will uh if we make it a separate motion um not only will I second that motion to urge uh money be dedicated to the lifeman center I will personally go in front of the County Commission and uh I don't want to say Lobby in a bad way but uh urge them to do so uh as well uh that being said commissioner Suarez I appreciate the accolades this isn't my item my my name's next to it but this is taking what I've heard is important to every single one of my colleagues over the years so I hope collectively we look at this as our item I have seen commissioner Fernandez Be A Champion for homeless causes not only in the city of Miami beach but in our region and our County for years for years and he's been such a tremendous example and an inspiration commissioner Rosen Gonzalez not wanting to tax small businesses I implemented that Mr uh mayor Miner you've uh had similar sentiments in Commissioners bot and Dominguez you have been tireless tireless champions for the homeless and you believed that that 1% tax was right and I I agree with you but I think that this is a uh better dedicated Revenue source so I'm supporting this because I know how important and tirelessly you all have worked for addressing this as a Regional Crisis as well I see uh both of the Commissioners out there on the homeless walks and uh working with our homeless Outreach Services so while my name might be uh next to this this is really an aggregation of the years and years of work that all of my colleagues have done commissioner bot um so this is how I know I'm not a politician um there has been so much vitriol expended over the last two weeks when what we should have done from the GetGo was have conversations and work collaboratively to find the best solution as a city we are a very desirable destination for homeless folks from around the country because the weather's good there are a lot of tourists who might be a soft spot for handing out a meal um you can sleep outside and we've worked tirelessly as a city to um provide services in a compassionate method with with help being the preeminent goal for years and that has really been stepped up in the last couple of years and our homeless count has gone down significantly in the last number of years since even since 2021 when um when this whole debacle um sort of started um we have an incredible team on the staff of uh the city of Miami Beach dedicated to helping those who are homeless and without prospects to getting the help they need it is an awardwinning program other municipalities send people here to learn how we're doing it we have dedicated officers in our Miami Beach Police Department who have donated not donated that would be terrible um dedicated their lives to helping people get back on their feet in fact one of the most impressive of people who works for the City of Miami Beach B Hall if you don't know him you should he is an inspiration that you can't even imagine was a formerly homeless person who is now leading the charge along with Dr T to get people back on their feet in a Humane and compassionate and sustainable manner so for the allegations to be made as they have been that we don't care that we don't pay our fair share that all we want want to do is throw people into jail is inaccurate at best I would just correct something my colleague mentioned my vote against this issue is not about the tax itself because while I do believe we can always and should always do more to help the homeless I did also have reservations about the way this was worded and how it was going my vote against this was the fact that we were already 2third of the way through a proper voting process and I understand this the court did not see things my way but I mean I wear a necklace that says vote so I'm going to stand by that I think that what we have before us and and with our colleagues at the county is a very solid path forward and what I would urge my colleagues to do both here in the city of Miami Beach and at the county is put aside the rhetoric and the anger and figure out how to do the best thing that we can for all of our residents whether they are in Miami Beach or other parts of the county whether they are currently homed or unhomed let us work together like grown-ups in a room to use the vast amount of resources we have whether it's the lifeman center whether it's some other thing that the homeless trust is trying to figure out but let there be full transparency full accountability and full collaboration to move forward and in fact I'm bringing an item in a in an upcoming commission meeting to focus some of the revenue that will be coming from the um Convention Center Hotel to be dedicated to Affordable Workforce and homeless housing so it is not taking away the convention center hotel it is using the money that it will be throwing off to find long-term permanent Solutions going forward so I will be supportive of both uh commissioner Magazine's item and I commend you for it and for commissioner Rosen Gonzalez's urging and I will I will pledge to work with you to get that done as well commissioner Rosen Gonzalez um I also I know that there was some of this funding was supposed to go toward victims of domestic violence and um they were part of the tax to begin with so I think a percentage when we do the urging a percentage of it should also go to the victims of domestic violence because that is what was being sold to the electorate um and I see that we have one of the representatives from the county here so when we do this urging of I would like this urging to go as part like as a resolution along with the interlocal agreement that 50% go toward the mental health center an urging and 10% go to the victims of domestic violence I don't and I I and yes so it it was 15% what it was 15% it was 15% that was going okay so 15% so an urging that 15% of the funds are expended for the victims of domestic violence and I don't know how you guys feel about that but hopefully you'll support it so this we have a motion and a second Comm vice mayor Fernando this thank you Mr Mayor um I want to recognize my colleagues creativity uh in putting together dis dis disagreement I'll say what what is to me my concern is that we are allowing the government of higher jurisdiction to force our hand into something the conversation started at $10 million and here we are giving them the $10 million that they were pushing us for and I think it's a horrible day for our government for good government when we allow another government to push us and force our hand to give up give up money because they did not like the decision of of our governing body and that we're giving it to the exact amount that they wanted that to me is is is horrible I think we are setting the worst of precedents with it with that I think you found a very creative solution forward um that that that does not impose attacks on on on our residents and and on our businesses but for me the worst part about this is that today the message is that we're open for retaliation that they didn't like the actions they came they pushed us for $10 million and were giving them $10 million that otherwise that otherwise 5.6 million of that Surplus would have come back to the taxpayers of the city of Miami Beach and so and so to me that is the troubling the very troubling part of this that because of an action that we took on this day is that regardless of whether it was in our legislative prerogative or not over 20,000 Miami Beach residents had exercise their Democratic right to exercise their vote and that we exercise then our legislative prerogative to suspend that vote in the middle of an election and granted the courts upheld our ability to do it in part because we got ahead of the supervisor of of election and put out a notice that I think you know out of respect to the supervisor of election it should have come out first from the supervisor of election but we got ahead of it and we put it out and so the city uh was going to create more confusion the court would have created more confusion if it would have granted the the the injunction and that's part of what the judge said in in his in his ruling but that we are giving in we are giving in to the demands of of of a government that didn't like the decision and that we're giving them the exact figure that that that that they wanted um that for me is is so challenging I think it's a it's it's it's a bad precedent for us to set and uh and and and it hurts me that that that our actions here it's going to cost our taxpayers $5.6 million ultimately uh because that would have been money that would have gone back to the city and so and so you have the votes for this item to pass I'll join you because I do think you've used your your financial genius and you are Financial Wiz and it's no wonder that you are the chair of the finance committee so I thank you for putting together a very creative solution that that saves our community from a tax burden from a from imposing a tax that would indeed Place us at the highest tax bracket uh in Miami day County when people go out to eat uh but it's but but it is at the ex it is it is giving in and then that is what hurts me the most about this that people who are supposed to be representing us retaliated against us us and it's ultimately not coming out of our pockets as elected officials it is coming out of the pockets of the residents and taxpayers of the city of Miami Beach who are going to be deprived of $5.6 million because Miami day County did not like the decision made in our city and I have to say that one person has risen above this all and it's my Miami day County mayor Daniela lvin Cava who has led with thoughtfully with with heart with Integrity trying to find bridges for Solutions and she needs to be commended publicly but I'm very disappointed by the lack of thought and kindness towards the 50 unhoused individuals who were ripped out of their supportive environment and dropped off in our city in the middle of the night next to a bar when many of them suffer for from addictions because of a legislative political decision using human lives as pawns is the lowest that anyone can go and no one that does that should have the honor of being called a public servant and shame on them shame on them those are human lives that deserve to be treated with dignity and respect when they are at the lowest point and for any public servant to do that is wrong and put aside then coming and forcing our hands to give up our taxpayers dollars because they didn't like the decision it is a precedent of unkindness that does not Merit public office and is shameful but I thank you commissioner magazine for using your wisdom and your financial genius to get us to this point uh and you've got the support and you'll have my support as well commissioner Suarez oh oh I'm sorry I meant the commissioner Dominguez thank you mayor um and thank you for commissioner Fernandez and for all of the hard work that you've put in um with the Hess item um like you I did not vote to remove it from the ballot because I felt that it was uh the voter's right to decide and two-thirds of the votes had already gone through I did go to the County Commission as did you and some of my other colleagues what I heard that day was um $10 million a year like they really went way far beyond what our fair share would be and in uh looking at commissioner Magazine's item and also in my conversation today with mayor Daniela Lin kava that 10 million is not per year it's over time based on this uh new negotiation so um that part of it I think is better um and it's more in line with our fair share because homelessness is a regional issue and we do need to do our part um and I understand that we spent um around $5.2 million uh to help the homeless but uh to give more money for County beds I think is something very important and I too am supportive of this item before we take the vote um commissioner Suarez one last thing and similar to what my colleague Dominguez said it didn't stop at $10 million it didn't stop in in fact in fact it was 10 the the the the fee was $10 million for the first year $20 million for the next year and based on our own Representatives at the county eileene Higgins she was setting up us for a blank check okay she she was setting us Miami Beach up for a blank check just think about that for a minute our own County representative taking advantage of a situation to abuse Miami Beach taxpayers okay just think about that for a second how awful that sounds and to have the audacity to say that we don't care and this is all about money yes we're stewards of taxpayer money that's our job we that is literally what we have an oath for is to protect taxpayer money but just be clear it wasn't $10 million and the good thing about I think this proposal is it it bakes in a long-term solution what what commissioner Eileen Higgins proposed was a 10 million doll payout for this year and then we'll figure it out after that and we we all know what that means okay that's it would not be good so we want to make sure that we hone in a long-term solution that is Equitable for everyone I think our own city manager put it put it perfectly it's similar you know if we wanted to go with her her proposal it's like emptying out our bank account and keeping our head in the guilotine doesn't make any sense so um I I share your concerns commissioner Fernandez I certainly do not like to be taken advantage of especially by our own Representatives at the higher government um but we have we have a billion dooll project here that's on life support and you know God forbid that does not happen uh and we do not want we certainly do not want to cut off our nose despite our faith so um I certainly hope and and I and I know that there are at least 12 County Commission Commissioners on there that are reasonable fair and balanced and and and we certainly hope that they do the right thing commissioner Ros Gonzalez commissioner Fernandez I'll remind everyone I I just we have a motion on a second yeah and I want to make a second motion just so that we vote on these two things separately a separate resolution saying that a portion of to 50% be spent on the center for mental health and Recovery 15% spent on domestic violence the tax had these stipulations had that stipulation in it but this is not a tax so it doesn't have that stipulation so it does not the state law does not apply to this so that would be my motion do I have a second on that just to be clear it's an urging it's an urging second why would you not want to do no I'm just I just want to clarify uh um commissioner vice mayor Fernandez thank you and and just to piggy back on what commissioner sarus was was mening was 10 million and then 10 million and then and and then it was uh our portion of the 25 million participation fee and so you know I mean it just adds up it feels like it was just getting close to over 40 million uh once you started adding everything together commissioner magazine you know I where did the 10 million uh the mayor where did the $10 million figure come from the $10 million in the first two years will be borne out of the RDA Surplus so I tried taking uh a ballpark figure of that um number that we will be sending over per anom uh sweeten that a little bit because part of that money is uh from the county so if you would look at our contribution which would be around $4 million per year once the convention center hotel is open and operated we get around that number in the first two years that is going to be borne by the RDA Surplus uh but I I had no problems uh turning that $4 million into five one because I heard that's what the county proposed and then two because a portion of that RDA Surplus actually is County funds so actually Miami Beach's share technically will be less than that $4 million and and and our share that 56% would otherwise go back to the taxpayers of our city the city's the the County's portion is 44% uh which is uh $4.4 million okay the county has stated that because or the or not the county let me just rephrase The Negotiator appointed by the board of County Commissioners has has stated that because of pulling this question from the ballot now the county is short about $20 million over two years in its homeless services which I say well you know that's kind of like shame on you because how can you bake that into your projections when the voters had had not approved it but but it seems like they were counting on that money coming in so that's $20 million our proportionate share of homelessness in Miami day county is 133% Miami Beach homeless population represents 133% of the Miami day County homeless pop population why don't we give the county our share of that $20 million so 133% of that $20 million which is $2.6 million over their 4.4 that they're entitled to anyways which gets us to 7 million dollars because that's a number I can justify that is a number that I can justify a reason behind that number before they threw out $10 million and I don't know where $10 million was coming from how we got to that $10 million but I want to know that I can justify why I'm giving this money I just don't want to give 10 M10 million because they were telling us to give them $10 million they're entitled to 4.4 million as their share but they have to deal with their $2 million gap but we don't need to cover that entire Gap and our portion of homelessness is 133% let's get them the 13% of the $20 million which is 2.6 and gets us to $7 million yeah and through the mayor if I may um I agree with you commissioner Fernandez that Miami Beach should not be on the hook for just filling the County's budget Gap right if we want to make this about our fair share share I think we all laid out arguments that we are going well well above and beyond our fair share uh this gets into some of the legal nuances and complexities so maybe Mr City attorney if you can help me out here the first two years until the convention center hotel is built is actually before us from the county as part of rd2 and amending that in any way would actually have to go back to the county which would then have to come kick back to the city commission uh so you know in essence it it does and not to say we do things to simplify uh but there's certainly time-sensitive deadlines with getting funding in place and I think if we would essentially reopen rd2 it would have to go back to the County Commission on November 20th they would have to talk and adopt whatever we amended and then it would have to come back to our city Commission in December um one of the reason why I laid this out as is is to greatly simplify things right and if we want to take that off the back end I'm happy we've laid out a template after those two years for our city staff to go and negotiate with our County staff and if we want to say things like you know we we would uh uh get that on the back end forgiven I I'd be happy to support you in that measure uh but doing the first two years of the deal essentially moves rd2 for forward and simplifies the measure um but I wholeheartedly agree we're not doing this because the county has excess budget gaps and what that really shows us is they had no intent of giving us back what was reimbursed because they were clearly counting on a net number of $10 million right so that shows us if they had that budget Gap because they expected $10 million per year we probably weren't going to have Ron book hold up his end of the agreement of sending us our $5 million back but in passing this as the proposed and Rick if you you can weigh in uh I think this simplifies things and keeps it on a timeline that really uh number one rule in in finance Investment Banking the number one thing that kills all deals is time and this simplifies things and gets things going right away sure accepting the proposal by the county at their um last Wednesday meeting would in effect prevent any further discussion of that part of it by the county uh we would be signing the amended interlocal as presented by the county and we would need we would need actually today we we will need various resolutions we would need a resolution uh from the city regarding accepting the interlocal as amended from the RDA accepting the interlocal as amended and then separate resolutions from the city and the RDA to address what happens after year you know after the two years are up um and we would be sending that back to the county as you mentioned with direction to to the administration to negotiate with the county to finalize the terms of of of those uh provisions and then finally there wouldd be the resolution urging the county uh that your colleague commissioner Rosen Gonzalez proposed so I have a question on that and and it's to the attorney sorry um so if we adopt so our opt only option to today is to adopt $10 million with without delaying the process because doesn't this have to go back to the board of County Commissioners and when it goes back to the board of County Commissioners can't they the same way they reopened the item at their last meeting and they kept it open for us to consider what they sent us and then they were going to ratify at their next meeting can't they ratify something at their next meeting that is consistent with what we had op here today even if it's not the same exact amount of that that they sent over they could do that or they could say they could do that they would without delaying the process no if they say we we ratify but we want further negotiation on certain points like they may ratify part of what you sent back but want uh commissioner Higgins who was a designated um negotiator to to negotiate further that is that is a risk well I mean I mean we run that risk today with the items that we that'ss before us also my understanding at the last County Commission they said that if we accepted this that part of the deal was a done deal okay I I I I really just have issues with the precedents that we are setting we are setting a very very very very very bad precedence um it happened and of course now we have an elected Sheriff but it happened that you know a higher government did not like our actions with spring break they they amended theou to uh on on Mutual Aid they didn't like our our action again I didn't agree with the action I voted against it but but the majority prevails they didn't like the city what became the the city's policy as to removing the ballot language and now they're sending us they're asking for these Mill $10 million and we're giving in to to it and and I'm one that as you all know I tend to be diff differerent to the county you know but I really do not like this precedent that we that we are setting here um and and and I would urge us to to consider a different amount that makes sense that there's a reason behind the amount other than the fact that the county was asking for it uh because ultimately whatever is left over in that RDA does ultimately come back to our City's cers uh and and and no you know we can call it the RDA that RDA is 56% your money at home the taxpayers money and commissioner I don't disagree with you about being uneasy about the president being said yeah we'll call the vote we have a couple different votes uh commissioner magazines we have commissioner Rosen Gonzalez and then the RDA to I just I just wanted to share some of your sentiments commissioner Fernand vice mayor Fernandez what's interesting is you are very differential to the county um you obviously spent uh many years many years uh as a public servant working in the county so it's it's I I have to say I I I've it's interesting to to watch how um your disappointment uh and that's probably being mild I was actually going to mention the spring break and and I and I think it's important to mention there there may be a theme going on here that we as a body need to be very conscious of we ultimately I think we're going to make a decision today that we're going to try to to meet uh a compromise but at some point we're going to push back and and by the way as this is as far as I'll go so and and I don't want to speak for anybody else here but I think the message that we're sending to the county is this is it if you don't like it uh we're done but it is amazing we had an incredible spring break we protected people we did not have people killed on our streets or businesses rampaged stampedes I mean it was by every measure from almost every business residents and the response from the county was to change the interlocal agreement where we cannot get County police officers where we exchange officers but now we have to pay for it at a cost from about spring break Memorial Day about a million dollars so and now comes this I mean part of me actually wondered whether really with this would have happened anyway had we not pulled the item off the ballot whether it would have been something else so but obviously I think we're we're meeting a good place I'm hoping that these are just one-offs and um and we're and I I think we will work well I'm actually being I want to end on a positive note because I'm actually optimistic about it but I think it's important to mention these issues that we're seeing and you know we're not going to be held hostage we're just not going to be um so and and I Echo your sentiments about mayor Cava she's been an outstanding partner to work with commissioner Steinberg and I think many of the Commissioners I think we have a commission in the county that we can work with and we will work with and I'm actually I'm actually optimistic that we're going to forge forward um and I think just to to finalize my comments we're going to protect our most vulnerable we do and we're going to continue to do so we're going to work well with the county and we're going to continue our homeless efforts between finding shelter beds for anybody we always have a shelter bed for anyone who who needs it we help people find homes we provide mental health and Addiction Counseling we we provide employment opportunities we go above and beyond and we pay our fair share and more than our fair share and then some but the but I one thing that needs to be that I just want to finish with on the on on homelessness because we get a lot of heat from certain segments not our residents about enforcement levels that we take against the homeless there is an absolute Criminal element amongst the homeless the homeless who want the help get the help but there are many who do not want the help or they have addictions mental health issues or or addiction issues that don't allow them to get the help but either way we see the crime reports we know what happens in our city and our residents are demanding that we address that and that they do not become a victim of a crime from a homeless person or a homeless person becomes a victim of crime of another homeless person which we see often and I will never apologize for having Law and Order and protecting our residents what we see and the irony is when you see California and other states and Portland and New York City they spend more money on homeless than anybody they tax they keep taxing more and more but you need the enforcement and I'll say what we see in some other cities and states encampments the crime committed by homeless it's not going to happen on my watch I don't think I don't think anybody here is going to allow it to happen on our watch so we will provide the services we will put in the money for it and we're doing that today as a spirit of compromise but we're also going to do the enforcement which we have uh explicitly and we continue to direct our police even though they're doing a very good job to continue to do more and more let's call the vote let's call a vote on item R9 and a through the May if I may I wish to clarify because there's a few different motions so that we make sure we have everything in order that so that we can execute so we have a it would be a motion I mean there was one motion made but I think that there's various resolutions associated with the motion one is to accept the County's proposal which includes amending the interlocal from what it was previously uh the way it was previously worded to add the $10 million payment to the county and there are also some modifications to the grant agreement um involving the annual payments and the transaction fee so that would be a motion by the city and then a separate motion or resolution for the RDA that addresses the interlocal then there will be another motion another resolution by the city and uh uh by the RDA directing the administration to negotiate with the county on an interlocal 7 and or possibly an additional interlocal that deals with what happens after 2027 and then finally we have commissioner Rosen Gonzalez's uh urging resolution okay second one by one and hold on and later on don't forget Mr attorney I have a consent item on the agenda also yes we'll do that so we had an original motion from commissioner magazine and a secondary by commissioner Suarez which encompassed item r9a and that encompassed the two motions the two resolutions that you stated not not the urging but the two that you that you stated so on r9a uh all in favor please say I I I hearing no NOS hearing no NOS the item is approved unanimously I'm now going to do item r9b which was commissioner Rosen Gonzalez's urging which is urging 50% for the lifeman center 15% for domestic violence violence shelters that was a motion from commissioner uh Rosen Gonzalez seconded by commissioner magazine all in favor please please it was 15 15 15 so 50+ 15 yes okay so uh all in favor please say I I I motion passes 70 there those are the three resolutions that you mentioned and we need to do RDA first so if we now can recess as a commission meeting and reconvene as the RDA I believe the only item for the RDA is now RDA 2 well R R9 has to be approved by the so but you want to do R RDA 2 now okay so we're going to do the RDA portion which is RDA 2 which is revised RDA interlocal 6 Amendment and Convention Center Hotel Grant agreement yeah so so we're doing the RDA portion of the interlocal six amendment I don't know if there's any discussion or we could have a motion I make motion to approve second motion by commissioner magazine uh seconded by commissioner Suarez and RDA 2 all in favor please sign say I I I motion passes 70 one absent so I'm assuming commissioner Fernandez that your rda1 you have uh withdrawn it it was a companion item to the other yeah that would be withdrawn rda1 is withdrawn now we are reconvening as the city commission meeting and I believe the next item is r9e which is the companion item discuss take action provide funding to Miami day County for homeless trust domestic bolid centers this is the companion the city companion to it R9 r9e I think are you withdrawing that yeah that's withdrawn we need to call c7a so c7a is before we do that I just want to say thank you for that discussion it was a a good discussion very civil discussion and thank you Magazine from that proposal you continue to make me look good for appointing you as the finance chair so thank you for that Mr mer can I ask one clarification sure um so RDA 1 specifically states that by March 31st 2025 the agency shall provide the entire Surplus balance up to $10 million in funding from available trust fund balance as of September 30th 2024 that is slightly different than r9a which talks about um two payments of 5 million each in year one and year two those are not additive we're not talking about both the 10 and the two FS the uh if I can through the chair that's absolutely correct uh so we will amend r9a to essentially conform with what's proposed for the first two years in rd2 right and earlier I I went through I knows a lot but I went through the five resolutions which included adopting the County's proposal which includes the 10 million by March 31 and modifications to the grant agreement and that needs to be approved by both the commission and the RDA and then we have the additional resolutions from each of those bodies directing the administration and the RDA staff to negotiate with the county for what happens post 2027 based on commissioner Magazine's proposal as amended today sir do we have to take any other action as the city we have not we we did r9a we did r9b r9c was withdrawn r9e was withdrawn and rda1 was withdrawn so we need to as the city adopt r82 so a companion item on the city's behalf which is revised RDA interlocal six Amendment and Convention Center Hotel Grant but this time as the city not as the RDA if so that will be uh if I can have a motion for that please I make a motion so commissioner bot seconds it commissioner magazine makes a motion all in favor of and if I could before um that does include the ability for the administration specifically me to finalize any material terms related to that correct the resolution will be drafted as we typically do that will allow for the administration to finalize and execute I have a motion and a second all in favor of the city's uh portion City's version of this of the RDA agreement I'll say I I I so that's done we have not done the consent agenda item c7a c7a which is remind Miami day County Miami Beach residents contributions to homeless tax when dining vice mayor Fernandez thank you Mr Mayor uh this is an item I place on the agenda because in everything that's been stated publicly what is lost in the narrative is that that the residents of the city of Miami Beach do contribute the 1% tax whenever they eat out in restaurants in cor Gables or Brickle or they go to Avent any other part of this County our residents are paying this tax the same way that whenever Miami dat residents from the mainland come over to to Miami Beach they're not paying the tax either and I think it's important to affirm that because I think our residents to a certain extent have been disrespected a narrative has been placed out there the Miami Beach residents are exempt from the 1% tax no our residents are paying the 1% tax they're paying it the same way way in the mainland the same way when Mainland residents don't pay it when they come to Miami Beach and I think fair is fair and our uh taxpayers our residents do deserve that that to be recognized and I do think a public apology is owed to our community because they are paying that tax I move my item Mr Mayor I'll second go vote this is item c7a I have a motion by commissioner Fernandez second by commissioner magazine all in favor please say I I motion pares passes 70 we've called All the items I would actually like to open it up to any public comment see if anybody has uh always like to hear from our residents so uh I will do that just come up to the to the podiums go ahead the floor okay um hi Mr Mayor and Commissioners um thank you for all the service and work you do um I'm here today on behalf of the human rights committee to express our deep concern regarding the recent actions that we feel have silenced our voices and disregarded our Rights Voting is one of the most fundamental Liberties in our democracy removing a ballot initiative mid-election especially after more than 20,000 residents had already casted their votes represents a serious Injustice this decision not only undermines public trust but also sets a troubling precedent for how similar issues may be handled in the future this disappointment in our community does not Center on the specific topic of referendum 8 but rather on the act of removing an item from the ballot after voting had already begun this decision has generated significant anger and concern as it suggests a lack of respect for our Democratic process and erods confidence in both current and in both current and future commissions we each with each decision there is an opportunity to learn and grow we hope the commission acknowledges the frustration that many in our community feel and takes it to heart we urge you to find a solution that addresses homelessness and domestic violence while also respecting the voices and perspectives of our Mainland neighbors homelessness and domestic violence are complex issues but ensuring that the voices of the people are Central to government and decisions that we entail so thank you for listening and thank you for all you do and we know you're doing your best so thank you so much forget your name oh sorry Amanda nap 1200 West Avenue human rights chair thank you mnp and I'm going to go next to zoom so Wayne please uh say your name address and you have two minutes please good evening ladies and gentlemen I was listening intently to the conversation and I got to say that everybody's heart is in the right place it's it's in Miami Beach it's for the business Community it's for the developers it's for the residents it's for the quality of life it's for a lot of things and every one of you brought very good points and um ultimately um I was sadden to watch the the County Commission and the way they behaved on our behalf as a resident of the county um I felt uh betrayed uh by eileene Higgins like many of you said uh she pain Us in such a a diabolical way um probably because we boo her out of the city when she came to my building and presented her abago multi-billion dollar uh plan for a Metro mover uh instead of looking to the towards the future and public transit using autonomous travel or electric uh Ferry services since we're on a Waterway um much better Solutions cheaper better faster and it can carry people across the the region rather than one stop on Fifth Street um pathetic idea and she represented such lies and deceit in terms of numbers um that it it it really disgusted me I don't know how we elected her but I thank every one of you for S like turning the other cheek you know really turning the other cheek when um our represent representation at the county was so horrible and allowed them to get their way because ultimately everybody pays the county pays the city pays the homeless pays uh and the business Community pays so thank you thank you very much next please yes Blanca Velo 1881 Washington Avenue first of all mayor Comm commers thank you very much for defending us and for your passion Alexis I never seen you so passionate about something uh but also I just want to bring a little issue for those residents that we are not M multimillionaires uh before Co we were able to go out for dinner you know once twice a week or maybe in nightclub and whatever now with the prices plus all these taxes it makes very difficult for us the rest residents to be going out for dinner so the more you tax the less the residents can go out and if we don't go out we are the ones that that really keep alive the businesses it's not just the tourists we are the ones that go once twice three times so thank you so much and we hope that those taxes don't keep going up because we like to go out thank you thank you so much I'm going to go now to zoom and I'll be back uh our next speaker is virtually is Elizabeth Laton Miss Laton please state your name address and you have two minutes hi Elizabeth Laton um 6515 colins I live in North Beach and I would like to say um first of all thank you all for addressing us so thoughtfully and carefully um but I'd like to remind you all that we were Exempted from this tax because we pay a a resort tax um I am also echoing Amanda nap for having our vote rescinded when this was well known it was on the agenda by certain members of the uh commission since March of this past year I'm absolutely livid about that but here we are and we wouldn't be here if the parties had a written agreement regarding regarding this matter not not a verbal one you can't buy a house without a written agreement serious negotiations between governments regarding an interlocal agreement should be in writing always why the taxpayers need to pay for all of the high excuse me high price government lawyers if you're not going to do business and writing this whole thing sick thanks thank you so much hi y'all my name is Karina cata and my address is 855 uclid Avenue so hi everyone my name is kadina a South Beach resident and thank you for allowing me to speak my questions for the group are many initiatives were mentioned today services to help the homeless my question for you is how are we measuring success for eradica eradicating homelessness in Miami Beach my second question is is the city publishing its cumulative numbers of people experiencing homelessness and updating it month over a month and then my third question is I heard the reference to census data and the homeless population decreasing but is realtime by name data informing these decisions and where is that data coming from so to clarify by name dat dat is a more effective way to measure homelessness than doing a headcount because it involves understanding how an individual becomes unhoused and what is preventing them from accessing housing finally I know our neighbors at West Palm Beach have made a commitment to joining the build for zero movement which ensures homelessness when it happens is rare and brief over a 100 cities have joined this commitment to ending homelessness as Miami Beach begins to be known nationally as you all put it an inhumane City I know that joining the built for zero movement will help elevate the image of the city and make us residents proud to live here and support our local government thank you for your time thank you so much our next virtual speaker speaker is Gail Durham Miss Durham you have two minutes please state your name and address hello my name is Gail Durham I live at 1504 Bay Road um I'm so proud of my commission uh Commissioners I'm very impressed by all your intelligent comments um thoughtful comments um so thank you for you know trying to fix this horrible situation um I wanted to learn more about the numbers we're throwing out millions of dollars the homeless trust collects 75 million or 1,700 homeless people I don't know that comes out $40,000 per homeless person per year that seems like a lot um so I'm interested uh to learn more about that thank you thank you so much next speaker please say your name and address good afternoon my name is Dwayne thit my address is 6944 Northeast um Third Avenue Miami Florida um I want to say today is a very enlightening day for me to witness um what has happened here with this commission most of you on this commission should have recognized me um in eight days would Mark six months since you guys gave me an acknowledgement a proclamation um for the work in which I do um that work is helping people get their voting rights and so it troubled me so much to see that on the 11th Hour as the media put it that this commission practically took away the votes of over 20,000 people it's also troubling when it when I realized that it is relating to a bill in which I came here to this CA same commission last October to speak about stating that I thought it was not a great solution um that bill at that time and there should be more discussions um it's troubling to think that most of the commission has been put in place since at least January of this year and had almost nine months to actually review this bill so this bill the referendum would not have made it to a ballot which was mailed out on September 30th of this year um so I know that this is not personal I do respect respect the dialogue that you guys have and I appreciate the uniqueness of addressing the issues that in front of you I am by no way a politician but I am troubled because I spent my entire life working to help people get their voting rights and we all know for a fact that almost 20,000 of those people votes did not count um and so it is troubling to see that that has happened here I appreciate what you guys are doing I think it is much better than the original Bill last year thank you thank you our next virtual speaker has initials of NBA please state your name and address please hello um I just wanted to say today that it's very sad that there is a I went to vote and I voted for this 1% and this 1% now the commission decided to take it out my voice over them on is the voice of the commission is bigger than my voice so it's very sad that we're living in a in a commission that they push so much they bully so much and plus this is a con uh consequences of a decision of the commission okay of four of you and then the worst part is you guys celebrate with Mariachis and this is why the the Miami date commission got upset with you guys because you guys decide to celebrate and take the voice out of out of the out of us out of the constituents so next time please follow what the people are saying it was in the ballot already the commissioner said he had he had mails of this um advertisement coming to his house so him saying in the commission over there oh he didn't know that is BS so next time let the people speak we are in a democratic State we need to let people speak if it was in the ballot Let It Be thank you thank you your name was Joe Manning 1460 Ocean Drive I'd like to get a little personal I love this country as did my father who is an immigrant I am a first generation Italian American what happened with the resending of the referendum was horrific it should never happen again you should all be ashamed of yourselves those of you who did it what we have is the right to vote it's a very important right I stand with a gentleman who just spoke you cannot do that don't you ever do it again you can't we love our country we love our right to vote do not ever dare to take it away from us thank you next please state your name you have two minutes sir hello good evening everyone good evening Mr gado Mr Doo everyone all right and I thank you for that uh and for the previous caller um we're not a democracy we are actually a constitutional republic so in any case um we're hearing a lot but there are many people who are personally impacted by crime with the homeless there are only two people that I know of May if we can confirm there are only two people that I know of in this room who were almost killed by a homeless person one of them is commissioner magazine ELD the gunpoint we all know the situation and myself on Ocean Drive when I worked as manager of the locus just north of mango so and I get a emotional thinking about it you know the flashback you know realizing that um you know someone really might end you right there Ocean Drive or in the garage or at the park the real life impact the lived experience is um undeniable so um in terms of Mr book and the book family nothing against them personally um I do not agree with um these tactics uh and I agree with you uh mayor minor I don't think that the city should be held hostage um and again I think that U we need to use some common sense here because it impacts real lives on the ground real people one black one white thank you there are no other speakers on zoom and no one here in the audience either mayor okay thank you all meeting adjourned good night e