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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem #44 - Discussion ItemTO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission FROM: me z ity Manager CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM DATE : FE8 2 c 2001 31 SUBJECT: Annual Reports/Presentations REFERENCES: ENCLOSURES: FILE : Pursuant to Code Sec. 2-892, the following boards are scheduled to make an oral presentation before the City Commission: Coconut Grove Parking Advisory Committee Audit Advisory Committee Urban Development Review Board Latin Quarter Review Board Off -Street Parking Board Nuisance Abatement Board The written reports from these committees that have been received by the City Manager are attached. CAG/MLW MEMORANDUM TO: Carlos Gimenez, City Manager City of Miami FROM: Monica C. Fernandez, Chairperson, Appointed by Joe Sanchez Richard A. Berkowitz, Appointed by Thomas Regalado Mirtha Guerra Aguirre, Appointed by Wilfredo Gort Joy M. Intriago, Appointed by Johnny Winton Roderick Harvey, Appointed by Arthur Teele Date: January 9, 2001 Subject: Audit Advisory Committee Report pursuant to City Code Sec. 2-890 This memo serves to comply with City Code Sec. 2-890 for the Audit Advisory Committee. 1. Is the Board serving the purpose for which it was created? The Audit Advisory Committee was created to serve and assist the Mayor, City Commission, and the City Manager in fulfilling their fiduciary responsibilities related to accounting, auditing, and financial reporting matters of the City. During the period in which the current members were appointed by the City Commissioners in May 2000 to present, the committee has consistently met monthly and has done the following: We have met with the City's independent auditors (KPMG) where they presented the annual audit and management letter for the FYE 9/30/99. We have also met with them to gain an understanding of the internal control environment throughout the different departments and functions of the City. We have attempted to gather the internal control related policies and procedures from City department directors. We received and reviewed the internal control documents of several departments including Purchasing, Conferences/Conventions/Public Facilities, Real Estate/Economic, Public Works, Professional Compliance, City Clerk, and Civil Service Board. Many of these responses did not consist of formal internal control procedures but for the most part consisted of copies of City Code provisions and Administrative Policies. We are currently working on determining the status of internal control procedures throughout the City. Carlos Gimenez Page 2 We have met and discussed with the office of internal audits several reports prepared by the office of internal audit. The Committee has developed a list of the reports that the committee would like to receive updates on the status of findings. Based on the above actions as they related to the committees' objectives, the committee is fulfilling its purpose for which it was created. 2. Is the Board serving current community needs? The Audit Advisory Committee members are accounting and legal professionals that either do business in the city or are city residents and in some cases both. The members are not employed nor compensated in any way to serve on the board and therefore independent of city operations. The committee serves a great community need as independent advisors and oversight of the city's overall financial and internal audit functions. 3. The Boards' major accomplishments. The committee meets monthly with few exceptions. As stated in above, the committee is exploring the overall internal control environment of the City. This is one of the major objectives as provided in the City Code that to our knowledge has not been addressed by any previous board. 4. Is there any board, public or private, which could better serve the function of the board? To our knowledge, the committee does not know of any board that could better serve its intended function. 5. Should the ordinance creating the board be amended to better enable the board to serve the purpose for which it was created? The City Commission approved a change to City Code Sec. 2-946(4) that now requires the committee to review the City's compliance with GASB guidelines and requirements instead of MFOA guidelines and requirements. 7 Carlos Gimenez Page 3 6. Should the Board's membership requirements be modified? The committee is satisfied with the membership requirements as established by the ordinance. The committee would like to see consistent participation in the meetings by the Director of Finance and the City Managers' Office. 7. Direct and indirect costs of maintaining the board? To date there have been no direct nor indirect costs related to maintaining the committee. CITY OF MIAMI URBAN DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD Planning and Zoning Department P.O. Box 330708 Miami, FL 33233-0708 January 15, 2001 Mr. Carlos A. Gimenez City Manager P.O. Box 330708 Miami, FL 33233-0708 RE: ANNUAL REPORT - URBAN DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD Dear Mr. Gimenez: The Urban Development Review Board is pleased to present this annual report in satisfaction of City Code Section 2-434, specifically responding to the following questions: A. WHETHER THE URBAN DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD IS SERVING THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH IT WAS CREATED. The Urban Development Review Board is a special review board that assists the Director of the Planning and Zoning Department by making informed professional recommendations on the architectural, landscape and urban design aspects of highly visible buildings/projects, principally in the Downtown, Brickell, Riverside, Coconut Grove and Omni areas. The quality of the projects reviewed by the Board benefits greatly from the insightful input received from its members, as does the Planning and Zoning Department, which incorporates the comments made by the Board into the analyses presented to the City Commission. B. WHETHER THE URBAN DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD IS SERVING CURRENT COMMUNITY NEEDS. The Urban Development Review Board is serving current community needs by being responsive to new development and changing conditions in Miami by making professional recommendations prior to the issuance of Class 11 and Major Use Special Permits. C. A LIST OF THE URBAN DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD'S MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS During 2000, 10 meetings were held. The Board made recommendations on 48 projects, including the following major projects: Park Place at Brickell, Miami International Infocom Center, One Riverview Square, 1060 Brickell, One Miami, Miramar Center, Coral View Project, Brickell View, Brickell Station Mixed Use Development, and International NAP of Miami, . D. WHETHER THERE IS ANY OTHER BOARD, WHETHER PUBLIC OR PRIVATE, WHICH WOULD BETTER SERVE THE FUNCTIONS OF THE URBAN DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD. At its meeting of December 16, 1993, the City Commission passed Resolution 93-166, establishing the City Boards and Committees Review Committee (CBCRC) to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of each existing City Board and Committee and to make recommendations regarding the continuation, abolishment or consolidation of these Boards and Committees. . IZ o4;"`7 4 The CBCRC presented its report, which among other recommendations recommended that the Urban Development Review Board (UDRB) and Historic and Environmental Preservation Board (HEPB) be merged. At its meeting of March 24, 1994, the City Commission passed Resolution 94-129 asking the City Attorney's Office to conduct a careful review of the Ordinances creating the UDRB and the HEPB in order to accomplish the merger of both boards. At the City Commission meeting of September 22, 1994, the study evaluating pros and cons of the proposed merger of the UDRB and the HEPB, prepared jointly by the City Attorney's Office and the Planning, Building and Zoning Department, was presented along with the necessary legislation to create a merged Board by combining the purposes, powers and duties of both boards. The study was discussed and the proposed merger denied unanimously by Motion 94- 712. Thus, after careful consideration the City Commission has concluded that it is in the best interest of the community to maintain the UDRB and the HEPB as separate entities. E. WHETHER THE ORDINANCE CREATING THE BOARD SHOULD BE AMENDED TO BETTER ENABLE THE BOARD TO SERVE THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH IT WAS CREATED. It is recommended that the Zoning Ordinance be amended to enable the Board to review a broader range of projects and to increase the scope and depth of such reviews. F. THE COST BOTH DIRECT AND INDIRECT OF MAINTAINING THE BOARD. There are no direct costs. Indirect costs arise from staff assigned to the Board. This staff is not assigned exclusively to the Board but also has other responsibilities. Indirect costs are estimated at $6,682.67 (see attachment). Thank you for the opportunity to present this report. Sincerely, Willy Bermello Chairman `J . URBAN DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD INDIRECT COSTS INTAKE Planner II Typist Clerk II Fringe benefits - 30% estimated Subtotal 3 hrs. x $21.46 x 11 mo. _ $ 708.18 3 hrs. x $14.54 x 11 mo. _ $ 479.82 $ 1,188.00 $ 356.40 $ 1,544.40 MEETING Planner 11 3 hrs. x $21.46 x 11 mo. _ $ 708.18 Typist Clerk II 3 hrs x $14.54 x 11 mo. _ $ 479.82 Assistant City Attorney 3 hrs. x $53.48 x 11 mo. _ $ 1.764.84 Fringe benefits - 30% estimated Subtotal FOLLOW-UP Urban Design Coordinator Fringe benefits - 30% estimated Subtotal TOTAL $ 2,952.84 $ 885.85 $ 3,838.69 2 hrs. x $31.73 x 11 mo. _ $ 698.06 $ 209.42 _ $ 907.48 $ 6,290.57 3 ->6c Miami Parking Authority v Inter -Office Memorandum -�, _�� C :; 111. 19 TO: Carlos Gimenez, City Manager DATE: February 5, 2001 City of Miami FROM: Arthur Hertz, Chairman SUBJECT: Annual Report Off -Street Parking Board I;IA- As required by City Code Sec. 2-434, I am providing you with the 1999/2000 Annual Report of the Off -Street Parking Board. In summary, this Board successfully performs the functions for which it was created and no modifications are necessary. AH:gtc Enclosure CC: DOSP Board Art Noriega Off -Street Parking Board 1999/2000 Annual Report The Off -Street Parking Board of the City of Miami, (dba, Miami Parking Authority) established by the Florida Legislature in 1955 and chartered by City ordinance in the same year, continues to serve the purpose for which it was created. In fiscal year 1999/2000, the Agency provided the City with over $2,500,000 as the second payment of its five-year commitment of excess revenues. Additionally, the City received over $2,185,000 from parking citation fines and over $1,235,000 from the operation of the Knight Center Garage. This amounts to a total of $5, 920, 000 that the City received resulting from the Agency's parking and enforcement operations. Construction is complete on a 400 -space garage in Coconut Grove which opened in November of 2000. The Agency has continued to work with the City to develop the parking plans for the Watson Island project. The Agency was successful in all its Y2K initiatives and encountered no problems with the change. During the year the Agency increased its parking enforcement efforts resulting in a 46% increase in parking citations issued and a 53% increase in parking citation revenue going to the City. The Agency finished the modernization of the elevator cabs in Garage No. 1 and started the recoating of Garage No. 2. In addition, the Agency installed 1250 additional electronic meters with a total of 245 new installations and successfully carried out a pilot program with its new prepaid meter cards. The Off -Street Parking Board continues to successfully direct the operations of the Department of Off -Street Parking of the City of Miami and no other board could better serve this purpose. Furthermore, no amendments to the ordinance creating the Board or modification to Board membership requirements are necessary. The cost of maintaining the Board is approximately $2,000 annually which is paid solely from parking revenues. Arthur Hertz, Chairman ljs►c,,�sse� t P NUISANCE ABATEMENT BOARD ANNUAL REPORT 2000 The Nuisance Abatement Board (NAB) was created in 1991 as a "quasi-judicial forum to resolve controversies over the existence of public nuisances, such as violative use of property in Miami, where crimes, crime related conduct, annoying and/or injurious use of property flourish" and as specifically defined in Chapter 46 Public Nuisances of the Code of the City of Miami. The NAB is dutifully serving its purpose by alleviating public nuisances and addressing community complaints within the City of Miami. The NAB during the past year has heard a total of eleven cases. IS THE BOARD SERVING CURRENT COMMUNITY NEEDS? The NAB strives to maintain an open door policy with the various communities and residents within the City of Miami, as these citizens and professionals are vital to the successful operations of the Board. The Board offers five conduits for citizens and businesspersons to express their needs, concerns, suggestions and complaints: Community Call -In: This segment is conducted during the monthly hearing at City Hall. The telephone number is displayed on the television screen and allows city residents to call in and ask questions and address issues about Nuisance Abatement procedures. The Board chairman then answers these questions at the end of the televised segment. The interaction has been extremely successful in bringing government to the people. • Community Concerns: This portion is similar to the call-in segment. Residents who attend the monthly hearing at City Hall may express their concerns in person. A LIST OF THE BOARD'S MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS The NAB has made significant and numerous accomplishments since its inception not only in Miami -Dade County but statewide and nationally: Volume of cases: The Nuisance Abatement Board held 7 hearings in 2000, in these meetings 14 cases were heard. IS THERE ANY OTHER BOARD, EITHER PUBLIC OR PRIVATE, WHICH WOULD BETTER SERVE THE FUNCTION OF THE BOARD? The NAB serves as a leader and a model for numerous Boards. Therefore, it is believed that there are no existing boards, public or private, that would better serve the function of the NAB. a SHOULD THE ORDINANCE CREATING THE BOARD BE AMENDED TO BETTER ENABLE THE BOARD TO SERVE THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH IT WAS CREATED? An amendment to the Code was adopted at the end of 1997 through a consolidated effort of the Office of Hearing Boards and the City Attorney's Office. SHOULD THE BOARD'S MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS BE MODIFIED? The NAB of the City of Miami is to serve as a quasi-judicial forum in which controversies over the existence of public nuisances may be resolved in the public interest with due process of law. This Board shall consist of five individuals who reside, own real property or maintain a business office within the City of Miami and who are appointed by the City Commission. All members shall serve a term of one year or until the nominating Commissioner leaves office, whichever occurs first. Each City Commissioner shall nominate one member for appointment to the Board. The City Commission may reappoint any member not more than six consecutive terms. Appointments to fill a vacancy shall be for the remainder of the unexpired term. Should you need further information, please contact me through the Office of Hearing Boards at 305-416-2030. Sincerely, Robert L. Valledor Chairperson Respectfully submitted this day of January 2001.