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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMeeting MinutesCity Commission Meeting Minutes June 12, 2007 De Hostos for March, April, and May; pay the vendor directly for June, July, and August; provide a report to the City Commission regarding the issues surrounding the De Hostos audit investigation in 75 days, and to bring the item back to the City Commission in 90 days. A motion was made by Vice Chairman Sanchez, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, and was passed unanimously, with Commissioner Regalado absent, to direct the City Manager to execute the necessary documents to fund three specific agencies in an amount totaling $23, 097, to be allocated from the District 3 rollover account. Chairman Gonzalez: SP. 16. Barbara Gomez (Director, Community Development): SP. I6 is requesting approval for the 33rd Year Development Community Development Block Grant in the amount of 1,265,833 to the agencies, and this is public services activities. Chairman Gonzalez: OK. Ms. Gomez: This funding is -- has a decrease of 19.2471 percent, and the following agencies are not being recommended at this time: Number one, Galata, Incorporated is not being recommended; De Hostos Senior Centers [sic], Inc. is not being recommended; Progressive Vision Community Development Corporation is not being recommended; and JESCA (James E. Scott Community Association) is not being recommended in this funding. Those allocations of those agencies have been put on a reserve account, per the district that they serve; example, public service reserve in District 2 has a 75,100, which represents De Hostos' funding, and District 5 have 70,296, which represents JESCA, Galata, and Progressive Vision Community Development Corporation, Chairman Gonzalez: All right. This is a public hearing. Anyone from the public that wants to speak on the item, please come forward to be recognized. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Mr. Chairman, while they're coming -- Chairman Gonzalez: All right. Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- to the mike, I just -- De Hostras [sic], that's ill GYynwood -- Chairman Gonzalez: Huh? Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- right? Commissioner Sarnoff Right. Commissioner Spence -Jones: That's -- we share that, right? Commissioner Sarnoff. Sort of yeah. Chairman Gonzalez: De Hostos? All right. Each speaker will have two minutes. Ms. Gomez: It's been shared by both, but only District 2 have awarded - Commissioner Sanf. Funded, right. Ms. Gomez: -- them funding in the past. Chairman Gonzalez: All right. Yes, sir. Good morning, Your name and address. City of Miami Printed on 8%20, 2007 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 12, 2007 absurd. Now we still have pending the Solid Waste contract. I believe that you already achieve some negotiations, and that eventually their contract is going to be coming up for approval by this Commission, so I'm also glad to see that they're finally getting their contract too, so you know, to all ofyou, / want to thank you for coming to the table with an open mind, with a desire to work with the City, and be willing to also give, you know; not only take, but also give, and / think that's what's important, and / think that was the basis of obtaining this contract, so congratulations to all of you. Madam City Clerk, would you do roll call, please? Pamela E. Burns (Assistant City Clerk): Roll call. A roll call was taken, the result of which is .stated above. Ms. Burns: The resolution has been passed, 5/0. Mr. Suarez: Thank you. Chairman Gonzalez: Congratulations, all of you. NON -AGENDA ITEMS NA.1 07-00805 DISCUSSION ITEM DISCUSSION REGARDING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FUNDING CUTS BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. DISCUSSED Chairman Gonzalez: All right. Now we're going to go into the community development items. Before we take the first item, let me tell the social service agencies that I have been having meetings with the Mayor and with the Manager, and I had serious concerns that the social service agencies be impacted -- as you all know, again this year, Washington has made serious cuts to community development funding. / don't know when they're going to stop; maybe when there is zero allocation, that would be the time that Washington will stop, US HUD (United States Department of Housing and Urban Development), and the Congress, and the Senate, you know, and the President, by the way, you know. I don't know when it's going to end, but / hope that pretty soon they stop making these cuts. I also met with Mr. Larry Springs (sic], and / was assure by the City Manager, by Mr. Springs [sic], that all the social agencies -- and listen to this -- all of the social agencies are going to be funded at the same level that they were funded last year, so there will be no new funding to no new agencies because there is no money. All we trying to do is to keep what we have and try to assist the people that we've been assisting up to this point, but there are no new monies coming from Washington. As a matter of fact, it's less money coming in, I believe, 30 percent; right, Mr. Spring? Barbara, a 30 percent cut? Barbara Gomez (Director, Community Development): That's where -- yes. Chairman Gonzalez: Thirty percent cut, so you know, every year they're cutting and cutting and cutting, and we -- we're trying to help you to, you know, sustain yourselves at the same level that you have been working in the past, so having said that, Mr. Spring. Larry Spring: Larry Spring, chief financial officer, City of Miami. Commissioners, we wanted to put on the record, before the meeting got underway, that in evaluating the shortfall for the public service category, we identified al! of the dollars to supplement that shortfall. You have a contribution coming from the Mayor's Poverty Initiative that was going to deal with the senior feeding programs. Our esteemed Commissioner, Commissioner Regalado, graciously provided a $90, 000 contribution from his rollover account, and we were able to identify program income that will be able to supplement the remainder of those agencies, so the shortfall has been adequately dealt with, so we just wanted to par it in the record before the item came before the Crry of Miami Pug(' 9.5 Printed on 8,20/2007 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 12, 2007 Commission. Thank you. Chairman Gonzalez: All right. Very good. Any comments from any of the Commissioners? Commissioner Spence -Jones: 'just -- Chairman Gonzalez: No? Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- want to tell Commissioner Regalado "thank you." We appreciate it. Thank you, .sir. Commissioner Regalado: Well -- no. / think it's important that -- because regardless what happens with Washington, it's our responsibility; it's our people. These are our residents, and / think, you know, we have to do what we have to do. / was lucky to have a rollover of not having spend the budget of my office in the last three years, the complete budget, so this could be the best use for that, but my issue is whether or not are we working in lobbying the Congress for the proposal on the table in the finance committee of the Senate and in the finance committee of the House in the House Ways & Means Committee, to increase the funding for social services and CDBG (Community Development Block Grant). This proposal, as you know, has been endorsed by 60 United States senators, and by almost 220 US representative, so my question is whether are we lobbying, as of now, the federal government in support of that proposal that would not only fill the gaps of the reduction proposed by the Administration, which for next year, are bigger than 30 percent, but would increase up to the levels of two years ago? That was my question. Mr. Spring: Commissioner, based on our briefing, you posed some of that stuff to myself and the City Manager. We are actually trying to put something together now so that we can be a year ahead of that cycle right now. One approach would be to look at the -- what you just put on the record. The other is the City has also been doing -- through an organization out of Washington, Social Compact -- we've been doing population drill -downs around the City, and we have identified preliminarily additional population all across the City. We want to actually go before the federal government and substantiate that our population has indeed gone over the half a million mark, which would also increase our entitlement via the formula, so we are trying to take a few approaches, yours included, and this one right now, and we will come back to the Commission maybe -- hopefully, maybe 30 days, 60 days with a full briefing on what that approach -- those approaches will be. Commissioner Regalado: But you know, if we are able to get the Census Bureau to issue a census tract, confirm it that we have gone over the halfa million population, that will put the City in a very good position, not only for CDBG, but for other -- Mr. Spring: Funding. Commissioner Regalado: -- issues that are only re.serve for cities over half cr million -- Mr. Spring: Right. Commissioner Regalado: -- residents in the United States. / think that if ive can get the Census Bureau to help on this, it would automatically give us even the possibility of raising the cap from /5 to 25 percent in the next three years, which will solve our problem, even if we get cut. Even if we get cut, it will solve all the problems that we anguish, the Chairman, and the Vice Chairman, and Commissioner Spence -Jones, and Commissioner Sarnoff and myself Every year -- Mr. Spring: Right. City of A;tami l'oL:c l( Printed on 8/20:'2007 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 12, 2007 Commissioner Regalado: -- we anguish with the social service program. If we can get the line item in the budget next year, raising from 15 10 25 percent the cap, which the City had fir six years, by the way -- and l have to say, Chairman, that this was the first thing l did in 1996 when l was elected, at that time, citywide, and l didn't know anything about this, but it was because of the recommendation of Frank Castaneda who, at that time, was the Community Development director. Because his advice, we were able to work with Congresswoman Meek and Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen, and they did it. It was -- and i1 served the City for three years, and then it was extended, so I think that now this year California has gotten the increase on the cap from 15 to 25 percent, so 1 think that we can -- if we can make it for next year, we tiwwill be solving all these problems. That's it. Chairman Gonzalez: Thank you, and I remember that. I remember when you were able to achieve that. Commissioner -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: 1 just want tojust add -- it's not too much on it, but a very good point that Larry mentioned earlier regarding -- so that everyone knows on this dais. You know, we did complete a study in hitting the areas that have been impacted from a poverty perspective in our City, and I know Little Haiti, Liberty City, Overtown is just a prime example of certain areas where those numbers -- for instance, in -- I believe, in the Overtown area, it's always state -- been stated that there's only 7,000 people in Overtown. Well, when the study came back, we actually found there were actually 15,000 people living in Overtown, so that neighborhood is an area that is definitely a vibrant community that just needs to be enhanced, and then the same thing happens for Liberty City. The census show that we had 25,000 -- I believe, close 10 25,000 people living in Liberty City, when actually, i1 was 49,000, close to 50,000 people, and your numbers are -- were also -- Allapattah's numbers were really also pretty amazing there. One of the things I do want to add, outside of what Commissioner Regalado has mentioned, is I would like 10 see the City Manager -- and l know that, you know, our lobbyists have been mandated 10 handle certain issues, and that's what their focus has been in D.C. (District of Columbia), but here's a prime example of something that has direct impact on our residents and our constituents here that we need to see that kind of push happen. I did get a chance to have the opportunity to go to D.C. for the CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) and our lobbyists there to push on items, but I want to say 10 the folks that are not just sitting up here that we have 10 begin to push our lobbyists to make sure that they do what they need to do so that we can have the kind of support coming from D.C. that's needed, but also to our local community -based organizations, like NANA (Neighbors and Neighbors Association), Leroy, and everybody else that's silting out here, we need for you to push very hard with contacting your local congressman to tell him -- or at least let them know how important it is for us to have the support to have the necessary funding so that we can continue to provide support 10 the businesses in the area and 10 the organizations in the area. It has to be all of us working together to push that message. 1 think with -- in D.C., at this particular time, since the Democrats seem to really have a little -- or at least a little pull at point, we need to begin to push very hard to make sure that they understand that they have constituents here that they must serve, so I'd like to at least see us all working together 10 make sure that we push that message. Chairman Gonzalez: Vice Chairman Sanchez. Vice Chairman Sanchez: Mr. Chairman, as the vice chair ofSave Our Seniors -- and you're the chair of the campaign that we put forth -- as a matter of fact, I believe at the last Commission meeting or the previous Commission meeting, we passed a resolution that was signed by all senators and representatives being sent to Tallahassee. Also, the National Conference of Mayors and the Mayor has introduced a resolution that has also been adopted by that organization and has been sent to Washington. l think the message is very clear, and I think that the burden, as always, every year, falls on local government to try to make up for the shortfalls that are faced by not only the federal government, also by the state government, and I think it's a responsibility we take very seriously here, knowing the needs that we have in our community, City of Miami Page 97 Printed on 8/20/2007 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 12, 2007 whether it's elderly feeding or it's childcare or disability. I mean, we have a lot of needs in our community. We are and continue to be one of the poorest cities in the nation, but I could tell you that our local government does whatever it takes to try to get those things done, and even when we are faced with that burden every year, we find money. l don't think there's ever been a year where we have not been able to feed our elderly or meet our services. Through the Mayor's Poverty Initiative money or Commissioners proffer money out of their accounts, but we lake that responsibility very clear. I think its time that the federal government gets a clear message, and that message is that we got to start taking care of our own, that we got to take care of our seniors, and we have to take care of those that cannot take care of themselves. It's that simple, folks. I mean, we could spend millions of dollars on a war, whether you're for the war or not, and there's a lot of spending in Washington. There's a lot of spending in every government, just not Washington, whether it's local or stale, but / think that when it comes down -- and people not receiving the services that they deserve, it's something that we cannot be very proud of that, so therefore, having said that, I think that the effort from our government is there to try to get the funding that we need, whether it's from the federal government or Tallahassee or ourselves. We do everything we can, and once again, I always say that this is the toughest time for me. you know, this and budget because they both play a vital part together. If we don't have the money, we can't spread the money for the services, but I think that -- and this is just -- l challenge my colleagues this year to focus on looking forth and trying to do everything we can within our powers to make sure that we're able to help those that are less fortunate than we are, so having said that, Mr. Chair, I would -- you and, I think, Commissioner Sarnoff wanted to speak on the item. Commissioner Sarnoff No. I -- there's only one branch of government that actually prints money; that doesn't have to live within its own means -- Chairman Gonzalez: That's right. Commissioner Sarnoff -- and that's the federal government, and whether you believe or disbelieve in this war, it's time for the federal government to wage a war of its own in our own country, and that war needs to be on poverty -- Chairman Gonzalez: On poverty. Commissioner Sarnoff -- and until we face the facts, there will be two populations in this country, those that have and those that have not, and if we just put half the resources that we put to a war effort on our own war, on our own poverty initiatives, we could make a significant dent in poverty in the next five years. Chairman Gonzalez: Definitely. Can• of ;iham /'agc' .m Pi,nred on 8,20. 2007