HomeMy WebLinkAboutVeto Memo-City ClerkCITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA
INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM
TO :
Honorable Members of
the City Commission
Todd
City Clerk
DATE
SUBJECT:
REFERENCES
ENCLOSURES
October 23, 2024
Mayoral VETO of
Ordinance 14321 adopted at
the October 15, 2024 Special
City Commission Meeting
(1)
FILE :
I am in receipt of a mayoral veto (received on Wednesday, October 23, 2024, at 4:51
p.m.) pertaining to Ordinance 14321 that was passed at the October 15, 2024 Special City
Commission Meeting involving the following item:
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING CHAPTER
40/ARTICLE IV/DIVISION 4 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA,
AS AMENDED, TITLED "PERSONNEL/PENSION AND RETIREMENT PLAN/CITY
OF MIAMI ELECTED OFFICERS RETIREMENT TRUST"; MORE PARTICULARLY
BY AMENDING SECTION 40-296, TITLED "APPLICABLE BENEFITS";
CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE
EFFECTIVE DATE.
Pursuant to City Charter Section 4(g)(5), the City Commission may, at its next regularly
scheduled or special meeting after the veto occurs, override the veto by a four -fifths
(4/5ths) vote of the City Commissioners present, notwithstanding any provisions to the
contrary contained in the Charter and City Code. For your information, the next regularly
scheduled meeting of the City Commission will occur on October 24, 2024.
If you have any questions regarding this information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
C: Francis X. Suarez, Honorable Mayor
Arthur Noriega, V, City Manager
George K. Wysong III, City Attorney
16177 Veto Memo -City Clerk
Tag iaf 4t�xxrtt, f l.axi.ra
FRANCIS SUAREZ
MAYOR
Office of the Mayor
Miami, Florida
Veto and Veto Message
3500 PAN AMERICAN DRIVE
MIAMI, FLORIDA 33133
(305) 250-5300
FAX (305) 854-4001
:>
I'll -4 ,r„'h_
TO: Honorable Members of the Miami City Commission -.... w i;.T:
Mini F da _tm -v ;
FROM: , Mayor Francis X. Suarez
I
Miami, Florida
Date: October 23, 2024
Pursuant to the authority vested in me under the provisions of Sections 4(g)(5) of the Charter of the
City of Miami, Florida, I hereby veto:
Ordinance 14321/File Number 16177
Veto Message:
As Mayor and a former City Commissioner, I have historically been opposed to a publicly funded
pension system for elected officials. Elected officials' salaries essentially have remained the same
since a new form of government was introduced in 1997. This compensation is by many measures
outdated and it is understandable that some of my colleagues have strong feelings about the need
for reform.
In this intervening veto period, the City Attorney advised me that if I signed the legislation and took
the pension, it would create a vested right that could not be undone by any subsequent
commission action or reconsideration. This would have guaranteed me a benefit of over four million
dollars. As I approach 16 years of public service, I never expected or sought such a benefit, and I do
not believe it is fair for the hardworking, taxpaying residents of this city to bear it.
Additionally, based on recent comments made in the press, there does not currently appear to be a
clear consensus on the Commission that the elected officials' pension as passed on October 15th
should move forward in its present form. That lack of agreement alone provides sufficient basis to
veto the measure.
For the foregoing reasons, I believe it is in the best interests of Miami's residents that I veto the
elected officials' October 15th pension item.
Respttfully S ,�•mitted,
Francis X. Suarez
Mayor
N
GJ