HomeMy Public PortalAbout01-January 08, 2021 WSCITY OF OPA-LOCKA
"The Great City"
CLERK'S ACTION SUMMARY MINUTES
Workshop
Friday, January 8, 2021
5:30 p.m.
1. WELCOME/OPENING REMARKS:
Mayor Matthew Pigatt called the Workshop to order at 5:30 PM on Friday, January 8, 2021.
In his opening remarks, Mayor Pigatt stated that the workshop was called in preparation for the
State of the City. Over 50 years ago, leadership passed an ordinance that became law, stating that
each year the Mayor must submit a State of the City report to the people. The purpose of this
meeting is to hear from staff and the City Manager, so that everyone is on the same page. The
Mayor asserted that the members of the Commission all get the same information, and can
contribute to the State of the City.
2. ROLL CALL:
The following members of the City Commission were present: Commissioner John H. Taylor Jr.,
Vice Mayor Veronica J. Williams and Mayor Matthew Pigatt. Also in attendance were: City
Manager John E. Pate (remotely), Assistant City Manager George Ellis (remotely), City Attorney
Burnadette Norris -Weeks (remotely), and Legislative Aide to the Mayor/Commission Randy
Grice. City Clerk Joanna Flores was not in attendance.
3. INVOCATION:
The invocation was delivered by Commissioner John Taylor, Jr.
4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.
5. PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Legislative Aide Randy Grice stated there were no public comments provided.
Mr. Grice announced the protocols for public participation at City of Opa-locka meetings.
6. DISCUSSION ITEMS:
a) STATE OF THE CITY REPORTS:
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City Manager Pate addressed an issue with the meeting's audio and asked the IT Department to
work on that, because staff members are having issues.
Mr. Pate delivered the City Manager's report. The details of the report are included in the State
of the City Departments Reports, which can be found attached to this document.
Parks & Recreation Director Mr. Delven Patterson delivered the report for his department. The
details of the report are included in the State of the City Departments Reports, which can be found
attached to this document.
Planning & Community Development Director and CRA Manager for the Opa-Locka Community
Redevelopment Agency, Mr. Gregory Gay delivered the report for his department. The details of
the report are included in the State of the City Departments Reports, which can be found attached
to this document.
City Manager Pate asked for the report on the budget.
Budget Administrator Robert Anathan stated that because a lot of what he talks about touches other
departments, he proposed that he be allowed to present his report last.
City Manager Pate agreed.
Vice Mayor Williams inquired about the ability to ask questions now, in addition to later.
City Manager Pate confirmed that questions can be asked whenever the Commission would like
to.
Mayor Pigatt stated that the workshop was organized so that staff would be available, to provide
the information to the Commission, and that the Commission can ask questions. The Mayor
recalled that at the last Commission meeting that there was a debate and vote to have a report
delivered at the end of the year, providing an opportunity for the Commission to hear from all of
the departments, what was accomplished and how the city is moving forward. He asserted that
every Commissioner should feel free to ask any questions at any point in time, and that this is the
time to ask and share ideas so that they can be incorporated into the State of the City Report.
Major Daryl Stroud, Opa-locka Police Department delivered the report for the Police Department.
The details of the report are included in the State of the City Departments Reports, which can be
found attached to this document.
Commissioner Davis thanked the Police Department for the strides they have made in a short
window. He is glad to see that the sub -station at Glorieta Gardens will be operational by January
18th. Commissioner Davis shared that earlier today he received a call from a resident who spoke
of the violence and the concerns in the area, despite laws that have been passed to provide security
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and police enforcement to curve crime and increase safety efforts. He asked the Major to elaborate
on the line item referring to 501c implementation, including the goal the police department has in
setting up a non-profit to increase services and safety.
Major Stroud stated that Lieutenant Nikeya Jenkins is really the search engine behind putting it
together. He explained that the 501c is going to be a supplement to the Police Department's
financial status for things that they are not able to do. It will also provide the ability for the
department to have credit and be able to provide businesses or vendors a Tax ID when they ask for
one. Additionally, it will provide the ability to cover more ground in terms of resources, and once
those products and services are put together and deployed through the Police Department, they
will be able to capitalize on it in portfolio format. Like having a driver license, it will allow the
Police Department to say they have a license, the CDL, endorsements, and the portfolio will allow
them to continue in partnership with federal, state, local, private and public entities, so that they
can bring more resources to the community. The bottom line for the Police Department is to make
products and services available to the community that are more personalized and professional.
Lieutenant Nikeya Jenkins added that the 501c3 will provide the opportunity for the Police
Department to do different programs they would like to implement, including events for the elderly
and beautification of the community. As an example, the Lieutenant explained that residences that
are missing the numbers for their address on the home, it takes additional time for an officer to
respond to a location to help and save someone, and if the Police Department goes to Home Depot
or Lowes to ask them to contribute to a project to replace those address numbers, they will ask for
a 501c3. Many businesses are willing to help the City, but don't want to donate if there is not a
501c3. Lieutenant Jenkins asserted that doing this will allow the Police Department to interact
with the community more.
Vice Mayor Williams thanked the Police Department for their presentation, and acknowledged
that the work they do is tremendous throughout the community. She stated that she would like to
see a Police Explorers Program. Years ago she was a part of the Opa-locka Police Explorers,
which she characterized as a great program to have the youth in the community understand and
build the bench for youth that may want to continue to pursue policing their own community. She
went on to say that there is nothing like having police officers within a community, stay in the
community.
Lieutenant Nikeya Jenkins invited Lieutenant Sergio Perez to speak on the Police Explorer
Program, as he was in charge of it once before and is currently working on it now.
Lieutenant Sergio Perez said he was fortunate enough to benefit from the Police Explorer program
himself prior to joining law enforcement, and completely understands the benefits behind it and
everything it has to offer. He advised that the Police Department already has an Explorer Post
number registered with the Boy Scouts of America that he has taken care of. He also shared that
resources will soon be deployed in the community to start recruiting kids, including the ride -along
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program, state competitions, and noted that there is already a van for the kids in the motor pool.
The Lieutenant offered assurances that it is definitely something that will be part of the Police
Department.
Major Stroud shared that he too has gone through that program successfully and concurred with
both lieutenants on the value and benefit it has for the community. He thanked the Vice Mayor
for bringing it up and inferred that she will volunteer to be part of the program, and stated he is
open to any other comments or suggestions.
Commissioner Taylor thanked them for the things they have done for the City Police Department,
and offered assurances that it does not go unnoticed. He asked the Major or Manager to address
his question about there being a time in the near future for getting a permanent home for the Police
Department, specifically a police station.
City Manager Pate explained that he is currently looking through the appropriations package being
sent up to Tallahassee, looking for funding for a new Police Department building, either at the
current location or a different location.
Human Resources Director Kierra Ward delivered the report for her department. The details of
the report are included in the State of the City Departments Reports, which can be found attached
to this document.
Commissioner Davis stated that most of the City's policies span to all employees, and wanted to
know how the work from home policy affects direct service positions such as those in the Code
Enforcement and Public Works Departments.
Director Ward explained that those policies do not relate to employees who have positions that
involve working with the community and customer service based positions out in the field. Those
positions are only able to be filled by essential staff that have been designated and provided with
the laptops and are able to work remotely.
Commissioner Davis thanked Director Ward for clearing that up and stated that the reason he asked
was because he noticed a lag in service delivery in those departments, and he was wondering how
the policy affected the process.
Vice Mayor Williams thanked Director Ward for everything she does for the employees of Opa-
locka. The Vice Mayor asked what the procedure of accountability is for those employees who
are working from home, to know that the work is being done, including a check -in with their
department head. Additionally, she asked if the employees had to provide a specific reason for
working from home such as child care or health risks, and if those health risks required them to
bring in a doctor's note.
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Director Ward explained that in order to work from home, it needs to initially be authorized by the
City Manager, proposed by the department director in consultation with the employee requesting
the leave. For the most part, hybrid work schedules have been implemented, so no one is permitted
to work entirely from home. The Manager has strict accountability measures through the
department director where they are required to maintain constant communication with the
employees that are working from home, to ensure that whatever projects they are supposed to be
working on are being completed. The Director stated that it is the responsibility of the department
director to provide a list to the City Manager of what tasks are going to be completed during the
time of approval to work from home.
Vice Mayor Williams expressed that she hopes there is a measure of accountability, and that
deadline dates are given for tasks provided by department heads.
Director Ward confirmed it is.
Commissioner Taylor inquired about what the hybrid work from home program looks like.
Director Ward explained that it depends on what the department director proposes to the City
Manager for approval, but for the most part it is a one -day -on and one -day -off scheduling. She
said they are trying to limit the number of employees in the office at one time.
Commissioner Taylor characterized the system as a staggered method.
Director Ward confirmed that it is like a staggered method.
Mayor Pigatt thanked Ms. Ward for her report. He recalled that during last year's State of the City,
there was mention of doing a complete evaluation of employees, which hasn't been done in many
years. He said that he is only seeing 77% completed, and inquired about what the delay is on
completing the evaluations, and whether or not there is a department that is not submitting them.
Director Ward expressed that she is very impressed with the level of responsiveness that her
department has received in regards to the employee evaluations. She explained that the reason
they are not at 100% is because at the time the report was submitted to the Mayor, the evaluations
for December were not due yet and are just now being received. Additionally, with the transition
in management at a few departments including the Police Department, there has been a slight delay
in receiving the evaluations, but she anticipates a full evaluation for 2020.
Mayor Pigatt asked by when.
Director Ward stated that her department is following -up on what they have received now, and
they usually send out an email to the departments that have not responded. She said that she will
have a better answer by the end of next week.
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Mayor Pigatt stated that he looks forward to reporting to the citizens that a complete assessment
and evaluation has been completed. In consideration of the operational audit, the Mayor expressed
that this is something of high importance and is necessary to ensure that people know the City is
steadily evaluating and improving employees to get the best performance for the people of Opa-
locka.
Vice Mayor Williams shared that she is in the middle of conducting evaluations in her own job,
and asked if the evaluations being done by the Human Resources Department are being placed in
an evaluation system, and whether or not employees that do not meet a certain standard are given
recommendations or training before termination.
Director Ward explained that there is an evaluation system that is conducted by the employee's
direct supervisor in collaboration with their department director. If there is any level of
unsatisfactory performance, there is a performance improvement plan that is produced for each
employee, and identifies the areas of improvement that are needed and any resources that can be
provided to assist the employee, including training or job shadowing, in more focused and
centralized areas of weaknesses that employees may have. She shared that she always uses the
employee evaluation system as a method to assist an employee with improving behavior as
opposed to providing disciplinary or adverse action.
Vice Mayor Williams re -stated her question about the evaluations being handled in a system, and
asked for clarification on whether or not they are hand-written.
Director Ward explained that it is on a paper -based system, but they are working with the payroll
and human resource information system provider that has an electronic system that they have been
reviewing demos for and plan to incorporate the cost for the system in their proposed budget for
the up -coming year.
Commissioner Davis inquired if the employee performance evaluations have been considered to
be used to determine ways that employees can be brought up to the cost of living standard, in
consideration of the fact that raises and several promotions have been given based on employee
merit.
Director Ward shared that she is aware that Manager Pate is working with Budget Administrator
Robert Anathan to consider a cost of living increase in the near future. She stated that they are
planning to attach a merit -based performance system with their evaluations once that City is in a
better fiscal position.
Commissioner Taylor asked if evaluations are done yearly.
Director Ward stated that evaluations are usually completed on an employee's anniversary date.
Initially, it is completed after their 90 days of probationary employment and then every year
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thereafter. But if an employee changes positions, that new anniversary date becomes the marker
for when they are evaluated.
Commissioner Taylor asked if Director Ward would be open to considering a mid -year evaluation,
not to impose penalties, but like a progress report so you don't have to wait 12 months to tell an
employee that they're doing poorly. He suggested that letting employees know mid -year would
give them time to get to the department standard.
Director Ward explained that her department does ask department directors to share any
performance concerns prior to an evaluation so that those concerns are addressed to enable
employees to receive satisfactory evaluations.
Commissioner Taylor asked if it is something that can be implemented mid -year, as an example
in June.
Director Ward confirmed it is something her department can consider.
Mayor Pigatt expressed that in light of the operational audit, he is glad to see the interest of the
Commission in regards to this, because the evaluation of performance is completely tied to the
efficient and optimal use of tax dollars and is the largest expense as a City. He requested a full
report to the Commission on the performance system, detailing the system, evaluation scale,
standards, dates and what can be done to improve it.
City Manager Pate stated that the next report will come from the Building & Licensing
Department, and the next departments will be introduced by the Assistant City Manager. The
Manager stated that he will send an email to the Commission, regarding the reason why the
Assistant City Manager will be introducing the next departments moving forward.
Mayor Pigatt asked for an answer to the request for a report.
City Manager Pate asked the Mayor what timeline he would like to see.
Mayor Pigatt asked that the timeline be presented at the upcoming Commission meeting, to give
the Manager time to talk to the H.R. Director and coordinate.
City Manager Pate confirmed that he will be able to provide a timeline by that time period without
a problem.
Building & Licenses Department Director Esin Daniel Abia delivered the report for his
department. The details of the report are included in the State of the City Departments Reports,
which can be found attached to this document.
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Commissioner Taylor asked Director Abia if he understood correctly that his department is
overwhelmed.
Director Abia stated that they have a lot of work.
Commissioner Taylor asked if Mr. Abia is requesting help.
Director Abia said that he is.
Commissioner Taylor asked in what manner, and what that help would look like.
Director Abia stated that the Budget Director said it was not in the budget.
Mayor Pigatt asked what exactly does the department need, not to be overwhelmed.
Director Abia explained that they need an assistant. He shared that there are two intake officers
receiving and issuing permits as well as licensing. He expressed that there should be another
person assisting in the recording, scanning all the documents and placing them in the system. If
the intake officers are doing all of it at the same time, there will be a long stretched line.
Commissioner Taylor asked if he needs a processor or a secretary.
Director Abia stated that an assistant or secretary or another payment clerk is needed. He shared
that right now when one of them is sick, the other one is inundated because there is so much work,
so they need one more.
Commissioner Taylor asked Manager Pate if that is something that can be provided for them.
Assistant City Manager George Ellis apologized for not being on video, but explained that he was
out sick and is just stepping -in for Manager Pate. Mr. Ellis shared that the issue had been brought
to his department's attention by Mr. Abia and it has been discussed several times. While Budget
Administrator Robert Anathan did confirm it is not currently in the budget, it does not mean that
it can't get processed and a way can't be found to assist Mr. Abia. It has not been finalized what
that will look like because of budgetary restraints.
Commissioner Taylor asked if there is another department that can help assist, or if the Manager's
Office can lend someone.
Assistant City Manager George Ellis shared that assistance has been provided to Mr. Abia's
department on several occasions, and he will look into that. The people from the Finance
Department of Utilities that have been utilized, are all working on other projects at the moment.
He committed to providing a more concrete answer by the early part of next week, once he re-
evaluates it.
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Vice Mayor Williams referenced Mr. Gay's presentation of five commercial property
developments and shared that she sees how they are connected to Building & Licensing.
Specifically for the truck parking facility, she stated that the City needs another trucking company
like it needs more dumping, noting that the city has many trucking companies and parking
facilities. The Vice Mayor asked what the benefits are, considering that they are destroying the
roads, with large trucks creating potholes everywhere, and why so many trucking companies and
parking facilities for trucks are being approved.
Assistant Manager Ellis asked Mr. Abia to answer the Vice Mayor's question.
Director Abia stated that it is not a question for him, but for Zoning and Community Development
because whatever they approve, all his department will do is make sure they build it in accordance
with the building codes established by Florida, the County and the City. If Zoning approves for a
business to be there, his department has no authority to stop them.
Assistant Manager Ellis asked Director Gay to address the question.
Director Gay added to Director Abia statement, explaining that how the city is zoned has to be
taken into consideration, how it operates and what it particularly caters to. He noted that when
you look at the zoning code itself, almost 50% of the City is zoned industrial, so industrial
businesses are going to come to the city by the nature of how Opa-locka has evolved over the
years. If the Commission wants different types of businesses to come to the City, they will have
to change zoning or the land use. It is something that can be initiated by the City, but in most
cases, zoning and land use changes are initiated by developers because they see an opportunity to
do something a little bit different and the land value literally dictates what type of businesses will
come to the City, and they make a request for a zoning change. All of that information is brought
to the Commission as part of the process and once it is approved, the project is allowed to move
forward and that's where Mr. Abia picks it up and takes it through the permitting process. Director
Gay also noted that 25% of the City is the airport, so a good square mile is taken out of the equation
of the 4.2 square miles that the City is. For the remaining 3.2 square miles, 40% of it is industrial,
and is zoned and operated that way for over 57 years since he has been on this earth. Mr. Gay
shared that he has always known Opa-locka to be a very heavily industrial and logistical
community. The balance of it, has 25-30% residential and 10% commercial. He shared that if the
Commission wants to see something different, they will have to give some kind of incentive or
reduction in impact fees. He also pointed out that with industrial businesses being 40% of the
City's zoning, it also means they are a great percentage of the tax base.
Vice Mayor Williams suggested that in the future the Commission can have a discussion about
legislation to provide a special tax for roadway development. She stated that she does not believe
that the trucking companies are getting the proper special tax for the roadways. She noted that if
it was possible, the City would not have to pay so much for reconstructing roads that are constantly
being demolished by the trucks.
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Commissioner Taylor asked if there is a roadway tax for those trucking companies.
Vice Mayor Williams said that there is not.
Mayor Pigatt restated the question, which inquired whether there are special taxing districts for
certain industrial areas, especially those that have high -capacity trucks going through, and if not,
why not and whether or not that is being developed.
Director Abia said that while the question was best answered by Director of Planning &
Community Development Gregory Gay, he explained that there are impact fees.
Assistant Manager Ellis asked Director Gay to answer the question.
Director Gregory Gay clarified that the impact fees that Director Abia talked about, are only
charged for new developments, and the only portion of it that continues to come in is the ad
valorem tax. The City would have to look at some other alternative through a special tax as the
Vice Mayor suggested, that would be coming in on an annual basis.
Public Works Director Airia Austin suggested that in the future development of roadways, which
could be rolled out with the drainage improvement projects, roadways can be developed for the
purpose that it will be used, especially in industrial areas where roads should be built to the
standards for heavy trucking or equipment usage. That can be prorated for all of the businesses
that use that roadway to fund roadway development. That could be going forward as needed, for
re -pavement of the roadway when necessary as well as the buildup for the initial use.
Director Abia stated that would require approval from the Commission.
Vice Mayor Williams asked Director Austin if that would be a future grant or tax.
Director Austin clarified that it would be a special assessment to the businesses that use the
roadway brought before the Commission for approval before proceeding.
Commissioner Taylor asked if the tax would impact only future businesses, or if it would impact
the businesses already in the City.
Director Austin explained that it would address where new roadways need to be built or the re-
development of a roadway to meet the usage of that area, and would impact current and future
businesses.
Mayor Pigatt stated that special taxing districts are something that takes quite a bit of development
to put in place, including assessments to determine what the cost would be, and outreach to local
property owners with notification. He said that his understanding is that the storm water
management plan and City-wide assessment is one of the steps in that process.
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Director Austin and Director Gay both confirmed that Mayor Pigatt is correct.
Mayor Pigatt stated that this is something that has been part of the conversation for many years,
however he believes that the Commission needs to stay on top of staff and the City Manager so
that it is put forth. He asserted that once the Commission gets the City-wide assessment, it will be
something they will need to vote upon in order to make sure it gets done.
Mayor Pigatt recalled Director Abia mentioning some awards, but he does not see it in the report
in front of the Commission, and asked that all of the accolades mentioned in his report be put in
writing so that it can be a part of the State of the City addressed to the public.
Director Abia said he will.
Mayor Pigatt also inquired about the SunGard System and asked whether it is the electronic
permitting system that has been attempted to be put in place.
Director Abia said it is and that his department has an electronic permitting system. He explained
that disks are being submitted for major projects, but for mom and pop applications that are trying
to build things like a fence or driveway, what they provide has to be scanned into the system, and
they don't have enough manpower and still deliver the results in a timely manner.
Mayor Pigatt stated he didn't quite understand, and asked if there is a system where people can go
online to submit requests for permitting information.
Director Abia stated that his department has not developed up to that point yet.
Mayor Pigatt asked if the Building & Licenses Department is in the process of having that system
available, and asked when it will be complete.
Building & Licenses Director Abia asked the IT Department to provide the answer because he
does not control that.
Assistant Manager Ellis stated that the IT Department is going to do the next presentation, and
asked if the Mayor would like to move on to their presentation.
Mayor Pigatt said he did not want to move on yet. He acknowledged having heard a concern about
being overwhelmed and also stated he knows the filing system in the Building Department
definitely needs improvement and he is looking forward to seeing how that can be taken care of.
He said he noticed that the Minimum Housing Inspector was missing from the Building & License
Department report. The City has had very challenging issues with the living conditions of the
residents. The Commission advocated to include a Minimum Housing Standard Officer in the
budget and he believes that person was hired last year, but he does not see a report on what they've
done and the targeted areas. He explained that this is very near and dear to the hearts of many on
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the dais because they've all been getting quite a few calls and emails in regards to the conditions
in various apartment complexes and he would like to know what the City is doing to enforce the
Minimum Housing Standards. He inquired where the report is on the Minimum Housing Standards
in the City of Opa-locka.
Director Abia stated that based on the fact that the gentleman works part-time, while he did bring
a report in, he explained that he didn't have the opportunity to read the report and could not provide
a report to the Mayor that he had not approved.
Mayor Pigatt asked if it was possible to get the written report, and when it would be able to be
provided.
Director Abia stated that he will go over it with the Minimum Housing Standards Officer on
Monday when he is in the office, and then he will make adjustments and submit it.
Commissioner Davis asked when the fee schedule for the Building & Licensing Department was
last updated.
Director Abia stated that what they have is Ordinance 15-13 which was in 2013.
Commissioner Davis inquired about whether or not it is time to update the fee schedule.
Director Abia said that it can be added to, but explained that it looks comparable to other
municipalities.
Commissioner Davis asked what the problem was with the proposed fee schedule in 2013.
Director Abia explained that it is being used, so it was approved.
Commissioner Davis asked the Mayor for a report of the fee schedule in its entirety.
Mayor Pigatt asked Assistant Manager Ellis for an update on when the Commission will be able
to receive the report Commissioner Davis requested.
Assistant Manager Ellis stated that his office will work on the report on Monday, to have an update
for the Commission on Wednesday.
The Information Technology Department Director Nelson Rodriguez delivered the report for his
department. The details of the report are included in the State of the City Departments Reports,
which can be found attached to this document.
Upon the conclusion of his report, Director Rodriguez addressed the question that arose during the
report from the Building & Licenses Department about the permit application being online. He
clarified that it is not and elaborated on the issue, stating that when a financial system is selected,
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a community system will be chosen which will communicate with the software for every
department. This will allow payments processed for a permit, to flow right into the financial
system, so that there is no break in communication. Mr. Rodriguez said he would hate to purchase
something that would require going back to make some kind of special authorization to make it
work, and wants something that works from the beginning. He anticipates the permit application
will not be online until the software is updated in fiscal year 2022. The project will be spearheaded
by IT, involving every single department in the selection and implementation process. He
explained that IT is in charge of automating the permit fee calculations for the Building
Department, and while there is a system for it, he shared that it does not have a public -facing portal.
He is coding the fees for permits into the system, to eliminate any human error in the calculation
of fees, so the clerk can enter the categories that permitting fees are based on and the system will
provide the fee, so that it is consistent.
Vice Mayor Williams thanked Director Rodriguez for bringing the City up to digital code from
the digital divide and recognized his audacious goals for the City. She expressed that she would
love to see a one -stop -shop portal for everything, but acknowledged that she knows it is a lot and
hopes it will be included with future goals.
Director Rodriguez stated that a lot of that will be accomplished with the app, which will be a
mobile one -stop -shop. The idea is to incorporate that on the website, including an employee's
access for the project that Ms. Ward is working on for the Human Resources Department. He
asserted that they are making pretty giant leaps right now and that next year will allow everyone
to see what's being done.
Vice Mayor Williams stated that she thinks that every department should do one thing great than
a lot of things good, and so far everything she has seen has been pretty great.
Commissioner Taylor asked if the call center is live.
Director Rodriguez explained that the call center idea came up right after COVID began, when the
City had citizens to serve but half of the employees home and slow responses. The Commission
said it would be nice to have a call center, with one number to call, to get a live person even on the
weekend. The SeeClickFix app, as a work order app, is half of what is needed because it will be
able to take the calls and put them in one central location. The other part is the phone system,
where people can be on call even over the weekend to take the calls. Once the application is
implemented, a live human will be answering calls 24/7, weekends and nights.
Commissioner Taylor asked if that person will serve as a dispatch operator so they can transfer the
call to the necessary department.
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Director Rodriguez stated that while some categories will require immediate assistance like a burst
pipe, others will be a little more routine. He encouraged the Commission to picture something like
Miami-Dade's 3-1-1, on an Opa-locka scale.
Commissioner Taylor asked if the person on the receiving end of the call, will be able to point the
citizen in the right direction.
Director Rodriguez explained that the idea is not to point them in any direction, but rather to take
care of the situation for them. The application is important to the process, because once they call
in and a ticket is created, they will get text messages and email alerts throughout the process until
it's resolved.
Commissioner Taylor asked when it is expected for it to go live.
Director Rodriguez stated that as soon as they implement the work order management system. He
estimated no more than 90 days, and probably sooner.
Commissioner Taylor asked if the number will be simple like 3-1-1.
Director Rodriguez explained that it will be a 10 -digit number. 3-1-1 for Opa-locka is Miami -
Dade County and can't be superseded.
Commissioner Taylor clarified that he wasn't asking specifically about using 3-1-1, but if there
was a way for the City to get its own.
Director Rodriguez stated that they are trying to fmd a simplified number; something simple that
can be easily remembered and can be given out to all of the residents.
Commissioner Davis stated that in consideration of the crucial phase re -imagining parks and public
spaces, moving through several capital projects, as it relates to the upgrades of the public spaces,
he inquired if the Wi-Fi will be accessible to residents, or if it will only be limited to staff.
Director Rodriguez shared that it is public Wi-Fi. He clarified that he is not speaking about
employee Wi-Fi, and that the focus is the outdoor spaces.
Commissioner Davis asked if the Wi-Fi that will be available in public spaces will be available
from residents' homes, or if they would have to go to the park to utilize it.
Director Rodriguez stated that if the Commission wants to do municipal Wi-Fi, it would be a much
bigger project. This is literally at the City's public spaces.
Commissioner Davis asked if citizens will be able to set up profiles on the app and website.
Director Rodriguez answered with an affirmative yes.
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Workshop Meeting Minutes — January 8, 2021
Commissioner Davis asked if a resident has a license application, if they can see it pending when
they login to their profile.
Director Rodriguez confirmed that is correct, but explained that a profile will not be required to
submit anything, but will be available if they want to. He added that it is highly encouraged
because it will allow residents to see all their former requests, but is not required because the City
does not want to limit anyone.
Mayor Pigatt expressed that he would personally love to see that beautification and illegal dumping
be a priority category in the SeeClickFix app, as the categories are being narrowed down. He
stated that he really believes that if people see trash out in the City, they should be able to take a
picture and have it immediately reported.
Director Rodriguez acknowledged saying absolutely.
Mayor Pigatt stated that many municipalities have had growth in the Neighborhoods app, and he
wanted to know with limited participation in the City of Opa-locka, if that is something that can
be incorporated into the IT infrastructure alongside SeeClickFix.
Director Rodriguez explained that there are two apps, Neighborhoods and Neighbors. One is run
by Ring the doorbell company and the other is an independent software. After having spoken with
both companies, Director Rodriguez stated that for both apps, there can be limited roles from the
municipality. He shared the functionality of both apps, and explained that some municipalities
monitor what is happening in the apps to be able to respond, and that residents are able to send
video from their doorbell to police as well, but that the participation from the municipalities is
limited.
Public Works Department Director Airia Austin delivered the report for his department. The
details of the report are included in the State of the City Departments Reports, which can be found
attached to this document.
Commissioner Taylor recalled that there was an issue with the parks lighting, and inquired if that
project was ever completed.
Director Austin stated that the project is on -going and explained that the vendor is in the process
of procuring the lights necessary to install at the facility.
Commissioner Taylor asked if milling and resurfacing will be completed or start in February.
Director Austin clarified that it will be completed by February. He explained that the
Commissioners should have a map with all the areas and streets that will be milled and resurfaced
in the fiscal year 2020.
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Workshop Meeting Minutes — January 8, 2021
Mayor Pigatt shared that the Public Works Department is very near and dear to his heart because
it affects so much in terms of residential and business life. He is happy to see the graphs and
pictures that can clearly detail to residents what has been done in terms of streets getting re -milled
and what is planned. He would love to ensure that when these projects are going, that the
Commission continues to be notified because those are some of the best projects for residents to
get excited about. He asked for more videos and pictures to be shared on social media, so that
people know the City is making significant progress, especially when it comes to the re -milling of
roads, and also the sidewalk construction which people have been asking for over decades in many
neighborhoods. The Mayor expressed excitement seeing these projects moving forward and
thanked Public Works Director Aira Austin for moving the projects forward and providing the
visuals. He noted that the only visual he is missing is of the pump stations. He recalled a map
many years ago that showed many of the pump stations under moratorium, and now with only
having one, the Mayor expressed that he believes it is a very good visual to show, and also see
how that pump station being under moratorium affects the business area, and asked if there was a
possibility to get a graph that shows that impact.
Public Works Director Aira Austin stated that his department will work on that.
Vice Mayor Williams joined Mayor Pigatt in expressing that the City needs to show the good work
that is being done, and asked Assistant City Manager George Ellis if it would be possible to get
the pictures on the website. She stated that residents may not understand the graphs, though she
acknowledged that they are self-explanatory.
Assistant Manager Ellis confirmed that it can be done, and that it just has to be coordinated with
the IT Department.
Vice Mayor Williams said she did not know who had the pictures, but that she assumed that it was
someone in Director Austin's department.
DirectorAustin shared that they have the pictures in CIP and they will provide them to the IT staff
for publishing.
Financial Consultant Gem Lazarre delivered the report for her department. The details of the
report are included in the State of the City Departments Reports, which can be found attached to
this document.
Commissioner Davis asked Finance Department Director Gerri Lazarre to elaborate on financial
management, and the major challenge of cash flow and liquidity.
Ms. Lazarre stated that in the 2015 and 2016 audit, the City's general fund had less than $1 million.
Now, the City is at the point where there is $9-10 million in the bank. While she didn't have an
actual analysis of the account to provide, she asserted that the City is in a better state than it was
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Workshop Meeting Minutes — January 8, 2021
4-5 years ago from a cash flow perspective. With respect to financial management banking
activity, there was no reconciliation being prepared in the past, and if they were prepared, they
could not be identified in 2014, 2015 or 2016, but her department did start to do them in fiscal year
2017 which is when the audits started to get much better. She explained that she did not have a
detailed analysis on liquidity, but can put a comparison analysis together on liquidity for fiscal
years 2016, 2017 and 2018, but would not want to do it for years where audits have not been
performed.
Commissioner Davis requested the cash flow reports just to get a general idea of how liquid the
City is. He stated that he knows from the audited financials that the City has a strong balance sheet
and a strong financial position, and that in the long term he doesn't believe they will have any
challenges, but wants to make sure that the City remains liquid with the ability to pay the bills on
time. Additionally, he requested on behalf of the Commission a thank you letter to Miami -Dade
County for the $3.5 million in COVID-19 funding that the City received, which was a big
achievement for the City and its residents. He said he wasn't sure if his colleagues agreed, but
said he would like to get consensus on it and get the ball rolling on it.
Ms. Lazarre said she can work to draft a letter through the City Manager's Office for them to
submit to Miami -Dade County or wherever else the Commission wishes to have it sent.
Mayor Pigatt thanked Commissioner Davis for requesting that, and acknowledged that all
Commissioners were shaking their head in approval in support. He stated that in preparation for
the State of the City, he wants to get more of an understanding of the enterprise resource planning
software and what it looks like for the City. Another goal the Mayor thinks the Commission needs
to impress on the City Manager and Finance Department is utility billing, with a focus on the past
due water billing accounts. He did not see in the reports the amount of outstanding funds and the
ability to assess the outstanding bills and give proper collections to residents and businesses. He
advised that it will be something he will be focused on going forward. He stated that in talks about
strategic planning for the Commission, a series of workshops will be put together over the next
few months to tackle these issues head-on and start finding out what the Commission can do to
move this forward. He acknowledged that he understood the City is dealing with audits at the
moment, but asked Finance Department Consultant Gerri Lazarre when quarterly financial reports
will resume, in line with what Commissioner Davis was requesting.
Ms Lazarre stated that she has allocated one of the consultants to work on fiscal year 2021
transactions, reconciling October, November and December which is considered the first quarter
of that fiscal year. Her goal is to be able to submit to the Commission and the state, a first quarter
report of the activities of the City. With her team being pulled in many different directions
including aiding workshops, completing audits, closing out budgets day-to-day, she acknowledged
they are not at the point where they can do monthly reports just yet. She asked the Commission
to keep in mind that because the City is under financial oversight, one of the major issues is the
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Workshop Meeting Minutes — January 8, 2021
manual process used to review expenditures including accounts payable and vendor payments.
She explained the process whereby when an invoice comes in, there is a requisition, followed by
a manual process where the state has to review it due to financial oversight, then goes to committee,
then goes to the state to approve whether it is being spent within budget, then an approval list is
sent to the City, and then that approval list gives authority to the City Manager's Office to give a
purchase order, which is when it gets posted to SunGuard. This means that the City could have
hundreds of thousands of dollars in vendor payments that are due which will not post as expenses
on Sun Guard until that approval is received, which can be a process of 2 weeks to 1 month or
more. Therefore, even if monthly reports are presented, it will not always be reflective of all of
the activity, and she will try to get those reports, but they will not always be in real-time.
Mayor Pigatt acknowledged the hour was getting late, and that he is not a fan of Friday meetings
and asked that the Commission try to wrap the meeting up. He reminded the commission the point
of the Commission discussion on the agenda is to make sure that whatever they heard today and
whatever they know of that has been done in the community, is relayed to the Mayor as the things
the City wants to highlight. The final reports are being done today so that they can be given over
to the PR person to prepare for the virtual event, and start the production process which entails
taking the information and pictures and putting them into graphics and slides, then detailing the
speech, and getting it presented and recorded. Getting that information in today would help the
PR person with the schedule, and he encouraged the Commissioners to be ready for that discussion.
Budget Administrator Robert Anathan joked about having 2 hours of stuff to cover, but promised
Mayor Pigatt that he would present his report very quickly as he takes all of the activity that the
Commission has heard over the course of the meeting and rationalizes it to make sure that the City
continues to move in the right direction on their bottom line. He proceeded to deliver his report.
The details of the report are included in the State of the City Departments Reports, which can be
found attached to this document.
Mayor Pigatt thanked Mr. Anathan and explained that the sheets in the reports that are red include
answers to questions that the Mayor asked for more detail on, including a very thorough and
simplified understanding.
City Manager Pate confirmed that Administrator Anathan's report was the final report from the
City Manager's Office. Manager Pate also informed Mayor Pigatt that he submitted a one page
memo from the City Clerk.
Mayor Pigatt confirmed that he got the memo.
City Attorney Burnadette Norris -Weeks stated that her office also submitted their
accomplishments, and offered to read off a couple of the highlights.
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Workshop Meeting Minutes — January 8, 2021
Mayor Pigatt stated that the Commission does not have the report and asked City Attorney
Burnadette Norris -Weeks to share the highlights.
Manager Pate stated that his office can supply the report.
Attorney Norris -Weeks shared highlights from her office's reports.
b) COMMISSION DISCUSSION
Mayor Pigatt asked if there were any points or initiatives that the Commission wanted to highlight.
He stated that it was important that the Commission highlight people in the community including
business owners, and those people that each Commissioner has interacted with who have amazing
things going on in Opa-locka. The Mayor invited the Commissioners to share that or submit it to
Legislative Aide Randy Grice in the Clerk's Office, so that the City can share it.
Vice Mayor Williams acknowledged that it was late. She shared that she made notes to give an
overall assessment of what she heard about the work that should continue, which she hopes is
being highlighted. The Vice Mayor asserted that at the forefront of everything is infrastructure,
not just community roads, milling and resurfacing projects, but also the digital infrastructure. She
encouraged that it continue to be increased, so that the City can show that it is a major player as a
municipality. She stated that she knows policing is crucial, and heard positive things that she hopes
can be highlighted. She said she would like to see a positive focused vision from the Parks &
Recreation Department, even if they don't have specifics, but she sees that goals are there. The
Vice Mayor shared that she has been talking with the City Manager's Office about strategies to
engage citizens. She stated that she would like to continue working with the office of PR
Consultant Jessica Modkins, to continue building ways to engage the citizens of Opa-locka. She
expressed that citizens have been un-engaged for far too long, and the Commission can't just set
them aside and must find ways to engage them. The Vice Mayor asserted that it is the
Commission's job and goal to make sure that citizens understand the way government works,
which is the only way that a bench can be built so that when the current Commission is gone,
someone in the community understands how government works. She shared her interest in
continuing to attract new and diverse businesses, and ensuring that the businesses in the City are
meeting standards and codes, and that code enforcement or zoning need to make sure that is
happening. With the importance of the CRA as a board, the Vice Mayor made it clear that
businesses are the driving force for municipalities. The Vice Mayor expressed she loves the
restoration of City Hall, and can only imagine the tears that will come out of the eyes of any
resident that has been in the City for 10 years or more, when they see Old City Hall restored. She
stated that she says that for everyone on the Commission, because they are throwback Opa-locka
residents. The Vice Mayor concluded by stating that she would like to continue to work with all
of the departments and hopes that together, they can make it happen.
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Workshop Meeting Minutes — January 8, 2021
Mayor Pigatt said that Vice Mayor William's comments were on -point and thanked her for sharing
those thoughts. He assured her that he will include them as he prepares for the State of the City
Address.
Commissioner Davis recalled that in September of last year he spearheaded a law and garnered
majority support from the Commission to repeal a law that disproportionately affected young
African American, black and brown men and women. He would like to see that highlighted, to let
the residents know the Commission is committed to providing fairer and more equitable policies.
Additionally, the Commissioner would like to point out the $3.6 million COVID-19 funding from
Miami -Dade County, which significantly helped the City during these difficult times.
Additionally, the spearheading of the first parks forum should be shared with residents, so that
they know that the parks are being re -imagined and that several capital projects are coming online,
providing much needed resources to the community.
Commissioner Taylor stated that the other Commissioners already touched on all of the notes he
had written down, but suggested that the re -development of Ingram Park should be highlighted.
Commissioner Davis recalled the Commission's trip to Tallahassee in reference to the funds being
withheld for the past few audits, and expressed that it would be a valuable point to highlight which
the Mayor can speak to, having been intimately involved with the project.
Mayor Pigatt thanked his colleagues for offering such great feedback and engagement, and stated
that he will take it into consideration, taking the information from the reports and comments as
part of his preparation for Monday meetings with the City Manager, City departments and all those
who will be involved with the State of the City. As the document is finalized, the Mayor committed
to providing as many updates as he can with the upcoming workshops and Commission meeting.
The Mayor stated that the State of the City report gave the Commission a good landscape of what
is going on in the City of Opa-locka in each department, including the goals and challenges, to
help the Commission become more informed. One of the visions that the Mayor wants to make
sure the Commission has, is being one of the most informed Commissions, because that layer of
information provides the tools to figure out how to move the City forward. The Mayor said he
asks for reports and makes sure they are provided to everyone, so that the Commission can be
more poignant in what they want to see changed, because those sitting on the dais are the most
powerful force for changing the landscape of the City. He recalled that in his speech when he was
elected, Commissioner Taylor acknowledged that with a unified front, change can happen and
being change agents continues to be pushed by Vice Mayor Williams. As the State of the City is
completed, the Mayor recognized that the operational audit is one of the best documents to detail
the challenges the City faces, and he asserted that with those two documents, the Commission has
what it needs in order to create a strategic plan for the things the Commission wants to accomplish
together. The Mayor shared his excitement for the direction of the Commission and what they are
doing, including the level of engagement that they are having. He concluded by thanking the
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Workshop Meeting Minutes — January 8, 2021
Commission for serving, thanking the staff for joining the Commission on a Friday evening to put
in the work to provide the information in their reports in addition to the work they have done over
this year despite the pandemic and the challenges that all are facing in each person's personal and
professional life which is being dealt with as the work for the people of the City of Opa-locka gets
done.
7. ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business to come before the City Commission, it was moved by
Commissioner Davis, seconded by Vice Mayor Williams to adjourn the meeting at 8:57 p.m.
Matthew A. Pigatt
Mayor
ATTEST:
Jo a Flores, CMC
Ci 1 Clerk
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Workshop Meeting Minutes — January 8, 2021
STATE OF THE CITY DEPARTMENT REPORTS
Table of Contents
City Manager Page 2-3
Parks & Recreation Department Page 4-6
Community Development / CRA ... Page 7-13
Budget / CMO ... Page 14-20
Police Department Page 21-29
Code Enforcement / Police ... Page 30
Human Resources Department Page 31-36
Building & License Department ..... Page 37
Information Technology Department .....Page 38-40
Public Works Department / CIP Page 41-42
Finance Department Page 43-48
11Page
City Manager
The City has made excellent progress in restoring its fiscal integrity and credibility as a viable and
responsible City. With the support and assistance of the Mayor and City Commission it is my goal
to meet all of the requirements that will allow the City of Opa-locka to exit from State oversight.
Accomplishments
It gives me great honor to inform you that the City of Opa-locka completed and submitted an
effective and realistic Five -Year Financial Recovery Plan with the assistance of staff.
The tax base grew by 30.1% (reduced to 29.2% after a year of Value Adjustment Board activity)
primarily due to a major Amazon investment in the City, providing an additional and ingoing $2.4
Million Dollars of property tax revenue to address important City needs.
To bring community awareness as to the dangers of COVID-19 and the precautionary efforts to be
taken to lessen the risk of the infection, the City of Opa-locka has a walk-up testing site in the City
which served approximately 20,000 people thus far. We have also distributed approximately
35,000 face masks to residents and employees. We have installed temperature readers at several
City facilities and well as hand sanitizing stations.
With the assistance of the Finance Department, the City was able to complete the FY18 audit.
City National Bank hold the 2015 note associated with financing the Municipal Complex. The
Bank held funds in the amount of $5.2 Million Dollars. In a vote of confidence, the bank released
the surplus with half going to the City and half going towards the prepaid notes, resulting in the
balloon payment for the notes due in 2026.
In another vote of confidence, the County's Citizens Independent Transportation Trust (CITT),
approved FY 15-17 audits and released $901,000 of funds previously withheld, which allowed for
a major investment in resurfacing the City's roadways.
In August of 2019 I approved an Organizational Development (OD) improvement plan for the
police department which was needed in order to move the agency forward with 21St Century
policing.
While the search for a new Police Chief is still underway, under my leadership I have hired a new
Major as well as two new Lieutenants to assist me with the day-to-day operations of the
departments.
I recently hired a new Parks & Recreation Director and Assistant Director who will focus on re-
organizing and re -branding the department.
The City hired a Public Relations Firm to ensure an accurate and positive image of the City is
presented.
2IPa2e
With the assistance of the City Commission, the City secured $2.1 Million Dollars from the
CARES Act. The City implemented a program where 5,617 grocery store gift cards were
distributed to Opa-locka residents. In addition, a Housing Assistance program was implemented
to assist Opa-locka residents with paying their rent/mortgage.
2021 Goals
• The City will invest Millions of Dollars in infrastructure improvements, including
completing remaining sewer main relining, resurfacing roadways, installing new
sidewalks, and renovation of Ingram Park.
• Implement the valuation of all City assets.
• Increased emphasis on community policing and police community outreach.
• Achievement of further reduction of criminal activity.
• Major emphasis on seeking grant opportunities.
3IPa;e
Parks & Recreation Department
• Parks and Recreation donated $3,500.00 worth of toys to The Opa-locka Booster Club for
their annual Toy Drive.
• On December 8th and December 15th, Parks and Recreation Staff in conjunction with
Feeding South Florida and the City of Opa-locka as a whole assisted with Food distribution
from 9am to 1 lam at Sherbondy Park. Over 500 families received food.
• Food bundles were delivered to Arch Bishop, Town Center Senior Complexes, and the
Senior's on the Move participants.
• Parks and Recreation staff assisted with Gift card distribution to all approved applicants on
varies dates, December 9th — December 18th. Park Staff will continue to assist until
program is completed on December 23`d. Gift cards are distributed from 1pm to 5pm at
Sherbondy Park. Over 1000 cards have been given out to assist Opa-locka families.
• All Facilities are closed until further notice.
• Construction of outdoor bathroom roof at Ingram Park has begun.
• Parks and Recreation Management is in the process of developing a Parks and Recreation
logo along with a Parks and Recreation department policy and procedure manual.
• Parks and Recreation Management is working on the layout of the Social Media platform,
this will help Parks and Recreation to communicate effectively with residents and highlight
Parks and Recreation programs and activities.
• Parks and Recreation Management continues to work on the re -organisation and re -
branding of the department.
Upcoming Events
• MLK Jr. Walk
• Virtual Recreation Programs
Maintenance Report
• Pool pump at Sherbony Park will need to be replaced.
• Sherbondy Park field Sprinkler heads has been replaced
Current Needs/Challenges:
• Part Time Recreation Staff
• Part Time Maintenance Staff
• Changing perception of Opa-locka Parks
• Community involvement
Short Term Goals
• Cleaning and beautification of Parks (Inside and Outside)
4JPage
" E s t a b l i s h P a r k s a n d R e c r e a t i o n p o l i c y a n d p r o c e d u r e m a n u a l
" I n v e n t o r y e a c h P a r k a n d d e p a r t m e n t s u p p l i e s
" E s t a b l i s h C o m m u n i t y R e l a t i o n s
" I d e n t i f y F u n d i n g O p p o r t u n i t i e s
" O p e n P a r k s t o t h e C o m m u n i t y
" R e c r e a t i o n s o f t w a r e ( C i v i c R e c )
" L a u n c h s o c i a l M e d i a p a g e s
" C a m p a i g n P a r k s t h e n e w l o g o
L o n g T e r m G o a l s
" D e v e l o p P a r k M a s t e r P l a n
" D e v e l o p a S t r a t e g i c a n d E m e r g e n c y P l a n
" D e v e l o p D e p a r t m e n t P o l i c y a n d P r o c e d u r e
" D e v e l o p a R e c r e a t i o n P r o g r a m P l a n
5 I P a g e
Parks and Recreation Additional Information:
• Approximately over 500 people attended the Annual Toy Drive
• Approximately over 400 hundred people attended the Food Distribution for the Month of
December
• The City has 4 food Distributions each month which are held on every Tuesday.
• Over 40 pallets of food was distributed for the month of December
• Approximately over 25 Seniors are distributed food each Tuesday for the Month of
December (Please see attached Senior's distribution list)
• 16 people assisted in the food Distribution (4 from Parks and Recreation)
• Developing the scope of work needed to reach out to various Consultants to begin the RFQ
process for the Park Master Plan.
6
1
Community Development / CRA
There are four new residential properties:
• Infill Housing is being built on Miami -Dade County properties in Magnolia North. Two
Twin Homes are under construction on the corner of Duval and Washington with more
residential development to come over the next 2 years.
• Two new homes were built at 931 and 951 Superior Street, the site of the former Historic
King Trunk Factory and Showroom.
There are five commercial/industrial developments that were approved by the City of Opa-
locka and ground breaking are expected to occur this year:
• 7 -11/U -Gas on NW 135th Street and the Connector
• Opa-locka Gateway Retail Shoppes on NW 27th Avenue and Opa-locka Boulevard
• CenterPoint Truck Parking Facility on NW 121 Street and 35 Avenue
• Opa-locka Fleet Truck Parking Facility on NW 128 Street and 45 Avenue
• Opa-locka Travel Center on NW 135th Street and Sesame Street
The City of Opa-locka's New Comp Plan and New Zoning Code was adopted in September and
October 2015. This zoning document is being codified by Municode and will be completed within
the next six to nine months. This is a $30,000 investment.
• The staff has been working on amend the signage code for future consideration and
application. This is to be approved for implementation in January 2021.
• The Staff has also amended the street peddlers and mobile vendor application and review
process. This is to be approved for implementation in March 2021.
• The Staff is in the process of developing a stand-alone zoning district for
Downtown/TownCenter of Opa-locka and creating a Tech District in the North Industrial
area of the City of Opa-locka. This is to be approved for implementation in Summer 2021.
Since the adoption of the 2015 Land Development Regulation/Zoning Code, the PCD staff has
guided several development projects in the City of Opa-locka through the follow processes:
• New Proposed Projects 15
• Site Plans Approved/Permitting 10
• Development Agreements 7
• Land Use Change 1
• Rezoning 1
• Alley ROW Vacation 3
• Special Exception Rev 7
• Projects Under Construction 8
71PaUe
New Businesses in the City of Opa-locka — As the crossroad of North Central Miami -Dade
County, Opa-locka seek to become a destination for logistics, manufacturing, good and services
while maintaining its historical significance. With the new Amazon Distribution Center at Opa-
locka Executive Airport, it is anticipated that several new businesses are or will be relocating to
Opa-locka and surrounding community. So far, over 1900 new businesses have been licensed in
the City of Opa-locka since 2015, however additional analysis is needed to determine how many
are of these are actual new business operations versus change of ownership. Some noted new
business are rehab Marathon Gas Station 7/11 Convenience Store at 13400 NW 27th Avenue,
Hi Wings Restaurant at 13300 NW 27th Avenue.
The Opa-locka Community Redevelopment Agency [OCRA] enters its 9th year of existence.
OCRA governs an area which is 514 acres, which is 18% of the City. There are 1105 properties in
the CRA district, of which 229 properties have some type of exemption. OCRA Finding of
Necessity [FON] was approved by Miami -Dade County Board of County Commissioners on
December 4, 2012 and the OCRA Plan was also approved by the same on October 1st 2013.
Downtown Concept Plan was initiated in May/June 2014 and presented in June/July 2015. The
OCRA has received $619,000 in TIF funds from Miami -Dade County while investing $850,000
in TIF allocation through City of Opa-locka services provided on behalf of the OCRA. OCRA
Projects include:
• Downtown/TownCenter Master Plan - expand and redefine development opportunities
recommended from the 2015 Downtown Concept Plan. An Opa-locka 2020 Master Plan
for the Downtown area is being developed to expand on what the Downtown Concept Plan
initiated. The downtown area needs to have its own zoning designation to promote mixed
use development, greater residential density and establish Opa-locka as a destination. This
is $130,000 investment to be completed by August 2021.
• Commercial Facade Improvement - To demonstrate that the OCRA is active and doing
work in the community, a commercial facade improvement program can be establish using
TIFF for qualified property owners and businesses in the OCRA Area. The amount
available will be limited. This is a $120,000 investment with 5-7 properties to be improved.
Phase 2 is under consideration for implementation.
• Historic City Hall Restoration - To demonstrate that the OCRA is active and doing work
in the community, the OCRA Board has committed to assist in funding the completion of
the restoration of Historic City Hall at a cost of $175,000 to supplement the $525,000 being
funded by the City of Opa-locka for a total of $700,000 to complete the restoration of the
most significant structure in the City of Opa-locka and the CRA Area. The amount of the
commitment will increase due to an assessment of the structure present condition and work
to be done to make Historic City Hall functional.
• Parks and Recreation — The Parks in Opa-locka are in need of upgrade, including new
amenities for Sherbondy Park and Sherbondy Village Community Center, Ingram Park
needs new facilities and water sport amenities, and the completion of the Historic City Hall
as a Cultural Center and focal point for the City. A Parks Improvement Master Plan is
needed. The OCRA is considering to fund a portion of the Parks Improvement Master for
the parks within the OCRA area.
8IPa`T
" M e m o r a n d u m o f U n d e r s t a n d i n g f o r t h e O p a - l o c k a C R A T h e C i t y o f O p a - l o c k a w a s
r e v i e w b y t h e S t a t e o f F l o r i d a A u d i t o r G e n e r a l ' s O f f i c e a n d i t w a s d e t e r m i n e d t h a t t h e r e
w a s 9 9 f i n d i n g s w h e r e t h e C i t y w a s n o t i n c o m p l i a n c e . 1 5 o f t h e 9 9 f m d i n g w e r e b a s e d o n
t h e c r e a t i o n a n d o p e r a t i o n o f t h e O p a - l o c k a C R A . W h i l e s o m e f i n d i n g r e f e r e n c e
d o c u m e n t a t i o n a n d f i l i n g i r r e g u l a r i t i e s , t h e O C R A w a s a p p r o v e d b y B o a r d o f C o u n t y
C o m m i s s i o n o f M i a m i - D a d e C o u n t y o n D e c e m b e r 4 , 2 0 1 2 . O n e o f t h e m a i n
r e c o m m e n d a t i o n t o a d d r e s s t h e s e f i n d i n g s a n d d e t e r m i n e t h e r e l a t i o n a n d i n t e r a c t i o n
b e t w e e n t h e C i t y o f O p a - l o c k a a n d t h e O p a - l o c k a C R A w a s t o f o r m u l a t e a M e m o r a n d u m
o f U n d e r s t a n d i n g [ M O U ] . T h e i n i t i a l M O U w a s a d o p t e d b y t h e O C R A B O D i n F e b r u a r y
2 0 2 0 . A n a n n u a l r e v i e w t o a m e n d t h e M O U i s t o b e c o n s i d e r e d i n J a n u a r y o f e a c h y e a r .
C h a l l e n g e s f o r 2 0 2 1
W i t h i n t e r e s t i n d e v e l o p m e n t i n O p a - l o c k a o n t h e r i s e , w e a r e a g o o d a n d b a d s i t u a t i o n . T h e C i t y
n e e d s d e v e l o p m e n t t o s t a b i l i z e t h e t a x b a s e , b u t t h e i n f r a s t r u c t u r e i s s u e s m a k e s d e v e l o p m e n t
o p p o r t u n i t i e s i n O p a - l o c k a a n e c o n o m i c c h a l l e n g e f o r i n v e s t o r s a n d t h e d e v e l o p m e n t c o m m u n i t y .
R e a c t i v a t i o n o f t h e H i s t o r i c a n d E n v i r o n m e n t a l P r e s e r v a t i o n [ H E P ] B o a r d . T h i s b o a r d h a s b e e n
d e f u n c t f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s a n d M i a m i - D a d e C o u n t y p a s s e d l e g i s l a t i o n t o a s s u m e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y a n d
a c t o n b e h a l f o f d e f u n c t b o a r d s r e g a r d i n g h i s t o r i c p r e s e r v a t i o n . T h e O p a - l o c k a H E P B o a r d w i l l b e
u p a n d r u n n i n g i n J a n u a r y 2 0 2 1 .
T h e O C R A F O N a n d R e d e v e l o p m e n t P l a n s t i l l n e e d s t o b e u p d a t e d t o a d d r e s s e x i s t i n g
i m p r o v e m e n t s a n d p o t e n t i a l d e v e l o p m e n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s . F u t u r e e x p a n s i o n o f t h e O C R A
b o u n d a r i e s s h o u l d b e a l o n g t e r m p r o j e c t t o i n c l u d e a l l o f N W 2 2 A v e n u e d o w n t o N W 1 3 5 t h S t r e e t ,
t h e s o u t h e n d o f S R - 9 / N W 2 7 t h A v e n u e t o N W 1 3 5 t h S t r e e t , a n d t h e O p a - l o c k a F l e a M a r k e t S i t e .
G o a l s f o r 2 0 2 1
F o c u s a r e a s w i t h i n C R A - M a g n o l i a N o r t h A r e a , M a g n o l i a G a r d e n W a t e r f r o n t A r e a ,
C u y a h o g a S i t e , D o w n t o w n / T o w n C e n t e r , B a r r a c k s R e s i d e n t i a l A r e a , O p a - l o c k a
T e c h / I n d u s t r i a l a n d O p a - l o c k a A i r p o r t I n d u s t r i a l a r e a s .
H o u s i n g a n d M i x e d U s e D e v e l o p m e n t N e w r e s i d e n t i a l p r o j e c t s a r e b e i n g p r o p o s e d i n t h e
D o w n t o w n O p a - l o c k a , B a r r a c k s , C u y a h o g a S i t e , M a g n o l i a N o r t h a n d S e g a l P a r k . I n f i l l H o u s i n g
o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r h o m e o w n e r s h i p a r e p r o p o s e d f o r t h e M a g n o l i a N o r t h , M a g n o l i a G a r d e n s ,
S u p e r i o r G a r d e n s , a n d a r e a s s u r r o u n d i n g D o w n t o w n O p a - l o c k a . P e r t h e 2 0 1 5 L D R / Z C , d e n s i t y i n
t h e C i t y o f O p a - l o c k a c o u l d i n c r e a s e o v e r t h e n e x t 5 - 7 y e a r s w i t h o v e r 5 0 0 0 u n i t s o f r e d e v e l o p m e n t
a n d 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 S F o f c o m m e r c i a l / r e t a i l s p a c e .
I n d u s t r i a l D e v e l o p m e n t N e w i n d u s t r i a l a n d c o m m e r c i a l d e v e l o p m e n t h a s b e e n s p u r r e d d u e t o
t h e n e w A m a z o n D i s t r i b u t i o n C e n t e r c o m i n g o n l i n e i n N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 8 . M o r e d e m a n d f o r t r u c k i n g
f a c i l i t i e s , l o g i s t i c c e n t e r s a n d C l a s s A w a r e h o u s e d e v e l o p m e n t i s b e g i n n i n g t o h a v e a n i m p a c t o n
9 1 1 3 a - r e
industrial development and may displace of some of the junkyards and scrap metal operations.
Warehouse properties have increased approximately 15-20%
Re-evaluate impact fees and create tax Incentives to be incorporated in the OCRA - Consider
short reduction for long term gains, i.e., percentage reduction in impact fees/permit fees, parking
requirement reduction, CDBG funds for gap/loan financing, access to Brownfield mitigation
funds. Project Site Pro Formas are needed to forecast long term ad valorem tax revenues for
potential development opportunities.
101Page
Community Development / CRA Additional Information:
• Provide pictures and testimony from developer (construction on the corner of Duval and
Washington)
• A Miami -Dade County Infi11 Housing Project being developed by Palmetto Homes. Two twin
homes [4 -units] are under construction. Estimated completion date Spring/Summer 2021. Four
more twin homes [8 -units] are planned to be built in 2021-2022 and a proposed 36 unit mixed
use building to be built in 2022.
• A Miami -Dade County Infill Housing Project being developed by Cazo Construction.
Proposed 5 twin homes [ 10 -units] are planned to be built in 2021-2022 and a proposed 42 unit
elderly/mixed use apartment building to be built in 2022.
• Provide more information for the six commercial/industrial developments
• GPT Retail/Warehouse Development 500,000SF 4 structures construction commence Summer
2021
• CenterPoint Trucking Parking and Storage. 10 acres site with 5000sf office on NW 121 Street
and 35 Avenue Under construction See link https://we.tl/t-8UMinMe3pR
• 7 -11/U -Gas on NW 135th Street and the LeJeune/Douglas Connector. Under construction.
• Opa-locka Gateway Retail Shoppes/Murphy Gas Station on NW 27th Avenue and Opa-locka
Boulevard. Construction to begin Spring 2021
• Opa-locka Fleet Truck Parking Facility on NW 128 Street and 45 Avenue. Under Construction
• Opa-locka Travel Center on NW 135th Street and Sesame Street -recently completed its
permitting with M -D County, construction to begin Spring/Summer 2021
• How long does it take for the codification of the new Comp Plan and Zoning Code.
• Codification of the Land Development Regulation is in process Estimated date of completion
Summer 2021
• Provide more information on the developing of a stand-alone zoning district for
Downtown/TownCenter of Opa-locka and creating a Tech District in the North Industrial area
• The Historic Downtown Opa-locka District (HDOD) district designation seeks to provide
consistent zoning regulations that will redefine the historic center of the city in order to create
a unique urban district that will provide a physical place where daily life activities such as
shopping, trading, working, governing, faith, the arts and entertainment and dwelling will
interact and complement each other into a cohesive whole pattern and network.
• The zoning district will provide goals and objectives to provide guidance for historic, present
and future development with the view toward creating a town center neighborhood that will be
a symbol of the community and a reflection of the city's values and aspirations.
• The intention of this section is to develop the Historic Downtown Opa-locka District
("district") as defined, recognizable area that is community -oriented, surrounded by historic -
natural settings and functional buildings where people can reside, work and entertain. The
intent of the city in adopting the Historic Downtown Opa-locka District Ordinance is to:
(1) Define the boundaries of the historic downtown district;
(2) Expand the economic base of the city, by providing additional employment
opportunities and additional revenues to the city and the region by making the area of the
district more attractive in ways that can increase commerce and tourism which will assist
in the development of specific plans that will allow for large scale social events and
activities within the district to consider the city when choosing their sites;
111
(3) Provide the basis for the continued and expanded support for initiatives that will cause
the district to be considered as a destination for large scale events and activities in
conformance with the goals and objectives of other city policies;
(4) Enhance the area encompassed by the district through programs that will attract
workers, residents and visitors to active public spaces and gathering places and create a
pedestrian friendly environment;
(5) Develop programs to further enhance the pedestrian environment through the
establishment of unique streetscape design guidelines providing additional signage
opportunities
• WHAT IS THE TAQNIA INNOVATION [TECH] DISTRICT?
The Tagnia Innovation District (The parameters will be between 22nd avenue to the east, 27th
avenue to the west, 151st street to the north and Ali Baba Avenue to the south) is a collaborative
land -use planning initiative aimed at the redevelopment of the Opa-Locka Commerce Area
(OCA). The City of Opa-Locka is working to update zoning regulations that govern the
preservation, rehabilitation and development that occurs in the Opa-Locka Commerce Area
(OCA).
The rezoning would enable more innovative tech based businesses and mixed use commercial
development and ensure that land in this area is redeveloped to its a highest and best use, not
only improving the area of the OCA but also ensuring the greatest level of fiscal productivity.
Similar to the Wynwood Arts District in Miami and Fat Village Arts District in Ft. Lauderdale,
a new special district designation could be developed for the area utilizing city owned properties
(Former Opa-Locka Police Station) as a cornerstone for the new district.
• It was noted that staff has guided several development projects in the City of Opa-locka,
please provide the most exciting projects
• All projects have their own level of excitement for staff. The anticipation for development
in the Downtown/Barracks area, Cuyahoga Site and Opa-locka Flea Market Site are
forecasted to grow and change the character of the City of Opa-locks.
• Provide the number of new businesses in 2020 (Unknown at this time)
• Provide visuals for the Downtown/TownCenter Master Plan (None are available at this time.
Project is ongoing)
• Commercial Facade Improvement — Provide pictures of completed projects (None are
available at this time. Project is ongoing.
• Parks and Recreation — What will be completed in 2021 TBD
• Infill housing projects — Need picture See Link https://we.tl/t-BIvGrqgGHK
• Sailboat Cove - Need pictures See Link https://we.tl/t-BIvGrqgGHK
• New homes built - increase in housing stock - How many new homes?
o 2 new homes -931 and 951 Superior Street
• Renovation projects - what are the most exciting? Any plans we can show?
o High Seas Boating Warehouse renovation and expansion
o New 7-11 Convenient Store as part of rehab of Marathon Gas Station at 13350 NW
27th Avenue
o Historic City Hall and the adjacent Fire Station.
• Future ground breakings - what are the most exciting? Any plans we can show?
• Proposed Residential Development at Cuyahoga Property on SR -9 at 1700 Block 7.6ac site
• Proposed redevelopment opportunities in the Downtown and Barracks area
121Psgc:
" H o t i n d u s t r i a l m a r k e t - N e e d m o r e f a c t s o n o u r i n d u s t r i a l m a r k e t
" P r o p o s e d A d d i t i o n a l 5 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 s f w a r e h o u s i n g t o b e c o n s t r u c t e d o n t h e e a s t s i d e o f O p a -
l o c k a E x e c u t i v e A i r p o r t a l o n g t h e L e J e u n e / D o u g l a s C o n n e c t o r
1 3 1 P a _ = ;
Budget / City Manager's Office
Accomplishments
FY 20 — It appears the City achieved very good financial results for the year. Since results are still
being developed, precise quantification isn't feasible at this time for some results. However, the
following are noteworthy, even if generalized in some instances.
❑ 30% increase in City property tax base, primarily due to the completion of the Amazon
distribution center within the City, providing $1.75 million of annual property tax revenue.
❑ Surpluses (revenue exceeding expenditures) in the major funds (General, Water -Sewer and
Stormwater), allowing the first two funds to make significant improvement to deficient reserve
positions and further strengthen the Stormwater fund's already strong reserve position
❑ A more than 30% improvement in utility billings as the County assumed nearly full
responsibility for the billing of the City's utility customers. However, the County's very significant
relaxation of collection procedures calls into question how much of this increased billing may have
to be subsequently written off.
❑ The negotiated release of approximately $5.2 million of surplus pledged funds retained by First
National City Bank, the holder of the debt on the Municipal Complex, provided $2.6 million
toward the improvement of the General Funds reserves, with another $2.6 million used to pre -pay
the related debt.
❑ The Citizens Independent Transportation Trust (CITT) released $901,000 for roadway
improvements related to FY 17 and earlier that had been retained due to the City's previous
inability to provide adequate audits, with more to be released as the City completes additional
audits.
o Initiation of stormwater and CRA downtown masterplans to provide long-range guidance in the
improvement of both of these important aspects of the City.
o Bringing CRA financial reporting requirements to the County up to date.
o FY 21 Budget submitted on schedule and accepted by the State without modification required.
Highlights include:
• A further growth in the property tax base of 8% as the City's tax base growth continues
to be in the top 20% of cities within the County.
• Continuation of the current lean organization, reflecting a 40% reduction from FY 15
staffing levels with compensation remaining flat other than as reflected in the PBA
contract.
141Page
" V e r y s i g n i f i c a n t r e v e n u e u n c e r t a i n t y d u e t o t h e p a n d e m i c , r e s u l t i n g i n m i n i m a l
i m p r o v e m e n t o f r e s e r v e s .
" A $ 7 . 5 m i l l i o n C I P p l a n .
" I n c r e a s e d f o c u s o n C i t y a p p e a r a n c e .
" F u n d i n g f o r a p a r k m a s t e r p l a n t o p r o v i d e l o n g - r a n g e g u i d a n c e t o t h e r e s t o r a t i o n o f t h i s
v i t a l c o m m u n i t y a s s e t .
" F u n d i n g f o r a C R A m a s t e r p l a n t o p r o v i d e a d d i t i o n a l l o n g r a n g e g u i d a n c e f o r C R A
d e v e l o p m e n t .
" C i t y w i d e p r o c e s s i m p r o v e m e n t l e d b y s i g n i f i c a n t I T D e p a r t m e n t i n v e s t m e n t .
o F i v e - Y e a r P l a n s u b m i t t e d o n s c h e d u l e a n d a c c e p t e d b y t h e S t a t e w i t h o u t m o d i f i c a t i o n r e q u i r e d .
H i g h l i g h t s i n c l u d e :
" C o n t i n u e d h i s t o r i c p r o p e r t y t a x b a s e g r o w t h a f t e r F Y 2 2 p a u s e . ( C u r r e n t a n e c d o t a l
i n f o r m a t i o n i n d i c a t e s a s t r o n g e r r e a l e s t a t e m a r k e t t h a n h a d b e e n a s s u m e d f o r F Y 2 2 . )
" M i l l a g e r a t e r e d u c e d t o 9 . 4 5 0 0 m i l l s b y F Y 2 5 .
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t h a n P B A , w h i c h i s c o v e r e d b y a s e p a r a t e a g r e e m e n t .
" R e s t o r a t i o n o f r e s e r v e s t o t h e G o v e r n m e n t a l F i n a n c e O f f i c e r A s s o c i a t i o n ( G F O A )
s t a n d a r d o f a t l e a s t t w o m o n t h s o f o p e r a t i n g e x p e n s e .
" R e s t o r a t i o n o f e l i g i b i l i t y t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n S t a t e R e v o l v i n g F u n d p r o g r a m t o f a c i l i t a t e
f u n d i n g ( $ 2 9 m i l l i o n ) f o r u t i l i t y i n v e s t m e n t o v e r f i v e y e a r s .
" $ 5 2 m i l l i o n f i v e - y e a r C I P p l a n , i n c l u d i n g $ 1 . 6 m i l l i o n i n v e s t m e n t i n P a r k s & R e c r e a t i o n
s y s t e m t o r e s t o r e s y s t e m a s a s o u r c e o f w e l l - b e i n g , e n t e r t a i n m e n t a n d p r i d e f o r t h e
c o m m u n i t y .
" H i g h f u n c t i o n i n g f i n a n c i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n f u l f i l l i n g a l l f i d u c i a r y r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s i n a n
e x e m p l a r y m a n n e r
F Y 2 1 G o a l s / O b i e c t i v e s
o F i n a l i z a t i o n a n d i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f a l l n e c e s s a r y a c t i o n s c i t y w i d e t o c o r r e c t d e f i c i e n c i e s n o t e d
i n t h e S t a t e ' s o p e r a t i o n a l a u d i t a n d s u b s e q u e n t S t a t e a p p r o v a l d u r i n g i t s F Y 2 1 a u d i t .
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i n s i g h t a s t o c u r r e n t f i n a n c i a l s t a t u s a n d a l l o w t i m e l y c o r r e c t i v e a c t i o n w h e n n e c e s s a r y .
o I m p l e m e n t a n e f f e c t i v e c i t y w i d e m e a s u r e m e n t s y s t e m , i n c l u d i n g r e g u l a r r e p o r t i n g , t o p e r m i t
o n g o i n g a s s e s s m e n t o f p r o g r e s s t o w a r d C i t y g o a l s .
o R e s o l u t i o n o f t h e C i t y ' s w a t e r - s e w e r d e b t o b l i g a t i o n t o t h e C o u n t y .
o R e s o l u t i o n o f t h e l o n g - t e r m i m p a c t o f t h e C o u n t y ' s d e c i s i o n t o s i g n i f i c a n t l y r e d u c e u t i l i t y b i l l i n g
c o l l e c t i o n p r a c t i c e s , s i g n i f i c a n t l y i m p a c t i n g C i t y w a t e r - s e w e r r e c e i p t s .
1 5 1 P a g e
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r e t a i n e d b y t h e C i t y .
Q' A g g r e s s i v e s e e k i n g o f g r a n t s t o p r o v i d e a f o r c e m u l t i p l i e r i n a l l o w i n g t h e C i t y t o m o v e f o r w a r d
t o m e e t i t s g o a l s .
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s h a r e i n t h e m a i n t e n a n c e a n d i m p r o v e m e n t o f t h e C i t y ' s s t o r m d r a i n a g e s y s t e m . I n F Y 2 0 , t h e C i t y
r e c e i v e d a l i t t l e o v e r h a l f o f w h a t i t s h o u l d h a v e r e c e i v e d i f a l l p r o p e r t i e s p a i d t h e i r f a i r s h a r e .
Q' D e v e l o p a m o r e c o m p r e h e n s i v e b u d g e t d o c u m e n t p r o v i d i n g g r e a t e r i n s i g h t .
Q' I n C o n j u n c t i o n w i t h C i t y M a n a g e r ' s O f f i c e s t a f f s t r e n g t h e n i n g o f C i t y p r o c u r e m e n t p r o c e d u r e s
a n d p r a c t i c e s t o e n s u r e p r o c u r e m e n t o f g o o d s a n d s e r v i c e s i s a c h i e v e d i n a c o s t - e f f e c t i v e m a n n e r
i n f u l l c o m p l i a n c e w i t h t h e C i t y p r o c u r e m e n t c o d e , i n c l u d i n g p r o c e d u r e s a n d m e a s u r e m e n t s t o
e n s u r e t i m e l y v e n d o r p a y m e n t .
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d o c u m e n t b e s t p r a c t i c e s t o b e u t i l i z e d i n t h e p r o c u r e m e n t o f g o o d s a n d s e r v i c e s .
Q' A s a m e m b e r t h e C i t y B e a u t i f i c a t i o n T a s k F o r c e , p r o v i d e a b r o a d r a n g e o f r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s
i n c l u d i n g s t r e e t c l e a n l i n e s s , a b a n d o n e d p r o p e r t i e s a n d u n m a i n t a i n e d v a c a n t l o t s , C i t y
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e n g a g e t h e c i t i z e n s a n d c r e a t e p r i d e a n d o w n e r s h i p i n c o m m u n i t y a p p e a r a n c e .
1 6 1 P a g e
Budget / City Manager's Office Additional Information:
MP 15
Question: What were the surpluses in the General, Water -Sewer and Stormwater Funds in FY 20?
Response: Primary Accounting focus has been on getting FY 19 ready for audit and FY 20
accounts still require significant work before being ready for discussion purposes. Last summer,
in conjunction with adoption of the FY 21 budget and based on very preliminary FY 19 results to
establish the starting point for FY 20, the following FY 20 surpluses were forecasted.
General Fund
Water -Sewer Fund
Stormwater Fund
Year -End
Surplus Fund Balance
$2.7 M ($0.7 M)
$2.5 M $0.5 M
$0.3 M $2.2 M
MP 16
Question: What is meant by a 30% improvement in utility billing?
Response: Accounting recently significantly increased FY 19 water - sewer revenue in preparation
for the audit, undercutting this point in relationship to FY 19. However, the point is more than
valid in comparison to FY 18. FY 18 water -sewer revenue was $6.6 M while FY 20 water -sewer
revenue was $12.1 M, an 82% increase for basically the same customer set. However it should be
remembered that County has significantly relaxed collection procedures due to the pandemic,
resulting in a 75.6% collection rate, indicating the possibility that the improved billing results may
ultimately translate into lesser receipts.
MP 17
Question: What audits were provided leading to the release of $901,000 of withheld funds.
Response: CITT acceptance of the FY 15 through FY 17 City audits related to CITT related
reimbursable expenditures.
MP 18
Question: Need more info in regard to CRA Financial Reporting.
Response: CRA hadn't been submitting CRA budgets timely and not in the required County
format. Prior budgets were resubmitted in the correct format and the CRA is now current in this
requirement with the submission of the FY 21 budget in the correct format to the County in
October, 2020.
MP 19
Question: What is the composition of the $7.5 M FY 21 CIP Plan?
171 P'
Response:
Governmental Funds
Roadway Resurfacing $ 300,000
Cairo Lane 800,000
Sidewalks 260,000
Total Governmental Projects $ 1,360,000
Water -Sewer Funds
Cairo Lane
Water -Sewer Project Design Criteria
Total Water -Sewer Projects
$ 2,900,000
500,000
$ 3,400,000
Stormwater Fund
Stormwater Master Plan $ 300,000
Stormwater Project Design Criteria 500,000
NW 30th Avenue 160,000
Zone 6 850,000
Cairo Lane 300,000
Project To Be Identified From Master Plan 600,000
Total Stormwater Projects $ 2,710,000
MP 20
Question: What is the composition of the $52 M FY 21 CIP Plan?
Response:
Governmental Funds
Historic City Hall Complex $ 1,500,000
Cairo Lane 800,000
Parks 1,600,000
Roadway & Sidewalks 5,347,138
Total Governmental Projects $ 9,247,138
Water -Sewer Funds
Cairo Lane $ 2,900,000
Zones 1-6 2,435,686
Future Projects 12,000,000
Total Water -Sewer Projects $ 17,335,686
Stormwater Fund
Zone 6 $ 850,000
Master Plan 500,000
181 P
NW 30th Avenue 160,000
Zone 6 850,000
Cairo Lane 300,000
Future Projects 18,400,000
Total Stormwater Projects $20,510,000
Note — Originally $52 million was indicated as the total CIF' for the Five -Year Plan. This was
mistakenly taken from an early draft of the Five -Year Plan message. The correct total is
$47,092,824. The difference is due to additional interest which limited funds for new projects that
was identified prior to the final adoption of the Five -Year Plan and corrected at that time.
MP21
Question: Provide more details in regard to a more effective City measurement system.
Response: The City requires a more effective and focused set of measurements related to
department objectives. There will be quarterly reporting of progress, concurrent with the required
reporting of the City's financial results.
MP 22
Question: Provide more details in regard to the City's water -sewer debt obligation.
Response: The original debt was $6,005,457 of principal and interest over a 60 -month period with
monthly payments of $100,091. The first payment was made in June, 2019 and through December,
2020, nineteen payments totaling $1,901,729 have been made, leaving a balance of $4,103,728
with the last payment scheduled for May, 2024.
The City has identified approximately $660,000 of City water -related payments to the County for
other purposes for which the City contends credit was never received. The City has requested that
this credit be applied to the outstanding balance and the County is reviewing. If resolved in the
City's favor, this would result in an approximate reduction in the remaining debt by approximately
$700,000, including interest savings.
There is another outstanding claim of approximately $2,500,000 for meter acquisition and
installation. No date has yet been established for the repayment of this amount. If under the same
terms as the original agreement, there would be an additional $195,242 if interest in addition to
the principal, payable over five years.
It has been recommended that in view of the County's decision to relax collection of utility billing
due to the pandemic, putting at risk approximately $3 million of utility receipts in FY 20, this
situation be utilized to renegotiate this debt.
191 P
MP 23
Question: Who makes the decision to forgive or renegotiate the approximately $2.7 million of
prior year State red light camera fees retained by the City.
Response: The only activity I'm aware of is the possible lobbying activity by the local State
Representative, Representative James Bush, in Tallahassee.
MP 24
Question: Provide details on the impact of moving the City's stormwater fees from the utility bill
to the property tax bill.
Response: Based on a recent engineering study, if every property were to pay its fair share of
maintaining and upgrading the City storm drainage system, the City would receive approximately
$2.1 million annually under the current fee structure before collection fees. For FY 20, the County
billed $1.1 million of fees on the utility bills, although due to relaxed collection practices, the City
will receive a lesser amount. Staff has identified deficiencies in the information the County has
been using to bill these charges and has provided additional information to the County that is
anticipated to increase the billings to $1.5 million in FY 21. However, due to systemic issues, it is
staff's opinion that the full potential revenue can never be achieved utilizing utility bills, resulting
in not all properties paying their fair share for the storm drainage system. Properties correctly
charged on the utility bill will see no change in the charge other than paying once a year rather
than monthly, and can save up to 4% by taking advantage of the property tax early payment
discount provision. There will be a difference if tenants have been paying utility bills since the
property owner will now be charged.
MP 25
Question: Need to implement a City Beautification Advisory Board as soon as possible.
Response: The City of Oakland Park, where I spent more than a decade, has excellent legislation
on establishing and utilizing a hi . hly effective beautification board which will be provided for
consideration when the City is ready to move forward on this.
201Page
Police Department
In August of 2019 City Manager, John Pate tasked the Opa-locka Police Department with
implementing an Organizational Development (OD) improvement plan for the police department.
This plan was designed to move the agency forward utilizing both measurable; community
oriented policing methods and public relations practices for 21' century policing.
While this concept is not new to the State of Florida, managing its processes and practices is
extremely profitable and invaluable to any community.
Other areas were additionally targeted related to a police performance plan that fostered; building
individuals, building teams, building groups and then building the organization — the concept here
is build a team and you build a department.
The City of Opa-locka Police Department has embarked on this journey, which brings public
acclaim to all of its share -holders and stake -holders alike —the residents.
Below is a snap shot [outline] of the agencies progressive initiatives, which has resulted m the
following public acclaim accomplishments, challenges and future goals as this journey unfolds.
OPA-LOCKA — LANSCAPE DEFINTIONS AT A GLANCE
Fig — 1: Organizational development is a critical and science -based process that helps
organizations build their capacity to change and achieve greater effectiveness by developing,
improving, and reinforcing strategies, structures, and processes.
Fig — 2: Organizational development is a critical and science -based process that helps
organizations build their capacity to change and achieve greater effectiveness by developing,
improving, and reinforcing strategies, structures, and processes.
Fig — 3: Community -oriented policing (COP), is a strategy of policing that focuses on developing
relationships with community members.... The central goal of community policing is for police to
build relationships with the community, including through local agencies to reduce social disorder
Fig — 4: Community policing is both a philosophy (a way of thinking) and an organizational
strategy (a way to carry out the philosophy) that allows the police and the community to work
closely targeting creative ways to solve the problems of crime, illicit drugs, fear of crime, physical
and social disorder.
1
211Page
MAYOR'S SUMMARY PAGE
OPA-LOCKA POLICE DEPARTMENT INITATIVES SUMMARY REPORT
OPD ACCOMPLISHMENTS INITATIVES
TARGET GROUP
1
Police Crime Prevention Program - Cordoba
Complex
Apartment Complex
2
Police Criminal Investigations Division
City -Wide
3
Police Crisis Intervention Mobile Assistance
Program
City -Wide
4
Police Department New Organizational Chart
Department -Wide
5
Police False Burglar Alarm Program
City -Wide
6
Police Fleet Management Program
Department -Wide
7
Police In -Service Program
Department -Wide
8
Police Motorcycle Program
Department -Wide
9
Police Rapid Identification Program
Department -Wide
10
Police Shop Cop Program
Schools -Higher
Academics
11
Police Squad Car Program - Enterprise
Department -Wide
12
Police Street Crimes Unit
City -Wide
13
Police Succession Planning Program
Department -Wide
14
Police Training - AR15
Department -Wide
15
Police Training Gear - Rapid Deployment
Department -Wide
16
Police Uniforms Face Lift
Department -Wide
OPD GOALS
1
Police Social Service Program
City -Wide
2
Police 501C Implementation
Department -Wide
3
Police Autism Training For Police Department
Department -Wide
4
Police City Surveillance Program
Department -Wide
5
Police Grant Writing Program
Department -Wide
6
Police Mental Health Training For Police
Department
Department -Wide
7
Police National School Resource Officers Program
Department -Wide
8
Police Neighborhood Watch Programs
City -Wide
9
Police NOPT Program
City -Wide
10
Police School Resource Officers Program
City -Wide
11
Police Seniors Program
City -Wide
12
Police Shot Spotter Detection System
City -Wide
221 Page
13
Police Substation - Glorieta Apartments
Apartment Complex
OPD CHALLENGES
1
Police Combating American Drug Epidemic
City -Wide
2
Police Community TRIAD Program
City -Wide
3
Police Recruiting & Rention Challenge Program
Department -Wide
4
Police Expansion of Officers
Department -Wide
231Page
IMAYOR'S SUMMARY
OPA-LOCKA POLICE DESCRIPTIVE DETAIL REPORT
i
• A new organizational chart was created that re -structured the police department in its
entirety. This restructuring also allowed us to add an additional 3 detectives to the Criminal
Investigations Division.
• Our Criminal Investigations Division has closed over a total of 320 inactive cases,
recovering ten thousand dollars' worth of stolen property. An additional 200 recent cases
have been closed with over 35 arrests affected since August 2020.
• An audit was conducted of our police fleet. Through strategic planning, ten (10) police
vehicles that were inoperable at the motorpool for over a year were repaired, which was no
cost to the city.
• Successfully launched the RAPID ID program. This allows our agency to immediately
identify a person by scanning their fingerprints onto one of our two mobile devices. We
are one of the very few agencies in our country to utilize this program.
• In August, we created a Street Crimes Unit, made of 5 officers, who targets and combat
our violent crimes and criminals that has plagued our city. As of today, this unit has made
over 80 arrests, removed approximately 30 illegal handguns and high power rifles off the
streets, as well as large amounts of illegal narcotics.
• We have hosted our 1st annual "Shop with a Cop" event, where we selected 12 students
from our local elementary schools, where they all received over $200 each. Each had an
officer as a shopping partner, where they went on a shopping spree at a nearby Wa1-Mart.
• Successfully re -implemented our Motors Unit, where we have successfully purchased a
motorcycle for the unit.
• New departmental uniforms were purchased and issued to officers and civilian staff.
• All officers were trained and issued AR -15 Rifles.
241 Page
" O f f i c e r s w e r e i s s u e d b a l l i s t i c s h i e l d s , g e a r , a n d h e l m e t s s o t h a t o f f i c e r s a r e p r o t e c t e d a n d
p r e p a r e d t o r e s p o n d t o c r i t i c a l i n c i d e n t s .
" I m p l e m e n t e d s u c c e s s i o n p l a n n i n g f o r p o l i c e o f f i c e r s .
" I m p l e m e n t e d a c r i m e p r e v e n t i o n d e t a i l f o r t h e C o r d o b a C o u r t s A p a r t m e n t s .
" 1 s t r e a d i n g a p p r o v e d f o r t h e F a l s e B u r g l a r A l a r m p r o g r a m .
" R e - s t r u c t u r e d o u r t r a i n i n g p r o g r a m , w h e r e o f f i c e r s h a v e b e e n a l l o w e d a n d e n c o u r a g e d t o
a t t e n d t r a i n i n g . M a n y h o u r s o f t r a i n i n g h a v e b e e n c o o r d i n a t e d f o r t a c t i c a l , i n v e s t i g a t i v e ,
a n d m a n y o t h e r s .
" C r i s i s I n t e r v e n t i o n M o b i l e a s s i s t a n c e .
" S p e a r h e a d e d a n a d d i t i o n a l 1 0 v e h i c l e s f o r t h e p o l i c e d e p a r t m e n t , w h i c h w i l l b r i n g t h e t o t a l
t o 2 0 n e w p o l i c e v e h i c l e s b y s u m m e r 2 0 2 1 .
" C o u n t l e s s o f t r a i n i n g h o u r s h o s t e d b y M a j o r S t r o u d , w h o m i s a c e r t i f i e d t r a i n e r , w h e r e
o f f i c e r s r e c e i v e c e r t i f i c a t i o n s . W e e k l y R o l l c a l l t r a i n i n g s a r e a l s o i m p l e m e n t e d b y M a j o r
S t r o u d .
" A c t i v a t i o n o f p o l i c e s u b s t a t i o n , l o c a t e d a t t h e G l o r i e t a A p a r t m e n t s .
" 2 4 h o u r a c c e s s t o p r o p e r t y s u r v e i l l a n c e c a m e r a s o f t h e G l o r i e t a a n d C o r d o b a C o u r t s
A p a r t m e n t s .
" A 5 0 1 C 3 O r g a n i z a t i o n .
" S e l e c t i n g s t a f f t o b e t r a i n e d a s a g r a n t w r i t e r t h a t i s c u r r e n t l y a p o l i c e o f f i c e r / a d m i n i s t r a t o r
w i t h i n o u r o r g a n i z a t i o n .
" S o c i a l s e r v i c e s p a r t n e r s h i p s f o r o u r c o m m u n i t y .
2 5 1 P a g e
" A S h o t S p o t t e r g u n s h o t d e t e c t i o n s y s t e m . T h i s i s a s y s t e m t h a t d e t e c t s a n d c o n v e y s t h e
l o c a t i o n o f g u n f i r e o r o t h e r w e a p o n f i r e u s i n g a c o u s t i c , o p t i c a l , o r p o t e n t i a l l y o t h e r t y p e s
o f s e n s o r s
" C i t y w i d e S u r v e i l l a n c e S y s t e m . T h e m o s t b e n e f i t o f o u r c i t y b e i n g u n d e r s u r v e i l l a n c e i s t h a t
i t w i l l l o w e r o u r c r i m e r a t e i n t h e a r e a w h e r e t h e c a m e r a s a r e i n s t a l l e d . T h e c a m e r a s w i l l
n o t o n l y h a v e t h e i m m e d i a t e e f f e c t o f d e t e r r i n g c r i m e s , b u t a l s o , a s c a s e s b e g i n t o b e s o l v e d
a n d c r i m i n a l s r e a l i z e t h e y w i l l l i k e l y b e c a u g h t ; p o t e n t i a l o f f e n d e r s t y p i c a l l y c o m m i t f e w e r
c r i m e s .
" A u t i s m t r a i n i n g t o b e i m p l e m e n t e d t o a l l p o l i c e o f f i c e r s , a s w e l l a s p o l i c e d i s p a t c h e r s .
" F i r s t - A i d t r a i n i n g t o b e i m p l e m e n t e d t o a l l p o l i c e o f f i c e r s .
" M e n t a l H e a l t h / W e l l n e s s p r o g r a m t o b e i m p l e m e n t e d f o r o f f i c e r s . C u r r e n t l y b e i n g
d i s c u s s e d w i t h H u m a n R e s o u r c e . T h i s w i l l b e a b e n e f i t f o r o u r a g e n c y d u e t o o f f i c e r
b u r n o u t a n d s u i c i d e , w h i c h a r e s i g n i f i c a n t p r o g r a m s w i t h i n l a w e n f o r c e m e n t . T h i s w i l l
i d e n t i f y a n d a s s e s s e x i s t i n g a n d p r o p o s e d b e s t p r a c t i c e s f o r p h y s i c a l , m e n t a l , a n d e m o t i o n a l
s u p p o r t o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r o f f i c e r s . I t w i l l d e v e l o p e a r l y h e a l t h i d e n t i f i c a t i o n a n d
i n t e r v e n t i o n s y s t e m s f o r o f f i c e r s .
" N e i g h b o r h o o d w a t c h p r o g r a m N O P T .
" P o l i c e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n " N i g h t O u t " . S p e a k a n d c o n v e r s e w i t h t h e c o m m u n i t y o n i s s u e s a n d
c o n c e r n s
" C o m b a t i n g t h e A m e r i c a n d r u g e p i d e m i c .
" S t a y i n g a b o v e A m e r i c a ' s p o l i c e s h o r t a g e . R e c r u i t i n g a n d r e t e n t i o n c h a l l e n g e .
" F o r g i n g t r u s t b e t w e e n t h e p o l i c e a n d c o m m u n i t y . W e w i l l c o n d u c t r e s e a r c h o n " p u b l i c
s e n t i m e n t m e a s u r e m e n t t o o l s a n d s e r v i c e s " , i n o r d e r t o o v e r c o m e t h i s c h a l l e n g e .
2 6 1 P a g e
Police Department Additional Information:
Organizational Development Plan- In January 2020, City Manager Pate tasked the Miami Dade
Police Department to conduct an assessment on the Opa-locka Police Department. He wanted to
ensure that our agency receives the best resources possible to thrive and be successful, which
included pay, training, equipment and more. The MDPD staff interviewed all sworn and non -
sworn staff so that we would be better equipped to address quality of life issues within our police
department. MDPD evaluated policies, administrative documentation, vehicles, facility, files, etc.
A survey was also conducted of the organizations strengths and weaknesses as well as an
opportunity to learn about working conditions.
After the many fmdings, Mr. Pate made a decision to put in place a new administration for the
police department. He invested in his Lieutenant's education, management, and leadership skills,
by placing them in the top training in our country, Northwestern's School of Police Staff &
Command. The department's vision is now characteristic of one that builds upon community
partnerships through understanding, collaboration, and integrity. Thereby, our resources are being
deployed with a focus on mending community relationships and working with our citizenry in our
shared interest of reducing crime and making the City a safer place for all to live and visit. These
changes have, unequivocally, placed the Opa-locka Police Department in a position that it has
never been before.
Criminal Investigation Division- There is 344 open/active cases. They have closed/suspended
320 cases. 51 arrests have been made. There were an additional 200 cases that were never assigned
to a detective under the previous administration, that were closed out/suspended as of August 14th,
dating back to the year 2009.
Street Crimes Unit- No additional information can be provided in regards to the Street Crimes
Unit, due to confidentiality, case sensitive information, and the pendency of court hearings.
Crime Prevention- In regards to the crime prevention at Cordoba Courts Apartments specifically,
on August 14, 2020, an officer was stationed on the property for 24 hours/7 days a week, to deter
any all crime from taking place. In addition, officers are becoming more involved with the citizens
and formulating these partnerships that are pivotal in crime prevention. It is also relative to provide,
that the Opa-locka Police Department is now involved in various community outreach programs
in the north end of the county, in partnerships with other police departments, for purposes of this
same endeavor. Most recently, the Opa-locka Police Department was one of seven agencies
featured in the media and involved in the OneMiami community bike ride.
Training- Officers are motivated and have taken advantage of the following courses since August
14, 2020. There were numerous of classes that officers signed up for, due to COVID-19, Miami -
Dade College has cancelled training.
271
*Emergency vehicle operations
*Mandatory Officer Writing & Review
*Mandatory Officer Retraining
*Adult Sex Crimes Investigations
*Automated Facial Recognition & Comparison Training
*FL Sunshine Law in Police Records
*Life Coach Training
*Rifle Training
*Firearms Instructor Course
*Taxer Certification
*Police Staff & Command
In-house training provided by Major Stroud is listed below:
Training Summary
-November-December: 8 weeks of training captured
-November-December: 100 hours of training captured
Training topics covered -Ongoing
- Report Writing
-Control Tactics
-Firearms
-Vehicle Extractions
-Suspect Management
- Close Quarters Combat
-Rapid Deployment
-Leadership
-Incident Command
-Motivational Interview
- Care & Custody
Glorieta Gardens Police Substation- Meetings and email communication have taken place with
Jessica Morenco (Property Manager) and myself (Lt. Jenkins). The substation will be operable and
staffed on January 1e° 2021. Ms. Morenco stated that they have changed management which has
caused a delay in their operations. She also advised that all of the requirements and supplies that
were requested have been ordered. I also had a meeting with Ms. Morenco on yesterday to see the
progress of the substation. I have a meeting scheduled on Thursday morning, January 7th, with
their IT division, to provide me 24 hour access to their surveillance system.
Shotspotter- I was afforded a presentation by the Customer Success Director for the south United
States area, whom is a retired Asst. Police Chief from Miami Gardens. He will host a presentation
for the administration of the police department on next week. At this time, I'm providing data of
our shootings from the last two years, at which time they will conduct an analysis and map out the
281 P
potential coverage areas. Once the analysis is complete, the director will provide a proposal for the
cost.
Mental Health Training- Crisis intervention and Autism training has been provided to 22 police
officers. Due to in person training being canceled, The International Board of Credentialing and
Education Standards will host an online class, as well as refresher course for the department. Lt.
Perez has acquired an additional resource, the CIT Mobile Response Team. They are available and
on call to respond to a request by any of our officers.
Fleet Management- The police department has (10) brand new 2020 Dodge Durango's. These
vehicles are equipped with the latest technology that enhances the officer's ability to serve the
community. The vehicles are now equipped with storage spaces and secure rifle racks where
officers can safely store and retrieve their equipment when the need arises. The lighting on these
vehicle provide for a steady burn that make these vehicles easily identifiable and visible to the
public, all with the mindset of being more visible than ever before.
"Shop With a Cop" Event- This was our 1st annual Shop With a Cop event. 12 students were
chosen from our local elementary school, to participate in the Christmas event. Each child was
pared with a Police Officer to establish a bond and build a relationship with officer and person
behind the badge. Our initial goal was to provide each child with a $75, but we were able to surprise
the parents and students with a $205 gift card for each child! T -Shirts were made for the students
and the vent took place at Wal-Mart, located at 1425 NE 163rd Street.
291
Police / Code Enforcement
The code enforcement department was re -envisioned months ago; the code enforcement
department is now focused more on education and compliance versus the issuance of citations.
Code enforcement officers are more proactive in their vigilance, holding repeat violators
accountable and thoroughly screening residential owners who have inappropriately sought tax
exemptions.
The code enforcement department, under the police department's purview is working to implement
legislation through commission resolution to address nuisance properties and absentee landlords.
On a commercial scale, the code enforcement department is working more efficiently alongside
the police department in our endeavors at addressing illegal and derelict vehicles and illegal
dumping.
Recently, the City Manager's Office was successful in dismissing several inspectors whom had
proven to be involved in criminal activity and/or misconduct. Thereby, new inspectors were hired
as what is being viewed to as progress in a positive direction. Attached, you will find an excel
sheet that depicts monthly revenue accomplishments and numerous enforcement measures by
category, completed by the code enforcement department this year.
Additional document provided as an attachment.
301- ,
Human Resources Department
Accomplishments
The Human Resources Department has overcome many challenges with a skeletal staff and the
impact of the National Pandemic of Covid-19.Staff has taken unprecedented measures to keep
employees safe while maintaining operations and levels of quality services to the City's residents
and employees. Adjustments had to be made to continue daily operations and adaptation to the
"New Normal" and teleworking as we know it today. Essential employees were provided laptops
and accessibility to work remotely. Working remotely allowed employees flexibility to deal with
family situations and minimize the number of people in the office at a time.
While several Human Resources Professionals navigated through the pandemic forcing layoffs,
furloughs and reductions in workforce, The City of Opa-locka's Human Resources Department
adjusted to the partial work -from -home module, created operational continuity plans with
management, worked with the Information Technology Department to develop and implement
emergency communication procedures and secure measures to keep the building sanitized to
prevent the spread of the virus. With the support of management, we were able to build a Pandemic
Proof Workforce.
• A Work -from -Home Policy was created to allow employees the flexibility to work from
home to accommodate personal family situations and limit the amount of employees
present in the building at one time to adhere to CDC social distancing requirements. This
policy allowed for the manager to equip employees with computer based technology in
order to work from a fully remote location such as the comfort of the employees' home.
• Covid-19 procedures were created to identify a process in efforts to comply with the federal
Family First and Emergency Sick Paid leave laws and provide support to employees that
contracted the virus.
RECRUITMENT:
The Human Resource Department created a Pandemic Proof Recruitment System in which allowed
staff to pursue qualified candidates in a safe but proficient manner. Interviews are conducted
virtually via the ZOOM platform. Contact -less onboarding was provided to all new -hires to ensure
safety.
The Human Resources Department successfully filled 24 permanent vacant positions, promoted 7
employees and transfer 9 employees to different positions in 2020.
311Page
Job Title
Department
Personnel Action
BUILDING CLERK
BUILDING & LICENSE
New Hire
HOUSING INSPECTOR
BUILDING & LICENSE
New Hire
BUDGET ADMINISTRATOR
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE
New Hire
COMMISSIONER
COMMISSION
New Hire
VICE MAYOR
COMMISSION
New Hire
ACCOUNTANT [2]
FINANCE
New Hire
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE CLERK
FINANCE
New Hire
PAYROLL CLERK
FINANCE
New Hire
ASST. DIRECTOR PARKS &
REC.
PARKS & RECREATION
New Hire
PARKS & RECREATION
DIRECTOR
PARKS & RECREATION
New Hire
CODE ENFORCEMENT
OFFICER [2]
POLICE DEPARTMENT
New Hire
COMMUNICATION
OPERATOR [3]
POLICE DEPARTMENT
New Hire
MAJOR
POLICE DEPARTMENT
New Hire
OFFICER [6]
POLICE DEPARTMENT
New Hire
RESERVE POLICE OFFICER
POLICE DEPARTMENT
New Hire
HEAVY EQUIPMENT
OPERATOR
PUBLIC WORKS
New Hire
ACCOUNTANT
FINANCE
Promotion
HR SPECIALIST II
HUMAN RESOURCES
Promotion
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CORPORAL
POLICE DEPARTMENT
Promotion
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
POLICE DEPARTMENT
Promotion
LIEUTENANT [2]
POLICE DEPARTMENT
Promotion
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
PARKS & RECREATION
Transfer
SPECIALIZED UNITS -
STREET CRIMES, C.I.D [7]
POLICE DEPARTMENT
Transfer
ADMINISTRATIVE ASST
PUBLIC WORKS
Transfer
BENEFITS:
The Annual Employee Benefit Enrollment Event was hosted virtually this year due to the
Pandemic and the need for social distancing. Employees were afforded the opportunity to meet
virtually with an enroller to receive one-on-one consultation with regards to the benefit plans and
their enrollment options. Employee benefit information sessions were conducted by the Insurance
Carriers to introduce benefits plan changes and address employee questions and concerns. The
goal of the virtual enrollment was to ensure that each employee received quality and individual
services as received during previous in -person enrollment fairs.
Employee time off accruals are being managed individually by the Human Resources Department
as recommended by the Auditor General in the 99 Findings.
Take home vehicle program has been fully implemented in response to the Auditor General report
and taxes on fringe benefits have been charged to the respective employees for 2020 per the IRS
mandates.
WELLNESS:
The City Provides a Full Virtual Wellness Program to all employees initiated via an electronic
monthly newsletter. The newsletter provides health and wellness information, virtual -live yoga
and fitness invitation for participation opportunities, and Employee Assistance programs to assist
with at-home challenges and mental health of the employees and their families.
The Human Resources Department hosted 2 (two) wellness information sessions on Breast Cancer
awareness with Memorial Healthcare and Financial literacy and wellness with the Dade County
Federal Credit Union. In house wellness events that were schedule had to be cancelled due to
Covid-19.
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TRAINING:
Prior to the Pandemic, All City employees received in-house Ethics training hosted by the Miami
Dade -Commission on ethics and Public trust.
HRD assisted the IT Department with ensuring that employees received cyber-security training to
protect the City data from being hacked by fraudulent computer users.
Safety training was conducted by Risk Management and The Florida League of Cities to minimise
workplace accidents and promote employee safety on the job.
EMPLOYEE RELATIONS:
The Human Resources Department hosts a Coffee and Conversation Series with the City Manager
and All City employees to discuss the goals and objectives of the City, City Management projects
and initiatives, and address employee questions and concerns in an open forum. These series are
held quarterly and are designed to ensure of level of transparency in management strategies to
ultimately improve employee team cohesiveness and morale.
Employees that earned a salary below $30,000 per annum received salary increases to a minimum
of $30,000.
RISK MANAGEMENT:
The Risk Manager convened a committee of Employee representatives from each department to
actively participate on the Safety Committee. The Safety Committee meets quarterly to discuss
recent accidents, employee safety topics and safety sensitive inspections and investigations.
• Risk Management conducted a safety assessment of the City facilities to identify safety
issues.
• The fleet inventory is being managed regularly to ensure that only operable vehicles are
being insured and that surplus vehicles are identified accordingly.
• Reduction of workplace injuries/ accidents of 27%.
COST SAVINGS:
Health insurance savings of $60,549.92 from initial renewal proposal.
Obtained a rate pass of no annual increase for the renewal of Dental and Vision plans- 0% increase.
Negotiated a $14,450 annual savings on payroll and Human Resources Information system
services provided by ADP to the City for payroll and employee information and recruitment
services.
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EMPLOYEE EVALUATIONS:
2020 PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
■Submttei NctSubmtted
•
** does not include evaluations for the month of December**
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Human Resources Additional Information
Employees are provided face masks, gloves and hand sanitizer on a regular basis as needed to
ensure protection. Hand sanitizing stations have been secured in all City facilities for employees
and residents. Human Resources worked with the IT Department to purchase and install a device
that monitors each person that enters the Municipal Complex's temperature. The Parks facilities
have been closed to the Public to ensure employee safety. An assessment was conducted by Risk
Management to ensure that all employee work stations adhere to social distancing guidelines of 6
feet as recommended by the Center of Disease Control. The Building and licensing staff was
relocated to the downstairs cashiering area to limit Public access to the first floor payment center.
All employees and visitors must wear masks while in the building.
Employers nationwide have been forced to furlough and lay-off staff due to the Health Pandemic,
however the City of Opa-locka maintained current staffing levels throughout the Pandemic without
decreasing salaries or benefits.
Wellness
January Wellness Calendar (week 1)
MY WISHLIST EVENTS
JANUARY, 2021
Training
The training was recorded and provided to employees that were unable to attend the live
sessions.
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Building & License Department
Major Accomplishments
1. Plan Reviews and Inspections: Completed the Building, Structural, Mechanical,
Electrical and Plumbing Plan Review for the Construction of the following Major Projects.
a) Two (2) Story Apartment Buildings for Sail Boat Cove under construction at 1755
N.W. 42nd Lane, Opa-locka, Florida 33054. These are Twenty Three (23) New
Apartment Buildings consisting of 112 Units.
b) Commercial Building for Natural Vitamins Facility consisting of 38,855 Square Ft. of
Office Space, 70,853 Square Ft. of Warehouse located at 4400 N.W. 133`d Street, Opa-
locka, Florida 33054. The building is under construction.
c) New Four (4) Commercial Buildings "Iron Wood Commerce Center" to be constructed
at 12700 LeJeune Road.
d) Warehouse and Office Complex for STRK Property LLC, located at 12815 N.W. 45th
Avenue Opa-locka, Florida 33054
The Construction cost of the above projects is approximately 41 million dollars.
2. Flood Insurance Discount: The Building & Licensing Department successfully
completed the preparation of reports and documents of all Community Rating System
(CRS) activities. Total of 13 activities to qualify for flood insurance 5% discount. The
documentation was successfully submitted.
3. Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule results Opa-locka: The Building
Department completed the application and survey reports to Insurance Services Office
(IAO) and received a high rating as listed below: Commercial and Industrial Property
Grade 2, Residential Property Grade 3.
4. MS4 Permit: Miami -Dade County Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4). The
Building Department completed the Annual Report for Individual NPDES Permits for
Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Cycle 3 years 7.
5. SunGard System: Reduces paper permit processing and utilized the SunGard System
automating the department to effectively expedite the processing of permits electronically
for better tracking.
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Information Technology Department
During this last year, the Information Technology Department was challenged with the rest of the
world of enhancing communication with minimal physical interaction. The department was
successful at leveraging several different technologies to quickly establish a "Work from Home"
program for eligible positions. Although COVID-19 slightly delayed some of the major projects,
not one has been abandoned. The listing below includes completed, pending, and upcoming
projects for the department.
Completed Routine Projects
• The IT Department consolidated three intemet providers into one. This consolidation
increased the overall internet access speed while adding additional stability to access via
fiber delivery. Internet access to all Parks has also been restored.
• Several upgrades were completed to the City's IT infrastructure which included servers,
network switches, firewalls, software -defined networks (SDN). These upgrades enhance
the City's cybersecurity, network, and telecommunication.
• The addition of a variety of new software packages have been successfully deployed. These
packages include the new IT work order management system and DocuSign.
• The City has worked with Laserfiche and added a new module to our current Laserfiche
Cloud subscription which allows for workflow.
IT has created new workflows within Laserfiche which are used to alert responsible parties
of expiring City contracts (30/60/90 days). This was a major concern from multiple
departments.
• In response to COVID-19, thermal scanners were installed in all public City buildings. This
was done before the facilities reopening.
Completed Major Projects
• The IT Department worked with all departments and a panel of residents to bring a
redesigned website online. The redesign of the original site may seem mostly cosmetic, but
we also upgraded the site's platform which allows for many interactive features. Most
importantly, the IT Department needed to transition many in -person functions from City
Hall and enable an online option. As of today, ten of these processes have been made
available on the City site with five more added by the end of the fiscal year. The ultimate
goal is to have all City services available online and accessible to residents at any time.
• The City's on -premise telephone system and handsets were migrated and replaced. The
project replaced multiple telephone systems throughout the City with one cloud -hosted
PBX. This new cloud -based solution allows for features that were not previously available
to us. These features include remote access to calls, call recording, call analytics, and
voicemail to email. This project also allows the IT Department to route calls anywhere at
any time including during times of natural disasters.
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Projects in Progress
• The Municipal Complex has been fully wired for a new Access Control system to manage
the physical security of the City's employees, guests, and assets. This system will provide
detailed insight when predefined security measures are not adhered to. The project is
currently in the software programming phase and is slated to be completed in January 2021.
• A migration of the on -premise Microsoft Exchange server to the Office365 government
cloud is planned to commence in January 2021. This project further allows the IT
Department to support and provide consistent mail delivery regardless of the physical
conditions (power, intemet, accessibility) in the data center. This project also includes an
upgrade of the Mail Security Gateway to a cloud -hosted gateway to maintain the high
filtering and sandboxing of malicious content sent via email to the City. A training
component for all staff members will also be deployed with this project.
• One of the most anticipated projects for IT and Public Works is the deployment of a
centralized work order management software and a branded City mobile app. The City has
procured these services through the vendor SeeClickFix. The goal of this project is to
organise all interdepartmental requests under one system and hold staff accountable for
completion. Additionally, through the new mobile app, citizens will have the ability to
make requests for different types of services which will be routed to the proper staff
member for resolution. This project was just initiated and is currently in the design and
configuration stage. We are planning for this to be a phased release and growing
proportionally as the staff is trained.
Upcoming Projects
• Upgrade Wi-Fi at all public spaces
• Implementation of a Parks & Recreation Management Software
• Completion of the five-year IT Strategic Plan
• Upgrade Commission Chambers (digital interactive display and remote cameras)
• Completion of a third -party network security evaluation
• Continue ERP selection process for a recommendation in FY22
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Information Technology Additional Information
1. New website — what are the new features? The upgrade to the City's website
although mostly cosmetic includes a platform upgrade to functionality of the site. Since
the upgrade, a new form center was created which allows the public to submit forms
which were previously only available in person. Over the next year we plan to release
access to online payments, park reservations, and building and permit access.
2. Online services — what services can we now conduct online? Via the form center the
following new services are available:
Board Applications
Public Record Requests
Special Event Permits
Vendor Applications
Amnesty Program Application
Special Master Hearing Requests
COVID-19 Complaints
Anonymous Crime Reporting
Flooding Notifications
Verification and Availability of Water and Sewer Service
3. Call center — need details on how this works. The Call Center will be implemented in
conjunction with SeeClickFix. Once SeeClickFix is implemented, a phone number will
be published to the public. The call taker will input this information into SeeClickFix
which will then route the issue to the appropriate party. The general idea for the call
center is to provide one number where the public can call 24/7 and reach live person
(similar to 311). SeeClickFix will also have many of the requests/services available on
the app and the website. The IT infrastructure which allows for the Call Center to operate
and allow calls to be answered from anywhere is fully implemented.
4. SeeClickFix — what needs to be done for this to be implemented? This is currently in
the implementation phase. We are gathering all the request that will be published to the
public and creating work flows for them. SeeClicFix will keep staff accountable with
reminders and notifications to administration of any overdue request. SeeClickFix will
also continuously keep the public up to date with any changes in the requests via email or
through push notification on the app. SeeClickFix will be used for both internal work
orders along with external requests.
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Public Works / CIP
Major Accomplishments
Automotive Repairs:
The city has a fleet of 160 pieces of rolling stock
Last year request for repairs totaled 129, compared to 769 the previous year of which 117 were
successfully repaired. This demonstrates a vast improvement in our repairs and maintenance
operations.
Our challenge is the 60% of our fleet is beyond economical repair, and with three technicians these
tasks is overwhelming.
Pump Stations:
We relined six (6) linier miles of our gravity sewer system, I service areas 4, 5, 7, and 8.
Our goal is to be at 100% compliant by November 2020.
Our challenge is to stick relining of our gravity mains which is plagued with excessive
inflow/infiltration due to aged infrastructure this takes a toll on the longevity of pump stations.
Utility Billing Transition:
We have transitioned 98% of our utility billing to Miami -Dade County.
Of the 5,603 water meters in the distribution system, 332, are left to be replaced at an estimated
cost of $68,000.
Total number of meters in our system = 5,603
Total number of meters remaining to be replaced = 332 at a cost of $68,000.
Total number of meters replaced to date= 5,271.
Milling/Resurfacing:
Our milling and resurfacing efforts are progressive:
• Ongoing = 6 miles
• Completed = 10 miles
• Completed by Miami -Dade County = 5 miles
The challenge is to minimize repairs to roadways that will have to be destroyed to facilitate
infrastructure improvements.
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Sidewalk/Swale Improvements:
Our new sidewalk installation imitative is progressing exceptionally well:
• Installed to date 0.2 miles or 1,250 feet of 2.6 planned miles
Street Lights:
We upgraded 662 sodium vapor street lights with brighter cost effective LED units, in an attempt
to discourage illegal dumping and other nefarious behavior.
Total number of street lights replaced 662
Total number of street lights in city 662
Stormwater Master Plan/ Priority Assignment:
Our Stormwater plan and project priority planning commenced in September and is expected to
be completed in March, it which point we are expected to have a list of priorities for construction.
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Finance Department
Accomplishments
1. Report on Charter County Transportation System Surtax Audit (CITT) for Fiscal Year
2017-2018 by Miami -Dade County's Audit Management Department was recently
released, approximately $261,546 is being recommended for release to the City. In
addition, there is approximately $469,882 in Unspent Transit dollars that the City can
utilize for future projects initiated after FY2018. The audit was completed with assistance
from both the Finance and PTP Department recently.
2. Through the CARES Act funding provided to Miami -Dade County, a total of $2.1 million
in Municipality Programmatic funding was made available to the City to implement both
a Housing and Grocery Gift Card program. The City utilized Miami -Dade County's
existing Housing Program process to implement the Housing program and await their
figures on what was expended which has not been provided as of the date of this memo.
The City utilized resources to implement a first time Grocery Gift Card program where
approximately $1.59 million was paid out by the City to distribute both Publix and Winn -
Dixie Grocery Gift Cards to address food security as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
within its City.
City of Opa-locka
Grocery Gift Card Program
Accountability Tracking of Grocery Gift Card Purchases
Submission Count to Miami -Dade County for Reimbursement
Discount
Dollar Value Credit.
Payment Date Vendor Gift Cards Per Card Extended Cost Charges
1 19 -Nov -20 Publix
2 8 -Dec -20 Publix
3 8 -Dec -20 Winn Dixie
4 21 -Dec -20 Publix
Total
1,000
1,040
1,050
2,527
5,617
Net Pay
250 250,000.00 7,500.00 242,500.00
250 260,000.00 10,375.00 249,625.00
500 525,000.00 26,250.00 498,750.00
250 631,750.00 31,712.50 600,037.50
1,666,750.00 75,837.50 1,590,912.50
The assistance of the City Manager's Office, Parks & Recreation, IT, Community
Development, City Clerk, Police, the Finance Department and their resources were
instrumental in implementing this program in such a short period of time. In addition to
assistance by the City Commission and special recognition of Commissioner Chris Davis
and contracted assistance from Program Administrator, Ms. Linda Taylor. The City had
until December 30, 2020 to expend the funds by pouring more than $1.6 million in food
and grocery gift cards to City residents to address food security concerns as a result of
COVID-19. The City is currently working to gather the supporting documentation and
paperwork necessary to submit to Miami -Dade County for reimbursement.
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3. Through the CARES Act funding provided to Miami -Dade County, more than $1.9 million
in Operating Cost Reimbursement funding was made available to the City. The City is
currently working to request reimbursement from Miami -Dade County for cost incurred as
a result of COV1D-19 that were submitted for reimbursement, stemming from remote work
accommodations, public safety, hazard pay for first responders, sick leave, staggered shifts,
and other cost incurred by December 30, 2020.
4. The releasing of $5,226,974.60 from City National Bank (CNB), which represented
originally transferred excess pledged revenues for bond payments from resources such as
FPL and Communication Tax Revenue in accordance with the bond agreement, over more
than a three year period that were withheld, and subsequently released from withholding
after successful negotiations by the City and CNB. These withheld funds were used to (a)
pay $115,405.50 in attorney fees assumed by the bank, (b) $2,555,784.55 used to pay down
the 2015A series bond and, (c) the remaining portion of $2,555,784.55 was transferred
from the Tax Revenue bank account to the General Fund operating bank account, these
funds are currently being used in the budget to assist with long term planning in the Five -
Year Recovery Plan.
5. Report on Charter County Transportation System Surtax Audit (CITT) for Fiscal Years
2014-2015, 2015-2016, and 2016-2017 by Miami -Dade County's Audit Management
Department was released on January 2020, approximately $901,927 was recommended for
release to the City and received. The audit was completed with assistance from both the
Finance and PTP Department.
6. Brought current, past due reporting of the Federal Equitable Sharing program administered
by the Federal Department of Justice and Department of Treasury, in compliance for the
Opa-locka Police Department by submitting the Annual Certification Reports for years
2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
7. The City's Finance Department teamed with Human Resources for more accountability in
its payroll process.
8. Completed the Annual Financial Report for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2018
with assistance from City departments.
9. Reconciling of its cash bank accounts until Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2019 and
currently working on finalizing those open for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2020.
10. Assisted with the recruitment of a much needed Budget Administrator and (2) new
Accountants, one licensed as a certified public accountant (CPA) who is the only employee
in the Finance Department that is certified.
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11. Timely payments of outstanding long-term debt such as the 2011 A&B Bonds, 2015
A&B Bonds, and the State Revolving Loans and Miami -Dade County debt.
12. FY2020 payment of approximately $934,475.43 for the Red Light Camera outstanding
debt.
13. Developed a Monthly Operational Plan for the Finance Department.
Challenges of the Finance Department
1. Recruitment of a Finance Director and Senior Accountants.
2. Continue with the Transition of Staffing the Finance Department at Budgeted levels.
3. The Coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the City through disrupted services, utility
revenue collections, reductions in state revenue sharing, increased medical and sick leave,
public safety and sanitation spending, and sickness as a result of the virus.
4. Collectability of prior year Utility Billing Revenues for both water and sewer revenues
outstanding that precede the transitioning to Miami -Dade County as the City's billing
service provider to is customers. In addition to the collectability of current year Utility
Billing Revenues billed post transiting to Miami -Dade County as the billing service
provider to its customers, as a result of the impact of the COV D-19 pandemic and policy
changes in collection. More details to be provided by the Director over Utility Billing.
5. Functioning without a full time Purchasing Officer creates a strain on the Finance
Department, this is because some of the duties of the Purchasing Officer such as overseeing
the review and processing of purchase requisitions and purchase orders through the ERP
system on a full-time basis significantly impacts the posting of transactions that go through
the ERP system which is more than 60% of the City's transactions outside of employment
wage and benefits, and debt related expenditures. As a result, there are numerous
adjustments and correction of errors that are required to be made at year-end and ongoing
by the Finance Department to maintain good accounting records in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles (GAA) and budgetary guidelines.
Goals of the Finance Department
1. Updating the fmancial accounting and reporting system by leveraging a new Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) system for the entire City government that is designed to
leverage technology to meet the needs of the Finance Department, Building & License,
Code Enforcement, HR, Risk Management and interfaces well with other departments.
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This will be led by the IT Department with input by the Finance Department and other user
departments.
2. Team building exercise.
3. Staff training and membership with the Florida Government Officers Association (GFOA).
In addition to membership with both the Florida and American Institute of CPA's for CPA
licensed employees.
4. Complete the Annual Financial Report for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2019, the
deadline due date based on an extension requested from the Joint Legislative Auditing
Committee (JLAC) is March 15, 2021.
5. Complete the Annual Financial Report for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2020, the
deadline due date is June 30, 2021.
6. Resolving Operational Audit findings identified as weaknesses within the Finance
Department.
7. Through a review of the City's records, we believe that approximately $623,820.18 in over
payments have been submitted by the City to the County for annual DERM payments, and
have requested in a letter dated July 20, 2020 to Miami -Dade County's Department of
Regulatory and Economic Resources, a review of supporting document and paper work
concerning the excess payments. The goal is to have the DERM payments reviewed by the
Audit division of Miami -Dade County to determine the outcome of the audit.
Major Challenge — Financial
The financial affairs of the City of Opa-locka, Florida ("the City") has been identified as one of
the four major challenges of the City as a result of the City Commission adopting a Resolution to
request a declaration that the City is in a state of fmancial emergency. As a result, Section 218.503
(1), Florida Statues, required the City to be subjected to review and oversight by the Governor or
the Governor's designee on the City's financial affairs, submit timely Annual Budgets, submit a
Five -Year Financial Emergency Recovery Plan and more.
Some of the major areas surrounding the financial affairs of the City deal with the following: (a)
payment of short and long-term debt, (b) payment to vendors and other creditors, (c) payment of
wages, salaries and benefits, (d) fmancial management and monitoring of cash flow and liquidity,
(e) reserve balances, (f) revenue generation and collection, (g) emergencies with a financial impact
and more.
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The City is current with long-term debt payments such as the 2011 A&B and 2015 A&B Bond,
Miami -Dade County debt and recently made payment on current debt associated with the Red
Light Camera program to the State of Florida; timely reporting and payment of wages, salaries and
benefits to its employees and have been managing and monitoring its finances routinely. Recently,
the City submitted its Annual Budget for FY2020-2021 for review and approval by ordinance by
the City Commission, in addition to submitting the Five -Year Financial Emergency Recovery Plan
to the Governor's designee, which received approval. In addition, as a result of the review and
approval process by the Financial Oversight Committee of vendor payments to monitor the City's
outflows in comparison to the Annual Budget, there are delays in timely payment of vendor
invoices and the posting of these current liabilities into the accounting and reporting system.
Instead, a manual approach is being utilized to determine Accounts Payable at the fiscal year end.
In earlier 2020, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) spread around the globe resulting in social and
business disruption. The operations and business results of the City were initially significantly
impacted as a result of the pandemic, with financial implications, such as unforeseen cost
associated with the pandemic, reduction in productivity locally, public safety, health and medical
concerns, strain on service and resources due to sickness and more. The Coronavirus pandemic
has impacted the City through disrupted service and operations, utility revenue collections and
increased medical and public safety spending, sick leave as a result of sickness and other concerns.
The consequences, in turn, have affected the City's local economy which surrounds 4.2 square
miles. The City is an important contributor to the local economy, and have been monitoring its
Annual Budget, reserve balances and accessing the Coronavirus Relief Fund, CARES Act funding
provided to state and local governments. The City was awarded more than $1.9 million funding
through cost reimbursements to offset the cost of COVID-19 for cost incurred for sanitation, the
food drive, and hazard pay for first responders, public safety and medical equipment and supplies,
remote work set up, public safety and more, to assist with navigating the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic on operations. The City also sought funding allocated for programmatic dollars to
provide a Housing and Grocery Gift Card program where $2.1 million was awarded.
As a result of the declaration of financial emergency and staffing shortages, the City was not able
to produce a timely Annual Budget and the appropriate timely approval by the Governor's
designee that preceded the Annual Budget being approved. However as of the October 1, 2019 —
September 30, 2020 fiscal year, the City timely submitted its Annual Budget for the first time since
declaring a financial emergency to the Governor's designee for approval and started its Annual
Budget effective October 1, 2019. Since then, the October 1, 2020 — September 30, 2021, Annual
Budget was timely approved and implemented.
Compliance Audits
The City had been behind in producing an audit of its annual fmancial reports for more than four
years, which is required to be submitted annual for local governments to the State of Florida,
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through Florida Statues, Chapter 218. The City has been working to complete the following
audited annual financial reports to become current:
Report Completed
• Annual Financial Report for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2015 February 2018
• Annual Financial Report for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2016 March 2019
• Annual Financial Report for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2017 September 2019
• Annual Financial Report for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2018 May 2020
The City is in the process of preparing to undergo the annual financial audit for the fiscal year
ended September 30, 2019, and will then move forward with the fiscal year ended September 30,
2020 annual financial audit.
The City had also been behind in completing the annual audit of surtax funds from Miami Dade
County's, Citizen Independent Transportation Trust (CITT), however recently completed a
majority of the past due audits.
Report Completed
• Charter County Transportation System Surtax Audit for Fiscal Year 2015-2017 December 2020
• Charter County Transportation System Surtax Audit for Fiscal Year 2018 January 2020
•
The City will begin working on the surtax audit for Fiscal Year 2019 once the Annual Financial
Report for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2019 is completed.
Operational Audit
The Finance Department has been working on addressing the Florida Auditor General Operational
Audit findings identified as weaknesses within the Finance Department, in addition to assisting
with other findings that have a financial implication. New policies and procedures have been
prepared and presented, and an ongoing effort to develop and design procedures and processes that
can be implemented and monitored for effectiveness and efficiency.
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