With a quorum restored after months of litigation and the former mayor removed from office after being hit with criminal charges, North Miami Beach commissioners were well positioned to get on with city business, but they had other plans.
July’s commission meeting revealed lingering disagreement between two key voting blocs. On one end sits Commissioners Jay Chernoff, Fortuna Smukler and Phyllis Smith; on the other, Commissioners Daniela Jean, McKenzie Fleurimond and Michael Joseph. The six-member commission produced three tie votes over the course of five hours at its July 18 meeting, igniting criticism from residents who say the lack of consensus is just another conspiracy to halt city business yet again.
According to the North Miami Beach city charter, each item that comes before it requires a majority vote from the commission in order to pass. Any item that receives a tied vote fails.
(Samantha Morell for Biscayne Times)
North Miami Beach Commissioner Daniela Jean’s nomination as vice mayor failed in a split decision.
The first 3-3 vote came early on in the meeting, when commissioners considered an item on second and final reading that would have made breaking quorum an ethical violation. Fleurimond, who has left meetings before adjournment in the past, was the first to vote against it, provoking sarcastic laughter in the audience. Jean and Joseph soon followed suit. The item failed without discussion.
The same routine occurred later when voting on a motion that would have appointed Jean as vice mayor, only this time the votes were reversed. Chernoff, who was formerly vice mayor but has been acting as mayor since Anthony DeFillipo’s removal, joined Smith and Smukler in their dissent. The three commissioners prevented the item from moving forward, again without any discussion.
But the most controversial tie vote came when trying to call a special election that would ultimately resolve the stalemate commissioners are seeing in the first place. Interim City Attorney John Herin proposed Oct. 10 as a possible date to elect a new mayor, but Fleurimond, Jean and Joseph voted against it.
This time, commissioners did not remain silent.
“The longer we wait for this election, the longer the opportunity is to have it always be a 3-3 vote,” said Smith. “We need to have our seventh seat filled.”
(CityNMB.com)
NMB Commissioner Phyllis Smith
“I cannot believe we’re not voting for this,” said Chernoff. “This is what everybody wanted, an election. I mean, come on.”
The reason for the election’s delay, according to dissenters, has less to do with substance and more to do with procedure. Joseph noted that the resolution’s memorandum was not posted to the online agenda, preventing residents from reading its contents ahead of the meeting.
Although Smith insisted that the calling of a special election is required in the city charter and therefore gives residents little reason to protest, Joseph touted transparency as a reason to do things correctly rather than, as he put it, “covertly.”
Fleurimond and Jean also expressed disappointment that Herin did not return to the dais with alternative dates as ordered. Opposing commissioners also asked for an in-depth analysis of the possibilities and consequences, given that the county elections department is unable to accommodate the 90-day window in which the commission is required to hold its election, according to the charter.
The commission will now have to wait until its next meeting Aug. 15 to hear and approve a date for the special election. It is unlikely, then, that the Oct. 10 date will still be available. Herin noted that the county elections department requires substantial notice to prepare before an election is called. Additionally, the city charter requires that candidates qualify no less than 38 days before a special election is held.
Residents also expressed disapproval of the delay, including former Commissioner Barbara Kramer. Kramer, who is also a qualifying mayoral candidate, accused Joseph of avoiding eye contact and making faces toward her during public comment but was subsequently asked by Chernoff to stop.
“Don’t tell me anymore to stop,” responded Kramer. “This city is stopped. It’s a 3-3 and this is all a game you all are playing, and you know very well you conspire together and you do all this business to stop this city.”
Although the tied items failed, commissioners still have the opportunity to reintroduce any given item at a later date for first reading. Two additional items regarding the payment of attorneys’ fees for litigation between Fleurimond and Chernoff were also tabled until the next meeting.
Asking for city approval to pay Fleurimond’s attorneys upwards of $26,000 for defending the commissioner against litigation brought by Chernoff, Herin was instead questioned repeatedly over conflict-of-interest concerns. Joseph, for instance, expressed worry that Chernoff has a conflict of interest as the commissioner who initially brought suit, while Smukler opined that perhaps Fleurimond has a conflict of interest as the defendant whose attorney’s fees would be paid for by the city.
According to relevant case law, elected officials have the right to reimbursement for attorneys’ fees if they prevail in any case brought against them in their official capacity. In the lawsuit brought against him by Chernoff, wherein he was challenged for repeatedly missing meetings and halting city business, Fleurimond was voluntarily dismissed and is therefore considered to be the prevailing party.
Herin explained that the city is obligated to pay Fleurimond’s fees on his behalf, but that the item still requires commission approval because the city was not in direct contract with his attorneys. However, Herin further noted that a “no” vote from the commission could be and likely would be legally challenged.
The items were nevertheless deferred until each commissioner can receive clarity from the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust about conflict-of-interest matters.
In the meantime, the city has officially begun the procurement process for a permanent city attorney.
And although tie votes were all the hubbub at its last meeting, the split commission was able to unanimously agree on a city millage rate.
In other news, former city manager Arthur “Duke” Sorey III filed suit Tuesday against the city of North Miami Beach, and the individual commissioners who voted to terminate him for cause, resulting in the denial of severance pay.