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1aPT 1 City of South Miami 2 Regular City Commission Minutes 3 December 7, 2010 4 5 CALL TO ORDER: 6 7 The City Commission of the City of South Miami, Florida met 8 in regular session on Tuesday, December 7, 2010, beginning at 9 8:02 p.m., in the City Commission Chambers, 6130 Sunset Drive. 10 11 A. Roll Call: 12 The following members of the City Commission were present: 13 Mayor Philip K. Stoddard, Vice Mayor Valerie Newman, and, 14 Commissioners Brian D. Beasley and Walter A. Harris. 15 Commissioner Velma Palmer was absent 16 17 Also in attendance were: Deputy City Attorney Mark A. 18 Goldstein, City Clerk Maria M. Menendez and City Manager Hector 19 Mirabile. 20 21 B. Moment of Silence: Invocation by Commissioner Beasley. 22 23 C. Pledge of Allegiance: 24 The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison. 25 26 D. Presentations(s) 27 28 Report of the Performance Audit (See Attached) 29 30 Dr. Howard A. Frank with the Metropolitan Center at Florida 31 International University (FIU) presented the Final Report of the 32 performance audit conducted by the FIU team under his direction. 33 34 With no further presentations this section was closed. 35 36 ITEM (S) FOR THE COMMISSION'S CONSIDERATION: 37 38 39 1. Approval of Minutes 40 41 Minutes of November 1, 2010 42 43 Moved by Mayor Stoddard, seconded by Commissioner Beasley, 44 the approval of the minutes of November 1, 2010 passed by a 4 -0 45 vote: CITY COPM7ISSION MINUTES 1 December 7, 2010 m1a t, 1 2 Commissioner Palmer: Absent 3 Vice Mayor Newman: Yea 4 Commissioner Beasley: Yea 5 Commissioner Harris: Yea 6 Mayor Stoddard: Yea 7 8 2. City Manager's Report (25 minutes) 9 10 (See attached report) 11 12 Regarding the concept of utilizing the State of Florida 13 television feed as background when not airing our meetings, Vice 14 Mayor Newman said that she would like to stay with the City 15 business because if someone misses a program they can catch up 16 with it at a later time; plus, she also said that we should be 17 airing the ERPB and Special Masters meetings. 18 19 Regarding the red light cameras Vice Mayor Newman said that 20 she would not like to see it as a fund raising tool, but rather 21 using it as what it was intended to do which is safety, and that 22 we do not change the timing of the yellow lights to quicken it; 23 she also recommended not using the vendor being used by Coral 24 Gables for online payment because she said that she went through 25 that experience and it is not user - friendly at all. 26 27 Regarding the Murray Park Pool, Commissioner Harris wanted 28 to know what is holding up the final approval to start the 29 construction. Mayor Stoddard said that the idea was waiting for 30 the selection of a pool operator to help the Commission with the 31 process of design build. Vice Mayor Newman concurred, saying 32 that she is not ready to vote on a design build firm until they 33 have the operator and costs. 34 35 With some further comments the City Manager's Report ended. 36 37 38 3. City Attorney's Report 39 40 Mr. Goldstein reported that the owner of the Bougainvillea 41 Tavern property has filed a certiorari appeal to the Circuit 42 Court; he said that he may need an attorney - client session in 43 January. 44 45 On the Southeastern Investments case, it is set for a final 46 hearing for mid January before the Department of Community 47 Affairs hearing officer; he has been advised that the attorney CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 2 December 7, 2010 BTgq 1 for Southeastern Investments will likely be seeking a 2 continuance of that hearing. 3 4 We tentatively resolved a case that we had filed against 5 the Company in Alabama that sold us the street sweeper which 6 would have cost us approximately $19,000 to fix; we filed a 7 lawsuit claiming certain defects that caused the engine to stop 8 working; the sweeper is in the process of being delivered to the 9 manufacturer for repair, and the only cost to the City would be 10 the filing fee for the lawsuit and the one -way transportation 11 cost. 12 13 Regarding item no. 33 on the agenda relating to 14 telecommunication he recommended abiding by State Law and not 15 passing the ordinance. 16 17 With no further comments the City Attorney's Report ended. 18 19 20 PUBLIC REMARKS 21 (5 minutes) 22 23 David Tucker Sr. addressed the Commission with a story on 24 the occasion of the Pearl Harbor anniversary. 25 26 Bob Welsh referred to a neighbor who always would hang 27 Christmas lights suspended between to telephone poles at 74th 28 Street and 63rd Court. His neighbor has not been able to do that 29 since last year when Code Enforcement stopped him from doing it 30 because there is supposed to be 15 feet of clearance for truck 31 traffic. He then referred to a neighbor who lives in the 32 vicinity who has in front of her house a 2" diameter cable 33 suspended from phone poles that are 200 feet apart and they are 34 exactly 13 feet above the ground; therefore, he urged Code 35 Enforcement to look into this. 36 37 Sharon McCain made comments regarding the FIU report 38 presentation; regarding the pool she said that the Commission is 39 not being fiscal responsible and that the issue should have been 40 placed on the ballot; she commented that the city attorney is 41 not part of the report; she also said that our website is not 42 user- friendly. 43 44 John Edward Smith referred to the Parade of the Elves which 45 was a success; he then said that the merchants are asking where 46 the holiday lights are; also, the patrons are complaining to 47 businesses for the raise in parking meters. 48 CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 3 December 7, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 Gray Read, member of the Market Committee, thanked the the Farmers' Market work. She and suggestions on how to make Green Task Force and the Farmers' Commission and staff for making said that they welcome comments the Market better. With no further speakers this section was closed. 3. Commission Reports, Discussion & Remarks (25 minutes) Vice Mayor Newman • Expressed real disappointment regarding the fact that there are no holiday lights downtown; she said that this subject never came up at the Commission level; • She asked for the date when the next EAR process will start; • Mr. Vageline said that there is a period of time during the month of December where people can apply to amend the Future Land Use Map - the 2012 EAR was going to start October 1st; however, during the budget process the beginning was moved to January, and we have a proposal from FIU to provide the service to assist us through the process; • Mayor Stoddard recommended holding a special meeting because he could not vote on anything concerning FIU; • Mr. Vageline said that this is done through Florida Statutes that allows us to use FIU without competitive negotiations because they operate under the umbrella of the Florida Statutes to provide the service to cities; • Vice Mayor Newman said that she would like to entertain other options besides FIU; • Commissioner Beasley said to have no problems with the FIU choice, and also the cost would be much lower that we have paid other consultants in the past. Commissioner Harris • Said that he would like to propose having garbage pick up just once a week and recycling twice a week instead; • Dr. Mirabile said that the Mayor had asked him the same question sometime ago; therefore, he asked Public Works Director to conduct a survey on this - the survey is inconclusive at this time because not too many people have returned the survey; • Vice Mayor Newman said that she would not be prepared to recommend any changes without having concrete data first about what her neighbors have to say. CITY COMMISSION MINUTES December 7, 2010 59 1 Mayor Stoddard: 2 * Sent special thanks to Barbara Acker for her 3 tremendous effort in putting the Elves' Parade 4 together; 5 • About the Farmers' Market he said that it was an 6 amazing opening with an estimated 300 people; 7 • Asked the City Manager if we can start thinking about 8 the planning process for US1 crosswalks; 9 10 Commissioner Beasley 11 • Said that it would be very beneficial if we could find 12 money for the crosswalks countdown; 13 • . Dr. Mirabile said that the countdown will be part of 14 the crosswalks improvements. 15 16 With no further comments this section was closed. 17 18 At this time the Mayor announced a 5- minute break. 19 20 As the meeting reconvened, item no. 5 was withdrawn, and 21 item no. 14 was pulled for discussion (now item no. 27). 22 23 Moved by Mayor Stoddard, seconded by Commissioner Harris, 24 the add -on item was added to the Consent (now item no. 9), the 25 motion passed by a 4 -0 vote: 26 27 Commissioner Palmer: Absent 28 Vice Mayor Newman: Yea 29 Commissioner Beasley: Yea 30 Commissioner Harris: Yea 31 Mayor Stoddard: Yea 32 33 Moved by Mayor Stoddard, seconded by Commissioner Beasley, 34 to accept the revisions on items no. 10 and 11, the motion 35 passed by a 4 -0 vote: 36 37 Commissioner Palmer: Absent 38 . Vice Mayor Newman: Yea 39 Commissioner Beasley: Yea 40 Commissioner Harris: Yea 41 Mayor Stoddard: Yea 42 43 (BEGINNING OF CONSENT) 44 45 (This item was withdrawn from the Agenda) 46 5. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the 47 City of South Miami, Florida, authorizing the City CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 5 December 7, 2010 1 Manager to purchase mapping software from USA Software 2 Inc. for a total cost of $15,000.00 to be paid at 3 $5,000.00 per year for three years and charged to 4 account number 608 -1910- 521 -3450 (State Contractual 5 Services) providing for an effective date. 3/5 6 (City Manager - Police Dept.) 7 8 252 -10 -13286 9 6. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the 10 City of South Miami, Florida, authorizing the City 11 Manager to renew the annual software support agreement 12 with USA Software Inc. for a total cost of $23,422.20 13 to be paid in quarterly payments of $5855.55 and 14 charged to account number 1910 -521 -4630 (Maintenance 15 and Repair Communications Equipment), providing for an 16 effective date. 3/5 17 (City Manager - Police Dept.) 18 19 253 -10 -13287 20 7. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the 21 City of South Miami, Florida, authorizing the City 22 Manager to purchase 17 Mobile Data System Client 23 Software licenses, software support and configure the 24 system for the addition licenses from USA Software 25 Inc. for a total cost of $16,435.00 being charged to 26 account number 615 - 1910 -521 -3450 (State Forfeiture 27 Maintenance and Repair Communications Equipment) , 28 providing for an effective date. 3/5 29 (City Manager - Police Dept.) 30 31 254 -10 -13288 32 8. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the 33 City of South Miami, Florida, authorizing the City 34 Manager to budget $9,969.92 for the processing /testing 35 and equipping of an additional 12 Reserve Officers 36. $2,410.80 being charged to account number 608 -1910- 37 521 -5220 (State Forfeiture Uniforms) and $7,286.12 38 being charged to account 608- 1910 -521 -4970 (State 39 Forfeiture Employee Testing), providing for an 40 effective date. 3/5 41 (City Manager - Police Dept.) 42 43 255 -10 -13289 44 9. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the 45 City of South Miami, Florida,, authorizing the City 46 Manager to purchase police uniforms and equipment from CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 6 December 7, 2010 1 Lou's Police Distributors using funding not to exceed 2 $39,114.00 that was approved and allocated in the 3 201.0 -1011 budget from account number 001 -1910- 521 -5220 4 Police Uniforms; providing for an effective date. 3/5 5 (City Manager - Police Dept.) 6 7 256 -10 -13290 8 10. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the 9 City of South Miami, Florida, authorizing the City 10 Manager to budget expend $6,564.39 for two Motorola 11 MC -75 ticket generator with scanner, battery, warranty 12 and charging cradle, together with Zebra RW420 13 portable printer with power supply, case, printing 14 supplies, and maintenance, being charged to account 15 number 608 -1910- 521 -5205 (State Forfeiture Computer 16 Equipment), providing for an effective date. 3/5 17 (City Manager - Police Dept.) 18 19 257 -10 -13291 20 11. A Resolution of the Mayor and. City Commission of the 21 City of South Miami, Florida, authorizing the City 22 Manager to budget expend $9998 for Handguns, Rifles, 23 ammunition, and repair parts from Lou's Police 24 Distributors and the U.S. Military, being charged to 25 account number 608 - 1910 -521 -5210 (State Forfeiture 26 Supplies), providing for an effective date. 3/5 27 (City Manager - Police Dept.) 28 29 258 -10 -13292 30 12. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the 31 City of South Miami, Florida, relating to budget; 32 authorizing an increase of appropriations for 33 expenditure account 608 -1910- 521 -3450, Contractual 34 Services, in the amount of $31,500, an increase in 35 appropriations for expenditure account 608- 1910 -521- 36 5205, Computer Equipment, in the amount of $8,502, an 37 increase in appropriations for expenditure account 38 608 -1910- 521 -5220, Uniforms, in the amount of $2,411, 39 an increase in appropriations for expenditure account 40 608 -1910- 521 -4970, Employee Testing, in the amount of 41 $7,287, an increase for appropriations for expenditure 42 account 608 - 1910 -521 -5210, Supplies, in the amount of 43 $9,998, due to the obtained and received confiscated 44 revenue of $60,140.00, in fiscal year 2011 from State 45 Forfeiture Funds, providing for an effective date. 3/5 46 (City Manager - Police Dept.) CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 7 December 7, 2010 Wf t, 1 259 -10 -13293 2 13. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the 3 City of South Miami, Florida, authorizing the City 4 Manager to purchase an InstAlert Rapid message board 5 with radar, trailer, solar panel and batteries, plus a 6 Speed Sentry radar display unit from Emergency Vehicle 7 Supply (EVS) in the amount of $21,985.00 from Federal 8 Forfeiture Account 615 -1910- 521 -6430; providing for an 9 effective date. 3/5 10 (City Manager - Police Dept.) 11 12 260 -10 -13294 13 14. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the 14 City of South Miami, Florida, relating to extension of 15 the current contract with Laz Parking Inc. for the 16 provision of Municipal Parking Management Services on 17 a month -to -month basis with an expiration date of May 18 31st, 2011; providing for an effective date. 3/5 19 (City Manager - Finance Dept.) 20 21 261 -10 -13295 22 15. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the 23 City of South Miami, Florida, authorizing the City 24 Manager to execute an agreement with Florida League of 25 Cities and Southeastern Actuarial Services, Inc. to 26 perform the Other Post - Employment Benefits (OPEB) 27 valuation required under the GASB for fiscal year 2010 28 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) , for a 29 fixed retainer fee of $5,250 charging account No. 001- 30 1410- 513 -3210 auditor's fee, with a current balance of 31 $55,500, and providing an effective date. 3/5 32 (City Manager - Finance Dept.) 33 34 262 -10 -13296 35 16. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the 36 City of South Miami, Florida authorizing the City 37 Manager to approve the purchase of $5,700 from Fast 38 Dry Courts to repair the courts at Dante Fascell Park 39 through a FRDAP grant; providing an effective date; 40 providing for an effective date. 3/5 41 (City Manager - Parks /Rec Dept.) 42 43 263 -10 -13297 44 17. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the 45 City of South Miami, Florida authorizing the City 46 Manager to approve the purchase in the amount of CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 8 December 7, 2010 1 $8,208 for the replacement of playground equipment 2 (swing sets) at Dante Fascell Park through Site 3 Creations; as part of the scope -of -work through the 4 awarded FRDAP grant; providing an effective date. 3/5 5 (City Manager - Parks /Rec Dept.) 6 7 264 -10 -13298 8 18. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the 9 City of South Miami, Florida authorizing the City 10 Manager to approve the purchase in the amount of 11 $10,000 from Electrical Masters Inc. to continue 12 improvements for Palmer Park replacing the lighting 13 system; providing an effective date. 3/5 14 (City Manager - Parks /Rec Dept.) 15 16 265 -10 -13299 17 19. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the 18 City of South Miami, Florida concerning approval of an 19 application pursuant to Land Development Code Section 20 20- 4.3(N) to permit the installation of a banner over 21 Sunset Drive to promote the 26th annual South Miami 22 Rotary Art Festival, a fundraising event to be held in 23 downtown South Miami on February 26 -27, 2011; and 24 providing for an effective date. 3/5 25 (City Manager - Planning /Zoning Dept.) 26 27 266 -10 -13300 28 20. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the 29 City of South Miami, Florida, urging Federal funding 30 in support of the Port of Miami Deep Dredge Project; 31 providing an effective date. 3/5 32 (Mayor Stoddard) 33 34 267 -10 -13301 35 21. A Resolution of the Mayor and Commission of the City 36 of South Miami fully supporting the continued 37 restoration of America's Everglades and endorsing the 38 National Park Service's recommendation to bridge an 39 additional 5.5. miles of the Tamiami Trail; and 40 providing an effective date. 3/5 41 (Mayor Stoddard) 42 43 268 -10 -13302 44 22. A resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the 45 City of South Miami, Florida, relating to City 46 Commission meetings; rescheduling the City Commission CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 9 December 7, 2010 m1a f t! 1 meeting of Tuesday, December 21, 2010 to Monday, 2 December 13, 2010, starting at 7:30 p.m.; providing an 3 effective date. 3/5 4 (Mayor Stoddard) 5 6 269 -10 -13303 7 23. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the 8 City of South Miami, Florida, expressing support for 9 the cities of Miami Gardens, Doral, and Cutler Bay, 10 and urging the -Miami -Dade County Board of County 11 Commissioners to provide these three cities with their 12 rightful share of People's Transportation Plan Surtax 13 funding from the county's 80% share of the surtax, as 14 originally negotiated in good faith and agreed to by 15 Miami -Dade in 2002, and currently required by Miami -. 16 Dade County Ordinance No. 02 -116; and provided for an 17 effective date. 3/5 18 (Mayor Stoddard) 19 20 270 -10 -13304 21 24. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the 22 City of South Miami, Florida, relating to boards and 23 committees; appointing Patricia K. Shields to serve on 24 the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee for a term 25 of two years, ending December 6, 2012; and providing 26 an effective date. 3/5 27 (Commissioner Palmer) 28 29 271 -10 -13305 30 25. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the 31 City of South Miami, Florida, relating to boards and 32 committees; re- appointing Nancy Cobb to serve on the 33 Affordable Housing Advisory Committee for a term of 34 two years, ending December 6, 2012; and providing an 35 effective date. 3/5 36 (Commissioner Beasley) 37 38 Moved by Commissioner Beasley, seconded by Vice Mayor 39 Newman, the motion to approve the Consent Agenda passed by a 4 -0 40 vote: 41 42 Commissioner Palmer: Absent 43 Vice Mayor Newman: Yea 44 Commissioner Beasley: Yea 45 Commissioner Harris: Yea 46 Mayor Stoddard: Yea CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 10 December 7, 2010 1 (END OF CONSENT) r • • u, llaTt- 5 6 (This item was withdrawn from the Agenda) 7 26. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the 8 City of South Miami, Florida, expressing the City 9 Commission's intent to indemnify and defend its 10 elected officials from claims made against them based 11 on decisions or actions they have taken or will take 12 within the course and scope of their duties, and 13 clarifying the broad scope of said public duties by 14 South Miami elected officials; and providing an 15 effective date. 3/5 16 (Mayor Stoddard) 17 18 27. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the 19 City of South Miami, Florida, relating to extension of 20 the current contract with Gomez Barker Associates, 21 Inc. for the provision of Legislative (Lobbying) 22 Services on a month -to -month basis with an expiration 23 date of May 31st, 2011; providing for an effective 24 date. 3/5 25 (City Manager - Finance Dept.) 26 27 Moved by Commissioner Beasley, seconded by Mayor Stoddard 28 to approve this item. 29 30 Vice Mayor Newman said that she did not see the value of 31 this resolution and whether this is in the best interest of the 32 City. 33 34 Mayor Stoddard requested a report of the real 35 accomplishments obtained by the lobbyist. 36 37 Mr. Goldstein expressed concern over an exchange of emails 38 between the Finance Director and the lobbyist where it is 39 confirmed that they will serve as the City's lobbyist on a 40 month -to -month basis until the City has completed the RFP; the 41 concern is if they believe that they are still representing the 42 City until the REP is completed and they send us a bill. 43 44 With some further comments, Mayor Stoddard moved to defer 45 this item until the information requested is available, seconded CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 1 1 December 7, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 pnq by Commissioner Harris, the motion to defer this item passed by a 3 -1 vote: Commissioner Palmer: Absent Vice Mayor Newman: Nay Commissioner Beasley: Yea Commissioner Harris: Yea Mayor Stoddard: Yea 272 -10 -13306 28. A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of South Miami, Florida, officially renaming the "All America Park at Cocoplum Terrace" as "All America Veterans' Memorial Park "; providing an effective date. (Vice Mayor Newman) 3/5 Moved by Commissioner Beasley, seconded by Mayor Stoddard and Commissioner Harris to approve this item. With no further comments, the motion to approve this item passed by a 4 -0 vote: ORDINANCE (S) Commissioner Palmer: Absent Vice Mayor Newman: Yea Commissioner Beasley: Yea Commissioner Harris: Yea Mayor Stoddard: Yea READING PUBLIC HEARING (S) 46 -10 -2071 29. An Ordinance of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of South Miami, Florida, amending Chapter 2, Article I, Section 2 -2.1 (G) (5) of the Code of Ordinances to require motions for reconsideration to be made only during the same meeting at which the item is considered; providing for severability, conflicts and an effective date. 3/5 (Vice Mayor Newman) Moved by Mayor Stoddard, seconded by Commissioner Beasley to approve this item. The public hearing was opened and closed with no speakers CITY COMMISSION MINUTES December 7, 2010 12 1 With no further comments, the motion to approve this item 2 passed by a 4 -0 vote: 3 4 Commissioner Palmer: Absent 5 Vice Mayor Newman: Yea 6 Commissioner Beasley: Yea 7 Commissioner Harris: Yea 8 Mayor Stoddard: Yea 9 10 30. An Ordinance of the Mayor and City Commission of the 11 City of South Miami, Florida, amending the Land 12 Development Code Section 20 -7.51 entitled "Special 13 ,exceptions" in order to revise the wording in Section 14 20- 7.51(D) to replace the word "development" with the 15 word "new construction" for the purpose of clarifying 16 when the time limitation begins for development 17 projects which have been granted a special exception 18 in the Hometown Overlay Zone (HD -OV); providing for 19 severability; providing for ordinances in conflict; 20 and providing an effective date. 3/5 21 (City Manager- Planning Dept.) 22 23 Moved by Mayor Stoddard, seconded by Commissioner Beasley 24 to approve this item. 25 26 Mr. Vageline explained that it was discovered that the TODD 27 zoning districts did not have an expiration period for special 28 exceptions. We have now included language so that the Hometown 29 district reads the same as the TODD. 30 31 At this time the public hearing was opened. 32 33 Bob Welsh said that as a builder he has only six months to 34 pull his permit for getting his first inspection approved. He 35 said that it would be very nice if we could force the developers 36 to get the projects done in the shortest amount of time just as 37 small builders such as him. 38 39 With no further speakers the public hearing was closed. 40 41 Vice Mayor Newman said that five years is too long and 24 42 months is way too long. She then suggested amending the 43 ordinance to 18 months and to limit this to two years. 44 45 Moved by Vice Mayor Newman to amend Section 20- 7.51(D) by 46 changing twenty -four (24) months to eighteen (18) months, and by 47 changing five (5) years to two (2) years, the motion to approve CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 13 December 7, 2010 PT 1 this item as amended and to come back for a 3rd reading passed by 2 a 4 -0 vote: 3 4 Commissioner Palmer: Absent 5 Vice Mayor Newman: Yea 6 Commissioner Beasley: Yea 7 Commissioner Harris: Yea 8 Mayor Stoddard: Yea 9 10 31. An Ordinance of the Mayor and City Commission of the 11 City of South Miami, Florida, amending the Land 12 Development Code Section 20- 3.3(D) entitled "Permitted 13 Use Schedule't in order to permit a community garden as 14 a "S" Special Use in the all TODD," Transit 15 Oriented Development District ,e1-43- 16 zoning use district; and amending Section 20 -2.3 17 entitled "Definitions" to provide a definition of a 18 community garden; providing for severability; providing 19 for ordinances in conflict; and providing an effective 20 date. 5/5 21 (City Manager - Planning Dept.) 22 23 Moved by Mayor Stoddard, seconded by Commissioner Beasley 24 to approve this item. 25 26 Staff recommended deferral until such time that they could 27 have quorum. 28 29 Moved by Mayor Stoddard, seconded by Commissioner Beasley, 30 the motion to defer this item passed by a 4 -0 vote: 31 32 Commissioner Palmer: Absent 33 Vice Mayor Newman: Yea 34 Commissioner Beasley: Yea 35. Commissioner Harris: Yea 36 Mayor Stoddard: Yea 37 38 47 -10 -2072 39 32. An Ordinance of the Mayor and City Commission of the 40 City of South Miami, Florida, to amend Section 20 -3.3 41 (D) of the Land Development Code entitled "Permitted 42 Use Schedule" in order to change the Group Home II use 43 category from a "P" Permitted Use category to the "S" 44 Special Use category for zoning use districts; and 45 amending Section 20- 31.4(B)(15) entitled "Special use 46 conditions" in order to include Group Home II as 47 subject to the same special requirements currently CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 14 December 7, 2010 1 applicable to Group Home I uses; providing for 2 severability; providing for ordinances in conflict; 3 and providing an effective date. 3/5 4 (City Manager - Planning Dept.) 5 6 Moved by Mayor Stoddard, seconded by Commissioner Beasley 7 to approve this item. 8 9 The public hearing was opened and closed with no speakers. 10 11 With no further comments, the motion to approve this item 12 passed by a 4 -0 vote: 13 14 Commissioner Palmer: Absent 15 Vice Mayor Newman: Yea 16 Commissioner Beasley: Yea 17 Commissioner Harris: Yea 18 Mayor Stoddard: Yea 19 20 48 -10 -2073 21 33. An Ordinance of the Mayor and City Commission of the 22 City of South Miami, Florida, to amend Section 20 -4.4 23 (D) of the Land Development Code entitled "Required 24 Handicapped Spaces" in order to revise current wording 25 to indicate that all required handicapped parking 26 spaces are regulated by the Florida Building Code; 27 providing for severability; providing for ordinances 28 in conflict; and providing an effective date. 3/5 29 (City Manager - Planning Dept.) 30 31 Moved by Mayor Stoddard, seconded by Commissioner Beasley 32 to approve this item. 33 34 The public hearing was opened and closed with no speakers. 35 36 With no further comments, the motion to approve this item 37 passed by a 4 -0 vote: 38 39 Commissioner Palmer: Absent 40 Vice Mayor Newman: Yea 41 Commissioner Beasley: Yea 42 Commissioner Harris: Yea 43 Mayor Stoddard: Yea 44 45 46 CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 15 December 7, 2010 m1a t! 1 RESOLUTION (S) PUBLIC HEARING (S) 2 (NONE) 3 4 ORDINANCE (S) FIRST READING 5 6 34. An Ordinance of the Mayor, and City Commission of the 7 City of South Miami, Florida, amending the South Miami 8 Land Development Code by amending Section 20 -10, 9 entitled "Siting Regulations for Telecommunications 10 and Antennas" in order add a new Section 20- 10(11) to 11 be entitled "Collocation Exceptions to Required 12 Regulations" which as required by Florida State 13 Statutes will exempt from review telecommunication 14 facilities which are collocated on existing 15 facilities; providing for severability, providing for 16 ordinances in conflict; and providing an effective 17 date. 5/5 18 (City Manager - Planning Dept.) 19 (Deferred 11116110) 20 This Item died for lack of a motion. 21 22 35. An Ordinance of the Mayor and City Commission of the 23 City of South Miami; Florida, relating to a request to 24 amend, the official zoning map of the City of South 25 Miami Land Development Code by designating a 26 commercial building located at 5875 Sunset Drive (aka 27 The Dowling Building) as an historic site and by 28 placement of an Historic Preservation Overlay Zone 29 (HP -OV) over the existing zoning use district for 30 this property; providing for severability; providing 31 for ordinances in conflict; and providing an effective 32 date. 3/5 33 (City Manager- Planning Dept.) 34 35 Moved by Commissioner Beasley, seconded by Mayor Stoddard 36 to approve this item. 37 38 Mr. Youkilis explained that this item will come back in 39 January for second reading since notices need to be sent. 40 41 With no further comments, the motion to approve this item 42 passed by a 4 -0 vote: 43 44 Commissioner Palmer: Absent CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 16 December 7, 2010 llaTtl 1 Vice Mayor Newman: Yea 2 Commissioner Beasley: Yea 3 Commissioner Harris: Yea 4 Mayor Stoddard: Yea 5 6 36. An ordinance of the Mayor and City Commission of the 7 City of South Miami, Florida, to amend Section 20 -3.3 8 (D) of the Land Development Code entitled "Permitted 9 Use Schedule" in order to: change the existing 10 "School, Elementary or Secondary" use category and the 11 existing "School, Vocational use category from "P" 12 Permitted use category to "S" Special Use category; to 13 create a new use type entitled "School, Private or 14 Charter" with all development in the new "School, 15 Private or Charter" use category being classified as 16 an "S" Special Use; and amending Section 20 -3.4 17 entitled "Special Use Conditions" in order to set 18 forth general and special requirements applicable to 19 all three school use categories; providing for 20 severability; providing for ordinances in conflict; 21 and providing an effective date. 3/5 22 (City Manager- Planning Dept.) 23 24 Moved by Commissioner Beasley, seconded by Mayor Stoddard 25 to approve this item. 26 27 Mayor Stoddard said that he had some amendments that he 28 would like to recommend. 29 30 At this time Mayor Stoddard called for a two - minute break. 31 32 As the meeting reconvened, Commissioner Beasley recommended 33 approving the ordinance with the amendments for first reading. 34 35 Mr. Youkilis explained that by passing this ordinance we 36 are requiring all new schools to apply for special use. 37 38 At this time the Mayor moved to extend the meeting after 39 11:00 p.m., seconded by Vice Mayor Newman, the motion passed by 40 a 4 -0 vote: 41 42 Commissioner Palmer: Absent 43 Vice Mayor Newman: Yea 44 Commissioner Beasley: Yea 45 Commissioner Harris: Yea 46 Mayor Stoddard: Yea 47 CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 17 December 7, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 m1a f t, The Commission and staff discussed the proposed ordinance. One of the proposed ideas was having two -story buildings in order to allow for more green space; parking and traffic problems were also an important part of the discussion. Moved by Commissioner Beasley, to include the `Alternate Draft" version of the proposed ordinance as amended through the discussion during this meeting. Seconded by Vice Mayor Newman, the motion to approve this amendment, and the item as a whole and as amended passed by a 4 -0 vote: Commissioner Palmer: Absent Vice Mayor Newman: Yea Commissioner Beasley: Yea Commissioner Harris: Yea Mayor Stoddard: Yea There being no further business to come before this Body, the meeting adjourned at 11:31 p.m. Attest Maria M. Menendez City Clerk CITY COMMISSION MINUTES December 7, 2010 1e Approved Philip K. Stoddard Mayor 4� !. \ ` CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI OFFICE MEMORANDUM To: Honorable Mayor and City Commission Date: December 7, 2010 From: Hector Mirabile, Ph.D., City Manager Re: Manager's Report (((/ The following is my report for the commission meeting of December 7, 2010. 1. Accomplishment. a. New IT IDS successes: i. AS -400 Financial System: Hardware upgrades completion by December 30, 2010. Software soon following the hardware upgrades. ii. Police Department Software Upgrade: This project was postponed due to lack of payment since the City failed to submit resolution to the Commission. It is item number 6 in the consent agenda. iii. Directories and Files: Complete. iv. Inventory: The cleanup of equipment continues. v. Wireless: WiFi access in SMPD sally port is scheduled for completion third week of December 2010. vi. State of Florida feed for channel 77: Exploring the concept of utilizing the State of Florida television feed as background when not airing our meetings. vii. The City's new email extension is soutluniamifl.gov. b. Finance: i. Auditor's fieldwork began last week. Finance will be assisting the Auditors for the next couple of months until they complete the audit. ii. The schedule of fees will be presented at the next Commission meeting for first reading. iii. The new parking stations were installed, except for two, which will be installed by Friday, once the concrete bases are poured by Public Works. The numbers at each parking space will be installed this week by public works. City Manager's Report to Commission; December 7, 2010 c. Central Services: i. Tennis Court RFP: Parks researching the cost of installing the lights and incorporating into the RFP. Information should be available back to Central Services within 3 -4 weeks. ii. Murray Park Pool Operator RFP: The Murray Park Pool Operator RFP Addendum No. 1 was prepared and issued last week. The RFP solicitation period closed on Monday, December 6`n, 2010 at 10:00 AM and the copies of the proposals have been or will soon be provided to each of the Evaluation Committee Members for their review and assessment. The city received a total of 4 responses. iii. Review of an agreement for the audit of our telephone lines in an effort to seek refunds or credits for what, if any, overcharges was also initiated last week and is still under consideration. iv. The Labor Attorney RFP's Deadline for Questions is Tuesday, December 7`h 2010 and Addendum No. 1 will be issued immediately thereafter response for all questions posed is provided. This RFD's solicitation period will close on Friday, December 17`x', 2010 at 10:00 AM. v. Draft for the re- issuance of the Building RFP is nearly complete. Additional information that was last requested and communicated via an addendum is being incorporated into the draft and will be part of the whole solicitation document when re- issued later this week. vi. Pension Investment Consulting Services RFP: Currently reviewing this Pension Board RFP, which shall be re- advertised in the hope of receiving better responses from which, ultimately, the best firm possible shall be recommended for these needs. vii. Solicitation Templates: Draft of a Purchasing Card RFP as well as a template for future RFP's going forward is in progress with an approximate completion target date of Friday, December 17 lb 2010. viii. Draft of the Red Light Camera: Research by the SMPD completed. RFP will soon be in development as well. In furtherance of the same, a small contingent from the City will be attending an all day conference this Friday, December l Os', 2010 at the City of Surfside. ix. Currently, efforts are ongoing concerning the development and implementation of a Contracts Management framework/spreadsheet which will allow for better tracking and administration of the City's numerous contracts. At this time such information is being requested and gathered from all departments concerning each of the specific contracts each handles. d. Code Enforcement: The City of South Miami is coordinating and will host the first South Florida Association of Code Enforcement (SFACE) training /meeting for the municipalities in the Miami -Dade and Monroe Counties in January 2011. City Manager's Report to Commission; December 7, 2010 ii. Negotiated an outstanding fine of $500 with accumulated penalties totaling $26,600, with a lender; the City received $15,000 for the fine. iii. Currently working with two (2) business owners to improve and properly license two (2) non - compliant lots into improved and conforming commercial parking lots. iv. Adjusted enforcement coverage hours to start at 6a.m. and end at 12 midnight twice a month to address and deter early morning and late hour code violations. v. Continue to work with Larkin's Hospital staff regarding on -going equipment noise complaints. The hospital replaced a deteriorated muffler on one of their older a/c units but the noise persists; the hospital agreed to further conduct an acoustic study to help identify the source of the noise complained about. vi. Walked and inspected downtown and addressed businesses with property maintenance issues (i.e., dirty walls, paint, dirty sidewalks, etc.). vii. Addressed three (3) graffiti tags on private property; these tags were addressed and corrected; 20 graffiti tags located on the right of way were addressed and referred to either County or DOT for correction — 6 of these tags are still on site. e. Police: i. Total of 22 arrests: 4 felonies, 12 misdemeanors, 3 traffic and 3 warrants served; ii. Of those 22 arrests, 3 were narcotics related; iii. Patrol units responded to a vehicle burglary which had just occurred. Upon the units' arrival on the scene, a description of the subject was obtained and a B.O.L.O. was issued. Units canvassed the area and located a subject which matched the description. This subject was positively identified and arrested. Post Miranda, the subject admitted her involvement in the crime; iv. Patrol units stopped a subject in an area which has been plagued with bike thefts. This subject was riding a bike and pulling another bike along side of him. The subject could not dispel the officer's alarm for the safety of persons and property in the area and was subsequently arrested for L &P. The following day it was discovered that the bicycle which he was pulling was reported stolen in a burglary. The subject was additionally charged accordingly; City Manager's Report to Commission; December 7, 2010 v. Officer Baumer participated in a county wide saturation patrol on Friday, December 3rd. The saturation resulted in a total of 17 traffic citations and 1 DUI arrest; vi. Units responded to the area of the Shops at Sunset reference to a theft which had just occurred. The subjects had fled the mall in an awaiting vehicle which was stopped by patrol units. The subjects were found to be in possession of a large quantity of merchandize stolen from the Armani Exchange as well as property believed stolen from other locations within the county. C.I.D. accomplishments: El L Two unrelated grow houses in unincorporated Dade County were discovered by our D.E.A. task force. Two arrests were made. One house had 37pounds of marijuana plants taken from it the other had 92 pounds of marijuana for a total of 129 pounds. ii. Two fugitives were taken into custody. They both had Federal warrants for Conspiracy to Produce and Transport Marijuana. This was also accomplished by our D.E.A. task force officer in unincorporated Dade County. iii. Received a tip which led to the arrests of three subjects who were involved in an organized shoplifting ring out of Orlando, Florida by our General Investigations Detectives. iv. An arrest by our General Investigations Detectives of an offender of a burglary to a residence which also resulted in the recovery of property valued at approximately $30,000. v. Three possession of cocaine arrests were made by our local narcotics team. vi. A subject was charged with two counts of burglary for stealing plants from two different residences. The subject was also charged with a case from a neighboring city. This was done by our General Investigations Detectives. vii. Our local narcotics team apprehended a robbery subject for The M.D.P.D. viii. A subject was arrested for stealing plants from a residence and was charged with Burglary. The South Miami Police Department also received a certificate of appreciation from the South Miami Drug Free Coalition in recognition of outstanding support in 2010 for the coalition's mission of helping to keep youth alcohol -free and drug free. f. Human Resources: i. Filled three Park Service Aide positions. ii. Actively recruiting for HR Director, Grants & Sustainable Initiatives Administrator, Police/Public Service Aide, Reserve Officer, Communications Officer, Code Enforcement Officer (PT), Park & Recreation Instructor, and Public Works Maintenance Worker. City Manager's Report to Commission; December 7, 2010 E g. Public Works: 1) Installed 3 "No Parking" signs and one "No Dumping" and accessories. 2) Removed two dead trees. 3) Repaired 4 potholes. 4) Completed mulching of the City's medians. 5) Installed Santa's parade of the Elf banner, installed Farmers Market banner. 6) Completed citywide installation of 25MPH signs. 7) Removed 7 shopping carts from the CRA area. 8) Completed holiday decorations Downtown which included the installation of pole reefs, pole banners, planting of Poinsettia's in pots and the installation of 2 tower trees. 9) Completed holiday decorations at City Hall. 10) Repaired 16 crane- holes. 11) Completed preparations and services for the Elf s Parade Downtown, which included setting up barricades, posting of message boards on US -1 and cleaning of the right -of- ways before and after the event. 12) Performed pressure cleaning of sidewalks on different areas of Downtown. 13) Motor Pool completed 48 trouble shooting and repairs on City vehicles and equipment, 17 PM's and 2 emergency road service calls. 14) Motor Pool performed two storage tanks and monitoring wells inspections at City Hall and Public Works sites, in addition to reconciliation of meter reading records as per DERM requirements. 15) Repair walls, painted walls, installed baseboards and window shades at the Police Chiefs office. 16) Completed floor stripping and sealing at Central Services offices. 17) Trouble shoot and repaired problem with a/c unit at CAA Headstart Center. 18) Troubleshoot and repaired problem with a/c system water leak the at the computer room. 19) Repaired walls and painted the Chief s secretary and detective offices. 20) Repaired exterior pole lights at Dorn Avenue. 21) Started the City hall generator painting project which consist of degreasing, pressure cleaning, sanding /grinding, and rust proofing, applying one coat of primer and painting of the generator. 22) Performed preparations for the Farmer's Market which included landscaping and mulching of the planters in front of Sylva Martin, drilling holes on the parking lot pavers and installing pipe sleeves for the installation of a tent. Murray Park Pool: • The two remaining proponents for the design and build RFP gave a presentation at the City Workshop. Decision is pending with the Commission • The RFP's for the Murray Park Pool Operator was received Monday, December 06, 2010, at 10:00am. A selection committee is formed to evaluate the proposal composed of Mr. Fritz Armand, Ms. Maria Stout -Tate, Mr. Pablo Velez, Esq., Mr. James O'Conner (Aquatics Coordinator -Miami Dade County), and Mr. Daniel Lopez (Manager /Pool Supervisor -City of Miami). An evaluation will be set for next week. Traffic Calming completion: As a follow up to the October 28, 2010, workshop concerning the installation of additional traffic calming devices along SW 62 Avenue, Miami -Dade County Public Works Department staff conducted a field review. As a result, it was unable to determine an appropriate location along SW 62 Avenue to install the requested median treatment. Therefore, they are considering the installation of a traffic circle at the intersection of SW 62 Avenue and SW 42 Street. Currently, the design is being worked on. However, there are two existing FPL utility poles which would conflict with this installation. FPL has been consulted to determine if the poles may be relocated, in order for us to install the circle. We will follow -up on the status of this project, when we obtain additional information. City Manager's Report to Commission; December 7, 2010 Staff received prices from the three Commission approved engineering consultants in order to prepare the design of the speed tables. The estimated construction completion of the speed tables is end of March 2011. All funds allocated for this FY regarding traffic calming projects for the various areas of the City will be used this FY. Miscellaneous Items: City Hall Energy Survey is in process. The consultant has completed review of the existing drawings. Walkthrough assessment of the City buildings will start on Tuesday December 7, 2010. Larkin Hospital: Permit was approved. Milling is complete. Contractor is paving this week. SW 66 Street Improvements Phase II: 100% Construction Documents were submitted. Copy of Bid Package is being prepared to send to Miami Dade County HCD for review. Parking Meters Installation: The information regarding the installation of 38 centralized meters was reported to Sunshine State Once Call of Florida. Permit was approved to begin installation. The installation of 25 MPH speed signs throughout City was completed. h. Parks and Recreation (Since last report): i. Recreation: Grey Ghosts 145 Lbs. Team won the Regional and State Championship. They are going to play the National championship game at FIU (South) on Sunday, December 12, 2010. Time to be announced. Cost for spectators: $10.00 adults, $5.00 (12 and under). ii. Thanksgiving Time: Through Interval International, other various sponsors, including the Girl Scouts, we feed over 200 families in the City of South Miami during November 19 -24. 2010. iii. Held our 1st Annual Thanksgiving Dinner for the Afterschool House participants —feed 90 children and 20 adults on November 23, 2010. iv. Senior Center: 1. Breakfast in the Grove (Field Trip) November 17, 2010 2. Gratitude Seminar November 17, 2010 3. Home Health Care Seminar November 19, 2010 4. Delivery of Hearing Impaired Phones November 22, 2010 5. Thanksgiving Party November 23, 2010 v. Landscape /Maintenance Division: Requirements completed for SNPGrant — Dison Park. Placement of walking trail, picnic tables, and various shade trees were accomplished. Point person: Doug Baker, Landscape Supervisor. - -Park Maintenance assisted in the Elves Parade by transporting, setting up, and breaking down of the bleachers on Sunday, December 5, 2010. City Manager's Report to Commission; December 7, 2010 vi. Dog Park: Commissioner Harris agreed to spearhead the effort of locating a park since the surveys showed a less than favorable desire to have a park at any of the City owned parks. II. Commission directives or issues: a. Crime and drug enforcement. The SMPD is continuing its counter narcotics operations with some protracted cases still pending. I already mentioned some minor arrests regarding narcotics. b. Pension: No change in status c. Parking reform. No change in status. d. Master Park Plan: Letter to the YMCA drafted by the City Attorney and signed by the City Manager. Letter was presented to the Parks Board for information purposes. Will be sent to YMCA this Tuesday, December 7, 2010. e. Police- Analysis of size of the work force and associated costs- Assigned to Police with an extended due date of December 15, 2010. f. Road repair schedule: No changes from last report. g. Welcome to South Miami signs: Mr. John Edward Smith provided an update. (See attached). h. Stop Signs: Pursuant to Mr. Armand's conversation with Dr. Shen of Miami Dade County, the report is with the Director for review and he is on vacation this week. Once the report is reviewed it will be submitted to us. i. Santa Parade of Elves: Completed. j. Farmers Market Contract: Amended Contract sent to vendor awaiting for his signature for finalization. END OF MEMORANDUM WAY FINDING SIGNAGE & OTHER BRANDING City of South Miami Preliminary Draft Report to Mayor Phillip Stoddard & City Manager Hector Mirabile December 7, 2010 Mr. Mayor, following our initial meeting and my subsequent "appointment" to prepare a "Welcome Sign" for the City, the following actions have been undertaken: - Preliminary discussion with yourself regarding the scope of the work effort; - Meeting and site review with the Public Works Director, Fritz Armand; - Meeting with designers who would assist in this process, and who will be preparing renderings; - Another meeting I had scheduled with Hometown Plan consultant Victor Dover had to be postponed due to a scheduling issue on his part. This has yet to be rescheduled. RECAP OF PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION AND MY OBSERVATIONS: There are four major entry points to the City: 1) Sunset Drive & 69 Avenue (coming eastbound) 2) Sunset Drive & Red Road (coming westbound) 3) US I & Both Street 4) Red Road & US I It would seem that these places (where it could be accommodated) would have "monument" signs welcoming travelers to the City of South Miami. It would be appropriate and fitting that the monument signs for the City would adopt a similar look to the clock tower, it would provide for consistency in branding.(Additionally, when discussing branding, landscaping features, and pedestrian amenities, i.e., benches, lighting, etc. would carry a similar look throughout.) Discussion on the aforementioned four entry points: I ) There is no signage coming east bound on Sunset Drive announcing the municipal boundary. This could be a place to start There is ample space on the median strip for a monument sign. [I would also suggest including "Share the Road" (bicycle) signs on Sunset Drive after the entrance sign. Also included could be "Speed Limits Strictly Enforced." ] At (or before) 62 Avenue, I would suggest a "Welcome to South Miami Town Center" 2) Coming west bound on Sunset from Coral Gables, there is no physical space to welcome drivers either to our "Town Center" or even a municipal boundary sign. [Should preliminary discussions among the Vice Mayor, Manager and CRA Director bear fruit and a landscaped median is placed on Sunset Drive at The Shops at Sunset Place, a welcome to the South Miami Town Center would be appropriate.) 3) There is an existing monument "Welcome to the City of South Miami" sign at US I & Both Street, noting also the "Blue Star Memorial Highway" which ties into some WWII designation. It seems there is minimal space on the US I median strip to place a sign (rather than at its existing location), although that would have to be reviewed by FDOT. 4) Red Road & US 1. A wooden "Welcome" sign had been located at Red Road & US I. Several years ago, it was taken out in an accident on the corner. (This was at the time of Maria Davis' administration. She was advised about the missing sign, and I understood at the time that a program for new signage was being developed. AjibolaBalogun was Public Works Director.) You had suggested other locations for entry signs to the City, specifically at different locations along Miller Road. A review of possible locations gives consideration to more of a stylized City marker rather than a "welcome" monument sign. Space & design considerations would mitigate against a larger sign. City Building & Facilities. Some further discussion would have to be given to an entire review of signage at city parks and buildings. (In reviewing signage at South Miami Hospital, for example, which were executed by a prominent design company, there are perhaps three different materials used in signage, including wooden signs.) Other "Branding" considerations & opportunities: The support columns for the Metrorail at Sunset Drive & US I call for signage. The space is well landscaped and is illuminated. This would be an ideal location for "Welcome to South Miami Town Center" signs. Note: Miami -Dade Transit has mandated no signs or advertising along the Metrorail line, however, some effective lobbying and a good design may go a long way in securing signage at that location. City Symbol.The signature "Clock Tower" could well be incorporated into a new symbol for the city. (Symbols are differentiated from the use of the City Seal). Presently we have a large bird (albatross perhaps) — might be a throw back to the fact that we were /are a bird sanctuary. (Any attempts to determine when & how this was adopted have been futile, and my institutional memory only goes back so far.) I look forward to proceeding on this project. As you well understand, branding is not a quick and dirty exercise. I believe if we move forward to adopt a signage concept for the four main entrances we would be well off to a good start. Respectfully submitted, John Edward smith JOHN EDWARD SMITH COMMUNICATIONS Image Marketing & Development Counsel Serving Institutions, Organizations, Business & Individuals since 1982 I Metropolitan Center 150 S.E. 2.d Ave, Suite 500 > Miami, FL 33131 Phone: 305 - 349 -1255. Fax: 305 - 349 -1271 Website: http: / /Metropolitan.fiu.edu/ Fig I Metropolitan Center Howard A. Frank Ph.D., Director Ned Murray, Ph.D., Associate Director Maria Ilcheva, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate Donna Comrie, MA, Research Assistant Victoria Lerma, MA, Research Associate Metropolitan Canter RESEARCHTEAM ..................... ..................................... .... .... ................:......:................. ............................... I EXECUTIVESUMMARY .................................:...................................:......................:...... ..............................1 OVERVIEW: LEGAL BASIS AND APPROACH ................................................................... ..............................2 INTERVIEW CONTENT AND ANALYSIS ........................................................................... ..............................3 A. Supervisory Interviews ..........................:.............:................................................. ..............................3 Positives: ................................... .......... ................................... 4 Negatives: ............. ...... *** ...... * ....... ..............:...............:................. ..... ................. ... ........ .................... 4 B. Content Analysis of Bugt cuments and Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports. .............. 5 C. Assessment .................................:......................................................................... ..............................5 OVERALL RESULTS - IN-DEPTH CALLS ..... . ................................ ....................... ............. ..............................6 Survey Administration and Sampling .............:.............:..............:...:.......:................ ..............................6 SurveyFindings in Broad Relief.. ............... ......... ............................................... ..............................7 CONCLUSION.............................................................:..:...............................................:. ..............................9 REFERENCES............................................................:.................................................:.. .............................10 APPENDIXA .........................................................................:......................................... .............................11 APPENDIX B SOUTH MIAMI CITIZEN SURVEY RESULTS .............................................. .............................17 ExecutiveSummary .................... ......................................................... :.............. .................................. 18 Methodology.. ........................................................... ............................... 19 .......... ............................... SurveyResults ......................................:.:.........................:..................:................... .............................20 DemographicInformation ............. : ......... :............... ............................................................. 20 Satisfaction with Quality of Life /General Issues ................................. ............................... 21 CityCaracteristics ................................................................................. ............................... 26 EvaluationsCity Employees ......................... :........................................... ............................ 30 Sourcesof Information .......................................................................... ............................... 32 Overall Ratings for City of South Miami ............................................... ............................... 33 Overall Ratings City of South Miami Services ...................................... ............................... 33 Recommend/Live in South Miami ......................................................... ............................... 34 Open -ended Comments ........................................................................ ............................... 35 LIST OF FIGURES Resident Perceptions of Importance of Issues for City of South Miami ........... ............................... 24 Resident Top Priorities for South Miami's elected Officials and Senior Staff. .... : .......................... 25 Evaluations City Services and Programs ... :.......... ..... ....... .... .... ....... ... ................. ............................... 29 Evaluations Trash Pick -up, Parks & Police Services .......................................... ............................... 30 Evaluations of City Hall and City Employees ....................................................... ............................... 32 Sources for News and Information about South Miami ...................................... ............................... 32 NI Metropolitan FCenter In June of 2010, the Florida international University Metropolitan Center was contacted by the City of South Miami to conduct a performance audit as set forth in Section 4, Letter F of the City Charter (as amended in 2000). This is the inaugural audit conducted under the Charter. Without precedents or detailed language in the Charter, the FIU team, in consultation with the City Manager and Finance Director and approval of the City Commission (June 27, 2010) designed the audit as follows: 1) "Performance" would be defined to include workload measures, outputs, outcomes, and benchmarks (to professional standards, neighboring communities, or historical trends). 2) FIU staff would interview senior departmental staff and conduct content analysis of relevant city documents to see if performance indicators were deployed and to assess organizational capacity for their use; and 3) The Metropolitan Center would conduct a survey of residents to garner baseline data on citizen satisfaction and to identify critical issues for future performance measurement development. Results of the interviews and content analysis suggested that managers felt empowered to effect changes in their departments and they were able to define critical roles and responsibilities. However, most managers were unable to either, define performance consistent with the above - referenced definition or to connect departmental efforts to broader strategic aims. Further, training (both formal and on-the-job) is limited and the loss of a single employee in any unit has serious consequences for "institutional memory" given the lack of formalized standard operating procedures. The citizen survey results indicated that nearly nine of ten residents viewed South Miami as a good place to live or work; similar percentages expressed the belief they would be residing in the city three years from now. Residents did, however, express concerns regarding property taxes, crime, and traffic congestion, and voiced some reservations with municipal governance and transparency. Younger non -Anglo residents without a college. degree tended to be more critical of municipal services; satisfaction with the community's quality of life increases with tenure. South Miami has traditionally operated with a line -item budget with recent enhancements to budget narrative. If the city is to implement a performance -based budget management approach, it will have to invest human and financial resources in training and infrastructure (information technology and data management). The city will also need to engage in visioning and similar strategic planning efforts to align measures to broader community goals. We also recommend the appointment of a Chief Productivity Officer to provide stewardship for this effort, with appropriate domicile in the Finance Office. Furthermore, the Balanced Scorecard appears to be a valid model for rollout of a performance -based management approach. Metropolitan Center The City of South Miami contacted the Metropolitan Center at Florida International in June of 2010 to undertake a performance audit of municipal operations. These audits are called for in the Charter, specifically, Section 4, Letter F, which requires that 'The City Commission shall require a performance -based audit for each department at least once every five years." This performance audit requirement has been embedded in the charter since 2000; however, no audits have been conducted prior to this effort. Thus, the FIU team had no models or precedents upon which to base their work. On the other hand, this afforded city management and FIU considerable latitude in their interpretation of the Charter requirements and their implementation. In consultation with the then - current city manager and the finance director, the Metropolitan Center undertook the audit described herein utilizing the following rubric: 1) "Performance," was defined in a traditional public sector model to include departmental evidence of workload measures (e.g., number of potholes repaired, number of athletic events held, etc.). Further, we sought evidence of cost - effectiveness (e.g., cost per lane mile maintained, percentage of base budgets devoted to overhead items, etc.). And lastly, we ascertained if departments utilized performance benchmarks such as professional standards or comparisons to peer jurisdictions (e.g., comparing police response times to International City /County Managers Association guidance or to response times in neighboring Pinecrest or Dora[). The FIU research team used two principal methods to obtain performance data. The first was to review city documents such as recent budgets and comprehensive annual financial reports (CAFRs). The second was to conduct a series of interviews with senior department managers to obtain a first -hand assessment of what measures they were or were not deploying in their respective operations. 2) The Metropolitan Center conducted a citizen satisfaction survey of randomly selected South Miami residents. Such surveys are a staple of contemporary public management and serve three purposes. We undertook the survey to: Illuminate possible strengths and weaknesses in municipal service delivery; Provide a baseline of data that allows periodic tracking of future performance; and Gather critical insights on what citizens believe to be the most salient aspects of municipal management, with subsequent incorporation into performance measures most relevant to residents. This two -fold approach was utilized in the study, as set forth in the Scope of Services executed between the city and Metropolitan Center on June 16, 2010 and agreed to by the city commission at its July 27, 2010 meeting. In the next part of this report, we highlight findings from the interviews and documentary analysis undertaken for the first part of this performance audit. In the next section, we review highlights from the citizen survey. In the last section we synthesize our findings with an eye to development of performance measures that "fit' with a broader community vision. I I Metropolitan Center A. Supervisory Interviews Over a two -week period commencing July 19i 2010, FIU Metropolitan Center staff interviewed senior department staff from the city's operating departments, as well as the city manager and finance director. Interviews were arranged with the assistance of the city manager's office. All officials were cooperative and addressed the questions with candor and completeness. The city manager and finance director reviewed the questions before administration. FIU staff deployed the same interview schedule for all departments to assure consistency. The 15 questions were as follows: 1) What is the primary role and responsibility of your department? 2) What do you believe are the community's greatest needs, demands, and expectations with respect to your department's governing role and responsibilities? 3) Do you believe your department is adequately addressing these community needs, demands, and expectations? 4) What are your department's goals? How did you develop them? 5) With which city departments do you regularly communicate and coordinate? On what issues, services, or programs? 6) What would you consider to be the three to five most important metrics for assessing your department's productivity? How about its effectiveness in terms of citizen or customer satisfaction? 7) Has your department's performance improved or declined from past years and for what contributing reasons or circumstances? 8) How do you store or manage data related to assessing your department's performance? This could be manual records, spreadsheets, or other means. Please describe. 9) What do you believe are your department's greatest strengths? Weaknesses? 10) Are you familiar with "best practice" examples from other municipalities that you think could help? 11) Is there any lack of equipment or technology that impedes your department's performance at current staffing and service levels? 12) Moving from technology to people, are their specific training shortcomings that impede or limit your performance? 13) Is there any regular on-the-job training for you and your staff? 14) Do you feel empowered to change work rules or major work processes to improve your department's productivity? If not, why not? 15) Do you feel the work climate in your department encourages employees at all ranks to provide suggestions or innovations that would help you "do more with less ?" These questions were designed to elicit a broad overview of performance within each department. We asked our respondents to see how their work ties in with broader community goals, and then asked if they have metrics for assessing performance. We further inquired about potential "drivers" of performance such as training or budget. A matrix showing responses by department is provided in Appendix A. Our findings suggest positive and negatives in terms of a broadly defined performance framework for municipal operations. They also identify a broader set of issues regarding training and communication within the city. Positives: 1) Most departments report a clear and concise description of roles and responsibilities 2) Most department heads feel empowered to change business practices that foster productivity or responsiveness to citizen needs. 3) The most recent budget document has narrative that allow for at least some understanding of services delivered. 4) Department heads do meet and communicate regularly, allowing for coordination of effort. Negatives: 1) In general, department managers have little sense of how their services dovetail with community needs; many cannot express larger goals or mission for their units. 2) While some managers have an abstract view of what performance is for their units, they cannot articulate specific measures for monitoring performance over time. 3) Performance data are not kept manually or electronically; there is no repository for such data that could be used by the manager or senior department heads. 4) Standard operating procedures are not kept to maintain "institutional memory," hence the loss of a single employee can have serious consequences for operations. 5) Training— either formal or on-the-job—is given short shrift. This reflects a combination of scarce resources and an organizational culture that may undervalue development of human capital. El FNI Metropolitan Center 6) Recent budget cuts and vacancies exacerbate other institutional shortcomings. Recent turnover in the city manager's office as well as the fiscal stringency of the times present challenges to organization -wide thinking and planning. Many of those interviewed conveyed a sense of anxiety regarding future layoffs or cuts. B. Content Analysis of Budget Documents and Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports Our analysis of recent (last three fiscal years) of comprehensive annual financial reports or budget documents did not reveal consistent usage of workload or productivity measures on a departmental basis. This finding is consistent with those of our interviews and squares with former City Manager Witt's assessment that the city has historically deployed a line -item budget C. Assessment Our interviews and documentary content analysis reveal that the city does not deploy explicit measures of performance as defined above. This is consistent with South Miami's traditional reliance on a line -item budget format that has only been recently supplemented with some descriptive narrative. More importantly, senior managers do not have a clear sense of departmental goals or strategic "fit" of their operations. Without a sense of strategy or long -term thinking, the collection of performance measures and their subsequent use in daily management may be viewed as wasteful "window dressing." Budget cuts and shortcomings and employee training (which would include the basics of performance measurement and management) may exacerbate this perception. Meanwhile, our findings suggest that the city would need to enhance its data management /information technology capacity to implement systematic, ongoing measurement of departmental performance. 5 JR, A Survey Administration and Sampling The Metropolitan Center conducted a telephone survey of 408 randomly selected South Miami residents from August 26, 2010 to September 9, 2010. Calls were conducted in Spanish and English in the evenings and Sundays. A prior report of findings, submitted October 7, 2010 is in Appendix B. Prior to discussing our findings, three methodological comments are in order. 1) By using landlines instead of cell phones, we avoided an increasingly common bias in contemporary surveying that recently made headlines in The Miami Herald (Thomma, 2010). Simply put, younger, poorer families and individuals are saving money and abandoning landlines. By drawing a sample based on households with landlines, we hoped to avoid these biases. 2) Our sample size of approximately 400 yields a +/- 5% level of precision 95% of the time. This means that if we report that 85% of the residents have a favorable impression of a given service, and 15% have a negative impression, the "reality" is that the positive impression could be as low as 80% or as high as 90 %. It is worth noting that this level of precision is based on sample rather than population size (Kalton, 1983). Another point is that increasing sample size has diminishing returns in terms of precision. A sample of 800, for example, yields a precision of +/ -3.5 %; 1000 yields +/ -3.1 +. This suggests that doubling sample size and cost has relatively limited impact on precision; hence a sample of 400 is a frequently used benchmark in surveying. This is shown in Table 1 below. Gaining a higher degree of precision would have added considerably to survey cost and yielded relatively little. Hence the FIU team recommended the 400 case sample size. 3) Surveying entails trade -offs. Consistent with point 1, if we had opted to survey a list of residents, rather than voters, and used mail administration, we might have only garnered a 10% response rate, leading to serious questions about the validity of findings. If we opted for cell phone usage, we would have a decidedly younger set of responses. Our approach Fig I Metropolitan Center obviated these biases, though we did encounter a handful (less than 12 cases) in which there were multiple voters within the household, and our phone interviewers queried the head of household on multiple occasions. That, however, was a possible tradeoff more acceptable, in our minds, than more serious biases other modes of administration might have introduced. In sum, the approach we took is cost - effective and defensible within a budget constraint and "good practice" in survey administration. Survey Findings in Broad Relief Detailed survey results are found in Appendix B. These cover a wide range of municipal services and provide an overview of citizen perception of the quality of life in the city. Overall satisfaction seems high: • 85.7% rated overall quality of life as good or excellent; • 89.9% see themselves living in South Miami three years from now; and • 86.1% would recommend South Miami as a place to live and work. A more granular examination reveals some areas of concern. Seven of ten respondents express crime and public safety, as well as property taxes as "very important" issues. Nearly half attach perceive trash collection, traffic congestion, and poverty /homelessness as "very important." These frequencies are unsurprising. Crime and public safety are perennial "hot" topics in local government and explain in part why police and fire outlays are the biggest shares of most local government budgets. Likewise, the property tax has been at the core of "tax rebellions" since California's Proposition 13 of 1978. This levy does not always correlate with ability -to -pay; current economic conditions and the precipitous drop in property values only exacerbate this negative perception. Traffic congestion is a chronic problem in South Florida, where average commute times are now in line with Los Angeles, New York, and other major metropolitan areas. Residents in any locale want clean streets; poverty and homelessness concerns must be viewed against the backdrop of a foreclosure crisis and the worst post -World War 11 recession and double -digit unemployment. Our open -ended question in which respondents could state their most pressing concerns yielded two predominant concerns: "Good Government - Accountability" and "Property Taxes." The responses under the former heading may suggest that residents desire better communication with their elected officials. They may also reflect a deep - seated anger towards government that is caused by the current economic crisis. This reasoning also holds for property tax concerns. In this regard, it is worth noting that U.S. Census data reveal that median family income in Miami -Dade fell by nearly 6% in 2009, and is now below 2006 levels (Brackey, 2010). Viewed through this prism, even relatively stable property tax bills will be seen as increases given shrinking earnings. This economic fact notwithstanding, residents give high grades to the accessibility, courtesy, and knowledge of city employees. Residents also give high grades to the city's cleanliness and overall appearance. The one area that received somewhat lower grades is parks and recreation. A caveat in that regard is that nearly a quarter of our respondents show limited awareness of recreation offerings, explaining in part why their perceived quality may be lower than other municipal offerings. Residents under age 30, those who have lived in the city for less than 10 years, residents who have less than a college education, and residents who are non - Anglo, tend to view municipal service and delivery and overall quality of life less favorably than their older, longer- tenured, better - educated, Anglo counterparts. These perceived differences are not always statistically significant and the correlations between these socioeconomic variables and perceived service quality are not strong. Nonetheless, many of our responses suggest that younger, non- college educated residents view South Miami thorough a less favorable prism. This also holds true for non - Anglo residents. Obviously, age and length of residence are correlated. Similarly, educational level is a proxy for income, and better - educated residents are less likely to be negatively impacted by the current economic situation. Education also correlates with race. Younger and shorter- tenured residents may have more recent benchmarks to draw upon in perceiving quality of service delivery; hence they are more critical than longer- tenured residents. The upshot is that different segments of the community may have different perceptions of virtually identical levels of service delivery given their respective socioeconomic characteristics. This is typical of municipal citizen satisfaction surveys (Newell, 2005). Further work such as citizen interviews or point -of- service surveys may provide a better understanding of what may cause these differences. A final survey finding of note is that newspapers and television are the principal means by which citizens learn about South Miami's municipal operations. Only six percent visit the city's website. Younger residents may eschew print media and pay little attention to television news. Holding in abeyance the content of traditional news providers, city leaders and senior officials may need to consider "beefing up" their internet and social networking delivery to connect with younger residents. FW1 Metropolitan Center Findings from our interviews and content analysis suggest that the city is facing both a "root" and "branch" decision in terms of its performance measurement and budgeting. The root decision is whether the city should move beyond a line -item budget and adopt a more performance- oriented budgetary structure? The "branch" decision follows the first: If South Miami adopts a performance - oriented model, how will it do so? The first decision is significant. Adoption of an outcome - oriented budget entails a reorientation of many stakeholders in the system (Frank and Strube, 2007; Frank, 2009). Elected officials will need to focus more on municipal service outputs and outcomes instead of line -items that lead to production of services. Senior city managers will need to think more about what they are producing in terms of quantity, quality, and perhaps most importantly— strategic fit. And lastly, citizen engagement will have to focus on longer -range strategies and goals for the community. This reorientation is often seen as a "journey." But the end result is a process in which the annual budget process and ongoing management are linking pins to long -range community goals and aspirations. The "branch" decision would be what format to adopt if an outcome - oriented approach is chosen. One approach under consideration by Finance Director Riverol and City Manager Mirabile is the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) developed at the Harvard Business School in the early 1990s by Professors David Norton and Robert Kaplan. Their model uses metrics related to financial status, employee training, customer satisfaction, and processing - enabling, hence the "balanced" descriptor. While originally designed for the private sector this approach has been widely adopted in the nonprofit and public sectors (Niven, 2003). This utilization provides examples that could be put to use in South Miami. However, the BSC is predicated upon a strategic road map being in place that ties performance measures to goals and vision. This suggests that its implementation will require an investment in community visioning and similar strategic planning efforts prior to adoption. Reiterating what was said earlier, our findings indicate the city will need to invest human and material resources to build a platform for performance -based management. Minimally, this suggests training in the basics of performance measurement for senior staff. It will also require greater institutionalization of policies and procedures to allow for sustained adoption of new business processes in the face of inevitable turnover of personnel. We also repeat our observation that performance data will need to be kept in a central repository for dissemination throughout the city. And lastly, we repeat a preliminary recommendation made in an August 25, 2010 memorandum to former City Manager Witt and Finance Director Riverol that South Miami should appoint a "Chief Productivity Officer" to spearhead the development of a performance management system and to sustain its operation after rollout. Successful implementation of organizational change requires "buy - in" from all stakeholders and an individual who takes responsibility for obtaining it. The Finance Department would be a logical domicile for this operation given its centrality to budget and accounting operations. Fia I Metropolitan Center t, Harriet J. (2010, September 28). Poorer and Uninsured: South Florida Household Income Plummets to Less than 2006. SunSentinel.com. http: / /blogs.trb.com/ business /colunists /brackey /blog /2010/9 /poorer and uninsured sout h flo.html. Last accessed 11/8/2010. Frank, Howard A. (2009). Implementing ActiveStrategy in Miami -Dade County. In C. Reddick (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Strategies for Local E- Government Adoption: Comparative Studies. (pp. 719 -734). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. Frank, Howard A. & Strube, Jill. (2007). Enhancing Public Productivity: A Unified Approach. Public Administration and Management., An Interactive Journal 12 (1): 1 -35. Kelton, Graham. (1987). Introduction to Survey Sampling. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. Newell, Augusto L. (2005). The Drivers of Perception: Identifying the Driving Factors of Resident Perception of Municipal Service Quality in Cities of South Florida. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Florida International University, Miami. Niven, Paul R. (2003). Balanced Scorecard Step-by-Step for Government and Nonprofit Agencies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley. Thomma, Steven. (2010, October 24). When Polls Get it Wrong. The Miami Herald, 1L -61L. M Metropolitan Center APPENDMA Performance Audit Matrix of Findings Interview Review- Cross Cutting Threads/Themes Current notes: Y— es Y- = limited response,N= 1. What is the primary role and responsibilities of your department? In general, most departments reported a clear and concise description of roles and responsibilities. Several departments merely stated the role or responsibility of the individual. Note: Much like an employee handbook, department handbooks would provide direction to department heads. The city should create department guides to ensure that each employee is aware of the vision, mission, and roles. Theme: A great majority of departments appear to respond to demands /needs versus developing a proactive approach to the work schedule. Also, there are a great number of complaints /impediments noted when department heads are asked about their roles and responsibilities. Responded to Ouestion- Listed Actual Amts & Resnnneihili v Building City Manger Clerk I Code Enforcement Finance I Human Resource IT Parks &Y I REC Planning Police Pub works Y I Y- I Y Y J Y Y- IN Y I Y Y- Y- Y- to Ouestion with a C Building City Manger Clerk Code Enforcement Finance Human Resource I IT Parks & REC I Planning Police Pub works N N N Y N N Y N IN IN IY z. what do you neueve are the community's greatest needs, demands and expectations with respect to your department's governing role and responsibilities? 6 of the 11 departments gave no response or a limited response when identifying the needs of the community. Community needs (as stated by Department): • Provide professional and cordial services • Protect property value • Transparency • expeditious handling of any vacancies • A variety of sports • Safe, quick and professional response • Traffic control (big issue) • Have service at every level Please note: The responses that were giver are rather vague. Again, a great number of complaints to 11 J I N I Y- Y I Y I Y T n/a- n/a JY IN IY N Responded to Question- Com laint Building City Manger Clerk Code Enforcement Finance I Human Resource IT Parks & REC Planning Police Pub works. Y I Y I N I N I Y I I N I Y I N N 3. Do you believe your department is adequately addressing these community needs, demands and expectations? Five departments felt they adequately addressed the needs of the community, while three department heads did not share this sentiment. In addition, three departments did not address or respond to the question. Improvements noted: • All complaints responded to within 24 hours • Divided city into four quadrants one per officer- increased efficiency • Stipulation mediation program- correct code enforcement issues and reduce fines • Improved line item budget to narrative- greater transparency • City commissioner meetings are less confrontational Barriers: • Too many unfinished projects • More personnel needed • City moving in direction of strong mayor form of government • Funding Responded to Ouestion- ( ?? Did not answer auestion- best we can --- 1 Buitding City Man er Clerk Code Enforcement Finance Human Resource rT Pazks& REC Planning Police Pub or Y N Y Y Y Y ?? N ?? Y ?? 4. With which other City departments do you regularly communicate and coordinate? On what issues, services or programs? All departments appear to communicate with one another as needed. Currently, no formal meetings are coordinated. Many of their roles and responsibilities appear to overlap but there are no coordinated, comprehensive efforts /projects. Department head planning sessions could benefit the city, eliminate redundancy and provide a more organized, proactive level of communication. I Responded to Question- Communication w other dept. I Building City Clerk Code Finance Human rr Parks Planning Police Pub Manger Enforcement Resource & REC works Y -3 Yes- Y- as Y -2 Y -all Y -1 Y- IT Y -2 Y -5 Y -all Yes - Not all needed new I issues all formal budget 5. What are your department's goals? How did you come up with these coals? Goals are vague- apparent that goals for the department are more often based on the immediate needs or request of the city versus overall outputs and outcomes. Because the roles and responsibilities are poorly defined, the goals lack continuity. 10 of the I 1 department heads had no responses or limited responses when describing the 12 I I Metropolitan Center to Building CiTy Man er Clerk Code Enforcement Finance Human Resource IT Pazks & REC Planning Police Pub works Y- Y- N IN I Y Y- IN Y- IN Y- Y- o. what would you consider to be three to five most important metrics for assessing your department's productivity? How about its effectiveness in terms of citizen or The response rate for the question is extremely low. Currently, only one department clearly defined metric to determine the rate of productivity. This is an area of deep concern. A pattern emerges. Metrics should align with roles & responsibility and department goals. Assessment must be measurable. Resnnnded to (lneet:nn Building I City Clerk Code Finance Human IT Parks Planning Police Pub Man er Enforcement Resource & works N N N Y (but y Re N �_PZEC N N �;works N I n/a I N C onfusing) Improved N N N Improved 1/j) Improved i. rtas your department's performance improved or declined from past years and Based on the responses, the great majority of department heads are new to the position. Experience: * Two (2) department head vacancies, * Five (5) heads who have been in the position for less than 4 months * Two (2) who have five (5) or more years of experience * Two (2) unaccounted for- building and code enforcement One major constraint in high turnover is that institutional knowledge is lost. A newly designed handbook for each department may create better transitions. Second, department head meetings would lead to the expansion of cross - cutting knowledge and networking. Lastly, identifying the previous years performance would serve as a benchmark for future improvements. Responded to Question- Improved or Declined - - Building City Clerk Code Finance Human IT Parks Planning Police Pub works Manger Enforcement Resource & works RFC N I n/a I N N Improved N N N Improved 1/j) Improved I Denartment Head - Lenoth of Time in thia nnaff:nn I Building City Clerk Code Finance Human IT Parks 'Plaouning Police Pub Manger Enforcement Resource & works REC ? mo 7 yrs 2 mo new No 4 mo 5 DH No 10 manager in 4 police yrs rs chief E. taow no you store or manage data related to assessing your department's performance? This could be manual records, spreadsheets, or other means. Please describe. Only the finance department was able to answer this question. First, departments must identify goals and metrics. Once completed, they can then compile and store assessment data. Nonetheless, each department answered this question based on work responsibility. 13 TJ Note: The responses are based on data keeping of department info. The data tracking per department is extremely low. Essentially, new department heads must rely on advice of staff to function. Institutional knowledge is lost with each exiting employee. Note: Finance Department requested recommendations for tracking and /or monitoring parking. Responded to Question- Store data 'Y or N 9. What do you believe are our department's greatest strengths? Weaknesses? A great majority of department heads identified the staff as its greatest strength. Clearly, there is a culture that the contributions of employees are paramount. The city must take the opportunity to build on these values. Professional development should further foster team building, decisions making, and planning sessions. Strengths: • Professionalism of staff- work in the industry, through their own efforts they earn licenses and/or certifications. • People work well. Employees are good people trying to do a good job- ability to develop strategic plans, goals, and objectives in teams • keep good records, search quickly • Time efficient • confidentiality (employees are not afraid to come in) • Personable, caring team that cares about the children and community. • Peaceful place for children —safe haven • Professionalism • Staff; Officers. Extremely stable staff in last couple of years • Commitment of staff (work on weekends to catch up), • Long tenure employees • Cross- utilization has been successful despite being a union shop so employees can work on differentjobs Weaknesses: • None • n/a •' Lack of communication within departments, • understaffed, • too many constant interruptions • low budget • lack of internal structure • technology- relying on Voyager instead of Navalign • Lack of knowledge- functionality and institutional knowledge. • Standard operating procedures are `owned' by the employee not city- (no manuals, books, etc) • high level of turnover in upper management which impacts many departments and causes stagnation of projects in the works- Lack of continuity • People work on pet projects • Priorities shift as management shifts- Pillars aren't strong • High turnover impacts time it takes for things to get done • Manpower to provide all programming • Motivation; we are seen as being overstaffed (maybe we make our work look easy) — how do we show that we are necess in this time of economic crisis. Building City Clerk Code Finance human IT .Par m Man er Enforcement Resource ks & REC Planning. Police Pub works Y N N Y N N N N Y Y Y- m Fiv I Metropolitan Center • Merge microfilm and imaging • Pension issue is hurting their morale, • Cost saving measures affecting morale - not being able to stay competitive with other cities. • Very costly private retirement in South Miami • Insufficient funds to do what they need to do • Understaffed but have hiring freeze • Not having right equipment and resources when it comes to software, programs to enhance performance • Not to be able to fully staff different divisions 10. Are you familiar with "best practice" examples from other municipalities that you think Several of the department heads were able to identify best practices in the field. Unfortunately, none have implemented any strategies. Currently, shortage of staff and time appear to interfere with this much needed process. Planning sessions would allow for development and implementation of best practices. Responded to t)IleSflnn- Ramiliar.w/ hret nra Mirre Building City I Manger Clerk Code Enforcement Finance Human Resource IT Parks & REC Planning Police Pub works N N N Y- Y- I Y Y I N I Y- I Y I Y- 11. is there any lack of equipment or technology that impedes your department's performance at current staffin¢ and service levels? IT has been largely outsourced. I Responded to Ouestion- Teehnnlnov Nerds- VPs nr Nn -- Building I City Clerk Code Finance Human IT Parks & Planning Police Pub Man er Enforcement Resource REC works N Y- N Y Y Y Y! Y- N Y N ersonnel trainin 12. Moving from technology to people, are there specific training shortcomings that great number of departments were able to identify training shortcomings. All of the shortcomings can be reversed with the addition of a `Training the Trainer' system. With over 150 employees, the level of in -house knowledge is astounding. A system of identifying employee skill sets is essential. Thus, city employees should lead professional development sessions. Note: Employee handbooks were not received by all employees upon hiring- mentioned at least 3 times throughout various interviews. In addition to the community survey, it would be interesting to have employees complete a survey about the city services. Training Shortcomings: • Navalign software • Cross- training is necessary • Training in collections 15 IJAVI .... • New auditors- CPE continuing education • customer service training- dealing with difficult people • organizational methods, project management, time management • telephone etiquettes, saying "no" without being negative • Core leaders /core aids to take program areas related to understanding a sport and be able to teach the fundamentals. • GIS — PW provides us with the maps, there could be more we could do- Begin to look at zoning from the point of view of crime and code enforcement. Plotting. Timelinin - software needs Res onded to Question- Training Needs- Yes or No 13. Is there any regular on- the -'ob training for you and your staff? Few departments identified opportunities to offer or receive on the job training. Based on budget cuts and reduced level of personnel, on-the-job training not as frequent or accessible. Yet, some department heads not only offered training but it was mandated by federal government or part of a certification program. When training was a priority it was completed. The departments heads that were able to offer training without mandates should lead planning sessions that details time management, overcoming budget constraints, etc. Responded to Question 14. Ito you feel empowered to change work rules or major work processes to improve our department's productivity? If not why? 7 of the 11 departments felt empowered to lead their department. In the two departments that answered no, there are current vacancies in the leadership position. One department felt that empowerment was impaired because of high turnover and lack of staff. Only one department did not answer the question. Now is the time for the city to capitalize on the overwhelming sense of empowerment displayed by the department heads. A planning session must be introduced while employees are eager to make their voices heard. Question: Do the department heads receive copies of all ordinances as they are passed? Res onded to Question- Feeling of Empowerment 15. Do you feel the work climate in your department encourages employees at all ranks to provide suggestions or innovations that would help you "do more with less "? A climate that encourages employee suggestions wavers between departments. This may be most closely related to the high turnover rate. Some department report open, honest, and constant dialogue while others report fear as an impediment for suggestions. One noted, "The city operates in fear. Fear of being fired the next da . It's pervasive." Building City Clerk Code Finance Human rf Parks Planning Police Pub Manger Enforcement Resource Building City Manger Clerk Code Enforoement Finance Human Resowce & REC Planning Police works N N N Y Y Y n/a Y Y N Y Building City Manger Clerk Code Enforoement Finance Human Resowce IT Pazks & REC Planning Police Pub works Y X- N N N N N N N Y Y Building City Clerk Code Finance Human IT Parks Planning Police Pub works Manger Enforcement Resource & REC Y Y Y Y Y N N Y n/a- no answer limited to ques based on ordinance fi[: FW I Metropolitan Center Metropolitan Center 150 S.E. 2nd Ave, Suite 500 • Miami, F133131 Phone: 305 - 3494255 • Fax: 305.349 -1271 Website: http: / /metropolitan.flu.edu/ 17 Executive Summary The Metropolitan Center conducted a telephone survey of 408 City of South Miami residents from August 26, 2010 to September 9, 2010. Calls were conducted in Spanish and English on evening during the work week (4 to 8 pm) and on Sundays from noon to 7 pm. The survey overrepresented certain demographic groups. According to the most recent data available, the 2000 U.S. Census, 48.1% of South Miami residents were male compared to 51.9% females. In the survey sample, 152 respondents were male (37.3 %) while 255 were female (62.7 %). Residents ages 65 and older were also overrepresented given how they constituted 34.5% of respondents when in 2000 they comprised 13.6% of the City's population. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 38.9% of South Miami residents were Anglo compared to 24.7% Black and 34.4% Hispanic. Anglo residents surveyed constituted 53.1% of respondents. According to the Census, 38.1% of South Miami residents had,at least a bachelor's degree. In terms of the highest level of educational attainment, 265 (68.5 %) of survey respondents had at least a bachelor's degree. Survey results were analyzed to determine resident's satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the quality of life in the City, City services, and the individual departments. Due to the overrepresentation of Anglos, the elderly, women, and college- educated residents, the following demographic variables were dichotomized to determine if a significant difference of opinion (a difference of 5 percentage points or higher) existed between overrepresented groups and other groups: race, age gender and highest level of educational attainment. The vast majority of City of South Miami residents surveyed (347 or 85.7 %) rated the quality of life within the City as good /excellent with 92.8% of Anglos being satisfied with the quality of life in the City compared to 79.8% of non - Anglos. Residents were asked to evaluate the importance of 13 City issues. Residents were concerned primarily with crime /safety (71.5% indicated it was very important) and property taxes (70.1 %). Not surprisingly when asked what the top priorities for the City's elected officials should be 17.6% of residents cited crime /safety while 8.3% cited property taxes. The most commonly cited priority was good governance /accountability (21.8 %). When asked to rate the overall value of City services for their tax dollars 67.7% of respondents described City services as good /excellent. A striking difference in.satisfaction with City services is evident between those residing in South Miami for ten years or less (58.4 %) and residents of longer tenure (70.9 %). Anglo residents were more satisfied with City services (76.3 %) than non - Anglos (59.8 %). Survey respondents were asked to rate fourteen different aspects of life within the City of South Miami on a scale from poor to excellent. The vast majority of respondents (75% or greater) were satisfied with garbage /trash collection, the cleanliness of streets in neighborhoods and commercial areas, the appearance of city buildings, the condition of roads and landscape maintenance in rights of way and public spaces. Furthermore, the majority of residents had good /excellent ratings of the City's police force, parks and garbage pick -up. Most respondents (65.7 %) agreed or strongly agreed they had a good experience contacting the City government. This is due primarily to the courtesy and politeness of staff (73.6 %) and not to the staff's training given how only 52.9% agreed /strongly agreed the staff had proper training and knowledge to address their requests. The major sources of information for news about the City of South Miami were newspapers (50.2 %), television (26.7 %) and neighbors (18.4 %). The majority of respondents (56.1 %) rated the performance of South Miami in keeping residents informed on city events and public projects as good /excellent. Most residents surveyed (80.7 %) had good /excellent ratings of City services, indicated they saw themselves living in South Miami three years from now (89.9 %), and would recommend South Miami as place to live and work (86.1 %). M FW I Metropolitan Center Methodology The 408 survey responses were collected from a random sample of City of South Miami residents who agreed to answer a questionnaire regarding various city services. The survey instrument was designed by the FIU Metropolitan Center, and then reviewed and approved by the City of South Miami. The questionnaire included general quality of life questions, as well as specific questions on the performance of various departments and the delivery of services within the city. The survey also collected demographic information from the participating respondents. The survey participants were obtained from a list of approximately 4,500 South Miami residents. Responses were solicited by expert interviewers fluent in English and Spanish, and responses were collected in the respondent's language of choice. The survey was implemented over a two week period, from August 26 through September 9, 2010. Survey calls were made in the evening on workdays, as well as on Sundays, from noon until 7 pm, excluding holidays. The 408 survey responses provide for a 95% confidence interval and a +/- 5% margin of error. It should be noted that the survey was conducted over the phone with the adult householder who answered. All demographic questions were asked at the end of the survey, and responses were collected and analyzed regardless of demographic characteristics. Moreover, calls were only made to landline phones and this method of response collection over samples people of higher age and income. By comparison, cell phone only users are younger, less affluent, less likely to be married or to own their home. Recent research reported in the National Health Interview Survey conducted in 2009 shows that of those living below the federal poverty level of about $22,000 a year for a family of four, 36 percent have only cell phones. Twenty -nine percent of the near -poor — between the poverty level and $44,000 annually for a family of four — are cell phone users only, as are 20 percent of those with higher incomes. In addition, more than a third of people under age 35 — including about half of those in the ages 25 to 29 — have only cell phones. The figure drops steadily at age 35 and after, with only about 1 in 20 people age 65 and older relying only on mobile service.' The survey method selection was based on comparison of the costs and benefits of the relatively inexpensive phone methodology vs. in- person, online or cell phone survey implementation. In terms of cost, the four methods of survey data collection can be ranked, from highest to lowest, as in- person, cell phone, landline phone, and online. While the most affordable, online surveys are also the least representative as they require the respondent to have an email and access to a computer. Online survey respondents are usually well educated, relatively affluent, and generally in the younger age groups. Cell phone survey implementation is difficult and expensive because of the lower response rate and less willingness of cell phone users to complete a survey while using their plan or prepaid minutes, even if incentives are provided. In person surveys (door -to -door) are very labor intensive but have a good response rate and can be more representative than others. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2009). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Early Release Brochure. http: //w .cdc.cov /nchs /data /nhis /earlyrelease /ER booklet cdf 19 FNI Metropolitan Center Survey Results Demographic Information ❖ A total of 408 surveys were carried out from August 26, 2010 to September 9, 2010. According to 2000 United States Census, 48.1% of South Miami residents were male compared to 51.9% females. In the survey sample, 152 respondents were male (37.3 %) while 255 were female (62.7°/x). Thus, females were slightly overrepresented. According to the U.S. Census, 13.6% of City residents in 2000 were 65 years or older. Approximately one -third of all respondents were 65 years or older (34.5 %). The age distribution is as follows: e 10 (2.5 %) between 18 and 24 0 26 (6.5 %) between 25 and 34 s 36 (9 %) between 35 and 44 0 75 (18.7 %) between 45 and 54 0 97 (24.1 %) between 55 and 64 0 81(20.1 %) between 65 and 74 0 and 58 (14.4 %) ages 75 and older. ❖ According to 2000 United States Census, 38.9% of South Miami residents were Anglo compared to 24.7% Black and 34.4% Hispanic. In the survey sample, Anglos were overrepresented. In fact, of the 408 residents surveyed, 0 48 (12.2 %) were non Cuban Hispanic /Latino 0 57 (14.5 %) were Cuban 0 208 (53.1 %) Anglo 0 58 (14.8 %) African - American 0 21(5.4 %) Other The survey also overrepresented college - educated residents. In fact, According to 2000 United States Census, 38.1% of South Miami residents had at least a bachelor's degree. In terms of the highest level of educational attainment, 265 (68.5 %) of survey respondents had at least a bachelor's degree. The distribution of calls is as follows, 0 10 (2.6 %) had less than high school diploma 0 57 (14.7 %) had high school diploma or GED 0 54 (14 %) had some college 0 144 (37.2 %) were college graduates 0 72 (18.6 %) had a graduate degree 0 49 (12.7 %) had a professional degree. Over three - fourths of respondents had lived in the City of South Miami at least ten years. The distribution is as follows: 0 1(.3 %) Tess than 1 year 20 Fig I Metropolitan Center 0 11(2.8 %) 1 to 3 years 12 (3 %) 3 to 5 years 0 65 (16.4 %) 5 to 10 years ♦ 307 (77.3 %) over 10 years. ❖ In terms of language, 364 (89.2 %) of surveys were conducted in English. s 44 (10.8 %) were conducted in Spanish. Satisfaction with Quality of Life /General Issues ❖ The following analysis breaks down the individual questions posed to respondents and cites significant differences among groups for each of the demographic variables: age, gender, race /ethnicity, educational attainment and years residing in South Miami.. Due to overrepresentation of certain groups demographic variables have been dichotomized to account for differences between overrepresented groups and others (for example Anglos and elderly residents). The following compares distinctions between demographic groups between the overrepresented residents and others only if a difference of 5% points or more was evident in their opinions. ❖ The vast majority of City of South Miami residents surveyed (347 or 85.7 %) rated the quality of life within the City as good /excellent. In terms of the demographic variables, a noticeable difference in the evaluations of the quality of life in South Miami is apparent in race and the highest level of educational attainment. Individuals who did not have a college degree were less likely to be satisfied with the quality of life in the City (82.6 %) than residents with at least a bachelor's degree (88.9 %). ♦ When comparing Anglos with other racial /ethic groups, Anglos were more likely to view the quality of life in the City as good /excellent (92.8°/x) compared to non - Anglos (79.8 %). Residents were asked to evaluate the importance of 13 City issues.. Excluding road improvement projects, beautification /landscaping, parks and recreation programming and resident access to City service, the majority or residents felt all these issues were very important. The twelve issues are listed in the following bullet points. 224 or 56% of respondents considered economic growth and development of South Miami very important. ♦ Men were less likely to view this issue as important (48.7 %) than women (60.2 %). ♦ The working age population (18 to 64) was more likely to consider this issue very important (58.6 %) than their elders (49.3 %). Non - college educated residents were more inclined to view economic growth and development as very important (60.8 %) than college educated residents (53.3 %). o Anglos placed a lower priority on growth and development (44.6 %) than non- Anglos (67.2 %). 21 o Residents living ten years or less in South Miami were more likely to rate this issue as very important (63.2 %) than those residing in South Miami over ten years (53.2 %). Traffic congestion was considered a very important issue by 269 respondents or 66.1% of the survey sample. o The working age population was more likely to consider this issue very important (68.7 %) than their elders (60.4 %) o Residents living ten years or less in South Miami were more likely to rate this issue as very important (60.7 %) than those residing in South Miami over ten years (67 %). Half of residents surveyed (203 or 50.1 %) considered traffic violations (speeding, running red lights) very important. o 42.4% of men felt this issue was important compared to 54.5% of women.0 ® 46.1% of Anglos felt the same compared to 53.6 % of non - Anglos. 291 respondents (71.5 %) identified crime and public safety as a very important issue for the city. o Working age residents were more likely to consider this issue very important (73.7 %) than their elderly counterparts (66.96/6). o Residents living ten years or less in South Miami were more likely to rate this issue as very important (77.3 %) than those residing in South Miami over ten years (69.7 %). •% Road improvement projects were considered very important by 146 residents (35.9 %). o Non - college educated individuals were more likely to view this as a very important issue (38.8 %) than college educated residents (33.7 %). o Men were less likely (30.5 %) than women to consider road improvements very important (38.8 %). o Anglos were less likely (30.9 %) than hon- Anglos to view this as very important (41.3 %). o Those residing less than 10 years in South Miami were less likely (31.5 %) to consider . road improvements very important than residents with longer tenure (36.9 %). Beautification /landscaping was considered very important by 141 residents or 34.8 %. o Anglos were less likely to view this issue as very important (28.6 %) than non - Anglos (41.8 %). o Working age residents were less likely to view this issue as very important (31.4 %) than their retiree aged counterparts (38.1 %). o Men were less likely to view this as very important (30.5 %) than women (37.2 %). Parks and recreation programming was considered very important by 166 respondents (41°x)• o Women were more likely to view this as very important (44.7 %) than men (35.1 %). o Anglos were less likely to view this as very important (37.2 %) than non - Anglos (45.1 %). 22 ig I Metropolitan Center ♦ Working age residents were more likely to view parks and recreation (43.2 %) as very important than were their older counterparts (35.3° %). ❖ Education and community service programming were ranked very important by 207 (51.1 %) survey respondents. ♦ 53.9% of working age residents felt education was very important compared to 47.5% of retiree age residents. ♦ Non - Anglos were more concerned with the importance of education (58.2 %) than Anglos (44.4 %). ♦ Women were more likely to view this issue as very important (55.7 %) than men (43 %). ♦ College- educated residents were less likely (49.2 %) to consider this issue important than the non - college educated (58 %). ♦ Those residing in South Miami ten years or less were more likely to view education as very important (60.2 %) than those residing in the City over ten years (48.9 %). Resident access to City services was considered very important by 186 residents (45.8 %). ♦ Those residing in South Miami ten years or less were more likely to view this as very important (51.7 %) than those residing in the City over ten years (44.3 %). ♦ College- educated residents were less likely (48.1 %) to consider this issue important than the non - college educated (42.5 %). ♦ Women were more likely to consider resident access to City services very important (48.4 %) than men (41.1 %). :• Property taxes were considered very important by 282 residents (70.1 %). ♦ Elderly residents were less likely to view this issue as very important (45.6 %) than the working age population (53.1 %). ♦ A large discrepancy exists between the importance men (42 %) and women place on this issue (57 %). ♦ Non - Anglos were more likely to view this as very important (55.8 %) than were Anglos (47.3 %). ♦ Non - college educated residents were more likely (55.8 %) than those with at least a bachelor's degree to view property taxes as very important (47.3 %). 4• 207 residents (51.5 %) identified poverty and homelessness as very important. ♦ Older residents were less likely to identify poverty as a pressing concern (45.6 %) than were working age residents (53.1 %). ♦ Women were more likely to view this as very important (57 %) than men (42 %). ♦ Non - Anglos were also more likely to view poverty as very important (55.8 %) than Anglos (47.3 %). ♦ College educated residents (47.3 %) were more likely than non - college educated residents to view this as important (55.8 %). 23 223 residents (54.8 %) identified trash and recycling as very important. ® The difference was most pronounced between the college educated (50 %) and the non - college educated (62.8 %) and between men (46.1 %) and women (59.8 %). ® Non - Anglos were more likely to consider this issue very important (58.7 %) than Anglos (51.2 %). Resident Perceptions of Importance of Issues for City of South Miami ❑Veryimportant [I Somewhat important Notimportant Crime and public safety Property taxes Trash and recycling Traffic congestion Poverty and homelessness Economic growth and development Education and community service progranrning Resident access to city services Traffic violations Parks and recreation programming Beautification/ landscaping Road improvement projects South Miami residents were asked to describe what the top priority of the City's elected officials and senior staff should be. In this open -ended question, residents gave an array of responses which were categorized by topic. The most commonly cited priorities were: s Good governance /accountability (89 or 21.8 %) s Crime /safety (72 or 17.6 %) s Property taxes (34 or 8.3 %) m Other (33 or 8.1 %) ♦ Budget /finance (28 or 6.9 %). Please see page 20 for the open -ended responses to this question. 24 I I Metropolitan Center Resident Top Priorities for South Miami's elected Officials and Senior Staff Good with of City Governance /Accountability Quality of Life Crime /Safety 17.6% Property Taxes T, 8.3% Environment(Green Other 8.1% .. . Budget/Finance o1;- 6.9% Building /Zoning.Codes Economy /Unemployment 6.1% Don't know /Unsure .,. 5.6% , Education /School issues .,� 5.1% Traffic Housing Safety/Violations /Congestion `" 4.2% - Overdevelopment '3.2 %'. Poverty /Homelessness 2.9% Law Enforcement/Police 12�.7 %' Department i Beautification/ Appearance of - city A 2,.7% Economic Development r2.6 %o City Services ,?.2,$ %0' Satisfied Job with of City 1 51 /0; Quality of Life C2%; Environment(Green Initiatives Building /Zoning.Codes 1 06% Parks and Recreation 0 6 °/d f Roads /Public Trans portation Housing 25 FIU I Metropolitan Center d• South Miami residents were asked to rate the overall value of City services for the tax dollars paid on a scale from poor to excellent. Slightly over two - thirds of residents (275 or 67.7 %) described the value of City services as good /excellent. s A striking difference in satisfaction with City services is evident between those residing in South Miami for ten years or less (58.4 %) and residents of longer tenure (70.9 %). ♦ College graduates were more likely to be satisfied with services (69.6 %) than those with no college education (64.4 %). Anglo residents were more satisfied with City services (76.3 %) than non - Anglos (59.8 %). Women were more satisfied with City services (70.8 %) than men (62.2 %). City Caracteristics Survey respondents were asked to rate fourteen different aspects of life within the City of South Miami on a scale from poor to excellent. The results are detailed in the following bullet points and key differences among demographic groups are analyzed. A 348 respondents (85.3 %) rated the cleanliness of streets in their neighborhood as good /excellent. o A striking difference in satisfaction with the cleanliness of streets is evident between those residing in South Miami for ten years or less (80.9 %) and residents of longer tenure (87.6 %). ♦ 82.6% of non - college graduates were satisfied with this aspect of the City while 88.3% of college graduates indicated the same. The majority of residents (325 or 79.9 %) felt the cleanliness of streets in commercial areas was good /excellent. o A striking difference in the opinions on the cleanliness of streets can be observed between Anglos (84.7% good /excellent ratings) and non - Angios (76 %). s Working age residents were more likely to have higher ratings of the cleanliness of these streets (83.6 %) than their elderly counterparts (76.1 %). ❖ Approximately four in ten (176 or 43.3 %) respondents rated the cleanliness of canals /waterways good /excellent. For this issue no real distinctions were evident among the different demographic sectors of the survey sample. ❖ 228 respondents (56.1 %) rated storm drainage in South Miami as good /excellent. 6 Non - college graduates were more likely to consider this issue good /excellent compared to 54.3% of college graduates. s 55.9% of men rated storm drainage good /excellent compared to 50.2% of women. S• 232 (59.5 %) respondents rated the condition of sidewalks good /excellent. e Anglos were less likely (56.6 %) to rate this aspect of South Miami favorably than non - Anglos (63.3 %). e Whereas 57.1% of college graduates rated sidewalks as good /excellent, 64.4% of non - College graduates had similar ratings. •Y• 305 (75.1 %) respondents indicated the condition of roads in the City was good /excellent. 0 FIV Metropolitan Center ♦ 71.7% of men had favorable ratings of the condition of roads compared to 77.1% of women. ❖ Approximately 6 in 10 (252 or 61.9 %) respondents rated the adequacy of street lighting in their neighborhood as good /excellent. ♦ Whereas 65.1% of residents living in South Miami in excess of ten years had a favorable rating of the street lighting, 52.8% of those residing in the City ten years or less indicated the same. ♦ 67.6% of Anglos were satisfied with street lighting compared to 56% of non - Anglos. ♦ Working age residents were less likely (57.2 %) to be satisfied with street lighting than retirees (69.1 %). The vast majority (317 or 77.7 %) of respondents rated the appearance and maintenance of the City's public buildings good /excellent. ♦ Whereas 82% of working age residents were satisfied with the appearance and maintenance of buildings, 73.3% of elderly residents indicated the same. e 73.5% of non - College graduates and 80.7% of college graduates were satisfied with this aspect of life in the City. ♦ 83.2% of Anglos had satisfactory ratings of City buildings compared to 71.2% of non - Anglos. ♦ Residents of shorter tenure (10 years or less) were less satisfied with the condition of City buildings (68.5°/x) than those with longer tenure (80.8 %). ❖ 187 (46.1 %) respondents had good /excellent evaluations of the City's recreation programs. ♦ 48.3% of Anglos were satisfied with recreation programs compared to 43.2% of non - Anglos. s Whereas 52.9% of non - college graduates had positive evaluations of the City's recreation programs, only 44.1% of college graduates had similar ratings. ♦ 43.6% of working age residents and 50.7% of retiree aged respondents were satisfied with these programs. Most survey respondents (242 or 59.3 %) rated the appearance of playgrounds good /excellent. ♦ Whereas 62.8% of residents with longer tenure were satisfied with the appearance of playgrounds, only 48.3% of residents with shorter tenure indicated the same. 274 (67.1 %) respondents rated the maintenance of parks good /excellent. •A 303 (74.9 %) residents had satisfactory evaluations of landscape maintenance in rights of way and public areas. ♦ 70.9% of men and 77.5% of women rated landscape maintenance in rights of way and public areas as good /excellent. ♦ Whereas 78.7% of Anglos had positive ratings of landscape maintenance in these areas, only 70.6% of non - Anglos had positive evaluations. 27 e 81.8% of non - College graduates were satisfied with this aspect of life in South Miami compared to 73.4% of non - Anglos. % Approximately nine in ten (370 or 91.1 %) respondents had good /excellent evaluations of garbage /trash collection. o Whereas 92.8% of residents with longer tenure (over 10 years) were satisfied with garbage pickup, only 86.5% of residents with shorter tenure indicated the same. Roughly four in ten respondents (168 or 41.3°/x) had good /excellent evaluation of the City's efforts in addressing homelessness. o Anglos were less satisfied than non - Anglos as evidenced by 37.5% and 45.7% excellent /good evaluations by Anglos and non - Anglos respectively. o College graduates were slightly less satisfied than non - college graduates (ratings of 39.3% and 44.6% respectively). 0 38.1% of working age residents were satisfied with the city's efforts to address homelessness compared to 47.4% of retiree aged residents who indicated the same. 0 37.1% of those residing in South Miami for ten years or less and 42.7% of those with tenures in excess of ten years had good /excellent evaluations of the City's homelessness efforts. 282 (70 %) residents indicated the City was doing a good /excellent job for public safety. 90 FIVI MeCenter tropolitan Evaluations City Services and Programs © Excellent/Good 0 Fair Poor ❑ Do not know /Not Sure Garbage /trash collectic Cleanliness of streets in neighborhoo Cleanliness of streets in business /commerck areas Appearance and maintenance of City's public buildings Condition of road: Landscape maintenance in rights of way anc public areas The job the City is doing for public safety Maintenance of parks Adequacy of street lighting in neighborhood Condition of sidewalks Storm drainage Appearance of playgrounds Geanliness of canals/w aterw ays Recreation programs The job the City is doing to address homelessness Three- fourths (304 or 74.5 %) of respondents had good /excellent ratings of the City's police services. Whereas, 79.8% of Anglos were satisfied with police services only 69.6% of non - Anglos had similar evaluations. P4:7 Metropolitan FMI Center s 72.5% of working age residents and 79.9% of elderly residents had good /excellent evaluations of police services. ® Whereas 76.3% of residents living in South Miami in excess often years were satisfied with police services, only 69.7% of those residing in the City ten years or less had favorable ratings. ❖ 295 (72.7 %) respondents evaluated the City's parks as good /excellent. ® 68.8% of women and 78.9% of men had satisfactory ratings of parks. Nine in ten residents (369 or 90.9 %) had good/ excellent ratings of the City's trash pick -up. Evaluations Trash Pick -up, Parks & Police Services Garbage and trash pick-up Parks in the city City's police services Evaluations City Employees Excellent r Good Fair °- Poor m DK/Not Sure Residents were asked to, evaluate certain aspects of City Hall and City employees on a five point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. ❖ 239 (58.8 %) residents felt it was easy to get someone in the City that could help them. ♦ 55% of those residing in the City for ten years or less agreed /strongly agreed with this statement compared to 61.2% of those with longer tenures. s Whereas 62.5% of Anglos agreed /strongly agreed with this claim only 56.9% of non - Anglos felt the same way. 299 (73.6 %) respondents claimed city employees were courteous and professional. ♦ 66.3% of those residing in the City for ten years or less agreed /strongly agreed with this statement compared to 76.3% of those with longer tenures. The majority (214 or 52.9 %) of residents felt City employees had the proper training and knowledge. 30 Metropolitan Center ♦ Whereas 61.1% of non - college graduates were satisfied with the training and knowledge of City employees, only 49.8% of college graduates had similar evaluations. ♦ Whereas 59.1% of non - Anglos were satisfied with the knowledge of employees only 47.6% of Anglos indicated the same. ❖ 237 (58.6 %) respondents agreed /strongly agreed resident requests for information or service were addressed in a timely manner. ♦ 61.2% of women and 54.3% of men agreed /strongly agreed with this claim. ♦ Whereas 66.2% of residents ages 65 and older were satisfied with the efficiency of addressing resident request, only 54.5% of working age residents had positive evaluations of the timeliness of addressing resident requests. ♦ 49.4% of those residing in the City for ten years or less agreed /strongly agreed with this statement compared to 60.9% of those with longer tenures. ❖ 266 (65.7 %) respondents agreed /strongly agreed that they had an overall good experience contacting the City. ♦ 72.7% of non - college graduates and 63.4% of college graduates had a good overall experience contacting the City. ♦ 68.7% of Anglos and 63.4% of non - Anglos were satisfied with their experience contacting the City. ♦ 68.7% of those residing in South Miami in excess often years agreed /strongly agreed wit this claim compared to 55% of those residing ten years or less in the City. 221 (56.3 %) respondents agreed /strongly agreed that the City government was open and interested in hearing their concerns. ♦ 60.2% of Anglos and 53.7% of non - Anglos had positive evaluations of City Hall's interest in hearing residents. ♦ Whereas 63.5% of those without college degrees agreed /strongly agreed with this claim only 54.5% of college graduates felt the same way. ♦ 51.7% of those residing ten years or less in South Miami and 58.7% of those with a tenure in excess of ten years agreed /strongly agreed with this claim. 31 Metropolitan Center Center Evaluations of City Hall and City Employees - Strongly Agree /Agree m: Neither Agree nor Disagree Strongly Dsagree /Disagree - DK/Not Sure The City of South Miami government is open and interested in hearing the concerns or issues of Overall, I know I will have a good experience contacting the City Resident requests for information or service are addressed in a timely manner The City employees have the proper training and knowledge The Cityemployees are courteous and professional It is easy to get someone in the City who could help me Sources of Information 1 20.4% 14 0% 17.3% 13.8% 21.7% Residents listed newspapers (205 respondents or 50.2°/x), Television (109 or 26.7 %), their neighbors (75 or 18.4 %) and the City of South Miami newsletter (33 or 8.1 %) as their primary information source for news about South Miami. Sources for News and Information about South Miami Newspaper 4P°' City Website 6% Television All Other City ramny 1% 6% Newsletter 3% 7% 226 respondents (56.1 %) rated the performance of South Miami in keeping residents informed on city events and public projects as good /excellent. 32 FM I Metropolitan Center ♦ Whereas 65.2% of non - college graduates felt the City did a good /excellent job of keeping them informed, only 54% of college graduates were satisfied with the City's efforts at keeping residents informed. ♦ 53.6% of Angles and 60.4% of non - Anglos were satisfied with the efforts of the City to keep residents informed. Overall Ratings for City of South Miami d• Respondents were also asked to evaluate their City's overall services from poor to excellent. 324 (80.7 %) had good /excellent ratings of City services. Race was the only demographic variable with large differences of opinion on overall evaluations of City services. Whereas 76.3% of non - Anglos had good /excellent ratings of City services, 85.6% of Anglos were satisfied with South Miami services. Overall Ratings City of South Miami Services Fair Poor Excellent 15.5% 2.3% 9190/ Good 61.2% d• 364 (89.9 %) respondents indicated they saw themselves living in South Miami three years from now. ❖ 348 (86.1 %) residents surveyed would recommend the City of South Miami as place to live and work. ♦ A sharp difference exists in regards to gender with 83.1% of women agreeing with this sentiment while 913% of men would recommend the City to others. 33 Recommend /Live in South Miami Yes � No Unsure 1 would recommend the City of South Miami as a place to live and work. see myself living in South Miami three years from now. Metropolitan Center 6.4% 10.1% 34 Fig I Metropolitan. Cente Center Open -ended Comments Narrow examining of bud et to reduce waste Not wasting money on prqjects Cost effectiveness Rana ement of budget Balancing budget of city Money management Budgeting Buggeting and finance Managing the budget Budgets and debts Making necessary cuts and budget fit well Adapt to the budget Budget Control work on balancing budget and saving mone keep city within budget Budget Properly manage budget -Balancing the budget Budget Controlling city's finances To can out the budget of the City in the best way Use tax money wisely Bud "tin ..• ro er buildin codes City services communities services Run services Services . Services are ok Maintain and improve the services Services they provide Services to youth Services Ci services Public Services CrimelSafety Faking care of homeless, more money, more Rrotection from crime Make a beautiful and safe place to live Making City better and safe Crime, safe -Keep residents safe Personal safety Public safe ,crime Public Safet 35 Safet Safety Safety Crime and public safet Public safety Crime Safety and crime Safety Crime Safety Crime Crime Crime and public safety Safety Safe place to live Crime Make the community safe and educated as possible Safety Reducing crime Crime and safety To keep residents safe Crime Crime and public safety Safety Crime Safety Crimes Safety Crime and public safety Crime Public safety and crime Crime Safety Crime Security SaWy for the community Crime Security Crime Crime Prevention Safety Crime Safety Crime and Public Safe Standard of living, how city looks Maintain city of pleasant living, keep down noise, repair 36 F MI Metropolitan Center Remodeling of area Keeping the place nice Beautification/Landscaping Cleanin nei hborhoods Beautification, homelessness, traffic con I estion, resident safet Economic development Economic development Ensuring development benefits residents Development Economic development Economic growth Economic development iii Economic rowth and develo ment Economy Economy Economy Economic issue Economy Economics and finance Jobs Jobs Jobs Jobs More jobs -Employment Jobs More jobs More jobs Em to ment Jobs Making more jobs More work and increase salaries More jobs for youth and better education Education/School Education and community service Education Education Need more public education Education Education Education Education for children Education Education Education 37 ITA •.�, Education School and education School improvement School violence Schools most) ImprovinU education more green places Keep city green Green initiatives To see that the various issues are more taken care of Communication understanding the diversity of the community Serve the people of the community Referendum election, new city commission manage the city business Take care of the City Reducing local government to the essentials Running the city good and do what is more convenient for citizens Residential character and look, maintain honest Listen to people Continuity of city employees, too much power to individuals Being fair and not ignoring people ..Listening to constituents, asking them and not listening to lobbyists To govem as best as they can To get their act together Honesty Integrity in government Honesty, commissioners need to start thinking about people in the City and not themselves Improvement of City Council Honesty To see that the people are treated fairs Corruption Honesty among politicians, political ethics Fair representation of entire community Politics, get them straight Corruption Efficiency of government Effective wrong government Integrity Less fighting within government No corruption, honesty, do jobs effectively Conduct themselves in honest and professional manner Interest in the entire community Good administrative policy CM I I Metropolitan Center Get act together Leave politics out Do what is promised More team work among elected officials. Senior staff needs greater support of the top administrator by the elected officials Good government Better use of City's money Less corruption Listen to residents -.Being Honest Experience people Educate government Consistency in political appointments civility, fix politics honesty among them, accountability Transparency, ethics, responses to citizens Corruption Fairness and quality in politics ReoManizing city government Openness in government Honesty and trans arenc ..Honesty in government Don't steal money Stop stealing money Take care of the people in the city hall Give citizens what the need Be ob'ective Care for the people Listen to resident requests Restoring some confidence in City Hall inte ri , stop being. laughing stock To work for the people and not for themselves Less government Stability to the government Informed the City Attention to community Get good people To be honest Finding a new city manager Get rid of vice mayor Work together Do what people want Remove people who don't work Citt government get together, management Consistency, fair representation of all residents Efficient government Hones and integrity M [Ttulyj Ect, 4� AUIU To reduce prope i taxes Roads Public trans i ortation Maintaining quality of life in City and making sure resident areas stay for residents Maintain the quality of city in light of budget Quali of life of people Improving uali of life Focus on a better life for citizens III e [OEM, • They are doing a good 'ob Th2y already know what they are doing Good job Keep up the good work -Keep things as they are now Kee things well done SafepL and traffic Traffic and safet , ark, sidewalk Traffic Traffic Traffic violation Traffic control Traffic control and reducin concession ')business Traffic Con estion Improve traffic -Speeding violations Traffic violations and traffic at certain times -Stop people speeding, control traffic • - Parks, traffic, safety, cleanliness of city Communi outreach Ozonin , Corruption, Safety, Honest Gov. Leave the city as a small city, motivate resident involvement, develop community programs for all age groups Property Propeqy taxes, general betterment of city Expansion and growth of the community and more events -Maintaining taxes, crime, maintaining pleasant living, helping the need Spend money wisely, avoid corruption, make city walkable Dissolve the City Property area Reduce taxes, reduce student tuition Take care of debts, including police pension funds, more swimmin ools, more ara as Sto all the violations Stop playing around with more stops at Sunset, too much traffic, raising property taxes while the worth of the house decreases 41 EN FWI Metropolitan Center Too man tickets inspeed traps, trans arenc and good government See what is happening in the community rather than the politicians doing what they want. Need the police to calm down. No more backroom deals, not raise taxes, solid police chief not following underhand deals Housing, crime Climate control, public safety Commitment to citizens, enforce zone violations Do not be involved in petty issues, homelessness, poverty being responsive to the entire -community Good use of the money, avoid waste, be green Improving congestion, downtown/enforcing building code Safe neighborhood, traffic congestion, crime Crime and education Education, crime Tax and pleasant environment Crime, help on housing for homeless people Education, homelessness Safety and economy Crimes and work Economy, crime economic issues, crime Property taxes, public safety Crime, taxes fight crime, reduce taxes -Safety and taxes down 43