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Ordinance No. -------
An Ordinance amending section 2-24, including subsections (b), (c)(lO) and
(11), (e)(3)(4) and (h) of the City of South Miami's code of ordinances.
6 Whereas, the Section 2-24 of the City of South Miami ("City") code of ordinances
7 provides for settlement of liens by the City Attorney and by the special master; and
8 Whereas, the City Charter has mandated that the responsible for the administrative
9 services of the City is vested solely in the City Manager; and
10 Whereas, the head of the City's Code Enforcement Department has historically
11 prosecuted all actions before the special master when the alleged violator was not represented by
12 legal counsel; and
13 Whereas, the Mayor and City Commission desires to restrict the qualifications of the
14 special master to those individuals who have been or are currently licensed to practice law in the
15 state of Florida; and
16 Whereas, the City desires to attract more candidates for the position of special master by
17 increasing the special master's compensation from $100 per hour to $150 per hour.
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA THAT:
Section 1. Section 2-24 of the City of South Miami Code of Ordinances is hereby
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 2-24. -Special master.
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(c)
(b) All procedure and conduct of hearings shall be as provided in section 2-
25 of this code. The city attorney shall serve as counsel to the city in the defense
of appeals to and enforcement actions before the special master if the accused
violator is represented by legal counsel, otherwise the head of the Code
Enforcement Division, or his or her designee, shall present the City'S case in all
actions before the speical master. The city attorney shall have the power, upon
approval by the city commission, to initiate civil actions for declaratory and
injunctive relief, and orders to compel, and to commence any other action to
enforce civil fines, correction orders and orders of the special master., and to The
City Manager shall have the power to compromise and settle fines and penalties.
The special master shall have the powers to:
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(l0) Compromise and settle fines and penalties.
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(e)
(1 +0) Take any action that is necessary to effectuate the powers of the special
master consistent with the intent of sections 2-24 and 2-25
(11) compromise and settle fines and penalties, concurrent with the City
Manager.
Qualifications for special master:
(1 ) Be a retired state judge; or
(2) A member in good standing of the Florida Bar, with at least ten year's
experience in zoning, land use, code enforcement, or real estate transactions or
litigation;
(3) /' .. state licensed real estate broker in good standing, licensed for at least
five years;
(43) No more than three special masters shall be appointed for service for
anyone-year period.
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(h) Compensation. A special master shall be compensated at a rate not to exceed
$W~O.OO per hour for attendance at hearings and preparation of orders of the special
master.
24 Section 2. Codification. The provisions of this ordinance shall become and be made
25 part of the Code of Ordinances of the City of South Miami as amended; that the sections of this
26 ordinance may be renumbered or re-lettered to accomplish such intention; and that the word
27 "ordinance" may be changed to "section" or other appropriate word.
28 Section 3. Severability. If any section, clause, sentence, or phrase of this ordinance is
29 for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, this holding
30 shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance.
31 Section 4. Ordinances in Conflict. All ordinances or parts of ordinances and all
32 sections and parts of sections of ordinances in direct conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
33 However, it is not the intent of this section to repeal entire ordinances, or parts of ordinances,
34 that give the appearance of being in conflict when the two ordinances can be harmonized or
35 when only a portion of the ordinance in conflict needs to be repealed to harmonize the
36 ordinances. If the ordinance in conflict can be harmonized by amending its terms, it is hereby
37 amended to harmonize the two ordinances. Therefore, only that portion that needs to be repealed
38 to harmonize the two ordinances shall be repealed.
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2 Section 5. Effective Date. This ordinance shall become effective upon enactment.
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4 PASSED AND ENACTED this __ day of ,2014.
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6 ATTEST: APPROVED:
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CITY CLERK
1 st Reading
2nd Reading
MAYOR
14 READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM: COMMISSION VOTE:
15 LANGUAGE, LEGALITY AND Mayor Stoddard:
16 EXECUTION THEREOF Vice Mayor Harris:
17 Commissioner Edmond:
18 Commissioner Liebman:
19 Commissioner Welsh:
20 CITY ATTORNEY
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