Res No 168-24-16273RESOLUTION NO. 168-24-16273
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, APPROVING AND
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO A
MULTI-YEAR AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF
FLORIDA, OFFICE OF THE STATE ATTORNEY FOR THE
ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA, TO
REIMBURSE THE STATE FOR THE COST OF STATE
ATTORNEY PROSECUTION OF CERTAIN CRIMINAL
VIOLATIONS OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI CODE;
PROVIDING FOR IMPLEMENTATION, CORRECTIONS,
SEVERABILITY AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, Section 27.02, Florida Statutes, authorizes the State Attorney to prosecute
municipal ordinance violations punishable by incarceration if ancillary to state prosecution or, if
not ancillary to state prosecution, when the State Attorney has entered into an agreement with the
City of South Miami (“City”) for the prosecution subject to reimbursement; and
WHEREAS, the Agreement attached as Exhibit “A” provides for the State Attorney to
prosecute certain criminal violations of the City of South Miami Code, where the City has agreed
to reimburse the State Attorney for costs related to such prosecutions for the period effective
October 1, 2023 and automatically renews annually at the commencement of the City’s fiscal year,
subject to annual reauthorizations in the budget, unless sooner terminated by either party; and
WHEREAS, the Agreement provides that the City agrees to reimburse the State Attorney
on an hourly basis for services rendered at a rate of $50 per hour, and typically incurs a cost of
$16.67 per case, but is subject to the number of cases requested by the City for prosecution; and
WHEREAS, the cost of the services will be charged to Police Contractual Services line
item 001-1910-521-3450, with a current balance of $324,09 prior to this request, or such other
funding source(s) as determined by the City Manager to be in the best interests of the City; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission finds that approval of the Agreement between the State
Attorney and the Town is in the best interest and welfare of the City.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Recitals. The above-stated recitals are true and correct and are incorporated
herein by this reference.
Section 2. Approval and Authorization. The City Commission approves the
Agreement and authorizes the City Manager to execute the Agreement, in substantially the form
attached hereto as Exhibit “A.” The cost of the services will be charged to Police Contractual
Services line item 001-1910-521-3450, with a current balance of $324,09 prior to this request, or
Document ID: 458d0d47869b0c5ce6ab6518e889d1596cd76598da5fd182ee8c9188f3887d2b
Resolution No. 168-24-16273
Page 2 of 2
such other funding source(s) as determined by the City Manager to be in the best interests of the
City.
Section 3. Implementation. The City Manager is hereby authorized to take any and
all action necessary to implement the Agreement and the purposes of this Resolution.
Section 4. Corrections. Conforming language or technical scrivener-type corrections
may be made by the City Attorney for any conforming amendments to be incorporated into the
final resolution for signature.
Section 5. Severability. If any section clause, sentence, or phrase of this Resolution
is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, the holding
shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Resolution.
Section 6. Effective Date. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon
adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 4th day of November, 2024.
ATTEST: APPROVED:
CITY CLERK MAYOR
READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM, COMMISSION VOTE: 5-0
LANGUAGE, LEGALITY AND Mayor Fernández: Yea
EXECUTION THEREOF Vice Mayor Bonich: Yea
Commissioner Calle: Yea
Commissioner Liebman: Yea
Commissioner Corey: Yea
WEISS SEROTA HELFMAN COLE
& BIERMAN, P.L.
CITY ATTORNEY
Document ID: 458d0d47869b0c5ce6ab6518e889d1596cd76598da5fd182ee8c9188f3887d2b
Signer ID: MVRKNH6T13...
Signer ID: F1HZYBLO13...Signer ID: LHLQYXFA13...
Agenda Item No:12.
City Commission Agenda Item Report
Meeting Date: November 4, 2024
Submitted by: Lillian Arango
Submitting Department: City Attorney
Item Type: Resolution
Agenda Section:
Subject:
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, APPROVING AND
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO A MULTI-YEAR AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF
FLORIDA, OFFICE OF THE STATE ATTORNEY FOR THE ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA, TO
REIMBURSE THE STATE FOR THE COST OF STATE ATTORNEY PROSECUTION OF CERTAIN CRIMINAL
VIOLATIONS OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI CODE; PROVIDING FOR IMPLEMENTATION,
CORRECTIONS, SEVERABILITY AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5 (CITY MANAGER-POLICE DEPARTMENT)
Suggested Action:
Attachments:
49W7883-CC_Memo_-_Agreement_with_SAO_Prosecution_of_Municpal_Code_Vioaltion_CAv1 (1).DOCX
49W7782-Reso_Approving_Agreement_with_SAO_-_Prosecution_of_Criminal_Violations_of_Code_CAv1.DOCX
49W7861-Agreement with SAO for Prosecution of Municipal Ordinances.pdf
MH Ad.pdf
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CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
INTER-OFFICE MEMORANDUM
TO:The Honorable Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Members of the City Commission
FROM:Lillian Arango and Tony Recio, City Attorneys
CC:Genaro “Chip” Iglesias, Chief Reo Hatfield
DATE:November 4, 2024 City Commission Meeting
SUBJECT:A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY
OF SOUTH MIAMI,FLORIDA,APPROVING AND
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO A
MULTI-YEAR AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF
FLORIDA, OFFICE OF THE STATE ATTORNEY FOR THE
ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA,TO
REIMBURSE THE STATE FOR THE COST OF STATE
ATTORNEY PROSECUTION OF CERTAIN CRIMINAL
VIOLATIONS OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI CODE;
PROVIDING FOR IMPLEMENTATION, CORRECTIONS,
SEVERABILITYAND ANEFFECTIVEDATE.
The accompanying Resolution was prepared and placed on the agenda by the City Attorney
and Chief Reo Hatfield.
Section 27.02, Florida Statutes, authorizes the State Attorney to prosecute municipal
ordinance violations punishable by incarceration if ancillary to state prosecution or, if not ancillary
to state prosecution, when the State Attorney has entered into an agreement with the City of South
Miami (“City”) for the prosecution subject to reimbursement. The multi-year Agreement attached
as Exhibit “A”provides for the State Attorney to prosecute certain criminal violations of the City’s
Code, where the City has agreed to reimburse the State Attorney for costs related to such
prosecutions. The Agreement covers the period effective October 1, 2023 and automatically
renews annually at the commencement of the City’s fiscal year, subject to annual reauthorizations
in the budget, unless sooner terminated by either party. The Agreement provides that the City
agrees to reimburse the State Attorney on an hourly basis for services rendered at a rate of $50 per
hour. The State Attorney estimates that a typical case will incur approximately 20 minutes of time,
and cost $16.67 per case. The exact amount of the reimbursements and funding will depend on
the number of cases the City requests to be prosecuted by the State Attorney.
The Agreement is standard for municipalities in Miami-Dade County who elect to have the
State Attorney prosecute criminal violations of the City’s Code. The City’s Code provides for
some ordinances to be enforced by criminal prosecution, thereby necessitating the State Attorney’s
prosecution thereof and the execution of the Agreement.
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CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
INTER-OFFICE MEMORANDUM
Among other municipal violations, the Agreement will be necessary in order to have the
State Attorney assist with enforcement of the City’s public camping prohibition ordinance. Recent
State legislation, Section 125.0231, Florida Statutes (SB 1530, 2024), provides that municipalities
may not allow any person to regularly engage in public camping or sleeping on any public
property, and provides that a civil action may be brought by any resident or business located in the
City to enjoin a violation of the statute and recovery of attorney’s fees and courts costs if the
plaintiff prevails in court. To avoid this, the City has to enforce its ordinance. Since the ordinance
provides for potential criminal prosecution, the City needs this agreement in place so that the State
Attorney can prosecute the violation.
Funding:
The cost of the services will be charged to Police Contractual Services line item 001-1910-
521-3450, with a current balance of $324,09 prior to this request, or such other funding source(s)
as determined by the City Manager to be in the best interests of the City.
Attachments:
Resolution
Agreement with State Attorney
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6A .............................................................................................MIAMI HERALD FRIDAY OCTOBER 25 2024
to Michael’s political com-
mittee.
That same day,A Stron-
ger Florida contributed
$7,500 to a political com-
mittee run by Sen.Danny
Burgess,R-Zephyrhills.
The next day,Burgess filed
a companion bill in the
Florida Senate.
Burgess and Michael did
not respond to The Trib-
utary’s requests for in-
terviews about their cam-
paign finances.
In May,the bill passed
by a vote of 108-6 in the
House and 35-5 in the
Senate.
In the month after the
bill was signed by Gov.
DeSantis,A Stronger Flor-
ida donated to political
committees supporting at
least three of the bill’s
co-sponsors:Reps.Juan
Carlos Porras,Carolina
Amesty and Lopez.Since
2023,Lopez and her politi-
cal committee have re-
ceived $11,000 from A
Stronger Florida.
Diaz,Lopez’s campaign
advisor,said in his written
statement that A Stronger
Florida “has no ties to Rep.
Lopez or her campaign,”
and she “cannot answer
questions regarding the
committee’s donors or
contributions.”
A Stronger Florida also
contributed to committees
run by four of the Miami-
Dade School Board’s nine
members.Miami-Dade is
one of only two Florida
counties with a BusPatrol
contract.
It also gave $267,500 to
the Republican Party of
Florida and another
$150,000 to the Florida
Republican Senatorial
Campaign Committee.
BusPatrol gave an extra
$150,000 to the commit-
tee this month.The com-
mittee has not yet reported
how it has spent that
money.
This year,the Senate
passed a second bill,this
time expanding BusPa-
trol’s ability to make
money from citations.
When the bill went to the
House,Lopez voted for it.
It authorized school-bus
cameras for private and
charter schools and allowed
revenue-sharing through
the fines collected from
traffic violations recorded
through the detectors.This
expanded model could
bring in millions in revenue
for BusPatrol.
This year marks the first
election since BusPatrol
ramped up its donations.
BUSPATROL’S
HIDDEN PAST
BusPatrol has portrayed
itself as a fast-rising com-
pany,securing contracts
with school districts across
16 states.
In 2017,a company
called Force Multiplier
Solutions Canada Inc.
changed its name in Cana-
da to BusPatrol Inc.In the
U.S.,Force Multiplier Solu-
tions’leaders formed new
entities across the country
bearing the name BusPa-
trol.
BusPatrol has claimed it
has no connections to
Force Multiplier Solutions
and has tried to distance
itself from that name.
In 2018,Force Multiplier
Solutions CEO Robert
Leonard was convicted in a
corruption scandal that
took down public officials
and resulted in the closure
of a county agency.A fed-
eral prosecutor told the
judge this was “likely the
largest domestic public-
corruption case in history.”
Leonard pleaded guilty
to paying more than $3.5
million in bribes to the
agency’s former superin-
tendent and a Dallas City
Council member.
After the conviction,
another investigation,this
time by a Maryland coun-
ty’s inspector general,
criticized the Montgomery
County school district for
transferring a contract
from Force Multiplier
Solutions to the newly
named BusPatrol.
“While BusPatrol and
FMS may technically be
different corporate enti-
ties,they remain at the
same address,with the
same telephone number,
and using the same equip-
ment on the same con-
tracts,”the 2019 report
said.“The president of
FMS is now the president
of BusPatrol.…The cur-
rent CEO of BusPatrol is
listed in Canadian legal
documents as being a
Co-Director of Force Mul-
tiplier Solutions Canada.”
BusPatrol’s founder and
former president,David
Poirier,who has since left
BusPatrol,told The Trib-
utary he has no ownership
interest in the company
and declined interview
requests.
When a Maryland state
delegate raised these con-
cerns last year,BusPatrol
denied any connections to
Force Multiplier Solutions
or its convicted CEO.The
company even went so far
as to say BusPatrol’s form-
er CEO,Jean Souliere,
“was never …related to
FMS in any way”even
though he had served as a
director on Force Mul-
tiplier Solutions’s board.
Souliere did not respond
to a request for comments.
LEGISLATURE EVADES
ETHICS AND RECORDS
REQUIREMENTS
Because the work of
Lopez’s son overlaps with
public policy —both as the
Miami mayor’s former
chief of staff and his newer
role at BusPatrol —any
messages related to those
jobs should be public,but
she denied having any
communications,including
with her son,that mention
“BusPatrol”or her son’s
name.
Lopez also said she
didn’t have any calendar
records with BusPatrol or
any of their lobbyists.
Florida’s Constitution
requires legislators’re-
cords to be public,but the
Legislature has exempted
itself from most public-
records laws.Instead,
legislators get to decide for
themselves what’s a record
of “archival value”and act
as the custodians for any
records not maintained by
the House’s Office of Open
Government,according to
House rules.
In addition to setting a
different standard when it
comes to public records,
the Legislature has also set
a different ethics standard
for itself,according to
Caroline Klancke,the
executive director of the
nonprofit Florida Ethics
Institute.Voting-disclosure
requirements are more
robust for local officials
than legislators,she said.
A search of the House’s
daily journals and a public-
records request showed
that Lopez never disclosed
her conflict when she vot-
ed on the 2024 bill.
According to a list of
penalties recommended by
the state ethics commis-
sion since its founding,the
maximum penalty for not
disclosing a voting conflict
has been a $4,000 fee.
The lack of real conse-
quences for conflicts of
interest could leave the
Legislature susceptible to
corporate influence,said
Rosenson,the UF profes-
sor who is an ethics expert.
“When members are de-
pendent on [campaign]
donations from companies,
that can create an ethics
problem and a dependence
on those companies.”
FROM PAGE 5A
LOPEZ
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
In Florida,BusPatrol has spent $680,000-$1.4 million lobbying the legislative and
executive branches in the past four years.
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