Another County misstep,Miami-Dade County commissioner miffed after manager snuffs procurement oaths proposal. From the article in Miami Today by Lou Ortiz:
"The action by Mr. Burgess, a county employee who works for Mayor Carlos Alvarez, effectively quashed debate Jan. 22 on the proposal by Mr. Gimenez for vendors and county staff to be under oath when making presentations to the commission on bid awards." Further: "The proposal was intended to ensure that persons who seek county contracts, sometimes in the tens of millions of dollars, along with the administration staff who promote their approval, tell the truth in the procurement of those pacts."
The vote, according to the article:
"Commissioner Joe A. Martinez, who voted no, said the proposed ordinance was "not an item I believe in." Also voting no were commissioners Jose "Pepe" Diaz, (EVIL) Natacha Seijas, Dennis C. Moss, Dorrin D. Rolle and Audrey M. Edmonson. Mr. Martinez said he works closely with administration staff and department directors and supporting the ordinance would be counterproductive."
Bullshit. Heyman, Sorenson, Gimenez and Souto voted right.
10 comments:
I can certainly agree with Gimenez's goal, but I can see why County staff fought this.
Imagine how it would feel to be a County employee tasked with reviewing and providing information on bid requests.
How many of us would enjoy having to swear to tell the truth every time we open our months during a meeting with our boss? What's next, court reporters taking down every word you say?
The implication is that staff people are lying, which does not create a good working environment.
We need to see this for what is was, an attack on the power of the Mayor.
I don't agree. Many times when I give public comment that isn't worth a dime: I have to be sworn in. So, why not people spending millions of our dollars. The Mayor should welcome transparent, ethical practices.
You are likely being sworn in during quasi-judicial zoning hearings, not Committee meetings and other legislative events. A zoning hearing is as close as local government hearings get to being in a courtroom.
Keep in mind that this is aimed largely at staff, not lobbyists for bidders.
Again, put yourself in staff's shoes. How many people want to work in an environment where it is assumed that you are a crook every day?
Like any law / ordinance, this kind of thing would only be as good as the ability to enforce it. Who would enforce it and what would the implications be for anyone that violated it? It sounds like it would have been a paper tiger had it passed. COunty employees that tell "untruths" before the BCC, or to anyone for that matter, can always be fired or otherwise disciplined even absent such an ordinance. But what about those seeking contracts and those who lobby for them?
G of D,
I would love to see you or gimleteye (or both) opine on this piece from the Miami Herald:
Poll: Miami haters don't know the place
http://www.miamiherald.com/459/story/401543.html
Why do you suppose there are so many "Miami haters"?
"So many 'Miami haters'"?
Anon, above:
The poll doesn't ask that question, nor does the Herald story.
I can think of plenty of reasons to find fault with Florida-- many are subject of discussion on this blog-- and many reasons to love the place and the people.
What are you trying to say?
I dont remember Gimenez proposing such a rule when he was a city manager. If he likes people to discuss matters under oath, why doesn't he start with the Commissioners? If everything he and colleagues said came under penalty of perjury, I don't think staff would object to the same treatment.
You have to start somewhere.
Wow, I love how the County Employees are writing to blast the proposal, which is necessary, and requires a higher level of professionalism during the procurement process, something that is desperately needed at this time. I don't think we heard of one procurement scandal while Gimenez was City Manager, and it is widely known that he left because Manny Diaz asked Gimenez to compromise his principles. Lets get real! If staff is doing its job properly, there is no reason that they should fear being under oath. What is the problem here? It is also not bad to have lobbyists testify under oath. I have seen too many hatchet jobs in the procurement process in the past, and this allows for an open and more importantly, honest process. Those against it either simply don't get it, or are those same County Employees or potenially lobbyists that prefer the status quo!
By the way, here is an interesting article on gifts that was in today's Herald:
Miami-Dade urged to put tight lid on gifts
BY CHARLES RABIN
Miami Police Chief John Timoney's $500 fine Thursday for failing to disclose his free use of a luxury vehicle was the largest financial penalty the county ethics commission could deliver.
Critics call that a problem. And when the city punished the chief separately Thursday, it handed him a fine that was more than eight times greater.
Using such cases as a springboard, a group including a former Florida Supreme Court justice and current state prosecutor is urging stiffer penalties, tighter rules and a new era of ethics in Miami-Dade.
''We're trying to raise the bar for the standard of conduct that public officials have to stand for,'' said Joe Centorino, public corruption chief for the state attorney's office.
Under existing rules, government employees throughout Miami-Dade must only disclose whether they have received a gift in excess of $100 from a vendor or potential vendor.
The Dade ordinance does not ban such gifts, and allows only minor fines for those found guilty of skirting rules.
Robert Meyers, executive director of the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust, wants the rules to change, saying the county should ban gifts from vendors seeking business.
The gift policy is the focus of a task force Meyers formed last year that he hopes will prod county commissioners to toughen rules. Any change would apply countywide and cover local municipalities.
Thursday, ethics commission member Seymour Gelber, a former Miami Beach mayor, made it a point to note for the record that the Timoney fine was the maximum, saying: ``We often are criticized for the amount of the fine.''
Meyers cited Miami Mayor Manny Diaz's penalty last year as an example of what's wrong with the system. After the ethics commission said Diaz violated rules in buying a multimillion-dollar Coconut Grove home as an investment property with a former city commissioner and the former city manager, Diaz reached a settlement in which he paid a $250 fine.
Diaz admitted he entered into a land deal with a subordinate, but he did not admit to a conflict.
''Ratcheting up the penalty is something they all agree on. The question is, how high should we go?'' Meyers said.
The group plans to meet once more and then will likely recommend that county commissioners ban gifts altogether from vendors. Their suggestion could come as early as this month.
In the past, commissioners have been loath to change the gift-giving policy. During a lively 2006 discussion, Mayor Carlos Alvarez suggested capping gifts at $100, and Commissioner Carlos Gimenez advised eliminating them altogether.
Neither idea gained traction with the larger 13-member commission.
Another hot-button recommendation expected: That lobbyists or their charges report how much they are paid to influence government.
Yet much of the group's focus will be on gifts.
A Miami Herald review of gift disclosure forms found it's not uncommon for would-be vendors to shower government employees with gifts. Legally.
Benjamin Leon Jr., a multimillionaire who likes to fly, bestowed Miami-Dade aviation employee Greg Owens with four $125 bottles of wine and $680 worth of seats to a Florida Marlins baseball game last year.
The businessman has explored building office space and a hangar for his planes at Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport. Owens is the Aviation Department's real estate development chief.
Owens and Leon see no conflict. They are friends, and Owens said he didn't use the baseball tickets.
''I wasn't going to give anything special,'' Owens said.
Leon, who subleases space for his planes from another firm at the airport, said he inquired about rates ``out of curiosity.''
Whether he'll work out a deal with Owens' colleagues is up in the air, but one thing is clear: The ethics ordinance finds nothing wrong with Owens accepting the gifts.
Other gifts were of even greater financial value.
Among them: A $10,000 weeklong trip to Israel for Miami Gardens Councilman André Williams, funded by the Washington-based American Israeli Education Foundation.
The Holland & Knight attorney and Harvard law school graduate said his goal was to persuade Israeli businessmen to invest in his city, noting that it is home to the Lubavich Educational Center, one of the largest Jewish schools in the county.
In another case, Miami Beach city attorney Jose Smith received tickets to three dozen shows at the Miami Beach Convention Center and the Jackie Gleason Center for the Performing Arts -- now the Fillmore -- between February 2006 and April 2007.
The tickets were supplied by the groups managing the venues. Live Nation runs the Fillmore, and a company called SMG oversees the convention center. The tickets were valued at $3,610.
Miami Beach's contract with the two facilities allows the city to receive tickets for each performance. A 1992 state ethics commission ruling found that as long as the tickets don't come from a lobbyist or anyone working with a lobbyist, they are OK.
In Coral Gables, City Clerk Walter Foeman received $94 worth of tickets for the University of Miami's football game against Georgia Tech at the Orange Bowl. The city often votes on zoning requests from UM. Though the gift was valued at under $100, Foeman chose to disclose it. ''Even though I don't make policy, I just record the record,'' he said.
Miami Herald staff writer Michael Vasquez contributed to this report.
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