Outgoing Coral Gables commissioners say goodbye

Coral Gables commissioners Maria Anderson and Ralph Cabrera, with their respective children in the front row at City Hall, ended their 12 year terms at Tuesday’s regular commission meeting on a high note.

In the closing minutes, representatives from McGladrey Certified Public Accountants delivered their Comprehensive Annual Financial Report to the city, and, commissioners learned that reserves grew from $12 million to $21.1 million for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.

The number is significant because much had been made about the city’s financial condition when City Manager Pat Salerno took office in 2009. Reserves, he discovered, were practically nil. In a three-year period, reserves grew to $12 million but that was only about half of what they should be to weather a potential catastrophe, such as a hurricane or other financial disaster, Mayor Jim Cason said. Despite the gradual upswing, Moody’s had lowered Coral Gables’ bond rating in 2010 from AAA to AA, partly because reserves were below the recommended 15- to 20-percent of budget.

At $21.1 million, the city is in the 18-percent range, on the way to a target $25 million that Salerno and Cason would like to see in the immediate future.

“In my judgment, we need to be in the 15 to 20 percent range and we are on target,” Salerno said. “The ability to go from less than $200,000 in 2009, without taking action, to $21 million in that period of time is truly remarkable. These were day-to-day decisions made by staff, but also a result of decisions made by members of the commission, particularly those who have supported the financial policies we brought forward that resulted in getting us to that level. I want to thank the members of the commission who brought the city back,” Salerno said.

Vice Mayor Bill Kerdyk Jr. also commended the staff for making reserves a priority, especially “during the worst recession since the Great Depression.”

But Anderson, who, along with Cabrera, has had issues with the manager and who moved for his dismissal last July, objected to the image of Salerno as Superman in a cape for his actions in boosting reserves and negotiating with the unions to reduce the unfunded pension liability.

“To think it’s one person wearing that super cape, please don’t do this injustice, don’t sully this commission,” she said in her closing statement.

Regarding the reserves upswing, Anderson, who is not seeking further political office and hopes to be ordained as a minister this year, added: “While I’m ecstatic we have reserves, I hope in the future we could have a heart and give some of that money back instead of tax cuts. Give to the employees and services that are losing their homes and who lost their cars. You can talk about the big money all you want but until you have a heart, we are not a city.”

Cabrera, who is running for Cason’s mayoral seat in the April 9 election, and who has Anderson’s endorsement, thanked his fellow commissioners and singled out City Attorney Craig Leen and City Clerk Walter Foeman, for their work with the city.

“This is my last meeting in Seat 2 and it has been a great ride,” he said. “In 12 years I have learned so much. People poked fun at me for saying the following: ‘When you’re green you’re growing, when you’re ripe, you’re beginning to rot.’ Mr. Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald’s, a visionary, said that. Each and every time I’ve been with you, I’ve learned something new. This job doesn’t come with a manual or a playbook. We need to be responsible and sensitive and understand we work for the people who got us up here and for those who didn’t we should try to earn their trust.… I look forward to the coming election and wish you luck, Jim, and all the candidates who are running luck.”

In other business, the commission unanimously gave final approval to an ordinance to expressly forbid squatting in the city and addressed remedies for dealing with squatters. The move came after recent media attention focused on a family who had set up house in a home that did not belong to them.

Resident Roxcy Bolton, an honored social activist, urged the commission to rethink the ordinance, concerned that the ruling would push homeless people out of the city and was inhumane.

Anderson countered, “That’s not our intent. At the request of neighbors, who live in neighborhoods such as yours, this is about people who come into homes that aren’t theirs. … Miami-Dade County has a homeless program. We’re not a heartless city. This isn’t about homeless people. This is about people moving in. Homeless people and trespassing are two different [things].”

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