The Coral Gables commission on Tuesday will consider putting a question on the ballot to establish an Inspector General in the city. The resolution on the meeting agenda is sponsored by Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson and co-sponsored by Mayor Vince Lago.
But wasn’t this already decided? Yes.
Last month, the mayor and vice mayor — who originally had two identical resolutions on Tuesday’s agenda — pushed to spend $500,000 to establish the IG office by ordinance and hire someone fast. “I don’t think we can waste a moment,” Lago said. “I don’t want to wait a year. I want to do it now.”
He said he wanted it included in this year’s budget and added that the charter review committee, which is how the other three commissioners wanted to bring the item forward, could then simply ratify it.
Well, maybe. The powers that be could always form a political action committee — with a misleading name like, say, Keep our Inspector General — to campaign that there was already an IG so that no charter amendment was needed. Then the office could also be eliminated by ordinance. Hmmm. Could that have been the intention?
Read related: Coral Gables Charter Review board seeks public input on potential changes
Eventually, after Lago failed to get the support he needed, the commission voted unanimously to send it to the charter review committee for their recommendation. So, what happened? Nothing. It’s just a bait and switch. A go-around. A Trojan horse. Because this item, if approved by voters in November, says the IG “appointment, term, functions, and powers shall be further established by Ordinance.”
Which means it could be changed by ordinance.
This is the fourth meeting that the city commissioners discuss the establishment of an IG. The commission majority — Melissa Castro, Ariel Fernandez and Kirk Menendez — always wanted it to go through the charter review process, where there are public meetings before the committee makes a recommendation that would include how the office would be structured, hopefully not by ordinance.
“We already voted on the process,” Commissioner Fernandez told Political Cortadito this weekend. “Charter amendments in the city of Coral Gables have traditionally gone through the charter review committee first.
“This is all political grandstanding so they can say they wanted to move forward and we did not,” Fernandez said, which seems to indicate he’s going to vote against the resolution. “They’re trying to, once again, reinvent the wheel and not follow the rules.”
It does seem like this would provide Lago with a new narrative after the epic failure of his petition drive to put three charter amendments on the ballot.
Read related: Coral Gables ballot petitions rejected en masse by Miami-Dade elections
There has been a slight delay in the process because the charter review committee has not been able to meet jointly with the city commission, as required by a 2023 resolution. There just have been too many scheduling problems for 10 people to get together. But the committee has had two public meetings where they got feedback from the community. Las malas lenguas say everyone wants an IG.
Fernandez is sponsoring an item at the same meeting Tuesday (Castro co-sponsored) that would remove that requirement and allow the committee to “consider questions and potential amendments to the City Charter without the need for a joint meeting.”
“So they can get started right away,” Fernandez told Ladra.
Critics might say that any opposition to Anderson’s resolution would just slow the process down. That’s what she said at the meeting last month.
“Justice delayed is justice denied,” she said at the June 11 commission meeting. “If we don’t move forward today, it appears that you are trying to hide something. I am not afraid of opening up the books. I am not afraid of having the IG move forward.”
Political Cortadito was unable to reach Anderson over the weekend.
Read related: Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago attacks colleagues, manager in citywide email
The vice mayor’s item could go to the ballot in November. The deadline to submit a referendum question for the general election to the Miami-Dade Elections Department is July 26. If it goes through the charter review process, the proposed amendment is more likely to be on the April ballot with the city commission and mayoral election.
Miami voters will see an Inspector General question on their ballot in August. They have another question also abolishing the auditor general position to replace it with an IG.
Voters in Coral Gables will already be asked this August, in a non-binding referendum, if they support the annexation of Little Gables (generally bounded by SW 8th Street to the North, SW 16th Street to the South, Cortez Street to the West and SW 40th Avenue to the East) into the City Beautiful — “and absorbing all associated annexation costs?” More on that later.
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