Does anybody want to know how much it is costing Coral Gables taxpayers to go after the War Memorial Youth Center Association? Because, apparently, it’s going to cost $500 to find out.
Ladra did a public records request for all invoices from and payments made to outside attorney Israel Reyes, who is the one who sent the threatening letter to the civic group that serves as the watchdog for the Coral Gables Youth Center — making sure it’s not developed into something else — asking for all kinds of documents that he and the city are not entitled to.
It was a simple public records request — not for ancient archives, not for dusty boxes from the Eisenhower era — but for one year of invoices and payments to a local attorney, not someone on the other side of the world. And the city’s response? That’ll be eight hours of work and $492.27, please.
To gather invoices. Invoices. Let that sink in.
According to the City Clerk’s Office, it will take a full workday — eight billable hours — just to “gather, identify and review” records showing how much Coral Gables has paid an outside lawyer to wage war on a civic association that runs a youth center.
Read related: Battle over Coral Gables War Memorial Youth Center is political retaliation
Not to redact sensitive police files. Not to review emails involving minors. Not to parse national security secrets.
Invoices. Payments. Checks cut with taxpayer money.
And this, mind you, is a city that claims it’s demanding transparency from others. I guess it’s transparency only if you can afford it.
This is how Sunshine Law compliance dies in Coral Gables: death by invoice.
Want to know how much the city is spending on a politically charged legal vendetta? That’ll cost you nearly $500 — just to see the paperwork.
This isn’t an accident. It’s a deterrent.
The city knows exactly what it’s doing when it slaps a price tag on public records. It’s a polite way of saying: You can look — if you’re willing to pay for the privilege.
And if you don’t? Well, ignorance is cheaper.
This fee demand only sharpens the real question: How much has Coral Gables already spent paying outside counsel to pressure the War Memorial Youth Center Association? And why does it take eight hours to find out?
Invoices should be logged. Payments should be tracked. This should be a few clicks, not a full-day excavation.
Unless, of course, there’s more there than they’d like to casually hand over.
Let’s remember the context.
This legal push didn’t begin with a scandal. It didn’t follow a forensic audit. It didn’t come after any allegation of wrongdoing.
It followed an election.
Read related: Coral Gables commission launches legal fight with Youth Center group
Kirk Menendez ran against Vince Lago — and lost. The Youth Center is Menendez’s life’s work. And suddenly the city is paying outside attorneys to threaten lawsuits, demand records it has no right to demand, and now charge nearly $500 to tell the public how much all of that costs.
Retaliation, it turns out, isn’t cheap. But Coral Gables taxpayers are footing the bill anyway.
City Hall says the Youth Center Association must open its books because transparency matters. Meanwhile, City Hall charges a toll to open its own.
This is not fiscal stewardship. It’s not efficiency. And it’s definitely not good faith.
It’s a city government acting like it has something to shield — or at least something it doesn’t want casually scrutinized.
If the city is so confident in its position, so righteous in its pursuit of “facts,” why make it harder — and more expensive — to see the receipts?
And if this is what transparency costs at City Hall, how many residents will simply stop asking?
Because that may be the point.
In Coral Gables, even the Sunshine Law now comes with a cover charge.
Please take a moment to support the independent, government watchdog reporting like what you have read here with a contribution to Political Cortadito by clicking here.Ladra thanks you for your support.
The post Eight hours, $492, and the price of asking questions in Coral Gables appeared first on Political Cortadito.
Read MorePolitical Cortadito
