The Mayor's Staff: Where are they now?

While the ouster of Carlos Alvarez and the subsequent resignation of George Burgess is stirring up county politics, one cannot forget that the two men did not act alone.

What no one is talking about is how the Mayor and Manager's acolytes continue to populate county hall making the day-to-day decisions that have brought Miami-Dade County government to the precipice.

Mayor Alvarez' cadre of "advisers" making six figure salaries, all with car allowances and other perks.

• Mayor's Communications Director Vicki Mallette - $136,019
• Mayor's Scheduler and Assistant Delivette Gonzalez - $110,337
• Mayor's Special Advisor Luis Andre Gazitua - $107,110
• Mayor's Policy and Legislative Affairs Director Robert Villar - $104,428

Where are they now?

If there is no mayor, who are they advising?

Let us not stop there.

Terry Murphy, Chief of Staff to deposed County Commissioner Natasha Seijas, is still employed by the county earning his $135,887 salary for presumably sitting in an empty office.

The County Manager's office?

County Manager Alina Hudak has kept Burgess' circle of trust intact:

• Assistant County Manager Ysela Llort - $260,970
• Assistant County Manager Alex Munoz - $199,941
• Executive Assistant Henry Sori - $167,472
• County Manager Assistant Matthew Pinzur - $119,488
• County Manager Assistant Ana Bustamante - $115,147
• County Manager Assistant Mario Morlote - $114,719
• County Manager Assistant Liliana Collazo - $110,166
  

Propaganda minister Judy Zito is still head of the Government Information Center, keeping her $209,000 salary.

Bureaucrat department directors?

This one is a hoot. Bureaucrats always protect themselves from ouster by claiming they stay insulated from politics. That is the greatest excuse for having bureaucrats and professional staff, you do not want your government run by cronies who serve at the whim of politicians.

Miami-Dade bureaucrats, however, have it both ways.

Take Harpal Kapoor for instance.

The Miami-Dade Transit director, who participated in the Mayor's "brain-trust" meeting in a Doral warehouse, allowed transit workers to campaign for the Mayor, and "led" his department to be placed under federal fiscal oversight is still happily employed making his $242,602 annual salary.

Police chief James Loftus ($200,297.82), Fire Chief Herminio Lorenzo ($225,010.09), and Special assistant county manager Howard Piper ($158,053.83) were also at the "brain trust" meeting and are still employed.

In fact, all of the over 60 county department heads hand picked by Alvarez and Burgess to perpetuate their "vision of government" are still at County Hall.

Moreover, all of the above mentioned bureaucrats are also accruing time toward their respective taxpayer supported pensions.

Removing Alvarez and Burgess' resignation were the first steps of a long journey ahead. And while Charter reform must happen, a systematic purging and cleanse of the entrenched bureaucracy at County Hall must take place for any real change to occur.

Our next mayor must clean house and bring in new blood with fresh ideas on how to face our county's challenges, and how best to take us into the future.

We've taken out the head, now the roots must follow.

Charter reform? Not without pension reform.

After the historic and overwhelming recall vote of Carlos Alvarez, the talk in Miami-Dade County has turned to the need for reform of the Miami-Dade County Charter. Norman Braman has already announced that this will be his next initiative.

The Miami Herald asks: Will voter revolt bring change at Miami-Dade County hall?

Our answer: only if charter reform comes together with pension reform.

Take the example of George Burgess who quit the County after the results of the recall election. According to the Herald, Burgess:

"will be paid severance of one year of base salary, $326,340, plus deferred compensation of $22,000.

"The 52-year-old career bureaucrat and his family will get medical and dental coverage until he’s 65 years old, under a county “Departure Incentive Program’’ that is available to select employees.

"Unused sick time of about $79,892 and accumulated vacation pay of about $78,777 will be included in his next paycheck, according to the county human resources director Mary Lou Rizzo.

"During the one-year severance period — which runs March 21, 2011, to March 18, 2012 — he will also get an expense allowance of $3,000 a month and a car allowance of $600 a month. Burgess opted to return the car the county leased on his behalf, but he’s still entitled to the car allowance.

"And he will get an annual sum of $10,000 in executive benefits, paid out biweekly over the coming year. For 2012, he’s entitled to one final $8,000 payment to cover the premiums on a life insurance policy and a disability policy; he’s already gotten that annual payment for 2011, said Rizzo."

County Mayor Carlos Alvarez will also receive a similar golden parachute package after his ouster.

When such lavish packages are bestowed on private sector executives upon retirement, the press usually decries them, especially in the wake of the financial crisis that engulfed Wall Street in the last few years. Yet, there is no such sentiment when the Mayor, County Commissioner, and County Manager walk out of County Hall hundreds of thousands of dollars richer.

The Herald's Myriam Marquez weighs in. "I’m not among the voters who want to deny the pair [Alvarez and Seijas] — or, for that matter, County Manager George Burgess, who resigned a day after the recall — their pensions. They made whoppers of bad decisions, but there was no proof they were crooked."

Is this the standard to which we hold our elected officials?

Ms. Marquez along with so many others fails to realize that while the great majority of public servants are not "crooked," their bad decisions affect each one of our wallets directly. Add to that the moral imperative when Alvarez and Burgess wreak havoc on County government through their lax financial oversight and reckless spending only to walk away richer in the process, and you can see why we need pension reform now.

It is now time for charter reform to include the elephant in the room which is the exorbitant salaries and pensions we all pay for those who call themselves our servants. Time to align the public sector with the private, and put public workers on 401(k) or other similar investment plans that the rest of us have.

The greatest luxury that Alvarez and Burgess had while in office was not the taxpayer funded cars, or any of the other perks that have riled so many into voting for the recall.

Their greatest luxury was knowing that no matter how many bad decisions, or how costly their decisions were to the taxpayers, those same taxpayers would be on the hook for their costly lifetime pensions, giving them the luxury of not ever having to worry about their retirement future.

More of the same: New County Manager equals Burgess lite.

Some people just never learn. After being severely rebuked by the county electorate when 88% of voters favored his recall, Mayor Carlos Alvarez is still tone deaf to the needs of the county. In naming a Burgess clone to the post of County Manager, Alvarez continues to propagate the same mess that got him ousted from office.

The Miami Herald quotes the new County Manager, Alina Hudak, as saying: "The county is my life, it’s not just a career."

Ms. Hudak is right. Starting in the County in 1984, she has never held a job outside of county government, never in the private sector. For her longevity, she earns $264,000.

What Mayor Alvarez continues to fail to understand is that replacing Burgess with another Burgess ignores the problem of the entrenched bureaucracy that has drowned Miami-Dade County government. For instance, among Hudak's portfolio of oversight responsibilities as assistant county manager is Jackson Memorial Hospital, and we all know how well that is being run.

"Hudak, who didn’t sign an employment agreement for the new job, hopes to continue in some capacity after a new mayor comes in."

We disagree.

The new mayor needs to start with a blank slate, replace all the deadwood, and bring new energy and thinking into county hall, along with real-world private sector expertise. To do otherwise will place the next mayor on the same path that got the current mayor run out of office.

Alvarez ousted, Burgess resigns: but do they really lose?

When is the last time in recent memory that 88% of the electorate agreed on anything? It happened yesterday, when 88% of Miami-Dade County residents casting their ballots voted to recall County Mayor Carlos Alvarez.

The Miami Herald headline signals a "revolt" where voters "fire" the Mayor. As a result of this rebuke, County Manager George Burgess also tendered his resignation. But do either of them really lose?

Both Mayor Alvarez and Manager Burgess can retire comfortably on their lifetime taxpayer funded pensions after ostensibly being "fired" by the voters.

Let us take Mayor Alvarez for instance. According to the Miami New Times:

Alvarez's FRS pension [amounts to] (approximately $200,000 each year) that he currently receives after retiring from his MDPD Director position. According to his most recent financial disclosure report, Alvarez has a net worth of $1.74 million despite having only worked in the public sector during his career.

How anyone can amass such a personal net worth while never working outside government is the fundamental issue that must be addressed as Miami-Dade County brings in a new mayor and manager. The days must end where public service becomes a means to public enrichment.

It may be too late for Alvarez and Burgess, they will enjoy retirement living well from the six figure pensions we will all pay for. But it is not too late for future Mayors and bureaucrats.

Pension reform must happen now, and New Miami Coalition will continue to lead the way to the alarm. We call on Florida Governor Rick Scott to support pension reform for politicians and bureaucrats that earn six figure taxpayer supported salaries.

It is time to restore a sense of shame and honesty to public service. Time to restore common sense and balance, respecting taxpayers, ending the lifetime subsidies of high paid bureaucrats.

County salaries are out of line.

An excellent tidbit from the Miami New Times posted to their blog yesterday.

In case you missed it:

Setting the County Record Straight

If you're still on the fence about recalling Mayor Carlos Alvarez and County Commissioner Natacha Seijas, we present to you a list of the highest paid county executives forwarded to us by a loyal reader:

1. Burgess - $422,118 *

2. Alvarez - $315,462 **

3. Assistant County Manager Alina Hudak - $264,343

4. Assistant County Manager Ysela Llort - $260,970

5. Assistant County Manager Alex Munoz - $199,941

6. Executive Assistant Henry Sori - $167,472

7. Special Assistant Howard Piper - $158,054

8. Communications Director Vicki Mallette - $136,019 ***

9. BNC Regional Coordinator Suzanne Salichs - $123,931

10. County Manager Assistant Matthew Pinzur - $119,488

11. County Manager Assistant Ana Bustamante - $115,147

12. County Manager Assistant Mario Morlote - $114,719

13. Mayor's Scheduler and Assistant Delivette Gonzalez - $110,337

14. County Manager Assistant Liliana Collazo - $110,166

15. Mayor's Special Advisor Luis Andre Gazitua - $107,110

16. County Manager Assistant Lourdes Gomez - $105,679

17. Policy and Legislative Affairs Director Robert Villar - $104,428

* Burgess is the highest paid county manager in the nation. His salary, which is determined by the Mayor, exceeds that of the President of the United States.

** Does not include Alvarez's FRS pension (approximately $200,000 each year) that he currently receives after retiring from his MDPD Director position. According to his most recent financial disclosure report, Alvarez has a net worth of $1.74 million despite having only worked in the public sector during his career.

*** Alvarez gave Mallette a 54% pay increase after telling taxpayers that everyone must make sacrifices.

This of course follows the now infamous post by Random Pixels showing that over 3,000 county employees are compensated in excess of $100,000.

Judy Zito: Miami-Dade County's $209,000 propaganda minister

For a moment, let us all overlook the County's double digit unemployment rate and $45,000 annual average wage. Let us also overlook ongoing financial scandals at several County departments and a County Mayor accused of "arrogance."

According to the Government Information Center and its Director Judy Zito, everything in Miami-Dade County is just great!

The Miami Herald continues to shed the light on how taxpayer money is being used to promote the idea that Mayor Carlos Alvarez and Manager George Burgess are professionally running the multi-billion dollar county government.

We first told you about Burgess' personal PR "spinzur" Matt Pinzur, and now we can add to the Herald's revelations.

Judy Zito receives $209,000 to run "the Government Information Center, an obscure department with 187 employees and a $16.8 million budget. It runs the county website, TV station, and the 311 hotline." The "Center" also employs several highly paid bureaucrats to make sure County workers toe the line against the effort to recall the mayor.

Zito keeps track of where bureaucrats speak, emailing "department heads, urging them to speak to community groups in defense of the county budget.

She implores “[t]his is the final push and I expect every division head and region manager to be doing their part.” And woe be unto thee if you fail to meet these expectations, for County Manager George Burgess will have you in his cross-hairs.

"Zito keeps a database to track speeches by county administrators, including which groups have been pitched and when."

Of course, many of the County department directors have a vested interest in protecting their six figure taxpayer funded salaries and golden pension plans, with the added "benefit" of a coercive and intrusive boss.

The propaganda machine starts straight at the top, with George Burgess.

"In the past month, Burgess has sent email blasts — called “View From The Top” — to more than 700 government workers, lobbyists and community leaders touting his county work. One email heaps praise on Alvarez for a “stirring” State of the County address, and for making “powerful statements” about lowering property taxes:

“It was yet another chance,” Burgess wrote, “to reflect how fortunate Miami-Dade County has been these last six years to have a leader of great integrity, commitment and bravery.”

In the end, no amount of propaganda will drown out the people's voice.

And on March 15th, they will speak loudly to reject this "leader of great integrity, commitment and bravery" and send him home to enjoy his six figure lifetime taxpayer funded pension.

Polling confirms what we have known all along: "there is something rotten at County Hall."

New Polling data from the Miami Herald confirms what we have known all along: as far as voters are concerned, there is something rotten at County Hall.

"In a community often fractured by ethnic and political differences, Miami-Dade voters across the board heartily agree on one thing: County Hall politicians are doing a lousy job.

"Whether black, Hispanic or non-Hispanic white; Republican, Democrat or independent, a majority of voters gives low marks to the 13-member county commission and the mayor, according to a new poll.

"Sixty-four percent of those interviewed think the county commission is doing a “poor’’ or “mediocre’’ job, and only 24 percent said the panel, which oversees the sprawling regional government and sets its $7.3 billion budget, is doing a “good’’ or “excellent’’ job.

"That’s better than the 78-percent negative rating County Mayor Carlos Alvarez —who faces a recall election — received, but hardly an encouraging sign for the commission, which has long drawn negative views from the electorate."

With one scandal after another coming to public light, the people are tired of business as usual in Miami-Dade County government.

On March 15th, voters will express their deep disgust with the Mayor and the direction he and County Manager Burgess have take our government in.

But it will not stop on Wednesday the 16th.

Alvarez on Transit campaign workers: "Action will be taken."

From the Miami Herald:

"Less than two weeks from recall-election day, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez came under heavy attack Wednesday after his administration excused 12 county transit employees from their regular jobs to work on a vaguely defined union committee — while still collecting full salaries — and for revelations that one of the dozen workers was campaigning for him.

"Alvarez said he is looking into allegations of transit workers mixing politics and work, issuing a statement that such a move violates county policy and that, if the rule was broken, “action will be taken.”

Miami-Dade Transit, a severely mismanaged agency, is protecting Mayor Alvarez and the $242,602 annual salary of its director Harpal Kapoor.

It is quite simple to determine whether the twelve workers alleged to have been campaigning on County time were actually on the public clock or not by reviewing time records, payment schedules, and the like. Mayor Alvarez and County Manager George Burgess will not undertake such an investigation however because they know full well what the results will be. They are merely buying time until the election March 15, hoping the entire thing will blow over.

Harpal Kapoor, Miami-Dade Transit director, was in attendance at last weeks meeting of the Mayor's "brain-trust" in a Doral warehouse and the transit worker's union has donated $20,000 to Mayor Alvarez' PAC, Citizens for Truth.

The only "truth" here is that Mayor Alvarez should show some leadership for those under his purview.

Commissioner Natasha Seijas, facing a recall herself, puts it best:

“I cannot imagine a more blatant abuse of taxpayer dollars. Why would the Strong Mayor think it is reasonable for the taxpayers to foot the bill for campaign workers?”

The same way the Strong Mayor thinks it is reasonable to dip into taxpayer wallets to pay for raises to his executive staff. This Mayor has shown a consistent disregard for taxpayers. Having taxpayers pay for his campaign workers is no different.

Carlos Alvarez: Man of the People

While still not articulating a single reason why he should remain in office, Mayor Carlos Alvarez has instead launched a desperate personal attack against Norman Braman.

From the Herald Naked Politics blog:

Mayor "Alvarez reminded listeners of his background as a police officer. He defended his administration, accused recall supporters of distorting the facts and attacked Miami businessman Norman Braman, who has orchestrated the recall effort.

"Se está pasando como una persona del pueblo cuando francamente del pueblo no tiene un pelo," Alvarez said -- which roughly translates as, "He's trying to pass himself off as common folk, but he doesn't have a hair on his head of common folk."

Who then is the true "man of the people," Norman Braman or Carlos Alvarez?

Consider the following:

Norman Braman drives around in a luxury automobile paid for from his own pocket. Carlos Alvarez drives a BMW 500i Gran Turismo (along with two other taxpayer funded cars), the money to pay for it comes from the pockets of the people. The people also pay for his gasoline and insurance.

Norman Braman cruises in his luxury yacht paid for from the earnings of his businesses. Carlos Alvarez cruises in a boat borrows from the Metro-Dade Police marine patrol, a boat paid for by the people.

Norman Braman has supporters working at the polls that are either volunteers or paid by a political action committee. Carlos Alvarez has supporters working at the polls that are transit workers and other county employees whose salaries are paid for by the people.

Norman Braman's employees take vacation time and travel off the clock. Carlos Alvarez' former Chief of Staff wanted to travel to Panama so he could moonlight as a security consultant, he did so on the people's time and expense.

Norman Braman makes decisions on whether his employees should get a raise based on the profitability of his business. Carlos Alvarez decides to give a raise to county employees amidst a worldwide recession and dips into the wallets of the people.

Norman Braman fires inefficient employees who fiscally mismanage his business interests. Carlos Alvarez keeps George Burgess around and pays him $422,000 to mismanage the people's assets.

Finally, Norman Braman made money in private sector business. Carlos Alvarez' current and future six figure lifetime pensions are paid for by the people.

Undoubtedly, when it comes to having his hand inside our wallets, Carlos Alvarez is truly a man of the people.

Mayor Alvarez' last hope: county employees.

From the Miami Herald:

To win recall, Mayor Alvarez may need to appeal to new groups.

And what groups are these?

"To defeat the effort, Alvarez will have to rely on the support of county employees and their unions."

"Alvarez’s campaign could hinge on whether county employees — whose jobs, salaries and benefits Alvarez’s budget helped preserve — cast ballots in large numbers in the special election. Miami-Dade County employs 27,647 workers; many of them belong to unions that back Alvarez and know how to reach out to their members to go to the polls."

Not coincidentally, there is an early voting sight at County Hall, where bureaucrats are only a short elevator ride away from the voting booth.

It is a telling indictment of Alvarez' tenure that while he "was the darling of suburban Hispanics who saw him as a reformer who would clean up corruption in Miami-Dade County," he can no longer count on his base for support. All that is left are the County workers whose salaries were increased on the back of "suburban Hispanics" and the rest of Miami-Dade County.

Mayor Alvarez has arrogantly dismissed any attempt to justify why he should stay in office, instead relying on old politics union tactics, where those at the public trough are scared into voting for their protector.

These so called "public servants" need to learn that they have an obligation to the people they serve. If they no longer like or accept the will of the people, then let them find jobs in the private sector alongside the rest of us.

No amount of union protectionism of outrageous county salaries can overturn the will of the people.