WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE VOTING

The City of Doral holds municipal elections every two years, in even-numbered years in November. The Mayor and four Councilmembers are elected to four-year staggered terms on a non-partisan basis. The City of Doral City Clerk is the local supervisor of elections for all municipal elections. Voters in Doral will elect a Mayor and three Council members in the November 1 election. 

For the 2022 elections, there are three seats for Councilmembers and one for Mayor of the city. Before you made your decision it’s very important to be well informed about the new candidates and those who are looking to be reelected. 

In the early months of 2021 the city of Doral was facing the most difficult moment of its young history, residents were losing their jobs, their homes, and businesses as well. Immediate action from the city was required to cope with such a moment. But unexpectedly Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez announced that no money from the city’s reserve estimated at more than 60 million dollars would be assigned to help their residents. 

On February 10th, 2021, the Ordinance 2021-02 was passed and adopted on second reading containing hard to believe provisions that establish retirement payments for officials serving in the city and even payments for officials not working with the city at the present. 

HARD TO BELIEVE

Ord. #2021-02

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(i) Any elected official, who has served two full terms of office or for a period of eight years and who has reached the retirement age and no longer serves as an elected official in the City of Doral and applies for benefits shall be entitled during the remainder of his/her natural life to an annual pension benefit equal to fifty percent (50%) of the elected official’s compensation. The Elected Official compensation shall equal the average of the last three years of compensation of his/her term of office. Upon vesting and each year of service as an elected officer thereafter, the retirement benefit shall increase by twelve and one-half percent (12.5%) for each additional year of service to a maximum of one hundred percent of the highest compensation.

(ii) A vested elected official that no longer serves as an elected official in the City of Doral who has served for eight years and who has reached the Retirement age and no longer serves as an elected official in the City of Doral shall be entitled during the remainder of his/her natural life to credit towards the health insurance premium equal to a payment by the City totaling fifty percent (50%) of the cost of the health benefits for themselves and their immediate families from the City under one of the plans offered to employees. Upon the death of the beneficiary, the health benefits shall continue to be paid for on behalf of the family for ten additional years. Upon vesting and each year of service as an elected officer thereafter, the contribution towards the health insurance premium shall increase by twelve and one-half percent (12%) for each year of service to a maximum of one hundred percent of the cost of the health insurance premium.

BUT, WHAT’S THE RETIREMENT AGE, AND WHAT ARE OUR OFFICIALS WAGES?

Initially, the ordinance presented by the Vice Mayor, Pete Cabrera, read that those who have reached the retirement age of 55 and no longer serve as an elected official would be entitled during the remainder of their life to an annual pension equal to 50% of the elected official’s compensation and 50% of the cost of health insurance premium for themselves and their immediate families. 

Councilwoman Claudia Mariaca was the only official who voted against the retirement measure and show her opposition to the retirement age (55) proposed in the ordinance. *Finally there was an agreement with Councilwoman Digna Cabral to raise the retirement age to 60, but still, Ms. Mariaca said she had an issue with the 12.5% increase that states that any elected official that serves for 12 years will get a 100% of their compensation annually.

*At the moment the ordinance does not specify the retirement age.

“It’s based on the highest amount of the three last years of service. I suggest that it’s the average of the last three years of service because of the way it’s written right now,” she said, “if someone serves 12 years as a council member and one year as a mayor within the last three years, they will be compensated in that last year as a mayor, and I think we need to be financially fair”. Ms. Mariaca said. 

No doubt working in Doral as an elected official or even as an employee is really attractive. 

According to the official site https://govsalaries.com/salaries/FL/city-of-doral?year=2020 the number of employees at the City of Doral in the year 2020 was 422. The average annual salary was $63,071 and the median salary was $61,770. City of Doral average salary is 35 percent higher than USA average and the median salary is 42 percent higher than USA median.

Doral’s mayor was being paid $72,052 a year in January 2020 when the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust surveyed municipal pay in the county. Commissioners in 2020 received $17,284 not including a $30,000 non-accountable stipend to cover expenses and $15,000 for travel, for a total of $62,284.  

By comparison, Miami-Dade County commissioners have been paid a flat $6,000 per year since the 1950s. In Cutler Bay, population 45,000, the mayor in 2017 was paid $15,375 and the council members $7,688 each.

Vice Mayor, Pete Cabrera said this community has been blessed to have a current council and prior councils, and passing this ordinance is a relief for elected officials.

“The price and toll it has taken on every dimension of our lives, financial, family time, pressure, lawsuits, political and emotional has been amazing, and I’ve done it with great honor and great pride,” he said. “I can show you my tax returns before I got into this and financially, it took a toll on me; it was devastating and it took me a long time to recover and every time there’s been a campaign, I’ll take another impact. I’m talking about 70% to 80% drop of income.” Mr. Cabrera said.

 “In reality, the thought that came to my mind was that this is reflected on the current council and prior councils this community has been blessed to have, who always put the interest of the city, our employees, and staff and making this city run best before their own interest, like a parent always putting ourselves last,” he added. 

To execute this ordinance and make the benefits available for the beneficiaries the proposal includes the creation of a Retirement Fund and an Administrative Committee.

Sec. 3-101. – Retirement fund.

The City shall establish a retirement fund (the “Fund”) into which shall be paid the contributions under the terms of this retirement system. At no time before the satisfaction of all liabilities under the retirement system with respect to members and beneficiaries of joint annuitants, shall any part of the corpus or income of the retirement fund be used for, or diverted to, any purpose other than for the exclusive benefit of the members. No person shall have a financial interest in, or right to, the retirement fund or part thereof, except as expressly provided for by the retirement system. Each member or other person who shall claim the right to any payment under the retirement system shall be entitled to look only to the retirement fund for such payment. No liability for the payment of benefits under the retirement plan shall be imposed upon the mayor, the city council, the administrative committee, or the city.

Sec. 4-101. – Administrative Committee.

(a) Administration of the retirement system, the exclusive power to interpret it, and the responsibility for carrying out its provisions is vested in an administrative committee.

(b) Membership. The administrative committee shall be made up of three members as follows:

(1) City Attorney or designee;

(2) The Director of the Finance Department or designee; and

(3) One resident of the city appointed by the Mayor and approved by the city Council.

The foregoing Ordinance was offered by Vice-Mayor Cabrera who moved its adoption.  The motion was seconded by councilmember Cabral upon being put to a vote, the vote was as follows:

Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez                       Yes

Vice-Mayor Pete Cabrera Yes

Councilwoman Digna Cabral Yes

Councilwoman Claudia Mariaca No

Councilman Oscar Puig-Corve Yes

Sources for this article: 

City Of Doral Official Page/ Ordinances  https://www.cityofdoral.com/government/city-clerk/ordinances/?view=efdb22f6-f43a-eb11-a813-001dd8016209 

Miami Today News  https://www.miamitodaynews.com/2021/01/19 

Commission on Ethics and Public Trust https://ethics.miamidade.gov/ 

Gov. Salaries Official Site https://govsalaries.com/salaries/FL/city-of-doral?year=2020