City enjoys 'positive forecast,' mayor says

BY CHAD COHEN

Mayor Julio Robaina appeared before residents of South Miami and honored guests on Tuesday, Jan. 11, at South Miami Hospital's Education Center. The mayor presented an ebullient vision of the city enjoying vast prosperity after two years under his leadership, a new found abundance that he said should be used for the city to grow into the millennium.

"It has been a year of excellence, achievement, integrity, unity and inclusion," Robaina said before announcing the successes of the city's ambitious initiatives of the past year.

Speaking in terms about the obligations of the city to its residents, Robaina shared the accomplishments of South Miami leadership in an era of unprecedented financial growth. He announced that the property tax rate was reduced to the lowest level in a decade.

"The percentage of property taxes paid by residential homeowners decreased from a record high of 63 percent in 1998 to 49 percent in 1999-2000. For the first time in recent memory, commercial businesses are paying more than 50 percent of property taxes," Robaina said. He reported that the city tax base grew by an unprecedented 32 percent last year, which was the largest growth in Miami-Dade County. "The total tax base increased by $178 million with commercial property representing $165 million of the increase," Robaina stated.

Mayor Julio Robaina and City of South Miami commissioners presenting staff and citizens of South Miami awards in appreciation for assistance in the holiday food drive

The police department also exceeded expectations with handling the opening of the Shops at Sunset Place and the estimated 4-5 million new visitors to the community.

"Sunset Place operated for an entire year with no major incidents. It was the result of extensive planning, proactive policing and a professional police force," Robaina said. He re-affirmed that the city's response time was the best in the county at less than two minutes and for the fourth year in a row, South Miami had not experienced a single homicide. Robaina informed the audience of the department's "Sunset Net," an electronic network linking the city's merchants with the police department and the re-invigorated citizens crime watch that has surpassed anticipations.

In his report on the Parks and Recreation Department, Robaina disclosed that phase 1 of the Murray Park Multi-Purpose Center was under construction as the roof was being completed and the opening was scheduled for this spring.

"This 30-year dream of our community is finally becoming a reality," boasted Robaina. He went on to describe the major improvements to all the city's parks with South Miami Mayor Julio Robaina delivers the annual State of the City Address at South Miami Hospital's Victor E. Clarke Education Center. Robaina heralded many of the city's successes in 1999 and outlined goals that are in place renovated bathrooms, extensive landscaping and equipment upgrades.

Robaina then addressed the city's Public Works Department and its accomplishments of the past year. He conveyed that a total of $450,000 had been funded by the State of Florida over the past two years for drainage projects and that garbage collection continued at the highest frequency of any city in the county.

"Public Works continued providing excellent public services while upgrading and improving the city's engineering and construction management capabilities, as well as improving the quality and timeliness of the department's response to special needs and complaints," asserted Robaina. The city also completed a comprehensive hurricane preparedness program and continued to work on the National Pollution Elimination System.

In his observations on the Building and Code Enforcement Department, the mayor acknowledged that the largest and most complex project in the history of the city, the Shops at Sunset Place, was finally realized.

He also cited a 45 percent increase in the number of new building permits issued, a 60 percent increase in building inspections and a 55 percent increase in occupational licenses.

Robaina went on to discuss the unparalleled success in intergovernmental relations and the initiatives that were approved for the past year. A Trust for Safe Neighborhood Parks grant of $1.7 million for the Murray Park Multi-Purpose Center and more than $450,000 from the U.S. Justice Department for mobile computers in police vehicles was awarded. The crowd also took delight in the fact that the use of two of the city's K-9 units, in a multi-agency task force at Miami International Airport, had resulted in more than $1 million in cash seizures with more than $300,000 returning to South Miami.

On the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), Robaina was especially proud that it had become a reality in 1999.

"For the first time ever, the City of South Miami has a dedicated source of funding to address redevelopment in our most economically distressed area. This past year saw meaningful progress with the generation of more than $350,000 in private funds for programs in the CRA area, including the operation of a free trolley and important paint-up/fix-up programs," claimed Robaina. He spoke of the CRA's work with Habitat for Humanity and Jubilee to build 12 new homes and the emerging project of the Hometown Station residential/commercial development at the South Miami Metrorail Station.

On a national level, Robaina asserted that South Miami became the first city in the nation to adopt a campaign finance reform ordinance that prohibits campaign contributions from vendors, consultants and contractors doing business with the city.

In closing, Robaina discussed two ideals that are a constant in municipalities ­ community relations and ethics in government. In 1999, South Miami enacted a fully functional Community Relations Board, the first in the county, to take a proactive stance in neighborhood interaction. The board initiated the first ever "Civility Week" and established an HIV/Aids coalition, the first city in the county to do so, to combat the debilitating disease.

Robaina then unveiled a major new three-part community relation's initiative to improve racial and ethic understanding in the city. He proposed that all city employees and elected officials complete a special training program developed by the Institute for Non-Violence, that the Community Relations Board in conjunction with city officials and community leaders renew lines of communication in neighborhoods and that the city manager and police chief continue to evaluate and revise the city's guiding principles and practices.

"We enter the new millennium stronger than ever before, with incredible momentum and with a tremendously positive forecast for the future," said Robaina. "I call upon each of us to renew our commitment to our city and to work together for the good of all."