The legislature had a plan; the county commission has a plan; the mayor has a plan. Who should control the multi-billion dollar Miami International Airport is one of the biggest questions this community must face. There is another question. Who should make the final decision: the state legislature, the board of county commissioners, or the voting public? Let's look at the ideas behind the various approaches.

But first let us ask why is a change in control necessary? What is wrong with the present administration of the airport by the county commission? Miami International Airport (MIA) is the largest single department in the county. Only the school board spends more dollars each year, and the school board is independent of the county commission.

Cost overruns and time delays are two major problems. Combine the two and you, or should I say we, are spending a great deal more money for necessary improvements to the airport than should be required. Who pays for these cost overruns and time delays? The airlines that pass the cost on to the consumer and all of us who fly in or out of MIA pay.

Political interference, lobbyists exerting excessive influence, all contribute to the problem. Friends of friends, rather than the most competent, end up receiving contracts, that in the end cost us millions more than should be expended.

The control of the airport is currently vested with the county commissioners. Taking it away from the commission makes two statements. First, it is an admission that they, the commissioners, have done a horrible job, and second, it says that they are not capable of correcting the problem.

A number of commissioners take the position that it is their responsibility and if they can't correct the problem, the voters will replace them with someone who can. Other commissioners believe that it is a "hot potato" that they would love to have taken away from them and given to someone else. After all, they can always say, "If we had been permitted to work out the problem we would have found a solution."

In steps Miami-Dade Mayor, Alex Penelas, who appoints a blue-ribbon-committee to evaluate the problem and come-up with a solution. The findings of the committee, chaired by Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin, president of Barry University, caused sparks to fly. The panel endorsed a totally independent MIA authority. They supported their recommendations with the fact that airports such as Orlando and Tampa run smoothly with an independent authority. So could Miami, free of commission and lobbyist influence.

Commissioners believed that if it went to a vote of the commission, it would lose 13 to 0. They felt insulted. It requires a commissioner to introduce a resolution creating an independent board and that was not in the making. It would never make it to the voting public.

Next enters State Rep. Luis Rojas, from Hialeah, who introduces a bill in the Florida House authorizing the creation of an independent airport authority. The authority would be made up of five appointed members. Three members would be appointed by the governor and two by the county commission, effectively taking day-to-day control away from the commission.

State Sen. Roberto Casas, with his vast political pull in Tallahassee, killed the bill in the Senate. Casas believed that insider dealings and cronyism would be worse in an independent authority than with elected county commissioners.

Re-enter the mayor, Alex Penelas, with his own plan. Under Penelas' concept the governor would pick the authority's chair; the mayor would pick one member, and the county commissioners would pick three for a total of five. The commissioners would be required to make their selection from a slate of candidates chosen by community leaders such as the Beacon Council and the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce.

Under Penelas' plan the authority would assume the responsibilities currently vested with the commission and the county manager. It would hire and fire the airport director, establish bid procedures, and tighten up performance standards.

Final authority, as to the continued existence of the authority, would lie with the commission. That in effect still gives them the responsibility given them by the voters who put them in office.

It is now up to the board of county commissioners to accept the Penelas plan, create their own, or do nothing and incur the possible ire of the voting public.

First Mayoral Debate
The first mayoral debate is scheduled for Monday, June 12, at Perrine Baptist Church, 8900 SW 168th St., from 7 to 9 p.m., sponsored by the Palmetto Bay Steering Committee, the Kendall Voters Alliance, the West Dade Federation of Homeowner Associations and LINC (Let's Incorporate Now Coalition). This will be your first opportunity to hear Mayor Penelas and his major challenger, Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, answer questions from the public and challenge each other for the leadership of the county. Be there!

R. Kenneth Bluh may be contacted at PO Box 431219, Miami FL 33243-1219; telephone, 305-271-7593; fax, 305-595-3945, or e-mail at <rkbluh@aksi.net>. Opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of this newspaper, its editors or publisher.