GUEST COLUMN.

On November 5th, the voters in Miami-Dade County will be electing several major department directors for the first time in over 50 years. These senior administrators had previously been appointed to these posts based on merit. Now, the voters will choose a sheriff, a supervisor of elections, and a tax collector based on political campaign communications and party affiliation. The newly elected officials will take office on January 2, 2025.

It might appear that this kind of major change would be the result of activists clamoring for reform, but that has not been the case. In fact, these structural changes were the product of the 2018 Florida Constitution Revision Commission, a group of citizens appointed every 20 years to advance ballot measures to improve the State Constitution. This proposal affecting local government, Amendment 10 on the 2018 ballot, was approved by 63% of the Florida voters and became law, though the changes were not to be implemented until this election cycle.

Worthy of note is that, though all voters in Florida were able to participate in the decision, the vote in the county itself did not surpass the 60% threshold.

Electing these office holders is a dramatic departure from the original vision for governance of Miami-Dade County. In the 1950s, Dade County civic leaders petitioned the State Legislature, which only met every two years until 1969, to allow the voters to consider a Home Rule Amendment. The primary argument was the need for timely legislative action to regulate and respond to the tremendous population growth in South Florida after World War II. Florida voters authorized the Dade County Home Rule Amendment to the State Constitution in 1956 and local voters adopted the Dade County Home Rule Charter on May 21,1957.   

The Miami-Dade Home Rule Charter followed the council-manager form, vesting expansive policy powers in a county commission and entrusting a professional county manager to administer a civil service government. In 1968, the voters reaffirmed their confidence in the system by eliminating the elected Office of Sheriff and granting authority to the county manager to appoint a police director.

The investments and operations of the metropolitan county government enabled the Greater Miami area to become an international travel destination and global business hub for trade and commerce. And during difficult times, “Metro-Dade” responded effectively to crisis events, including the Mariel Boatlift, the McDuffie Riots, and Hurricane Andrew.

The governing body itself has undergone numerous changes over the years. For decades, the commission was composed of eight commissioners elected countywide from different residential districts, led by a countywide elected mayor who could reside anywhere in the county. In 1993, after a successful Voting Rights Act lawsuit in federal court, 13 district-elected commissioners, reflecting the demographic composition of the community, took charge. The historic, largely symbolic post of countywide mayor did not survive the case.

In this leadership vacuum, the chair of the county commission, elected by the board itself, became the titular head of the government. Then, in 1996, when a voter approved charter amendment took effect, an executive mayor was elected. Under the executive mayor, the county manager reported to both the mayor and the county commission, while maintaining administrative control over the departments.

In 2004, a newly elected executive mayor, the former Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, without input from the county commissioners, initiated a petition drive to amend the Home Rule Charter to gain direct control over the administration. The petitions were certified and a special election was set for January 23, 2007.  The voters were persuaded that having one elected official accountable to the voters was a good idea.

The voter-approved “strong mayor” amendment had one curious provision: the position of county manager was not eliminated, though the responsibilities of the office were effectively absorbed by the mayor. The county manager was no longer accountable to the board of county commissioners and essentially served at the will of the mayor.  To protect the Property Appraiser’s Office from any claims of undue influence under a strong mayor, in 2008, the voters approved a board sponsored charter amendment to elect the Property Appraiser.  

During the “Great Recession,” when there was a steep drop in property values, the mayor pushed through a minimal tax rate increase to avoid police layoffs in the FY 2010-2011 County Budget. At the same time, it was reported that certain high-profile employees in the mayor’s office were given a pay increase. When the voters linked the tax increase to the pay increases, a recall petition was launched and the strong mayor was held accountable. On March 15, 2011, the strong mayor was recalled by a vote of just over 88%.

Any vestiges of a council-manager form of government ended under the next strong mayor. A charter amendment to eliminate the position of county manager from the charter was approved on November 6, 2012. Today, the sole power over the personnel and administration of county government is the elected strong mayor.

That, too, will change on January 2, 2025, when a Sheriff, the Tax Collector, and the Supervisor of Elections gain independence as elected offices. The elected Property Appraiser will also become an independent Constitutional Officer. And it is expected the Clerk of the Circuit and County Courts will now function fully independent of the county administration.  Decisions about budgets, collective bargaining, procurement, facilities, fleet vehicles, information technology systems, legal advisors, and more will consume inordinate time and resources within county government in the coming years to adjust to this new structure.

Whether the people of Miami-Dade County, the business community, or the millions of visitors to this region will experience a more efficient and responsive regional government – the original argument for the adoption of the Miami-Dade Home Rule Charter – will be a great subject for future research.

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