The people deserve to know the consequences of every vote!
While Media provides some details as to what was discussed during Wednesday, July 8th, Miami Dade County Board of Commissioners meeting…
There are KEY ASPECTS of the proposed panel to be created that citizens / residents must fully understand as they will become responsible for the costs associated with this drive... in order to have the ability to review police cases…
Below please find research on this subject…
What does the public deserve to know:
1. It will cost an approximate $1 Million dollars to create a new department to oversee police;
2. It was hotly debated as to incorporating the cost of Attorneys, legal issues, administration, and if something goes wrong…
3. Who pays whom for associated legal costs and with funds coming from where?
4. The community MUST be made to understand these and other issues because…
5, Hardly anyone knew this was happening, there have NOT been public hearings on these issues, the Ballot allows only for 120 characters on the question posed to tax payers and for everyone to fully understand the impact of a VOTE... a thorough explanation is owed to the people…
6. There was mention that 6,000 people signed a petition, what petition? A public records request should be sought and made available to the public, listing those who signed the petition as it will now weigh on the shoulders of tax payers…
7. Is 6,000 petitions a representative sample of the population?
8. As of 2018, there were 2.717 million people in Miami Dade County... if we were going to petition anything... a certain percentage should be required…
8. Should taxpayers be impacted because 0.002% of Miami Dade County residents sign a petition?
9. Who verified the signatures? What is the process followed?
We need to communicate to make sure Miami Dade County residents, voters, tax payers, property owners receiving the news coverage that explains in full detail the consequences of a vote… Something that we miserably fail to provide, making us BLINDLY vote at times without full understanding of what we are doing…
See below:
Meeting: Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners Meeting
Videos: https://www.miamidade.gov/global/webcasting/home.page
5A Substitute Ordinance - POLICE being discussed right now: 8/5 Passed
https://www.miamidade.gov/govaction/legistarfiles/Matters/Y2020/201264.pdf
Memorandum:
TO: Honorable Chairwoman Audrey M. Edmonson and Members,
Board of County Commissioners
FROM: Abigail Price-Williams County Attorney
Substitute: Agenda Item No. 5(A)
DATE: July 8, 2020
SUBJECT: Ordinance relating to the Independent Review Panel (“Panel”); amending article IC of chapter 2 of the Code; changing the name of the Panel; amending the composition, authority, powers, and staffing of the Panel; providing terms of members appointed to the Panel notwithstanding other provisions of the Code; directing the County Mayor to identify a funding source for the operation of the Panel during the current Fiscal Year and include such funding in future annual budgets
This substitute item differs from the original item in that it:
- Clarifies references to the Panel’s investigative authority;
- Clarifies that references to chapter 2, article LXXXI of the Code apply to matters investigated or reviewed by the Panel;
- Clarifies that the nominating committee shall be comprised of members of the named advisory boards;
- Corrects the name of the Asian American Advisory Board;
- Adds the Interfaith Advisory Board to the advisory boards authorized to appoint a member to the nominating committee;
- Limits representation on the Panel to two members with the same or similar professions or backgrounds and requires advertisements for vacancies on the Panel to expressly state such limitation and include the professions or backgrounds of existing Panel members;
- Replaces references to mediation and other forms of dispute resolution with alternative dispute resolution;
- Clarifies that the Panel, in whole or part, may conduct or participate in conferences, inquiries, meetings, or studies;
- Adds investigations by any state or federal agency that has jurisdiction over matters investigated by the Panel to the entities from which the Panel is precluded from interfering;
- Removes the requirement that the notice be in writing for advising the Panel that its investigation would interfere with investigations conducted by the State Attorney, Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust, Miami- Dade County Office of the Inspector General, Miami-Dade Police Department or any state or federal agency that has jurisdiction over matters investigated by the Panel;
- Specifies that upon a majority vote, the Panel shall have the authority to request the issuance of a subpoena;
- Authorizes subpoenas to be signed, issued, and enforced pursuant to applicable law;
- Requires the Panel to advise the local entities listed in 10. above of its intention to issue a subpoena 10 days prior to issuance;
- Adds training requirements for Panel members and staff;
- Identifies matters that the Panel is authorized to investigative and review;
- Clarifies the Panel’s authority with respect to municipalities and municipal employees;
- Removes provision recommending that funding for the Panel be no less than one percent of the Miami-Dade Police Department’s annual operating budget; and
- Makes technical revisions.
Rule 5.06(i) of the Board’s Rules of Procedure provides that differences between an original item and a substitute item should be uniquely identified in the substitute by double underlining and double strike-through, or where such approach would not clearly show the difference or are not practical, by providing foot notes or comments on the item. Based on Rule 5.06(i), the preceding comprehensive description of the differences between the original item and substitute is provided in lieu of double underlining and double strike through.
The accompanying ordinance was prepared and placed on the agenda at the request of Prime Sponsor Commissioner Barbara J. Jordan, and Co-Sponsors Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava and Commissioner Xavier L. Suarez.
___________________________ Abigail Price-Williams
County Attorney
July 8, 2020
Honorable Chairwoman Audrey M. Edmonson and Members, Board of County Commissioners
Carlos A. Gimenez Mayor
Fiscal Impact Statement for Ordinance Relating to the Independent Review Panel; Amending Article IC of Chapter 2 of the Code
If implemented this ordinance will have an estimated fiscal impact of $738,000. This estimate is based upon five positions and a one-time startup cost of $100,000. The annual cost of operations assumes a recurring personnel expenses increase of five percent and other operating expenses of three percent, every year thereafter.
_________________________ Maurice Kemp
Deputy Mayor
Ordinance Relating to the Independent Civilian Panel (201264) Fiscal Impact Table
Use Existing ResourcesRevenue Category
Annual Value
$ 669,380 $ Note: Fiscal impact narrative (paragraph above the table) should contain the following, if applicable:
- Description of the anticipated increase or decrease of expenditures listed above and current and subsequent fiscal years, if any,
- Description of projected dollar value of anticipated expenditures that will be absorbed within existing resources within the current fiscal year;
- Description of subsequent governmental action that will be required in order to determine anticipated revenues and expenditures, including new revenues (federal, state, or the need to increase existing fees)
- Any long-term fiscal implications as a result of the implementation of the proposed legislation, if any, in cases where risk factors or other variables that may impact future revenues or expenditures are uncertain, volatile, or difficult to project, a description of risk factors or variables and estimate or projection of anticipated or projected impacts to revenues and expenditures
- Description of all assumptions used to project the fiscal impact of the proposed legislation and include estimate anticipated revenues and expenditures
- In the cases where the Mayor has determined a "no fiscal impact", a description of the assumptions and analysis used to reach that conclusion
Honorable Chairwoman Audrey M. Edmonson and Members, Board of County Commissioners Carlos A. Gimenez Mayor
Social Equity Statement for Ordinance Related to the Independent Review Panel.
The proposed ordinance amends Article IC of Chapter 2 of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida related to the Independent Review Panel.
Although Miami-Dade County already has numerous internal mechanisms and external entities that oversee and investigate complaints against any County employee or agency, including the Miami- Dade Police Department, the proposed legislation provides the community with an additional layer of review and oversight for matters specifically involving law enforcement officers. The proposed legislation could also allow for the productive review of procedures and policies, and the development of effective strategies to improve relations between law enforcement officers and the community. However, in order to ensure that the entire community benefits from an independent review process, the panel must be truly representative of our community.
_________________________ Maurice L. Kemp
Deputy Mayor
Articles:
Civilian oversight of police one step closer in Miami-Dade
Civilian oversight of police one step closer in Miami-Dade
County commission passes first vote and will work out details of panel before voting again
MIAMI – The Miami-Dade Commission voted 9-4 Tuesday in favor of resurrecting a civilian oversight panel for when police are accused of wrongdoing.
After passing that first vote, details including funding and the composition of the panel will need to be ironed out before a second vote could put it into law.
A civilian panel had been in place in the county years ago but was defunded.
“It’s the bad apples that we want to get, that we want to get rid of,” Commissioner Barbara Jordan, who sponsored the idea of the panel, said last week. “We want to make sure that there are policies in place that ... would hold them accountable.”
Commissioners voting to advance the plan were: Jordan, Daniella Levine Cava, Audrey Edmonson, Sally Heyman, Eileen Higgins, Jean Monestime, Dennis Moss, Rebeca Sosa and Xavier Suarez.
Voting against: Steve Bovo, Pepe Diaz, Joe Martinez and Javier Souto.
Public comments Tuesday were been largely in favor of civilian oversight, though mindful that Miami-Dade is not Minneapolis, and recognizing the county’s police force for its community-minded approach.
In the plan advanced Tuesday, county commissioners will pick panel members with input from the community.
The funding for the panel will be no less than one percent of the police department budget, but the source of the funding is still unclear.
Commissioners received a letter from the President of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association opposing any move to defund or reallocate the police department budget.
“It has been put out there that this item is taking money from the police department, and it is not,” Jordan said. “I just wanted to clear that up.”
The power of civilian oversight is tested regularly, and one example it the City of Miami‘s Civilian Investigative Panel.
As the county commissioners met, Miami CIP member Steve Navarette tweeted: “... we need full subpoena power, at least one more investigator and an analyst, and the Chief Mayor to take actions on recommendations”.
Florida law gives accused law enforcement officers broad rights, including the choice to refuse interviews.
“Although sometimes police departments don’t listen, oftentimes they do reopen cases and oftentimes they do discipline officers,” said Rodney Jacobs, Assistant Director of Miami’s CIP. “ We try to do our best with the tools that we have and our powers.
“The reason why police chiefs may not listen to our recommendations rest in state law, so I urge people to look at those issues and take it to their elected leaders,” he added.
Miami-Dade’s police director Freddy Ramirez said Sunday on Local 10′s “This Week in South Florida” that he wants to ensure his officers are represented and protected.
“If it’s the will of the community and the will of the board to impose a civilian review panel, what I ask is that it’s fair and representative of not only members of the community, but also law enforcement,” Ramirez said. “Because I don’t want my officers to be put in a ‘gotcha’ moment, or to be exploited.”
Dade police officers need independent civilian panel
Voters to decide if Miami-Dade police officers need independent civilian panel
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – The majority of Miami-Dade Commissioners agreed on Wednesday to allow voters to decide if the Miami-Dade Police Department needs another layer of review with an Independent Civilian Panel.
Miami-Dade registered voters will decide whether or not to establish the ICP in the charter through an amendment in the November ballot. Commissioners voted 8-5 on the ordinance introduced by Miami-Dade Commissioner Barbara J. Jordan. Jordan had the support of Commissioners Daniella Levine Cava, Xavier Suarez, Audrey Edmonson, Sally Heyman, Eileen Higgins, Jean Monestime and Dennis Moss. The five dissenting votes were from Commissioners Jose “Pepe” Diaz, Esteban Bovo, Javier Souto, Joe Martinez and Rebeca Sosa. Bovo, Suarez and Levine Cava are running for Miami-Dade mayor in November.
Black Lives Matter movement activists wondered if the panel will have enough teeth to confront police brutality and racism. State legislation prohibits the panels from having subpoena power over the police.
The passing of the amendment won’t secure funding to establish and run the ICP. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez can still decide to veto the bill.
Steadman Stahl, the president of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, said there is no need for a panel. He worries civilians’ with a lack of experience in law enforcement won’t be fair.
Stahl has been critical of Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo Ramirez’s recent decision to terminate Officer Antonio Rodriguez, who was a three-decade veteran with a clean record.
Stahl said a viral video showed Rodriguez, who was a few years away from retirement, followed his training with a diversionary strike, when a woman became a threat at Miami International Airport.
The video showed the 21-year-old woman ― who was not wearing a face mask ― put Rodriguez’ health in danger when she placed her face inches away from his while taunting him.
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – The majority of Miami-Dade Commissioners agreed on Wednesday to allow voters to decide if the Miami-Dade Police Department needs another layer of review with an Independent Civilian Panel.
Miami-Dade registered voters will decide whether or not to establish the ICP in the charter through an amendment in the November ballot. Commissioners voted 8-5 on the ordinance introduced by Miami-Dade Commissioner Barbara J. Jordan.
Jordan had the support of Commissioners Daniella Levine Cava, Xavier Suarez, Audrey Edmonson, Sally Heyman, Eileen Higgins, Jean Monestime and Dennis Moss. The five dissenting votes were from Commissioners Jose “Pepe” Diaz, Esteban Bovo, Javier Souto, Joe Martinez and Rebeca Sosa. Bovo, Suarez and Levine Cava are running for Miami-Dade mayor in November.
Black Lives Matter movement activists wondered if the panel will have enough teeth to confront police brutality and racism. State legislation prohibits the panels from having subpoena power over the police.
The passing of the amendment won’t secure funding to establish and run the ICP. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez can still decide to veto the bill.
OPPOSITION TO THE ICP
Steadman Stahl, the president of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, said there is no need for a panel. He worries civilians’ with a lack of experience in law enforcement won’t be fair.
Stahl has been critical of Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo Ramirez’s recent decision to terminate Officer Antonio Rodriguez, who was a three-decade veteran with a clean record.
Stahl said a viral video showed Rodriguez, who was a few years away from retirement, followed his training with a diversionary strike, when a woman became a threat at Miami International Airport.
The video showed the 21-year-old woman ― who was not wearing a face mask ― put Rodriguez’ health in danger when she placed her face inches away from his while taunting him.
Witnesses said the woman later identified as Paris Anderson had been threatening American Airlines employees and shouting when Rodriguez performed “an open palm” strike.
Stahl said it was clear from the video that Anderson was the aggressor and not Rodriguez, but his actions were judged by people who don’t understand the training.
Colleagues describe Rodriguez as calm and as someone who understood the value of community policing. Some officers believe Ramirez, who is new to the job, rushed to fire Rodriguez under pressure by Gimenez, who is running for Senate in November.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, who is running for re-election in November, is investigating Rodriguez’s use of force. Stahl is concerned about a possible lack of objectivity.
“We’re moving in a time where it’s the emotions and not the facts,” Stahl said.
Controversia por propuesta que busca crear un panel que investigue quejas contra policías de Miami-Dade
La Comisión de Miami-Dade discutió este martes una iniciativa cuyo objetivo es que miembros de grupos civiles conformen un panel que supervise la actuación de los agentes, para esto se desviarían cerca de 8 millones de dólares del presupuesto del departamento policial. "Debemos mejorar nuestro cuerpo de policías, pero no sacarle fondos", dijo al respecto el comisionado Esteban Bovo.