City Commission Meetings

The City of City Commission Aventura Workshop Agenda February 20, 2024 9: 00 a. m. Aventura Government Center 51" Floor Executive Conference Room 19200 W. Country Club Drive, Aventura, FL 33180 1. Call to Order/ Roll Call 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Discussion: Alcoholic Beverage Approval for Gaby by Call Me Gaby at Aventura Mall ( City Manager) 4. Discussion: Outdoor Basketball Courts ( Mayor Weinberg)* 5. Discussion: Prosecution Staffing Crisis (Commissioner Dr. Marks)* 6. Discussion: New School ( Commissioner Dr. Marks) 7. Discussion: 213t" Street Pocket Park ( Commissioner Friedland) 8. Update: 2024 Legislative ( City Attorney) 9. Update: Form 6 Litigation ( City Attorney) 10. Adjournment Back- up Information Exists This meeting is open to the public. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, all persons who are disabled and who need special accommodations to participate in this meeting because of that disability should contact the Office of the City Clerk, 305- 466- 8901 or cityclerkCacityofaventura. com, not later than two days prior to such proceeding. One or more members of the City of Aventura Advisory Boards may participate in the meeting. Agenda items are available online at cityofaventura.com for viewing and printing. Copies of agenda items can also be requested through the Office of the City Clerk at 305- 466- 8901 or cityclerk@cityofaventura. com.  Item 4 CITY OF " ENTURA OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER MEMORANDUM TO: City Commission FROM: Ronald J. Wasson, City Manager DATE: February 16, 2024 SUBJECT: Outdoor Basketball Courts ( Mayor Weinberg) February 20, 2024 City Commission Workshop Agenda The Mayor has requested the above matter be placed on the Workshop Agenda for discussion. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. RJW/ act Attachment CC04006- 24  2 2 a < < < 2 \ s z \ a 2 z ®J 7 z Q m/ A 2 2 LU LLJ m °/ m « e LLJ 2§ i \ w 3 R k J /» G \%Lu ee/ \- a- 3\ m w \ mje gym p % e a \m ® m ©/ ew wm 2m22 mew LU\ \ m/ m< 2\ aG X-- e w U 2 R w \< w QL ~\/ LLJ / \ 2 /\ qtn L Vic, z/§ k ` ok ® \ LL LL, k °\ Lu Ggg® emu}\ 3» jA eee< 3 6 k M e y/ 6y° z s\\ 23 N gt% s/» mz uw q\2 o CR pipi  U 00 00 PLO W w N N[ N H Lil Q z W U w x N ON1 64 N w QQ' T. x ti coq JO 6R M NO uq OO bR oo O H a l w x a uq 00 O 59 0 Q bA OM9 -- 9 a w C64 C O zQ zz O 69 M 0000 z v W 69 0000 z ran C  Item 5 CITY OF " ENTURA OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER MEMORANDUM TO: City Commission FROM: Ronald J. Wasson, City Manager DATE: February 16, 2024 SUBJECT: Prosecution Staffing Crisis (Commissioner Dr. Marks) February 20, 2024 City Commission Workshop Agenda Commissioner Dr. Linda Marks has requested the above matter be placed on the Workshop Agenda for discussion. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. RJW/ act Attachment CC04007- 24  Prosecution Staffing Crisis 2023- 2024 Legislative Session During the past few years, the Florida Legislature and Governor took substantial steps to compensate for their predecessors' decades of neglect. I am sincerely grateful for their efforts but I am not close to celebrating. Communities like ours remain at risk of a constitutional crisis as we continue losing applicants and prosecutors to other local government agencies and firms in our area. In the last two years alone, we have lost 156 prosecutors. We simply cannot compete. 1. Impact on Public Safety a. Our inability to recruit, hire, and retain attorneys and staff threatens public safety. b. Because of attrition, prosecutors are handling case volumes far in excess of their capabilities, due to lack of experience. Most of the prosecutors handling high- level cases, like attempted murder, rape, kidnapping, and armed robbery, have less than three years' experience and some of them have participated in only a handful ofjury trials. c. As a result, victims and their families must deal with a constant rotation of lawyers on their cases, forced to relive the trauma and victimization they endured each time, often giving up, and causing cases to be dropped. 11. Miami is One of the Most Expensive Cities in the United States a. Our salaries remain so low that most law students cannot afford to work for our office. According to the Education Data Initiative, 74% of law students graduate in debt and the average graduate owes$ 160, 000 in student loan debt.' Zumper reports that the average rent for a one- bedroom apartment in Miami was$ 2, 781 in December 2023." b. For years, the cost of living and housing in Miami has been among the highest in the nation. In 2023, Miami surpassed New York and Los Angeles, becoming the most expensive housing market in the country. According to a Florida Atlantic University( FAU) study, the average renter needs a$ 100, 000 salary to" avoid being classified as rent- burdened" in Miami."' c. At the end of FY 2022- 2023, 113 of our prosecution positions were unfilled( 33%), making it nearly impossible to properly staff critical divisions like our Gun Violence, Gang, Organized Crime, and Narcotics units. Given our current turnover rates, we expect an even higher vacancy rate during the Spring and Summer of 2024. III. Salaries for Florida Prosecutors are Not Competitive in Miami- Dade County a. The legislatively allocated starting salary for a prosecutor, $ 61, 000, pales in comparison to the $ 87, 776 average annual pay for an" Entry Level Lawyer" in Miami.'° While I have used vacancy money to raise the starting salary to $ 68, 000, our starting salaries still remain in the bottom 25% for entry level attorneys. Not surprisingly, we continue to lose prosecutors at an astonishing rate despite the recent raises. b. The lowest paid attorney in our local County Attorney' s Office earns nearly $ 152, 000 and the lowest paid in the Office of Inspector General' s Office earns$ 115, 000. How can we be competitive if the salaries of local government offices, located just a few miles from us, are paying a minimum of$ 54, 000 more? Our community and its victims, our office, and our attorneys deserve better. I respectfully continue to ask our Legislature to provide funding for the pay adjustments highlighted below. Our young lawyers can accept that they will never make as much money serving our community as they could make in the private sector but should be paid a reasonable wage commensurate with their great work and sacrifice. Solutions: a. Provide a 7. 8% Cost of Living for all staff to help offset inflation; b. Increase prosecutor starting salaries to $ 75, 000; and c. Provide funding for a locality pay differential for Miami- Dade County of 24% to match the differential provided by the Federal government to account for the cost of living in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Port St. Lucie.