Until the city of Miami Beach finds a replacement for outgoing city manager Jimmy Morales, a commission-appointed interim manager will serve as the city’s chief administrator.
Five city executives have expressed an interest in the temporary position. They are City Attorney Raul Aguila, Code Compliance Director Hernan Cardeno, Public Works Director Roy Coley, Fire Chief Virgilio Fernandez, and Assistant City Manager Mark Taxis. The city commission will make its selection in a meeting on Wednesday.
Morales, who is leaving the city after more than seven years, will join the administration of Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava as the district’s chief operations officer.
Friday will be his last day of work. When he submitted his resignation in October, Morales told the city commission that he would stay on board until February to ensure a “smooth transition”.
His accelerated exit surprised some commissioners, who now have to select an interim manager while the city negotiates a contract with a search company to find a permanent successor. Ralph Andersen & Associates charged $ 48,500 to conduct the search.
“We had a great schedule, but our city manager was apparently too desirable to the new district mayor,” said Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber during the commission on Friday before congratulating him.
“Of course we didn’t plan any of this. Names [of candidates] come out now and not sooner because we didn’t know we had this problem until the beginning of the week, ”Gelber said later.
The interim city manager will take over the emergency powers granted to Morales by the Commission during the state of emergency he declared during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since March 12, Morales has been using unilateral decision-making powers to impose curfews, shop closings and restrictions on alcohol sales. City law gives the manager the power to exercise his emergency powers for a period of 72 hours, but the commission has regularly expanded Morales’ powers.
The Miami Beach government gives commissioners the power to vote on policy decisions, but the city manager is responsible for enforcing the laws and running the city. Morales has assisted Fernandez and Taxis, both of whom report directly to him.
“In a transition situation, of course, you want the smoothest transition,” he said on Friday. “I think either would be solid appointments.”
Most commissioners agree that the interim city manager should not be considered for the permanent position. Deputy City Managers Eric Carpenter and Alina Tejeda Hudak and CFO John Woodruff have announced that they will replace Morales. Morales’ current base salary is $ 305,736.
The city expects to sign a contract with the search company this week, said a spokeswoman. The city guides expect the process to take around six months. Before Morales became City Manager in 2013, Kathie Brooks was Interim City Manager for about eight months.
“The selection of the permanent person could take many, many months, so I would like to promise an interim person not to be considered for the permanent position,” said Commissioner Ricky Arriola at the meeting on Friday.
Martin Vassolo reports on the politics and government of Miami Beach for the Miami Herald. He started working for the Herald in January 2018 after attending the University of Florida where he served as Editor-in-Chief of The Independent Florida Alligator. Before that, he worked as a general contract reporter at the Herald metro counter and as an intern in political reporting.
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