Mayor Joe Carollo welcomed state oversight of Miami's finances after a federal kickback probe, budget mismanagement and years of deficit spending left the city at least $68 million in debt.
Gov. Lawton Chiles said Tuesday he will take the unprecedented step of setting up an oversight board for the city but won't bail out Miami, which has an annual budget of $275 million. Carollo said the state help is "only the beginning.""The city has been facing a budget deficit - which is prohibited by state law - for at least the past two fiscal years," the mayor said. "The severity of this problem was kept from the public and from many of our elected officials."
This is the first time the state has appointed an oversight board for a city government. The panel will advise the city of 375,000 on spending, but won't run its government or provide a financial bailout. The governor has the authority to approve the city's plans, but said he wants to work in a partnership.
"The state is not going to take over Miami," Chiles said. The board, to be appointed by the end of next week, will help the city come up with a financial plan.
Miami asked for state assistance to straighten out the financial mess the mayor attributed to mismanagement and corruption.
Carollo said the city is far from bankruptcy and that many of its problems can be resolved by cutting back on misspending and collecting overdue fees.
City inspectors worked Tuesday to collect delinquent garbage fees that could be costing Miami $1 million a year. The biggest battles could come over doubling garbage fees, extending fire service fees to businesses now exempted and negotiating cutbacks with unions.
Miami's dire financial straits came to light this fall after the city manager and finance manager resigned amid a broad investigation of corruption. Both face federal charges.
Miami's debt rating slid to junk-bond status last week, and the city is dipping into money set aside for long-term projects to pay recurring expenses.