County to Sue Over Fee Ban

Miami-Dade County commissioners stewed for almost two hours Thursday before voting to sue the state, contending the Legislature had overstepped its authority when it voted to end a set of fees the county charges in three municipalities.

The commission’s 8-4 vote to sue drew sharp criticism from the municipalities of Miami Lakes, Palmetto Bay and Doral, which pay a total of $11.3 million in fees as a condition of their incorporation agreements.

"I think everybody’s frustrated with the County Commission," said Palmetto Bay Mayor Eugene Flinn, whose residents pay $1.7 million a year in fees. "Their decision obviously flies in the face of their own experts and ignores the will of legislators."

Commissioners were clearly ambivalent about voting to sue over the controversial "mitigation fees," which were intended to help offset revenue losses that the county expected when wealthier neighborhoods formed their own local governments. But a county panel said last year that the fees have actually been a source of profit for Miami-Dade.

After lengthy, back-and-forth discussion, the commissioners who voted to sue said they were trying to defend the Home Rule Charter, a 50-year-old guarantee of self-governance that allows Miami-Dade to make many of its own decisions — including incorporation.

"I didn’t want to get caught on this side of the issue," said County Commissioner Jose "Pepe" Diaz, whose largest constituency is in Doral, which pays the county $8 million a year. "I really want to do what’s right for the county."

Commissioners Katy Sorenson, Carlos Gimenez, Rebeca Sosa and Diaz voted against filing the lawsuit; Javier Souto was absent.

A SPECIAL LAW

In the legislative session that ended this month, state lawmakers voted to prohibit counties from charging fees to neighborhoods that incorporate, as of July 1. Miami-Dade is the only county that charges the fees.

The County Commission’s decision to sue angered state Rep. Julio Robaina, a Miami Republican, who said he would discuss pushing a statewide referendum to do away with Miami-Dade’s Home Rule Charter next month.

"They’re out of control," said Robaina, who chairs the House Urban and Local Government Committee and pushed the fee legislation. "They had another opportunity today to keep their word and resolve this. Instead, they continue with their bully tactics."

A 2002 attempt to do away with home rule in Miami-Dade failed statewide — even though Dade residents showed their distaste for local government at the time by supporting it.

Palmetto Bay’s Flinn thanked the four commissioners who voted against suing, then lambasted the others. "Defending the Home Rule Charter is a red herring," he said.

But County Attorney Murray Greenberg told commissioners that the home-rule issue gave the county the best shot at regaining control over the fees.

Though the Legislature passed a statewide bill, he said, home rule specifically gives Miami-Dade County authority over its incorporation issues. The state’s 66 other counties have to seek rulings from Tallahassee.

"We could, and should, prevail," Greenberg told commissioners. "This specific piece of legislation, on its face, appears to apply to all counties. But Miami-Dade is the only county it can apply to, because we’re the only one that controls our incorporations."

INCORPORATIONS

Mitigation fees were created after an eruption of incorporations in Dade in the 1990s. County leaders, worried about losing large tax dollars, decided there needed to be a formula to compensate the poorer communities when the wealthier ones incorporated.

So Miami Lakes, Doral and Palmetto Bay agreed to the fees. Two years ago, skeptical of the county’s claim it was still losing money through incorporation, the cities fought back and had a bill sponsored in Tallahassee. With promises from county commissioners that the issue would be settled locally before this year’s legislative session, the cities’ leaders backed off.

But the County Commission waited too long to act, and the Legislature voted.

So, even though commissioners probably would have voted to end the fees, they felt it was their decision — not the Legislature’s.

Commissioner Barbara Jordan, for example, said she couldn’t accept that the county would not be able to charge the fees in the future.

"If the law that just passed prevents us from doing that, then we need to go to court," she said.

Miami Herald staff writer Laura Figueroa contributed to this report.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Miami Herald

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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