Will Miami mayor veto lifetime pensions for himself and city commissioners? He won’t say

A vote by Miami city commissioners to give themselves lifetime pensions this week has drawn the ire of residents, the incoming speaker of the Florida House and a former city manager who called the vote “shameful and despicable.”

But one official has remained quiet on the matter: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who has the power to veto the vote. Since the City Commission voted Tuesday afternoon to approve lifetime pensions for current and future elected officials, neither Suarez nor his spokeswoman have responded to multiple requests for comment on the matter.

According to an actuary report produced for the city earlier this year, Suarez, now 47, would eventually earn about $124,000 annually under the pension plan.

Suarez’s role as a part-time mayor is largely ceremonial. He does not have a vote on the commission, nor is he required to attend City Commission meetings.

He does, however, have a noteworthy legislative power: the ability to veto City Commission votes. He exercises that power sparingly; the last time he vetoed a vote was on Christmas Eve when he overturned changes to a city voting map.

Whether the mayor plans to veto the controversial pension vote is still unknown. He has 10 days after the vote took place to do so.

If Suarez doesn’t issue a veto and allows the pension policy to go into effect, he himself has the option to opt into the plan. The mayor, however, has not responded to questions asking if he plans on doing so.

Current and future elected officials in Miami would become eligible to receive a pension either after starting their seventh year of service and once they’ve turned 62, or after 10 years of service and once they’ve turned 60. The pension would be paid out for the duration of their lifetime.

The actuary report from earlier this year provided the following pension estimates based on the current elected officials’ compensation and years served in office:

• Mayor Francis Suarez: $10,371 per month, or $124,452 per year
• District 1 Commissioner Miguel Angel Gabela: $4,813 per month, or $57,756 per year
• District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo: $4,813 per month, or $57,756 per year
• District 3 Commissioner Joe Carollo: $8,750 per month, or $105,000 per year
• District 4 Commissioner Manolo Reyes: $5,688 per month, or $68,256 per year
• District 5 Commissioner Christine King: $4,813 per month, or $57,756 per year

King, Gabela and Carollo voted in favor of the pensions, while Pardo and Reyes voted against.

King and Pardo said Tuesday that they plan to opt in and receive a pension. Carollo, who held office before the program was frozen in 2009, already has a city pension, although the payments are on pause until he leaves elected office.

Reyes said that he would not accept a pension. Gabela said Tuesday that he had not decided yet if he will enroll.

Last month, the City Commission set aside $950,000 in the most recent city budget for the now-revived elected officials pension program. The following former Miami elected officials currently receive a pension from the city in the following amounts, according to the city analysis:

• Manny Diaz: $6,875 per month, or $82,500 per year
• Angel Gonzalez: $4,794 per month, or $57,528 per year
• Wilfredo “Willy” Gort: $8,488 per month, or $101,856 per year
• Tomás Regalado: $7,046, or $84,552 per year
• Joe Sanchez: $6,283, or $75,396 per year
• Marc Sarnoff: $5,039, or $60,468 per year
• Michelle Spence-Jones: $10,601, or $127,212 per year

‘Shameful and despicable’

Tuesday’s pension vote sparked a fiery moment in Miami political circles and beyond.

On Wednesday morning, Gabela — who co-sponsored the pension proposal with King — went on the local Spanish-language radio station Actualidad 1040 AM to discuss the pension vote. During the segment, the hosts played back a recent clip where Gabela said the pension item was dead. A heated exchange followed where host Roberto Rodriguez Tejera said that Gabela had lied to the public, while Gabela said he had a right to change his mind.

While Gabela was still live on the air, Rodriguez Tejera read aloud a text message he received from Florida’s incoming Speaker of the House Daniel Perez condemning the pension vote, saying that “if the city has enough money to give themselves pensions then I guess they don’t need money from the state. Their budget must be overflowing with cash.” (Rodriguez Tejera shared a screenshot of the message with the Herald.)

In a follow-up statement to the Herald, Perez did not repeat the comment about state funding. However, he said it is “unacceptable that Miami city commissioners are lining their own pockets at the expense of so many hardworking people in our city.”

“It is troubling to see elected officials placing their financial interests above the needs of the community,” Perez continued. “The provisions outlined in this ordinance create an unstable financial burden on taxpayers, rewarding politicians with lavish retirement packages while many families struggle to make ends meet.”

Former Miami City Manager Emilio González also weighed in, calling the pension vote “shameful and despicable.”

González was the city manager for about two years until he resigned in January 2020.

“The in-your-face pay-to-play corruption in the city is beyond anything I’ve seen in my life,” González said on Wednesday. He added that pensions are “the third rail that will destroy the city’s budget.”

Calculating the pensions

Under Tuesday’s vote, the pension amount would be equal to one-half of the elected official’s highest compensation with the city, with annual 5% increases until it is equal to 100% of what their compensation was while in office. The officials would also be entitled to a 3% cost-of-living increase each year after they begin collecting their pension.

Miami city commissioners earn a salary of roughly $58,000. But with added benefits like car and cell phone allowances, their yearly compensation adds up to about $100,000. The legislation approved Tuesday states that the pension amount will be based on either their compensation or taxable wages — whichever is higher.

To qualify for the pension, the officials need to have been elected after Oct. 1, 2021. That means city officials who were elected after the program was frozen in 2009 but before the 2021 cutoff date are not eligible.

Miami Herald associate editor Joey Flechas contributed reporting.