Democracy at Work

Resident Priorities

I hope everyone is having a safe and fun summer. Our Commission has been busy as our August recess approaches. There are many important items that our Commission will vote on at tomorrow’s Commission meeting (July 20) that will have a considerable impact on our City. 

The Mayor and each Commissioner can propose initiatives for the Commission to approve or reject. With every one of my legislative initiatives and with every vote I ask myself two questions: (1) does this initiative or legislation improve our residents’ quality of life, and (2) am I properly representing the will of our residents. For some items the answer is an easy yes, some are close calls, and for others the answer is a clear NO.
 
Since day one as your Commissioner, my focus has been on improving the quality of life for our residents such as public safety, enforcement of our laws, and maintaining a clean and peaceful City. I am also focused on increasing transparency. A well informed resident can better voice their suggestions and concerns, which allows me to be an independent voice to represent your interests.

Election to fill Commissioner Samuelian’s Seat

It seems too soon to be discussing filling Commissioner Samuelian’s seat after his sudden passing last month. However, our City Charter requires our Commission to call for an election or appoint someone.
 
I took a firm stand at our recent Commission meeting (Click here to view my comments) that our residents’ voices must be heard in an election to choose their next representative. I voiced my strong opposition to an appointment. Likewise, at our May Commission meeting (Click here to view my comments), I firmly stated it is always appropriate for our residents to vote for their elected officials and representatives in the event of a vacancy.
 
An election forces candidates to engage with residents to learn about their concerns and articulate solutions. Neighborhood Associations, which uniformly support an election to fill the current vacancy, will hold candidate forums so residents can learn about and evaluate each candidate’s background, demeanor, level of preparedness, and position on issues important to all of us. A Commission appointment bypasses this whole campaign process. 
  
Our Commission is currently deadlocked 3-3 on whether to elect or appoint. If we remain deadlocked at tomorrow’s Commission meeting, there is a legitimate risk that Commissioner Samuelian’s seat will remain vacant until November 2025 as our City Charter is silent on breaking this tie vote. (I share additional information here.)     

I will remain firm in my commitment to have your voices heard. Democracy and good governance require an election.

Enforcing Noise Violations

I am thankful our Commission this month unanimously passed an initiative I brought to implement a noise meter and camera technology pilot program in Miami Beach. The noise disturbances across our City, including vehicles with loud mufflers and blasting music, is at times unbearable.
 
This pilot program is being developed to collect data, capture evidence, and issue warnings to motorists exceeding noise limits in violation of the law, such as modified mufflers. The sound meter and cameras are installed at elevated levels adjacent to the roadway and are activated when it detects noise emitted from vehicles at a decibel level in excess of the law. A video is then simultaneously captured of the vehicle's license plate number.
 
This technology is being tested in a handful of cities such as New York City, Knoxville, London and Paris. The initial reports of accuracy and effectiveness are overwhelmingly positive. My initiative, along with a Florida law starting July 1 which allows our police officers to issue traffic tickets to motorists for loud music that can be heard at a distance of 25 feet or more from a vehicle, should help keep Miami Beach safer and more peaceful.

Thank you to resident John Sutter for this video evidencing the need for strict enforcement of our noise ordinances. Click Here

911 Emergency Drones

I recently brought an initiative to implement a pilot program to utilize drones to provide first responders immediate situational awareness in response to certain 911 emergency calls. Drone cameras can capture real-time video of a crime in progress to assist responding police officers or video of a burning building to assist firefighters with details of the fire to locate civilians.
 
Coral Gables recently became the first police department in the U.S. to deploy drones in certain emergency situations in response to a 911 call. The drones are dispatched immediately to specified locations arriving within seconds or minutes irrespective of traffic conditions.
 
Picture the scene: a victim of a crime calls 911 and the subject has fled the scene. As officers quickly respond and set a perimeter to locate the subject, a drone is dispatched, virtually operated by a specialist, to assist in the search. The drone is equipped with infrared technology which allows for effective drone usage at night to locate the offender.
 
The ability for first responders to view the aerial video in real-time during an emergency can potentially save lives or prevent injury to civilians and first responders. My proposed initiative does not allow drone usage for surveillance, only for certain 911 emergencies. Drones are significantly cheaper, quicker, and more efficient than helicopters utilized for search and rescue operations.

Voter Referendum Measures

Election season is fast approaching with an August primary right around the corner. The August ballot will also contain six Miami Beach voter referendums for our residents to decide. A link to a sample ballot with these six questions can be found here.

Information about Mail-in ballots, early voting, and August Election Day voting can be found here. 

At tomorrow’s meeting, our Commission will be voting on 12 (yes, 12!) additional items that if approved will be placed on the November ballot for a voter referendum. Our Commission will likely pass some but not all proposed items. As I started by saying at the beginning of this newsletter, some of these items are good for our residents and our quality of life, others are close calls and others are an absolute NO for me.

Today's Virtual Town Hall

Please join me today July 19 at 5:30 p.m. for a virtual Town Hall to discuss issues important to our residents and a preview of tomorrow's Commission meeting, including a Q&A segment. I look forward to answering your questions live! To participate, join the Zoom webinar here or see the invite below for dial-in information.

If I can help in any way, or if you have any suggestions or concerns, please reach out to me. 

My cell phone is 786-810-8728 and my direct City email is StevenMeiner@MiamiBeachFL.gov.

Alternatively, you can contact my aide Robert Novo lll at 
786-697-7763 or by email at RobertNovo@MiamiBeachFL.gov.

We are here to help.

Thanks,
Steve

 

Posted on 19 Jul 2022, 01:37 - Category: 2022