Miami Official Kills Proposed Use Of General Fund For Ballpark

Miami City Commission Chair Joe Sanchez yesterday “killed a plan to use millions in general-fund money to begin construction of the parking sites” for the new Marlins ballpark, “blasting the administration for what he called a stealth move,” according to Charles Rabin of the MIAMI HERALD. Sanchez said that a proposal to “dip into $9[M] of the city’s operating budget was ‘way off base’ and would have broken a promise to voters when the commission narrowly approved the stadium by a 3-2 vote last month.” With the measure killed, the city will “rely entirely on bond revenue for the parking facilities to be built around the 37,000-seat retractable-roof stadium.” Rabin notes City Manager Pete Hernandez “had added an item to Thursday’s agenda asking commissioners to use the money from the general-fund reserves to get a jump-start on the $94[M] worth of parking sites the city is funding at the new ballpark.” But after a Miami Herald story yesterday about the proposal, Sanchez yesterday morning “dispatched a memo to Hernandez saying the financial maneuver could be dangerous at a time of economic uncertainty.” Hernandez last night said that he “agreed to withdraw the item, and that it wouldn’t put the garage project in jeopardy” (MIAMI HERALD, 4/22).