2012-0119 Regular City Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes: Regular City Commission Meeting January 19.2012 City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida 5. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS SA. Annual Report on the "State of the City" by Mayor Norman S. Edelcup. Action: Mayor Edelcup read the State of the City Address, noting that this is the ninth time he will be doing this. He reviewed the significant events that took place in 2011, and stated that the City continues to be very secure and financially strong. According to the Miami- Dade County Tax Assessor's Office, property values in Sunny Isles Beach excluding new construction increased overall from $5.4 Billion to $5.6 Billion. We were one of only two cities in all of Miami-Dade County that actually experienced a recovery on the existing home values during this past year. In the eight years that he has been Mayor, our taxable property values have risen from $2.5 Billion to the present $5.8 Billion, at an increase of 132%. Our millage rate of $2.886 per $1,000 of taxable value has remained the same as last year. The rate is 14% less than the 3.35 millage rate we had in 2003 when he first became Mayor. 5B. Presentation of the City of Sunny Isles Beach Audit Report for Fiscal Year 2010/2011. Action: City Manager Cohen thanked Assistant City Manager/Finance MinaI Shah and her staff for doing an incredible job day in and day out to keep our books in order and to keep us on the straight and narrow. Assistant City Manager/Finance Shah presented Fiscal Year 2010/2011 Audited Financial Statements with a clean opinion. She introduced Cindy Calvert, the partner on engagement from the firm of Keefe, McCullough & Co. LLP, who provided the Commission with a brief presentation of the City's Financials noting that the City is the first to present its audit. She said they did not find any significant adjustments or deficiencies that needed to be cured. She also noted that the Finance Department submitted an application to the Government Finance Officers' Association for a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Award for this year's Financial Statements, and noted that the City received the award for 2009/2010. Mayor Edelcup on behalf of the Commission thanked Ms. Calvert and internal staff for delivering the Audit in a very timely manner. Commissioner Aelion noted that the statistics show a steady increase of population which is a very positive sign, and Vice Mayor Thaler said that is due to the K-8 School being here. 5C. A Certificate of Appreciation to be Presented to the Winners of the Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association's First Annual Hospitality Leadership Awards: Susan G. Boone, for "Sales & Marketing", and to Raul Navarrete for "Food & Beverage/Banquets" of the Trump International Beach Resort for a Hotel with Over 200 Rooms. Action: Ibis Romero, Executive Director of the Sunny Isles Beach Resort Association, reported, and Mayor Edelcup, on behalf of the City Commission, presented the Certificates of Appreciation. 5D. Presentation to Police Captain Dwight Snyder. Action: Chief Maas presented Captain Dwight Snyder with a name plate upon completing the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, graduating on December 16, 2011. Captain Snyder presented Mayor Edelcup and the Commission with the "Yellow Brick Road" which represents several grueling components of the II-week training course. The Brick will be housed in the Trophy Case on the 2nd floor lobby of the Police Department. 2