Miami-Dade panel adopts ordinance to require transparency, agreements from municipal utilities serving areas outside city limits

Miami-Dade County's Infrastructure Innovations and Technology Committee voted 4-1 to adopt an ordinance (1G1) that requires municipal utilities operating outside their city limits to meet minimum standards, provide written agreements with jurisdictions they serve and disclose how surcharges are used.

The ordinance, which the committee said implements existing Florida statutory requirements, passed after public hearings in which elected officials from North Miami Beach and Miami Gardens, legal counsel and county staff debated whether the county had authority and whether the measure would affect utility finances.

Supporters, including Sonia Dickens, city attorney for Miami Gardens, told the committee the county has authority under the county charter to require fairness and parity for customers across municipalities. "What this ordinance proposes to do is what exactly your authority allows you to do," Dickens said. Miami Gardens Vice Mayor Robert Stevens said the measure provides "accountability" and is needed to protect residents who…