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Candidate Ricardo Mendez outlines fiscal-first agenda, vows to prioritize NMB Water upgrades
Summary
At a Jan. 7, 2026 North Miami Beach workshop, city manager candidate Ricardo Mendez emphasized his 30 years of municipal management experience and said he would prioritize fixing a $5.5 million structural operating deficit, updating actuarial assumptions and modernizing NMB Water’s infrastructure while avoiding conflicts of interest and committing to full-time service.
Ricardo Mendez, a candidate for city manager, told the North Miami Beach commission on Jan. 7, 2026, that his first priorities would be to identify drivers of a multi‑million dollar operating shortfall and to protect the city’s water infrastructure from deferred maintenance and regulatory risk.
Mendez, who described himself as a registered professional civil engineer and a professional city manager with about 30 years of public‑sector experience, gave a brief career overview and cited work in Miami‑Dade County, Miami Beach, West Palm Beach and as chief operating officer for Harrisburg during a financial recovery period. "I believe in transparency 100%," Mendez said during his opening remarks.
Why it matters: Commissioners pressed Mendez on a structural operating deficit they said is roughly…
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