Council names Brown & Brown insurance broker, OKs airport fee changes and updates building-permit fees

Miami — At the March 3 meeting the Miami City Council handled a package of administrative and fee items: it moved to appoint Brown and Brown Insurance as the city's property and casualty broker of record; the airport board's recommended fee schedule changes were presented for council approval; and staff introduced an ordinance to update building-permit and inspection fees.

Brown and Brown Insurance was described as the only bidder for the broker-of-record contract. A staff presenter told the council the firm would accept the standard commission rate provided by carriers. The agenda references 'Miss Christy Jones' in connection with Brown and Brown during the procurement presentation.

On airport fees, an airport representative outlined several modest changes recommended by the airport board: sell state testing 'barrel' fuel at cost plus $1 per gallon rather than continuing to store it indefinitely; provide fuel to city departments (for example, utilities or parks) at no charge when used internally; begin carrying small retail items (quarts of oil, snacks) and set concession pricing; rename the credit-card service fee as a 'convenience fee' per state statute; add a $25 insufficient-funds fee; and remove a rental-car fee that staff said did not apply locally. "The board finally agreed to sell the state the barrel fuel from the state testing at cost plus a dollar a gallon," the airport representative said.

On building fees, staff said the city had not updated building-code fees in more than a decade and proposed modest increases intended to avoid pricing out residential customers. Staff explained the city collects a $4 state pass-through fee for each permit and noted the city can charge up to $4.50; the proposal would use that higher authorized amount for administrative consistency. Staff described small increases for mechanical, electrical and plumbing inspection fees as part of the broader update.

Motions to approve the administrative items were made during the meeting. The transcript records motions and seconds and members indicating approval for minutes and permit-fee actions in the provided excerpt; a complete roll-call tally for each motion is not fully recorded in the excerpt.

Next steps: Staff will finalize any implementation details, including concession pricing at the airport and internal procedures for selling barrel fuel and handling utility requests. The insurance broker appointment proceeds as indicated on the agenda.