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City highlights: procurement audit closed, water department awards, police rescue and crime reductions
Summary
City staff reported the successful close of a state operational audit of procurement controls and introduced new policies. The water utility outlined awards, big infrastructure milestones and grant awards, and the police chief presented a video of officers rescuing a 5‑year‑old and cited substantial year‑over‑year reductions in several crime categories.
At the March 26 commission meeting city department leaders presented a trio of brief reports highlighting internal improvements and community service achievements.
Procurement: Chief procurement officer Shereice Devilisa told the commission that a state audit of PCARD use, gift‑card disbursements and anti‑fraud controls (covering 2020–2023) was closed in March after the city implemented corrective actions. Devilisa said less than 1% of transactions during the audit window were flagged as unsupported; the city adopted an updated PCARD policy, mandatory quarterly PCARD training for users and administrators, a new gift‑card disbursement policy with commission oversight, and a comprehensive anti‑fraud plan.
Water utility: Public utilities director (recorded in transcript as Hamid [last name variant]) summarized a long list of awards for North Miami Beach Water (AWWA, APWA, EPA laboratory recognition), infrastructure deliverables including a completed 5‑million‑gallon tank, SCADA modernization savings, and an inventory effort that staff said identified $5.7M of annual water‑loss revenue recovery potential. The department reported $17.1M in national settlement funds already flowing to the city and additional awards including FEMA and state water grants.
Police: Police Chief Juan Pine presented a short video and recognized officers for a rapid‑response case in which a 5‑year‑old was found alone and later placed with the Department of Children and Families; the child's mother was later arrested. Chief Pine also reported sharp year‑over‑year reductions in several crimes (armed robberies down ~83%; strong‑arm robberies down ~64%; vehicle burglaries and thefts also down), credited command staff and said the department expects to hire 20 new officers this year.
What’s next: Procurement will roll out the new PCARD training and oversight procedures; the water department will finalize administrative steps for the smart utility dashboard and the recovery plan; police plan to continue the hiring push and finalize materials for community outreach.
