Hialeah mayor opens first "open cabinet" session; directors outline permitting, transit, hydrant inspections and debt collection

HIALEAH — The city held its first publicly accessible "open cabinet" meeting May 25, with the mayor and department directors briefing reporters and residents on operational priorities and answering questions in English and Spanish.

The meeting opened with the mayor explaining the purpose: ‘‘transparency is being able to open up some internal discussions so residents understand what we are doing and how city funds are spent,’’ he said. Directors then reported progress and near-term actions across permitting, emergency planning, transit, public safety and collections.

Alexis, the director of building and inspections, told the room residential permits now typically take about 1–3 business days and larger projects generally 3–7 days, noting outside agencies can extend timelines. Alexis said the department is piloting artificial-intelligence tools for plan review and intake and is exploring a mobile permitting van to bring services to neighborhoods.

On emergency preparedness, Paul, the city’s emergency-management lead, said the city’s primary objective is situational awareness following federal briefings on evolving conditions in Cuba. He described coordination among police, fire, county partners and nongovernmental groups and said the city’s Emergency Operations Center will coordinate humanitarian assistance; residents can sign up for official alerts by texting ALERT to 88877. The city will host a June 7 session for residents to meet partner organizations.

Claudia Hasbun, the planning official overseeing transit after a recent reorganization, said the transit function now sits under Planning & Zoning and the city is hiring a transportation manager to improve regional connections. She said Freebi, a microtransit service operating 8–10 vehicles, is under review: "the service is costing the city almost $1 million annually," she said, and average wait times can be long; staff are evaluating optimization and alternatives.

Fire and water officials reported progress on a hydrant inspection initiative: the department has inspected about 1,792 of roughly 3,300 hydrants (about 53% complete) and identified about 312 hydrants that required attention; crews have repaired several but follow-up work remains. City leaders said the inspections aim to ensure hydrants are accessible and operational before emergencies occur.

Pedro, the chief financial officer, outlined multiple ongoing audits and the rollout of a new enterprise resource planning system and said preliminary property valuations are expected in the coming weeks with final values in July. He said the administration is reorganizing internal roles to increase efficiency and cited the senior-relief program as a way the city has delivered aid without raising taxes.

City Attorney Bárbara Govea said the law department is focused on enforcement and collections. She told the meeting the city is pursuing payment from two hospitals that together owe about $2.4 million in unpaid water charges dating to November 2024 and that the city has extended a deadline through the end of May while talks continue with the hospitals’ counsel.

Construction and maintenance staff reported an accelerated streetlight program: the city plans to install roughly 5,000 LED lamps this year (part of the broader system of about 9,000 poles in the jurisdictional area), with 1,916 already installed since March. Officials said the upgrade will lower energy use and improve visibility but acknowledged some residents have complained about glare and staff will monitor placements.

Police and communications officials described recent quality-of-life enforcement and 911 performance. Officers issued 395 citations for vehicles parked on sidewalks and 117 citations for commercial vehicles parked in residential areas in the last two weeks, and the communications center reported answering 2,330 911 calls from May 17–23 with 95.8% answered within 10 seconds.

Housing staff said the city will accept applications starting June 1 for a rent-assistance and eviction-prevention program and described success with SHIP homeowner repair grants and a dedicated homelessness outreach team.

During a wide-ranging reporter Q&A, officials addressed how the city would respond if the state enacts a property-tax cut, reiterated plans to pursue the county water-debt litigation (an outstanding matter of roughly $18 million from earlier administrations) and agreed to a press tour of fire stations after questions about conditions and repairs. The mayor said the administration will hold future open-cabinet sessions every three to four months.

The meeting closed with a short confirmation that the administration’s order eliminating pensions for elected officers had taken effect when signed.

Next steps announced at the session included public outreach on emergency planning (June 7), continued evaluations of Freebi and transit options, completion of hydrant repairs, procurement and staged installation of LED lamps, and continued collections efforts on outstanding institutional water debts.

(Reporting compiled from the City of Hialeah open cabinet meeting, May 25, 2026.)