South Miami commission sends $65 million bond referendum to November ballot after lengthy debate

The City of South Miami Commission voted to place a $65,000,000 general-obligation bond referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot after a prolonged debate about how much to ask voters for and how any debt would be repaid.

Mayor Fernandez said the measure would give the city optionality to pursue capital projects and would not force the city to borrow the full amount immediately. “My ambition with this is to give us the flexibility to attract other people’s money, and to manage our cash flow a little bit better,” he said.

City financial adviser Sergio Masquedale of PFM explained next steps if voters approve the referendum: bond validation would follow the vote and issuance typically would start no sooner than spring 2025 for shovel-ready projects, with issuance occurring in multiple series rather than a single tranche. “If they approve the general obligation referendum, then we would go to something called bond validation,” Masquedale said, describing IRS reimbursement rules and a typical multi-series issuance timeline.

Commissioners pressed staff for fiscal guardrails. Commissioner Lehman warned of worst-case scenarios and asked for transparency on potential tax impacts, citing a finance office estimate that borrowing the full amount at typical market rates could require substantial annual debt service. “Those are the facts,” Lehman said, urging the commission to be candid about potential millage effects.

Mayor Fernandez and managers pushed back on the idea that voter authorization automatically requires a tax increase. They noted additional steps would be needed before any borrowing—supplemental resolutions, project-level approvals and decisions about phased issuance. The manager said the city could phase issuances and use future projected revenues, and that issuing the entire $65 million immediately was not the expectation.

Commissioners also discussed how projected new revenue from private developments (for example, Sunset Place) could phase in capacity to service debt over time and asked staff to prepare scenarios showing conservative and best-case fiscal impacts. The city manager said staff would work with the financial adviser to model capacity and timing prior to any issuance.

The commission approved placing the bond question on the ballot and adopted the preferred ballot language and title by roll call vote. If voters approve the referendum, subsequent commission actions—including project selection, issuance timing and debt- service planning—will determine whether the city issues bonds in phases to limit direct tax impacts.

The commission is scheduled to consider related budget items and additional implementation details in coming months. The ballot question will appear on the Nov. 5, 2024 general-election ballot.