Miami-Dade To Discuss Giving Exclusive Power Over Bids, Contracts To MIA Director Abreu

Feb. 07--Miami-Dade commissioners will meet Tuesday to discuss something unusual: giving up some of their power.

The commission will take up a measure that would transfer some of its authority to waive competitive bids and to award, negotiate and extend contracts to the county's aviation department director, Jose Abreu. The ordinance would apply only to him, and not to any future department head.

Under the proposed ordinance, Abreu would be given broad authority to make decisions on contracts up to $5 million "to avoid disruption to passengers or airline operations." That authority now lies with the commission.

Under the plan, a committee of county commissioners would have quarterly oversight of Abreu's decisions.

Commissioner Bruno Barreiro put forth the measure as a way for the county to be more responsive to the needs of Miami International Airport.

"We've got to cut through this red tape and the bureaucracy," Barreiro said last month when the measure first came up for discussion. He noted that the county gave similar powers to the aviation department to accelerate development of the airport's North Terminal.

But those powers, extended to the department from 2008 to 2011, mostly applied to previously awarded contracts and did not give the department director the authority to award new contracts, as the new proposal would.

Barreiro noted during the Jan. 24 meeting that the procurement powers would revert to the commission when Abreu, the aviation director, leaves his post. That provision could be crucial, since commissioners said they trust Abreu's judgment.

But several board members also cautioned against making a policy change based on their regard for one administrator.

"You're tailoring something for a person, not for a system," Chairman Joe Martinez warned Barreiro at the last meeting. "I think it's a bad thing to do."

If last month's discussion is any indication, the proposal is likely to stir debate Tuesday. The January conversation quickly turned into a back-and-forth on one of the most heated airport issues: the baggage-wrap concession.

The airport's baggage-wrap vendor, Sinapsis, has asked the county for a break on the $11.1 million it had contractually agreed to pay MIA. Martinez, who has control over the commission agenda, has refused to bring the question to the board.

Several commissioners said they were wary of giving the aviation director additional powers while the baggage-wrap dispute remains unresolved.

"I don't think we should judge this item around one vendor contract," Barreiro countered when he deferred the measure to Tuesday. "It's much bigger -- it's much more important."

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