By Johania Charles, Miami Times
Grassroots organization People Acting for Community Together (PACT) received full support from Miami-Dade County leaders for its housing relief and civil citation campaigns at the annual Nehemiah Action assembly Monday night.
Each year, the interfaith organization holds community forums called listening sessions to gauge what pressing issues exist within Miami-Dade County’s neighborhoods. Using research, the group then determines viable solutions to top issues and summons South Florida leaders with the power to resolve those issues before an audience of 40 congregations, where leaders must answer either “yes” or “no” regarding their willingness to implement proposed solutions.
PACT, this year, seeks to address high rent costs and reduce arrest rates for people driving with a suspended license because of nonpayment of civil traffic infractions or other fines and fees. Hundreds packed Barry University’s Shepard and Ruth K. Broad Performing Arts Center to hear from their community leaders.
Organizers called on Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and District 5 Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins to respectively back a no-interest forgivable loan program for landlords willing to rent to tenants earning up to $57,800 – about 80% of the area median income – and a program to allow property owners with a secondary dwelling unit on the same lot as their primary residence to rent it out to low-income tenants.
“Because rent control is illegal in the state of Florida, private landlords can raise rent as much as they want from one year to the next, making all renters powerless,” said Mary Bary of Fulford United Methodist Church. “The only way to make rent affordable to low-income renters through private landlords is to provide financial support and training. We are asking for cooperation and communication between different departments within the county government to spend the funds allotted to increase and speed up the amount of affordable rental units available for this income bracket.”
According to PACT, the county faces a shortfall of 90,000 units. Approximately 28,000 residents were forced to move out of the county in recent years because of rising rents.
“Truly, this solution is a great one and we will support ADUs (accessory dwelling units), specifically for tenants earning 80% of the AMI or below for our next fiscal year,” said Levine Cava. “While we (already) have the (NOAH loan) program, it has not been utilized for (creating) housing that people can afford … we will commit to a pilot and provide bonuses for applicants that serve low-income families. We have had not enough applications.”
The organization also requested that the county’s Public Housing and Community Development Department – Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust’s (MDEAT) housing division partner with its Rent and Homelessness Steering Committee – to form a working group, with a tentative meeting date of May 31 to improve the effectiveness of the programs and ensure they are prioritized in low-income neighborhoods.
But when it came time to discuss the proposed Driver’s License Citation program, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle – a key stakeholder who must sign a Memorandum of Understanding before police departments can implement the program – was nowhere to be found.
“While she has verbally committed her support on the civil citation expansion to us on multiple occasions, she has yet to follow through on her commitment with any actual action,” said a member of the organization. “She did inform us of a minor surgical procedure that she had today when she denied our invitation … however she refused to send a representative in her stead and further denied our request for a pre-assembly meeting with her.”
The group, determined to hold Fernandez Rundle accountable for her verbal commitment, is planning a demonstration and prayer vigil outside the state attorney’s office April 22.
An estimated 63% of Miami-Dade drivers who are driving on a suspended license received the suspension because of nonpayment of fines, according to PACT.
The program would allow drivers to receive a citation instead of being arrested. Other key stakeholders like Miami-Dade’s public defender, Carlos Martinez, and police director, Stephanie Daniels, and Samuel Bejar, president of the Miami-Dade County Association of Chiefs of Police, expressed a commitment to either sign the MOU or utilize the program once all approvals are obtained.
Clerk of Court Comptroller Juan Fernandez-Barquin detailed several steps the county is taking to address the issue, including the Operation Green Light initiative, which will waive collection fees until April 30, online payment plan options and a forthcoming auto-pay option.
“You are on the right side of justice,” Martinez told congregants. “I remember when the first time you all brought up this issue several years ago, the answer from several high-level folks was that it can’t be done because it’s traffic cases. But you are relentless. Keep it up.”
Also present Monday night were Alex Ballina, public housing and community development director; Cathy Burgos, chief community services officer; and Michelle Johnson, faith and community leadership liaison officer.
County department heads and audience members heard testimonies from Bonnie Riley and Benjamin Downs, who both have been personally affected by the issues discussed.
District 7 Miami-Dade County Commissioner Raquel Regalado, who alongside Higgins championed 2022 county legislation to make it easier for homeowners to add secondary units to their property, declined the invitation to attend Monday’s meeting, according to PACT.
“We have gotten yeses across the board in both our housing and civil citation campaigns,” said a cheerful Ana Jackson, Sellers Memorial United Methodist Church pastor, Monday evening. “And we could not have done it without the people power displayed here tonight. We want to thank all of our officials who made commitments (but) it does not end tonight, we will follow up with our officials in each of these areas.”
PACT will hold a meeting in north Dade June 3 to review whether any progress surrounding the issues has been made since Nehemiah Action.
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