Remarks by Damian Pardo
99 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 2 of 4
- Play at 4:05:51
“Okay, that's what I wanted on the record. Thank you.”
City Commission · Jul 23, 2026
- Play at 4:06:29
“RE12 JUST KIND OF MAKES SENSE. IT'S $10 MILLION. IT'S NOT A BIG AMOUNT OF MONEY. IT'S .03% OF OUR $3 BILLION BUDGET. THIS IS CRITICAL. THIS IS DESPERATELY NEEDED. It came before us. This doesn't need to wait for a bond or it doesn't need to wait for procurement. It doesn't need to wait six months, eight months. This is stuff that could be handled immediately, especially looking at the videos that were presented about the conditions in which firefighters are living in and the risks involved. I think this is an easy, immediate relief that is much needed.”
City Commission · Jul 23, 2026
- Play at 4:07:43
“Absolutely. First of all, I would remind you that when you and I first came here in our first meeting, we lowered the rate, and that was a $25 million difference, and the city manager turned to us and said, okay, because it's a $3 billion budget. Let me finish. Let me finish, because what I'm trying to say is when you have such a large budget, there are multiple, multiple options of where you can pull this money. I have focused on the reserves because, and we know we had a discussion, maybe you could help explain that as well, the assigned, the unassigned. My understanding, you can jump in,…”
City Commission · Jul 23, 2026
- Play at 4:09:42
“Was that clear? Kind of. The last time I was, at least from what I got from the briefing, was that there were two levels, the first 100 million unassigned, second 100 million, and there was 30 million above that, which was not restricted.”
City Commission · Jul 23, 2026
- Play at 4:10:38
“Right, and on the unassigned, can you read the instances where you're allowed to spend it?”
City Commission · Jul 23, 2026
- Play at 4:11:16
“but there was a criteria that said for man-made kind of urgent situations. Can you read? It's a specific phrase. I'm trying to look for it, but such reserves may only be used for offsetting an unexpected mid-year revenue shortfall or for funding an emergency. such as man-made disaster which threatens the health, safety, welfare of the city's residents, businesses, or visitors, anything that we would consider an emergency could be used out of that fund and has been in the past.”
City Commission · Jul 23, 2026
- Play at 4:12:16
“So you're saying that given this criteria, there is no way to take these 10 million out of any of these buckets?”
City Commission · Jul 23, 2026
- Play at 4:12:32
“What if we did five now and five in the next budget cycle so that at least we know that it's happening? Five is an incredibly small amount for a $3 billion budget.”
City Commission · Jul 23, 2026
- Play at 4:12:55
“Yeah. Well, obviously, I don't agree. I think the funds are there. I think the administration does not want to find it. And, you know, I mean, I think if I were in leadership, I would question an administration that cannot find $5 million for this, which we have identified as a critical priority of the city. We have put videos out there showing what fire stations look like, the emergency needs. And now we're sitting back and saying,”
City Commission · Jul 23, 2026
- Play at 4:13:24
“We have $3 billion, but we can't find that money.”
City Commission · Jul 23, 2026
- Play at 4:17:21
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
City Commission · Jul 23, 2026
- Play at 4:19:39
“Well, first of all, we're talking about fiduciary, but we just added $600 million in debt. So on the one side, we talk about fiduciary, and then on the other side, where we have 12 stations with critical needs and a sum of money that's $10 million, we're saying, no, that's got to wait. We can't. We've got to wait on that. Something that we have identified as a necessity, as urgent, and as incredibly important. That does not make, at least to me, that doesn't make any sense.”
City Commission · Jul 23, 2026
- Play at 4:22:41
“Okay. Because this is a charter amendment, and we already have a finance committee, and the finance committee does what this... There's a big overlap between the two. There's also the use of the word audit in this, which we have an independent auditor, and we have an independent inspector general. So... This item as is, I wouldn't support. And this item would actually show up on the same ballot as the bond. And part of me was hoping that maybe, you know, because when you read this item, it's all about fiscal responsibility. It's about, it's kind of like all the right things in that world. But…”
City Commission · Jul 23, 2026
- Play at 4:24:32
“Well, I mean, we definitely have a disagreement all in with the dashboard and all that stuff. And you can do all of that as a part of the finance committee, which is already set up and it's an advisory committee. But you're changing the charter for this. That's not where this kind of structural change really should belong. This should be. is in an advisory committee role. And when you're using the word like audit, it's who audits, who's auditing what, and what are the overlaps? What does the finance committee do now? And what is this relative to the fund? We're required to have an oversight…”
City Commission · Jul 23, 2026
- Play at 4:27:07
“I don't disagree with any single thing you've said other than where you're making this change, which is at the charter level. I think that is bad policy. I think it sets us up in a bad direction, and I think, you know, I think even somebody in my office had chat GPT'd this, and they were like, oh, my God, there are all these issues. So I do think there are issues with this policy. If you guys are prepared to vote, I'm certainly going to go with the...”
City Commission · Jul 23, 2026
- Play at 4:35:32
“Commissioner Pardo. Just to, another aspect of that is that the powers in the charter of this committee would actually be directing administration. So there is supposed to be a clear division. And I think this blurs that kind of activity as well.”
City Commission · Jul 23, 2026
- Play at 4:37:32
“It's not the audit word. It's that you're amending the charter and the things that go with that. And while you're highlighting that and everything you have said, I'm fully supportive of. And the Finance Committee meets more than twice a year. That's a minimum requirement. They can meet as much as we need them to meet. And we can make reforms in the Finance Committee, which is what's looking at our debt issuances. This is a standalone committee for a standalone bond. And that just should not...”
City Commission · Jul 23, 2026
- Play at 4:38:40
“In fact, we can do all of this, but going to the charter and going to the voters with another issue where there's a small change or a small modification over and over again is not the format where this can best be housed, especially when you're giving powers to this entity that really kind of crosses the line between what administration does and our body does. So I think this should best be deferred because I think there's more here. I'm happy to work with you and look at the language in the finance committee. I don't know how much you've read through all of that. I've studied it a lot.…”
City Commission · Jul 23, 2026
- Play at 4:39:51
“And maybe some language that makes it clear that they cannot tell the administration what to do. Sure.”
City Commission · Jul 23, 2026
- Play at 10:54
“I also want to thank all of you very much. I think, you know, when they say it takes a village, it really does. Commissioner Gabela, fantastic, the entire host committee. fantastic as the district to commissioner it's in our district and so we hear directly from residents about all the events that happen but so many of our residents were proud of FanFest and they really got it they understood like yeah we're making some sacrifices here but wow we're making these sacrifices for great things for our city on a global level everything from sustainability climate issues to the professional…”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 32:15
“I think my colleagues have said it very well. We're all very, very proud of you. I know I was incredibly worried, Chief. You know, we had conversations. And I can also tell you that our residents were too. And I think sometimes that goes by unperceived. But residents like you, Madam Mayor, came up to me and said, wow, it's incredible what City of Miami is doing. It's incredible. You know, it was during the July 4th celebration. So just the concept of freedom and that we're so blessed in our country that we have the type of freedom where we can do this and we can extend it throughout the world…”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 45:24
“I'd like to defer PZ10 to the next meeting.”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 3:23:08
“Ready? All right. So the first thing is, I know that there's $10 million listed as repairs and modernization projects, and that includes about 12 fire stations or so, maybe more. And it seems like that's the really, really critical piece with fire. And why don't we just take that right from reserves? I mean, I don't even think we should wait for a bond or include in the bond if we have it in reserves and we can deal with them immediately. The other piece is the building of fire stations. And that's where I think we could successfully find public private partnerships that use a design build…”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 3:37:42
“And I have one quick question. Is there a way to just move those $10 million and get that going? The 10 million that's being included here, can we just take that 10 from reserve and address repairs and modernization?”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 3:38:20
“Not necessarily reserves, but if there's available funding The range of 10 million that can be used and prioritized For this so that it doesn't have to wait for a bond issuance or some later date when we know that these repairs are really necessary and critical Absolutely Commissioner, but if we had the 10 million available we would be using it for exactly that so we can take that out of the bond Perfect.”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026