Remarks by David Suarez
153 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 2 of 7
- Play at 2:50:14
“Sample for condos. Yeah. And just so everyone is aware, how many condos did you sample for this particular analysis that was on the slide?”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 2:50:31
“And when you did the sample, from what we discussed, some buildings, some condos or apartments were better off with the full Geobon. Obviously, some were better off with the hybrid. What were the differences in those condos? When you when you did the sample and you saw that some condos were It was preferred it was beneficial to the to the ones who were sampled for Maybe higher usage more occupancy and the geo bond would have been more beneficial to them Maybe you could speak a little bit more about that.”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 3:03:24
“Just to clarify, there are CPI increases, right?”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 3:18:31
“Commissioner, can you, I didn't hear you.”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 3:29:20
“Philosophically, I disagree that First Street sections three and four are never going to get done. If that's sort of the rationale, why even start with Part one right is you know we're not here to just rubber stamp something we're here to actually think things through and with the hopes that the entire project gets gets finished I for one want my children to live in Miami Beach and I wanna make sure that these projects, by the time they're my age, are completely done for their children and so on and so forth. So I don't know if I necessarily buy the argument that these projects are never…”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 3:32:06
“I'm of the belief that we need to move forward on these projects. It's going to cost money. How do we fund it? And We're back to where we were about 30 minutes ago. What is the best way to do that? And one of the condos or buildings that John's staff sampled, which I believe is a good representation of full-time Miami Beach residents, whether they're renters or homesteaders, is Tower 41. And when the analysis for Tower 41 was done, was that the geobond option only was actually less expense, was advantageous to the people that are living there. And I asked the staff behind you, which option…”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 3:33:44
“So just want everyone to understand when you know, I I don't really delineate between single-family homes or or condos I think of it more of a household and so If we want to give better relief to people who live here, who has families here, who has a lot of children, a lot of showers, a lot of toilet flushes, the only GEO bond option works best for that type of resident. How many times have we seen buildings go up where the people, it's only for second and third homes. You know to me that that's not that's not a no look not to say that those people don't deserve representation or…”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 3:38:32
“There would need to be a motion for that first, to overturn the moratorium.”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 3:47:15
“Commissioner Suarez. And I agree with Commissioner Abbott. I'm not of the belief that we're going to kick the can on the road or we're going to stop funding projects. I think we need to move forward, right? And I think most of us can agree to that. It's just how do we get there and how do we pay for it? And philosophically, I believe that the geobond only option is a lot less burdensome on the poorest of people of Miami Beach. And so I'm gonna make a motion to go with that option. for the referendum question. Do I have a second?”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 3:48:10
“And to top it all off, we need five out of seven votes to lift the moratorium. So MR. CITY ATTORNEY, IF YOU CAN PUT US IN PROPER STANDING, IF THERE IS GOING TO BE A MOTION TO GO WITH OPTION HYBRID, OKAY, DO WE FIRST NEED TO PASS A MOTION TO LIFT THE MORATORY?”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 3:48:42
“OKAY. SO WE, AS IT STANDS, WE HAVE A MOTION FOR HYBRID”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 4:01:52
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 4:02:18
“Okay, so we don't actually have to borrow the full amount. We would have commission meetings to decide the tranches that are”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 4:02:36
“Yeah, so we can, we certainly can, we don't have to borrow the full amount. We can borrow just a hundred or two hundred million dollars. And in the meantime, we can certainly list all the projects that are that through the for the Geo bond portion we can list the projects that have to be funded right in fact you have to well you don't have to but that's what I would propose is we specifically list the projects uh that will get the funding and And if there come a time that we say we don't want to fund this or that project or we shift dollars around, I think we still have that ability to do…”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 4:03:45
“These are the projects that yeah, so we're gonna be doing essentially what you're saying. It's Again, how do we pay for it? Right? So I totally understand your your concern with giving the city administration a blank check. But I don't think it works like that. I think when it comes before us to issue a bond, we decide specifically what projects are going to be picked to move forward. So we have protection in doing it on a GEO bond only, or hybrid. But my preference is, We'll do for geobond only, the Suarez model.”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 4:07:35
“And just to be clear, it's not single digits.”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 4:14:24
“Thank you. If the hybrid option moves forward, John, and the voters reject the GEO bond portion, or just rejects the motion or the referendum, You said that some of the funds for the rate increase wouldn't be used for the neighborhood improvement projects, correct? It would just be the water and sewer aspect of the neighborhood improvement project.”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 4:15:03
“Right, so the stormwater would not be part of that, correct?”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 4:15:18
“Okay, so just so everyone is clear, Commissioner Mateo Salinas, assuming that we go forward with the hybrid option and it We're gonna be raising rates today on water and sewer, which is, I believe, 42%, okay? So it's not single digits, it's double digits. And if it doesn't pass, then none of these neighborhood improvement projects are gonna get moving forward unless we raise the rates even more. So, well. Speak in the mic, please. I don't think any of us would want to go against the will of voters, which is why we're looking at two models that will allow... No, well, the question is, do we…”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 4:19:18
“I don't think it's going to change anything.”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 4:21:42
“Okay. I'd rather just vote now. I just want to make sure everyone understands what we're voting on. If I'm late for, you know, part two, I don't want to. I don't wanna miss the vote, so can we just vote now? I think we're all pretty much made up our minds.”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 5:39:10
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 5:39:57
“Okay. So overall, what is the percentage increase from 27 to 32? It's like 42%. Is that right?”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 5:41:14
“But I just simply asked, what's the overall increase under the hybrid model for water and sewer? And they said 36%. 36%.”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026
- Play at 5:44:22
“Yeah, that's the point, right? I mean, if we're going to go to the voters to decide this, why don't we just, we have everything on the table because I think that's the more appropriate thing to do. Because if we pass this, water rates go, water and sewer rates go up no matter what, and then And if it doesn't pass the half portion for stormwater, then we're going to have to go back and raise them again.”
City Commission · Jul 22, 2026