Gimenez Veto Sustained; Pay Impasse Remains With Labor Unions
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Miami-Dade County Commission met for the final time in 2013 and commissioners came up one vote shy of overriding Mayor Carlos Gimenez's veto of a program to end a forced contribution to health care costs.
Gimenez vetoed ending the program forcing county workers to contribute five percent of their base pay toward group health care costs, according to CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald.
The Commission and Gimenez have been at odds on extending the healthcare contribution which is unpopular with county workers. Gimenez said eliminating the contribution could blow a $56 million hole this year in the county budget and an even bigger gap next year.
In order to overturn the mayor's veto, nine votes will be needed. But, the Commission came up one vote shy of overturning the veto, losing 8-5.
Commissioner Rebeca Sosa was the swing vote that helped sustain the mayor's veto.
With the veto issue settled, Mayor Gimenez still has to come up with a plan to settle an impasse with angry unions who were hoping to see the forced contribution overturned.
Commissioners will also have to vote on legislation that would give Gimenez permission to start negotiations on a possible Major League Soccer stadium in downtown Miami.
It's unknown if the soccer stadium would require concessions from the city or county, but if the results of last year's effort to update Sun Life Stadium are representative; getting any public funding help for a new stadium in South Florida will be difficult at best.
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