Impasse part of campaign game

An anticlimactic impasse declared by Hialeah city officials on the fire union explains some seemingly out-of-nowhere machinations by intern mayor and opportunist bully pulpit candidate Carlos Hernandez, who falsely fingered the firefighters Friday at a staged press conference that should have had a paid political advertisement disclaimer.

The city declared impasse about two hours after labor negotiations began with the fire union -- which has been successfully battling attempts for the last few years to cut firefighters' benefits without showing cause and which had brought a proposal to save $600,000 a year to the table. That's good faith. But the meeting would have probably ended even sooner if not for the reporter or reporters that attended, to the surprise of the city's attorneys who now had to make it look real. Because it was really just more theatrics in another episode of As Hialeah Churns.

That impasse was premeditated, and not just moments before the bargaining session, although Ladra suspects that if someone made a public records request (read: done) for Grodnick's computer history from Wednesday morning, one will find the impasse document created or at least tinkered with before the meeting. But, it's actually been part of the plan since intern mayor Carlos Hernandez and the Three Blind Mice -- Finance Director Vivian Parks, Budget Director Alex Vega and Water and Sewer Director Armando Vidal -- realized just how bad the city's financial crisis is (read: you ain't seen nothin' yet, folks) and decided, more importantly, they had to find someone to blame in the eyes of the voting public in what promises to be a particularly pissy election year.

Enter the increasingly influential firefighters' union. They've been a stubborn thorn in the side of the administration for years, arguably costing one-time county mayoral front-runner Julio Robaina the election, forcing the city to hire back 16 firefighters that were illegally fired by Robaina for political motivations and generally annoying the hell out of city officials with pointed public records requests and demands for financial transparency. So they're perfect scapegoats. Imagine this "mayor's conference room powwow" episode on As Hialeah Churns:

• Hernandez: "The *&^%$#@ firefighters are perfect! Hell, we can turn the other employees against them because they are the only ones who haven't made any &^%$#@ sacrifices." (Whispered: "*&^%$#@ celebrated a^%$#les think they're better than cops.")




• Parks: "Well, sir, actually, and as we have explained to you five or six times each, the firefighters are the only ones we haven't been able to take concessions from."




• Vega: "Yet. But maybe there is a way we might make it happen before the November elections. Maybe." (Inner voice, without his lips moving: "And we can all keep our jobs a little longer.")




• Hernandez (watching a couple lizards go at it on a tree outside the window): "I'm listening."




• Vidal: "Can I have the rest of that sandwich?" (Takes half of Vega's sandwich without waiting for a response).




• Hernandez: "Well, Alex?"




• Vega:"Sure, he can have it."




• Hernandez: "No, your idea to save our jobs."




• Vega: "It's actually Vivian's idea."




• Parks (shakes her head): "Armando told me." (Everyone looks at Vidal, gnawing at the sandwich in oblivion, and then back at Parks with a 'yeah, right' face). "Okay, Bill told me.




• City Attorney William Grodnick, who has been sitting at the end of the table unnoticed: "It's rather easy and genius, if I do say so myself. We declare impasse, no matter what, just declare impasse and then we impose on them whatever cuts we want. To make it more credible, Carlos (and the actor playing Grodnick slows his speech) you will issue a media alert a week or two earlier, next Monday in fact, denouncing the fire union's refusal to respond to our five requests for a meeting to discuss their contract. It's classic media crisis management: We force them to defend themselves. We are the alpha dog."




• Hernandez: "But we did meet. Then I told them to hold off until after the county election."




• 'Grodnick: "Who cares? Who knows that for a fact? They will still be in a defensive mode. And some people will believe it. You are the mayor. Put it out on an official media alert. It's official. The media is lazy and stupid anyway."




• Hernandez: "But the ^&%$#@ bomberos did respond, didn't they? Hey, wait, didn't we even meet with them once?"




• Grodnick: (Sigh) "That's not the point. We put it out with our spin, the TV soundbites and radio briefs will eat it up. People are sick of public employees with fat paychecks." (Under his breath) "As long as it's not public lawyers with fat six-figure paychecks." (Back to his normal voice) "They'll buy this."




• Hernandez: "We're selling something else to make up the budget gap? Great idea!"




• Parks shakes her head.




• Vega slumps his shoulders.




• Vidal freezes in motion momentarily, then pops the last bite of sandwich into his mouth.




• Grodnick: "No, Carlos. Just trust me. Issue the media alert. Then we can agree to a forensic audit, because it will never happen before we declare impasse. Then have a press conference to discuss the city's financial situation, but make sure you blame the firefighters for the bulk of the shortfall. Yeah, that should do it. First, the media alert that puts them on defensive. Second, agree to their demands for transparency, which makes you the good guy. Third, blame them for the shortfall, which makes them the target."

Okay, maybe that's too much creative license. There is no way to know, for sure, if there was a sandwich in the room. But one thing I do know: The firefighters were set up and the impasse was always the city's intention. The media alert sent 10 days earlier to complain about a lack of response smelled fishy from the onset, and Ladra questioned it's motives even then. Especially, since it was easily proven false. Fire Union President Mario Pico, taken by surprise when the media showed him the press release, was able to show emails where he had, indeed, communicated within the dates of the supposed lack of cooperation. And in my two decades of government journalism, I have never seen a city issue an official "media alert" on the labor union's alleged lack of response. Sure, it could happen. I haven't seen it. Is that intended to get a better response? Hardly. It is intended to get media coverage and spin it one way. Because it looks real. But, like the mayor agreeing at last week's council meeting to a forensic audit he never intended to allow, and like the false accusation that $5 million of the $7.8 million shortfall is due to a lack of concessions from the fire union (false because the 2010-2011 budget clearly states that the $5 million in demanded cuts was never factored into the numbers), what we have here is scenery. The backdrop, if you will, for the impasse episode. Not the grand finale, however. That comes next.

Remember at the beginning of the conference room scene, someone said action must be taken before November? That's because of the elections in which Hernandez could lose his $190,000 job. Impasse could allow the mayor to flex his muscles in front of voters by imposing pay cuts on the firefighters, like the 17 percent cuts illegally imposed on the general employees (which was ruled by PERC an unfair labor practice -- surprise, surprise -- and will end up costing the city millions it does not have). That, my dear handlers and fans, is the end game. Why would the city want to do that again? If it's going to be ruled illegal anyway and they'll have to pay more in the end? Maybe 'cause that end could come post election. It only has to look real for a few months.

But the press and the public appear to be on to the city's plans -- especially after Hernandez refused to answer questions about the city's finances at a press conference he announced Thursday for Friday so he could repeat practiced soundbites (read: campaign opportunity) about no tax increases and vague plans to fix city finances -- and have already started to ask more questions.

Let's hope they demand answers and transparency that aren't staged to simply look real.

'New' known name in Hialeah race

If at first you don't succeed, don't waste the name recognition and run again.

That's a life lesson apparently learned and, now, applied by Frank Lago, chief of staff to Sweetwater Mayor Manuel Maroño, who just took a stab at a state rep seat and lost to cigar czar Jose Oliva (Rep. District 110). So he's taking a stab at an easier target: Hialeah City Council.

Lago, 30, confirmed to Ladra late Tuesday that he was, indeed, going to run for a council seat and would file within the next few days. He also said it was not his idea.

"I've been called by a couple of people in the community," said Lago, who knocked on thousands of doors and did well in Hialeah, where he says he has lived for six years. (He did well in Hialeah and lost the race in Miami Lakes, Oliva's home, and unincorporated Miami-Dade). He's already polled voters and says he is pleased with his name recognition among the incumbents: Only Council President Isis "Gavelgirl" Garcia-Martinez has more name game (read: watch him run against one of the others or in the open seat). That stands to reason: "I spent a lot of money in Hialeah," he said, referring to the bulk of his $100,000 state campaign effort, most of which went to absentee ballot queen Sasha Tirador, whose machine Ladra will be watching closely again.

Lago said he has always been drawn to "Tallahassee politics" and wanted to try something other than a municipality, which is his day job. "What convinced me was the residents in the area have been calling. They say there are problems. They thought that I can bring my municipal experience, especially now that there's a $13 million deficit. If it wasn't for the residents, the people who supported me in Hialeah, I wouldn't be doing this."

He hasn't aligned himself with anyone, yet, and says he wants to see more from the mayoral candidates before committing. "The three candidates have reached out to me," he said, and he was not referring to State Rep. Eddy Gonzalez (Rep. District 102), a very telling omission that bolsters rumors Gonzalez will stay in his state seat. "It is too premature to determine who I will go with," Lago said.

It's far enough along, however, to know he will likely not be slate buddy with intern mayor Carlos Hernandez, "because of what he's proposing," Lago said, referring to the $4 million revolving credit line the mini mayor wants so he can "feel better" about the general fund with the secret true balance you have to ask in writing for. "We have a deficit and we need to create new avenues of revenue," Lago said. "It's unbelievable to me that we're going to cover this gap with a credit line."

Both Martinez and Garcia confirmed that they had spoken to Lago and both said he was a quite viable candidate. "He has good name recognition" said former mayor Raul Martinez (who added that the young wannabe called him, not the other way around). "He did pretty good with the state race." Former State Sen. Rudy Garcia called him a "contender" whose name has come up with voters as he has walked and talked to voters for his own campaign. "A lot of the business folks and residents speak vividly of Frank's visit," Garcia said. Yes, he said vividly. Looks like Lago has a fan. And if he still has his sights set on a state seat, Garcia could be a good guy to have on your team.

But Ladra is going to go out on a limb here and predict, way prematurely, that Lago will end up on the slate with Martinez (and Alex Morales, whose name recognition was also high in the Lago poll). Yeah, Mr. Mayor is a high-profile Democrat and Lago is Republican to the core. But Martinez helped Lago's wife, Liz Iglesias, with her unsuccessful bid for the council in 2007. And Hialeans are crazy loyal if anything. It could be hard for Lago to run on a slate against Martinez with his wife staring him down every day over dinner.

Plus it would, theoretically, be a nice revenge thread in As Hialeah Churns, hypothetically anyway, if it were true that former Hialeah mayor and county mayoral candidate Julio Robaina (who I am sure does not want to see Martinez elected) stabbed Lago in the back by helping Oliva.

Stay tuned.

Hialeah mayor bluffs about budget

There were more questions than answers after Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez ended his press conference "to discuss the city's finances" Friday, where he presented misleading numbers. Especially since the information seemed to be pulled from the air, offered nothing to back it up and refused to answer relevant and legitimate questions about his puffed up numbers.

Maybe his figures are on steroids.

In fact, the "press conference" looked more like a campaign stunt, a set-up soundbite opportunity to say he was not going to raise the taxes and that he would have a balanced budget. He always looked right at the camera when he said this multiple times. But he didn't say how. So, in fact, we don't know anything more now than we did Friday morning.

First, he provided members of the media with a "daily cash report" dated Wednesday -- before Thursday's weekly "check run" for payments to vendors, suppliers and contractors and before Friday's $3.2 million payroll was issued. Then, he refused to answer when Ladra asked how much of the $9.4 million he said was in the Suntrust account Wednesday was in unencumbered general fund monies as opposed to earmarked enterprise funds like the gas tax revenues or storm sewer utility, which can only be applied to certain expenses and not general operating costs.

"You will have to put that question in writing," he told me, and then basically shut the press conference down. Even though other questions in writing have not been answered and it's extremely relevant to the issue he was talking about. And it's something he should know. So basically, here is the interim mayor and candidate, providing a number that he knows is false, hoping nobody would ask about those things and refusing to answer when someone does. Finance Director Vivian Parks, Budget Director Alex Vega and Water and Sewer Director Armando Vidal -- all standing to the side, presumably to lend the mayor some credibility, but making themselves actually complicit in the smoke and mirrors -- should have known the answer also. But they are not allowed to speak anymore, according to a gag order issued last week.

Hernandez would not answer the second part of Ladra's question, which was to confirm that the "daily cash" in the Suntrust account was actually about $6.2 million today, because it is payday and the payroll takes about $3.2 million. Then I wanted to ask how much Thursday's check run was, to subract it from the $6.2 mil. Then I wanted to ask about how they would make the next five payrolls through the end of the fiscal year, which totals about $19 million. With a shortfall of about $13 million for that, I wanted to ask -- and did put it in writing earlier this week -- what the project revenues are for this month, August and September.

Ladra doesn't think the revenues are going to be enough, judging from trial balances that project this month's accounts receivables at $44,000. Maybe that's why Hernandez wants to take out a short-term credit line. He said it was to have a revolving fund for capital improvements that the city advances funding for while the county or state or federal bond or grant monies come through. So it's a loan secured on the accounts payable from these projects, which he says the city has dipped into the general fund to start and/or complete.

Although he called it his general fund. A few different times.

"We have been fronting $4-$6 million from my general fund," Hernandez said. "When that money money moves back in and out... I'm not comfortable with that." So he will ask the council to take out a line of credit at the next council meeting, he said.

"So I feel better. I don't have to do it... but I'm going to feel very omfortable in case of extreme emergencies," Hernandez said, adding again that he would "put it into my general account.

"I'm going to have it to be there for whatever comes to mind," he said.

Like payroll? Like payments to the vendors whose checks are reportedly being held? Like paying the 16 firefighters who were fired illegally for the five months they were illegally laid off, as ordered by an independent arbitrator?

We don't know. Because he won't answer any questions. But if he thinks this non press conference would relieve the pressure from the media and employees demanding more specific information and evidence, he is even denser than his critics say he is. Ladra thinks it's going to be worse.

Stay tuned to As Hialeah Churns and we will see.

Hats off to Al Crespo, el maestro

I have to daily thank any dieties that are responsible for Al Crespo, the blogger who brings us The Crespo-Gram Report, which keeps scooping all the mainstream media and bringing us breaking big stories like Tony Crapp's resignation and the bribe, er, I mean early retirement offer by Mayor Tomas Regalado to Police Chief Miguel Exposito so he would resign and lay off him, with downloads and everything. Gotta love that.

Crespo is an inspiration to Ladra. Fresh posts are scheduled to be published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but lately he's been updating it daily with a stream of breaking news. He is the source on inside Miami Proper politics and government games and graft.

Earlier this week, he posted a story about a meeting to discuss a proposed CRA development with a private development company -- and brought out a PDF of a fundraising flyer/invite from Commissioner Richar Dunn's campaign last year hosted by the same development group. Then he went to Dunn's campaign reports, and found $20,000 in the three days after from developers and such, including the company's president. The meeting was cancelled -- I think after his post. Gotta love that.

http://www.crespogram.com/

He is relentless with his public records requests and is adept at connecting the dots and putting it into context, having the benefit of a wealth of insider knowledge and history and adding his own perspective, which is wise beyond its humor.

Yes, thank heavens for Al Crespo. For without his voice and vigilance, imagine all we would never know.

Climax in 'As Hialeah Turns'

Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez has announced that he will discuss the city's much-questioned financial situation at a press conference at 3 p.m. Friday. Ladra was off by an hour.

"Government should be transparent. For this reason, I will be discussing the city's finances," Hernandez said in a media release sent a few minutes ago.

But I guess transparency has a timetable because he has not wanted to disclose the city's financial figures for weeks. That's really the right word, mayor: Disclose, not discuss. He was asked simple questions like what the city's current cashflow was at Tuesday's meeting and would not answer then. Has he just learned in the last two days? Or was he playing politics since the one posing the question is going to trounce him in the November mayoral elections? I hope former Mayor Raul Martinez -- who does pay taxes on his Hialeah property unlike former mayor and Hernandez mentor Julio Robaina, who was defeated in the county mayoral race -- goes to the press conference. Ladra likes fireworks.

I also hope the public records I've asked for -- trial balances for the past few months, projected revenues for the rest of this fiscal year, the list of vendors whose payments have been held or are outstanding for more than 30 days (with amounts and how long they have been due, and we have to be specific because, if not, we will just get a list of names), a list of the companies that provided funds to open the parks and how much they provided -- will be available. There has to be some documentation of what the mayor wants to "discuss" in order for it to have any weight.

Today, I will add travel and expense reports for all council members and top administrators as well as any and all new hires and promotions since May 1 -- names, salaries and positions. And I will copy the city attorney because Ladra was told he might not be very happy about the delay in getting public records requests filled. And if Hernandez believes so much in government transparency -- words that make Ladra's tail wag -- then these documents should be copied and stapled together and handed out to all the media that attends the press conference.

Ladra hopes the other journalists there ask the right follow-up questions. Maybe they should get a "cliff notes cheat-sheet" handed to them as they enter the mayor's crence room...

Okay. Gotta go. Ladra has homework for tomorrow's press conference.

Outsiders outraise incumbents

While the mayor's race in Hialeah seems to be attracting the big bucks -- former mayor Raul Martinez and former State Sen. Rudy Garcia (REP, District 40) have more than $240,000 between them -- the money is not trickling in as much for council candidates.

Not all the campaign finance reports for the upcoming Hialeah elections are in, but those that are indicated new candidates running for Jose Yedra's open seat or challenging the sitting members of the council are out-raising the incumbents.

Only two incumbents had filed reports that were due Monday. Vivian Cassals-Muñoz raised $600 and Jose Caragol, $800. Combine that with the $1,000 interim Mayor Carlos Hernandez gave himself, and it looks like the First Hialeah Bank of Julito has run dry, or at least it's political campaign division.

The reports can also be mailed in and they are on time as long as they were postmarked Monday. And that means we should have them by tomorrow, for sure. But already, from the ones the city clerk does have, the outsiders are drumming up more campaign contributions.

Leading the list of candidate contenders is Danny Bolaños, the former police chief's son and ex-cop himself who resigned in 2003 after a police shooting that was reviewed more than most in what seemed like a politically-charged atmosphere (he had years earlier been accused of using excessive force and acquitted of simple battery for the same incident). He now works in at the Hialeah Housing Authority (which is always good for a few thousand absentee ballots). Bolanos, who lost a bid for the council in 2009 but has deep support among Hialeah's hierarchy, has raised $10,550 for his run and has not declared which seat he will go after. His report also shows he stopped fundraising on June 8, around the time he started helping Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez win votes in Hialeah. Strange then, that among his donations are two $500 maximum contributions from the Cayon family, who donated tens of thousands to the Bolanos nemesis, former Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina, who lost to Gimenez in the runoff.

Number 2 in the money race on council seats is Ramiro Sicre, who has declared to run in Group I for Yedra's open seat and has raised almost $9,000. Only $845 was in the last period, however, and much of that from outside Hialeah or even Miami-Dade as he apparently hits up friends in Winter Springs, Orlando, Davie and Sunrise, as well as Tucker, Georgia. In the same group, Fernando Alvarez -- the first guy to put signs up everywhere -- -- raised $1,440 in the last period (all from Hialeah or Miami Lakes) for $3,550 total.

Ladra still needs to chew on these reports, compare them to each other -- to see who is helping who -- and look for more Robaina (and Gimenez) money to see how these candidates are aligned. But that takes a little more time and you, dear readers, were chopping at the bit for whatever information there is, since Hialeah does not put the campaign reports online.

And maybe there will be more reports to consider tomorrow. Ladra is particularly interested in the one from State Rep. Eddy Gonzalez (REP, District 102), who had already reportedly raised more than $100,000 for his mayoral bid but has not been heard from and is rumored to be dropping out and dropping into a council race. He has likely spoken to both Martinez and Garcia because Gonzalez is now the prize.

Since council members are elected at large in Hialeah, not by district, and often run on slates that combine their expenses, both Garcia and Martinez would do wise to get him on their "teams" and get some of that money.

Especially since it looks like nobody else has any.

Fight! Raul, Carlos spar at meeting

Hialeah voters got a look at how nasty the city's mayoral election may get Tuesday when former Mayor Raul Martinez -- still called Mr. Mayor by almost everybody, even Interim Mayor Carlos Hernandez -- challenged the acting boss and fellow candidate to tell him what the city's financial standing was.

The question remains unanswered. Not because Hernandez does not know, but because he wants to wait until later this week to let us know, promising figures Thursday or Friday, he said.

"We will have all those numbers in the next couple of days," Hernandez said, but Ladra is unsure if he is talking about the budget for 2011-2012 or the current state of the city, which is what has been asked over and over again. By me, by employees and by other journalists. If there's nothing wrong with the books, why can't anybody take a look? Hernandez has the huevos to say nobody's asking to. "All these people you are talking about, I don't see them," he told Martinez, even though I was sitting right there, two rows behind fire union President Mario Pico and the general employees' union President Barbara Hernandez. Close by were newspaper and television reporters who I'm sure asked for the same figures. But what Hernandez was doing was taking a shot at the front running candidate for the job he wants to keep.

"I only see people who are politically motivated," he said.

Martinez, being the savvy administrator and campaign king he is, reminded him that "the budget has nothing to do with the cash flow. Are the employees going to get paid? Because they are coming to me and they are worried."

Hernandez seemed to wince: "I'm glad they go to you now." Ouch.

"They come to me because they trust me," Martinez said, citing Hernandez's promotional "salary cut" (annual pay was $40,000 two months ago and is now $190,000) as an opportunistic campaign ploy, which is exactly what it is when you hear the acting mayor talk about him being a public servant and the people tiring of bloated salaries -- which he forgets to say he approved.

"Now you're throwing Julio Robaina under the bus," Martinez said, referring to the former mayor and defeated county mayoral candidate whose political future the council tied their trailers to.

Hernandez leaned on the dais and began to complain but I have no idea what he said because either it was incoherent or because I was still writing down the bus comment or because Isis Garcia-Martinez interrupted the two men and almost chided Martinez in a flirty mommy tone. "Yes, I know how good you are," she told him and Ladra would almost swear she saw a wink. Or did she just roll her eyes again? "In the past, when you wanted something done some way, it was done that way. You need to respect Mayor Carlos Hernandez," she told Martinez -- and she should have winked then but she said that with a straight face.

Hernandez punched back, raising the raises that Martinez gave himself as mayor from 2001 to 2005. And Martinez started to speak again, likely to raise the issue about how he lobbied for the city and worked full-time while the city now pays lobbyists and the mayor works out. Except that Garcia-Martinez, a kill joy who likes that little gavel that comes with council presidency, stopped both of them from talking over each other. "This is going to be a political match? Why don't we leave it to November," she said. Que aguafiestas.

But Martinez will not be shut up that easily. "The city council approved every single one of those raises and when I left the city, the city had $35 million in reserves. Where are the reserves now? You don't want to answer how much money you have in the bank?"

"I gave you my answer," Hernandez said, calm again, apparently referring to the tell-ya-later response.

"You're in trouble," Martinez said, head tilted, tiny sarcastic smile on his face. Then he left the podium as Hernandez said "no we're not."

"He sounds like Hugo Chavez," Martinez yelled as he went out the council chambers door.

Really, it may sound like I am but I am not making this stuff up.

So, en resumen, Hernandez's answer is that he will provide an answer later in the week. Look for it on Friday and late in the day, around 4 p.m. Because Hialeah politics is turning into a top-rated telenovela and you know they always wait to air the crazy plot twists and dramatic cliffhangers at the last minute of the last day of the week. Why? So they can promote it all week long, of course. And Hernandez -- who has a scant $1,000 in his campaign account from himself, and on June 10th (nothing else at all) -- is getting a good amount of free ink and free air time (read: campaign promotion) in the meantime so he can spin-say, over and over again, how and why he cut his salary, when he's really looking at a nearly 400% raise (which is how he spun it with TV reporters Tuesday). I am sure the employees who were forced to take an illegal 27 percent cut that was later changed to 17 percent after the city lost a PERC ruling, would love a "cut" like that instead.

But while Friday is drumbeat day, Tuesday's council meeting was still a great episode. After Martinez, Pico spoke about his lack of trust in the city's numbers. I'd be suspicious too after so many varying reports from an administration that has (1) once provided two different budgets to the union and (2) been dead wrong on budgetary justifications, such as in the case of the 16 fired firefighters -- swept out (coincidentally?) right before a union vote on concessions -- that the city had to rehire after an arbitrator said the city's financial reasoning was bogus.

"There have been errors and omissions in the past, and the concerns are still there," Pico said, adding that the fire union would pay for the audit. "All we need is that you openly participate with us. We pay. Let's both choose the auditor. I think at the end of the day, this is going to tell us how big a problem we have." Now there's a solution. But Hernandez can't see that. At first, Hernandez declined, and he took the opportunity to malign the union because they have not been able to impose cuts and because they had to rehire the firefighters and it cost the city more than $1 million between the overtime already paid and the $687,000 in backpay ordered by a binding arbitrator. (But Ladra thinks that the city is broke and has no intention of paying the firefighters for the five months they were illegally unpaid). "The firefighters union has not given up anything yet. Let's get to a table and we look at the numbers. Bring whoever you want," he said, knowing full well that is not what Pico meant by a forensic audit, where auditors sit in the city's finance office poring over numbers, looking for discrepancies you just know they will find. Again, Hernandez turned it into a campaign speech and said that Pico was playing politics. "I'm not going to spend for an audit," he ended. But he should take the wax out of his ears. Did he not hear the union say they were footing the bill?

Pico was undeterred and turned the interim mayor's argument against him. "The CAFRS [comprehensive annual financial reports] were delayed quite a bit this year and politically there were elections going on and I'm not playing politics. We are ready to absorb the costs," Pico repeated and stressed. "We just want it to be something the council participates in," he said, adding again that lingering financial questions cause concern about the requested $3.2 million in concessions. "We have heard and seen a lot of weird things. We have no confidence in the numbers right now. We don't want to make our sacrifices in the dark," Pico said, adding that firefighters are willing to take measures to increase savings -- but if the city is not squandering funds elsewhere and has a solid recovery plan. "I'm not going to be part and parcel to the political games and ineptitude of this administration," Pico said. That's right, he went there.

"I don't have a hidden agenda," Hernandez said. "I will tell the citizens of Hialeah where we are at."

The city attorney then rose to the interim mayor's defense. "Today we got a very nasty letter from Mr. Pico saying we are waiting for the mayor to sit down. We've been negotiating in excess of 27 months and the fire union has received two merit steps while other unions have sacrificed."
But those negotiations have not been made in good faith when time and again the city loses PERC rulings and arbitrations on illegal firings. And the letter, of which Ladra has a copy, was not nasty. It was, in fact, a response to a media alert issued by Hernandez announcing that five attempts to meet with the union have been ignored. Not only is that untrue, because they had a meeting attended by two reporters, in June. It's also just simply weird. Why would Hernandez issue that kind of press release unless he knew that the forensic audit was going to be suggested and he wanted to cast doubt on the firefighters intentions? It makes no sense at all. Especially since Pico can show that they met in June and said that Hernandez himself called after that meeting and asked to postpone any negotiations until after the county mayoral elections.

"Does the city attorney speak for you, sir," Pico asked the mayor, who answered something to the tune of that he did speak for him at that moment (hope he puts that on campaign literature). When the attorney continued to ask Pico to provide a date, the union president said he would do so in an email. "There has to be some very serious questions about those numbers that better be answered."

Garcia-Martinez tried being peacemaker again, saying "I think there's good faith here now." And maybe that was just the right amount of pressure, because Hernandez suddenly grasped that it would not cost the city a thing and agreed to the forensic audit. With a Catch 22, that is. "Within a time limit, sure, do it," Hernandez said. But he demanded negotiations begin next week and how likely is it that a forensic audit will be done before that?

But Ladra sure hopes we don't have to wait that long before the public can hear how much the city has in the bank, how much it owes and how much it expects to come in for this current year's cycle -- which, again, are numbers that the mayor or his gagged financial department heads should have at their fingertips but are refusing to provide for whatever reason they have. C'mon, just a ball park figure. Give or take a couple hundred thou.

My guess: It isn't good news. Because if they could just show we have this much and this coming in and it's enough to pay these expenses, it would be in the interim mayor's best interest -- and the best interest of his already struggling campaign -- to do just that.