‘It’s just becoming messier.’ Financial concerns bog down Coral Gables annexation

After overcoming a major hurdle last month, Coral Gables’ efforts to absorb a neighboring enclave hit a potential snag Tuesday, with officials now wanting to poll residents on the matter and citing concerns about projected six-figure annual losses.

The City Commission instructed staff to come to the next meeting in December with options for gauging Coral Gables residents’ interest in annexing Little Gables — whether through an informal survey or a formal ballot referendum — potentially further slowing a process that’s crawled along for decades.

“I promised residents of Coral Gables that they would have a say in this matter,” said Commissioner Ariel Fernandez, who was elected in April. While campaigning this year, Fernandez said, he heard a common sentiment: “Little Gables residents should have an opportunity to vote, but so should we.”

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Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson said the extra step was unnecessary.

“It’s been over 40 years that they’ve been seeking annexation, and it’s never come to a vote yet,” Anderson said of Little Gables residents. “I think it’s high time that they get to go to the ballot box and express their wishes.”

In order to proceed with the annexation process, the city does not need to demonstrate approval from its residents. It does, however, need to get at least 20% support from voters in the potentially-annexed area — a threshold that the city said it met in October when it received signatures supporting annexation from about 21% of Little Gables voters. Still, the city has not yet submitted those petitions to the Miami-Dade Elections Department for certification, according to elections spokesman Robert Rodriguez.

Polling reveals mixed results

The commission on Tuesday did not decide what it would do if the survey results show disapproval for annexation, and recently-available data suggests mixed opinions on the matter.

A public opinion poll taken earlier this year of 300 random Coral Gables residents by McLaughlin & Associates showed 55% support for annexation, Florida Politics reported. That poll also predicted that Mayor Vince Lago — who was reelected without opposition in February — had 69% approval, although both of the mayor’s chosen candidates lost their bids for election in April.

Regardless of whether a survey takes place, the city is required to hold a public hearing about annexation in order to submit its application to Miami-Dade County, which must give permission for Little Gables residents to vote in a referendum on the matter.

Commissioner Kirk Menendez said that “everybody wants to feel that they’re part of the process,” and that a survey of Coral Gables residents would ensure that happens.

Lago said it would be a “mistake” to put the question out to residents.

“I think that we should trust in ourselves, as elected officials, to move the process forward and make the right decision,” Lago said. “We can’t vote on everything based on referendum. That’s not why we’re here. We’re here to make decisions and move this forward, or vote against it if that’s the case.”

Annexation could cost the city millions

Fernandez and Commissioner Melissa Castro expressed concern about the financial impact annexation would have on the city.

“Based on the numbers that I’ve seen here today,” Fernandez said, “we’re going to be paying for a lot of things for Little Gables in perpetuity.”

Engineer Jorge Duyos of JRD & Associates, who the city hired as a consultant, gave a presentation showing that while annexation would increase the city’s revenue by millions of dollars, it’s not likely that the city would break even in the near future.

In the first year of annexation, the city anticipates making a $5.26 million investment for “start-up expenditures” that will bring Little Gables “up to Coral Gables standards,” Duyos said. But with just $3.6 million in anticipated revenue that year, there would be a $1.66 million loss. Year two of annexation showed a smaller estimated loss of $483,000, with the deficit continuing to increase in subsequent years up to $811,000 in the fifth year.

“It’s an investment in the future of the city,” Lago said. “Every good investment does not bear fruit in the first year, or two, or three or four. It takes five, six, seven, 10 years to get things done the right way.”

Not all Little Gables residents are in favor

Some Little Gables residents spoke in opposition to annexation.

“I can tell you, I know the people in my neighborhood. We do not want this,” said Doug Mayer of the Neighbors for the Preservation of Little Gables group. He added that many of the residents he’s spoken to chose the neighborhood because they don’t want to be under the authority of Coral Gables’ notoriously strict zoning code, and they don’t want to pay a higher tax rate.

“We just want to be left alone,” Mayer added.

But others said they’re tired of waiting to be incorporated into Coral Gables.

Little Gables resident Christina Villamil said she bought her home assuming annexation was “imminent,” building it according to Coral Gables’ specifications and aesthetic. She said the city is unnecessarily delaying the issue.

“It’s just becoming messier, and it is really dividing both Coral Gables and Little Gables on such a trivial issue,” Villamil said. “Let the residents vote. We’ve been told for over 20 years now, ‘you can vote,’ and it keeps being ripped away from us.”