If you’ve ever wondered how much dysfunction a city commission can pack into one meeting, North Miami Beach just set a new bar.
Last night’s Commission meeting was a chaotic blend of late starts, marathon sessions (wrapping well after 1 a.m.), and reckless disregard for your tax dollars and public trust. WakeUp NMB has been keeping an eye on two key agenda items—and what we saw wasn’t just disappointing, it was astonishing.
PART I: The City Manager’s Resignation… Comes With a Payday?
City Manager Mario Diaz announced his voluntary resignation to “spend more time with family.”
A clean goodbye, right? Not in North Miami Beach.
Vice Mayor Chernoff initially proposed giving Diaz a $95,000 severance package + benefits—even though he resigned voluntarily. Thanks to public pressure, that resolution was pulled. A rare win for accountability. Or so we thought.
Then came a curveball.
A separate resolution (also pushed by Chernoff and Commissioner Su) appointed Andrew Plotkin as interim city manager, with an effective date moved up to May 21 instead of the originally planned June 14. Why the rush?
So Mario Diaz could “just stay home” until his final day.
But here’s where it gets wild:
Changing that date accidentally triggered a termination, making Diaz eligible for severance again—this time for 15 weeks. That’s just five weeks less than the $95K package they supposedly scrapped.
The question:
Where was the City Attorney before this disaster even made it onto the agenda?
SMUKLER’S STRATEGY: FIRE HIM TO “HELP” HIM?
Commissioner Smukler, who tearfully mourned Diaz’s resignation just a month ago, was suddenly leading the charge to fire him early—just to get him the payout.
Then, with no hint of irony, she proposed hiring him back as a consultant right after giving him the check.
Let that sink in:
- He resigns
- They create a scenario to give him severance
- Then try to bring him back on the payroll
This move may violate the City Charter, which only allows three commission-appointed positions: city manager, city attorney, and city clerk.
Oh, and North Miami Beach already has a water utility consultant—the area Diaz would supposedly consult on.
Despite fiscal irresponsibility and potential charter violations, the motion passed.
✅ Commissioners Smith and Su were the only NO votes.
All of this happened under the “watch” of a city attorney whose legal guidance appears more snooze than sharp.
PART II: The $13 Million Trolley Contract—No Bids? No Problem?
Last month, the Commission awarded a multi-million-dollar contract to ProKel Mobility—with no competitive bidding, no waiver, nothing. It was flat-out illegal.
The only reason the item came back wasn’t resident outrage—it was because the contract broke procurement laws.
So how did they fix it?
By labeling it a “bid waiver”—a legal loophole that’s only allowed in emergencies or to avoid disruption to essential services.
But here’s the kicker:
ProKel’s existing contract already had two one-year renewals available.
The City could have simply renewed the contract temporarily, kept the trolleys running, and issued a proper Request for Proposal (RFP) to invite competition. Instead, they locked in a $13 million deal—no comparisons, no competitive bids, no accountability.
Vote: Passed 5–2
✅ Commissioners Smith and Su voted NO
WHAT ARE WE LEFT WITH?
In just one meeting, the North Miami Beach Commission managed to:
- Trigger severance for someone who resigned voluntarily, then doubled down to make sure he got paid anyway
- Rehire him as a “consultant”, despite serious concerns over legality and the City Charter
- Approve a $13 million contract with zero competitive bids and no clear justification
- Operate under the “guidance” of a City Attorney who seemed more like a bystander than a legal advisor
WakeUp NMB exists for one reason:
To shine a light on how your city is being run.
But the brighter that light gets, the more dysfunction we uncover.
When public money is treated like private currency…
When rules are bent to reward insiders…
When accountability is replaced with silence…
We have to ask the hard question:
Who are they really working for?
Because it’s clearly not the residents.
