The Miami Herald

Posted on Sat, Jan. 21, 2006

MIAMI-DADE COMMISSION

Media proposal sparks concerns

Commissioner Dennis Moss wants to correct 'inaccuracies and misleading statements' made about the commission with more funding for media muscle. Critics worry it will serve to cool public dissent.

BY TERE FIGUERAS NEGRETE
tfigueras@MiamiHerald.com

County Commissioner Dennis Moss says he's tired of being bashed by people he considers ill-informed critics and has a plan to set the public straight -- one that includes using taxpayer dollars to purchase damage-control advertising.
Moss wants to correct ''inaccuracies and misleading statements'' made by the public and the news media about the actions of the County Commission. His critics say his ideas could chill public dissent -- and waste public funds.

The action comes at a time when the commission has come under heavy fire for its handling of controversial issues, such as proposals to adjust Miami-Dade County's urban development boundary which, in part, protects the Everglades from development.

Moss insisted that his two proposals, which passed a committee vote this week but have yet to be approved by the full commission, are intended to correct only ''factual inaccuracies and misleading statements'' -- not attack detractors.
But the tactic is raising some eyebrows.

''It strikes me as a veiled threat that critics better think twice, because this is a governmental unit not prepared to play in the normal give-and-take of public discourse,'' said Bob Jarvis, a professor of constitutional law at Nova Southeastern Law School. ``At best, it's thin-skinnedness.''

One of the proposals forwarded by Moss would direct county staff to ''correct the public record'' if residents addressing the commission during public hearings are considered to have made incorrect or misleading statements.

The other empowers the chairman of the commission to respond swiftly to statements made in the media or in the commission chambers and directs him to spend ''necessary funds'' from the chairperson's roughly $875,000 budget. Moss said the chair can do so by taking out newspaper and broadcast ads.

They come following a year of heated controversy in the county -- including a fierce debate over expanding development and a pitched battle between the 13 commissioners and Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez over expanding mayoral powers.

While the proposals are not likely to drastically alter everyday operations on the commission -- which frequently questions speakers and staff during meetings -- they raise some troublesome issues, said Jarvis.

''It's especially curious that this comes after a period of some controversy,'' he said.

Moss said his intent is simply to ''be able to set the record straight'' and is motivated in part by criticism the commission endured during debates over moving the urban development boundary in recent months.

''There's no intention here to impede First Amendment rights, or intimidate citizens or interrupt citizens midstream,'' Moss said.

Moss is one of several commissioners who has come under fire from environmentalists and other hold-the-line groups for not ruling out moving the boundary, which separates undeveloped land from development sprawl.

In an interview before Thursday's meeting, Moss said he was irked by comments about last year's commission vote to send controversial applications to adjust the UDB to the state for further review.

''You have folks saying that by sending the issue up to Tallahassee, all of a sudden we're building out in the Everglades,'' Moss said.

Michael Pizzi, a Miami Lakes councilman who is often a vocal critic of the commission, said Moss' plan :shows this is a commission obsessed with its own public image.''

The open-ended language could give current chairman Joe Martinez -- and future chairs -- carte blanche to wage a media offensive, Pizzi said. "They're giving Joe Martinez a public relations slush fund, with no cap and no oversight from even the rest of the commissioners. It's outrageous.''

But Martinez himself expressed ambivalence about the plan. ''I don't really understand the context, or if I would support it,'' he said, adding that he has concerns about the potential for abuse. "It has to be stricter, and there have to be guidelines to stop some chairperson in the future going berserk with the money.''

Moss said he is open to suggestions and has asked that an item directing the chairman to respond to inaccurate statements go through a public workshop before it comes to the board for a final vote.

The South Dade commissioner said the chairman should be able to respond to media reports or purchase rebuttal ads without waiting to consult with the remaining 12 commissioners, as currently required. He said the chair is often hobbled from doing so by the Sunshine Law, which requires elected officials to discuss issues only during public meetings.

That prospect did not sit well with Commissioner Katy Sorenson, who maintains a tough stance against moving the urban development boundary.

''Everyone has a different definition of what is a misleading statement. Whose version are we talking about?'' said Sorenson, the only commissioner on the six-member committee to vote against both Moss proposals.

Martinez's office already publishes a quarterly, trilingual ''Chamber Gazette'' to promote feel-good news about government business, which costs $11,000 per run. The county spends more than $1 million annually to take out ads in small publications -- not including The Miami Herald or other mainstream media -- through a community periodical advertising program, according to the county's communication department. There is also the county-run cable TV channel and a contingent of community relations and media liaisons.

''On the surface, it sounds fine,'' said Jarvis. "Who wouldn't be against getting correct information to the public? But it bears further watching.''