A new era has officially begun as Mayor Eileen Higgins presided over her first City of Miami Commission meeting following her victory in the mayoral election. Higgins opened the meeting with a promise to bring civility to local government. “It’s an honor to work with all of you and I look very much forward to collaborating with you on your priorities for your districts,” said Higgins. It was a day of firsts as Higgins’ first meeting as mayor also marked the first for a female mayor for the city. While her work has only just begun, she said she will work on delivering on the promises she made throughout her campaign to improve local service programs for residents. “My goal is to do what I promised to do during the election, which is make city services work better for the residents,” said Higgins. During the meeting, Higgins listened to and addressed some complaints from residents. She also proposed appointing James Reyes as the new city manager. “I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to work with him, see his leadership in action,” said Higgins. The decision on Reyes was approved by commissioners on a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Ralph Rosado voting no. “I can not imagine a more rewarding experience than being able to serve this community,” said Reyes. The former Miami-Dade chief of public safety and previous candidate for Miami-Dade sheriff currently lives in Broward and spent most of his career working for the Broward Sheriff’s Office and Miami-Dade Corrections. As the incoming city manager, his new position will pay him a salary of $475,000, which garnered some criticism from the dais. Reyes defended the hefty salary, saying his decision to accept the opportunity as city manager will cost him benefits he had been accruing while working for law enforcement agencies. “I’m making sacrifices even with that salary, leaving my career that I have behind. That career in public service, particularly in the state of Florida, leads to a certain benefit, obviously, that I am sacrificing continuing in order to come to the City of Miami that doesn’t offer the same type of benefits,” said Reyes. Another test facing Higgins early into her term as mayor is how to reckon with her previous criticisms of the city’s ongoing partnership with Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities. “That was not a requirement legally for this city to do. Now that they’ve entered that agreement, it’s difficult to unwind so I certainly will look into it, but in the meantime, I just want our residents to know no matter what your status, you should feel safe,” said Higgins. Reyes’ first day as city manager is on Monday. ...read more read less