The two sides agreed to abate the case for six months while Miami Lakes pursues its own litigation against the insurance carrier for refusing to pay Mayor Michael Pizzi’s legal bill.
The abatement accord ends in November and no timetable was given for a court’s decision on whether the insurance company or the town itself must cover the mayor’s legal expenses from his 2014 trial, a hot button topic thought to be discussed during the two budget hearings in September.
“This is a long and drawn out process,” Town attorney Raul Gastesi told The Miami Laker.
Before the abatement, Pizzi and council members clashed over the lawsuit and the situation boiled over when Councilmember Frank Mingo proposed a straw ballot to determine if residents want Miami Lakes to foot the bill at their expense, which led to heated verbal swipes between the two estranged colleagues.
“I don’t believe taxpayers are responsible for the legal issues he brought on himself,” Mingo said earlier this year.
But he withdrew his proposal following comments by residents who said the results of a straw ballot would pale in comparison to a judge’s decision.
Town Manager Alex Rey said the town has decided to allocate any surplus funds from the fiscal year 2016-2017 budget in case the court rules in favor of the insurance carrier.
“We will have a final number in November, but it should over $500,000,” he said in an email to The Miami Laker.
Following his acquittal in 2014, Pizzi sued Florida’s Governor, Rick Scott, in the state’s Supreme Court to force him to lift his suspension, but he never asked the seven justices to reinstate him.
He then sued the town in the lower courts and the Court of Appeals upheld the decision, allowing him to return as mayor in 2015.
Pizzi filed two lawsuits against Miami Lakes requesting the town pay his attorneys’ fees from his criminal and reinstatement trials.
Miami Lakes settled his reinstatement court costs for $460,000 in 2015.
Council members were reluctant to vote for the settlement agreement but wanted to shun additional court costs and stop the financial bleeding.
“This is a tough pill to swallow but I have to put my emotions aside if the attorneys tell you this is the right thing to do,” Council member Ceasar Mestre said last year.
Said Pizzi: “It’s time to stop the bleeding and do the best we can to move forward.”
The mayor’s pending lawsuit has been dragging on for more than a year, as Miami Lakes’ legal fees to defend itself against the two lawsuits as well as the insurance carrier litigation is mounting.
At one point, it was reported that Miami Lakes had already spent about $2 million in legal fees.
Miami Lakes reduced its rate for property taxes from 2.3518 to 2.2253 mills to help shield residents with Homestead Exemption from a tax hike since their property values slightly increased.
Pizzi, who’s facing reelection in November, proposed the new rate.
But the town’s budget doesn’t report a surplus.
Despite the mayor’s lawsuit, the town was able to add two additional police officers and give town staff cost of living increases for about $25,000.
But the $2.5 million for the mayor’s attorneys fees constitutes almost 15 percent of the town’s budget should the court force Miami Lakes to pay the legal bill.