FYI Miami: May 16, 2024

Below are some of the FYIs in this week’s edition. The entire content of this week’s FYIs and Insider sections is available by subscription only. To subscribe click here.

HALF UP FRONT: Non-profit and community-based organizations that get Miami-Dade grants for multiple purposes would receive half the grant up front in the future under a resolution by county commission Chairman Oliver Gilbert III that his Chairman’s Policy Council passed without discussion Monday. “There is no standard county grant agreement,” his legislation says, and while community-based organizations now may request 25% in advance, other grants provide varying amounts in advance or none at all, which “creates a financial strain” and could impede provision of the services that the grant is meant to support. The issue goes to the full county commission June 4.

SMALL BUSINESS EXPANSION: The maximum net worth for Miami-Dade business owners seeking Small Business Enterprise funds has been more than doubled, to $3.5 million. County commissioners last week unanimously passed an ordinance increasing the personal net worth threshold from $1.5 million to $3.5 million. A report to commissioners by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said that increasing the threshold “will improve the existing Small Business Enterprise Programs (SBE) by expanding the pool of firms eligible to participate in the program. “This ordinance change, the mayor’s report continued, “could provide a social benefit because of the potential increased opportunities for SBE competition on county contracts.”

ONE-SOURCE DEAL: An Orlando company is being recommended for a no-competition $7.3 million Miami-Dade County purchase of airfield guidance signs, lights and replacement parts because parts from other manufacturers can’t be used and the vendor is the only one allowed to sell them to the county. Allen Enterprises Inc. is the sole provider of ADB Safegate ground lighting systems for the Southeast of the United States and is therefore being recommended to the county’s Airport and Economic Development Committee, which was to vote on the five-year contract this week.

MORE QUIT IN FLORIDA: In Florida, 3.1% of employees quit their jobs in February, one of the highest quit rates in the nation, up from 2.7% in January, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The highest quit rate was 3.9% in Alaska; the national average was 2.2%. Florida was among three states where the quit rate rose from January to February.

GAS PRICE DIVES: Average gasoline prices in Miami plunged 13.1 cents per gallon in the past week to $3.50, according to GasBuddy. That’s 7.6 cents lower than a month ago and 4 cents lower than a year ago.