Miami City Commissioner Damian Pardo has put forward a fund intended to attract donations for public projects and programs in District 2, including Coconut Grove.

The measure appeared as item RE.5 on the commission’s Oct. 22 agenda. The city’s legislative record identifies it as Resolution R-26-0489 and names Pardo as its sponsor.

The resolution calls for a fund with The Miami Foundation to accept contributions from both public and private donors, including individuals, businesses, corporations, organizations and foundations.

Money distributed by the foundation would go into a new city special revenue account titled “District 2 Philanthropic Fund,” to be budgeted, allocated and appropriated for District 2 projects and programs.

The text directs the city manager or a designee to establish the fund and authorizes negotiation and execution of the necessary documents in a form acceptable to the city attorney. A footnote expressly makes that authority subject to applicable legal requirements, including the City Charter and City Code.

Questions about how the fund would work

The Coconut Grove Spotlight reported Oct. 19 that Pardo envisioned donations supporting parks, seawalls, flood control and traffic calming.

“We haven’t done enough to connect people with projects they care about that need funding,” Pardo told the Spotlight.

The resolution text reviewed does not set donation limits, specify donor disclosure procedures, establish a project-selection process or list foundation fees. That does not establish that donations would be exempt from other city laws.

A spokesperson for Pardo told the Spotlight that implementation details and agreements would be developed later. The publication also reported that commissioners had directed the administration in September to seek recovery of money from the older Heart of Our Parks fund held by the same foundation. The status of that recovery was not established in the records reviewed for this article.

Capital needs remain

Miami’s capital plan identifies about $1.8 billion in projects and needs without identified funding, WLRN reported. Voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to authorize up to $450 million in general obligation bonds for police and fire facilities.

The legislative page reviewed Oct. 22 did not display a vote tally or adopted meeting minutes. The commission’s final action and any changes made during the meeting still require confirmation.