CountryFest – placeholders and public money: time for a thorough audit by D.O.G.E – Urgent 2025

CountryFest – placeholders and public money: time for a thorough audit by D.O.G.E – Urgent 2025. Audit and Citizen Oversight

Why we write this.
In recent months, it was revealed how a $100,000 line item “mysteriously” appeared within the Department of Aviation’s (MIA) promotional budget for CountryFest, the festival associated with Commission Chairman Anthony Rodriguez. At the same time, a newly created foundation(A3 Foundation) functioned as an intermediary of county funds for significant amounts. All this occurred under the administration of Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and with the explicit or tacit approval of county budgetary areas.
We are not asserting crimes; we are asserting irregularities that demand light, paperwork and accountability.

What we know

• MIA detected a $100,000 line item for CountryFest in its promotional budget in 2024, even though airport funds are federally restricted (FAA) and should not be diverted to non-aeronautical expenses.
• Senior MIA officials objected to the expenditure for possible “revenue diversion” and called for its removal.
• The county budget office would have maintained the line item as a placeholder, with a verbal promise to cover it “from elsewhere” if necessary.
• A3 Foundation received or managed multiple allocations for CountryFest; some of the flow ended up returned or without sufficient public clarity; following the controversy, funding was stopped and contributions were redirected to the Parks Foundation.

Why it matters

1. FAA Risk: If intent or intent to pay for CountryFest with airport revenues is confirmed, MIA could be exposed to federal penalties and loss of grants.
2. Weak governance: items added after a department delivers its plan undermine internal controls.
3. Transparency: when checks appear without sufficient backing or “placeholders” that would later be “paid from elsewhere”, the public loses traceability of the money.
4. Precedent: what today is a festival, tomorrow can be a soccer stadium, hotels or any mega-project with opaque financing paths… if citizens are not vigilant.

Call to action: audit and citizen oversight

We call for a thorough and independent review by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Ethics Board (if by “DOGE” you mean the Department/Office of Government Ethics, let them weigh in as well).

It should cover:

• Full traceability of every public dollar linked to CountryFest 2024-2025: origin (Aviation, Port, Parks, district budgets), dates, payment orders, invoices, reimbursements, refunds, returns.
• Official communications between MIA and the Budget Office regarding the $100,000 placeholder and the criteria for maintaining it.
• Operational relationship with A3 Foundation: agreements, support requirements, audits, results and amounts not yet reconciled.
• Internal control lessons: protocols to prevent unsolicited items from being “inserted” in technical budgets without prior review and publication.

Miami-Dade Neighbors: Demand a thorough audit of D.O.G.E- every dollar counts

Miami-Dade doesn’t need more speeches: it needs a magnifying glass, data and accountability. That’s why we call on every resident, business and civic organization to formally request that DOGE conduct a thorough and independent analysis of all financial movements and execution of County projects: sponsorships, promotional budgets, interdepartmental transfers, foundation agreements and event contracting.

Transparency is not a favor: it is a right. And when public money moves without clarity, citizen trust is broken.

What we ask

• Comprehensive audit of extraordinary appropriations and budgetary placeholders.
• Full traceability: who ordered, who approved, under what standard, and to which supplier or foundation each payment went.
• Publication of reports in clear language and with documentary annexes.
• Early warnings when an expense may violate state or federal rules.
• Correction plan with dates and responsible parties when failures are detected.

What you can do today (takes 5 minutes)

1. Submit an audit request to DOGE (in writing).
2. Register your support with your District Commission and ask that the item be agendized at the next meeting.
3. Make a public records request (Florida Public Records) on the project or expenditure you are concerned about.
4. Share this call with your neighbors and neighborhood associations.

Sample text for your application

Subject: Request for audit and comprehensive review of county allocations and payments
Dear Sir or Madam:
As a resident of Miami-Dade, I am requesting that DOGE audit appropriations, transfers, and contracts related to sponsorships and events in maximum depth, and publish a report with findings, applicable regulations, responsible parties, and corrective actions. I further request traceability of every dollar and legal basis for every decision.
Sincerely,
[Full Name], [Neighborhood/District], [Phone/Email].

Lack of transparency is not solved with communiqués: it is corrected with audits, documentation and consequences. If everyone submits their request, DOGE will have the citizen’s mandate to look where it hurts: in the numbers.

To the Mayor’s Office and the Commission

• Mayor Levine Cava: publish a chronological report with decisions and responsible parties for each disbursement or attempted disbursement. Full transparency.
• Chairman Anthony Rodriguez: publicly explain your office’s role in solicitations, checks issued/uncashed and use of intermediaries.
• Other commissioners: do not be spectators. Vote resolutions that freeze opaque allocations, impose ex ante controls and mandate audits when there are sensitive placeholders.

“Recall” against the mayoress

In parallel, there are multiple recall efforts active or pending against Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. These proceedings do not imply guilt or constitute a trial; they do reflect organized nonconformity and raise the standard of transparency and accountability that the administration must observe.
Why it is relevant here: when recall attempts are involved, it is even more crucial to avoid opaque line items, budget placeholders and the use of intermediaries to channel funds. All allocations linked to events, sponsorships or foundations must have full public traceability and verifiable documentary support.

To residents: how to keep an eye on your money

• Request public records (Sunshine): mailings, memos, requisitions, invoices, checks, returns and justifications from CountryFest, A3 and promotional lines in Aviation and Port.
• Ask your commissionerin writing: Will you support external auditing? Will you support limits on off-mission “promotional” items?
• Participate in hearings. When the press and the neighborhood stand up, dubious projects are stopped-ashappened when the logic of “more cement” was pushed through with haste and little explanation.
• Review the recall process against the mayor and its requirements. If successful, determine the substitution and call for new elections for the office of mayor; and, if necessary, also for the commissioners involved.

It’s not about being “for” or “against” festivals, sport or development. It is about how it is decided, with what money, under what rules and who is accountable.

Miami-Dade deserves governments that plan with rigor, without budgetary shortcuts or opaque intermediaries. We demand comprehensive auditing, real controls and immediate transparency. Because every public dollar has an owner: you.

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