Miami-Dade Law Department: The County’s Highest-Paid Power Keepers

Miami-Dade Law Department: The County’s Highest-Paid Power Keepers. The Impact on the Budget

Amid a historic deficit exceeding $400 million, Miami-Dade’s administration has insisted that there are not enough resources to address priorities such as affordable housing, basic infrastructure, or community programs. However, a detailed review of payroll records reveals a hard-to-ignore fact: the County’s Legal Department has become one of the offices with the highest salary increases over the past five years.

While the average citizen pays more taxes and receives fewer services, county attorneys have seen their paychecks grow steadily, diverging from the official narrative of austerity.

The County Attorney’s Salary

The head of the Legal Department, Geraldine Bonzon-Keenan, holds one of the highest salaries in the entire county government apparatus. With over $400,000 dollars annually, her compensation approaches that of federal judges and far exceeds that of mayors of major U.S. cities.

It is not just the raw figure but the pace of growth: her salary has climbed year after year, cementing her not only as the highest-paid official in her field but also as a symbol of how budget priorities are distributed in Miami-Dade.

Salaries of Deputies and Directors

The First Assistant County Attorney, Gerald Sánchez, is not far behind. His annual income places him in the select group of elite officials, with an economic package that surpasses that of most commissioners and directors of key agencies.

Other senior attorneys and division heads have experienced similar increases, consolidating the Legal Department as a true enclave of privilege within the bureaucracy. Even in administrative support and legal assistance positions, increases have sometimes exceeded 50% in just five years.

Official Argument: Retaining Talent

The repeated justification from the county administration is the need to retain talent in a highly competitive legal market. However, this argument loses strength in the face of a fundamental question:

• Should the county compete with private law firms at the expense of taxpayers’ money?
• Is it reasonable that, while funds for community programs are cut, salaries rivaling those in the corporate sector are maintained?

The discourse of austerity fades when contrasted with these figures.

The Impact on the Budget

The Legal Department not only advises and defends the county in litigation; it also, in practice, dictates the interpretation of the rules governing budgets and contracts. In other words: the very guardians of public money are, at the same time, its main beneficiaries.

This structural conflict fuels the public perception that the county government operates as a closed club, where those who distribute the resources are also those who benefit the most from them.

Internal Inequality

When comparing salary growth in the Legal Department with that of other county employees—secretaries, drivers, field technicians, park and maintenance workers—the disparity is alarming. While lower-level employees see annual increases of around 2–3%, the legal area has recorded jumps of up to double digits.

The gap is not only economic; it is moral and political. The implicit message is clear: in Miami-Dade, the law first protects those who interpret it from within.

Conclusion

The case of Miami-Dade’s Legal Department exposes a central contradiction in local public administration: the public is called upon to sacrifice while a bureaucratic elite is rewarded with salaries and benefits that defy all logic of austerity.

This first installment opens the door to a broader investigation: What other departments have followed the same path of accelerated increases? How much of the current deficit is explained by this policy of internal raises?

The truth is that, at least in the Legal Department, the guardians of power know nothing of cuts—only increases.

📌 Final note: This report is based on official payroll data from Miami-Dade County (2020–2025), which will be cross-referenced with historical records and published in full for public access.

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