To avoid police lay-offs, commission strikes budget deal

Miami-Dade County Commissioners struck a budget deal to avert layoffs of police officers, helping Mayor Carlos Gimenez deliver on a key promise to voters.

During the 2011 campaign, Gimenez promised not to lay off any police officers or close any fire stations. The county got through the budgeting and fire contract process without shuttering stations, but the police department budget issues took longer to resolve.

A brief recap:

On Jan. 5, county commissioners rejected a proposal from Gimenez to require police officers and some other workers to pay an extra 5 percent toward health care, doubling their contribution. Their decision left an unresolved estimated $35 million budget gap -- about half related to police. Gimenez vetoed the commissioners' votes, and the county started sending pink slips on Jan. 13 to 118 police officers, 17 corrections employees and at least 68 professionals and supervisors. 

On Jan. 24, county commissioners voted 7-6 to require employees to contribute an extra 4 percent for a total of 9 percent. The county will also contribute $10 million from a reserve fund designated for employee health insurance claims.

Employees would have lost their jobs Feb. 3, but that won't happen now. The county sent notices to police officers rescinding the layoffs, county spokeswoman Suzy Trutie said.

While we'll be watching to see if things change, but for now this is a Promise Kept