City records show how District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo spent — and didn’t spend — his $2.4 million in discretionary funding last year, including hundreds of transactions, staff salaries and over $1 million banked for future use.
Tucked away in the City of Miami’s $3.82 billion budget for the last fiscal year was a bit over $2.4 million for District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo to spend pretty much as he pleased.
Under city rules, each of Miami’s five commissioners receives an annual allocation to pay for office staffing, fund operations and support community causes.
So how did Pardo spend his share?
We asked. He wouldn’t say.
But records obtained by the Spotlight through a City of Miami public records request show a multitude of discretionary purchases, donations and expenditures by Pardo and his office staff. They also reveal that much of Pardo’s available funds were left unspent, leaving just over $1 million — more than 40 percent of his allocation — sitting idle.
Under city policy, those funds carried forward into the current fiscal year, further expanding the discretionary kitty available to Pardo.
Why the frugality? Neither Pardo nor an outside publicist hired to field media inquiries — whose services are paid for with these very discretionary funds — responded to requests for comment.
Discretionary funds require no administrative or legislative approval. While some of the money is earmarked for festivals, special events and anti-poverty programs, the bulk — drawn from the city’s operating budget — is left to commissioners to pay office staff and support community groups and causes.
“Allowable expenses from the operating budgets include (but are not limited to) the following: travel, office supplies, equipment purchases, training, postage, rentals and leases, utility services, advertisements, subscriptions, and uniforms. Operating budgets may also be used to provide aid to private and public organizations,” the Office of Management and Budget wrote in written response to questions submitted by the Spotlight.
The largest chunk of Pardo’s spending last year — more than $830,000 — went toward the salaries of the 10 employees he hired to staff his office. Under city rules, commissioners have broad authority to create or fill positions, hire and fire staff, and set their pay — with little external oversight.
One staff member, Chief of Staff Anthony Balzebre, accounted for about one-fifth — $173,000 — of total employee compensation for the office. Deputy Chief of Staff Cory McKnight earned $150,000.
The rest of the office staff last year included three community liaisons, three service workers who field and resolve resident complaints, a communications director, and an office manager.
Miami’s commissioners are free to configure their office staffs as they see fit — large or small — with decisions left entirely to each elected official. Pardo’s staff and salary budget were the smallest among the five commission district offices.
District 1 Commissioner Miguel Angel Gabela employed a staff twice the size of Pardo’s — 20 employees — paying about $1.19 million in salaries. District 4, where both Manolo Reyes and Ralph Rosado served partial terms during the last fiscal year, paid a staff of 17 a total of $1.47 million, or about 77% more than Pardo’s District 2 office.
(These figures do not include the $58,000 annual stipend commissioners are paid).
Miami Commission District 2 Employee Salaries
| Name | Job Title | Salary |
| Anthony Balzebre | Chief of Staff | $173,000.00 |
| Cory McKnight | Deputy Chief of Staff | $150,000.00 |
| Katelin Stecz | Communications Director | $85,000.00 |
| Javier Gonzalez | Community Liaison | $74,000.00 |
| Alexandra Alexieva | Constituent Liaison | $71,000.00 |
| Allison Arias | Office Manager | $69,000.00 |
| Bradley Mills Mencia | Community Liaison | $69,000.00 |
| Lino Collazo | District Service Worker | $46,999.99 |
| Dayron Miranda Ortega | District Service Worker | $46,999.99 |
| Jeffery Poitier | District Service Worker | $46,999.99 |
Source: City of Miami
As City of Miami employees, district office staff also receive retirement benefits and life and health insurance, which are paid through the city’s general fund rather than through commissioners’ discretionary accounts.
Beyond staff salaries, Pardo doled out about $544,000 last year from his various discretionary accounts.
The largest single expenditure — $75,000 — went to Rebuilding Together Miami-Dade Inc. to repair homes in West Grove as part of its Safe and Healthy Homes initiative.
Another $67,273 paid for police overtime at “various events.”
Another high-ticket item was $65,000 for “communications services” from Delgado Garcia Communications, which — despite the presence of an in-house communications director on the office staff payroll — handles all of Pardo’s media relations.
The Coconut Grove church Believers of Authority Ministries received $50,000 to fund a program that provides career support for youth and those with disabilities and special needs.
Pardo made two payments totaling $37,500 to offset costs for the 2024 and 2025 King Mango Strut parades.
He paid $35,617 to the design firm Ferguson Glasgow Schuster Soto Inc. for “local funded miscellaneous” architecture and landscaping work.
(The city’s $150,000 grant to underwrite Coconut Grove’s Goombay Festival last June came from a separate general fund account).
Other local recipients of Pardo’s largess included Miami Coconut Grove Track Club for transportation to the Junior Olympic Games, Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church of Miami for its after-school and summer reading camp programs, and Coconut Grove Optimist Preparatory Inc. for their cheer and football competition sponsorship.
The remainder of Pardo’s discretionary spending reflected a wide range of goods and services: $69.98 for holiday candy; $412.25 for a pasta dinner; $2,766.99 for a flat-screen TV; $1,759.50 for coffee service at a Christmas tree lighting ceremony; six $800 charges for marketing subscription services; and $36.86 for “extra legroom” for Cory McKnight on a round-trip flight to Tallahassee.
In all, city records show 331 individual transactions tied to Pardo’s discretionary funds last fiscal year.
With Pardo’s spending accounts replenished for the current fiscal year and roughly $1 million rolled over from unspent funds, as much as $3.5 million would have been available to his office at the start of the year.
To see all of Miami District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo’s discretionary expenditures for fiscal year 2024-25 click here.
Give Javier Gonzalez a pay raise, he’s great. Responsive, helpful, knowledgeable, competent, friendly. When do you see someone like that in government?
I have contacted Damian Pardo’s office four times. Once by certified letter, twice by email and left a phone message. I was asking for some additional garbage receptacles between Monty’s Restaurant and Regatta Park on South Bayshore. I have never received any response. I also wanted to discuss the Development projects, i.e. the Well, that were fraudulently given waivers. I’m counting the days to vote for anyone else to represent me in Coconut Grove.
Javier Gonzalez deserves a raise. He is not only everything James Flynn said, but seemingly on the clock 24/7. Hiring Javier as the Grove liaison might just be the single best decision the Commissioner has made to date.
It would be nice if elected leaders paid 1/2 as much attention to repairing the several West Grove Eyesore Properties as they once dedicated to canvassing the neighborhood as candidates to get support and place lawn signs.
I don’t understand the purpose of the article. Commissioner Pardo’s 10/1/24-9/30/25 expenditures:
Discretionary: spent $352,437.25 out of available $1,775,000
Festivals and Events Account: spent $131,649.25 out of available $149,000
Anti-Poverty Initiative Account: spent $125,000 out of available $423,000
Staff salaries: $831,999.97 ( per article this was the smallest amount spent on staff salaries among the 5 Commissioners per the article)
I also don’t understand the picture of the Commissioner and Cory McKnight and the comment that Commissioner Pardo allocated $20,000 to the 2025 King Mango Strut. Commissioner Pardo had $149,000 to spend on his Festivals and Events Account.
In addition, I don’t understand why the writer(s) of the article asked Commissioner Pardo how he spent his discretionary account. The link included in the article detailed the Discretionary, Festivals and Events Account and Anti-Poverty Initiative Account. If I were Commissioner Pardo, I would have also indicated “No comment.” It seems like the Spotlight is looking to print all of Commissioner Pardo’s “No comment” or “Commissioner Pardo did not respond to our request.”
If Commissioner Pardo spent his Discretionary Amount based on his budgeted allocation and in accordance with City rules, then it seems to me that he spent the allowable funds legally. If the Commissioners shouldn’t be allocated over $13,967,000 million in the adopted 2025-2026 City budget, then I suggest that might have been a better topic for the article. The issue might be raised as to how Commissioner Pardo can use the large surplus that carries over to future years.