By Tamara G
MIAMI GARDENS , FL — Mayor Shirley Gibson and the City of Miami Gardens hosted a team of Mexican mayors who were here to attend the 18th annual Inter-American Conference of Mayors and Local Authorities held at Florida Inter-national University.
The 15 delegates belong to the Federation of Mexican Municipalities, also known as FENAMM (“Fee-Nahm”).
The request to visit Miami Gardens ties in with the conferences’ title “A New Local Agenda: Democracy, Economic Development and Environmental Sustainability.” After meeting with Mayor Gibson, and taking a tour around the city to visit the Police Department, the construction site of the new City Hall (which will house City Hall as well as the Police Headquarters) an affordable housing complex, Sun Life Stadium and many more points of interest in the city, the group also had the opportunity to meet department directors and senior management and ask questions of them as well.
According to Mayor Gibson, who was extremely excited about the visit, “This is an excellent opportunity to highlight Miami Gardens’ best practices in the areas of economic development, public safety, budget and finance and its overall fiscal responsibility in continuing to deliver quality services to its residents during this economic down turn.”
Mayor Gibson and The City of Miami Gardens was the only city in Miami-Dade County that hosted the Mexican mayors while they were here and according to her, “Hosting my counterparts was an honor, considering the city’s diversity which is not predominately Hispanic. This visit highlighted the commonality of city issues, which are local and global. This just proves that Miami Gardens’ best practices in municipal government are not only respected locally and nationally, but internationally as well. The Mexican mayors were delighted with the interaction with city staff and they expressed a desire for future engagement.”
According to officials at FIU, last year’s conference was attended by more than 550 participants and represented almost every country of the Hemisphere.
