In this month's Doral Tribune we have brought together two of the major antagonists in Doral's battle over incorporation.

John Rivera, president of the Miami-Dade Police Benevolent Association (PBA), and Morgan Levy, president of the West Dade Federation of Homeowners Associations (WDFHA), have starkly different opinions on how to best police a city of Doral.

The conversations I had with these individuals revealed a predictable chasm between them when it comes to certain issues but also surprising commonalities on others.

Rivera pointed out in our conversation that a large, patrol-oriented county police force has been an important part of Miami-Dade's exceptional response to large-scale crises like Hurricane Andrew, the civil unrest during the Elian "situation", and the ValuJet crash in the Everglades.

He further argued that should Miami-Dade adopt a primarily, municipally-oriented police infrastructure, orchestrating such a response would be extremely difficult.

Levy on the other hand said that municipal police forces can be used to further supplement county officers should a situation dictate the necessity of such an action.

He also correctly pointed out that past incorporation, particularly in the case of the most recently created municipalities, i.e. Pinecrest, Aventura, and Sunny Isles Beach, has not reduced the size of Miami-Dade Police--in fact, the numbers have increased. Therefore, he hypothesized, it is natural to assume that further incorporation wouldn't reduce the size of the county police force and consequently wouldn't effect its ability to perform in those situations.

Levy also disagreed with Rivera on the best way to police locally, saying that the county is, "too big for adequate local police coverage"--although he did concede that, "the problem is not with the Miami-Dade Police and its personnel."

The solution, Levy argued, is a local police force that would be more responsive to the need of the citizens of a municipalities, adding that it would be inequitable for any municipality to be without its own police force.

He also noted that there just isn't much additional tax funding available to support additional officers for the Miami-Dade Police given that 72% of the Unincorporated Municipal Service Area (UMSA) funds go to the department already.

Rivera cited the capability of the Miami-Dade Police as an argument for supplementing its size. He questioned whether it is in the best interest of any area to create an entirely new force instead of expanding an already existing (Miami-Dade) force.

Rivera's solution would be to "designate" a certain number of police to the Doral area--meaning that there would be an acceptable number of police in the Doral area at all times. This arrangement would be consistent with the most recent agreement to allow Miami Lakes to hold a referendum on incorporation.

This is only a brief synopsis of the interviews--I've put them side-by-side to directly contrast the views of each individual. I would encourage Doral Tribune readers to examine each in depth if they haven't done so already.

As we look closely at the opinions held by both sides, it becomes apparent neither side disagrees that better local police protection should be part-and-parcel of any incorporation agreement. How this can be accomplished is another matter entirely.

Nor does either side dispute the value of the Miami-Dade force in handling certain "major" crimes and events, although they do disagree on whether or not the creation of more municipal police departments would undermine their ability to do so.

And perhaps most importantly each side does express a willingness to talk with the other in the hopes of resolving the current impasse.

But one big question remains--are both sides so entrenched in their positions after many years of confrontation and posturing that they are incapable of finding a middle ground?

Undeniably the citizens of Doral at the very least deserve to determine their fate--to incorporate or not to incorporate, that is the question--through a county-sponsored referendum.

However, such a vote will likely never come to pass without at least the tacit approval of the PBA. Years of failed attempts at becoming a municipality have yielded this cold, hard fact.

On the other hand, the PBA also must recognize the growing influence of the incorporation movement amongst citizens in UMSA areas and the corresponding influence those forces are gaining at the county level.

Should the PBA fail to act now, they could very well be left at the altar should (through some strange cosmic occurrence or because of a rising wave of citizen displeasure) the county and incorporation forces come to an agreement without the PBA's consent.

The time is now--a framework for discussion is there.  Whether or not that changes anything will be decided soon enough.

Editor's Note:

Best wishes to Bev Levy, wife of Morgan Levy, and Odel Torres, Doral Community Councilman and WDFHA VP, for quick recoveries. Our thoughts andprayers are with you.