Political tensions escalated during Doral's second budget meeting on Tuesday night as disagreements over employee salary increases left the council deadlocked. With Vice Mayor Oscar Puig-Corve absent and no agreement on allowing his remote participation, all votes ended in a 2-2 tie, forcing the city to delay the approval of the next year's budget until Sept. 30, when Puig-Corve is expected to attend.
The heated debate, lasting over an hour and a half, primarily centered around Fraga and Councilwoman Maureen Porras, who clashed over proposed salary increases. Porras argued that the proposed increases were not fiscally responsible, given the city's current salaries are already above market averages.
During the first budget hearing on Sept. 3, City Manager Rey Valdes proposed a 7.5% cost-of-living increase along with a 3% merit raise across the board for all staff. Porras contended that the permissible adjustments were excessive and insisted on a revised, more conservative increase.
Porras again proposed a 3.5% cost-of-living adjustment for all employees during the second budget hearing, but added the possibility of allowing up... the discussion indicating ongoing contention within the council surrounding budget and employee compensation.
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