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Miami Beach is celebrating a “low homeless count.”
That sounds like progress.
It isn’t.
A point-in-time count is exactly what it says. A snapshot. One night. One moment. It does not measure how many people return to the streets days later. It does not measure outcomes. It does not measure whether the problem is being solved.
It measures optics.
And right now, optics are doing a lot of heavy lifting.
Because behind the headlines is a much more uncomfortable reality. Miami Beach is not aligned with state law on how homelessness must be addressed. Not in spirit, and not in practice.
Start with the City’s own ordinance.
Miami Beach Code §70-45 states:
“Camping or sleeping on public property is prohibited unless otherwise authorized…”
That sounds aligned with state law.
But then comes the part that matters: “…however, enforcement shall be conditioned on the availability of appropriate shelter or services.”
That single condition changes everything.
Because in practice it means enforcement becomes optional.
No shelter available means no enforcement.
No enforcement means no compliance.
Now compare that to Florida law.
Section 125.0231, Florida Statutes, requires local governments to prohibit public camping and address it through enforcement and structured alternatives. It does not provide a loophole that allows a city to suspend enforcement indefinitely.
The State did not say “act when convenient.”
The State said act.
And it backed that up with resources.
Florida has committed significant funding toward homelessness, mental health, and substance abuse services. That includes state-supported treatment programs, crisis stabilization, and legal tools like the Baker Act and Marchman Act to intervene when individuals are a danger to themselves or others.
In other words, the State has provided both the authority and the funding.
And when those tools are not used, or when enforcement is conditioned in a way that prevents action, the result is not neutrality. It is a system that defaults to inaction while appearing compliant on paper.
So why does nothing seem to change?
Because Miami Beach has built a system that explains inaction instead of delivering results.
We are told to wait. Wait for coordination. Wait for facilities. Wait for the Leifman Center.
But state law does not say wait until a building opens.
It says address the issue now.
And that distinction matters, because across Miami-Dade County we are seeing the consequences of waiting. A fully built mental health treatment facility, funded by taxpayers and designed specifically to break the cycle between jail and homelessness, has sat unused for over a year.
During that time, the same individuals continue to cycle through arrest, incarceration, hospitalization, and release, at enormous public cost. Treatment that could be delivered in a clinical setting with shared funding through Medicaid and other sources continues instead to be delivered in jails at full taxpayer expense.
That is not a lack of resources. That is a failure to activate them.
While the City waits:
Encampments remain.
Enforcement is inconsistent.
Public spaces continue to serve as shelter.
That is not a transition plan. That is a holding pattern.
And residents are paying the price.
They are paying through declining quality of life.
They are paying through strained infrastructure.
And they are paying financially, often twice.
Once through state taxes that fund solutions.
And again locally, where inefficiency and delay continue to drive costs without delivering results.
They are also paying for systems that, despite significant investment, are not being fully utilized. When facilities remain closed and enforcement remains inconsistent, taxpayers are funding both the problem and the incomplete response to it.
At the same time, the City points to coordination, studies, and internal processes.
But residents should be asking a very simple question:
If the City believes it is right, why won’t it defend its approach in public?
For months, I have requested a real, open discussion at Miami Beach City Hall on this issue. Not talking points. Not summaries. A real debate. Line by line. Policy against policy.
Those opportunities have not been granted.
Access has been limited. Conversations avoided.
That should concern everyone.
Because when a government is confident in its position, it welcomes scrutiny.
It does not avoid it.
There is also a deeper issue that deserves attention.
Homelessness in Miami-Dade has become a complex network of publicly funded services, contracts, and providers. When progress is slow, when facilities are delayed, and when outcomes remain unclear, it is reasonable to ask whether incentives are aligned with results.
When projects take years to activate and decisions slow down at critical moments, it raises legitimate questions about process, priorities, and whether urgency is being applied where it is most needed.
Who is receiving these contracts?
How are they awarded?
What are the measurable outcomes?
Taxpayers deserve transparency. Not assumptions. Not slogans.
And the individuals at the center of this issue deserve better as well.
Because what is happening now is not compassionate.
People struggling with mental health and substance abuse are being cycled through a system that moves them, processes them, and returns them to the same conditions.
Again and again.
That is not care. That is maintenance.
And when both public officials and independent observers begin to raise the same concerns about delays, costs, and outcomes, it is not noise. It is a warning sign that the system is not functioning as intended.
The State has made its expectations clear.
Prohibit public camping.
Enforce the law.
Provide structured alternatives.
Use the tools available to intervene and stabilize individuals in crisis.
Miami Beach has the authority to do all of this.
The only question is whether it will.
Because you cannot claim progress based on a snapshot while the underlying system remains unchanged.
You cannot claim compliance while conditioning enforcement in a way that prevents it.
And you cannot ask residents to accept outcomes without allowing open, honest debate.
When voices across different perspectives begin to align on the same concern, it should prompt attention, not dismissal.
A low number on paper is not success.
Real success is measured in outcomes.
Miami Beach should repeal its local ordinance to ensure full alignment with state law and restore consistent enforcement. The current framework, adopted just prior to the state’s action, has created confusion, inconsistency, and a system that too often defaults to inaction.
That is a conversation Miami Beach still needs to have, and I remain ready to engage, anytime, in full view of the public.
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