George M. Burgess

South Florida CEO, Jan-Feb, 2005

In last November's general election, Miami-Dade County voters approved a $2.8 billion bond to improve county infrastructure, and its passage was no small feat. Shepherding the initiative was a complex administrative and educational process.

Miami-Dade County Manager George Burgess, together with his staff, conducted more than 100 meetings throughout the community to get public backing for the bond, which will pay for improvements to neighborhoods, parks, hospitals, affordable housing, bridges and tunnels as well as cultural facilities. Projects such as access improvements to the Port of Miami and new sewer lines will also be funded, in certain areas of the county.

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"These kinds of investments ripple through the community and ultimately encourage business activity in the city," Burgess says.

All eight individual bond questions passed with an unprecedented 73 percent voter turnout, driven in part, Burgess says, by the business community's support.

For 2005, Burgess, who oversees a workforce of 30,000 fulltime employees, says he will focus on developing a solid timeline for implementing the bond initiative's programs. "This is a 15-year program and not every project can happen in year one, but it's a wonderful thing for the community and we want to make sure that efforts continue."