Director at Large
In April of 2007, the Town of Golden Beach hired Alexander Diaz as the new Town Manager. At the age of 29, Mr. Diaz was believed to be the youngest Town Manager in the history of Miami-Dade County. He currently manages a staff of over 50 employees, including a Police Department, Building and Zoning Department, Finance Department, Public Works Department and Administrative Staff with an annual budget of more than $19 million.
Since coming to Golden Beach, Mr. Diaz has initiated a process which culminated in the approval of a $17 million Capital Improvement Project by the Town’s residents. This project included replacement of the Town’s stormwater system, undergrounding utilities and streetscaping. This major facelift also included redesigning the Town’s open spaces and renovation of the historic Beach Pavilion which was first constructed in 1924. The next projects on the books are a town-wide security camera system, upgrade of the street lighting and replacement of two of the Town’s three bridges.
Mr. Diaz previously served as the Assistant Director for Administration of the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department, the fourth largest public utility in the country. As Assistant Director, Mr. Diaz had the responsibility of overseeing the operations of the Human Resource Division, the Support Services Section, the Store/Procurement Section, Fleet Management and the Communications Center. Mr. Diaz also provided guidance for a staff of 247 and managed a budget in excess of $134 million, demonstrating the leadership and expertise required to oversee the Department’s administrative operations. Through his position at the Department, Mr. Diaz amassed extensive experience with labor bargaining agreements and an in-depth understanding of the workings of procurement, recruiting, fair employment, emergency operations and communications.
Before joining the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department, Mr. Diaz previously worked with the City of Miami Beach as a Development Coordinator for the Offices of the City Manager. In that role, Mr. Diaz enhanced the City of Miami Beach’s grant procurement process and created a centralized grant-funding program to maximize the City’s efforts in securing grant funding. He also implemented sound policy for a newly created Grants Management Office and assisted in the preparation of the City’s State and National legislative agenda. In addition, Mr. Diaz facilitated strong ties with state and national agencies, in an effort to further the City’s mission, while monitoring state and national developments to ensure that the City of Miami Beach maintained an active role in the development of state and national objectives. Mr. Diaz’s contributions to the City of Miami Beach also included coordinating the City’s grant efforts while leveraging funds allocated through a $96 million bond issuance in 1999 and organizing the City’s $58 million grant budget. He facilitated the management of over 112 grant funded projects while working with members of the Dade Delegation to ensure proper funding of City sponsored projects.
Additionally, Mr. Diaz is a longtime volunteer with the HOBY Foundation (Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership) which seeks to motivate and empower individuals to make a difference within the global society. He works with at risk students at local high schools and is a strong force in the community.