Hialeah is set to turn the page today, when Bryan Calvo, 28, is set to be sworn as the youngest mayor in the city’s history, promising a four-year reset focused on professionalism, economic growth, and restoring public trust after years of frustration with city government.
Calvo, who won the Nov. 4 mayoral election, outlined an ambitious first-day agenda in an hourlong interview with the Miami Herald before his swearing-in. He said he plans to sign executive orders, including measures to impose moratoriums, review and suspend contracts, initiate internal audits to key departments, and review business licenses, including those potentially tied to the regime in Cuba.
Those executive orders address the main promises he campaigned on, although in many cases final action will need approval from the city council.
One of the more anticipated personnel decisions: Not filling the Chief Operating Officer/Community Development Director position, created in March 2025 after the mayor at the time, Esteban “Steve” Bovo announced he would step down. Calvo said the role, which functioned much like a city manager, is unnecessary in Hialeah’s strong-mayor system and will remain vacant following Ismare Monreal’s resignation. Monreal had previously served as Bovo’s chief of staff before taking on the position.
Central to his approach, Calvo said, is establishing clear leadership at City Hall following eight months under an interim mayor and a deadlocked council.
“For the first time in a long time, the city will have an independent mayor who can govern,” Calvo said. “There’s only one boss, and it’s important that people understand that.”
Day-one priorities
As a first executive order, Calvo said he will sign a moratorium on retirement payments for elected officials. The move directly addresses an ordinance approved by the council in March 2025 that created city-funded retirement benefits for mayors and council members, allowing them to qualify for the benefits.
“The ordinance goes against the city’s Charter,” he said.
The moratorium, according to Calvo, would prevent any additional payments to elected officials under the city’s retirement plan until the issue can be brought before the council for possible revocation.
Hialeah Mayor Bryan Calvo during an interview ahead of his swearing ceremony on January 12th Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
Also on his to-do list is an order to temporarily pausing certain city contracts, while suspending others.
Calvo said the city’s contract with consulting firm NCGA LLC raises potential conflict-of-interest concerns. The agreement was approved last year. Calvo noted that the firm’s registered agent, Terrence Wolfe, has a close friendship with Miami-Dade County Commissioner René Garcia, whose District 13 includes parts of Hialeah. The current three-year contract is valued at $149,999.
The goal of the contract “is to lobby at the federal level, and it hasn’t brought us any tangible benefit,” Calvo said. “There has to be a return for the residents.”
Calvo also said he wants to end Hialeah’s membership in the Florida League of Cities, citing the league’s lobbying against eliminating property taxes in Florida. Calvo campaigned on doing away with property taxes for residents 65 and older, which he believes would be “manageable.” He estimates it would cost the city around $20 million in revenue. Last year, the city absorbed a $13 million increase in water and sewer bills, a subsidy that benefited all residents, but Calvo said he wants to specifically address affordability for seniors.
Auditing two departments
Calvo plans to establish a task force to audit Hialeah’s 911 operations, responding tor concerns from dispatchers about understaffing and slow response times. When he served on the council, Calvo requested an external audit of the emergency department and filed a lawsuit against Bovo, alleging interference in the investigation into thousands of unanswered 911 calls. The lawsuit was later dismissed.
“The short-term goal is to understand how that department is currently functioning, and what improvements could be made in the short and long term to improve the system as much as possible,” Calvo said.
In another audit, the city will review the Public Works Department, which oversees water and sewer operations and billing, with an emphasis on water management, infrastructure and service. Priority areas include meter performance, hydrant functionality, and coordination with Miami-Dade County.
In 2023, the department reported that 16% of the fire hydrants were damaged, which could affect the Fire Department’s ability to respond quickly.
The review will also examine ongoing litigation with the county over the city’s $18 million unpaid water debt and identify quick, cost-effective solutions for residents. The goal, Calvo said, is to reduce water costs, improve efficiency and enhance public safety, as well as to assess whether transitioning from analog meters to smart meters could result in improvements.
A populist measure
The final order will include a comprehensive review of all licenses of businesses in the city with possible ties to Cuba’s government, including the creation of a task force to identify such businesses, investigate whether the allegations of such connections are accurate, and make recommendations on actions.
Calvo said businesses affected would have an opportunity to respond to ensure due process. He said that while many companies operate under licenses with Havana, exceptions exist for humanitarian, educational or other authorized purposes.
“The focus will be on businesses circumventing those rules,” Calvo said.
Acknowledging the risk of litigation, Calvo said steps would be taken to limit legal exposure but added, “the fear of litigation can’t prevent the city from ensuring that the right thing is done and that the law is applied.”
A new era of accountability?
One of the biggest challenges Calvo said he faces is navigating Hialeah’s bureaucracy, which includes managing about 1,500 employees across 17 departments and 10 divisions. He noted that the current structure limits the mayor’s ability to communicate regularly with all department heads and said he plans to merge divisions and departments that overlap.
“Some departments need better coordination,” he said.
Despite the two-month transition period since his November election, Calvo said he was not allowed to review detailed financial information about the city beyond public records such as the budget. He will administer a city budget of almost $500 million. While he served as a councilman he voted in favor of the transition process, but the city never established a formal protocol, leaving the process largely to discretion.
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The transition “wasn’t positive at all,” Calvo said. “The information flow was disrupted, and the biggest concern is the nervousness it has caused in the city. Many rumors spread because people weren’t in a position to make decisions. It went on for a very long period of time.”
Returning to the prior process, in which the mayor was sworn in just three days after the election, would require a change to the city charter through a referendum. That process was altered in 2022, when residents approved the current transition structure.
Asked if he plans to amend the charter regarding the transition, Calvo said, “I’d like to do a broader project, including the creation of districts for the commissioners.” The proposal is a concern for many council members, who worry that such an amendment, if approved, could jeopardize their positions. Calvo first introduced the plan while serving as a council member, but it received no support. Public records show that the majority of council members live primarily in West Hialeah.
Calvo’s executive orders and audits mark a shift in city leadership. Residents, city employees, and business owners are watching closely to see what the new administration will do under Hialeah’s youngest mayor.
The swearing-in ceremony, expected to draw more than 1,000 people, will be held at the Milander Center, a venue not typically used for mayoral inaugurations.
el Nuevo Herald
Verónica Egui Brito ha profundizado en temas sociales apremiantes y de derechos humanos. Cubre noticias dentro de la vibrante ciudad de Hialeah y sus alrededores para el Nuevo Herald y el Miami Herald. Se unió al Herald en 2022. Verónica Egui Brito has delved into pressing social, and human rights issues. She covers news within the vibrant city of Hialeah, and its surrounding areas for el Nuevo Herald, and the Miami Herald. Joined the Herald in 2022.