MIAMI — On Thursday, during her first Miami commission meeting, Mayor Eileen Higgins set a tone of cooperation.

Higgins also had her first victory when the commission approved her appointment of James Reyes, Miami-Dade County’s public safety chief, as the new city manager.

This was despite concerns about his $475,000 salary and the lack of a national search for other competitive candidates.

“One thing I love about him is (that) he gets in, he manages by walking around,” Higgins, a former county commissioner, told Local 10 News. “He looks at what people are doing ― processes ― and tries to create systems that work better, but often without making any personnel changes.

“That is really important to make sure the good people who are working here at the city of Miami, when the process is broken, we make sure we fix the process.”

Reyes, in an interview with Local 10 News, said that “it is critical to point out that it is significantly less than my predecessor,” Art Noriega, who was making $525,000 at the end of his tenure.

Higgins promised to usher in a new era of civility.

“I very much look forward to collaborating with you on the priorities for your districts,” Higgins told commissioners.

It was the same commitment that had helped District 3 Commissioner Rolando Escalona to win the election against Frank Carollo, a former city commissioner who sought to replace his brother, Joe Carollo, on the dais.

Higgins and Escalona want the city-owned Tower Theater in Miami’s Little Havana to be managed by Miami Dade College again -- all under contract renewals every five years for two decades.

“When I was campaigning, most of the people told me they (wanted) it to go back to Miami Dade College and that is why we decided to do all of this,” Escalona told Local 10 News.

Commissioners will also have to consider the Watson Island land deal, which Commissioner Ralph Rosado wanted to renegotiate. Last year, commissioners voted to sell the 3.2 acres to BH3 Merrimac for $29 million.

Under the shadow of an election that followed a court dispute, there is also a new resolution to change the city’s election from 2031 to 2032 to coincide with the wider federal elections. The effort is intended to increase turnout.

Plans to push the 2025 elections to 2026 met pushback and a lawsuit and were eventually scuttled, with critics calling it a power grab, giving officeholders an extra year in their seats.

Saying she wants to “make good” on a campaign promise, Higgins said she is willing to lose a year in office and serve a possible seven years instead of a possible eight to ensure the change happens, and, because of that, wants a separate question on the ballot for the mayor’s office.

Escalona said he, too, is “OK” with losing a year in office in lieu of gaining one.

“I don’t want people to get the idea of, ‘Oh he wants another year,’ so that is why I said it there,” he said.

Higgins also talked about another campaign promise she seeks to fulfill: speeding up permitting times in the city.

Currently, she said, “if you want to get a fence around your house, it will be two years.”

“My goal in probably the next year or two is to move it from years to get things approved to months to get things approved,” Higgins said.

Also Thursday, city officials started the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust meeting. There has been an effort to open a Black history museum on the property.

Watch the city commission meeting