The Marlins ballpark project has never been simple, but just when people start to believe there will be smooth sailing… well, welcome to Miami.

On Thursday, Miami City Commissioners took what was described as essentially a procedural vote amending the budget of the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency – raising the $1.43 million commitment to Miami-Dade County to pay down debt on the Performing Arts Center to $5 million in the coming year – into a debate about the ballpark and the rest of the $3 billion worth of projects in the city-county plan approved in December. They also raised concerns that Miami police are objecting to a plan to split patrols at the new ballpark between the city and county.

Although city officials took great pains to say the funding change wasn’t needed to pay for a ballpark, commissioners took the opportunity to lash out at the county and the projects in the city-county plan.

“We are not responsible for the debacle that is the Performing Arts Center. It’s not our fault cost overruns went up to $500 million, yet we say this is the jewel of the city,” said Commissioner Tomas Regalado, who opposes the city-county plan. “We have to take the building, the white elephant. Why should the residents of Miami pay for the mistakes the county makes?”

Commissioners Angel Gonzalez and Michelle Spence-Jones also complained about the county taking advantage of the city and both said they felt they’d been misled about the details of the city-county plan.

“Once again the city has to swallow whatever the county gives them,” Spence-Jones said. “I know people may be angry or upset [but] at the end of the day, my constituents elected me to make the right decision.”

But when it came time to vote on the budget amendment, both Gonzalez and Spence-Jones stepped away from the dais so the amendment passed 2-1 with Regalado dissenting.

The city’s vote came just days after several county commissioners expressed concern about the plan to finance a $515 million Marlins ballpark at the Orange Bowl, meaning there is likely to be significantly more debate before the project gets the go-ahead. The Baseball Stadium Agreement approved by city and county commissioners in February is binding – meaning there are financial penalties should the project not go forward -- but that hasn’t stopped commissioners from objecting to elements of the plan. Final management, construction and financing agreements must be approved by July 1, under the terms of the agreement.

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, a ballpark proponent, said the city, county and team have agreed to build a ballpark and can do so without worrying whether a port tunnel, museum park and other projects are built.

“The baseball deal stands on its own,” Diaz said late Thursday. He said the city and county agreed to fund a variety of projects that have been discussed for years. “Our goal is to build a great urban core, but each of [the projects] have to be implemented individually.”

As always, stay tuned…