MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — Commissioners approved Miami-Dade County’s while keeping operating property tax rates flat at 4.57 mills, after a meeting from Thursday afternoon to Friday morning at the Stephen P. Clark Government Center in downtown Miami.
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While the county’s new budget kept public bus service before 6 a.m., it did not bridge the gap between Miami-Dade’s Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz’s request and Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s proposal for commissioners.
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Cordero-Stutz told commissioners that she was concerned that Levine Cava’s proposal, which includes about $1 billion to fund the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, did not meet the county’s law enforcement agency’s staffing needs.
“The proposed budget is not a responsible investment in public safety,” Cordero-Stutz said, adding MDSO currently operates below the Florida average.
During the process, Levine Cava commissioners that property value growth had “returned to more moderate levels,” the cost of living continued to rise, and the county needed to prepare for the possibility of statewide property tax reform.
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Anthony Rodriguez, the commission’s chairman, said he wanted commissioners to allocate $5 million to the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, a marketing organization, to “reinvest” in the community.
Commissioner Oliver G. Gilbert, III, and six other commissioners were supportive. Four commissioners opposed it, including Raquel A. Regalado, Micky Steinberg, and Juan Carlos “JC” Bermudez, who suggested adopting new conflict-of-interest rules.
Commissioners plan to reconsider raising funds to avoid the budget’s cuts on the late-night public bus service.
Related link: Miami-Dade approves $14B budget, late-night buses cut, Miami Herald reports
Watch the meeting
Related proposed budget
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Related social media
Miami-Dade Chair Anthony Rodriguez said he wants to send $5M in mostly property-tax dollars to Miami-Dade’s tourism bureau. The GMCVB gave Rodriguez’s PAC $38K worth of World Cup skybox tickets in June. The board already gets $37M from county hotel taxes https://t.co/Tl6uVskyHt
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