Miami-Dade County will see close to 9% more taxes come in next year thanks to increased property values and new construction, according to a report delivered Monday by Property Appraiser Pedro Garcia.
Whew! Maybe now we can open all our libraries all five days of a work week? And even add weekends to those that shut down on Friday night?
Garcia’s “Estimates of Taxable Values to the Taxing Authorities” — which intends to assist the county and municipalities with their annual budget preparation — shows the countywide estimated taxable value for 2015 is $228.7 billion an 8.6% increase from 2014. It’s only a projection that could change by July 1, the official certification date. But it likely won’t change much.
“Miami-Dade County continues to grow because of its allure,” Garcia said in a statement. “These market increases are proof that our county continues to attract real estate investors.”
Investors are more drawn to the urban core and waterfront properties, the statement adds. That is why those neighborhoods are “experiencing the largest growth. Miami (11.5%), Miami Beach (12%), Bay Harbor Islands (11.9%), Surfside (12%), Golden Beach (10%), North Bay Village (11%), Key Biscayne (15%) and Sunny Isles Beach (with the most at 15.7%) had the “most robust value increases in the county.”
But Bay Harbor Islands is looking at an 12% increase and El Portal, which has an estimated $3 million in new construction coming online, has an estimated growth of 13%. And Biscayne Park is not too far behind with an estimated 10% increase in property values (same as Golden Beach).
And all the landlocked suburbs have also seen the tax base grow somewhat. Hialeah and North Miami Beach values are estimated to go up by 7%. Aventura, Cutler Bay and Miami Shores are up by 8%. North Miami, Bal Harbour and Homestead are up by 9%. The smallest increase is in Virginia Gardens, which sees a 0.1% increase in its tiny footprint.
In the coming months, we will get to know not only how many tens of 
millions or hundreds of millions in additional ad valorem tax revenue this means for the county and each municipality, but how our electeds are going to spend those extra dollars.
It may give some governing councils and commissions an idea to roll back taxes — that is, reduce the tax rate to rake in the same amount as last year. Or it might give some the idea to build reserves.
Ladra just hopes it doesn’t give Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos “Mr. Giveaway” Gimenez any ideas. Because his priorities have not been in restoring services to us taxpayers. I asked his spokesman, Michael Hernandez, what the mayor planned to do with that new injection of cash. But, like his inside deals, I guess it’s a secret.
“The mayor’s proposed budget will be released the first week of July,” he texted me.
Perhaps the 13-member commission ought to be the one deciding where that new-found moolah might go.
Here’s one concept: If you can’t open all the libraries on weekends, at least bring back the concept of a five-day work week. More than half the 48 branches in our library system are closed one day of the week.
The most, a total of 16, are closed on Fridays. That includes Coconut Grove, Pinecrest, Coral Reef, Miami Springs, Shenandoah, Hialeah Gardens, Homestead and Lemon City. The Coral Gables and South Miami branches are among those closed on Thursdays. Fairlawn, North Central, Little River and West Flagler are closed on Wednesdays and Palmetto Bay and the Virrick Park branches are closed on Tuesdays.
If our county hopes to continue to attract real estate investors and grow because of it’s “allure,” then improving services — or just bringing us back to where we used to be — might be a good place to start investing in ourselves.
Increased property values could = more library hours added by Ladra on
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