COVID-19 relief funds plugged the hole in the budget but what about 2022?
Don’t let them fool you when they say there is no tax increase in Miami-Dade this year. The tax rate remained flat, but it didn’t roll back, which means property owners will pay a bit more because property values continue to increase despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
They will also likely pay higher water fees — about $21 a year or $1.86 a month more. This tiny amount became an hourlong hiccup in an otherwise very friendly and happy love fest budget hearing, which was Mayor Daniella Levine Cava‘s first.
From the 160-some speakers to the commissioners on the dais, everyone just showered praise on La Alcaldesa for the work that went into the “most inclusive,” “most transparent,” “phenomenal,” “extraordinary” budget process they’ve ever seen. Levine Cava, the social worker turned politician, called it a “compassionate” budget, crafted only after several public workshops — “we had a record number of participants” — and meetings with each of the commissioners.
“We wanted to make sure that your needs and priorities were reflected and represented in the budget,” Levine Cava said.
“This new fiscal year marks a transformative opportunity for our community to fast forward from the impacts of the pandemic, invest widely in critical programs, to grow our economy, create a larger tax base, protect our reserves and support families and businesses to rebound from the hardship of the last 18 months,” Levine Cava said.
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Everyone was happy because it seems like everyone got what they asked for. A couple of groups that help women in crisis had their people come out in force because they were not in the budget. But Ladra bets they will be by the time it comes back for a second hearing on Sept. 28.
That’s because Miami-Dade is awash in money. Not just from the slight property value increase, which means the county will collect more money in ad valorem taxes, but also from the federal funds awarded through the federal relief packages in response to the COVID-19 crisis that includes at least $321 million for “revenue replacement,” the mayor said.
If she can’t make everyone happy this year, then she’d be inept.
“When I came into office in November, I truly prepared for the worst,” Levine Cava said, referring to cuts in services due to loss of revenue. “But we were offered a historic opportunity through the American Rescue Plan, federal relief funds that make our county whole, while also investing.”
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But what are we going to do next year and the year after that? Commissioner Joe Martinez warned that the budget is relying on funds that are not guaranteed to recur. “This year we were spared,” he said.
And Commissioner Rene Garcia — who noted other fee increases in fire prevention, code compliance and planning and zoning — said that there were going to be items that would not have the same funds coming in the future. He’s probably referring to the community organizations.
“There are deficits that are being programmed into our budget,” he said.
If not for this money, there would be a $40 million hole in this budget, which has been otherwise received with open arms and broad smiles.
There is one contention: the water fee hikes. Several commissioners said that the county should start collecting on arrears — many people haven’t paid their water bills throughout the pandemic, causing a $25 million hole — and that maybe the fees didn’t have to be increased.
“It’s important for us to be clear to our constituents that we’re doing everything in our power to keep the water bill down,” Commissioner Raquel Regalado said.
But if Ladra remembers correctly, this increase is part of a multi-year plan to raise fees incrementally to pay for the infrastructure improvements that are mandated in the federal consent decree that we still haven’t met. Some county officials tried to explain that the fees could be increased anyway.
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That doesn’t matter. They don’t want to have a vote for higher water fees in their track record.
After Commissioner Rebeca Sosa had the water and sewer department budget with the fee increase separated from the rest of the budget, it failed on the first vote, 9-4. That count was reversed on a second vote after Regalado, who had voted no, asked for a revote. She and several others changed their votes to “yes for now,” expecting La Alcaldesa to come back in two weeks with options, which the mayor didn’t present — most likely because she no longer has budget guru Jennifer Moon.
More details about this year’s budget specifics later.
Miami-Dade Commission approves La Alcaldesa’s first tax and water fee hike added by Ladra on
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