Op Ed by DNA President James Torres: Miami doesn't need a DDA anymore

It’s time to dissolve the Miami Downtown Development Authority

Op-Ed by James Torres, President, Downtown Neighbors Alliance

The Miami Downtown Development Authority (DDA) was established 58 years ago in 1967, when Lyndon B. Johnson was president and Robert King High was Miami’s mayor. That’s right—this agency was created before Miami even had air conditioning in most buildings, let alone the skyline we have today. Back then, Downtown Miami was struggling with urban decay, and the DDA was pitched as a way to breathe life into a fading city core.

Now, it’s 2025, and Downtown Miami is booming—not because of the DDA, but in spite of it. Yet this outdated agency insists it’s still needed to “attract businesses,” “bring in events,” and “support economic development.”

Let’s be real—Miami sells itself. We already host Ultra Music Festival, Formula One, world-class concerts, major marathons, and international conventions without the DDA cutting corporate welfare checks. Businesses and investors aren’t choosing Miami because of the DDA’s bloated budget—they’re coming here because Miami is one of the most desirable destinations in the world.

Yet instead of shutting down after long outliving its purpose, the DDA has become an expensive, wasteful bureaucracy, taxing residents to fund itself and hand out corporate welfare to billion-dollar companies.

We have long been sounding the alarm about the DDA’s reckless spending, but their latest move—a $100,000 taxpayer handout to a $12 BILLION corporation, UFC—was the final straw.

A Pattern of Waste and Exploitation

This isn’t the first time we’ve had to step up and fight against the DDA’s blatant disregard for downtown taxpayers. Last year, we successfully led the effort to stop their tax increase, forcing them to reduce their budget by $1.2 million and lower the millage rate. This victory came despite the DDA’s attempts to downplay their $13.5 million tax extraction, with Commissioner Damian Pardo shamelessly dismissing it as “just $2-$6 per household”— a tone-deaf and dishonest attempt to minimize the real burden on our community.

Where Is Our Money Really Going?

Downtown, Brickell and Edgewater residents pay over $13.5 million in additional taxes each year to fund the DDA. Yet instead of prioritizing real issues like crime, homelessness, and cleanliness, the DDA squanders our money on luxuries for itself and unnecessary corporate handouts.

According to the DDA’s own financial disclosures from its February 28, 2025, Board Meeting Package, this is how our money is being spent:

$3.85 million is spent annually on salaries and benefits.
Over $566,000 on office rent and parking.
$425,000 on “communications and promotion” instead of actual services.
$1.19 million on sponsorships that do little for residents.
$3.35 million on vague “special initiatives” with no clear benefit.

Meanwhile, our streets are dirty, crime is rising, and homelessness is worsening.

A Tax Burden We Shouldn’t Have to Pay

The DDA forces an extra tax on our community that no other Miami neighborhoods have to pay—all while Brickell, Downtown, and Edgewater already shoulder some of the highest property taxes in the city. Adding insult to injury, instead of easing this burden or enhancing essential services, the DDA continues to justify its existence through waste and inefficiency.

The DDA is a relic of the past, an outdated agency still clinging to life despite having long outlived its purpose. It has become nothing more than a slush fund, taxing hardworking residents who are already overburdened while failing to deliver the improvements our community actually needs.

The DDA Doesn’t Represent Us

Making matters worse, the majority of DDA board members and leadership do not even live in Downtown. They don’t pay this extra tax, yet they have no problem handing out our money like a slush fund for pet projects and corporate giveaways. It’s easy to waste money when it’s not yours.

The Solution: Dissolve the DDA

The DDA is a tax burden we don’t need and never voted for. It is unjust to force Downtown, Brickell and Edgewater residents to fund an agency that refuses to prioritize the needs of the people paying the bill.

We call on Mayor Francis Suarez, Commissioner Manolo Reyes, Commissioner Damian Pardo, and the Miami City Commission to take immediate action to dissolve the DDA and put an end to this unjust tax.

It’s time to let residents keep their hard-earned money and demand the same level of city services that every other neighborhood gets — without an extra tax.

Enough is enough. End the DDA.

James Torres is not only president of the Downtown Neighbors Association, he is also a former candidate for District 2, having lost to Damian Pardo in 2023. He is a stalwart defender of downtown issues and a frequent critic of both Commissioner Pardo and Commissioner Joe Carollo.

James Torres, Miami DDA

Op Ed by DNA President James Torres: Miami doesn’t need a DDA anymore added by Ladra on March 6, 2025
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