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I am proud that on September 18, after months of tough but honest talks with residents, staff, and partners, and a historic number of town hall conversations, the Board of County Commissioners officially passed my proposed budget for this fiscal year. Presenting a balanced budget that delivers the services residents count on and protects taxpayer dollars is one of my most important responsibilities as your mayor – and though the process was tougher this year than ever, we rose to the challenge, together.
I especially want to thank our Board of County Commissioners and our Constitutional Officers for their constant collaboration as we faced unprecedented financial challenges this year.
From the beginning, I made clear that raising property taxes was not an option for families already stretched by the rising cost of living. Closing the budget gap we faced required tough choices. By working tirelessly and thinking creatively, we produced a balanced, responsible budget that preserves core services like public safety, parks, and transit, all without raising the tax rate.
We got there by making government leaner and more efficient. We merged departments, streamlined operations, froze hiring except for critical positions, and trimmed department budgets across the board. These steps weren’t easy, but they were necessary to safeguard the programs and services our residents count on.
Along the way, we also made sure to ease financial pressure on our community wherever we could. We eliminated a proposed gas tax increase and presented lower solid waste and water and sewer fees to help families facing rising costs.
And thanks to additional funds returned to the County by constitutional officers at the end of the fiscal year, we were able to further invest in community priorities, including:
- Restoring grant dollars for community-based organizations and cultural arts organizations
- Continuing MetroConnect service
- Funding the Sheriff’s Office at a historic $1.1 billion
- Protecting parks programming and eliminating proposed parking fees in public parks
- Keeping transit fares flat for Metrobus, Metrorail and Special Transportation Services (STS)
- And investing in neighborhood improvements.
This process hasn’t been without its disagreements. Some have suggested that the additional funding appeared “out of nowhere,” but that is not the case. State rules require unspent funds from the new constitutional offices of the Tax Collector, Sheriff, Property Appraiser, Clerk of Courts, and Supervisor of Elections to be returned at the end of the fiscal year – not before – which makes planning harder. As soon as those dollars became available, we put them to work for our community.
While I am proud of this budget, I know our work isn’t finished. The financial realities we faced this year are likely to continue. That means we must keep pushing for efficiencies, making smart investments, and finding creative ways to do more with less.
I am deeply thankful to everyone who made this budget possible – the County staff who worked around the clock, the commissioners for their input and ideas, the constitutional officers who collaborated with us, and, above all, the residents who made their voices heard.
Budgets are a reflection of our values, a roadmap for how we deliver critical services today and tomorrow. And this budget is one more piece of the puzzle in realizing the safer, stronger, and more resilient Miami-Dade we are building every day. I pledge to continue turning our shared values into action and delivering results for every resident of this great county.
