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Palmetto Bay’s mayor and council on Sept. 23 reconvened for the Second Budget Hearing to cast the final vote setting the millage rate and adopting the Operating and Capital Budget for Fiscal Year 2025. Both items were approved on first reading at the First Budget Hearing on Sept. 9.
Despite rising costs, Palmetto Bay maintained the millage rate at the same level of 2.35 mills. This is the tax rate for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed taxable value that is used to calculate property taxes. The rate has remained unchanged since 2023 and is among the lowest in Miami-Dade County.
Palmetto Bay receives approximately 13 percent of the entire tax bill paid by village residents. The remaining 87 percent goes to the county, school district and other special districts.
Besides keeping the millage rate intact, the mayor and council approved a budget that prioritizes capital improvement projects for the benefit of residents, stormwater resiliency and transportation/street projects.
Planned Capital Improvements/Investments:
• $310,000 — Coral Reef Park Recreation Building ($5,192,926 total)
• $500,000 — Veterans Park-Phase 1 ($3,200,000 total)
• $200,000 — Palmetto Bay Park Pickleball Complex ($1,600,000 total)
• $450,000 — Palmetto Bay Park skatepark renovation
• $350,000 — Coral Reef Park playground upgrades
• $300,000 — Tanglewood Linear Park-Phase 1
• $100,000 — Thalatta Estate Park enclosed pavilion design
• $100,000— Skid Steer (bobcat)with trailer
• $100,000 — dump truck
• $60,000 — Turf Tank (athletic field striper)
• $30,000 — business improvement grants
• $30,000 — Building Division lobby kiosks
• $25,000 — tractor (parks)
• $25,000 — thermoplastic streets marker
• $10,000 — historical markers
• $8,000 — enclosed trailer (parks)
• $120,000 — traffic calming
FY 2025 Stormwater Resiliency Initiatives:
• Annual drainage cleaning
• Continue tree maintenance operations with certified arborist on staff; increased allocation for the tree giveaway.
• Decrease CRS rating from a 5 to a 4.
• $35,000 — recycling program
• $300,000 — local drain improvements
• $100,000 — for engineering design
• Secure funding and start three shovel-ready drainage projects, which include sub-basins 12, 39, and 42
• $454,456 — Cartee Road water main project
Transportation/Street Project Allocations & Initiatives
• $650,000 — road paving and repairs
• $350,000 — road construction
• $250,000 — sidewalk construction and repairs
• $200,000 — traffic engineering services
• $120,000 — traffic calming initiatives
• $50,000 — traffic signals/signs
• $21,000 — street lights
• I-Bus transition to on-demand first/last mile service
Village manager Nick Marano presented an overview of all village funds and budget categories and detailed the reasons for the budgetary allocations and the proposed millage rate. Marano explained how current economic conditions are impacting village operations and increasing expenditures across many sectors. He pointed out that, despite these increases, the budget reflects spending cuts that were made where possible.
“This is really going to drive home the frugal nature of the planning that the department directors and I have done as we prepared this budget,” Marano said.
Members of the council expressed their appreciation to the manager for cutting expenses village-wide and were happy to hear that the Building Fund, which had been operating in the red, is projected to balance for FY 2025.
Mayor Karyn Cunningham thanked the manager and staff for bringing in “a really conservative budget” and also praised the budget message for being clear and concise.
“I love how you tied in things we’ve talked about in the past as it relates to the strategic plan for the community,” Mayor Cunningham said. “Thank you for all your hard work for the residents of Palmetto Bay. We appreciate you.”
Fiscal year 2024-25 officially started on Oct. 1, 2024 and runs through Sept. 30, 2025.
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