Miami passed a budget of more than $1.3 billion, which adds 20 new police officers, 13 new firefighters and 41 new Building Department positions. The city also increased its resilience staff by adding seven new positions. Citing a rebounding economy, the city did not make cuts or raise taxes, which will remain at $7.99 per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. Hialeah’s $410 million budget includes plans to spend $1.2 million of American Rescue Plan Act money to maintain fire facilities and capital equipment. Like Miami, the city is not raising its property taxes, which will remain at $6.30 per $1,000 of value — the same rate it’s been since 2012.
Miami Gardens adopted a $137.1 million operating budget that includes funding to staff the city’s new Senior Family Center, as well as additional funding for the police department and for special events, such as Jazz in the Gardens. The property tax rate remains the same as the previous year, at $6.93 per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. Miami Beach adopted a $353 million budget, which included an estimated $23.6 million in federal American Rescue Plan dollars that will help plug a $19.5 million revenue gap caused by the pandemic. The city also plans to hire two new police officers, contingent on a voter referendum in November of the new proposed Smith & Wollensky lease at South Pointe Park, and $309,000 to add two new lifeguard towers at the beaches on 55th Street and 62nd Street. The property tax rate was set at $5.76 per $1,000 of taxable value, a slight uptick from last year’s rate of $5.72. Homestead, which was originally planning on a significant property tax hike, avoided doing so in an election year. Instead, the City Council agreed on a $203 million budget with a tax rate of $6.20 per $1,000 of taxable value, instead of the originally proposed $7.75 rate. The budget includes money for four new police officers, two new code enforcement officers and new parks staff. Doral passed a $67.3 million budget, which includes payroll increases across various departments, body cameras for code enforcement officers and a boost in funding for police and public art. Taxes will stay the same as they were last year, at $1.90 per $1,000 of taxable value. North Miami passed a $161 million budget with a property tax rate of $7.50 per $1,000 of taxable value, the same rate it was last year. Thank you for supporting local journalism Your subscription allows us to provide our readers with quality, relevant journalism that makes a difference. We believe a platform for sharing local news is critical to our community – and we’re glad you think so, too. Have questions about your subscription? We’re happy to help. Contact us Coral Gables passed a $269.5 million budget that builds in the COVID-19 pandemic as “a three year event.” The city steered its share of federal dollars to projects like a new parking garage on Minorca Avenue and a fire station. The property tax rate will stay at $5.55 per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. Cutler Bay passed a $58 million budget that includes increased expenses for resident services, police services, code enforcement and the addition of a part-time building official. Property taxes remain at $2.83 per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. North Miami Beach passed a $172.9 million budget. Property taxes will remain at $6.20 per $1,000 of assessed value, the same rate as the last fiscal year. Aventura passed a budget of $60.4 million, a slight reduction from last year’s budget, as the city reduced its planned capital outlay expenses. The new budget also includes an increase in overtime for police and some other bumps in personnel spending. The city adopted a property tax of $1.72 per $1,000 of taxable value, a rate that has stayed the same for the last 26 years. Miami Lakes passed a budget of more than $82 million. More than half of that is made up of stormwater bond and federal funds earmarked for drainage improvements in the town. The operating budget includes raises for town staff and a revamp of the town government’s website. The property tax rate stayed flat at $2.31 per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. The Town Council also approved a tax rebate for 391 low-income senior households.
Palmetto Bay passed a $14.9 million budget, which included the addition of one new police officer, four more administrative personnel and an extra $200,000 for special events in the village. The vote was not unanimous and neither was the vote to raise the property tax rate to $2.40 per $1,000 of taxable value, an increase from the current rate of $2.23 per $1,000. Pinecrest passed a $27 million budget, which addresses an upgrade to the village’s phone system, a transportation study and the completion of a parks master plan. The budget also builds in $7.5 million in American Rescue Plan money that will supplement village funds to connect about 750 Pinecrest homes currently reliant on well water to the Miami-Dade County water system. The property taxes will stay the same as they were last year, at $2.35 per $1,000 of taxable value.