Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava proposed a $2.5 billion general obligation bond in her recent “State of the County” address, but the devil is in the details.
“It will fund pressing challenges like housing, septic to sewer, flooding and parks in our county,” said Levine Cava. “This historic approach will turn around the follies of the past and build for the future.”
The mayor, who is running for reelection, provided few details on the “305 Future Ready” bond in her speech at Zoo Miami, except to say it would be “accountable and project specific,” although those specifics are so far absent.
The referendum is still subject to approval by the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners. If approved by voters in November, the bonds would be repaid with property tax revenue.
Some commissioners didn’t waste time expressing their opposition at a time when interest rates and food prices remain high, and when property insurance rates have skyrocketed with no end in sight.
“Mayor Cava’s $2.5 billion bond referendum is disconnected from the significant economic challenges our residents are facing,” posted Commissioner and former state Sen. René Garcia on social media Friday. “The priority of Miami-Dade should be focused on successfully completing pending housing projects, streamlining its current $10 billion budget, fulfilling promises already made for transportation infrastructure, and ensuring urgently needed and long overdue renovations at Miami International Airport.”
But are property tax owners ready to swallow another possible hike? A Florida TaxWatch report indicates that the answer is probably yes.
According to that report, Florida voters approved $2.2 billion in tax referenda and $1.4 in bond issues in 2021 and 2022.
“At the state level, taxpayers in Florida have enjoyed tax cuts passed by the Legislature every year since 2009,” the organization said. “However, at the local level, Florida voters continue to vote to significantly increase the taxes they pay. A 2021 Florida TaxWatch report discovered that since 2010, Floridians voted to increase their own taxes 142 times. This includes voting to extend existing expiring tax levies.”
Miami-Dade voters on Nov. 2, 2004, approved the $2.9 billion Building Better Communities Bond Program, which allowed the county to issue long-term bonds to fund more than 300 neighborhood and regional capital projects.
If that bond is paid off before a new one passes, it may not result in a property tax increase. But whether a new increase would step into a gap, thus creating a “wash” that property owners wouldn’t feel, remains to be seen.
A recent poll from EMC Research showed Levine Cava has a commanding lead against rivals in her reelection bid. The survey also showed public support for the bond measure. It may be that the mayor is trying to leverage her popularity to pass the new referendum.
The last bond was passed on Mayor Alex Penelas’ watch. It was his parting gift as he left office, which helped cement his legacy.
Levine Cava may be trying to do the same.
“We must be braver and bolder than ever,” she said. “It will require courage. It will require taking risks.”