Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine-Cava for the new fiscal year and is recommending eliminating about 350 jobs, including vacancies, to help close a $400 million deficit.
鈥淲e can't have a deficit budget鈥here are reductions that I wish we did not have to make, but which were necessary to achieve a $402 million savings,鈥� she said.
The mayor鈥檚 proposed budget calls for some administrative belt tightening by consolidating six offices. It also will recommend, for the first time in more than a decade, a fare increase for public transit. Riders would see a 50-cent hike.
She said part of the reason for the budget shortfall was linked to this year鈥檚 opening of five state-mandated, independent constitutional offices that included the Miami-Dade Sheriff鈥檚 Office and tax collector鈥檚 office. The cluster of new offices makes up nearly half of the total budget gap, according to the mayor鈥檚 office.
鈥淥ver the last five years, we鈥檝e worked hard to build an efficient, effective government that delivers the services our residents need to thrive 鈥� while keeping taxes low,鈥� Levine Cava said in a statement. 鈥淪ince I became Mayor we have made historic investments in public safety, housing, transit, and more, and we passed two consecutive years of tax cuts that brought our combined tax rate to the lowest since 1982.鈥�
This year, however, she said the county is facing 鈥渁 perfect storm of fiscal challenges.鈥�
Commissioners will vote on a final budget in September. The new fiscal year starts October 1.
Miami-Dade Commissioner Natalie Milian Orbis said Wednesday she will not support the mayor鈥檚 proposed budget.
鈥淏udgets reflect our values 鈥� and this one betrays the people it鈥檚 supposed to serve,鈥� she said in a statement. 鈥淭his budget asks working families to pay more while getting less 鈥� and I refuse to support that.鈥�
鈥淐harging families to park at public parks while cutting services, raising the gas tax, and defunding programs that support seniors, youth, and mental health is a step backward,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e need to protect core services like police and fire, while also delivering the basics鈥攃utting the grass, fixing potholes, and keeping our neighborhoods clean and safe.鈥�
, Miami-Dade Commissioner Roberto J. Gonzalez blamed the projected $402 million budget shortfall on 鈥渁n out-of-control government.鈥�
鈥淚nstead of fiscally disciplined and transparent budgeting, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava鈥檚 proposed budget is a cautionary tale of progressive governance,鈥� he said.
