Is the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser mistaken? Palmetto Bay's drop is alarming. Is this a signal of the need for change?

I have taken more than a few e-mails and spoken to numerous people on Sunday about my post regarding the release of the estimates of taxable value by the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser. First, let me say that you can post anonymously if you don't want to post under your name, but posting comments to the blog makes the blog more interactive and entertaining, as well as spreads your concerns to all readers.  There, that being taken off my chest, let me say that I too wonder whether the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser is mistaken.

The overall increase in taxable value is 3.1 in the county.  Palmetto Bay sits between Pinecrest which improves by 2.6% and Cutler Bay, which currently mirrors the County average of 3.1%. So then, as it is safely ensconced between these two, how does Palmetto Bay drop from an estimate increase of 2.18 in 2012 to a slight reduction in 2013 of 0.7%. 

Why is Palmetto Bay under performing by (3.8%) against both the County and Cutler Bay and (3.3%) against Pinecrest.

Make no mistake about it, if the figure holds, the projected number will have a profound impact on the 2013-2014 budget.

This is not a foreclosure issue. Foreclosures are happening everywhere. No one area is immune and Palmetto Bay is far from foreclosure central. Homestead may have many, many more foreclosures than Palmetto Bay. I welcome anyone to present an data showing Pinecrest, Coral Gables, the county as a whole, face any less of a foreclosure issue than Palmetto Bay.

As I said in an earlier post, new construction tells a story here: Palmetto Bay is far, far behind all of our neighbors at only $2 million. Coral Gables leads the cities I had listed with $75 Million in new construction. Homestead $31 Million. Pinecrest $28 Million. Cutler Bay and South Miami list $17 million.  (see: The June 2013 Estimates of Taxable Value was released. Gainers for the most part, with a few losers). $2 million has to be wrong. Has Mayor Stanczyk and council been that successful at driving off any development? $2 million? The number is awe inspiring?

There is a council meeting tonight (Monday, June 3, 2013). It would be a good time for the mayor to bring this matter up and discuss the direction this council is taking. She says she and the city are business friendly, but what projects has she led to Palmetto Bay? Sure, she initially cut some ribbons early on in her term as mayor, but all those were projects brought in and started under the prior administration. What has SHE attracted and have in the pipeline that will improve the tax base and, therefore, ease the tax burden on the residential taxpayers.

Instead of attacking all development, we need a council that will go back to properly planning for quality development. There will be a real cost to us, the taxpayers, if we continue down this slope.