Tallahassee update - What monies are currently listed in House Bill 5001 - General Appropriations Act – a review of what is currently earmarked for our local Miami-Dade municipal communities –including Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, Cutler Bay & Palmetto HS

Remember, nothing in the budget is final until the Governor signs the budget (after any line item vetoes) and please note: This post is part of an ongoing series and updates a PRIOR RELATED POST of February 6, 2020, Palmetto Bay legislative appropriations requests - Appropriations Project Request -Fiscal Year 2020-21. 

I have researched the pending appropriations bills and I am reporting on the local monies currently listed. Here are the highlights (click on the HB Numbers at right of each item listed immediately below to view the detailed documents relating to the specific Appropriations Project Request):

    100,000  Miami Palmetto Senior High School Athletic Field (HB 4987)
    250,000  Deering Estate Foundation’s Field Study Research Center Phase 2 (HB 2627)
    100,000  Cutler Bay Wetland Restoration Project (HB 3757)
    150,000  Homestead Automatic Flushing System (HB 3165)
    100,000  Palmetto Bay Sub-Basin 61 Construction (HB 3461)
    100,000  Pinecrest Stormwater Improvements (HB 3807)

Listed below is a larger current list of local monies currently provided for in House Bill 5001 - General Appropriations Act (HB 5001). Current listings for Coral Gables, Cutler Bay, Doral, Homestead, Palmetto Bay and Pinecrest are posted in BOLDFACE type below. This is merely the current list, everything is fluid in Tallahassee – The House and Senate have to agree on the budget – a budget conference will be held and then the joint budget is submitted to the Governor where staff goes through it with a fine tooth comb – this is where many items in the budget are removed through a line item veto. Only then, does the Governor approve the budget.

HB 5001 - General Appropriations Act: Provides moneys for annual period beginning July 1, 2020, & ending June 30, 2021, & supplemental appropriations for period ending June 30, 2020, to pay salaries & other expenses, capital outlay—buildings & other improvements, & for other specified purposes of various agencies of state government.

Effective Date: July 1, 2020

CLICK HERE to view all projects – search for the local projects - currently listed in HB 5001 as of 8:00 AM, Thursday, February 20, 2020 (again, subject to change):

Non-water projects:

1,000,000  City of Hialeah Educational Academy (HB 4499)

    250,000  Deering Estate Foundation’s Field Study Research Center Phase 2 (HB 2627)

    100,000  Miami Palmetto Senior High School Athletic Field (HB 4987)

    350,000  Doral Intersection Signalization Pedestrian Safety (HB 4201)

$30,002,907 is currently provided for in the House appropriations bill for "Grants and Aids to Local Governments and non-state entities ...." - commonly referred to as "water project money":

Water projects:

Listed as “From the funds in Specific Appropriation 1635A, $30,002,907 in nonrecurring funds from the General Revenue Fund is provided for the following water projects:”

    100,000  Aventura Curbing of Swale Flooding on Country Club Drive (HB 2875

    100,000  Bal Harbour Village Stormwater System Improvements (HB  2877)

    100,000  Coral Gables Canal Dredging (HB 2633)

    100,000  Coral Gables Comprehensive Inflow and Infiltration Program (HB 3035)

    200,000  Coral Gables Waterway Conveyance & Water Quality Imps (HB 3965)

    100,000  Cutler Bay Wetland Restoration Project (HB 3757)

    100,000  Doral Stormwater Improvements NW 89 Pl (25-20 St.) (HB 3205)

    170,000  Doral Stormwater Master Plan Update (HB 3447)

    100,000  El Portal Little River Septic to Sewer NE 2nd Avenue  Commercial (HB 3441)

    100,000  El Portal Sherwood Forest (NE 3rd Avenue) Little River Stormwater (HB 3417)

    150,000  Homestead Automatic Flushing System (HB 3165)

    150,000  Miami Beach Water Main Aerial Crossing MacArthur Causeway (HB 2539)

      20,000  Miami Gardens NW 159 Street Drainage Improvement Project (HB 3405)

      30,000  Miami Gardens NW 195 Street/NW 12 Ave Stormwater Drainage  (HB 3407)

1,000,000  Miami Lakes Loch Lomond Drainage Improvements Project (HB 3553)

1,000,000  Miami Lakes Royal Oaks Drainage Improvements Project (HB  3389)

    100,000  Miami Shores Village Shores Estates Drain Water System  (HB 3443)

    100,000  North Bay Village Treasure Island Pump Station (HB 2523)

    100,000  North Miami Beach Corona del Mar Phase II Sewer System (HB 2881)

    100,000  North Miami Beach NE 19th Ave Business District Sanitary Sewer System (HB 2883)

    100,000  North Miami Septic to Sewer Conversions (HB 3439)

    100,000  Palmetto Bay Sub-Basin 61 Construction (HB 3461)

    100,000  Pinecrest Stormwater Improvements (HB 3807)

    100,000  Sunny Isles Beach Golden Shores Pump Station (HB 2555)

    150,000  Virginia Gardens 37 Street Stormwater Improvements (HB 3751)

    150,000  Virginia Gardens 62 Ave & 40 Terr Stormwater/ADA  Improvements (HB 3401)

    200,000  West Miami Potable Water System Improvements Phase II (HB 3387)

Fair questions: Return on investment. How often are Palmetto Bay officials traveling to Tallahassee, how much 'quality time' are they spending in Tallahassee and what are the local taxpayers receiving in return? When I say "spending", I am looking to travel and related budget costs as well as time. 

We should consider whether the current Palmetto Bay Mayor and members of the Village Council are being realistic in their budget requests or are they merely star struck tourists spending the Village budget chasing sexy, but wholly unrealistic goals? Is work being done in Tallahassee or does the time spent amount to little more than the taking of self-promotional selfies, with no real substantive results? I’m not buying the scheme of this is all a set up for next year – that appears to be a self-repeating mantra for this current crew. Each and every budget year is unique – the State of Florida does not prepare rolling budgets.

Remember – the original 2020-2021 appropriation requests from Palmetto Bay officials totaled $ 3,245,900. This is a HUGE request, a number that appears worthy of significant travel and constant advocating in Tallahassee, but not the $100,000 total that is currently earmarked in the State budget. 

The extensive travel time and expense does not appear to be an effective use of Palmetto Bay taxpayer dollars, especially when so many deadlines, e.g., blowing the downtown development moratorium, are being missed here in Palmetto Bay.

Or, some have asked me whether any of our electeds are traveling to Tallahassee at Palmetto Bay cost in order to chase other goals?  Interesting.

Just for fun - SafeWise released their fifth annual Safest Cities report. See where Palmetto Bay and Pinecrest are ranked.

There are always ranked lists distributed. SafeWise is one such group.  Follow this link for more information about SafeWise, as stated by SafeWise: https://www.safewise.com/about/

Taken verbatim from the social media post: 

SafeWise is happy to release our fifth annual Safest Cities report. Here are the 50 Safest Cities in Florida for 2019. See if your city made the list.

This year we expanded our Florida list from 20 safe cities to 50, and every city that made our list last year is included again. But four did fall out of the top 20—Edgewater, Cape Coral, North Palm Beach, and Coconut Creek. Even so, all 50 cities limited violent crime to fewer than 2.5 incidents per 1,000 people, which is nearly half the national violent crime rate of 4.49. And these cities can be extra proud because Florida overall is a bit over the national rate, coming in at 4.81 incidents per 1,000 people.

CLICK HERE to view the actual link. Enjoy. - 

Oh, and SPOILER ALERT - Pinecrest is ranked #10, Palmetto Bay is #49.

Miami-Dade County fared well on the list of top 50. The Miami-Dade County municipalities are excerpted, posted below in order of ranking (click on the photo to view enlarged):

Congratulations Doral - awarded the 2019 Safe Streets Community Award

Congratulations Mayor JC Bermudez and City of Doral for its 2019 Complete Streets Community Award. Doral was announced as the winner at the 2019 Safe Streets Summit (Monday 2/25/2019)

Relevant past post/background: January 28, 2019, Congrats Team Palmetto Bay - a nominee for the 2019 Safe Streets Awards. Will the current Mayor and Council remain committed to Palmetto Bay's policy of Complete Streets Guidelines?

The Safe Streets Awards are an opportunity to highlight individuals and jurisdictions that have led by example in creating better streets for all users. Palmetto Bay is nominated in the Miami-Dade County section for the Complete Streets Community Award. The nominees are as follows:

• Bike Walk Coral Gables (BWCG)
• City of Doral
• Freebee
• The Street Plans Collaborative
• Village of Palmetto Bay

Unauthorized Short Term Rentals are NOT Allowed in Doral

Update - on the 2018 June 1st Estimates of Taxable Values released by Property Appraiser, Pedro J. Garcia

Property Appraiser, Pedro J. Garcia, has released the 2018 June 1st Estimates of Taxable Values to the Taxing Authorities showing a continued growth in the real estate market. The countywide estimated taxable value for 2018 is $288,859,000,000, a 6.0% increase from 2017.

I have listed below the taxing districts that I (Mayor Eugene Flinn) usually follow as relevant to Palmetto Bay:

 Gain    Taxing authority                                           New construction $ expressed in Millions

  3.90   Coral Gables                                                   $161 m

  5.50   Cutler Bay                                                       $   9 m

  3.80   Doral                                                               $595 m

  5.50   Homestead                                                     $  85 m

  4.00   Palmetto Bay                                                  $    5 m

  3.40   Pinecrest                                                         $  35 m

  4.70   South Miami                                                    $  24 m

  3.90   Unincorporated Miami-Dade (UMSA)             $903 m

Countywide and School Board will affect your countywide portions of your tax bill

  3.90   Countywide                                                    $5,679,000,000.00

  3.30   School Board                                                 $5,683,000,000.00

Note that the differences in estimated taxable value between the Countywide and School Board is due to various additional homestead exemptions applicable to Miami-Dade County that do NOT apply to the School Board.  This is equally applicable to the municipalities and UMSA listed above.

Initial estimate released June 1:

The Miami-Dade Property Appraiser issued the June 1, 2018 Estimates of Taxable Value to Miami-Dade County's Taxing Authorities.  This allows the County, School Board, and local governments such as Coral Gables, Cuter Bay, Homestead, Doral, South Miami, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, South Miami and UMSA to proceed with the preparation of their 2018-2019 budgets.

Final Property Roll to be released July 1.

July 1st the Property Appraiser’s Office will publish the 2018 Assessment Roll, which provides the taxing authorities with their official numbers to set their millage (tax) rates.

It is early, but to get a preview of my philosophy, see my post from August 4, 2017, Budgeting for our 2017-18 fiscal year. I remain committed to "government 'lite'" in Palmetto Bay. And yes, I firmly remain committed to Government Lite and keep the property tax rate the same, and that includes any actions taken on Parks, including the proposed Community Center.

Your Mayor,

Eugene Flinn

Lt. King continues to improve. Doral Recognizes our Palmetto Bay Policing unit and the Miami Dade County Police Department for their service

Update on Palmetto Bay resident, Doral Lt. Gary King.

It was an honor to be present at Doral city council chambers on Wednesday, May 9, 2018, when  Mayor Juan Bermudez and the Doral City Council recognized our Palmetto Bay Policing unit and the Miami Dade County Police Department for their brave actions and service the night Village resident / Doral officer, Lieutenant King was shot in his driveway. 

Lt. King is doing much better from when we visited him (and his family) in the hospital, Jackson South.

 Above left, with Lt. Gary King locally, out for breakfast, Gary still has not lost his sense of humor

 Above right, with Mayor Bermudez in the Doral Mayor's office.

Congratulations to Doral PD on their 10 year anniversary. Congratulations to Lt King and his family for their recovery.

We support our police!

MDPD / Palmetto Bay Policing Unit / 911 Dispatchers recognized at the May Doral City Council Meeting.

Doral Mayor Juan Carlos Burmudez and City Council recognized MDPD / Palmetto Bay Policing Unit at the May City Council Meeting.

It was an honor to be present at Doral city council chambers as mayor Juan Bermudez and the city council recognize our Palmetto Bay Policing unit and the Miami Dade County Police Department for their brave actions and service the night Village resident / Doral officer, Lt. King and his wife were attacked in their driveway.

Lieutenant King is a long time Palmetto Bay resident who was followed home from Home Depot in Pinecrest where he was attacked, robbed and shot in his driveway.

Congratulations to Doral PD on their 10 year anniversary.

Our best wishes to Lt King and his family for their recovery. We support our police!

Your tax dollars - full millage chart for all municipalities and the unincorporated area (UMSA). Read on to find your Overall Total Millage (combined property taxes)

Every property owner pays a tax for municipal services - regardless of whether that property is situated in an incorporated or unincorporated area (its called "UMSA" and substitutes for the municipality) -  some areas have “Debt Service" and other Miscellaneous Millage tacked on as well. 

I have posted the full mileage chart for all municipalities and the unincorporated area (UMSA). Read on to find your Overall Total Millage (combined property taxes)

       YOUR COMBINED – TOTAL OVERALL PROPERTY MILLAGE RATE:

                   (I selected 6 neighboring municipalities and compared with UMSA)

17.8921     UNINCORPORATED MIAMI-DADE (UMSA)

17.8636    DORAL
18.2638   PINECREST
18.2930   PALMETTO BAY 
18.3545   CUTLER BAY        
20.6293   SOUTH MIAMI
22.4787   HOMESTEAD

ALL COUNTY PROPERTY TAXES:

Every county resident pays into Miami-Dade County School Board

7.1380 operating millage

0.1840 for debt service.

Countywide Property Tax millage

4.6669 for operating
0.4000 debt. 

All municipal (and UMSA) residents, but for those living in only 5 cities pay for

County Fire Service –

2.4207 for operating and

0.0075 for debt service. 

All municipal (and UMSA) residents, but for those living in only 5 cities pay for

County LIBRARY Service –

0.2840 for operating –

ZERO   for debt service.

County special (voter approved Property Tax) –

All property tax payers in Miami-Dade County pay 0.5000 for the Children’s Trust

All properties in Miami-Dade County are assessed the following REGIONAL Millages:

0.1359  South Florida Water Management  
0.0471  Everglades Project
0.1477  Okeechobee Basin
0.0320  FIND

No municipality is left out on the chart (posted as a .JPEG below).  You can also view this same chart of the 2016 Adopted Millage Rates online, Miami-Dade County, : http://www.miamidade.gov/pa/library/2016-proposed-millage-chart.pdf

2016 Adopted Millage Rates

Want more information regarding your taxes?  Regardless of Taxing authority, the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser is your best source for information.  CLICK HERE for main page

SOME IMPORTANT DIRECT LINKS:

Frequently Asked Questions - FAQs  (CLICK HERE)

Glossary of terms CLICK HERE - defines terms such as “ad valorem tax”; "Real property"; "Save Our Homes (SOH) - Amendment 10"; "Taxable value"; to "Timeshare period titleholder"

Thank you for reading and preparing for our 2017-2018 budget hearings.

Additional observations on the local water project vetoes

I posted yesterday on the fact that Governor Scott vetoed several local water appropriations. The local veto victims included Palmetto Bay, $250,000; Cutler Bay,  $400,0000; South Miami, $120,000. Homestead had two water projects; $195,000 and $12,000 that were vetoed. The monies were in the budget and seemed so close that the elected officials could almost taste the water. Then yesterday, these water project appropriations evaporated with a single stroke of a (veto) pen.

Yet the City of Doral is set to receive $1,000,000. One million dollars to Doral while the four other cities came close, but were denied a combined $977,000.

Historic preservation Agency Money was not cut, though several specifically earmarked projects were vetoed.

I am still sorting this out. What has also not been calculated in the expenditures by the cities in lobbying fees and council travel, direct and soft costs. 

More in depth information regarding the budget and Governor Scott's vetoes is available online Miami Herald: Fla. gov. vetoes nearly $400 million from budget