CBS4.com staffers show off events in South Florida
Jul 21, 2009 7:54 pm US/Eastern
Angry Citizens Protest Proposed Dade Property Tax
The Public Will Be Able To Voice Its Concerns In Upcoming Meetings
First Budget Hearing – September 3, 2009 at 5:01 p.m.
Second Budget Hearing – September 17, 2009 at 5:01 p.m.
DOWNTOWN MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Hundreds lined up outside county hall in Downtown Miami, protesting what could be an increase in millage rates.
CBS
During his budget proposal presentation last week, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez said unprecedented steps needed to be taken to offset a $427 million budget shortfall. Alvarez proposed cutting nearly 18 hundred jobs, a 5 percent salary cut across the board and a slight hike in the property tax.
Hundreds of angered citizens showed up to the steps of county hall in response to this announcement on Tuesday afternoon. They held banners, waved to traffic and shouted their displeasure with the proposed property tax hike. However, if the county doesn't raise taxes, it's bound to cut services.
"If you're going to cut some of the units out of these stations, you're going to be cutting response times to some of these neighborhoods," said Chuck Willcox, a Miami-Dade County Fire Fighter. He was one of dozens of firefighters and their supporters who showed up at the meeting to voice their displeasure with any job cuts for firefighters.
"It's gonna have a direct impact on public safety, especifically police and corrections," said Alvarez during Tuesday's commission meeting.
The potentially deep budget cuts have some county agencies facing the daunting task of trying to make up the funding. "We would have lost over the two years, $1.3 million. Its 700 this year, just over $700 thousand," said Gillian Thomas of the Miami-Science Museum.
An increase in the county's millage rate, which would lead to higher property taxes, was discussed Tuesday by the Miami-Dade Commission.
Part of the overall revenue shortfall comes from the fact that property values have dropped nearly 10 percent across the county.
To offset the falling values, Alvarez has proposed a small property tax hike which would amount to an increase of $8.63 per year, or 72 cents a month, for a homesteaded property of average value (approximately $164,000). Homeowners with a home of average value without a homestead exemption will save about $150 per year.
"Now I've got all these to look at in five days, and make a decision for the people of this community, said Commissioner Natacha Seijas, as she angrily slammed the two bound budget presentations on her desk. "I won't."
Even with the increase, residents who bought their homes in the last few years when the economy and the housing market were booming would see their property taxes drop, compared to the amount they paid last year because of the drop in their property's value.
During Tuesday's meeting, no comments were taken from the public. The commission will hold two public hearings, and will take a final vote on the matter, in September.
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