MIAMI (WSVN) -- The Miami-Dade Commission and the people it serves endured an all-night budget battle at the Steven P. Clark Center Thursday night.
After 10 hours of deliberation, the Miami-Dade County Commission voted to raise property taxes. The decision comes after lots of controversy from homeowners.
A week and a half ago, commissioners voted to approve a rollback rate on property taxes and also set a ceiling on that tax hike, which cannot go higher.
Unhappy homeowners living in unincorporated Miami-Dade packed the meeting. They complained that $137 million in raises for county employees and hefty perks left in the budget should have been cut back before dipping into homeowners' pockets. A crowd of angry citizens called for their jobs. "We are going to remove all the commissioners," said one protester.
The final vote brings a 14 percent increase in property taxes to offset plummeting home values. Sixty percent of homeowners with Homestead exemptions will see a hike, but it cannot go higher. With that said, the county still brings in $38 million less than last year. "I still believe this is not the time to increase, maybe it's the time to reduce just like people in their households have reduced from a lot of things that they need," said Miami-Dade Commissioner Jose "Pepe" Diaz.
"We had stated that last year, when we passed it, that we would not increase over 3.9, and this year we did do it, so it's over the state defined rollback," said Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe Martinez.
However the mayor said the vote ensures public safety. "You still have the same number of police officers out in the streets, patrolling our streets, and you'll have fire rescue responding to calls in a timely manner," said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez. "So, the level of service will not be affected, so I'm very happy."
The tax hike comes as multi-millionaire auto dealer Norman Braman prepares to take action against Miami-Dade County officials. Braman may support a "recall effort" of Mayor Carlos Alvarez, and any commissioner who supported increasing the property tax rate. "Something has to be done and a group of citizens have decided that this type of government can't continue. I will do whatever is necessary financially to make this a reality," he said.
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