Good News in Homestead: Reduced Property Tax Rate for 2014

According to the Miami Herald, on July 31st The Homestead City Council unanimously voted to advertise via the state-mandated letter known as a "TRIM Notice" a reduce the city tax millage rate to $5.9215 from last year’s rate of $6.2435 per $1,000 of taxable property for the 2013-2014 budget starting on Oct. 1.  The advertised rate sets the ceiling millage rate and they can only further reduce it.

If the advertised rate becomes final, the owner of a $170,000 home would pay about $728, down from $749 this year. These figures assume the owner qualifies for the standard $50,000 homestead exemption, and that the home’s taxable value increased by 1.7 percent, the maximum allowed this year for an owner-occupied home.

The council will hold two public hearings on the budget: 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 11 and 5 p.m. on Sept. 25 at the William F. Dickinson Community Center.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/02/3539223/homestead-looking-at-lower-property.html#storylink=cpy

Homestead looking at lower property-tax rate - Homestead / South Dade - MiamiHerald.com

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Humbled Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez Makes 180 Degree Turn on Proposed Tax Hike!

A contrite and humbled County Mayor, Carlos Gimenez, admits to making a misstep with a 930-page budget proposal to hike county taxes this coming Fall.  We at Homestead is Home (HIH) called him out as a flip-flopper which appears he got wind of it since he mentioned it during his recent speech.  Mind you we did Tweet it directly @MayorGimenez so it appears to have resonated with him.  However, that's what he would've been had he stuck to his tax hike.  You see we at HIH did not forget his pledge to reduce county government.  The bloated government behemoth that usurps the citizens hard earned dollars to fund the lavish salaries of the well connected and their families in this county.  The reorganization effort the Mayor undertook was noteworthy but fell short of reducing the actual numbers of staff in county government.  It's not enough to rearrange the chairs and shuffle staff from one office to the other, the Mayor must get rid of obsolete departments and continue to consolidate others.  He must accelerate the implementation of technological advances to make county government more of a self-service approach for the citizens. Only by reducing actual positions can county government maintain let alone reduce taxes. Attrition also works yet very slowly since it appears every county worker is holding on the sweet deal they've grown accustomed to at the county taxpayers' expense.  Fact is if there was a better deal out in the private sector they would've taken it already.  Don't believe the hype when they cry out for higher pay and benefits since someone else just as qualified is waiting to take the job for so much less if given a chance.

County Mayor Carlos Gimenez Flip-Flops on Tax Rate Hike! @miamidadecounty @MayorGimenez @MiamiDadeFire City of... http://t.co/xnzIHDM1Sb
— Homestead is Home (@HomesteadisHome) July 16, 2013

Reference Articles:
Miami-Dade mayor calls his proposal to hike tax rate a political ‘misstep’ - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com

County Mayor Carlos Gimenez Flip-Flops on Tax Rate Hike!

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County Mayor Carlos Gimenez Flip-Flops on Tax Rate Hike!

Six days and six nights have passed and it's hard to keep track of County Mayor Carlos Gimenez' tax rate fumble.  One day he wants to raise the taxes to ensure firefighters and librarians keep their jobs and turning Miami-Dade county into a domestic pet sanctuary.  The next he wants to forgo county services and layoff some folks.  So which is it?
 I mean was he so out of touch with the taxpayer that he actually proposed a tax increase in one of the poorest counties in the country.  Lets not forget that our median income is $44,000 for a family of four.  I tend to repeat this over and over because people forget often due to the massive fraud perpetrated by the people in South Florida where "Fake It 'til You Make It" is a continuous running theme.
We shouldn't hold our breath though, Mayor Gimenez may have genuinely had an epiphany and back tracked his tax increase proposal, but given that it has only been six days we at HIH figure we'd give him until the end of the month to know for certain where he stands on the tax rate issue. Remember your pledge Mayor Gimenez we surely wont let you forget!

Miami-Dade mayor flips on property-tax rate hike, will cut services instead - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com

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Too Many Chiefs & Not Enough Subordinates at Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Dept.

I reported a few days ago that County Mayor Carlos Gimenez was welching on his promise to cut the fat at County Hall.  By cutting the fat we mean getting rid of duplicate and unnecessary positions that have a meaningful impact on the county budget.  We didn't mean performing a reorganization tantamount to moving the chairs around, eliminating empty positions and calling it a day.

Only one day has passed and Commissioner Xavier Suarez has revealed to the County Mayor, an ex-Fire Chief for the City of Miami, I might add, that the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department has 75 Chiefs.  He goes on to detail an analysis whereby there are more supervisors in the department than necessary for the amount of subordinates they oversee.  To add insult to injury these supervisors make between $100K-$200K per year.  For a county where the median income is $44K for a family of four, that is some serious money.

HIH calls on the County Mayor to do more than pay lip service to the taxpayers of this county and cut the fat at the Fire Department.  We understand the "brotherhood" of Fire Fighters and all that jazz but it's time to honor the pledge made to the citizens he made to get elected.  Below is the letter from Xavier Suarez courtesy of the Eye on Miami blog.

Reference Links:
CBS4
EoM

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County Mayor Carlos Gimenez Proposes an even Higher Property Tax Hike!

County Mayor Carlos Gimenez first proposes an overall property tax increase of 4.06% now it turns out it was actually higher at 5.37%, but he's supposedly made a "U-TURN" according to the Miami Herald and reduced the increase to 4.34%.  The beastly county government just can't get small enough for the citizens of Miami-Dade county to avoid ever increasing property taxes.  The Mayor may have outlived his usefulness in that he can't seem to nip-tuck the budget enough.  It appears the Mayor's pledge is a farce he never truly believed in. Unless the Board of County Commissioners step up and show some leadership property owners will be stuck with a huge tax bill come November!

County government has gone TAX crazy and a RECALL may be in order!

• 3.9% property value increase
• 5.37% Mayor's proposed tax increase
• 3. 8% already approved water rate increase
• $830,000,000 Jackson bond proposal 
• 54% increase Tolls on MDX 836 (Dolphin Xway)
• 8.8% Transit Fee increase

Miami-Dade mayor reverses course on proposed tax-rate hike, downsizes animal-shelter plan - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com

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County Mayor Carlos Gimenez Proposes Property Tax Hike!!!

County Mayor Carlos Gimenez is out of his mind to think the county has recovered to increase property taxes now.  The  Mayor's proposes to increase the overall county tax rate by 4.06%.  This increase will supposedly avoid fire station and public libraries from closing plus pay for an animal welfare plan.

SAY WHAT?   Animal Welfare too?

This is  ludicrous for a county with over 10% unemployment we appear to be so wealthy as to afford the caring for homeless animals in perpetuity.  The Non-Binding ballot question voters approved means just that, NON-BINDING.  You don't have to, so cut the crap about funding it. As for fire stations closing, absolute baloney!

The marketplace has many qualified people willing to work for the county for less pay at any of the County Departments not just the fire stations.  The scare tactics are not working because we all know the only thing stopping the pay cuts is the cronyism and nepotism rampant at County Hall.

Mayor Gimenez stick to your pledge because you're welching on it.
It appears there hasn't been enough reorganization and consolidation at the county departments to eliminate unnecessary positions an reduce top-level salaries and executive benefits.  Get to it your work has just begun!

Miami-Dade mayor proposes higher property-tax rate - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com

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Homestead and Florida City 2013 Property Values Decreased Again

HIH POV:

Homestead's property values decreased 2.2% and Florida City decreased 7.5% while the county overall property values increased.  The true impact to individual homeowners won't be known until the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners (BCC) set the maximum millage rate in mid-August as they've historically done.  The early release of this information is a "nice to have" for municipalities planning purposes but for the average citizens it's much-a-do-about-nothing.  One may also look up individual property assessments online at the Property Appraiser's website using the New Search.

Mind you the Miami Herald's headline states "Good News" but this qualification should really be left to the readers' interpretation. It's good news for government entities who will now increase property owners' tax bills for services provided.  Also, it's good news for those selling their property but for the majority of citizens staying in their homes, it's not good news.  This just means higher tax bills come November.  Tack on higher windstorm insurance bills to boot and you have a perfect storm brewing once more.

In Homestead and Florida City the impact will be less apparent since the overall values continued to decrease though not as much.  It appears property values may begin their turn into positive territory. Lets just hope that come November the new Homestead City Council of 2013 allocates the new found monies wisely into sustainable projects that spur growth in the city.

Miami Herald Excerpt:

Property values in Miami-Dade County rose for the second year in a row – welcome news for South Florida municipalities, which derive much of their revenue from property taxes.

“It’s a good thing for anybody in government,” Miami City Manager Johnny Martinez said.

The growth – about 3.1 percent countywide – was slightly less than Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez was expecting. Last month, Gimenez predicted property values would rise 3.5 percent, creating in an additional $33.3 million in new revenue for county coffers.

But on Friday, Gimenez said the revised figures were “something we can work with.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/31/3427173/good-news-for-miami-dade-property.html#storylink=cpy

Good news for Miami-Dade: Property values are increasing - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com

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Miami-Dade property assessments online next week

BY MARTHA BRANNIGAN

MBRANNIGAN@MIAMIHERALD.COM

The Miami-Dade Property Appraiser plans to post assessed values for 2013 on its website by June 1 as part of an effort to make it easier for residents to contest assessments..

In the past, the information hasn’t been available until TRIM notices get mailed in mid to late August.

Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who took office as property appraiser in January, said the goal is to provide additional time and opportunity for property owners to question valuations directly with the appraiser and seek changes outside the formal appeals process.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/24/3414585/miami-dade-property-assessments.html#storylink=cpy

Read full article on link below:

Miami-Dade property assessments online next week - Business - MiamiHerald.com

HIH POV:

This is a significant revamp to the system and potentially a defining moment in Carlos Lopez-Cantera's tenure as Miami-Dade Property Appraiser.  If this turns out to be his only improvement at least it's a good one.  This change will have a positive
lasting effect on the citizens of the county.

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Jackpot! East Side Annexation Area Includes FPL's Turkey Point

On Wednesday May 15th the City Council voted to conduct a study to possibly annex the Unincorporated Municipal Services Area (UMSA) east of the city up to Biscayne Bay using Biscayne Dr (SW 288th ST) and SW 352nd ST as the north and south boundaries respectively.  It appears from the map below that part of Florida Power & Light's Turkey Point land and it's northern surrounding property falls within the Homestead Annexation Study area. The facility itself appears to fall south of theoretical SW 352nd ST. If this is the case the tax boon will not be as lucrative but it's not chump change by any means. FPL also owns other large parcel of lands further north near the Homestead Air Force Base (AFB).  Essentially, FPL would be the largest land owner in the new annexed area and with this ownership comes the biggest tax bill.  One may suppose this is the primary  purpose for annexation never mind the reasons given about incorporating Homestead Bayfront Park. The money is in the millage rate charged for the land owned by FPL plain and simple.

There is a method to the madness down at City Hall because it didn't really make sense to annex an area outside the Urban Development Boundary (UDB) unless there was an immediate return on investment (ROI) for the effort.  Especially, since the city is running through reserves like a sailor on shore leave.  Surely, one could suggest the City Council is exhibiting foresight to incorporate areas for future growth, but historically that hasn't been the case.  Shotgun Houses, Baseball Stadium, Seminole Theatre, are but a few examples of the lack of this scarce skill set down at City Hall.  

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