![\"Miami-Dade](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MIA_100aBoatersafety02NEWPPP.JPG\" "\\"Miami-Dade")
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Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava speaks during a July 2026 press conference on boating safety. If Florida voters pass a tax-cut constitutional amendment in November, she will face the challenge of reworking spending in a county where about 70 cents of every property-tax dollar goes to public safety, transportation and the Jackson Health hospital system.<\/p>\n
Pedro Portal<\/p>\n
pportal@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
If Florida voters cut property taxes statewide, Miami-Dade\u2019s elected leaders will be forced to upend a budget where most of those dollars fund public safety, transportation services and the Jackson Health hospital system, according to a Miami Herald analysis.<\/p>\n
Of the more than $3 billion that Miami-Dade plans to collect in property taxes next year, roughly 70 cents of every dollar fund the county\u2019s Sheriff\u2019s Office, fire department, jails, roads and transit costs, and Jackson, the Herald analysis found.<\/p>\n
The finding highlights the challenge that could lie ahead if the county\u2019s mayor and commissioners try to significantly reduce property-tax spending without cutting pay or services in those areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this passes, services will be cut,\u201d Miami-Dade Commissioner Oliver Gilbert, a Democratic candidate for Congress<\/a>, told the audience at a budget town hall Wednesday night at the North Dade Regional Library. \u201cYou need to hear that. \u2026 I don\u2019t want you to be surprised.\u201d<\/p>\n In November, Florida voters have the chance to amend the state constitution<\/a> to rewrite how local governments charge property taxes on primary residences.<\/p>\n Amendment 3 would exempt $250,000 of a home\u2019s assessed value from property taxes charged by county and municipal governments by 2028. It would also reduce from 10% to 5% the cap on value increases for all \u201cnon-homestead\u201d property \u2014 real estate that doesn\u2019t enjoy the current 3% cap that\u2019s granted to primary residences under Florida\u2019s homestead laws.<\/p>\n Miami-Dade\u2019s budget office estimates the measure would cut property-tax revenue by about 20% \u2014 a loss of roughly $700 million once fully implemented in 2029.<\/p>\n Local governments could still raise their tax rates to make up for the lost revenue \u2014 a scenario that critics say could leave rental properties vulnerable to higher tax bills.<\/p>\n Backers of the tax-cut measure call it the only way to make local governments serious about cutting excessive spending. They note that property-tax revenue soared during the hot real estate market Florida enjoyed at the outside of the COVID-19 pandemic \u2014 in Miami-Dade, property-tax revenue increased nearly 60% between 2021 and 2026, compared to a 45% increase during the prior five years.<\/p>\n By rolling back property-tax revenue, supporters of the measure say they can deliver relief to homeowners who\u2019ve been hit with higher insurance bills and other costs, while forcing local politicians to hunt for savings \u2014 without hurting core services.<\/p>\n \u201cAcross-the-board cuts are not the answer,\u201d Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez, a supporter of the tax-cut plan who has pushed for targeted cuts in Miami-Dade, said in a statement. \u201cSmart prioritization, efficiency and responsible budgeting are how we protect essential services while delivering meaningful tax relief to our residents.\u201d<\/p>\n What happens to Miami-Dade\u2019s budget after a tax cut?<\/p>\n The Herald analysis highlights the challenges ahead if local leaders plan to keep funding intact for popular services like public safety, transit and healthcare while slashing property-tax dollars elsewhere. About 50 cents of every property-tax dollar fund three Miami-Dade expenses: the Sheriff\u2019s Office, Fire and Rescue, and Corrections, home to the county\u2019s jail system.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we have less money from property taxes, it will be extremely difficult to adequately fund public safety,\u201d Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who is planning to campaign against Amendment 3, said after Wednesday\u2019s town hall.<\/p>\n Even though property taxes are the top source of revenue for the county\u2019s core services, the annual budget<\/a> doesn\u2019t give department-by-department breakdowns of how that revenue is spent. The Herald produced that analysis using Levine Cava\u2019s 2027 budget proposal, which faces a final commission vote on Sept. 17.<\/p>\n To estimate how property taxes are spent, the Herald first calculated how much property-tax revenue goes into the main funding buckets for most core services. Those funding buckets are called general funds, and county budgets do detail how much each department receives from those funds.<\/p>\n The Herald applied the property-tax portion of each general fund \u2014 78% for the countywide general fund<\/a> and 35% for the smaller general fund<\/a> reserved for municipal expenses in unincorporated areas across Miami-Dade \u2014 to each department\u2019s general-fund allocation. That produced a rough estimate of how many property-tax dollars were in each budget.<\/p>\n Two departments required no complicated math. The Fire Rescue and Library departments each have their own designated property tax that supports the bulk of their budgets. Both of those revenue figures got added to the general-fund allocations to produce a grand total of roughly $3.35 billion in property taxes projected to be spent in 2027.<\/p>\n From there, the Herald divided each department\u2019s budgeted property taxes by the total to get a share of all property taxes. That figure was then converted to cents out of a single property-tax dollar.<\/p>\n Highlights from the Herald\u2019s findings include:<\/p>\n Government administrators and back-office managers will be an easy target if the property-tax cut passes. A nickel of every property-tax dollar goes to that category in the Herald analysis, slightly more than what goes to Miami-Dade\u2019s 50 library branches. That category includes departments that manage government facilities or finances, including the budget office, property appraiser, procurement and building services.Miami-Dade sends more property taxes to Community Redevelopment Agencies (CRAs) than it does to the Parks system<\/a>. CRAs are redevelopment districts funded by property taxes collected within their boundaries to pay for real estate projects, road repair, events and other local benefits. As real estate values rise, CRA funding does, too.Social services, including counseling programs for young criminal offenders, receive less than 2 cents from every dollar of property taxes.The county\u2019s Fire Rescue Department, with a $928 million operating budget<\/a>, receives the most property taxes \u2014 roughly 22 cents of every dollar. Almost all of that comes from the dedicated Fire Rescue property tax, which would also be reduced if the referendum passes in November.While the Sheriff\u2019s Office receives more dollars from Miami-Dade\u2019s two general funds, it landed second place in terms of property-tax funding. That\u2019s because it relies on the unincorporated general fund for nearly 60% of its county dollars. State rules direct significantly more sales tax to the unincorporated general fund, diluting the share of property taxes.Animal Services, home to the county\u2019s Doral shelter<\/a>, eats up about a penny of every property-tax dollar spent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava speaks during a July 2026 press conference on boating safety. 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