At the Miami Springs City Council Meeting, the City of Miami Springs voted in a 3 – 2 vote to reduce the tax from 7.3300 to 7.2095.  That’s a decrease of 1.6% versus our current rate.

City Hall

At the beginning of the meeting, Councilman Bob Best had made a motion to reduce the tax rate from 7.3300 to 7.3000 or a decrease of 0.4%.  Councilman Victor Vazquez seconded the motion which led to a discussion.  During that discussion it became clear that councilwoman Jacky Bravo and Councilman Walter Fajet wanted to bring the tax rate even lower.  Mayor Mitchell expressed her concern that she didn’t want to lower the taxes too much only to have to raise them the following year.  She expressed her preference to slowly lower tax rates over time and not see-saw down and up.

Miami Springs Councilman Bob Best at September 11 Ceremony
Miami Springs Councilman Bob Best at September 11 Ceremony

Since the motion to reduce the rate to 7.3000 was seconded and discussed, Mayor Mitchell called for a vote.  The motion died as Bob Best and Victor Vazquez voted in favor of the 7.3000 rate, but Jacky Bravo, Walter Fajet, and Maria Mitchell voted no.

Miami Springs City Council
Bob Best, Jacky Bravo, Maria Mitchell, Walter Fajet, Victor Vazquez (Photo Courtesy City of Miami Springs)

After the motion died, Councilman Walter Fajet made a motion to set the millage rate at the rollback rate of 7.2095.  Councilwoman Jacky Bravo seconded the motion.  Mayor Mitchell asked the City Manager, William Alonso,  to discuss if he had any concerns over moving to the rollback rate of 7.2095.  The Manager expressed that he felt comfortable moving to the lower 7.2095 rollback rate.

Mayor Mitchell asked if there was any other discussion.  Bob Best stated, “I think we’re making a mistake.”  Mayor Mitchell asked if Councilman Fajet wanted to amend his motion.  Councilman Fajet stated “the motion stands.”

After that, Mayor Mitchell asked to call the vote to set the millage rate at the lower 7.2095 rate.

  • Bob Best voted no.
  • Jacky Bravo voted yes.
  • Walter Fajet voted yes.
  • Victor Vazquez voted no.
Miami Springs Mayor Maria Mitchell
Photo courtesy the City of Miami Springs.

That meant the deciding vote fell on Mayor Mitchell again.  She voted yes and approved the rollback rate of 7.2095.

As the City posted this morning, it’s the first time the City went with a rollback rate since 2009.  According to the City of Miami Springs “the rollback rate means that the city will collect the same amount of property taxes this year as it did last year.”  In other words, the Miami Springs portion of resident tax bills should stay about the same.

We applaud the City Manager and the Finance Team for working with the Council to provide them a flexible budget for the 2022 fiscal year.  We also want to thank Councilwoman Bravo, Councilman Fajet, and Mayor Mitchell for giving the residents the lowest possible rate.

Well done City Council!


MIAMI-DADE MUNICIPAL TAX RATES COMPARED

We are pleased with the direction the City Council took last night to use the rollback rate of 7.2095.  Below you’ll find the current tax rate for all Miami-Dade municipalities and the 2022 tax rate that was approved last night for the City of Miami Springs.

Remember:  Our current tax rate is at 7.3300 or higher than Florida City’s current rate.  The rollback would drop us below Florida City at 7.2095.

Of course, that doesn’t take away that Miami Springs still has one of the higher tax rates in the County.  For example, here are the tax rates for our neighboring cities:

  • Hialeah:  6.3018
  • Virginia Gardens:  5.0000
  • Medley:  4.8000
  • Doral:  1.9000

2022 TAX RATE

 

 

 

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