Downtown Miami owners oppose tax hike as they face quality of life and condo issues
Downtown Miami residents mobilized Saturday against a tax increase on homeowners and businesses in the urban core, citing quality of life issues and advocating to instead give owners relief to help pay for condo fee increases.
The conversation at a public meeting triggered an analysis that could lead to a tweaked proposal this week.
Miami's Downtown Development Authority, a quasi-independent city agency funded by a special tax levy, has proposed a tax rate that would cost approximately $8.53 per person or $34.12 per household of four for property owners in downtown Miami, Brickell, and Edgewater. The new rate would take effect Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year.
The Downtown Neighbors Alliance, a homeowners group led by resident and previous political candidate James Torres, attended a public sunshine meeting in the DDA office to share residents' concern against the tax increase. While the DDA is proposing a lower tax rate, increased property values lead to a higher tax bill than the previous year.
About 60 attendees crowded the room for Saturday's meeting, where elected officials could hear public comments and discuss the issue but no vote could be taken. Several downtown residents agreed with Torres as he urged Miami commissioners and the DDA to abandon the proposal.
Residents pushed back on the tax proposal for three key reasons — quality of life concerns, inflation and rising condo assessment fees. Residents said their quality of life has deteriorated due to poorly cleaned streets and abandoned storefronts down Flagler, litter, dog feces, and challenges with the homeless population .
The cost of living has skyrocketed for many, Torres said, due to inflation and rising condo assessment fees. In Miami-Dade County, condo assessment fees increased 59% between 2019 and 2024, to a median monthly fee of $900 up from $567.
"You have several components in the condo crisis that comes into play on the daily life cycle for someone who lives here in downtown. The quality of life should come first. If it's $1, you're being taxed a dollar more," Torres said. "Just because you live in downtown, doesn't mean you're rich. We all have our daily struggles."
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Some of the street-level issues concerning residents are areas of focus for the DDA's programs, and agency leaders say demand for services will only increase as the community grows.
The $34 increase, which would total $640,000 in tax revenue, would go towards padding the DDA budget for future spending and services, said Christina Crespi, CEO and executive director of the DDA.
"You need to look ahead in the future," Crespi said. "We have 90 cranes up in downtown Miami. That's new construction. That's going to cease eventually. We are not going to have that growth. Property values, as economists say, will go down. That's less revenue we're going to be collecting later. The services we're providing now could be affected later. It's important to budget for those moments in the future."
The board of directors for the DDA, chaired by Miami Commissioner Manolo Reyes, and Miami commissioners decide Thursday on the final annual budget, including whether to increase taxes. Before that, on Wednesday, the Brickell Homeowners Association plans to host a sunshine meeting. Residents are expected to voice their own concerns to city commissioners regarding the tax.
Commissioners open to revising budget
Commissioners Reyes, Damian Pardo, and Joe Carollo attended the meeting and listened to multiple residents raise concerns about the tax proposal. Reyes agreed to revisit the budget.
"If we see in our analysis the quality of services will suffer, then we won't change our plan," Reyes said. "But if we see we can maintain the quality of services without them deteriorating or suffering, then we will make the changes and adjustments."
Some downtown Miami residents shared similar concerns as commissioners. Maintaining quality services should be the top concern, regardless of the tax increase.
"A budget is a budget. I am on the condo board in my building and I understand that there are things that can be tapered down, but," Cristina Palomo said, "I would gladly pay $34 for the guys I see every morning at Bayfront Park, greeting us, making us feel safer when I walk my dog at night."
READ MORE: Manolo Reyes: Downtown Miami is the economic driver for the city – we need to keep it that way | Opinion
But most vocal attendees said they want higher quality of living and more money in their pocket. David Restrepo, a downtown Miami resident, said, "If you don't have a dollar in your pocket, it makes a difference," Restrepo said. "Everything helps."
