The Town of Miami Lakes kicked off budget season with its first workshop on April 7, when council members told staff their priorities for the 2026-2027 spending plan they will vote on in September.
Hanging over their discussion were unknown factors: What the state legislature and governor will do this spring and what voters could decide in November about eliminating property taxes, actions that could affect municipal budgets and tax plans a year from now, in 2027-2028.
Council members most often mentioned not raising the property tax rate. When making spending decisions, they will consider how to use funds carried over from last year and additional revenues paid to the town after the current budget was formed last fall.
Also, $1.625 million in three settlement payments to former Mayor Michael Pizzi – for legal fees incurred during a criminal defense trial in which he was acquitted – are finished.
“For me, I expect we should be working on a flat rate and see where we can go down from there,” Councilman Steven Herzberg said. “I think we’re in a good position where we are but I’m not going to move the rate unless we have some unprecedented event.”
Councilman Juan Carlos Fernandez wants to keep millage flat and said it was important to fund maintenance of parks and medians and continue with beautification. He also noted financial pressures were eased since payments to Pizzi have ended.
“I’d like to see us start with the flat rate and also focus on priorities, and I think our priorities should be existing infrastructure [and] our parks, what we need to do to get them up to levels our residents deserve,” Councilman Ray Garcia said.
Garcia repeated his recurring request for two additional sheriff’s deputies for the force that patrols Miami Lakes.
He also suggested the town begin improving Optimist Park and put aside a grand plan.
“It seems to be very difficult to do,” Garcia said. “I think we should start piecemealing this. Instead of $200,000 for tennis court [fences], we should spend [it] on the backstops that are pretty much falling apart. Let’s start doing it little by little, let’s start getting it done. … I ask my colleagues to be open to that … and get Optimist Park up to at least minimum standards.”
Councilman Angelo Cuadra Garcia wanted to cut taxes further.
“My goal is looking at doing a rollback,” he said. “We have a surplus every year of almost a million dollars. …If we’re doing so well let’s set our standards high and try to shoot and do the rollback. We’re going to make a lot of residents very happy.”
He also wants the town to focus on repairing sidewalks and maintaining swales.
Vice Mayor Bryan Morera said, “I do think the flat rate is a good starting point. It will be my goal to reach the rollback.”
His priorities included police, lush landscaping and the condition of parks and athletic fields.
Councilman Alex Sanchez did not support going to the rollback rate, which could mean taking money from the carryover account and limit how they address issues as they come up, such as traffic management near the Bob Graham Education Center.
He said his priorities include the tree canopy, police services, and funding for ideas as they come up. He mentioned his past proposal to study building an extension of the median on Miami Lakes Drive, to force motorists to turn right from Northwest 77th Avenue.
Morera, Garcia and Sanchez are all running for reelection in November.
Mayor Josh Dieguez was absent.
In September, the council raised the millage rate for fiscal year 2025-2026 by 4%, from 2.0732 to 2.1577, or $2.15.
The current tax rate was achieved after the council reduced mowing and cut mulching om right of aways; eliminated funding for classes at the county public library and STEM courses at area schools funded from the Education Advisory Board’s budget; cut positions including a night security guard at Town Hall and a martial arts instructor and slashed other line items to balance the budget.
The 4% increase meant that a property owner whose home has a $293,906 taxable value (the average in town, according to the county) would pay $634.16 in town tax. (Taxable value is the assessed value less homestead and other exemptions).
It was just $12.20 more per year for such a property than the year before, but was also lower than fiscal year 2022 - 2023.
Morera said he wanted to take a more in-depth look at some of the special revenue funds and whether they can be drawn from for use in the general fund.
Town Manager Edward Pidermann said the council’s past habit of borrowing from special funds to pay for items in the general fund as a way to keep the millage rate low was bad bookkeeping.
“I want to make sure that we keep in perspective that last year we balanced the budget with multiple, multiple one-time transfers, and that’s not the proper way to build a budget,” Pidermann said. “The goal should be that we should have matching [recurring] revenues and expenses. … At some point we will exhaust those one-time opportunities. They are not infinite.”
He said using a portion of the carryover funds for one-time projects like road improvements as suggested by Sanchez “was probably a more appropriate way to do it.”
In the current budget, there is about $500,000 that has not been allocated.
In April, the council will vote on whether to keep that money in the general fund as a sort of savings account, something Herzberg said he wants to happen.
Pidermann said Dieguez has wanted to create such a fund for the town to be able to draw from in special circumstances, and that staff was working on its structure.