As Miami-Dade County is preparing to offset a tremendous budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year, the private sector could be the backbone of the local economy.
County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said Miami-Dade was able to complete a pipeline of infrastructure projects this year through new partnerships with private companies that helped save taxpayers a lot of money.
Since he took office in 2011, Gimenez said he led the reduction in the size of Miami-Dade bureaucracy by eliminating 1,700 county jobs, saved taxpayers more than $400 million and delivered the largest tax cut in county history.
Albeit faced with a budget deficit, Gimenez said his goal is to hold the line for property taxes for the budget while maintaining services for two million residents.
He said the county had to use most of its reserves this fiscal year to maintain significant services such as public safety, fire and rescue and library.
“I will present a balanced budget that reflects this stewardship and hold the line on taxes,” said Gimenez, who was the guest speaker at the April Miami Lakes Chamber of Commerce membership luncheon. “We are more streamlined and focused on our core missions of maintaining public safety and the delivery of direct services to our residents, especially the young and elderly.”
The former county commissioner said the private sector partnership helped ease Miami-Dade’s coffers by building almost half of the infrastructure, and he’s seeking to expand the affiliation for 2014-2015.
So far this year, Gimenez said he was proud to cut three ribbons to celebrate new and renovated housing for the elderly.
“Instead of relying on the same old way to do business, we threw out the old blueprint and partnered with a private sector developer,” Gimenez said. “The buildings were a faster and cheaper way to get it done and they are unbelievably beautiful. They are places the elderly can call home.”
In continuing to explore the potential benefits of public-private partnerships, Gimenez said the county is seeking to replace and improve its obsolete water and sewer infrastructure with the assistance of the private sector.
He said Miami-Dade entertained more than 30 responses from around the globe to help put together more than $7 billion worth of projects.
“This summer, we will partner with the private sector to build a new water treatment plant in South Miami to meet the water supply needs of that area,” Gimenez said.
Just hours before his speech at the Chamber event, Gimenez said he and Barcelona, Spain Mayor Xavier Trias signed a friendship and cooperation agreement between the county and the City of Barcelona, which would strengthen commercial, cultural, educational, and technological relations between the communities.
“For global services, our goal is to expand our opportunity for international trade and commerce,” Gimenez said. “We are reaching out to the world and the world is coming to us.”
Gimenez said the world continues to move in the direction of greater globalization with half of the world’s population living in urban areas.
He said Miami-Dade now ranks among the top ten most populous counties in the nation, but the continued growth of “our county” has placed a burden on local infrastructure.
“Our challenge is how to balance this growth with the need to ensure that our residents receive the services they deserve,” Gimenez said.
For Miami International Airport, Gimenez said the county’s cash cow exceeded its economic peak in a lesser time frame.
In 2013, he said 40 million people used the large facility, shattering a national record Miami-Dade didn’t expect to break until 2017.
For the Port of Miami, Gimenez said the new port tunnel will be opened on time and within the county’s budget thanks to the public and private partnership
The mayor said the county’s unemployment rate is low since the economic meltdown. “But not low enough,” he said.
He’s calling for a program which would connect businesses with governments to attract more companies to Miami-Dade, and help students bridge the gap between their existing college level skills and the proficiencies needed to land the right job.
Gimenez said more programs to help train students are needed like his Mayor Executive Internship Program in which scholars from Florida International University are getting real world working experience to prepare them for future job markets.
“We want a diverse economy to include training for students so they will be ready for the working world,” he said.
Gimenez said the county can achieve greater economic prosperity by luring more businesses to the area which would create more jobs and training.
He said businesses, including members of the Miami Lakes Chamber of Commerce, “made it easier for businesses in the county to move forward.”