Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser Pedro J. Garcia is inviting Miami Lakes residents to meet one-on-one with his staff to review their exemption status and have their questions or concerns addressed.
The event is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, July 30, at Town Hall, 6601 Main Street. Attendees may qualify for additional benefits that could help reduce their taxes.
As the guest speaker at the March Miami Lakes Chamber of Commerce membership luncheon, Garcia said during his first stint as property appraiser from 2008 to 2012, he often had to give the mayor and county commissioners bad news about Miami-Dade’s estimates of taxable values.
This year, he said it’s brighter. “This year, I should have some good news,” he said.
The countywide taxable value for 2015 is $230,429,191,490, a 9.4 percent increase from 2014.
"For the first time since 2007, every municipality in Miami-Dade County has seen a value increase," Garcia said in announcing the July 1 preliminary certification of taxable values for 2015.
The taxable values allows the taxing authorities, such as county government, municipal governments, the Miami-Dade School Boad and Children’s Trust, to commence the preparation for their budget for next year and adopt property tax rates.
Among the cities that experienced the most significant value increase in 2015 were Sunny Isles Beach (16.7 percent), El Portal (15.4 percent), Key Biscayne (15.3 percent), Miami Beach (13.3 percent), Miami (13.1 percent), Surfside (12.4 percent) and Indian Creek (12.0 percent).
Property values increases stemmed from new commercial and condos construction.
Among Miami-Dade’s 36 cities, Miami Lakes is at No. 32 with a 4.5 percent increase ($2,691,096,427) in property values from 2014.
The Notice of Proposed Property Taxes (TRIM Notice) will be mailed out by August 24, which will provide property owners with detailed property tax and exemption benefits information.
For more information on the Dade County Property Appraiser’s Outreach Events, contact Robert Rodriguez at (305) 375-4789.