PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Sunday that not many people know there is a fund to help old condominiums that need repairs. It was created after the 2021 Surfside condominium collapse.
Levine Cava said the county fund aims to help Miami-Dade County property owners in old condominiums that require special assessments for vital repairs because of inadequate reserves.
Levine said her administration created a fund that pays up to $50,000 for 40 years — zero interest, for people earning up to 140% of the area median income.
“It’s a middle-class program as well, and many hundreds of people have already benefited from that program,” Levine Cava said. “We really want to encourage people to take advantage of that. We don’t want to see them losing their homes. We want them to stay and we want to make sure these buildings are safe.”
Related page: Condominium Special Assessment Program
Levine Cava — who chose This Week In South Florida for her first interview after voters elected her for a second term on Tuesday — said she is prioritizing solutions for “the crisis of affordability,” which she declared in 2022 and opened the Office of Housing Advocacy.
Levine Cava said improving public transportation also continues to be a priority, and while Metrorail expansion is expensive and takes a long time, there are plans to improve bus rapid transit.
“People are voting with their feet because our transit ridership is up above pre-pandemic levels, which is unique in the country,” Levine Cava said about the recent public transit referendum.
In July, Levine Cava unveiled Miami-Dade County’s 2024-25 budget totaling nearly $12.7 billion, including an $8 billion operating budget and a $4.68 billion capital budget. The budget includes a 9.58 total millage rate and a 2.39 fire rate.
Levine-Cava’s flat-tax proposal followed two years of 1% reductions in Miami-Dade’s countywide property-tax rate. She said it was the lowest rate since 1980 and the first cut in over a decade. She also said the county had benefited from federal and state funding.
“We are still spending on our Recovery Act money and our Infrastructure bill money, so it does include substantial federal dollars, especially for infrastructure ... that is a really big portion. Also as we build more, we collect more fees,” Levine Cava said.
Levine Cava said the budget doesn’t have cuts for public safety, including the corrections department and other ancillary functions that will be part of an independent Sheriff’s Office. She said there will be increased administrative costs and she expects the next Sheriff will have requests for the commission.
Miami-Dade County voters face decisions on partisan races Nov. 5 to fill five positions: Sheriff, Election Supervisor, Tax Collector, Property Appraiser, and Clerk of Courts.
Related page: Volumes 1-3 of the 2024-25 Proposed Budget
Alex Muñoz recently resigned from the Miami-Dade County government. His most recent appointment was as the deputy director of the Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation, and Open Spaces Department.
Muñoz also served as director of the Animal Services Department before serving as the director of the Internal Services Department. Levine Cava refused to discuss the controversy about him allegedly overseeing controversial real estate acquisitions. She said he had “served very capably for many years” and “decided to move on.”
While looking ahead to the budget process, Levine Cava asked residents to get involved.
“We are doing a full round of public budget workshops. We have some special ones for women’s issues for business issues, so we are very, very responsive. We want people to be part of it,” Levine Cava said.
For information about upcoming public meetings on the proposed budget, visit this page or sign up and RSVP on this page. Some of the public meetings are available online with Zoom. Government meetings air on this page.
This Week In South Florida Roundtable