Miami-Dade County commissioners have unwisely widened the disconnect between themselves and voters who approved a constitutional amendment for lower taxes in January. They did so by approving a $7.4 billion budget last month that doesn't deliver the modest tax relief -- about $120 for the typical homeowner -- that voters expected when they said Yes to Amendment One.

In truth, the amendment wasn't the best way to get the comprehensive tax reform that many taxpayers have been demanding from state and local governments. That is beside the point, though, since more than 64 percent of voters approved the amendment that raised the homestead exemption to $50,000 from $25,000.

With the budget approval, commissioners raised property owners' overall tax rate while chipping away at the Amendment One savings in order to produce a budget they could claim delivers lower tax bills. Along the way, they included special allocations for some commissioners, including a fireboat, a cattle show and the Miami-Dade Sports Commission, among other things. Not surprisingly, the budget passed 12-1. Only commissioner Carlos Gimenez objected to the back-door maneuver.

No doubt some commissioners think this is clever budgeting and good politics. Yet none of them needs fear retribution at the polls. Lobbyists and other special-interest groups fill incumbent commissioners' campaign accounts with enough money to defeat virtually any election challenger.

What commissioners fail to grasp, though, is that their actions fuel residents' cynicism and distrust of elected officials. Voters often strike back in the only way they can -- by approving sometimes poorly conceived amendments (less subject to lobbyists' influence), sending the message that taxpayers want leaner, transparent, accountable government.

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