Cut taxes, then borrow big? Miami’s November ballot could be pure chaos | Opinion

Florida lawmakers’ decision this week to put a massive property tax cut proposal on the November ballot should be a warning to Miami: Proceed with caution — this will be a tricky election year to also ask voters to allow the city to go into debt to repair aging public safety buildings.

Miami must first understand what the potential tax cuts would mean for its budget before pitching more borrowing and spending.

It’s not that Miami Mayor Eileen Higgins hasn’t made a good case that police and fire infrastructure is in disrepair, affecting emergency response times. Voters in the end may agree with her proposed referendum to issue up to $450 million in bonds to mainly pay for a new public safety building to house emergency services and new headquarters for the Miami Police Department. Polling she commissioned found voters would support the measure.

The City Commission was prudent to block the referendum from appearing on the August primary ballot, when voter turnout is low. They felt rushed by the mayor’s sudden plan — and they were right.

Commissioners are now scheduled to decide in July whether to place the bond question on the November ballot. If they do that, they would put voters in the position of making contradictory decisions. One ballot question, backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, would ask them to slash taxes and shrink government spending; another would ask them to allow city government to borrow money.

The proposed constitutional amendment the Legislature approved on Tuesday would increase Florida’s homestead tax exemption — available to people who live in the homes they own — to $250,000 from $50,000. Voters must approve it by at least 60% to enshrine it into the state constitution.

It’s still unclear how much tax revenue Miami could lose and how that would affect the city’s ability to pay off its debt. City bond ratings may go down based on the dramatic decrease in the tax base that ratings are based on.

The Herald Editorial Board reached out to a city spokeswoman and Higgins’ office but did not hear back.

Based on an estimate by the Florida League of Cities, Miami would lose 6% of its total taxable property values, much less than other South Florida cities. Miami has a diverse tax base with many commercial and rental properties.

Commissioner Damian Pardo told the Editorial Board that the constitutional amendment’s impact on the city budget will be a consideration when the commission votes on the bond referendum next month. Pardo agrees with Higgins that the city needs to address the “calamity” of deferred maintenance at police and fire buildings, but he’s not yet sold on her solution.

A city analysis estimates the bonds would cost $120 more in property taxes per household annually.

Pardo said Higgins’ administration should first look at other ways to fund those repairs, including public-private partnerships — of which Higgins has been critical — and the possibility of using lease revenue from the Miami Freedom Park soccer-stadium complex and the redevelopment of Watson Island.

The tax cuts would create other budget complications in Miami. The constitutional amendment would limit the types of “core services” property taxes can fund to public safety, roads, bridges and a few other items. Pardo said it’s unclear whether Miami would still be able to use those dollars to subsidize trash pickup services, which has prevented substantial increases to residents’ trash fees. Would the city be forced to raise fees, while also asking taxpayers to pay off more debt?

Former Miami City Manager Emilio Gonzalez, who lost last year’s mayoral race to Higgins, has been one of the critics of the proposed bonds. He told the Editorial Board the mayor should do a deep dive into the budget before proposing more debt. With the upcoming vote on raising the homestead exemption, he said “Let’s talk about the bonds next year.”

Higgins caught many people off guard by making the “Safe and Ready” bonds the first major initiative of her mayoral term. It’s not surprising that the idea has triggered criticism of her from inside and outside city government The possibility of dramatic tax cuts might have made it even harder to get her pitch before voters — probably for good reason.

This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 11:26 AM.