County budget would allow Miami-Dade to build back stronger, healthier and more resilient | Opinion

A year and a half into the coronavirus pandemic, as we continue to fight to protect lives and livelihoods, we are looking to the future — and to building back stronger than ever from this public-health and economic crisis. Communities that make smart investments today will be safer, healthier and more prosperous tomorrow.

Every September, Miami-Dade’s mayor proposes an annual budget to the Board of County Commissioners for the fiscal year ahead. I’m proud that this year’s proposed budget — my first as mayor — not only maintains critical services without raising taxes, but also puts a down payment on our future by supporting economic recovery, enhancing public safety for all neighborhoods, doubling down on resilience and more.

We worked hard to produce a balanced budget in a challenging fiscal year that is accountable, efficient, compassionate and inclusive.

Starting in the spring, we reached out to make sure residents’ voices are heard through our Thrive305 initiative. We collected more than a million unique responses to our community-wide survey and hosted in-person and virtual conversations with hundreds of residents. We distilled critical insights from all this input about the community’s priorities that helped shape the budget. The proposed budget lays the groundwork for a stronger, more resilient community by funding key priorities: protecting public safety; reinvigorating our economy; investing in our workforce; protecting the environment; enhancing neighborhood infrastructure; building a healthier Miami-Dade; and expanding government responsiveness and accountability.

This budget shows our commitment to a comprehensive approach to public safety that prioritizes violence prevention, intervention, re-entry and enforcement. We are creating a new Office of Neighborhood Safety, focused on improving public safety and quality of life, and preventing violence in the short term and long term through the Peace and Prosperity Plan and strategic investments in the Miami-Dade Police Department. These include Operation Summer Heat, additional intelligence analysts and video cameras in crime hotspots.

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and it’s critical that we create a foundation for them to thrive in the post-pandemic world. Through the Office of Equity, we are expanding small-business contracting and procurement. In addition, we are supporting start-ups and scale-ups through training, coaching, and physical and virtual workspace/learning hubs countywide. We’re investing in pre-school education for low-income children to lay the foundation for future economic mobility. And we’re funding critical infrastructure projects such as septic-to-sewer conversion and creating good jobs that also protect the environment — opportunities to stimulate growth and diversify our economy.

To support our workforce and create new opportunities for residents, we need to accelerate expansion of the affordable housing supply and aggressively expand transit. The budget includes $260 million for affordable-housing programs and funding to expand mobility by creating rail along key corridors.

We’re focused on preserving and protecting Biscayne Bay for our long-term health and prosperity, allocating nearly $5 million for seaweed removal, fish kills and flood mitigation.

We’re building safer, stronger neighborhoods by undertaking 46 new playground replacement projects, adding wi-fi hotspots across the parks system and improving street and transit infrastructure for bike and pedestrian safety.

We’re expanding our tree-canopy program, giving away or planting almost 5,000 trees in the year ahead.

And we’re investing in preparedness against current and future threats, continuing to expand vaccination outreach efforts and creating a full-time Heat Officer role to tackle the growing risk of extreme heat resulting from climate change.

Through our No Wrong Door initiative and the hiring of a new Director of Constituent Services, we are streamlining and improving customer service across county government.

I’m proud that I was elected as a mayor who would bring government closer to the people, expand opportunity, build a stronger economy, protect the environment and engage directly with residents. Our budget tackles all of these priorities as we aim not to restore the status quo, but to build back a Miami-Dade that is more prosperous and more secure — a community where all families can thrive.

Daniella Levine Cava is mayor of Miami-Dade County.