I’m proud the Miami-Dade commission passed a balanced budget | Opinion

Miami-Dade successfully passed a balanced and fiscally responsible budget.

From the start of the budget process, I pushed for every cent, dollar and percent to be thoroughly scrutinized. A penny here, a dollar or percent there may not seem like a lot of money, but small increases add up, especially when so many households are struggling to get by.

This is reminiscent of U.S. Senator Everett McKinley from Illinois, who said: “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.” He was referring to federal spending, cautioning that even small amounts add up to significant sums when left unchecked. The same can be said about county spending.

When it comes to the budget, our responsibility to residents is clear. We must ensure they receive the services they need — core services like public safety, public transit and parks — while keeping taxes low.

The initial 2025-2026 budget proposal, which ended being approved at $12.9 billion, did not align with this or with the financial realities our residents are facing. Asking them to shoulder more of the burden with increased fees and costs was both unsustainable and unacceptable.

That is why I, along with my colleagues on the commission, took deliberate action to reshape the budget, ensuring that what we ultimately passed would protect working families, preserve essential services and avoid placing additional financial pressure on our community.

I am proud to have identified and secured over $29 million in available funds from the offices of the Tax Collector and the Supervisor of Elections.

These dollars were reallocated to prevent new parking fees at county parks proposed in earlier budget drafts, reinforcing my commitment to financial stewardship without passing new costs onto the public.

I also passed a motion to remove all proposed transit fare increases on Metrorail, Metrobus and STS, ensuring residents continue to have access to affordable public transportation.

While several fee increases were proposed and approved by most commissioners, I remained consistent and voted “No” to all fees.

From the beginning of the budget process, I made my position clear: I would not support any fee or tax increases. In addition, I looked for ways to eliminate or reduce current fees and taxes.

Floridians are seeing increased costs in almost everything they pay for — insurance, groceries and gas, to name a few — which is why I could not support any increases to public transit fares, special needs and senior fares, the gas tax, solid waste, water and sewer, and rentals for parks, golf and marinas.

In the end, we came together to adopt a budget that maintains investments in critical areas such as public safety, infrastructure and neighborhood services while preserving affordability for Miami-Dade families and small businesses.

Thank you to my fellow commissioners, the administration and residents for their active involvement throughout the budget process. The adopted budget is more than just numbers on a page; it reflects the board’s shared commitment to fairness, transparency and strong community-focused governance.

Although the budget process has been finalized, our work as Miami-Dade commissioners does not end there. We remain committed to identifying additional savings and efficiencies as we move toward the mid-year budget, ensuring taxpayer dollars are used responsibly and that we continue delivering meaningful results for our community.

Anthony Rodriguez is the chairman of the Miami-Dade County Commission. He represents District 10, which encompasses portions of Kendall, Westchester and Fontainebleau.

This story was originally published September 27, 2025 at 6:31 AM.