Miami-Dade’s real budget crisis is overspending. Here’s how to fix it | Opinion

Budgets are not just numbers. They are value statements that reveal whether a government is truly serving its people or serving itself. That is why this year I voted “No” on the Miami-Dade County budget for FY 2025–26. It was not a decision I took lightly, but one made with conviction. Looking back at this year’s $12.9 billion budget, I saw a troubling pattern — a government that keeps growing larger, more expensive and less sustainable, even as the county faces shortfalls for the next four years while families are asked to do more with less. I have said this many times and I will say it again: We don’t have a revenue problem; we have an expenditure problem. I’ve come to realize that what Miami-Dade lacks is the discipline to spend responsibly and plan for the future. Since 2021, Miami-Dade’s budget has grown by almost $3.8 billion — more than 40% in just a few years. During that same time, the county has added more than 3,200 new employees. That’s significant growth, but it hasn’t come with the kind of long-term planning, discipline or results that families expect from their government. Instead, residents are seeing higher costs in their daily lives. Water rates are going up. Solid waste fees are climbing. Month after month, residents see higher bills while millions of dollars remain tied up in administrative positions that could be closed without affecting essential services. In Solid Waste alone, more than $2.4 million in administrative jobs remain open. Closing those positions could have spared residents from higher fees. There is a better path forward. We can shrink the size of government to meet current fiscal reality while protecting the services people depend on. That means closing unnecessary administrative positions, cutting non-essential travel and advertising and carefully reviewing overtime and contracted services. It means making sure every dollar is used wisely to strengthen our community. But the problem runs deeper than spending alone. The budget process itself is broken. Commissioners received the budget on July 15, leaving little time for meaningful discussion before public hearings. Too often, the information we need to make decisions arrives late, incomplete or vague. This is not just frustrating — it undermines trust. A process that should be transparent and honest instead feels rushed and opaque. That must change. I did not oppose this budget simply to say “No.” I opposed it because Miami-Dade deserves better. Families deserve a government that is transparent and plans beyond one year, not from crisis to crisis. They deserve leaders who make hard choices today so our children are not paying for our mistakes tomorrow. In the coming years, I will continue to fight for a budget that is fair, sustainable and worthy of the people we serve because, in the end, fiscal responsibility is not just good policy — it is our duty. It bears repeating: we don’t have a revenue problem, we have an expenditure problem. René García is a Miami-Dade Commissioner representing District 13.