Miami-Dade Appropriations Committee Meeting - June 11, 2025
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Miami-Dade Appropriations Committee Meeting – June 11, 2025
The Miami-Dade Appropriations Committee met on June 11, 2025, at 11:00 AM in Commission Chambers. The committee considered several ordinances, resolutions, and a public hearing, and forwarded most items to the full Board of County Commissioners (BCC) with favorable recommendations.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Truly Burton, Executive Vice President of the Builders Association of South Florida, expressed support for item 3P (fee increases for regulatory activities). She noted that the department has improved outreach, and while the proposed fee increases average about 12.5%, the construction industry faces volatility from tariff-driven price increases (e.g., steel up 50%, concrete up 18%). She called for continued streamlining and process improvements.
- Jerry Proctor, attorney representing the owner of a property adjacent to a county-owned parcel, spoke in support of item 3F (sale of a 25-foot surplus lot in North Miami Beach). He stated the client is the logical purchaser and agreed with staff recommendations.
Discussion Items
- Item 1G1 – Annexation Request of the City of Florida City: The committee held a public hearing on a resolution to direct preparation of an ordinance and interlocal agreement for annexation. Commissioner Steinberg noted that of 88 registered voters, only 31 survey responses were returned: 17 opposed and 14 in favor. City Planner Henry Either stated the low response rate indicated no widespread opposition and that the city has not received negative comments. Commissioner McGhee, the prime sponsor, expressed support. The item passed unanimously.
- Item 2E – Expansion of the Naranja Lakes Community Redevelopment Area: Commissioner McGhee explained the expansion area (about 260 acres) includes predominantly vacant land and a park. The committee approved the resolution after his clarification.
- Item 3P – Fee Increases for Regulatory and Economic Resources (RER): Lourdes Gomez, Director of RER, presented the proposed fee increases, the first in 7 to 17 years, driven by changes in state law. She noted that even with increases, Miami-Dade remains at or below peer jurisdictions. She highlighted permit exemptions for homeowners and free concierge services for homeowners. Commissioner Gonzalez expressed reluctance to increase homeowner fees, suggesting shifting costs to commercial developers. Commissioner Cohen Higgins proposed forwarding the item without recommendation. The committee voted 4-0 to forward item 3P and its supplement to the BCC without a recommendation.
Key Outcomes
- Items 2A and 2B (ordinances authorizing CRA staff employment for NW 79th Street and NW 7th Avenue Corridors) were adopted on first reading and forwarded to BCC with a favorable recommendation (4-0).
- Item 1G1 (Florida City annexation) was approved after public hearing (4-0).
- Item 2E (Naranja Lakes CRA expansion) was approved (4-0).
- Item 3P (RER fee increases) was forwarded to BCC without a recommendation (4-0).
- All other items on the agenda (including those in sections 2, 3, and the public hearing) were approved by a single motion and forwarded to BCC with favorable recommendations, except item 3P. Key items include: conveyance of surplus properties for affordable housing (2C), bond issuance for affordable housing (2D), various budget approvals for CRAs (3B, 3C), grant approvals (3D, 3E), property sale (3F), contract awards (3H, 3K, 3M, 3N, 3O), and procurement renewals (3I, 3J, 3L, 3Q).
Meeting Transcript
All right, everyone. If you'll please stand for a moment of silence and the pledge of allegiance by Commissioner Gonzalez. Thank you. Thank you very much. And with that, we will start our appropriations committee meeting. Um you have any changes you want to get into the reasonable opportunity for the public to be heard. Good morning, uh Madam Chair. Now would be an appropriate time for the reasonable opportunity, Baron. Wonderful. Thank you. Um I have two cards. I have one speaker on three P, uh Truly Burton, and one speaker on three F, Jerry Proctor. Are there any other speakers? Come on down, these two. Does anyone else want to speak? This is your opportunity. Thank you, Chairman. Good morning. Uh good morning, Madam Chair and Commissioners. My name is Trulie Burton. Um, I'm the executive vice president for the Builders Association of South Florida. I'm here in support uh of item three P. Uh but first I want to give you a little bit of a backdrop against which we support this. Uh first of all, we've seen considerable amount of improvements. The RER department has been very um uh forthcoming in its outreach to our group, uh, and I've pulled together other associations and helping them get the word out to other associations as well. Uh but again it's the backdrop um is a bit different. Uh most of the uh price increases are about twelve and a half percent, and they haven't changed in a long time. Uh a few are going up, uh, that some were very underpriced, but again, the backdrop that we see this for the industry is as follows. Steel went up 50 percent bang out of the blue last week. Okay, this is tariff turmoil, it's chaotic. Okay. Trying to pro to to plan a project, whether you're uh Dade County Public Housing or Lenar Homes or whoever you are, or just you know, doing your own house, it's tough. Concrete went up eighteen percent. Okay. So it's not easy in this environment to plan and make that kind of budget. However, I think uh we continue to look for two things value in the permitting and process and progress in the process. I think those are the two key important things. Streamlining, removing those speed bumps, um, ensuring that the code is really just that. It's not somebody's opinion of what something should be, but it is a an engineering code, and with that we support. Thank you, madam chair. Thank you. Jerry Proctor. And that was Trulie Burton. Truly, did you give your address? Uh good morning, madam chair. I hear item three F. Yes. Uh Jerry Proctor, attorney, 7600 Red Road, South Miami. I represent the property owner who is requesting to purchase a sliver of county owned land that is in a residential area of within the city limits of North Miami Beach. Uh, this is a routine disposition of a 25-foot lot.
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