In four years under Levine Cava’s administration, Miami-Dade’s 2.8 million residents should have a good idea of the mayor’s ability to manage $11.6 billion, 30,000 employees and more than 20 departments. When it comes time to cast their vote, the state, quality and efficiency of the services the county must provide will undoubtedly weigh in, such as water and sewers, garbage collection, street lighting, public housing, the state of roads and infrastructure, the airport, transportation, access to public aid or the level of taxes.
THE AMERICAS DAILY She spoke about this with Levine Cava, who explained why she should continue to occupy the highest seat of power in the county for four more years.
The current mayor listed her management of COVID among her successes: “We protected many lives and recovered the economy. We are one of the most recovered counties in the entire country. That means that jobs have returned and we have a low unemployment rate.”
She regretted not being able to solve the housing affordability problem. Miami-Dade County is the epicenter of the affordability crisis, as she herself announced in 2022.
“Since then we have been working hard. We have prevented the eviction of 26,000 families and we have 32,000 units under construction between the County and private companies.” Although the reality, according to the Housing Affordability Tracker Miami-Dade County is another. As of April 2024, only 3,562 units had been completed and another 5,514 were under construction.
He acknowledged that rising costs of living are forcing many Miami-Dade residents to move to other counties or leave the state. “We know that many have left and others with more funds are coming.”
According to US Census data, in the first two years of his administration, some 79,500 residents left for other cities, most of them middle class, claiming they could not afford housing prices or rent.
Security
“Another thing we did very well was protecting security.” The councilor referred to the Operation Summer Heatlaunched in the summer of 2021 to keep communities safe, which resulted in 1,800 arrests and more than 700 firearms confiscated in four months. The trigger for the operation was the shooting at the Mula nightclub, where three people lost their lives and 20 others were injured, he recalled.
The mayor of the seventh largest county in the US said she was proud of the Prosperity and Peace Plan “that we did with funds from the Miami Arena stadium, currently Cashier Center“This plan was created to combat gun violence and focuses on prevention through programs for youth in depressed areas with employment assistance, financial aid and job training.
“Now, 1,500 young people have received good-paying jobs and are learning how to get a career. All of these children and young people were at risk of entering a life of crime,” said Levine Cava, a social worker and public defender.
Environment
The councillor referred to her policies to protect the environment and the various initiatives she has implemented, such as the creation of the head of the Bay, the first heat office, and the prohibition of the use of fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus during the rainy season.
Another notable initiative is the program Connect 2 Protect, endowed with 126 million dollars, created with the purpose of connecting 12,000 properties to the sewer system in a first phase and then extending the sewer system.
In Miami-Dade, there are 120,000 homes with outdated septic systems that do a lot of harm to the environment. “We have also eliminated carbon emissions at the Port of Miami by providing power to cruise ships on land while they are docked. We have installed solar panel systems at the MetroWest Detention Center in Doral and are about to do the same at MIA.”
“We are working with electric buses and most of the County’s vehicle fleet is electric. We are doing everything in our power to reduce pollution levels, to lower temperatures and to help prevent the problem of climate change.”
Infrastructures
“We have done a lot to improve infrastructure, such as the airport and water infrastructure to prevent flooding. We need to continue with the work at MIA, where we had to invest $9 billion in infrastructure, capital construction and maintenance.”
He said improvements to the water and sewer system allowed FEMA to provide a 35% discount on flood insurance for residents of unincorporated areas.
Mental health
The mayor believes that her pending task is to focus more on the issue of mental health. “After the pandemic, we are suffering a lot from depression, anxiety and suicides. The number of young people who often think about suicide and try to commit it is growing at a catastrophic level.”
Although he acknowledged that they have implemented initiatives in this regard with firefighters and police, who are the ones who are always facing danger and risk.
Transit
“This morning we received news from the Northeast Corridor that we are included in President Biden’s and the State’s budget. We are notified that the funds are already in place to build local stations, which would be very important.” Miami-Dade wants to implement a commuter rail service along the existing Florida East Coast Railway line between downtown Miami and the city of Aventura in the northeast of the county, with plans to build five stations and improve rail infrastructure. In this context, the County launched the program Better Bus Network to redesign bus routes to make them more efficient, although many residents affected by the changes have criticized this.
Itaxes
The county’s property tax is set by the millage rate. That’s why the mayor argues that she has lowered taxes for three consecutive years by decreasing the millage rate by 1%, “something that hasn’t happened since 2015.” However, in an environment where property values have exceeded 10% annually and inflation has exceeded 3%, all county property owners end up paying 3% more in taxes on their primary residence annually. The rest of the property owners, those who have a second home or lack tax exemptions, have paid 10% more in taxes each year. An amount that impacts the increase in rents.
“The tax rate we proposed is responsible and prudent, as no one wants to see services eliminated,” said Levine Cava.
The mayor has proposed a $12.6 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year. That’s $1 billion more than the previous budget. She says it’s a prudent budget “because we don’t know what the future of the county will look like with the five constitutional offices that are up for election this year. We don’t know if they’re going to ask for more funding…Just making the changes mandated by the state will cost about $30 million.”
Asked why she should be the next mayor, Levine Cava replied: “Because of my proven integrity and my record of results.”
The mayor’s rivals in the upcoming August elections are: Manny Cid, mayor of Miami Lakes; Shlomo Danzinger, former mayor of Surfside; Carlos Garín, actor; Alex Otaola, actor and influencer; Miguel Quintero, artist, and Eddy Rojas, businessman.
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