A divided City Commission voted 3-2 to let Miami voters decide whether to authorize borrowing for new police and fire facilities after amendments helped secure the support of a key swing vote.
In a split vote Thursday, the Miami City Commission agreed to ask voters to authorize up to $450 million in borrowing to repair and replace aging police and fire facilities. The measure, approved 3-2, will appear on the November general election ballot.
The proposal, championed by Mayor Eileen Higgins, advanced only after a series of last-minute amendments secured the support of Miami District 1 Commissioner Miguel Gabela, whose vote proved decisive.
Joining Gabela in support were District 3 Commissioner Rolando Escalona and District 4 Commissioner Ralph Rosado. District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo and District 5 Commissioner Christine King voted against the proposal.
The referendum would authorize the city to issue up to $450 million in general obligation bonds to build a new public safety headquarters, construct seven new fire stations and repair or modernize existing police and fire facilities. Including principal, interest and issuance costs, the borrowing would cost taxpayers an estimated $795 million, according to city officials.
Among the amendments adopted before the final vote was a provision requiring that all proceeds from the eventual sale of the city’s existing downtown police headquarters — which Gabela said he believes could exceed $100 million — be used to reduce outstanding bond debt. Another amendment requires any eligible state or federal capital improvement grants received for bond-funded projects to be used to reduce borrowing.
Commissioners also approved an amendment directing the city to establish a mechanism allowing future community-benefit contributions from developers to help offset bond costs.
Separately, at Pardo’s suggestion, City Manager James Reyes agreed to work with commissioners to identify $10 million in the current fiscal year’s budget to begin addressing the most urgent repairs at existing facilities rather than waiting for bond proceeds.
Supporters argued the borrowing is needed to address decades of deferred maintenance that have left many public safety facilities overcrowded and in deteriorating condition.
In voting no, King questioned what she described as a fast-tracked process marked by limited public information and little resident engagement.
“You don’t contemplate $450 million in two months,” she said. “You just don’t do that. That’s not fiscally responsible.”
King also questioned the timing of the referendum, noting that it could appear on the November ballot alongside a proposed statewide constitutional amendment to reduce property taxes. City officials have estimated the measure, backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, could reduce Miami’s annual property tax revenues by as much as $53.9 million.
Before casting the deciding vote, Gabela expressed similar reservations, saying he would support the proposal only after commissioners adopted his amendments. “If all this is met, I will be voting for it,” he said. “And let the taxpayer decide if they want to do it or don’t want to do it.”
The bond’s ballot language reads like a sales pitch, as they usually do.
The ballot question asks the voters to charge $450 million dollars on our credit card, but it leaves out an important piece of information: how much do we already owe on our credit card? That’s about 1.2 billion dollars.
I spoke at the public hearing and asked the Commission to change the ballot language to include mentioning that pre-existing 1.2 billion dollar debt, in the interest of transparency and fairness and fiduciary responsibility, so the voters can make a better-informed decision.
They did not act on my request.