Commissioner Cohen-Higgins, Senator Garcia, Commissioner Gilbert, Commissioner Gonzales, Commissioner Hardiman, Commissioner Lopez, Commissioner Emiliano Orbis, Commissioner Regalado, Commissioner Steinberg, Vice Chairman McGee, Chairman Rodriguez. I'm present. We have ten members present. We have a quorum. All right. Welcome back, everyone, to our second budget meeting. I'm going to ask you to please, can we quiet down in the chamber, please, in the back? Take your seats. Madam Mayor, as well. I see you. Guys, quiet in the back. Please rise for the prayer this evening led by Father Miguel Sepulveda from St. Brendan Catholic Church at my invitation from my district and followed by the Pledge of Allegiance by the Vice Chairman. Father. Almighty and ever-living God, creator and guide of all people, we gather today with the Miami-Dade County's Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners, mindful of the great trust and responsibility of the great trust and responsibility placed in their hands. As they undertake the vital task of shaping our county's budget, we ask of your wisdom to guide their minds and your compassion to direct their hearts. Grant this commission the foresight to allocate resources justly, ensuring they meet the immediate needs of our diverse community while safeguarding Miami-Dade County's future. Help them to listen to one another with respect, help them to listen to one another with respect, debate with integrity, and unite around decisions that elevate the well-being of all residents. May their stewardship of the public funds reflect transparency, accountability, and a profound commitment to the common good. Strengthen their dedication to service, and let their actions today foster a more prosperous, resilient, and inclusive community for everyone who calls Miami-Dade home. In your name we pray, amen. Thank you. You may be seated. All right. Good evening, everyone, and welcome to our second budget meeting, second and final budget meeting. Hopefully final, right? I have my narrator on my side here. I always hear Steinberg, you know. All right, guys, let's please start quieting down as we get the meeting started. Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone of the rules to ensure a respectful and professional environment. I say this all the time, and still some manage to not follow them, not sure what's going on. Be respectful when addressing the board and others. Please follow the time limits when speaking. When myself or anyone chairing on my behalf says thank you, that means your time is up. That is our polite way of saying your minute is up. Disruptive behavior, signage, threats, or outbursts are not permitted in this chamber, and all electronic devices must be silenced. With that said, let's begin our meeting. Madam Attorney, good evening. Mr. Director and Mr. Attorney, is there any statements that need to be read into the opening prior to public hearing? Yes, Mr. Chair. All right, go ahead. Tonight, the board will conduct a public hearing and adopt millage rates at fees, rates, and other charges, and adopt budgets for Miami-Dade County for fiscal year 2026-27. There are eight ordinances before the board in this regard. In accordance with Florida law, the millage rates adopted at tonight's budget hearing cannot exceed the proposed millage rates that were adopted at the first budget hearing on September 3rd. The ordinances to be considered today are item A, ordinance approving, adopting, and ratifying the millage for countywide general fund operating purposes for the fiscal year commencing October 1, 2026, and ending September 30, 2027. Levying all taxes so provided, providing severability, exclusion from the code, and an effective date, and the budget director as a statement. The proposed countywide operating millage is 4.574 mills, which is 5.63% above the state-defined rollback rate of 4.3301. The proposed millage rate generates revenue to support the operations, services, and programs included in the proposed budget and provided by Miami-Dade County and the constitutional offices, including planned salary increases and an increase from the Florida retirement system. Item B, ordinance approving, adopting, and ratifying the millage for countywide bonded debt service for the fiscal year commencing October 1, 2026, and ending September 30, 2027. Levying all taxes so provided, providing severability, exclusion from the code, and an effective date, and the budget director has a statement. The proposed countywide debt service millage is 0.3937 mills, 0.3042 mills for countywide debt service, including the Building Better Communities Bond Program and Safe Neighborhood Parks Program, and 0.0895 mills for the Public Health Trust Jackson Miracle Building Bond Program. Item C, ordinance approving and adopting the countywide general fund budget for Miami-Dade County, Florida, for the fiscal year commencing October 1, 2026, and ending September 30, 2027, providing a short title. Incorporating the fiscal year 26, 27 proposed budget as amended. Appropriating all budget of revenues and expenditures. Authorizing the investment of county funds in the time warrants of Miami-Dade County. Authorizing the transfer of funds as cash advances pending receipt of taxes or other revenues. Authorizing deposit of interest earned to the general fund. Ratifying, confirming, and approving implementing orders and other actions of the board which set fees, rates, and charges. Authorizing fees, rates, and charges consistent with appropriations and providing for their amendment and authorizing subsequent amendments by resolution. Authorizing the mayor or mayor's designee to negotiate and execute certain funding agreements. Waiving for fiscal year 2026, 27 provisions of the code and resolutions requiring execution of county affidavits for nonprofits receiving certain county funding. Amending, waiving, or rescinding, if necessary, various sections of the code. Applicable implementing orders and other legislative enactments to conform such enactments to the fiscal year 2026, 27 budget. Superseding conflicting provisions of prior legislative enactments and providing severability, exclusion from, and inclusion in the code, and an effective date. Item D is an ordinance approving, adopting, and ratifying the millage for unincorporated municipal service area operating purposes. The proposed millage rate generates revenue to support the operations, services, and programs included in the proposed budget budget. For the fiscal year commencing October 1, 2026, and ending September 30, 2027, levying all taxes so provided, providing severability, exclusion from the code, and an effective date. And the budget director has a statement. The proposed unincorporated municipal service area operating millage is 1.909 mills, which is 6.16% above the state-defined rollback rate of 1.7983. The proposed millage rate generates revenue to support the operations, services, and programs included in the proposed budget and provided by Miami-Dade County. Including the Sheriff's Office and Parks, Recreation, and Open Spaces Department. Planned salary increases and an increase from the Florida Retirement System. Item E is an ordinance approving and adopting the unincorporated municipal service area fund budget for Miami-Dade County, Florida for the fiscal year commencing October 1, 2026, and ending September 30, 2027. Providing a short title incorporating the fiscal year 2026-27 proposed budget as amended. Appropriating all budget of revenues and expenditures. Authorizing the investment of county funds and the time warrants of Miami-Dade County. Authorizing the transfer of funds as cash advances pending receipt of taxes or other revenues. Authorizing deposit of interest earned to the general fund. Ratifying, confirming, and approving implementing orders and other actions of the board which set fees, rates, and charges. Authorizing fees, rates, and charges consistent with appropriations and providing for their amendment and authorizing subsequent amendments by resolution. Recognizing and continuing the unincorporated municipal service area. Authorizing the mayor or mayor's designee to negotiate and execute certain funding agreements. Waving for fiscal year 2026-27 provisions of the code and resolutions requiring execution of county affidavits for non-profits. Receiving certain county funding. Amending, waiving, or rescinding, if necessary, various sections of the code. Applicable implementing orders and other legislative enactments. To conform such enactments to the fiscal year 2026-27 budget. Superseding conflicting provisions of prior legislative enactments. Providing severability, exclusion from the code, and an effective date. Item F is an ordinance approving, adopting, and ratifying the millage for Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue Service District operating purposes. For the fiscal year commencing October 1, 2026 and ending September 30, 2027. Levying all taxes so provided. Recognizing and continuing the Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue Service District. Providing severability, exclusion from the code, and an effective date. And the budget director has a statement. The proposed Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue Service District operating millage is 2.3965 mills. Which is 5.83% above the state defined rollback rate of 2.2644 mills. The proposed millage rate generates revenue to support the operations, services, and programs included in the proposed budget. And provided by the Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue Department, including planned salary increases and an increase from the Florida Retirement System. Item G is an ordinance approving, adopting, and ratifying the millage for the Miami-Dade Library System operating purposes. For the fiscal year commencing October 1, 2026 and ending September 30, 2027. Levying all taxes so provided. Recognizing and continuing the Miami-Dade Library System. Providing severability, exclusion from the code, and an effective date. And the budget director has a statement. The proposed Miami-Dade Library System operating millage is 0.2812 mills, which is 5.71% above the state defined rollback rate of 0.2660 mills. The proposed millage rate generates revenue to support the operations, services, and programs included in the proposed budget and provided by the Miami-Dade Public Library System. Including planned salary increases and an increase from the Florida Retirement System. Item H is an ordinance approving, adopting, and ratifying proprietary budgets, special assessment district budgets, and other budgets of Miami-Dade County, Florida for fiscal year commencing October 1, 2026 and ending September 30, 2027. Providing a short title, incorporating fiscal year 2026, 2027 proposed budget as amended. Appropriating all budget of revenues and expenditures, authorizing investment of county funds and time warrants of Miami-Dade County. Authorizing transfer of funds as cash advances pending receipt of taxes or other revenues. Modifying, confirming, and approving implementing orders and other actions of the board which set fees, rates, and charges. Authorizing fees, rates, and charges consistent with appropriations and providing for their amendment. Approving revised fees, charges, and implementing orders for various departments and agencies, and authorizing subsequent amendment by resolution. Approving fiscal year 2026, 2027 pay plan. Authorizing allocations and reallocations of bond proceeds and interest earnings. Authorizing mayor designee to provide bond issue reserves. Establishing such funds as may be approved during fiscal year and providing for their expenditure. Appropriating grant donation and contribution funds. Authorizing mayor or mayor's designee to negotiate and execute certain funding agreements. Authorizing the mayor designee to apply for certain grants. Continuing municipal services fund rescinding resolution number R122A89. Creating a child care center trust fund and requiring annual appropriations to the fund. Authorizing disbursement from the environmentally endangered lands eel acquisition trust fund. To supplement the eel lands management trust fund pursuant to section 24-50.5 of the code. Waiving for fiscal year 2026-27, section 29-7G of the code related to allocation of documentary surtext funds. Resolution number R9-2408 relating to transit fares, fees, and charges. Provisions of section 24-50.52 related to the required principal balance of the eel lands management trust fund and disbursements there from. Provisions of section 24-40 of the code to allow vessel registration funds deposited in the Biscayne Bay Environmental Enhancement Trust Fund. To be used for certain studies for the county's reasonable assurance plan. Provisions of section 17-132 of the code to allow general fund revenues deposited into the affordable housing trust fund. To be used for the eviction diversion program and the operation of the Helen Sawyer assisted living facility. And provisions of the code and resolutions requiring execution of county affidavits for non-profits receiving certain funding. Repealing sections 2-119 through 2-127 of the code relating to branch offices of auto tag agencies. Now under the tax collector's jurisdiction, amending, waiving, or rescinding, if necessary, various sections of the code applicable implementing orders. And other legislative enactments to conform such enactments to fiscal year 2026-27 budget. Superseding conflicting provisions of prior legislative enactments, providing severability, inclusion in, and exclusion from the code, and an effective date. Those are the ordinances before the commission. Thank you very much, Madam Attorney and Director for that. So it's in order for me to open a public hearing at this time? Yes. All right, I'm going to go ahead and open a public hearing at this time. I'm going to start with our elected officials that are here present tonight, including both our constitutional officers and some others that are present. So outside of those that just would like to speak, who has an actual presentation? I know the sheriff, I believe, has a presentation. Anyone that has like an actual presentation? Okay, and the property appraiser has a presentation. Okay, so I'm going to leave you guys towards the end. So, Tomas, and all right, I am going to go ahead and then start with our supervisor of election, Alina Garcia, you're up. La Rubia. Good afternoon. Good evening. Good evening, actually. Good evening. I just wanted to say thank you, Chairman Rodriguez and all the commissioners and the mayor. I wanted to thank you for always helping us out. And, you know, we took a cut in our budget as the administration asked, and we have a commitment that if we need the extra money, you guys will step up to the plate. I wanted to say thank you and remind everyone, we have elections coming up November 3rd, so make sure that everyone goes out to vote. Thank you, and God bless you. Thank you, Madam Supervisor of Election. And thank you for that and understanding our financial needs here at the county and working with us on that so it doesn't go unnoticed. Our tax collector, Dariel Fernandez, the one that I've been squeezing here the most for the last couple weeks. That guy's bleeding dry here with the chair. He doesn't even answer my calls anymore. Tax collector, floor is yours. Good evening. Chairman Rodriguez by Chairman McGee. Commissioners, Madam Mayor, and resident of Miami-Dade County, I am Dariel Fernandez, your Miami-Dade County tax collector. Tonight, I am proud to announce that the tax collector office will advance another $20 million to Miami-Dade County in 2027 plus $20 million more. Thank you to Chairman Anthony Rodriguez and his team for working with us to help make this happen. This year, for the first time in history, our administration advanced $20 million ahead of the schedule because the county needed. Tonight, we commit to doing it again. As we close out this fiscal year, our administration will have returned approximately $84 million to the county. Additionally, we are providing $30 million in savings from waiving the school board millage collection fee. And that is not all. Our administration is also waiving approximately $43 million in fees from our city and from the unincorporated area. And there is more. Under state law, the tax collector office can take up an advance that is close to $24 million. We are not taking it. I ask this commission to use this money to protect what matters. Police, fire rescue, emergency response, put it where residents can't see it. Since taking office, we have distributed more than $20.2 billion in collect taxes, money that funds police, fire rescues, schools, and parks across Miami-Dade County. We end the long lines that make families waiting four hours and months just to renew a driver license or get an ID. We are ending fraud with disability parking plaques because every abuse plaque takes space away from someone who truly needs it. May God bless Miami-Dade County, and may God bless the United States of America. Thank you. Thank you, our tax collector. Thank you, Daria Fernandez, for that. And again, it's very much appreciated. I will hopefully gain my colleague's support in allocating those funds accordingly in the right place. So thank you very much for that. All right. Next up, I'm going to have our clerk of the court and comptroller, Juan Fernandez-Barquin. Come on up. Good evening, Chairman. Commissioners, Mayor. I come before you today to respectfully request reconsideration of the Mayor's change memo and the funding allocated to my office. My office has always been committed to fiscal responsibility and transparency. That commitment was demonstrated when my office identified $2.809 million in additional savings, primarily resulting from higher than anticipated attrition within comptroller audit operations. Along with additional revenue generated by the county recorder's office. This proposed reduction places me in a difficult position. I'm being asked to choose between continuing to recruit and retain the talented, qualified auditors needed to perform a function our community is asking us to fulfill. That is ensuring that taxpayer dollars are properly accounted for and independently audited or eliminating critical positions within the comptroller's finance department. The clerk of the board and the value adjustment board. This is not simply a request to preserve positions. It is a request to preserve the capacity necessary to perform the statutory responsibilities entrusted to my office and to maintain the financial oversight, accountability, transparency, and public services that Miami-Dade County residents rely upon every day. These positions are not simply numbers on a budget spreadsheet. They are people performing essential functions that keep our government operating and directly impact the services we provide to the residents of our great county. I am certain that since release of the mayor's proposed budget on July 15th, positions within the county government that have become vacant are not being eliminated from the fiscal year 2026-27 because they perform essential functions. I too have had positions become vacant between the release of the budget to now. And part of my proposed budget submission that I am actively recruiting for as they are essential roles for the CCOC, for the COCC. Within our comptroller finance department, there are 14 positions valued at $1.536 million. Of these 14 positions, five began their employment on the September 14th payroll cycle, and remaining nine positions have a start date within the following two pay cycles. These positions are critical to ensuring that accounts payable, payroll for all employees, both county and some constitutional offices, and other financial operations are processed accurately and within a reasonable timeframe. Reducing staffing in these areas will directly affect our ability to maintain timely and accurate financial operations. My budget request did not ask the county to reduce services in any other department. Rather, I am now being asked to make reductions in critical functions within my own office, functions that support financial accountability, public records, property owners, and the day-to-day operations of county government. I am not here asking for funding without consideration of our fiscal realities. In fact, understanding the fiscal challenges we may face in the coming year, I ask my staff to conduct a thorough review of our budget request to identify areas where we could reduce spending without directly affecting employees or the services we provide. After that review, I am respectfully asking this Board to amend item CNH to allocate $1.536 million from the Future Services Reserve Fund to the Clerk of the Court and Comptroller's Office. This covers the most essential functions, which are those within Comptroller Finance. This is my bare-bones ask, $1.536 million. This will forego and not include my ask in regards to the Value Adjustment Board and will not include the Clerk of the Board. I recognize the fiscal challenges before this Board, and I appreciate your consideration for this request. My goal is to be a responsible steward of public funds while ensuring that we do not make reductions today that compromise our ability to serve the public and fulfill our statutory obligations tomorrow. I respectfully ask for your support in making this adjustment. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Clerk and Comptroller. And just to clarify while you're there, very simple answer. From the 2.809 that you mentioned, you're requesting 1.5, so not the full 2.8. Well, no. The savings was 2.809. Okay. Two weeks ago, I had asked for 2.664, and that included three areas. Value Adjustment Board, the Clerk of the Board. 2.664 is the number. Yeah. And Comptroller Finance. You're saying, scratch at 2.6, I only need 1.5. 1.5. Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right. 1.536? Is that it? 1.536? Okay. All right. Next up, let me see. I got Juan off. All right. Our Deputy Chief Judge, Gina Biovides. Welcome to our Chamber. The floor is yours. Pleasure to be here. Good evening, everyone. Good evening, Chairman, Commissioners, Clerk and Controller, Madam Mayor, all elected officials that are here, and to the people of Miami-Dade County. It is especially fitting that we, as the Court, appear before you today. For today is Constitution Day. A reminder that an effective judiciary is not merely a public service. It is a constitutional responsibility. We are grateful to this board for supporting our growing space needs, and for the mayor's identification of another capital funding source. Our bench has grown from 123 to 130 judges in the last year. That represents a 5.7 increase. Now, while that funding addresses where our growing court will serve the public, our remaining requests addresses how effectively we and the entire public safety system can serve them. We, therefore, respectfully ask this board that you respect to fund and fully fund our operating requests without further reduction. As mentioned in the first budget meeting, nearly 1 million cases were filed in our courts last year. Our request focuses on modernizing court processes, but let me be clear. This is not modernization for the sake of technology. This is a fiscally responsible investment in public safety and efficiency. Our funding request aims at streamlining the submission and execution of search warrants, so that officers can spend less time processing paperwork and more time protecting our neighborhoods. Similarly, this request will fund a county-wide case management system, which will help move every case type towards final disposition faster. Let me explain in detail what that means. A reduction of court delays, a reduction of hearings, and a time to disposition that's faster. That is a reduction of costs to the county and to the residents of Miami-Dade County. Tonight's public hearing is our constitutional government at work. Separate institutions, distinct responsibilities, and shared accountability to the people. The Constitution assigns each of us a distinct role, but it entrusts all of us with the stewardship of the institutions that serve our community. So on this Constitution Day, from one branch of government to another, thank you. Deputy Chief Judge Gina, appreciate it. And then just to be clear in your remarks, I know that the mayor has released a revised memo just recently, and I understand your department of justice made whole in that most recent memo. As to capital improvements, that's correct. What remained unclear was as to our operating budget. There is an additional 1.1 million that we asked, and it's specially geared for those technological improvements that we seek to employ. Well, I'll let her address it at the appropriate time, not right now, but I believe that in her revised memo, she has made you whole. I believe it wasn't so clear, so Madam Mayor, if that is the case, then thank you so much on this Constitution Day. And I will add, I was born in Hialeah Hospital, raised in Little Havana, went to school at St. Brendan, and law school at Coral Gables. And at some point, I did work at the North Dade Courthouse. So I run the government of this county, so thank you all for your service. Thank you, Deputy Chief Judge. All right, let me see how I do this. I guess I'll finish with my two presentations, and then there is other elected officials, but I'll call you guys. I think there's two or three from municipalities. I know you're on my list. I'll call you guys up afterwards. Let's lead with what I would assume might be the shorter one, which is our property appraiser, Tomas Regalado. Come on up, and I hope my assumption isn't incorrect. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Vice Chair, Commissioners, and Mayor. On the first budget, we were here to announce that we met the request from the county to lower our budget by $4.3 million. We had an original budget, $74.6 million, and we lowered to $70.3 million. Now, we're here today to announce that we didn't stop there. That we try to do the right thing for the county and for the residents, especially. And how do we get where we are today? This is about fiscal responsibility, because we have the taxpayers in mind first. Number one, we removed over 20 positions from the budget, eliminating some completely, while defunding orders, including some executive level administrative positions. Two, we apply a 6% attrition to vacant positions. This will be managed by staggering the hiring of this position. Number three, we're using overtime to complete critical missions instead of hiring new personnel or temporary personnel. Number four, filing highly compensated retiring employees position with qualified mid-level salary employees. deferring the higher salary to future years. Although, modernization efforts will eventually remove the need to fill some of this position altogether. Number five, we review and negotiated upcoming contracts to lower amounts to maintain the current one. And trust me, this really worked. We save more than $200,000 just by the same contract negotiated. Number two, number six, we remove multiple budget line items that have no direct impact on our statutory requirements. On our focus on taxpayers to ensure that they know the savings available to them. So today, I'm here to inform you that because of this, because of the work that our CFO Casey Simmskin did with the directors and myself for several weeks, we're here to inform you that today we're also giving the county $6.5 million of excess funding. So- Repeat that? Extra money. 6.5 million. All right. My colleagues are already salivating. My colleagues are salivating. So thank you so much. And I'm going back to an outreach that we're doing in the Coral Gables Library. We had by three o'clock like 400 people all asking for tax relief and new exemption. Thank you so much. Thank you, property appraiser Regalado. I appreciate that. And your efforts do not go unnoticed. So thank you very much. Now, not the last actually, but one of the best. Our sheriff, come on up. Rosie Cordero-Stutz. And if we can queue up. Actually, I thought Regalado had a presentation. Was it on the screen? Yeah. Okay, okay, okay. All right. Now we have the sheriffs. All right. I had it in front of me. I just didn't know if it was on the actual screen, but I can see the sheriffs now. So the floor is yours, Sheriff. Thank you very much. Good evening, Chairman Rodriguez, Vice Chairman McGee, commissioners, Madam Mayor, elected officials, and all the residents of Miami-Dade County. Several weeks ago, I stood before this commission and clearly outlined the operational needs of the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office and the funding required to meet them. As part of today's meeting, you received a change memorandum from the mayor's office. I'm here tonight because several statements in that memorandum do not accurately reflect what I requested or what the proposed funding will actually do. Numbers matter. As sheriff, I believe this commission should have a clear understanding of the numbers and their operational impact on public safety. In the interest of time, I will address just a few. The memorandum states that the proposed funding includes 200 new positions in addition to filling existing vacancies. That is not what will occur. Without the requesting funding, there will be no additional hires. Zero. In fact, we will move in the opposite direction. The memorandum also states that sufficient funding is included to address compensation and other priorities. However, there are no reserves identified for the collective bargaining negotiations that are approaching. Regarding technology, the memorandum states that it includes funding associated with the anticipated transfer of ITD personnel to MDSO. MDSO has not agreed to the wholesale transfer of ITD personnel. We are evaluating our technology needs, interviewing personnel, and determining which positions are appropriate for the sheriff's office. As sheriff, I am responsible for determining the personnel and structure necessary to operate this agency. Finally, the memorandum references capital funding to address facility needs and emergency projects. The proposed capital funding increases address only two of the 13 critical needs identified by the sheriff's office. And importantly, it eliminates funding for the Eureka District Station. Again, a project intended to provide law enforcement services in southern Miami-Dade County. This is the most important number I want you to remember tonight, $62.5 million. That represents the cost in the upcoming fiscal year of the collective bargaining agreement previously approved by this commission. It is a binding obligation. It is not discretionary. It is a bill that must be paid. The mayor's proposed increase is approximately $55 million. So before we hire an additional deputy, one dispatcher, one 911 call taker, one investigator, or make one additional operational investment, the proposed increase does not cover the $62.5 million mandatory obligation. My request is for an additional $46.1 million after accounting for that obligation. That funding is intended to address specific operational needs, additional deputies, the technology infrastructure necessary to stand up, an independent sheriff's office, 911 call takers and dispatchers, and investigative and analytical personnel. Without that funding, those investments cannot move forward as planned. During my previous presentation, I showed this commission where MDSO stands in staffing compared with other Florida law enforcement agencies. These numbers are based on FBI studies. Our current staffing ratio is approximately 3.38 compared to the Florida average of approximately 3.85. Under the proposed funding, the consequences are immediate. All six and a half academy classes currently scheduled for next year will be canceled. That means we will not be bringing in the new deputies that we planned for and desperately need. Instead of closing our staffing gap, we will fall even further behind. Our staffing ratio would decline to approximately 3.19. And by the end of the next fiscal year, we project having approximately 180 fewer deputies than we have today. That is not an abstract statistic. It means fewer deputies available to patrol our neighborhoods, respond to calls for service, conduct investigations, provide proactive policing, and prepare for the continued growth of Miami-Dade County. Cancelling six and a half academy classes doesn't simply affect next year staffing. It creates a public safety staffing gap that will take years to recover from. So I want to leave you with a clear picture of what the proposed funding means operationally. The proposed $55 million increase does not fully cover the $62.5 million mandatory collective bargaining costs, which is outside of the sheriff's control. That means the sheriff's office begins the fiscal year facing mandatory expenses before addressing the additional operational needs that I have presented. And if the funding remains at that level, by the end of next fiscal year, we project approximately 180 fewer deputies than we have today. The additional deputies we plan to hire will not be there. Our ability to expand staffing to meet the county's growth will be affected. And the Eureka District Station serving Southern Miami-Dade will not move forward under the proposed capital plan. Those are the operational consequences reflected in these numbers. As sheriff, my responsibility is to tell you what it takes to police this county safely and effectively. And to make sure you understand the consequences when those resources are not available. The numbers matter, the staffing matters, and the consequences matter. Thank you. I'm available to answer any questions that you may have. Thank you, Madam Sheriff, for that brief but thorough presentation. All right. I now have, as we continue in public hearing, is there... No, we'll call them back up for questions when we come to the days, yeah. Unless it's just a quick clarification on like one thing, but it's never that simple. But, so I've got... Point of order, can we have a copy? Oh, they're passing it out. Okay, that was my request. If we could have a physical copy of the presentation. Yep. They're passing it out. All right. I have our Palmetto Bay Vice Mayor, Mark Merwitzer. Are you here? And our Key Biscayne Council Member, Fernando Vasquez. You may come up. The both of you. You're here. Our Palmetto Bay Vice Mayor, Mark, and Fernando for our Key Biscayne Council Member. Sir. Thank you. Good evening, Mr. Chairman. And thank you for letting me speak. My name is Mark Merwitzer. I am the Vice Mayor of Palmetto Bay. And I am here because our entire Village Council has respectively urged you to please fully fund EEL. At the first meeting, the Mayor made clear that every dollar is already programmed. And new funding has to come from somewhere else. We just went through our own budget, so I deeply understand the trade-offs that are before you tonight. Here is why, though, EEL still deserves special attention. Land comes with a clock. Our chance to protect it only exists while it is still available. And if there's one thing I want you to remember tonight, it is this. We can postpone an expense. We can never postpone an opportunity. So before you vote, I have one small request. Ask your staff to pull up one Priority A EEL project. Any one. See where it is. See what it protects. And see what's at stake. And then ask yourself, if we lose this land, can we ever buy it back? Thank you so much for your time. Thank you, Mr. Vice Mayor. Council Member. Yeah. Good evening, Chairman Rodriguez and members of the commission, Madam Mayor, fellow elected officials, and members of the public. Good evening. My name is Fernando Vasquez, and I serve on the Village Council of Key Biscayne, a community surrounded by Biscayne Bay and inseparable from the Bay's future. To those who live along the Bay, the Bay's condition is not an abstract environmental concern. It really affects our health, our economy, our quality of life, and the community we leave to our children. The counties on record acknowledges that past underinvestment contributed to system failures, sanitary sewer overflows, and environmental harm to Biscayne Bay. Recognizing that history carries a responsibility to act with foresight, discipline, and a commitment extending beyond any single budget year. So as you consider this item tonight, I respectfully ask that your decision be tied with a clear and publicly accountable implementation plan for water and waste water programs that protect, that protects, excuse me, Biscayne Bay. That means prioritizing the most vulnerable infrastructure, meeting the county's consent decree and outfall legislation, establishing clear deadlines from its highest risk projects, and reporting publicly on expenditures, milestones, environmental results, and delays. Every delay increases the risk of future system failures, sanitary sewer overflows, environmental damage, and greater cost for the future. Waiting for another crisis could be both fiscally responsible and environmentally unacceptable. This commission serves as the elected steward of a natural resource belonging to every community in Miami-Dade County. That responsibility is especially consequential for coastal communities such as Key Biscayne, where the health of this bay is woven in every part of our daily lives. So Key Biscayne is prepared to do its part. So we ask the county to act with urgency, transparency, and stewardship worthy of Biscayne Bay. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Council Member Vasquez, for your time. All right. And I understand I have gone through most, if not all, of my elected officials at this time. So I will continue with the public. Please, once again, guys, be respectful of other people's times. Stay within your minute of time. Be respectful to this body when addressing us, to the mayor, and stay on topic, please. I'm going to call the first ten. Please line up on either side of the center seats. And the first two may approach the well, one of the two wells. And as one finishes, the next one is to immediately approach the empty well. Rezia Hayes, Heaven Jones, Carolina Candelaria, Melissa Ortega, Gabriela Perez, Wendy Piaz, Mark Allen Fahett, Jacqueline Benzikrai, Alan Lane, and Mary E. Taylor. You're recognized. Thank you. Rezia Hayes, 1637 Southwest 8th Street, 33135. Good evening, Commissioners and Madam Mayor. Mayor Cava, thank you for putting forth a budget that balances our county's needs while continuing investment in arts and culture. We're living in uncertain times, and we all know that, but when the world feels difficult to understand, art gives us a language for what we can't always put into words. It reminds us that in our darkest moments, there's still beauty, possibility, and hope. I know this personally. In my seasons of grief, loss, and instability, art has held me when I needed somewhere to turn. As we look forward to an even more uncertain future, dear commissioners, I urge you to remember the last time you felt moved by a song in church, a mural in passing, or even a performance at a school recital. Remember what it feels like to let the arts inspire and comfort you, to leave you completely in awe. Remember your pride today in Luke. Allow these emotions to materialize as continued investments in arts and culture so that the next generation has the opportunity to find their voice and put Overtown, Homestead, Doral, Miami Springs on the global stage too. Thank you. Thank you. Just on time, Ms. Hayes. Thank you so much. Go ahead, ma'am. Evan Jones, 33161, Outreach Manager for the Arts and Business Council of Miami. Thank you, Mayor Cava and the commissioners for giving me the opportunity once again to speak on behalf of the arts and culture community. I stand before you as both an individual and a part of a larger community. I know firsthand what sustained investment in the arts can do because I'm a direct result of that investment. I was once a young girl from on a corporate Miami-Dade spending my summers at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center. Today I'm an arts administrator, an artist, and a curator. My introduction to the arts completely changed the trajectory of my life, and that is why I'm here today. When we talk about fully funding the arts and culture, we are not simply talking about supporting programs and organizations. We are talking about investing in the next generation of cultural workers. Organizations like the Arts and Business Council of Miami help build the infrastructure that allows artists and arts organizations across Miami-Dade to thrive. But we cannot continue providing that support without continued investment from our county. The arts are economic drivers. Artists are community builders. Thank you. Thank you so much, Ms. Jones. Ma'am. Melissa Ortega, 12600 Southwest 67th Avenue, Pinecrest, Florida 33156. Good evening, Madam Mayor, Commissioners. Last month, I moved back to Miami-Dade County where I was born and raised after being away for seven years. I'm back. Miami-Dade changed in a lot of ways in the time I was gone, but you have the opportunity today to ensure that the lands that make Miami-Dade County unique, resilient, and unlike any other county in the country, preserved and protected for us and future generations to enjoy and benefit from. That's why I'm asking you today to restore critical funding towards the Environmentally Endangered Lands Program, known as EEL. An investment towards EEL isn't just about protecting natural lands and habitats for the thousands of species that, like you, call South Florida home. It's investment towards critical infrastructure that absorbs floodwater, reduces extreme heat, and is directly related to our drinking water. I urge you to please invest $20 million towards EEL in the FY26-27 budget and commit to protecting, preserving, and acquiring the lands that make Miami resilient before it's too late. Thank you. Thank you so much, Ms. Ortega. Remember, guys, as the well frees up, sergeants, Frankie, but hold on. I don't have their names yet, Albert, so I'm waiting on their names. If she wants to introduce herself and her address, you gave me a number. I don't have the name yet. I don't have that list yet. It hasn't come up from downstairs yet. But I know that they need special accommodations, so I want to recognize them at this time, but I still need their names officially. But go ahead. Shaquise Floyd, 340 West Flagler Street, Miami, Florida 33130. Good evening. My name is Shaquise. I was born blind. That means I cannot drive. So to get around, I utilize the public transportation the city provides. For school, for work, I get on and ride. And I'm so lucky, because I can ride for free. But if you make these cuts, you're making it difficult for me. My independence is all I have. And I'm grateful to be here. I understand decisions that need to be made. I don't think this is a good decision for the city of Miami-Dade. Thank you. Thank you so much. Next. My name is Juan Carlos Gil, and my address is 2350 Southwest 27th Avenue, zip code 33145. I was here last year talking about the budget cuts for STS. I'm here again to say, please do not do any budget cuts. Do not do any increase of fares for STS. As Shaquise was just talking about, we rely on special transportation services. Without this essential way of transportation, we cannot get around. People with disabilities have SSI and SSDI. Their maximum is $1,000. Imagine it's $1,000 monthly, $3.50 per month. We're talking about $200 to $400 going to different centers or going to school, going to work. Imagine that. How could we survive? Increasing buses, increasing the metro rail service is what we need. Increasing services with STS is what we need. So please, we're here for this budget meeting. Without your services, without your help, we cannot survive. So thank you, Libyan Cava. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you to the Commissioner of State. Thank you so much. The Comptroller. Thank you. We have two more, and then we'll come back to you guys. So I'm here just like these folks. Oh, sorry. Ernie Martinez, 9511, Fontainebleau Boule Boulevard, zip code 33172. So I'm here just like my friends over here regarding this STS, you know, fair increase. And all I have to say is, here we go again, you know. Miami-Dade County should not raise the fares, you know, and put this on the backs of people with disabilities. Got to keep in mind that paratransit is not a luxury. It's a lifeline, you know, for riders with disabilities. And, you know, we use it for work, to school, for medical appointments. This would really create an additional financial burdens to, you know, folks with disabilities. Don't do it. Stop the increase. Thank you so much. And our final one with special accommodations in the back. Hello. Good afternoon. My name is Jane Tola. I am here because my issue is for the homelessness. The issue of the homelessness is I don't think it's fair for them to go to jail and then shelter. It should be all the way around. I think they matter and everything that we go through out there that in this month it has been four people dead in one month. And we ask for you to do something else to stop not putting people in jail and put them in shelter or give them housing or something else that will help them get off the streets but not jail time because that's not what they need. Thank you so much. Thank you so much, ma'am. Appreciate that. All right. We're back to the well now, I believe. Yep. All right, ma'am. Hi. Carolina Candelaria, 6341 Northwest 199th Street 33015. Good evening, Commissioners and Madam Mayor. I'm a product of the arts in Miami-Dade County. I grew up watching my mom perform at the Miami-Dade County Auditorium and I went to a Magnum Arts School here, got a degree in visual arts, and I'm here to ask you to continue to protect Miami's creative community. Arts and culture are an effective and efficient investment of public dollars. The arts are our first language as children and they help keep us connected to our humanity throughout our lives. They are part of the backbone of our local economy and our neighborhoods. They bring people to local businesses, restaurants, and hotels. They inspire our children to thrive in and out of school. We're grateful for your history of generosity for the arts in our city. Please support, fully support funding for the Department of Cultural Affairs and our local grants. Thank you. Thank you so much, ma'am. Gabriela Perez, 12503 Southwest 94 Terrace, 33186. I reside in District 7. My commissioner is who is conveniently not sitting there. 2% of District 7 is covered by environmental endangered lands. Matheson Hammock is a part of EO, a park I grew up walking its trails, enjoying its mangroves, and is part of what inspired me to pursue the environmental field. More than my personal connection, EO protects sensitive lands and creates a resilient Miami that absorbs flood water and reduces extreme heat. The EO budget was decreased by 54%, a department that has already struggled to cover staffing management of habitats that make our city special. I, along with Miami Waterkeeper, are asking for $20 million of this fiscal year's budget to be allocated to EO's managing, restoration, and land acquisition. This decision will protect Miami's unique habitat, create a resilient city against a changing climate, and, of course, inspire our youth to love and appreciate and stay in our city. Thank you. Ma'am. Hi, my name is Mary Taylor. I'm here as a citizen who lives on the Miami River and a member of the Miami Waterkeepers. I would ask that you would increase the Miami-Dade water sewer budget as King Tides approaches this week. The water will be two feet from my back door for many of you in Hialeah Sweetwater all over. I think it is time for us to build the infrastructure across the little river. I see the pollution every day, and Miami is a tourism city, so there must be a way for us to coexist and also protect the environment and those things that bring here. So I ask that you fund the EO project as well as the infrastructure for Miami-Dade water and sewer for your children and the generations to come. Thank you so much. Thank you. Wendy Paez, my address is 2121 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, Coral Gables, Florida 33134. I'm here with Miami Waterkeeper to ask you to invest $20 million in the environmentally endangered lands program. Voters created EO and taxed themselves to fund it. It has protected over 20,000 acres of wild Florida, but its funding has dropped 54% in the last two years, and it cannot fully cover staffing, management, or acquisition. How would we expect to protect a conserved wild Florida like this? Before I became a teacher, I worked on Everglades Restoration at Water Management District, where I got to see the long-lasting damage we have been inflicting on our waterways that not only protect and sustain us, but also thousands of species. Now I teach kids who light up when they learn what lives in our bay. Can you imagine their disappointment and frustration when they have to learn about the ever-increasing threats that our lands face? Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Sir? Hi. My name is Mark Fahett. I live at 11520 Southwest 151st Avenue, Miami, Florida 33196 District 11. My commissioner is Roberto Gonzalez. I am here as an ambassador for Miami Waterkeeper to speak in support of the EO program. I live very close to a habitat managed by EO. As a birder, I've walked along its perimeter, and it's where I saw my first American kestrel and heard a great horned owl. There have been over 100 species of birds listed in this one area. In May of this year, a wildfire raged through the area. Miami-Dade firefighters were quick to respond, but the smoke filled the air for many days. I'm a runner and a cyclist, and on those days I could not safely go outside to exercise in those conditions. The undergrowth is growing back, but the area will need continued maintenance. These habitats are important for all the animal and plant species living within them, but they also are important for me and my neighbors. These lands are necessary pieces of infrastructure that provide oxygen, absorb flood water, and reduce extreme heat. Infrastructure needs to be maintained, so we ask that you allocate $20 million to EO. That money will go a long way towards the management, restoration, and acquisition of sensitive lands that are so important to us and the native wildlife. Thank you so much, Mr. Fett. Thank you. Ma'am. Jacqueline Benzicree, 2121 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, Miami, Florida 33134. Good evening. I'm here tonight to ask you to protect funding for the EO program in the fiscal year 2026-2027 budget. I've lived in Miami for many years, and I have watched our community grow and change, but once our remaining natural lands are lost to development, we cannot simply get them back. EO protects wetlands, pine rock lands, wildlife habitat, and all environmentally sensitive lands that are part of what makes Miami Day so special. Protecting these lands also means protecting our water, our resilience, and the quality of life we live to future generations. I respectfully urge you to fund EO for $20 million and ensure it has the resources to acquire, restore, and manage these critical lands. Please protect this investment in Miami Day's future. Thank you. Thank you so much, Mr. Benzicree. Sir? Okay, my name is Alan Lane, 1741 Northwest First Court. This is Three Counts, Harleman. Listen, I'm here. I came here last week about the cutting services, this and that. November the 5th, 2002, we did the people transportation plan. I think we need to revisit that and ask the people to vote to approve to a full penny and have half of that cent go strictly to transit operation. And I think we'll cover a lot of these issues. The people back there have spoken about that $3.50 don't need to go up. I mean, we can cover this. We can do this if we have the people to go in and vote for the half cent. You don't have to eliminate no service or cut no routes. Just go back and make that half cent a full penny and make sure to go quickly to transit. And we'll be good. Thank you. This is a piece of paper that I did. It passed it around to y'all. You can look at it. Thank you so much, sir. I appreciate it. If you can hand it to one of the sergeants, they'll make sure that it gets distributed. All right. I'm going to call up the next 10 or maybe a little bit more and just do the same lineup on each side of the center aisles and occupy the wells as they become available. Mariana Aziz, Luisana, Salazar Martinez, Pedro Diaz, Estelle Morales, Noah Edwards, Rachel Silverstein, Gregory Franco, Alexa Cube, Theofus Williams, Sharon Frazier, Chaplain Stanley Young, Kathy Dos Santos, Myron Davis, Amanda Goodman, Ann Martinez, and Natalia Rojas. Ma'am, you may lead off. Thank you. Good afternoon, Commissioners, Madam Mayor. My name is Mariana Aziz, and my address is 2121, Ponce de Leon, Coral Gables, Florida. I'm here to thank you for supporting the proposed 6% was the retail rate increase and ask you to uphold this decision. Biscayne Bay isn't just our backyard. It drives $64 billion a year in economic activity. But that doesn't happen automatically. It takes sustained investment in infrastructure. We've seen what happens when we underfund this type of infrastructure. Switch overflows and Clean Water Act violations and a federal consent decree we're still working through. We're 89% of the way there. Now it's not the time to stop. We're also behind on the state ocean outflow requirements from 2008. These aren't optional, these are legal mandates. This increase costs residents about 12 cents a day. That's a small price to pay for protecting public health, our drinking water, and the bait that sustains our economy. Thank you. Thank you so much, sir. Pedro Diaz, 6251 North Waterway Drive, 33155 Miami, Florida. Good evening, Mr. Chairman, Commissioners, Madam Mayor. Thank you for your leadership and for the opportunity to be here. I'm Pedro Diaz, Chief Programs Officer at Young Musicians Unite. Every week, YMU provides free music education to more than 21,000 students across 131 schools in Miami-Dade. We see every day how music builds confidence, discipline, creativity, leadership, and a sense of belonging. And we also get to see where that access can lead. Just look at Hialeah's on Luke Taleno. Talent is everywhere in our community. Opportunity is not. Support from the Department of Cultural Affairs helps us change that. So I respectfully ask you to continue prioritizing and strengthening funding for cultural affairs. When we invest in the arts, we invest in our children. We invest in our communities and the future of Miami-Dade. Thank you. Thank you so much. Ma'am. Alexa Cube, 626 Coral Way, Coral Gables 33134. Imagine a county where audiences can experience Alvis DeSue's story, Chejov's DeSue, and Lorca's Mariana Pineda, in productions created here in Miami-Dade. That is part of our next season and what arts funding makes possible. I want to thank our mayor for supporting arts and culture and the Department of Cultural Affairs for making this work possible. I respectfully ask the commissioners to support this budget and protect the funding and venues that allow this work to continue, including the Miami-Dade County Auditorium and cultural spaces countywide. These are not just buildings. They are where artists, technicians, ushers work, audiences gather, students discover theater, and our community sees itself on stage. Please protect arts and culture so we can continue creating first class theater and representing Miami-Dade County. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Luisana Salazar Martinez. I live at 13262 Southwest 142 Terrace, Miami, Florida 33186. I'm here as a concerned mother and representing Young Musicians Unite as director of development. First, I want to thank you for your leadership and for the hard work I know that you do behind the scenes to protect the community and to try to use our funds to the best of our ability. I'm here on behalf of the thousands of students that we teach week after week, 21,000 students across 171 schools. And ask you to please continue prioritizing and strengthening funding for the Department of Cultural Affairs. So organizations like YMU can continue providing free high quality arts and music education to young people throughout our community. Thank you for your service and for investing in our children and the future of our community. Deophilus Williams, 1391 Northwest 95th Street. 9250 West Flagler. Y'all purchased a $182 million office. You gave Miami Garden $21 million for a performing arts center. $203 million you should have saved in the reserve to keep workers on the job and the service keep going. You got $20.4 million for safe roads and another $6.2 million for safe roads. Nothing happening. District 8 got $3.2 million for their roads. CRA $40 million a year for economic development. And we talking about cutting jobs and service bus service. Y'all need to hold your administration who got this transit in the mess accountable for this mess. They got this in the mess. Don't cut service and hours. Thank you so much. Estelle Morales, 1000 Michigan Avenue, apartment 404, 33139. I am speaking as a past student and now full time member of YMU. Thank you to the Chair, Vice Chair, Madame Mayor and Commissioners for your continued leadership and support of arts education in Miami-Dade County. At Young Musicians Unite, we see the impact of that support every day. We provide free, high quality music education to over 21,000 students across 131 schools each week. And I was one of them and I'm continuing to offering that to more students, including many young people who otherwise wouldn't have access to these opportunities. Through music, our students build confidence, creativity, discipline, leadership, collaboration, and a true sense of belonging. We respectfully ask Miami-Dade County to continue prioritizing and strengthening funding for the Department of Cultural Affairs so we can continue reaching and empowering young people through our community. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. My girl. Good afternoon. Evening, Mr. Chair, Vice Chair, Mayor and Commissioners, Sharon Frazier, 6516 Northwest 12th Avenue in the fabulous Liberty Square community called Liberty City. Anyway, I came to talk about, I like, I put on this blue shirt, got my little USA and I got my bandana because I'm from a family of veterans and I believe in community service. Salaries over services is not good. I say that again. Salaries over service is not good. I was going to speak about something else, but when my sheriff got up here and talked about the cuts, when somebody robbed me, I don't call the fire department. I called the Miami-Dade County or the City of Miami Police Department. When my house is on fire, anything on fire, I call the fire department. Please, don't make Miami-Dade County a mockery. Our public safety, and as you can see, this is why I got my training from the Scott Lake Crime Watch in District 1. I started in District 1. I live in District 3. Don't cut us. A billion dollars for Miami-Dade County Sheriff. A billion, not a million. Thank you. Sir? Good afternoon, Commissioners, Madam Mayor. My name is Noah Edwards, and my address is 2930 Day Avenue 33133. I'm on the marketing team at Miami Waterkeeper, and we have spent the past few weeks advocating for the environmentally endangered lands program online. And thousands of people have been engaging with our eel-related social media posts, many of them your guys' constituents. And I've read countless of messages from your constituents describing their favorite eel lands, how these wild lands are part of why they love Miami so much, and how disappointed they are to learn that their commissioner may not approve the necessary funding for this critical program. And I know hundreds of them have also been emailing and calling your offices to voice their support. Many of them wish they could be here today, but not everybody has hours to sacrifice to deliver a public comment in person. These lands aren't just beautiful places that provide critical habitat for endangered species in Miami-Dade County. They're part of the infrastructure that protects your constituents. They absorb floodwater, reduce extreme heat, and make Miami-Dade more resilient for a changing climate. I urge you to fully fund the eel program at $20 million for fiscal year 26-27. Thank you. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. And thank you guys for being so respectful so far, by the way. It doesn't go unnoticed. Can we be quiet in the back, though? It did get silenced now, but it was getting a little louder, so thank you. Go ahead, ma'am. Good evening. My name's Ann Martinez. My address is 6755 Southwest 28th Street, Miami, Florida 33155. I reside in District 6, Commissioner Millian's District. I am here today because my happy places are the Pine Rocklands of 80 Borns Park and Tropical Park, the only places near my neighborhood with a significant amount of trees. These trees are only there because of eel. We need to fully fund eel to preserve globally imperiled habitats that hold our precious local endangered species, these species that have no voice of their own and need us to protect their habitat. We need to fully fund eel so that residents, which do not have access to green spaces in their own neighborhoods, can rely on eel lands to connect with their families and nature. We need to fully fund eel lands like Crandon Park, Matheson, and Bill Sadowski Park for the millions of people that have never even heard of eel but use these natural spaces regularly. In addition, everyone benefits from the invisible services that eel ecosystems provide, like urban resiliency, erosion prevention, flood control, and cleaner air and water. Please save our beautiful natural areas by keeping eel fully funded at $20 million. Thank you. Thank you so much, ma'am. Good evening. Thank you so much, Chair. I am Rachel Silverstein. I'm the Executive Director and Waterkeeper of Miami Waterkeeper, and my address is exempt. Thank you so much for the opportunity to be heard tonight. I know it's a long evening, and there are very difficult decisions to be made ahead. I want to talk to you tonight about the water and sewer budget. I want to deeply thank you all for supporting the proper funding to avoid sewage spills. This county has a history of not properly funding water and sewer such that we have had many multi-million gallon sewage spills over the years, and that has caused the EPA to enter into a consent agreement where we have to spend now over a billion dollars fixing the infrastructure. This is not discretionary investment, but this is critically important to protecting what makes Miami so unique and, in fact, supports our economic backbone, Biscayne Bay. So it's both for Biscayne Bay and it's a health hazard when we have these spills. These projects need to happen. They're going to have to happen, and if we kick the can down the road, they're only going to be that much more expensive. So I thank you again for last time voting to support the necessary funding for WASDE. I ask that you continue that tonight. Thank you. Thank you so much. Appreciate it, Ms. Silverstein. Ma'am. Good evening. My name is Natalia Rojas. My address is 21003 Southwest 92nd Place, Cutler Bay District 8. This is my first hearing, and I've come today to express the importance of funding EEL. Growing up in Miami, I've had the privilege of experiencing our many natural spaces from our beaches to the Everglades, our pine rocklands, to our hammocks. We are truly a city blessed with rare and irreplaceable habitats. And it is my love for these wild parts of our community that leads me to ask you to allot 20 million to the EEL program and to continue protecting these spaces. Not only for us now, but for generations to come who may otherwise never have the chance to experience the true natural beauty our city has to offer. I ask you to protect the legacy of our environment and preserve its future. Please fund EEL. Thank you so much. And welcome to breaking the ice here for the first time. Sir. Good evening. Also a first time caller. Chairman Rodriguez, commissioners, Madam Mayor, Gregory Frankel. I live in Coconut Grove, District 7, 299 Amatho Street, Miami 33133. I'm here to support restoring the environmentally endangered lands program to $20 million and keeping the 6% water and sewer adjustment you approved on September 3rd. I was born and raised here. I windsurfed off Matheson Hammock as a kid in water full of seahorses and horseshoe crabs. I still dive the bay and the bottom is muck and algae now. That is nutrient pollution from septic tanks and old sewer pipes. And $0.12 a day is what it costs to keep fixing it. So I want to thank you for voting to properly fund WASDE. EEL is the other half, land we have already set aside, our cheapest water filter. The bay and those lands are held in trust for everyone here. Please fund the trust. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Frankel. Ma'am. Kathy Dos Santos, Transit Alliance 2150 Coral Way, Miami, Florida 33145. Good evening, Madam Mayor, Chair, Vice Chair, and Commissioners. I am very, very glad to be able to this evening thank the Tax Collector's Office and the Office of the Mayor for affording early morning riders across Miami-Dade a solution to the bus cuts. Let's say yes to that. I also want to thank the STAS for several proposals that were mentioned last time to address the transit funding gap. And I hope more smart transit decisions are made by this body tonight and in the coming months because we still have 19 million to go before March 2027 to ensure that our service remains intact. And ideally more so that the TID has room to recover. You heard plenty last year from riders about the pains that fare increases will cost them. And if the county cannot find the money elsewhere, there's two things to do. Engage and use your free and reduced fare transit passes. Thank you. Chaplain. Chaplain Stanley Young, Freedom Prison and Jail Ministry, 500 Northwest 2nd Avenue. Chairman, vice chair, commissioners, staff, and citizens of Miami-Dade County. I'm here today to sound the alarm of the crisis that is in our community as of right now. There are thousands of returning citizens that are coming out of our prisons and jails that has little or no help whatsoever. You have about 300 beds that are dedicated to helping those that are coming out of our prisons and jails. And there are thousands that are pouring into our streets that need that bed. They are competing with homeless people in Camilla's house in Miami Rescue Mission. And our returning citizens are a special breed, a special person. Just think of someone who's been locked away for 20 years, 30 years, locked away, and they're coming into this world that we have today. It is not going to work. We need to do something different. We need to do something more with our returning citizens coming out of our prisons and jails. They need your help. Thank you, Chaplain. Thank you. God bless. Sir. Good evening, Madam Mayor and Miami-Dade Commission. My name is Dr. Myron Davis, Director of After School Programs at Miami Children's Museum, located at 980 MacArthur Causeway 33132. Thank you for your continued support, for recognizing the importance the museum plays in the roles of the lives of our children and our families across Miami-Dade County. I have the honor of standing here today to speak on behalf of 600 extraordinary students across Miami-Dade in the elementary schools stretching 37 miles from Goulds to Miami Gardens. While many might label our children as at risk, we know who they truly are. We view them as at promise. Working directly in our schools, we see firsthand the growing mental health challenges facing our children. Students are carrying stress, anxiety, trauma that require more than traditional academic support. Miami Children's Museum meets those needs through the arts, social-emotional learning, and support for children's well-being and development. We're deeply grateful for your investment if additional funds become available. We hope you will consider the scale of our reach. Thank you for your leadership. Thank you, Mr. Davis. Ma'am. Amanda Goodman, 980 MacArthur Causeway, Miami, Florida 33132. Good evening, Mayor and members of Miami-Dade County Commission. Thank you for your continued investment in Miami's cultural arts. Each year, Miami Children's Museum opens its door to 400,000 visitors. And every single day, we serve 600 children across eight sites, many of them in areas that need us most. As the youth in our community continues to face mental health challenges, our programs offer something increasingly rare. A safe, stable, nurturing space where children can learn to express themselves. The cost of delivering these services continues to rise. Security has grown as one of our most significant expenses, but it's a non-negotiable. Protecting the children, families, and staff who walk through our doors every day is a responsibility we take seriously. As you finalize this year's budget, we ask for your continued support in helping us sustain these programs. Thank you for standing with us. Thank you, ma'am. All right, I'm going to call up the next batch of speakers. Thank you, ma'am. Me? Yes, you. Okay, thank you. Good evening, Commissioners and Madam Mayor. My name is Andrea Miro, and I live at 2867 Southwest 38 Avenue. I'm here to urge you to fund the EEL program at $20 million. While acquisition is important, management is just as critical. Right now, EEL preserves are not getting the management that they desperately need. Pine Rockland preserves are facing invasive plant species, illegal dumping, improper usage, and their biggest threat, fire suppression. If we don't give EEL enough money to remove invasive plants, do prescribed burns, and actually manage these preserves, we're going to lose them. And these are preserves we've already worked so hard to protect. In addition to management funding, I'm urging you to allow the EEL program to fill four positions that are already accounted for and have been vacant for more than a year. One of them is a fire ecologist. How does a program managing fire-dependent ecosystems not have a fire ecologist? It's time to fully fund EEL. Thank you. Thank you. All right. My name is Jose Serpa. I live in 14821 Southwest 112th Street, Miami, Florida 33196. I live in District 11, and my commissioner is Roberto Gonzalez. I'm here today to speak in support of the environmentally endangered lands program. You can see the impact of this program in public spaces like Tropical Park, AD Barnes Park, and Camp Matacumbe. These aren't just empty pieces of land. They're places where children play, families gather, and people can experience the natural beauty that makes South Florida special. And here in Miami, that matters. These green spaces provide shade, help protect us from the heat, and give our communities places to breathe and spend time outdoors. I know that personally. These are places where I played as a child, and now I get to watch my nephews play there with their friends. They're places where my aging mother can go for a walk, enjoy some nature, and get outside while having to be completely exposed to the Florida heat. These lands are part of our community, and once they're gone, we can't have them back. I respectfully urge you to invest in and restore the budget to $200 million for the EO program for the acquisition, protection, and maintenance of these public spaces. Please make sure that these spaces are protected, not just for us today, but for the generations that come after us. Thank you very much. Yes. Areli Lozano Cantu with Urban Health Partnerships, address 1800 Southwest First Avenue, Miami, Florida. Food and nutrition insecurity are not just a hunger issue. They are public health issues, economic security issues, access and logistics issues, and emergency preparedness issues. Recent and ongoing SNAP disruptions show how quickly families can need emergency support and how quickly Miami-Dade can mobilize government, food banks, and community partners to respond. We should invest in that readiness before the crisis, not just react during on. Miami-Dade already has this infrastructure. Through the emergency management and many leading and active partners, including the Food and Nutrition for All Collaborative and our 200 and plus partner network of community organizations, healthcare providers, farmers and growers, and more. And we are already working together countywide. The county does not need to build something new. It needs to invest and coordinate what already exists. That same principle applies to transit. As someone who relies on public transit myself, I see it every day. We have the infrastructure. It just needs strengthening and enhancements. And although these may impact costs, I ask that you do what you can to avoid increasing fares for users. Increasing fares would impact so many areas of transit's users' lives, including how we get to and from food and health. Thank you. Thank you. Next. I'm John Elizabeth Alamon on behalf of Jacobs, 9100 South Dayland Boulevard, Suite 1510 Miami, Florida 33156. I'm here to speak on behalf of the 6% water and sewer rate increase. I know that voting for rate increases is never easy. And so I definitely want to thank you for your leadership and for making those hard votes on behalf of the residents when the time comes. And this is definitely one of those times. I know that you already know that stopping projects is not free, right? With the consent decree, there's hard fines. With ocean outfall, there'll be decommissioning costs. There'll be claims, et cetera. And the need for the projects isn't going away. So all we're doing is pushing that need down the road. And I think you know that. But I also wanted to speak to the fact that last year you did a great job reducing positions. 160 positions that were open were closed by this commission. For those of us who are looking for small government, that's been handled by you last year. But there are further savings by passing the rate increase in that the new projects also come with technology. And that automation is what drives the efficiency that allows you to take the next step for smaller government. Thank you so much. Good evening. Monica Vigas-Pitan. I'm the CEO of Legal Services of Greater Miami, 4343 West Flagler, Miami, Florida 33134. The eviction diversion program is a collaboration involving six nonprofits and the Office of Housing Advocacy. Since the program's inception, we have conducted dozens of outreach events across all districts and provided legal assistance to more than 3,000 families. You, in fact, heard from many of them at the last budget meeting and how eviction diversion was critical to stabilizing their families and avoiding homelessness and ultimately even saving the county funds. We respectfully ask for your continued support and urge you to vote for proposed level funding for the program. Thank you so much. Thank you. Hello. Good evening. Theo Reyna, 7510 Byron Avenue, Apartment 7, Miami Beach 33141. I'm here on behalf of New World Symphony and our fellow arts and culture nonprofits community. And I would like to thank all of you for recognizing and prioritizing the benefits that arts and culture, both social and economic, bring to our county. Arts inspire, but they also earn. They are an economic engine that will continue to benefit us as the county continues to grow. According to the 2022 AEP 6 study, our nonprofit arts and culture sector generated more than $2 billion in economic activity every year, 31,000 jobs and $72 million in local government revenue. And that was 2022. This has only grown since then. These numbers will undoubtedly continue to grow. So I want to thank you all for your continued support for it helps ensure that arts will remain a vital part of our county's future. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, commissioners. The mayor is not here, but good evening, mayor, and good evening, public. My name is Irie Diaz at 7990 Southwest 117th Avenue, Miami, Florida 33183. I am the president and CEO of CCDH, Advocacy Network on Disabilities. And I'm here with some of our staff that are willing to take time off and come and talk to you and show you the importance of the services we do. We are also proud members of the Advocacy Collaborative representing more than 60 nonprofits serving Miami-Dade County most vulnerable residents. Through our individual and family supports program, we help children, adults, and seniors with disabilities remain safely in their homes and communities instead of entering costly institutional settings. Every year, we exceed our contractual goals and achieve a linkage rate of more than 99% where families get served. But the importance is not the numbers. The importance is the working parent who was able to retain their job so that their child could attend healthcare. Thank you. Thank you. Hi. Amy McClellan, 501 Northeast 96th Street, Miami Shores. I'm the board president of the Key Clubhouse of South Florida. In 2007, I was the mom with a 24-year-old daughter whose life was stuck in an endless cycle of mental health crises. I joined a group of other desperate parents of adult children with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder to create the Key Clubhouse of South Florida in 2010 to help the many others find their way back into the world of work, school, and social connections. Since then, the clubhouse has grown tremendously, thanks in part to the county's support of our employment program. We are part of the very large network of CBO organizations that provide a safety net to give hope and opportunities to the most vulnerable people in Miami-Dade County, without which our community would be a sorry place to live. So I urge you to support the mayor's budget proposal to sustain these important services. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Good evening. Good evening, Council. My name is Etaine Connor. My address is 3304 Virginia Street, Coconut Grove, Florida 33133. I'm here regarding the proposed rent increases at Miami Airport. I am here for FEMARO, a veteran-owned, family-owned aircraft maintenance company that's headquartered here in Miami and has been here for more than 30 years. We currently employ 1,200 employees and have 40 stations around the world. In 2025, we serviced 2,800 aircraft while also increasing our footprint at the airport. However, since 2023, our rent has gone up 37%, more than four times the average in Miami. While rent has increased, necessary maintenance has not been taking place on our facility, and Miami Airport has been slow to complete, if not at all. As a third-party maintenance organization, we cannot pass those increases on to our customers, and we'll have to make tough decisions like reduction in workforce. We would like to invest in Miami and plan to put private money into increasing a facility, but we can't do that with the continued increases. Thank you. Thank you so much. Eduardo Suarez, Michael Esteville, Freddy Gadlin, Paul Nenfi, Louis Bendel, Barry Vogel, Lumila Bentoncourt. Please come down when you hear your name called, please. Good evening, Mr. Vice Chairman, Commissioners, and Madam Mayor. My name is Eduardo Suarez. I reside at 9844 Southwest 124 Terrace, Miami, Florida 33176. I have been a resident of Miami-Dade County since 1977. I am here to advocate for the rate increase that the Water and Sewer Department is requesting. For Miami-Dade County to be world class, we need to meet our infrastructure needs. Water and Sewer provides vital services that are necessary to every resident of this county. By voting no, you will be hurting those residents. And by voting no, you will only be kicking the can down the road and will only make the expenditures we will make eventually in the future more expensive. I respectfully ask that you make the wise and fiscal decision to vote yes on the proposed increase. Thank you for your time. Good evening, Commissioners and Madam Mayor. I'm Mike Gustavo. My address is exempt from my line of work. I'm a proud Miamian born and raised, and my county work takes me from the border of Miramar to the edge of Card Sound Road with a focus on higher population areas. I'm an illegal dumping investigator with Department of Solid Waste. This makes me a proud member of a small team that covers every area of the county affected by illegal dumping. In order to suppress such heinous activities, hold violators responsible for their activities and aid in stopping this ever growing threat from spreading further across our ever growing communities. Our results speak for themselves with over 312 illegal dumpers caught in the past year alone. I stand here today as both a concerned resident and employee of Miami-Dade County in the department facing impending budget cuts affecting 9 illegal dumping officer positions. That's 20% of our total division. I ask for the board's support and assistance in funding the arduous illegal dumping efforts of solid waste while considering the impact this year's budget will have on the beauty, health, and safety of our neighborhoods, open spaces, streets, waterways, and endangered lands. Thank you. I also have some photos to pass around. Thank you so much, sir. Good evening. Good evening. Distinguished county mayor, happy belated birthday. Greetings, members of the commission. Where were you when we were singing happy birthday to her throughout the county, man? I got you. All right, I'm with the Family Action Network Movement. We're at 100 Northeast 84th Street. Two weeks ago we spoke about the community impact and investment in children and youth, case management, family support, and the collective call to action. Today we speak of specifics regarding the need to maintain transportation coverage, as previous speakers have mentioned, and the critical sector of housing in the budget, particularly for the most marginalized. It is essential that investments continue in affordable housing, housing stabilization, eviction diversion, and the orgs working directly with residents who are their first point of reference as we see every day in the people we serve. Regarding specifically the continuation of status quo funding for programs such as eviction diversion, we are grateful. Budgetary support is needed to provide resources for mobile home parks, such as Soar Park, facing potential closure to fund the solutions that the county commission housing committee, is working very hard to define as we saw last week and with the committee members understanding that more resources will be needed. So we appreciate these efforts. We thank the commission for their understanding and continuing efforts to find just solutions, understanding the difficulty the people with housing justice currently face. It's really expensive. Thank you so much. You can use the last few seconds to tell the Mayor happy birthday again if you would like. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Love it. How about those apples, Madam Mayor? Thank you, sir. Mr. Vice Chair, members of the Commission, Madam Mayor, thank you for your time this evening. My name is Barry Vogel. I'm the Chief Administrative Officer for Easterseals South Florida and a member of the Advocacy Collective. I'd like to thank you for continuing to include funding for the community-based organizations in the current draft of the budget. However, this funding has remained stagnant for many, many years, despite increased costs, including the need for all of us to increase compensation for our employees who are delivering these important services to your constituents. I would like to ask that you consider a 3% increase to the funding for the community-based organizations that are funded in the budget so that we can continue to provide these critical services, meeting the needs of the constituents of the community, and continuing to be able to provide viable employment for those folks that provide those services. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, and let the record reflect there are many people standing up, waving with blue shirts. Advocacy Collective. Thank you. Hey, good evening. Good evening. My name is . I live at Miami, Florida, 33174. Cutting services early morning hurts working families. There are better solutions than coming jobs or removing needed service. Doing so puts the burden onto working families barely making minimum wage to survive. Two years ago, 79% of people voted yes in a straw poll to expand the metro rail. There's money in the budget to give raises to the police, but not to house people. There's money to give $450 million in Israel bonds, but not enough to be able to expand the metro rail or prevent service cuts. There's money for a useless bridge that doesn't help traffic, but not to protect the environment. If you are so pressed for money, you could be able to take it out of the C-suite from Jackson or from county administrators who have excessive amounts of money. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. I see you in the back waving. Thank you. Madam. Is it on? Yes. Madam Mayor, I was sick the last meeting. I couldn't make it. You were in my thoughts from one September baby to another one, belated birthday. My name is Freddy Gatlin. I live at 8050 Northwest Miami Court 33150. Today I'm asking for an adequate budget to help the people, mobile home people, especially at Shore Park, that are being displaced and evicted. I'm asking for an adequate budget to help them in their time of needs. Thank you. Thank you. Is that a Vietnam hat you're wearing, sir? Yes, sir. Thank you for the service to this great country. Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is Luis Vindel. I am the president of Shore Park HOA. We've been to several meetings and we spoke about the situation that we are living at Shore Park. My address is 8202 Northwest, Miami Court. My address is 8202 Northwest, Miami Court, 612. Abordando el tema en el cual estamos atravesando, quiero decirle que queremos un presupuesto justo por motivo de los desarrolladores y la amenaza en la cual estamos siendo en este momento. Talking about the issues that we are living now, we want to urge you to find a solution due to the threats and the pressure we're receiving from developers right now. We've been constantly threatened by the developers. Quienes podrían obtener aprobación para seguir adelante con sus proyectos, como ha sucedido con otras casas móviles. Who might be able to obtain approval to move forward with their projects that has been the case with other trailer parks. Quiero agradecer a nuestras organizaciones asociadas como LSGMI, CJP, IFAN, y Legal Service. I would like to give my thanks to organizations we have been associated with, like Community Justice Project, FAM, and Legal Services of Great Miami. En base a esto queremos un presupuesto justo que permita garantizar recursos para personas como los que vivimos en Soar Park. We would like, we want a fair budget to ensure resources for people like us who live at Soar Park. Para obtener una indemnización justa en el caso de una eventual desmovilización. Thank you so much. So that we can receive fair compensation in the event of displacements. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Maria Magdalena. Maria Estepian. Daniel Verdon. Eric Corey. Julia Polads. Valerie Donets. Steven Linder. Kenneth William. Miriam Singer. Amanda Altman. Chanel Poe. Maria Gautmont. Maria Gautmont. Please come forward. Who is first? Either way it goes, you both win. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Maria Magdalena. On August 10th, I send you an email. All of you. Do me just a huge favor. Loan me your address and your name and then we can proceed. Well, that's what I did. My name is Maria Magdalena. 21, Madeira. Got it. Thank you. I didn't hear you. Thank you. Okay. On August 10th, I sent you an email requesting the board to direct the budget department to provide an itemized breakdown of all the electric vehicles related expenditures. It seems that a lot of those expenses have been scattered across different department budgets making it almost impossible to see the total spending amount. So, I reached out to the mayor. I reached out to the budget department. I spoke to the director personally. I send you, all of you, the request. My question to you, because they were hiding, okay, the expenses of electric vehicles inside different departments. My question to you is, did you do any, did you try to find out? Did you reach out to them? Thank you so much. Your time has expired, however. Well, I am so sorry if my time has expired. No, no, no, no, no. Let me tell you something. We are now being respected. We have no voice. And this is absolutely outrageous. Thank you. And this is, they are hiding all the expenses, and then. Thank you. I'm going to wait a lawyer. Thank you. You're despicable. Thank you. Good evening, Ana Somayan. Thank you. 6240 Southwest 33rd Street. Repeat that name for me again, please. Ana Somayan. Got it. I am the Executive Director of Adults Mankind Organization. We are Workforce Development Services, and I'm here to speak about CBO funding. So I'd like to thank Madam Mayor for your continued leadership. And the commission, I hope that you support this item. Now, through those services, I'd like to say that our program has put back into the economy $2.45 million. And behind those numbers is a person that is working, earning a paycheck, supporting their family, and contributing to our community. It also means helping residents become more self-sufficient and reducing their need on public assistance. We also provide valuable services to our small businesses. Many small businesses simply don't have the time or resources to advertise positions, review countless applications, and interview candidates. We help them by connecting them with qualified candidates who meet their needs. So today, we are asking for your continued support. We know that you have many competing needs. Thank you. So please help us out. Thank you so much. Thank you. Really quickly, I just want to give some housekeeping rules. I know you've heard it before. Many of you have been here for hours waiting for this opportunity to address this board and address this public. I'm just asking whenever you do come to the podium and you hear the sound of the beep beep, just know that there's someone behind you who may have to get home to his or her child, to the furry best friend, which we call our dogs, right? Indoor the pot that's the slow cooker that's on at the house. So whatever you do, just understand the time that you're taking past the time that you've been allotted is also putting the person behind you in a very sticky situation as it relates to their responsibilities and priorities for them to get back home. So thank you so much for respecting the person who's standing behind you. Thank you very much. Good evening at Daniel Choman Verdon 10611 Northwest 6th Ave, Miami, Florida 33150. I've lived in Miami-Dade County for over 10 years. The entire time I've lived here, the single unifying public issue that everyone can agree on is that there's too much traffic. Transit is a vital link in giving Miami-Dade residents an alternative to sitting in traffic when they need to get to work or school, to run errands, or to spend time with their community. But there are a lot of hurdles that slow adoption and persistence in using transit. People may not know what routes to get them to their destination or what tools are available to help plan their trip. They may not know if their stop is safe or if the ride will be on time. The threat of cuts to existing service sends a message that we cannot trust service will be there for us when we need it. I want to thank everyone who helped to find the funds to protect early morning service this year. But I also want to ask that when it's time to plan next year's budget, transit cannot be on the chopping block. The people of Miami-Dade County need to know our bus will be there, morning or night, to get us home. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Appreciate you. Good evening. Julia Poliadi, 7928 West Drive 33141. I am here on behalf of Friends of Biscayne Bay. Final budget is more than a financial document. It determines whether the county acts before preventable problems become costly emergencies. And I would like to speak on two issues before you that illustrate that choice. The first is the proposed 6% WASDE rate adjustment. An average household contribution of less than $4 per month will support overdue repairs, treatment, and pump station improvements, subject to sewer conversions, and projects required under the federal consent decree. Without adequate revenue, critical work will be deferred while aging infrastructure continues to deteriorate. Ultimately, residents will pay more to respond to failures than they would to prevent them. The second issue is EEL. The proposed budget directs approximately $6.4 million to EEL, but isn't enough. We ask you to increase that commitment to at least $20 million. Miami-Dade has approximately 34,000 acres identified for potential acquisition. Protecting these properties is not merely about preserving scenery. These natural areas hold in clean water. We charge our aqua for Medicaid flooding. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Good evening, commissioners. Madam Mayor, everybody. My name is Kenneth Williams. 820 North West 28th Street, Miami, Florida. The reason why I'm here is because I just found out today that transit is going to reduce certain routes and stop certain routes after 10 o'clock at night. To me, that is not fair because you have people that go home at 12 a.m. in the morning and they will have no way to get home. And those routes are very, very important for people to get home. So please, I urge you, do not cut certain routes that people need that have to get home at 12 a.m. If you do that, they will be 100% stranded. And some of them cannot afford Uber or Lyft. Thank you so much for that. Please do it. Don't do it. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Williams. Next. Good evening, members of the commission. Madam Mayor. My address is 4600 South West 67th Avenue 33155 and I'm speaking on behalf of Holderline Coalition. Today we have two requests. First, we ask the commission to provide at least 20 million for environmentally endangered lands program. As approximately 34,000 acres remain identified for potential acquisition. These lands reduce flooding, protect our drinking water, preserve wildlife habitat, and remain critical connections between Everglades and Biscayne Bay. As development pressures and land prices increase, delayed acquisition can mean permanent loss. The county must act while these remaining conservation opportunities are still available. We're also strongly opposed eliminating early morning service to 47 Metro bus routes. Those routes provide approximately 6800 weekday trips for nurses, construction crews, hospitality employees, and other workers whose shifts begin before sunrise. Cutting service to save 12.4 million simply transfers the cost to those who can least afford it. Potentially forcing thousands of riders to spend approximately $150 each paycheck on ride shares. At approximately $630 per passenger, these routes provide service below national average. To protect both Miami-Dade National Lands and working residents, fund ELA $20 million and restore early service to 47 bus routes. Next, thank you. Good evening. Good evening, Vice Chairman McGee, Commissioners, Madam Mayor. I'm Miriam Singer, Jewish Community Services CEO, 12,000 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami 33181. I have the great honor and pleasure of living in District 6. My Commissioner, Natalie Miliano Orbis, is our representative. And I'm here representing JCS and the 66 community-based organizations that represent the safety net of services for frail and vulnerable people in our community. We are asking for kind consideration of a 3% increase, a very modest increase. We, just in our agency, are seeing 1,000 calls for crisis support every month over last year's calls. Individuals seeking food security, home care, connection for mental health services, connection to ensure they can stay in their homes, they can get out of living in their cars in a safe place to take care of their children, employability. Please, Commissioners, please consider our services a priority for our community so that we can improve the quality of life and move individuals to self-sufficiency for the future. Thank you so much for your kind consideration. Thank you. Good evening. Good evening. My name is Eric Corey. My address is 6063 Southwest 27th Street, go District 6. I am a member of a fourth generation family in Miami-Dade County. I am a third generation in the water and sewer industry. I travel all over the state and all over the country consulting utilities. And the predominant thing that I hear about Miami-Dade water and sewer is that they're the best in the business. If you all support this 6% increase, not only are you going to allow the people, the operators, the engineers, the managers, the division directors, all these people, the resources that they need to continue to excel, but you'll allow them the ability and give us the ability to continue being the guiding light for innovation and infrastructure improvement in the country. Thank you very much. Thank you. Good evening. Amanda Altman, 1265 Northwest 12th Avenue, Miami, Florida 33136. I'm the CEO of Christie House and a proud member of the CBO Advocacy Collective. Earlier this week, I stood with the Florida Attorney General to discuss child protection. He asked what happens to child victims of abuse and trafficking when they're recovered through law enforcement operations. The answer in Miami-Dade County is they come to Christie House. They come for forensic interviews, medical exams, mental health therapy, and victims' advocacy. They come to meet with the state attorney and their guardian ad litem attorney. They come to Christie House to heal, but also to pursue justice. CBOs like Christie House are on the front lines of public safety. And we ask for your support in fully funding these organizations, including a modest 3% increase over the current allocation. Thank you so much for your support. Thank you. Good evening. Good evening. My name is Maria Guillemont and I live in 1095 Raven Avenue, Miami Springs. I reside in District 6. Natalie Milan is my representative. District 6 is also where 42 acres of beautiful environmentally endangered lands reside, such as the Trinity Pinelands Reserve. This reserve is part of critically imperiled habitat that only exists in South Florida. This habitat contains plants that are found nowhere else in the world and dozens of endangered species. But even if the commissioners don't think the upkeep of these incredible places should be a priority in this year's budget, I want to tell the commissioners that investment into the EO program is about saving money. These lands absorb flood water for free. Studies show that for every dollar spent preserving flood lands, $5 are saved in future damages. Access to green areas and parks improves well-being, lowers stress, and increases human productivity for free. Investment into EO is investment into the well-being of your constituents. As you've heard countless times today, many people have come to speak about EO. It's investment into sustainable infrastructure to combat flooding. And it's investment into ensuring future generations in Miami enjoy the beautiful parks and green spaces of our city. I am respectfully asking for the commissioners to commit $20 million to the environmentally endangered lands program. Thank you. Thank you very much. Barry Vogel, or Vogel. We also have Leo Cornedo. We have Jose Escobar. Andy Arthur. Kyle Lingsweiler. Alba Urbana. Jamie Doe. Ruby Romero. Andrus Guevara. Adrian Boer. Camron Hudson. Joseph D'Elia. Kevin Machado. Please come down when you hear your name called. Thank you. Madam Mayor. Board of County Commissioners. My name is Jose Escobar. My address is exempt. I'm here on behalf of nine fellow illegal dumping officers that will be cut from this coming up budget. Today we are talking about nine positions- Sorry, Mr. Chairman, could you actually ask from this? I didn't hear what you said. You're here on behalf of- Nine of my fellow illegal dumping officers- Illegal dumping officers. Okay, thank you. This upcoming budget. Thank you. Ma'am. We are talking today about nine positions, but our residents will not experience this budget cut as nine positions. They will experience it as nine fewer illegal dumping officers patrolling their communities. They will experience it when illegal dumping is not prevented and remains on the streets or on their right of ways for longer periods of time. We take complaints that will take longer to address because of the shortage of manpower that we will be having. When the officers must not cover also larger communities due to the fact that there will be shortages. We understand that the county faces difficult financial decisions, but eliminating positions does not eliminate the work that we still have to do. Thank you. Thank you. And I see lots of folks standing up behind you, supporting you. Thank you. Good evening, Vice Chairman, Commissioners, and all elected officials. My name is Adrian Boring. My address is exempt and I'm speaking as a student of MDCPS, proudly living in Vice Chairman McGee's District 9. I want to take a moment and thank you all for your hard work on a balanced operating budget. However, we cannot ignore a massive shadow, 22.3 billion in completely unfunded capital projects. When choosing to not fund a project, real people suffer. That 22.3 billion represents stalled affordable housing, aging water systems, and delayed flood resistance. It also means deferred transit. As a student at Colory Senior High, I face so much traffic on US 1 that I spend more time in my car than at my actual house. All jokes aside, we're losing hours to the gridlock. We cannot balance today's books by starving tomorrow's infrastructure. Please, let us stop kicking this cane down the road. I urge you to prioritize the strategy for this 22.3 billion dollar deficit before our infrastructure fails us entirely. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Proud of you. It took a lot of courage to come down and stand at the mic. Thank you so much. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Hello. My name is, I'm sorry, did I interrupt? No. Okay, cool. Hello. My name is Andy Arthur. I live at 6310 Southwest 79th Street in District 7. I'm speaking on behalf of myself as a working playwright and on behalf of Lost Girls Theatre and the South Florida Theatre League. Thank you for continuing to fund the Department of Cultural Affairs. I have received a MIA grant which helped me write a play about a lost piece of, forgotten piece of Miami history and that was very helpful. As a teacher, I have seen the effect of arts on creating empathy and cultural conflict resolution. And as an administrator, I have seen the full impact of the Department of Cultural Affairs, which employs, funds organizations that employ thousands of people and enrich our economy in an exponential rate. There are many, many worthy causes to ask for funding today, but the arts and the Department of Cultural Affairs deserve a slice of the pie, because as the young rapper Luke said earlier today, that is what Miami-Dade County is all about. Thank you. Thank you. That was good. Good afternoon, Vice Chairman and members of the board. My name is Isara Valdez. My address is exempt. And today I'm here to speak in favor of agenda item G to fund our county's public library system. I applaud your efforts in protecting our public resources right here in our local community. We have these intellectual institutions already serving our residents every day, and I believe that we have a responsibility to utilize support and protect them from privatization. An issue that has reached our high schools and my school, Hylia Miami Lake Senior High. As Success Academy promises free supplies, laptops, and takes over our classrooms while stepping into the public funds, I can trust that Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners will continue to offer these resources to its community at the best quality. Funding our libraries means preserving a resource that students, families, and residents of all incomes already rely on. I ask you to continue investing in our public library system and protecting these spaces, so that future generations can have the same opportunities that I have had. I leave you with this quote. The classroom was a jail of other people's interests. The library was open, unending, and free. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Keep up the great work. Proud of you. Hello, my name is Alba Urbina, and I am here. I'm a Hylia born and raised Dalek. I am a county employee, and I'm here to talk about the public transit budget. I work- Put the address on the record for me, please. Apologies. 10800 Biscayne Boulevard, zip code 33161. Thank you. A lot of my peers and colleagues work in this building, including cleaning staff, janitors, you know, people who work here in the cafeterias, and they all depend on public transportation to get here. A lot of them have to work 16, 17 hour shifts just to make ends meet, and they have to get home, you know, super late. And these are people that I talk to every day, and they're suffering, so I'm here to ask to please approve the funds for public transit. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, Madam Mayor, Mr. Vice Chairman, and Commissioners on the Board. My name is Cameron Hudson, and my address is exempt. I am 14 years of age, living proudly in District 2, and member of the Miami-Dade Youth Commission, appointed by Commissioner Bastian. I am here to support this budget and ask that you protect three key investments for youth. As charter school, as charter co-locations like Success Academy expand into schools like mine, highly in Miami Lakes, we must keep funding traditional neighborhood schools. Young people need safe streets. A 2023 T.O.P. study recorded 3,600 pedestrians and bike crashes with over 300 serious injuries and 120 deaths, including 17 kids killed under 15 injured or killed. Safe crosswalks and transit are survival, not luxury. Leadership programs teach us to lead the communities we will inherit. Please protect our schools, our transit, and youth programs, for you are investing directly in the future. Thank you. Thank you. You were good. Let the church say amen. Let the church say amen. God has spoken. Great job, man. Go Trojans. District 2. That's what happens. That's what's coming from District 2. Did you catch that he was from Hialeah, Miami Lakes? He's a Trojan? Hey. No, he was. I feel saved, though. I feel like. Great job. My name is Ruby Romero Isaev, 8877 Collins Avenue, Apartment 406, Surfside, Florida 33154 District 4. Good afternoon, Madam Mayor and Commissioners. I am the Executive Director of Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida and representing all the arts organizations in Miami-Dade, but especially those in District 4. Our organization alone provides work for more than 40 arts professionals, dancers, choreographers, repetitors, pianists, teaching artists, designers, photographers, videographers, costume and set designers, lighting professionals, administrative staff, and also indirect jobs to affiliated industries. Each of us worked countless hours so that audiences, Miami residents, the youth, all residents and voters can experience beauty, joy, and positive emotions. For us, arts and culture are not a hobby. They are our profession, our livelihood, our way of life. Please do not eliminate or cut funding for arts and culture. These cuts would not only affect our organizations and communities. Thank you so much. Please consider. Thank you. Please consider. Thank you so much. Increase for the arts. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Good evening. Good evening. My name is Kai Lingsweiler, residing at 8990 Southwest 83rd Street, Miami, Florida 33173. I'm a student at MAST Academy, representing MAST Academy Green Champions. At MAST, my peers and I grow mangrove seedlings to plant in partnership with the Environmentally Endangered Lands Program. We do this because mangroves are Miami's living infrastructure. Unlike concrete sea wells that degrade and require costly repairs, mangroves actually grow and strengthen over time at zero additional cost to taxpayers. They are our smartest, lowest costing investment, buffering storm surges, storing carbon at four times the rate of rainforests, and serving as vital marine nurseries. Student volunteers cannot protect this coastline alone. When EEL funding is slashed, we lose the very natural lands that make restoration possible. Now we need action. Please, I'm asking you to stand up for your community, hold the line for our environment, and vote to fully fund the EEL program at 20 million. Please, protect our water, protect our reefs, and protect our future. Thank you for your time. Great job. Great job. Thank you. Good evening, commissioners. I'm Kevin Machado. My address is 11013 Southwest 38 Lane 33165 District 10. Please fund the Environmentally Endangered Lands Program at 20 million and uphold the 6% water and sewer rate adjustment. Over the past year, planting native plants in my backyard has brought and sustained pollinators and birds. If a small patch can make that difference, consider what depends on the more than 29,000 acres EEL protects. Those habitats need proper funding and ongoing care. We all benefit from a thriving Miami on land and at sea, that's why I also support investing in pipes, pumps, and treatment systems to help keep sewage out of Biscayne Bay. Please support both investments, protect our native wildlife, our health, and the natural beauty that makes Miami home. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening. Good evening. My name is Eva Pelt, and my address is 614 Melaleuca Lane, zip code 33137. I'm a high school student at the School for Advanced Studies here in Miami-Dade County, and I'm speaking in support of full funding for the EEL program in item H. We all know Miami is prone to catastrophic hurricanes. However, many people do not understand the critical role that mangroves play in protecting our community. Mangroves have complex root systems and dense canopies that reduce the force of storm surges and limit flooding. In 2017, mangroves saved our region over $725 million in property damage during Hurricane Irma. The environmentally endangered lands program matters because it protects what keeps Miami safe and healthy. When we preserve mangroves and wetlands, we're protecting ourselves from swarms, maintaining clean water, and preserving biodiversity. These natural areas are as important as any other piece of infrastructure in our community. Without the EEL program, we'll keep losing these spaces to development, and we won't be able to get them back. I'm going to be living in Miami for a very long time. This isn't a distant problem, it's my future. And I'm asking this commission to approve $20 million for EEL and invest in the ecosystems I'm dedicated to protecting. Thank you. Great job. Thank you. Good evening, Vice Chair McGee, Commission, Madam Mayor, future Congressman Gilbert III. My name is Joseph DeLea. I'm the President of Transport Workers Union, Local 291, 6355 Northwest 36th Street. I think it is absolutely absurd that no one other than Madam Mayor has suggested to this commission options to generate additional revenue for transit. The only option given to you was to cut service. There are many ways to generate revenue, but tonight we can only address one. You have the ability to raise the general fare, not STS, which I remind you hasn't been done since 2012. The fare has not kept up with the rising costs in the industry. Imagine making the same money you made in 2012 today and trying to afford life's expenses in 2026. Although we as a union will rarely, if ever, advocate for an increase, we know the struggles of our riders. This crisis warrants it. If the citizens of Miami-Dade County, your constituents, were given this as an option rather than ripping away their lifelines to freedom and mobility, I'm almost positive that they would have paid the additional costs in order to keep their service that they rely on. Like I said in the previous meeting, to some of your constituents, transit is the most important service you provide. Thank you so much. And I see that you have many with you, waving your hands in the back. Thank you. Good evening, members of the board. My name is Andrea Guevara, 1759 Northwest 142nd Lane, Opa Loca, Florida 33054. While we are on the topic of budget, my personal budget is hurting. Thank you for the opportunity to speak about my concern with a covenant on my property. I am asking the board to look beyond and consider removing the covenant so that I may be freely sell my property at 1759 Northwest 142nd Lane, Opa Loca, Florida 33054, District 1, or allow me to rent my property. Otherwise, will the board consider allowing Miami-Dade County to purchase the property? I respectfully urge the board to review my multiple attempts at getting resolutions in the package I pass out. I pass out, you will find all my steps to seek a resolution. Thank you for listening, and thank you for your service to our community. Thank you so much, and good evening. Emily Cardenas, I'm not sure if I called you earlier. Laura Mickelson, Lauren Romero, Dr. Mark Gordon, Steven Vargas, Richard Carrera, Nicholas Osterman, Natalie Hardan, Tamara Labrosi. I want to hear you pronounce that name when you come to the podium. Maria Fontes, Marcelo Balderes, Sarah Moreno, and Katie Perez Pion. And thank you. Ready? Yes, ma'am. Good evening. Good evening. I'm Mike Hardanus, Executive Director of Dranoff Two Piano Fusion at 9889 Hammocks Boulevard in 33196. We present concerts from Aventura to Palmetto Bay, and our Piano Slam Arts Education Program serves more than 1,000 public school students from Miami Gardens to Homestead. This is our 40th anniversary season, but we would not be here without the steadfast support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. Michael Spring and the department were instrumental in helping our founder launch her vision in 1986 for an international two-piano competition, and for more than 20 years, piano duos came from across the U.S. and as far away as Europe and Asia. Countless careers were launched globally as a result. Our mission has since evolved. But Miami-Dade County and the Department of Cultural Affairs have supported us every step of the way. And we pray that it not only continues, but that it grow for all of us here in the arts. Please pass this thoughtful budget. Thank you. Thank you so much. Ariad Citrin, can you also join the line? I overlooked your name. Thank you so much. My name is Laura Mickelson. Being a part of Miami Water Keepers, my address is 2212 Pons de Leone Boulevard and Coral Gables 33134. Hello, Commissioners and Madam Mayor. Look, I know that there are so many things worth addressing today, but do you see how many people are using their one minute to talk about EEL? And I know you guys have heard plenty about what is EEL about and why it's important, so I'm not necessarily going to get into that. Instead, I'm going to remind you guys of the truly amazing position that you are in to make a difference today. And Commissioners, I know I don't know you personally, but I do believe that at your core you are good people who started this job because you want to make a positive difference in your community. And just looking around this room, you have the privilege of seeing some of those faces, some of those lives that you are going to change based on your decisions today. My friend Lauren, who's actually going to be speaking shortly after me, will talk about how EEL changed her life, her childhood. And I urge you to listen to her, because if you want to change Miami, listen to the people. Please fund EEL. Thank you. Thank you so much. Lopardo, Coronado, please join the line, please. Thank you. Mr. Vice Chair. Please. That was very good. That was really good. That was very good. I take it's a lot of pressure on the next speaker. Yeah. Very good. Wouldn't want to be in your shoes. Good evening, Madam Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners. My name is Dr. Mark Gordon, and I serve on the Board of Directors of Jewish Community Services of South Florida, Miami-Dade County. For 107 years, JCS has served some of the most frail and vulnerable members of our community. Older adults, families in crisis, residents who often have nowhere else to go or to turn. Community-based organizations are Miami-Dade Safety Net. We provide services that help people remain stable, independent, and safely in their homes and communities. And investing in CBOs is also a smart investment for the county. By addressing needs early, we can help prevent situations from escalating into more costly interventions and greater demands on public systems. The consequences of reducing this investment extend far beyond the initial funding cut. Fewer services can mean more unmet needs, greater strain on families and public systems, and the loss of additional private and philanthropic dollars that augment CBOs' leverage. Ultimately, this is about the safety and well-being of our residents. We respectfully ask you to fully fund Miami-Dade's community-based organizations and CBOs. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you, Doctor. Doctor, can you give us your address really quickly, if you don't mind, please? Yes. 2600 Island Boulevard, Aventura, North Dade, 33160. Thank you, Dr. Gordon. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Lauren Romero. I reside in 11105 Southwest 113th Place. I reside in District 11, and my commissioner is Robert J Gonzalez. I'm here to speak about the EO program. We asked $20 million for this fiscal year budget. Being a citizen growing up in Miami and attending summer camp at 80 Barnes Park allowed me to develop a strong connection to nature. Enamored by the park's beauty and peaceful landscapes, I learned to love, respect plants, animals, and all that is different. Protecting and investing in natural landscapes preserves the clean air, fresh food, healthy ecosystems, wildlife, habitats, and peaceful spaces that sustain our communities and our children enjoy. This would be an investment in positive experiences, balance, reduced crime rates, wildlife habitats, the environment, and meaningful, mindful, thought-provoking, and mind-nourishing experiences. Please invest to manage, restore, and acquire these lands for our children and community. Thank you. Commissioner Gonzalez, she did well. What do you think? She did fantastic. Great job. Very, very proud of you, and very proud of all of you that have spoken today. You're definitely a breath of fresh air for this community. Thank you for your attention. Thank you. Good evening, Madam Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. My name is Leopoldo Coronado Polo, and I serve as the COO of Jewish Community Services of South Florida. You know, we have mentioned that we have been here for more than 107 years, serving the community, and thanks to your partnership. We have been helping seniors, families access nutritious food, case management, emergency assistance, and other critical services. We are also proud members of the advocacy collective, and we know that the county funding has an impact well beyond the initial investment. Together, all these organizations leverage more than $15.2 million in additional federal, state, and private funding with the county funding that we get. County support also gives philanthropic partners confidence to invest alongside us. When county funding is reduced, we risk losing not only the program that we get through your funding, but also additional private dollars that help sustain these services. We respectfully ask you to continue funding our community-based organizations, and we cannot thank you enough for all the partnership that you have given us for these many years. Leo, can you do me a favor and put your address on the record for me, please? No problem. 1424 Sorolla Avenue, Coral Cables, Florida 33134. Great job. Thank you so much. What happened to your shirt, man? I got you. Ready? Yes. Good evening, Madam Mayor and Commissioners. My name is Steven Vargas, 831 Swan Avenue, Miami Springs, Florida 33166. First time speaker, so. I want to be transparent that I also work for Quorum Maine, whose contract could be affected by this decision, so I truly see both sides of the proposed 6% rate increase. As a resident, I personally experienced the benefits of smart water metering. I received alerts when water usage was unusually high, giving me the opportunity to check for possible leaks immediately instead of finding out two or three months later when a large bill arrives. Nobody wants to pay more for water, but I also believe it is important to understand what the investment provides, better infrastructure, less waste water, and technology that gives residents more control over the usage. To put this in perspective, the EPA says a leaking toilet can waste around 200 gallons a day if that goes unnoticed for two months as usually, that's roughly 12,000 gallons of treated water wasted. That means a higher bill for the residents while the utility has also spent money supplying pumping and treating water that was never actually needed. I appreciate you considering both the cost and the long-term benefit of the community. Thank you. Thank you so much. Good evening, my name is Richard Carrera, a transit advocate and historian from 7235 Northwest 179th Street in Miami Lakes 33014. I'm here representing Transit Alliance and the millions of riders who depend on transit. As stated last year, transit has been on a steady decline since 2018. Last year, you proposed fare hikes. This year, you proposed to cut 11% of bus service and defund transit by 31.5 million. Not just that, you're cutting service to almost 50 routes before 6 AM and after 10 PM. Lifeline service for hardworking residents who don't have another choice. But to take those early and late commutes. On top of that, you're discontinuing 12 routes. Most of them are max routes, which alleviate overcrowding on the mainline bus routes. It is the ultimate goal to shut Miami-Dade Transit down and leave thousands stranded. Because it seems like it is. My request is simple. Restore transit for those who depend on it most. Thank you. Thank you so much. Hello. Maria Claudia Schubert Fontes, 10063 Costa del Sol Boulevard, Doral, Florida. I'm here today with Catalyst Miami. I spoke at the last hearing about saving the morning and late night bus service. And after speaking that night, I actually stayed for a while. And thankfully, when I left, I was able to take the 11 bus back home. While I was waiting, I checked an Uber to see how much it would charge me to get back home, same route. It would have been around $52. Needless to say, I was very happy to pay my $2.25 to get home. A change in service and routes would be really impactful for all of the riders, especially throughout all 13 districts. I appreciate the tax collector and mayor's efforts to restore the morning bus service. Our late night service is just as pivotal to the economic security and well-being of the more than 3,000 riders that depend on late night service. Our county depends on our early morning and late night transit riders who are essential members of our community and economy. And I'm hoping that there could be a resolution to this today. Thank you. Thank you so much. Hello, Madam Mayor and Commissioner. Tamara LaBruce, address 13450, West Dixie Highway, North Miami, Florida 33161. Representing Santla, the Haitian Neighborhood Center, and the Advocacy Collective. I want to acknowledge first and foremost that you face competing priorities and the difficult decisions. We are not naive nor unsympathetic to those realities, but we are asking you to recognize this reality. Now more than ever, our communities are struggling, hurting, and in need. Every data point tells that story, and by virtually every measure, the need for our community services has continued to increase. In the midst of increasing needs, you should not in good conscience be able to reconcile the documented increase in need with the decision to not fund the very organizations responding to those needs. Our CBOs are not supplemental to the safety net of the county system. We are an essential part of that safety net. Investing in CBOs ensure that our residents get the help that they need during the time that they are most vulnerable. We know difficult choices must be made, but difficult financial times are precisely when a strong safety net must be. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Thank you. Good evening. I'm the Everglades organizer with Sierra Club Florida, and I am grateful for the protection of the morning bus routes. A strong public transit system is essential for a healthy environment, but I am frustrated that we are put in a situation that requires us to come and plead for its continued existence. My first ask is the county provide at least 20 million in funding for the EEL program, which protects and maintains our environmentally endangered habitats throughout the county, and play an integral role in protecting our communities from extreme weather and flooding. My second ask is that you all reconsider what public safety is. I understand it's something that is important to all of you, but does leaving thousands of residents without a way to get home at night sound like it would increase public safety? It is essential that you find a solution that protects our nighttime routes and the community members who rely on it as a safe and affordable way of getting home. And consider the impacts this has on many construction workers, nurses, caretakers, and other working class folks who rely on these routes. Thank you. Thank you so much. My name is Nicholas Osterman, and I live at 3160 Northwest 42nd Street. I reside in Keyett, Commissioner Hardiman's District. Good evening, Commissioner. I am here to say thank you and to ask for action now. Thank you to the Mayor and Task Collector for saving morning bus service, but we cannot wait any longer on night service. Our hospital workers, security guards, nurses, their shift employees depend on that bus. I'm one of them. I sometimes have to take the bus at night myself, and I know what it means when that option disappears. It means people go without. This is not a luxury. This is urgent. Transportation is public safety. Right now, if you cut service, a nurse cannot get to work at night. That's lives at stake. A hotel worker is stranded. That's our economy at risk. We've proven we can find money when it matters. A portion of the Sheriff's Office proposed budget combined with $6.5 million from the property appraisal office can support night bus service. I'm asking you today to allocate the funds instead of cutting it. This matters. You made the commitment to morning commuters. Thank you. Make it now for night shift workers. Thank you. Appreciate you, Nick. Thank you so much. Hi. Good evening. My name is Jaris Goss. My mailing address is P.O. Box 1053, Loxahatchee, Florida 33470. I'm speaking on my own behalf. I was born and raised in Broward County. I follow community concerns across South Florida, and I have learned that every local decision becomes part of a much bigger story. We are all a part of one living system, so the effects do not stop at city or county lines. We send first responders to crashes, pump water after floods, and repair homes after damage. But why aren't we equally committed to preventing conditions that keep creating emergencies? Protecting environmental sensitive land is prevention. Whew. Please fully fund the Environmental Endangered Lands Program. Thank you. You made it through. See? I told you. Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to be here. Thank you. I'm glad I'm here finally because it's getting cold. My name is Cathy Perez Pignon, 11032 Northeast 9th Court, Biscayne Park 33161. I am the program coordinator for the Lucha Program at Americans for Immigrant Justice. Our program provides free immigration legal services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking in our community. They are low income or have no income and cannot afford legal representation. The men and women and children that we serve are already coping with trauma, limited resources, and complex legal challenges. Our intervention helps them move forward, rebuild their lives, and retain the stability after experiencing violence and exploitation. When survivors have the legal assistance and support they need, they are better positioned to move forward, care for their families, and contribute to our community. Our work does not stop with legal services. Americans for Immigrant Justice is part of a strong community-based network of nonprofit organizations. We regularly connect survivors with other members of these collectives so they can access additional resources and services that can help them rebuild their lives. We ask that you please consider the needs of these vulnerable survivors and families when deciding this year's budget. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. I appreciate you. Good evening, Madam Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. Natalie Herodon, 12,000 Biscayne Boulevard 33181. As Chief of Staff of Jewish Community Services of South Florida, I'm honored to stand before those elected, trusted, and profoundly respected by our community. For 107 years, JCS has been a trusted partner in this community, helping seniors, vulnerable individuals, and families access nutritious food, case management, emergency assistance, and other critical services. As a proud member of the advocacy collective, I know that the county funding has an impact far beyond the initial investment. Together, these organizations leverage over $15 million in additional federal, state, and private funding. County support strengthens philanthropic confidence, helping us attract and retain private dollars to sustain programs and staff as essential services. We appreciate the board's thoughtful consideration and respectfully request a continuation of funding and 3% increase. Thank you for your partnership and for investing in the people of this community. Thank you. Hey. Hi. My name is Sarah Moreno. My address is 1271 Northeast 159th Street, North Miami Beach, Florida 33162. I reside in District 2, and my commissioner is Marlene Bastien. I represent Engage Miami. I am here today to urge you to approve the mayor's proposal to allocate $12.4 million to save our morning bus routes. Our county runs on essential workers like teachers, healthcare workers, and sanitation workers. In the midst of an affordability crisis, we cannot forego this essential lifeline for Miami-Dade's workforce. As a community organizer, one of the number one things I hear from Miamians is their desire to expand public transit. Let us not take a step in the wrong direction. I respectfully urge you to vote in favor of funding these routes. Additionally, I urge you to find the capital to fully fund our EEL program. Specifically, I urge you to accelerate Miami-Dade's septic to sewer conversion to protect our local water quality. As we see the effects of climate change, it is important to have the foresight to continue funding programs that strengthen Miami's resilience to climate change. Your decision will make a real difference to the people of Miami. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. Good evening, Mr. Vice Chair, Commissioners, Madam Mayor. My name is Riyad Sitran. I am the pilot's director at the Miami-Dade Innovation Authority. We're located at 1951 Northwest 7th Ave, Miami 33136. Through MDIA's Public Innovation Challenge, we support Miami-Dade departments, Miami-Dade County departments to find and pilot emerging technologies to more efficiently address operational challenges. So we work with these departments to set up pilots to find solutions that allow them to try before they buy. The CIA has 25 pilots with various county departments going on. With solid waste, currently, our challenge is projected to save $7 million and divert 550 tons of waste to the landfill. Our work allows us to find, diagnose, and improve the output. We work with county departments to improve operations. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you so much. Luis Avares, Ava Pelt, Debra Hertwitz, Nadej Jossel, Matthew Beatty, Patricia Rojas, Lathan Adams, Camilo Meha, Leslie Medoza, Jaris Goss, Tangela Guess. Please come forward. Naomi Camps, number 144, number Asmar Burgess, 160, and Eddie Young Jr. Please join the line also. I do believe you have young children that need to get home also. Thank you. I can start? Yes, ma'am, please. Thank you. Good evening, my name is Naomi Camps. I live in 1372 Northwest Third Street in District 9. I am represented by Commissioner Magee. I am here to support the EO program. Each week I read the Lorax to my son. It is his favorite book. We teach our children to conserve and protect nature, yet as adults we cut funding for the very lands that need protection and will soon inherit. Commissioners today, you are the oneslers in his eyes. Funding EO is not just an investment in our environment. It is an investment in our children's future. I'm a mother fighting for my children's future. Please fully fund the EO program. Thank you. And he wanted to say two words. Okay. Go. I think for the trees. Thank you for the trees, yes. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, Madam Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. My name is Deborah Hurwitz, and I'm with Jewish Community Services of South Florida, 12,000 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami 33181. I want to share with you just one story that shows what county-supported community services can mean to a family. A JCS client's 13-year-old daughter became a paraplegic after a spinal cord tumor in 2023. Recently, the family spent nearly two weeks at Holtz Children's Hospital while her daughter underwent another critical surgery. During this incredibly difficult time, JCS helped the family with their electric bill pending a shutoff and provided Publix gift cards for groceries. The mother told us that the assistance came when her family desperately needed the help. She said it gave her breathing room, lifted a burden, and reminded her that people and organizations were still willing to extend a helping hand during a very difficult time. This story is just one of many examples of why continued investment in our community-based organizations matters and provides a safety net for our community. We respectfully ask you to fully fund these essential services. Thank you so much. Thank you for your support. Thank you. Sir. Good evening. My name is Lathan Adams. I am the lead post high and civic engagement coordinator with the Overtown Youth Center. We are located at 450 Northwest 14th Street. To begin, I would like to thank Chairman Rodriguez, Vice Chairman McGee, and the members of the board for having your time. I serve as a lead post high civic engagement coordinator where I work to help young people in this county pursue higher education, earn certifications, secure employment, engage meaningfully in civic service. I appear before you this evening on behalf of the OIC and on behalf of every community-based organization that delivers services this county could not otherwise provide at this scale, at the cost, or with a degree of trust within the neighborhood. Point of order. Point of order. Hold on for a second. Point of order, Mr. Chairman, if you could ask the chambers to just quiet down a little bit. Can we quiet down, please, so that we can hear the speakers? Thank you. And all these people called that are standing up? Yes. Can we sit down? Oh, they're standing in support. Okay. All right. But we've seen you. You could take a seat, sir. Am I able to start over or I just keep going? You keep going right from where you left off. Yeah. Your time was paused, so you're not losing any time. So, I want to first thank you guys for allocating 15 million for CBO grant programs. And it helps support over 150 programs countywide. This history is precisely what I wanted to speak about. CBO funding faces eliminations consistently almost every fiscal year. And as things stand, in November 3rd. Okay, my time is over. Thank you, sir. Ma'am. Good evening. Patricia Rojas, 20 Island Avenue, Miami Beach, 33139. Good evening, commissioners and Madam Mayor. I reside in Commissioner Lopez District. It's my first time here. I'm here regarding the proposed transportation changes. I work in Whole Foods, in Cora Gables, and live in Miami Beach. My schedules fluctuate from early in the morning or late at night. Thank you for approving the early morning service today. Without it, I will lose my job. I will also be affected if there are changes in the late bus service, the 20 and 15. That without these buses again, I will lose my job. While you all sleep, the city is awake. My store has always team members working 24 hours. It feels that we are the invisible population because we work while most of you sleep. My coworker, Mario, wrote this statement and he stated that he has vision difficulties and can't drive. He said, cutting these hours is trans residents like me who have no alternative way to travel. Public transport is essential for people with disabilities, night workers, and low income residents. Thank you. Thank you. Sir. Good evening, Mr. Chair, Commissioners, Madam Mayor. It's a pleasure to be before you all again. I'm Matthew Beatty with the Miami-Dade Innovation Authority, 1951 Northwest 7th Avenue. Over the short three last years, the Innovation Authority has spearheaded 25 technology pilots with county departments. And through that work, we have uncovered over $7 million in savings to the county budget. That has been through the incredible support of this board, of the mayor and her administration, and the wonderful county department heads at Solid Waste and Airport and other folks who we've had the privilege of working with. That proves that this county needs innovation and that when we innovate, when we make our community more efficient, that it saves dollars and ultimately provides better services for our residents. So know that in this tough budget season, that the Miami-Dade Innovation Authority is here to support you and ensure that we show up as best that we can for the community that we all love. Thank you all so much. Thank you, sir. Mr. Chairman, point of order, I'd just like to point out that Matt Beatty is a rattler. He went to FAMU. All right. Yeah, I'm just putting that out there. And the Innovation Authority, I passed the ordinance that created that, but he's a rattler. Don't complain later when the meeting goes longer. No, this is like, listen, I'm just saying, he's a rattler. You like to complain. He's a rattler. I'm just saying. Sir? Good evening, Mr. Chairman, Commissioners, Mayor, and county staff. My name is Luis Olivares. I live at 10620 Southwest 72nd Avenue, Pancrest, Florida 33156. As the Florida Aviation Director with our Dura Group, I'm here today to respectfully support the proposed 6% water and wastewater rate adjustment. No one welcomes a rate increase, but as engineers, we understand that water and wastewater infrastructure is not a simple consequence of growth. It is a prerequisite for growth in a critical service that must function reliably for generations. The proposed adjustment is approximately $3.77 per month for the average residential customer, while helping support approximately $435 million in critical infrastructure financing. This is about investing responsibly today so our residents do not face considerably greater costs tomorrow. Commissioners, the question is not whether we will pay for this infrastructure. The question is whether we invest responsibly today or pay much more tomorrow. On behalf of our Dura Group, I respectfully urge you to approve the full 6% adjustment. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Thank you so much. Sir? Good evening, Mayor, Chairman, Commissioners. My name is Camilo Mejia, and I live at 8311 Southwest 124th Avenue. Public safety is more than simply hiring more police officers. It means workers having reliable transportation home after a late shift, keeping the lights on at parks in the evening, providing support and intervention services for victims of crime and sexual violence, investing in after-school programs that keep young people safe and engaged. Public safety also means housing access, food security, job training, and real economic opportunity. Please do not take a narrow view of what keeps our community safe. You restore funding for early morning transit service. Thank you for that. Now, please restore the late night service as well. Thousands of workers in hospitals, restaurants, hotels, retail, and other essential jobs depend on it to get home safely to their families. Fun late night transit service. Thank you. Thank you. Hello. Yes, my name Eddie Young. I'm here on behalf of Famous Car Wash, 8255 Northwest 22nd Avenue. First, I want to say, I want to start by saying that I understand that, you know, it's not based on sympathy. I'm not here asking anyone to feel sorry for me, and I am certainly not here to start a racial war or make this week too look bad. I am here because I believe in fairness, accountability, and giving small business a fair opportunity to survive and succeed. First, I want to acknowledge that Famous Car Wash is grateful for the $20,000 in assistance we received through the CRA. We are also grateful to finally see the road construction coming to an end. We appreciate the people who have listened to our concerns and the assistance that has been provided. However, I have to be honest how I feel. $20,000 does not make up for the three years on and off without being notified, ongoing disruptions, lost customers, financial hardship, and uncertainty. The road construction has been happening on and off for approximately three years, and during that time, my business has suffered tremendously. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. Ma'am. Good evening. I'm the guest address, 1647 Northwest 3rd Avenue, Miami, Florida 33136. And I just want to talk about what happens when it works. I first started with the OIC as a parent after losing my son. I still don't know what happened to him. However, though they didn't know my story, they wrapped their arms around me and supported me. So I went from being a parent that needed assistance to a parent that now gives assistance. My children went from schools that they had to go to out of obligation to schools that we can now choose to take them to because they qualify. So I just want to talk about what happens when the families that we support are now on the other side of that spoon, and now I get to now support families and also help them change their mindset and help them understand that there is more. So I would like to say if you continue to fund CBOs, you get more products like me, people that work. I can speak to parents from a position of being exactly where they are and being where they have been. I understand what it means to get off of assistance. Thank you. Thank you so much. Give me just a second, sir. One second. Albert, if you can get Renita out there. I know she needs to leave. Good evening, commissioners and Mr. Chair. I'm the other. My name is Madam Renita Holmes. I'm here very quickly and I have to go because I have special transportation today as a person with disability, not really feeling well. I'm here for about 16 other females that are back at the shelter waiting for me to come back and claim my bed. 16 women who leave there who work a 2 to 3 o'clock morning shift as maids, as servers, in kitchens, doing laundry. Women who've lost their children because they don't have a job to get it and now there are many families in the shelter. Salvation Army, I've had great toxic tour. I'm still trying to figure out why I'm there because I was sufficient in housing. So two things. I would leave every day and I watch them and I have my transportation but 3 o'clock in the morning sometimes I want to get up and get in my vehicle and give them rides. I don't have the license and so much as a business to do so. But I watch them get up, some after already working a job at places like Burger King in the local area. There's nobody out there. There are tons of men waiting and sleeping outside the shelter because they want to be in the shelter. The best place for a mother to go get a job is outside of her community right about now. Thank you, Renita. I'll close this and say this. Thank you. If it was your mama trying to just get one more plate of food for you so she can get you back. Thank you. Would you be talking about cutting buses when you got six sitting over there doing nothing? Thank you. Thank you. Sir. My name is Eddie Young from Famous Car Watch 83rd Street and 22nd Avenue. This has been an ongoing construction with the street men blocking our business off for the last three years on and off. I appreciate the $20,000 that the grant that we got and it was that help but it didn't help enough. So if we could get any type of assistance to help us out that we lost business tremendously dealing with this. We never got notified that they was starting this construction project over none of that. And it's been three years going with this project been going on and this is our first time actually asking for assistance. Yeah, the $20,000, we appreciate that, but that's not enough. And this has never happened in any other community but the black community. And we know this. It doesn't happen in North Miami. So is anybody we could talk to? Well, I'm really tired of talking because every time when we have a meeting- Thank you, sir. A thousand people run up to us and say they're going to assist and going to help us, but we never get no help. Thank you, sir. So what we need to do. Thank you so much. Ma'am? Good evening, Madam Mayor and County Commissioners. Leslie Mendoza, 2400 South Dixie Highway. On behalf of Cava Pro Bono Legal Services, I want to deeply thank each of you for your continued support through the Eviction Diversion Program and CBO funding. Your help has helped us provide critical free legal services in more than 5,000 cases involving family law, evictions, dependency, guardianship, and other civil legal matters over the past 12 months. I also want to provide an update that goes beyond the numbers. With one of our first CBO grants, we represented a young woman who was still in high school and in need of a domestic violence injunction, and a boy in foster care. Today, I am proud to report that that young woman is a Florida Bar attorney, and the young boy is now a young man graduating from FIU this December with an engineering degree. Thanks to all of you and your support. I am most grateful, and I am just really grateful. Thank you all so much. All right. Thank you so much. All right. I guess I have to call the next match. All right. I have Flor Ortega, Isel Rodriguez, Mercy Perez, Susan Rubio Rivera, Claudia Anderson, Jackson Ewells, Jocelyn Giffel, Helena Del Monte, David Diaz, and Elizabeth Boone. Flor Ortega, Isel Rodriguez, Mercy Perez. All right. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. You may begin. Listening to the public is part of their job. El presupuesto afecta nuestros impuestos, nuestros servicios y la economía de nuestras familias. The budget affects our taxes, our services, and our families' finances. Queremos saber si la cifra anunciada refleja los gastos completos o se terminará muy por debajo del gasto real. We want to know whether the announced figure reflects the full cost or will fall far below actual spending. Necesitamos conocer cuánto se aprueba, cuánto se modifica, y cuánto se terminará gastando. We need to know how much is approved, how much is added, and how much is ultimately spent. No basta con dejar nuestras voces grabadas por si alguien algún día se digna en escucharlas. It's not enough to record our voices hoping someone might someday bother to listen. Necesitamos atención y respuestas en la sala. El respeto empieza por guardar silencio y prestar atención cuando se habla a un residente. We need attention and answers in the room. Respect begins with being quiet and paying attention when a resident speaks. Pedimos respeto, transparencia y cuentas claras. Ustedes administran nuestro dinero y deben responder por él. We ask for respect, transparency, and clear accounting. You manage our money, and you must answer for it. Let the curtain be raised on this budget theater. Behind every number are families who pay and deserve to be heard. Thank you so much. Thank you. Good evening, Madam Mayor and County Commissioners. My name is Beth Boone, 9806 Northeast 2nd Avenue, Miami Shores District 3. I'm the Artistic and Executive Director of Miami Light Project, a celebrated 38-year-old Miami-Dade County cultural institution. The art and culture sector provides essential services to all of Miami-Dade County. We represent 32,000 working individuals employed, and our collective work reverberates in a $2.1 billion economic impact in Miami-Dade County every year. The Department of Cultural Affairs budget is a fraction of the revenue that we generate in this community. Every single day, we over-deliver with programs and services that make our community a great place to live. We develop new leadership, we present stunning performances and exhibitions, and we wrap our arms around the diverse cultural heritages that are the best part of this community. On our stages and in our museums, our work embodies everything that it means to be an American, and everything that is essential to the human experience. I urge you to prioritize funding the Department of Cultural Affairs and consider a 3% increase in order to keep Miami-Dade County thriving in the 21st century. Thank you. Thanks for listening. Sir? Good evening, Mr. Chairman, Madam Mayor, Commissioners. My name is David Diaz. I live in 425 Northwest 128th Street, North Miami. I'm a Miami-Dade County employee of Solid Waste. I want to thank the commissioners and their board members allowing to speak with us and meet with us with my unions of 3292 and 199, President. It is imperative to understand, we've been hearing about public safety all the time, and that is very important, but public health is also important. And what needs to be understood, when they came to the commission to ask for this 1% increase for solid waste, and it was turned down, the alternative of laying people off jobs and to perform the service that they provide for illegal dumping and code enforcement. This is a public health issue, a public service. We're in hurricane season. These piles that would need to be picked up could be projectiles, and it endangered the community. It is not right. It is not fair. Thank you. Thank you. Ma'am. Good evening, county commissioners, Madam Mayor. Thank you for your time this evening. My name is Claudia Anderson, and I reside at 1525 Elgardi Avenue, Coral Gables, Florida, 33146, in Commissioner Rea-Lau's district. And before I start my statement, I just want to say that it really makes a difference to us when we can see that you're listening and get your attention. Because just as it is a long night for you, it's also a long night for us. So just in advance, thank you very much for paying attention. I'm a self-proclaimed transit nerd and a lifelong resident of Miami-Dade County, so I bet you can guess what I'm going to talk about today. But because I love transit so much, I woke up at 4 a.m. to volunteer with Transit Alliance Miami on several occasions to survey morning bus riders in the early hours every day. So I heard countless stories from probably some of the most hardworking people in this county about how the bus is really their only option to get to work, to school, to their communities. So for this reason, I'm really grateful that funds were found to restore bus service before 6 a.m. on 45 routes, and it's a crucial lifeline to keep the county running. And I'm asking the commissioners to please approve this in the final budget. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, honorable chair, commissioners, and I'm the proud CEO of ADE Association for the Development of the Exceptional. We have been serving for 50 years adults with disabilities, autism, and all kinds of intellectual disabilities in Miami-Dade County. We have three centers, District 3, District 6, and District 8 are our homes, but we service all of Dade County. And we are proud to be part of the advocacy collective. We thank the mayor, and we thank each and every one of you for listening to us, for listening to the cries. And when you look at me, I forgot to give my address, 7330 Northwest 12th Street. Don't solely look at me. Think that there's 250 adults with disabilities surrounding me. I am their voice. I am their voice. And the health council did a pro bono economic impact study, and it showed that solely in the 60-some agencies, we are 98,000 strong that are preventing and mitigating crisis. Thank you, Elena. Thank you so much. God bless you all. God bless you, Elena. Sir. Good evening, y'all. My name is Jackson Ewells, and I live at 6420 Southwest 58th Avenue in South Miami. I'm a student at the University of Miami, and I use the Metro Rail and Metro Bus every single day because I cannot afford a car in this city. There are thousands of other students like me and thousands and thousands more working folks relying on transit. A great deal of them are clocking in early and leaving late. There is no doubt many of them are on the bus instead of a car for the same reason as myself. Please hear this. There are few other cuts that cut this low on the totem pole. I'll repeat myself. There are few other cuts that cut this low on the totem pole. After you take this vote tonight, I hope you spend time to use the infrastructure we use and realize that it truly doesn't get much more regressive than ending the 10 p.m. bus. I am very grateful for your restoration of the morning bus, but please don't forget about everybody coming home at night. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Ma'am. Hi. My name is Susan Rubio Rivera, and I live at 14830 Southwest 307th Street, and I am the executive director of MUJED and a proud member of the CBO Collective. For 29 years, MUJED has served Miami-Dade County families impacted by domestic and sexual violence. Every year, more than 1,200 people come to MUJED seeking safety, advocacy, counseling, housing support, and the chance to heal. What does this continued funding mean? It means that therapy for an eight-year-old boy who survived rape. Therapy that helps him understand that what happened was not his fault and that healing is possible. It means justice for a 12-year-old girl who faced her abuser in court. With compassionate support, she was able to testify. These are not just statistics. They are real people. They are our neighbors, and their stories were changed because Miami-Dade County chose to invest in CBOs. I am here today to thank the commissioners and to thank our mayor for continued funding and to request a moderate increase of 3%. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you so much. Madam Mayor, just hold on a second, because I'm hearing a lot of the, we're fully, Madam Mayor, we're fully funding CBOs, right? Through the chair. Because I'm hearing like for increase, I'm confused. It's like, I mean, shouldn't we like be appreciative that we are fully funded or? Through the chair. We're proposing a flat, same as last year. So the same as last year. So it's, whereas last year was being proposed to cut all CBOs at one point. And we fully funded it last year, and we're fully funding them this year. Correct. We're in a real financial deficit, guys. And I keep hearing like asking for increases, I understand, but we've got to kind of be, like we've got to be realistic here with ourselves. Sorry. I just, I want to make sure like I wasn't in the D's, ma'am. Amen. My name is Flora Ortega. I reside at 1486 Northwest 53rd Street in District 3. My commissioner is Keon Hardiman. I'm here today to speak on the importance of prioritizing nature, our waterways, and what's left remaining of our wild lands. I moved to Miami in 2018 and immediately fell in love with the flora and the fauna that we have here. The biodiversity that we find here in South Florida is unmatched worldwide. In 2020, when the pandemic hit and we were cooped up, I am alive today because of the ability to visit places like Matheson Park. The importance, you know, we've heard all about the environmental impact and the important things that the mangroves and all these things do, but it's important for our mental health as well. It's incredibly crucial. So I urge you today to please, please fund the environmental, the EEL program at $20 million and the increase of 6% for Miami water and sewer. Because the time is now for all of us, every single person in this room, to prioritize the protection, the restoration, acquisition, and the management of these important lands. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening. Jocelyn Guilfoyle, Executive Director with Dade County Farm Bureau. On behalf of Dade County Farm Bureau and the agricultural community we represent, I want to ask the agricultural and unincorporated roads to be a priority for the quality neighborhood improvement program. We understand that the proposed program would provide $7.5 million to each county commissioner for infrastructure improvements. We believe some of these funds should be directed towards roads serving our agricultural areas. Many of these roads have potholes, deteriorating pavement, drainage problems, and other safety concerns. They are not just neighborhood roads. They are critical to moving farm equipment, employees, supplies, and fresh food throughout our community. We respectfully ask the county to work with farmers and public works department to identify the roads most in need to make meaningful improvements. Investing in these roads is an investment in public safety, our farmers, and our agricultural economics of Miami-Dade County. Thank you for your time. All right. I'm only missing from that call list. Mercy Perez. Mercy Perez. No. All right. Next group is Camila Giraldo, Alicia Vigio Blanco, Marilyn Hollyfield, Keith Big Ink, Hannah Baumgarten, Rick Crooks, Eddie Gomez, Brian Rodriguez, Alex Silva, and Angela Doutland. Hi, good evening, Madam Mayor and Honorable Commissioners. It's Hannah Baumgarten, 900 Bay Drive, Miami Beach, Florida. I'm here representing arts and culture. Arts and culture is here to be heard, to be counted, and with gratitude because we are so excited at the recognition of the intrinsic nature of art and culture in our community. From the earliest childhood education to Parkinson's prevention, from stroke rehabilitation to criminal rehabilitation, art shows a mirror to the difficult moments of humanity, and they also let us escape our darkest moments in fantasy and joy. So we know that you recognize how arts and culture have helped identify this county, support every aspect of this county's activities, and part of its infrastructure. We thank you for your time, for your commitment to the arts and culture, and we will see you next year. Have a great evening. I hope it is short. Thank you. Yes. We hope so, too, and thank you for coming out, Hannah. Appreciate it. Ma'am. Good evening, Chairman, Commissioners, and Mayor Levine Cava. My name is Camila Giraldo, and I'm a 16-year-old student in District 4. I'm speaking today regarding the water and sewer budget and the financial impact of the proposed 6% water and wastewater rate adjustments. I asked the commission to consider the cumulative financial burden already facing Miami-Dade families. The county estimates that this proposed increase would cost a typical residential customer approximately $3.77 more per month. And it generated approximately $65.6 million in additional annual revenue. While these numbers may seem small on their own, it is another monthly expense added to the rising cost of everyday necessities. For working families and seniors on fixed incomes, these costs add up. When making these decisions, I asked the county to consider not only the revenue this increase generates, but also the direct impact it has on the households paying it. I respectfully ask the commission to explore internal operating efficiencies and additional state or federal infrastructure funding before relying on a rate increase. Thank you. Thank you. Ma'am. Good evening, Madam Mayor, Mr. Chairman, and members of the Board of County Commissioners. My name is Marilyn Hollifield, partner at Holland & Knight, and board chair of the Miami Museum of Contemporary Art of the African Diaspora, Miami MOCAD. Thank you for your leadership as you balance difficult priorities. Thank you for supporting cultural organizations. Our cultural organizations create jobs, support small businesses, strengthen neighborhoods, and help drive tourism. They support artists, educate our children, and preserve our history for generations to come. Miami MOCAD is working to establish a permanent museum that leverages technology to create new art experiences, expand accessibility, and connect all of our communities and the world. I urge you to continue to support our artists, our artists, and cultural organizations, and continue investing in institutions like Miami MOCAD that are building lasting foundations for the future. Thank you, Ms. Hollifield. Thank you. Sir. Good evening, Chairman and Commissioners. My name is Brian Rodriguez. My address is 6060 West 21st Street Court 33016. I am here today to speak on the county transit budget and fiscal realities facing our communities. The government was not created to solve every problem its constituents face, but rather to provide a basic safety net so those in need can get by. While transit riders naturally urge the commissioners to maintain current service levels, doing so ignores the broader budget pressures facing Miami-Dade County. With the upcoming statewide vote on Amendment 3, local property tax revenues may soon be significantly constrained. To prepare for this impact, the mayor is right to look towards structural efficiency, including scaling back transit routes that are least efficient. Working class families across our county are struggling under daily inflation, while Amendment 3 aims to lower property taxes for the middle class. That relief is meaningless if the local government simply finds other ways to tax us. I recognize the Metro Rail as a service funded by taxpayers, but it is not fair to continuously strain working families to maintain underused routes. For every few thousand transit riders, there are hundreds of thousands of families struggling under the weight of taxes and rising prices. I urge the board to prioritize long-term fiscal efficiency and provide tax relief for the majority of working families. Thank you. Thank you, Brian. Sir. Good evening. My name is Keith Biggins, address 17620, Northwest 27th Court, Miami Garden, Florida. I'm the president and founder of Mentoring All Generations. I'm a re-entry coach. I've been dealing with juveniles the last seven years. I was employed by the Circle of Brotherhood for two years before losing funding. I started my own organization because the last 13 months, I've still been doing the same job I was doing when I was paid. I'd be referred cases from Judge Prescott in the Juvenile Weekly, Judge Venger in the circuit court. ASAs send me kids. I won't turn them down because no kid left behind. And my job is to secure their life, to help them. As a re-entry coach, re-entry star at the moment they are at rest. I go to schools. I go to their homes. I go to programs. I meet them when they get out. My job is to help all that I can. I work from Miami Gardens to Homestead. And I'm asking, it says, take a village to raise these kids. I'm asking y'all to be in my village, support my funding. I gave a proposal, and I appreciate y'all. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, commissioners, Madam Mayor, and the General County. I gave the, my name is Eddie Gomez, and I live at 10562 Southwest 129th Place, Miami, Florida 33186. I gave the Sergeant of Arms a document I hope you will all be able to check to discuss something a little bit different. I'm actually proposing a bus swap out that allows the budget to go down a bit while preserving both quality and timeliness of service. By my impression, the current County Department of Public Works and Transit lumps routes 104 and 104A into one service, even though they can be defined as two separate routes. Doing so and cutting the 104 will allow service to be maintained and for timeliness for those of us who need to get from my area around District 7 to downtown in a quick and efficient manner. So I hope that this helps spread the budget and give us the time we need to get to our places. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Gomez. Ma'am. Hi, my name is Angela Doughton. I am a union representative for Transport Workers Union 291 behind me. All right. And my physical address is 5135 Northwest 19th Avenue. But my home address is every major artery in Miami-Dade County because I am a bus operator. I'm boots on the ground out here. First, I'd like to say thank you guys so much for finding funds to preserve the early morning routes. But I need us to talk about what happens after the numbers balance because getting people to work, then cutting the bus service that they depend on is not a solution at all. Our nurses, our airport workers, our housekeepers, and many other people that have to go to work and work at night, they don't disappear at 10 o'clock. They don't disappear. So why should their transportation and understand the domino effect, guys? No transportation can mean no job. No job can mean no paycheck. No paycheck can mean no rent. And, commissioners, when people can't pay their rent, you better make room in that budget somewhere for housing assistance and homeless services. So now that we've celebrated the save, let's calculate what it may cost. Thank you so much, ma'am. You're welcome. Sir. Good evening, Mayor, County Commissioners. Alex Silva, 2619 Southwest, 144th Place, Mayor of Florida, 33175. About 40-some-odd years ago, I joined the Marine Corps because I like the way our government works and our way of life. And I'm here to ask you to help us out, all our veterans, with transportation. Instead of reducing the transportation, we would actually need to increase it. Instead of having these big buses, maybe we can have the mini buses. So we don't have to wait an hour for a bus. Reduce the time to 15, 20 minutes. And I can almost guarantee you that we will have more people riding buses. But for me right now, it takes me 45 minutes if I drive to the VA for an appointment. And if I take a bus, it takes me three hours. Why? Because the routes are not there. And they keep eliminating routes, and it's making it harder for us veterans. I ask you that you help us out. Thank you. Thank you, sir. All right. Rick Crooks, did you come up? Rick Crooks, no? All right. I got Esteban Morales, Merlene Malcolm, Cece Brown, Leopoldo Navarro, Tina Brown, Deborah Koch, Rokok, Evelyn Rodriguez, Tasmin Arango Guerrero, Jose Maria Guzman, and Stephanie Brown. Sir. Good evening, Mayor and Commissioners. My name is Esteban Morales. I live at 6745 Southwest 132nd Avenue, 33183. I'm standing here tonight to strongly urge you to reject the $12.4 million proposed cut to early morning transit routes. That $12.4 million cut to early morning bus routes is an online item on a spreadsheet. It's a direct attack on the working people who hold Dade County together. Early morning riders and late morning riders are the people who do your laundry, cook your food, they serve you dinner, they make your bed, they construct your buildings, they guard you while you sleep. While most of us are still in bed, tens of thousands of Miamians are standing in the dark at bus stops. They aren't running the bus by choice. They ride it because it's the only way to get to work and support their families. I appreciate the mayor's efforts to find $12.4 million to fund the public transit routes in the morning, and I hope that you would choose to support it. Do not turn your back on the workers who keep Miami Dade running. I again urge you to please reject these transit cuts and protect our early morning and late night bus routes. Thank you. Yes. You may begin. Good evening, Mr. Chairman, Mayor Cava, and this group of esteemed commissioners. My name is Tina Brown, and I serve as the CEO of Overtown Youth Center, or OIC Miami, and I'm a proud participant in the Equity Advocacy Collective, representing over 60 CBOs here in our community. If not you, then who to make the decisions necessary to preserve and protect constituents of our community? At OIC, we see that need every single day. We serve thousands of children and families through education, after-school programming, workforce development, health and wellness, and family support. Most recently, as needs continue to grow in Miami-Dade County, we have deployed more than $1.6 million in rental assistance to help families remain safe. CBO funding is not just another line item. It puts resources directly into communities through organizations that are already on the ground, already trusted, and already doing the work. As you make this difficult decision tonight, I respectfully ask that you protect and preserve an investment in Miami-Dade County's children and families. Good evening. My name is Tasmin Arango Guerrero, 5487 West, 27th Avenue, Hialeah, Florida, 33016, District 12. I am representing myself for Arts and Culture Affairs, but I'm also here with Transit Alliance Miami. I am a young museum professional artist and a longtime Hialeah Gardens resident. I am here appealing to you all to continue to preserve the art and cultural affairs, as well as to continue to fund early bus routes, as well as the late ones. Miami's art and cultural workers are what makes the city an up-and-coming art mecca that it is today. And so I thank you all for not having passed the $66 million merger of the Arts under the library system last year. I also thank the mayor for her support of the $12.5 million budget for the early morning bus routes. Public transport is essential for our early workers, including those operating our buses, who are essential workers, whose timesheets should not be dismissed for the sake of cost-effectiveness. I can count with two hands my peers and loved ones who rely on early bus transportation for work across the county. With regards to the arts, remember that this is our education and ongoing cultural patrimony, a testament to immortalizing ourselves within the Miami community. Thank you. Thank you so much. Yes. Good evening. My name is Leopoldo Navarro, 1420 Northwest 15th Avenue, 33 1 to 5. And I am here on behalf of Overtown Youth Center, OYC Miami. OYC Miami provides year-round support to youth, adults, and families through our academic assistant, mentoring, enrichment, health and wellness, college and career readiness, workforce development, financial literacy, and family support services. I want to thank the county for recognizing the importance, the important role of community-based organization, and especially the important role that plays throughout Miami-Dade. I respectfully ask that you protect the CBO budget this year. For organizations like OYC Miami, these fundings help us continue providing the programs, resources, and opportunities that strengthen children, families, and communities. We respectfully ask that this investment remain fully supported in the final budget. Thank you. Thank you. Yes, you're recognized. Good evening. My name is Merlene Malcolm. My address is 22273 Southwest 103rd Avenue, Miami, Florida, 33190. While the bus may be optional for some riders, for many people, it's their only form of transportation. As a child growing up in Miami, the metro bus was our primary form of transportation. My family, we took the bus everywhere, to school, to church, to the grocery store, to the laundromat. And my mom, a single parent at the time, took the bus to all three of her jobs. While I'm thankful that today, I no longer have to rely on public transportation, I have never forgotten that for many people, the bus is still their only main form of transportation. I understand that some of the bus routes have been restored. However, if the goal is, if the way of doing it is to add 50 cents to the bus, for some people, that's nothing. But that's half of the $1 raise that they'll be getting when the minimum wage increases. So please, there has to be another way that the buses need to be restored. Thank you. Please state your name. C.C. Brown, I'm the president of Ask Me Local 199, Miami-Dade County General Employees. I stand here in support of my men and women who come out here today to talk about the proposed elimination of the illegal dumping in the solid waste in this budget. I want to say that this is a service that's needed in this community. It's something that your constituents and the residents of Miami-Dade County care deeply about. And when trash piles up, it causes all type of catastrophic effects. But I also want to say to the commission that you can't say that services matter when you don't want to fund them. And to the administration, you can't say that services matter when you look to balance the budget off the backs of the men and women that perform these duties. And when senior staff are moved around keeping their salaries but in different positions. These are all positions that could save a lot of my men and women here today. We have to focus on the folks that do the work and realize that there are cost savings at the top and not affect the people that are barely making ends meet. So thank you. Thank you. Can you please state your address for the record, please? I forgot about that. 4349 Northwest 36th Street, Miami Springs, Florida 33166. Thank you. Thank you. Hello, my name is Stephanie Brown, 853 Northwest 139th Street, Miami, Florida 33168. Good evening, Madam Mayor and Commissioners. As a Vice President of ASME Local 3292, I stand here to say that cutting essential services, such as illegal dumping, litter crews, and code enforcement, is not the answer to our budget challenges. The men and women of solid waste management and code enforcement are essential employees who provide essential services that protect the health, safety, quality of life of Miami-Dade County residents. Illegal dumping piles can contain dangerous and hazardous materials that threaten our communities, our children, and our environment. Our employees working alongside code enforcement play a critical role in keeping our neighborhoods clean, safe, and healthy. Eliminating these services will not eliminate the problem. It will only allow it to grow. Commissioners, we must invest in solutions, not eliminate the very services that protect our communities. Don't cut the roots of the operation and expect the tree to keep standing. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening. Good evening, Madam Mayor and Commissioners. I'm Debbie Koch on behalf of Christy House, 1265 Northwest, 12th Avenue, Miami. And I'm here to thank you, first of all. But I'm also here on behalf of the broader network of nonprofits serving our most vulnerable children. Last year, Christy House received referrals for over 2,000 children who had experienced abuse, trafficking, or trauma. Every single one of them received care at no cost because healing should never depend on a family's ability to pay. At Christy House, our children receive therapy, advocacy, and wraparound support to help them recover and move forward. It takes a village to offer this support. Law enforcement, prosecutors, medical providers, and nonprofits working together so children don't have to navigate this process alone. Your investment makes this coordinated system work. We're so grateful for your continued support of this critical safety net because these children are counting on us. Thank you. Thank you. Will the following people please come up? As I call your name, Tyler Hussey, Leonard Huffman, Francia Fundrose, James Locterman, Sergey Kelly, Albert Perez, Fernando Vasquez, Yadira Diaz, and Samuel Joseph. I apologize if I mispronounced anybody's name. Please state your name and address for the record. Good evening. My name is Tyler Hussey, 650 Northeast 2nd Avenue. Madam Mayor, Commissioners, thank you very much for your time this evening. I understand that you have some difficult choices ahead of you and some big cuts that need to be made to continue funding our community. I am here with Engage Miami, but also representing myself as a constituent and resident of this community. There are two particular items that I hope that you consider maintaining services for, one being transportation, which you've heard plenty of from my other residents tonight, but the other being health care. As we think about the impacts or the potential impacts of Amendment 3, I ask that you consider funding Jackson Memorial Health proactively. I currently serve as a health and benefits consultant and see the impact that strong and funded health care has on diverse populations within our communities. This issue is important to me because Jackson Memorial Hospital is the centerpiece of our own community's health care. I respectfully urge you to vote in favor of funding Jackson Memorial Hill. While we don't know the impact of Amendment 3 at this point in time, it's important to ensure that we're proactive in protecting our health care and our communities. Thank you. Good evening, Madam Mayor, County Commissioners, Alberts Perez, 8101 Southwest 143rd Street, Palmetto Bay, Florida. I'm here in support of the water and sewer increase item. I wanted to share a brief anecdote for you for your consideration of the item. I was formerly the utilities director for the City of Hollywood, and during my tenure there, there were several times where I had to bring a utility rate increase before the board. And as part of my due diligence, I was always asked to do a comparison. How does our rate compare to other utilities in the state of Florida? And every time that I went through that analysis, there was one utility that had significantly lower rates than everyone. It made my job very difficult, though, obviously, but it was Miami-Dade water and sewer. Historically, that rate has been really on the lower tier. And so my pitch to you is really to encourage you to support the rate increase, not only because of the fact that we need to deliver projects that are needed for regulatory compliance, but also to really maintain the financial viability of the water and sewer enterprise fund, specifically as it relates to maintaining a favorable bond rating, as well as doing your bond issuances. So thank you so much. Thank you. Hi. Good evening. My name is James Lochterman. Address is 813 Obispo Avenue, District 6, Carr-Gables, Commissioner Natalie Orbis. I'm here today to express my support for the full funding for the Environmentally Endangered Lands EO program and upholding of funding for the Water and Sewer Department. The wetlands, mangroves, and beach systems that rely on these funds for continued support lend themselves back to us as storm surge protection, endangered species safeguards, and as an integral part of the South Florida ecosystem. Without sufficient funding of EO, these habitats are at further risk of being irreversibly damaged. The Water and Sewer Department receiving all necessary funding is critical, with upkeep and development of storm surge and sewage management capabilities only increasing in necessity as our infrastructure continues to age and expand. Please support full funding for the EO program, and thank you for approving the rate adjustment supporting the Water and Sewer Department. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. Thank you. Sergey Kelly, West Palm, and I want to urge for the full funding, if not more than the full funding, of the EO program, the Environmental Endangered Lands Program, which is pretty self-explanatory. Endangered, they're lands, they need protection, it's part of the environment, because there has been, in Miami-Dade, but also Florida, a reckless development problem we've seen time and time again. Colusa Rookery is a huge loss. The land owned by Kelly Tractor that's now going to be paved over, huge loss. And that makes it more urgent for this protection of this land. Obviously, the budget has parts that need to be cut, but the fact is the wetlands, the pine rock lands, the coast, the mangroves made Miami before Miami was Miami. And furthermore, it's the clean water, it's the filtration, it's the wildlife. So please, fully fund that. I think it says more if you guys don't fund it, especially after the last couple, I'd say, disastrous decisions. And we know that land is only going to go up in value, so acquiring more land and managing it is crucial. And we should not have a continued reckless developed Miami-Dade, especially making up special districts to be exempted from the will of the people by the urban boundary. Thank you. Thank you. Please repeat your address for the record. West Palm. All right. Good evening, commissioners, mayor, and other city officials, county officials. My name is Samuel Joseph. I live at 1248 Mariana Avenue in Coral Gables, Florida. I'm just here today to, one, thank you for your funding of the CBOs. As you know and you've heard over and over, the CBOs are your safety net. They really are providing the services that the county should be providing and doesn't have all the facilities or the knowledge to do. And so having these community-based organizations out there representing you and taking care of your constituents, we really appreciate you valuing that and putting the resources into it. And that includes arts and culture. I know we talk a lot about everything seems essential. But in this day and age, we need to make sure we're providing the full wraparound services our community needs. And we appreciate that you're looking at providing those resources. Thank you. Will the following names come up? Thema Campbell, Isadora Bastos, Luke Julbe, Leticia Herrera, Noemi Camps, Natasha De Mayer, Vivian Marthel, Harold Ramirez, Hannah Hadid, and Zeta Gill. Good evening, Chairman and members of the board and Mayor Cava. My name is Isadora Bastos, and I'm a current high school student here in Miami-Dade County. Every morning when I go to school, I think about how fortunate I am to have a reliable way to get there. But I also think about the students who depend on Metrobus to make that same journey. For those students, a bus route is not simply a line on a schedule. It is how they get to school, how they get to class on time, and how they access their education. The proposed budget originally calls for eliminating early morning Metrobus services before 5.59 a.m. on 44 routes. These routes serve students not only standing at bus stops before sunrise, but also teachers arriving before school day begins, healthcare workers starting early shifts, and employees working long overnight hours. These are the people who make up Miami-Dade County. I understand that creating a county budget requires difficult decisions that are real financial constraints, but I ask you to continue considering the people behind these numbers, including those who will still be affected by the remaining transit reductions. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. Good evening, Madam Mayor, Chair, and Commissioners. My name is Natasha Demiere, and I live at 8926 Garland Avenue, Surfside, Florida, 33154. I'm here as the youth arts advocate for the Arts Ballet Theater of Florida. I've been a dancer for 10 years of my life, so your support of the arts is directly impactful in my life and the life of my peers, students like me. I want to thank you guys for your continued support for arts and culture in the proposed budget. And we at Arts Action Miami appreciate your contribution to our community and continue to urge you to support the arts. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Hi, my name is Luke Jewelby. I'm a 10th grade assistant student at Miami-Dade County. Although we're in the 2026-2027 school year, I want to go back to last year, which was the 2025-2026 school year. My high school gives us the opportunity to have the ACE curriculum, and I want to bring up a class that I took called ACE Global Perspectives. Part of that class, you have to make an essay, and my essay was, should public transportation be free? While I do think having free public transportation is very effective to our community, it's not ideal, and there should be discounted or free fares for some low-income individuals. That's why I'm here today. I'm sure you're aware of this information, but Miami-Dade County is cutting $31.5 million in public transit, 41 routes removed in the morning, 38 routes removed in the night shift. Our own mayor, herself, said, every year, presenting a balanced budget is one of my most important responsibilities as your mayor. I think she should, I agree with that, not only, but I think she should fall by that rule and care about everyone's future, including mine. If you're also removing routes on a daily basis, it can impact thousands of people, including some people earlier who was on the University of Miami, and just, you know, the workers themselves. What I want you to consider as a single mom, I want you to consider the kids on the bus that have to go to school in the morning, and the person with no car. Thank you so much, everyone. Thank you so much. Yes. Good afternoon. My name is Thema Campbell, founder and CEO of Girl Power Rocks, Incorporated. Our address is 1600 Northwest 3rd Avenue, Miami 33136. I am also a proud member of the Legacy CBO Collaborative. I'm here today to say thank you to Mayor Carver for including the CBOs in her budget, and I'm especially grateful and thankful to you commissioners for the majority vote at the first budget hearing. We are grateful to you for your leadership and your support of the Legacy CBOs that provide essential services to the elderly, the abused, the abandoned, the homeless, the handicapped, and the hungry. We want to say I want you all to pass a budget this afternoon as quickly as possible so that you can go home and get the rest that you need. I hope you're not here all night. God bless you all, and have a great evening. Thank you. Good evening, county commissioners, Madam Mayor. Thank you so much for your attention, and I'm grateful for your presence tonight. My name is Hannah Hadid Murphy. I'm a new transplant to Miami-Dade, but a lifelong resident of Florida. Residing at 6863 Northwest 2nd Avenue, Miami 33150. I'm here to speak tonight on an issue that is important to myself and so many of my peers that you've already heard. A commitment to funding for the EEL program. With so many pressing issues facing my neighbors and your constituents, I understand how funding to this program may be not your immediate priority. But I urge you to not take for granted the long-term impact of your decision tonight. Let us not take for granted either the economic benefit of stormwater management, water supply recharge, and biodiversity support that these lands provide. Let us never take for granted the peace brought by these environmental lands, these things that make our home a home, a home I hope my now three-year-old can inherit with pride that his elders had the foresight to protect. Thank you for funding this program and for the water and sewer increase rate. Thank you. Good evening, Madam Mayor and the County Commission. My name is Vivian Martell. My address is 515 Northeast 121st Street, North Miami 33161. District 2 with arts organizations in District 3 and District 5. Thank you for recognizing the value of arts and culture and for continuing to invest in Miami's creative future. I know it's been said, but it's worth repeating that every dollar invested in the arts generates more than $40. In economic, supporting jobs, local businesses, tourism, and the vitality of our neighborhoods. We have a remarkable cultural ecosystem, and I urge you to support the funding for arts in the budget this year. Thank you. Thank you. Buenos noches. Good evening. Mi nombre es Aroldo Ramirez. My name is Aroldo Ramirez. Vivo en el 7075 Northwest, 186th Street. My address is 75 Northwest, 186th Street. En el 605 de Miami Gardens. Apartment C105, Miami Gardens. Vengo hoy agradecer por el servicio de Metro Connect que se presta en nuestra comunidad. I'm here to thank you for the Metro Connect service that supports our community. En nombre de nuestros hijos que lo utilizan para ir al colegio. On behalf of our children, we use it to go to school. Los adultos. Los adultos. Los adultos. Los adultos. Los adultos. Los adultos. Los adultos. Los adultos. Los adultos. Los adultos. Los adultos. Los adultos. Los adultos. Los adultos. Los adultos. Los adultos. Los adultos. Los adultos mayores. And of elderly people. Discapacitados. And disabled people. Para satisfacer sus necesidades de ir al supermercado, de asistir a buscar sus medicamentos. To meet their needs of going to the supermarkets, getting their medication, and going around the community. Agradecido por este servicio, pedimos la continuidad de este servicio en nuestro sector. Thanking you for this service, we ask you to continue it. Y permitirnos seguir disfrutando de este transporte. And to allow to continue being able to enjoy this public transportation form. Que nos lleva y nos busca donde los otros servicios no pueden llegar. Muchas gracias. And to places that other services cannot reach. Thank you very much. Thank you. Will the following names please come up? Sophie Amaya, Sedona Rose Webb, Nicole Strickland, Mariana Evora, Emmanuel Curtin, Elena Casparis, Edmondo Rodriguez, Sumaya May Wade, and Osmar Burgess. I apologize again if I mispronounced anybody's names. Please state your name for the record and your address. Thank you. Good evening, commissioners. My name is Zeta Gill, and I reside at 1460 Southeast 26 Abbe Homestead 33035. I am a resident of District 9. I did come up here with a script, but I'm sure you all have heard enough about transit today. And I just wanted to make a quick point that y'all already understand that there are many working Miami residents that rely on these early morning and late night bus routes. But I want to challenge the assumption that people not scanning a bus pass means there is not ridership. I keep hearing that these routes are being considered for cuts because the data shows low ridership. I invite every commissioner here to do something simple, go ride these early morning or late night bus rides, and you will find that, in fact, we do not have a ridership issue. We have a scanning and tracking issue. Between fare evasion and broken scanners on our buses, we are not accurately tracking who is using them, and the data you're relying on to make these decisions is inaccurate. Thank you so much. Thank you. Hello, my name is Sedona Webb. I'm a resident of South Miami, 33143. And, you know, as we descend into fascism, I'm really grateful for the opportunity to still address my government. I love Miami, and I hope you do, too. If you love Miami, you don't fund its destruction, right? You don't support reckless development that strips away every plot of green space, right? You protect the 29,000 acres that protect us and fund the environmentally endangered lands and not cut them, right? If you love Miami, you don't cut the early morning and late night bus routes that thousands of working people rely on, right? If you love Miami, you don't continue to let sewage seep into Biscayne Bay, right? You fund water and soar infrastructure so our bay isn't an 1800 cesspool, right? If you love Miami and its art scene, you support it, right? Personally, I think developers should pay way more than 1.5% and extend that to private developments as well. Rake it in, and then we'll get the money to support all of this, right? I don't know if you love Miami, because we're trading clean water for concrete, trading community for profit, trading the future for short-term game, and that is not love. If you love Miami, prove it. Protect people and planet prior to profits. Thank you. You're next. Good evening. My name is Emmanuel Kyrton. Address is 14220 Southwest 275th Street, located in District 9. Thank you all for having me. I just wanted to ask you all to be good Samaritans in terms of defending EEL. In terms of the work that they do, in terms of protecting waterways, it's not only for Miami-Dade County, but also for the Keys, for Monroe County. We're also talking about natural aquifers and porous rock that helps protect our land and help protect water runoff and flood mitigation, which are problems that every other part of our county faces on a very real basis during our rainy season. We have over 1,000 species that are located in our pine rocklands, which are only found in Miami-Dade County, and that makes us one of the most unique and most beautiful, diverse places in the world. And I just ask that we can be good stewards and good Samaritans of our people of South Florida, not just in Miami-Dade County, and looking for protecting our wildlands. Thank you. Thank you. Hi. Good evening, Madam Mayor and Commissioner. Samaya Wade, 10800 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami, Florida, 33161, District 3. My Commissioner is Keon Hardiman. I serve as the Advocacy Program Coordinator at Engage Miami. I'm one of many who have stood before you today advocating for Miami-Dade residents' right to safe communities. While safety includes protection from another person or a burning house, it also includes the health care systems that provide life-saving care. Jackson Health System is a pillar in our community, as we all know, and the potential 98.6 million hit to Jackson Health System over the next two years due to a property tax revenue loss deserves an intervention. The current waste times in Jackson are 236 minutes on average, 74 minutes more than the state average, and 63 more than the nation. High traffic sites are facing supply shortages such as wheelchairs, understaffing, and a lack of security. How do we repair our community after the irreplaceable losses we suffered in the face of the pandemic by leaving them without and to deal with the fallout? Please protect Jackson Health's funding and ensure our family's main safety net remains fully operational. Thank you. Thank you. Hello, Commissioners and Chairman. My name is Sophia Maya, address 33172 Fontainebleau Boulevard, District 10. Today, Miami's $9 billion operating budget will be discussed. $3 billion in this budget come from resident property taxes. It is mandatory that elected officials do not mismanage this money and fund the proper departments with the amounts needed to fund them. First, public transportation is crucial and many residents rely on it. We should encourage all uses of public transportation. And second, affordable housing is extremely important to fund because there are more than, sorry, that rents are extremely expensive. And with added move-in fees and yearly increases, residents don't deserve to be exploited for real estate revenue. And let's not forget about our homeless and disabled residents who deserve resources as well. And finally, the most important for our city is to please protect EO Parks and environmental management because we cannot continue to lose green space and we cannot continue to push residents back. Thank you. Thank you. Next. Thank you. I'm Elena Kasparis, 1155 Brickle Bay Drive, Miami, Florida, 33131. District 5, Commissioner Lopez is our commissioner. As mentioned, I live in Brickle, which is not necessarily the epicenter of Florida wilderness. However, whenever a manatee or a dolphin or a turtle or a manta ray or even an octopus, we've seen an octopus, passes by, you will know because hordes of people will be there looking for it. And you will never see anyone get as excited to see that as to see a high rise or anything else. And I think that goes to show that even in the most urban and most developed parts of our city, our wildlife and nature and our bay are the biggest asset that we have. And so I come sharing that, that, you know, even for us in Brickle, you know, we absolutely want to protect what we have and what makes us special in Florida. So also, like many, many others here, please support EEL. Please uphold the adjustment to water and sewage budget to help keep that bay, the valuable asset and what makes us, what differentiates us. So thank you. Thank you. Will the following members come up, residents come up? Again, I apologize if I mispronounced any of your names. No worries. Good evening, Madam Mayor and commissioners. My name is Chanel Pugh, and I am the executive director of Florida Early Learning Corps. Our office is located at 7900 Oak Lane, Miami Lakes 33016. Our AmeriCorps tutors provide individualized literacy and math support to young children across Miami-Dade County, many of whom enter preschool without the skills they need for kindergarten. Last year, 85% of the children we served demonstrated measurable learning gains. Community-based organizations are trusted partners that extend the county's reach into the neighborhoods with the greatest needs. Commissioners, I respectfully ask you to preserve full funding for community organizations to help us retain our staff, sustain services, and continue meeting the growing needs of our community. Thank you for investing in Miami-Dade's children, families, and communities. Thank you. Thank you. My name is Fernando Craveiro, and my address is 1281 Bluebird Avenue, Miami Springs, Florida 33166. I'm here today as a Miami-Dade County resident and taxpayer, but also as a professional who has worked in the water and wastewater field for almost 50 years, including working with WASDE for about 20 years. I strongly support the proposed full 6% rate increase. I understand that nobody wants to pay higher rates, but I also know from experience that postponing necessary investments in our water and wastewater infrastructure does not save money. It only pushes the problem into the future, when repairs and improvements will cost significantly more. I have grandchildren growing up here in Miami-Dade. I do not want them to inherit higher costs because we are unwilling to make the necessary decisions today. The need is here now. The responsible thing to do is address it now. I respectfully ask you to support the 6% increase. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, Commissioners, Mayor. My name is Asher Schaefer, 650 Northeast 2nd Avenue, 33132. Thank you again for hearing riders' concerns and working to preserve early morning bus service. I recently had to leave my job because regional transit no longer supported my commute, so I know firsthand what happens when transit doesn't cover the hours people actually work. Just because late ridership isn't as busy as peak hour doesn't make those trips any less important. In fact, for some riders like myself, the last bus is their only way home. So please protect late night bus service without raising fares. And transit, like the people who ride it, just need love to flourish, too. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. My name is Byron Obu. I reside in 1553 Southwest 2nd Street, Miami, Florida, zip code 33135. It is ridiculous that you are cutting services on some of the most important routes in this county. Personally, I used to ride the 79 home around 11 and midnight, four to five nights a week. And after 10, that bus is no longer. It used to be my way home, so that won't be there anymore. My brother, for example, he comes to FIU, and he takes the 11 really late at night. I have aunties that live in Miami Beach that they have to take multiple buses to go to Miami Beach or South Beach just extremely early in the morning. And the other alternative would be the cars, but it costs about $7,000 to get a car right now with insurance and gas prices. Because Uber or Lyft or right here, it's $7,500 a year. So routes like 79, 42, and 70, they run through some of the poorest zip code in the county, and you're cutting that. So Miamians will lose their job. Keep the bus route open. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Bernice. I live at 500 Northeast 29th Street, Miami, Florida, 33137. And this morning when I woke up thinking about coming here, I was going to talk only about transit, but walk into work. I walk to work because I don't own a car, so I do take public transit. I would take a bus, but there is not a good connection from Edgewater to Wynwood. But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm glad that you guys found money for the morning buses. I'm sure you will find money for the evening buses because people need them to get to work. But walking to work, actually, passing 29th Street, there's these two huge, beautiful trees that got chopped down. The city of Miami has had issues. I mean, the whole county, but the city of Miami particularly in Edgewater. I've watched all these trees be cut down in the last couple of months, and huge buildings go up, which is great. I'm all for development in these areas. But if we're not going to protect the trees and the environment in urban places, then we definitely need to protect it where it should be protected. So please fund EO, the $20 million that they need. I also think it was disrespectful earlier when the chair, somebody asked if they could get additional funding. He said that's not the time to ask for these things. But the police is asking for more funding, and we didn't give them that same energy. So please treat us all fairly. Thank you. Ma'am. My name is Alejandro Guardado. I reside in 7601 Byron Avenue, 33141, City Commissioner Mickey Steinberg. Why bring the same destructive decisions that come at the cost of wildlife and wetlands in our own backyard? It's in the name of profit, right? Where does the chase for profit over lands that hold decades of history, years upon years of natural flowing beauty end? Places that hold unique scenery and wildlife species found only here in our backyard is simply not to be tampered with. They say choices made in anger cannot be undone, but I also believe choices made in avarice cannot be undone. We can try our very best to resuscitate Mother Nature after men have bulldozed trees down to splinters, burned the greenery down to ashes, and 40-hour work week intervals. It won't bring back a dead species. No amount of grievance will bring back already flattened lands from selfish tunnel vision companies after they've done their job. And as for Anthony Rodriguez and his be realistic comment, we earn over $3 billion in property tax revenue alone annually. $20 million is 0.625% of that number. That's beyond realistic. It's so reasonable that it becomes unreasonable once you realize we're asking for literal crumbs, peanuts. Miami-Dade officially recognizes lands that need and use protection. Thank you, sir. Ma'am. We're doing so good. Good evening. My name is Sarah Gonzalez. I live at 17880 Southwest 111th Avenue, Miami, Florida 33157. I am here with Miami Waterkeeper to ask for support in funding the Environmentally Endangered Lands Program. I was born and raised here in Miami and have seen how much our green space has dwindled over time and has been replaced by more development. The EO program provides lands that absorb flood water to protect our communities from floods and protect wildlife that can only be found down here in South Florida. In my own neighborhood, one habitat that is very dear to me is the pine rock lands. I've been able to see the beauty of this particular habitat in my own local park, Larry and Penny Thompson Memorial Park. I have been able to see the beauty of this habitat and know that today less than 2% of that land is here in Miami-Dade County. Please fund the EO program. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Sir? My name is Phillip Ryan Kelso. I live at 3500 Coral Way. That's Miami, Florida 33145. I'm in Commissioner Regalado's district. I am just here to talk about the process that's been carried out here today. I'm frustrated by the seeming lack of care. I'm frustrated by the seeming lack of participation. There's some core pillars of our democracy that are being undermined. It's participation and it's deliberation. The ability of people to actually have an influence on their government, to actually feel heard, and to actually carry out a conversation, not just in this hostile format where we have a minute to just tell you some stuff and hardly anybody's looking, but in a format where we are able to connect with other people, have a full explanation. And, you know, when people come out to vote on whether to raise their property taxes or whether to lower them, maybe it would be good for them to actually have a say and feel like they have a say in how that money is spent. Thank you, sir. Ma'am. Good evening. My name is Nicole Crooks, and I live at 1000 Northwest First Avenue. We've heard a lot of the things that have been said today, and so I'm not going to go all the way through that. But what I will say is that I know that the choices that you have regarding the budget are hard. My ask is that it really honor the people. We heard the young people speaking, and we heard all of the celebration of all of you at the dais about their courage and their power of coming and sharing their thoughts and their feelings, because ultimately the choices that we're making today are going to impact them the most for the longest. And so it's my hope that although it didn't seem during the time that I was here observing that there was a lot of attention that was being paid, my hope and prayer is that you respect the process enough not to fund over-policing and not fund the things that reduce and eliminate the need for policing. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. All right. And my last group, I've got Jennifer Ramage, Julian Onaknine, Bayo Coker, and Maria Molina. That's my last group that I've got. My man, you're up. Yeah, good evening. My name is Bayo Coker. I reside at 18842 Southwest 74th Court. I live in Coen Higgins District. Thank you, commissioners and Madam Mayor for listening to me today. I'm here in support of the WASDE rating adjustment. We all agree that infrastructure and maintaining and upgrading our water system is essential to our public health, economic stability, and long-term resilience. We will be remembered for what we do today. Future generations will judge us by whether we act or responsibly when the need is clear. Infrastructure will be built either now or later. We need clean water. We need reliable water. And the lane, the need, or the increase would cost us in the long run. Investing now is good business. It's efficient. It's cost effective. So I ask that you please support the rate adjustment. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Ma'am. Good evening. My name is Jennifer Ramage, and I live at 17100 North Bay Road, Sunny Isles Beach. I'm here to ask the commission to fully fund the environmentally endangered lands program to protect critical habitat and wetlands and also prioritize stormwater infrastructure to reduce flooding and keep polluted water out of this game bay. These are not partisan issues, and it's in everyone's best interest to fund these items. Every dollar we put towards stormwater infrastructure, canal and bay water quality, tree canopy, and wetlands preservation isn't a discretionary expense. It's the foundation that everything else, our property values, our public health, our tourism economy, depends on. It's fiscally reckless and irresponsible to deny funding for these causes. The cost of neglect does not disappear. It just shows up later as flood damage, public health crisis, and infrastructure failures that cost this county far more to fix than to prevent. My health and safety should not be compromised because of other people's confusion over priorities. Thank you for your time and your service to this community. Thank you. Ms. Molina. Mayor, Mr. Chairman, Commissioners, I'm Maria Molina, 2401 Anderson Road, Coral Gables, Florida 33134. I'm here in support of this 6% rate adjustment because it is necessary to keep our water and sewer system safe, reliable, and compliant with the important regulatory requirements. Without this adjustment, critical projects planned for next year will have to be delayed or suspended, which will only increase costs and require larger rate increases in the future. The proposed adjustment is approximately $3.77 per month for the average residential customer. Even with this adjustment, the average water and sewer bill will remain below the national affordability standard. I urge you to support the proposed rate adjustment as a responsible investment in the future of our community. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Molina. Sir? Hi, everyone. Good evening. My name is Julian Wachneen. I reside at 6128 Paradise Point Drive in Palmetto Bay, Florida 33157. I'm here as a private citizen. I'm also a member of Miami DSA. I was here to initially speak in solidarity for the people here speaking about the bus line cuts, but frankly, I'm so glad that other people here in this chamber have pointed out the ridiculous comments earlier by Anthony Rodriguez regarding... Point of order, Mr. Chairman. Asking for... Point of order. You're right. Hold up for one second. Please stop talking. I really would like to pay attention to this young man. Anyways... And please be respectful when addressing this body. My apologies. My point is the comments earlier about whether it's an appropriate time to ask for increases and how many increases have been asked for seems ridiculous to me when the vast majority of the people I've heard here speaking tonight have been asking for protection from austerity, not increases, for coastline protections, for environmentally endangered lands, for the bus routes, for water and sewage treatment. And we have a $1 billion sheriff's department that already is receiving 6% more as a foregone conclusion and wants more than that. I think we need to think about public safety in more terms than just putting our money in one place. Thank you, sir. Thank you. All right. Those are all the speakers that we have for this evening. So public hearing is... Has concluded and is officially closed for tonight and for the 26-27 budget hearings. Thanks. Once again, to everyone here, please find the seat if you're walking back into the chamber and keep the voices down so that we can get the meeting moving. I want to thank the residents once again for coming out here and spending your time to come and hear and speak on our final budget meeting. I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to speak up, share your concerns, and participate throughout the budget process both in the first hearing and this evening. At our last meeting, I laid out most of my priorities, which have not changed. And those are public safety, protecting our parks, investing in infrastructure, making government more efficient, and most importantly, finding savings before asking residents to pay more. Our responsibility is to provide the services residents depend on while being good stewards of their tax dollars. Since our last meeting, I've continued working with the mayor, with the administration, and our tax collector, Daryl Fernandez, to identify those additional resources that were mentioned earlier today and come up with solutions as well. I heard what residents told us, and I've continued pushing for ways to address those concerns without simply adding more burden to taxpayers. That is a commitment I made from the beginning. And before we ask residents for more, we need to look within government first. Transportation was one of the biggest concerns raised at our last meeting and again here this evening. In working with the mayor, she has agreed to allocate $12.4 million back in to restore the early bus routes that were eliminated originally. So thank you, mayor, for doing that, which affected well over 6,800 riders. So big deal. And that was spoken here this evening as well. We heard those concerns, and we recognize how important these morning routes are for residents getting to work, school, medical appointments, and meetings throughout their daily needs. I also want to take a moment before we get into motions to address MetroConnect, because this conversation needs to be based on the actual numbers. MetroConnect provides approximately over $212,435 rides at a cost of about $4.5 million, roughly $18 to $20 per ride, consistent with the national range for on-demand transportation. This is not simply a convenience. MetroConnect fills important gaps in our transportation system, particularly in AMSA. We cannot forget why MetroConnect was implemented to begin with. Bus routes were eliminated. We needed a solution. It serves residents who do not qualify for STS, as well as residents who have lost convenient access to traditional bus services through the Better Bus Network, due to them being eliminated. About 85% of MetroConnect rides also qualify for the discounted fare, because riders connect to major transit hubs. The administration does not support simply shifting this cost onto riders, and I want to be clear, that for me personally would be a non-starter as well. We should continue looking for efficiencies and ways to make the program sustainable over the long term, but we should not balance the program on the backs of the people who depend on it. I have also decided to restructure the office of the chair. Community advocacy will be moving under the Office of Policy and Budget Affairs, OPBA, to better align our community outreach with our policy and legislative priorities. We are also preparing for the new state law that takes effect January 1st, and we'll sunset certain advisory boards. Our office needs to be restructured to meet these changes, while ensuring every employee affected by this transition is supported and can transition smoothly. That means no one losing their jobs. My office and I have already had several conversations with the affected employees and with the mayor to ensure we handle this process responsibly and with consideration for our staff. As a board, we have already redirected over $14.5 million in red speed revenues from each one of our districts that otherwise would have been distributed to each commission district for safety projects to help fund the sheriff's office. We did that last year. The Board of County Commissioners is proposing that again in this budget. Once the community advocacy restructuring is implemented and those two departments within Office of the Chair are merged, that will generate an approximate $1.5 million in savings. So the overall Board of County Commission budget was reduced by 3% from its original. This board, myself as chair, this entire board, every commissioner on this board, is putting their money where their mouth is and is giving back in order to make this budget whole. Since our last meeting, I have also continued discussions with the tax collector, Darío Fernández, as he stated when he came up to the microphone. And I want to thank him for working with us and agreeing to provide the additional $20 million by amending his actual budget on top of what was already included in this year's budget. So he's giving well over $40 million back. At the appropriate time, I will have a motion to allocate those funds. My intent as of right now is to allocate those funds in the following fashion. I intend to, in a show of good faith and moving in the right direction with public safety and our sheriff, from those $20 million, just over $11 million to our sheriff's office to help fill that gap. This board and myself have expressed that public safety remains one of our highest priorities and our sheriff's office must have the resources necessary to protect our communities. Sheriff, I know that doesn't make you whole in your request, but I think it is going in the right direction. $5 million will be allocated to the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau to reinvest in our community and attract major events, support local businesses, and generate economic impact throughout Miami-Dade County. And finally, I'm proposing that we take $3.2 million from available solid waste interest earnings funds to fully fund the illegal dumping unit, code enforcement that was eliminated in the original proposal, and the litter pickup, and reestablish that and reimplement that into this budget. That's a total of 3.2, and that's from the interest earnings funds of solid waste. At the end of the day, residents ask us for results. They want safe communities, good roads and sidewalks, clean neighborhoods, strong parks, reliable transportation, and responsible government. And they expect us to respect the money that work hard to earn. We cannot simply go back to taxpayers every time government needs more money. We have to find efficiencies, identify savings, and make government work better. That was the commitment I made at our first budget meeting, and that is the commitment I am bringing tonight in this final budget meeting. We can protect essential services, invest in our communities, support public safety, and still use taxpayer dollars responsibly. Again, I want to thank everybody for being out here, the elected officials that have stayed. I see our clerk. I see our sheriff is still here. I think our tax collector was still here. Thank you for staying to the very end. And before I open to this day, to my colleagues, I would like to hear from our mayor and her remarks and our deputy mayor as well. Madam Mayor. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good evening, commissioners, members of the public. Thank you so much, everyone who's participated in this process and sharing priorities with us. We've spent many months getting to this point, and we've been meeting with residents in over a dozen meetings. We've worked with commissioners. We've listened along the way, multiple meetings with all of our commissioners. And these are conversations in which voices have told us what their priorities were and have helped us to make this budget stronger. It is my most important responsibility as your mayor to make sure that we live within our means and that we utilize the tax dollars that the residents entrust to us to provide the services that are most important to all of you. So first, I want to thank everybody for participating, starting with the board and to every partner and every person who participated in our budget workshops and in our two budget hearings. And I want to thank our Office of Management and Budget, our department directors, and our incredible county employees who've worked tirelessly to get us here, and again, especially the residents. You told us what matters most to your families and your communities, and our interactive town halls was a place where we really got to exchange ideas in more detail. So since our first budget hearing a couple of weeks ago, we continued looking carefully at every opportunity to respond to the concerns we heard about. While keeping this budget balanced and fiscally responsible. So I am especially glad that tonight we are able to restore early morning bus service, clearly a priority, despite the structural imbalance that we have in funding for transportation. We heard from residents across Miami-Dade about how important these early routes are for so many, many who have to get to work before sunup. Many road us directly, including one young woman who told us she's been using public transit since she was 12 to get to middle school, high school, and now to her job. And like so many, it clearly shows how essential these buses are, and people depend upon them each and every day, our buses and our trains. So I'm proud to say that with additional revenues that have been identified and savings, we were able to recommend $12.5 million to restore the service before 6 a.m. across 45 bus routes. And that means that the residents who rely on these buses to get to work, to get home, to keep our community running, can continue to count on them. And that's what this budget process is supposed to do. We're supposed to listen. We're supposed to keep working to try to address the needs and the opportunities where we can to make responsible changes to make them. There are also important priorities that have been part of this budget from the beginning. We've heard a lot about our environmentally endangered lands program. And protecting our natural environment is one of our and certainly my highest priorities. And the budget provides EIL with resources that it needs to meet all of its immediate obligations for this coming year. And that includes an additional $2 million from the countywide general fund. And it allows us to continue the maintenance of lands in our care as well as planned acquisitions. We also hope through the adoption of a dedicated infrastructure bond program, QNIP, that I proposed that we'll be able to continue longer-term support for the EIL program. But we need a sustainable strategy. And we must look ahead to protect and maintain these lands for generations to come. Of course, our number one priority has been and always will be public safety. Throughout my administration, we've increased our investment in law enforcement. And this budget continues that commitment with significant investments in the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office and the resources needed to keep our community safe. And we've fully funded the sheriff's priorities where the need is clear, from staffing to overtime, while continuing to invest across our broader public safety ecosystem. Because public safety is bigger than any one agency. It depends on fire rescue, corrections, emergency management, our courts, and justice partners, and the community organizations that work every day to prevent violence. As mayor, my responsibility is to look across the entire integrated public safety system and to make sure we're investing in every part of it. That approach is reflected in this budget. So, I am proud of the budget we brought to you tonight. It is balanced. It's fiscally conservative. It protects the services our residents depend upon. And it makes responsible investments in the priorities and critical infrastructure that will keep Miami-Dade moving forward, such as by bolstering our reserves with an additional $9 million. And our work does not end when we adopt the budget tonight. Throughout the coming year, we will continue looking for efficiencies through our WISE 305 initiative. And we will keep working with this board. And every step of the way, we'll keep listening to our residents about how we can serve them better. We have multiple opportunities throughout the year to make needed adjustments. This process has taken a tremendous amount of work from everyone in the room. You may not agree with every single line of the budget, but we share the same responsibility to the nearly 3 million people that we serve. So, I hope tonight we can have a productive discussion. I'm sure we will, that we can work through the remaining issues together and pass a responsible, balanced budget for Miami-Dade County. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I would like at this time to ask my Deputy Mayor and Chief of Public Safety to address the board briefly and the public. Thank you for those words, Madam Mayor. Deputy Mayor Coley. Good evening, Chairman Rodriguez and members of the board. I'm here to walk you through the mayor's proposal, this year's fiscal 26-27 budget for the Miami-Dade County Sheriff's Office. The budget makes historic investments in Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office. It funds every position the sheriff requested, and it fully funds her overtime request. It does that while protecting the rest of the public safety ecosystem our community depends on. The numbers matter, but so does the context behind them. Okay, let's start with these two numbers. The mayor's proposed budget funds $978 million in general fund support for the Miami-Dade County Sheriff's Office, an increase of $55 million, or 6% over the fiscal year 25-26 adopted budget. The investment provides every single position requested by the sheriff. In a balanced budget, those dollars have to come from somewhere, either new, reoccurring revenues or reductions elsewhere in county government. But this year's proposal is only part of the story. The chart shows general fund support for law enforcement since fiscal year 22-23, when we had a police department, through the transition and the sheriff's office from January 25 forward. If you look at that trend, it's gone up every single budget cycle, from $720 million to $978 million proposed this year. That's roughly 36% growth in four years, and it didn't happen by accident. It reflects a sustained commitment by Mayor Levine Cava to make public safety a priority in every budget she has put forward. Year after year, she has increased the resources dedicated to law enforcement. And even with departments across the county being asked to find savings and efficiencies this year, she proposed an additional $55 million increase for the sheriff's office. That is the record, not one budget, not one year. A sustained investment in public safety. I'm going to ask Arnold Palmer, our chief of public safety, to talk about a few details. Thank you, Roy. Through the chair, let's start with where we are today. Using the sheriff's numbers, the results are on the right. Homicides, down 26%. Robberies, down 16%. Aggregated assaults, down 12%. Burglaries, down 7%. Miami-Dade continues to experience historically low levels of crime, and we want that progress to continue. Now let's look at the staffing the budget provides. All 200 new positions, MDSO requested, are budgeted. 80 sworn, 120 civilian, are fully funded. That brings the agency to 4,795 total positions on the books. That is more than at any point in history. Those 200 new positions sit on top of roughly 300 existing vacancies as of June. That means MDSO will have about 500 positions to fill and funding to fill them in the coming year. Based on historical attrition and the time it takes to recruit, process, train, and onboard, that provides capacity for approximately six and a half academy classes, or about 325 sworn deputies. For context, MDSO graduated two academy classes in fiscal year 25-26. I'll return it to Roy. Staffing is only part of what the mayor's proposal provides. For overtime, $95 million, fully funding, the sheriff's request, a 15% increase. That's more than the agency has spent in any year on record. Other operating expenses include $151 million, an 18% increase over the current year's forecast, matched to actual spending patterns. All 200 requested positions funded on capital, $47.7 million in capital funding for Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office this year, including $3.1 million in new funding for two critical projects at headquarters. Sufficient funding to address compensation levels and other priorities affecting the sheriff's office's ability to recruit and retain personnel. And consistent with the sheriff's request, an independent IT operation, the county and the sheriff's office will jointly develop a transition plan for transferring IT functions to the sheriff's office. Request by request, that's what's been made and done. As the mayor alluded earlier in her statement, public safety is bigger than one agency. An MDSO doesn't operate alone. Alongside a $978 million general fund for the sheriff's office, this budget supports the courts, our justice partners, with more capacity to move more cases through the system. It includes corrections, fire rescue, emergency management, the medical examiner, and violence prevention and youth programs run through our nonprofit organizations. Each agency has a role to play, and each one requires the resources to do its job. Coordinated investing across the whole ecosystem is what keeps the community safe. So let's come back to the numbers where we started. A historic $1.2 billion total budget for the sheriff's office. A 6% increase in general fund support. Every requested position funded, more positions on the books than at any time in the agent's history, a full funding of the sheriff's overtime request. This is a disciplined, complete, and responsible public safety budget, and we recommend it to this board. Thank you. Thank you, Deputy Mayor and Chief. All right. So I will now open the floor for discussion to my colleagues. And, yes, are you trying to get on the list or what I'm going to do? So here's what I'm going to do. I know that, Madam Sheriff, you were, there was a presentation by the mayor now that, and her team that addressed most of your budget. You gave a solid 10, 15-minute presentation yourself. This is, I guess, their response, which I think is appropriate. I want you to have your opportunity to maybe rebuttal some of this, but I want to do it in the fashion of, as we're debating up here, that we can call you up and if, I'm sure maybe Commissioner Gonzalez will have some questions so that we can get the meeting moving along. But I'm sure that we will be calling you up and you could have an opportunity to, if you want to, if you don't. With that, I guess I'm going to do this similar to how I did the first meeting, kind of jump around. Commissioner Orbis, you're standing up and not paying attention to me, so I think I'm going to pick on you and start with you. Do you want to, do you, I'm just, I'm messing with you. Do you want to lead off, though? Do you want to start? Sure. All right. I am always paying attention, by the way. Ah, that's the right answer. I'm a mom of toddlers. There you go. Multitasking. All righty. I was messing around with you, by the way. I know, I know. All right. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Okay, so I want to thank everybody, first of all, who came out to speak tonight, especially the residents of District 6. You took the time to go through the budget. We appreciate that, and we owe you the same effort. So as we consider this final budget, my position has not changed. Our residents will always come first, and they are not an open checkbook, as I say. They're not asking for more government. They're asking us to do the basics to keep their neighborhoods safe, maintain their roads and parks, and provide reliable transit, collect the trash, and make sure that water and sewer work. This budget doesn't ask for just one increase. It stacks several. Water and sewer rates are up 6% this year. Parking at county garages are going up. Garbage disposal fees go up, and the administration is urging a 50-cent transit fare increase, and a gas tax increase is on the list. And while the millage rate is flat, the reality is that our residents will be paying more. Families do not pay this one at a time. They pay them together. Out of the same paycheck, on top of rent, mortgage, insurance, groceries that are already going up. So I'm glad to hear that early morning transit service is being restored. We heard a lot of residents talk about that. That's a right call, and I'm supportive of that. But residents already had that service, and we should not be charging them more just to keep what they already paid for. Regarding the utility service fee, I had asked the administration whether the county could temporarily reduce our utility service fee to help to offset the 6% water and sewer increase. So our residents already pay a 6% utility service fee on the same bill, and when the rate goes up, the utility service fee collects more as well. So I had some questions about that, if I can ask now. Yes? Yes, and just to set the stage as the first budget meeting is we're going to do the round of comments, questions, and then obviously the amendment. You can speak to where your amendments are, but the amendments will be when we call up each item. Sure, so you prefer the motions later? The motions later. You can speak to them now if you want to talk about them now or not. It's up to you, but certainly, like, making the motions will be when we call up the items. Absolutely. Right. Okay, so I had a question about the utility service fee. When was that fund created? You're recognized for a Q&A. I don't know the year it actually began, Commissioner. It's been on the books many years. Can anybody answer that? 1980. 1980. And there was a reduction in 2017? Was that the first reduction? Was it in 2017? It originally was 8%, and it was reduced to 6%. Yes, Commissioner. So it was 8% from 1980 to 2017? Yeah, that's correct. Okay. I'm getting mixed answers here. I heard it was 10% and then reduced? Okay. We're going to go with 8%. How much does this fee collect each year, and how much has it collected in total? Since inception, I don't know how much that is. I can tell you what it collects each year. For example, solid waste gets 2% of that 6%, and it generates about $25 to $30 million a year. So then that would leave RER and DERM with about double that amount. Do we have a number? You want an exact number for this year? Give us a moment, and we'll total it. Okay. So how much of it has been spent? As you're getting that number, if you can tell me how much has been spent and how much is currently in that fund. Okay. They're totaling the numbers for you. Okay. And then as you're totaling those numbers, can you tell me how much of it has been? I guess the question depends on what you're going to tell me, but how much of it has been in there for more than three years? Okay, so the surplus that is there now mostly resides in the Solid Waste Fund. There is about $180 million in that fund. That was an intentional accumulation of money to pay for very expensive remediation projects. We circulated a memo recently giving you a list of all the projects that money can be spent on. We have billions of dollars worth of remediation needs throughout the county that that money could be spent on, but it had historically only been spent on solid waste dump site cleanups. Okay. So I'll wait for the answers, but on that end, I think if a significant portion of that money is not committed, then we should seriously consider a temporary reduction. I think that deserves a look. Do you want me to wait for the answer? They're still adding up the number. Okay. I'll move on then to the next one. You can come back to me. Okay. So the sheriff. Public safety is the most important responsibility we have, and without it, nothing else truly matters. I'm really concerned that the sheriff's numbers and the administration's numbers that are presented don't match, so I would like to know why is there a discrepancy between the two numbers? Why are there so many discrepancies in the numbers that the sheriff's budget has presented and the numbers that you're presenting? Commissioner, I think the easiest way to understand the difference in the numbers is to identify attrition. The budget that the mayor proposed anticipates that those 500 positions that need filling will have to be filled over the course of the year. They will not be filled on day one. So, therefore, those 500 positions don't have to have full funding on day one. It's based on an attrition of about 6% throughout the year. That's the fundamental difference between the sheriff's proposal and the mayor's proposal is that the sheriff has a lower attrition rate in her assumptions than the mayor's proposal has. If I may, and if the chair allows, can I ask the sheriff to speak to that question, please? Madam Sheriff. Madam Sheriff, you're recognized for having flown with the commissioner. Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Commissioner. I think that it is important to be clear that the math is not adding up. And so I have to go back to the foundation of my presentation, which is day one, the collective bargaining agreements that are due for year three that were negotiated prior to there even being a sheriff's office before I was here were heavy on the end of that collective bargaining agreement. That affects every one of the people covered, and that is the bill that I'm referring to, $62.5 million. I have to pay that. If we were to pay that bill, I'm actually only asking for an additional 5%, not the 6%. It's actually less, but that bill has to be paid. If that bill is not paid, they can give me all the $55 million. It is not fiscally responsible for me to go and hire new people when I can't pay the salary of the ones that we've already committed, right? The money you have in your hand, you have to pay the bills that are on your table first before you can go out and hire new deputies or make the improvements on our buildings that you've all seen our stations. They're in terrible shape and all the other things that I've talked about over and over again, and I think that that is the fundamental problem. That's a simple math. It is a 7.5% increase from my last year. That's my new bill. That's my new foundation. I didn't make that bill. I inherited that bill, and that's what I've been asking for to begin with. The above and beyond that I'm asking for, if we can pay that bill, is actually only 5%, 4.97 to be exact. If I may ask also about the academies that have graduated. Yes. I know there's a difference in the numbers that you presented and the numbers that the mayor's office presented. Can you speak to that, the discrepancy or the misunderstanding between how you count when as academies graduate? Can you explain that? Sure, of course. Thank you, Commissioner. The two classes that were referred to in the change memo, actually from the previous fiscal year, it's just the date that they happened to graduate, right? We have to start the class. It takes about nine months for us to get a class through before they go out to the districts. So the sheriff's office actually had four classes start in 2026, four, all of them full. In fact, I have a graduation coming up. Last year when I stood before you, I talked about trying to recover from the years where we hadn't hired, if you remember, if you recall. Because when we do not hire for one year, it takes us about two and a half years just to recover the damage that we've done. So we have four classes underneath the sheriff's office this past year that began with fully recruited, training, and started. Thank you. And then to the administration, I know you're proposing, or you've put in the budget for certain CITD employees to be moved under the sheriff's office. How much money is moving with those employees? Well, we have offered to the sheriff those employees, and she has not yet decided which and how many she wants. But whatever position she chooses, she would get the funding, would move with them. That is not considered in her current budget. The money would go with the position. But are you offering? And I'm sorry, if I could just to clarify. It isn't so much that we offer them, Commissioner, it's that the sheriff has requested them. Sheriff, can you speak to that? Of course. I am establishing my own technology section, and I am not requesting all of the employees. I believe early on we made an agreement that there might be some employees that were working for the county that could find work in some of the constitutionals, if you all remember, and vice versa. So we extended to make sure that those people were not hurt as employees. So there are a few people that have interviewed and that we have offered, but that's the extent of our request of some of the employees. It is not that I want a blanket list of every employee from that section that is now going to be transferred over. And additionally, we do pay for those services out of our budget, right? So when we have an ITO do services for us, we pay the bill to ITO as well. So to clarify, if they are moved into the sheriff's department, are they being fully funded to move to her department? Yes. We would agree on that, yes. But you don't agree on? There's no blanket list, no, ma'am. I'm just looking to, like we've said, offer opportunities to employees who might not otherwise have a job with the county, might have a job with the sheriff's office or any of the other constitutionals. They interview, they go through the process like anyone else. But when will these employees be moved? Because there's a time limit here, right? So it's either you accept them or you accept them, it seems like. Yes, so really we have been working with the county in regards to identify exactly when we would end or cease the service that we were asking from the county side and assuming that service internally with the sheriff's office. And you have a place for them? Yes. Okay, but, you know, Roy, you can confirm that they are going to be moved with their salaries? Yes. Okay. And Ryan LaFarga with OMB is prepared to provide you the answers to your numbers on the previous fund, a utility service fee, when you're ready. Okay. Oh, you just got the sheriff's numbers. Okay. Okay. Yeah. So, Sheriff, is the 6% attrition normal or is that based on a trend? The 6% attrition? I'm not claiming that. Okay. Mm-hmm. Okay. Well, thank you. I, at the very least, I believe, you know, and I appreciate the chairman that you have done the move to do the $11 million over there to move it to the sheriff's office. You know, I'm prepared to work with you all tonight to try to make her whole, and what she has requested, I think, public safety is at the forefront of what we do. And I think, at the very least, she should be allowed to keep her carryover, you know, which I know we don't have that number yet. But when we do, I think that she should be able to keep her carryover. Thank you, Sheriff. Thank you, Commissioner. Thank you, Chair. Ryan, I think you had the numbers for the previous question. Yeah. Can you repeat the question, please? And through the Chair, Ryan LaFarga? Thank you, sir. Okay. I had a series of questions about the utility service fee from Water and Sewer. Is that where you... Yeah, I have the numbers for the sheriff. I can answer questions to the sheriff's office budget. Oh, I thought you were answering on the utility service. Yeah, wrong Ryan. It's the better Ryan Elliott. Oh, okay. It would be. Yep. Good luck. Ryan Elliott, Office of Management and Budget. Do you need me to repeat the questions? So the utility service fee generates approximately $75 million a year. There's about $110 million in carryover, and the reserve amount is about $125. So how much of that $125 has been sitting there for more than three years? $125. And what about... How much of that has been sitting there for more than five years? Oh, it would be less. It would be about probably like $75. Okay. And how much of that money is committed or earmarked? All of it. All of it? Where is it committed to? So about $50 million is committed in the five-year capital plan. Another $50 million is for, I believe, solid waste would be better to answer this. But there's another solid waste, what is it, landfill closures? And then the remaining $50 million is for the, I think, a resource recovery. Do you have specific projects? Again, I believe the... Yes, Commissioner. Yes, Commissioner. Commissioner, we submitted a memo to you recently that had a list of all the projects that it was intended for. So that was sent out, even updated yesterday, I believe. Okay. Do you have the memo? I've got it right here, if you'd like it. Yeah. Can you tell us what projects it's been committed to? Commissioner, when you say committed, what the department has done is identified, or all the departments, about $2 billion worth of projects that the money could be programmed for. The Department of Solid Waste has a list of projects as well that it's programmed for, but it does not have a purchase order issued against it. You would not call the money technically encumbered. You would call it planned for these projects. One of the biggest unknowns is the county. We, as a whole, have not decided what we're going to do with that Doral site that was a former waste energy plant. And none of that has been programmed on what it will cost to clean that up and remediate it. So the department has intentionally been holding that money until this body and the administration decided what they were going to do on where we're going to build a plant and how we're going to close and clean that up. So there's a bit of an unknown with that project. Okay. Thank you. I think we need to know if you're able to provide us more specifics on that. You know, I know that that's a concern that came up at our committee recently. And it would be helpful to know exactly where that money is, because it doesn't sound good to say we have this pot of money sitting there and know where to do it when we're raising fees on our residents, on water and sewer fees. You know, it begs the question, why are we sitting on this money if we have nothing that it's going towards right now? And Commissioner, the way the ordinance was set up that collects that money, it was designed for well-filled protection. It was designed to make sure the water was kept clean and that anywhere there were illegal dump sites found and there was no money to clean them up. That's what this fund was for, to protect the water supply. So they deliberately accumulate that money, not always knowing when things come up. But it was all about protecting the water supply. But yet the ordinance does allow the money to be spent on anything that can be tied to protecting the environment. So it could be expanded and spent on other things, but historically it's just not been. There's a lot of background noise. Can we please, guys in the back, can we please lower our voices, commissioners and staff? Thank you. So District 6 families, they ask for basics. You know, our streets that don't flood and roads and sidewalks that aren't broken, which is why I think the new QNIP fixed funds dollars should go to fix critical infrastructure needs first and that our parks are cared for. Our park systems has billions in unmet capital needs and families, they do feel it at our neighborhood parks. I think we should look into further funding options for our parks, perhaps with naming rights and sponsorship programs where local businesses can sponsor a ball fields or other amenities like a pool, a playground or a youth league where every dollar is able to stay in the parks with a share set aside for neighborhood parks, not just focusing on our busiest or largest parks. And families should be able to give back as well by dedicating a bench, a tree or a shade structure in honor of a loved one. I've already began working on legislation to this to this end. Protecting our environments is very personal to me. Our our our our ill lands protect the wetlands and wildlife that recharge our drinking water and reduce flooding. And once we lose them, we know that we don't get them back. I know that many of my colleagues share that concern. And I would like for our administration to bring this board a real long term solution to how to find funding to protect our ill lands in the long term. The environment is also our own streets. My team goes out every single day to pick up illegal dumping and trash that no family should have to live next to. And I am thankful to the chair for bringing the restoration of those funds to to to restore the illegal dumping team. I think that is extremely important. And it's a complaint that we hear almost every single day. And we scan the districts all day for illegal dumping above all, though, district six residents. They want peace and safety in our in our in our unincorporated neighborhoods. The sheriff's office is our police department and every sidewalk we fix every park that we improve. It makes a difference, but none of it counts for much if our families don't feel safe. Now to Hialeah, our beloved Hialeah. At the first hearing, we discussed the Hialeah reverse osmosis plan. And since then, Commissioners Bermudez, Commissioner Garcia and myself, who represent Hialeah, we held a sunshine meeting and all parties agreed to mediation. And this is not only a Hialeah issue because unpaid water and sewer charges, they fall on every rate payer in the county. So resolving it helps everyone's water bill. And at the appropriate time, I've passed out a motion regarding the reverse osmosis plant, and I will have it ready at the appropriate time, Mr. Chair. Thank you. Our clerk explained earlier the layoff risk that this budget presents to him. And I don't know if he's you're still here. Yes. Could you remind us which functions are at risk with the cut that you mentioned earlier? Absolutely. Thank you. You recognize, Mr. Clerk, for an ebb and flow in conversation. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So it would be about four positions in the Value Adjustment Board, which would potentially affect our certification efforts that we need to get done by July 1. Also includes three functions in the Clerk of the Board, three positions in the Clerk of the Board. One of those would be responsible for the recent ticker that we implemented on the screen. And then 14 positions in the Comptroller Finance Department, five of which have been hired, nine which should be starting in the next two or three weeks. Thank you. I saw a motion that was passed out on this, but I am supportive as well. And at the appropriate time, you know, I would support the motion or I would have my own motion to restore that. If I could be recognized, Mr. Chair, for one more thing. And what I had requested earlier was a $1.536 million, which covers the 14 employees. And that is, I mean, that's a bare bones ask that I really need in order to help these individuals out. So thank you. I appreciate you being conservative on that number and only sticking to what you need. So like I said, at the appropriate time, I would support the motion or offer one if needed. Thank you, Commissioner. Thank you. Thank you. In closing, our residents asked us to keep them safe and keep the basics working. And our budget, unfortunately, still asked them to pay more in too many places all at once. I believe that we should fund our sheriff responsibly now and put one-time dollars towards one-time needs. We also have to be honest about what's ahead. Whatever our voters decide on Amendment 3 in November, our county's own estimates show a $385 million impact beginning in the next budget year, growing to nearly $700 million the year after that, on top of the shortfalls that we already show forecasting. So I did distribute a motion as well with regards to Amendment 3. And at the appropriate time, I will share that with the board. So thank you. I believe we have to continue putting our residents first. And I appreciate it, Mr. Chair. Thank you so much. Thank you, Commissioner. And thank you for doing that so holistic and wholesome. I'm going to kind of break away from what I had said for a second just because I think public safety in the sheriff's office is a point that we need to kind of just get out of the way because it's contentious enough where we need to. So I'm going to do one round, hopefully just one round, of anyone that has questions of the mayor, the administration, and or the sheriff on the MDSO budget. Because when Commissioner Orbis was questioning some things, I saw some of my colleagues eager to ask questions as well. So I'm going to start with Commissioner Gilbert, the vice chair, and Gonzales. I know there are three that expressed the questions that they had. So Gilbert, the vice chair, and Gonzales. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And just to be clear, these are just questions with regard to the sheriff's MDSO? Yes, you'll be recognized thereafter for the whole budget. All right, if I could just first get clarity on the IT conversation that you all were having. Are you talking about transferring positions, employees, or responsibility? Those things won't always be the same. So, because what I'm hearing you, you're asking the question about employees. We won't take all of the employees, but that doesn't mean you're not taking the responsibility of whatever service that IT is providing or all the positions. You might take the positions and not, in fact, take the employee that's in the position. So I just need us to be very specific about what we're saying. And that's to the sheriff and the mayor. I don't know who answered that. Commissioner Gilbert, I think I can answer that. I think the— You recognize. You recognize. It's the administration's understanding from the sheriff. The sheriff intends to take that role, that responsibility— Okay. —from the county. And then those positions that the county has been paying, then it would be the anticipation those resources would go to the sheriff as well. Okay. So the sheriff is taking the responsibility, and with that responsibility, there has to be a number attached. What's that number? Through the chair. You recognize, ma'am. Okay. We have been providing this service. We've been providing it, we think, very well. Obviously, we would prefer to continue. It is within the sheriff's prerogative to assume responsibility for those services. We won't double pay. There'll be one set of people doing that work, whether it's on the sheriff's side or on the administration's side. As far as what happens to the individuals, just like, you know, this is a complicated matter. We have a union that represents these people. We have employees that we want to protect their jobs. Of course, we want our employees to be whole, and so we will continue conversations to try to arrive at the best solution. Okay. And I appreciate that, Mayor. But I'm going to need to understand, what are they paying for the response? The responsibility has a number attached to it. What's the responsibility, because from what I'm hearing, and no one's saying this out loud, even though Senator Garcia is talking right now, no one's saying this out loud, but the sheriff could, in fact, take the responsibility without the position or the people and hire a private company to do it, because she won't have the limitations of the unions that we do. So she could do that. That's within her legal purview. We wouldn't do that necessarily, but she could. Now, I'll add this footnote as a caveat, that if Amendment 3 passes, I won't be here either way. But let me just suggest to all the constitutionals, the mayor, the sheriff, the clerk, the tax appraiser, the tax collector, property appraiser, tax collector. Everybody who has their own individual budgets and own individual responsibilities that to actually save the county from the draconian cuts that will come when the general fund is decimated. These things that everybody's breaking out and doing their own thing, y'all are going to have to find a way to sit together and bring everything back together, or the cuts are going to be really, really, really bad for residents. So everybody can have their own IT and their own insurance policies and all this other crap. But you just remember that somebody told you that it gets really bad. The idea of a consolidated government for the purposes of those things that we all use and purchasing and scale is going to become a lot more important. When the decisions before this board is raising millage or firing people, and that's what's coming if it passes. But I need to know the amount of the responsibility that we're transferring, because I think that's one of the questions that it was really unclear. Yes, sir. Through the chair. Yes, you're right now, sir. The Ryan LaFarga from the Office of Management and Budget, not Ryan Elliott. We're going to go. The sheriff's budget includes $22 million of IT costs for next fiscal year. That is in the sheriff's budget. They pay our CITD department to provide those services. In the sheriff's request on May 1st included 120 civilian positions, a request for new positions. Part of those, that request was $35 for IT services. And for half a year, and the cost of that was $2.2 million. So what we did was we want to work through a transition plan, similar to what we did in January of 2025. And same thing that we've done with the clerk's office, negotiating with the sheriff's office and the unions to transition these functions, employees, and positions, and the funding to the sheriff's office so she can have an independent IT function. That was such an interesting choice of words, sequence, and length. So let me ask my question simply. What's the amount? $22 million? $22 million is for the services that they pay to IT currently. Okay. And $2.2 million was the request for these 35 positions as part of the sheriff's budget proposal. For the sheriff, are those the same things, though? So are the, it's a 22, a part of the two, or are those separate? Because she could be asking for that $2 million of employees to do something, but not necessarily these services. I mean, I don't know if they're necessarily the same thing. There may be a crosswalk. We'll take up, but the majority of it was the same services. Those positions currently sit in ITD and CITD. Okay. Let's let the sheriff answer. Understood. Yeah. You reckon I'll share. Please. Thank you. Thank you. You heard the question? Yes, I believe I did hear the question. The $2.2 million for the 35 positions of ITD currently do reside within those $22 million because we pay them for the service they provide. As I would assume it, which is why it's only a six-month salary, the $2.2 is only for six months, we would then stop paying them and now have a salaried employee doing that function. Okay. So if you're going to do it for $2 million and right now you pay us $22 million, that's interesting. So it's going to be $22 million off of this side going there. Yes. I will absolutely have some cost savings as I'm able to do things a little bit more efficiently internally, but we recognize that the $22 million is not just for those few positions. It's for the lot of the services that they currently perform. And you're going to, you want to transition all of them, all of the services for ITD that they currently perform. Yes, I will be moving toward my own internal ITO department. Okay. I think that's what. That will be, just to clarify that, it will be a phased approach. As I identify the places that I want to assume, we work with the county to ensure that we are unplugging in a way that they are prepared for it and so are we, right? So they know it's coming, it's down the road, whether it's through employees, whether it's through a particular service, because obviously we pay contracts. Everybody, you know, it's not just in a vacuum. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions, Commissioner? Yeah, I just, I think I do have other questions of the sheriff. Well, I guess it was, when I was looking at your presentation, one of the things that you listed as results, I think homicides were down 25% or something like that. Yes, sir. You list the decrease in crime as results. And I thought that was always interesting. I always believe that's interesting, because when I was mayor of Miami Gardens, my police chief would do it also. She'd say crime was down, and crime was down is a result of effective policing, and that's part of it. But I always thought that arrest made and crime solved and presented to the state attorney's office was probably as good an indication of performance, because crimes not being committed will reflect on law enforcement across the county, but they also reflect on the reentry programs that presented, and the mentoring programs, and the job creation programs. And I think that's the difference between law enforcement and public safety. And so we've gotten into the habit of using these things, these words, and these phrases interchangeably. They are not interchangeable. They describe two different things. The sheriff and the deputy sheriff that stand in front of us are law enforcement officers. Everything we do as a county that creates a culture of growth and progressiveness, that adds to public safety. And so while I appreciate crime is down, I don't know that that's necessarily an indication of singularly the sheriff's office. And my question first would be, is that crime down in UMSA, or is that crime down countywide? Because the sheriff polices UMSA, but off the top of my head, the city of Miami, Hialeah, Miami Gardens, North Miami Beach, North Miami, Miami Beach, I think the six largest cities all have their own police departments. So are we counting the crime overall in the county or just in the areas that we patrol? So the answer is the statistics that I provided are specific to UMSA, just what I'm patrolling primarily. But I would like to remind everyone that we support every one of those other municipalities through services such as our crime lab, and where our analysts and DNA and biologists are doing the work to help them solve those crimes as well. And I think that, and I think that's important because I think it's one of the important things that the sheriff's office does. But there's also the distinction between how you support them in those specific areas and the responsibility of policing those specific neighborhoods. Because you have jurisdiction all over the county, but you don't necessarily assume the day-to-day responsibility all over the county. And I think that while it's important, I just add this, and it's not to diminish what you do, because I think you all are doing a good job. I don't, I'm supportive of the sheriff's department. I think we'll work out something here. But I think it's best to actually broaden the conversation to an understanding that it's not just a function of the sheriff's department. Because when we sit as a board, we sit as a board, essentially, when we're hearing from all of the constitutional charter officers, we're sitting as a board as a balancing act, especially when it comes to the general fund. Our job is essentially to balance the equities necessary to keep the community going forward together. And so while we would all love to give you the additional money, I don't know that that's possible considering all the other things. Because, and this point isn't relative to you, sheriff, because you didn't mention it at all. But, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Vice Chair, I guess because you're presiding, I took note that one person basically out of the over almost 200 people who spoke basically said, hey, you're collecting too much money. Everybody else asked for more stuff. And you can say that they didn't ask for more government, but they asked for more trash pickups. They asked us to purchase more property. They asked for more police officers. They asked for more cultural arts. They asked for more buss. Everybody else asked for more stuff, which meant they asked us to actually spend more money. That is what everybody else asked for. And so we have to balance that. And that balancing is challenging. I don't know who answers this between the sheriff and I think the mayor's folks, but I'm curious about the distinction you all are making on her positions. So how is this actually working out? Are we basing our assessment of the position she has based on the positions that she was budgeted for, the people who are actually in jobs right now? And when she says that, when the sheriff says that it's just covering what she's asking for, it doesn't even cover the collective bargaining requirements for what number of officers or what number of deputies? Does it just cover it for the folks who are there? Because you all are saying that everybody's paid for, and she's saying it wouldn't even cover it. So those two things seem to be mutually exclusive. So I like to try to understand, because some of the things you all say is just point of view. From their point of view, they're telling the truth. From your point of view, you're telling the truth. But that's one of those things. It either is true or it isn't. And so if we could get some clarity on that, Mr. Vice Chairman? Yes, I agree. Somebody, I don't know. Madam Mayor. Yes, through the chair, I want to be sure you understand exactly why we developed the proposal that we did along those lines. So we'll start with the deputy mayor, and Ryan is here to answer more specifics. Commissioner Gilbert, I think the difference is simply an attrition. When you have vacancies that are going to last throughout the year, what the administration and the mayor's budget is saying is she can hire everybody that's in her budget. As fast as she can hire them, there is enough money in the budget to hire them. Because we project there will be 6% attrition, although the department, the office is running about 8% attrition currently. But based on the assumption of 6% is how we balance the budget with the numbers we give, because there's 500 vacancies if you grant the budget the mayor's proposed. But we know those 500 vacancies can't be filled in the first day or the first month. It's going to go throughout the year, and that's the difference. Well, in addition to the attrition, there's the fact that we do anticipate carryover. So that's money that is not being spent currently. So the idea that a sheriff's office doesn't feel confident to hire now doesn't make sense to us. And we've offered multiple months of advance funding, if needed, to create some sense of security around academies coming online, people preparing to graduate. So we've looked at hiring trends. We've looked at attrition to come up with these numbers. And Ryan has more details. Before you go, the Ryan, the Ryan, you're the Ryan. Even though you all kind of favor each other, you're just, you know, a little heavier. But it's fine, just a little bit. What is, what's going to be the carryover? I didn't, I might have been like, what's going to be the carryover? Nobody said it. Oh, well, I didn't miss it then. I take it back. I was, I just didn't miss it. The county forecasted $10 million of excess carryover coming back in the current fiscal year from the sheriff's office. How do you, well, okay. This is, this is me rephrasing my question several times in my head. You forecast $10 million. Okay. How do you arrive at that number? On May 1st, we receive a budget submission from the sheriff's office. Later on, we get details from the sheriff's office that includes their actual expenditures through that date. We provide a forecast, typical budgeting, and in that forecast, we assumed that there would be more, there would be excess funds of $20 plus million. So we made a conservative forecast of $10 million being returned in the current fiscal year. Okay. It's based off of actuals and projections. Sheriff, are they, what's your, what's, do you have, what's your number, what's your projection at least? Because you might not have the number. I don't have the number. It will not be $10 million. It will be less than. Okay. Do you have a guesstimation or an estimation or one of you, he's like, he's looking at his, like, he's like, he's doing a calculator right now. I know. I think he is. At best estimate, no more than five, probably more like four. Okay. All right. All right. I think we covered that. On the classes, the discrepancy with the classes, how many academy classes? We budget classes, I guess, per fiscal year. Am I correct? Correct. Yes. All right. How many classes are you going to complete, start and complete in this fiscal year? Meaning the money we send you for this fiscal year. The current fiscal year, Chair? Yes. The current fiscal year. I have four. You're going to start and complete four. And how many do we budget for? No, that's what I actually did, the four. Okay. We were budgeted for five? Six. Okay. Yeah, we were budgeted for five and a half, and we completed four. We were budgeted for five and a half, and we completed four. Okay. And the administration, I see, like, everybody shaking their head. It was like a Temptations or something. It was like, like, y'all were bopping. So explain to me the discrepancy. I'm sorry. I'm going long. I apologize. No, keep it going. Keep it going. Everybody's getting clarity. Commissioner, you know, perhaps our data is wrong, but the data that we had said that there were two classes completed. And two more started, but one started just this past week. That's as we understand it. Right. And it was budgeted during that fiscal year. Okay. So I think the discrepancy is, let me just help. I think the discrepancy is when we say that when it's going to be started and completed in a fiscal year, we're budgeting for something to be started and completed in that fiscal year. We're not necessarily. So they're saying that what you start, what you can do in a fiscal year, and what you did in a fiscal year was two classes. You're saying, yeah, I completed those two, but I started two others, and so we will finish it before the fiscal year. Will you finish those classes before the fiscal year? Before, that's two weeks. Well, that's in two weeks, y'all. September 14th, 2026 was SLE 6 starting date. They will not graduate until June 17 of 2027. So they started in this current fiscal year and will end next fiscal year. Which is why we budget for the classes that we start, because that's where we have to recruit them. That's where we have to be able to pay them their initial salaries to start the entire process to move forward. Yeah. So on that one, I see your perspective, but I get, not even on the technicality, just on the numbers. I think the administration has, we're not completing it in the fiscal year that we budgeted. But that can be, we can figure that out. You're asking to keep your rollover, so it'll be less than $5 million, you said. Yes, sir. More like four. You want to keep that. If you keep that, does that go towards the amount that you're asking us to increase your budget by? It would not be an additional ask. No, sir. It would just be removed. So if you're asking for $50, it would be, you'd be asking for, and we let you keep $5, you'd be asking for $45. Correct. We're happy to take it off the funding that we're asking for. Okay. And the positions, the positions that you don't have that we budgeted for. So how many positions that we budget for, or you budget for, last fiscal year? And how many vacancies were there? And I'll tell you what I'm trying to get at, so it can help you probably answer the question. So if you tell me that we budgeted you for, let's use round numbers, $800, and you had $600, then I'm thinking that's $200 fewer people that you paid salary and benefits for. If you tell me that we budgeted you for five and a half classes, but you did four classes, then I'm thinking that's one and a half classes. And so then I'm assigning a number to that in my head. And so I'm trying to, in my head, bridge the gap between your rationale and their rationale, because I start everything by assuming that everyone is telling their truth. Everybody's telling their truth. I just got to figure out how you arrived there. Commissioner, may I? Yeah. So a couple of points. First and foremost is that we, as well, utilize attrition to control our budget. It's a basic part of budgeting. But the sheriff's office, being an independent constitutional office, I myself have the authority, responsibility to manage the budget as I deem fit. So for me, it's very important for me to be able to have the ability to increase the deputies, which is, you know, what I pitched before this commission before, right? But I have to have that funding ahead of time. I need to know that funding is there. I can't say, I don't have a department to turn over to say, oh, well, you saved them money, so we're going to take it, right? So that's number one. As a constitutional office, I have a right to have the budget of my needs funded up front as part of my budget. The other item in regards to the classes. Part of the problem that I've had in filling those classes from the four to the five and a half, sir, is the fact that my starting salaries are a problem. They're not where they need to be. I have space issues when it comes to the training facility itself. And those are some of the challenges that I've been trying to work through and have not been successful yet, including, you know, having meetings with the mayor and her staff and letter exchanges because I do need more space in order to be able to have more classes and so forth and so on. The budget that is being recommended right now, the $55 million, we won't talk about the funding that's trying right now to get through, it does not allow for me to address the salary issue, the starting salary issue for deputies. So, again, if I'm not supported to the level that I need to, one problem creates another problem for me. And that is part of the reasons why I think it's important when I'm expressing that I need the budget of my needs met, that's the reason why. And, Chair, I appreciate that you're an independent Constitution and Charter Officer, and you should appreciate that we're the County Commission. I do, sir. And so you're an independent Constitutional officer, and we're the body who actually balances what you say you need versus the other needs in this county. And so I respect your role, and I think that probably it's appropriate that we understand that we sit as that arbiter of needs. And so, because everyone's going to tell us what they need to do their job. The clerk says the same thing. Everybody's going to tell us what they need. And it's simply, but I haven't heard anyone say, I need this, and you know what, I understand that the clerks need this, so I'll do a little less. I haven't heard anyone say that. It's coming out of the same pot of money. I just, I think part of the issue that, and this is a growing pain because we're just transitioning, but you are independent and you can move money around. And so from this board's perspective, if we budget for positions, our expectation is that the money is used for positions or the money is part of the surplus carrier that comes back. And so that's kind of internal, but I understand that that's something in the internal psychosis that will work out between the sheriff and the county commission as we go forward. But it's challenging also, and I think I mentioned this the last time, and this isn't necessarily for you, sheriff, but this is to my colleagues about the law enforcement aspect of this budget. The sheriff is going to conduct collective bargaining agreements. I believe that the deputies deserve raises. I do. I know some people are, I saw people throw up their hands. Why? Because I do. That's what I believe. But I would be weary of doing two things at once in this instance. I would be weary of trying to fund the raises at the same time you're vastly trying to create new positions. Because if those two things happen at the same time, and then Amendment 3 passes, you will not have a choice. You will raise taxes, or you will be placed in a position where you have to reduce the sheriff's budget, which will be very challenging since there will be existing obligations, and people will accuse you of defunding the police. Or you will drastically cut services and raise fees in this community. So in the last budget hearing, I said that the mayor and the sheriff, the administration, and the sheriff's department should get together and come up with a plan to increase positions and increase salaries because we can't do both simultaneously. We just can't afford that. And to the extent that that plan does not exist, this is problematic because it's not fiscally responsible for us to fund the drastic increase in positions that I believe you need. But also, when that collective bargaining agreement comes due, and I guess, when do you all go back into negotiations? In a few months. October. In a few months. In a few weeks. A few weeks, yes, sir. So in a few weeks, this gets negotiated again, and that looming bill in the next fiscal year is actually what kind of scares me for the commission and the taxpayers. And so I would just be mindful to my colleagues of the box that you're walking in right now. The box that you're walking into right now is one that there is no way out. We need to pick. Choose what you're going to fund, the pace in which you're going to fund it. There has to be increases. There has to be increases. But increasing salaries and increasing numbers at the same time, it's going to be real hard to do. It's going to be much harder to pay for. Thank you, Mr. Vice Chairman. Thank you, Commissioner Congressman Gilbert. Sheriff, I do have a few questions for you also, piggybacking off what we've just heard. Here, in your presentation, there was a, the binding obligations was listed at 62.5 million. However, it is your position in the mayor's office recommendation was 55.3 million. That is a delta of 7.2 in between the spread between your request and what she's proposing. Now, I had an opportunity also to look at another page here that says that it's 46.1 million sheriff's request is allocated, right? But as I reviewed the paperwork here, the operating capital is 14.9, the overtime is 11.6, added positions 9.3. And if we were to add the 7.2 delta into that amount, I arrived to about $43 million. But on your header, it says 46.1 million. Did I miss something? Is that the 15? If I may, did I bring them up? This is on the presentation? Yes. Yes, it's in the presentation. So the 46.1 million is just my ask, right? That's independent of the 62.5 million. Exactly. So it would be 46.1 million plus the 7 million and change. That's the difference between the current proposed budget and the collective bargaining, the obligated funds. So those numbers you just gave, so basically you're saying you want the 46 plus the 7.2? Yes. Okay. That's the full ask. So earlier when we mentioned 62.5, you're saying that, in theory, you're entitled to 62.5. So the 62.5 is the obligated funding that was committed prior to the office of the sheriff. It is literally the third year of the bill. Okay. All right. The sheriff's office has no control over that dollar amount. None. I must pay it. So, and here's why I laid that foundation out. Because when I think about public safety, I'm thinking about the safety of the community, right? And public safety is traditionally an ecosystem of services and service providers, right? And within public safety, I've always seen public safety to include parks, law enforcement, CBOs, infrastructure. Because when you have issues with cars and breaking down and hitting potholes that create an extra bill. And some kid, in his belief, believes he has to go out and hurry up and get the money. But we have to preoccupy him and fix these roads so that he doesn't believe he has to go get this fast money in order to help mom's car. And we also see it as transportation because it gets folks back and forth to work, keep them off the streets, keep them out of harm's way. I support increasing salary for law enforcement, for sure. I will go on the record to say that. But if I'm going to agree with that, right, and my definition of public safety is safety for the public, which is an ecosystem. I'm also going to make the argument that if I'm going to give you a raise, then I have to give my park attendees raises. I have to give the CBOs an extra 3% to assist you with making sure that the crime rate remains low. I also have to put money into the potholes to make sure that the gentlemen and women who are out there filling the potholes, that they're safe out on the streets. And I also would have to pay my bus drivers more money because the bus drivers are the ones who are actually taking folk from point A to point B, in a sense, keeping them from being hit by cars, struck by lightning, et cetera. So I want to see this come together between you and the mayor. But if I'm hearing this correctly, and maybe the mayor can correct me, if I'm hearing this correctly, what I'm hearing is the administration is okay with providing the funding request that the sheriff's office is and the sheriff is requesting. However, you want to do it more so like payment upon proof or a la carte, right? Like, if you give me this invoice to say that you need A, B, and C, is it fair to say that you're setting on the record that you're willing to fund A, B, and C because you believe that keeping the money on the side of general fund would give you greater flexibility to assist with these other components of the public safety ecosystem? Thank you, Mr. Vice Chairman. That was very well said. Essentially, as Commissioner Gilbert said, this county commission is the keeper of the purse for all of the constitutional offices, minus tax collector, that goes first, and all of the county departments. And so it's our responsibility to provide you with our best recommendation and then for you to determine how to meet that multiplicity of needs. So we have always utilized our ability to spend as part of that equation. We do not bank money in departments. We do not bank money in offices. It's a pay-as-you-go for the things that we can anticipate will not be spent right away. We have a situation where there are 300 vacancies currently and 200 more sworn are requested. And it doesn't make sense that the sheriff cannot meet the obligations of the collective bargaining agreement, which I think everybody agrees were appropriate, because she will, I don't know how much she will have as a carryover, but she will have some carryover. And we've said to her that not only will we meet monthly, will we come to this board frequently if needed for budget amendments, but we will increase our upfront payments so that there's not a cash flow challenge month to month and insecurity about paying the bill. We've offered that to the supervisor of elections to make sure she can get through the election. We have the ability to do that because we have a healthy cash flow at the county level. So we've offered that to provide assurances. It's already part of legislation that public safety is prioritized in reserves. So there's lots of protections here to assure that there will be sufficient funding. And we're simply doing our due diligence as the fiscally responsible enterprise here for all of these offices and departments to say we have to look at the cash flow. We did it for all of those, at least the four officers over who submit their budgets to us initially. And by the way, we very accurately predicted carryover. So if, and we made it very clear, we tried to, to anticipate at a, at the low, but if we anticipated too high, then we're going to have to go back and make other adjustments in our general fund departments. So if the carryover is lower than we anticipated for the sheriff, because we, as Ryan said, we anticipated higher than 10 million. Of course, we would appreciate knowing more, having more transparency about these numbers so we could better plan, but we anticipated a certain number. And if it doesn't turn out to be that amount, then we're going to have to make consequently cuts to other general fund programming in, in the county budget. And, and, and thank you, Madam Mayor and Madam Sheriff. Look, I think what's happening here is, you know, the question about whether it's 5 million of the carryover or 10 million, right? That's a conversation I believe that we're going to, we're going to work this out tonight and, and I do believe your numbers are closer at 5 million. That's what I have in my notes, but I guess my question becomes, are you willing and open to accepting the pay-as-you-go approach that the mayor has announced on the record as the offer she's making in order to meet you in the middle to get us over this, this, this hump? Vice Chair, I think it's important that everyone understand that constitutionally, as an office, I am required to return anything that is left in my coffers at the end of the year and start at zero. So I'm not keeping anything. If I don't spend it, I will return it to the county at the end. That's number one. Number two is, is that I cannot go on a pay-as-you-go because I do have the flexibility to manage my budget as needed. Therefore, I need to know what the funds are that I'm supported throughout the year so that I can make those fiscally responsible moves that affect the entire agency. To say that historical numbers were different, we were not a sheriff's office. That was a police department. That was not a sheriff's office that could manage and could find efficiencies and find savings and apply the funds that I've been given by this great board of county commissioners and use them to serve our community to the very best that we can. So, no, I can't go on a pay-as-you-go plan. If that's the case, then I'm nothing but a department. I'm able to come to you, explain what my needs are and the why. And if we want to start anywhere, again, I'll say this one more time. Can we start with the committed dollars for the collective bargaining agreement for my current employees? Not fictional numbers, right? Not the numbers I'm trying to get to, but the ones that work every day in this county keeping us safe and that we already have committed to paying them that dollar amount. I can't make that go away. I can't make it disappear. I can't even cover it with a 55. Madam Mayor, she put a great question on the table. Is that something you can commit to right now so we can move this ball forward? Could you clarify what it is I'm being asked to commit to? 62.5 million. 62.5 million. She's asking if you can go ahead and commit to that right now, and that would be a great starting point. Can we get you there? No, sir. We put forward our best efforts at a responsible budget, and of course, if there are extra monies, they go into reserve and public safety is prioritized in reserves. Thank you. I believe Commissioner Gonzalez was up next with his questions. Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair. Thank you. Sheriff, how long have you worn the badge? 31 years, sir. You lived through the transition between a department to a sheriff's office. Is that correct? Yes, I did. For those 30 years of service, how many colleagues of yours that you rode with, knew, you considered friends, how many of those have died in action? Approximately six. I want to thank you because today, in my district, there was a shooting, and there was a law enforcement agent that almost lost his life. So I want to thank the hammocks department. I want to thank the brave men and women that went out there to make sure that they gave him support because he almost died today. I love park attendants. When I was growing up, my mom cleaned houses. My dad worked in a warehouse. A lot of the activities that I was able to do as a child were free at parks. Basketball, football saved my life. I don't just say that. But with all due respect, when your house gets broken into, we're not going to call a park attend. We're going to call your deputies. Now, the reason I ask you about the 30 years of service, and thank you for your service, is because I think it's imperative to understand the difference between a department and a sheriff's office. In your experience, right now, we have the chairman who has found about $11 million to put forward. That still gives us a delta of $53.3 million. Why is that $53.3 million necessary? The additional funds that the sheriff's office requested in the original budget, which has not changed from May 1, included an increase of deputies to serve this community. I have shown how we are woefully understaffed when it comes to our residents per capita. I was trying to make a dent in that. I wasn't even going to get it to the average, but I was trying to make a dent in that. I was adding positions for police complaint officers, the call takers, the dispatchers, as well as support staff, as in crime analysts, and the IT positions that have been mentioned several times as well. And that's as part of our transition, right? Because we are doing it in steps. We can't flip a switch. It has to be a gradual growth for the sheriff's office to be able to stand as its own independent office. I want to speak specifically to, one, the attrition, and two, the academies. Let's start with the academies, because the administration has done a good job of pointing out that there are vacancies. I mean, there's 300 existing vacancies right now. They're saying there's going to be about 500 vacancies coming up. Now, I want to talk about the academies. And the reason I want to talk about the academies is because how is it, Sheriff, that you are going to be able to get more deputies to sign up to the academies if you pay an average of about $26,000 less than other departments in Miami-Dade, like the city of Miami, for example, and in other counties, like Broward, for example? What can you do to be able to fill more academies? So my plan is to, one, to have approached this commission to talk about the opportunity to increase that starting salary. I recognize I'm never going to get $26,000 per new deputy, but if we have a plan and we can show that there's a future Miami-Dade County, that is enticing to a new recruit. Additionally, I want to expand my ability to have more classes go through the Sheriff's Training Center at the same time. Currently, we can run a maximum of five classes during one year, just based on space, because there's requirements from FTLE, right? Number of students per instructor. Unfortunately, right now, I do have limited space. The corrections department is currently within the Sheriff's Training Center. That is one of the things that I've been trying to work with the mayor and her staff in regards to finding them the opportunity to go to Miami-Dade College to finish their training there, do their training there, thus allowing me to have the full training center at my disposal to be able to increase the numbers of five classes really just barely keeps me at attrition. I need to increase several classes a fiscal year in order to actually do the increases. So those are the reasons why I have asked for those two specific increases. Now, if I don't have the room in the training center because corrections is still there, then my backup plan is I will go and have to pay whatever it is. The difference to add some extra classes maybe at Miami-Dade College myself so that I can run concurrent classes instead of waiting for the space to clear up. Well, Sheriff, that's exactly the point I wanted to get to. And I also want to talk about corrections because I don't think the corrections officers make enough money either. But let's concentrate on the point of the classes. When we talk about these classes, one, let's talk about the facilities. If you had the facilities, would you be able to graduate more classes? Absolutely. Why don't you have the facilities, Sheriff? Because unfortunately we have been neglected for many, many years. So the actual training center is in dire need of repairs. We are limited in space. We cannot dig. We can't build up. We have containers all over the property to try to put a Band-Aid on things. But the truth is, is that we have to come up with some longer-term capital improvements to the land, which is part of my proposal as well. I've been there. I know my colleagues have been there too, right? Looks like the 1970s in there. First time I walked in, I felt like I was in Back to the Future. And it's not funny. You know why it's not funny? Because even the space is not enough to hold the classes. What are we doing? What are we doing? So, as I see this conversation going, Sheriff, you need to keep Miami-Dade County safe. I'm not going to give you more money to give increases so that people want to be officers. Because it's not just about convincing people to put on a badge and a uniform and run towards bullets. It's not just about that. It's about keeping these officers working as deputies, running towards bullets, putting their lives on the line every day when Broward County is going to pay them $26,000 more. When the city of Miami is going to pay them more. We also talked about how there are cities within our counties, and God bless all of the officers that work in those cities, that actually handle lowering crime as well. Now, let me ask you something. If there's a homicide in Miami-Dade County, who handles that? Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, Homicide Bureau. But what about City of Miami or Doral PD? Correction, City of Miami is the only other municipality that has a homicide unit. Otherwise, it is us. What about City of Homestead? It's us. Are there any other functions that Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office supplies to these cities? Yes, so we provide a lot of services to include, I mentioned earlier, the crime lab. We are the crime lab for the entire county. It doesn't matter what agency. We provide those services. We also provide some advanced investigations, not just homicides. For example, special victims cases, right? Sexual battery cases. It just depends the size of the municipality, police department, and their ability or inability to be able to provide that service to their community. What about something like PRT? What does PRT do? Yes. Priority response team responds to schools and active shooters throughout this entire county. Everywhere. So, because I've seen, like, school officers, are you saying that if there's a school shooting, PRT comes in, it's not just those school officers? That is correct. PRT is trained to respond, to be those first responders, to engage with an active shooter, and to neutralize the threat. Talking about the classes, talking about attrition, here's what worries me. I think Miami-Dade County, and man, listen, I know people are going to get really upset right now. I think Miami-Dade County, as a whole, has a really big issue with overtime. Really big issue with overtime. I'm looking at the overtime numbers here, and I recognize, I mean, 95 million, right? You know who had this problem? Jackson. I actually just had a conversation with Mr. Magoya and with Esther. I had a conversation with Esther about 20 minutes ago. You know what Jackson did in order to lower their overtime and save millions and millions and millions of dollars? They hired more people. Wait a second. If we hire more people, we're going to spend more money. No. Turns out if you hire more people, and you're not dishing out so much overtime, you end up saving money. This is exactly the vehicle that Jackson used, along with other things, that we can dive deep into at some point. Same thing happened with corrections. Are you familiar with the consent decree that this county went through? I am. And luckily, with the mayor's leadership, and we have to give her credit for that, through the mayor's leadership, we were able to get out of that consent decree. Now, it turns out that what was happening at those jails is we didn't have enough corrections officers. Because when you're paying somebody to put their lives on the line every single day, and there's no backup coming in, what a lot of people don't understand about corrections is you go in, and if the next person is not checking you out, you've got to stay. So if you just did a 12-hour shift, you're going to do a 24-hour shift. You're in there with no weapons, trying to figure out how to survive on some coffee. If we still have coffee, I'd have to ask the director if we're still providing coffee to our great corrections officers, because we need to cut costs. If we were, if you were to get the space that you need, and if you were able to increase the salaries, how many classes do you anticipate that you'd be able to graduate? My goal is to graduate six and a half classes next fiscal year. Does the budget that you've put forward, does that reflect that? The budget of my needs that I put forward does reflect that, sir. And why is that so crucial, Sheriff? Why is that so crucial? Why is that necessary? One. My second question, why hasn't this happened in the past, and why are we in the hole with less officers now? I need to do it because I need to move this agency forward and deal with all the gaps that have been created over years. Not any one, any two, over years. We talk about facilities, they've been neglected for years. But as a sheriff, I have the authority, the responsibility, and the vision to get us to that better place. Additionally, when it comes to, what I've asked for is to get us to a place where we are the average of deputies per residence compared to the state of Florida, the average. We are the largest county in the state of Florida. I would argue that we are the best county in the state of Florida. We deserve that. But we have to work toward that. We have to have a plan to get to that number at least. And that's what that plan is. Part of that vision to get us there is year by year to slowly build us up. Now, I do have to say one thing, and I have to say this publicly because the mayor is here. The mayor is pro-police. I know that for a fact. And I'm looking at what she's put forward, and I'm looking at the past actions. Past actions. We've had this conversation in private, right? She cares about police. She's funded police, right? She negotiated the collective bargaining agreements for which you're asking for that very money today. She's the one who negotiated that. I know she's pro-police. However, and this is not on the mayor, there's a big difference between a department and a sheriff's office because a department operates through a director. That director has authority but does not have the abilities that you have. What would you say is the biggest difference between a director and being able to be sheriff in a constitutional office? And the reason I'm asking that is because I'm thinking of the deteriorated facilities. I'm thinking of the lack of personnel. I'm thinking of the lack of officers and the inability to put forward raises because you can't do that when you're a director. That is correct. Can you elaborate on that? Yes, I can, which I mentioned earlier. As a constitutional office, not only do I have the authority, I actually have the responsibility. It is my responsibility to ensure that we provide the best service to this entire county, regardless of where the municipality lines even begin. Every resident of Miami-Dade County is my resident. I am their sheriff, right? I'm very happy to serve this community, but my responsibility lies in ensuring that the men and women of this agency have the tools, the training, the resources, the salaries that they need to be able to survive. And you get to control how that money is dispersed and how you use that money. I do. So when the budget is afforded and given to me, then I'm able to make those changes, just like the budget is done on this side. I get to do that inside the agency. And you're personally liable for those funds. Is that correct? I am. If I were to go over our budget, then I would be personally liable. Hypothetical question. If you're a director, not a sheriff, if you're a director and funds are allocated to the Miami-Dade Police Department and you want to renew a facility, can you just make that directive or do you have to ask the administration? I have to ask the administration. If you want to increase salaries for deputies, no, for officers at the time, and you're a director, can you increase salaries or do you have to ask the administration? I could not increase salaries. It would be only the administration. Why do you think that the people of Miami-Dade County voted, put you responsible? Because, and also, the clerk of courts is here or was here a second ago. He ran the bill to make sure that we went from a director to a sheriff's office. Why do you think? Juanfer, can you stand up? There we go. That's the man. That's the man. He ran that bill, right? Sir, I don't know if you would like to approach and explain why you ran that bill, but why do you think it was important? Well, Sheriff, can you tell me why it's important that there's a distinction and there's a difference? And why do you think that after this gentleman ran that bill, by a wide margin, the people of Miami-Dade County voted to go from a director to a sheriff? I think it's exactly for the reasons in which we're discussing today. It's the freedom, the authority, the responsibility to take care and manage an agency, to be able to provide the services that are necessary without a lot of those layers between the leading agency and an administration that manages. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to be that elected person who answers only to the people, and the people spoke. The people wanted a constitutional sheriff. They want a sheriff that keeps them safe. They want a sheriff that ensures there's enough deputies on the road. I earlier have shared with this board the survey I did where this community talked about the things that were important to them. School safety was important to them. PRT, right? Presence is important to them. They want to see uniformed officers patrolling their community. There goes those 75 additional officers, deputies, that I'm looking to hire. So it is for all of these reasons and more. Which, by the way, if they want to see more uniformed officers, but we don't have enough uniformed officers, does overtime play into that? Of course. In fact, if I don't get, if I'm unable to have six and a half academies next year or any academies go through next year, what we're looking at is less deputies on the road next year than there are today. That is not a direction I believe this county should be going when it comes to law enforcement. So if we have less deputies on the road, but there is an emergency, or there is, for example, a special event, where are we going to get more bodies? Are we just going to require everybody to work 24 hours? And what does that cost? It will be a much greater cost at an overtime rate. And yes, just like when we have a hurricane activation, we require our deputies to work extended shifts with no days off until we can manage that crisis. Sheriff, I wholeheartedly trust your judgment in running your sheriff's office. I wholeheartedly trust your plan to bring in more deputies and keep Miami-Dade County safe. I wholeheartedly trust that. Thank you, Corrine. And you understand that, because everybody on this body appreciates you and loves you. They've said it many times. If you were to get all of this funding, whatever you don't spend, and correct me if I'm wrong, you understand that you have to give it back. Is that correct? I do, and I would. By the way, yes, the commissioner was correct earlier when he asked that question that I am obligated to return that money constitutionally. It's not even a choice. I will return that money. It is what I must do. Now, I want to end with this point, but we keep talking about the collective bargaining agreement. Did you negotiate that agreement? I did not. Why do you need the money to pay for that agreement if you didn't negotiate it? Because it's an obligation that was made by this commission, by the mayor, through a collective bargaining process that we do with every one of our unions and labor. Last year, if you recall, when I made the statement, I said I was asking certain funding to cover that. And I said next year will be an even higher price, because I knew that this final year was about a 7.5% overall increase. Which credit needs to be given to the mayor, because the administration is the one that negotiated those agreements, which gave slight pay increases. Shout out to the PBA as well. That is correct. But it's not enough, is it? It just does not cover that bill. So $62.5 million is just that commitment. Well, not only that, the administration has just made the point that you try to put four academies forward. You didn't have the space, so you only did two. But on top of that, the attrition does not continue, because what's happening is that people are getting paid way more money in other places, and they have to leave. Now, let's be clear, because the benefits is something completely different. Do you pay your rent with benefits? No. Do you pay for food with your benefits? No. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Commissioner. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Something has changed, and I don't know what it is, because last year there was an agreement reached with you and the administration on your budget, and this year we are spending a considerable amount of time on the budget discrepancy between your proposal and the administration's proposal. So, my concern is that I don't want to do this every year. I don't want to be in this position where we have to make choices like the choices that we are making this evening. But I hope to our Sheriff that you appreciate the efforts that I think are clearly being made by this board. We're trying to figure out a solution here to meet your needs and to obviously meet the budgetary constraints that are a reality for all of us here in Miami-Dade County. So, while we're going through the exercise and asking excellent questions and clearly advocating for positions, I have a question for you that will help me understand your intention this evening. Because a compromised position has not been reached, and it's my understanding that you all, meaning you and the administration, have been negotiating this for months, my question to you is a rather simple one. Our chairman offered $11 million coming from our tax collector, and to our tax collector, we're very grateful for that. So, it closes the gap a bit, but there's still a delta that's quite substantial. Assuming we're able to cobble together more money to offer towards your budget, are you going to take a compromised position at any point this evening, or is it a take it or leave it? Meaning, if you do not get your full funding of 12%, let's say there's 8%, or 9%, or 10%, are you appealing to the state? So, may I begin by saying to the chair, thank you for your efforts. They do not go unnoticed, and I truly appreciate not only yourself, but to all the commissioners who have taken time to look at their own budgets and their own information to see how they can be helpful in supporting the sheriff's office budget. That's number one, and first and foremost. And I apologize for not having said that sooner. Second, you mentioned the fact that we're at a different place. Something changed. It did. We didn't meet several times, but never during these conversations did the mayor's office offer up anything other than the 6% that I counter doesn't cover the 7.5%. We never got past that. There was no discussion about how to get to a little bit somewhere in the middle. So, with that said to you, I truly cannot say that I'm not considering going to the state to file if I cannot pay the bill. If I can't pay the 7.5% committed collective bargaining and the additional 4.97%, that's my ask. That is my ask if we paid the collective bargaining. That is, we'll call it 5%, less than this alleged 6%. It is less than the 7.4% that corrections is receiving. It is not an unreasonable amount. It's here in front of you as to how I plan to use it. I think I've shown I can be fiscally responsible and get the job done. And if I don't spend it, I'll return it at the end of the year. Okay, so that, and I appreciate the response, but in summary, what I understood was I can't commit to not appealing to the state should I not get the full 12%. And I'm not trying to put you on the spot. What I'm trying to do is move the meeting along because I would like, I said it at the last hearing, I said I really hope a compromise position can be reached to avoid the situation that we are in right now because I think everybody on this dais recognizes the import of public safety. I think everybody on this dais appreciates your incredible level of service and every officer in your sheriff's office. Miami-Dade County excels and is extraordinary on public safety as showcased by our last fiscal year when we had tons of world-class events without a hitch. Like, without, right, that is an incredible applause to you and to your officers and to your department. I literally cannot say enough good things. And I recognize and I completely concede that the starting pay in Miami-Dade County for our officers is too low. So I'm with my colleagues in trying to figure out how to do this. But what I don't want to do is spend the next three, four, five hours cobbling money together to only have you walk out and appeal to the state anyway. And so that's, that is my authentic concern at this juncture because, again, time is, you know, we haven't moved past the sheriff and I'm only the fourth out of 13 commissioners to speak. And it's just on the sheriff's budget. I would like to obviously hear from the balance of my colleagues, but I don't want us to spin our wheels up here, right? I want to know that a compromise is an actual option. And I'm hearing from you that you can't make that commitment this evening. And so I'm not sure that I'm even going to get into my line of questioning because I don't want to come up with 30 million and you say I needed 55. Thanks, but no, you understand what I'm saying? I do, Commissioner, but I literally asked to just cover 7.5 Delta and that was not accessible so that this is the situation I'm in. It would not be really fair of me to stand here and say that I will take that off the table. I can't do that. At the end of the day, I need a budget of my needs. I need to be able to pay the bill. I need to be able to move this agency forward. I have sat down. Those conversations we could have had several weeks ago, which we attempted and they went nowhere. So I can't in good faith right now tell you that that is off the table. It is not. Yeah. Okay. And thank you for your candor in that. I do have just a couple of follow-up questions regarding the actual ability to spend. How many, either to the administration or to our sheriff's office, I understand that your budget requests six and a half graduating class in the next fiscal year. You started and completed two in the previous fiscal year. How many graduating class is the historical average for officers in Miami-Dade County? Like, give me some sort of contextual. Three deputies per class, and we average five a fiscal year. And in a start and a complete? Like, meaning, like, from 22 to 23? Okay. So, I mean, it might help if I just kind of give you some dates. The two that graduated in 26, which was April of 26 and June of 26, they began in 25. So that was another fiscal year. So that's why I think it's very, it's a lot easier if we just talk about the ones that we budget for and start. They finish when they finish, right? So, right now, we have four that were completed, that will be completed in this current fiscal year. And when we say completed, we mean fully stood up. We load them up, 50 deputies. We send them up to start the academy. Some are in phase, you know, the first month. Some are in the fifth month, and so forth. We have projected classes for November of 2026, January of 27, March of 27, May of 27, June of 27, July of 27, and September of 27. That is the schedule for, that I'm proposing for next year. Okay, and so regarding the carryover, because that is of great significance to me as well. The budget that you agreed to with the administration last year was at $923 million. That was up 10.5% from the year previous. And just to place it into context, from 22 to 23, it was an 8.5% increase. From 23 to 24, it was a 7% increase. From 24 to 25, it was a 10% increase. And now the mayor is proposing a 6% increase, and you are requesting a 12% increase. I do think it's extremely important to get to the bottom of this discrepancy that continues to be highlighted regarding what you call in your presentation the contractual obligations under the collective bargaining agreements. I need to understand that because your office is not the only office that has employees under the collective bargaining agreements for Miami-Dade County. And those numbers were consistent across all departments, but no other constitutional office or department within Miami-Dade County highlighted those contractual obligations and extrapolated them from their budget. Only you did that. And so I want to understand why. So why isn't the $62 million that you are claiming is a fixed obligation, why is that not included in the $978 million that is in the mayor's proposed budget? Like, why are you separating that out of the proposed $978 million that's being proposed by the administration? So we have a fixed amount of deputies currently working, right? So their salary increase, which, by the way, is the majority of my budget, the majority, I have 3,227, 3,227 deputies, that is what I have, went up 7.5%, literally, right? So when I start the next fiscal year, I have to pay that for the 12 full months. Of course. That's it. That's what it comes down to. Let's not forget that I was in here mid-year last year to get the adjustment because I didn't have the funds. So when we talk about an increase in my overall budget, that includes me having to come here and ask for more because there wasn't enough to cover. So it is clear for me if that is the majority of my budget and that is the commitment that was made to a budget that I inherited that I outlined exactly how much it's going to cost me as a base next fiscal year. I start off next fiscal year with bills that are 7.5% higher than last year. That is my truth. Okay. Right now. So I've talked a lot about the improvements, the increase, the buildings, all the other things that a sheriff gets to do, and I'm grateful for that opportunity. So I'm sure that a lot of the departments are having to not do some of the things that they would like to do because their budgets were reduced. I understand that. But that is not my responsibility. My responsibility is the sheriff's office. Yeah. Thank you. To the administration, the sheriff's point is if I change nothing, my bills go up 7.5% with the CBAs and the contracted amounts. And I think that makes sense. I don't have any reason to refute her numbers. Why are you offering 6% when her contractual obligations mandate at least 7.5%? Help me understand that. Commissioner, I want to go back a little bit. I'm asking right now what was the attrition rate that was included in this year's budget, just to be clear. And remember, we're talking about 300 vacancies right now, remember, and budget that should be available. So it was budgeted for a certain number. We calculated a certain attrition rate, and the office was not able to fill those positions. We could talk about the reasons. Certainly salaries. We agree. Salaries can increase. We recognize that. The space at the training center, we're willing to give up the training center. And let me tell you right now, we're willing to move out of the training center. But I don't understand that that was the barrier. I think it's the recruitment that's the barrier. And so we recognize that we need to have a better starting salary just to be able to be competitive with our neighbors. Although overall, in comparison, which we've looked at all the data at the state, our salaries overall are competitive at the high end for just beyond the beginning. But people might not know that when they're starting. So we recognize we want to give a boost. We calculated that into the proposal. We calculated six classes. We calculated the benefits. We calculated the overtime. The only thing really different is the rate of spend. And we calculate the rate of spend based on history. We hope with these enhancements that there will be a better rate of spend, a faster rate of spend. We want these officers. We approved the budget to increase not only the 300 vacancies, but the 200 new positions. So we're really just, honestly for me, listening to all of this, we understand this is a constitutional office. We understand it's the responsibility of the sheriff to provide for the safety of our community. But it is the responsibility of this commission to provide for the well-being of the entire county budget. And unless and until there's a separate millage for law enforcement, it will be our collective responsibility to take care of all of the needs. So it is imperative. It is our responsibility to manage those funds. And that is simply where our proposal comes from. It does not come from not supporting our officers or public safety or the need to enhance the department. So we have, in the current budget, funding for all the officers in the force with a deduction for attrition. We forecast it for every, well, four of the five constitutional offices, we forecast it. For every department, we forecast it. And that is how we maintain a balanced budget and maintain the services. So we stand by our projections, we stand by our sheriff's office, and we ask you, as the commission, to recognize that any additional dollars that are up front, dedicated here, mean other services will be cut in the county. Thank you, Madam Mayor. And I recognize that, and I recognize we're going to be here for a very long time because we haven't yet began the discussion of what we are going to cut in order to even increase your budget, right? This is, again, thankful to our tax collector and our chairman for the $11 million, but we have a lot of ways to go. And thank you, Madam Mayor, for that explanation. But do you disagree with the assertion that the sheriff made that keeping everything else equal, her budget necessarily increases by a minimum of 7.5% year over year? Do we agree, at least on that, that everything else remaining the same, her number in order to make – I understand that the attrition rate is calculated and there may be a discrepancy between the two. But are we in a disagreement with the assertion that 7.5% keeps her just meeting her financial obligations that carry over from one year to the next? Commissioner, we make these calculations for every office and for every department. In this case, we looked at the attrition in the sheriff's office. It's currently at 7%. That is how we came up with our recommendation. We calculated for the CBAs, and I did have a separate conversation with the sheriff in private. And did offer 7% rather than 6%. And so we did not have that public discussion because at that time, she obviously was of the position that she's taking that that would not be sufficient for her request. Okay. To the attorneys, should the sheriff not obtain the 12% that she is requesting this evening and appeal to the state, what procedurally does that look like for us at the Board of County Commissioners? And what does that mean for our budget regarding our obligation by law to pass a balanced budget? Walk me through what that looks like because we've already received indication from the sheriff that it's possible, if not likely, to take place. Commissioner, under Florida law, the budget is within the board's purview to approve as it sees fit. The sheriff has submitted her proposed budget. This commission is free to accept it or to amend it. Should this board submit a budget that is less than what the sheriff's request is, it's incumbent upon the board to notify the sheriff as to what the budget is. And then it's within the sheriff's purview to appeal that to the state, to the administrative commission. There is a process that's set forth in Florida law for what that looks like. There's a time frame attached to that whereby the sheriff, you know, would have a certain amount of time from the adoption of the budget to submit her appeal. It would initially go to the governor's office. There would be a hearing. The county would have an opportunity to respond. And then it would ultimately go to the administration commission. And what is the time frame on that? Would it go to our current sitting governor, the incoming governor? How quickly does that appeal process take? I think some of those time frames are not necessarily within our control, but I believe the sheriff has within 30 days. I mean, I'm looking. I think she has within 30 days after receiving written notice of the action of this board, which is, you know, let's say the adoption of the budget to file the appeal to the administration commission. And then the county would have, I believe, five days to respond. Okay. And if the powers that be in Tallahassee agree with the sheriff, then what? Do we have to convene another budget meeting to close the gap that they determined she needs? If that's not the decision of the board this evening, would we have to reconvene? Because at that point, we don't have a balanced budget. That has been the practice when this has occurred in the past that, you know, when there's an offset in the budget, the board would have to come back and make certain adjustments in order to fill that gap. Thank you. All right. Anyone else on the sheriff? Commissioner Bermudez. Commissioner Bermudez. First of all, I got a lot of questions. Not a lot, but some. Oh, wow. And then I guess some of these are for the sheriff and some are for the administration. But talking about, and I'm a fan of history, the reason we got rid of the sheriff in 1966 was because the sheriff was doing bad things. That doesn't mean this sheriff is going to do that. And yes, he is. I think Juan for still there who pushed the now we we all got lobbied by the sheriff's association and everybody and all the the issues. But this is a problem that's going to continue to recur over and over. And by the way, it's not going to occur just with Madam Sheriff. It's going to occur with the five constitutional officers. And actually, with the clerk being here tonight, which I think we'll be able to resolve, I hope he would have the same right, too. So, you know, this is what happened when we change from correctly, as Commissioner Gonzalez said, from a department to a sheriff's office, which, by the way, was a statewide vote that led to this, which is the most important thing. It is what it is. So we knew we were going to be here, and it's going to get worse, and it's not going to be just with the sheriff's office. So this is going to be something that we are going to face at some point, one way or the other. And by the way, I'll start by saying that I agree, and my colleagues have said correctly, Commissioner Gilbert and Commissioner McGee also, Vice Chairman McGee said, truthfully, public safety and policing are two different things, but it's a whole world, let's call it, because it all works in together. But it starts with policing. And I don't think any of us, well, let me not speak for anybody else. I think that the citizens of Miami Dade County expect security, and the security of their families and their community is the most important thing. That's my opinion, and I've said that before to the sheriff and to you, Madam Mayor. But I've got a couple of questions, because I've heard a couple of things that may be, and first of, and this one maybe goes to both the administration and the sheriff, which is, is the population of Miami Dade County going up or going down? Does anybody know? It's going down, isn't it? Okay, so I want to be clear, so I just want to make sure that when we talk about population, we are speaking clearly as to if it's going down and more people are moving out than moving in, we have to be cognizant of that fact. And if some of the requests that were made today are going to limit the land where people can actually build, so it's going to be very difficult to grow. So I want to be clear about that. On the collective bargaining agreement, and I am empathetic to the sheriff, and I think she's correct, because her hands are tied. My question, maybe to you, Madam Sheriff, and maybe to our attorneys, is in the next round of collective bargaining agreement, whether it be with the PBA, which is here, or another organization, because I'm assuming the collective group has a right to choose whoever represents them, the question to me is, who will be negotiating that agreement? Won't it be the sheriff, or will it be the administration? May I answer? Yeah, yeah. Yes, it will be the sheriff in that negotiation for the first time. Okay, perfect. So, which brings me to the second question, because I heard, Madam Sheriff, you say that if you wanted to give raises or give starting salaries, yes, you have to get the budget approval here. But I presuppose, and this is a question more for the attorneys, I imagine that when the sheriff has is, because she has to come to us through this budget process, which I think is, as we can see, torturous, and why wouldn't she be able to say, this is what I want the starting salaries to be? If we give her a bucket of money, or I want to fix these buildings, or I want to do X, Y, or Z, doesn't the sheriff have that discretion? Are we the ones that are the final arbiters of the salaries? I don't think so. No. Okay. Because I want to be clear that our role is what Commissioner Gilbert said, which is the budget aspect of it. But the decision, once we decide whatever number we give her, whether it's the number that we're talking about, which I support, or a lower number, or even in the future, she has the independence to grow her department the way she wants. Is that correct, Madam Attorney? Yes. Okay. And going to the mayor's point of a separate millage, you know, it's still going to be the same problem, because the sheriff still has to come to us for that millage. So we're still going to have the same issue. It's going to be, you know, it's going to happen over and over. And it's going to happen with some of the other constitutional officers. It's happening tonight with two. It will happen with others. That's the reality that we're in. Whether we like it or not, that's the way it is. And we all know it, and we're just dancing around it. My final question, this goes to you, Madam Mayor, or maybe it goes to you, Mr. Chair. I've been trying to talk about the Vice City branding deal that I keep on reading about. I believe, I'm against Vice City, okay? I've been very clear on that. But if we are going to, for some strange and odd reason, market ourselves as Vice City, I believe that money should go to the sheriff's office, because anything that actually, and I'm going to propose a motion, because I know the chair is going to tell me I can't do that right now, but I'm going to propose that motion when the motions come up, that if that does happen, that money goes to the sheriff's office, because the people, what that game does, besides running over pedestrians and other things, it really puts our law enforcement in a difficult position. If we are going to market ourselves, I find it incredibly ironic and actually sad that we haven't even talked about that issue, and now we're fighting about the sheriff's budget, a game that actually glorifies, you know, killing police officers and committing crimes. So my motion is going to be that that money go to the sheriff's office, because that's one way to resolve it. Second. If, in fact, we do that, I want that money to go to the sheriff's office. Thank you for the second, Commissioner. But look, I'm going to support, I'm going to be supportive of that. I want to get to your number, and I don't, and I know this is, I know the mayor has tried, okay? I know the administration has tried, and it's not, it's just the reality of the system, and everybody here doesn't want to realize it, but they do realize it. Everybody realizes it, it's just nobody wants to talk about it, that's the bottom line. You know, but the reality is, this is going to happen over and over. You have every right, if we don't reach, you will know by the end of tonight whether you get to that number. And if you don't, you have a right to do what you need to do. And you may be successful, may not. Admit your budget adjustments, by the way, and budget adjustments at any time, if, in fact, there was a decision made by the, through the whole process administratively, after going through the governor and the cabinet, et cetera, we'll just have to face the reality. We'll have to do what we have to do. That's happened before. So that's my two cents worth, and I hope that when the chair allows that motion to go through, that we can vote on that. And the motion's very clear. I put it all on your desk. All right. But, yeah, definitely a question for the mayor. I have not even been briefed on this Vice City stuff by anybody. I read about it in the paper the same way that maybe most of you did. But that's why no one in the administration has briefed me on it, or I don't know anything about it. So it has not come in front of us, no. It doesn't matter to me. If it does come, if we vote to do it when it comes in front of us, whether today or 30 or 60 days down the road, my motion's going to be that that money go to the sheriff's office. All right. We will address that motion at the appropriate time, as you said, Commissioner. Commissioner Gilbert, I have Bastien, Regalado, Steinberg. Not in that order, maybe, but go ahead, Gilbert. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a couple of things that I've heard that I think we need to probably go back on. First, there's this idea, and it's popular and it's easy to say because it works in other, it might work in other departments, but, and it seems logical. It seems like if you have more police officers, you have less overtime. That's actually not true. From a budgetary perspective, that's not true. I used to think it was true until Barbara Galvez, who works at the clerk's office now, and Jennifer Moon, our former budget director, explained that that is not true. More police officers equals more in overtime. We've run that budgetary experiment time and time again. It happens that way time and time again. So we can add officers. I support us adding officers at a pace that we can pay for, but we should not add officers laboring under the assumption that it would reduce overtime. It will not. Now, we start, and you can't cap overtime for law enforcement. You can't cap overtime because it's the sheriff and you can't tell her what to do, but you can't cap overtime because a lot of that will be overtime that's needed to actually solve crimes and do things that, I mean, we can't cap it. But if we pass a budget thinking that if we hire more people, we reduce overtime, that's not what's going to happen. I still think that we need to have responsibly increased the numbers. That's the first thing. The second thing I heard was that the city of Miami was the only department that you only investigated homicides for every department or every city except Miami. They have their own homicide. I'm sorry, sir. Yeah. No, no. So the city of Miami has their own homicide department, but there are other departments that have their own homicide departments also. Oh, I apologize. Miami Gardens. I believe Miami Beach. I think the city of Hialeah. No, we do. You do Hialeah's? No, we do Miami Beach Homicide. Miami Beach Homicide. I think that there are other homicide departments. I just want to make sure. You are correct. I didn't get the gardens. I know for a fact Miami Gardens does. And then the other thing is the facilities, you all, the sheriff's department can't own real property. So the buildings are ours and our responsibilities. And a young man came up and spoke today. I don't know if he's still here. He said there were $22 billion of unmet needs. And he's right. And the sheriff's facilities that are needed down south and the ones that you have are included in that. It might not be popular to say because no one ever wants to spend money, but you all, we need a general obligation bond. We need a general obligation bond, and we need to include fire. I see. Fire. Sheriff. We have some parks needs down south. We have transit needs all over the county. Like, we need a general obligation bond. The mayor talked about bringing one. We have some water and sewer. Like, we have some stuff that some infrastructure needs that are serious that we need a general obligation bond. And it will probably need to be the largest GOB bond in the history of this county just based on the needs. And so that's not necessarily a conversation for this budget, but it's a serious conversation this board is going to have to make because no one wants to do it, but in the real world, most of the facilities they're in right now, fire and police and parks, they were paid for through GOBs. They were paid for through GOBs because in the everyday course of running the government, you don't have the flexibility to actually invest in that infrastructure in those facilities. So your needs with regard to facilities are real. They need to be dealt with. Right now we're using Band-Aids, but at some point we're going to actually have to do the real work of actually adding facilities to this county. That's not a conversation that we have in this budget, but it has to happen. And so we've been avoiding that. Also, I know that the PBA is the representative body. I'm good friends with the PBA. Don't take this, like, the wrong way. But you had a choice about whether you recognize the PBA or not, whether you recognize the union. Yes, I did. And you chose to. I support that. But when you chose to represent them, you kind of roundabout adopted that collective bargaining agreement that they negotiated. And so the mayor and the administration might have negotiated it, but there was an opportunity. There was a window there. And none of us supported you taking the out, but there was an out. And so I don't want us to think that our obligation as a county is our obligation as a county. I don't want us parsing out, well, you decided this and you decided that. No, I'm good. We said we're going to pay them. We'll figure it out. To my colleague, DCH, her point, the mayor was trying to answer it, and it gets really, like, nerdy when she's trying to answer this. But attrition matters. That rate, the attrition rate that they're factoring in really is kind of the difference in her saying that it's not enough to cover the current obligations. And her saying it's more than enough to cover the current obligations. It's the rate at which you lose officers and deputies. Sorry, deputies. And so I think that that has to be ironed out. There has to be. We have to find a number. We have to find a number. And something that came to me also, Mr. Chairman, was that the officers that the sheriff is hiring aren't being hired at the same rate of pay as the ones who are leaving. So the older deputies tend to be retiring or moving on. They're more expensive deputies than the ones that are coming through the academy. And so I don't know how that's factored in, but I think we probably need to think about that. Also, with regard to when classes start, the reason why the point is contentious is because, and the sheriff's position might actually be more logical, but it leaves you with a quagmire. Because if you don't do it by fiscal year and just count a class as starting and finishing in one fiscal year, then you're forced with this overlap year after year where we're actually paying for it twice. That's why they're counting by classes started and not completed. So the difference in what you're saying, you're both being completely transparent and honest, but there is going to be a difference that looks like this. It's going to be that part in the middle right there that you're going to be paying for twice. Just the end, the part of a class that ends, that starts in one fiscal year and ends in another, but then that new fiscal year is picking up part of it also. It gets kind of tricky there, so I think we probably need to figure that out. You all figure that out, the budget people. And the last thing is this, it was, and thank you Commissioner Cohen-Higgins for speaking directly to the point of the cabinet and the appeals process. I have the statute and the criteria in front of me, I've been looking at it, and a lot of the questions and comments have addressed the things that they consider. I appreciate your ability to appeal, I appreciate and respect your non-committal not to appeal, that's fine. I appreciate this, I don't care whether you appeal or not, I don't. I'm going to make a responsible decision for the deputies and for this county, and if the cabinet wants to overrule us, they can do it. But when they do it, we'll come back here and we will make those cuts, and we'll make those cuts, and we will tell everybody that these are the cuts that were made by the sheriff. That is what will happen, we will raise those bus fears, and we'll tell everybody that. But there's an implied threat that happens between people in your position and people in ours all the time. And a lot of times people in our position, they're afraid. I am not afraid. Because my commitment is to transparency. So when I ran for office, I didn't run for office saying I would do what I could get away with or what they wouldn't check me on. I ran for office saying I would do what I thought was right. And that means I'm going to fund you all responsibly. And I'm not going to defund them. That balancing has to exist. And if that means talking to the cabinet, let the governor and the cabinet, let them raise our taxes. Madam Mayor, let them raise our taxes. Let them raise the bus fares. Let them close the parks. Let them fire the employees. But I will not. So we can figure out how to move forward as a community. Because I'm open to that. Like, I really want to figure this out. But I don't think we should ever be governed by an implied or expressed threat. I wasn't. I mean, I'm from Miami Gardens. We don't roll like that. We don't roll like that. We don't. So, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate you. And I'm here for solutions. Thank you, Commissioner. Commissioner Bastian, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. How are you all doing? My dear Lord. All right. Usually, during the second budget hearing, the expectations have been that it will be shorter than the first one. Do you know when you travel, sometimes you have this thing around your neck to rest when you're traveling, when you're in a plane, right? Well, for those of you, well, you who are here, you cannot do it. Especially you from the sheriff's office. The boss is standing right there, right here. But for those of you at home, you cannot do it. We cannot do it. We have to stay awake. Or to put it bluntly, we have to stay woke. What do you mean? Oh. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, and you've heard me say over the, some of you might, I'm not sure, that there were times in the past that I personally slept on the ground here when I was on the other side with my three sons. And then youngsters who are watching right now, I don't know if they're still awake, those who came to speak. And let me say that I was so proud of all young leaders tonight. They were so, so clear in their ask and their needs. They expressed themselves so intelligently that I said to myself, you know, in this context, this time that we're living in, sometimes we feel like, can it get any worse? And then when I heard some of the young college students who came tonight to present, I said, you know what? It's not that bad. It's not that bad. So, it's not going to be that short tonight. It's going to be long. What time am I going to get out of here? I don't know. I don't know. But be ready. I'd like to start by thanking the mayor and her staff. And I'm feeling better today because at the last budget hearing, I was really, really not feeling too good. The mayor's office. To me, this is not the best. I usually, for those of you who know me, I don't like to discuss money. I don't. But as a commissioner, I have to. And then I've seen, I've met with the mayor and her staff at least four times. Staff, at least four times, right? Guys, it's not easy. For those of you watching at home, for those of you who came to speak, thank you. Our democracy is stronger. With a very active and strong constituency, thank you for coming. I used to be on the other side. And I know the sacrifices that you make by coming here. And when they come to the room, guys, when they come here, they have been sitting outside since probably 12. I know. I used to do it when I was an organizer. Yeah. So, you could go first. So, for those of you who came and stayed and spoke, and for our young leaders, thank you. Because, I repeat, our democracy is stronger with a strong and active constituency. And this is why, with your support, colleagues, and I really pass the civic, you know, education. And the mayor has been tremendous making sure that this is implemented. And we've been very happy with the results. So, thank you, Mayor, Kava, and staff. I know this is probably the most difficult, and I said it last year, too, most difficult period in your life, in your professional life, the budget period. So, thank you. And then to the sheriff's office. I was, bear with me for a quick minute. I was looking at sheriff's stats standing there and looking at the mayor trying to find synergy here to find a solution to the sheriff's request. And I said, that's something that we probably missed in this very serious conversation. Two powerful women. And then to little girls and little boys watching. What a powerful example. I just wanted to mention that. So, I've been following the questions, and I appreciate it. So, most of the questions are asked by some of my colleagues, and I'm not going to repeat what were said. I just have a few questions, Madam Sheriff. And before I start, I'd like to thank you, Madam Sheriff, and your staff, because I visited the training center, and I concur. I think I heard a couple of my colleagues who said that we need to do better. We need to do better. And I concur with that, Madam Sheriff. Thank you to your staff for, you know, inviting me and then for taking the time to show me around, to show me around. And this is a conversation that we need to continue, because it is unacceptable, what I saw. It is unacceptable. I've also mentioned it to Mayor Kava, and I said, you know, we can do better. We need to do better. And I really would like to do whatever I can to make sure that the spaces that we have to train, and where people come, and as you explained, from out of state, and to train here, we need to present the best. And then what I saw was not the best. So, thank you for that, and I'm looking forward to work with you to make sure that happens. So, a lot of questions have been asked, and I have a few, but, you know, six. And the first one is, how many authorized positions are currently vacant within the Miami DeSantis Office, and what is the current funding level for those vacant positions? How many are vacant, and then what are the funding level? We have one, excuse me, we have 281 total vacancies as of the end of September, 110 sworn, and 171 civilian. And what was the second part of your question, Commissioner? Level, what is the level? Funding, funding level. As in, what is the funding level? God stepped away. I'm sorry, can I get that answer for you? He just stepped away. Yes, ma'am. You're talking just a dollar amount, is that what you're looking for? Yes, ma'am. Yes, so, I'll have him look it up for me. Thank you. All right. We'll go to the second one. So, how many, you probably were asked this, I'm not sure, how many of you were actually filled during the fiscal year, this fiscal year? How many positions were filled? Okay, so, we projected to have 144 sworn vacancies in this current fiscal year. 144 was our projection. We were an actual 182. We just started an academy class, so those numbers go down because of it, right? Because we're filling those vacancies with a brand new academy class of 50 people. On the sworn and civilian, projected totals were 228 for this fiscal year, and the actual is 290. Any reasons for? Yes, so we have a large amount of, unfortunately, people separating from the agency more than we expected. I am losing some deputies to other agencies and other sheriff's office because of the pay discrepancy. Can you give more details about the discrepancies? Because this is a concern. It is a concern. One is the fact that the cost of living here in Miami-Dade County is high, as we know. And because my starting salary is low, they find it very hard to be able to maintain their homes, their households, their families. Every deputy has, you know, kids, wives, or spouses, partners that they have to be concerned for and they have to be able to pay the bills. So they have a lot of those issues come up all the time where they're saying, you know, I love my job, I love what I do here, but I can't make ends meet based on the salary. Thank you. So, of the funding allocated for those vacant positions that remain unfilled, how much was ultimately unspent and returned to the county, and how much was redirected or reallocated to other uses within the sheriff's office? Well, I'd have to research an exact dollar amount on the redirection when it came to budget expenses. Currently, our estimation is between $4 and $5 million that will be returned. So you're going to get back to us with that tonight? That is our estimate of return for the end of this fiscal year back to the county, between $4 and $5 million. It's an estimate. And then what were the uses for? I mean, those. Well, no, that's the money that's left over in the budget that was unused that we're returning to the county. I thought that was the question. Unused funds at the end of this fiscal year. Okay, but what other use did you have for the dollars? I'm not sure I understand the question. What are the other uses? Yes. Okay, so, for example, we utilize, there's the operational side, right? Above and beyond salaries, above and beyond benefits, we have to have the funding for a payout when someone separates, which we all know, right? That's an expense. We pay for contracts, equipment, tasers, ammunition, training. We pay for our deputies' equipment as well to maintain that they have what they need in order to do those things. We pay for a lot of the software technology, right, the contracts that we have to keep the operations running on a day-to-day as well. So those are just some of the examples of the things that we spend our budget on. But the majority of our budget is salaries and employees. Thank you. So if the funding already provided has not resulted in the authorized vacancies being filled, and a portion of that funding has been used elsewhere, what specifically would additional funding do differently to close the hiring gap? So the hiring gap is for the future fiscal year, okay? So currently, our vacancies, based on attrition, right, positions that have not yet been filled, I start academies. It takes me a year and a half to get them up and running, so there's time that needs to happen. So that's another reason why I need to keep them in the pipeline to keep them going, because as they're coming in, some are going out. And if what's coming in is less than what's going out, I end up with less deputies on the road. So additionally, I've been trying to work on lowering or increasing, I should say, the ratio, the percentage of deputies per residence. And that's what my ask was for the 75 additional deputies in the upcoming fiscal year, to try to start to make a dent in that, understanding that it should be a process. It should not be all at once, right? This is just really a small step. But these are the things that we work on with a vision and a mission in order to get the agency where it needs to, you know, where I believe this county deserves and needs it to be. All right. Thank you. Lastly, I don't want to express that the Northside District, Major Williams, and the Intercoastal District, Major Rodriguez, have been incredibly helpful. I want to, you know, put that on tonight, take advantage of all of your attention to put that on. They've been incredibly helpful to my office and to the district, and we look forward to strengthening the partnership over the course of the new fiscal year. The last question is, what commitments, Madam Sheriff, whom I appreciate and admire, can you make regarding improving services provided over the course of this fiscal year? Thank you for that question. I think it's important to understand that what I am trying to achieve is to move this agency forward in many ways, but recognizing that as we get better, we shall identify efficiencies. We shall identify better ways to do things that are not as costly. So for us, this is part of our growing pain in order to stand up as our own sheriff's office. You know, earlier tonight, we, I was asked about the services that we provide to other municipalities, and homicide just happened to be the one that was mentioned. I unfortunately forgot. But I do want to make this point, because I do think it was an important point that was being made. So we not only service unincorporated Miami-Dade, we do investigate homicides for about 27 municipalities. There are plenty that have their own, yes, but we do provide those services for 27, and it's not just a homicide. We provide SWAT, aviation, marine, the forensic, which I mentioned, as well as major investigative supports, robberies, special victims, et cetera. Those are a lot of services that we provide all over the county, not just unincorporated. My commitment is to the safety of this community. My commitment is to advancing us forward, to having a sheriff's office that grows with this county. We may have lost some people in the last year who moved out of this county, but all one has to do is drive down the southern end of this county to see the building, the construction, the development that we are inviting. We invite world-class events to this county, and they're coming. Why? Because we do a good job, and we do that collectively. I understand it's not just one piece. My piece happens to be the law enforcement side. So my commitment is to that, to continuing the growth, to continue to provide public safety, to continuing to work with my partners right here to ensure that we can get to that goal together. Thank you, Madam Sheriff. And let me congratulate you. I don't think I had that. When I met with you, when I visited the training center, I didn't think about it. During the World Cup, I mean, the tremendous work that you and your team did, and some people were telling me, oh, Commissioner, Commissioner, we're so scared that something bad might happen. But guess what? We did beautifully. We did beautifully. And you and your staff, you know, are to be commended for that. So I want to thank you. My hope for tonight is that I think DCH asked you the question because we are in a bind, in a bind. We have a finite budget, and people are hurting. We're cutting services to residents who have to take buses. I have, during my campaign, I have elderly folks who told me, since they cut their bus routes, they haven't been able to go and get their groceries. They haven't been able to go places because that's their only mean of transportation, to get food. So we are really in a crisis. We are in a bind, in a bind. So my hope is that we can. And I was shocked to hear that there was a possibility that if we don't come to a consensus tonight, I didn't know that, you learn every day, at any age, that, you know, you could report us, you could report to, I didn't know that. I didn't know that. And this is not a good position to be in. This is a very difficult situation. So hopefully, we can find a consensus. Yes, Commissioner. Because you have a finite budget, you have cuts being made to people's lives, and then at the same time, we have public safety because society cannot function without your service, your sacrifices, and what you do. This is not an easy situation to be in. It is not. I understand. And for the record, the question was asked if I would take that off the table, and that was my response. I don't think it's fair for me to give away a right and a duty that I have to ensure that I can do my job. So I just want to be clear because it was never about making a threat or stating that I was going to hold it over anyone's head. The question was asked if that was off the table. I said that it wasn't at this time. So just for clarity. But thank you. I appreciate your kind words, Commissioner. Thank you. And for the record, World Cup was a success due to all the men and women who worked tirelessly every single day to make it safe for this county and for the world. As stated. Thank you so much, Sharon. Thank you. Thank you. All right. So I have a few on cue. Renato, Hardeman, Lopez, Gonzalez, Steinberg. I'll do whatever you guys want to do. But I think you still all say exactly what you want to say. But I think I call the first item. And then you say what you want to say. And if there's motions that need to start happening, we start kind of moving the agenda along. Is that what you guys think is? By the way, Mr. Chair. May I? May I? Sorry. Commissioner? Yeah. I have a couple of, you know. Amendment motions, right? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's what I'm trying to get to. I'm trying to get to. You let me know when. Yeah. Yes. What do you guys think? I think we just want to finish the share. Can we just finish the share? I know. But finish the share is going to be another two hours without a single motion. I'm okay with it. But it's another two hours. We just know it. No, it is. Remember, I made a motion. And it was seconded by Gonzalez. No. All right. Let's do it. Let's try that. Let's try that. We could always pause. All right. Madam Attorney, can you read the first item? Or do you need to read all the items? How can we? Yes, Mr. Chair. I can read item one. Read item one. Item A. Is an ordinance approving, adopting, and ratifying the millage for the countywide general fund operating purposes for the fiscal year commencing October 1, 2026 and ending September 30, 2027, and the budget director has a statement. The proposed countywide operating millage is 4.574 mills, which is 5.63% above the state-defined rollback rate, 4.3301. The proposed millage rate generates revenue to support the operations, services, and programs, included in the proposed budget and provided by Miami-Dade County and the constitutional offices, including planned salary increases and an increase from the Florida retirement system. Okay. All right. So we are on item A. On item A, from my first queue that I have pending, which is Regalado, Hardeman, Lopez, or Steinberg, on item A, any specific discussion or motions on item A? Commissioner Hardeman, you're right. Move to approve. All right. Commissioner Hardeman moves to approve item A. It's been seconded by the vice chair. Seeing no discussion on item A, clerk, please call the roll. Commissioner Bastien. Commissioner Bermudez. Millage. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins. Senator Garcia. Commissioner Gilbert. Yes. Commissioner Gonzalez. No. Commissioner Hardeman. Four. Commissioner Lopez. Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis. Commissioner Regalado. Yes. Commissioner Steinberg. Vice Chairman McGee. Yes. Chairman Rodriguez. I vote yes. Motion passes 11 to 1. Madam Attorney, please read the next item. Item B is the ordinance approving, adopting, and ratifying the millage for countywide bond and debt service for the fiscal year commencing October 1, 2026, and ending September 30, 2027. And the budget director has a statement. The proposed countywide debt service millage rate is 0.3937 mills, 0.3042 mills for countywide debt service, including the Building Better Communities Bond Program and Safe Neighborhood Parks Program, and 0.0895. 0.35 mills for the Public Health Trust Jackson Miracle Building Bond Program. All right. Do I have a motion? It's been moved by the vice chair, seconded by Senator Garcia. Seeing no discussion on item B. Clerk, please call the roll. Commissioner Bermudez. Commissioner Bermudez. Yes. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins. Four. Senator Garcia. Commissioner Gilbert. Yes. Commissioner Gonzalez. No. Commissioner Hardiman. I'm sorry? Commissioner Lopez. Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis. Yes. Commissioner Regalado. Commissioner Steinberg. Commissioner Bastien. Vice Chairman McGee. Yes. Chairman Rodriguez. I vote yes. I vote yes. Motion passes 12 to 1. Item be passed. Now, yeah, can you read the next item? Yes, Mr. Chair. The next item is the ordinance approving and adopting the countywide general fund budget for Miami-Dade County, Florida for the fiscal year commencing October 1, 2026 and ending September 30, 2027. Mr. Chair, this item would need to be approved as amended to incorporate the mayor's memorandum dated September 15, 2026, titled information for second budget hearing for fiscal year 2026-27 proposed budget as well as the mayor's memorandum dated September 17, 2026 titled supplemental information for second budget hearing fiscal year 2026-27 proposed budget. I also believe we need to bifurcate the CBO portions, Senator Garcia and Commissioner McGee both have statements. All right, should we do that at this time? Yeah. All right, Senator Garcia, you recognize? Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I request the bifurcation of the non-legacy CBO's events and initiative included in the Amendment B for the mayor's memorandum dated September 15, 2026 entitled information for second budget hearing 2026-2027 proposed budget. All right, Vice Chairman, are you still reading? Are you on reading? Yeah, I keep on reading. I may have a potential. Sorry, Mr. Chairman. It's a little late. I may have a potential. I was like, what is it? I may have a potential conflict of interest regarding the discussion and allocation of funding for the non-legacy CBO's events and initiative included in Amendment B for the mayor's memorandum dated September 15, 2026. I sit on the board of directors of the South Florida Behavioral Health Network, Inc., non-profit organization that is an intended beneficiary of grant funding. In the abundance of caution, I will be abstaining from voting on this matter and removing myself from the commission chambers while the matter is considered. The statement also applies to items E and F. H. Items E and H. Jesus Christ. C, E and H. I said to this one, how are you the longest standing beneficiary of the law? E and H. Yes, sir. Vice Chairman, can you say all that again for him, please? Yeah, yeah, yeah. He said thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I request the bifurcation of non-legacy CBO's events and initiative listed inside the attachment B of the mayor's memorandum dated September 15, 2026, tied information for second budget hearing, fiscal year 2026-27, proposed budget. I may have a potential conflict of interest regarding the discussion and allocation of funding for non-legacy CBO's events and initiative included in attachment B of the mayor's memorandum dated September 15, 2026. I'm a contractor protruding of inmates, a non-profit organization that is intended to be a beneficiary of a grant funding and an abundance of caution. I will be abstaining from voting on this matter and removing myself from the commission chambers while this matter is considered. This statement also applies to item E and item H. Point of order. Yes, ma'am. I understand taking a vote on the millage because it's into Friday and we want to get started. I just, we haven't finalized anything and we have motions and we're approving the ordinances. So then if we have to change line items, we're going to have to go back. So I don't, I'm not, I understand voting on the millage because, you know, we're not, we're not moving the millage, right? Unless someone wants to move the millage. But I feel like now we're moving into the ordinances and if we move into the ordinance without the dispensation of the other. We're about to do the motions here. We're about to start doing those motions. This is the same process that we have to do no matter what. No, because you're approving, you're approving the ordinances and then we're going to have to go back. I don't understand yet. We haven't, we, not everyone has gone around. We haven't even resolved. What are you going to resolve by going around just hearing yourself? I mean, what are you going to do? Everyone has the right to speak. I have questions for the sheriff. Some of us. You're going to say a whole lot of it. I mean, and I'm going to allow you to speak a whole lot, but now is the time to do it. I'm confused as to what you're saying is not, is out of order. Well, what I'm saying is out of order is that we have not finalized all of our discussions in terms of the budget before we approve the ordinance. So if we want to move between line items, why don't we just agree on what we're moving and then approve the ordinances? It's only going to make it more complex later because we're going to be pulling it. That's what we're about to do right now. I think that's actually the process the chair is in the middle of. So now is the time before we approve this ordinance for you to actually ask those questions and make those motions. So yeah, we're not approving it without you having your opportunity. Yes and no, because half of us haven't even spoken on the sheriff yet. So you're going to have an opportunity to speak? Apparently she thinks she's not. I'm not sure she's making this up. No, I'm not making anything up. You're going to have a chance to speak right now. You are. You're creating a... All right. This is what we're doing. So to have abstained, you can exit the chamber so we can entertain a motion. Just on the CBO portion. This is only on the CBOs, correct? Correct. I'll entertain a motion now on the CBO portion of item C. On the CBO portion. Are you confused, Commissioner Gilbert? I'll move the item. I'm just... They left the room, so they can't participate in the conversation. But now is going to be the time where if somebody wants to make motions on C, E, and H... I have on my... Point of order. I have on my desk from other people, not even me, at least three on C. So, I mean... They're going to be here for when it gets back. Has nothing to do with the CBO portion. Does it have to do with CBOs? To the attorneys. Is there an issue with the way we're doing this? No. The other attorneys on the dais feel there is. Mr. Chair, it's your prerogative. I believe the motion would be only on the portion of the ordinance that deals with the CBOs. And I'm not aware of any motions other than approval or just of this particular portion. If there is a motion on the CBOs, then perhaps there's a... It's been moved by Commissioner Gilbert, seconded by Commissioner Cohen-Higgins. Any discussion on the CBOs? Seeing none, clerk, please call the roll. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins. Four. Commissioner Gilbert. Yes. Commissioner Gonzalez. No. Commissioner Hardiman. Commissioner Lopez. Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis. No. Commissioner Regalado. Yes. Commissioner Steinberg. Commissioner Bastien. Yes. Commissioner Bermudez. Only on the CBOs, yes. Chairman Rodriguez. I vote yes. Motion passes 9-2-2. Show that portion of item C passed and let's call... Okay, now I've got a motion on, hold on, wait, wait, to be recognized, hold on, Senator Garcia and Vice Chairman, please come back in and then I'm going to kick it off, I'm going to recognize everybody too, but I'm going to kick it off with my motion that I explained at the very beginning, so if the attorneys can, if the attorneys could read my motion and then we'll open debate on my motion and anything else regarding this item. That's a good motion. I like it. Mr. Chair, Chairman Rodriguez moves to amend the fiscal year 2026-2027 county budget and item C, E, and H to appropriate the additional $20 million in revenue announced by the tax collector at today's budget hearing as follows. Of the $16 million that will be returned to the general fund, $15.5 million shall be divided between A, $11.376 million in additional funds for the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office for eligible personnel uses, and B, $5 million allocated to the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, Inc. for the purpose of reinvesting in our community, attracting major events, supporting local businesses, and generating economic activity. The $1.945 million that will be returned to the fire district shall be appropriated for eligible fire rescue purposes. The $600,000 that would be returned to the countywide bonded debt service shall be appropriated for eligible purposes, and the $362,000 that would be returned to the library district shall be appropriated for eligible library purposes. This funding is contingent and subject to approval of any necessary modification to the tax collector's budget by the Florida Department of Revenue. Second. Okay. All right, so it's been moved, it's been seconded by Commissioner Orbis, and then just, I should take this as I do in the past, right? One motion at a time, we have to, right? There's too many. You may. All right, so it's been moved, it's been seconded. Commissioner Bermudez. Yeah, I've got, listen, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate that you've gone out of your way to try to make this certainly better across the board. I have a real problem with the $5 million allocations of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau for the purpose of reinvesting in our community. There are no guardrails on conflict of interest. I don't like the way that Mr. Whitaker handled the FIFA issue. I don't think it was correct. I think there should be a conflict of interest aspect to this for all of us. It's wonderful that there's these great events, but it made everybody look terrible, and I don't like it. So unless there's a guardrails there referencing to some sort of conflict of interest clause on these events, on the great, to give it to him, to give it to whoever he wants to give it to, I have a real problem with it. And I've expressed it to him, and I expressed it publicly tonight. I don't know if he's here or not, but I'll vote no on it, unless there's some sort of guardrails on conflict of interest for all of us. And I believe those guardrails already exist. So, Commissioner Hardiman. So I'm not going to really get into, like, just a whole thing about values and ideas for the district and how this all affects all of us. I'm just going to really cut to the chase when it comes particularly to this motion and how it affects the budget. Commissioner Daniela Cornhiggins, she asked our sheriff a pretty pertinent question. And the sheriff clarified that, her answer in this question, which is whether or not that she would appeal the decision of this board in moving forward. From that led to Commissioner Gilbert's response, which was, you know, basically do what you have to do, but we are not afraid. And, you know, I think it all is very interesting because obviously the sheriff has made it very clear that she wants a certain amount of money. And our mayor has made it clear that that is not something that she can budget for. Now, it's our decision whether or not we're going to give this organization the money that they're requesting or any other dime, for that matter. And so my heartburn is that she doesn't have enough money for what it is that she wants to do. And if she doesn't have enough money for what it is that she wants to do, I don't believe that any additional dollar towards them is going to make a difference. And so that's my heartburn sort of with this motion. So we're going to add another $10 million to something where she's not satisfied. But I can tell you, if you add another $10 million to your DTPW for the issues that we're having with transit, people will be satisfied. You take that money and you invest it into the other services that we need within our community, people will be satisfied. And so, you know, in the GMCVB, look, I've been serving on the GMCVB now for 13 years. And I think their last year budget was somewhere around $52 million or something to that matter. I mean, they do pretty good. They're an entity that gets their dollars from some fees and then other fees for membership, et cetera. And they do a very good job. But once again, that's another $5 million that could be used towards an issue that we're trying to solve. I don't think we can solve the sheriff's issue. You know, I don't even appreciate the state giving us the issue of even managing the sheriff's budget. I think the sheriff should have, like, they should have, like, the school board or some other fee that's just directed only for them. So when they want additional money, they can go to the taxpayers and say, hey, I want to raise the tax so I can have additional funds to do X, Y, and Z. And they decide what they want to do with their money. I think that's the smartest thing for us to do. Maybe some of our good state legislators will help us in crafting that message to them. Because I think that's the best thing. Because we spent, I mean, we've been here now going on seven hours. And the vast majority has been speaking to our sheriff. And so, you know, I'm glad we're at the point now where we're making motions. But if we're talking motions, any additional funding that's going now to the sheriff's office beyond what the mayor has provided is very difficult for me to find support for it. Because I just don't think that this sheriff is going to be satisfied. And I don't blame her. But this is our reality. And so we have to decide amongst ourselves if this is what we want to do. Or is it that we want to take the lion's share of this money that we have and try to solve our everyday problems? Yes, we, you know, it was sort of a back and forth with our chairman and the mayor about whether or not we're fully funding CBOs. Fully funding is a very tricky word to use. Because I will tell you, most of the CBOs here are not fully funded. And so, you know, very rarely does someone make a request and get all that they want in that request. Of course. Usually people are dissatisfied to some extent. Some are just happy to be in the party. And, you know, in regard to the motion that's on the floor right now, if we were going to break down each motion. You know, I want to be supportive. But I just think that the money can be better served in other ways. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Commissioner. And before I recognize someone else, I want to jump into, I actually agree with everything you said. And it's a struggle. I mean, I'm one that comes from the legislature. And, like, my colleagues that have served in the legislature. And in the legislature, for the most part, not everyone does this, but amongst colleagues, other state reps and senators, and we're colleagues, right, is if I'm running a bill in the legislature and a colleague of mine comes to me with an amendment to that bill, there's an understanding that if I agree to that amendment, you're going to support my bill if I agree to what you're proposing, right? So if you kind of, like, bring that mentality here is if we're going to give you extra money, then you're not going to go appeal it to the state, right? It's kind of the same mentality. So I agree with what you're saying. So it gives me heartburn, too, to put $11.5 million into the sheriff's budget and then still have her go. And it's just the truth. It's the truth. Because I'm showing an act of good faith, and yet it's not enough. I get it. And you're still going to go appeal it, where we can, you know, there's people that are going to not be able to get back home because their bus routes are being cut. And that's just equally as important. That could create crime, and it's a trickle effect. So I agree. My only reason why I would still let this go, and I'm happy to amend my motion, is because at least this $11.5 million gets them to their contractual obligations of salaries. It's the only reason that I'm breaking away from that mentality of, why give you anything if you're still going to appeal it? Absent that, you're right. I would withdraw that and redistribute those funds. I don't know. I don't know what your thoughts are after I shared that with you, but I agree with exactly everything you just said. But it does give me heartburn to get $11.5 million and put it into the mayor's budget, I mean the sheriff's budget, and still have her go and appeal to the state. So I'm open to suggestions. I think it at least makes her whole in the contractual obligations that are very real, that I think, you know, absent the attrition that the mayor has described, you know, even the administration agrees that those are contractual obligations. So that's why I can get comfortable with it, but I agree. So Commissioner Regalado. Thank you. On this motion, like my colleague, J.C. Bermudez, I don't feel comfortable with the $5 million bid fund. The accountability is an issue, but more so than that, this budget is about needs, not about nice to have. It would be nice to have $5 million so that we can bring sporting events. That would be nice. But when you're sitting here canceling night buses and making all these difficult decisions, for things that are needs for our community, I cannot support something that's, like, nice to have, right? That being said, in terms of the money for the sheriff, I think you were right to make the $11 million in good faith. I think the sheriff has said that she is not going to give up her legal ability should she decide to do something. I mean, I don't, I don't, and I don't, we don't have, like, we don't have a cushion where there's $50 million, right? So this is a process, and we're going to go through that process. I have some questions for the sheriff that I think are going to clarify some of this before we take the $11 million off the table, which I hope you'll indulge me really quickly. I'll be fast. The floor is yours. Thank you. First and foremost, Madam Sheriff, I want to thank you for your service. I'm the only one up here that was an elected constitutional officer, so I feel you. I feel you. It's a weird situation, and I also served for two terms at the school board where more than 80% of our budget was our salaries. So when I look at your budget, I understand kind of the constraints, right? But let me ask you, because I think some of the issues that we're having is that there's a disconnect, because earlier when we were talking about the attrition, you were giving Commissioner Bastien some numbers, and, but when the mayor was talking about the attrition, you know, you weren't in agreement with that. So can we establish just some general rules? I mean, because you're not the only constitutional officer, but all of the constitutional officers, and when I was at the school board, you know, and we did our work over there, we all take into account attrition. So you're not saying that you're not going to take into account attrition, because when you say, I need the money for all the officers that I have, obviously on this end, we're like, but what about attrition, right? So we're on the same page, yes? Yes. Okay, so what we disagree about is not that there is an attrition, it's just what is the attrition. Okay, so because you have FRS, you know right now how many of your officers are in the drop, and how many of your officers are going to retire in 2027, yes? Yes. Okay, so that's a factor. Do you know the number that the administration has for that? What is your number for that? For expected retirement? Expected retirement. I don't have that right in front of me. Okay, well, why do they get that? So we have expected retirement, all right? And then you were saying that you've lost more laterally, right, to other departments and other offices than you expected, okay? Yes. Yes. Okay, so what do you have that number? Like, what is the number that you have factored in? Yeah, that's what I give it to you. Okay, so the latter question in regards to what was expected, we expected to have 144 sworn separate. Okay. This current fiscal year. That was the projected number. We currently have actually 182. That's separated? Yes, ma'am. Okay. And retirement? So, yeah. So that includes retirement or if they leave for another reason, just because they decided to go work for another agency. Okay, so you lump them all together? Yes, it's separation from the agency. Okay. Normally we separate them, but okay, you lump them all together. I might be able to get that number, just set a different chart, ma'am. That's fine. That's fine. Now, Madam Mayor, what are your, Ray, what are your numbers on this? You have a percentage, but how do those numbers, how do your percentage turn into numbers? Sure. We have 168 on separations. You know, our overall attrition we were assuming for their budget was 6%, and I believe that translated into approximately 42 million, and an estimated attrition. So your projected was 168, her projected was 144, her actual was 182, right? Is that what we just did? Yes. Yes? Okay. All right. So, and Sheriff, listen, every constitutional is standing up an entire system, but the question is how much can you do in one year, and how much can you do in two years, and how much can you do in three years, right? So just so that we're clear on the attrition, your projected was 144, you ended up with 182, their projected was 168. So their projected was under your actual attrition. Yes? Yes? Yes. Okay. All right. So, Ray, yes? If that's a number, I didn't hear it, Ray. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I just wanted to say, we are looking more at actual on their attrition, and we believe their actual attrition they're running is in the 8% range. For the budget that we proposed, we assumed a budgeted 6% attrition. They had a budgeted, I believe, 4% attrition. I wouldn't want to speak for you, but I believe that's the right number. That tracks, that tracks, because they originally said 144, they ended up with 182, and you projected 168. So that tracks, right? I think it's just better if you use numbers instead of percentages, because it's confusing for people at home. So, Sheriff, their point, and I'm just trying to, like, find the consensus here, their point is, last year we had a projection, you ended up having more attrition, this year we're not taking you to the 8% attrition that you actually had. We're taking you to the 6%. You still want the 4%, is your point. Is that your point? Are you still at 4%? I believe we were at 5% for this one. For this year, we were close to 6%. Could I have Gus come up here as well to help me with the numbers? Just trying to find out what is the disconnect, because we started at, like. Yes, Gus. Yeah. Lower the podium a little bit. Get comfortable. We're going to be here a while. We need to resolve this. He said lower. What's the. Go ahead. So the question is, is that they're calculating a 6% attrition rate? We budgeted, and the proposal we created, 6%. And our proposal? Our proposal is that, for next year, is that we're going to have 151 separations on the sworn side and 84 on the civilian side. At the end of the day, it means that we're budgeting $20 million in attrition savings. So wait, so now you separated the two. Now you have another bucket. But your projection is 154, even though your actual this year was 182. That's correct. Okay. That's correct. And what is that based on? That you're going to be hiring more? That we were able to, in the current year, increase salaries by 7.5% on the PBA contract. There was a 4% COLA in April. There was a 3.5% increase on the FDLE recertification pay. So that should help with a little bit more on the recruitment for next year and the retention. Correct. As well as my additional request to increase the starting salaries to make it more attractive and to be able to get more candidates on the front end. Increase the candidates. And while we all hope that is true, this board, when we approved our labor agreements, we approved them with no increase and a reopener after the November election. Correct, Ray? We haven't started negotiations. I'm aware. But see what I'm saying? Right, so because of when we're approving things, we were at a point that we're not projecting, this budget does not project our COLA, right? So we have to come back, right? If we get to a point where we can afford the COLA, we have to come back. So our projections for all our departments and for all the other constitutionals do not have that baked in. So you would be the only one that you're saying, because we have an agreement and you're going to, you're the only one right now that's getting a COLA, right? And now you're basing your, yeah. This is in the past, Commissioner, so. No, I understand. But you're going to now start negotiating. We don't know. What we told our unions, you know, in our beginning of negotiations were, we don't know what's going to happen in November. So we're going to put a pin in it and we're going to have a reopener. That's what we, that's what this board approved unanimously. That's what this board approved. So I'm just trying to get you to understand kind of the comparisons because what is kind of your understanding of it is very different from our understanding of it. So, and again, I don't, I don't disagree that you'll be able to hire more. And you've had a commitment across the dais that we're willing, and even from the mayor, to pay more, right, for the rookies so that you can recruit better. I think we all agree on that. I just, I don't, if it's down to a 1%, I guess the question is, Ray, what is the cost of that 1%? Each 1% of attrition is valued at approximately $7 million. Okay, so Mr. Chairman, the reason I ask that question is because that's your 11, right? So the 7, the 7, you know, 7 million is the attrition point, right, the disagreement. So if you, if you put in 11, you've bridged that gap. And I think it's important for us. I mean, we may not be able to bridge every gap today, but I think we should make a concerted effort to bridge as many gaps as possible, right? So that, that would be, yeah, that, that, that's my argument for, for that. Now, the second point I want to ask you about, Rosie, you know, we talk about facilities, you know, I mean, fires here, I think they have a facilities need of over 750,000, more, more, more. Okay, it's more, Ray says. Because we all have facilities needs. We all have facilities needs, you know, we all want to fix our facilities. And I think, you know, the conversation about the bonds and what those needs are are very fair. So you have to understand our position in that right now we're not in a, we're not in a position to make those commitments. The returning, the returning of the funds, everybody has to return that. We have not, we do not give any department the ability to keep their carryover. We have not given any constitutional the ability to keep their carryover. So, you know, and that's the conversation we were having with the clerk, you know, what are the actual positions, right? What are you actually filling? What happens in October? I think the next big issue is this thing with the academies. Like, is there a way in terms of accounting to keep the academies, like, in a fiscal year? Can you break up the pay so that you can keep it in a fiscal year? I understand that you're saying, well, I have a multi-year obligation because they cross over fiscal years. We got that. But from our perspective, we just want a number on that. I'm not sure I can answer that because of the fact that I can't start all the classes at the same time. We just can't even. I agree. But what Commissioner Gilbert mentioned and what I think we need to understand is you can start staggered classes. But from a fiscal perspective, we need to break it up into the calendar year so that we're not bleeding into the next calendar year. We absolutely do that. But they're going to bleed into the next year because our academy is nine months long. So invariably, it's going to bleed into the following year. I understand that. But from an accounting perspective on our side, we need to have a beginning and an end. Obviously, we have an obligation to fund the sheriff, just like we have an obligation to fund the judges, just like we have an obligation to fund everything else. But from an accounting perspective, I think you need to figure out, like, you know, instead of doing it as classes, do it as recruitment employees in that fiscal year. I think the overarching, like, class is a problem. I think we need to have a qualification in your budget of active recruitment employees in that fiscal year. Could you give us that number? Yeah. Yeah. They're the trainees. Yes. We can just cut it off at the end of the fiscal year and provide you that number. If there is a better way that would help both parties to come to a clear number, more than happy to work on that. And I think, if I may, Commissioner, just add one more thing, is that I want all the commissioners to know that I'm open to a responsible solution. So the question was asked about what my options were, and I answered what my options were. But I think I want to make that clear. I don't want it to be the perception that I'm not up here to be reasonable and to work together to come to that conclusion. We're good. We're good. Let's speed it up. So the other thing is, we've got to go. We've got to go. The natives are getting restless. Okay. So, you know, you've talked about a lot of things that you're doing to stand up. One thing that I didn't find in the presentation and in the budget is cost savings. So what, I mean, can you give us some cost savings? Because I feel like we're getting a lot of expenses and we're not getting some cost savings. When you and I met, for example, you were talking about potentially outsourcing. Commissioner, can the audience please, there's a lot of background noise. We're in the chambers. It's almost one in the morning. We're trying to do the people's business. Very important for that matter. Let's just lower it down so that the commissioner can make her point. Thank you. When we met, you were talking about potentially outsourcing evidence control and different things you were talking about. Are these things in your budget and what is the cost savings? Because I think it helps us kind of understand. Because we're seeing the expense, but you're not telling us, well, and this is how much we're going to save, and this is when the savings start. Yes. So in the past year, specifically, we had cost savings in the way we handled, for example, our vehicle rebranding. Originally, we had budgeted for a repainting to change the graphics and the names on every one of our vehicles. One of the things that we did was that we recognized that we could have a major cost savings by going to graphics. So instead of fully painting a vehicle, which can cost $5,000 to $7,000 per vehicle, we're able to do wraps and graphics, two separate options, in order, depending on the condition of the vehicle, to begin. That was an approximate savings of $5.7 million. The decision I made to have MDSO remain in our brown gown and not go to green was an additional $4.8 million saved. We continue to work on office supplies, something as simple as that. Get me started on that. It's a dark, dark hole. Dark hole. Savings of. Don't go there. It's a dark hole. It's a dark place. We saved some money there. We spent approximately $8 million annually on fuel. Obviously, we utilized some of the fundings through PIOD. One of the things that we did is provide another option in regards to response. We utilized the WEX bank through the National Association of State Procurement. And some of those, depending on where we're at, allows us a savings of up to $0.15 a gallon. It does not mean that we will ever stop using. We will always need our PIOD. But this allows us to have some savings in certain circumstances that works for us. Okay. And what are your projected cost savings for the next fiscal year? So do you have anything? So, for example, when we talked about evidentiary control, you said that would free up officers. So is that going to cut down on the overtime? I mean, what are you doing to save some money here? Okay. So those are long-term solutions I had offered and were working on. I don't believe it would happen in one fiscal year in full disclosure. However, one of the ideas that we're working on is Logistic Care, which is the company I mentioned to you, Madam, that we outsource our collection, processing, transport, maintenance, and ultimately destruction of our evidence. And what that will do is free up law enforcement deputies from doing it, save on overtimes because we're not having them go and pick them up and bring them back, keep deputies on the road because now they don't have to leave to go transport evidence. It can be arranged and transported. Okay. It would not only be a cost savings for us, the state attorney, the clerk, who else, the public defenders, all of these would be a mutual thing. Yeah. And I talked to them about it, and they said the same thing. But we can't do it in this fiscal year, so we'll put that on the back. We're working on that. Additionally, we're working on some of our internal software technology pieces to find ways that we can be more efficient. As we work on, you have all heard about our record management systems for years, us trying to stand it up. We still don't have one. We have re-looked at it, found AI technology, which is actually much more effective and efficient and cheaper. So that would be in the next fiscal year, maybe somewhere between $7 million to $9 million savings. Okay, $7 million to $9 million. Good to know. I also wanted to ask you about the jails just because in the change memo, the mayor is proposing an inmate population reduction working group, and she has on there the judges, and she also has the state attorney. I wanted to ask the mayor if she would add the public defender into this. But one of the issues that we have is our jail is overcrowded and people stay there too long. One of the things that came up when I was talking to the stakeholders was the turnaround time for the body cams. So currently, what is your turnaround time for the body cam video? I would have to get that for you. Okay. I was told 60 days, and that's a lot. And I know, Arnold, do you know what the turnaround time for the body cam videos are? Okay. My understanding is that the average is like two weeks, and obviously what happens is they get, you know, you get an indictment, then you get the body cam video, then you can't move forward until you get the body cam video. So I think that there is, if you participate in this work group, I think there are some things that you could do to probably help us get people out of jail faster that would be beneficial to the general fund, which would be beneficial to you. I'm happy to work with any ideas to speed up the process and efficiencies. Okay. Perfect. Perfect. All right. That's what I have on that. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Sheriff. Thank you. That's it? Well, that's just on the Sheriff. That's just on the Sheriff. That's all you have on the Sheriff? That's what I have on the Sheriff. Well, on this motion, I think you should keep the 11 for the Sheriff, and I pled my case, and I think the Sheriff has made some points. I think it's important for us to try to bridge the gap as much as possible. I mean, rarely has anyone ever left this chamber fully satisfied. I mean, that's how you know it's a good compromise, right? I mean, so I think we should at least endeavor to do that. I think we now have determined that the issue with attrition is the 1%. That 1% is 7 million. We're putting in 11. So we can say that we are fully funding all the folks that she has right now plus some. That is happening. So that makes me feel better as we move forward with the rest of the budget in terms of the 11. All right. Commissioner Colin Higgins. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I look forward to hearing from my colleagues because I think Commissioner Hardiman does raise an excellent point, and I appreciate the Sheriff giving some clarification when I asked previously, not necessarily about what your options were, but what your specific intentions were this evening. I think that that was clarified a bit. But I have questions on the $5 million proposal to GMCBB. I can support this if it is a proposal to have GMCBB do what they are intended to do. And what I mean by that is we always ask through independent motion, something comes up, whether it's the World Fair or FIFA, and we always allocate funds at this body towards those events. I think GMCBB should be doing that. I think they get the taxes to do it. They have a very healthy, almost $60 million budget to do it. They run a lot of advertisement, a lot of television commercials, a lot of print ads. But when it comes to funding these events in our community, we are always the one that fund it, and I pretty consistently vote against it. If this money, and so the question is to the maker of the motion, I need to understand the intention of the $5 million, and if it is intended for that money to be the events money for the county, and I would love for GMCBB to consider a match. That I can get behind, not simply funding them an additional $5 million to their already existing $50 million for then us to add additional money to special events here at this board. So if you could provide clarification, Mr. Chair. So thank you, Commissioner. Yes, and I think that that might be some confusion, and I should have clarified that at the beginning. So I can't determine what this board will do in the future, right? If somebody brings a motion or an item for anything in excess of this. But, yes, the goal behind this motion is precisely for those special events, right? Whether it's FIFA, the GMCBB was having conversations with the NBA All-Stars. We know that just in a couple months, at the end of the year, NASCAR will be coming down to South Florida. And they're all going to come to us. We'll create a pot of funding because these are investments. We have all, whether we vote against or in favor of this, I think we've all agreed, even those like yourself that have voted against some of these in the past, you've agreed that it is an investment into our community and it stimulates our economy for these big flagship events such as FIFA, et cetera, et cetera. So this is to create that pot and kick it off. And honestly, it's not in the motion, but I think it'd be great to have, and I don't know that they would oppose it. I mean, I don't know if anybody's here from the GMCBB, but it'd be great to have them match it. I know that the GMCBB, and maybe Commissioner Hardiman could speak more to this, but I know that the GMCBB already supports a lot of these events regardless of us voting on it or not. They've been doing it for years, and they do it as part of an organization of our community to attract these organizations to come to South Florida. So if they're doing it already, I don't see them opposing matching the $5 million, to your point. I think they should absolutely match it, and again, I think they would if we asked them to. But we often have ourselves, colleagues, bring motions to this very body to give $45 million to FIFA. This is obviously not $40 million, but it is a pot of money to do exactly that and not have to come back to this board all the time. The GMCBB is a trusted partner of the county. To Hardiman's point, he's been serving on it for 13 years, and they do very good work. I believe that. I entirely disagree with, of course, Bermudis' statement that he mentioned about ethics. I mean, in fact, what he's referring to happened to be probably the only commissioner that actually filed the details needed to be filed by law in order to— and that's how it was even made known. It's because I did the right thing and put it on the record, and they made sure of that. The GMCBB made sure that they sent that in-kind letter and that they did everything by the book. So I think this is a step in the right direction, but yes, that's exactly what it is intended for. Thank you for the clarification. To the attorneys, can we direct the GMCBB as a body? Do we have the authority to send a directive to the GMCBB? I don't think they're here. I don't expect them to be here, and I know their budget is funded through the different taxes that get collected. But do our rules allow us to send a directive should the body be interested in doing so in directing or encouraging or urging the GMCBB to do a match so that we can have a dedicated pot of money for special events in our county, and we can look to that pot. And if we don't use it, it rolls over to the next year. We don't have FIFA this year, but I believe there's a number of upcoming events. And if we have a $10 million pot, it could at least be something that we can look to as a source of dedicated funds for those sorts of things. But my question is, because I'm interested in having a match, can we do that under our rules to the attorneys? I'm sure you could make it a contingency so that if there isn't a match, then the funds would not go for that purpose until a match is made. Okay. So to the maker, are you agreeable to that friendly amendment so that the GMCBB puts a stake in of their own money? And I know GMCBB allocates funds, but it's us that handles the lion's share of it, right? FIFA was a $20 million allocation that originally was sent to the GMCBB before it was then allocated to the FIFA host committee. So they have a budget, but it's not dedicated for a million to the World Fair, for example, or whatever comes up that we want to support as an investment in our community. To the chair, are you amenable to that friendly amendment? I am. I just said I think they should match it. Okay. So as amended then. Thank you. Commissioner Gilbert. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm going to support this item. I do want, I do have a friendly amendment. I actually, but I'll get to that in a second. Just on the item right now, as amended, I agree with Commissioner Cohen-Higgins' addition to it. I think that helps strengthen it. A couple of meetings back, I don't remember who the commissioners were, but I remember that it happened. And we had commissioners who made motions to expend money that was generated because there was a surplus in, I guess, the tourist development. What's the, what is the T? T. Yeah, so that's the money that's generated when we have more people visit and stay and spend than we thought. And I thought it was interesting when that happened because one of the arguments that I made when I was talking about bringing FIFA here is we knew there would be a surplus. It would generate more money than previously generated in those months. And so it would be part of an, we realize economic benefit by doing that. And so I think it's important with that as a base premise to understand that while it's uncomfortable to say out loud sometimes, our investment in those events does actually inure to communal benefit because every time that tax is paid, it's because somebody stayed in a hotel room, somebody ate at a restaurant, somebody drank something, somebody shopped at a store, somebody flew into our airport. Like, we make money when people visit here. We're in the business of having people visit here. So having events that encourage people to visit here actually is good business for Miami-Dade County. I also think it's productive to create a pot of money that does not require an overly politicized debate every time the request comes. So, and let me just say it to someone who had to lead the FIFA argument previously, I don't know that I would do that again. I don't know that I would do that again. And because while I understand that it ultimately benefits, it's too hard to explain. And I feel like I'm pretty good at explaining things, but it's just too hard to explain to people. And we need to make this less of a political decision for this body. And so for that reason, I am supportive of creating that fund. Let's have the people who do these events match some of the money. You all figure it out. Let's go get us some all-star games because those people come down here and they spend money and they take Ubers and they tip. And let's do all of those things because we're in the business of hosting people. We're a tourism-based economy. And most of our economy is small businesses. So when tourists come, they're not just buying stuff at, you know, Bow Harbor and, you know, all these other places. They're shopping at small businesses. They're eating at small businesses. They're doing those things. And so I think it's important. I'm okay with creating that. On the $11 million for the sheriff, $11 plus million for the sheriff, had the same heartburn the Commissioner Hardiman, the chairman had. And I understand Commissioner Regalado's rationale. I think it's sound. That is not why I'm supporting it. I'm supporting it because the benchmark for my decision is not her determination. So I'm going to make a decision that I think is supportive of that agency, independent of what choice she may or may not exercise. She has her constitutionally given authority. Cool. I think that under the mayor's proposed budget, it's the department, the agency is fully funded. I think that adding this $11 million helps the agency actually going forward because I do agree with the sheriff that we have to plan for the future of the agency. Whether that be salaries, whether that be more deputies, we need to plan for the future of the agency. And I think this helps with that. I also think that if this does go to the cabinet, it strengthens our argument substantially. And that's just because I'm reading the criteria, and just because I'm reading the criteria. So I'm supportive of the motion. Mr. Chairman, I also spoke with our tax collector regarding the remaining $500,000. I spoke previously about the fact that I don't believe that this is law enforcement, but that public safety is something broader. There was a young man who came here earlier today, mentoring for all generations, and he does really good work in the community. He is not a legacy CBO, and I value all our legacy CBOs, but y'all realize that legacy CBO is really like a code word for monopoly. Like, in the real world, we've locked out CBOs because we haven't adopted a list that the mayor brings, and we've locked out CBOs that are doing good things in the community. He is a newer CBO, and also Focal, which is both wonderful CBOs that are doing great work in the community that I think also add to public safety. I've spoken to the tax collector about it. He is comfortable with this. There was $500,000 remaining. I would like to allocate $250,000 to each of those organizations. I'd like to amend that onto the chairman's motion. I have a motion. Madam Attorney, if you all could put the salient language, announce that, and see if the chairman is amenable to a friendly amendment to his item, since it's coming from the same pot of money. Mr. Chairman. Is the motion that you distributed, Commissioner? Yeah, there's about $500,000 that I didn't allocate, and, yeah, I'm comfortable with it. Thank you very much. Mr. Chairman. All right. Commissioner, there's others that haven't spoken, but I'm happy to. Yeah, I just have a quick question. Since we're matching it, you know, I don't know if they need $10 million. I feel like that's a lot. I mean, if we can reduce it to $2.5 million and put $2.5 million into the buses, I mean, because, I mean, matching $5 million, $10 million is a lot. I mean. Because FIFA alone, it was $20-something million. Right. Let me do this. All right. Commissioner Steinberg. All right. Yeah, so we're on motion number one. Just for everybody's knowledge, we have 20 to go. Yeah, there are 20. I counted. So, to this one, first of all, thank you, Chairman, for bringing this forward. I do believe we need to find a way to close, you know, to bridge that gap with our Sheriff's Office. I'll support, you see, this is my issue with this motion. I support a lot of things in this motion. I just don't support a portion of the motion, specifically as it relates to the GMCVB. Philosophically, I just don't think I can support using our general funds when we have needs. We heard from the clerk. We heard from transit riders. We have general dollars. I understand your intent, and I do understand where you're coming from. But I also understand that the GMCVB does get 60% of the TDT, and they get a large percent of the TDS, the surtax, as well. So, the combination of that, there should be some way that they should be able to siphon off. By the way, I respect the GMCVB. They play a role. But they should have an opportunity to use some of those dollars and start building that fund as part of their planning long term for these events. These events do provide economic relief and a generator. So, that's a good thing. I just don't know that the $5 million from our general dollars should go to that. So, I would ask to bifurcate that out and vote on the rest because I support the rest. And as far as the sheriff's office, I did say I concur that we should bridge the gap. I do have just one question. Sorry to make you come back up. As we were talking about all the – by the way, the training facility, if you guys haven't had a chance to see it, I highly encourage you to go. It's quite eye-opening. But having said that, the training classes that you have, from the moment that they are training in those classes to when they are street ready and on the street, what commitment, if any, do these officers have with the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office to stay with you? We don't necessarily have a mechanism that says that they will stay with us. Are there some other agencies that will make you sign a waiver or, I don't know, a contract that says that you will repay back the money invested? It's just not something that I have had the opportunity to really consider as we've been shifting into the sheriff's office. Yeah, and I think that would be something to explore. I do think we need to look at the pay because that's very important. You need to be competitive. We want to keep them here and retain them. The cost of living here is higher. Everything is higher. So fully support. You know that. But I think that's something you should also consider because we're going to be investing all these dollars that I want them to stay with us the long term or as long as possible. All right. Those are my thoughts on this. Thank you so much, Commissioner. Before we get into the other items. Commissioner Lopez, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So on this motion, I, like so many of our colleagues, and I just want to tell the sheriff, you know, it's interesting having heard all the questions, all the comments. The one thing that matters most to me is the deputies and what they're paid. It is always been something we struggled with at the state level. We recruited people to come to our state. We gave bonuses because we understood the importance of public safety, but more important as we're making these distinction in law enforcement. And that is quite different than when we look at the broader range of elements that make up our public safety. It is law enforcement that keeps the laws and is the reason why we feel so safe in our community. And so I fully support the $11.376 million in additional funds to the sheriff. I believe she will accept that because it does make her whole, at least there, in the one place that matters. And every deputy who leaves his home, his or her home, takes a risk that none of us are taking. And it just simply makes sense to me that that is where we should invest our money if we're not going to make you whole. We have to start there. Every deputy on the street, every deputy here tonight, you deserve to be paid what you're worth and the risk that you take every single day. And so, Chairman, I want to commend you for at least allocating that because I do think it reflects a step with good faith to try to give them what they absolutely need. And that should never be negotiated, in my opinion. Never. Thank you. And for the rest of it, you know, I did have one question on the Greater Miami Convention and Visitor Bureau. So what you were talking about and what Commissioner Cohen-Higgins was talking about was actually major events. But this goes a little further, and it says supporting local businesses. And I don't know exactly how that feeds into the explanation that you all were giving because I have a little bit of heartburn like Commissioner Steinberg. You know, I have lots of needs in my community, and I'm all for supporting local businesses. But I don't know what that means and what Greater Miami Visitor and Convention Bureau does. That's a valid question, Commissioner. And it's exactly, actually, it's really what Commissioner Gilbert alluded to in part of his remarks, which is when these events come, these people fly in and they go eat at the small businesses. They go eat at our local restaurants. They don't just go to the fancy larger department stores, but they use all of our local businesses, whether it's hotels, boutique hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, and things of that nature. So that is an investment back into our businesses. And I'll go to you because I know you have more experience having served on it. I'm sure you're wanting to jump in for that reason. But I don't know if that answers your answer. I think it does because I had read it as three different things, you know, attracting major events, supporting local businesses, and generating economic activity. But I see that you're saying that's all encompassing on the major events. Correct. Thank you for that clarification. Commissioner Hardiman. Yeah, just to add a little color to it as well. They provide training opportunities for our small businesses that are in our communities, especially in the heritage neighborhoods. You'll find that they provide a lot of dollars for advertising in markets that you would never really advertise in. So you could be in New York City right now and send an advertisement. And to speak in terms of, say, for instance, my district, you send an advertisement for a Red Rooster or for two guys, a restaurant. So they do a lot of things of that nature that the typical small businesses would not be able to do. And then they advertise them to a larger scale. They advertise all of our neighborhoods, really, from the Redlands. That's right, right? From the Redlands to, like we like to say, from the Keys to the Trees. So I think that's the best way to explain it. Every little small part of Miami that makes it different, things that you would not normally expect, the GMCBB is highlighted in a way where they're spending tens of millions of dollars in order to make that impact. Thank you, Commissioner. Mr. Chairman, for Mayor Garcia, yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I really appreciate all my colleagues' comments today and the debate that we're having with the Sheriff's Office. And I'll tell you this, Mr. Chairman, I really do appreciate this amendment because it does help narrow that gap with the Sheriff's Office and making sure that we try to keep a lot of these salaries whole. And as it relates to our Sheriff's Office, and Madam Sheriff, thank you for the extensive conversation and for your passion and standing behind your deputies. I truly understand what you're trying to accomplish, and I've said it time and time again that I'll stand by law enforcement and stand by your department as long as you guys always do the right thing. I would always be by your side. But we are stuck in a situation where we have to try to balance these budgets, and this is what's different than politicking. I'm not saying you're politicking, okay? I'm saying it's different than campaigning and governing, and this is when you have to govern, and you have to balance the needs of our community. So this is why I think this goes a long way, and just because the Sheriff has the ability to go before the Cabinet doesn't mean the Cabinet is going to approve it either. And I think she has all the right to do that. But I think this, even if she goes to the Cabinet, this goes a long way in trying to show that we are doing our part to try to narrow that gap. Maybe there might be some other amendments that we might be able to get there. So, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate that. I really thank you for bringing this because we were trying to figure out here where we're going to find some additional dollars for the Sheriff's Office. So this makes our lives a lot easier. And these other amendments, these other parts of the amendments are really good. But I do, on the $5 million, that's the one I think some of us have some consternation over. If we can make that at least reimbursable or something to that effect where they have to spend it, then we give it to them, but at least we know that pot of money is there. And I don't want you to think that I'm being hypocritical because I'm more than someone that believes in film incentives. These film incentives have generated money for the county. I'll give you a perfect example. When we had Miss USA that came down here, we appropriated $500,000 to them, and we had a whole bunch of hotels that were full. So the Omni and a lot of events and a lot of activities that were happening, and a lot of our small businesses, especially those in Hialeah, benefited from Miss USA being here in our community. So I think if we put a little bit of just parameters in that $5 million, maybe just on a reimbursable nature, I think that if we can do that, Madam Attorney, I think that will get me a little more comfort and maybe give some comfort to some of the folks that are here. Yeah, Senator, I'm not opposed to putting guardrails on it, for sure. I don't know how reimbursement would work, per se. I think putting, you also mentioned maybe adding a, you've got to spend it within the, I don't even know what. Or maybe a clawback or something that we can find. We could always claw back. Like if we need this money. Yeah, we could always do it. We did that with the FIFA money. Yeah, we just do the motion. Can we do some contingency on that? Can you help me with that? If you could help me with that, I'll feel a little more comfortable. We could work on something, you know, past the budget meeting, obviously, and figure something out with the attorneys to, if you want to work with the attorneys on it. You know, I'm with you, right? And you're right. And I'm glad that you kind of said it, right? So now I will just repeat what you said. But yes, it would be hypocritical, like, in the sense that whether we like some of these votes or not, like, it is an investment in our community. And you're right. And I followed that. I remember when you allocated that money, I know the hotels were full. They were. And it wasn't just the hotels. It was the restaurants that they ate at. And when we're looking at a budget that we're trying to find money, this is the type of thing that reinvestes into our economy. Yeah, Mr. Chairman, there's no doubt it generates money. I'm one that believes in that. I believe that we have to invest in our community to generate dollars to get back so we can provide these services that we're looking to do. But it's just finding a way that if we can pass this, I'll work with the attorney, see if there's a way that we could put just a little bit of guardrails on this, just a little bit of parameters, and maybe it's just that we could claw it back. Something that we could help us out with that, I would truly appreciate that. You can direct them to do it, or we can table this for a minute, or however you want. I think, I just don't know what type of guardrails we can, I don't know how we put. We can always claw it back. I think we have that right. As long as it's not spent yet, we can claw it back. We did that with FIFA. We clawed back money from FIFA. Well, months, well, into. If I can, can we? We can include a clause that says any unspent funds can be clawed back at the county's discretion at any time. Okay. Are you comfortable with that? I'm fine with that, Mr. Chairman. I'm comfortable with that. Add that to the motion. That's fair. All right. Anyone else on this, on the first motion of 20, apparently? All right. So, as amended, as amended, as amended. Clerk, please call the roll on item C. Mr. Chair, just because there was some clarification on some of the numbers that I had gotten, I had read some old numbers for some of them. Do you mind if I read it again? Please clarify the whole motion, yes, go ahead. Sure. It was of the $16.876 million that would be returned to the general fund, $11.376 million to the sheriff's office for personnel uses, $5 million to the GMCVB provided in contingent upon the GMCVB providing matching funds in the same amount for such purposes, and with the right for the county to claw back any unspent funds at any time in its discretion. $250,000 for Mentoring for All Generations, $250,000 for Focal, $2.109 million for the fire district, $633,000 to the bonded debt service, and $382,000 to the library district. Yep. That's right. Clerk, I was going to call the roll. No, I was going to ask real quick. I know Steinberg already requested it, but could we bifurcate the five? Could we, like, split it? I'm going to call a vote on the motion as it is right now. Clerk, please call the roll. No, you already did. It's okay. Just vote now. Clerk, please call the roll. Senator Garcia. Aye. Commissioner Gilbert. Commissioner Gonzalez. Commissioner Hardiman. No. Commissioner Lopez. Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis. Yes. Commissioner Regalado. Commissioner Steinberg. It's okay. You already said that. Commissioner Bastian. Commissioner Bermudez. No. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins. No. Vice Chairman McGee. Yes. Chairman Rodriguez. I vote yes. Motion passes 8 to 4. All right, Mr. Attorney or Madam Attorney, can you read my next motion? Yes, Mr. Chair. Chairman Rodriguez moves to amend the proposed fiscal year 2026-2027 county budget to appropriate and allocate an additional 3.2 million of interest earnings to the waste collections operation fund of the Department of Solid Waste Management to fully fund the illegal dumping unit, code enforcement, and litter pickup. This would be amending item C, E, and H. Second. Second. All right, it's been seconded. I was like, I like that one. It's been seconded by Steinberg. Did you second it? Yes. It's been seconded by Steinberg. Or moved by Cohen-Higgins, seconded by Steinberg. Yeah. And the vice chair is recognized on this motion. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To the administration, looks like, in a solid waste budget analysis on page five, the commission auditor provided us a table that speaks to the interest revenue for fiscal year 2026-27 and fiscal year 2526. There appears to be $8 million in funding that's available for 2526, and for 2026 or 27, there appears to be $14 million, making the assumption that a $20 million actual will be there. Can someone from the administration clarify that for me, please? And the reason why I'm saying that is because if the funds are available, as I believe and I've been informed, then I would like to also make a motion to bring more fundings over to the collection side from this pot. Deputy Mayor, you're recognized. From this pot. Vice Chairman McGee, the monies you're talking about is in interest income, I believe, and that's on the collection and on the disposal of solid waste. And that money as it stands today would go into reserves or future operation. We believe the money is restricted to only be used in solid waste collection or operation and wouldn't be available for any other purpose. Not even to increase the budget for the illegal dumping? No, you could spend it in collections or disposal. Right, so for purposes, and my question goes to now to the county attorney, as it relates to the interest revenue, is that money only able to be used for collections and or disposal? Or can that money that we call interest revenue, can that be also used inside of the general fund? It has to stay within the enterprise fund. So, Roy, I guess my question to you is, are you agreeing that there's about a $14 million increase for year 2026-27, and there's also $8 million found in 2526? Well, it's not found. It's interest income, and that interest income would either roll over into carryover in future years or increase our reserves that we're actively trying to increase. Right, so that's $22 million we're saying that will be added back into the collection side? Yes. Well, part of it's collection, part of it's disposal, two different funds. Right, and so the $22 million that we're talking about now, those dollars haven't been accounted for? Is that what I'm hearing? No, no, they're accounted for. They're projected there, and they would go into reserves or into next year's carryover. But you haven't made a decision where you're going to put it. We still have time to make a motion to put it somewhere, so long as it's connected to collection, correct? Yeah, as long as it's connected to collections, you can do anything you choose. But in the mayor's proposed budget, it would go into reserves. All right. Mr. Chair. The Vice Chair starts off. Commissioner Gallardo. Yeah, I just wanted to mention, I think it might be faster if we take like-minded motions. So I had two motions that was going to go to that fund. So if I can just tell you what they are, because I think they might help. And that way, we'll just kind of group them. Yeah? Okay. I'm okay with it, but this was a pretty simple one. This was a simple one. No, no. And I'm supportive. I'm supportive. But this is one that I brought last time that I'm bringing again. And this is for goodwill at our solid waste sites. And I had mentioned that that's going to produce around $60,000 that I would also like to go into that fund. So I think- Friendly amendment. Yeah. It's adding funds. Right. It's adding funds. It's adding another- I'm depleting it. No, it's not depleting. It's adding- I'm kind of depleting it. Well, that's what I'm saying. So the reason I'm bringing them together is because I think this goodwill contract would then put money back in that reserve that you're taking. So that we're bringing an item that is zero waste. It's good. Okay. And then the second one that could also help is, this is Commissioner Regalado moves to amend item H to include a directive to the county mayor, county mayor designee, to have the Department of Solid Waste manage, study vacation rental collection fees in the county's unincorporated municipal service areas. And contract cities to compare such collection fees for residential versus commercial properties. The county mayor, county mayor designee shall prepare a report recommending alternatives to the current collection fees within 90 days. And place a computer report on the agenda of the full board without committee review pursuant to rule 5.06 of the board's rules of procedure. Now, I've talked about this before. I think that there is funding here, and I would be happy to amend it to say that we could use this funding to replenish that reserve, you know, and moving forward we would use this money for illegal dumping. Because I think that helps us. These are two items that help us replenish the reserve that we're using now and then create a funding mechanism that goes into illegal funding, which we know should not come out of the trash can. I think I'm good with it. The other one was just easier to digest on a quick read to either the attorney or the deputy mayor. Like, can you just clarify it for me? We can work on that amendment to the last motion that Commissioner Regulato read, except that's an amendment to item H, and we're currently on item C. So maybe between now and when we get to item H, we can have that additional language order. By the time we get to item H, my question to the deputy mayor is, like, if the administration is okay with that. Yeah, I think so. Okay. I'm just saying so they go together. Since we're taking money for reserves, I want to put money back in reserves. So let's vote on the first one because it's not, it's germane. This one's not on the right item. Move it. All right, it's been moved by the vice chair, seconded by Commissioner Regulato. Oh, there was a motion. Yeah, there was a, but it was amended, yes. There was a motion and a second. Steinberg wanted to be the one that moved it, yes. On the item. Okay. I'm going to support it. I'm supportive of the item. I want to restore the services. I just want us to be mindful that we, when we don't account for increases in cost to the system by adjusting the solid waste fee for collection, the account that collection borrows from is this. And so it's good that you're adding money back to it because this is how we balance out the collection side when we don't actually raise the fee commensurate with the cost of running the proprietary fund. I just want to point that out. When you exhaust this, then you actually have to raise the fee. All right. I just want us to be mindful. All in favor of this motion as amended, signify by say an aye. Aye. All opposed nay. Show that motion passing. All right. You don't need a roll call, right? It's a motion? No, we do need a roll call, and we'll have to do this again as part of item H. Okay. Clear. Call the roll. Yeah, but can I, Mr. Chair, just one quick question. Are we, we're still on C, correct? Yes. That's correct. Okay, so item H will be when we get to H. We're going to be for the next two hours at least. Okay, good. We'll see. All right. Clerk, call the roll on this motion, please. Commissioner Gilbert. Commissioner Gonzalez. Commissioner Hardiman. Commissioner Lopez. Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis. Yes. Commissioner Regalado. Commissioner Steinberg. Commissioner Bastien. Commissioner Bermudez. Yes. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins. Or. Senator Garcia. Vice Chairman McGee. Yes. Chairman Rodriguez. I vote yes. Motion passes unanimously. All right. Madam Attorney, I don't have any further motions on this item, right, of my own? Mr. Chair, we have a number of motions that have- Mine, of mine. No, yours, I don't believe we have any for you, but we have a number. Um, where do I start? On item C. Who has motions for item C? All right. We're going to start with- We'll start with the end of the ticket over there. We'll start with Bermudez. Go ahead. And it's simple. I waited around a long time. Eh. It's debatable. Oh, I did. Commissioner Bermudez moves to amend the fiscal year. You want to read it or do you want me to read it, Jerry? I'll do it. 2026-2027 County Budget and Items C-E-N-H, but it's C, to include a county policy that any additional revenue generated from marketing or advertising agreements with Rockstar Games, Inc., products and brands, including the potential Grand Theft Auto 6 and associated by City branding, shall be transferred to the Miami-Dade County Sheriff's Office, except for any revenues that are restricted and required to be used for another purpose. All right. There's a motion on the table by Commissioner Bermudez. And I remind Commissioner Gonzalez that he's seconding when I said it the first time. I'll third. Commissioner Gonzalez, are you still seconding this? Okay. So it's been moved. It's seconded by Commissioner Gonzalez. Commissioner Gilbert for discussion. I'm just going to need you to remediate me on this. I don't know anything about this. And so is somebody coming before us? When you learn it, you're going to learn to love it. And I just want to send it to the police. I just, what is it? What is it? I don't know what it is. I know as much as you do. We can ask the administration if we'd be so cheap. Like, are we being asked to approve or license? I mean, is there an item that I missed? No, I missed the item, too. I missed it, too. Okay, to the administration, then. Yes, please. Somebody talk. Commissioner Chris Hudwalker, Mayor's Chief of Staff. So as of a few days ago, the administration has entered into a joint marketing agreement under the mayor's delegated authority. This is not a traditional marketing agreement. This is with representatives and representation from Rockstar Games. That is for, in partnership with the Heat and Kaseya for the roof of the basketball arena. Like I said, it's not a traditional marketing agreement. This game is going to be the biggest cultural phenomenon of the year. Hold on for a second, Chris, because my colleagues will not stop. Steinberg, seriously, it is you. Stop. Please. Chris, please continue. Remind me the question, Commissioner. I don't even, like, okay. We don't know what, like, Commissioner Bermudez knows more about this than the rest of us, because I am completely in the dark on this one. So it's been reported in the media. There's been no official confirmation at this time until now. Hence why I was reacting the way I was reacting. So it was signed under the mayor's delegated authority, and it was... What was signed, though? It was a joint agreement between the Heat, Kaseya, the county, and essentially Rockstar. So it really, this agreement, because it's a county-owned asset, we were signatories to it. In that process, we will be receiving a contribution that we want to put towards funding the construction of Parcel B. So, like I said, it's under the mayor's delegated authority. And, you know, I'll just be clear about what this is, right? This is, like I said, the biggest cultural phenomenon of the year. It will make more money than any game has ever made. It will make more money than any movie has ever made. Heavily inspired by Miami. The good, the bad, and the ugly. It's a basketball game? Hold on. Okay, time out. Can I just ask, can I still have the floor? That's a game? Let me just have... Let me just... Okay. Okay, Chris. Chris. Okay. Chris. I'm going to need you to... You're speaking as though we know what you're talking about. And I need you to speak as though we don't know what you're talking about. So, what's the game? What are we advertising? What are we doing? How much are we making? And probably just on the back end, I understand if it's within the mayor's delegated authority. But maybe you should have gave us a shout out about it before the budget meeting. So, if we could just find out what it is. Like, what is it we're doing? Yeah. So, what we've signed on to is to assist Kaseya, the Heat, and Rockstar to get the sign on the roof. We've received the contribution under a million dollars. The administration, in discussions with the district commissioner, would like to apply those funds to construct Parcel B, which has been a commitment of over 30 years to this community. Which was the Heat's responsibility, by the way. And it is with Rockstar Games, who has developed Grand Theft Auto, Vice City, similar to partnerships that have been signed with the city of Miami and the city of Miami Beach. And that's it. It's been in the media. So, that's why my assumption was that everyone knew what we were talking about. When you say the media, you must mean the Herald, because I don't necessarily be reading the Herald. I'm joking, though. The Herald has a paywall. Yeah. They do have a paywall. Well, maybe it's just my millennial assumption. So, yeah. Okay. Maybe. So, it's a million dollars? It's only $130. I feel we need to dial it down. It's a million dollars. There are additional discussions that have not been completed. Okay. But it's just about the building. It's not like us in the video game or something. That's correct. Can I ask you a question? Okay. Are these the same people who make the – and this is – I do actually play video games, and I don't have Grand Theft Auto. I've never played it. But the people who make college football, they don't name the smaller schools. Like, if your FAMU is called Southeastern, whatever, and it has this weird little reptile. Could you all talk to them about actually representing those schools? And they don't, like – they don't say Hard Rock Stadiums in Miami Gardens. They say Miami, and then they say welcome, like, to South Beach when you play those games. So, when you're talking to the video game people. Yeah, Commissioner, I'll write a letter. Could you tell them, like, those are things that I find that concern me with regard to that video game? On this video game, it's just going to be our image or their image on our roof. And then maybe you said other stuff. So, the roof says welcome to Vice City. That's it. Which is, by the way, branding that the Miami Heat have used as well. So, it's a very common – Vice City, yeah. Vice, like V-I-C-E? Like a vice, yes. Like Miami Vice. Dude, like Miami Vice. Oh, just so you know, historically, and, I mean, I guess maybe biblically, Vice has a context that may be – But, okay, like Miami Vice. It's – okay. Well, it's just on the building. All right. For now. I'm going to. Give me a minute. He said for now? Yeah, I guess there's more than just – I don't know. I'm learning as we go here. We're going to get paid for a video game or for a – I thought it was a basketball game at first. Now, we're getting paid for video games, but are we selling tickets? Is it – like, I don't even know. I don't know. I'm learning right now. I thought it was a movie. Wait. You thought it was a movie. You thought it was a movie. Is there a percentage of – do we get like a percentage of the – because you said it was like going to be the biggest selling whatever in the world. Do we get a percentage of that, like a small percentage, or is it just – That's not the agreement that we have, no. This is – there's just one little caveat that I know I'm going to throw like a little – I love you, Mayor, but this is what gives me some pause as to – you know, there's been discussions in the past about providing additional delegated authority to the administration. That hasn't happened yet, and this is what we're running into. We increase that delegated authority. We're increasing these issues. Just saying. This is kind of the – that thought process is – especially ahead of a meeting like today, I think we should have all been briefed on this. I don't know that I'm against your motion, especially after I'll listen to everyone. I probably would support your motion. I don't know that I have enough information tonight on it. But go ahead, and then I'm moving. Yeah, Mr. Chair, and I thank you for that. Wait. Hold on. Sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. Were you done, Commissioner Gilbert? I wasn't. I was just – the other part of this is we had that weird rule that when it's like something dealing with a building that's in a district, that it's an item that has to be sponsored by the district commissioner. And I'm just – I'm all to get – and I'm assuming that's why you said the district commissioner had been briefed on it, because the district commissioner – that's why he was briefed and none of us would have been briefed on it. So I understand that, but then – I got a way around your rule. If he's a part of the – I'm going to need to hear from Hardeman on this, because if he's a part of the negotiations, I don't know that he said give the money to them. And I'm thinking it's probably – he's probably the reason why it's going to Parcel B. Yeah, of course. And so I would want to hear about that before I vote on this. Before I vote on this item, I need to hear about that. Let's go to Bermuda's and then Hardeman. Yeah, I just want to be clear. Commissioner Hardeman and Parcel B, which he can tell you all about because he knows it, even though I think most of us know, you know, I'm not calling – it's not a Marlins-type boondoggle, but it certainly was a boondoggle for the heat, because for years they should have built Parcel B, and they haven't done it. And his elected officials in Miami know that. But all I'm saying here is if they are having negotiations with anything else besides the Kaseya Center that maybe has been reported in the newspaper that we can make money, I would like to try to take that money and give it to the sheriff's office. Why? Because this video game, it's wonderful that the Miami Heat used their little vice shirts. I like the ABA uniforms myself personally. But the problem is if we are going to go ahead and allow this wonderful, biggest – whatever Chris called it, the biggest blowing whatever it's called. But it's a game where police officers are killed, pedestrians are run over. Maybe they'll make us the pedestrians. There's other crimes committed in these games. And so, you know, I think that money should go to the sheriff's office because it's glorifying, in my opinion. Not that I'm supportive of it, but if we're going to glorify it and we're going to make money off a game that glorifies it, and it is B-I-C-E, not B-I-S-E, then I think – And, by the way, I don't think this motion actually impacts what may have been going to Parcel B, whatever Commissioner Hardeman has so wisely been able to do with the Kaseya Center. Because if they're going to expand beyond the Kaseya Center, which I believe they will, Chris, maybe, you know. And, by the way, I'd like to see the agreement also at some point because I've never seen it. So, from my perspective, all this motion does is says, hey, if any money comes from this video game, it should be transferred to Miami-Dade County Sheriff's Office, except for revenues that are restricted and required to be used for another purpose. In this case, I believe, apparently, Commissioner Hardeman's Kaseya Center Parcel B, because there is a public benefit, then, you know, that's all this motion says. If there's any money in the future, you know, then that money should go to the Sheriff's Office. That makes sense. Mr. Chair. Commissioner Hardeman, just because it's his – I think it's part of his – I don't even understand what's – go ahead. Well, first, I just want to break the ice by saying, all of us, let's not look old up here. Don't look old, right? This game is called Grand Theft Auto. Grand Theft Auto, I think, started in the 90s, like late 90s. The original game was Grand Theft Auto. They probably had about seven different games. And, for instance, like some of them were named Grand Theft Auto. They had Liberty City. You would think it's Liberty City here, but it was actually based on New York. They called it Liberty City. I guess because Lady Liberty, that might make sense, right? I might be wrong, but that might make sense. They had – I always pronounce this incorrectly, but San Andreas, right? Based on San Francisco. And they had Vice City. So there was the early 2000s game called Vice City. And it was based on, like, the 1980s Miami. So this is, like, during the time of when you had the Tony Montana, it had that sort of feel, that look, that thing, right? Just like, you know, fictional things that we talked about, right? Miami Vice was a fictional story that had police officers and had a lot of crime. And, you know, all of these things that I've just described are much better than first 48, just to be clear. And that money, I think, went to the police department, if I'm not mistaken. But did a terrible thing for Miami-Dade County and for the city of Miami. But there's a few detectives who became very well-noted because of it. And so, you know, the thing about it is this. I grew up playing video games. I play video games. Playstations, Sega Genesis, Game Boys, you know, all kinds of games. Many of you played them as well. I know you had an Atari. I know you had an Atari. Say yes. No. I actually – Say yes. No. I actually didn't have an Atari. No shame. No shame. I played Asteroids. You went too far, Harman. You went too far. He had a sequel version. That was a low blow. It's not a low blow. No. If you had an Atari, you were pretty – that's pretty good. I mean, you had a TV. Some of us didn't have TVs. Keon. Keon. He had a ColecoVision. He had a ColecoVision and a Tandy. Look, if you had – I mean – I played Pong. There's some people who had to travel to their neighbor's house to watch television. All right, guys, guys, guys, guys, guys. It's true, right? And then before that, there are people who had to go to their neighbor's house to listen to the radio, right? Guys, can we quiet down? I actually need to listen to a part of it now. And I say this because there's a natural maturation of video games. I think one of the first video games that became more realistic and that people – it became like a real news matter was Mortal Kombat. You all remember Mortal Kombat? So my grandmother owned a corner store, and we had a Mortal Kombat video game, like the actual arcade game. And so we were privileged enough to be able to play that video game with all of its gore and such. And for people who've never played Mortal Kombat, it was an action fighting game, fictional characters, based on some real characters that was sort of mixed up between it. But they would fight, and there was something called a fatality. You could kill the character in a very graphic way, right? I would dare to say that the video game industry went crazy about this type of game. And it always became, well, what are we allowing our children to play? So Grand Theft Auto is a game that's on many platforms, as I understand, from Android, Dreamcast, Fire OS, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Color, iOS, Mac OS, on the computer, MS-DOS, Xbox, PlayStation. Now, this is just regular. This is just regular. And the reason I bring this up is because when the gentleman describes how big of an influence this is, I think this is the – So imagine this is going back to the Vice City sort of vibe. And essentially what they do is they model what is Miami, what looks like Miami, landmarks and things of that nature, and people have an opportunity to play in that environment. Now, it is true. There are things that happen in the game. Look, the game is as realistic as you make it to be. So, for instance, if you shoot at a police officer, you better believe it's going to be a five-star crime and all the police officers in Miami-Dade County are coming after you. It's a good way to end your game quickly. You're not going – it's not like you can't make it a habit of doing negative things that commit crimes and being able to play that game to the end. It just doesn't work that way. The game, it's not meant to advance like that. So, for instance, I let my daughter play – my youngest, she's six. I let her play Grand Theft Auto, whatever one I have right now. I can't remember which one it is, but I let her play Grand Theft Auto. And in Grand Theft Auto, you can walk up to a car and just open the door and get in and drive away, right? Now, when you do that, you have your own different vision. You have traffic lights. All the cars will stop at the traffic light. My daughter driving the car, she stops at the traffic light. When it's time to make a right turn, she makes a right turn at the traffic light. She tries to follow all of the natural cues that you have in a realistic environment. She was never chased by the police. She was never chased by the police. However, if you go into the video game and you do things that, in the real world, the police will be called for, they sort of rate your crime. If you steal a car, maybe it's a one-star, two-star crime, right? If you assault someone, that person will fight you back. And you do it enough times, the police will come after you. So, it's just – it's a video game. And, you know, thank God, because of playing this video game, I never – I can't say that. I'm not going to say that on the record. I've never committed – I've never committed the crimes that are depicted in this video game. Now, you know, I do believe that this is going to be a marketing phenomenon. I actually – and I told the administration this. I haven't seen the actual deal, so I want to make that very clear. And I do believe that part of the reason it came to me was out of – well, if the mayor has the authority to do this herself, she sort of gets around, as you put it, she gets around what is the requirement, which is that the district commissioner sponsors. So – but there's a – as you can imagine, this is a very complicated, testy issue because there's a lot of miscommunication about what's going on. And so, one of the things that this commission has done was – we've gotten closer to solving the parcel B issue. So, we've already agreed with the Miami Heat to do a swap of the land so we can start to activate what is on parcel B. We're still – we still haven't, as I would call it, green-lit parcel B yet. The mayor hasn't let it go for us to really be on the ground and let the community take ownership of it. But one of the things that I want to ensure that we do is put dollars towards its renovation. Now, we've already committed through this budget – through a budget cycle about $2 million. And so, we get additional funds towards it. I think that that's great because I would like to see what was promised to the people 30 years ago when they walked into the Miami Heat arena deal. I don't – you know, in regard to the motion that was made on the floor, you know, he's right in the sense that it could or could not affect it. But, you know, one of the things that we have with the Miami Heat naming rights issue is the Peace and Prosperity Plan. And all of you have – get a benefit from that, every single one of you, including the mayor's office. And I think it's been very good in trying to alleviate crime and elevate communities and put money in families' pockets, right? Which is what it's all about. And so, if there were extra funds, I would do that with it. Because, you know, if we were speaking fictitiously about a video game, I don't know if our sheriffs wouldn't take drug deal dollars from the meta universe, if you will. So, you know, I would like to see it go that way. But, you know, it's really up to you all. But when it comes to the marketing of the game, one of the things that I told the administration is I would probably like to see the thing say, welcome to nice city, you know, and then flicker every once in a while like as if it's malfunctioning to say Vice. I think that would be a much better marketing ploy than anything because Miami is a very special place. And when you really do think about what the Miami Heat has done and they have the Vice jerseys and we have this history with Miami Vice, we have an existing history with the video game and such, I think sometimes we can take ourselves too seriously. And so I think that for this brief moment in time, let's not find ourselves on the wrong side of, I think, marketing history for something that is not going to have a negative effect on the children and people who live in Miami-Dade County. That's all I have to say. All right. And all right. That explains a little bit more, at least. It's getting late and I'm getting a little delusional here, too. But I have a question that has maybe nothing to do with this, but it just why we own the Kaseya Center. This precedes me. Yeah, it's probably not to remain to this right now, but why don't we, why isn't it our police department, the sheriff's office, that polices the Kaseya Center? I get that it sits in, is it in the city of Miami? It sits in the city of Miami, but the Marlins also sits in the city of Miami and it's like, and I think the county's on the inside, but. You get what you negotiate. Was that part of the negotiations at the beginning? Yes. That was part of the deal. So that's why it's, because it's kind of a pain, like, to deal with it when, you know, times I've been there, it's different. I'd rather deal with our sheriff's department. Sorry, I know that this isn't pertaining to this game and the ground, the blow-up, the, what is it, what was it called? What did you call it? Like the, no, like the biggest game, you said a name that JC tried to blow up. The game? Big blow, what? Mr. Chairman, the game? Yeah, you were describing this event. Grand Theft Auto 6 Vice City. No, like the biggest game, but you used the biggest. Cultural phenomenon is what I said. Ultra phenomenon, but you said something about blow. That's right. Like Kim Kardashian. You tried to repeat it. Commissioner Bermudez, you tried to repeat the word that he said. What was it? It was, it was, it confused me so much that I just, you know, he's, I guess, I thought it was, you know, but now he correct me. Cultural phenomenon. But, cultural, and you, from that you got to. No, no, no. Let's move on. Parcel B. Mr. Chairman, let me just point out one thing. Point of order. Commissioner Mahartman is correct. This does not impact that particular deal, which the mayor, but in the other things that I've read, I know as much as you do. If the airport, for example, which is not in the district, but is in District 6, or the port that is in another district, but they're both county-wide facilities, a lot of that, at least what I, what has been put in the press, certainly points out that money can be made. All I'm asking is, not counting here, because this deal's been negotiated already, and it deals with the heat and the Kaseya Center, at this point, then we should consider, if some of those dollars come from this particular cultural phenomenon, which is loosely used, I'd call it something else, but we'll call it cultural phenomenon, let's give it to the sheriff's office. Since, in any case, I think it should go to maybe help the people that could deal with, and Commissioner Harden was a great, great, I thought he was playing Pac-Man, but he denies that. He says that, you know, but the bottom line is, it's a very simple motion. If we get money somewhere else from that, let's give it to the sheriff's office. That's it. So, I'll go ahead and continue recognizing people. I stand with what I said earlier. I think I probably would support it. I like it. I just need more information, and I don't know if I need a motion for this. I think the administration would do this automatically after tonight, but I think I would direct the administration to, like, brief us all individually. I think you guys are going to do that anyway at this point, after tonight, but I need, like, a non-back-and-forth type of briefing, like, at the office or whatnot. And then, so I don't know that I'm going to support the motion today, Commissioner Bermuda, just because I need more information on it. I probably would support it if I was briefed better. I also like Hardeman's idea, though, of the funds being distributed because, like you said, it's county-wide assets. So, even if it goes to the port, you know, or whatnot, you know, I don't know that this is really going to impact, to Hardeman's point. Like, I don't think a video game is going to drive up crime in our city. I don't know that. Maybe it is. I don't know the stats to that, but I'm kind of with you on that, Commissioner Hardeman. It's just a video game. We can't control the crazies. We have bad actors everywhere. Let me just... But as far as the video game goes, I don't know that that's going to drive up crime. Mr. Chairman, this is, to me, it's not about just driving up crime and respect to our police officers. It's about the culture that we're trying to create as a community. We spent a very long time going from Paradise Lost to a wonderful international community. I don't think the marketing of this game is consistent with that, but that's my opinion. I was going to channel my Raquel Regalado because we do have a second, but if you're telling me and you commit to me that we can come back at the next commission meeting and talk about this same motion anywhere else that this is marketed, whether our port or our airport, if it, in fact, is marketed, because I don't believe we should be doing it, but if it passes, I would like the money to go to the Sheriff's Department. It's a very simple motion, so if you commit to me that we can hear it then, I'll be more than willing instead of, you know, because I think all of you should know, and we all should know. I don't even know, to be honest with you, where else it might or might not go. But I want to make it clear. It's about the culture of the city. I don't think our city should ever market itself as Vice City. I think our city should market itself as what we are. Ken Griffin came here from Chicago because he felt this was the place to bring, and finance, and people, others besides he, are moving here because we are becoming an international city. It's not Vice that's driving them here. And I agree with you. We can't control the crazies. I'm all with that. But that's not the point. I play Madden, by the way, despite what Commissioner Hardiman says. But the bottom line is, I'm willing to wait until the next meeting if you commit to letting this be discussed at the next meeting. So I'm going to answer it twofold. Number one is, I'm not asking you to withdraw your motion. We can vote on it if you like today. All right. And second of all, yes, I don't think I've ever, I don't know that I even have that power, but I've never held somebody off from doing a motion as long as I've been the chair. So, yes, you could bring that in the next meeting, and you have the right at the end, if not in an item, at the end of every meeting, we go around, and I say any motions or appointments, and you could say, I'm not going to stop you from doing that. No, that's okay. We could vote on it today. The reason why I did it is not because of that. The reason why I'm saying it is because you indicated. Yeah, I don't have more information. You might support it if you had more information. Correct. And I look around, and it looks like most of us haven't gotten that information, right? It looks like it. So, in order to help our colleagues to get more information, I'm fine either way. If we want to take a vote tonight, we want to wait one month, I'm fine. I just want to make sure that the motion as it is, if, in fact, this happens and we get money, then it goes to the sheriff's office. All right. I'm going to, before you have to make any of those decisions, I'm going to recognize some of our colleagues. But I'm fine either way. I could take a vote. It would be no today. But in a month, I expect to have more information for sure so I could make a more educated decision. I just want to say, separate from the motion itself, I agree with the money going to the sheriff's office. That is, you know, a possibility. But it surprises me that the Miami Herald knows that Miami-Dade County administrators met with GTA executives to discuss possible advertising campaigns, including Miami International Airport, pretending to be Vice City Airport. Wrapping a Metro Mover train and manhole covers in Miami-Dade County. So, not great to find out on the Herald about this while considering a motion. I would have appreciated more information, as the chairman said. So, do we still even have a second on this? Before we continue down the... A second. Okay. Commissioner Regalado. Thank you. Look, we have a lot to do. I think this is a conversation for another day. I just want to say, like, for the record, I like the idea of if it's going to happen, it'll go for the sheriff. Just the pragmatic issue is if they're going to do something in Tropical Park, you're going to want it to go to Tropical Park. If they're going to do... If they're going to wrap a Metro Rail car, we're going to want it to go to transit. You know, if they're going to... You know, the airport is an enterprise fund. The port is an enterprise fund. So, there are a series of restrictions that are not captured by the item. So, I'm just kind of raising the red flag. It's a little bit more complex than that because this is taking up a physical space. So, wherever that physical space is, you would think that that funding would go there. So, I'm just pointing it out because that would be, you know, yeah. All right. So, I think maybe you are right, Commissioner Bermudez. Maybe let's all get briefed better. Listen, I'm finding the way it does say any revenues that are restricted. My argument would be, once again, even when we get to that... It's going to be the same. It'll be the same, whether it's on Metro Rail, at the airport, or the port. Or in Timbuktu. And my colleague in District 6 didn't know about this as much as I did, actually, I guess. So, but to me, this is a countywide issue. How do we portray ourselves? To quote Mario Cristobal, how you do anything is how you do everything. Now, we find out, and I'm glad because now I'd like to see the agreement, the one that exists, which I know is already passed. It's like, I hope all of us can... I'm more than happy to bring it back with a little more clarity, but with the same intent. All right. Commissioner Cohen Higgins. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Very quickly to Mr. Hoodwacker, who I believe is lead on this. Isn't the whole point of this marketing campaign to tie with the launch and the release date of Grand Theft Auto 6, which is on or about September 6th? November, I believe. It's in November. Okay. So, everything that we're talking about, wrapping the stadium or putting stuff on the roof of the stadium, the potential manholes, the airport, the transit vehicles, all of that in the contract that you all already negotiated, all of that is under a million dollars? No, Commissioner. The only agreement that's been signed is with the Heat Arena. Okay, but you're anticipating more? We're in discussions. Okay, so the Heat Arena, as an individual contract, is under $1 million. That's right. What is the value? What did you negotiate for that? I think it's 900 and... I'd have to get the exact number. It's close to a million. Okay. And you're planning to enter into subsequent contracts as separate contracts for the airport, for parks, for different things throughout the county? Yes, we're in discussions. And so, you're going to have 10 or 6 or 5 contracts under a million dollars? No. Okay. What is the time frame that you, in the contract that's already negotiated and signed, what is the time frame that the imagery or artistry is going to be placed on top of the arena? So, I feel comfortable saying this because it's been on social media. They're in the process of installing. They're already putting it on? What does the actual imagery say? Welcome to Vice City. On top of our arena? Yes. So, to the motion, Commissioner Bermudez, did you decide whether you were tabling it? Because I don't want to belabor the point if we're not going to vote on it. No, I decided that we should all get all the information. You just gotten some information that I didn't have. I thank you for the questioning. But what I would like is to come back when all my colleagues have clarity to make sure that whatever else is being negotiated gets what can be, which most of it should be, we can send it to make this deficit that we've had with the sheriff. Because I assume, and I could be wrong, but I assume airport, port, you know, all of Metrorail, it's going to be worth a lot more money than just the top of the Kaseya Center. All right. So, he's going to table it. He's going to table it. Do we just, I mean, okay. Commissioner Hudwalker, do you want to address something? Yeah. Mr. Chairman, I would just say. Guys, please quiet in the back and go ahead. I would say so we can commit to the commission absolutely to come and brief ahead of the next meeting. None of this was done to hide anything bad. We were trying to be part of a rollout. I own that decision. So, I commit to you all that we will brief ahead of the next meeting and make sure that everyone's informed ahead of that vote. We might even, I mean, whatever, I may not even wait for a motion. I may put, like, a discussion item. You can make your motion, but I may do a discussion. Say motion again, Mr. Chair. I may put it as a discussion item in the next. You want to put it as a discussion item? It's fine, but I'm going to make the motion. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You can make a motion. It's my commitment, and I believe if we're going to do this, we should do this to fill that hole that we have with the Sheriff's Office. And then you guys can vote it up or down. And we'll have more information at least. And before Commissioner Steinberg speaks, I also share the fact that I don't necessarily agree with the marketing of our community as Vice City. But if it's going to happen, then, hey. Steinberg? Yeah, I just, I guess the coffee and the sugar hit all at the right time. Get to it. All right. What is the amount for the delegated authority that the administration has? I'd like to get clarity on that. And does anybody know? A million dollars? Is it so? One million? Chris? Or? A million dollars. Okay. So it is a million dollars. So I guess, are you all, I guess, this is complicated because they could, this is the same entity that you're going to be entering into multiple different contracts with to, I know that's not your intent necessarily, but then we don't get an opportunity to weigh in or speak on this. And so I find that a little troubling because at this point, if the delegated authority is one million dollars and you're telling me, and I, this is the first I'm hearing about a lot of this tonight. And so as we peel back the layers, we're now finding out that there may be more negotiations that are happening, happened or happening. I'm just, okay. I think we definitely need to have, like, I would like to be briefed because I have concerns. I have real concerns. Yeah, I don't, I don't, I know, I know enough to know that I don't just need to be briefed. I know enough because they're going to have a conversation right across me. I know enough to know that I believe that having one, multiple contractual agreements with the same entity to advertise the same thing, but doing it on different assets is a circumvention of, of our authority. And I want an item. I want an item. So we need to have a special, whatever it is y'all need to do. I do not agree that you can do $900,000 for this and $700,000 for this and $400,000 for this. And because you did different agreements, then you don't have to come before the board. Because if that were the case, the spending authority, you could just go back to the same vendor for spending authority limitations and you could just do smaller purchases every time. That wouldn't make sense. That just wouldn't make sense. And so the fact that the attorney's office, they're letting you all do this. I have, it's two o'clock in the morning, so I won't belabor the point. I think there needs to be an item, Mr. Chairman. All right. So it's been withdrawn. I'll see if I put it up as a discussion item, but either way, you'll be able to make your motion with or without the discussion item. There's an item and I can have, that's fine. I can make my motion. Maybe there's an item that the administration wants to bring. I don't know. We'll figure it out, but it'll be discussed. It'll be discussed. Point of order. I really think it's like baseball. I really think people need to like get up and stretch. It's going to be okay. It's just like two o'clock. We're good. But like stretch, Oliver. Okay. Do you have any other motions? No, I just hate to reference the baseball because it brings up the Marlins. And I'm a Marlins fan, but that's the worst deal this county's ever made. That's okay. Hardiman, on this item, do you have any motions or no? On item C, do you have any motions now? All right. Commissioner, let's do, let's do any, many, many. All right. We'll start with Bastien and come over to Orvis and work our way. Maybe skip Regalado and come back to her, but we're going to start with Bastien. Okay. So, and then we're going to. On item C, item C. C, okay. Stretch quietly, guys, please. Stretch quietly. All right. So, I'm reading it, right? So, Commissioner Bastien moves to amend fiscal year 2627, county budget, and item C, E, and H. We appropriate $1.536 million from the future service reserve to provide additional funding for the clerk of court and controller. Second. Wait. Okay. This is the, Commissioner Moussaman. All right. So, it's been moved. And it is a second. To reappropriate the 1.536 million from the future service reserve to provide additional funding. All right. So, it's been moved and it's been seconded by? Me. Bermudez. By Commissioner Bermudez. And do I need a roll call on this? Yes. Okay. So, are you following? I know it's late, Commissioner Steinberg, but I don't want you holding up the meeting for not. No, I just want clarity on the motion. And it's the- It's one sentence. Thank you. I don't, that's one. Can we pass it out, sir? You do. Bastien's. So, any debate on this motion? That's fine. Okay. Clerk, please call the roll. Thank you. Commissioner Gonzalez? Commissioner Hardiman? Commissioner Lopez? Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis? Yes. Who's next? Commissioner Regalado? Yes. Commissioner Steinberg? Commissioner Bastien? Yes. Commissioner Bermudez? Yes. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins? Senator Garcia? Commissioner Gilbert? Vice Chairman McGee? Yes. Chairman Rodriguez? All right. Motion passes? Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. Commissioner Bastien, you have another motion? Yes. Vice Chair McGee, thank you. Commissioner Bastien moves to amend fiscal year 2627, county budget, and item C, E, and H, which to reappropriate $4.1 million from the Future Service Reserve to the Department of Transportation and Public Works in order to fully fund the 1625-42-203 Biscayne Max and 279-79-street Max bus routes. Mr. Chair? Commissioner Bastien, that completed your motion? So there is a minute, there is another one. Give me one second, Commissioner Regalado. Two motions, okay. The second one is Commissioner- No, no, no, no, no, the motion you just read, were you finished reading the entire motion? Yes, I did. I did last year. Thank you. All right, so you're making that motion to move. Do we have a second? We have a second, now we've got discussion. Yes, we already have two motions reactivating bus routes. And while I understand that everyone wants their bus routes reactivated, we all want our bus routes reactivated. So we still haven't had the conversation about how we're going to fund the AM ones. We've got to do that. And now we're motion by motion bringing back the night ones. And if we are going to do the night ones, A, we have to find the money, and I don't think taking it from reserves is the answer. But B, if we don't have the funding for all of them, we should fund the ones that have the highest ridership. Give me one second, Commissioner Regalado. Can we get quietness a little bit in here, please? Thank you so much. Commissioner Regalado, continue. Yeah, if we are going to fund some of them and not all of them, we should fund them based on the highest ridership, not on districts. I mean, and I don't know if I'm the winner or the loser of that. I just think it's very difficult for us to now go piecemeal and say, you get your two routes, you get your two routes. I don't, I do, because that's not, we're either doing all of it or we do it in pieces, but we do it with a metric. Thank you. Commissioner Gilbert. Thank you, Mr. Vice Chairman. So I've taken the very first bus and I've taken the very last bus. And one of the things I will note for you all, it's interesting because the people who, and the people who spoke here, that they were telling the truth. If you're riding the bus really early in the morning and really late at night, you don't have another choice. You just don't. No one wants to ride the bus around midnight. No one wants to get up and walk down the street and catch the bus at five in the morning. You have to go someplace. You have no other way to get there and you take the bus. And so that's how I got to and from law school, the bus and the metro rail. And so I think that we probably, I would have been more comfortable collapsing routes in the middle of the day. I'm informed that we might not be able to do that because of other restrictions. Commissioner Regalado's point is well taken. And just restoring them in a kind of proprietary, like, I'm going to do it for my district, so then I'm going to do it for my district. Just restore the nighttime routes. Just restore the nighttime routes. Just restore the nighttime routes. And I'd ask, and you all know that I have a motion later about the TID and making the TID, the money that we're raiding the TID for again, into a loan that we pay back over years to the transit fund. Because I don't think that we should be raiding the TID. I asked if we had money left in the TID for this. I would be willing to support this because it at least, you know, it's transit. But let's just go ahead, and I would amend this motion to restore all the routes, all the nighttime buses. Second. Hold on, hold on. Let me just, let's just back up here. So her motion is on the table for the 4.1 million, right? And are you accepting that amendment from Commissioner Gilbert? Your mic is not on, Commissioner. Okay. I've got a question, though. Okay. Do we have? No. No, I have a question because I think Commissioner Bastien made another motion to restore other bus routes. Yes, she did. And it was already approved, and one of my motions is to do that as well. So are we going back and taking that back, or? No, no, no. We didn't vote on it. We just took a first and a second on it. So we didn't actually, the vote is not there, but you can still now amend her item. So we have the amendment from Commissioner Gilbert. Commissioner Bastien, you find it to be friendly. Got it. Mr. Attorney, you have that information so far? A point of information. Mr. Chair? Give me one second, Madam Mayor. Just, Mr. Attorney, Madam Attorney, did you get Commissioner Gilbert's amendment, proposed amendment that has been accepted by Commissioner Bastien? We do. We are about to, we have a small issue. Okay. While we take care of that, we'll head back over to Madam Mayor for point of information, please. Thank you. So just, I think there's some confusion about which are the different cuts and possibilities to restore. There's the early morning routes, which I propose to restore at $12.5 million. The evening routes to restore would be a total of $10.5 million. Then there are a number of routes that were eliminated, and so there's a price associated with restoring those routes. So I just, to make that clear, since there's some confusion about what you're restoring. Are you restoring just times, or are you restoring an entire route? Also, within each of these are the contracted routes through a private vendor and those that are operated by Department of Transportation and Public Works. So, for example, when I proposed to restore early morning, it was for both sets of routes. And similarly, there's a different price tag. The contracted routes are much smaller, but the total amount for restoration of evening hours, again, would be $10.5. Thank you. Commissioner Bastien, hearing that, what would you like to do now? Because what she's basically saying, there's a $10.5 million increase, and more than likely $6 million above your $4 million proposed, and your amendment that you accepted from Commissioner Gilbert takes it up to $10.5 million. We can't hear you. I mentioned earlier, we're eliminated. The 16, 25, 42, 203, and 279. I think the mix-up has been pretty much what we're hearing is, and there's a difference between the complete elimination of routes, and then there were the evening. So, your motion goes towards the routes that were eliminated. Eliminated. And that's why the ticket for that is $4.1 million. Is that what I heard? Yes. Is that correct to the administration? Through the chair. We have all the different breakdowns, and who's going to cover it? Come on, come on, come on. It's 2-17. We've got to go. Through the chair. Thank you, Madam Mayor. All right. So, Stacey, bring us home. Help us out with this. So, pretty much here it is. Her motion goes to the routes that have been cut. There are other commissioners who also have routes that have been cut that they would like to have added back in. Can you give us the amount, and then, I guess, the motion to direct the administration to find that money to replace those cuts? Yep. Mr. Chairman? Yes. Mr. Chairman? I'm sorry. As a point of clarification, my motion was not for the ones that were cut. It was just to restore evening hours. Okay. So, basically, we haven't gotten to the evening hours yet. We're still on the cuts right now, and we'll get there. Stacey. Okay. So, thank you, Stacey Miller, Director, CEO of Department of Transportation and Public Works. For the eliminated routes, those are routes that were completely eliminated. For the six that would be eliminated that are run by the Department of Transportation and Public Works, that is $5 million. For the six contracted routes that are contracted, that is $3.5 million. So, that is $8.5 million to restore 12 eliminated routes. What was the amount again? $12 million? $5 million for the six routes that are run by DTPW and $3.5 million for the contracted routes. So, $8.5 million total for the eliminated routes. Eliminated. That was what you asked me. Not the late evening. So, the total is $8.5 million for all the eliminated routes? For the eliminated routes, yes. All of them. The 12. She's saying for all the eliminated routes. The 12 routes that were eliminated, proposed elimination, $8.5. Whether day or night, these routes were completely eliminated. Eliminated. All right. So, we need about $8.5 million to restore all those routes. Correct? That's what we're hearing. That would bring back 12 routes in totality. Okay. Can I ask a question? Give me one second. Commissioner Bastien. Again, so, but your motion asked for $4.1 million to bring back those eliminated routes affecting your district. Okay. Now. Mr. Chair, sorry, point of clarification. Are those the routes in the evening after 10 p.m. or the fully, the full route? There was. I'd like the director to answer if she can, so that we can get clarification. Right, I think she did. I think she said there are two buckets here. There are the bucket that holds the a.m. and evening cuts as it relates to time. Then there's a bucket that holds all the eliminated routes. Commissioner Bastien's motion goes to the eliminating bucket, the bucket that eliminated the routes. However, her motion is specifically tailored towards the buses within her district, which total about $4.1 million. So her motion goes directly to the bus elimination in her district, but I also understand that there are other commissioners who want to amend what she is proposing to include their routes. I just want clarification on, there's the 5 million that are run by DTPW, and then there's the 3.5 contracted. Are those for the ones running after 10 or 1 p.m. or for the full routes that are being canceled? They were full route eliminations. Those do not include the originally proposed a.m. service reductions or the p.m. service reductions. These were just eliminated routes, the entire service. The 8.5 million restores that service fully. Thank you. You're welcome. You okay with that, Commissioner Orbis? I mean, I have more questions, but I don't want to interrupt Commissioner Bastien's motion, so. Okay. Well, her motion is on the floor, and we have a second, so now we have a discussion. Was there going to be anyone else looking to make any amendments and discuss? Yes. Commissioner Regalado. Thank you. I think we need to talk about the eliminated routes and the evening routes because I think, and I'm not confounding things, I just think that we need to decide and we need to know how much it is and where the money is coming from because what I don't want to do is vote on the eliminated routes, and then we've got to come now and deal with the nighttime routes. I think we need to just figure it all together because we already did the morning ones, but now, because I think it's like $10 million, the evening ones. Right. But here's the thing. The motion on the floor right now, Commissioner Bermudez, I'm going to come to you after Commissioner Steinberg, but the motion on the floor right now deals specifically with the eliminated routes. But if we support this, does that mean we don't have money for the night once? Again, that's the question that's going to have to be answered at the point when the motion is made and the administration has to find the money when you direct it to go find the money. But right now, the motion on the floor deals particularly with the eliminated routes. So are there any discussions and or amendments for the eliminated routes that go to Commissioner Bastiennes' motion? Point of information. I'll wait for the chair. You want to go ahead and go, Commissioner Bastiennes? I'm at Commissioner Steinberg. Thank you. Okay, just really quickly. Obviously, I want to express my support for preserving bus routes to thousands of residents, workers, and visitors. They rely on it every day. So currently, the proposal actually eliminates, in my district, Route 279 entirely, and it does reduce late night service. Thank you, by the way, for restoring the early morning service. I think that was the right call. So several routes serving my district includes routes 14, 15, 20, 36, 79, the 101, 125, and 150. So I just want people to understand these routes aren't simply just numbers on a sheet, right? They actually connect thousands of residents in the beach and beyond to work, to the airport, to the hospital, to communities throughout Miami-Dade County. So I'm particularly concerned about what these reductions would mean for our hospitality workforce, for instance. So while we're a world-class destination, our hotels, our restaurants, our businesses that make it this great place don't operate on a regular 9 to 5, right? Their employees are often on the road before 6 a.m. and heading home after 10 p.m. at night. Many rely on these buses to get to work. The 150 connects, for instance, Miami Beach to the airport. The 36 and 79 provide important connections to Metro Rail, and the 279 provides faster service for riders who otherwise face a much longer commute. So these are just some of the routes that make an impact in our community. So when we reduce those options, we're not just changing a bus schedule. We're making it harder for people to get to their jobs, to their businesses, to find and retain the workers they need, right? So I understand we have difficult decisions to make in the budget. I do believe these routes are where we should be focusing, obviously. We all want to focus and advocate for our districts, but it's a county-wide issue. For many residents, public transportation isn't a convenience. It's how they get around. So for the workers, for everybody who's keeping our hotels, our restaurants, our economy running, reliable service in the early morning, which thank you for restoring, and late night really matters. So I think what we need to do is really understand the posture of what we're doing here because I'm committed to working to find that solution. This goes into effect from what we heard today in March of 2027. I think we have some overlap, right, with some of our bus lines and the different districts. So, you know, while my number may be X and District 5 may be Y and District 2 may be Z, I think there's some overlap. So it'd be interesting to see how many routes of those eliminated routes versus the nighttime. I don't know if it's an either-or or both. But so I would want to amend any motion to include understanding fully which routes we would be restoring fully. Because for me, the Route 279, I believe, needs to be restored fully. And the other routes, like I mentioned, I think need to be reinstated in the evening due to the unique circumstances that these are not 9 to 5 environments where they do need to have that ability to ride, to get home and to work. Could I provide a point of clarification? Thank you, Madam Mayor. Please. Okay. And Commissioner Bermudez, you're next, followed by Commissioner Lopez after that. So you just heard it's 8.5 for restoration of all eliminated total routes. Yes. I also told you, in my change memo, it's 12.5 for restoration of morning service that we proposed to eliminate. I proposed it, but it's not in the budget. It would need to be approved by this board. 10.5 is what it costs to restore the evening hours. When you put that together, I hope I'm correct, the total amount is $19 million. That would restore all the proposed eliminated routes. No, what's wrong? No. Oh. Okay. I think it's a little more, Mayor. It's a little more. Yes. Okay. The total is 10.5, 12.5, and 8.5. 31.5. So we are not, at this moment, able to tell you, if you choose to restore some and not others, what that would be. So that's the total amount that would be needed. And obviously, you would need to find where you would draw that money from. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Commissioner Bastian. I'm not Bastian. Commissioner Bermudez. Thank you, Mr. Chair. The, thank you, Madam Mayor, for that clarification. Here's the problem that I have. For the last three to four years, better bus, whatever, transit alliance came. We eliminated routes, including many in my district and some in yours, because we, and I agree with Commissioner Gilbert, that, you know, we fund this thing to the tuna models 92 cents of every dollar. One of the things, and we have a problem, because we're just not going to continue to be able to do it. But it's very disconcerting that every time that a route is taken from somebody else's district now, and I agree with Commissioner Regalado, we sit here at the 11th hour. Hold on one second, Commissioner Bermudez. Can we all have your attention, please? It's 229. We're trying to get there. But at least we can do is respect the speaker, please. I think that at this time, it's very difficult for me to make a decision whether, as Commissioner Gilbert said, you know, the nighttime routes is one thing. But then if we're looking at, there's some in Commissioner Bastien's, Commissioner Orbis's, Commissioner Lopez, now Commissioner Steinberg, rightly so. But then, you know, I'm like, wait a minute, we made decisions, we're supposedly, so are we going back to ground zero, and now we're asking the administration to go back? And so I'm going to vote no simply because, truthfully, with all due respect, once we make a decision, there has to be some sort of explanation to go back on that decision. Not just, it's budget time, I'm going to trade my vote just so I can get this. As far as the nighttime routes are concerned, I'm supportive everywhere, no matter where in Dade County, because, as Commissioner Gilbert said, you know, that, and the young man, I think there was a young man, a young lady were here. There was a young lady actually that even mentioned, you know, how important those routes were. So, and as a matter of fact, I think she lived in Casa del Sol in my district. So that's one thing, but to go route by route at this time, I'm going to vote no because I think everybody's got a right to say, hey, what happened to my bus route? It certainly impacted my district pretty adversely. And it's right by FIU. A lot of students got to get to college. You know, what's, you know, so now everybody, so we're just going to add, I don't know, maybe I'll go back and find out every route that go through my district and add it there, too. But that shouldn't be what we're doing. When we make a decision, let's stick to it. And then let's logically decide, not just politicking. Thank you, Commissioner Bermudez. Commissioner Lopez, so we can go ahead and get this wrapped up. Can we have your attention, please? A few more minutes. A few more minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. So, I had only one route eliminated in District 5, but I had 23 routes impacted by evening services and also by morning services. So, I had quite a few of them, but I don't disagree that there probably has to be a way that everyone gets. Hold on, Commissioner. Please, please, please. It's 2.31. We're almost there. I think I have the longest drive back to the Southern Kingdom, but please, please, we're almost there, y'all. No, I just, I don't disagree that everyone appears to need their bus routes restored, whether that be those that have been eliminated or those that, you know, had morning and evening services, you know, reduced. So, I mean, I don't know what the answer is, but it's clear that everyone needs them. And so, the total is $31.5 million, and you'd have to figure out where that comes from in order to ensure that the workers, the students, the elderly, and all of them who need it can use it. And I think, to Commissioner Gilbert's point, everybody, you know, has a need for transportation. And it's critically important to go to work, to go to the hospital, to go to stores. And so, I think we have to figure out where do we find $31.5 million. Thank you. And before we go to you, Commissioner Gilbert, Stacey, can you, can you, the word reserve was actually raised, how much money is currently in that pot? And I'm going to have to ask OMB. Through the chair, our budget director will answer the question. Yes. Because I know that's where Commissioner Bastien has asked for some of the money to come from. So, I just want to know exactly how much we're talking about in that, in the reserve pot as we speak. Commissioner Gilbert, Ray, you want to answer that one, please? Yes, Mr. Vice Chair. I was fine answering it until you said, as we speak. So, let me start over again. So, we were at $21.12 million to start with. There have already been motions in the supplemental change order, or the supplement to the second change memo, reducing it by $1.128 million for the administrative office of the courts, reducing it by $718,000 for the state attorney. And then, a few moments ago, the clerk's motion was made for the $1.536 million. So, with that, the $9 million that was in the second change memo is down to $5.813 million. The future services reserve is at $21.12 million. So, we are at $26.933 million right now, not counting any of the motions that have been made on the bus routes yet. And the $9 million, you mentioned the $9 million. For the record, what is the $9 million for? The $9 million was in the second change memo. That was our reconciliation of additional revenues and an additional carryover that we have identified since the July 15th budget release to the change memos that have come out recently. So, we're sitting on $26 million at this time. $26 million. And, once again, just caveat that with the bus route motions that have been made in the last few moments. Got it. Commissioner Gilbert. Thank you, Mr. Vice Chairman. Yeah, that's a good point. I think Gilbert was about to be waiting on me. It's, we are having a conversation about restoring routes, but that's not really the conversation. The conversation is really about the health of the system. Oh, okay. It's really about the health of the system. The health of the system is directly affected by the fact that we haven't raised fares in 13 years. So, when I was riding to work, going to work out this morning, there's a racetrack gas station on 207th Street and 27th Street. It's right there on the corner. And so, I made the right. I made sure I came to a complete stop because it was a red light and I didn't want to get a red light hammer ticket. And when I was there, I looked to the right and gas was $4.39 a gallon. And we don't pay the exact amount because we buy in bulk and all this other stuff, but gas has gone up. It's gone up for the sheriff also. It's gone up for the county. But we don't reflect even that in the cost to provide a service. And because we don't reflect even that in the cost to provide a service, the system will go broke. That is not speculation. That is a certainty. This system will go broke unless you address fares. Look, right now, we get this number wrong every time, but I think we pay 89 cents out of every dollar. We pay 89 cents out of every dollar for the fares. So, we're 89% in for every dollar. At what point do you address that? How much money does 25 cents fare increase generate for the system? And while you're doing that, I also would like to know the cost for the eliminated routes because some of them are very low ridership. What does something less than full restoration look like? Like, what does that look like? Because restoring a route that had 15 riders for the entire day, I'd rather pay for them an Uber. I'll send Metro Connect. It would be cheaper to buy them an Uber if it's just 15 people on that route. So, we can find ways to move them, but we need to have a more detailed conversation about this now. From an elasticity perspective, a 25-cent increase is a range of $4.2 million to $5.2 million in additional revenue. That changes depending on a 25-cent increase versus a different increase. Because that elasticity formula changes a bit because we have to take into account loss of riders due to a fare increase. So, there's a range. Okay. So, the more you increase it, the fewer people ride the bus. Potentially. So, for instance, as I mentioned, a 25-cent increase, our range is 4.2 to 5.2. A 50-cent increase is 8.2 to 10.4. So, it's a slightly different range. It's not an exact doubling of the range. Did we come up with the elasticity computation before or after it became so much more expensive to drive? It's a model that we use. Yeah. It's a model, but when did we come up with a model, is the question. We adjust the model annually, but that's why there's a range. We don't ever set a distinct number because it's a little more fluid. And it's a model. So, we always want to provide a range. It's not a guaranteed number. I'm just trying to think of a scenario where a person who's catching a bus, especially one who's catching a bus late at night or early in the morning, where there would be still a cheaper option if you raised it 25 cents. And I'm trying to imagine that scenario. So, would it then be cheaper to take an Uber? No. Buy a car? No. Okay. Buy a bicycle, maybe. Commissioner Lopez says she can't ride a bike. No, I can't. I'm just, I don't, look, I know that you all don't want to do it and everyone's going to say no. But I think we ought to raise the fare. The smallest amount we should consider is 25 cents. And not for nothing, but this is a conversation about law enforcement also, if not now, but in the future. Because in the real world, we're subsidizing 89 cents out of every dollar out of the general fund for transportation. That's money that we don't use in parks and police and, I mean, in an ideal world, transit is actually a proprietary fund. But we know it will never get there. And I'm not asking for it to get there. And I understand the importance of it. Let me say this to the business owners around here and so to everyone understand that this is completely a pro-business thing. Those folks who are catching the bus, they're catching the bus to go to people's jobs primarily. And so our transportation, our transit system, actually keeps this economy moving. We're subsidizing the workforce when we do this. That is what we're doing. But there will come a point when we can't afford to subsidize it anymore. We're rapidly approaching that point. And so I think that we ought to look at restoration, partial restoration. Combine that with a fare increase. Reinstate the late and the early routes. The early ones are already considered. And then find out what that number looks like as an impact. And then we go from there. Can somebody model that for me? Yes, sir. Thank you. Henry, what is your metrics going to be for the restoration of the routes? Because if we're here and we're going to restore a partial of that, now you have to create a metric that will determine who's going to be winners and who's going to be losers in this equation. So I'm not adverse to raising the fee for folks to ride the bus between that $0.25 and $0.50 because I understand something has to give. But I also don't want to get to the point where we are legitimately picking winners and losers and increasing the fees on those who are losing out and would have to go find another way to work. So I guess I don't know what metrics you're going to use, but if you can give us some light on that, shed some light on that, it would be great for us right now. If I may, sir, ask the director to help me if I get this wrong. But we do have to keep routes spread across districts in an equitable manner. So that will be part of our calculus as we look at the routes that we could potentially restore. Ridership, I think, would come into that as well. Any other guardrails anyone wants to suggest would be helpful, but those will probably be the two that we look at first. Thank you. And your team is going to start looking at that now? Yeah, we have them. You have it or you need time to get it? We need time to provide you with some ranges because obviously it depends on how much you choose to raise the fare and then how much if you're choosing to add additional resources. But, Stacey, you already gave us the range. You gave us the range. If it's $0.25, it's going to be between $0.04 and $0.05. If it's $0.50, it's going to be $0.08 to $0.10. So the question now becomes is $8.5 for the restoration of those, the eliminated routes. It's $10.5 for the evening routes, and we already know that the mayor has already proposed $12.2 for the daytime route. So right now, I don't believe a daytime route is the issue. I think the real question now becomes can we come up with a formula to deal with the increase on the rate for the buses that would actually give us a coverage for the partial restoration of the $8.5 and or the evening hours that the motion was made for earlier? Excuse me, through the chair. Yep. Would it not be possible for us to bring this back at the October 3rd board meeting as a possible budget amendment? These matters most likely, I don't know, your will, would come from reserves, which, of course, we're concerned about, whether future services or other reserves. And you heard from our director here how much we have in total, and we know what the morning routes, we know what the evening routes are, and then adding $0.50, we've already projected, we said $10 million, we simplified it, and we said half that for $0.25. So, yes, it's nuanced, but that's the general idea. So, of course, we are recommending the $0.50, and then that creates some additional flexibility as to where the funds could come from. Thank you, so now we go back to you, Commissioner Bastien, would you like to table your motion for now with the anticipation that it gives the administration time to come up with the matrix and the information needed for us to make a valuable decision as it relates to the restoration, the evening routes, and the daytime routes. The mayor put on the record that it will be back, they'll be able to, we'll have that conversation. What date was that, Madam Mayor, you put on the record? The next board meeting, which was October 6th. Right, and that's one idea, and if you choose to table that, then we can move to the question about increasing the fee, and that way at least we'll know by the time they get there and come back, they'll have an understanding exactly, a true model of the amount of money, and what they can cover with the funds that we actually generate from the increase. I think it'll get there, though. Oliver really wants your attention. Okay. Give me, Commissioner Bastien, you okay? Yeah. Let me hear what he has to say. I was going to say, I just make the motion to increase the fare by 50 cents right now, and we can vote on that. If we decide to increase the fare, then the administration can actually come back and tell us what we have money to do from there. But I'm not afraid of the motion, because I understand that it's not popular, but it's from a policy perspective, it's the right thing to do. I second your motion. I see the attorney is kneeling next to me, so I've got to take a break for a second. One second. Mr. Chair, on the motion? Yes. Thank you. I just wanted to make a few points. I know that Oliver said that transit fares were not raised. That is not the case with STS. STS was actually raised twice. It went from $2.50 to $3 and then to $3.50. So I just want to make sure I am not going to support a fare increase. I mean, we have other things that we can do, but I appreciate that you feel strongly about that. I just want to make sure that STS is not included in that fare increase, because last time that came up. So just some clarity as to if your motion includes STS. Point? Yes. No, it didn't. You just introduced it into the conversation, but it didn't. Thank you. So no, it didn't. But thank you for the introduction. And the attorney is saying what they came over here, Neil, says that we have to do this by rezo. We do fare increase by rezo, and we have to have a certain notice, so we can't do it before October 6th? Correct. You'd have to have it noticed in a public hearing. We'd have to have a notice in a public hearing, so we cannot do that right now. So that changes the dynamic. Well, yeah, Madam Attorney, that's a good question as it relates to the notice. Great question. It was inside of the change memo, and we have it before us today. That's not the notice that's required by federal law, right? There was no notice in the actual ordinance that the fares were increasing. We looked at that issue earlier to see if that was something that could be accomplished today. But it is doable with a resolution, and it can be done on October 6th. Mr. I see where you're going. I see where you're going. What is your best solution right now that you suggest that we take on? We could prepare a resolution with a proposed fare increase, whatever that would be, 50 cents. Haven't noticed for October 6th. I believe the mayor had already suggested also bringing forward the plan for the restoration. Whether it's full restoration or partial restoration of certain eliminated routes, as well as the nighttime routes. And that could be an additional source of revenues, so that it wouldn't fully deplete the future services reserve. That's what I understood was surprised. Yes, thank you. Just a reminder that we also have to vote on the early morning restoration. It's only my recommendation. It's not in the budget. Thank you. Commissioner Gilbert? Yeah, Mr. Vice Chair, I just think, I mean, this, my last budget, but maybe if we put something in the change memo as a recommendation or as an option, then it ought to actually be doable in the meeting where we vote on the options and recommendations in the change memo. Because from my perspective, I do see the budget, especially the general fund, everything's kind of inextricably intertwined. So if I decrease the money I'm spending one place, then I can increase the money I'm spending another. So if I can't do that, I think probably there should have been better coordination between the administration and the attorney's office. I think that that's probably, I'm going to leave it right there, and I'll have the rest of the conversation probably. And thank you, Commissioner Gilbert. And to the administration and to Madam Attorney, I guess my next question is, if we're going to prepare an increase for fares, I think it's fair to have a conversation about the metro mover. I don't think it's right that we tax the people, right, coming from all the way south, coming up north from west and east to get up here, while the very people who are here in the financial district are having a free ride on a metro mover. I think that's fair game. I think they need to pay something also. Let me ask you this. Can we have a fare imposed on a metro mover as part of the resolution that's coming back before this board? Because I think it's only fair that if we're going to do it for the folk who are on these buses, I think it's fair for the folk on the metro mover to pay something, too. They've got to put some skin in the game. And I'm not averse to it. And if we have to, say, match the same fee that they pay on the metro rail, I'm okay with that, making that motion. I just want to make sure that we can put that into the resolution that's coming forward. Mr. Chair, Commissioner, point of order. We voted on this, and the report's coming back in three months. So at the last budget meeting, I brought an item on this, and they said that they needed more time. I did talk to them, and we can do fare collection without fare gates. So, you know, we're talking about $7 million. It's not a small amount of money. Now, the issue is this board has already acted and asked them to give us a report in two and a half months. So we would have to go beyond that. And thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Regalado. But I don't understand why we have to wait three months for what we know to be true. Why can't, you know, and Madam Attorney, help me understand. But why can't, if we've already agreed that we're going to raise them on folk all over this place, why can't we just put everybody in the same boat right now and deal with it for once and for all? Is there anything that's stopping us from doing that? Any federal regulation? Any state regulation? A state law? Commissioner, the increase of the fares of the Metro mover is certainly within the purview of the board. The procedure on how you would increase that is different than increasing the transit fares. That would require an ordinance and with a certain time period between first and second reading. But that is certainly something that this board could do. Just it's a different procedural vehicle. And that time frame, thank you, Madam Mayor, I'm coming to you. But the time frame, Madam Attorney, the time frame that you talked about as it relates to notice, how much time is needed as it relates to this ordinance? Commissioner McGee, the reason why there's a different time frame for mover as opposed to rail or bus is that mover, fare-free mover, is in the ordinance that established the surtax, the half-penny sales tax. And it's Section 29-124A of the code. So you would have to amend that ordinance, whereas the others would be by resolution. You could amend the fare structure of bus or rail by resolution. The mover, to remove the fare-free, you'd have to amend the ordinance. And the ordinance itself says that it can only be amended after a first and second reading. And the second reading must be six weeks after the first reading. So that's why there's a different timetable and structure for amending the mover fare. And we don't have a mechanism to shorten that six-week time? Amend the ordinance itself. But in any event, it would basically take the same time because it would be a first and second reading. Thank you. Madam Mayor? Thank you. We did put in the change memo some language about this because it does require us to establish what the cost would be to set up the mechanism and to explore technological solutions, as was mentioned by Commissioner Regalato. So we're very open to it, of course. We just need to pull together the details as to what that would look like and also to assure the cost benefit because what would be the fare that would make it worthwhile to make the changes that we would have to make. And it wouldn't happen overnight. So we can get a report to you perhaps in less than three months. I don't know, two months. But we have to put something together, and then there will be some procurement aspect of it that has to be approved as well. How soon can you get that report? Can we do it in two weeks? Let's see. She'll address it. Thank you for that question. No, two weeks is not, unfortunately. The three months that we agreed to was aggressive in that we have to analyze the system, determine what the costs may be, determine a digital version versus a closed system, and we want to provide you with accurate information. It's a very different system on Metro Mover given the distance between stations. We want to make sure we're providing you with accurate information about what that fare structure should be given the fact that it is a 4.4 mile system with stations that are very close together. We don't know if it would be on a per day basis, on a per station basis. We want to provide that information, but that does take analysis. Thank you. All right, Commissioner Bastien, so you tabled your motion. No, this is what I have. So we're going to- Hold on. Please, please. It's 2.57. I promise you we're almost done. We are. So this is what I have. We're going to direct the mayor to combine PM routes and the routes that were proposed for full elimination and to identify funding for restoration. That's what I have. Hello? And then to come back in October with the report. Through the chair. Yes. I think there was going to be a vote on whether or not there'd be a fee increase, and that would help us determine what funding sources might be available. And then we would come back with, I think, some options because, you know, are we depleting the entire fare increase? Are we, you know, are we utilizing all of the future services reserve? I mean, these are choices that have to be made. So we'll come with those scenarios, I think. Mr. Chair. Hold on. We're going to wrap this up, Commissioner Regalado, and then we're going to go take a vote on the fare increase. So the mayor will come with, you will come with different scenarios, Madam Mayor? I'm so sorry. You will come with different scenarios as to how we're going to be funding? We will come with some scenarios. I do just need a clarification for me. To put it as a public hearing item is because we would make a resolution, and then that would be the notice? Or what's the mechanism for the notice? You recognize. The notice would be your typical advertisement with the title of the resolution. And would the resolution then include the fare increase? Correct. Okay. So what is the resolution that you would wish me to? It's what Commissioner Bastien spoke of, along with what Commissioner Gilbert requested as it relates to the fee increase. So it would be a 50 cents increase. So you're going to do a model of that. Also include what Commissioner Bastien brought up as it relates to the nighttime and the restoration of the route. And then from there, you should be able to price out, through your modeling, the best route for us. We'll do it. All right. Got it. So, no. We don't have to vote on it. So you got the commitment from the mayor. That report is going to have everything. That resolution is going to have everything. And it's going to be based on the model of increasing the fee at 50 cents. That works? Thank you. All right. So, Commissioner Greg Alato. Yes. So this is a motion that I have. This is the Metro Connect item that I brought last time. But it has an amendment that I think answers a lot of the issues that folks had. So what we're talking about is reducing the funding allocated to subsidized passenger costs to utilize Metro Connect services from $4.5 million to $1.5 million. With the $3 million resulting from the reduced allocation being allocated towards a restoration of late night county transit bus services, prioritized by highest ridership. Two, direct the county mayor and mayors designated to negotiate and or execute a modification of the Metro Connect contract or terminate the contract if necessary and renegotiate new agreements to provide for a $3.75 credit for each ride for non-low income Metro Connect passengers up to $1 million total for the 26-27. And three, establish a county policy that up to the remaining half a million be utilized to allow qualifying low income persons as described in Florida statute section 420-000411 who are Metro Connect passengers to continue to pay $3.75 per trip. So the third part is modeled after a program in the city of Miami. Some of you were concerned that our poor residents were not going to be able to use the service. Obviously, if they have golden passport, they'll be able to use the service for the $3.75 or free. And then this allows for another application process if you're not over 65. So I think this answers a lot of the questions that there are. I spoke to staff. Metro Connect is saying that they can't do it. I did reach out to Uber and Transamerica and other people. They're saying that they can do it. I did it in tri-rail with Uber and taxis. So it can be done. The question is how quickly can they do it? And then, obviously, the customer service aspect of it. But the administration can get us that information. And this way, we could put $3 million towards the night services, but we would still be providing the Metro Connect service. All right. Was that a motion? All right. I second. There's a motion and a second by the vice chair. As I said earlier in my opening remarks, this is something that's just a non-starter for me. But, obviously, it's the world's board. To the administration, I don't know whether it's the director, Stacey, or deputy mayor. Like, what's – I don't even know if we need to go down this rabbit hole. But can this be done? I mean, my understanding is you can't even do this. The challenge with it, Mr. Chairman, is the timing. Obviously, as Commissioner Regulato stated, our current provider has said they are unable to provide this. And what that would mean, we would have to cancel that contract with them and some type of cancel for convenience. Or I think we had a 90-day out clause. And then we would have to stand up an agreement with Uber if what Commissioner Regulato said is correct. If Uber can take care of it all, it's about negotiating another contract and resetting it up. It's just a matter of timing. I don't think you could count on realizing a full year's worth of savings because I think it would take several months at best. Yeah. And if it were to work, we're saying – your motion is saying have the already burdened resident that's using it pay $16.25 instead of $3.75. And we just pay the $3. They pay $16. Well, what it does is it flips it to – the whole thing was supposed to get them to first and last mile. So they get the credit for $3.75 and then whatever the difference is. $16.75. The information that I provided to the board at the last meeting is these rides have been getting incrementally longer and more expensive. So every year we have less people riding and they're going for longer and longer rides. So that's why we need to flip the subsidy because they're getting more expensive. So this way, if the issue is getting them from point A to point B, we lock in the $3.75. And then we have the opportunity to continue the subsidy as it is right now for low-income residents. There's no reason why someone that is not low-income should be getting a full subsidy of $20.30. I mean, this ends up being over – close to $500 a person a year in a subsidy. It's a big subsidy. And now we're talking about – so that's why I think if we're going to look at the subsidy, the buses are at $103, $110, and we're saying that those aren't enough. So the idea here is to kind of take what the board said, create a low-income alternative, and then have those that can pay pay a little bit more. So it wouldn't be the people who are burdened. It would be the ones that are not economically disadvantaged. I think that's not fair. Look, we're well within – the national range for on-demand transportation is between $18 and $20 per ride. We're well within that. To flip that – I mean, literally, it was the one topic that folks spoke about the most up here was public transit outside of maybe public safety, but maybe more than public safety. People were speaking about their transportation. Again, we'll call a vote. We've got a motion. We have a second. I don't know if there's any other discussion on it. I'm definitely against this. I don't know how this could pass this without a plan. The administration is saying that they cannot do this in the time frame. It's just not the right way to approach this. But, clerk, call the roll. All you want to say? Go ahead. Commissioner Gilbert. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate your efforts, Commissioner Regalardo. I'm not going to support my item at this time. I think supporting this item at this time is problematic, especially since we're not dealing with, as the Vice Chairman said, the free, like, metro mover and the increased fares in other places. I'm glad you're with me on the mover. I would appreciate, like, letting me finish my sentence. But I believe that this program was created. And, listen, there might be some abuses there, and I think we need to ferret that out. It might need to be some efficiencies made. We probably need to look at that. But I don't think we do it in this way. And I think this program actually addresses folks, a lot of folks, who actually do need it. I do believe that there are folks who don't need it that are using it. And I think through the year, we can actually have some conversations about that. But I don't think it's appropriate at this time. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins. Thank you, Mr. Chair. To the maker of the motion, is this any different than the motion that you brought that was substantially similar at our first budget hearing? Yes, it is, because the third part allows for a – it adds half a million dollars to be utilized to qualify for low-income persons. And it has this statute, and this is based on a program that the city of Miami has, where if you are under a certain AMI, you apply. And then those individuals would keep the $375 that they would pay, and it would stay exactly as it is now. The only individuals that would be paying more are those that are not low-income. And I eliminated the age, because obviously you can be low-income and less than 65. So this answers the concern about the cost of it. So thank you for that clarification. But the primary portion, Sections 1 and 2, are substantially similar, if not exact. And I said at the last hearing, my district relies on this heavily. If you brought a motion that maybe had this as a pilot just for District 7, I could support it. But my district relies very heavily on Metro Connect and the administration saying that, based on this motion, that I guess the providers have said that they can actually do this. I won't be able to support the motion. Thank you, Mr. Chair. You could offer an amendment to make to a pilot in District 7. I mean, the issue is that the provider has said that they can't do it. So, I mean, I did it at TriRail with Uber and Taxis. They did it with Uber and Transportation America in West Palm. A lot of people have gone to this model of doing the credit instead of the subsidy, just because you can handle it more budgetarily and you can get more people to ride. So, it can be done. I understand what they're saying about standing it up, but it could be stood up in three months. And that would still save us a few million dollars. I mean, I don't know why we have to spend the full, you know, 4.5 million on something that we know is being used by a very small group of people. It's only 8,000 people, 8,000 individual riders. That's a lot of people, though. Not for this amount of money. That's a lot of people. Not for this amount of money. I could call a roll, or if you want to amend it to do a pilot in District 7, we could do a pilot in District 7 and see if it works in three months, like you said. I mean, if the administration says, I'm happy to do a pilot in District 7. I'm happy to do it. I don't have a problem doing it. We certainly would explore it. Yeah. We're not averse to doing a pilot of any kind. We'll contact the vendors and see what we can do. All right. Sounds good. Do we need a motion for that, or are you just going to do it, or amend your motion? I'll amend the motion to be a pilot in District 7. All right. Happy to do it. All right. So there's a motion by Commissioner Regalado to do a pilot in District 7 for the things that she's outlined. Is there a second? Is there a second by the Vice Chair? Any discussion on that particular change in motion? It's a whole different motion? Mr. Chairman. Yes, Commissioner Conigans. I appreciate the amendment to the pilot. I can support it. But are you reducing the funding allocated from 4.5 to 4.5? It would be the funding that is allocated geographically to District 7. Correct. It would just be the District 7 portion. Yeah. I think that would have to come in a budget amendment when we could determine that number. At this point, I don't know how we could adjust the budget. All right. So then we would just be guessing now how much would that apply to District 7. We don't know that. We still have like two hours, Roy. Yeah, but not on item C. That's the thing. So, all right. Let's just call a roll call. I guess I'm still a no for it then just because of that. Good point. Clerk, call the roll, please. Okay. I got an idea. We'll do this. Since they're saying that they don't have the actual number and they're saying that it's going to be three months, we can just say that we're going to take out the numbers and we're going to say that in District 7, starting in three months, we're going to flip the switch so that it's a voucher system and whatever savings comes of that pilot goes to the buses. So it doesn't affect the no reduction in the actual program itself? I'm not reducing Metro Connect. I'm just saying that in District 7, whatever is allocated geographically to my district, I'm going to flip it. And whatever savings I can generate, I'm going to put it towards the buses. I'm okay with that. Happy to do it. All right. So it's been moved. It's been seconded. Clerk, please call the roll. Commissioner Hardiman. Commissioner Lopez. Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis. No. Commissioner Regalado. Yes. Commissioner Steinberg. Commissioner Bastien. Commissioner Bermudez. Yes, because it takes place only in Regalado land. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins. Four. Senator Garcia. Commissioner Gilbert. Let me prove the concept. Don't be a hater. Sometimes it's good to be a hater. Sometimes it's okay. I'm going to vote for the item. I'll vote for it, but let me just have a comment after the vote's finished, please. Commissioner Gonzalez. Vice Chairman McGee. Yes. Chairman Rodriguez. I vote yes. Motion passes 11 to 2. Point of information, Mr. Chairman. I just, I voted for it because it's 3-12. But I don't know that this makes sense. I get what you're saying you do, and I think that's admirable because you're trying to get proof of concept. But I don't know that the funds are actually allocated by district in that way. And so even if they are allocated by district, if that, if it, the ride starts in a district 7, but it ends in district, I mean, so I think it might become too cumbersome. But you'll figure it out. So we don't need to know, Stacey, don't just keep approaching them. Don't approach the podium. No, no. So we're, they'll figure it out. But I'm not sure that was necessarily. Can I change my vote? No. Can I change my vote to no? Can I still do that? No. Eric, can I still change it? We thought about this. Yeah. You know why? Because now the more I think about it, good point. Like, here's the thing, like, and I like that it's, to J.C. Ramirez's point, it's in Regalado land. So I'm okay with it because it's in Regalado land. But the burden is still going to be flipped on the residents. People. On the people. And if they can't afford it in Rodriguez land, they can't afford it in Regalado land. It's still, so mark me as a no, please. But it still has the votes to pass. You'll get your pilot and proof of concept. All right. Item passes, right? Motion passes, guys? All right. Item C. Do you have other, Regalado, do you have other motions? On item C. Okay. I had C. You had C. Go ahead. Go ahead. I think the attorneys had this one, but I can read it. Commissioner Milanovis moves to amend the fiscal year 2026-27 county budget. Item CENH to include directive to the county mayor or county mayor's designee that if amendment 3 is approved at the 2026 general election, and then the county mayor or county mayor's designee shall prepare and present a report to the full board within 60 days after the certification of the 2026 general election results that details a financial contingency plan for fiscal year 27, 28, 28, 28, 29, that identifies estimated revenue losses in each fiscal year by each respective taxing jurisdiction, a, b, any recurring financial commitments in the current fiscal year 26-27 that are being funded by one-time non-recurring funding sources, c, any anticipated impacts to service-level priorities consistent with limits on eligible use of property taxes, and d, projected reserve levels. Second. That's been moved by Commissioner Orber, seconded by Lopez. Any discussion on this motion? Seeing none, clerk, please call the roll. Commissioner Lopez? Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis? Yes. Commissioner Regalado? Yes. Commissioner Steinberg? Yes. Commissioner Bastien? Yes. Commissioner Bermudez? Yes. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins? Yes. Senator Garcia? Commissioner Gilbert? Commissioner Gonzalez? Four. Commissioner Hardiman? Vice Chairman McGee? Yes. Chairman Rodriguez? Yes. Motion passes unanimously. All right, do you have another motion, Commissioner Orbis? Okay. It's on H. Commissioner Gonzalez, you're recognized. Yeah, I have a motion, if the county attorneys can read it, and I'll move it. Give us one second, please. Yeah. I'll just read it. Yep, go ahead. Commissioner, my understanding is it may be on item H, let us check. Okay. Do you have it there? It's on H? All right, apparently it's on H. Commissioner, Commissioner Cohen-Higgins, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair, I move to amend the proposed fiscal year 2627 county budget to reduce the utility service fee reserve fund in the Department of Solid Waste Management budget by $12 million and allocate these $12 million in utility service fee revenues to Miami-Dade County's environmentally endangered lands program for the acquisition, restoration, and or remediation of Miami-Dade County EEL land. Within the EEL program, these USF revenues shall only be used for those EEL land acquisitions, restorations, and remediations that are for water supply protection and that otherwise comply with the provisions of Section 24-34 of the county code. And just to be clear, these are amendments that apply to items C and at the appropriate time, E and H. We have a motion. We have a second by Commissioner Lopez. Any discussion on this motion? Commissioner Hardiman, you're recognized for discussion. I just have a question. Is this the same fund to the administration? Is this the same fund that you all had identified, that you had dollars that were not quite allocated but you were earmarking? And what we had in committee a discussion about the need for clean water and we were trying to find dollars to remediate a lot of the issues that we were having in a lot of the Northwest Miami-Dade and even the southern areas where they were trying to build affordable housing at places like Ponciana Park? It is the same fund, sir. And so instead of, to be clear, so this motion then would take funds away from that and put it towards the EEL and whatever is left that's already been encumbered, we won't have much to choose from because you're trying to also allocate dollars. Is that correct? Well, the fund currently has about $181 million in it, most of which has got a program for it. It's not encumbered, but it is planned. As I understand the motion, that number would be reduced by $12 million to go into EEL, provided that those lands qualified under the code for welfare protection or water supply protection. Okay. We have a motion. We have a second. Any other discussion? Clerk, please call the roll. Commissioner Emiliano Arbis. Commissioner Regalado? Yes. Commissioner Steinberg? Commissioner Bastien? No. Commissioner Bermudez? No. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins? Senator Garcia? Commissioner Gilbert? Commissioner Gonzalez? Commissioner Hardiman? Four. Commissioner Lopez? Yes. Vice Chairman McGee? Yes. Chairman Rodriguez? I vote yes. You're, yeah, okay. I'm sorry, Chairman Rodriguez? Yes. Motion passes 11 to 2. Commissioner Gonzalez, you're recognized for a motion on C. So it appears it was C. Can you please read the motion? Yes. I move to direct the county mayor-designee to present the Department of Transportation and Public Works. Overtime transit plan referenced in the budget book at the next intergovernmental and economic impact committee meeting. Subject to the chair's placement and report to the county commission prior to the mid-year budget submittal. As to the success of the overtime plan and reducing overtime costs. If additional funding is requested for overtime by the mayor-designee at the mid-year budget, the mayor-designee is directed to provide an explanation as to why the overtime costs cannot be limited to the budgeted amount. Motion. There's a second by Commissioner Lopez. Any discussion on the item? Seeing none, clerk call the roll. Commissioner Regalado? Yes. Commissioner Steinberg? Commissioner Bastien? Yes. Commissioner Bermudez? Yes. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins? Senator Garcia? Commissioner Gilbert? Commissioner Gonzalez? Four. Commissioner Hardiman? Commissioner Lopez? Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis? Yes. Vice Chairman McGee? Yes. Chairman Rodriguez? I vote yes. Motion passes unanimously. All right. Vice Chair. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I have a motion, I move to amend fiscal year 2026-2027 budget to allocate the security deposit paid pursuant to the contract approved by resolution number 66523 and resolution 29824 contract. And currently on deposit in the strategic procurement real estate operations fund to be used for future development of the property identified by folio number 3079020000040. Or to be reimbursed to the buyer under the said contract or affiliate entity as determined by the county mayor or her designee. All right. What is this? We have a motion? What is this? Yeah. So basically, to sum it all up, a security deposit was actually paid on an agreement, a deal for a project within the district. There's talks now instead of making a purchase of the actual property now, it's going to go into a lease. So we just want to make sure that the monies that are sitting right now as part of that security deposit is not used. That's currently sitting in a strategic procurement real estate operation fund. Go towards the new lease and or reimbursed back to the buyer. A motion. We have a second by Senator Garcia. Any discussion on it? Gilbert? What is it, though? I mean, what's the deal? What's the property? I don't have an objection to it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, the property is the folio number 37902, that's down south in the entertainment district. What we're doing is, we're the developer are moving away from purchasing the land to going into a lease agreement. And what they want to make sure is that the security deposit that they paid on the original purchase, fee purchase, that it goes towards the actual new lease agreement and or reimburse if it doesn't work out. Madam Mayor? Okay. Through the Chair. As I understand it, the new purpose of the property is something in the public benefit, and it does, it's not the usual process. We do ask for the money back. So we'll take it under advisement. Thank you. Commissioner? We're about to do it, so. We're about to do it. I don't know about taking it under advisement. Is it budgeted? Well, that's the whole point. It would be budgeted. No, did they budget the? No, they haven't touched it. It's actually sitting inside of a trust fund. It's actually sitting inside of a trust fund. It hasn't been budgeted, it hasn't been touched. It's just sitting there. That's why I was able to bring a motion on this item right now. That makes sense. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins? Hi. I'm not sure that I understand the motion. What is the amount of the security deposit that was made, I guess, in 2023? Yeah. So the security deposit that was actually made was an amount of, I believe it was like $600,000 towards the project to make the purchase. By the buyer. By the buyer. So the money was already paid. The money was put into a fund. The money is sitting into the fund now, and it's not being programmed at this time. So what we're saying is, if we were to move this from a purchase fee to a lease, then at least allow those funds to be transferred over to the lease agreement and or reimbursed if there's no agreement. If you didn't bring this motion, what would, like if I make a security deposit, it's a deposit. And if the project doesn't happen by law, I'm entitled to get my money back. And by contract, that's the whole nature of a security deposit. So I guess I don't understand why we need the motion. Right. Because I don't want anything to happen to the money, and I want to make sure that if there's any question whether or not a vehicle can be used or not, to ensure that those funds that were already paid into a trust fund that's not being programmed, that those funds are there when it's time to make the transfer from a fee to a lease agreement. That's, I just want to make sure the fundings are there. Commissioner Gilbert. Vice Chair, in the account that it's in, is it drawing interest? That's a good question. I don't know. But I doubt it. I haven't heard anybody that it was drawing interest. Is it drawing interest? Somebody over there should know. To the attorneys, do you want to shed some light on this? The attorney. I don't know. I don't know if the, I'm sorry, Commissioner. The administration will have to tell you whether it's drawing interest. But can you answer, like, to the, because going against brings up a good point, right? Like, unless this is an abundance of caution, which then I understand, they're entitled to their deposit back anyway, right? No, not necessary. That's why this motion is perfect for the issue I'm raising. I just want to make sure that they have a vehicle that they can use to take the money from A to B and have that conversation with the administration. And that's why it's set up where it's not taking anything out of the budget that's been programmed. These are monies that are just sitting there from the actual paid amount previously. So I didn't think it was going to be a big deal, but- I don't think it is. I just want to make sure that we're not missing anything. No, we're not missing anything. We're not missing anything. I just want to recapture. I want us to keep the interest if, like, I don't have a problem with that. I'm supportive of it. I just want us to keep the interest. If it is in an interest-bearing account, and it disturbs me that we don't know, but I want to keep the interest. That's all. So I'll just amend this to, if there's any interest, it stays with the county. All right. All right. It's been moved. It's been seconded. Second. Clerk, please call the roll. Yes. Commissioner Steinberg. To clarify, it is drawing interest in the county. So the interest stays with the county, based on this motion. Perfect. All right. As amended. Clerk, call the roll. Commissioner Steinberg. Commissioner Bastien. Commissioner Bermudez. That's me? Yes. Yes, yes. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins. Senator Garcia. Commissioner Gilbert. Yes. Commissioner Gonzalez. Four. Commissioner Hardiman. Commissioner Lopez. Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis. Commissioner Regalado. Yes. Vice Chairman McGee. Yes. Chairman Rodriguez. I vote yes. Motion passes unanimously. Mr. Chairman. He has another motion. Oh, he has another. Vice Chairman. Thank you. This is less head scratching on this one. I move to amend fiscal year 2026, 2027 budget and multi-year capital plan for parks, recreation, and open spaces department on its unfunded capital programs for a future project entitled South Dade Recreational and Senior Center to be located at Royal Colonial Park. And to consist generally of a recreational and senior center and athletic fields for an estimated future program cost of $80 million and directs the county mayor or designee to include the South Dade Recreational and Senior Center as part of the county's future capital and fiscal planning as well as consideration for potential future grant funding. All right, we have a motion, seconded by Commissioner Bastian. Any discussion on this motion? Seeing none. Clerk, please call the rule. Commissioner Bastian. Commissioner Bermudez. Yes. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins. Senator Garcia. Commissioner Gilbert. Yes. Commissioner Gonzalez. No. Commissioner Hardiman. Commissioner Lopez. Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis. I'm sorry. Commissioner Regalado. Yes. Commissioner Steinberg. Vice Chairman McGee. Yes. Chairman Rodriguez. You have your votes already. I'm okay because it's an unfunded list, but... It's just a... We're adding to the list. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Motion passes 10-2-2. All right. You have a motion, Commissioner? Yes. Before we leave solid waste, I had one thing that was pending with the attorneys that I mentioned. I've mentioned a few times, and I finally figured out how we would do it. On September 19th, 2023, Commissioner Gilbert brought an item to the board directing the county mayor to move forward with the waste-to-energy facility outside the city of Doral, contingent upon the prior negotiation and execution of an interlocal agreement with the city of Doral for contribution to partially defray costs and fund the relocation, construction, and operation of the new waste-to-energy facility. That was approved by this board, but the trigger in that item was that we picked a site. So, what's happened since then is we have not picked a site, but we did remove Doral. So, I wanted to ask Commissioner Gilbert if he was interested in changing the trigger because, as we've learned in two prior meetings, the city of Doral has not discussed, has not provided an amount. They don't have it in their budget. They've actually said that we're not building an incinerator and that we're not doing anything on that site, and that's not what this board said. So, I think we went back and forth with the attorneys as to what would be the proper way, and the proper way would be to amend this item to change the trigger so that the trigger to negotiate with Doral, instead of being us picking a site, would be us not considering Doral. Well, alternatively, we would bring Doral back into the mix. Commissioner Gilbert? Well, I'm asking him because it was his item. Yeah. So, but. Well, my first question is, what if I weren't here? Who would you ask? Well, you're still here. Okay. I mean, you're still here. You could have just waited. You're being punished for being polite at 3.30 in the morning? No, you're not being punished. That's not yet. But, sure. Yeah, I don't have an objection to that. But, but in terms of the trigger, I mean, because we don't have this. I understand. I understand the question. I don't have an objection to changing the trigger. So, we're not considering them anymore. That was the seminal consideration that they didn't want to be considered. We took them off. Okay. So, yeah, now that should be changed to the trigger. I'm okay with that. So, the motion would be to amend this item so that the trigger to have negotiations with Doral and ask them for a contribution to solid waste, instead of being us picking a site to build the incinerator, the trigger is us deciding not to build in Doral. So, right now, the city of Doral should come to the county and start negotiating that fee. Alternatively, if we don't come to an agreement, the site's back on the table. I would. Commissioner Connington, do you reckon? Sorry, I didn't mean to speak out of turn. I second your motion. I do suggest you put a time frame on it. Agree, 100%. So, I was thinking that, you know, three months, four months, I don't think it should take, yeah, three months, yeah. It's been three years, yeah. So, obviously, Commissioner Bermudez, your thoughts on this? Yeah, I'm not going to support it. I understand the concept, and I think the city of Doral should be approached, but I'm not going to support it from the perspective that I think I have a motion. I don't want to talk about it tonight, that the sale of that property, all the money, which will be substantial from the sale of the property, should go to taking care of our problems with garbage. Whether we build a new facility or not, which I'm never going to support it, because wherever it's at now, because the cost is over $3 billion, makes no sense. I agree with you on rail and all the wonderful things that we should do. Wait, are we setting the property? No. He says he's working on an item. I got a motion I'm going to submit to you, see if you put it on. I'm not going to do it tonight. It's too late. Oh, I was like, is this another Grand Theft Auto deal? Yeah, and through the chair, I appreciate that, but when this board made that decision, it was very clear that the residents of Miami-Dade County should not bear the burden of not choosing that site. Yeah, we got it. Your motion, you have a second. Timeline, three months. Three months. Clerk, call the roll. Commissioner Bermudez? No. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins? Senator Garcia? Commissioner Gilbert? Yes. Commissioner Gonzalez? Four. Commissioner Hardiman? No. Commissioner Lopez? Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis? Commissioner Regalado? Yes. Commissioner Steinberg? Commissioner Bastien? Vice Chairman McGee? Yes. Chairman Rodriguez? Yes. Motion passes 10 to 1. All right, so the motion passes. Commissioner Gonzalez? Thank you, Mr. Chair. On the last motion, not this one, but on the last one, I believe it was made by the vice chair. I voted no. I thought it was a different parcel. So I'd like to change my vote to a yes, if the clerk can help me with that. Yeah, and it doesn't affect the outcome, so can you, are you able to? It doesn't affect the outcome. The attorneys? Yeah. Second to last motion, a member would like to change his vote. It doesn't affect the outcome, but. I think that's fine because technically we're still on item C. So we have not moved on to the next item yet, so I think you're good. Fair point. All right. Commissioner Gilbert? Just, I guess this is to the administration, do we really need all of these employees here? Because I see some of them are asleep. So, and I'm assuming they have to be to work tomorrow. They could just. Do you have any motions? You have? All right. Not you. Guys, come on. Quiet. Let's go. Let's go. That was an unnecessary comment. Thank you. Commissioner Lopez? I just have one, Mr. Chairman. And this, I don't know if it even goes in to see, so you'll tell me. Commissioner Lopez moves to direct the county mayor or county mayor's designee to, one, provide a recommendation related to sargasm and beaches in Miami-Dade County. Related to how much in additional funding is needed to fully fund sargasm removal on beaches in Miami-Dade County, including but not limited to targeting hotspots and applying for and obtaining necessary state permits for such removal. And, two, to include such additional funding in the mayor's proposed mid-year budget amendment for fiscal year 26-27. Is this for C? Second. I'd like to say something. It could be done now. I'm going to repeat all of these briefly in each item when you go to approve each item. No, no, no. Not the entire thing. Just a reference to it because some of these really belong in C. I mean, I'm sorry, in H and in abundance of caution. We will not read the entire motion. I think that is clearly already on the record. All right. So it's been moved. It's been seconded by Commissioner Steinberg. I have a quick comment. Yep. Go ahead. So, Commissioner Lopez, I'd like to co-sponsor this with you. I actually brought pretty much the identical item last budget, and we were supposed to have this conversation at the mid-year, just like you're instructing, and we never had a mid-year. So I would actually maybe a friendly amendment that, should there not be a mid-year in this upcoming, that we have a six-month time frame before the season. Friendly amendment and sponsorship absolutely approved. All right. We got it, guys. Regalado. As the other person that has sargasm, thank you for the, you know, Mickey and I, yeah, the three of us are the ones that have sargasm. I think it's good. My only addition would be, you know, I spent two years trying to compost it, and I know you've been talking about mincing it. We've had issues with mincing it, you know, so there's give and take. So I would just say that we would look at all options because now we've changed our composting rules, so we might be able to compost it now. That was an alternative that was not available to us, like, three years ago when we had, like, a lot of it. So I would just amend it to say, you know, consider all options, including but not limited to composting, on-site drying, right? There's, like, a lot of different ways that we could do it. Yeah. I don't think the, my motion didn't say anything other than how much additional funding would be needed to fully fund sargasm removal in any way. But removal assumes that you're going to use beach raker and put it in a landfill. No, no. I can only use beach raker in the hot spots where there are permits, so that's only four right now. They're mincing the other stuff. They are composting some of it. They take it to the Opelaka, you know, the runway that we don't use anymore. They dry it, and then they take it to the landfill. So, I mean, I'm just trying to, I think what we're all trying to do is figure out how we resolve the problem and what's it going to take to resolve it. That's what I think. I'm not saying how we, what steps we will take. I just want to know how much money it's going to take in order to resolve the issue of sargasm. Agree. I just, as long as the administration knows that removal could be lots of different things. Yeah, yeah, of course. Of course. Is that clear? Great. Call the roll. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins? Four. Senator Garcia, Commissioner Gilbert, Commissioner Gonzalez. Four. Commissioner Hardiman, Commissioner Lopez. Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis. No show. Commissioner Regalado. Yes. Commissioner Steinberg. Commissioner Bastien. Yes. Commissioner Bermudez. Yes. Vice Chairman McGee. Chairman Rodriguez. No show. Motion passes unanimously. All right. Any other motions on item C? Any other motions on item C? Seeing none. You got, the attorney has one? Attorneys can make motions now? Commissioner Hardiman, would you like for us to read your motion now? That applies to item C? Yes. Sure. Nor is yours. They will read it. Go ahead. Commissioner Hardiman moves to amend item C to direct the county mayor or the county mayor's designee to take all actions necessary to prepare and place on an agenda of this board within 60 days of the effective date of this motion, and ordinance authorizing their incurrence of indebtedness, consistent with the following terms and guiding principles. A, such indebtedness shall be secured by, payable from, or otherwise supported by revenues deposited into the over... Can you read a little closer to that microphone? Established pursuant to resolution number R-860-13, beginning in fiscal year 2028-2029, through the expiration of the Southeast Overtown Park West Community Redevelopment Agency. B, the ordinance that shall include such findings, terms, conditions, covenants, security provisions, and financing structures as the county mayor, in consultation with the county attorney, the county's principal municipal advisor, and other appropriate professionals' determines are necessary and appropriate for consideration by this board. C, the county mayor shall provide a memorandum accompanying the proposed ordinance describing the proposed financing, including the estimated amount of indebtedness that could be supported by revenues deposited into the Overtown Trust Fund, the proposed interest rate and cost of issuance, and other financial considerations associated with the proposed financing structure. The proceeds of such indebtedness shall be used to finance or refinance, including through reimbursement, all or a portion of the costs associated with the development, construction, expansion, renovation, modification, equipping, and related expenses of a cultural arts facility located in District 3 at the site of the former Women's Detention Center and adjacent properties, which comprise of 14 folios. So, so, so that's the motion. So, so that's the motion. So, I move what she just said. Really? Yes. So, to, and to, to better explain it to everyone too. So, in Overtown, when the county did a deal with the Overtown CRA, they dedicated funds that would come to a trust fund that were to be used in that area. And so, the fund each year has a small sum of money that we allocate each year towards housing, economic development. We do, we do a plethora of things. We actually were doing a very good job with it, creating new business, and it's been going very well. So, we've got a allocation of $25 million from the Southeast Overtown Park West CRA toward the redevelopment of the former Women's Detention Center. What this would do is it would take the future funding to that fund and accelerate the payments up front, right? So, it's like a bond, if you will, so that we can make, we can take that, those dollars, add it with the CRA dollars, and then go out and find other funding towards the redevelopment, renovation of that former Women's Detention Center and the adjacent properties. So, essentially, what you're doing is you're getting started right now in the redevelopment and rehab of that facility so that it can be online. Okay. We have a motion by Commissioner Hardiman. Second. Seconded by Gilbert, and Koenig, as you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. To the maker, are we building a cultural arts facility? It's a, yes. Okay, because that's what it says. It's not, but yes, it is a museum. Well, yeah, so a place where you can hang art, you can have people gather, kids can learn. I mean, if you think about something like. And, no, not like the Little Head Cultural Center. So, it's not like a, well, the Little Head Cultural Center actually has a gallery in it. Yeah, it has a gallery. So, but it's, the gallery is not the focus, if you will. The gallery is like a small room. So, in this thing, you'll have storage of art. You'll have a place where people can actually gather. You should have a place where people can eat, like a restaurant. Imagine going to the, traveling to South Africa and going to the, what's the name of the art museum there? Where's my, where's my staff? Anyway. So, but any fine sort of art gallery experience. So, what it anticipates doing is showcasing art from other continents here in the Overtown community. Thank you for answering that. The item, I'm going to support the motion because it comes back to us. But is there a dollar amount? This doesn't speak to, I mean, do you have an estimated dollar amount that's going to be drawn down pursuant to this? I have an amount that comes to my mind, but you won't know that until they actually crunch the numbers. So, because, so imagine, for instance, if this fund conservatively brings in $3.5 million a year until 2042. I say conservatively, meaning that I'm not assuming that it has any growth, which we know will have growth because it's based on the redevelopment area. And the redevelopment area has growth. And so, if you take that and you calculate it out 14 or so years, that's a number, right? Minus fees, minus, you know, whatever profit that someone needs to make if we're selling those bonds, et cetera. So, you have that amount. So, what I'm assuming is that I'll have another maybe $40 million or so to be able to be used towards this facility. But those type of things actually happen once they do the due diligence, the research, they take it to market, see what it can do, et cetera. But the money, the funds from the account completely pay for whatever it is that's supposed to be happening there. Any other questions, Commissioner Gordon-Higgins? Thank you. Commissioner Gilbert? Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair, I support the item. I second that I would love to co-sponsor this. It also has, well, it's very close to a school that has educational opportunities. It's high on technology. It finds the integration between art and technology. It should be a pretty good facility. And it's all paid for our future funding from that dedicated source. So, I don't see where it would be an issue, so I think it's a great idea. Thank you. Any other questions, any other discussions? Senate item moved, do we have a second? Second by Commissioner Gilbert, Madam Clerk, call the roll. Senator Garcia? Commissioner Gilbert? Commissioner Gonzalez? Four. Commissioner Hardiman? Commissioner Lopez? Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis? Yes. Commissioner Regalado? Yes. Commissioner Steinberg? Commissioner Bastien? Yes. Commissioner Bermudez? Yes. Commissioner Cohen Higgins? Or Vice Chairman McGee? Yes. Chairman Rodriguez? Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. Madam Attorney, I do believe, are there any other motions at this time? Yes. On C? Yes. Commissioner Gilbert? Commissioner Gilbert, one second, I don't have it. They're coming. Mr. Vice Chair, while they're finding a motion to read, the motion essentially right now, when we had that long fight and argument as a community about the RTZ, it was about generating money that could be used to develop rapid mass transit. The RTZ subsequently passed, we've added a lot of buildings to the RTZ. There's been development along the RTZ, and it subsequently did what I said it would do. It actually generated money, except for we're not actually using the money for rapid mass transit, which was the purpose of the RTZ. We're using the money to plug gaps, not unlike what prior boards did with the half penny. And so this motion actually doesn't stop the board from using the money in the TID to plug gaps. What it does is it converts it to a loan so that it has to be paid back to the TID eventually. Because if you don't do that, the administration, whoever the administration is, they will keep taking the money out of the TID and funding transportation. And we'll never develop rapid mass transit. And we'll have all of that density along those corridors. And the purpose, how it connects is this. You wanted density and high FAR along corridors, because then you could generate that type of population that was close to ridership. Right now you're generating it, and you'll never be able to put the rapid mass transit there. So you're just creating traffic, more traffic. And so if we don't find a way to actually stop that slow bleed, long term it's not good for us. Mr. Chair? Thank you. Yes, Commissioner Regalado, are you seconding the motion? I'm happy to second it, but I also have a friendly amendment. Okay. Okay, so you're 100% right. But the other problem that we have that we've discussed in meetings is for properties that are near stations, some of us allocate money from those properties to fix those stations, and some people don't. So for those of us who are allocating funds, you know, we're saving money from the half penny and from the TID. But if other people don't do it, it comes out of the half penny. So I would love it if you would amend it to say that we're also establishing the policy where when an item comes before the Board of County Commissioners as an RTZ, then, and it's 0.5 miles from a station. The administration has to mention if some of this funding, ask the question that if some of this funding is being used to repair or maintain that station. Because some of us remember, and some of us don't. And I think if we're going to safeguard the TID, we also have to, at those stations, try to use as much non-half penny money and TID money as possible. Thank you. Is that a friendly amendment? I. She's a friendly person. She's a friendly person, but boy, that wasn't a friendly amendment. So, Commissioner Regalardo, I don't have an objection to the, and the Board doesn't have an objection to it, I don't have an objection to it. But I would note that just because you put things in the same sentence don't make them actually related. That's not naturally related to the subject matter. That would fail Germanity if we were going to, like, that wouldn't be germane. But okay, if it doesn't kill my motion, that's fine. But I don't have a problem with it. I think that you're right as a policy. I think that when we're having those developments, I think they should be paying in. I don't see why anybody wouldn't be doing that. So I don't have an actual objection to it. So, sure. Thank you. Senate item moved and seconded by Commissioner Regalardo. Madam Clerk, call the roll, please. Commissioner Gilbert. Yes. Commissioner Gonzalez. Four. Commissioner Hardiman. Commissioner Lopez. Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis. Commissioner Regalado. Yes. Commissioner Steinberg. Commissioner Bastien. Commissioner Bermudez. I'm going to vote yes, but this is the 19,000th time that there's not a written motion in front of me to be able to see what the motion is. And as much as I trust Commissioner Gilbert, his words are not going to be what the motion's going to be. So it would be nice in the future, whoever's the next chair, to make sure we pass a rule that we get motions in front of us so we can read them. Yeah. Can we get the motion distributed? Actually, can we pause the vote, Mr. Vice Chair, please, and get the motion? I didn't realize the motion hadn't been distributed. So would you like to wait for the hard copy of the motion, Commissioner Bermudez? I don't have a problem with that. I trust him. Okay. This is a matter of process. Yeah. We keep on having this. It's not just in his situation. It's, you know, everybody drops these motions, nobody has it in front of them, and we're voting on things that we don't have a chance to review. Thank you. All right. The clerk called the question. Madam Attorney? May I read the motion, however? Yes. So at least it's on the record. The proposed budget for fiscal year 2026-27 includes an allocation of $32,014,000 from the Transportation Infrastructure Improvement District Trust Fund to support in large part the operations and maintenance of transit services provided by DTPW. I move to establish a policy that proceeds in the TID Trust Fund should not be used as a recurring fund for transit operations and maintenance to that end. I further move to direct the mayor-designee to include in future proposed budgets the allocation of additionally legally available funds to the TID Trust Fund to replenish the $32,014,000. Said replenishment may occur over the next five proposed fiscal budgets. Thank you. Thank you. All right, Madam Chair, seeing that it has already passed, Madam Attorney, we already made a vote. Get the vote. No, no, no, he was fine with it. She just read it in abundance of caution. You didn't vote? I need to continue the vote. Okay, go ahead and continue the vote. Commissioner Bermudez. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins. Four. Senator Garcia. Vice Chairman McGee. Yes. Chairman Rodriguez. Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. Mr. Vice Chair, I forgot to mention that that was with Commissioner Regulato's amendments to include the additional information in whatever RTZ items are forwarded. Got it. Got it. Thank you. Are there any other motions for Item C? Seeing none. Not that we know of, so then the next thing would be to approve the balance of Item C. All right. Moved by Commissioner Cohen-Higgins. Do we have a second? Second by Commissioner Gilbert. Madam Clerk. Commissioner Gonzalez. No. Commissioner Hardiman. Commissioner Lopez. Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis. No. Commissioner Regalado. Yes. Commissioner Steinberg. Commissioner Bastien. Commissioner Bermudez. No. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins. Senator Garcia. Commissioner Gilbert. Vice Chairman McGee. Yes. Chairman Rodriguez. Motion passes 8 to 3. Thank you. Madam Attorney. The next item is Item D, ordinance approving, adopting, and ratifying the millage for the unincorporated municipal service area operating purposes for the fiscal year commencing October 1, 2026 and ending September 30, 2027. And the budget director has a statement. The proposed unincorporated municipal service area operating millage is 1.909 mills, which is 6.16% above the state-defined rollback rate of 1.7983. The proposed millage rate generates revenue to support the operations, services, and programs included in the proposed budget provided by Miami-Dade County, including the Sheriff's Office and Parks, Recreation, and Open Spaces Department, planned salary increases, and an increase from the Florida retirement system. Thank you. Do I have a motion and a second? Second. Moved by Commissioner Cohen-Higgins, seconded by Commissioner Steinberg. Any discussion? Seeing none, Madam Clerk, please call the roll. Commissioner Hardiman. Commissioner Lopez. Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis. Commissioner Regalado. Yes. Commissioner Steinberg. Commissioner Bastien. Commissioner Bermudez. Yes. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins. Senator Garcia. Commissioner Gilbert. Yes. Commissioner Gonzalez. No. Vice Chairman McGee. Yes. Chairman Rodriguez. Motion passes 9-2-2. Thank you. Madam Attorney. The next item is item E, which is the ordinance approving adopting the unincorporated municipal service area funding. Fund budget for Miami-Dade County, Florida for the fiscal year commencing October 1, 2026 and ending September 30, 2027. This item, Mr. Vice Chair, would be approved as amended to incorporate the Mayor's memorandum dated September 15, 2026. Which is the second changes memo as supplemented by the supplemental memo issued today as well as the following motions. It would be Chairman Rodriguez's motion regarding the tax collector monies that were distributed to the sheriff and other entities. The Chair's motion to fund the illegal dumping unit from interest earnings plus Commissioner Regalado's two motions to replenish the reserve. We have the Commissioner Bastien motion regarding the clerk funding from the future services reserve. As well as Commissioner Bastien's directive regarding the transit fare increases for October 6th. We have Commissioner Regalado's pilot program in her district for Metro Connect. As well as Commissioner Milian Orbis' motion regarding Amendment 3. Commissioner Cohen Higgins' motion regarding the utility service fee allocated to EO. We have Commissioner Gonzales' motion regarding the DTPW overtime transit plan. We have Commissioner McGee's motion on the reallocation of security deposit proceeds with interest staying with Miami-Dade County. As well as Commissioner McGee's motion regarding adding the unfunded capital project which is the Recreational Senior Center in South Dade. We have Commissioner Regalado's motion regarding the city of Doral and Interlocal and the Waste to Energy Facility. Commissioner Lopez's motion as co-sponsored by Commissioner Steinberg regarding Sargassum. And Commissioner Hardiman's motion regarding the Overtown Trust Fund financing item. And Commissioner Gilbert's motion regarding the TID repayment with, as amended by Commissioner Regalado's request for information on RTZ items. Those would be all the amendments in Item E. We do need to bifurcate the CBO portion first for Senator Garcia. And Commissioner McGee, they've already read their statements. And so we're good, they just need to exit the room. So the statement applies to this as well. And I will entertain a motion on the CBO portion of the, it's been moved by Commissioner Cohen Higgins. Seconded by? Second. Clerk, please call the roll. Commissioner Lopez? Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis? No. Commissioner Regalado? Yes. Commissioner Steinberg? Yes. Commissioner Bastien? Yes. Commissioner Bermudez? Yes. Commissioner Cohen Higgins? No. Commissioner Gilbert? Commissioner Gonzalez? No. Commissioner Hardiman? Chairman Rodriguez? I vote yes. Motion passes 922. All right, so that portion of item E passed. They can come back in the chamber? All right. Mr. Chair, I have a question? Mr. Chair, you have a question? Yes. Commissioner Regalado? I have another EO item. Do you want to read it now or leave it for H? Madam, Mr. Attorney, is it for H or E? That one's on H, so if you want to wait, we can do that. I do think, Commissioner Gilbert, you have your parks naming motion. Would you like for us to do that now? Yes. I previously named a park after Coach Carol Hardiman Park. I was supposed to apparently name it Miss Carol Hardiman Park. But she was a coach, though. I didn't make it up. All right. But she was a coach. It's been seconded by Commissioner Gonzalez. Yeah. Clerk, call the roll. Yeah, so. Clerk, call the roll. Commissioner Emilia Norvis? Yes. Commissioner Regalado? Yes. Commissioner Steinberg? Yes. Commissioner Bermudez? Yes. Commissioner Cohen Higgins? Senator Garcia? Yes. Commissioner Gilbert? Commissioner Gonzalez? Four. Commissioner Hardiman? Against. Against. I'm just joking. It's four. Commissioner Lopez? Yes. Vice Chairman McGee? Yes. Chairman Rodriguez? I vote yes. Motion passes unanimously. Commissioner Bermudez, you're recognized. I just have a question, Mr. Chair, thank you, to the county attorney. A lot of the amendments that you mentioned, some of them, I voted yes. But I plan on voting no on the rest of this. So explain to me, did we take them separately? You added it to this because they were C, E, and H. So how does that work? Commissioner, we can, I mean, each of these motions, I mean, I'm sorry, each of these amendments, to the extent anybody wants to take them separately because they voted no before, we can do that. I can, if you just tell me which ones, and then I can read off the balance. That's certainly appropriate. My issue is, I did vote no on some of them. And I'm going to vote no on the rest of the content of this. But the balance of it, but, I mean, I just am trying to understand, but some of the other amendments I voted yes on because I felt they were appropriate. It's at your discretion. So if you're going to vote no on, if nothing else is bifurcated, then when you approve the balance of the item, if you're going to vote no, you'd be voting no on the item as amended, which includes some motions you have previously approved, you know, voted yes on, and some that you voted no on. If you want to have the record reflected clearly, then we would have to bifurcate. All he has to bifurcate is actually the yeses. Essentially, he has to bifurcate the yes votes that he had. He does not have to, only if he wants his vote reflected on this item, to be specific. Just vote no on the whole thing. I think it's fine. Well, it's 4.04 in the morning, so I'm going to vote. I was going to vote no because this is one of the things that impacts the sheriff anyways, but, okay, that's fine. All right. All right. Do I have a motion on the remainder of the item as amended by all the motions as moved by Senator Garcia, seconded by the vice chair? Seeing no discussion. Clerk, call the roll. Call the roll. Commissioner Regalado? Yes. Commissioner Steinberg? Commissioner Bastien? Yes. Commissioner Bermudez? No. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins? For. Senator Garcia? Commissioner Gilbert? Yes. Commissioner Gonzalez? No. Commissioner Hardiman? For. Commissioner Lopez? Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis? No. Vice Chairman McGee? Yes. Chairman Rodriguez? Yes. Motion passes 10 to 3. All right. Madam Attorney, read the next item. The next item is item F, ordinance approving, adopting, and ratifying the millage for Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue Service District operating purposes for the fiscal year commencing October 1, 2026, and ending September 30, 2027, and the budget director of the statement. The proposed Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue Service District operating millage is 2.3965 mills, which is 5.83% above the state defined rollback rate of 2.2644 mills. The proposed millage rate generates revenue to support the operations, services, and programs included in the proposed budget and provided by the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department, including planned salary increases and an increase from the Florida retirement system. Move it. Move it. It's been moved by Commissioner Lopez, seconded by Gilbert. Can I have questions? Who, what? Who said that? Okay, okay. Nothing, nothing, nothing. Clerk, call the roll. Commissioner Steinberg? Commissioner Bastien? Commissioner Bermudez? Yes. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins? Senator Garcia? Commissioner Gilbert? Yes, for now. Commissioner Gonzalez? Four. Commissioner Hardiman? I'm sorry, four. Commissioner Lopez? Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis? Yes. Commissioner Regalado? Yes. Vice Chairman McGee? Yes. Chairman Rodriguez? Yes. Motion passes unanimously. Madam Attorney, read the next item. It's of sleep, gentlemen. Item G is an ordinance approving, adopting, and ratifying the millage for Miami-Dade Library System operating purposes for the fiscal year commencing October 1, 2026, and ending September 30, 2027, and the budget director's a statement. The proposed Miami-Dade Library System operating millage is 0.2812 mills, which is 5.71% above the state-defined rollback rate of 0.2660 mills. The proposed millage rate generates revenue to support the operations, services, and programs included in the proposed budget and provided by the Miami-Dade Public Library System, including planned salary increases and an increase from the Florida Retirement System. All right, it's been moved by the Vice Chair, seconded by Lopez. Clerk call the roll. Commissioner Bastien? Yes. Commissioner Bermudez? Yes. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins? Yes. Senator Garcia? Yes. Commissioner Gilbert? Commissioner Gonzalez? Four. Commissioner Hardiman? Commissioner Lopez? Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis? Yes. Commissioner Regalado? Commissioner Steinberg? Yes. Vice Chairman McGee? Yes. Chairman Rodriguez? I vote yes. Motion passes unanimously. Read the next item, Madam Attorney. Commissioner, the next item is item H, which is the ordinance approving adopting and ratifying proprietary budgets, special assessment district budgets, and other budgets of Miami-Dade County, Florida for fiscal year commencing October 1, 2026, and ending September 30, 2027. This item is as amended to incorporate the second changes memo, the supplemental memo, all of the same amendments that were previously read as part of item C, which was, Mr. Chair, your motion regarding the funding from the tax collector, your motion funding the illegal dumping unit from interest earnings plus Regalado's two motions regarding the solid waste. Commissioner Bastien's motion regarding clerk funding from the future services reserve, as well as her directive regarding transit fares and the replenishment of the eliminated routes and the nighttime routes. Commissioner Regalado's pilot program on Metro Connect. Commissioner Milian Orbis' motion regarding amendment three. Commissioner Cohen-Higgins' amendment regarding the utility service fee and the allocations to EO. Commissioner Gonzalez's amendment regarding DTPW overtime transit plan. Commissioner McGee's motion regarding reallocation of security deposit proceeds with interest. Staying with Miami-Dade County, as well as his motion to add an unfunded capital project, which is a recreational senior center in South Dade. Commissioner Regalado's motion regarding the city of Doral and the waste to energy facility. Commissioner Lopez's motion regarding Sargassum, which Commissioner Steinberg co-sponsored. Commissioner Hardiman's motion regarding the Overtown Trust Fund financing item, which Commissioner Gilbert co-sponsored. Commissioner Gilbert's motion regarding the TID repayment as amended by Regalado's request for information on the RTZ items. In addition, as stated in the second changes memo, the ordinance needs to be amended to add a new section 39, which will read as follows. Commencing October 1, 2026, the powers, functions, and responsibilities of the Office of Community Advocacy provided in all enactments of this board, including but not limited to ordinances, resolutions, implementing orders, regulations, rules, and provisions in the code of Miami-Dade County. Legislative enactments are hereby transferred to the Office of Policy and Budgetary Affairs as a successor division. Commencing October 1, 2026, all references and legislative enactments relating to the Office of Community Advocacy shall be deemed references to the Office of Policy and Budgetary Affairs. All delegations of commission authority, power, and responsibility to the director of the Office of Community Advocacy shall be deemed to be a delegation to the director of the Office of Policy and Budgetary Affairs. And all other subsequent sections of the ordinance will be renumbered accordingly. Those are the amendments I have to date. There may be additional motions. We also need to bifurcate the CBOs. All right. Senator Garcia and the Vice Chair can step outside the chamber for a second. Let's get that out of the way. I also want to bifurcate Section 22. Section 22. Okay. So let's get Senator Garcia. Okay. We got a motion on the CBO portion, right? Move it. Move it. Second. Higgins. Clerk, call the roll on the CBO portion of item H. Commissioner Bermudez. Commissioner Cohen Higgins. Commissioner Gilbert. Commissioner Gonzalez. No. Commissioner Hardiman. Commissioner Lopez. Yes. Commissioner Lopez. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis. Commissioner Regalado. Yes. Commissioner Steinberg. Commissioner Bastien. Yes. Chairman Rodriguez. I'm a yes. Motion passes 8 to 2. All right. Have them come back into the chamber. Senator Garcia, Vice Chairman. All right. All right. Show us bifurcating Section 22 of Item H by Regalado. Would you like to, would you want to take that up as its own? Yeah. Bifurcating Section 22. All right. So I'll entertain a motion on Section 22 at this time. Attachment J. It's been moved by Commissioner Cohen Higgins, seconded by Section 22, which is water rates. Attachment J as well. And attachment J of Section 22, which is still water rates, right? Attachment J. Attachment J. Okay. So it's been bifurcated. It's been moved by Commissioner Cohen Higgins, seconded by Commissioner Steinberg. Any discussion on Section 22 and attachment J? On the bifurcation. On the bifurcation. On the bifurcation itself. So I'm going to call roll call on just the bifurcation of that one section. If that's appropriate, Madam Attorney behind me. Oh, because we got, we got the bifurcation motion, right? All right. So I guess, so I guess first the same people that motioned and seconded motion to bifurcate it. That's just a voice vote, right? Right. All in favor signify by saying aye to bifurcate. Aye. All opposed to nay, show it bifurcated. Same folks moved it and seconded it. Clerk call the roll. Commissioner Cohen Higgins? Four. Senator Garcia? Commissioner Gilbert? Commissioner Gonzalez? No. No. Commissioner Hardiman? Commissioner Lopez? Commissioner Emiliano Orbis? No. Commissioner Regalado? No. Commissioner Steinberg? Commissioner Bastien? Commissioner Bermudez? You got to tell me first what I'm voting on. Water and sewer. Because I'm going to vote no on H. Well then you're a no. Then it's going to have to be a no. I was going to vote yes on the water portion of it, but no on the rest of it. This is the water portion. We bifurcated it. We bifurcated it. But I have a question. Before I vote, I have a question of Mr. Coley. Because if we vote yes for the 6% this year, is this going to be done? You gave me a list and said all these things for what we've got to do with the federal government will be done by 2028. So I expect that next year we're not going to raise rates. Is that correct? It's seven. No, sir. You're correct on the consent order projects, but that's not the same for the ocean outfall projects. They'll keep going for about five more years. So I'm sure you'll see other rate increases. All right. We've got to vote here. For the consent part. I'm going to vote yes for the consent part because I think we've got to get that done and we've been waiting years. But I'm going to tell you now, early, a year before, next year when we're here at 404, I'm going to vote no on your ocean outfall. All right. So he's a yes clerk. Vice Chairman McGee. Yes. Chairman Rodriguez. I'm a no. Motion passes 7 to 6. All right. Awesome. All right. Congratulations, guys. Guys, guys, come on. So back on the remainder of H. Mr. Chair, I have a motion on H. Commissioner Orbis, go ahead and read your motion. Thank you. Commissioner Miliano, this moves to amend the budget to direct the county mayor or county mayor's designee and the county attorney's office to, one, continue the Florida Statute Chapter 164 dispute resolution process with the city of Hialeah regarding the reverse osmosis water treatment plant, known as the RO plant. Two, schedule the mediation with the city of Hialeah to discuss the RO plant as soon as possible. And three, provide the commissioners whose districts include the residents of the city of Hialeah with the reports and updates every 60 days on the status of the Chapter 164 process as well as the RO plant. Second. All right, it's been moved by Orbis, seconded by Gonzalez. Commissioner Regalari recognized on this motion. Thank you. I want to thank Commissioner Orbis for bringing the item, and I want to thank the commissioners for having the sunshine meeting after our first budget hearing. I just want to put a few things on the record, and I think that everyone should get information on what's happening with the RO. I understand that three of you represent Hialeah, but as of July 2026, the county has spent $27.4 million on operations and maintenance of the RO and $56 million on capital costs. We pay $2.5 million minimum a year for a plant that is not producing, and we just raised the water rates. I voted against it, but that is $27.4 million that's coming out of the rate payers. So while the plant is in Hialeah, everyone on this day has a stake in what happens to the RO. So I would request that we all be provided information. Absolutely. The updates and the information will be available to all. And if I may, Mr. Chairman, just to clarify, it is producing, just it could be producing more. So, Mr. Chairman, if I can, if I may, I would like to co-sponsor the item, the amendment. Is that Orbis, are you accepting the co-sponsor? Yes. All right. So all that, we're moaning only on the motion right now. Clerk, call the roll. Senator Garcia? Aye. Commissioner Gilbert? Commissioner Gonzalez? Four. Commissioner Hardiman? Commissioner Lopez? Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis? Yes. Commissioner Regalado? Yes. Commissioner Steinberg? Yes. Commissioner Bastien? Yes. Commissioner Bermudez? Yes. Commissioner Cohen Higgins? Yes. Chairman McGee? Yes. Chairman Rodriguez? Yes. Motion passes unanimously. Any additional new motions on H that have not previously been made? Commissioner Regalado? Thank you. Commissioner Regalado moves to authorize. Commissioner Regalado moves to authorize and direct the county mayor or county mayor's designee as follows for the purpose of raising money for the county's environmentally endangered lands EO program. One, direct the county mayor or county mayor designee to take steps to create a 501c3 nonprofit for EO where such 501c3 could potentially be supported through the Miami Foundation or other sustainable nonprofit and to prepare an item to accomplish the creation of such 501c3 for consideration by this board within 90 days. Thereby making donations to EO tax deductible. Two, direct the county mayor or county mayor's designee to take all necessary steps to pursue naming for EO parcels to the extent permissible as a way of raising money for EO. This would include long term and short term namings. Three, direct county mayor or county mayor's designee to allow members of the public to make donations into the EO trust fund at the same time that they are doing other county transactions similar to WASDE CARES. Five, four, direct mayor or mayor designees to create or facilitate a process by which members of the public can adopt or sponsor a particular EO property, wetland, forest, or other feature of EO. Money is raised to be directed into the EO management trust fund where members of the public could have the option to designate their donations for use on a particular property to the extent feasible. All right, it's been moved. Move it. Seconded by Commissioner Regalado, seconded by Commissioner Orbis. Second. Seeing no discussion, clerk call the roll. Clerk? It's late guys, but let's do this. Commissioner Gilbert? Commissioner Gonzales? Four. Commissioner Hardiman? Four. Commissioner Lopez? Commissioner Emiliano Orbis? Yes. Commissioner Regalado? Yes. Commissioner Steinberg? Yes. Commissioner Bastien? Yes. Commissioner Bermudez? Yes. Senator Garcia? Vice Chairman McGee? Yes. Chairman Rodriguez? Yes. Motion passes unanimously. Mr. Regalado, you're recognizing your other motion. Or is that all of them? Oh, there you go. All right, any new motions on item H? Any new motions on item H? Seeing none, I'll entertain a motion to move the remainder of H as amended. It's been moved by Commissioner Bastien, seconded by Commissioner Regalado. Clerk, call the roll on the remainder of H. Commissioner Gonzalez? No. Commissioner Hardiman? Four. Commissioner Lopez? Yes. Commissioner Emiliano Orbis? Commissioner Regalado? Yes. Commissioner Steinberg? Yes. Commissioner Bastien? Yes. Commissioner Bermudez? No. Commissioner Cohen Higgins? Four. Senator Garcia? Aye. Commissioner Gilbert? Vice Chairman McGee? Yes. Chairman Rodriguez? I vote yes. Motion passes 10 to 3. I vote no, I'm sorry, I vote no. Sorry. This doesn't change the outcome, right? No. All right. It's late. Does it pass? Yes? Yes. Did she say that already? Oh, okay. All right. All right. Show us adjourned.