We all knew it was coming, but Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava made it official Wednesday, wading into the Miami mayoral election, backing her political BFF, County Commissioner Eileen Higgins among the 13 candidates.
Nobody is surprised. But the timing might be key: It comes 12 hours after a less-than-lackluster performance by Higgins at a mayoral debate hosted by the Downtown Neighbors Alliance.
Read related: One-liners and other memorable moments from Miami mayoral debate
La Alcadesa’s press shop put out a glowing endorsement calling La Gringa “ethical” and “results-driven” and listed off Levine Higgins’ greatest hits: affordable housing, smarter transit, small-business grants, tree planting, plastic-cutting, fertilizer bans. It was as if she was checking boxes. Echoing the candidate’s first video ad, Higgins “has a clear plan” to get it done, the mayor said.
“Eileen Higgins delivers for people — plain and simple,” Levine Cava gushed.
Ladra has been watching these two walk in lockstep for years. Higgins has been one of Levine Cava’s most reliable allies on the dais, backing her housing plans and climate measures and showing up for the photo-ops. They’ve practically co-hosted groundbreakings together. And they share a brain in political consultant and former Democratic Party operative Christian Ulvert.
So of course Daniella was going to bless her campaign for Miami mayor. Who else was she going to endorse? Joe Carollo? Xavier Suárez?
For her part, Higgins said she’s “honored,” for the mayor’s support. “We share a commitment to restoring trust in government and putting residents first,” she said in a statement. There was nothing about sharing the blame for a $400-million budget shortfall that caused much handwringing last month and a $93 million hole that still exists in the county coffers (more on that later). But Higgins did promise to cut red tape, bring transparency, and make City Hall “a partner, not a roadblock.”
Sounds nice, though Ladra will believe it when she sees it. City Hall has a way of swallowing reformers whole. Two words: Damian Pardo.
Read related: Poll has Eileen Higgins in Miami mayoral runoff with Emilio Gonzalez
Higgins is running for the seat vacated by the termed-out Mayor Francis Suarez against 12 other wannabes that include Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo, former Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, former City Manager Emilio Gonzalez, former Miami Commissioner Ken Russell and former Miami-Dade Commissioner Mayor Sir Xavier Suárez.
A poll weeks ago had her heading into a runoff with Gonzalez, but Russell — who came in third — inched up a few notches after Tuesday’s debate, since he was more willing than Higgins to go toe to toe with ADLP and Carollo, and not afraid of throwing the dynamite.
Reached by Political Cortadito, Gonzalez told Ladra that he was not surprised that Levine Cava would support her ally.
“The same commissioner who voted for a budget that left taxpayers with a $400 million hole despite record property values,” said Gonzalez, who last week announced a bunch of law enforcement endorsements. “Where did the money go? Into waste, perks and giveaways, not into solving the real crises families are facing.”
To be fair, the county mayor and commission closed shortened the gap to about $93 million that needs to be found by midyear.
Still, Levine Cava’s endorsement gives Higgins a little extra boost as she tries to separate herself from the crowded field. She’s already got labor unions, EMILY’s List, Equality Florida and Ruth’s List in her corner, not to mention bragging rights for being the only candidate who qualified by petition signatures. And now she’s got the county mayor’s seal of approval, which comes built-in donor networks, ground game machinery and establishment clout.
But Ladra can’t help but wonder if it also comes with some baggage. Miami voters don’t exactly swoon over County Hall meddling in city business. Levine Cava has her own critics who accuse her of being too cozy with developers, too involved in the non-profit industrial complex, too slow on housing affordability, or too eager to chase headlines. If Higgins becomes “Daniella’s candidate,” she risks carrying those grievances into the city race.
That’s probably someone polled DLC’s pull in the city this last week, before making the nod public.
Read related: Partisan divide is strong in Miami mayoral race, Gonzalez vs Higgins
And let’s not forget — in Miami politics, endorsements don’t always translate to ballots. Sometimes they just remind voters of the backroom club they don’t belong to. And let’s not pretend this was some bold, game-changing move. This was expected. Levine Cava and Higgins are cut from the same cloth — progressive, policy-heavy, coalition-friendly.
Daniella just made it official with a big, warm abrazo.
The real question is whether Miami voters — who have been burned again and again by promises of “integrity” and “accountability” — are willing to believe it again.

For more independent coverage of the Miami elections, support the watchdog journalism on Political Cortadito with a contribution. Every little bit helps keep Ladra’s bark loud and her bite sharp.

The post Daniella Levine Cava gives Higgins the expected abrazo in Miami mayor’s race appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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DERM gets separated, Metro Connect survives
First in a series of county budget coverage stories
Miami-Dade’s $12.9 billion budget squeaked through Thursday night — or, more accurately, early Saturday morning — after another one of those all-night marathons at County Hall that leave everyone bleary-eyed and cranky.
The biggest headline? Bus riders dodged a fare hike. That 50-cent increase Mayor Daniella Levine Cava floated back in July got tossed out like yesterday’s cafecito. Same with the 25-cent bump on paratransit for folks with disabilities.
Instead, Commission Chairman Anthony Rodriguez waved his magic wand — or, more precisely, dipped into a reserve fund meant for future transit projects — and, just like that, poof! No fare hikes. He even got a unanimous vote on it without a single peep of discussion.
Read related: Miami-Dade budget restores 100% funds to non-profits = self preservation
But if you think that means Miami-Dade is out of the woods financially, think again. As Commissioner Oliver Gilbert put it, this is like slapping a Band-Aid on an amputation. “Eventually we’re going to have to cauterize.”
The county is staring down a $94 million deficit in 2027, which seems small considering this year’s projected shortfall was four times as much. Still, this only means the tough choices just got kicked down the road. Again.
Meanwhile, the meeting wasn’t all hugs and kisses. Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez unloaded on Levine Cava, accusing her of “hiding the ball” and stonewalling him for months. She fired back — voice raised, finger wagging — accusing him of political grandstanding. And in one of those only-in-Miami moments, she pulled out a campaign T-shirt he had his staff handing out earlier that day to prove her point.
La Alcadesa had been silently holding the t-shirt under her desk just waiting for the right moment to shame him. Like a boss!
“I feel my reputation has been impugned,” she said, after he basically called her a liar. “You do need to show some respect.
“This unfortunately demonstrates the lack of knowledge about the budget process by this commissioner,” she said.
Ouch.
By 4 a.m., the commission had rubber-stamped the mayor’s budget mostly intact. That means higher water and trash fees, more than $80 million extra for the new sheriff’s office, and yes, still $46 million in taxpayer cash and in-kind services to subsidize the FIFA World Cup and it’s parties. Priorities, people!
Read related: Madness marathon: Observations from the first Miami-Dade budget hearing
MetroConnect, the neighborhood ride service that was on the chopping block, survives — but with a $3.75 price tag per trip and fewer zones. Some cuts did stick: say goodbye to lifeguards at natural swimming holes and the Office of New Americans, which allegedly helps immigrants navigate the system.
And let’s not forget the sneaky little nugget environmentalists were screaming about: the weakening of DERM, the watchdog that often gives developers headaches. Levine Cava insists the change is just an “administrative shuffle.” Environmental groups say it’s the beginning of the end for meaningful oversight. Guess which side developers are betting on.
Several environmental advocates spoke during the nearly five hours of public comment, which was mostly dominated by a thank you chorus of non-profit heads and arts and culture boosters who got their money after some strong-arming. Other speakers lined up to demand the county divest from Israel bonds, or to blast commissioners for balancing the budget on the backs of transit riders (that was before Rodriguez saved the day).
Read related: Developers get gift-wrapped, weaker DERM in Miami-Dade budget shuffle
Either way, most of the $402 million shortfall is gone now that the money was found in the final version of the budget — proving once again that when enough people yell, the mayor somehow “finds” cash in the couch cushions.
“It doesn’t increase our confidence in the process if when we raise our voices then suddenly you find the resources,” said Commissioner Marleine Bastien, who called the budget saga “taxing on all of us.” Very funny, lady.
It’s not fair to say, however, that the money just magically appeared. It took a lot of work to go through those couch cushions and the only people who really rolled up their sleeves with the mayor to do dive in and find the efficiencies were Commissioners Gilbert, Raquel Regalado and Keon Hardemon. The others pretty much watched from the sidelines and complained.
“The information we had in August was dramatically different from the information we had in July,” Regalado said. “And it was nobody’s fault.”
Gonzalez cried about not being given information but had cancelled or walked out on several meetings with staff and the mayor. He was grandstanding for his Instagram feed (more on that later).
So, bottom line: Riders don’t pay more (yet), nonprofits get their grants, and Daniella gets her budget. But the next mayor — and taxpayers — are going to inherit the hangover from this late-night fiesta.
The post Miami-Dade passes final $12.9 million budget — sans transit fare increases appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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Part 1 in a series of county budget coverage stories
By the time Miami-Dade commissioners wrapped up their first budget hearing at 4:33 a.m. Friday, the only people left in the chambers were the diehards. And a very tired staff who must have had a lot of cafecito.
But most of the 240 speakers during a five-hour public comment marathon had already made their point loud and clear: stop cutting the groups that hold this community together and the services that help the most vulnerable survive.
It was a chorus. From arts advocates to eviction defense lawyers, from domestic violence shelters to drug treatment programs, speaker after speaker begged the county to restore the dollars slashed from the hundreds of nonprofit Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) that teach kids to read, help the disabled get to the doctor, or give families one last chance before losing their homes.
Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who had been walking back parts of her proposal since July, tried to sweeten the bitter pill early in the night, announcing that she had closed the $402 million gap with some “carryover funds” and reserves and walking back some of her more unpopular proposals. No more parking fees at county parks. No increase in the gas tax. The county would keep paying for air rescue services so it doesn’t come out of the fire district’s budget. This year, anyway (more on that later).
Read related: Mayor Daniella Levine Cava wants Fire District to pay for air rescue helicopters
“The voices of our residents shaped this process, and you guided us to where we are today,” Levine Cava said, trying her best to sound like everybody’s abuela. Sweet, but stern at the same time. “We heard you loud and clear.”
Actually, she counted votes, not voices. La Alcaldesa didn’t have the votes to pass the budget without removing the hike to the gas tax and restoring some of the non-profit monies to the CBOs. Not that it would be enough. Representatives from some organizations said that only 100% restoration of their grants would be acceptable. They sounded a little entitled. But you might be pissed too, if you took the time to go downtown, paid $20 for parking, and waited to speak for a whole 60 seconds just to see distracted commissioners on their phones and whispering to each other.
It was a 12-hour meeting so the snacks are expected. But some of the audience said later they felt invisible.
Levine Cava sounded very defensive throughout the meeting. Maybe she is sick of being attacked over a budget that is just as much the commission’s fault as her own. There is enough blame to go around. At one point Levine Cava even suggested that the commissioners give their discretionary funds — which total in the millions and usually go to pet projects and payback gifts — to the general fund to plug the rest of the holes.
Like that’s gonna happen. Commissioner Eileen Higgins was repeatedly very vocal about how gracious and generous she was for giving her district’s school red light camera money back to the general fund. All $17,000 of it! She dared her colleagues to do the same. Some of those districts have more schools so they have millions. But nobody took her up on it.
Read related: Miami-Dade County commission set for budget showdown, hearing Thursday
Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez ate up an hour and 10 minutes grilling practically every department director on very specific details about line items. Some of the questions were valid — How many positions do we need for “public engagment” and PR? How many functions overlap? But they also seem to be things he should have asked before the public hearing. Oh, wait… but then he couldn’t use it for an Instagram reel. Or maybe he was showing off for his brother in the audience.
Ditto for the surprise twist near the end when Commissioner Oliver Gilbert — who misses the protagonist role of chair — went on and on about how the county shouldn’t be paying for The Underline (more on that later).
Transit was a big issue, drawing several speakers to blast the commission for proposing increased rates for buses and Metrorail, increasing fees for specialized transportation services to the disabled and cancelling Metro Connect, which would save $11 million (more on all that later). A few speakers also urged the county to divest from Israel bonds (more on that later).
And trash fees were increased by a little less than 1%. That almost failed, with commissioners Danielle Cohen Higgins, René “Call Me Senator” Garcia, Gonzalez, Natalie Milian Orbis and chairman Anthony Rodriguez voting no. (A lot more on trash and garbage later).
Rodriguez said the budget had “come a long way” and patted himself on the back for keeping taxes low. Easy to say when you don’t need MetroConnect to get to your third job, or the grocery store.
But plenty of pain remains in the $12.9 billion budget.
Commissioner Marleine Bastien said it had not come far enough for the people of District 2, which she said has been neglected for too long. “Every year, the budget provides the opportunity to correct those wrongs. Every year, I see that we do not,” Bastien said, citing specifically road resurfacing and storm water drainage improvements that are needed, but not funded.
“You have chosen for decades to underfund communities like mine, and I see that this budget continues this trend,” Bastien told her colleagues. “Enough is enough.”
Read related: Facing $400M budget shortfall, Miami-Dade cuts senior meals, lifeguards, more
Commissioner Milian Orbis, who was appointed to replace Kevin Cabrera — who must be thrilled to have missed this meeting as the new ambassador to Panama — was also upset about cuts in her district, saying that the Ludlam Trail funding had not been restored and asked for it to be put back in time for the second hearing Sept. 18.
Taking notes the whole time, Commissioner Raquel Regalado — who made it very clear she is ready to be the next county mayor — will have had another appropriations committee meeting to tackle more line items. Regalado, who forced a budget workshop at her committee meeting last month, worked hand in hand with Levine Cava to present the new “change memo” budget with the reduced reductions.
“None of it was done lightly and none of it was easy,” Regalado said, speaking around 1 a.m. like an accountant wired on Pilón. She promised to keep hunting for loose change in the couch cushions.
“I’m going to keep looking for more,” she said, referring to efficiencies to find — or projects and expenses to put off for another year. And she agreed with Gilbert about the budget being an every day thing. “We literally change our budget every time we sit on this dais.
“At the end of the day, it’s just a ledger. It’s not magic. It’s math,” she said.
Commission Vice Chair Kionne McGhee, the champion of the non-profits, held the gavel for a while, and offered a kinder, gentler and more encouraging master of ceremonies than King Rodriguez.
“I’m proud of you,” he told more than one speaker, thanking them. At one point, he told the crowd to hush because a woman was speaking. “Beth is about to land this plane. However… Beth needs respects.” He later asked a guy named Samuel if he was nervous. “Don’t be. Ready? Let’s do it.”
Was he pandering a little bit? Yeah. Does it still feel good after the chancletazos we get from A-Rod? Right again.
At some point in the meeting, both McGhee and Gilbert recused themselves because of their association with non-profits. But if everyone who served on a non-profit recused themselves, there’d never be a quorum for the budget vote. And maybe that’s why the CBO grants should not be handled like gifts in what’s become a cottage industry (more on that later).
Read related: Shady charity with political ties gets $450K from Miami-Dade Commission
There was also a little spat between Levine Cava and Commissioner Rene “Call Me Senator” Garcia. , who said she was “a little misleading the way you’re crafting this budget.” He said the public trust had been eroded by the consent change of numbers and the lack of direct answers on figures like the ones he asked for on budgeted unfilled positions. If the positions are unfilled for six months or longer, he reasoned, why can’t those salaries be put back into the general fund pot?
“It’s not an increase here. It’s not an increase there,” Garcia said. “It’s aggregate. And people are hurting.
“We need to shrink the size of government. We don’t have a revenue problem. We have an expenditure problem.”
La Alcaldesa was not shy about pushing back and said it was “not accurate” to say there were not cuts being made. More than 375 positions — including some lifeguards — had been eliminated or disappeared through attrition. The remaining open funded positions — which change on a regular basis as employees in a 31,000-person organization come and go — are needed to keep services at current levels and to keep overtime costs down.
“There are also positions in the commission budget that are vacant and you should look at those as well,” DLC told the chair.
Boom!
At one point it seemed like she almost got up from her seat to confront him. But the daggers her eyes were enough to make Garcia, realizing he sorta looked like a bully, apologize.
Read related: Buyer’s remorse: Kionne McGhee wants refund on $46M to FIFA World Cup
Meanwhile, what is there still money for? Miami-Dade is handing out $46 million in services and subsidies to FIFA for the World Cup parties. Gilbert said this was an “obligation” the county entered into when we lured the games here. But that does not seem as important an obligation as air rescue services, or feeding abuelitos, or providing more domestic violence beds (more on that later). And the Sheriff’s Office is being made whole to the tune of  more than $1 billion while slicing eviction defense funds from $2 million to $1 million. This after the mayor herself promised back in April to increase the eviction project to $3 million. Oops.
By the end of the night, Levine Cava admitted many of her fixes were “unsustainable” — and projected shortfalls don’t get prettier.
Round Two is set for next Thursday, Sept. 18, at the Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First Street. It can also be seen online at the city’s website and on YouTube. If last week’s first hearing was any indication, y’all better pack a pillow.
The post Madness marathon: Observations from the first Miami-Dade budget hearing appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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Sheriff gets her millions; firefighters still up in the air
Budget season is usually messy, but this summer has been a full-on disaster. And Thursday night at 5 p.m., Miami-Dade residents get their first chance to sound off at the budget hearing before commissioners take their first vote.
Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has been in cleanup mode for weeks, backtracking on the most controversial cuts she dropped on July 15 like a ton of bricks. Remember? Arts funding, senior services, even mowing the grass at the neighborhood park were on the chopping block. Commissioner Marleine Bastien, usually an ally, called it a “community train wreck” and a “budget without soul.” Commissioner Kionne McGhee said “working families are left out.” And they weren’t wrong.
Now, suddenly, between borrowing some funds from the future and tweaking here and there, La Alcaldesa suddenly found almost enough money to fill her $402 million hole. How does that happen?
Read related: Critics say Miami-Dade 2025-26 budget could possibly put public safety at risk
The loudest battle, of course, was with newly elected Sheriff Rosanna “Rosie” Cordero-Stutz. A change in Florida’s Constitution required Miami-Dade to spin off its police agency into an independent sheriff’s office after the November 2024 election. The Republican lawwoman cried foul earlier, saying that the mayor’s budget was “defunding the police” because she got “only” $55 million more. She wanted $94 million more than what the Miami-Dade Police Department got last year.
Last week, the mayor blinked. Levine Cava announced an extra $31 million for the Sheriff’s Office, bringing Rosie’s total to about $1.1 billion. That fight? Defused. “This is a victory for every resident, family, and neighborhood in our county,” Cordero-Stutz said in a statement. “With these resources secured, the Sheriff’s Office can continue to meet the needs of a growing community.”
So, that means the sheriff must have also done some belt-tightening. She asked for $94 million, got a total of $86 million and can still meet all her needs? So, $8 million was what? Padding?
But don’t think the drama is over. There are still plenty of hot potatoes baked into this budget:

Parks lifeguards: Gone at natural swimming holes like Matheson Hammock. That cut survived.
Charity & arts grants: Some money is back, but nonprofits are still short about $11 million.
Water rates: Levine Cava scaled back her 6% hike to 3.5% after Commissioner Raquel Regalado stepped in. But it’s still an increase.
Garbage fees: They’re expected to go up, even as the future of solid waste disposal in the county is a dumpster fire.
Senior centers: Little River stays open. South Dade? Still slated for closure.
Transit: The MetroConnect shuttle gets the axe, unless an alternative pops up. Bus and rail riders still face a 50-cent fare hike. MetroMover might start costing up to $100 a month for downtowners. Tolls on the Rickenbacker Causeway to Key Biscayne are slated to go up by 200%.
FIFA: The public and some commissioners question if now is the best time for the county to shell $46 million in cash and services to the FIFA World Cup related activities (read: parties).

The big fight now is over the mayor’s plan to dump $28 million in chopper costs onto the fire rescue department to pay for air rescue services themselves through their separate tax. Currently, the county pays out of the general fund to operate the four helicopters that fly critical patients to the hospital to get them there faster and douse brushfires from the skies.
Read related: Mayor Daniella Levine Cava wants Fire District to pay for air rescue helicopters
But here’s the rub: The choppers serve every inch of the county — even the five municipalities that don’t pay a penny into the fire district: Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Hialeah and Key Biscayne. And, basically, Levine Cava’s idea is to let those people ride for free while the other municipalities and the people in the unincorporated county areas foot the bill.
Levine Cava insists she’s protecting “core county services” while keeping the property tax rate low. She says her original proposal was a “snapshot in time” before her staff nailed down more one-time surplus dollars. But her critics aren’t buying it.
Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez mocked her on social media: “It looks like, after the self-induced ‘perfect storm,’ as she calls it, the ayor followed the imaginary yellow brick road to the pot of money that was waiting right where she left it,” Gonzalez wrote Thursday on the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Enough with the games and storytelling, we’re not in Kansas anymore!”
So, now the stage is set for Thursday’s first public budget hearing at County Hall. Residents, nonprofits, cops, firefighters, seniors, and straphangers all get their turn at the mic. Two minutes, if Commission Chairman “King Anthony” Rodriguez feels generous. Otherwise, they’ll get 60 seconds. Then, the commission takes its first vote on the mayor’s ever changing proposal.
Round two comes later this month. And Gonzalez says he wants a change order by the Sept. 18 hearing that fully funds the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department’s air rescue operations. He was flanked by Commissioners Rene Garcia and Natalie Milian Orbis and Congressman Carlos Gimenez — who had to jump into the debate — at the fire union’s press conference last week where he demanded that police and fire be fully funded. The fire union has threatened legal action.
“What we have is no longer a mismanagement of funds,” Gonzalez said in a video posted on his Instagram. “What we really have is a failure to prioritize the things that are important to the residents of Miami-Dade County.
Read related: Facing $400M budget shortfall, Miami-Dade cuts senior meals, lifeguards, more
“I am sick and tired of the shell games,” said Gonzalez, who has seemed to be campaigning for higher office recently. “The mayor says that we’re in a deficit. Then she says that we’re not in a deficit. The mayor says that she lost money. Then she says that she found money. Folks, there is one thing that we cannot play with, and that is the safety and the lives of our residents.”
Some things never change on the 29th floor — and that includes finding magical drawers of money when you most need to.
Speaking of which, enter Gimenez, the former county mayor. Because, por supuesto, he shows up at press conference to wag his finger at his Democratic successor. “They need more money, more units, more firefighters,” Gimenez, a former fire captain and city manager, blasted as he stood with fire union leaders and firefighters.
Excuse Ladra while she coughs up a hairball. Because we all remember when this same Gimenez, as county mayor, proposed rolling “brownouts” at fire stations — putting one or two units out of service every shift and rotating which neighborhoods would lose coverage. That was his idea of fiscal responsibility. Now, he’s suddenly the defender of Fire Rescue’s funding?
Levine Cava’s camp wasn’t having it, either. As Gimenez spoke, her comms team blasted out a slick video of La Alcaldesa, smiling, “setting the record straight,” and praising firefighters as “heroes” while touting the raises and new trucks she’s delivered in her five years. She insists the helicopter shuffle is just an accounting move: “The services remain unchanged, and the public will not be impacted.” Her budget folks point out that Fire Rescue has actually grown 10% under her watch and say delays are about land costs and backlogged fire truck orders, not dollars.
The union isn’t buying it. “Lives hang in the balance,” union president William “Billy” McAllister warned. “When seconds count, sometimes we’re minutes away.”
So, now, we’ve got the firefighter-turned-mayor-turned-congressman tag-teaming with union leaders and Republican commissioners against the current mayor. The same guy who once pitched cutting back fire coverage is now crying wolf about a “dangerously unfair” budget.
Ladra says grab your helmets, gente. The helicopter fight is only fueling the flames as commissioners get ready to take their first budget vote Thursday night in a meeting that might look look less like a policy debate and more like a campaign commercial.
Ladra can’t help but wonder if the congressman is going to make an appearance.
The first public hearing of the Miami-Dade 2025-2026 proposed budget starts at 5:01 p.m. Thursday at County Hall, 111 NW First Street, and can also be seen online on the county’s website.
The post Miami-Dade County commission set for budget showdown, hearing Thursday appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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Miami-Dade fire union has threatened legal action
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava may want to check her smoke alarms — because firefighters smell something funny rising out of the 2025-26 budget: A sneaky move to shift the estimated $30 million cost of running the countywide air rescue helicopters to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, which is funded out of a different pool of tax dollars.
These are the helicopters that fly critical patients to the hospital to get them there faster and douse brushfires from the skies. And they serve every inch of the county — even the five municipalities that don’t pay a penny into the fire district: Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Hialeah and Key Biscayne. In previous budgets, the county reimbursed the fire department for air rescue out of the general fund.
But facing a $400 million deficit after the expiration of federal COVID rescue funds and the costly birth of constitutional offices — like the shiny new sheriff’s department — Levine Cava is pitching a “fair and balanced” budget that’s light on fluff, but heavy on cuts. Arts and culture grants? On the chopping block. County layoffs? Not off the table.
Air rescue helicopters? That’s on you, now, La Alcaldesa told the fire department. That it will likely cause the fire department to divert funds from other needs. And it could put lives at risk.
Read related: Facing $400M budget shortfall, Miami-Dade cuts senior meals, lifeguards, more
International Association of Firefighters Local 1403 President William “Billy” McAllister says Miami-Dade Fire Rescue is already stretched thin, needing more trucks and more boots on the ground to serve the ever-sprawling western frontier of the county. Response times are suffering. Density and traffic are clogging up everything — and now, they say, the mayor wants to defund the rescue squad in the middle of a slow-motion emergency.
This could mean less firefighters on duty and less trucks on the street. “The goal was to open four units this year,” McAllister told Political Cortadito, adding that they have trucks sitting out of service. “With this, it will be zero.”
He understands that there’s a huge hole in the budget that would be bigger — $430 million — if the county were to take responsibility for air rescue again. But this is going to have a ripple effect across all fire rescue services, McAllister said.
“We’re at a crossroads right now in Miami-Dade County,” he warned. “They are obligating us to carry a portion of their shortfall and disallowing us from increasing service.”
McAllister told Ladra that the budget cut comes as a surprise, again, at the last minute. “The reaction has been one of stalling to try to figure out what to do,” he said, adding that it’s typical of the administration to “run the clock” on something and try not to meet on it.
McAllister almost wasn’t allowed to speak at one of the public town halls the mayor had last week throughout the county. He was told that because he spoke at the public meeting in Westchester Monday, he couldn’t speak at the one in South Dade Wednesday. He eventually did get to speak after telling county staff that the audience was a different group of people.
So the union hired Holland & Knight to prepare a legal challenge — and speak for them. The firefighters are lawyered up.

Love letter from McAllister, President, Metro‑Dade Firefighters Union Local 1403, to Mayor Levine Cava:
“Dear Alcaldesa, we’re putting you on notice: This budget proposal is dangerously short‑sighted.
By forcing Miami‑Dade Fire Rescue to fully fund the county’s air rescue helicopters, you’re sacrificing public safety on the altar of accounting gymnastics. This financial gambit doesn’t just threaten our ability to serve — it actively jeopardizes lives. We intend to hold you and the county accountable.
Our lawyers at Holland & Knight are standing by.”
Love, Billy

Okay, so that’s how Ladra might have said it. Lawyer Miguel De Grandy (who f-ed up the city of Miami redistricting and, well, did it have to be him?) put it differently in his 5-page warning to the mayor.
“This inappropriate and illegal transfer of funding obligations will result in placing an undue, unfair and ultimately damaging burden on the district,” De Grandy wrote. “The proposed additional shift in the funding of the debt service for purchased equipment (namely, fire rescue helicopters) is clearly contrary to the representations and the pledges made in the commission resolution approving the issuance of bonds to purchase this equipment.”
In other words: You bought it, you pay for it.
Read related: Gov. Ron DeSantis sends Florida DOGE squad to sniff out Miami-Dade budget
In 2020, Miami Dade Fire Rescue replaced its aging fleet of helicopters with four new ones, borrowing $70 million to repay over 20 years. The county had previously agreed to contribute to the payment of these costs, but now, that funding has been diverted to offset the budget shortfall. McAllister said that 4 or 5 million of the $28 to $30 million in costs go to debt service for the helicopters. The rest is for operational costs.
Levine Cava issued a statement last week defending her decision because, hey, it isn’t the first time the county slashes its contribution to the fire district. Last year, the county cut $18 million from the funds it provides to the pay for air rescue services,
“Public safety, including fire rescue, remains my top priority as mayor. Regarding the air rescue fund, these costs were moved to the fire budget in the current fiscal year (24-25),” the mayor said in her statement. “It is important to stress that this change had no impact on vital fire rescue services or public safety, and the proposed budget for the coming fiscal year continues to increase funding for Miami Dade Fire Rescue as we have done every year.”
In other words, you get what you get and you don’t get upset. This is nothing new. And you won’t feel a thing.
¡Ay, por favor! The mayor “moved” the cost of air rescue into the Fire District budget last year and now she is patting herself on the back for “increasing” fire funding — when in reality, you just shifted the tab to the 29 municipalities that pay into the district. The helicopters still serve everyone, including the cities that don’t chip in a dime because they opted out of the Fire District and have their own fire rescue departments.
“Ironically, wealthier cities like Coral Gables, Key Biscayne and Miami Beach that opted out of the district would now obtain Air Rescue services at nearly no cost, while several other cities with a significant percentage of residents at or below the poverty line, like Sweetwater and Florida City, pay an inequitably higher cost for these countywide services,” De Grandy wrote.
It smells like the mayor is balancing the budget on the backs of firefighters and taxpayers — and calling it an “increase.” Meanwhile, the FIFA World Cup hosting committee is still getting $46 million to spread among themselves.
Read related: Buyer’s remorse: Kionne McGhee wants refund on $46M to FIFA World Cup
De Grandy also reminded Levine Cava that commissioners said last year that they didn’t want to this be an eternal flame burning away the fire department’s reserves. In other words: Fix this before next year.
“I feel like they are being punished for good bookkeeping,” Commissioner Raquel Regalado said last September of the fire department. Ladra is sure Regalado is going to have a lot to say at the Aug. 20 committee of the whole meeting — which is another way to say special commission meeting — which was her idea in the first place. This one is going to be really special.
The county’s $12 billion budget won’t be finalized until after that meeting — where commissioners aim to tweak and snip at inefficiencies to replace proposed cuts and fee hikes —  and two public hearings in September. The new fiscal year starts Oct. 1.

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Rosie Cordero-Stutz says she inherited rising costs
The newly-elected Miami-Dade sheriff is not happy about the dollar amount that Mayor Daniella Levine Cava‘s proposed budget sets aside for her new, constitutional office and has sounded the alarm in recent days, warning that proposed cuts could leave the sheriff’s office disarmed and dangerously under-resourced at a time when public safety concerns are rising like the summer heat.
Sheriff Rosanna “Rosie” Cordero-Stutz put in a request for fiscal year 2025-26 for a hefty $936 million — nearly $94 million more than what was budgeted when it was the Miami-Dade Police Department last year. According to a sheriff’s spokesperson, Levine Cava allocated $50.4 million, leaving a significant shortfall of $43.4 million.
Cordero-Stutz says it’s not for new bling. She needs more in order to keep 911 response times from rising and fill up to 200 vacancies.
“Make no mistake,”the sheriff wrote in a sharply-worded plea disguised as an “open letter” published in Community Newspapers. “A reduction of this magnitude puts the safety of our entire community at risk.
“The proposed budget reductions for public safety threaten to undermine the very foundation of our operations. These cuts will force us to reduce the number of sworn deputies and hinder recruitment at a time when demand for service continues to rise.”
At the county commission meeting last week where they approved a flat tax rate for next year and a budget that currently reflects a $402 million shortfall countywide, the sheriff warned the board about the consequences and “respectfully asked” for her full budget.
“Anything less is defunding the police,” Cordero-Stutz said.
Read related: Facing $400M budget shortfall, Miami-Dade cuts senior meals, lifeguards, more
The funding is not for shiny new toys or some bloated cop wish list. Well, not her wish list. More than two thirds of the increase ($64M) is just to honor existing contracts the county signed before the sheriff’s office even officially existed, Cordero-Stutz says.
In other words: It’s the county’s tab. And now they’re sticking her with the bill.
So, when voters decided in 2020 to bring back the elected sheriff — and 57% of Miami-Dade voters said yes — the county’s reaction was to go on a spending spree? Of course, the handoff is now coming with strings attached and unfunded promises.
One example Cordero-Stutz cited are the collective bargaining agreements the commission approved in 2023, which locked in raises, cots of living hikes for retirees and training incentives, among other things.
There were also zero academy classes this year because of budget shortfalls, Cordero-Stutz explained. That means no new recruits. “As a result, we are currently carrying more than 200 vacant sworn positions, as of July 15th, with more expected by year’s end,” Cordero-Stutz wrote.
That means whole areas — like Kendall, which has just 180 deputies to cover 42 square miles and over 80,000 residents — are left stretched ‘very thin,’ just like we like our Serrano ham sliced at Publix.
With the next potential field of recruits not coming in until mid-2026, “we face a serious staffing gap that impacts service and safety,” Cordero-Stutz wrote. Her proposed budget is focused on filling all existing vacancies. The request also includes 54 new civilian positions. Not because she’s building an empire — but because decades of backlogged staffing have left critical operations understaffed and overworked.
“Full staffing is essential to enhance public safety, improve response times, strengthen investigations, and support the well-being of our deputies,” she wrote.
With the FIFA World Cup on the horizon and cyber threats lurking behind every login, is this really the moment to penny-pinch public safety?
Read related: Miami-Dade could cut back services, give millions to FIFA for World Cup
Apparently, that’s a question the county commission will have to grapple with. Last week, after some debate, they approved the mayor’s proposal for a flat tax rate, which means that property owners will pay more taxes, but only because property values increased. To pay the same amount of taxes, the county would have had to adopt a “rollback” rate, and they didn’t do that. Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez was the only one who voted against the budget because he said residents needed and deserved a break.
It also means that commissioners will have a lot of work to do before the budget is finalized after two hearings in September to find the funding for the sheriff’s office needs within the existing revenue parameters.
Levine Cava said in a press conference last week that the county had increased spending on public safety by 8% each year while she has been the mayor.”Today, we are facing a new and difficult fiscal reality,” she said, placing much of the responsibility for the $402 million countywide shortfall on the rollout of the five new constitutional offices.
But the sheriff isn’t taking the blame sitting down.
“Let me be clear,” she says. “I am not asking for enhancements. I am asking the board to fund a budget that meets the financial obligations made before the Sheriff’s Office even came into existence—and allows us to continue protecting this great county to the best of our ability.
“Every dollar in this proposed budget is directed toward one goal: keeping the people of Miami-Dade County safe,” Cordero-Stutz says. “These investments are not about expanding government — they’re about ensuring we have the trained personnel, resources, and infrastructure required to meet the challenges of modern law enforcement and deliver the high-quality service our residents expect and deserve.”
In other words: She’s just trying to pay the bill someone else racked up, keep the lights on, and maybe — just maybe — run an academy class or two so she doesn’t have to answer emergency calls with an empty bench.
So, Miami-Dade voters got their brand-new sheriff. But what else did we get? A bill due that isn’t funded, a public safety system teetering between ‘responsive’ and ‘underwater’ — and a county mayor and commission that has a little more than two months to decide whether it wants to back the badge or balance the budget on it.
“At the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office (MDSO), our mission is clear: to protect and serve this community with integrity, dedication and compassion,” Cordero-Stutz wrote. “From the 911 call takers who answer your most urgent cries for help, to the deputies on the streets, from our Cyber Crimes Bureau tracking digital threats, and to our Strategic Response Team handling the most high-risk situations — we show up, every single day, committed to keeping this community safe.”
Well, as long someone pays the bill.

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The post Miami-Dade Sheriff to county leaders: Budget cuts handcuff public safety appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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