With no discussion or debate Tuesday, the Miami-Dade Commission approved the spending of more than $41 million for a new fleet of vehicles this year. Only Commissioners Micky Steinberg and Rene Garcia voted against it.
The rest of the commission voted to approve the purchase of 580 vehicles.
Miami-Dade County considers a vehicle ready for replacement it’s either 10 years old or has over 100,000 miles on it. Departments are supposed to look for replacements that could be “reallocated” from within the county’s inventory first.
“Repair history, age and mileage are also reviewed to ensure that replacement is more economical than repairing and maintaining a vehicle that is past its life cycle. Maintaining vehicles over 10+ years and/or over 100,000 miles can generate average annual maintenance costs in excess of $3,000 for light vehicles and $17,700 for heavy vehicles when compared to newer vehicles which are under manufacturer’s warranty for major repairs.”
Okay. But that means that if all 580 cars being replaced need maintenance at the heavy vehicle cost, it would still only be $10.2 million, instead of $41 million.
Read related: Miami-Dade Commission considers land buy near airport for $17 million

“The vehicles requested will be used to support various essential operations that service the Miami-Dade County community, to include water distribution and processing, police operations support and training, materials management, building and facility maintenance, community outreach programs, zoning enforcement and other related operational support activities that provide countywide services. The requested allocation will be used by departments as follows:

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The public will have six opportunities this week to hear details about the proposed $11 billion, 2023-24 Miami-Dade budget — which includes a proposed $36 annual garbage fee increase — beginning Wednesday in North Dade.

But will they have a chance to make any meaningful input? That is the real question. Are these just futile exercises for the sake of optics? To make it seem like a participatory process?

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The Miami-Dade Commission talked about garbage this week. Not the usual garbage. Real garbage.

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has suggested a $36 annual garbage fee increase — or $3 a month — as part of her 2023-2024 $11.6 billion budget. To keep the current $509 annual fee would mean a cut in services, she said. But county commissioners, who approved her tiny. fake tax cut — a millage decrease that doesn’t actually cut anyone’s taxes — balked and deferred making any decision until Sept. 6.

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Commissioners likely to discuss mayor’s gas tax gaffe

Late Monday, with less than 24 hours for county commissioners to review it, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava released her proposed $11 billion 2023-2024 budget — the largest ever, with a 20% increase in capital improvement spending, due much to federal dollars. She boasts about a 1% tax cut and what the mayor calls a “gas tax holiday” — which only came after her office forgot to renew the 6-cent gas tax.

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But county ‘ambassadors’ program with $25K stipends was killed

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About six hours after the first public hearing began Thursday, Miami-Dade Commissioners gave preliminary approval to the mayor’s $10 billion budget, which focuses on affordable housing, infrastructure and clean water while cutting the tax rate by 1%.

“This year we will continue rebuilding our community and economy stronger than ever by prioritizing critical investments in making Miami-Dade more affordable and livable, upgrading our infrastructure for future prosperity and resilience, helping small businesses thrive, and connecting residents to opportunity,” Mayor Daniella Levine Cava writes in her budget message.

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