Miami Beach begins issuing voter-approved bonds to upgrade infrastructure

Miami-Beach-Crazy-Frankenstein-Image-580-2
The bonds were approved by residents in November.

The Miami Beach City Commission voted Wednesday to begin issuing millions in voter-approved bonds to help fund numerous infrastructure projects throughout the city.

In November, residents voted in favor of a $439 million general obligation bond, which the city says it will pay off over the next three decades by raising property taxes. The City Commission approved the issuance of the first $153 million with its vote on Wednesday.

According to the city’s numbers, $87.7 million of that will go toward projects regarding parks, recreational facilities and cultural facilities. Another $36.9 million will be for police, fire and public safety measures, and the final $28.4 million is for neighborhoods and infrastructure improvements.

The move comes after the G.O. Bond Oversight Committee, which was set up as part of the plan, reviewed and validated the disbursement.

“The timing is ideal for the first issuance of our general obligation bond,” said Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber.

“Not only did we recently conclude a careful review of the prioritization of our projects of which our resident, committee members and City Commission were in agreeance, but the current market is extremely strong for municipal bonds.”

Once the $439 million is fully dispersed, $169 million will go toward parks and and recreation, $72 million will be spent on public safety, and $198 million will be set aside for neighborhoods and infrastructure improvements.

A total of 57 individual projects are planned by the city, sidewalk repairs, a pair of new fire stations and a new library and park in North Beach.

Ryan Nicol

Ryan Nicol covers news out of South Florida for Florida Politics. Ryan is a native Floridian who attended undergrad at Nova Southeastern University before moving on to law school at Florida State. After graduating with a law degree he moved into the news industry, working in TV News as a writer and producer, along with some freelance writing work. If you'd like to contact him, send an email to [email protected].



#FlaPol

Florida Politics is a statewide, new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, policy, and lobbying in Florida. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL

Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Drew Dixon, Roseanne Dunkelberger, A.G. Gancarski, Anne Geggis, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Cole Pepper, Gray Rohrer, Jesse Scheckner, Christine Sexton, Drew Wilson, and Mike Wright.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeterSchorschFL
Phone: (727) 642-3162
Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182
St. Petersburg, Florida 33704




Sign up for Sunburn


Categories