A flat millage rate is not a flat tax bill. Here is what the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County are voting on, and why Amendment 3 is the number officials keep naming out loud.
The City of Miami's $3.6 billion budget, covering operating and capital project expenses, cleared its first hearing on September 10 with the millage rate held flat, per WLRN. The city's second and final hearing is September 24. Miami-Dade County's second and final hearing for fiscal 2026-27 comes first, on September 17 at 5:01 p.m. at the Stephen P. Clark Government Center, 111 NW First Street. The county mayor's proposal also holds the millage flat.
“Miami's families are managing rising costs, which is why this budget holds the millage rate flat, at its lowest level in 60 years.”— Eileen Higgins, Mayor, City of Miami
This is the part that gets lost every September. The millage rate is a multiplier. Your bill is that rate applied to your assessed value. Hold the rate steady while assessed values rise and bills rise with them. So when you open your TRIM notice, read the assessed value line before you read the rate. A rate that has not moved in a year when your assessment jumped is still a larger check.
If voters approve Amendment 3 in November, homestead exemptions would increase from $50,000 to $250,000 on primary residences, per WLRN, and property taxes account for more than half of Miami's total operating budget. Commissioner Christine King put the math at the hearing plainly: “How are we going to address the Amendment three if that goes and our millage rate stays flat?” Budget Director Marie Gouin said the city may need to raise solid waste fees if Amendment 3 passes, since the solid waste fee has not increased in over 15 years. Separately, a $450 million proposal to replace city police and fire department headquarters is on the November ballot for voter approval.
Flat millage is good politics and it is also not the number that determines what you pay. If your assessment went up, your bill went up, and no press release changes that. Two dates are worth putting in your calendar. September 17 at 5:01 p.m. is the county's final hearing downtown, and September 24 is the city's. Those are the rooms where the rate is actually set, and public comment is the only leverage a homeowner has in the process. On Amendment 3, I am not going to hand you a projection, because nobody has published one I would stand behind. What I will say is that a jump from a $50,000 exemption to $250,000 would be a meaningful cut for owner occupants and a real hole in a budget that leans on property taxes for more than half of operations. The city's own budget director is already talking about fees. Plan for the exemption savings and a fee increase to show up in the same year.
I will run your assessed value against what comparable homes in your area are actually closing at.
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