Miami Beach may write residents $500 stimulus checks
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Thousands of Miami Beach residents would receive $500 checks if the City Commission approves an $11 million "resident relief" program.
Why it matters: The proposal — which comes ahead of the city's local elections — would send millions in projected surplus funds to homeowners and eligible renters.
- A supermajority of city commissioners has signaled support for the stimulus payments, which are up for a vote on Wednesday.
Zoom in: The Miami Beach Homestead and Tenant Relief programs would send one-time payments to the owners of the city's roughly 14,000 homesteaded properties, per a city memo.
- Renters would also be eligible for payments if their household income is at or below 140% of the area median income. (That's about $121,000 for a single renter or $173,000 for a family of four.)
- The payments would be limited to one renter per household.
How it works: The 2026 budget already includes $114 million in general fund reserves, or three months of emergency funding, exceeding city requirements, chief financial officer Jason Greene told commissioners last month.
- The $11 million surplus is what's left over.
Yes, but: City rules say budget surpluses are supposed to be used to back up long-term investments, like buildings, roads and utilities.
- The memo from city manager Eric Carpenter called reserve transfers a "critical source of funding" for those projects.
- Still, the administration is recommending that the commission waive this financial policy and approve the payments.
- It would cost the city $80,000 to mail out the checks, per the memo.
Catch up quick: The City Commission voted last month to lower property taxes, but homeowners will still pay more due to rising property values.
- Taxes would go up about $149 this year for the average homesteaded property that wasn't sold or didn't undergo renovations, according to a city memo.
What they're saying: Commissioner Alex Fernandez, who first proposed the payments, says the city surplus means that residents essentially overpaid in taxes last year.
- "This is your money and it shouldn't go towards more government spending," Fernandez wrote in an email to residents.
The other side: Commissioner David Suarez, the only commissioner to oppose the proposal, tells Axios the money would be better spent fixing issues like flooded streets, failing pipes or cracked sidewalks.
- "[I]nstead of fixing it, City Hall wants to mail out election-season checks to buy goodwill before voters head to the polls. That's not leadership. That's politics at its worst."
- Suarez is proposing to use the money to fund a building permit concierge team and address stormwater runoff and water quality in North Beach, among other initiatives.